Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia or Batman. If I did than Shonen Jump would stop putting Horikoshi on hiatus every other week and just let him finish the manga at his own pace already!
L: Back so soon already? Perhaps this account isn't as dead as we once expected.
Cedric: Don't get too excited Lawliet, every other story on this page is pretty much buried...including mine.
Skillet: Oh come off it Cedric I'll get back to yours sooner or later. Of course the other undead ones take priority since it's been like half a decade at this point.
Ikō: You're just jealous that the Joker being in this story means you're not the resident chaotic shitlord from the edgy 2010's culture anymore.
Cedric: At least I haven't been DEAD FOR 9 YEARS YOU 6 LEGGED TOSSER!
Chapter 5: Pretty Poison:
Night had once again fallen over Musutafu, and the cold wind of mid-September had come with it. As per usual many common thugs and gangs became active in the back alleys and busy streets of the city. However, the relatively high crime rate after dark had been on a slow and steady decrease over the past month as many feared a simple job would result in an encounter with the cloaked, aggressive vigilante stalking the city. Even for those who weren't afraid of the Batman, the increasing presence of heroes in the evening who'd been looking to catch the vigilante acted as effectively as the Bat signal in deterring criminals.
One such criminal who was deathly terrified of Batman was the high priest of the Creature Rejection Clan, Haruto Shigeru; better known to his followers and the media as Doctor Death. While he'd managed to break out of Arkham with help of his few remaining cultists not long into his stay, his humiliating defeat by a single hero had left him with deep seeded paranoia he would be hunted down and killed the second he stepped out of captivity. Not helping was how he and his men being beaten into submission by a vigilante and his very public surrender made the Creature Rejection Clan seem like even more of a relic than before, and their membership had dwindled to a mere 26 people across all of Japan.
This enraged Doctor Death, who both hated and feared Batman for quickening the downfall of his cult. But revenge would have to wait, as Doctor Death and his remaining followers would need money in order to fund their activities and claw their way back up to the organization's former strength. In order to better their financial situation, the small group had resorted to petty burglary in hopes of finding riches and valuables.
"Hey, watch the lamp, it might be worth something." A thug whispered to his partner under the cover of darkness, stuffing as many valuables as he could into a bag of loot.
"Leave it." Doctor Death curtly ordered the man carrying the lamp, while staring listlessly out the window at the cloudy night sky.
"But…Doctor, this looks pretty fancy. We could probably get some serious coin for this!"
"It's too big and too noticeable!" Doctor Death snapped and pointed to the bat shaped shadow on the clouds outside with a manic look in his eyes"Look! The Bat is out there! I'm not getting caught by that lunatic again, not now, not ever!"
"I thought you wanted to take out that mutant freak as much as the rest of us. It's his fault we're stuck doing this instead of cleansing the city like we're supposed to! Besides, even if he is running around he's probably more focused on not getting caught by the pros than starting shit with us."
"You don't know, idiot! You weren't there, the Bat doesn't play like that! He's ruthless and nuts! Once he's got your scent, he won't stop hunting you till you're nothing but a red smear on his hands! Now that he knows I'm out of Arkham, I know he'll be coming for me!" Doctor Death grabbed the thug by the shoulders and shook him violently as he ranted and raved, before shoving him to the ground "I'll get him and teach him what a real human can do one of these days, but we can't afford for him to find us here! So put that lamp back before I find out what my poison does when it goes into mouth'"
"Yes sir! Right away sir!"
The man stumbled away from Doctor Death while the other thug set the lamp down and started looting through other areas in the room. Shigeru let out a deep sigh of frustration before noticing something out the corner of his eye in the window, and he jerked around to see a scraggly looking hero with long black hair, yellow goggles, and glowing red from the gutters of the house with a plain gray scarf. Once he was noticed, Eraserhead swung in through the open window before any of the thieves had a chance to react and delivered a flying kick right into the face of one of the men.
"Unfortunately for you, some of us pros are less interested in Batman and more interested in catching more legitimate menaces. Seems like you didn't learn your lesson, Haruto Shigeru." Eraserhead glared at the two remaining cultists while keeping the third constricted in his scarf.
Despite the underground hero's piercing gaze, Doctor Death seemed confident and actually a bit relieved "I see you know who I am Scruffy, that's more than I can say for you. I don't like using my Quirk on a real human, but I'll do whatever it takes to bring my clan back to its rightful place!" Doctor Death and his follower both extended their arms out with intent to attack Eraserhead with their quirks, only for nothing to happen.
"What the-"
The thug didn't get a chance to react before Eraserhead wrapped his scarf around the man's neck and harshly pulled him in for a direct strike to the face. Shigeru had similar luck as Aizawa had the other loose part of his scarf wrapped around his ankle while he was distracted, pulling him to the ground before stomping on his back to paralyze him "The only place your group belongs is the trash where it can be forgotten and left to rot."
"No! I won't be humiliated by a no name bug like you! I am Doctor Death!" Shigeru raged under Eraserhead's heel, before suddenly pulling a gun out and firing at the underground hero. While Eraserhead was able to dodge in time, this gave the opening for Doctor Death to slink out from under him and position himself on the other side of the room with the pistol "You may be a pro hero but you're still not bulletproof!"
"some of us are." A different voice with an all too familiar tone came from behind Doctor Death, causing him to panic, turn around, and fire the gun directly into the figure. However, the bullet bounced off his chest and into the ceiling, leaving him seemingly unharmed. It was at this point Shigeru recognized the figure and felt his heart drop into his stomach.
"remember me, haruto shigeru?" Batman growled with a malicious scowl on his pale face, ready to fight the minute Doctor Death made a move. However, the cult leader simply went stiff and fell backwards with a dead look in his eyes and a bit of foam coming out of his mouth.
After making sure his followers were properly restrained, Aizawa turned off his quirk and walked over to check on Shigeru's vitals "He's breathing but he seems to be in shock. You must have done quite a number on him before Problem Child." Eraserhead promptly stood up and began tying up Doctor Death in his steel wire web.
"You should be more careful in checking your surroundings for heroes from now on. I know you're quirkless so I don't have to arrest you, but other pros don't and most of them don't like you."
"being awfully snippy for someone i came to help eraserhead. how did this moron escape so easily anyways."
"Some of his followers snuck into Arkham and broke him out, but after getting arrested twice in one month I doubt he'll be able to pull something like this off again anytime soon." Aizawa yawned before noticing a small sliver of sunlight appear out the corner of his eye from the window "Anyways, my shift will be about done by the time I book these idiots, so you should probably call it a night soon too. Got a busy day tomorrow after all."
"don't remind me. i'd much rather start my usual night on time instead of having dinner with someone i met on the worst day of my life." Batman groaned at the thought of meeting up with All Might, still remembering how he and so many other heroes failed to catch Jack Napier in spite of his crimes.
"I know he's annoying but getting the Symbol of Peace on your side could make things easier for you when you start at UA. Besides, you could use a night off where you're not sucking face with your little girlfriend."
It was this comment that caused Izuku's hardened Batman persona to completely shatter "SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND ERASERHEAD! I mean-"
"I know, I know. It's just way too funny to make you squirm while you're wearing that. Now get going before the sun rises, you stick out like a sore thumb in that costume during the day."
'i can't believe that all might of all people thought this would be a good place to meet.' Izuku thought to himself as he walked up to the incredibly flamboyant looking Mighty Monster Café 'i should be tracking more details on those gangs pushing wipe and trigger, not spending time in a maid's cafe for furries…Maybe I'm just working too much, is all. The fact that I'm using my Batman voice in my head should be a sign of that. I should at least try to have a good time. A few years ago you would have dreamed of this under different circumstances!'
He sighed and walked into the inconspicuous looking restaurant, showing his reservation number to the hostess that had been sent with the letter. Once he got in past the waiting area, he cringed in embarrassment.
It wasn't furries.
It was worse.
So, SO much worse.
It practically SCREAMED americana, bright and loud and as big as the man whose likeness could be seen in the 10 foot bust slowly rotating on a 4-tiered display in the middle of the place. Classic cars, eagles, american flags and even more (tacky) things were crammed in every square inch of space. The floors were tiled with custom mosaics of the shapes of the states, and the walls (at least what could be seen) were painted in the iconic stripes of the American flag.
The cafe (or Diner as the advertisements referred to it as) was made in the late 2370's right when All Might first blew up, and hadn't changed a bit other than to make repairs…
And it was very obvious why, when Izuku was led into a private room that looked like a 1960s diner where the number one hero was sitting in his skinny form already sipping at an obnoxiously large milkshake topped with a donut. He happened to be sitting with a man with black hair in his mid 30s wearing business casual attire, and a stunningly red-headed woman around her early 30s in a subtle dark green cowl-neck dress that plunged dangerously low.
After finishing his latest sip of milkshake, Toshinori noticed Izuku and gestured for him to come over "Young Midoriya, I was wondering when you would arrive! Grab yourself a seat!"
"O-of course." Izuku stuttered, not sure if he was more uncomfortable at the thought of All Might or the first casual social interaction he'd had outside of his inner circle in about 7 months.
"So you keep company with an agent of All Might and the richest man in the country. You lead quite a fascinating life Nao-kun!" Tsubaki said with a loving smile, before giving Midoriya a quick bow "It's very nice to meet you Midoriya-san, I'm Tsubaki Aoi."
"I-it's nice to meet you as well, Tsubaki-san."
"Oh please, just call me Aoi. A kid like you doesn't need to be formal in this place, and if someone tied to All Might of all people likes you I bet you're quite the treat!"
"I've heard from Toshinori you're quite intelligent Midoriya-shachou, though I suppose you'd have to be in order to run such a large company at your age!" Naomasa smiled at the young president "Oh wait, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa, I'm a detective for the Musutafu Police Department. I also happen to know Tsubaki-san very well."
"If he can call me Aoi, so can you Nao-kun!"
"I see, did Yagi-san happen to bring me up to you?" Izuku gave Toshinori a look, easily being able to tell where All Might was trying to go with this.
"Well, yes actually! I know you're probably far too busy with your company to work on ground level with us like originally recommended, but IM Enterprises does have a lot of great resources! Maybe if our administration allows it, IM could form something of a partnership with law enforcement!"
"If they've got materials like anything I've heard, you might actually be able to catch that bat themed vigilante I've heard you talk so much about. Man-Bat, right Nao-kun?"
"Maybe that's what he likes to call himself. Most of the villains we find strung up by him call him something like the Bat or the Batman. I certainly wouldn't mind your help in catching him, Midoriya-san. I think he's potentially a problem."
Izuku hummed and tapped his menu, trying to avoid eye contact by making it look like he was considering what he said next.
He wanted to object and state what HE was trying to do, but he didn't want to give away his identity just yet.
"I personally find this Batman character very saddening. While he, if they even are a man as they could be throwing us off with that name, has a lot of resources obviously for all we know he's just a teen who's gotten in with the wrong crowd or the child of a villain." Toshinori sighed, finally speaking after sucking down half his milkshake. "I think his resources would definitely be better used elsewhere. If he's as young as the police think he is, Batman could get himself badly hurt doing work only trained pros should do."
"Well, from what little footage I've been able to gather with my team I'd say him being untrained is a long shot. He's got skill that puts him on par with the best of the best in the underground hero circuit, Toshinori. That just makes me even more suspicious." Naomasa retorted, before turning to Izuku. "Do you know what you want to order? We were waiting for you so we could get our food all at once… Well aside from Mr. "Mighty Monster Truck Milkshake" here."
"I… I guess? I'll definitely be cheating on my diet, but I guess it won't hurt to splurge on a burger…" Izuku muttered, laying his menu down and glancing between Toshinori and the others. "Do you know if the Texas Bacon Smashburger is any good? Or should I get the Wisconsin Whiplash one, the one with 3 types of cheese…?"
"I'd go with the Texas one, kid. You need to put some beef on those bones." Toshinori quipped "After all, you look like the walking dead! Have you been sleeping right? Having nightmares or something?"
Izuku just shot the blond a deadpan look as Naomasa paled and made a cut it out gesture. Toshinori seemed to realize what he said and slapped his hand over his mouth, eyes going wide as a small choke made a few drops of blood drip out between his fingers.
"I don't get it. What's the big deal?" Aoi drawled, gesturing broadly towards Izuku. "I mean, he's probably just some kid who likes to play games late into the night like every other kid his age."
"He's-"
"He's a victim of a very high profile case that almost went on witness protection if the suspect was not found and processed already. I can't divulge anything else, NOR CAN TOSHINORI, as that breaks confidentiality laws regarding underaged parties." Naomasa lightly elbowed his friend in the side.
"I gotcha Nao-kun, but I'm still intrigued with this master man of mystery. Tell me Midoriya-san, you have a girlfriend from your old middle school? Or maybe in your social circle? How about a boyfriend, I don't judge." Aoi asked with a playful look on her face, one that only got bigger when she saw Izuku's flustered reaction.
While Midoriya began to sputter like a broken engine and turn as red as a beet, his thoughts turned to a certain beautiful kind friend of his with black hair and a creation quirk 'Crap! Don't think about Yaoyorozu! Don't think about Yaoyorozu! Don't think about Yaoyorozu!'
"I'm not really seeing anyone right now. Work is so busy right now after all!"
"So I see." Aoi smirked with a grin before getting really close to Izuku's face. "If that's the case… What's your type? Maybe I can find you a cute little girlfriend!"
Izuku just about died from the close contact, the drooping of Aoi's dress to reveal she wasn't wearing a bra not helping either. Luckily for him Naomasa put his hand on Aoi's shoulder and gently sat her back down. "Calm down there Aoi-chan, Midoriya's love life is his private business."
"Okay fine, Nao-kun." Tsubaki let out a disappointed sigh and seemed to give up, just in time for a notification to go off on her phone. Looking down at the alarm in shock, Aoi immediately shot up from her seat and began gathering her things. "Oh no! I'm sorry to leave you like this Nao-kun, but there was an accident at the nursery! I'll have to leave you to talk with your crazy friends!"
"Don't worry about it Aoi-chan, I'm glad I could-"
Tsukauchi couldn't get in a word edgewise before Tsubaki pulled him into a deep kiss which made Izuku go bright red while Toshinori immediately moved to cover his eyes. After about a minute of the makeout session, Aoi broke away from the blushing Naomasa before giving him a wink and strutting out the cafe with many men and a few women ogling her.
"Um…She have a sister?" Toshinori half jokingly said with a sheepish grin.
"TOSHINORI!"
"What, she's basically what any man would want in a girl from what I've seen and heard! Cut me some slack as the kids say these days!"
The waiter came in with their food at that point, the suspicious lack of an entree for Aoi making Izuku a bit suspicious.
"Kid, don't overthink it. She ate before we came in because she's vegan. Nothing on the menu is suited for her other than fries, so she just made sure she wouldn't feel so hungry that she'd be tempted to order something against her diet choices." Naomasa drawled, a bead of sweat appearing on his temple as he grabbed a chicken finger and took a bite "Regardless, Aoi's one of a kind my friend! That's why I'm asking her to marry me!"
Hearing this, All Might choked a bit on his food, as did Midoriya. "M-MARRIED?! You've only known her what, 3 months?! Does your family know about this?!"
"Yep! And I already know she's the one!" Naomasa spoke confidently, while also sweating and pulling at his collar. "Why is it so hot all the sudden?"
"Marriage is a big step Tsukauchi, don't you think you're moving too fast?"
"No way! The moment I laid eyes on Aoi-chan, I knew she was the one! It hit me right in the face!" Tsukauchi slurred a bit before dramatically collapsing face first into his dessert.
This actually managed to get a bit of a laugh out of Izuku, while All Might openly chuckled at his friend's demeanor. "You're mad Naomasa! Hope you'll at least help me rent a tux!" Suddenly a very loud show began to occur, all the staff rushing out onto the floor around the rotating All Might bust to do a dance while dressed in their flashy All Might themed uniforms to "American Kids", one of All Might's favorite songs.
"you have a massive ego problem." Izuku deadpanned, not even bothering to speak like a normal teenager anymore. "i'm shocked i ever looked up to you. you're just as bad as someone like endeavor or those other mainstreamers who seem to focus more on their celebrity status than actually helping, aren't you?"
The cutting words shocked and stung All Might a bit, but only for so long as to realize he'd just heard Midoriya speak in a completely different voice than before "I see. Is that the voice you use as the Batman, Young Midoriya?"
"…you didn't answer my question. what makes you different than the rest of the fame mongers and gold diggers out there? i know how the reports work, I know jack napier's report was out there for weeks on end. why didn't you stop him?"
"I… Young Midoriya, you have to understand that even as the number one hero I can't actually interfere with a case without being directly brought in. If I'm doing public service work and stumble on men like him then sure, I'll help. But-"
"no buts! this is why i don't trust you pros anymore. you know about problems but push them aside to the underfunded and heavily restricted police when they need a person who can handle combat against a powerful foe in most cases. so i'll ask you again: why didn't you go after a known prolific serial killer who didn't even bother hiding his methods or main targets? why didn't you set up a perimeter around the areas he was spotted near thanks to the security cameras that picked on his arrival in the area? Why did you let him kill 7 people in a single day and only tell the press about the one woman whose child survived and ended up encountering the villain in his time of death?"
"… Youn-"
"don't call me that. i'm the youngest person in history to ever fully take the wheels of a multinational corporation without any aid and managed to pull it off fairly easily. your excuses are pissing me off as well. let me make this very simple: why do you think you can get away with letting a dangerous man get away with his bullshit for almost a decade, only to finally do something when a quirkless kid goes after him in revenge? why did some kid without a quirk manage to do what you should have done the moment that bastard was first arrested 8 years back?"
"The red tape alone-!"
"fuck the red tape, people were killed! over 100 people in 9 years across 3 countries! he was on the no-fly list, the fbi's most wanted list, japan's most wanted list, AND korea's most wanted list! every single organization responsible for making sure he didn't hurt people failed. and it was such a catastrophic chain of incompetence that it took me, a kid who hadn't even hit 15 yet and doesn't have a quirk, to finally put a stop to it. forgive me if my trust in any group i haven't personally vetted is in the bottom of the mariana trench right now."
"I…understand your feelings, but what you're doing is far too dangerous for yourself and others! You can help in other ways-" Toshinori tried to persuade the Batman, only to notice that it had been several minutes now, and Naomasa had neither paid mind to their argument or even taken his head out of the bowl. In fact, he seemed to be twitching and shivering. "Tsukauchi?!"
"We know it's some sort of neurotoxin, but we haven't been able to identify exactly what kind, or if it's natural or synthetic. I'm afraid unless we know what type of poison is in his system there isn't much we can do." The doctor spoke to Toshinori and Izuku in a serious tone of voice.
After Tsukauchi's sudden seizure at the cafe, Toshinori summoned paramedics onto the scene within mere seconds. By the time they'd managed to take the good detective to the nearest hospital, he was in critical condition: he was having frequent violent seizures, his skin was as pale as a sheet, he was bleeding and leaking green pus from his eyes and nose, and his mouth was foaming yellow . After putting him into a medical coma for his safety, doctors took a blood sample from Naomasa to find a trace amount of poison. A poison that was slowly but surely attacking his central nervous system, and that they couldn't identify or cure.
"Poisoned? But why would anyone want to poison Tsukauchi?" Toshinori asked the doctor, surrounded by a small squadron of police officers who arrived after hearing the news.
"Would he have any enemies? Maybe a disgruntled villain he caught?"
"It's highly possible Midoriya-san, Tsukauchi has the highest villain arrest rate of any cop this side of Fujisama. His investigation capabilities rival some of the pros!" The commissioner explained, a gruff looking man with the head of a Dapple Dachshund and a deep gravelly voice.
"He's just about the only one of us who gets to do anything too. Damn shame, I'd love to take a crack at villains and vigilantes like he does." A more heavyset man in a trench coat sulked, munching on a donut as he spoke.
"Then you should probably look over the list of arrests he's made and villains he's personally caught with his investigations, and see who would have the opportunity to slip him the poison!"
In response to Izuku's suggestion, the more slovenly officer of the group turned around and gave him a harsh glare. "And who do you think you are rich boy, tellin' us how to do our jobs? I didn't work my ass off on the force for years just to have some kid act like he knows how to investigate better than us!"
"Actually Shimane, that's what I was gonna suggest we do. Toshinori, what was the name of the Café you were eating at when he was poisoned?"
"It was the Mighty Monster Café Gamagori-keibu." All Might told the commissioner before texting him the directions to the cafe.
"Great! Shimane, Kumamoto, stand guard here and make sure no one gets anywhere near Tsukauchi! Ishikawa, I want you working on identifying that neurotoxin and finding an antidote ASAP! Gunma, Miyagi, I want the two of you digging through every arrest Tsukauchi has made since was promoted to detective! Time is limited here, people! So move, move, move!"
As per Commissioner Gamagori's orders, all the cops in the hallway raced to their respective duties, leaving All Might and Midoriya alone with the doctor. "Give it to me straight doctor, do you think Naomasa is going to make it?"
"At this rate it looks dicey. This is the most virulent strain of neurotoxin I've ever seen and it's attacking his body at every nerve. We're doing everything we can but if we don't find the antidote quick , this will probably be Tsukauchi's last night outside of an urn."
All Might watched the doctor rush back down the hallway to a different room and felt a pit grow in his stomach, terrified by the thought of losing his closest friend. This feeling of dread was only exacerbated when he saw Aoi Tsubaki arguing with some of the hospital staff and Detective Shimane, clearly in distress. "YOU HAVE TO LET ME SEE HIM!"
"I'm sorry ma'am but the Commissioner said no one was allowed in!" Shimane tried reasoning Tsubaki to no avail.
"HE'S MY BOYFRIEND! I SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO AT LEAST SEE THAT HE IS STILL ALIVE!" Aoi screamed, repeatedly punching down in the air to emphasize her point. "OR ARE YOU TOO MUCH OF A COWARD TO NOT LET A SCARED WOMAN VERIFY THAT HER LOVER ISN'T ALREADY DEAD?"
"Kid, I think I need to go try to calm her down before she gets herself in trouble." All Might sighed, already walking over to Aoi and Shimane.
Izuku followed, mostly because he knew he wouldn't be allowed to stay either, and noticed something off about Aoi's thrashing fist 'One of her fingers is more yellow than the others, and the others are green…'
It was at this point Izuku noticed that the blood sample they'd taken and the computer system analyzing it was left unattended in the nearby office, and promptly backed into the room with a small notebook while the others were distracted. In the meantime Toshinori continued his attempt to calm down Tsubaki while Shimane grew increasingly more irritated with them "Look we gotta keep him clear till a suspect is caught, and for all we know the killer's got a shapeshifting quirk and is impersonating you two. So scram!"
"YOU FU-!"
"Whao! Tsubaki-san, let's calm down a bit and try to work through this without profanity and violence, okay? I understand you're upset, I am too, but we're adults and young Midoriya over there needs to have a good example for how to handle difficult situations." All Might nervously interjected, stepping between the irate woman and Shimane. "Besides, if you take things too far you can get in serious legal trouble. Assault of an officer or medical professional is a charge that can land you in prison, after all!"
Tsubaki scoffed and took a couple steps back, glaring at both the detective and the off-duty hero. All Might glanced back down the hall, seeing Izuku muttering to himself and writing something down in a small notebook as he watched Naomasa from the hall 'I wonder if he's going to try and compare his symptoms to what he can find online… He's smart enough to know how to filter out the bullshit, at least. Maybe he can actually help with this.'
Toshinori was distracted from his observations when he felt Aoi put her hand on his arm and heard her speak in a concerned tone of voice "Do you really think Nao-kun will pull through Toshinori?"
"I've seen him come back from an anthrax attack and 7 gunshot wounds at the same time, he's made of some seriously tough stuff. If anyone can pull through this and be fine, it's him." Toshinori gave the woman a thumbs up and the closest thing he could give to an All Might smile he could do in his skinny form. "I have contacts that can keep me updated thanks to my clearance with the precinct thanks to my ties to All Might. Just give me your number and I'll keep you posted on what I can share."
"Bless you Toshinori…Nao-kun is lucky to have a friend like you…"
"You've got an early day tomorrow right? You should get home, I'll walk you to the bus station."
Toshinori followed up on his word and left the hospital shortly after with Tsubaki by his side, with the bus stop to the station being not far from the exit. He gave Aoi a quick nod as a small farewell, only for her to suddenly pull the much taller man into a hug. Tsubaki then looked at All Might with a seductive gaze and pouty lips, which seemed to have a very light green tint that could only be seen at this distance. Being smart enough to know where this was going, Toshinori redirected the situation by giving her a quick side hug before stepping away.
Luckily the bus arrived before the situation could get any more awkward for All Might, and Aoi stepped inside giving a very pointed spark to the disguised No.1 hero 'What the hell was that? Did she just try to…'
"seems suspicious doesn't she?"
Toshinori jumped into the air and briefly turned to his muscle form on instinct when Izuku appeared right next to him, now fully in his Batsuit and speaking with the appropriate tone. After recomposing himself, Toshinori checked their surroundings and whispered "What are you doing? And how'd you change it to that so fast?"
"that's not important. we have a possible suspect and the genetic code for the poison i got from the computer. I know it's natural occurring from a plant, but that computer model won't finish identifying for the next 7 hours and that's not time we have, so we need to go."
Batman pulled out a journal showing his rough sketch of the neurotoxin's DNA sequence he'd gotten from the hospital computer. He then pulled out a small black remote and pressed a bat shaped button, causing a sleek black muscle car to roll up on the side of the road. While All Might look at the vehicle in shock, Batman simply slid into the drivers side and gave the pro hero an expectant look "don't worry, it's self driving. i'm a vigilante, not a drag racer. now get in so i can plug this sequence into my database before tsukauchi croaks."While still seeming apprehensive at the situation, All Might got into the passenger's side of the car, which promptly sped off into the night.
The vehicle (or the "Batmobile as All Might had taken to calling it) had arrived at Wayne Manor within about five minutes of leaving the hospital, being programmed to find the quickest route possible to its destination through all possible roads and paths. Amazed by the time they'd made, All Might turned to face Batman who was currently writing down notes in the next page of his journal and muttering key points as he did so.
"That was incredible, Young Midoriya! Does IM Enterprises really have such advanced technology at its disposal just waiting to be released?
"this is just a prototype based on old concepts of self driving technology in the era before quirks. there's still a few kinks in the system that need to be worked out before it's ready to be released to the public." Batman closed his notebook after finishing his notes, before turning off the Batmobile and placing a call "pennyworth-san, i need you pull up whatever records you can on tsubaki aoi: personal history, education, occupation, quirk, et cetra. also, we have a guest so make sure they're well taken care of."
"Certainly, Master Midoriya." Alfred said from the other side of the phone.
"Tsubaki? I see, after what happened earlier I had my suspicions too, but how do you mean to-" Toshinori asked only to find Batman had vanished from the parked vehicle without a trace, leaving the No.1 hero alone in the empty parking garage "Why do I have a bad feeling that's going to become a regular thing?"
Before Toshinori could step out of the car, he found that the door was already opened for him by a very familiar face from back when he was in high school "Good evening Yagi-san, shall I have you inside for a spell? Master Midoriya has insisted you be invited in."
"SILVER-SENSEI?! But you haven't aged a single day! Aren't you in your 70s?!" All Might gaped at the much older man, nearly hitting his head on the roof as he practically leapt out of the Batmobile.
"If I didn't know any better I'd ask the same of you Yagi-san. The years haven't been kind to the Symbol of Peace have they, my student?" Alfred quietly observed Toshinori's state, to which both men seemed very somber "I took it you encountered him again didn't you? The scoundrel who took Nana Shimura from us?"
"Yes, five years ago…But she's avenged now, and my current state is a small price to pay for freeing Japan of his presence. The power of All for One is gone now, as is the Society of Shadows that he controlled. Once I've found a successor, everything will have been worth it." Toshinori sighed before heading towards the lit staircase leading them above ground to Wayne Manor.
"And what did it cost you, Yagi-san? Anyone who knows you realizes you've changed from back then in more ways than one." Alfred called out as he followed All Might up the staircase and through the gardens of the estate.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't make me say it, Toshinori Yagi is missing the spark that once made him Wonder Woman's ideal successor. You've become more hollow, more susceptible to the negative influences of the hero industry. Just a few months ago, you were willing to take whatever the Public Safety Commission handed you without digging any deeper to stop criminals and save lives elsewhere. There was always Jack Napier's even before, that's why heroes were made in the first place."
Toshinori was silent for another moment before turning to face Alfred"I know my failures, Silver-sensei. And I know what I said to Young Midoriya came at the worst possible time. But it doesn't make what I had to tell him back then any less realistic. Heroism is a dangerous profession, and there are some challenges you just can't overcome without a quirk. What I don't understand is why you of all people would allow him to act as a vigilante when you know what's at stake for him, both legally and physically."
"Hm, so you wish to know why I encouraged his goal of becoming a hero, quirk or not? It's because I was once inspired by a young, quirkless man, named Yagi Toshinori."
"..."
"You seem to forget you saved just as many lives back when you were quirkless as you did when you trained in America with One for All. That's why Wonder Woman, the original Symbol of Peace, saw fit to give you her power. Because she believed you were worthy of a hero's responsibility, quirk or no quirk. I believe the same of Master Midoriya, even if his methods are unorthodox."
"...I know that Nana-sensei believed that me being quirkless didn't matter, and I'm still grateful for everything she did. But times are different now Alfred, being quirkless in today's hero society just means you're limited."
"And that's why the Batman is so important, not just for Master Midoriya but for Japan as a whole. Toshinori, you grew up in a time where quirkless people still had a place in society, you don't know how bad it's gotten. That plus your lack of tact is why what you said and did affected the young man so much. You left a bullied, clinically depressed middle school on the roof of a skyscraper for God's sake. I know for a fact that sort of situation was covered in protocol, and I also know that what happened to Master Midoriya is not an isolated incident. The whole world has built a caste system based on quirks, the Symbol of Peace is not what people trapped in darkness need. They need someone to empower them, someone not bound to the whims of the media or the Public Safety Commission. More than anything, what these people need is a hero of their own."
"...Silver-sensei?"
"Yes, Yagi-san?"
"Tell the kid I really didn't know about Napier. I had to learn about him from Eraserhead. But it's not an excuse, not anymore. I need to be a better hero in the time I have left, and I need to make sure others are better too."
"I believe you can tell him yourself, Yagi-san. He's waiting for you in his Batcave." Alfred walked over to an empty spot of the garden, reached over on the ground, and pressed in an inconspicuous looking stone that caused a staircase to open up in between himself and Toshinori.
"Okay good, so I'm not the only one who comes up with corny bat themed names for Young Midoriya's toys." All Might chuckled with a smirk, being both surprised and impressed with the layout of Midoriya's secret passages. The skinny man then went down the spiral staircase into the Batcave, while Alfred decided to stay above and close the entrance of the secret lair behind him.
This left Toshinori all on his own as he ventured through the dark sinkhole that was the Batcave, finding it to be rather empty and quiet as was expected of a vigilante that had just started out. The only things of note aside from the numerous points of entry and exit strewn about was a computer that seemed to be in the middle of processing something, the Batmobile which had just parked itself outside a more direct exit to the manor, a dimly lit display case which Toshinori presumed was for the Batsuit, and a disorganized desk covered in pages and notebooks. The desk in particular drew his attention, as he saw two notebooks left wide open: the most recent one with the sketch of the neurotoxin's DNA sequence, and a burnt, wrinkled one left open to an autograph for the number one hero. He picked up the latter notebook and gave it a long regretful gaze, knowing exactly what it meant for both All Might and Batman.
"it's rude to snoop through others' belongings, all might."
Toshinori went stiff and threw the notebook in the air in a panic, realizing the Batman was right behind him once again. He turned around to see Batman with a slightly amused expression, having caught the notebook as it fell "How often do you intend to do that?! Anyways, have you found the source of the poison?"
"yeah, the computer just found a matching organism for the dna sequence. it's a plant derived neurotoxin from the wild thorny rose, an incredibly toxic plant that mimics the common rose found in nature. the rose is incredibly poisonous and just sniffing too much of it is enough to put you into a coma, but the catch is it went extinct in the wild back when i was in elementary school. having access to it is all but impossible."
"Hn, it seems that narrows down our list of suspects quite a bit."
"but it also means the antidote will be harder to get ahold of too, and the closest one with the capability of making the antidote is probably the one responsible." Batman glowered at the screen before moving to a different database and typing in the kanji for Aoi Tsubaki "and i think i've got an idea of who that someone is."
"Aoi, right…You think she would try to kill her boyfriend?"
"possibly, but i'll need to look at the information pennyworth-san dug up before i jump to conclusions." Batman opened the page on Tsubaki Aoi that Alfred had made for them beforehand "tsubaki aoi. she graduated from the university of tokyo with a degree in botany 9 years ago, and works as a chemist for tsukiyama fragrances in an older botanical garden that was nearly abandoned for a while. apparently she's the only worker there. her quirk is green house: she can manipulate plant life, has a natural immunity to all plant based poisons, can take on the attributes of any plant she's come into direct contact with, and can even grow those plants out of her body. and that includes the wild thorny rose as well."
"Looks like Naomasa will have to return that ring he got for her." Toshinori growled, his voice brimming with anger at the truth of the murder attempt on his best friend "I'll notify Gamagori-keibu and have a warrant for her rest by tomorrow morning. You get this evidence on a flash drive and I'll get it over to the precinct as quickly as possible."
"i'm afraid that's no good, even though it all fits together nicely our evidence is purely circumstantial, so i doubt we'll be able to get a warrant before tsukauchi runs out of time. the only way we can save him in time and bring tsubaki in on charges is to get the rose and get the antidote straight from the source."
"But we can't do that without a warrant! The Commission would have our necks, even if I am All Might!"
"you can't act, i'm a vigilante, remember? i'll be in and out of those botanical gardens with the evidence, and the antidote right away."
"I see, but…Naomasa is my best friend! Aside from you, he's the only one I've let know about my secret! I can't just sit by and do nothing!" All Might insisted, only for Batman to shove what looked kind of like an old, moldy crab roll into his hands.
"you have thirty minutes left of your muscle-form, right? if you want to help then light this off on the west end of town and let the other pros be drawn to it. if i get caught it won't matter if i'm quirkless, tsukauchi will be dead by the time i'm released. but the bat signal has been drawing in pros like flies lately, so if you light it off and cover my shift on the west end, i'll be able to get to the botanical gardens on the east end of town without drawing too much attention."
"I can't believe I'm doing this…" Toshinori groaned as he took the bat signal flare from the boy's hands, before shifting into his muscle form with a large grin "Very well Batman! As thanks for your noble efforts to save my friend, I'll light this bat signal and protect the streets of Musutafu from the scum of the night like I should have done years ago! I'll still be submitting our evidence to Gamagori-keibu though, just so there's no loose ends in the investigation!"
Batman gave All Might a small smile and bow of gratitude in response before making his way to the Batmobile, only to be grabbed by the cape suddenly by the much larger hero, who now spoke in a much more serious tone of voice "For what it's worse, I still think Izuku Midoriya would have made a great police officer. But I think that Batman makes a much greater hero! A hero that the world will need! I'm still not sure if it's possible or particularly safe to do hero work without a quirk, but I would love to be proven wrong! However, If I promise that I'll do my part to solve the issues plaguing the Pro Hero scene and the Public Safety Commission, I'll need you to promise to work hard to get your official license when that time comes!"
"...i'll consider it…" Batman growled before stepping into the Batmobile, and shooting off eastward.
With the Batmobile's speed and adaptability to traffic, it only took about 20 minutes for Batman to arrive at the botanical gardens on the east side of town where Tsubaki Aoi was thought to be hiding. After parking the Batmobile in the woods nearby to avoid suspicion, he skulked towards the building in almost complete darkness, feeling a bit safer as he moved when he saw the bat signal lighting up the cloudy skies to the west.
Upon getting closer to the gardens, he saw one of the green houses dimly lit by lamps inside, giving him a solid clue as to where Tsubaki could be waiting. He heard from All Might's observations that their suspect had a habit of working, so if she assumed they wouldn't be able to get a warrant this quick it was highly likely Tsubaki was still there. This proved to be correct when Batman saw her casually pruning a plant at her desk, which wouldn't be too out of the ordinary if not for the fact it was the wild thorny rose that had been used to poison Naomasa.
"Oh, you've done so well today sweetie! Now get some rest!" Aoi coddled the plant like any other person would a baby or a pet, before picking up one of the petals she'd just clipped and absorbing it into her skin using her quirk "And don't worry, I won't clip off anymore of your beautiful petals!...Unless that Yagi fellow is getting wise…"
With an evil smirk on her beautiful green face, Tsubaki turned off her desk lamp and waltzed into the back rooms of the building, not noticing a dark figure on the catwalk directly above her. Once he was sure that Aoi was out of the room, Batman descended the ground below and made a beeline towards the flower pot holding the evidence they needed. However, he didn't notice that he'd been stepping on the vines of a curling carnivorous plant most of the way, which began to snake around his legs and hold his feet to the ground. The rest of the vines then shot up from the ground and wrapped around Batman's arms, legs, and body, completely restricting his movements.
While the vigilante struggled to free himself from the vines, a very smug looking Tsubaki Aoi emerged from the backroom of the green house, now wearing a green leotard that was a forest green shade. Making matters even worse for Batman was that a large, aggressive looking venus flytrap had emerged from behind him, and was ready to consume him in a single gulp.
"Now what did my cute little flytrap catch this time? It looks a bit big for a fly! Why, it looks like the notorious Batman!" Tsubaki mocked her prey in a sadistic tone of voice, approaching slowly as she grew several thorny looking vines out of her skin "Now what could I have possibly done to earn a visit from such a brute?"
"tsukauchi…naomasa…you poisoned him didn't you?!" Batman growled as he continued to struggle with the vines.
"Oh yes, my poor detective boy toy! I fear he may not make it!" Tsubaki weeped as she spoke, only for her crying to very quickly turn into loud maniacal laughter "At least, that's the plan. But I don't understand how it possibly involves a vigilante like you. Don't your types usually stick to beating up muggers or something?"
"why'd you do it tsubaki?!"
"Oh please Batman, if we're going with the whole hero/villain name thing, you should really call me….Poison Ivy!" The newly deemed Poison Ivy chirped as she encircled her prey like a hungry cat "You see, Nao-kun committed a grave sin against all plant life. I'm sure you heard how he started that silly petition to expand Arkham Asylum's budget and facilities. An expansion that murdered a field of beautiful wild flowers, including the last of the wild thorny roses! Why, they might be extinct in Japan today if I hadn't saved my baby from those horrible bulldozers! The blood of those flowers is on HIS HANDS! AND THE HANDS OF EVERYONE WHO SIGNED THAT DAMNED PETITION!"
Batman watched in disturbed fascination as Ivy raged and the thorny vines on her body flared up and grew sharper as she got even angrier. Even more disturbing however, was when she calmed down and casually opened a crate full of bizarre glowing pumpkins "It seems to me that the people of Japan have lost their respect for the nature that cradled them for so long, which is why they've committed so many unforgivable sins. But I've got a plan to bring everything back to zero with my newly bred babies. Right now they can only wipe out a small building, but in a few more breeding cycles I'm certain they'll have the destructive capability of a nuclear warhead. Once I've completed my work, this country will finally be given back to nature!"
"you'll never get away with this ivy! even if you manage to kill me here, toshinori yagi has already turned over the evidence of your guilt to all might and the commissioner! they know exactly what you did!"
"Smart boy, then you must know that the Public Safety Commission has to approve all warrants, and there's not nearly enough evidence to declare me a villain as long as I've got my baby." Poison Ivy said as she got closer and closer to the trapped Batman with her lips slowly but surely gaining a greenish tint "All I have to do is kill you here, and feed what's left to my cute little flytrap; then I can resume my plans in peace. So I'll seal your fate…with a kiss…"
"WHAT?! WAIT, I'M TOO YOUNG FOR YOU!" Batman turned red from a mixture of embarrassment and terror, as despite being a terrifying vigilante, he was still the same shy Izuku who was terrified of women and was trying desperately to free himself from the vines. Luckily for him, Poison Ivy didn't seem to recognize his voice after the drastic shift in tone, and instead moved further in for her deadly kiss with the Batman. However, at the last possible second before lip contact, a blast of mace suddenly came from the Dark Knight's mouth and sprayed Ivy right in the eyes.
"AIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE! YOU LITTLE MOTHERFUCKING BAT!"
As Ivy rubbed her burning eyes and went into a painful coughing fit from the mace, Batman freed himself from the vines with the sharp edges on his gloves and disoriented the flytrap with several batarangs, before giving the villainess a hard roundhouse kick that sent her flying to the ground. Not being too terribly comfortable fighting a woman, Izuku attempted to end the fight quickly with a hard punch to the head, only for a bush of thistle thorns to emerge from Ivy's body. Batman leapt away before he could be impaled, only to find himself stuck between the flytrap trying to take bites out of him, and Ivy who was now shooting venomous thorns.
"MURDERER! MURDERER!"
Realizing he was caught in between a rock and a hard place, Batman used a grappling hook to escape the onslaught and reach safe ground on the catwalk. However, the flytrap quickly followed him up there using its vines to pull itself up, while Ivy took to the ceiling using her own vines and began shooting at him from the rafters. Needing to act quickly in order to avoid been poisoned or beheaded, Batman saw something that gave him an idea. Having to duck the maw of the flytrap swiftly, the vigilante grabbed the monstrous plant by its sides and threw it over his head towards the ground, before throwing a batarang directly into the crate of pumpkin bombs.
This naturally caused a massive explosion that wrecked most of the green house in less than a second, leaving the whole compound in ruins. Being right in between the catwalk and the blast wave, the flytrap was incinerated almost instantly while Batman was left missing an ear to his batsuit, and hanging over a drop left behind by the explosion. It was then he noticed Poison Ivy looming over him with a murderous glare, a burnt hardwood exoskeleton, and a gauntlet of thistle spines emerging from her arm "You damned vigilantes, you act like you're better than us when you use your quirk outside the law! I may be a villain, but I'm the one walking from this clean. Enjoy extinction, Batman!"
"i'm not going alone." Batman said weakly, before revealing he was holding her wild thorny rose in his free hand "the antidote, or the weed."
Seeing her flowers dangling over the gorge with Batman, Poison Ivy looked in horror before giving in and throwing a small bottle before him. Izuku then set the flower pot down, allowing him to use his free hand to pull himself from the gorge and grab the antidote, while Tsubaki broke down and began anxiously coddling the plant as she kneeled in the ruins. Batman then took the opportunity to chain her leg to a piece of the wreckage to prevent her escape.
'Holy crap, I think I just beat my first serious villain…I can't feel my legs…'
Before Izuku had any more time to catch his breath however, he sensed more incoming danger and leapt away from where he was standing just before some of Kamui Woods branches erupted from the ground. They wrapped around Tsubaki to make sure she was contained and pursued Batman into the air, forcing him to use his grappling hook to reach safer ground in the destroyed building. Once he had a better view of his surroundings, he saw Inspector Gamagori standing not far from the gardens with Kamui Woods and a group of police.
"We know you're in there with the suspect Batman! Make this easy and come out with your hands up! You're under arrest for acts of vigilantism!" Kamui Woods yelled at the vigilante through a bullhorn, glaring at him as he stood on a piece of the wrecked metal frame.
'I think that would be my cue to leave!'
Batman promptly leapt off the wreckage and sprinted towards the treeline where he hid the Batmobile, with Kamui Woods now following in hot pursuit after extending his arms and swinging past the gardens. With the vigilante in his sights, Kamui Woods reached for him with his arm turned into a set of branches meant to entangle Batman and prevent any further escape attempts. However, he leapt out of the way at the last possible second, but not before throwing the antidote bottle for Kamui Woods to catch.
"there's the antidote! get it back to the commissioner and give it to tsukauchi!"
"Really? Thanks! Uh, I mean…I won't let you escape, villain!"
"that's what they all say, bub!" Batman taunted Kamui Woods as he used his grappling hook to pull himself towards the woods, where the Batmobile shot out of the treeline, allowing him to go through the open sun roof and land in the driver's seat. Now safe for the moment, Izuku dropped his Dark Knight demeanor and frantically yelled to the virtual assistant to his car "ROBIN! TOP SPEED TO WAYNE MANOR! WAYNE MANOR! TAKE THE SECRET ROUTE!"
"Starting secret route to Wayne Manor."
The Batmobile then did a hard u-turn and sped into the woods with Izuku in tow, but not without Kamui Woods continuing to chase him through the forest "You're not getting away from that easily Batman! Have a taste of my super move!" Kamui Woods proceeded to grow his arm into even larger thicker branches than before, throwing his weight behind the blow with full intent to stop the vehicle in its tracks.
"Lacquered Chain Prison!"
Seeing the incoming forest worth of branches enclosing in on him, Izuku yelled to his system "Robin, turn on the boosters! Full burn!"
Right before Kamui Woods could surround and snare the Batmobile in his grip, rocket boosters went off at the back and allowed it to blast away from the scene of the battle. This managed to knock Kamui Woods off his feet, meaning he and the rest of the police force could only watch as Batman escaped into the shadows. However, Commissioner Gamagori only seemed mildly upset at this, as he was more focused on the villain they had in their custody and the antidote that came with it."Lieutenant Shimane, take Tsubaki Aoi into custody and book her. We'll credit Kamui Woods with her capture. Officer Miyagi, get the antidote from him and take it to Tsukauchi ASAP! And get an APB out on the Batman before he gets much farther! I want every hero in the city on his tail"
"Yes sir!" Officer Miyagi, a younger woman with light brown skin and bright purple eyes ran up to Kamui Woods, who seemed a lot more disappointed with his failure to capture Batman than the others "Are you alright Woods-san?"
"I can't believe I let that Bat get away…He wasn't like any vigilante I've dealt with before, that's for sure…" Kamui Woods continued panting from the exhaustion of his adrenaline rush wearing off, only to notice something left behind from when Batman had jumped away from him before. Specifically, a footprint from a rather peculiarly shaped shoe "Interesting…"
"Ugggghhhh….my head…" Naomasa groaned as he woke up, feeling incredibly worn out after having the antidote administered into his bloodstream. Miyagi had managed to successfully get the antidote to the hospital within 30 minutes of retrieving it from Poison Ivy, and Naomasa's condition began to drastically improve as a result, and he finally awoke from his coma that next morning "What happened?"
"You passed out onto your chocolate mousse at that monster café. Doctor says you'll be alright as long as you take it easy for a couple days. Some of the muscles in your face are a bit tense so you'll need to apply some cream for a while." Miyagi informed him, before stepping aside for Toshinori to talk.
"How are you feeling Tsukauchi? It looked like we were going to lose you there for a moment."
"I've definitely seen better days, but I would kill for the rest of that mousse."
"Hah! Now Naomasa, about proposing to Tsubaki Aoi, can I be honest with you as a friend? I just don't think she's right for you." Toshinori put a sympathetic hand on his friend's shoulder, who now seemed more than a little confused.
"What do you mean by that? She's the best thing that's ever happened to me!"
"Well… I think this might be easier to just show you." Toshinori hesitantly replied, pulling out his phone and tapping around for a second.
When he turned it to Naomasa so he could see, his eyes bulged in shock 'While the Batman has yet to be found after police and heroes lost sight of him during a high speed chase through the wilderness surrounding the city, eco-terrorist villain "Poison Ivy", better known to peers as Tsubaki Aoi, has been taken in on charges of planning a domestic terror attack and the attempted murder of her lover who will go unnamed for anonymity purposes." The one-horned news anchor spoke.
"I can't believe it…" Naomasa moaned and looked down into his lap. "I can't believe my luck sometimes, it's like a coin flip. It's either amazing or the worst, and it can flip again so quickly it makes my head spin."
"Well old friend, there's no need to flip your head as long as I'm around! I'll find a nice girl to set you up with who won't be a villain when I get the chance!" Toshinori gave the downed detective his usual grin and a big thumbs up
"Heh, thanks Toshinori."
Meanwhile, a few Pros and cops were milling about the crowded waiting room and watching the news as well, mostly just killing time before Naomasa was set to be transported to a more secure location until Ivy could be sentenced and moved to the prison or facility she would be incarcerated in. Kamui Woods in particular had waited all night for news on the detective's condition and seemed fairly exhausted, even when talking with his colleague Mt. Lady. "- But seriously, did you learn anything about that Bat guy? You almost caught him, right?"
"I wouldn't say ALMOST, but I did have a fairly close encounter with him. He's extremely fast and moves like an underground pro who's been on the force for decades, and apparently has a custom car with at least 1 illegal modification in rocket boosters."
"... SWEET! OLD ENOUGH TO DRIVE, OLD ENOUGH TO-!"
"MT. LADY! THERE ARE CHILDREN HERE!"
"Prude… Still, you learn anything about his quirk?"
"...I did, but it's not exactly anything I can truly confirm just yet. For all I know what I saw was just a fluke…" Kamui Woods said with a sweat, trying not to arouse suspicion regarding what he saw that night.
"On the subject of the Batman, however, new evidence brings some credibility to a lesser known theory about his abilities and origins. While investigating the scene, footprints revealed that he was wearing shoes from a company well known for making specialized footwear for quirkless people. This indicates that it is highly probable that our most infamous vigilante does not, in fact, have a quirk of any kind!"
It was at this point everyone in earshot of the television froze up in pure shock, whether it be from the surprise of the news like Mt. Lady, Naomasa and the civilians, or confusion of how exactly this got leaked to the public like Kamui Woods or All Might. "It is unknown what law enforcement or the public safety commission response to this news will be, but it is the first known instance of a quirkless vigilante in the time that the hero system has been in place. After examining the law regarding vigilantism, it is possibly completely legal to act as a vigilante without a quirk. The specific wording is "The usage of a quirk to enact any form of retribution, enforcement, or rescue of a civilian without a license is illegal" and obviously if you don't have a quirk you can't be charged under that set of terms."
"... GOD DAMNIT MORGANS! WHO LET HIM GET WIND OF THIS?" Toshinori broke the dead silence of the hospital with a frustrated scream, while Mt. Lady followed suit with the question that was on everyone's minds.
"ARE YOU TELLING ME THE BAT IS QUIRKLESS?!"
Naomasa just started to laugh in a slightly unhinged manner, clearly not in the best state mentally from the mix of trauma, betrayal and drugs he was on for the pain. Now being very worried and a little unnerved, Toshinori asked "Fucking… You okay, man?"
"Oh Toshinori, this is just great! I wonder where that guy's lucky coin will land… Will they modify the law in reaction to this, or will he get away with it for a long time to come?"
"At least you're optimistic about this… Most would jump right into him getting himself killed."
"He's had the luck of being able to handle characters like Doctor Death with ease, I'm not too worried about him dying. He's had a long streak of good flips, now we just need to see what happens when he gets a bad one."
Hearing his friend's slightly concerning laughter, All Might turned his attention back to the phone screen as he was lost in his thoughts 'If only he knew… the so-called bad flip marathon that started this all was probably the worst any kid his age could go through.'
(A/N): I'm gonna make this one short and sweet since I only just updated this again a couple days ago. Wow, haven't updated something this quick since back in college! Before anyone gets too excited, the only reason this came out so quick is because I got stuck on the last chapter and did this one in advanced. So by the time Chapter 4 was finished this one was pretty much already done, and has actually been up on my AO3 page for a couple days now. And since me and Ace literally just started on Chapter 6, and I really want to get started on Ninja of Santoryu again, expect the wait for the next one to be much longer.
That being said, I'm going to go do just that. Ninja of Santoryu's first chapter in 4 years is a hair's breadth away from being done and I don't wanna keep people waiting much longer on that. My current plan is to have it updated at least before the end of August, so stay tuned. As always feel free to follow and favorite if you want more, and review if you want to send some positivity, criticize the work to make it suck less, or just start a flame war. See you then!
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