Bruce glanced away from the computer, stopping his research session for a moment to speak with his successor.
"All went well?"
"Yeah, went in and out with very little trouble." Terry responded as he took off the cowl, running a hand through his black hair.
Ace ran up to his young master, whimpering in joy as a hand stroked his head, the black fabric making the comforting sensation even better for the Great Dane.
"Anything interesting encounters?" The elder man asked, straight to business as expected.
"I defeated one of those quirk powered people you informed me about. Quite an easy win due to low skill. " Terry answered, crossing his arms with his body leaning on the table closest to Bruce.
"What was his power?"
"Nail growth, personally stylized to have jagged edges so the ability was able to do some damage." The high-schooler answered with an impressive deduction.
Bruce slightly nodded his head, both acknowledging the encounter and feeling a swell of impression with how Terry worded his answer.
The predecessor of the cowl has tried to pass down a good portion of his ideals and traits into the minds of his sidekicks. And deducing the enemy's usage of their abilities was one of them.
Having a mind that could successfully breakdown the functionality of a criminal, physical or mental, was essential since it would allow the formation of different plans to defeat them.
And having those plans in mind would not only make victory more of a certainty, but it would also make the life of Batman more manageable.
"Anything you received from the main suspect?"
The dark haired teen sent his mentor a hardened look. "Thanks to the suit's translator, I have plenty to tell."
The successor proceeded to retell his predecessor the disgusting intention of the scrawny perpetrator and his reasoning behind it, his blue irises engulfed in anger by the results the punk wanted if a miraculous intervention didn't occur...
Bruce felt the boy's anger, but didn't show any physical signs of it on his stoic expression. Letting strong emotions take control was not eligible for Batman.
"Harming loved ones out of spite isn't new to me. But there is one specific detail that sticks out." The former Dark Knight said after Terry finished his retell.
"It's the powerless thing, right?"
Bruce nodded. "Figures."
A brow was raised from Terry, curious by what the veteran crime-fighter meant by the firm delivery of his comment.
"What did you figure out from the guy's past?"
Terry was well accustomed to Bruce quickly and, most times, successful deduction of the entire picture from the events of a crime.
As expected of the World's Greatest Detective. A title he would have to carry on in the far future.
The old man leaned back on the chair, interlocking his hands together as he placed them under his chin. "Think about it, McGinnis. We're living in a world where the majority of the population possesses a superpower. What are we, the powerless minority, viewed as?"
The high-schooler hummed, thinking about the question regarding not inheriting a superpower in this world. His throat made his hum more louder at the beginning due to the reality that he was in an alternate version of Earth.
The small bit of hope he had diminished even more after he received the news from his mentor. What a fool he was for trying to remain optimistic.
But not all was lost. After all, Bruce had already been in various alternate versions of Earth during his prime.
Sure they didn't have any of Gotham's available technology, but they would find a way back home.
All that was required, was patience.
"The world will see us as good for nothings. Burdens that should be swept to the side." Terry answered after a long moment of silence.
Bruce nodded. "Correct. The majority doesn't see us sharing a spot in the hero profession."
A scoff shot out of the high-schooler, expressing his disapproval with the beliefs of this world. "And? A person can still become hero without any powers, so long as you put in the work."
Without hesitation, the former Dark Knight shook his head. "Unfortunately, it's not that simple; the people here are familiar with the norm of heroes having powers. And a norm like that will be difficult to shatter."
Terry's eyes widened to the explanation his mentor hit his mind with, being too caught up with his disapproval to notice the reasoning.
An ashamed hand gently rubbed against the young man's neck, internally chastising himself for not thinking about it a bit more deeply. "Guess you're right. So what's the next plan?"
"Rest." Bruce commanded as he rose from his seat. "We will continue our usual work during our time here."
The dark haired youth couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. "Even in a different version of Earth, it's business as usual."
The corners of old man's lips went up for a brief moment, a sight that Terry caught with his keen eyesight. "The world will always need a Batman, Terry."
While this superpower infested world may not be fond of a vigilante that is both intimidating and ruthless, they would soon come to witness the Dark Knight's heroic prowess.
...
"I can't be thankful enough of the two you for taking the time to help us." Detective Tsukauchi said to pro heroes, Eraserhead and Midnight while he served them his favorite batch of tea.
"Well this pointy eared vigilante has also been causing us trouble for the past week, so the call for this alliance was bound to happen sooner or later." Midnight responded in her signature sultry tone before she took a sip of her tea.
"This has to do more than the trouble he has been causing us." Eraserhead added in, his tone deadpan and serious as always that contrasted his beyond tired expression. "Whoever this guy is needs to be taken care of before it turns into a major issue that'll affect both our jobs and the public."
The detective nodded in agreement. "Then I hope that what I have for you will be enough for him to be sent to our jail cells."
"Fire away then detective." Midnight said with a hand gesture.
The file folder that was laid on the table was finally opened, it's typical contents of paper reports and photos were then spread out for the heroes to inspect more deeply.
"When we first received his physical description, we thought that perhaps he had some sort of quirk related to bats given his getup."
A chuckle came out soon after. "That sure wasn't the case by the time we saw his dozen or so gadgets in action."
"Emphasize on the usage of gadgets." The underground hero requested.
A long, barely audible sigh was released from the detective. "From what we've seen so far, he utilized smoke bombs, flash grenades, grappling guns, gliding wings boosted by jet thrusters, a retractable buzzsaw, and threw some sharp boomerang like projectiles on us and whatever criminals he captured."
The blue eyes of the R-rated hero stretched to the width of saucers, while the underground hero only looked slightly shocked.
Even then, the two pro heroes weren't expecting to hear a vigilante this well-equipped. A first time occurrence for anyone in their position.
"That surely means that he must some connections to rich resources." Midnight figured, her voice expressing her shock.
"That would make the most logical sense." Eraserhead agreed.
"We we're thinking the same thing. And it will cause more problems if that turns out to be true." Tsukauchi added in.
The pro heroes shared his concerns.
If it was true that one of the most well-known technology manufacturers supplied the pointy eared vigilante with those gadgets, then the both public and the hero industry would suffer... less than pleasant effects.
They'll have to use their influence to cover the scandal from prying eyes.
"Anything else we need to know about this vigilante?" The underground hero asked, changing the topic and bringing back their focus to the matter.
If a vigilante appeared, then he or she would be removed from the streets, as it has always been since quirks became a societal norm.
It didn't matter if they had a vast amount of resources to help, the heroes swore to the modern age that the acts of individual justice would only be a thing of the past...
...
The full moon gave the cityscape of Musutafu some light for the residents to navigate towards their destination.
And for the underground hero and the R-rated icon, it was enough for them to successfully arrive at the area where the vigilante would strike next.
Tonight, they decided to wear their incognito look for the task of staking out the surrounding area and waiting for their suspect to appear.
Midnight wore a loose black leather jacket, tight fitting jeans, hair tied back into a ponytail, and her red framed glasses replaced by black shades.
Eraserhead wore an aviator style jacket, slim jeans, and a brown baseball hat to cover a portion of his tired face from the public.
As expected, no pedestrians have taken note of the pro heroes in disguise. They just walked past them without sparing a glance... for Eraserhead.
Despite Midnight's more modest choice of attire, her alluring figure and confident stride still managed to turn the heads of more than a couple of men.
It seemed that no man was capable of resisting Midnight's charm.
"You know, if you removed that atrocious hat, you'll certainly entertain the ladies~" The R-rated hero commented with a small, sultry filled smile to her ever so serious friend.
As usual, the tired man responded as seriously as ever. "What does that have to do with this shakeout?"
"Have you never heard of passing some time in order to not get bored sitting around a filthy alleyway for a suspect to appear?" Midnight replied with a sarcastic question, sending an annoyed frown to her longtime friend.
"That'll cause us lose some of our focus on the mission, Midnight. Like it or not, this is the kind of work we signed up for willingly."
Midnight rolled her blue eyes underneath her sunglasses. Sometimes she wondered if he'll even try to get himself a woman that showed the slightest interest in him.
"Whatever you're thinking about, move it for later. Our guy has arrived." The underground hero snapped his companion out of her inner world, jerking his head up to the roofs.
Midnight followed the direction of the head jerk, her boredom quick to get replaced by excitement once she saw the silhouette of the pointy eared vigilante hopping from a rooftop to another.
"About time he showed." Eraserhead said in slight annoyance.
"Let's get to work then shall we?"
Receiving a head nod from the no nonsense partner, the two carefully followed the direction of the vigilante.