Red and blue lights illuminate the night, police cruisers parked outside of The Iceberg Lounge. The radiant ice sculpture bounces the colored hues back, the warm and cold spectrum spinning like a giant disco ball. Plenty of heroes, underground and pro, are ready to attend the party. Mindjack and Lemillion join Commissioner Tsukauchi on the front lines, backed by a warrant and several other officers. Others are in attendance as well, Batman and feminine vigilante out of view ready to enter the club through the back entry. Tonight is the night that they bring down a major villain informant and mobster, The Penguin.
Well aware of the task force prepared to end his whole operation, Penguin's first move is to send out his enforcer in an attempt to stall them. Killer Croc, the Nomu blended with Trigger science project, comes barreling through the front entry's set of double doors. The reptilian behemoth lets loose a guttural roar, fangs bared. Bullets bounce off the hulkish lizard's scales when the cops fire off rounds, forcing one of the heroes to act.
Lemillion darts forwards, a small percentage of power giving him the boost needed to close the distance between himself and Killer Croc in record time. It's that same amount of output that finishes the fight before it can even begin, a single punch all it takes to knock down the quirk enhanced Shuichi Iguchi. The Nomu groans as it gets sprawled out. All Might's successor smiles in triumph before rallying the other heroes and law enforcement.
Lemillion ushers the group forward, leading the charge into the nightclub. Penguin's establishment is full of low tier goons who try fighting back, but the weak forces are quickly overpowered just like their trump card was. Soga Kugisaki ducks under Mindjack's capture scarf, having had combat experience against the weapon during the days of Eraserhead's career. But he too eventually goes down when Mindjack uses his quirk to make Kugisaki stop fighting.
However, his employees are a sacrifice that Penguin is willing to make. Using them as a distraction, Kagero Okuta tries sneaking out the back exit to escape. The coward makes a break for it through the alley. But he doesn't get very far. A bat shaped shuriken spins through the air, and pierces the place between his thigh and calf. Okuta squawks in pain as he trips and falls, clutching his injured leg. Penguin screams even louder when he sees Batman drop down to retrieve the bat-a-rang.
"You bloody bastard!", Okuta seethes through what teeth still remain in his mouth. "Do you have any idea who I am?! I'm the man who hired assassins to kill you, and nothing is stopping me from doing it again!", he tries crawling backwards with his one good leg while threatening the slow approaching vigilante in hopes that one of the two strategies will save him.
But all hope is truly lost for the criminal when Batman unveils a recording device from behind his cape. "Shall I take that as more of a confession to your crimes?", the vigilante can't help but smirk at the gawking expression that his outwitted opponent is making.
Okuta hangs his head in solemn defeat, all the fight he had left leaving his system as the last of his spirit is drained. "I want my damn lawyer..", his only hope is that he'll be able to still afford a good legal representative once his assets are cut off from him.
Batman pockets his recording device before going for a pair of handcuffs. Once he brandishes them from his utility belt, he crouches down to arrest The Penguin. He figures now is as good a time as any to deliver some type of final heroic line, "Your reign of power is finished, Okuta."
But he either jinxed the arrest or spoke too soon, because he's forced to dodge a knife before he can put the cuffs on Penguin. The blade slices through the air instead of his chest, at the very least. It passes by and stabs the alley wall instead, embedding itself in the brick. Batman spins around to face who threw it. He's expecting a mercenary or another hired help working for Okuta. What he finds instead is Himiko Toga.
He had thought the crazed blonde far surpassed the need for a weapon, having evolved, but old habits die hard supposedly. "Hiya Batsy! I like the new suit! It makes you look hot!", she flirtatiously taunts him from afar by fluttering her eyelashes and flicking up her short skirt. Same as ever, she wears something of a cross between a sailor's uniform and a schoolgirl's outfit.
Suddenly, Shiretoko drops down and joins Midoriya at his side. She unties the whip that's wrapped around her waist like a belt and snaps it. "Back off, bitch. He's mine!", the feminine vigilante gets into a fighting stance in order to defend her partner.
Toga feigns a pout. "Aww, come on!", her indigent whine loses its facade rather quickly when she begins to melt though. Pretty soon, she's morphed into a flowing liquid with no distinguishable shape or face. The living clay gurgles as it asks, "Can't you share?"
Shiretoko scrunches up her face in disgust at the leering slime, winding up her whip to lash out and keep it at bay. The strike causes the clay to splatter as the feline vigilante retorts, "Not when you look like that, I can't."
But Toga quickly recovers, the moving mud rushing head on like a massive fist. The crazed clay shouts at Shiretoko, "Rude!" But the vigilante performs a backwards flip to avoid the attack before it can manage to connect.
"So.. What's the plan to take her down?", Shiretoko lands beside Batman in a low crouch where she takes a brief moment to glance up at him from her poised position.
The two vigilantes split up to dodge another attack from Toga before reconjoining on a fire escape. Batman keeps his voice low as he answers Shiretoko, "She likes to talk. We'll use that against her."
"And then what?", the heroine shoots another look at her partner having expected more.
Batman ducks under a flying clay ax before responding, "Improvise.", and gliding down from the fire escape.
Toga trails behind the caped crusader as he sprints for a dumpster. When Batman leaps over the metal container, he slides across the top to reach the other side, and then attaches two silver circles. The shiny devices activate and launch the dumpster like ignition to a rocket. Toga's malleable form takes the hit easily, resulting in no lasting damage, but the maneuver does slow her down long enough for Batman to get out of her range.
Which also gives Shiretoko the time she needs to drop down from her perch and give a distraction of her own. She calls out to gain Toga's attention, "Hey, ugly!"
Toga twists her torso around akin to an exorcist, tentacles sprouting to reach out for her opponent. The additional appendages slam into the ground and snake after Shiretoko as she spins and somersaults to strafe the limbs, "Name calling?! Is that the best you can do, cat lady?!"
Batman throws a few of his bat-a-rangs in an attempt to help, but the uniquely shaped shurikens just harmlessly sink into Toga's clay body. He then does the next best thing and tries to verbally draw her focus away from Shiretoko, "What are you doing here, Toga?"
Toga raises a limb, spikes jutting out from the top of its spherical shape. Batman jumps back and dodges the attack as she answers, "Because you are, Batboy!"
The vigilante pauses to question her further, "You're targeting me?"
But Toga leaves no time for breathing room, maniacally laughing as her clay form spirals like a liquid tornado and launches pointed fragments from the vortex, "Something like that!"
Both Batman and Shiretoko are forced to take cover to avoid being turned into pin cushions. The spires stab into several sections of the alley, but the dynamic duo manage to get behind objects where they're able to remain unscathed.
"If you just wanted to get his attention, you should have tried wearing spandex or leather like me.", Shiretoko taunts Toga from her corner cover to keep the dialogue driven diversion going.
But all that accomplishes is another heavy hitting attack directed towards her. Toga forms a long tail that slings around and destroys a brick wall. The debris forces Shiretoko to run from her hiding spot and straight into a secondary strike, "I don't need your dating advice, kitty litter!"
The feline vigilante bounces twice across the alley before spreading like a starfish that's been washed ashore, "Kitty litter.. I've got to hand it to her. That was a good one." She groans in pain and breathes heavily from exhaustion as she takes a second to recuperate.
Taking Toga's focus off of his fallen comrade, Batman throws a handful of exploding capsules that detonate on impact. The clay burns at the corners of connectivity while trying to retain its shape, "Hey! That coulda hurt me!"
But Batman is too busy checking on Shiretoko's well-being to notice, "Are you okay?"
"Been better.", Shiretoko rotates her shoulder to work out the pain but nods nonetheless.
Batman reaches into a compartment of his utility belt, "Take these.", and places whatever he pulls out into his fellow vigilante's hand.
Shiretoko uncurls her fingers to see what he placed in her palm, surprised to see tiny blue pellets, "What are they? Pain pills? Vitamins?"
"Liquid nitrogen capsules.", Batman helps her stand while explaining the plan, "The pods may be able to freeze her movements long enough for us to take her down."
And she nods in agreement that the strategy can potentially work, "Not a bad idea. Okay, let's do it!"
The two separate to cover opposite sides of Toga, making the femme fatale choose who to target. The crazed clay goes for Shiretoko first, assuming she's still weakened. But the feline vigilante is quick on her feet, springing from the floor to a ledge and then over Toga.
"Splitting up already?! I thought you two were cute together!", Toga gurgles from her melted mouth as she tries to keep track of the dynamic duo's separation.
They reconvene almost in that same instance, each throwing their freezing pellets at the villainess. "Chill out, girl, nobody said anything about us breaking up.", Shiretoko quips as the clay begins to harden from the quick frosting residue.
"Seriously? An ice pun?", Batman looks at Shiretoko slightly disapprovingly.
But the feline vigilante isn't too apologetic, shrugging off the criticism. "I thought it was funny.", she doesn't consider Batman the expert on humor anyways.
"I did so too!", especially when others find the joke funny. Such as the symbol of hope himself, Lemillion. The number one hero arrives in a flourish of his red cape, shattering the ice statue of Toga's clay form. He grins over having arrived in the knick of time, but stops when he notices Shiretoko, "Wait, are you Batman's girlfriend?"
Before he can get an answer, Toga interrupts by reconnecting her separated fragments. "What does that make me then, huh? His whore?", she speaks with a venomous tone that gets everyone's guard back up.
Batman steps forward, drawing a bat-a-rang, "Save your questions for later. Toga is still active."
"Batman! Look!", but he gets stopped by Shiretoko grabbing his throwing arm. The vigilante listens, turning his attention upwards to see what it is that she's spotted. Watching from a distant rooftop, there's a small silhouette. Batman notices the shadow is around the height and size of Aiba as he had suspected.
"That must be our riddler!", Lemillion comes to the same conclusion of who the spectator may very well be when he notices the distant silhouette too.
"Go!", Shiretoko urges Batman to pursue the other villain while she and Lemillion deal with Toga, "We've got this!"
"Take the rest of the nitrogen pods.", but Batman takes a moment to spare the remainder of his icing pellets supply first. As well as pauses to fire a taser into Toga, the voltage disrupting the clay's composition. "This may also help.", he hands off the tool to Shiretoko once he's finished using it.
Shiretoko accepts the equipment gratefully before giving him a gentle nudge to leave, "Electricity and cold are her weaknesses. Got it. Now go already!"
The caped crusader listens, firing a grapple line and ascending into the night sky without another word. He does hear Lemillion speaking from behind him as he goes though, "Boy, is Batman lucky to have a gal like you!"
"Tell me about it.", as well as Shiretoko's response.
Batman shakes his head, focusing on the task at hand so that he doesn't become distracted. He doesn't take his eyes off the distant silhouette as it hops down from the roof it's on. Not wanting to lose sight of the shadow, he dives with his cape spread out in order to glide in. By the time he reaches the figure, they've made it to the streets. By the time he makes it to the streets, there's an opened manhole cover.
Not ready to give up the chase just yet, the vigilante follows the elusive enigma into the sewers. His boots slap the slush of the grates below before journeying deeper into the underground tunnels. Green sewage streams in the opposite direction, the current of the unfiltered water flow working against him. Fortunately, he knows he's heading in the right direction when he finds an equally green arrow spray painted on the tunnel wall.
The directional cues lead him through the labyrinth until he reaches a boiler room lit by heat lamps. The room temperature is as hot as the steam coming from several vents and pipes. A catwalk leads him down to where a television monitor displays signature question marks in a contrasting green glow.
"Welcome, Batman! I'm so glad you were able to keep up!", the squeaky voice he heard when confronting the riddle writer before echoes through the chamber.
Batman spins as he searches for where the voice came from, "Turn yourself in, Aiba. I've read your file. You're not too far gone. You're not like Toga."
A moment of silence passes where the vigilante thinks Aiba actually will turn herself in. "You think I'm Aiba? That's an interesting theory.", but he's instead still left with no name or face to the disembodied voice, "Sorry to burst your bubble, but you'll have to guess again."
Batman's eyes narrow as he searches for the elusive enigma, "Then tell me.. Who are you?"
"First.. Answer MY question..", the voice comes from the television's internal speakers this time, "What determines the gender of an alligator or a turtle?"
The TV's screen switches from its question themed screensaver to a split screen image of Killer Croc and Melissa Shield. Batman's eyes widen when he realizes Shield is locked in a furnace and Croc's feed is coming from his transport containment unit.
Assuming the two are being used as hostages somehow, Batman is left no choice but to answer the riddle he was given. He responds, "The heat of the egg."
"Correct! It's so good to find someone who is also knowledgeable about animal trivia!", the riddler's disembodied voice gleefully giggles.
Batman starts deconstructing the situation in his mind of how Shield and Iguchi were utilized. "You gained access to Croc through Okuta and knew I would find the thumbdrive with him, so you also installed a tracking device into the USB's contents.", he figures the whole thing was just a way to trace the signal back to him.
"Also correct! I had already deduced your identity, Mister Midoriya, but I wished to know if you had any colleagues that I could use against you.", but it turns out the riddler had intended to use Midoriya's cherished ones against him all along.
"What's your sick game this time?", Midoriya grits his teeth as he tries to keep his composure. Not only is Shield's life at risk because he had gotten her involved by asking her to decrypt the USB, but the riddler deduced his identity.
The riddler replies, "A simple one, really." Then starts to explain the purpose of the hostages, "The higher the heat rises in the furnace, the lower the calibration in Mister Iguchi's bomb transplant. However, the higher the heat in the furnace also means the more likely Miss Shield is to burn to her death." The television screen provides a helpful visual display of a device planted in Iguchi through surgery that connects to the temperature of the furnace Shield is in.
"If the heat drops in the furnace?", Batman looks around the boiler room until he spots what must be the same furnace that Shield is being kept in.
"I'm afraid Mister Iguchi will be the one to burst into flames in such a turnout.", the riddler giggles as they share the alternative.
Batman wracks his brain for a solution to cheat the system. In the meanwhile, he tries to stall for time by stating the obvious, "You're making me choose."
"Yes. I want to push you to your limits and break your mind. What will your code allow you to do and what won't it? Where do you draw the line?", the riddler maintains their same enthused tone as they excitedly elaborate their intentions.
Batman reaches for his belt compartment, but remembers that the nitrogen capsules were all used already. "Heroes are forced to make sacrifices in the line of duty all the time.", he tries to keep his frustration out of his tone as he checks his other belt pouches.
"But not you, Mister Midoriya.", the riddler quiets down as though they're getting serious, "I've been following your vigilante exploits for a while now. I must say, I'm a fan of your tragic orphaned past and motivation."
And it's then that Batman realizes how serious they are. How dire this situation truly is. "Don't do this..", he basically begs his enemy to not take it this far. Without his taser, he can't shortcircuit the system either. The boiler room is too far underground for any disrupting device to work. The trap is foolproof; the riddler has thought of everything.
"I'm afraid I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to by now! The temperature gauge is automatic and the bomb is disarmable!", and the riddler is merciless.
Realizing that he has to choose, Batman begins weighing his options. Shield is an innocent civilian as opposed to Iguchi's criminal record. He also ponders the moral dilemma of whether or not Iguchi is even human anymore after receiving a Nomu treatment. The decision seems simple to make, but he hesitates, not wanting to take anyone's life no matter what.
Batman places plastique on the furnace and uses his cape to protect himself from the blast that's bound to come. When the metal container is blown open, he fans the flames and steam, rushing forward to pull Shield out of the wreckage. She's drenched in sweat, blonde locks stuck to her face and clothes clinging to her body. Carefully, the vigilante picks her up and places her a distance from the extreme levels of heat.
"Melissa..", he places a gloved hand on her cheek that slides down to her neck so he can check for a pulse. He lets out a breath of relief to learn she's still alive. Though she's in poor shape.
"That was the choice that I was expecting.", the riddler reminds Batman to check the television screen so he can see the consequences of his decision. Croc's heart monitor triggered the explosive attachment, killing him.
Batman's body trembles with rage as he makes the promise, "I'll break every bone in your body."
The riddler sounds more amused than concerned by the threat, "I wonder if you actually will. Let's find out, shall we?", even going as far to remotely open a door in the lower sector of the boiler room.
Batman makes sure to set Shield safely on the catwalk higher out of reach before willingly walking into the next trap. He also leaves behind supplies for her such as a medkit to use when she wakes up. Only after ensuring she'll be alright to be left alone does he journey onward.
The caped crusader runs down a long corridor, intent on catching his opponent tonight. The stretch of hallways takes him into an abandoned subway station next. Old train cars are on the tracks and cobwebs litter the place. The tunnels there lead him to another sewer system. The underground maze runs through the entire city, taking him from one end to the other.
He eventually climbs out of a sewer grate and realizes he's been led to U.A. For a moment, he thinks he's been set up. However, no alarms or security detect his presence. Whoever the riddler is does indeed have access to the school's facilities. For a moment, he reconsiders the plausibility of Intelli as a suspect. But that theory gets disregarded when he comes across hired henchmen. He doubts Intelli would have bothered with getting goons.
The thugs go down easy, likely acquired in the slums. They're pawns to a gamemaker such as the riddler. Or rather, to let the vigilante know he's still on the right path. The trail takes him to the principal's office. It's there and then that he figures out who the culprit is.
The tea. The connections and ties to U.A. The intellect. The insight required to pull all of this off. The means of having the resources to do so. The voice. The size and stature. It all adds up.
The former principal of U.A, Nezu, sits at the desk with his paws folded. Batman tosses one of the goons he's beaten so that they land at the center of the office.
"Sorry to get blood on your carpet.", the dark knight stands in the doorway across from the white animal.
"I quite liked that carpet.", Nezu frowns while glancing over his desk at the unconscious thug and the blood that's sure to stain. Batman stomps forward as the animal hybrid carries on, "I've always liked this entire office." When the vigilante reaches Nezu, he grabs the rodent by his lime waistcoat and hoists him up face to face, "I like it so much that from the moment you entered, this office has been pumped with an odorless nerve gas."
Batman pauses, evaluating the creature's words. He hopes to call a bluff, "You wouldn't risk it affecting you as well."
"It's effective. I assure you.", but that hope is snuffed out just like his vision, "Only to humans though."
Batman falls over, joining the goon on the floor, also rendered unconscious.