Tokyo Airspace
In the two dozen or so years of being a pilot, the woman on the controls had yet to ever experience any form of emergency. Even in the earlier years of piloting, thanks to her quirk, turbulence was never an issue. She could predict where large gusts of wind were coming in from half a minute before the convections started and lightning a whole ten seconds before it struck! It's what allowed her to avoid dangerous storms and get all her passengers to their destination without a hitch. A clean record.
That's why when she and her co-pilot heard a loud kaboosh coming from outside the plane and read that they were losing altitude on one of the displays that she began to panic!
Immediately, she went to reach for the intercom microphone and took hold of it. However, when she brought it to her mouth to speak, there were no words that she could conjure up.
The co-pilot, in response to her inaction, scrambled to activate the emergency life support for the passengers and took the microphone from the pilot's hand.
"All passengers remain calm and put the oxygen masks over your heads! We're experiencing complications with our left engine and will be making an emergency landing soon." He finished before switching the channel from the plane's speakers to aviation control. "Mayday, this is Lime A380! Our left engine has just collapsed on itself and we are above Tokyo as we speak!"
The response came immediately by a man on the other end, "Acknowledged, A380. Give me a minute to bring up your flight path."
It only took five seconds for the operator to get back on the mic. "Your flight is projected to be a few minutes out from a few bodies of water just East of you. We have yet to determine which body is best, but the two best options are Sayama Lake and a reservoir next to Arakawa River."
The pilot snapped back into reality, turning on her quirk and predicting where the winds could take her and her plane. She closed her eyes and searched for the evaporating water in the air. First, she found the lake; two bodies next to one another which seemed to be promising. However, at the distance and elevation they were at, she knew the angle of the landing would be too harsh for the survival of the people on the plane, so the only option would have to be the reservoir.
She grabbed the microphone from the co-pilot and announced to the operator, "We're going to land on the reservoir. Stand by!"
"We'll send some pro heroes that way for backup as fast as we can. Good luck, A380."
She placed the microphone back in its holster and got to work turning the plane in the right direction. The sky this morning was clear, so it was easy to see water from the distance they were at. Within the span of a minute, and the loss of about ten thousand feet already, they were in the right direction and angle to catch the most water. However, a new worry was getting to them.
The co-pilot was the one to voice this concern, "Ma'am, I think the operator forgot to tell us a bridge was over the reservoir."
Right at the end of the improvised landing zone was a small bridge that stretched across and above the water. Panic began to set in again within the pilot.
"It's the only place we can land by now, Takasu! Any sharper of an angle, the water will destroy the first half of First Class at minimum." With a long breath, she nodded and focused her sights on the water, "We're going to have to bite the bullet on this-."
A loud creak sounded to their port side. The pilot dreaded to turn her head, but she did anyways. Hoping for every fiber in her body that the engine hadn't taken a wing with it. What she saw made her think she was delirious. On the bottom of the wing was what looked like a person holding up said wing with their palms. The blown engine was also extinguished, presumably by the hero. They turned to her, giving a gesture looking like a salute before returning to carrying the wing of the plane. The pilot waved back, returning to her own controls as she pulled the controls back and the plane began to regain altitude it once lost.
The co-pilot held his breath for a few seconds before letting it out in a heavy exhale. "I didn't think we had a hero that could help us out here like that."
"Me neither. I'm glad to be proven wrong, though." The pilot smiled.
She grabbed the microphone again and switched back to the speakers on the plane. "The emergency has been averted; we will be landing at the nearest airport as soon as we can."
Clark Kent
Clark landed at the school gate where Diana was waiting with his bag. She tossed it to him, and they rushed towards the entrance to the school in a run.
"I commend you for helping those people, Kent. But you're about to make us late." The girl brought to the boy's attention.
They rounded the corner and practically leapt up the stairs. Clark responded, "I'm less worried about being late than word travelling to Aizawa about-!" On the last turn of the stairs, they came face to face with the lethargic man himself with his hands in his pockets and a scowl formed on his face.
He cut off the Kryptonian, "What are you hoping I don't find out about?"
He ended up walking to class with the both of them and Clark had to tell him about the plane. Aizawa excused it when he looked up the incident on his phone. The only two reasons for that was because no one was hurt and they couldn't tie Clark to U.A. Academy.
"I thought I had to worry more about Lane than you." The tired teacher groaned, scratching the back of his head.
"Why? He hasn't done anything since coming here from Gotham, why should you be concerned about it?" Diana asked.
The teacher nodded, "That's kind of why I'm worried about it. I honestly expected him to do something, to go against my word of him to stop his vigilantism. In fact, I'm sure he still is in some way. That's why it worries me, because whatever he is doing is being kept under wraps."
Clark wanted to say Aizawa was wrong, but he shared the same concerns about Bruce. He's been able to discover Clark's biggest secret in less than a month of knowing him and the only reason Clark knew Bruce knew was because the Gothamite told him he knew. The little bit Clark was able to discover about Bruce outside of that was only because of the abilities he had. Anything he was told by him was only what he wanted Clark to know, and he was sure that was a mere fraction of everything he knew. The meticulousness of which he combed the scene at Snipe's apartment was a testament to that.
"He hasn't gotten me involved in any of it, so if he is doing anything I'm in the dark about it." The Kansas boy finally remarked.
"Just like in Gotham before I offered my recommendation." Aizawa turned to Clark, "If you do find anything, get involved. I don't want him to do something stupid and get into a situation. He's good, but he's also arrogant. More so than Bakugou at times. It could get him hurt."
"Yes, sir." The American nodded.
Diana smirked and slammed her fist against her chest, "You can count on me, too, Aizawa!"
"Don't be so up in arms about it. The less students trying to do hero work illegally, the better. So as far as I'm concerned, you didn't hear this conversation, Prince." The teacher ended the conversation.
He opened the door to the classroom. Bruce was already at the front of the class with a clipboard and a pen, taking attendance. He didn't face any of the newest arrivals, but he did begin writing on the clipboard when they came in.
"The three of you are late. Prince isn't a big deal, but I expect better of you two."
Aizawa took a disgruntled breath.
Clark chuckled, "If I didn't know any better, I would have said that was a joke."
"If you knew any better, you wouldn't be late as the class' Representative." He handed the clipboard to Aizawa. "Everyone's here. Class can start."
The three students went to their desks and the teacher slowly crept to the podium to start everything. The class started and everything went on as normal. Starting with core subjects until lunch. Then, the students grouped up in their normal cliques and sat down with their food. Bruce was the first to sit down at the table with his tray with Clark not far behind. Eventually, the others sat down with them. Midoriya, Uraraka, Tenya, and Prince joining them. New to the table today was Yaoyorozu and Tsuyu who arrived last with Prince.
Clark, however, was focused on the TV nearby which was on the news channel going over a story about a murder in Hosu by the infamous Hero Killer who had yet to be named. The tally of murders was up to nine now, and yet he was still on the loose.
"I'm glad they aren't showing any images." Clark took some chicken from his tray and began to chew, "But, it's surprising that they haven't caught him yet."
Bruce dipped some meat in sauce before replying to him, "So far his attacks have been on just one or two people at a time, and without a recognizable pattern other than that they all take place within Hosu. That's a large area that becomes a maze when you take alleyways into account."
"So you've been keeping track of that case, huh? I guess it wouldn't work to create search parties." The Kansas boy tried to guess one of the vigilante's positions.
Unexpectedly, Midoriya piped in with his head low, "W-wouldn't that mean he would try to hide a bit better until the search stopped?"
"Exactly." Bruce responded, turning back to Clark, "He obviously isn't dumb, it's why he's lasted this long. As soon as you send search teams, he can either lay low or more simply leave the city."
"So, what, people just have to hunt him down individually? It just sounds like that'll lead to more people dying for no reason."
"Maybe when you become a licensed hero you can take that route. But for just about anyone else, a killer like that isn't that simple to track down let alone take down."
"Oh, as if you have any room to talk." Clark jabbed at the disguised billionaire. "Either way, like you said, that would have to wait until I get the hero license."
"Are you sure that wouldn't stop you?" He responded while looking up to the news channel where the anchorman changed the segment.
"In other news, a plane which was on course to possibly destroy Sakitama Bridge overseeing Arakawa River and the reservoir beside it had been rescued by an unknown hero, possibly a vigilante, as reported by eyewitnesses. The unidentified hero single-handedly lifted the left wing, allowing the plane to land at the closest airport and managing to save everyone onboard without a single casualty! We have Janaru at the scene to help these people and the pilots share their experience."
"Pretty par for the course for the one who lifted the obstacle robot out of the arena in the entrance ceremony, ribbit." Tsuyu remarked. "I wonder if even All Might could do something like that."
Tenya looked up to the frog girl, "We shouldn't try to compare a student to someone as revered as All Might. It's unbecoming."
Clark waved his hand with a nervous smile, "Besides that, I'm not even sure if I really could compare to All Might. He has so much more experience fighting than I do and Midoriya has shown me plenty of videos of what he's capable of."
That was genuinely what he thought, too. When he was active, he was a force to be reckoned with. The equivalent of a pre-quirk atomic bomb if he were to unleash an attack with all of his strength! Clark was strong, sure, but he wasn't nearly confident enough that he could do something like that. Especially after going head-to-head with Bruce, someone who was quirkless and yet was still able to hurt him, his idea of what could and couldn't hurt him shifted.
"Either way, it isn't worth talking about. All Might and I won't ever have to fight and I'm not planning on changing that any time soon." The Kryptonian finished.
"Unless you don't have a choice." Bruce replied, finishing his meal before turning to Clark.
Tenya gestured towards Clark, his face, "Either way, you need to set a better example for the class, Kent. We are all attending this school now, so we should follow procedure as the law prohibits."
"We should get going, Class President. There are responsibilities we have to keep up with outside of unlawfully saving airplanes." The disguised student finished.
"Sure thing, Vice President the Gotham City Vigilante." Clark mocked as he finished his meal and left with the Gothamite to do their work.
Izuku Midoriya
When Izuku got to class with the rest of his peers, Kent took attendance in a near instant with his superspeed before he and Lane returned to their desks. Aizawa started class and everything continued as a normal classroom would. This was, until the end of the day when the teacher began talking about an upcoming field trip to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint to gain some experience in rescuing victims of different scenarios when they returned from the weekend.
Which means All Might will be leading class again! Midoriya beamed as he packed his bag to make his way home. I have to get One For All under control by then so I can make this quirk my own and impress him! I will stand out from the crowd! Even above Clark!
He was snapped out of his thoughts when Aizawa called for him. He marched over to the podium where he stood within his sleeping bag.
"You called me over, sir?"
"Yes." The teacher responded coldly, "Because of your reckless behavior in the Heroes vs Villains exercise, you won't have a costume ready until after the field trip, so you need to go to the locker room and pick up your track suit before you leave Monday as we won't be coming to the classroom on Monday."
Izuku nodded, adjusting the strap on his shoulder before replying, "I'll go right away, Aizawa."
The teacher didn't acknowledge him. Instead, he turned away and wiggled back to the corner of the room to take a nap. This didn't bother Midoriya, but it still was something he found strange for a teacher to be doing, let alone one in the best hero school of the country. But there was also no way he would ever speak up about it.
Instead, he made his way to the locker room because he at least wanted the tracksuit to be clean when they left on Monday. And he was certain it wasn't smelling the best after the most recent physical conditioning class the class had that week.
He made his way out of the classroom and towards the lower floors where the locker rooms were located. He quickly opened his locker and placed the clothes in his bag. That was when he saw he had forgotten his notebook in the classroom. Thus, he closed his bag and backtracked all the way up to the classroom again. When he got there, everyone seemed to have left already, including Aizawa.
"I guess the corner wasn't the best place to sleep." He remarked.
Izuku strolled to his desk and found it immediately underneath his desk propped up against the wall.
Huh, I must have dropped it at some point. The boy speculated to himself.
He placed it in his bag and closed it before motioning towards the door. He began his pilgrimage down the hall towards the stairs when he saw Sero leaning against the wall at the corner. Izuku raised an eyebrow and was about to speak up when he heard two people talking in the stairwell.
Is Sero eavesdropping? The boy pieced together.
Midoriya walked behind him, to which the boy with the black hair noticed. He quickly, and silently, pulled Izuku towards him with a finger on his lips and pointed to the stairwell. The green-haired boy tried to resist but stopped when he heard who the voices were.
"It just doesn't make sense! Aizawa said he would handle it." Clark pleaded.
"And so far, he's been doing an okay job, for a cop. He's moving too slow for my tastes." It was Michael. "I'm just giving him and the police department a small push is all."
"What you're doing is illegal and it's going to get you into more trouble than it's worth. What if you get hurt?"
"I won't."
"How do you know?"
"Because you'll be there. Or are you leaving me to my own devices despite our teacher's request?"
There was a pause before the Kansas boy sighed.
"Do you even know where you're going?"
"ACE Chemicals. I've seen the agent from that factory, though usually it only ever makes people sick. It almost never becomes a lethal dose."
"We're going all the way to Gotham?"
"ACE went international two years ago and Japan was one of the first countries to contract a few factories along with Russia, China, India and France. It just so happens that Kanagawa has one such factory along the shore."
There was another pause before Clark groaned and replied with, "Fine, we'll go."
"We'll be making a small detour before heading in, but we should move for the goal when night falls."
"We can take the train somewhere in Kanagawa and to the pitstop." Clark finished as the two made their way down the stairs, their footsteps becoming quieter as more distance was gained between the two Americans and the two Japanese boys.
Sero took a deep breath while clutching his chest. He released his shirt and turned to Izuku, his face more serious than Izuku could recall ever seeing it. Even though the two never had any real conversations yet, he could tell Sero typically took things on the chin. He was almost always laid back and making jokes with his group in the class when Aizawa wasn't talking.
"Midoriya, they were talking about Snipe's death before you came around. We have to follow them." He concluded.
The green-haired boy took a defensive stance, "Follow them?! D-do you realize what you're saying? You're saying you want to follow t-the Batman! Not to mention Clark's enhanced hearing."
"I live in Tokyo, it's right next to Kanagawa. If they see us, we can just say we're hanging out at my place later and wanted to get some grub before we made it back." Sero put his hand on Izuku's shoulder, "Kent and Lane will probably be fine, but knowing that it's someone that killed a Pro Hero…"
He didn't have to finish to get Midoriya to understand. No matter how strong either of them were, it didn't stop him from wondering if somehow someone might be able to fight Clark on equal footing. And although capable he has proven himself to be, Batman could be hurt if he slipped up. All it takes is one person with the right ingenuity and desire to do bad things to put them in a spot. Midoriya sympathized with Sero.
It's just the point that Midoriya didn't have control over his quirk that made him hesitate the most.
"I'll have to text my mom that I'm going to be out late." The boy with green hair finally answered with a knot in his stomach.
Sero and Midoriya began to walk towards the train station as the sky was painted orange by the sunset. Inko gave her son the 'ok' to hang out with Sero so there were no worries there. They managed to catch up with the Americans, entering an entirely separate train car and waiting to get to the Kanto prefecture. By the time they reached their destination the sky was becoming more red and the air had begun to cool. The crowded sidewalks made trailing the Americans more difficult, but they barely managed to see them turn into an alley.
Both the Japanese boys ducked into an alley behind a dumpster, watching the Americans who stopped at a Tovater brand car painted black with curtains in the back of the car. It was clear that it was a much higher end vehicle, even if it was more classy than a sports car. Within the car in the driver's seat was a thin man with an eagle mask you would expect at a masquerade over his head and wearing a black suit.
He grabbed something from the passenger seat and climbed out, revealing a suitcase.
"Here you are, sir. One Batsuit as per your request."
Lane took the suitcase while the thin man reached for another. "Here you are, young master Kent. I took the liberty of retrieving your costume as well."
The Kansas boy raised an eyebrow, "Wasn't this at the school?"
The Gothamite nodded. The other American simply shook his head. "Resourceful as ever."
They both stepped into the backseat of the vehicle, a curtain pulled around the back windows. Within a minute, the door opened once again to reveal Batman and Clark Kent in his blue and red outfit. The suitcases were handed to the thin man.
"Take them to Clark's apartment. We'll meet you there later, Old Eagle." The Batman ordered.
The thin man bowed, "As you wish."
The old man climbed back into the car, turning over the engine and driving out of the alley. Midoriya and Sero had to duck behind garbage bags so as to not be seen by the driver, but they managed to evade being spotted even still. Once it was gone, they looked back over to their two peers only to catch that they were also gone.
Sero jumped out from the dumpster, Midoriya following the motion. "I can't believe they got their outfits from school! What the hell was that guy's deal with the car calling Kent 'master?'"
"Sero, we have to catch up to them."
"You're right. Luckily for us," the black-haired boy dug into his bag, pulling out two rolls of tape, "I've got some of my own gear, too!"
Midoriya cautiously frowned at him.
"Before you think it's hypocritical, keep in mind this is just tape. Not a briefcase with military-grade gear."
He rolled up his sleeves and placed the tape rolls into his elbow's tape rollers. Sero gestured to his shoulders, to which Midoriya moved behind him to take hold of them. Sero threw his arm up, elbow pointing to the building rooftops, which shot tape up to it. Once it caught, the tape began to reel the two up at a high enough speed to send them over the ledge of the building and landing them on top.
The two peered over the buildings, catching sight of the ACE Chemicals factory's iconic neon green sign which hung high on the factory walls. There was a small distance to cover still, but they saw the destination. Midoriya and Sero began to move towards it, jumping over alleys that were narrow enough for both to make it or Sero using tape to swing both of the boys over any larger gaps. With only one small slipup from Midoriya with a gap he misjudged, which was saved by the tape-boy's quick reflexes, they were able to reach the building across from the factory.
"Gotta find where they entered from." Sero mumbled.
Midoriya looked down at the parking lot, which only had a handful of vans with the ACE Chemicals logo on the side. The entrance at the front was closed with no sign they entered through there. The boy looked up at the large chimneys which were still smoking, wondering if they might have gone through the top down below. He continued to look for anything else, like an open window or-
Midoriya pointed to one of the side buildings on the site, "There's a vent that's bent open! That has to be where they entered from."
Sero spotted the makeshift entrance to the factory before nodding. "Good eyes, Midori."
"Midori?" The green-haired boy was stunned.
"Sorry, guess I should have asked if a nickname was okay."
"I-I mean it's fine, I was just a little shocked was all. I've never had a nickname before."
"What do you mean? I thought Baku-."
The two were interrupted by the breaking of metal down below. Two blank white vans burst through the gate, turning into a drift until the back of one van was facing the entrance to the main building where the chimneys were located. The other slid just next to it. Both of the van doors burst open so men with leather masks with long noses could climb out. Midoriya decided that whatever it was they were after, it was bad.
"We need to move and warn them!"
Izuku grabbed onto Sero's shoulders and the two took off towards the vent the Americans entered from. Midoriya was in the lead, crawling forward as what little light that was created by the night sky diminished. This was why he didn't see that the vent in front of him went down as his hand met nothing and he began to fall. Frantic, he kicked both his feet out as he fell! As his feet pushed outward, he felt pressure on his back and soon, his descent stopped right above the lower level.
Sero turned on a flashlight on his phone, looking down into the shaft with a smile and a thumb up.
"Nice catch, Midori! You're just like those guys in American spy movies." He whispered.
Izuku shook his head, "I didn't mean to do this. I-I'm stuck. Help me!"
Sero shrugged, throwing tape up onto the vent wall above Midoriya and moving to slowly drop himself. When he got close to the panicked boy below, Izuku grabbed onto his leg so they could both land softly. Sero opted to take the lead after that, moving forward and Peering through any vent covers along the way in the search for where Batman and Clark went. This lasted for a minute before they reached a section that had no vents and no lights shining through. On top of that, the heat from inside the vents was starting to get to them. The boys stopped where they were, taking a minute to take a few deep breaths.
Sero nagged with a pant, "Maybe we should have found a different way in. I don't get how Lane can go through these vents with all of his armor."
Izuku shrugged before wiping sweat off his brow. "I don't know. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how he knew where to go from in here."
Sero shook his head, "A map, maybe?"
"So how will we know where to drop in from?"
"I can answer that one." A new voice echoed between the boys under the floor of the vent.
A pair of hands ripped through the vent's bottom. From the new hole made from the vent emerged the head of a familiar head of black hair. Clark had a stern look on his face as he exchanged looks between both Midoriya and Sero.
"What are you two doing following us?"
Before Midoriya could think of a response, Sero leaned forward, "What are you two doing acting like vigilantes?!"
"That's one question you're going to have to ask Batman. It was his decision."
"You went along with it even though you could have stopped him."
The argument was interrupted by the faint sound of a bang, which made Clark go wide-eyed. He turned away, but grimaced as he peered towards the source of the sound.
"That was an explosion." The American announced. He turned back to the boys, "If you two are already here, you might as well come down."
The both of them nodded before reaching for Kent to let them both down to where both the Americans were currently set up. It was a control station which oversaw the whole factory. It had camera monitors which were disabled, evident from the 'No Signal' icon on each monitor. Batman was on the terminal, typing at an incredible speed and unmoved by the new arrivals.
"Cameras in the main chamber went dark. Someone other than the four of us broke in." The vigilante stated matter-of-factly.
"They got here as soon as Sero and I began to move inside." Midoriya stepped forward, "They were wearing some kind of masks with long noses."
"A plague doctor's mask?" Batman looked back at the Japanese boy.
Midoriya nodded.
He turned to the other American, "This just got complicated. We have to get to that chamber before they can get those chemicals."
"Does that mean we're fighting them?" Sero asked.
"No."
Batman began to march towards the door to the control room towards the walkways over the vats in the room.
"They aren't coming here. The chemicals they're after are in the main mixing chamber." Before he stepped out, he looked over his shoulder at them, "So you two are staying here and out of the way."
"Now hang on a minute!" Sero tried to retaliate.
Batman turned around, scowling at the boy and stomping forward. With each step, his face become shrouded in darkness until he was inches away from Sero. The boy with tape backed up, flinching when Batman's eyes narrowed.
"You have no experience in fighting against criminals and Midoriya doesn't have control over his quirk. What could you do other than get in the way at this point?" Batman asked, but Sero didn't answer. "Stay. Put."
The vigilante turned away again, grabbing his grapnel gun from the back of his belt. He began marching forward, breaking off into a sprint out of the door. He leapt forward, using the railing of the walkway to jump forward in the smoke of the vat below. He became enveloped in the steam and disappeared in the darkness of the factory. The only thing being left behind as evidence he was there being the words which stuck in the back of his head and which visibly was a blow to Sero's self-esteem.
"Gee… try not to take what he said personally guys." Kent apologized, beginning to step towards the door, "For the record, I don't agree with him. I think you guys could help."
Kent leapt into the air, pushing himself forward and through the same gas Batman jumped through. The Japanese boys were left in the control room with nothing to do but wait.
Clark Kent
Bruce was waiting above the lights for Clark. He sat perched along the steel foundations of the ceiling. Clark levitated towards him and above the lights with him to reduce the chances of being caught. The criminals spoke amongst themselves below. There were eleven men and one woman with long, curly red hair and a short sleeve purple jumpsuit. Her arms were crossed and she was simply watching as the men of the crew scrambled back and forth, carrying barrels of chemicals.
Clark wasn't interested in them, though. He levitated towards Batman.
"You shouldn't be so harsh to our classmates, they were just worried about us." the Kryptonian stated.
"I never asked them to be concerned about me. Either way, now isn't the time." the disguised billionaire pointed towards the van where a thug was stationed, "He has a gun in his back pocket, an uzi pistol. We should take him down first."
Clark looked towards the one crook other than the woman that wasn't heaving barrels back and forth. He used his X-ray vision to get a good view of the weapon and the rest of his contents.
"Two extra magazines in his jacket pockets, too."
Batman nodded, turning to the woman. "Other than him, the only other thing to note is her."
"What about her?"
"She's a hired gun. Bette Sans Souci, more commonly known as Plastique." Bruce answered, "The rest are unknowns."
Clark nodded, crossing his arms, "What's the plan, then?"
"I'll get the scumbag with the gun out of the way first. I'll need Plastique out of the way to deal with the rest, though."
"Her quirk is that strong?"
"Think of her quirk like a combination of Uraraka's and Bakugo's. She can prime any object she places her fingertips upon like a bomb and she doesn't have anything against using people as the object. I'll signal you when you should attack."
Clark nodded, rising farther up to prepare for a flying tackle. He watched as Batman strode around the beams, moving above the thug with the gun and pulling out his grapnel gun again. Without much hesitation, the Gothamite shot the gun into the ground, falling backwards as it hit the ground. The criminal below him was too distracted by the embedded hook to notice that he was about to be grabbed from behind.
Batman struck him in the back of his leg, sending him to his knee and grabbing the gun from his belt. The grapnel hook was tied around his arm, and then he was sent upwards on the makeshift pulley. Clark definitely heard his arm dislocate.
"I know you work for Scarecrow, Bette. You will tell me where he is!"
"You do exist? At first, I thought you would be some kind of monster. Then I find you're just some kid just like the papers suggested." She began laughing, "Sorry, kid, tonight we work for another. And you will never know who from me."
"Joker, then." Batman filled in the blank.
Plastique frowned, snapped her fingers and her men began putting down the barrels of chemicals. "So, what happens when I decide not to tell you where he is, Bat Man?"
Bruce tilted his head to the sides, popping it twice on either side. He lowered his stance, spreading his legs and getting into a more defensive stance.
"We hurt you."
That was the cue! Clark burst down, changing his flight directory so he charged directly into the terrorist's torso. They both flew upwards and away from the scene that Bruce was occupying. To the criminals this would seem nearly instantaneous but to him he was still going fairly slow. But he had to move slow so he wouldn't risk hurting her too badly.
As they burst into an inventory room the woman reached her arm out towards Clark's body. She didn't make contact, however, as he tossed her underhanded into the room so she slid across the concrete. She slid until she hit empty barrels that once chlorine.
Batman
He was left alone with a count of ten men, who were all preparing their quirks for a fight. Most were unsubstantial and served as little more than what normal knives, bats and crowbars would for quirkless henchmen or just cosmetic changes to their bodies. There was one exception of a man with a quirk that turned his feet into roller blades on command, but he would be little more than a nuisance. In fact, he would be the one to show Batman exactly what it was they were planning on doing to start the fight.
The thug with the roller blades wheeled himself backwards, allowing three of the henchmen to take their steps forward. One of the criminals had a blade sticking out of his wrist but was of average height and a slightly narrow build. The other two were simply large with no apparent quirk on their outward appearance while holding one large pipe each. While those three were distracting the vigilante, the one with the roller blades would flank behind their opponent and would either attempt a tackle or would use a normal strike to throw off Batman's balance. In response, Batman took a more defensive stance.
The two brutes rushed forward, both swinging down at the same time. Batman jumped up, sliding between the pipes and positioning himself on top of their weapons. On reflex, they tried to throw him off. Batman used that force to throw himself into the air and back towards his original position. As he was fell, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. The man with the roller blades was rushing forward thinking he found an opportunity.
In reality, he was taking the bait.
Batman whipped out his grapnel gun, shooting it in a quickfire at the criminal. The hook penetrated his right shoulder, causing him to scream as the vigilante yanked him slightly into the air. However, the vigilante also motioned towards him because of the force and the weight difference. This was within his estimations.
When they got close to each other, Batman grabbed the crook and tore the hook out of his shoulder by throwing him over the vigilante. The force was enough to send him flying towards the three that stood in front of him previously. The two larger men were too slow to dodge but the one with the wrist-blade easily ducked underneath. Batman landed on the steps of a catwalk that laid behind him with steam pipes acting as a wall on the opposite side he entered the catwalk from. Batman backed up so he was on level ground. The man rushing didn't relent.
But it wasn't different than a man with a knife.
The blade went towards Batman's thigh, but was easily blocked by the armor of the boot. The other criminals weren't waiting around anymore, either. Some opted to take the stairs on the other end, others decided to act as backup for the bladed man in case he fell to the vigilante's defense. Two took the bold approach of jumping directly onto the catwalk. They were trying to remove any amount of breathing room they could.
Another swipe of the blade was parried, sending the blade away from the man and giving an opportunity for Bruce to send a bone-crushing heel into the assailant's face with the other foot! He was sent back and into the small crowd behind him, but he probably wouldn't be getting up again. While the two backup henchmen were preoccupied tending to their buddy, Bruce turned his attention to the ones closing in behind him.
The first one had a tentacle for a hand. This would be tricky, as there was no joint to dislocate very easily. However, this was just a small obstacle.
The criminal threw his tentacle downwards! Batman jump up and slightly backwards, landing on the railing and dropping only once the arm went downwards all the way. The tentacle landed on the metal flooring and was crushed by the boy's weight! His lowered stance was unexpected on the criminal's part, which was the opening. His head was grabbed by his short hair.
One fist, another with a speckle of blood, another now with blood splattered on the fist, another to crush the nose completely! That final punch sent the scum straight to the floor and cleared the way for the next. But that attack, while incapacitating the previous man, took enough time that the people behind him closed their distance and were almost on the billionaire! Bruce needed to buy time.
He pulled out a sharpened batarang, waiting for the man in front of him to throw his right jab. Bruce side-stepped and rammed the arm into the pipes to his left with his shoulder. With the man's arm trapped beneath Bruce's body, the batarang was sent into the pipes in the direction Batman retreated from! The hand of the pinned criminal was caught in the explosion of steam, which also gave the flanking men pause to wait for the boiling steam to dissipate.
Now it was time to get off the catwalk, as soon Bruce would be surrounded! He let go of the panicked man whose hand was going to be left with immense scarring. He pulled his grapnel gun so it pointed at the catwalk above them, shooting it. He grabbed the scarred thug and pulled him by his belt with him as he soared through the air!
Bruce let out a growl as they fell down, dropping the man and landing with a fist against his head in the middle of the floor! He was done.
The Bat quickly turned, grabbing the grapnel gun from its place and counting the criminals remaining.
'Only six?' Bruce turned to the van, seeing the first assailant with the roller blades laying on the ground, unconscious. 'Vasovagal syncope; low pain tolerance.'
Bruce turned back, he would soon be surrounded by the remaining six in a way that was less than ideal. This was in no way easier now that the number was cut in half. The worst thing to do in the martial artist's mind was to get carried away thinking this fight was done already. That led to mistakes. Six men versus one is still potential to lose it.
And now, they would start getting desperate.
Izuku Midoriya
The second sound of an explosion went off! This time, it sent a few dials in the control room into a frenzy. It made Midoriya feel uneasy, he wasn't sure if it was Batman, Kent, or if something worse happened. Either way, he couldn't just sit around!
Izuku turned to Sero, "We should go help!"
"Are you kidding me?" Sero crossed his arms while sitting in his chair. He began growling to mock their classmate's deep voice, "'What could you do other than get in the way?' Why should we help him after he says something like that?"
"Kent believed in us." Izuku replied, turning towards the door the two others took towards the main chamber. "I'm going to help, even if he thinks I shouldn't. Because a hero wouldn't sit around and do nothing. A hero would get involved."
Midoriya didn't wait for the boy with tape elbows, he rushed forward and towards the mixing chamber! He would be lying if he said he was scared. But at this rate, if he kept listening to Batman telling him he couldn't do anything, he wouldn't be able to improve! He wouldn't be able to hope to catch up to Clark, Prince or Batman. He might not be able to become the Symbol of Peace he needed to become!
'I can already tell you three are raising the bar for what a Hero is, and if you do that then I have to meet you there!' Midoriya smiled as he steeled himself for what would come next. 'After all, that's what it means to go beyond; Plus Ultra!'
I just wanted to say that I apologize for the hiatus!
I didn't want to leave this story, nor the Dr. Doom/Shield Hero in the states they were in (especially Doom/Shield Hero). However, as one could expect, life got in the way for me to set time aside to focus on one chapter of either for too long. But, I did work on a little at a time the while I was gone, but I felt like if I wasn't entirely into the making of the stories then it wouldn't make something I would want to read. At that point, what would be the point in writing the story, right? The whole point of fanfictions is to have fun while making stories that otherwise wouldn't be made and to tell our own stories with it.
So, again, I apologize to those who were waiting for a new chapter and never had it come. I do plan on trying to focus on Doom/Shield Hero after this chapter and trying to get back into that cycle now that I have a little more free time.
Thanks to all of those who supported this story while it was being updated closer to something that could be called regularly, and hopefully I can get back into the swing of things!
As always, tell me what you think about the chapter!