There wasn't much to say on the ride back, declining even my shake from Big Belly Burger. Right now, there wasn't much I wanted, except to try and sleep before going to the airport.
The glass was cool against the side of my head, staring out at the window and taking in my city. It was the only place I remembered. I wondered if I'd ever consider U.A. Home. I doubted it. I knew Japan was different from the US, but at least I was used to being different.
"Hey, It's late, I know, you know, god knows, but you think we could make a detour by Gotham Cemetery? My parents are buried there."
Bruce looked at me, sympathetic, or maybe annoyed, I couldn't read him as well as I pretended.
"Alfred, let's go to Gotham Cemetery." He told the older man, and I felt a little twinge of shame. I was making an old man work this late. But when would I get this opportunity again?
The night was cloudy, rain was in the air, you could smell it, feel it, and I wasted no time finding their graves. They'd been gone so long.
My mama who would comfort me, love me unconditionally. My papa who taught me to read and write, who protected me from monsters in my closet. I missed them.
I used to come here whenever I got a chance, to tell them what I'd done, the person I was becoming. I hoped they heard me whenever they were. They were the only ones I spoke Japanese to anymore.
"I'm going back tomorrow. Not forever, just, until I graduate U.A. Can you believe it? I'm quirkless, but not powerless. I'm a meta, like some of the great heroes I told you about. I have a family, a new one, but they don't replace having you. I miss you. I really do. I have a boyfriend now, Tim. He's lovely, and I like him a lot. Bruce Wayne took me in this time. If he hadn't, I don't know who would want me. I mean, I worked for Joker for crying out loud, and now I can turn into gas. I did bad things, but I made them right."
I knelt by their gravestone, wiping off some dirt that had accumulated.
"I'm gonna be a hero, and make sure nothing like this happens again. I promise, I'll be good. Nah, scratch that. I'll be better." I told them, resting my head against the side as drops fell around me now. I'd spent years just feeling sorry for myself because they'd been taken away, never thinking that I could turn my pain and anger into something more.
It wasn't just a light sprinkle of rain anymore, and I stood as a bolt of lightning striked close enough the whole sky lit up like day, taking my leave and heading back to the car.
A hot shower and bed, waking up earlier than I wanted, my cleaned clothes laid out on the foot of my bed. Jesus, the good life was gonna spoil me if I let it.
I didn't have much to pack, I never did, and once I was ready, I went to wait for the others in one of the rooms with a giant TV, my face still in the news. Some people thought I deserved jail time. Others thought I deserved to be in a straight jacket locked up in a rubber room at Arkham.
"Izuku, time to go." Bruce told me, and I switched the TV off, slinging my bad over my shoulder. One more time. I had to leave one more time.
"You're awake? It's morning. Shouldn't you be asleep?" I questioned as a paper cup was held out to me, Tim offering what looked like coffee.
"Triple Bs coffee? You're a godsend." I told him, giving him a cheek peck before sipping it. My God, it was wonderful.
"Figured you'd need it, and I was picking up my morning order anyway."
He put his arm around my shoulders, walked me to the garage, and opened the door of the limo.
"After you."
He was the kind of guy who made me wanna melt in a puddle of love sick goop. I hope I made him feel the same way, but how could I? I was too loud, too mean, too rough.
We shared earbuds, listening to music and just trying to squeeze the last bit of time we had with each other, time refusing to slow no matter how much we wished it would.
Archie Goodwin International Airport was huge, which made since given how much of the traffic was just people landing to get to Metropolis, even though they were just across the bay with their own airport. When people were scared to live in a city, ticket prices tended to be cheaper, and even the villains needed to fly, so it was mostly safe.
Bruce stayed behind, mostly to keep us from getting mobbed by people, Alfred and Tim walking me inside as far as they could go.
"How good are you at goodbyes?" I asked Tim, looking at the TSA line and feeling my heart sink. It was never this hard to say goodbye before.
"It's not goodbye, you'll see me when you land and video call." He replied, squeezing my hand with a smile. Just another minute, I could wait one more minute, couldn't I?
There was no telling who kissed who first, but I didn't mind, letting myself stay in his arms before he let go.
"I lo-" a pause, and I cleared my throat before I continued. "I really, really like you, Tim."
It wasn't like I didn't feel close to him, or I didn't want to say it. Hell, I was in jail for five and half months, and he'd still wanted to be with me. But the words wouldn't form, and my hands got clammy thinking about it.
His forehead touched mine, and I heard him laugh quietly.
"I really, really like you too, Izuku. Now, you have a first-class seat waiting for you on an international flight. Go enjoy the high life a little."
Alfred offered me an envelope and a smile, patting my shoudler like he was a grandpa. As old as he was, he probably had a grandkid or two.
"Inside there is your travel ticket, your passport, ID, and instructions for when you arrive, as well as a WayneTech credit card for living expenses. Remember, my boy, first you buy what you need, then what you want. Your card does have a generous limit, but do try and budget accordingly. Ah, and this is from me, as a going away present."
Reaching in his breast pocket, he pulled out a silver pocket watch, showing me how it opened.
"It's already set to the time in Japan. I would hate for you to be late due to timezone difficulties."
It was beautiful, shiny bright as it ticked away softly. This was suddenly the nicest thing I'd ever had, and I wanted to take good care of it just to make Alfred happy.
"This is really nice. Thank you, Alfred."
Putting the watch in my pocket and making sure it was secured to my belt loop, I shook the old man's hand.
"Well, this is it. I'll see you both around, jeez, I don't know. Whenever I get a break, I guess."
No tearful goodbye, no screaming or hard feelings. I knew why I had to go, and I was cool with it. At least, I liked the idea of pissing off people who didn't think I deserved a shot at U.A.
Things were going okay, the lines went slowly, but that was to be expected, stopping to get some airport Bat Burger while I waited for my flight. Man, it just couldn't compete with Big Belly Burger, no matter how much it tried, but I liked their vegan options. Bean-based patties were actually kind of good when it wasn't mushy.
A long flight meant plenty of time to take in everything that had happened in the last few days. My trial was crazy with Superman showing up. Then Bruce Wayne added me to his orphan collection. Finding out he was the Batman. It ended with me right, going to study abroad to get my hero license.
Seventeen hours and forty-two minutes. How does anyone pass that much time on an airplane? They watch a movie, nap, eat, and go to the bathroom. Rinse and repeat a couple of times, and finally, the plane landed, everyone grabbing their things, eager to get off that metal prison. Sitting in first class didn't mean shit when we were stuck there more than a couple of hours.
I opened up the envelope Alfred had given me, the instructions clear and written neatly on a blank piece of paper.
"Holding a sign with my name? Is that in English or Japanese?" I wondered out loud, and now that I was here, I wondered how Bruce had gotten me into U.A. the day after I got out of jail. Money, probably.
Standing with a sign that had my name on it was who I assumed was a student, taller than me by a good bit and sporting blue hair, square glasses, and the fourth most serious stare I'd ever seen.
"Yo, you're here to pick me up, right?" I called, flashing a smile. It couldn't hurt to try and be friendly.
"You're Midoriya Izuku?" He asked, reminding that last names came first here.
"Yeah, that's me."
His arms started chopping the air like he was a crazy robot or something before he started to talk.
"I am Iida Tenya, class president for 1-A. It is a pleasure to meet you!" All in all, he wasn't too bad. I was a Jersey boy, at what was more, I was a Gotham boy.
"We should get your luggage, follow me."
My bag was already on my back, and I didn't have anything else. Then again, I just traveled across the world. Most people would assume I'd bring at least a suitcase.
"Uh, this is all I brought."
He looked at my bag and then to me, but he didn't seem to be judging, just nodding and leading me out of the airport to where a noisy bus was waiting for me, seeing the faces looking out the window at me.
"Who are these people?" I whispered to Iida, seeing the scruffiest man I'd ever laid eyes on at the wheel.
"This is class 1-A. Your class for as long as you attend U.A." He replied loudly, and I wondered who raised him to be so socially ignorant.
"Oh good, what I wanted to do after such a long flight was to be surrounded by strangers."
The man driving the bus looked like he didn't like me, but to be fair, he looked like he hadn't had sleep in a couple of days, so maybe he just didn't like anyone right now.
Just a few steps between me and my peers, quickly climbing up and seeing the people I was going to share my days with.
All the talking they were doing stopped, my eyes looking over the group of eighteen people before Iida sat down and made it nineteen, most of them looking friendly or indifferent, except for a blonde boy with spiky hair who glared at me.
"I am Midoriya Izuku from America. I look forward to getting to know all of you and reconnecting with my home country and its traditions. Thank you."
It seemed weird for me to bow, so i just waved a little awkwardly and sat down, gripping a plastic hand rail to keep from sliding around.
A girl with brown hair and pink cheeks leaned past another girl with long green hair tied in a bow style and had big, wide eyes.
"I'm m Uraraka Ochako. It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too."
It was. She was really cute, like a teddy bear. It made me want to protect her from the horrors of the world.
The other girl looked at me, finger on her cheek, and part of her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she asked me a personal question.
"You have a strange accent. What part of America are you from?"
It was an easy question to ease me in. Okay. Cool.
"Gotham City in the state of New Jersey."
A sea of "Oohs" and "Woah" went up, making me wonder what was so cool about the garden state.
A spiky haired redhead guy with sharp teeth looked excited as he called out.
"That's where Batman lives, right?"
Oh yeah, the Justice League was a worldwide organization. I shouldn't be surprised people knew about Batman. He was one of the founding members, after all.
"Have you ever met him?" A blonde with a black lightning bolt pattern in his hair asked.
"A few times, yeah. The last time was when a villain tried to gas the city."
That got their attention, and as tired as I was, I had to build a reputation.
"Woah, what's he like?"
How did one describe Batman? How did anyone?
"He's scary when he needs to be, but he cares about the people of Gotham. Honestly, the world needs more heroes like him."
The girl with the green bow hair pointed something i wished she wouldn't.
"You said that was the last time you met him. What about the first time?"
Gripping the rail, I felt a sharp pain in my hand, splintering the plastic and cutting my palm, but I couldn't really care, pushing away the memory of that night.
"You're hurt." A tall girl with a long black ponytail pointed out, making bandages appear from her arm and moving up to help me, wrapping up my hand. No one said anything about what happened, instead changing the subject.
"You're coming in after the first term. Open spot or not, usually it would go to a support course student. What makes you special enough to get it?" A boy with purple hair and tired eyes asked, blunt and to the point.
"Sorry to say the answer is nepotism. My guardian has money and influence across the globe. I'll be honest, I wanted to just be a vigilante since it's not as frowned upon in the States, but this is technically my punishment for my brief time as a villain turned anti-hero. It was this or the Teen Titans."
Some of them gasped, whispering among each other as I sat back, thinking about how much I hated them. They were spoiled kids going to an elite school, most of the probably rich as shit. And so was I. I hated myself for being part of them.
"Bullshit. U.A. wouldn't take some half-assed villain like you, so why don't you take your fairy tale and fuck off?" The blonde with spiky hair told me, meeting my eyes with hatred.
A cocky smirk grew, and I lifted my chin to look down on him a bit. I could screw with him since he seemed to hate me just because I existed.
"You can Google me. Izuku Midoriya from Gotham City. But what happens if I look you up? I know why U.A. wants me, but why would they want you?"
My taunting was unjustified and childish, but God dammit I was mad. As much as I pretended to be okay being moved to Japan and U.A., I wanted to go back to the States.
"You haven't gotten in yet. You've still got to take the physical and written exams. If you aren't careful, you'll be expelled before you have a chance to join." The man driving the bus called, my ego taking a shot.
"Sure, but if Goldilocks here can get in, I can. And if I can't, I can always poison him and watch him laugh himself to death."
I saw sparks from his hand, a memory I'd buried deep inside, coming back with a vengeance.
"Careful, I'm currently full of the Jokers laughing gas. It's highly flammable, so one little spark could send us all to hell. But who am I kidding? You're headed there anyway, aren't you, Kacchan?"