Happy Friday the 13th. Have a chapter early.
Bruce felt consciousness return to him in slow waves. He blearily opened his eyes and knew something wasn't right. He couldn't feel the velvet texture of his bed and was positioned in a sort of seated way. He observed his surroundings and saw he was in a darkened room lit by a single hanging light bulb. Crates of varying sizes were stacked around him. Must be in a place of storage. Some kind of warehouse? Bruce tried to stand but found his hands bonded with rope around a pole behind him. Great he noticed his school briefcase and gym bag were nowhere to be seen.
Then the old door in front of him opened, and Bruce was briefly blinded by the sudden outpour of light. Soon his eyes adjusted, and he could see his captors. He immediately recognized the two on the sides. The one he kicked in the face was rather tall and had spiky brown hair. He wore a hoodie and jeans. The one he kicked into a wall was a bit shorter and had dark blue hair. He had on a simple T-shirt and shorts. In the middle was who Bruce assumed had knocked him out. She was shorter than the guys, but he could tell she was the leader. She wore a dark beanie over her long orange hair, had on a tank top and jean shorts, and was glaring down at him.
"Well, looks like our guest has woken up." Bruce remained impassive. "Can I help you three in any way?"
"Yeah, you're going to help us get back at that bastard Aizawa!" the brunette exclaimed. The boy turned his glance towards him. "And why would I do that?"
The girl spoke, "You're obviously not going to be willing. But what better way to hurt Aizawa than to hurt his secret lovechild."
Bruce was about to retort when he registered what she just said. He stared in bewilderment at the trio.
"Secret...lovechild?!"
Aizawa was awakened by his ringtone. He groggily reached over and looked to see an unfamiliar number on the screen. He grumbled a bit but answered. "Hello?"
"Aizawa-san, is Master Bruce-sama with you?"
Aizawa quirked an eyebrow. Wayne must have given his butler my number for safety. "No, he left our training session yesterday like normal."
"Oh, God." The pro hero could hear the panic seeping into Alfred's usually calm voice.
"Pennyworth, what's wrong?"
"Aizawa-san, Master Bruce-sama never came home."
Eraserhead immediately sat up. He was wide awake now. "Are you sure?"
"I woke up this morning and couldn't find him anywhere. I checked his room, and his bed wasn't slept in last night. I can't reach his phone either."
Aizawa threw off the blankets and began pulling on his hero costume. "Pennyworth, call the police now. I'll be there as soon as I can."
Aizawa sped as fast as he could. Alfred had let him in through the front gate and had said the fence in front of the manor would be open. He quickly parked his car and hurried to the door. He rang the doorbell and within a few seconds, the butler answered. "Aizawa-san, thank you so much for coming. Please come in."
The hero was led down the same hall from when he first came to the mansion. "The police left a while ago," Alfred explained, "They're searching around the area he would have last been. Don't worry, he didn't tell anyone where your gym is. There's a hero here who claims to be familiar with you." The two reached the living room, and Aizawa's eyes immediately registered the blonde hair styled in its usual ridiculous style.
"Yo, Eraserhead! Good you could make it!" Present Mic exclaimed as he put down his teacup. Aizawa grunted in response and plopped down next to his former classmate while Alfred sat across from them. "Pennyworth said it would be more appropriate for you to explain what's going on."
"For the last three months, I've been training Bruce Wayne, a third-year middle schooler," said Aizawa. "He has great potential in his physical capabilities and intelligence. But he is Quirkless."
Present Mic or Yamada Hizashi looked at his friend, stunned. "You're training Bruce Wayne, the youngest billionaire on the planet, and he's Quirkless? How did he get your attention?" Hizashi knew how ridiculously high Aizawa's standards were and knew how little Aizawa cared for material, so money was out of the question. This kid must have done something very impressive to convince Eraserhead he had potential.
"He was the kid from the bandaged villain incident." Yamada stared in shock. "Wow," was all he could say.
Aizawa quickly moved on to what mattered. "Pennyworth, can you tell us any places Wayne would go on his own?" The butler shook his head, worry etched into his face. "Master Bruce-sama...doesn't get out much. He really has nowhere I would expect him to go, especially so late at night."
"YOU'VE RECEIVED A NOTIFICATION," a robotic female voice chimed. The three men were startled a bit, and Alfred pulled out his phone. His eyes widened, and he flipped the device for the pro heroes to see. "Aizawa-san, Present Mic-san! Look!"
On the screen, a locating app was opened and a message read, "Master Bruce-sama has sent his location." The pros glanced at each other and nodded in unison. "Pennyworth, call the police and relay this new information. Present Mic and I will head there now."
"Wait."
Aizawa paused and turned to the butler. He had an expression of concern and restrained anxiety. "I'm counting on you to bring Master Bruce-sama back. And please make sure to look out for your own well-being." The hero was not expecting the worry the man showed for him. "Thank you, I will."
Wayne, please be safe.
*30 minutes early*
"What are you talking about? Aizawa-sensei isn't even old enough to be my dad. He's like 29?" Bruce said as he did the math.
"Yeah right. Aizawa isn't the type to just randomly spend time with some kid. We've been watching your interactions. Jogging in the park, trips to the forest trails, and ice cream treats afterward. You know what that tells us?" the girl questioned.
"That you guys have nothing better to do than to stalk a teacher and his student?" Bruce responded. The kick was fast and threw his head to the side. He didn't lose his composure though and returned to staring at his captors.
"Ren, take it easy. He's just a kid," the blue-haired boy said as he tried to calm down his friend.
"Shut it, Taiga! Little shit deserved it! He's too cheeky for his own good," the boy with spiky brown hair snapped.
Taiga glanced away uncertainly. "Yeah, but still...to get to Aizawa-san by hurting his son..."
"What do you have against Aizawa-sensei?" Bruce calmly asked. The trio returned their attention to him, and Ren answered. "Your bastard of a dad got us expelled from U.A. on our first day. Because of him, our chances of being heroes were thrown out the window, and he didn't even care. So we're just going to show him the consequences of his actions."
Bruce was silent for a moment while he processed the information before he said, "How stupid." The three older teens weren't expecting such a response and were taken aback a bit. "If you're angry about failing to become heroes, you have only yourselves to blame. Aizawa-sensei is a man of high, but reasonable expectations. If he deems that you have no potential, then his decision is valid." He raised his eyes to send an icy glare that sent faint chills through the teens. "Your actions now are proof that none of you were meant to be heroes."
"You little brat!" the brunette shouted as he grabbed Bruce's uniform collar and raised his fist. The boy's face remained indifferent. Taiga was looking off to the side in shame while Ren's eyes narrowed with silent rage. He looked into the eyes of the brunette. "Go ahead. Show just how unheroic you can be." The teen growled, and his fist shook.
"Akira, enough. Leave him for now. He'll get what's coming later," Ren ordered, and she walked towards the door. The boy snarled but roughly released Bruce. "You're lucky punk," he hissed, and he stormed out. Taiga followed close behind. He glanced at Bruce briefly before gently shutting the door, darkening the room again.
The boy sighed and then pulled his left hand out of its restraints. The ropes fell loosely from his other hand. He rose to his feet and casually popped his fingers back in place as he walked to the door. He tested the handle, and it turned a little, then stopped. "Locked, of course. There has to be a way out," he reasoned with himself. I also need to find my phone. Any short message could help. Bruce paused and allowed silence to fill the room. He focused on a faint sound of air moving through an opening. He directed his gaze to a small stack of crates. He easily moved them aside and found a vent. Just big enough for me to go through. He tested the cover and found it was loose, but the screws were still tight enough that he couldn't remove them by hand.
Bruce reached into his pocket and found that the teens had not taken the pen he had there. Not taking all the hostage's belongings isn't the smartest thing to do. He unscrewed the tip of the pen and removed the ink chamber. Placing the end in his mouth, Bruce gnawed on the plastic until it had flattened. He placed his makeshift screwdriver in place and began working. Alright, one down, he thought as he caught the screw. Now for- Bruce quickly looked at the door as footsteps approached. Crap.
Taiga unlocked the door. He didn't want to betray his friends, but he knew what they were doing was wrong. While he was upset at Aizawa-san, that didn't give him the right to hurt his son. Plus the kid was innocent of any wrongs.
He slowly peeked in. "Psst, kid." He gasped when he saw the empty ropes still around the pole, and his disbelief grew when he saw the cover of the vent hanging by a screw, "H-how did he escape? There's no way he could get out so easily," Taiga said as he walked in. There was suddenly something hitting his back, and he was on the floor. Before he could react, a fist drove his head into the ground, efficiently knocking him out. Unbeknownst to him, Bruce had never entered the vent and had instead hid above the doorframe. The moment Taiga stepped in, the boy launched himself down and planted his feet on the teen's shoulder blades before punching his lights out.
Bruce looked to the side and saw his school briefcase in the teen's hand. His angry glare softened a bit. "So you were planning to help me. I'll put in a good word for you after this." He reached in and pulled out his phone. Several texts and missed calls from Alfred and some from Aizawa-sensei near the end. As he unlocked his device, he heard more footsteps and the other boy, Akira, call out, "Taiga, what was that sound?" No time for a call. Next best thing. He quickly selected his locating app and pressed the option to send his location to his primary contact. "Your location has been sent," the message read.
"What the-!?" Bruce turned and immediately threw his phone directly as Akira's face. The older teen knocked it away, however that distracted him long enough for Bruce to deliver a kick to his stomach. As he instinctively cradled himself, he received a hard punch that flung him out of Bruce's way. The boy quickly took off down the hall and found himself in wide open space. So it is a warehouse. The girl, Ren, spotted him, and he eyes widened. "How did-?" She looked behind him, and the boy dodged a hit from Akira. He grabbed the teen's arm then spun and threw him into a stack of crates that collapsed on him. Akira didn't move.
Bruce returned his glare to Ren. The teen appeared nervous and took a step back. He slowly walked towards her. "What's wrong? You had no problem kicking me when I couldn't fight back. Now you don't want to try again?" The final step he took when he was a few feet from her echoed ominously through the building. "How about proving that Aizawa-sensei was wrong about you having no potential?"
Aizawa drove in tense silence, his hands gripping the wheel harder than usual. No one knows what Wayne currently looks like. The public believes he's isolated himself in his mansion for the past six years. The security at the manor is top-notch high tech that requires the most expensive equipment and genius mind to break. There's no way anyone has found his true identity. Aizawa's grasp tightened. This has nothing to do with him being Bruce Wayne. I'm certain it has something to do with his relation with me. He was an underground hero, so his face wasn't as plastered on merchandise like certain heroes, but he was still a hero and had made his fair share of enemies. One of them could have seen the two of them together and decided it would be easier to target the kid instead of him. "Cowardly bastard," Aizawa growled.
When he reached his destination, an old abandoned warehouse, he saw several police vehicles surrounding the entrance. He quickly got out of his care and could hear Yamada do the same.
"What's the situation?" Naomasa Tsukauchi turned to regard the heroes. "Eraserhead. Present Mic. Glad you're here. We arrived at the location five minutes ago. But all we know is-" The detective was cut off by a body crashing through a boarded up front window. "...there was a struggle going on."
*5 minutes early*
Bruce rushed at Ren with speed that surprised her. She immediately tried to grab his neck, but her hands were caught at the wrists. The girl felt the air rush out her lungs when he pulled her down to ram his knee into her chest. When she straightened herself while coughing, Ren was greeted by a kick to her abdomen that sent her flying back. As she crashed through the wooden planks covering the window, Bruce turned to see Akira had regained consciousness and was getting to his feet. He sighed.
Aizawa stared at the girl who laid motionless on the ground. Her beanie had fallen off, allowing her orange hair to freely splay out. Something clicked in his head.
"She's one of my old students. One that I expelled."
"Eraserhead?" Present Mic looked over with concern and was taken aback by the absolute fury in his friend's eyes. "So, that's what all this is about."
The sounds of fighting continued in the building. An officer looked nervously at Tsukauchi. "Um sir, should we-" The entrance of the warehouse suddenly opened as a teen with spiky brown hair was thrown out. Aizawa instantly recognized him as another former student. Only now instead of his usual arrogant smirk or angry glare, there was genuine fright on his face. He caught sight of the police and stammered, "P-please...this guy is-!" He didn't finish as someone unseen grasped his leg and dragged him back inside. The sounds returned, but now they were more of that of a beatdown.
The officer looked panicked. "Sir, we should intervene!"
"No." Eyes were on Aizawa. "Allow this to play out," he nonchalantly said. A few seconds after his statement, the brunette burst through the double doors with such force, the metal constructions bounced off the brick wall and semi-closed. The teen landed on his back and didn't move. It was obvious he had been thrown.
One door gingerly creaked open, drawing everyone's attention. A face cautiously peeked around it, and then the boy fully stepped out from behind it. "A kid?" one officer murmured in confusion. It was understandable. Bruce's height wasn't impressive, and his middle school uniform hid the muscles he had built up. The boy's eyes lit up in the slightest bit when he spotted Eraserhead.
"Aizawa-sensei!" He ran towards his teacher who went to meet him halfway. "Sensei, I-" he was stopped by Aizawa kneeling a bit and examining the cheek Ren had kicked. Bruising had already set in. "Wayne, did they hurt you anywhere else?" he asked as he began checking for more injuries by tugging Bruce's sleeves up. "No, Aizawa-sensei. I'm fine, really," he assured the hero.
They both heard someone clearing his throat. Tsukauchi rubbed the back of his neck. "So...mind telling us what happened here, kid?" he asked awkwardly.
All three ex-students were arrested and charged with abduction and false imprisonment. One boy, Taiga, was given a lesser punishment since Bruce vouched he was unwilling to cause him harm and intended on assisting his escape. Ren and Akira had to go to a hospital to be treated for heavy bruising on the stomach and face respectively.
Bruce was given his belongings and, after answering some questions, was taken home by Aizawa to a relieved Alfred.
Bruce panted during the brief pause in their sparring match, which was happening a few minutes after he had finished his 50 one-armed pushups with extra weights placed on his back. It's been about seven months since the abduction. Ever since then Aizawa-sensei had been walking him to the train station, and Alfred would be waiting at his stop. Aizawa had also increased the training's intensity.
"You have a hostage situation. There's no talking down the villain. What do you do?" he asked while charging his student. Bruce grunted when he blocked a kick. "Option 1: if the villain doesn't know I'm present, it would be best to use stealth to get behind them." He dodged a punch and threw one that grazed the hero's cheek. "Then render them harmless either through knocking them out or restraining them. Option 2," he grunted when a kick connected with his side but remained standing up, "If the villain knows I'm present, create a diversion that will draw their attention long enough for me or another hero to incapacitate them." Aizawa grinned. "Good answer. Next, you're dealing with a villain who had a speed Quirk. How do you stop them?" he asked while aiming another kick at Bruce's head. The boy ducked with ease. "Option 1: I should-"
A wave of vertigo washed over him when he tried to straighten himself. Bruce collapsed onto his side. Aizawa looked at his student with concern. "Hey, do you need a break? We can stop for a while." The boy struggled to lift himself up and failed as he panted heavily.
Aizawa furrowed his brow. "Overexertion?" He glared at his downed student. "You haven't been following the schedule, have you?" He received no answer. "Overworking your body will have the opposite effect!" His tone was irritated. He was well aware that Bruce had a habit of pushing himself, but he was nearing his patience with him constantly hurting himself. "If you don't want to follow the plan we established then I think it is best to stop training altogether."
"Aizawa-sensei...I truly appreciate your hard work," Bruce rasped out. Eraserhead stared at him in confusion. "However, I have to work much, much harder than others...if I want to make up for what I lack. I'm not going to just be some everyday hero that gets lost in the crowd." With great effort, Bruce began lifting his head. "I'm not hungry for the spotlight, but I'm not going to let all our work add up to me just being another hero." His eyes reached Aizawa's and were filled with raw determination.
"I want to be the next No.1 hero!" he declared with resolution. Eraserhead looked on in shock. He's reaching for such an impossible goal...yet he's giving it his all to get to it. This Quirkless boy has such a desire to be a hero, he's willing to achieve the absolute preposterous. Aizawa sighed and hid his smile. "Alright, we'll keep training, but you need to stop exhausting yourself. Go home and get some sleep. Our final session is in a few weeks." He helped his pupil up to his feet and caught him when he swayed a bit. "Yes..thank you, Aizawa-sensei."
This was it. The morning of the U.A. entrance exam. Their final time to prepare.
Aizawa watched as Bruce entered the building. "Sensei, I'm ready. I'll make this my greatest effort." He watched as his student went to put on the compacted weights. "Wayne, leave those off. Just come to the mat." He got an expression of surprise, but he followed the request. "I want you to come at me with all you've got." This is like the first day. "Is that all, Aizawa-sensei?" he asked. "Yes, go for it."
Bruce nodded and got into a stance. Best course of action: get behind Sensei and subdue him instantly. And...now!
He had no idea what happened. One moment he was standing in front of his hero, the next he was on top of him while pinning his arms behind his back. Aizawa grinned up at him. "Well done, Wayne."
Bruce slowly stood up and helped his teacher to his feet. "Aizawa-sensei...what happened?"
"You managed to get behind me and before I knew it, I was pinned down." His student gawked at him in disbelief. "No way. You must have just let me." Aizawa shook his head. "It's true." It really was. The boy had moved with such speed that he was behind the hero in a near instant. "It's to be expected since the weights you've been using for the last month were 1500 kg each." Bruce looked at him with shock. "I increased the weight just enough so you would struggle but not to the point you'd notice a difference. Once you could move like before, I added more. That was to increase your stamina, strength, and base speed. And I have to say the results are pleasing."
Aizawa took out his phone and found the picture he had taken when Bruce arrived that first day. He showed it to him. "This is from..." He nodded. "This is how you were when we first met. Now you've really changed." I have to admit I didn't expect it to work to this extent. The Bruce in the picture was rather short and scrawny. The few muscles he did have from acrobatics did nothing to fill out his tank top.
In the present, Bruce had forsaken wearing one since it became uncomfortable when sweat-soaked, and that allowed his body to be shown fully. His shoulders had broadened, his arms were muscular, his chest and abs were well-defined, and his legs were ladened with the proper muscles for running long and leaping high. All that, and Bruce retained a slender figure meant for agility. Also, I think he's gotten taller, Aizawa thought as his student looked at him at the same eye level.
"I know you're ready for the exam. So get moving or you'll be late." Bruce broke from his stupor and bowed deeply. "Aizawa-sensei! Thank you! I won't disappoint you." He stood straight again then quizzically asked, "By the way Sensei, there isn't anything wrong with me bring...support equipment to the exam, right?"
Aizawa paused to think and answered, "Well as long as it doesn't give you an unfair advantage over the other examinees, it should be fine. Why?" Then he got something he really did not expect. Bruce smiled. It was small and barely noticeable, but it was still there. "It's nothing. I hope you'll be watching."
Bruce walked toward the entryway to U.A. along with all the other applicants. He took a moment to observe the large school. "I'm here. Ten months of training have led to this." As he moved forward, he noticed a familiar bush of green hair. "Midoriya?" The other boy was listening as a brunette girl talked before going up ahead. "Guess he's trying for U.A., too. I should-" He felt someone bump his shoulder, causing him to stumble a bit.
"Ah, I'm so sorry! I'm was so excited I just started running and didn't have time to slow down!" cried a voice. Bruce turned and could only stare.
It was a girl. Her beautiful jet-black hair reached past her shoulders, and her bangs parted in the middle to frame her face. Her light blue eyes were accented by the single lash at each corner. Her fair skin was free of blemishes and appeared soft to the touch. Bruce realized he hadn't said a word as the girl waited for a response.
"O-oh no. It's my fault. I was just standing still."
"No, really I'm sorry," the girl said. "But I'm still excited for the exam," she said as she beamed. Bruce didn't know why his face felt hot. "Well, good luck!" she called out as she waved and ran up to the entrance.
"Yeah...you too," Bruce murmured as he gave a weak wave in return. Despite what rumors there were about the mysterious billionaire being a playboy for the finest foreigners, he had never talked to a girl before. The isolation at school was a key reason. "She was...so nice even though I'm a stranger to her. Can people really be so kind to others?" he wondered aloud as he climbed up the stairs.
Bruce was unimpressed with Present Mic's presentation. He couldn't understand how Aizawa-sensei was friends with him.
"Some heroes are quite the...showmen, huh?"
Bruce glanced at the boy at his side. His short black hair was parted at the right with an ahoge standing at the place of separation. His eyebrows were thick and over large round eyes of a deep blue color.
"Yeah," he agreed.
Bruce stood before the mock city. He scanned the crowd he was in. He spotted the girl from earlier and the guy he had been seated next to. He took a deep breath.
This is it. No point in being nervous now. Besides, I can now see these in proper action. He adjusted the yellow belt with capsules. It really didn't fit with his black tracksuit.
The gates opened before them.
"AND...BEGIN!"
Now for the Preview!
The ten months have built up to this; U.A.'s Entrance Exam!
However, an unforeseen event leads to more changes than I would have expected.
Next time: Where I Begin
Heroes can't make it to the top alone.
Can anyone tell me who the new characters Bruce met at the end are? It's pretty obvious. DC sure loves the black hair and blue eyes combo, huh?
