Gotham City
Batman watched Eraserhead as he climbed into the police car after walking out of the office building. Batman would be heading towards the Narrows while Aizawa and his team approached the laboratory.
Getting there didn't take much time at all since it was beside Old Gotham, so while he waited for his temporary partner to find the botany lab, he began searching for their radio frequency. They needed to stay in contact and they were likely using a frequency beside the police's. Once he got it, he called one of the channels hoping it was the tired hero as there wasn't a clear way of choosing one without being at his computer.
Perhaps Applied Sciences has something to help with that. He made a mental note to check on it before returning to his work.
It didn't take long to find a connection. He tapped his ear, activating the earpiece as he watched the building he was about to investigate. "Eraserhead." He said in Japanese.
"How did you get this frequency?" The tired teacher answered.
The vigilante ignored the question, "Tell me when you and your squad get to the lab. I'm starting my investigation of the Narrows now."
"How will you find the building?"
Bruce looked down from the rooftop he was on, catching the eye of a man with blades for hands kicking a hot dog stand. The man began screaming at the man running the station, "Hey, the big man told ya before that ya ain't allowed in this part o' town! What are ya, retarded?"
"I'm going to ask the locals." Batman replied before leaping from the rooftop and opening his cape so he could tail the bully until he was secluded.
Meanwhile, Gordon had just begun pulling into the botany lab with Aizawa in the cruiser as well as Hawks overhead. Bullock was driving the cruiser behind them with Nezu in the passenger seat. The garden didn't look like anything special, as the Gotham Botanical Gardens was much more extravagant. It was strange seeing this place so far into the woods, however. It wasn't like a city telescope, there wasn't much of a need for it to be so far away from Gotham.
When they parked, Harvey began rolling down the window, so Eraserhead did the same.
The large man let his arm hang from the window, "We got a reasonable suspicion or something to raid this place? We can't exactly just show up and expect the doctor to be fond of us rummaging through her things based off of what some nutcase dressed like a bat said."
Gordon's phone sounded, prompting him to open the message he was sent. He smiled, looking back to the others, "Looks like our dear Mr. Freeze found our suspicion!" He pulled the phone up to a picture of one of the open crates, which had a stamp that read, 'Pamela Ivy's Garden.'
Harvey just stared at the photo, then chuckled to himself as he put out his cigarette, "Shit, that's convenient."
The four men got out of their cruisers and Hawks landed behind them. They began to walk up the path leading to the building. It looked almost like a normal home, albeit with many more plants than what would be considered normal, and no flower was the same as the next. The building itself was light green with a brown roof. The frames of the doors and the windows, and the wooden steps leading up to the building, which were less of manufactured steps and more trees bent in an unnatural shape to make those parts of the structure.
This gave Aizawa a bad feeling. He turned to Hawks, "Perhaps you should stay out here. Your wings won't be too useful inside."
The man nodded, "I was about to say something. I'll circle around, make sure no one's waiting to ambush us or trying to leave."
"This time," Aizawa turned back to the door, "Don't let our target escape."
Hawks was about to retaliate before the native officers knocked on the door to the building. As the bird-hero burst upwards, Aizawa turned away from the team, pressing on his earpiece to call the vigilante.
"We're about to enter the building, how are things on your end?"
Bruce got the question just as he rose from the fire escape, the man from before dangling from his foot as the bat held it. Both of the man's arms were broken, the result of said criminal trying to lash out at his interrogator twice. He pressed against his own earpiece, "I just got the location of the drug lab on my end."
"Please, just let me go!" The sobbing thug screamed.
Bruce obliged, letting him fall all the way down in the alley. The man screamed along the way, shutting up only when he landed in a dumpster with a loud thud, undoubtedly incapacitated now. His earpiece still held, he turned away from the alley.
"Falcone wouldn't entrust someone weak with manufacturing this late in the game." He began his march towards the spot, "Don't screw this up."
He hung up, taking hold of his grapnel gun and shooting it towards a slightly higher building and letting him be repelled to the top. The criminal said that the building was near a shantytown, so that was where Batman was headed. He knew of two within the Narrows, but a hunch of his led him to the one bordering Gotham Heights. Considering Falcone has been trying to keep his operations close to his chest, and one of his penthouses is in Gotham Heights, it seemed like the best one to start at.
Batman turned to his right, running towards the West and beginning his hunt for the lab.
This, while doctor herself, Pamela Ivy, finally opened her door. She had red hair and skin that looked like it was replaced with chlorophyll. There were even leaves covering her body, including some specific areas that otherwise should have been covered by pants of some kind. She was wearing a shirt, however, so there was some decency left with her. "Do you boys know what time it is? A girl needs her beauty sleep."
Harvey tried to answer but began stumbling over his words with his mouth glued open. So, Gordon stepped in front of him, scratching the back of his neck, "Sorry about him ma'am." He returned his scratching hand to his pocket, searching for his cell phone and pulling up the picture the hero sent, "We have reasonable suspicion that your botany lab is being used as a front for storing these ingredients used in the creation of dangerous drugs." The woman took the phone, looking bored at the picture as she examined it. "As such, we want to search your household."
"This is the first I've heard of it." The woman gave the phone back to the man, crossing her arms under her chest. Aizawa could have sworn she was pushing up her chest as she let out a yawn. "Sorry, but you boys are going to have to have a warrant to come in here."
Nezu stepped forward, hands folded over one another, "If I may, Dr. Ivy, there have already been people killed tonight and those killed were, as gruesome as it is, eaten alive. If the person that wants these ingredients shipped to your lab is willing to go that far for the imports, I see two scenarios in the near future." He held up his hand with one paw-like finger in the air, "Either you let us search your house, and if we find nothing you go free and the police offer protection, or we find something and we take you into police headquarters where, again, protection is guaranteed." He pulled up a second finger, "Scenario two involves us going to get a warrant, and if what you're saying is true then the people involved in the crime may just kill you to use your base later on. Or, you lied to us and by the time we get back to you with a warrant, your drugs would have been delivered and the Batman would have arrived to-."
"Hold on, you believe in the Batman, little mouse?" She chuckled.
The principal nodded, "In fact, if you haven't seen him then you should be more concerned than you're letting on."
"Why's that?"
"Most people think that the newspaper is dramatizing him, but in fact he is much more dangerous than they ever imagined." Nezu still had his smile on his face, which in a way creeped out Eraserhead more than if he had been talking solemnly, "The fact that such a thing was capable of taking down a member of the Top Ten Pro Heroes of Japan within seconds and laid quite the beating on my best teacher at the best hero academy in the world, U.A. Hero Academy, is quite the testament to how concerned you should be if we don't search immediately and let future events take its course."
The woman was obviously getting nervous as the animal-man spoke, as while Nezu was explaining her dilemma, she swallowed hard at the mention of Japan's heroes. The tired hero knew that Japan's heroes were known for being the best of the best, becoming the top ten of Japan was nothing to scoff at. Especially when half of the world's rankings of Pro Heroes were from Japan, including All Might being first and Hawks making it to fifth. Although, when Hawks was beaten, it was mainly because he let his guard down. If the Pro Hero had been ready for a fight, it might have been a different story.
The woman reluctantly agreed to allow the four men to search, arms still crossed. As they walked inside, it was basically what one would expect from a botany lab, plants were in rows all across the main room. The plants were exotic, but after that nothing out of the ordinary. Then again, they wouldn't rightfully know what plants would be considered dangerous or illegal aside from maybe Nezu. So, the team broke up into two's, Aizawa with Nezu and Gordon with Bullock. The officers took off further into the house to look for anything more obvious, while the two foreign heroes took closer looks at the flowers and plants.
The woman stood in the same room as the heroes, arms still crossed and a frown set on her face as the two inspected each pot. "You two better not hurt any of my babies."
Aizawa raised an eyebrow, "Your 'babies?'"
The woman nodded, "My plants, they all speak to me." She walked forward, moving her hand towards a Venus fly trap, petting the top of its head. "When they are in pain, or are in the wrong conditions, they speak to me. When I ask something of them, they answer. In a way, I'm connected to my babies, as they are connected to me." She began rubbing the bottom of the fly trap, it responding as if a cat would with a purr, "We share each other's pain."
The tired hero nodded, turning back to the plants, "You must know them better than anyone, then."
"Naturally." She moved from that plant and towards the others. As she passed them, they almost reached out to her, leaves growing and twisting to meet her hand, "What better way to learn about something than asking directly?"
"If that's how you feel," Nezu began, gesturing towards a purple flower at the end of the fifth row, "Then you must know about this plant, correct? It comes from Japan, if I'm not mistaken."
The woman nodded, "Yes, that baby is a beauty, isn't she?"
The principal nodded, "Indeed, she is. However, while around all of these other exotic plants, this one seems out of place." He turned to her, his smile ever-present, "What's so special about it?"
She stepped forward, taking a look at the plant with a smile, "It may not seem like much, but this little guy has one of the best defenses against anything that comes it's way. It has a toxin within it that, once touched by someone that isn't immune to the effects such as myself, go into a state of what can only be described as a state of absolute fear." She reached down, petting the plant like the others, "That's what you wanted to hear, though, right?"
Batman
Skies became filled with clouds and rain as the homeless in the shantytown pointed Bruce to an abandoned apartment complex that was due for deconstruction in about a month. He followed said directions, using his grapnel to shoot towards the top of the building and climbing over the edge so he stood over the top apartment. There, the vigilante marched silently over a skylight window. This only brought him more questions, however. So, he turned toward the balcony of the apartment, sliding down so he was just outside of the complex.
The door to the outside was unlocked, so he simply pushed his way into the dark rooms. Lightning struck, giving the boy half a second of light, but it was plenty to confirm that the room had nothing in it.
This doesn't feel right. Regardless, the boy moved forward. The training he went through over the years allowed him to practically see in this kind of darkness, but with the amount of black mold and the warping floorboards he almost wished he couldn't. The apartment looked like it had been uninhabited since before he was born.
The room connecting to the balcony was the living room, although apart from the size of the room there wouldn't be any way to tell. There were three other rooms, that being two bedrooms and one bathroom which were connected to the living room. The larger room was where he started combing the carpet for any ingredients or even finished drugs that were left behind. He's seen other labs before, even ones that were evacuated. Something was always left behind, even if it was bleach being used to cover up what they didn't want to deal with. Yet, every tactic he tried to use wound up with nothing but more mold and ammonia from cat urine.
Bruce frowned, but before he could get up he heard the turning of a doorknob.
The door opened and a flashlight beamed over the living room. Said beam only met floor and wall, showcasing the mold and soft floorboards. Two men walked in, the one in front sighed before turning to his partner. "Alright, this is the place. Looks like no one's been here though."
The partner laughed, "Maybe the Bat went to Ivy's place. What an idiot!" He walked past the first thug, turning around and pointing his thumb towards the bathroom, "Aye, man, gotta take a leak. I'll be back."
The man with the flashlight sighed as the other was already making way towards the lavatory. He shouted at the fleeting criminal, "Fine, but make it quick!" He walked forward himself, inspecting the room with the flashlight. He quickly found his eyes over the balcony window, cocking one eyebrow up as he shouted back to his partner, "Hey, you remember if we closed this window this morning?"
The partner had just turned the toilet seat up, unzipping his pants and getting ready to release the floodgates, "Don't talk to me while I'm doin' this man! Makes it more difficult." There was silence, which allowed him to get to business. On that end, it didn't take long to finish up, so he zipped back up and flushed the toilet. "Alright, now what were you sayin'?"
He rounded the doorway, finding an empty room with no sounds other than the rain that sprinkled on the balcony. The man's brow scrunched, lightly making his way towards the middle of the room, where the skylight let in some moonlight. He turned towards the bedrooms, "Hey, you still here man?"
A thump interrupted the rain, the source of the thump sounding close. The man turned towards the balcony, raising his fist which turned into a miniature anvil, "This ain't funny!" Another thump sounded as something brought shade down on the man. Quickly, he jolted his head back, peering at a shadow that stood above the skylight. "What the-?"
The shadow moved, breaking through the window and sending an object down with it! As the object fell, the henchman cowered in order to shield his eyes from the glass. When the object landed, a flashlight rolled away from it.
"Byron?" He looked back up, the figure from before gone. He looked back at the balcony. The shadow was now sitting on the railing. Before the man could even scream, something launched out of the shadow towards him, penetrating his thigh and immediately pulling him towards the shadow!
He let out a scream, both in pain and in fear. Fingers attempted to carve into the old carpet in order to slow the approach, but nothing came of it. It didn't take long to feel himself become more and more saturated from the rain. The back of his neck was grasped, pulling him up and shoving him so that he had a perfect view of the street below, ten stories up.
He screamed again as he was pushed over, the back of his neck being grabbed again and turning him over so he faced the building he was being thrusted off of. He was now face to face with the Batman.
"A shipment of ingredients listed this building as the destination. These ingredients make a fear inducing toxin, so where is the lab?" The growl Batman had become known for interrogated the thug, shaking him above the street as he finally asked his question.
The criminal shook his head, still somewhat in shock by the pain in his leg. "T-there never was any lab."
"You're lying!"
"N-no, I'm not! I swear to God!"
Bruce grabbed the wire of his grapnel hook, pulling it. The man screamed again, this time being much louder. Bruce didn't keep the pressure on for too long, eager to get more answers.
The criminal got his bearings before responding, "Listen, I'm telling you the damn truth! There never was any fucking lab!"
"What about the politicians and high-ranking Falcone henchmen that were sent to Arkham?" Bruce put his face in his victim's face, "They were sane when they went in."
"That wasn't from a damn drug, though!"
"Then what about the second location you and your pal were talking about? Ivy's lab!"
The criminal latched onto Batman's arm, gripping for dear life, "That – That was an ambush!" The man's eyes began to dart back and forth before he smiled wickedly at Bruce, "Just like this was."
Bruce turned around in a flash, being met with a man in a plague doctor's mask and a suit. His hand was stretching towards the billionaire. A gas dispersed from the man's hand with an orange color to it. Bruce threw the criminal into the apartment, managing to land on the balcony on his knees and knocking the new addition to the conflict back into the room! Bruce tried to hold his breath during the throw, but it came at no avail. He breathed in the gas!
He looked up, the darkness beginning to envelop his surroundings.
Focus! I need to warn Aizawa! He tried to reach towards his communicator, but he found himself being thrown backwards into the railing instead as a herd of bats emerged from the darkness. They were attacking him, managing to scrape through the armor and pierce his skin with their teeth! He scrambled to get them off, brushing them to the side, but as one was swatted away, two would take its place. In front of him, another entity began to rise, casting a red aura that covered the room in front of him.
It began to speak, it's voice distorted and stabbing Bruce in the back of his skull, "You like to show people a taste of fear, eh, Batman?" The cackle that came afterwards, it was like thorns churning his bones, making his heart strain as it felt like it was trying to burst from his chest! "With my quirk, Fear Gas, I'll be able to make you feel something ten times worse! What you feel now seems to just be a whiff of the stuff. You didn't even take all of the medicine!"
Bruce stood up, grabbing one of the bats as it tried to go for his eyes. He smashed it against the railing, causing it to burst. "Y-you… You were the one that…"
"Yes, I cleaned up the mess that was Falcone's locked up cronies." The figure began walking forward, each step acting like a tremor and sending Bruce off balance. "Let me introduce myself properly, little bat." The man finally stopped, only inches away from the boy. The mask seemed to shift, the nose turning into serrated mouth, a black liquid falling from it. Through the lenses of the leathery mask was a monster, one that screeched and tried to claw its way out of the lenses with killing intent. "My name is Scarecrow, Batman. I am fear itself."
Bruce swung his arm forward, striking the man and knocking his head clean off. No, I didn't- I couldn't have hit him that hard! He looked at the arm that struck, his knuckles covered in blood and the red liquid spreading down to the rest of his hand, covering his gauntlet and dripping onto the floor. The boy stepped back, slamming into the railing once more.
"Bruce Wayne!" A strong voice called out. He turned around, standing in the center of a courtroom now. His mother and father stood in front of him. Thomas stood above him, his arms crossed. His mother held onto her husband, tears rolling down her face. "I'm disappointed in you. You were supposed to save Gotham, help her people!"
Bruce's shoulders slumped, "But, Father, I'm trying! I didn't mean to kill him!"
"You aren't trying hard enough, Bruce." The man responded, turning to Martha Wayne.
His mother looked back up at the boy, her red tears strolling down her face, "You're just a monster! First you couldn't save us, now you're becoming what killed us! How could you?"
Bruce climbed the fence of the podium, trying to get closer to his parents, "I couldn't save you, I was just a boy! You understand, don't yo-?"
His father grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up, "All I understand is that you're making excuses! Even now, you're letting people die."
"W-what?"
His mother grabbed him by the wrist, screaming at him now, "You let Eraserhead help! And now he's going to die because you decided to let him help! He's probably already dead!"
His father shook his head, "You are not my son." He lifted Bruce up further before looking down. A door opened under where the boy was being held. Tears began to roll down Bruce's face as he gripped his father's hand as hard as he could. "You're only a bastard, doomed to fail."
He began to fall into the dark hole. Bruce scrambled onto anything to grab, but nothing came to him! Only the bats, scratching him as he fell and even pushing him down faster. His face, his chest, his shoulders, he thighs, everything burned. Then, it all came to a halt.
Bruce was back in the rain, his back in pain and him no longer where he once was. He pushed himself up with one hand, falling down before he got up an inch in a scramble. His face landed in a puddle, getting him back to his senses. He pushed again, getting on his knees and looking around quickly.
He had just fallen off of a car, one he had dented and broken all of the glass to as he landed on it. He looked up, Scarecrow looking down at him before moving back into the building and out of view.
It was time to leave.
Batman ran, limping into an alley just so he could gain some distance from the scene. He pressed his fingers to his ear, connecting to Eraserhead, "Aizawa, do you copy? The labs are a trap!"
Eraserhead
The woman raised her hand forward and Aizawa found himself trapped in a green rope as he got the message from the vigilante. He had no time to think about the strain in the Batman's voice but it would be a topic of conversation when they meet up later. If they meet up later, Eraserhead had to remind himself. This situation was still dire and even though he used his own quirk on the woman, which should have temporarily disabled her quirk as long as his eyes stayed open. It seemed like it only made the plants move slower and without as much strength behind it.
Damn, she wasn't lying when she said she was one with the plants. The teacher cursed as he attempted to throw his tendrils at her, which only managed to be blocked by a blockade of thorns which rushed in front of the green woman. The last of his usable cloth around his neck was destroyed. As they were, the sharp stems were retracted to their original place.
"We'll have none of that!" She laughed, taking her steps toward them, "Perhaps we should bring your pals in blue out in the open as well, Eraserhead."
A loud crash sounded in the next room, large vines emerging from around the corner and making their way into the living room. Both Harvey and Jim were tangled in the green foliage. They struggled to get out, looking for any amount of leniency they could get where none seemed to be. This only made the Ivy laugh more before she turned back to the tired hero ensnared in plant stem. The green plant began to carry him closer to the woman.
"Ah, as expected from sacks of meat like yourselves. So easily swayed by the look of a woman and her words, in one way or another." She took hold of Aizawa's chin as he got close, putting her face directly in front of his, "Even now, you're wrapped around my finger with no way to resist what comes next. Soon, the Batman will be within my grasp in much the same way."
"There never was a drug lab here." The teacher sighed before turning back to the woman with more stern in his glare, "So, what's Falcone planning to do with the drugs at Dixon Docks?"
"Oh, those?" She chuckled, "Those are going somewhere else, South America. No clue why. I didn't care to ask."
"So, he's just acting as a middleman? I find it hard to believe the boss of the last crime family of the city would do something like that without incentive." The teacher tried to pull his hand away from the grasp of the plant, but it still didn't give, "What about you? Why are you doing this?"
"That's an easier answer, Eraserhead." She leaned in, her mint breath meeting his face as she grabbed the back of his head, "I want to take control of the industrial world, and crush it."
"How are you planning on doing that?"
She pushed forward, her lips connecting to his. They stayed in that position for a few seconds, the woman laughing to herself as she pulled back and turned to the other boys in the room. She raised her arms and stretched, strutting into the middle of the room.
"Now, he's under the control of Poison Ivy." She let the plants drop the hero. He dropped to his knees, his face pointing to the floor. "My lips are laced with a neurotoxin, one that takes complete control over the mind of whomever I kiss."
Harvey scowled, trying to push himself forward, "C'mon, Eraser! Don't let this broad getcha so easily, fight it!"
The old hero looked up, facing the others. His eyes were not his usual color anymore. The irises, rather than being the typical brown were red. He quickly stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled it out. He threw a cloth tendril forward and struck the Poison Ivy in the face. She was sent off balance, but quickly recovered and glared at the teacher with fire in her eyes!
All the other men that were captured were released. When they were, they ran to the tired hero's side. They were prepared for the fight this time. Both officers had their guns pulled out and Nezu stood behind them all.
"You had extra!" She growled, rubbing her cheekbone, "How were you able to resist my Pheromone Kiss?"
He returned with a glare of his own, "I never blinked since the first time I erased your quirk. It seems that was one thing that was completely erased."
"Yeah! An' now we got ya at the ropes, lady." Bullock pointed the pistol at her head, cocking the hammer back and readying the chamber for a shot, "So why don't you give up an' give us all you got on Falcone, then we'll let you go to Blackgate."
She began laughing again, stepping back, "Oh, you think you've won, do you?" She raised her hand and reached into her shirt, pulling a familiar grey capsule from between her breasts for the four to see.
Aizawa stepped forward, readying the back-up cloth for another strike, "Where did you get that? That shipment was seized by police an hour ago!"
"That shipment was for normal distribution. Falcone gave me this formula, the perfected serum, ahead of time. He was adamant that this operation be completed without a hitch, and this would have been the thing to make my victory a certainty." She uncapped the capsule, revealing the needle of the syringe. "Time to end you four and get on my way to killing the Bat!"
Eraserhead was about to throw a tendril forward, but was interrupted by Hawks ringing in the his earpiece, "Eraser, there's a black car speeding towards the building, and it's only speeding up!"
The woman slowly raised her arm to her neck. Eraserhead knew he didn't have enough time to get the syringe and now with the added factor of reinforcements coming in presumably to help Poison Ivy, this was about to be a narrow chance of victory!
"Aizawa, get down." A growl emerged from the earpiece.
It clicked. The hero turned, tackling the officers and grabbing Nezu with a cloth tendril just as the vehicle burst through the front of the house! It slammed against Poison Ivy, sending her farther into the house and away from the group she previously would have had cornered. The dust and pollen circulated in the air, causing the men to cough excluding Bullock who simply staggered to his feet.
"Okay, what the hell was that!" The larger set man shifted from a calm voice to a yell. He pointed to the car, "Please tell me this is our back-up."
The passenger door was opened, and out crawled the boy in grey and black. Batman looked much paler than he had seemed the last time Aizawa saw him. He did land on his feet, however, slamming the door shut and turning to the four men with a nod. He turned to Ivy.
Eraserhead picked himself up, wrapping the clothe around his neck like a scarf, "She had one of those drugs in the syringes, she called it a perfect formula. The shipment at the docks were a mass production of them." He turned towards Ivy as well, trying to peer through the dust for any sign of her, "Think she made it through getting ran over?"
"She isn't dead, if that's what you're asking." Batman turned back towards the tired hero, "Did she use the serum?"
He shook his head, "I think you stopped her from using it."
"Then I'll let you handle her from here." He turned to walk out of the building.
Eraserhead turned to the officers, who were still staring at Batman with their mouths ajar. "Can you two handle bringing her in?"
James came to attention, nodding to the teacher. He pulled Harvey out of his trance and they got to work while Nezu followed Aizawa out with the vigilante. But when they got out of the house, Batman was gone. With a sigh, Aizawa turned to the furry principal.
"What a peculiar fellow." The principal nodded towards the teacher, "You asked about Falcone earlier. Is Batman involved in that?"
Aizawa nodded, "Him and I made a deal, and on my end I promised to take Falcone down before I returned to Japan."
"Ah, so you want that Batman to join U.A.? He did look the age."
The hero nodded again, "I was hoping there would be something to incriminate Falcone in Ivy's lab, since it was one of the locations the shipments were supposed to go to."
"Luckily for you," the principal brought out a tape recorder, his smile a reassuring one, "I figured it was something like that. I was recording the whole time. With this, plus the men we found at the shipping yard and the drugs, which if memory serves me right is considered a bioweapon if used at the right concentration, he could be tried by the United Nations."
"In other words," the man looked up to the sky, catching a glimpse of the moon as water sprinkled on his face, "Falcone is going to jail before we leave."
Diana
It was around two now, and the boy made progress. Although to Diana's standards it wasn't significant, she cheered him along the whole way. The man with golden hair that sat next to her when she first arrived eventually got up and returned to his original spot next to the driver's side of the truck. By now, the junk was loaded into the truck as high as it could go so Yagi called for a break for a few minutes so he could unload it at a proper landfill. Needless to say, Izuku deserved to fall right on the ground and rest for a bit with how relentless he had been in his training.
Diana could only smile and pick herself up so she could stroll to where he laid. She crouched down, "I can tell through your efforts just how much being a hero means to you."
He laughed to himself through his heavy breathing, "Y-yeah, it was basically a dream of mine since I w-was a kid." He tried to pick himself up, but his arms were shaking as he did. The girl helped him, grabbing his torso and lifting him up so he could stand on two feet. It was here that she finally noticed just how much taller she was compared to him. She stood at 177 centimeters, but he looked roughly 10 centimeters shorter, his hair only helping that image a small amount.
She smiled, "The dream of a child, huh?"
He began scratching the back of his head, his cheeks turning a shade of pink, "I-I suppose that's kinda s-stupid, huh? I mean, I was just as k-kid after all, so t-that would make sense! B-b-but for someone my age to think something like that still? Of c-course, it's not guaranteed and I-I'm sure that I'll be up against others that deserve it more…"
Diana interrupted him by patting him on the back, which made him step forward to keep his balance, "Children have some of the most pure dreams. I find it admirable that you would pursue something as simple and as difficult as wanting to save others!" She smiled, wrapping her arm around him, "I have that very dream myself, after all. Let us help each other fight for truth and for what is right, Midoriya! Let us both become heroes!"
"W-wait, does that mean you're joining U.A. Hero Academy, too, Prince?"
"If that's your path then I will join you, friend!"
Tears began welling in his eyes as he looked up at the girl. He smiled back at her, nodding as he wiped the water from his eyes on his arm. "Right!"
Their moment was interrupted by the sound of a siren. Diana turned around, meeting eyes with the dog-headed police commissioner. She smiled, waving to him, "Tsuragamae! Have you come to enjoy the view of the beach as well?"
The man growled, "No! Why are you out of the police station?"
"What do you mean?" She folded her arms over one another, "I got my permission!"
"Oh? By whose authority?"
"Hayashi, the clerk." She nodded, placing her hands on her hips, "I told him I wanted to relieve myself, so I did so!"
The man put his face in an open hand before sighing loudly. He turned to the boy next to her, then turning back to her, "Who is the boy?"
"My friend, who will be a hero one day; Midoriya!" She announced, wrapping her arm around him again, "He is training here for that pursuit."
The man nodded looked to him, then turned back to her again, "You need to come back until we can contact your parents."
She grumbled, "I already told you that it is impossible to contact anyone from Themyscira!"
The man slammed his hand on the railing, "Themyscira doesn't exist!"
"Old friend!" A voice from behind the commissioner boomed. He eventually stood next to him, the large form that Diana remembered as All Might. "What seems to be the problem here?"
The dog-man turned to the larger man with a sigh, "Oh, nothing. Just dealing with a delinquent."
Diana jumped up, coming face to face with the dog with her cheeks puffed in frustration, "I'm not a delinquent, I speak the truth, Tsuragamae!"
"Greek Gods are myths for a reason, Prince." He went to grab her but she backed up so fast she had an afterimage, to which he only got more frustrated about and slammed his fist against the railing again, "Which is why you are lying about this 'Themyscira' place and about being Amazonian! Those kinds of things aren't real!"
The number one hero put a hand on the officer's shoulder, "Let's calm down now, Tsuragamae, we shouldn't discount things so easily."
"How do you mean, All Might?"
"Well, I know of another hero from America from when I made my debut there. His name was Jay Garrick, called himself Flash. He's retired now, but when he was a hero, he told me the secret to his abilities." The smiling hero put his hand to his chin, "In fact, I'm sure he told me that he was, in fact, quirkless. That he tapped into some sort of energy to make up his speed, or something."
"Okay, make your final point, 'cause I know you want to make it."
"All I'm saying is that there are things that are beyond what we see, and new things should never be discounted." All Might put a finger in the air, "Take that bat demon from Gotham, for instance! He fights crime, and yet it's been said that he possesses supernatural abilities. Perhaps her abilities are somewhat similar."
The commissioner crossed his arms and closed his eyes, moving his head left, then right, then straight up, then he looked down with a sigh, "What do you propose we do with her, then?"
"For now, she needs a proper place to stay and the opportunity to pursue education. Last time I met her, she saved the day before even I arrived, so she's likely to try to become a hero."
The girl rushed forward, nodding, "Yes, a hero, with my friend over there!" She pointed to Izuku, who jumped stiff.
All Might continued, "I'll see what my agency can do expense-wise to find her a place within Musutafu, so you can continue the investigation."
The dog-man didn't respond for a second, crossing his arms and frowning as he repeated the head movement from before, "Fine, I suppose it is inhumane to keep her in the police station." He pointed a finger at her, "But if I find out you've done any vigilante work while under that roof, you'll go right into a jail cell!"
The girl grabbed the commissioner in an embrace with the number one hero, almost making All Might's back strain, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She reeled back, pumping her fists into the air, "You won't regret this, Midoriya and I will be the best heroes you've ever seen!"