Clark Kent
Maybe it wasn't one of Clark's finest moments, throwing Plastique into a bunch of throwable objects in a room with only a little space to fly around. As soon as she got to her feet, she threw one barrel towards the flying boy. The alien was able to get out of the way of the barrel, but then she activated her quirk. The barrel exploded as it got within three meters of Clark, which was just barely enough to get him caught in the explosion! The boy winced in preparation for the pain!
He was sent flying back down to Earth, bouncing on his back and flipping to his front for his landing.
It didn't hurt, but he could tell he wasn't resisting the attack as much as he would have in other circumstances. It was night time and he didn't even have access to the reflected sunlight of the Moon! Much like when he was back at the elementary in Kansas, he was still strong enough to resist most things it seemed. However, he was still weaker. Weak enough that Bette's touch-based mines could push him around.
Kent pushed himself off the ground, easily getting back into the air and getting his sights on the mercenary who was smirking.
"You're pretty tough, kid. But now you're all alone, and I have plenty of fuel for my explosions in here!" She placed her hand on another barrel, activating her quirk. It was the first time Clark was able to get a look at it, but as she activated her quirk, the space between her hand and the barrel began to glow a warm orange before dissipating. "Let's see if you can withstand the heat, American!"
She threw the mine. It was sent higher than Clark was currently floating! He was able to easily see it coming this time, though, and dashed out of the way of the explosion before it was able to impact him, although only barely. He turned back to her, crossing his arms. He wasn't able to hold back his own smirk.
"That won't work again, lady. I'm a bit too fast to be hit by your explosions, now that I know what to expect." The boy explained.
"If that's the case, what are you waiting for? With your speed you could have stricken me down by now. So, why am I not missing teeth already?" Her smile never faded, "I mean, you are with the Bat Man. And every criminal in Japan knows what that means by now."
"Woah, time out, lady!" Clark made an 'X' with his arms, "I'm working with him, but that doesn't mean I do things like he does."
Plastique placed her hands behind her back, taking a seat on one of the chlorine barrels. "Judging from the colorful outfit, that much is clear. You're a goody two shoes, aren't you? Don't want to break the rules and don't want to hurt people, right?"
Clark didn't answer, but there wasn't much he could say against that. Sure, he was breaking the rules now by being here conducting an investigation, but that wasn't nearly the same as fighting a criminal! He certainly didn't want to actually hit anyone. Mainly because he wasn't sure about how to hit a person without doing too much damage. That was only a recent revelation, however.
After his bout with Batman in the Basic Hero Training, he realized that it wasn't difficult for him to hurt other people. The walls that felt like soggy paper to Clark in his rage was able to break Bruce's ribs when he was thrown through them. Even though the billionaire made it clear that him being sent through walls was part of his plan, as crazy as that was. It was a moment for introspection for the Kryptonian both in terms of his defense and his offense. Although he was able to rule out Bette being capable of hurting him significantly like Bruce had, he knew that if he actually hit her, it could seriously hurt her.
Plastique nodded, "That's what I thought. So, rather than being the one with the upper hand, it seems you've created your own stalemate!"
"Maybe I did." Clark crossed his arms, "But, that just means once Batman arrives-."
"What if your vigilante buddy doesn't arrive?" The mercenary replied, smirking as she brought a handful of pebbles out from her pocket, "He's capable, but against ten grown men? Even with lousy quirks, ten guys should be able to defeat a boy dressed as a flying rodent."
She threw the pebbles towards Clark. The alien burst upwards, getting caught in an explosion formed at the bottom of his feet! He was able to recover just fine, but Bette wasn't done with her assault. She threw two barrels back to back. However, neither barrel seemed to reach high enough.
They were thrown a distance lower than what could reach the alien, which almost made him chuckle. However, he might have celebrated that miss a bit too late.
One barrel reached its peak before the other barrel, so the second container managed to get above the first. The first barrel exploded, the trajectory of the second barrel sharply changed! Like a bullet, the second blue barrel burst towards Clark until he was face to face with the word, "Chlorine."
"Oh, crap." Clark muttered before trying to burst away from the barrel!
He tried to move towards the room this time, getting caught in the explosion which, this time, was large enough to send him downwards and towards Plastique! He couldn't recover with his flight ability. He was only capable of keeping himself upright as he fell towards her. Her calm smirk had turned into a sinister grin by now! She flexed her arm upwards, ready to catch the Kryptonian in her hand to cause the most harm to him!
Izuku Midoriya
An idiot.
That's the title Izuku gave himself when he threw the wrench.
He wanted to help Batman, as he was surrounded by multiple criminals. Izuku couldn't tell if he was winning or losing, but he could tell that the bad guys managed to get a few hits on him. His nose was bleeding and he was caught in a flurry with them. Izuku looked around for anything, desperately, for any idea that came to him to help. Then he saw the wrench laying on a drum container.
The first thought was, 'throw.' And for some reason that escaped the boy, he listened to the first thought!
The wrench managed to hit one of the smaller men in the back! Said criminal turned to Izuku immediately and set his sights on the student and even recruited another. He rushed in Izuku's direction, which meant walking up some stairs to get onto the walkway which crossed the room. This made Izuku's heart crawl into his throat! The Musutafu resident took a few steps back, frantic to think of an idea about what to do.
He tried to act tough, raising his hands in front of himself. They were balled into shaky fists. The two criminals in front of him grinned with malicious intent. Izuku looked down at his hand, considering using One For All against them. Would it be worth breaking his finger over this?
He didn't have to answer this question, as the leading criminal was slammed against the railing by his head. The force behind this impact being the Batman's boot against his skull as he vaulted onto the walkway! The second approaching criminal took a moment to pause, which allowed the Batman the turn to the Japan native.
"You didn't listen." He stated, before sending another kick to the criminal behind him, sending him crashing against the walkway and making Midoriya aware that the number of men approaching were now four including the criminal the vigilante just knocked down. "Neither of you did."
Midoriya turned back, catching Sero who was panting behind him. The other hero shook his head.
"And leave the fun to you? Not a chance." The black-haired student remarked.
An explosion sounded loudly from within the factory, and even managed to shake the walkway. The criminals were sent to the ground from the force of it and Midoriya only barely managed to keep his footing. This caused Batman to simply click the roof of his mouth.
"Dammit, Smallvile!" He cursed, turning to Sero, "Tape, go help him. Didn't think he needed it."
Sero nodded, launching a line of tape to the ceiling and making his way to where Kent presumably was dealing with someone. Midoriya was left with the vigilante, who took a few steps towards his fellow student. He pulled out an object from his belt, handing it to Midoriya. It was a blade of some kind but was shaped like a bat.
"You want to help? On my cue, cut your cable on the walkway. Keep the batarang hidden." He suggested.
Midoriya nodded, identifying the cable of the walkway that was closest to the student. He saw what the plan was after taking notice that the cables, while connecting the overhead walkways to each other, also held up the walkways themselves. The walkway the henchmen were about to step onto was only held up by four cables at each of the corners of the segment. Take out two cables, they fall back to the floor Batman was originally fighting them on!
It was impressive, and something that Izuku wouldn't have ever thought of! 'Batman is turning his environment into his weapon rather than considering it an obstacle!'
Both held the batarang behind their legs, Midoriya waiting for the cue. Midoriya watched the criminals scramble to get across the gap, eager to finish the fight as soon as possible! All four were on the walkway, but Batman didn't call out. They got closer; ten meters away, then eight, then five! Doubt was starting to fill the student's head.
"Now!" The both of them turned at the same time, both managing to cut clean through the thick wires! Although Midoriya's cut cable whipped back and struck him in the arm as it gave way. The men fell down, all four of them getting winded by the trap.
Midoriya gripped his arm, watching the cut as it began to bleed. His arm was taken by Batman, who pulled a bandage patch from his belt. He placed it over the cut.
"You were indecisive. Attack with confidence, or you get hurt." He corrected, turning to the men on the ground. "Tonight, you gain some confidence. We're going to jump down and you're going to land on one of those criminals. Then, we'll fight the rest."
"W-what?! Wait, I can't fight them."
Batman glared down at Midoriya, who now had a cold chill sent up his spine.
"I mean… You already know about my quirk. It backfires on me."
"Then the solution is simple," Batman responded, marching around to the remaining walkway. He placed his boot on top of the railing, pushing himself up until he was standing above the floor that now held the opposition. "Fight quirkless."
Hanta Sero
The sounds of explosions were getting more prominent as Sero approached. Eventually he reached a mixing room where Clark was playing what looked like a game of cat and mouse with a woman. The American was floating around the room, trying to avoid the empty barrels being thrown at him. When they would get close to him, they would explode. Overall, this wasn't the kind of villain Sero expected to give Clark trouble.
Batman made sense to Sero. He was like a phantom or some sort of specter! He probably had a quirk like that or something, too. It's imaginable that a specter quirk would outmatch someone with unimaginable strength if used right, and the Gotham boy was certainly able to turn a situation on its head. But this just felt underwhelming.
Sero threw a line of tape at the occupied villainess, catching her foot and pulling her foot out from under her with enough force to send her on her face. This got the attention of the American, who zipped around the room over to him.
"Oh, Sero! What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing? What are you doing? She should be out cold around now!" Sero complained.
"Look, I get what you're saying, but-!"
The two were interrupted by an explosion above them! Clark pulled Sero out of the way of the foundation above the doorway coming down. The shattered brick and mortar crashed against the ground, blocking the entrance of the room. Clark slammed into a mixing pot, the smell of chlorine now filling the room.
Plastique was furious, holding a glowing barrel as blood poured from her nose. "You're dead you glorified woodwork tool!"
She threw the barrel forward! Clark pulled Sero again, this time going higher in the air. The explosion went off, ripping the container of liquid chlorine apart and sending the chemical throughout the floor. When the American boy and the Japanese boy stopped in the air, Sero gestured to her in frustration.
"Explanation, bro!"
"I don't know how to hit people!"
"What?!"
The woman began moving towards the debris made at the entrance. Now she was both covering the exit and had a new set of artillery. She began throwing brick chunks, prompting Clark to drop downwards behind a set of mixers filled with presumably more liquid chlorine. The American dropped the other boy now, letting him move on his own now.
"Okay…" Sero took a deep breath, which felt somewhat compressing on his lungs, before gesturing to the class President as an explosion went off on the other side of the container they were hiding behind. "What do you mean you don't know how to hit people? You seemed to hit Lane just fine the other day!"
"Yeah, I know, but I broke a few of his bones. I can't do that sort of thing! It's might not be just a few bones next time, it might be worse than injury."
"Look, dude!" Sero threw an arm over Clark as Bette caused another explosion which threw a few pieces of dust and metal into their hiding spot, "You need to get your head in the game. You're not going to kill anyone with your quirk. She might be a woman, but she's a woman that's throwing bombs on us!"
"Hold on, her being a woman isn't my hang-up." Clark tried to defend.
"Yeah, whatever you say, Smallville." Sero chuckled as he patted the American's chest, "Either way, I have a plan. Because we need to get out of here soon anyways!" He pointed a thumb towards the woman, "That idiot keeps blowing up this chlorine and turning it into hydrogen chloride gas. I can already feel it in my lungs."
"Okay, what's the plan?"
"Just sneak around the opposite way I go and wait for an opening when she's vulnerable." Sero gave a thumbs up, "Let me handle the rest."
Clark nodded and Sero got to work.
He picked himself up, jumping up and throwing a line of tape upwards! He reeled himself in, snapping the line and landing on an intact container of chlorine. He waved to the woman, who was glaring daggers at him.
"You know, lady? I'm starting to think angry people and explosive quirks go hand in hand. But I have to ask-" Sero started, gesturing like a trader's balance, "Does the angry personality come after the explosions or was that natural for you?"
The villain screeched, throwing two bricks forward! Sero jumped sideways, throwing a line of tape and reeling himself upwards so he was moving closer to the entrance. The two bricks exploded but the woman was already throwing more bricks. It turned into a furious barrage, and the bricks were catching up to Sero! But he was sure he was going to be able to get far enough for Clark to have a chance.
That was, until the villainess threw an odd brick right in the way Sero was moving in. The brick exploded, throwing him back and slamming him against the wall! He bounced off the wall, falling between three and four meters to the ground. The smell of chlorine filled the inside of his nose as he was winded. He couldn't move and was now right next to the woman who put him there.
The woman began laughing, crossing her arms. "Did you think I was an idiot? That I didn't know what your plan was or that I couldn't have caught you mid-swing? Now that you're down, little boy scout needs to come out!"
The woman crouched down, hovering her hand over Sero's face, "Because if he doesn't, his friend dies."
"THAT ISN'T HAPPENING!" Clark screamed, bursting down the middle and slamming against the villainess!
In a flash, the woman was gone and the sounds of an explosion went off! Dust and small bits of brick were thrown in Sero's direction. It was only once the dust cleared that Sero could see the explosion wasn't from her quirk. It wasn't combustion. It was the sound of the debris covering the exit of the room being pushed out of the way.
The Japanese boy's stomach dropped. He pushed himself up, stumbling over past the entrance and trying to catch up to the other student. As Sero stumbled out, he finally had a moment to catch his breath a little, as the hydrogen chloride had started to affect his lungs. When Sero finally caught his breath, he turned to Clark. The classmate stood on the ground, holding the woman in the air by her collar and glaring at her. At first, Sero thought that the villainess had grabbed Clark's face, as the area around his eyes were glowing red, but they eventually subsided. The tape boy genuinely thought his classmate killed the villain for a second, too! A blow through a factory wall was definitely enough to kill a lot of people.
However, it was once she gasped for hair that the worry was thrown out the window. Even with the gasp, the woman never took her eyes off of the costumed student. Her whole expression explained one thing.
She was petrified.
Then, she passed out.
Sero stood up straight, stretching out the ache in his back. "Geez, dude. Maybe next time you shouldn't use the bad guy as a battering ram."
"I didn't." Clark turned, his face about as normal as if ever was, "I turned as I broke through."
"Well, still, that wasn't exactly what I had in mind with my plan." The boy shrugged, walking over and patting his peer on the back, "I thought you were just going to come from the opposite direction and push her down really hard."
"Sorry for ruining your plans." Clark replied, turning back towards the direction of the main mixing chamber where Batman and Midori were likely waiting for them both.
"My friend was in trouble. I couldn't exactly crawl over to help." Clark explained, beginning to walk back to the other two. "C'mon, let's walk there this time. I'm sure Batman would have dealt with everything by now."
Sero wasn't complaining.
Izuku Midoriya
Midoriya was convinced by now that not only was Michael Lane terrifying, but he was also insane! They had to get down from the walkway somehow so they could fight the bad guys. But the way the Batman wanted Midoriya to do it was the last method of action the Japanese boy would have expected.
The boy ran forward, using the railing as a way to kick himself up and forward! To the boy's side was the vigilante, whose cape was expanding and forming into the shape of wings as he fell. Midoriya was told not to think about place he was landing, just to push his foot in one spot and not to roll until after the first impact. Izuku trusted Michael enough to take him at his word when he jumped. But mid-fall, that trust might have begun to falter.
As he fell down, he narrowly avoided landing on a pipe before landing on the head of one of the criminals that fell from the walkway! When Midoriya landed, he instinctually fell off balance and rolled forward. He only barely managed to stay on his feet because he used both hands for support. Batman had landed in front of where Izuku stopped, looking down as he stood up straight. He gestured behind Izuku.
"Congratulations on your first defeated scumbag."
The hero-in-training looked back, seeing the large man who went limp but was still breathing. By now, however, the other three were getting up. They were the furthest thing from happy imaginable.
One of the men with scales for skin turned to Izuku. "I'm throwing you into the river in pieces!"
Izuku jolted up! He took a few steps back until he was blocked by Batman who was currently standing up straight. He simply nodded to the fish-man.
"He is your next opponent." Batman stated.
"W-what?" Izuku shook his head, turning back to the bad guy. "But, I… I don't know how to fight."
"This guy is clumsy, angry." Batman explained, leaning down and lowering into a whispering, "Watch his shoulder; lean towards the side he punches with and strike his chin." He stood back up and turned to the other two criminals who were just getting up on their own. "I'll deal with those two."
The vigilante jumped away from Izuku, taking the offense on the remaining criminals. Izuku was left to take on his opponent alone. He wanted to trust Batman and his advisement, but at the same time he had a hard time believing it. How could someone know how someone was going to attack before they were even in range to fight? It just didn't seem reasonable!
'But at the same time, he was fighting them earlier. He was confident in his assessment.' Izuku reasoned. He steeled himself. Raising his fists and trying not to let his nervousness show through his shaking legs. 'To become a hero, I have to go beyond my limits! Plus Ultra!'
As instructed, the new user of All For One watched the criminal closely. He waited for his opponent to get close and focused on which shoulder would move first. The criminal went into a stance for half a second, likely aiming his approaching punch. The fish gained his confidence in the situation quickly. He moved to throw a punch when he was within reach of the boy.
The criminal reeled himself back, taking his left foot forward and his right shoulder back! That side would be the one Midoriya would step around. The attack came around, the body of the criminal rotating to add to the strike. Midoriya waited until the punch was mid swing. He wanted to be positive the man couldn't retreat his strike, the opponent would have to commit!
The Japanese boy stepped ahead towards his left side, just barely brushing past the arm of the man. But, he did make it past the attack! Batman was right!
Now all Midoriya had to do was follow through.
The boy raised his left fist, swinging toward the man's head with all of his might! He would connect the strike, he had to! Izuku's middle finger knuckle struck against the scales on the criminal's chin. Although it stung because of the scales, it was enough force to shake the man's head. Brain rattled, he stepped back from the boy.
'Wait, something's wrong…' The boy panicked as the criminal didn't fall to the ground. He looked back up at the boy, but he just seemed more angry than anything else! 'Batman screwed me over!'
The criminal took his first step for another approa-!
He fell over that foot. His face hit the ground and he didn't try to get up. His eyes were closed.
Izuku defeated a criminal without a quirk!
He turned back to Batman, who was standing over the two of his opponents. One with his elbow bent backwards and the other with both nostrils bleeding against a bent steam pipe. He nodded to me.
"Wow, you two!" Clark Kent whistled to both of the boys. The duo looked up to the other team. Sero was staring wide eyes. "You really put in some work."
"Work is one way to put it." The tape boy looked over to the downed walkway, "That seems like overkill to me!" He turned back to the Gothamite and Izuku, "But we're done here, right?"
"Not yet. We still have to-." Batman started, but was interrupted by the sound of an engine starting!
Everyone turned to the van, which was already on the move! Batman ran towards it, starting to grab something from his belt. However, it was too late. The van was already halfway to the gate. And among all the criminals that were on the ground, Izuku could only count nine men and the woman being carried on Clark's shoulder.
One of them was faking being unconscious.
Batman
The vigilante knew which one it was. The one he kicked in the face, the one with the 'low pain tolerance.' He fell down on purpose! He faked it because the chemicals were the priority. He was the leader hiding within the crowd.
Sero started, "Damn! Should we go after him?"
Bruce cursed himself. He should have been prepared for an outcome like that! He should have placed a tracker on the vehicle as a backup plan when he landed!
'When I landed in the room…' The vigilante turned upwards, catching the eyes of the criminal whose arm was dislocated and whose body was dangling in the air. He was trying to stay silent, hoping that he would be forgotten about. He almost was.
"No, we have no way of knowing where its going." Batman began. He marched towards the monofilament wire which was hooked into the ground. He pulled the hook out from the concrete, letting go and letting the man above fall on his side with a scream. When he landed, he was winded but otherwise was fine. "But he might."
"Why would he tell us anything?" Izuku asked.
"Because if he doesn't," The vigilante grabbed hold of the man's ankle, dragging him into the room and towards the walkway. "We'll find out what kind of damage these chemicals can do to him."
The criminal and the vigilante reached the stairs of the walkway. Bruce wasn't gentle with pulling him up. He let each step up strike the man in the head or the back.
"You mean torture?" Clark crossed his arms.
"I call it incentive." Bruce coined, finally reaching the vat of green they were originally collecting. It stung the billionaire's nostrils and made his eyes water just by being near it.
"It's illegal and inhumane!" Clark argued.
"Being here at all was illegal, Smallville." Batman responded.
The vigilante turned down, grabbing the man by the neck and pulling him up over the boy's head. The man was slammed against the railing by his collarbone, getting him out of his shock and pulling him into the conversation. Bruce's grip tightened.
"Where is your friend going?"
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Izuku was at the top of the walkway now, looking nervous. "I don't think any heroes are allowed to interrogate on the scene."
The criminal turned towards Batman, desperate. "Yeah! Yeah, it's illegal… C'mon man, you don't have to do this."
"Dodge the question again and you take a dip." Batman growled. "WHERE?"
"Gah!" The man wailed, his collar bone being pressed against the railing harder. "He… Goes to the drop off point! I don't know where it is. I was never told!"
"See, he doesn't know anything." Clark pleaded, "Let's go! I can hear the police, they're just a mile and a half from here."
Batman ignored the other American, pushing the criminal towards the railing so he was hanging on his stomach. The man screamed, trying to balance himself back. It was in vain, due to the dislocated arm doing nothing for him but dangle.
"The Joker, you're working for him! So, where is he?"
The man turned again, tears forming on his face. "I DON'T KNOW, I don't know! None of us do, we go through a middleman! I don't know who and I don't know where!"
Sero and Clark began stepping forward, the former speaking this time, "Hey, dude, don't take this too far!"
"I'll do what I have to." Batman growled, pushing the criminal further and grabbing hold of his ankle. The man's dangling arm was inches from the chemical now. He was sweating profusely and a tear droplet made its way to the acid. Once it struck, the water sizzled and evaporated immediately. "What are the chemicals for? If you tell me that you don't know again…"
"All I know is that this time it was just to top Joker off! He already collected multiple vans full of them. He's got something planned for you soon!" The man looked towards the boy in black, the waterworks in full force. "I SWEAR THAT'S IT! I SWEAR TO GOD!"
Bruce heard something in the distance. He turned to the hold in the main chamber that led outside, the sound of sirens and a faint reflection of alternating red and blue lights just barely making its way to the factory. The vigilante growled, turning back to the criminal. He pulled the man back over the railing, eventually taking hold of the back of his neck. He slammed down again, the collarbone of the man making a cracking sound!
The man screamed again as he was dropped, turning to look Batman in his white, soulless eyes. The vigilante lowered so his face was inches from the scumbag's. He also took the grapnel gun from the dislocated arm, unwrapping it and reeling it back to be fired again.
Batman whispered, "You mention anyone other than me and I'll hunt you down."
The criminal nodded lightly, holding his chest where the fracture was inflicted.
Batman stood back up, turning to the other students. Sero and Clark had their fists clenched, obviously not happy. Izuku was staring at the criminal, his face looking pale. Batman didn't pay them any mind. He did what he had to.
But now, they needed to get away from the factory, as the police were close enough their engines could be heard. Bruce turned to Clark.
"We're going to your place. Grab Izuku." Batman ordered. He turned to the railing above, shooting the tool in hand and pulling himself into the darkness of the factory.
Clark's Apartment
It took some time to reach the apartment. They entered through the only window of it. Alfred was sitting in the living room, though he had his Eagle mask on thanks to a heads up on Bruce's part. Batman entered first, but even before that the owner of the apartment started to make his complaints.
"What was that, Lane? I understand that this is a big deal, but don't you think that was a little uncalled for?" Clark asked, placing Izuku into the window frame. He climbed in and helped Sero inside as well.
"I agree with Kent." Sero added, "How in your right mind do you think holding a guy over deadly chemicals is the right move?"
"I needed information." Batman started, turning back to them, "Criminals like that won't tell you anything until you give them a reason to! That vat was his reason."
"The same information would have been gotten from other heroes anyways." Clark began. He gestured his hands in the air, "How do you think cases were solved before? They were gotten through the legal means by police officers."
"They wouldn't have gotten anything out of him." Batman stated flatly.
Sero stepped forward, "How would you know that? What possible reason could you have to know that?"
"He works for Scarecrow, a man who isn't afraid to kill those who go against him or have proven themselves to no longer be useful to him." Batman explained, "If we were going to get anything out of him, you need to match that risk with another of equal threat. Otherwise, he won't talk."
"Oh, so that makes it okay for you to enact your own form of brutality?!" Sero yelled.
"That criminal had no problem killing others!" Batman crossed his arms, "He deserved worse than a shattered collarbone."
"How can you even call yourself a hero-in-training?" Clark spit towards the vigilante.
"Save that phrase for when it means something more than a celebrity." Batman mocked, pointing to the window, "I care about taking down criminals and keeping people safe. If I need to cripple those who harm others to do so, I will. Especially when it wards off more criminals from hurting innocents."
"At least they're helping!" Clark chuckled, waving to the window himself, "And they never had to torture anyone to do it."
"But you're okay with hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of collateral damage?" Batman replied, "Think about one of the most recent heroes that made her debut, Mountain Lady. How many people's homes had she destroyed stopping one criminal from snatching a purse? Or people out of work because she kicked someone into an office building? These 'heroes' do more damage than they mend, and in the end make life worse for those who can't defend against it."
"They aren't perfect, no one is! They're still trying their best, like every hero! At the end of the day, they only want to help people. It's why all of us are at U.A.!" Sero defended.
"STOP!"
They turned to Izuku. His eyes were shut and his arms were at his sides. His hands were in fists. He opened his eyes slowly, exchanging glances between the three other boys. He took a deep breath before turning to Clark and Sero.
"Batman might have done things in a way you don't agree with. I'm not sure if I agree with it either. But not every hero does things the same way." He turned to Batman, "What you did was terrifying, and although it isn't what I would consider heroic, you defeated criminals and we have something to go off of. What's done is done, and we should move forward."
The other three boys turned to each other. There was a moment of silence, but the Gothamite eventually turned away. He took a breath of his own. He walked towards the man with the eagle mask, who handed him the briefcase to exchange his hero costume for his prosthetics and wig. He turned back to the boys.
"Whatever Joker is planning, he already has what he needs to act. It was something happening soon. I have a hunch its going to happen within the next week, if only because he got his materials before without breaking into the chemical factory. But he broke in to top himself off with the chemicals. The only reason you would rush to get materials would be if you were running behind a schedule."
Sero crossed his arms, "How do we figure that out?"
"We don't have time to figure it out beforehand." Batman explained. "I'll send an anonymous message to the surrounding prefectures' police departments that Joker has these chemicals, the same ones used against Snipe. Maybe they can find a lead. Otherwise, this battle was one Joker won."
The vigilante finished, making his way to the apartment's bathroom to change from Batman to Michael Lane.
Izuku Midoriya
Izuku walked out of the Clark's apartment for a moment. He looked down at his left knuckles. There was a scratch from the punch he delivered to the fish man. There was a little blood but it was dried now. A small reminder that Izuku was not only able to fight bad guys, but he was able to do so without his quirk at all.
It wasn't how he would have imagined fighting his first bad guy. For some reason, he figured it would have just come to him when he needed to fight. But it never did, instead he felt like running away still, he could only think about how everyone told him throughout his life that without a quirk, he wasn't able to save the day.
But he was able to defeat him, to take down his first villain in one punch! Just like All Might! Albeit, a lot less flashy and less air being displaced from the force of the punch.
But he also thought back to Lane and how he treated the criminal he interrogated. It wasn't anything he had ever seen before. No hero, no matter how they presented themselves, did something like that. Izuku couldn't argue the results of his actions, he did get the information he needed. But that wasn't something Izuku could ever do!
It wasn't what a hero would do. Right?
The sound of the apartment door opening behind the boy sounded. He turned and met Lane, who was staring back at Izuku. The thin man with the eagle mask, Lane called him Old Eagle, began walking toward the steps to return to the vehicle he came in with two suitcases in hand. Lane stayed behind. He strolled forward, propping himself on the concrete railing of the apartment complex.
"I talked to the other two. Things aren't settled, but we're leaving things where they are." Lane explained. He turned to the green-haired boy, "What about you?"
"Me?"
"You have your thoughts on everything, right? You didn't get a chance to really speak your mind earlier like they did."
Izuku nodded, turning to look at the dark city ahead of them. They both listened to the city making the usual noises it made. It was a quiet night, which was a nice change from tonight's events.
"I guess," Izuku started, "I guess I don't understand why you have to be so brutal. I mean, you proved to me tonight that you don't actually need to. You showed me how to defeat two guys tonight, neither of them had broken bones afterwards. Just a simple punch, and they were down."
"It's not so much that I need to do it." Lane started. "I remember when I saw everyone's face when I landed in the replica city before All Might's basic training. The fear on everyone's faces. Everyone, despite not being criminals, knew of me and all had their own preconceptions. But many assumed I didn't exist, right?"
Izuku nodded.
"It's no accident that you think that. It was the point. Criminals fear me because they don't know what I am, to them I'm their boogeyman. What happens when you find out the boogeyman is real?" Batman asked, turning to Izuku, "Criminals in Gotham began running away once I was frequent enough to a scene."
"So, you never had to fight them?"
"And, I stopped them from fully committing the crime. I made them think twice. Not because I was a symbol of hope that would defeat them, but because I was their horror story. One they will think of the next time they even think of doing it."
"I understand that much." Izuku replied, turning back to the city, "But I don't understand why you can't give people hope. Your quirk is amazing enough if it helps you fight how you do, you could give people hope if you wanted to. I don't think it's too late."
"No, I can't."
"Why?" Izuku asked, turning back to him with a frown.
"Because, that's just not the path for me. Inspiring hope in people is something more in line for other people. Better people." Lane explained, turning to Izuku. "Like you and Clark."
The boy turned back to the Batman, who started marching towards the stairs. Izuku watched him begin making his way down. Listening as each step that was taken got quieter as distance between them increased. Izuku, however, wasn't content. He had one thing he needed to say, still!
Izuku rushed to the top of the steps, catching the blonde as he was making his way down. "Wait!"
Lane stopped.
"Thank you! For helping me take down that guy, I mean. I know that it doesn't make a lot of sense to you, and it probably seems like you didn't do much, but it meant a lot to me." Izuku averted his eyes, "You honestly inspired hope in me and what I can do. I think you could inspire others, too."
"Maybe."
The American continued walking down. Izuku watched as the boy climbed into the car below. The car drove off.
Izuku turned down, looking at the bandage from the cut made by the walkway cable. Those cuts were the proof of Izuku proving himself. Not just to himself but to every single person who told him he couldn't become a hero! He even proved All Might wrong. That wasn't right either, in truth.
'No, Batman proved them wrong. Batman proved me wrong. In that, he proved himself wrong.' Izuku mused, turning back into Clark's apartment as he was convinced. 'Batman is my hero.'