The New Generation

by Nekri Techne

When superpowers are a commonality, most may think they have seen everything. However, when a powerless billionaire from Gotham City, the last surviving alien from his home planet, Krypton, and a princess from the mythological island, Themyscira, begin their journeys to becoming the next generation of heroes they have to contest with the next generation of villains.

16. Just Like the Simulations

Mina Ashido

Shoji took the lead, which eventually took the group toward the edge of the Downpour Zone closest to the edge of the USJ itself. The rain was intense, and by now there was no part of any of their outfits that wasn't saturated. Still, they carried on to find their classmate while remaining cautious over the potential of more bad guys appearing for a fight.

Their thoughts of their own dangers also went away when they found where their friend was. Though, it wasn't because they saw him directly.

A man in a black tracksuit and a black skull mask dangling from a window via a rope by his ankles was where they motioned towards. He was close to the ground with glass underneath him. He was still conscious, mumbling something like "not a hero," and "freak."

Shoji placed an ear from his shoulder to the wall and, thanks to his quirk, confirmed to the rest of the group.

"Lane is up there."

The pinkette raised an eyebrow. "How far up is he?" Mina looked up at the broken window, which by her count was the fifth level of the seven-story building. "Up four flights of stairs?"

Shoji began to march forward, seeming somewhat listless as he moved, "He's still fighting."

The three made their way up the stairs. As they reached the third level, the sounds of fighting became much more audible. They reached the fifth level, where they found the level distinctly open from the rest of the floors along the way. Not by design, but because all the walls seemed to be knocked down. The only things in the room which was still standing were the pillars used to keep the building standing, as it seemed was the standard for the buildings constructed by U.A. for a simulation of a city.

In the farthest corner of the room was, by Mina's count, five men dressed the same as the thug dangling from the rope below who were in conflict. There was a sixth criminal but he was already on the ground and only just moving to stand. From in front of the men in the corner, however, the peer the students were looking for vaulted over the one most in the middle. Said criminal who was vaulted over was shoved right into the corner, hitting his head and while visibly shaken by the attack wasn't finished with the dark student.

By the time Batman landed on the ground, the two beside either side of the stricken man moved to strike. One with a left punch and the other with a right! Batman rolled under this, landing one punch on both men in the back of the knee simultaneously with enough force to make them kneel. Batman grabbed both of their heads, pulled them back up and slammed them together!

The other three were now attempting to surround Batman.

While they were going down, the student spun with one leg outstretched. The kick landed with enough force to knock the criminal into the other and sent them both flying into a third, causing all three to fall over.

A fourth man decided to try and punch Batman while he was beginning to stand. However, the hero delayed, letting the man swing above where he estimated the student's head would be. By the time he realized he missed and would have retreated, Batman had already grabbed his wrist and pushed himself back up. The criminal's elbow met and was bent by Batman's shoulder, making an audible snap as it was shaped unnaturally. He screamed.

Batman kept hold of his wrist, opting to grab his belt as well and pulling him back. The fifth man was caught up in catching him, trying to avoid his broken arm as much as possible.

This was when Mina nudged Shoji and Tokoyami. "Hey, why aren't we helping him? He could get hurt!"

"For the same reason you haven't run in." Tokoyami stated as if it was simple, "He seems to have this handled, and even if we did try to help, we don't have as much experience with fighting. If we did try to help, it might only mess him up. Especially if it's like you thought and there's a deeper reason he's come up here."

Mina couldn't argue it. Part of her didn't want to. Not only because she didn't want to get in his way, but also because she didn't want to risk earning the stern wrath of a chewing out from the Batman. She already didn't like the odd scolding Aizawa had given her near the beginning of the year for trying to goof off, and she felt the pressure from Batman would be far worse.

So, she stayed where she was.

Meanwhile, the peer in question was busy sending three consecutive punches into a criminal. One in the stomach and two in the criminal's face. It was the kind of thing Mina would expect from a boxer.

This sent him to the ground, allowing the student to duck so he could kick the kneecap of an approaching opponent. Nothing snapped, but with the force with which he would be sent to the ground. It definitely wasn't going to be the same for a while. Another kick hit him in the jaw, sending him fully to the ground.

Batman rolled to his feet away from a kick by an opponent. He landed next to another but continued the momentum through his elbow. The thug's crotch was struck, sending him kneeling to the ground.

Across from the knelt thug was another heavier-set man, so Batman rolled over the knelt man, making sure to grab his belt as he rolled over, throwing the man over the hero and into the standing thug. Both men were sent flying into a wall, cratering it.

The fifth thug took a scan of his surroundings, catching a glimpse of each of his allies all crumpled and in pain. Half of them had broken bones while the other three were beaten so badly they couldn't find it in themselves to get back up. It was only him and the man who was just pinned by another of his allies.

In a vain attempt of courage, he let out a scream! He reeled his fist back, letting what looked like scales form around his arm up to the elbow. Batman simply ducked under the strike with a spin, raising his elbow and slamming it against the thug's head! He was sent to the ground a few feet away. He didn't try getting back up.

Batman stood above his opponents. He was outnumbered, and by all accounts Mina could never imagine herself doing what he just did, even with her acid quirk.

The scene was enough to get a sigh of awe out of her mouth involuntarily. Lane shot his head toward his peers with precision.

"You shouldn't have followed me, Ashido." Batman stated abruptly.

The three climbed up to the open. Mina began fiddling with her finger out of nervousness.

Tokoyami looked around at the masked men. "They seem more organized."

"They're from Gotham." Batman stated. He marched towards the man that was pinned by the larger ally. "And this one is going to tell me what they're doing here."

The pinned man pushed as hard as he could but only barely budged the man on top of him. "Screw you, Bat-freak! I ain't tellin' you nothin'." He finished with a phrase in another language that Mina didn't know but guessed it was Italian.

Batman knelt, shoving the larger man off and grabbing the once-pinned man by the neck. He lifted the man so he was above the vigilante's head, though the man was only barely lifted off the ground. He responded in kind with the man's language.

Batman threw him, sending him flying into a window. The wall caught the man, but his shoulder still impacted the glass. The window shattered and glass began chaotically littering the ground the man fell on.

Batman was right on his tail, not giving him a moment to relax. The man was grabbed by the throat again, but this time was simply pushed up, slamming against the now-open window and the glass remaining on the frame being pushed into his body. The criminal wailed.

"Stop!" Mina shouted as she began to take a few steps forward, "This is too much!"

Batman ignored her. "This is your last chance. Tell me what Joker is planning, or else…"

"Okay! Okay! Just lay off the glass!" There was no letup. "I don't know exactly what's going on, he only let the teams involved know what's up. But Tony - one of the guys you took out in here - he saw one of the guys from another crew taking some barrels underground through the drain access here! I think the barrel was labeled-."

"Ace."

"Yeah! Yeah! Ace Chemicals!" The man nodded desperately. "Those guys have been there since midnight though, we only got here a few hours ago! That's all I know!"

Batman leaned down to the man's face. The man winced as their faces got closer together. "If you're lying or didn't tell me something important, I will be back to finish this conversation."

"Wait, wait! Penguin! Some crates had Penguin's little logo on the side. They took that down there, too!" The criminal cried out, "Please, just don't come back up here!"

"We'll see." Batman replied, pulling the man back into the building and slamming him against the wall. The man was knocked unconscious.

Batman turned back to Mina and the other two students. Mina wasn't clear on whether or not the look he gave them was one of disappointment, being annoyed, or something else along those lines, Mina didn't know. He began to march towards the stairs, beginning his way down while seemingly ignoring the other three.

"You all need to get back to the others and help them. I'm handling this here."

Mina was frustrated, to say the least. Sure, I didn't help so much when I got here, but I almost got hurt just getting to you! All that effort just to be scolded?

Shoji tried to put a hand on her shoulder, but Mina wasn't having it. She began to storm after the boy.

"We only want to help!"

"I never asked for help."

"Maybe not," Mina began skipping a step instead of treading each step. "But friends help each other regardless of if they ask or not."

"We're friends now?"

"Yeah, we are!" She shouted, stepping in front of Batman with her hands on her hips, "You're not going to just brush us off! We took risks getting to you to make sure you have some backup."

"You're backup?" Batman looked back to the previous room full of now-defeated foes. "Hell of a job."

Mina stomped forward. "Okay, we failed you that time, but not the next! I'm going to be right behind you and there's nothing you can say about it!"

The stubborn vigilante grimaced. He began to continue moving around Mina. She was about to retaliate further but was stopped by Lane's delayed response.

"Do what you want then. I don't have time to argue with you."

Mina felt triumphant, turning back to Tokoyami and Shoji with a nod before turning to join Batman.

"Don't blame me if you get hurt or worse." Batman finished.

Mina chuckled, "You don't have to worry about me but you also don't have to act so cold, y'know."

Diana Prince

The Amazonian remembered Minerva being strong before, but never this overwhelming. It was alien to what Diana was used to with her. Instead of the usual finesse and adherence to hand-to-hand combat she possessed on Themyscira, she fought in a way that seemed more primal. Animalistic.

It seemed to reflect her new appearance as a cheetah woman.

The flurry of strikes she would lay against Diana would always seem to land a scratch on her. Between the flurries, she would jump from surface to surface, each lunge containing enough force to send her more forward than upwards. She would run on all fours, causing the need for Diana to spin to keep up. But she couldn't. Minerva would end up behind her and go for an attack with Diana being just fast enough to catch the first strike, but without much time to see how the momentum was carrying the cursed girl, the follow-up slashes would land on an arm, a leg, or her back.

Her only saving grace was that most of Diana's vital organs were being protected by her armor. With those, Diana was certain they would be able to withstand Minerva's claws.

But the damage was adding up and Minerva could see she was winning.

"What's wrong, Diana? Can't keep up with me anymore?" She cackled, growling as she lowered her stance. She burst upwards, landing on a tower of rock and embedding her claws into the stone.

"Please, Minerva, what is this about?" Diana pleaded, "Why do you pursue my downfall?"

"THAT'S NOT MY NAME!" The cheetah girl launched forward with her claws reeled back.

The claws were pushed downward and Diana blocked the slashes with her unbreakable gauntlets! Another claw went up diagonally, being met with a parry. The parry caused Diana to spin. She tried to use her rotating momentum against Minerva with her leading elbow but was instead grabbed from behind on her elbow and the back of her neck.. She could feel the claws locked down on her neck, stabbing her flesh and getting a small wince out of the Amazonian.

Minerva leaned forward close enough that Diana could hear the shifting of the cheetah girl's mouth. "I told you my name is Cheetah, and you will say my name before I send your soul to meet with Charon so you can be on your way to Hades!"

Diana grimaced but found a glimpse of her next move from her peripheral. "You didn't answer my question."

A flash of white and blue hurried towards the girls, quickly encapsulating Minerva's feet in ice. The surprise was enough to loosen Diana out of Cheetah's grip. Without wasting a moment, she used Todoroki's distraction to hop and roll forward. She sent one kick into Minerva's stomach and another, stronger strike into her jaw! The kick was enough to force Minerva to let go of her grip on the Amazonian entirely while also lifting the cat girl off her feet.

Diana shouted out, "Todoroki!"

The boy was quick to react, shooting three blocks of ice toward Diana! Two of the blocks were on pace to hit Minerva, but she was already recovering in the air. The first two were caught in a slash which shattered them and the third was caught in the girl's feet and arms. She spun in the air and was about to launch the ice towards Diana.

"Do it!" Diana shouted again.

The boy made a gesture with his hands and the ice exploded in a blast of flash freezing! It caused Cheetah to fly back and down with a little less control over her movements as she landed in a stumble. Yet, despite the stumble she was still on her feet.

She turned her attention to the boy responsible for the ice blast with a growl. She began to gait towards him with intent, but Diana threw her shield in a sprint of her own to stop her in her tracks! Cheetah jumped with a twist, hovering just over the shield and kicking the edge of it. With her tail and the changed momentum, she carried the shield and threw it back at Diana who slid underneath the shield, opting to grab her tiara off her head. She threw out a kick to spin much like Cheetah had, and used the new found momentum to throw her tiara back at Cheetah!

Cheetah tried to block the tiara, but couldn't judge the trajectory fast enough and was instead struck in the face. The tiara bounced into the air back towards the Amazonian it was sent from. Diana jumped in the air to catch it and place it back on her head. More importantly, this opened up an opportunity for Diana to turn to her friends.

"Thanks for the assist, but you must get yourselves to safety!" She shouted. Todoroki nodded, taking Hagakure with him upon Diana's instructions.

Diana swiftly returned to the fight with a lunge at Cheetah. By the time Cheetah recovered, there wasn't much she could do about the princess' two-handed hammer punch. She was sent into the air and grabbed in a bear hug mid-air before she could recover. This hug became a tackle with much of the force being absorbed by Cheetah.

"Why?!" Diana cried out.

"How could I not? No matter what, I simply lived in your wretched shadow on Themyscira! Everyone saw that I couldn't keep up with their strength and prowess, they just didn't want to say anything to me directly. What pity they showed me!" Cheetah practically spat as she yelled. "I bet you laughed behind closed doors, too. You laughed at how pathetic I was when compared to even the youngest Amazonians! Just like everyone else."

Diana shook her head with confusion.

"That simply isn't true. You may not have been a fighter but you were praised for your intelligence and strategies." Diana explained. "Your curse exaggerates your feelings of insecurity. Please, Cheetah, give me the name of who reawakened it!"

Diana must have loosened her grip on Minerva because the girl was able to stab both of Diana's sides between the stitchings of her armor, which caused her body to loosen that grip further. Minerva headbutted the princess! Diana grimaced but resisted the strike's blow through a deep breath in her gut. She returned the headbutt and made sure the tiara was what made the impact to further support the counterstrike.

The force behind it was enough to crater the ground below the other girl's head, and Diana expected from the look on her face that it would be the end of the fight. However, Minerva had different ideas. Two furry legs reached around Diana's head and neck, pulling the girl back and sending her into the air. Soon, it was Minerva who leaped on top of Diana. She began blindly scratching Diana's face even if it was being blocked by the indestructible gauntlets.

A kick was sent into Diana's stomach and created distance between the two girls, cratering the ground below Diana this time. Minerva nimbly landed on the ground in turn. She laughed at her adversaries.

"You were always put on a pedestal, always so much better than everyone else. But now you lay at my feet, outmatched! You know this to be true." Minerva brought a claw up to her face, "With my nails digging through your flesh, I will kill you. Once I'm done, I will pursue your friends next and aim to fulfill all my earthly desires!"

Diana let out a breath of defeat. She picked herself up off the ground, finally accepting the path she had to take. "You were wrong about one thing Minerva. You were not outmatching me, but you have outgrown my sympathies. You shall not take vengeance on me through my friends!"

Diana dropped her defenses, opting for a more offensive stance. "If you want to fight me truly, then you're getting it now."

Clark Kent

It didn't take long before Clark realized just how big of an advantage he had over the criminals trying to fight him and Eraserhead. It was enough that the criminals began to shift their focus on him over his teacher, though the focus on him wasn't completely eliminated. The bad guys just kept coming, too! They simply kept flooding out of the black, fiery portals. But between grabbing and throwing the criminals away from the fight or getting struck by an attack that failed to hurt the Kryptonian, he couldn't find where the villain who was the source of the portals was located.

Eraserhead finished a strike against a bad guy in the form of a knee to his gut and kicking off of his face into a roll. He motioned towards Clark so the two were now back to back.

Eraserhead started with an order. "Kent, you need to focus on the other students!"

"Leaving you down here by yourself? Not gonna happen." Clark grimaced.

"Batman went off on his own to go against the Joker with no idea what his quirk is. I can also practically feel the fight Prince is going through from here. You and those two were the ones I wanted to lean on for a situation like this because of their experience and the near invulnerability you seem to have." Eraserhead explained in a rush. "I appreciate your concern for me, but your peers are the priority in this situation! And right now you're the only one cooperating enough for me to lean on. So, please, help them!"

Clark knew this couldn't argue with the hero's plea. He forced himself to take a deep breath, rising from the ground to prepare himself for his next objective.

"I'll keep my ears open, so call out if you need help. I'll be back as soon as the others are safe!"

"Don't be too hasty." Aizawa responded, taking a more defensive stance as he was going to be alone for the next few minutes.

Clark took flight high into the sky, looking around to get a good view of everyone else.

The first group he saw was Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, and Jiro in the Mountain Zone. They looked a bit roughed up with Kaminari already being past his limit as he now sported a goofy smirk and a look that put him somewhere in space right alongside a defending Jiro while Yaoyorozu was the one on the forefront as much as she could be with a shield in hand. But, otherwise, they had defeated the fifteen foes around them. But that was simply the first wave of bad guys, as more portals were already opening and spilling more men into the Mountain Zone. It was another sixteen, with fifteen of them being in front of Clark's peers and another outside of their view on one of the mountainous peaks.

The bad guy on the mountaintop had a rifle with a large scope. He pulled back the charging handle on the rifle with a grin on his face as he motioned toward the edge.

Clark had to stop him!

Clark didn't think before he began to comet into the mountain behind the man! A crater formed around the student and as the dust began to settle, he was ready to charge the criminal. But Clark didn't get a chance to go on the attack as the criminal already shot the rifle. The Kryptonian didn't even blink as the bullets impacted his body as he didn't need to.

As the dust settled, the man with the gun ran out of bullets in his magazine. Clark was standing by now with no scratch or hole made by the weapon.

"You're done now." Clark stated, rushing forward, grabbing the man by the leg, flying off the mountain and holding him above the small canyon made between some of the higher topography in the Mountian Zone. "Unless you'd rather we fight."

"No, no!" The man shook his head. "We don't need to fight!"

Clark turned his attention to the other men in the Mountain Zone and his peers, who were now in a fight of their own. With all the noise around the Unforeseen Simulation Joint and their own problems to worry about it was no wonder they didn't notice the gunfire even if it was so close. Clark began to fly downwards at a steady pace, dropping the man he was holding once he was sure the distance they were at would wind him and keep him subdued for long enough to help his classmates.

One of the bad guys was going against Yaoyorozu with a quirk that made his hands into knives. She held him off, however, with the use of a shield. But he was about to land one of his strikes into her sides. The only reason he didn't was because Clark stepped in.

He simply placed his hand between her side and the blade's tip, which bent the steel and caused the bad guy to wail out loud. Clark continued to pick him up with one hand by his collar and throw him harshly against his buddies. Jiro let out a blast of her sound waves to send the rest scattering. She was also reaching her limits as she was panting and sweating as she stretched her powers as strongly as she could.

Clark turned to Momo, whose outfit was already used up a little, which cued as evidence her lipids resources were running low. "If you can afford to without exposing yourself, create a long rope! I'll take care of the rest."

"I can do that." Momo nodded, getting to work immediately. "Is everything going well everywhere else?"

"Everyone's a bit scattered. But I'm working to resolve that." Clark responded.

The Kryptonian launched himself towards the four remaining bad guys who were on the edge of the group and were thus out of the range of Jiro's blast range. One shove here, a throw there, one opponent's own strike hurting them, and one surrender later, Clark returned to Momo for the rope which took the form of a steel cable.

"I figure that should hold better than twine which would be easily cut by the man with the knives for hands."

"Wow, I didn't even think about that." Clark began as he flew around at high speed to wrap up the bad guys in one tight group. With the bad guys subdued, he turned to the three students. "But, I gotta get you guys out of here and turn my attention to everyone else. I'll drop you off with Thirteen and the other half of the class. With the way I broke the stairs, there shouldn't be many of these guys that can get up there."

Between pants and while picking up Kaminari, Jiro motioned towards Clark, "What about that teleporting quirk?"

"Seems the focus has shifted away from them and is on everyone that's separated." Clark responded, taking Kaminari from Jiro with one hand. "It should be safe so long as whoever's running this attack doesn't shift their focus again."

Jiro seemed satisfied with that answer. Clark had Jiro climb on his back and took hold of Momo by her waist so no one would fall as he flew away from the Mountian Zone. It didn't take long for the four of them to reach the entrance of the USJ, though Jiro wasn't particularly taken by this method of travel. Clark didn't entirely blame her but he was glad he had the incredible durability to withstand the otherwise tight grip and awkward placements of her hands on his face.

Koda was the first to meet them, taking hold of Kaminari for Clark. The girls were taken in by Uraraka. Sero met with Clark. But the flying student was more concerned for Tenya who was on the ground with Ojiro looking over him!

"What happened here?!"

"Things are getting crazy, Kent. We had the idea to get the teachers for help, but when Tenya grabbed the doors we could see the electrical shock go through him!" Sero explained. "Luckily he's okay, but it looks like we're trapped in here."

Clark grimaced, flying alongside Sero as they approached the door. When Clark used his X-ray vision, he grimaced.

"What?" Sero reacted to the American's clear expression of frustration.

Clark punched into the door, pulling out a battery from it which revealed a sticky note on top that read, 'SHOCKING, HUH?' The Kryptonian was now on the equivalent of DEFCON 5!

Clark turned to the half of the class with more tension on his back, "Everyone, get out of here!"

The students rushed out of the doors without hesitation, helping the wounded get out first. Thirteen and Sero were last, with Thirteen keeping herself on the inside. Clark handed her the battery.

"It's Joker. He's probably got something else set up here." He explained. The gravity of the statement resulted in a silent nod from the Space Hero and confusion from Sero. But she didn't let him prod any further.

She pushed the student outside, "Get everyone out of here, then. Everyone."

Clark nodded, but added, "I'm focusing on U.A. students and staff first, though." Then, he flew off to find the next group to grab.

There were many places he could go. Diana was fighting the cheetah woman in a fight that, while roughed up, she seemed to now be on the advantage of. Every strike the cheetah girl tried to lash out with by now was being precisely dodged or countered. Even so, they were sending shockwaves throughout the Landslide zone but she seemed to be alone. Just coming out of the landslide zone were Todoroki and Hagakure.

Clark flew down to them with a shout. They both noticed as he reached his hands out. They caught a hand each and Clark kept his grip firm as he flew back towards the entrance. "Who is Diana fighting?"

Hakagure shouted up to the flying student Clark was ignoring the appearance of at the moment. "She seemed to know Prince! I'm starting to think she was telling the truth about being an Amazonian!"

"Huh?"

"The cheetah girl talked about Themyscira." Todoroki shortly explained.

"Huh." Clark could only remark. He didn't exactly feel like making banter anymore. He brought the two down at the entrance, leaving Thirteen to take them with her.

Clark turned his attention again to the USJ. He caught sight of movement around the Flood Zone, four bodies wading towards the edge of the lake. He began to fly there!

This time, however, his hearing picked up a voice he didn't recognize that was grumbling about something. Clark tried to focus on the voice but only caught the last part of the dialogue.

"...fucking hacker!"

Suddenly, fiery portals began popping up in front of Clark! He tried to avoid them as best as he could, but he was only able to dodge three before one appeared above him as he was flying. This ended his flight swiftly as he was struck withenough force to send him right down and to crater the ground below!

The Kryptonian bounced off the ground into a tumble, repeatedly hitting the ground as he struggled to recover before coming to a stop. He couldn't help but groan before he pushed himself to stand on one knee and a foot.

"That kinda hurt." Clark remarked as he looked up to find no such portal above him anymore.

The student refocused on the Flood Zone. He was a few dozen meters from the shore now with Midoriya, Tsuyu, and Mineta meeting the land. Midoriya was taking off his tracksuit jacket, exposing his black t-shirt. With them was one of the villains who looked like he had a quirk that had him resemble a humanoid goldfish.

Clark motioned towards them in a short flight, this time uninterrupted. As he approached them, Midoriya was the first to notice his American friend.

"Kent, we need to get him out of here!"

The American finally grasped the damage as he reached them. The man's left leg at the knee was missing with blood mixing with the water. Midoriya already began to apply a makeshift tourniquet made from his jacket to the leg. There were other scrapes and such from the man that were pouring blood from him, but nothing quite as severe as that most obvious injury.

"What happened to him!"

The man was barely awake, but he answered, "Monster… in the water!"

"I thought we were going to die!" Mineta shouted up at Kent with panicked tears running down his face, "There were so many of them but they're gone now! I thought we were gonna be one of them!"

"What? Where did they-?" Clark shook his head as he glared back to the water. But he saw what the short boy was talking about. Body parts and blood were mixed with the water near the ship which was now mostly underwater. "Are any of you hurt?"

"Whoever it was, they were gone by the time we began to swim to shore." Tsuyu shook her head, "The villains were trying to sink the boat into the water to get us to their level. Izuku was trying to figure out a way out of there when we heard one of them scream. One after another they were being killed."

Midoriya placed a hand on his pale forehead, looking out to the water. "W-why would one of their own… kill them?"

"I don't know but I have a bad feeling about this." Clark stated. "Something more sinister is going on, and we need to get you guys out of here before-!"

The sound of one of the portals opening tore into the air behind Clark! He turned around quickly, ready for a strike to come out of it but it never did. Instead, the man who led this ambush stepped out of the flame with his trench coat whipping behind him. The single eye Clark could see from the pale figure was taking the form of a livid glare. The red iris clearly expressing rage towards Clark. This, plus the addition of a newly reddened neck was a sight Clark could only ascribe as instability towards the man.

Clark moved forward, grabbing the villain by the collar and raising him into the air! "Big mistake coming to me!"

The villain didn't speak but grabbed hold of Clark's right wrist. Pain surged through his hand and he let go several times more swiftly than he had grabbed the villain! Clark couldn't help but howl from the pain, backing away from the pale man as he inspected his hand. The skin had started to flake away, showing muscular tissue and even tendons for a few moments! It was a burn that turned to numbing pain that was indescribable to the Kryptonian!

Clark did eventually calm down, however, as a close inspection of his cells could see them beginning to grow faster than the cells were dying. It might take a minute or two, but he would heal.

"Hacker…"

What? The student turned his attention to the pale man with a grimace. Did he just call me a hacker?

"I was trying to kill you. Really trying to kill you." The man began as he slowly strolled towards the bleeding villain on the shoreline.

Izuku, Tsuyu, and Mineta stumbled out of the man's path toward Clark.

The pale man crouched down, merely placing each finger on one hand on the man for less than a second. The fish man woke up from his unconscious state to groan weakly in pain. His body began to tear itself apart, turning into ash as the cells in his body began to die layer by layer. It took all but fifteen seconds for the man who was once before the four students to disappear from in front of them and to be replaced with nothing but dust which got caught up in the wind. The pale man turned back to Clark with the same glare on his face as before.

"You should be dead worse than that NPC. The fact you're not must mean you're a hacker because no one survives my attack!" The pale man reached towards his neck. He began scratching his neck, explaining why it looked raw. "You ruined my plans! You made everything go to waste! Now, All Might will never arrive to fight the final boss!"

The pale man lowered his gaze as he delivered himself one more solid graze against his neck with his nails. "But I will not leave here with such a low K/D!"

The portal the pale man arrived in began to expand further, opening to nearly twice the height of the leading villain. From within, one black leg slammed through and cratered the new ground it was entering onto. Then, with the other leg emerging so did the rest of the villain which Clark could only describe as an abomination!

A black body, mostly bare, but with armor and cut scars throughout the body rather than normal skin. Along the waste hung a pair of tattered, large and tan shorts and kneepads resembling skulls as the only clothes on the monster. This made its head stand out even more than it already did. Its mouth was like a mechanism that was more like a bird than a normal jaw and had no lips to hide the jagged, sharp teeth within. Above the mouth, there was no nose to speak of and the eyes laid on top of an exposed brain on the top of the head.

This creature was nightmarish and had an imposingly strong-looking body to boot.

"My Nomu was meant to kill All Might today, but I will settle with all of you!" The pale man announced with a growl which resembled rage and glee. "Nomu! Hear your master, Tomura Shigaraki! I order you to kill the students of U.A. High!"

Batman

Bruce had Shoji and Tokoyami stay behind for two reasons.

The first was because the darkness would have made Tokoyami a liability, something the student was more than willing to accept. As Tokoyami described himself to the group, his quirk was more difficult to manage the less light he was exposed to. So, he wasn't comfortable following into the drainage tunnels where it was nothing but darkness. Thus, Shoji offered to stay with Tokoyami to have his back.

The second reason, which was Batman's preference for them to stay put, was to watch for Joker.

"Are you sure he would run to the raining city?" Mina asked.

"Positive." Batman responded, "This isn't your typical drain system. There are only three zones it connects to. The Downpour Zone, the Flood Zone, and the Conflagration Zone. The Flood Zone is closest, but the exit would be blocked by the body of water. The Conflagration Zone has drains, but it lies beyond the Downpour Zone so it's simply the fastest way out and harder to track because of the constant rain."

The explanation led to silence which was interrupted by the steps they were making in the water. Although, most of the noise was being made by the pinkette.

"More importantly, we're trying to catch them by surprise. Throwing around water like that makes it much more difficult to do."

"Hey, I've never had to wade through water trying to sneak up on someone! Maybe you guys do things differently in Gotham, but here in Japan we don't have a lot of sewer exploring experience." Ashido lashed out in a whisper. She got no response back, which led her to groan, "How much farther? I thought we were only going underneath the center of the U.S.J.."

"We are, and we're here." Batman announced, getting a good look at the main drain area.

It was built tall, so as to hold the large body of water from the lake so it could drain if need be. But even as it stood, it was draining the water from the downpour zone at many points around the west side of the circular large, circular area. The bottom of the area was connected to one of the main drain lines for the neighboring cities which connected to the water treatment facility for recycling the water. This detail was important because of what was just above the water. A rusted platform sat just above the water, held by eight incredibly large chains and one bridge between the tunnel Batman and Ashido were currently standing in and the platform. It served as a filter for the off-chance something unexpected happened and caused a student or a maintenance worker to get thrown into the drain system. To catch them from drowning in the main line while allowing water to fall through the gaps in the metal to reach it.

It was on top of the platform that Batman saw the Ace barrels empty. On the platform was more of Black Mask's crew, around ten men with the stapled black skeleton mask and black tracksuits like before. None of their quirks were too noteworthy, with just one seeming like he would be frustrating to deal with as his quirk seemed to make his already large body into a brick wall. In the middle of the platform was a device that looked like it was some sort of demented carnival game stand, but even at a distance Batman could tell it was anything but.

The main device had tanks of chemicals connected to it in larger barrels than the stolen Ace Chemicals ingredients were carried in. On top of that, there was connected wiring going along two of the chains holding up the platform. It led to the top of the room, above the control room, lining the Central Plaza. Along that top lining were explosives. But now, Batman had to shift his focus to the clown in the control room who made his presence known over the intercom.

"What is this? Two intruders deciding to stick their noses where they're not wanted? Well, seeing as you're here I'm sure you're looking for an explanation to, heh, all this. You see, I'm not happy with my current employment. They don't seem to like me, all because I don't have a quirk. It's discrimination I tell you!" Joker began laughing wildly into the microphone. "So, I've decided to tell my boss just how I feel. I'm sure it'll be just… explosive."

The revelation he was quirkless was certainly a surprise to Bruce, but ultimately the explosives and the intent to kill even his own allies overshadowed that.

Mina shouted up to the control room, "YOU'RE GOING TO KILL EVERYONE UP THERE!"

"Ah, I can only barely hear you, miss. But, yes! In fact, the device you see below you will not only set off the explosives but will also release my specially-made toxin into the water below!" Joker explained, turning his attention to Batman, "You remember it, right, Bats? The same laughing gas that killed legendary Western Hero, Snipe! Oh, of course you remember. If you didn't, we wouldn't have had our touching moment when we laid eyes on one another. HOO! When sparks fly."

The Joker began cackling off-mic.

"W-wait…" Mina hesitated to let the words out, but she swallowed her nerves for a moment, "He killed Snipe?"

"And he'll do the same to the surrounding cities if we don't stop him from putting those chemicals in the water." Batman answered bluntly.

"Oh, but don't worry. None of these bombs are triggered remotely. They're on a timer, which started at the beginning of this conversation."

"Hold up, you said we would be out of here before you started the timers!" One of the criminals below shouted up, "What the hell is wrong with you, clown bastard?!"

"Plans changed. But don't worry it's ten-to-one down there, and all you need to do is kill the Bat and you'll have plenty of time to get out of there! HAHAHAHAHAH!"

Batman didn't want to waste any more time. He rushed into combat against the goons, and they were desperate to defeat him. But this desperation worked to Batman's advantage as now they weren't thinking about their attacks.

A limp straight jab countered by a low-effort dodge and a strike to the throat. A kick parried into the side of another thug's knee with enough power to knock it out of socket and send the thug out of commission. Alongside that kick was another jab from a second opponent which was initially blocked to focus on the parry against the kick and was responded to with a high kick against the goon's face that likely took him out of the fight. The momentum of that kick motioned into a roll into a group of three henchmen, where two uppercuts were sent simultaneously against the men on the left and the right. The man in the middle was caught by such surprise that Batman was able to grab him by the collar after the uppercuts and slam his own, armored forehead against the thug's. All three had reeled back in pain.

Batman felt a presence behind himself, so he spun into a spinning strike but was met with the hard wall of the brick man.

"Uh, oh! Not the right move!" Joker snickered as Batman was grabbed by the throat and lifted off the ground by the brick man. "How will the Bat Man get out of this one? Oh, could it be?"

Batman tried to kick and punch the man, but the normal pressure points didn't seem to apply to him. Batman was about to reach for his electric batarangs but was interrupted when green acid sputtered against the back of the brick man's head! The surprise attack caused the large man to drop Batman and gave him just the right angle to see Mina with her acid between her hands in an improvised defensive stance against the other goons from between the brick man's legs.

"The new girl comes in with the assist! How touching… Now get them!"

Batman spun around and sent a solid kick into the brick man's legs, which finally managed to send him to the ground. Batman rolled over him, jumping into a flying kick against the back of a faceless criminal! The victim of the kick fell forward, now winded, and Batman rolled over him. Finally, he stood between the goons and Mina.

"You painted an unnecessary target on your back." Batman scolded.

"Geez, you're welcome, Lane! Glad I could help." Ashido remarked.

Two punches flew toward the students, which was met by Batman with a counter in the form of a punch of his own which managed to hit both the goons before they could land theirs. Batman grabbed the goon closest to Ashido with a form resembling jujitsu throws but translated it into a throw into the other goon which landed both their heads on the metal and sent them unconscious. This fight continued a little further, taking out two more of Black Mask's goons until the brick man got back to his feet. He wasn't happy.

He charged towards the two students, causing Batman to tackle Ashido out of the way while two other henchmen got caught up in the charge where Batman could definitely hear the faint snapping of bone on one. Batman was met with two other henchmen while on the ground which forced him to take a defensive stance. The two threw awkward punches to the ground to try and meet the vigilante but were met with a flurry of blocks. With every other block and counter, Batman progressively stood his ground until he found just the right angle to narrowly strike the chin of one criminal and duck from a swinging punch with a spinning kick toward the other criminal. The former seemed to go down.

Batman was about to turn to face the other two remaining men but was met by the brick man's upwards strike which sent Batman flying away towards the device in the center of the platform. The brick man began laughing as Batman gained his footing once again.

He looked up in rage as he knew what the brick man was doing, but it was too late. He had grabbed the pinkette by the throat, walking farther away from the center of the platform where Batman knelt. He laughed as he reached the edge.

"All this fighting to protect your little girlfriend." He remarked, "How about you let these two kill you, and I promise to let the pink bitch go. We'll only abuse her a little bit before we finally let her loose! As consolation."

Mina threw a barrage of acid at the brick man! It landed on his face and his left arm, which revealed skin underneath the brick as it was only a small layer of armor overtop his body. He was forced to drop the pinkette, writhing in pain as she scrambled away with even more acid ready to throw at the others.

"Really? Oh, now this is just underwhelming. I wonder if there's anything that can be done to spice this fight up!"

The sound of water began rushing from behind the brick thug, towards the Flood Zone tunnels. The sound of a roar caught everyone's attention as the sounds got closer and closer! The sound was as aggressive as it was primal, which Batman quickly gathered didn't bode well for Mina and himself.

"Mina, get back!"

The pinkette only had a second or two of following those instructions before the water rushed towards the center platform. Leaping from the tunnel to reach the platform was a large figure with large, sharp teeth instead of lips and green scales instead of skin. He only wore the pants of an orange tracksuit which read 'Blackgate' which emphasized the scales. The lack of coverage revealed plates of bone protruding from his shoulders which Batman didn't see upon their first encounter with one another. It also gave him a chance to see the blood that was already dripping from his mouth alongside the spit and the rest of the water he traveled with.

The crocodilian man lashed out at the brick man, taking hold of his newly uncovered arm with his jaw when he landed on the platform. The thug tried to fight off the new attacker but was simply met with claws stabbing into his chest and ripping the arm apart. Only when the crocodilian man crushed the chest of the other criminal with a brutal slam and an audible snapping of bones.

Blood and viscera poured from the limb and the new wounds on the brick man and his quirk began to dissipate entirely! It only took one more thrashing of the main body to end the victorious monster's peacocking. Batman clenched his rage in his fists to keep from rushing in before he knew what everyone was doing. Which for the other two criminals seemed to be running out towards the Downpour Zone entrance to the drains. It seemed they didn't want to risk being eaten alive by another person.

Mina tried to get words out, but she could only seem to manage to back up further behind Batman. From his peripheral, he could see her legs were shaking and it seemed she was in a form of shock. It wasn't surprising to Batman, but it was certainly going to be a new obstacle he would have to overcome if she didn't snap out of it herself.

"Revenge always makes for an interesting show! Introducing someone you royally pissed off; Killer Croc!"

"You should have known I would be back, Batman." Croc started so he could take in the impending showdown. "I had fun with the appetizers in that lake upstairs. But they won't taste as good as you will when I pull your head from your neck and swallow it whole!"

"I took you down easy last time to give you a chance to rethink your life, Waylon." Batman narrowed his gaze at the cannibal with violent intent. "But now you're going to pay for all the people you've eaten before coming down here."

Killer Croc chuckled, licking his sharpened teeth. "You learned my name? That's more than anyone else bothered. But that just makes this that much sweeter. I want to hear you say my name as I show you your heart!"

Mina tapped on Batman's shoulder only just hard enough for Batman to recognize she was trying to get his attention. "Did he seriously… eat someone? A-are you sure you can fight him?"

Batman turned back, his hostility towards Croc leaking over to the pinkette. But her current state brought him back down. She had tears in her eyes; every instinct in her mind told her to run but she was nearly frozen. She was a brave person, able to step in for other people, but Waylon Jones was something else. A monster from an entirely different world.

"Don't worry, girlie!" Waylon chuckled, "I'll make sure you're dead before I use your blood as my palate cleanser. Although, I can't promise it'll be painless."

"If you want to run, then go. This isn't your fight." Batman responded to Mina, "This isn't a matter of if I can or can't, it never was. I have to stop them. That's my mission."

Jones slammed his foot on the metal, reverberating the sound throughout the drain room. "Then come complete your mission!"

Killer Croc and Batman charged at one another simultaneously. Croc had the advantage of reach, and he knew that, as he was already reeling for an attack with his right claw. Batman expertly reacted with an aim to vault over his opponent's left shoulder which should have sent him clear behind Croc.

But much to Batman's surprise, his waist was grabbed and he was thrown away from said shoulder and sent into the ground to the right of Croc. The student winced and became winded but he saw he couldn't stay still despite that. The jaws of the monster before him lunged towards the student and Batman had to roll with the momentum of the throw that put him there!

Batman was about to return with a few strikes of his own but was immediately met with a punch to his gut from the crocodilian. Batman was sent flying backward and at some point rolling towards what was now the edge of the platform. Croc let out a chuckle after that barrage.

"You're not going to get away with the same thing you did last time, Batman!" In preparation for a charge, the large man lowered, "A predator adjusts so it can kill its meal!"

Croc barreled towards Bruce, which became a lunge as he got close. From the air to the ground, Batman rolled underneath Croc and landed behind him. Batman didn't wait to jump onto his back and grab hold of one of his protruding scales. He kept hold as Croc panicked to reach for the student, but the crocodilian's arms could barely reach farther than his neck. Croc spun in desperation, which lifted Batman partially and made it easier to climb farther up.

Batman eventually made it to Croc's neck, wrapping his right arm around it and taking hold of his right fist with his left hand to ensure his grip was solid. Batman kicked Croc's lower back, causing him to tilt backward and was barely able to give Batman the reach to kick the back of Croc's knees. The crocodilian fell to one knee and with that momentum was able to grant the student the ability to throw the rest of his body to the ground.

But something Batman didn't expect was Waylon moving into the motion before Batman was done with the throw. Because he was still connected to the grab, this rolling motion threw Batman along the edge of the platform further. However, this time Batman was able to recover as he landed on the platform.

Batman tried to keep the pressure up, being able to send a solid couple of strikes into Croc's face. But one swipe from Croc gave Batman some pause, forcing him to duck under the swipe and attempt to land an uppercut on Croc. The strike landed but ended up weak as Croc moved with the strike. With this evasion, Croc grabbed the student's arm with a solid grip.

Waylon Jones smiled as Batman tried to strike at him but nothing connected as Jones kept him at a distance.

"You've made your last mistake." The crocodilian man cackled, "My meal comes to me!"

Batman simply stared down the Crocodilian. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"And what would that be?"

A large splash of acid met Croc's back. It caused him to reel and flail, turning to the pinkette who with tears in her eyes stood her ground in a wide stance and already getting ready to throw more acid towards the crocodilian. Jones snarled at her.

"Are you that eager to die?!" Jones spit in anger.

"No, but I won't stand by and let you hurt one of my friends." Mina defended, preparing for another ball of acid to throw and stepping back, "I don't care how much of a monster you are."

"I'LL SHOW YOU THE KIND OF MONSTER I AM!"

Mina was about to lash out with the acid again, which led to Croc defensively covering his face. The rest of his body followed suit and with his focus so well turned away, his grip loosened. This was an opening for Batman.

Batman pulled his legs up, taking hold of the arm keeping him off the ground with one leg and with the other kicking off Croc's head. With that kick, there was enough force to get Batman fully out of Croc's grasp and allow him to grab that arm and pull him onto his back! Batman jumped to Mina's side.

"Oh, come one, Croc, ol' boy! You quite literally had him in the palm of your hand." Joker groaned and joked from above.

"I thought I told you to go." Batman said, ignoring the clown.

"You gave me the option to. I'm not getting out of here without you, Lane."

"Then I have a plan to end this quick." Batman turned to Mina. "I'll take the fight to him, just wait for my callout."

"Right!" She affirmed.

As Croc got up, Batman rushed forward to try to get him on the defense. Two jabs at Croc's stomach were successful before Batman was forced to duck a swing from the crocodilian, but Batman moved with this reaction and responded in kind with an uppercut. Croc tried to bite downwards in a response of his own and although Batman was able to dodge the initial bite, Croc's hands had gripped onto Batman's cape. He was pulled back, the cape being torn in the process, and being forced to roll with the tug. Killer Croc was on the attack already with another bite. This time, Batman could all but manage to block this bite with his right gauntlet. Thankfully it held up, but it wouldn't for long and neither would he with how Croc was lifting Batman from the ground.

Batman grabbed a tool from his belt, placing it on Croc's left temple and continuing to grip the man's head. The device immediately shot out electricity into Jones. Thanks to Batman's disconnection from the ground and his insulated armor, he felt no electricity run through himself, but the amount of voltage running through Jones was enough to send him into a spiraling motion. Croc dropped Batman from his mouth but the teenager's grip on the man's head flung him around. Within this time, Croc seemed to be recovering already.

So, Batman kicked off of Croc and grabbed his cape, guiding himself onto the large chains that held up the platform they were on. Batman turned back just in time to catch Jones plucking the device from his head and forcefully throwing it into the water off the side of the platform.

"You talk a big game about learning from your mistakes, but the same tricks still work. Seems as if 'Killer Croc' really is just a title." Batman taunted.

"Talk your game while your throat is crushed between my teeth!" The criminal growled in response.

Croc didn't hesitate to charge onto the chain! I swipe of a claw caused Batman to need to back up, then another lunge caused him to leap in return. Jones tried to grab Batman from the air, but Batman leaned forward instead. He kicked off his arm, flying farther up the chain but needing to catch himself on the underside of it and swing back topside. When he landed, his back was nearly against the wall.

Croc smiled menacingly, licking his teeth as he did so. And though his movements were unstable, his grip on the chain kept him on top as he made his approach.

"All that bravado was just for show, to mask the fear that you're about to meet your end! Fight until you can't anymore, because you've just cornered yourself against an apex predator!" Croc rejoiced, preparing to strike. "Any final words for me to remember you by?"

"You fell for it." Batman nodded. He performed a fast draw like some of the cowboys from a western and fired his grapnel gun past Jones' feet latching it onto the chain beyond him. Jones didn't wait anymore, charging Batman to try and stop him from completing his attack, but Batman was quicker to jump upwards and leap off the concrete wall behind him. During this leap, Batman threw the grapnel gun off the side of the chain with a delay on the reel. It was timed just right to wrap around Croc's chest and once he turned around it wrapped around one of his feet. "The chain, Ashido!"

Mina threw a huge ball of acid onto the chain, dissolving it within seconds. By the time Batman landed beside her, the chain had been severed! The platform swayed a little from the disconnect, but the other chains would hold. It was Croc who was sent falling downwards and swinging. He began to lean forward. He screamed out in anger and frustration as he approached the concrete wall. This motion ended more swiftly than it started with his body harshly hitting the wall.

Croc continued to wail out, wriggling until he was facing Batman and Ashido. But already, the flow of blood that was rushing to his head was showing signs that he was going unconscious.

"Croc ol' boy!" The mastermind behind the plot sounded, this time with an echo rather than over a PA system. He was now at the entrance Mina and Batman took from the Downpoour Zone. He was leaning against the curved wall, covering his face in disappointment. "You were supposed to kill the Batman! But he beat you again without much more than a dent in his armor!"

"Shut up, Clown! I'll eat you next!" Croc retaliated as his last words before succumbing to his position and letting his head fall.

"Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah! Eat this, eat that, you really are a simpleton, aren't you? Then again, no one ever hired you for your brain, did they? Heh!" Joker chuckled. He pushed off the wall and raised his arms from his sides with his attention on Batman now, "So, now you have a choice. Come after me, give chase, and end this once and for all! Or, you can stop the bombs down here and up top and save your precious friends while leaving me – free and able to wreak havoc again another day!"

"Up top?" Batman responded loud enough for Joker to catch.

"Oh, didn't I say?" Joker raised an eyebrow. He placed his hands together, leaning them to his left, "I had two chemical bombs planted. One down here, set on a timer I started when- well, you remember." Joker motioned his hands to his right side, "The other bomb is set to trigger a timer if and when this one fails! I may not get the city, but so long as I kill your friends, heh, I'll be one happy clown."

"The open panel on the top of the U.S.J."

"Bingo! The best place to put it to get the most coverage!" Joker giggled. Checking his wrist as if he had a watch, "Well, I'll let you get to it, then. I figure the walking chapped lip is probably close to done getting beaten by your friends or killing them. And I know you would never let those bombs go off just to catch someone like me. So, tata!"

The Joker began laughing as he simply walked away. Batman turned towards the bomb.

Mina turned to him, "I'm going after him."

"No, you're not."

"Why not? He said he was quirkless, I can take him!"

"That underestimation is exactly what would get you killed." Batman made his way to the bomb, examining it. He made a mental note of the blinking light on the front. "Joker orchestrated all of this under the nose of U.A.'s security and without his own colleagues learning about it. Even gathering someone like Killer Croc to join his side."

Batman briefly looked at Mina, "He might be quirkless, but that doesn't mean he's not dangerous. A gun can still kill All Might."

He turned back to the bomb and motioned to examine the backside, finding a panel welded to said side. Batman ripped open the panel, seeing a chaotic system inside with random dolls and confetti placed between the actual components. But the bomb was one that was somewhat amateur compared to what Batman prepared himself for.

He simply located the battery that would power the timer, explosives trigger, and the chemical release. He reached in, grabbed the battery, then yanked it out! He turned to Mina, who was looking at the bomb and Batman with concern and worry.

"The light off?"

Mina hesitantly stepped closer to the bomb, locating where the light was. She nodded.

"Good, there isn't a second battery. Without a battery, the bombs have nothing to trigger them and the release for the chemicals can't open on its own." Batman explained, throwing the battery to the side.

The two began to make their way toward the Downpour Zone tunnel. But Mina piped up again. "Are you okay? You took some hard hits and a bite from that guy."

"I'm fine. Right now we need to worry about getting out of here"

Once they were inside the tunnel, Mina decided to make one last question. "We worked well together, though, right?"

"You need a lot of work." Batman responded, though catching Mina's disgruntled frown towards him, "Next time you attack, especially an opponent that's larger than you, have a follow-up strategy."

Mina was about to retaliate in defense from that comment, but she was stopped by the sudden feeling of the tunnels shuddering. Along with the quake, the sounds of an impact echoed throughout the tunnels. Mina jumped and ducked down in response.

"What now?!"

Batman had one guess as to who that could have been.

Clark Kent

Clark was sent flying into the ground by the beast in a tackle! Even through the blur of being stricken, he could see the damage being done by the impact. Craters upon craters were made and for the second time in his life, Clark felt serious pain through being winded.

The monster the pale man called Nomu raised its arms to prepare for another slam. But Clark lashed out in that moment, laying into it and throwing the Nomu into the air! He burst up himself, aiming to hit it in the gut but the Nomu was quick enough to catch Clark before he could land his hit. Instead, he was stricken in the back. Stunned, Clark wasn't ready to respond to the elbow and so he was met with a knee to the jaw.

Clark was grabbed by the neck, being taken down with the Nomu. He tried to get away with his flight, but him being dizzy still from the knee made it much harder to focus on how to fly especially with the added weight. So, instead, he pulled away and struck the Nomu's arm with his own knee and only barely was able to move enough away from the Nomu to gain some distance. He still slammed against the ground and rolled from the momentum. Clark quickly looked back at the Nomu, raising from the ground to try to gain some advantage.

But seeing the Nomu made Clark a lot more confident considering the beast's arm was bent in the wrong direction. This confidence was halted when the pale man began to shout toward the Kryptonian.

"You're not the only one who's got OP passive stats!"

The Nomu's arm began to form back to its normal state on its own, snapping back into place. The Nomu was as ready as he was at the beginning of the fight!

Meanwhile, Clark brushed under his nose to wipe off what felt like water on his face. But when he looked down, he was surprised to see it was blood. No one and nothing has ever made Clark bleed like that.

"Don't be so surprised. That Nomu was made to kill All Might, after all. There's no way a mob like you could destroy it, even if you are hacking." The pale man boasted. He was approaching the two, unfazed by the potential of getting hit in the crossfire. "Die like the irrelevant NPC you are."

The Nomu began to prepare for a charge.

It seemed like this really was the time to see if Clark was as strong as All Might whether he wanted to or not.