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.

10. The Costume Makes the Hero

The Penguin

Business was booming! The rich and powerful were all in the one room, dining together, laughing together, and all of them coming to the now biggest, most popular VIP Club in Gotham City. At the top of the room, in the center of it all, was Oswald Cobblepot! Beside him was a similarly powerful boy from the neighboring city, Metropolis. Lex Luthor chose one of the best nights to come to see Penguin, if the crime boss were to comment on it.

They were both sat in a booth on a balcony overseeing the rest of the club. In the center of the room was a large hill of ice which all the tables and other various activities around the room surrounded. Below the iceberg was an array of blue lights, which gave the entire room a blue glow. Along the walls were paintings, sculptures, and aquariums filled with sea life and even more sculptures. It's no wonder the club elevated to the best nightclub in Gotham in the short time that it did. It also helped that the food and wine were very hard to come by if one didn't have a side job that gave them access to these things in less than legal ways.

"It's good to see you again, Luthor! What's a busy boy like yourself doing in Gotham, though?" The short, bird-man beckoned to a waiter, who was already rushing over with a cigarette placed in an extender. "Not that I don't enjoy your company, but this isn't exactly what I'd call your scene."

The bald boy smiled before cocking his head to the side, "What are you talking about, Mr. Cobblepot? I had to visit the Iceberg Lounge at least once near its making."

"It's not as if you're getting the full experience either way. You can't get a taste of the drinks!" The man began to cackle.

Lex leaned back, crossing his hands over one another on the table, "The irony in that isn't lost on me. As if someone like you would let a small law like that ruin your hospitality to a guest."

The Penguin laughed before he waved the waiter over again with the wine and two glasses promptly following, "You bein' a right ol' toff in the public eye, I'd have thought you'd want to be a bit more cautious about bein' seen with a drink."

"And I thought you would have given a bit of a bigger fight over this considering this is your new club and all." The drinks were finally filled and the waiter placed the wine on the table for the two to fill as they saw fit.

The short man shrugged, leaning back with his glass of wine in hand, "Please, Luthor, if a tad bit of heat was 'nuff to bring my club down I think I have a few other problems needin' sorted out." He took a sip of his wine before turning back to the boy, "So, what brings you here anyways? Goin' over to that Wayne brat's place again?"

Lex took his wine to take a taste of it before turning back to the crime boss, "Although Wayne has potential to be an excellent resource, I'm not here to have a conversation with him. That being said, I am sending him a gift from one of my excavation teams. I do hope to soften him up to the idea of partnering with my company."

"You think that's a good idea, Lex? It's not as if Wayne has shown any interest in any of the questionable activities you an' I engage in."

The boy shook his head, "No, I don't plan on bringing him in on our nightlife. The technology and money Wayne Industries would add to LexCorp would leave every other company in our shadows. That's all." The boy smiled and gestured toward the man, "I was wondering if you had thought about my favor."

The fat penguin smiled, taking in a large breath of smoke before releasing it into the air. "Actually, I think I have the perfect person for you! He's lookin' for someone, and my informants in the GCPD 'ave told me that the person in question is in the same place as your partner."

"You're sure he's good for the job?"

"Good for it? He's perfect for it!" Oswald pointed his cigarette at the bald boy, "Let me tell you, he took down the whole Maroni gang without me nor Black Mask finding out about it. Then he killed Maroni himself."

"How did you find out about him if he's as elusive as you say?"

"I didn't." Oswald took another sip of wine before continuing, "He called me, Sionis and Maroni into a meeting before he wasted him in front of our eyes! Let's just say that I owe him one after what we discovered about the Italian chap."

Lex took a larger drink of the wine, smiling back at the Penguin, "He's built quite the resumé. But, what we're looking for is someone reputable."

"Listen, Luthor, this guy's a riot. You give him a little bit and I guarantee he'll send Japan to shambles!"

Clark Kent

One Week Later

For being a Hero Academy, classes were normal for the most part. Sure, the material was moving a bit fast for what Clark was used to, but he wasn't having any issues with it. The only other thing that seemed off from normal schools were extra classes relating to Pro Hero work. This class was outlined to cover the essentials ranging from laws regarding Pro Hero work and would eventually lead into how Pro Heroes operated within the law and within their respective agencies.

Within that time, Clark was able to become decent acquaintances with most of his classmates. Katsuki, Shoto, and Michael were still standoffish, although Katsuki began to move into a group with Eijirou, Denki and small few others. Shoto was just generally quiet and indifferent to others. When people would try talking to him, he would usually lose interest and people would move on from the conversation. Either that, or any amount of sarcasm or humor would be lost on him and the conversation would awkwardly die down.

Michael, however, has been easily annoyed by conversations since the Quirk Apprehension Test. A few students did try to get close to him still. Denki tried to invite him to eat with their group for lunch, but because of Katsuki he refused almost instantly. Diana tried to engage with him a couple times, to which he gave straightforward responses turning her down. She didn't seem too affected by it, so she was bound to try again.

Clark felt like he would have eventually become friends with Fumikage Tokoyami, a boy with a quirk that turned his head into that of a bird with black feathers. However, neither of them tried to engage with each other, despite how similar their demeanors seemed. Both of the brooding classmates kept to themselves in very similar ways.

When Tenya would point out something they were doing wrong, in most cases both would simply ignore him. When they were asked questions, sometimes they wouldn't answer. Tokoyami was direct when Clark asked for him to join the group for lunch.

The bird boy raised a hand, "I appreciate the offer, but I prefer to eat alone." From the shoulder of the boy, an entity made of darkness emerged and scowled at the Kryptonian. "When Dark Shadow gets hungry, he can get restless."

The American replied by ensuring the invitation would be open to him if he wanted to join in the future, understanding that Tokoyami at least had a good reason for being standoffish towards classmates. It seemed like Dark Shadow was a separate entity from Tokoyami which was a very rare thing to find in Clark's experience.

When Clark was trying to catch up to Michael, however, to ask him to join his group for lunch, he had turned his head to beckon to his other friends. When he turned back, Lane had vanished from his sight. The fact Clark couldn't figure out how he disappeared and arrived in the lunchroom before the Kryptonian was something he found astonishing! This only happened once; every other time he went to ask the boy something during breaks he was out of the class before Clark could even get up.

Midoriya and Uraraka even tried to deter Clark from trying to push him.

The green-haired boy was eating one of the meals in the cafeteria, trying to speak up in his timid way. "Maybe you shouldn't keep pushing Lane, Kent. I-I mean, I think it's pretty clear that he doesn't want to be bothered."

"I don't want to do that, Midoriya." The American took a bite of his chicken and rice bowl before continuing, "Lane isn't choosing to be outcasted. Ever since what happened in the lockers and during the Quirk Apprehension Test, most of the class has been nervous around him. Even though everyone is trying to act tough to try to include him, he's unnaturally observant. He's just reciprocating what everyone's trying to hide."

Uraraka looked down at her food with a nervous look on her face. "I don't want to judge him or anything, I'm sure he's nothing like them since he was a part of our hero program but knowing he's from Gotham City is kind of scary to think about."

Tenya sighed to take a break from his food, "Unfortunately, I thought something similar. Gotham City is infamous for harboring delinquents." Tenya looked back at Clark, "No matter what Bakugou said to him, fighting is not something that can be overlooked two times. In my opinion, he's following the same path of those very criminals we are meant to oppose."

"Tenya," Clark's arms slumped, "that's kind of a harsh assumption to make of a person before getting to know them!"

"You're right, of course. It was clear his childhood was unorthodox and harsh." The blue-haired boy lowered his head, "We should show leniency and support for him in pursuing a better future for himself and in his desire to help others." He raised his head with a smile, "Like we all aim to do."

Clark smiled before raising his hands, "He should still be held to the same standards, of course. I'm just saying that it would be better for him to have some friends. If we were to forget this was a hero academy and was just a normal high school, going every day without any friends to rely on just isn't healthy."

Uraraka nodded, "It's not as if he's a bad guy, either. He seemed pretty friendly when he was talking with Midoriya before his turn at the ball throw the first day!"

The green-haired boy perked up with a smile, "T-that's right! He gave me some really good advice which helped me keep from being in last place during the Apprehension Test." Midoriya began pressing his fingers together, "So, that means that I owe him in a way." As he finished his sentence, his voice began to falter to little more than a whisper.

Diana slammed her hand on the table, leaning forward and smiling to the other members of the table, "Then, it is settled! We will set out a plan tomorrow and convince Michael Lane to join our table!"

"If we can catch him, that is." The Kryptonian took his fork and took a jab at his food, "The past few times I've tried to catch up to him he would be gone before I could turn my head to see him."

Uraraka gave a nervous laugh, "I noticed that. I sit in front of him, but I never even hear him leave his desk. It's kind of scary."

Diana placed her hand on her chin, "We need a combat strategy to get Lane in a place we can talk to him."

Clark held his free hand up, "We don't need to trap him or anything, we just need the right moment to approach him." He smiled to the others, "I'm sure he'll warm up to the class naturally."

The group moved on from the conversation, taking bites out of their lunches eventually landing back in class. Fortunately for them, their first lesson within the hero course was perfect for the kind of opportunity they were looking for!

The first big assignment of the school curriculum's Hero Basic Training was announced by All Might as he burst through the doors of the classroom.

"I am coming through the door like a normal person!" He announced as he leaned forward on the tip of his feet, holding onto the frame with one hand and letting the momentum carry his blue cape forward.

If Clark were the judge of if the entrance was normal, the number one hero would have gotten a low score. But he at least had to admit that it was a pretty funny way to enter into a room.

As All Might began marching in front of the classroom, he couldn't help but reflect on his family's robes and how similar it looked to All Might's outfit. The way the red and white created a simple pattern on his chest, the pieces that connected the costume to the cape, which luckily Kal-El left out for the time being. He even had a utility belt, although for the red belt on his suit it wasn't actually connected in the center, whereas with the Symbol of Peace, his was connected by a piece that seemed to resemble his own brow ever so slightly.

The pro hero stood behind the podium at the front of the classroom, fists on his hips and a perfect, white grin drawn on his face. "I teach Hero Basic Training! With me, you will train and learn the basics of being a hero on the field." The teacher reeled back, reaching for something at his utility belt, "For today, we'll be indulging in," He whipped back around, pulling out a card that read in English, 'BATTLE.' "COMBAT TRAINING!"

The majority of the class began grinning at each other rather than towards All Might. Even Clark couldn't help to hold back a small smirk as he scanned the classroom. Within that scan, he noticed five people's reactions which differed in different ways than the rest.

Izuku seemed concerned, as per usual which to the Kryptonian made sense what with his quirk being something that easily shattered his bones when he used it. Katsuki had a grin on his face as well, but his was much more menacing than the rest which Clark could count on two hands the reasons why that might be. Tokoyami withheld the stoic look he normally had, though Dark Shadow seemed to peek around the corner with a face that to him seemed to resemble excitement. Todoroki seemed to be lost in space, only halfway paying attention. Lastly, Michael, who was stared down the teacher before pulling what looked like a cell phone out of his pocket.

No, it wasn't a cell phone. It looked more militarized than that, much more durable than the typical smartphone. He was quick on it too, typing away on it fast without even looking at it. About as fast as he pulled out the device, he concealed it with a scowl still pointed towards the number one hero. That was before he turned to the Kryptonian with the same scowl.

"What do you want?" The Gothamite whispered.

"No, nothing." The alien answered, turning back to the board. Clark returned to the announcements of the teacher.

"And you can't be a proper hero without these!" He waved towards the wall of the classroom. From it, shelves began to emerge and display suitcases with numbers on them for each member of the classroom. "Within those cases are the hero costumes most of you designed during registration before school started. So after you change, meet with the class at Ground Beta!"

Aizawa, who was leaning in the corner of the classroom in his usual yellow sleeping bag, perked up, "Prince, Kent, Lane, come see with me immediately. It's related to that."

The students that weren't called by the lethargic teacher excitedly picked up their suitcases and made their ways outside of the classroom. The other three met with the teacher as they were told.

When the teacher was alone with the three, he began. Though, Clark already knew why he was being called. "None of you sent in designs or registrations for costumes, why?"

Clark was the first to speak up, scratching the back of his head, "Sorry, sir. I didn't see the option to register any costumes. I do have one made already though."

"Is it with you?"

"Um, it's close by, at least." That was a lie. It was at the apartment. But with flight and super speed, no one would be any wiser about him going to retrieve it.

The teacher nodded, "You'll go get it then." He turned to Diana, "What about you?"

She nodded, unbuttoning her dress shirt and revealing her red and gold armor underneath with a grin, "A good warrior always comes prepared!"

The teacher sighed, shaking his head, "Prince, that's against school rules and you know that." He looked back at her with the same deadpan expression, "Put your gear in your designated suitcase when this is over, got it?"

Diana let out a small, "Hmph," before crossing her arms and lowering her head, "Fine, I shall heed your instructions."

Aizawa turned to Lane, "Why on earth have you not registered yours? I know you have it."

Michael crossed his arms, "I'm not turning mine in."

"This isn't a discussion; you have to turn yours in like everyone else."

The Gothamite shook his head, standing his ground, "No. If I leave my technology here and someone sabotages it, they could trace it back to me. Or I could be put at risk if something breaks without my knowledge."

Clark raised an eyebrow, "You really think someone here would do that?"

Lane looked back at Clark, his expression static, "It's within the realm of possibility, even if unintentional. In my experience, that kind of caution is necessary."

"I call it irrational paranoia." The teacher replied, "There are reasons why we have these regulations, to ensure no student is putting another at an unnecessary risk." Aizawa was about to continue, but the blonde began before he could finish.

"You already know I wouldn't do that, so that argument is mute. My point is that every single one of us needs every advantage we can get. If my suit is registered, then all the information on it is recorded on your databases, leaving it open to being exposed." The boy turned and began marching out of the classroom, "If your concern is lessening the risk of the students here, then you should avoid putting vital information like that on a system connected via the same servers that connect to the internet."

At that, the Gothamite left the room and the teacher was left gritting his teeth and squeezing the bridge of his nose. Diana and Clark glanced at each other before turning back to the teacher. In some ways, the Kryptonian didn't blame him for the points he made. Even if it was paranoia, he could still sympathize with wanting to be sure everything is left how you remember it. Clark honestly just felt kind of bad for how Aizawa struggled to keep the other American on a leash.

"That kid is gonna be a headache for the rest of my career." Eraserhead muttered. He turned to the remaining two students, "Go get ready for the combat training, I'll be meeting you all there."

Both the students nodded and began heading their way out of the classroom just like Lane had. But before they could step foot out of the classroom, Eraserhead called out to Clark.

"Remember the Quirk Apprehension Test."

Clark scratched the back of his head again and nodded, "Yes, sir."

He remembered, all right. It was the same talk his own father in Kansas would tell him about his powers. Of course, Clark understood why his father didn't want him to go all out and Aizawa must have sensed it, too. Clark was kind of glad that Aizawa called out for him to stop. This had happened once before, after all.

It was fifth grade on Field Day that he learned that lesson the first time. The situation was somewhat similar, too. It was just a game of Football in which Clark insisted he played a defensive role. A lot of the boys on his team weren't happy about it, because they knew that if he had been a quarterback, there wouldn't really be a thing that could stop them from winning the game. So, one of the boys decided to destroy the lunch Clark had with him that day which was waiting on the side for after the game was done. It was blatant that the boy did it in retaliation to Clark's unwillingness to play more aggressively, so in anger he agreed to play the quarterback.

When the alien was up to throw the ball after a catch, he definitely threw it. He threw it straight for the other side of the field and unfortunately one of the kids on Clark's team was picked up by the current created by the force of the ball being thrown. He landed on his arm and he had to be in a cast for a whole month. The Kryptonian really got chewed out for that one, but it was a good lesson to have. One he almost forgot about in trying to show up Bakugo and in showing off to the class.

Aizawa warning him brought him back to his own father's scolding.

He might be in a new school where using powers is allowed in some instances, but that doesn't mean that there aren't limits to how much of those powers he can use. His classmates might be strong, but when compared to him he still needed to be careful around them. They are human still, after all. Clark is not.

Diana Prince

The Amazonian finally reached the battlegrounds and slipped into the locker rooms that were attached to the facility. By the time she got there, only Mina and Ochaco were still changing. Though, they were only putting on the last parts of their outfits.

Ochaco had a black, skintight suit with a pink design travelling down her front. She had a pink helmet which seemed to be the sturdiest part of her costume along with her round belt. She had what looked like gauntlets on her wrists and boots that went up to her knees, both pink. Overall, her outfit seemed to go together really well, according to Diana. She was no fashion expert, but at the very least it seemed to suit her and was a very bold design!

Mina was nothing to shy away from either. She had a similar leotard which only reached up to her bosom which was turquoise and purple in an almost camouflage pattern under a leather jacket. The jacket itself did little to cover her arms but did have fur lining the collar. She was also in the middle of pushing her feet into a pair of boots which seemed to parallel the colors of the jacket.

The Amazonian smiled at the two with a wide grin, "You two have such unique designs for your garments."

Mina turned to Diana with a grin of her own before giving her a thumbs up, "It's pretty cute, isn't it!" She turned back and pushed her other foot into the final boot, "What's your hero outfit like, Prince?"

Uraraka beamed with a nod, "Yeah, I was curious, too. You seem to have a sort of theme with the way you talk."

Diana gave a soft chuckle before turning to her own locker, quickly taking off the school uniform, "I have been trying to accustom myself to more casual conversation." She threw her jacket and shirt into the locker, revealing the armor underneath and pulling out the golden lasso under her belt before doing the same to her skirt as she did with the rest of the uniform, "Though, at my roots I am still an Amazonian!"

She turned around, showcasing the red and gold armor over the blue, armored skirt. She snagged the Lasso of Truth on her side so it would stay in place, giving a nod to the other girls.

Uraraka perked up, skipping toward Diana to get a closer look, "Wow, it really does look like you're an Amazonian warrior! You put a lot of thought into the design, Prince."

Mina placed her hand on her chin, nodding as she scanned the outfit, "That really is a confident costume. Maybe a bit too confident, though."

"Nonsense, my friend!" Diana smiled, slamming her right hand against her chest, "None can ever be too confident in how they present themselves. So long as they don't proceed towards arrogance, of course."

Mina waved her hand in front of her face, "I'm not disagreeing with you. All I'm saying is that you might want to watch yourself around Mineta is all."

"Ah, yes." Diana nodded, stepping towards the pinkette, Uraraka walking beside her, "Have no fear, if the scoundrel comes near, I shall tie him to a pole with the Lasso of Truth in a way so that his mouth shall remain closed."

Mina giggled as they turned towards the city, "I like that plan. Let us go see what the boys designed for their costumes."

The girls walked through the halls, very quickly finding their way outside where the rest of the students were congregating. They were all talking amongst themselves, admiring each other's costumes with pride. Though not all the boys were outside yet, the majority of them were. Their costumes were also unique and made with both functionality and style in mind.

They consisted of things which complimented their personalities, like Bakugo's costume representing everything explosive and Jirou's costume mostly consisting of that which one would expect someone wearing if they were in a group of musicians she had recently told Diana about them being in a genre called 'punk.' But other's costumes seemed to be more practical than for style, the prime example being Tenya, who seemed to be wearing plated armor and looked like one of the robots Diana had seen on her TV at home. Overall, it was thrilling to see everyone's ideas of themselves as heroes coming into fruition!

Denki Kaminari walked by the group of girls, stepping back and looking at the girl's costumes. "Wow, everyone seems to be looking really awesome in their costumes! What is that armor made of, Prince? It seems really light."

"They are simple metals and leathers." She held up her gauntlets with a nod, "My bracelets, however, are indestructible! A reward for a victory of valor on Themyscira."

"Indestructible, huh?" The blonde scratched the back of his head, "I really hope you don't actually try to block something with those, that might seriously get you hurt."

Diana raised an eyebrow, "You believe I tell tales?"

"I mean, yeah." Denki shrugged his shoulders, "That's just a story you made up, right? To go with your hero identity. 'Cause you're kind of sounding chuuni right now."

Diana crossed her arms, frowning, "Why is it each time I speak truth, all I am met with is-?"

As she was about to finish her retaliation, a noise began to circulate from above. It was a great distance away at first, but it was rapidly approaching. As it did, the noise would increase in volume! At first, it sounded like a jet was flying way too low, but when looking up at the clear sky, no plane was in sight.

Before the students knew it, something had landed in a small distance away from them. It slammed against the ground, cratering into the pavement hard enough to send small pebbles flying in any direction! When everything settled, everyone was finally able to look up.

Knelt against the pavement was a boy with black hair and wearing a blue, skin-tight leotard with a red and yellow 'S' on his chest in the shape of a diamond. He had red boots that met a few inches below his knees and a belt infused with the costume consisting of the same shade of red as the symbol on his chest. The smile was unmistakable, and so was his voice.

"Prince is right, Kaminari. You should try to keep an open mind just in case you need to depend on those indestructible bracelets one day."

"That was one hell of an entrance!" Kirishima shouted as he stumbled over to Clark, "That was so manly!"

Everyone gathered towards Clark, who joined in the complimenting of each other's costumes. All except Kaminari, who was facing him but was scratching the back of his head. He sighed, turning to face Diana.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you like that." He cocked his head to the side, almost avoiding making eye contact, "The bracelets do look really cool."

The Amazonian smiled with a nod, "Your jacket doesn't look half bad, either." She held out a hand, which he took and shook happily, "Perhaps I can show you the might of an Amazonian today."

He nodded with a wide grin, "Maybe I can show you the power of my electricity, then!"

She nodded back to him just in time to take notice of Uraraka who was already grouped up with Tenya and Izuku. The latter of whom was in his light green costume which to her seemed to resemble a rabbit on the hood. That was a feature she found cute and fitting. He also had a belt around his waist with pouches lining it. Overall, the costume seemed a lot more homemade than the rest of the costumes on display.

She waved to Kaminari and joined the group before the teachers began to speak. All Might had opened his mouth, but paused to look at Izuku. He seemed to cough with a nervous twist to it. He pushed whatever Midoriya made him nervous about to the side before scanning the crowd.

"Seems like we're missing a student. Where is Michael Lane?"

Everyone looked around, but he wasn't in any of the crowds. So, when a shadow moved overhead on a cloudless day, the last thing anyone expected was for said shadow to land with a thud. It rose from the ground slowly and as it did it turned back slowly, meeting everyone with pale skin and eyes that seemed to glow a blank white. With horns rising from the top of the head and a scowl staring back at the crowd with a scowl.

"So, you finally decided to join us, Lane." Eraserhead groaned from the front of the crowd. "Why couldn't you or Clark walk through like a normal person?"

"If it's all the same to you, Eraserhead," the Gothamite began, slowly turning his voice into a growl, "You know which name I prefer."

With a sigh, the teacher nodded, "Fine, it's not worth the energy arguing with you anyways, Batman."

Izuku audibly swallowed a lump in his throat at the name. This only caused Diana to raise an eyebrow. She leaned over to the shorter boy, nudging him to get his attention.

"Are you truly so off-put by his outfit?" She glanced back at the dark figure, "I think it rather fits his demeanor."

"I-it's not so much the outfit as it is w-w-what it means that he's wearing it." He whispered, rubbing both of his arms, "I-I've heard a lot of stories, and none of them are good. Any time he's mentioned in articles from America, he supposedly leaves every b-bad guy with broken bones and convinced he wasn't human. Even then, no one knew if he really existed because there was n-n-never any evidence on him aside from a handful of blurry photos. Some people even say he killed a crime boss after he was arrested."

Diana crossed her arms, eyebrows upturned as she turned towards Michael. This time, he noticed and turned towards her with his pure white eyes. She smiled softly before responding to Izuku with a shake of her head, "I don't believe he would do that. He doesn't have the eyes of a killer."

All Might began talking again, so Diana turned back to the front to pay attention. "Now, shall we begin, you zygotes?!"

The pro hero didn't have any room to breath before Tenya's hand rose into the air. "This is the same arena used for the Entrance Exams, yes? Does that mean we'll be conducting the urban battles again?"

"Not quite, Tenya! This time around, we're going to do things a bit differently." All Might stuck one finger in the air, "For the entrance exams, much like how it is on the field, most of the time fighting villains will take place outside. However, that doesn't mean they never decide to take the fight in close quarters. In fact, the most intelligent and dangerous criminals tend to fight indoors for various reasons, including the fact that it limits the over-the-top actions that otherwise would land us heroes victory. So, for today's hero training, we will be focusing on that aspect of an encounter!"

Tsuyu placed a finger on her chin before cocking her head to the side, "Without basic training?"

He nodded, "The experience will help you understand those basics!" The large man beckoned towards the buildings down the street, "In groups of two, you all will be placed in two teams, one side being heroes and the other being villains. In which the two teams will be placed inside the buildings, although this isn't just a two on two deathmatch." The Symbol of Peace held up both hands, pumping his left fist first, "The villains will be in charge of protecting a single bomb held at random locations within the various buildings. When the timer runs out or all the heroes are put under submission, the villains win! However," he pumped his right fist, "The heroes can win by either putting handcuffs on all the villains provided by us, your instructors, or by simply touching the bomb before the time runs out."

The hero placed a hand on his chin, looking at the crowd and glancing at each student individually, "Although, it seems we are one student short of having even teams."

Clark raised his hand immediately, "If you need a team of one, sir, I can volunteer."

"Are you sure, young Kent?" The hero crossed his arms, "It may prove difficult to handle two real opponents at once."

For most people, maybe, but for someone with the strength gifted by the gods like Kent and I, Diana reasoned, it should be no real issue.

The Kansas boy nodded with a smile, "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll manage. Otherwise, someone will have to fight twice and I don't think that's fair on them."

The pro hero nodded, "Fair enough. You will be team A then, Clark Kent! As for the rest of you," the hero brought out a hat with small scraps of paper written on the inside, "You will be drawing from this hat to determine your teams."

So, everyone walked up to the hat and began pulling out their individual sets of cards. Diana was paired with Mashiro Ojiro whose quirk seemed to be his tail and a costume which was heavily inspired by a martial arts uniform with a black belt around his waist. Midoriya was paired with Uraraka, which gave her a breath of relief that he wasn't paired with Bakugo. Though, unfortunately, Tenya was paired with him.

Athena guide you, Tenya. I know this battle may prove difficult for you yet. She prayed before turning to her own partner with a thumb up. Everyone else got together with their groups.

All seemed to be well apart from Michael, who was paired with Toru Hagakure, a girl whose quirk was invisibility. She only had gloves and boots for her quirk, but because she was always invisible it didn't seem to matter too much. There wasn't exactly anything to reveal. She was still standing a distance away from Michael and seemed to be too nervous to step forward. Ojiro noticed this, too.

He scratched the back of his head, "I'm not sure who I feel the most sympathy for between them." He turned to Diana with a small smile, "I'm sure you will be doing a lot of the heavy lifting in our fight together, but I hope I can be useful."

Diana gave him a wide grin before wrapping one arm around his shoulders beside him, "If you put your all in the coming battle, you are doing more than enough, my friend!" She shook him softly from side to side, "We will put that strong tail to use."

Ojiro nodded as he turned to the side with a smile on his face and running his hand through the side of his blonde hair, "Um, thanks! I'll do what I can, then."

With twelve teams and twenty-three students ready to figure out which teams they were on, two boxes on carts were pulled next to the pro hero. One was black with white texted that read, "Villains" in English. The other box was white with black text, which read, "Hero" in English.

The hero's voice boomed, "Now, let's see who our heroes and villains are, then!"

He swiftly pushed his hands into the holes on the top of the boxes, pulling out two large balls which matched the color scheme of their respective boxes. The black ball had a white 'F' on it and the white ball had a black 'B' on it.

"Team B will be the heroes and team F the villains!"

Those teams are… Diana glanced once at team B, "Midoriya and Uraraka," then once at team F, "Bakugo and Tenya…" She placed her face in her hand, "Midoriya, what have you done to forsake the Fates?"

The rest of the students were ordered to go a room so they could watch over the fight. They followed their instructions and gathered in a room which had plenty of monitors that looks state-of-the-art and seemed to have more clarity than one's eyes! All Might left the students in the room to give the two teams their final instructions but returned swiftly. For this training, the villains were given ample time to learn the building and make strategies towards the heroes while they waited outside. Through the cameras, it didn't take long for the villains to find the bomb they were meant to protect.

The heroes were waiting outside, talking amongst themselves. Both sides seemed to have one member with the exact opposite tones. Midoriya was stiff, a blatant nervous wreck. Bakugo was hunched in anger, staring down the doorway the two villains used to enter the room with the bomb. Uraraka and Tenya simply seemed like bystanders to their personal conflict between each other.

"Those two have history." Batman growled. It caused Diana to jump, same with Clark who was standing on the other side of him.

Clark nodded, turning to the screens, "According to Midoriya, Bakugo was a childhood friend turned bully. Though, Midoriya never told us about why he might have gotten this angry."

"Then you weren't listening to Bakugo." The Gothamite stated matter of fact like. "He wasn't just reacting as if he wasn't capable. He seemed to think Midoriya had been lying about something."

Clark shook his head, "Hold on, what are you suggesting here, Lane?"

"I'm saying," the boy whispered, turning to the screen as the battle commenced, "I'm certain that Midoriya was somehow given a quirk recently."

Clark scrunched his brow, obviously confused by such a statement. Diana, however, knew that Michael was right. She thought back to when they first met, he was scolded for being quirkless and trying to intervene in a villain's wrongdoings while she was being scolded for using a sword against him and potentially killing the villain. Even at the beach the second time they met, Izuku confirmed that he didn't have a quirk and was still pushing to become a hero. That wasn't what was bothering her, however.

"Why are you bringing this up with us?" She inquired, turning her head to the screen and watching Bakugo march down the hall away from the bomb room as Tenya yelled back at him.

Batman responded, "You two are his friends, I was curious about what you knew."

"Is that the only reason?"

He didn't respond. Diana chuckled a bit to herself before turning back to the screen and watching as the two childhood friends finally met up.

Uraraka slipped by, Bakugo not even trying to stop her from proceeding. There was a much more important battle between them. Although the class couldn't hear what they were saying, it was clear there was a lot of tension in the hallway they stopped in. It wasn't long until that tension turned to action, prompting the two to launch forward and engage in battle. Meanwhile, Uraraka had found her way into the bomb room and meeting Tenya who had adopted a much more menacing stance than he usually did.

Tenya was taking the role a bit too dramatically.

When Bakugo initiated on their end of the fight, he rushed forward. Despite how nervous Izuku seemed, he was able to counter the first move successfully. As Bakugo went to throw the first strike with his right hand Izuku rushed forward in a swift dash, grabbing hold of his striking arm and jumping upwards to catch his head with his legs. Bakugo was brought down and Izuku pivoted him into the ground using his left elbow, effectively slamming the blonde into the ground by his head.

Diana recognized that move. While the rest of the peers were awing at the movement, she turned to Batman, nudging him with her elbow, "Looks like he's taking your moves."

The boy with the cowl cocked his head to the side, "The movement was similar, but he isn't a practiced fighter."

"Oh? And that isn't jealousy speaking?" She teased.

He beckoned to the screen and when Diana looked back, Bakugo was already back on his feet and rushing towards Izuku again. Luckily, the green-haired boy was able to roll to the side before the explosion went off where he once sat.

The former vigilante finally responded, "If that move is done right, especially on concrete, anyone without an endurance enhancing quirk should be out of commission or dazed enough to deliver the final blow." Batman let his arms fall under his cape, "He's good at thinking on his feet, but he doesn't have any experience putting it into action, yet."

She laughed a little, turning back to the screen as her friends continued their training, "Don't worry, I still think you're the better fighter."

"Is that sarcasm?"

She didn't answer, mainly due to the fact that Bakugo released an explosion from his palm that burst through one of the walls of the building. Izuku was able to dodge it, but only by the narrowest of margins. Aizawa marched over to the microphone to the arena, slamming his hand down.

"Both of you, be more careful about your surroundings! If the building takes too much infrastructural damage, both teams will be disqualified."

Bakugo yelled into the air on-screen, which was barely audible from inside the control room. The two continued their fighting, meanwhile Uraraka struggled to get past Tenya's safeguarding of the bomb. It was a very unfortunate situation for her, as Tenya had the speed to counter nearly everything she could pull. He was even able to jump into the air just high enough to bring her back down when she tried to jump over him after relieving herself of her own gravity towards the Earth. Without some major action, it wasn't likely that Izuku and Midoriya was going to win.

Major action there was, Midoriya had seemed to form a plan before the training commenced. When the two gained some distance from each other, they both rushed forward. It was obvious Bakugo was going for another powerful explosion like he was warned not to, but Midoriya followed through with a blow of his own! He activated his quirk, though unlike the Quirk Apprehension Test he used his entire arm rather than simply using his index finger. He threw his strike upwards, the combination of both of their attacks created a hole all the way through the building and creating a gap between Tenya, Uraraka, and the bomb!

Uraraka used that chance to hit the debris around her with a pillar and launching it all towards Tenya and dazing him. This gave her the perfect chance to send herself towards the bomb and sieze the victory!

Both teams eventually came back to the monitor room, except for Izuku due to the injuries he received which sent him to the nurse's office instead. Iida was given the title of the MVP during the match by All Might whom prompted the students to try and answer why, which Momo Yaoyorozu gave an extensive response to. "Both Midoriya and Bakugo used moves in their fights that were too over the top for indoor battles, as All Might explained before and Uraraka used a strategy that only worked because of the fact the fight was training and the environment was made of papier-mâché in large part which would be incredibly dangerous if done in practice. Iida simply was the only person who stayed the truest to the training and adapted to the situation as it unfolded."

Michael crossed his arms with a grunt, which got All Might's attention. The Pro Hero cleared his throat, "Young Lane, do you have something to add?"

"I just disagree with Uraraka's pillar move being too dangerous. It was a strategy which would daze a more powerful opponent and incapacitate most other criminals in the field."

Momo frowned, crossing her arms and turning to face him herself, "That kind of attack using real stone debris would break bones at the least and cause internal bleeding at most, Lane! You can't be saying that's acceptable for a hero."

"Yaoyorozu is correct," All Might explained, "That amount of brutality-."

"Is what it takes to neutralize the enemy the quickest without killing them. If they were real criminals, they would seem to have no problem killing millions of people judging by the size of that nuclear warhead." He lowered his head into a glare towards both, "Do you really think we have time for formalities with that many lives at stake?"

"It isn't simply formalities, Batman. By law, that level of brutality is prohibited." Momo explained. "Disregarding it would place you in the same place as vigilantes."

All Might stepped between the two students, stopping the argument there, "This is a great discussion for when we discuss the laws of Pro Heroes, but for now we still have many groups to send through training, so let us focus on that, shall we?"

The pro hero didn't give either student time to reply before he pulled out two more balls for the next set of combatants.

Clark Kent

Three other groups went before the Kryptonian was up to the plate. He was picked out of the 'villains' box and it was just his luck that he was pitted against Team K as the heroes, which just so happened to be Michael and Toru. It wasn't the fact that he was fighting them he had a problem with. It was what Toru was wearing.

Or, better put, what she wasn't wearing.

She was standing around in nothing but shoes and gloves during the entire time and no one else was saying anything about it! As much as Clark hated to admit it, it took a lot out of him to not look when she was in line of sight. It made him feel gross that he was struggling so much to not look at her when even Mineta seemed completely disinterested in her! His solution was to simply be turned away from her during the training, and he had been doing that since everyone had put on their hero costumes. But now, there was no doubt that it was going to be unavoidable to have to face her like that.

The three of them were currently standing outside of the building while they were instructed by All Might. Clark was to find the room and prepare for the heroes to arrive before they searched for him and the bomb. Easy enough.

He turned to his opponents, holding out a hand to Michael first. "May the best man win, right?"

"We'll see about that, Smallville." The Gothamite didn't shake the hand.

Fortunately, though mostly unfortunately, in his place Toru shook his hand, a large smile forming on her pale face, "Good luck in there, Kent! You're gonna need it."

Clark averted his eyes, scratching the back of his head while his face became notably red, "U-um, yeah. I probably will." He turned to the entrance, rushing in, "Best hop to it, then!" He remarked with a laugh that was involuntarily nervous.

As he floated towards the room, he took a deep breath as he tried to calm down. He had to focus; he couldn't let anything distract him lest Batman get the drop on him by sneaking inside and reaching the bomb without him noticing. Somehow, he was able to get by him without being noticed, even with Clark's enhanced hearing and this would be no different. In fact, he knew it would be even more difficult for him to locate Batman now that this was going to be an active fight! Plus, now he had his hero gear to help him even further.

He finally reached the bomb room, checking every wall and even the ceiling for ways Lane could enter from. It was a corner room, so windows were lined on two walls facing the outside. There were also ventilation shafts above him which were wide enough to fit a person. Lastly, there was the door to the room itself from the hall. Knowing all the possible entrances to the room, he began to get to work.

Clark hovered to pillars closest to the windows, striking them so that the fragile materials created dust and rocks that would scrape the ground and alert Clark if Batman decided to enter through them. Then, he moved on to the ventilation, removing panels and punching the vents slightly out of place so that if he decided to move in them, he would fall right through and into the Kryptonian's line of sight. He moved on to the wall that separated him from the next room. He struck the wall before moving forward and eventually destroying the entire wall so that the next room was entirely visible.

Feeling confident that the rest of the paths Batman could potentially move through were taken care of, all he needed to do was watch the hall and take them down as they moved in!

The siren sounded and the training commenced. For a few seconds, nothing seemed to happen. However, the pitter patter of feet soon became audible.

It was definitely Hagakure, but Clark dreaded to find out why her footsteps sounded less shoe-like. It took around a minute before she popped her head through the doorframe. Her long, brown hair fell off her bare shoulder before she grinned and began tiptoeing along the side of the room.

Clark sighed, not able to face her, "Is this some sort of joke, Hagakure?"

She stopped dead in her tracks, the grin no longer on her face.

"Why are you naked?" Clark groaned.

"H-hey! Don't ask me that so casually, I can't help it!" She shouted, her face now becoming slightly pink as well. "It's the only thing I can do with my quirk!"

"What kind of quirk makes it so you can't wear clothes?!"

"What do you mean by that?" She slammed her foot on the ground, gesturing toward her body, "Just look at me, I'm completely invisible!"

Clark began laughing. It was definitely a joke, "What are you talking about?" He waved towards her, still avoiding eye contact, "You're not invisible! You're right there!"

"What are you-?" Her eyes widened, "Are you saying my invisibility quirk doesn't work on you?"

"Are you activating it now?"

"It doesn't activate." She paused before stepping back and her face changing to one of shock, "You can see me."

She looked down slowly before covering herself up with her arms and shrieking. She ran out of the room the same way she came in, tears trailing down her face, "You saw everything!"

The Kryptonian didn't blame her. Though, now he felt really dirty and the silence was now terribly awkward.

Silence?

Clark remembered where he was, that there was another person to look out for! He turned around, scanning the room with his x-ray vision. Nothing in the room, so he turned to look up. Nothing in the vents, so he scanned the outside walls. Nothing outside, so it seemed like he was clear in all directions.

"Wait a minute." Clark came to a horrific realization. "I forgot down!"

He jerked his head down, looking to the floor below and finding Batman staring up with a smirk on his face and a small item in his hand.

"Surprise, Smallville." That was the last thing he heard before the item in his hand exploded!

The explosion rang in his ears and burned his eyes! It felt like such a repulsing attack to his senses that he was immediately sent to the ground in pain. He had never had a headache that ever reached this level of pain, all he wanted to do was slam his head into the ground and make it stop! He was so caught up in the pain gouging his senses that he almost didn't notice his leg being grabbed.

He was pulled before being struck in the face. This didn't hurt, but the next delayed strike did. This strike was different, this one sent a shock through his body and made his muscles contract at once! He was struck again, which finally made him realize how his sense of touch was being put through the wringer. He was being electrocuted.

It wasn't nearly as painful as what the flash did, but it still stung. After a few more strikes to the stomach, and a final blow to the head, his vision and hearing began to clear up. Above him stood the other American with two yellow devices on his fists that seemed to double as a pair of tasers and knuckledusters.

"Stay down." He commanded.

Clark didn't listen. He threw a strike at the boy, sending him flying towards the wall just hard enough that he was able to bounce off of it. The Kryptonian wasn't finished with him, yet! The alien dashed forward, crashing into Batman and flying him through the wall and into the next room. The caped student slid across the ground managing to roll back on his feet, though he was seething through clenched teeth.

"What was that?" The alien demanded.

"I told you before that I would teach you the downside of enhanced hearing." He growled, rising from his hunch and into a fighting stance, "I included the lesson on enhanced vision, free of charge."

Clark was fuming now. "Guess you've got me all figured out, huh?"

"Not yet, but at least you've confirmed two of my suspicions."

"Oh, and what are those?"

"You definitely aren't human."

Clark rushed forward, grabbing the boy by the throat slamming him into the opposite wall. He reeled a fist back, narrowing his gaze on the boy, "What was that second suspicion?"

The alarm was sounded that the match was over. All Might came on over the speakers.

"The heroes take this round! Come on back so we can evaluate you all!"

Clark dropped Lane, the boy landing on his feet and rubbing his throat with a cough. When he regained his composure, he looked up towards the bomb room. Clark turned around, Toru standing while covering her chest and giving a thumb up to her teammate. The alien turned back to Michael.

"You confirmed that you'd hand us the win."

"I was lying about the human part, by the way." Clark continued to glare at the Gothamite despite him retracting his previous statement. The student began marching out of the room, turning back before he left the room entirely. "You and Midoriya both need to work on your poker faces."

Batman left the room one step closer to knowing more about Clark than he was comfortable with.

Batman

There was four notable things that happened after his fight with Clark. The first thing was that he was finally able to see some of Shoto Todoroki's abilities in action which were remarkable to say the least; he had extensive control over his ice powers which was exemplified by his ability to only freeze the ground, the nuke and the feet of his opponent. The second thing was that Diana Prince was able to break free of that same ice and when presented with a furthered fight between her and Todoroki, she smashed through the ice blockades he made with ease. The third thing was that Bruce's body ached.

He didn't expect Clark to have such strong reactions to being accused of not being human. The original plan was to have him laugh off such a ridiculous accusation and for Bruce to continue to rattle off the reasons why such a suspicion would be. It would be explained by having a quirk that simply enhanced his senses to an unnatural degree and having flight being the secondary quirk. That was what he had written on his quirk registration card he turned into the city hall when he transferred to Japan and U.A., after all. That would simply be a distraction for Hagakure to sneak by while Clark laughed off such wild accusations, whom he never would have thought to return his attention to after she discovered he could see her bare body.

That changed a lot of the approaches and hypotheses Bruce had on the other boy and now his line of questions would hinge on a single question that would need to be answered first: What is Clark Kent?

This question would need to be answered at a later date, as there was one more thing that needed to be dealt with. The fourth notable thing that happened, Eraserhead was called out of the room during some of the last few rounds of training by the police chief, Kenji Tsuragamae, whose head resembled that of a dog. When he returned, Aizawa pulled Bruce to the side and asked him to meet him after school in the costume at the outside of the school gate.

The only thing that Batman could tell about that kind of request was that there was no way it was good.

When the final bell rang, Bruce was out of his seat and out of the door instantaneously. He rushed towards the top of the school, eventually reaching the door to the school roof. It was locked via a panel next to the door which was encrypted using WayneTech servers. Having a PDA with the master key to bypass one's own security had its privileges. In one swift movement, Bruce opened activated the bypass and swung the door open.

As he marched towards the center of the roof, a section of the roof began to rise with a showcase of the Batsuit. It didn't take long for him to slip on the costume and place his school clothes in the display case. The case descended back into the rooftop concrete, sealing and blending back into the construction of the building as if it never existed. With the suit prepped, he began to march towards the front of the school, propping his foot on the railing and looking down to figure out where Aizawa was waiting. It while he was scanning for Aizawa that someone else seemed to make eye contact with him.

The individual began to rise from the ground, soaring upwards until he was even above the disguised billionaire. "We're talking." The Kansas boy demanded.

"Some other time, Smallville. I'm busy."

"You can brood in your hero outfit while we talk."

Batman ignored the boy, "I was told to meet with Eraserhead in costume. Something came up."

"'Something came up,' huh?" Clark echoed, crossing his arms, "Then I'm going with you so we can talk in private right after."

"That's up to Aizawa if you come with us." Batman explained before pushing himself up on the railing, both feet now balancing his entire weight on it, "Unless you're afraid to break the rules like everyone else."

Clark scoffed, "I'm not doing it to be rebellious. You know why this is important."

"I'm not rebellious for the sake of rebelling."

"Hey, I believe you."

"Your sarcasm isn't lost on me."

Bruce spotted the teacher strolling towards the front entrance where a black car was parked. So, the ex-vigilante leaned forward, letting gravity pull him closer to the Earth and letting it build up his momentum. When enough speed had been achieved, Batman took hold of the cape and it began to remember it's shape. With the shape of the memory fiber spread wide he slowly reeled back, gaining more horizontal speed as he lost vertical speed.

At his side, Clark followed him in his descent with his hand on his chin. "Wait, so you can't fly? Not even if you flap?"

Bruce grunted in annoyance. The other American shrugged. After a few more seconds of descent, the billionaire reeled back once more so he was almost vertical. He rose slightly, but his horizontal speed stopped almost entirely before he dropped the cape and let himself land in a crouch in order to minimize any potential damage that could be done. Though, this still hurt from the injuries he'd sustained from hero training.

He rose from the ground, turning around to meet Aizawa face to face, who sighed before shaking his head, "Why can't you ever arrive like a normal person?" He looked up at Clark, "Using your quirk without a license is prohibited, Kent."

"Sir, I want to come with you."

"Absolutely not."

Clark landed on the ground, "Sorry, sir, it's just that Lane and I had plans after school today. This kind of messes with that."

The police chief stepped out of the car before waving to Kent, "Hey, kid! Long time no see. Unfortunately, this is police business and strictly confidential."

Batman turned to the dog-headed man, crossing his arms, "Tsuragamae. It wouldn't have anything to do with a crime scene at Snipe's apartment, would it?"

Kenji's brow scrunched as he lowered his head, "I'm going to skip the part where I ask you how you knew about it, woof. From what Aizawa told me about you I don't think I'm going to like the answer." He beckoned towards the other American, "You know this much now, kid. If you're still adamant about having your play date with Lane that's your call. I'll warn you now, though, this scene gave some of the veterans on the force something to puke over."

"Hold on, Tsuragamae!" Aizawa stepped towards the chief, "You can't be serious about that."

"That boy's trying to be a hero, isn't he?" The chief explained as he took a step back into the car, "Every hero learns at some point or another that it ain't always pretty. Besides, he already knows the long and short of it now. The decision is still his."

The teacher gave up trying to argue, and the four of them climbed into the car.