It had been a week ever since the attack on the USJ Facility. U.A Staff had decided that it would be best to close the school for about two weeks so that the students can recover from the incident, as well as for the police to do their investigation without interruptions.
It was night time in Musutafu. At this time the city was best to tour with some night exclusive markets opening up, as well as the Musutafu fair which everyone enjoyed. Civilians were trying to continue their life, as usual, believing that the heroes will stop the rest of the villains that attacked the USJ Facility, and they all felt safer with increased hero patrols.
But among the crowd of people in the streets, was one man who was planning something deadly for this night, that man was Jonathan Crane. Crane was wearing standard civilian clothing, normal jeans, and a thick hoodie with the hood covering his head.
He was aware of all the attention he had grabbed by robbing the jewelry store and defeating Kamui Woods with his fear toxin, and this way when he goes out in standard clothing, no one would even think that this man was the Scarecrow. A perfect way to blend in with the crowd.
Crane stopped as a Sushi Restaurant was in his sight, it was the largest sushi restaurant in the city, with over a hundred guests currently eating, feeling safe. This would be the perfect target. Crane pressed his index finger against his ear, activating the little communication device he had in it. "Status Report..." He said through it.
Meanwhile, three henchmen of Scarecrow were on the roof of the restaurant, and they just finished breaking off a few vent covers that went through the entire building. "We are finishing up, sir." One of the henchmen stated.
The second henchmen slowly and carefully started pulling out a couple of containers that looked like grenades. "Careful, you do not want to drop one of them and make a crack in those things" The first one said turning his head over as he finished giving a status report to Scarecrow.
"Oh just shut up, you very well know what my quirk is." The henchmen replied and started handing the containers to the third one. His quirk allowed him to stick any objects to his fingers and make it impossible for them to suddenly slip off his grip.
Slowly but steadily the third one started dropping the containers into the several ventilation shafts that were located on the roof of the restaurant. In the end, all the containers had been dropped in the ventilation shafts, and the first henchmen contacted Scarecrow once more "The toxin is ready, sir." The henchmen said.
"Excellent, you have the rest of the night off" Crane said, taking his index finger off of his ear. These normal street thugs with quirks were a lot more useful than those normal ones he had back in Gotham, and he knew it was a good idea to hire a couple of them.
With the fear toxin containers in place, Crane stepped up towards the entrance of the restaurant, opening the door and walking in. As he walked in he noticed the hero Death Arms sitting at a table, waiting for his order. Death Arms was the main target of Crane and the key to this whole operation.
Crane picked out an empty seat that was near the seat where Death Arms was sitting at. He was aware of the strict no-smoking rule of this restaurant, so he knew what to do to get the attention of the hero. He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket as well as a lighter, as he then lit the cigarette in his mouth.
As he waited for the smoke of the cigarette to reach the are of the hero, Crane looked around the restaurant once more, noticing a good number of people present, as well as children as young as three years old. This was most certainly going to be a night Musutafu will keep in mind for a very long time.
Death Arms of course was waiting patiently for his order. It was his break off patrol and he wanted something to eat. It didn't even take anybody to tell Death Arms that there was somebody smoking. He was able to smell the dirty smoke and followed it to the table where Crane was sitting at. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, you can not be smoking in this establishment." He said in his serious tone, looking Crane in the eyes coldly.
Crane looked up to face the hero as he walked up to his table, this was the moment he had been waiting for. He quickly stood up from his seat and straightened his arm out towards the head of Death Arms, before a gas of fear toxin was unleashed right into his face.
Death Arms was caught completely off guard by this move and did not have enough Tim to react. He stumbled back and started covering his face with his hands, before starting to cough violently.
As soon as Crane gassed the hero, he pulled out a syringe from his pocket and stabbed the hero to the side with it, draining up his blood before taking it out. The customers quickly started noticing what was happening and a few stood up, while others tried to call the police knowing that this was a villain, but it was too late for them.
When Crane unleashed the fear toxin into the face of Death Arms, the remote control was activated and the containers of the fear toxin opened in the ventilation shafts. Fear Toxin started spreading at incredible speed around every room and area of the building.
Crane quickly started walking away from the gassed Death Arms and casually watched as everyone in the area started falling under the effects of the fear toxin, and the screams started growing in numbers every second.
Knowing that it would be risky to leave through the main entrance, Crane started heading towards the back door that leads into a dark alley, where he would disappear before any hero even managed to get here.
But Death Arms was gassed with a special type of fear toxin, a new formula. And the other customers only received a normal dose of his toxin, so that none of them would even try to stop his escape...And to make sure they all stayed in place for the upcoming slaughter.
After some time, Death Arms finally took his hands off his face, and what he saw truly horrified him. The entire building looked like it was falling apart, and he noticed that all around him were terrifying demon-like monstrosities.
"GET AWAY FROM ME YOU CREATURES!" He screamed out as he started using his quirk to attack all of the monsters in the area, pummeling every one of them he managed to get his hands on. These creatures were starting to swarm around him, trying to get ahold of him...Or so Death Arms thought.
Crane opened the back door of the restaurant that led into the alley, as he heard the destruction going on inside...The normal dose would ensure that all of them did not manage to escape, so the body count can go as high as possible.
He did not need any protection from his normal dose, at this point he had completely gotten used to it to the point it had no effect on him. As he was walking down the dark alley, he took one last glance back, suddenly noticing that a huge blood splatter appeared on one of the windows. Crane smirked as he continued walking, toying with the vial of blood he managed to get from Death Arms in his pocket.
"The toxin works just fine...Now Operation Nightmare can begin..." Crane thought to himself. At the same time, he managed to get a vial of blood from a hero, which he would hand over to Strange...Hugo Strange would soon have the very first quirk he could experiment with.
Fortunately, Mt. Lady and Rock Lock were patrolling together in nearby when Death Arms fell under the influence of the fear toxin. They quickly heard the destruction going on as well as several people on the street screaming as they watched what was going on inside the restaurant.
When the two got close enough, Mt. Lady quickly grew in size and approached the building, she had, of course, noticed the green gas surrounding the rooms from within and then proceeded to hold her breath.
The pro hero grabbed ahold of the roof of the restaurant, tearing it off as the fear toxin started escaping the restaurant and into the air, but fortunately, it did not disperse towards the ground to have an effect on all the bystanders as they watched in horror.
As the fear toxin started fading from the building, Mt. Lady's eyes widened in horror at what she was seeing. There was blood everywhere, dead bodies, people screaming horror unable to move, and Death Arms killing everyone in the room.
The pro hero reacted quickly and used one of her hands to grab onto Death Arms, holding him tight. "LET GO OF ME YOU CREATURE!" He screamed out as he struggled to free himself from her grip, but it was in vain in the end.
Rock Lock quickly entered the building as Mt. Lady safely contained the hostile Death Arms, making his way upstairs to where the dining area was. When he entered the area, his eyes also widened in shock. "Dear God..." He muttered out.
The pro hero quickly started to first help the people who were critically injured, trying to tend their wounds. All of the customers were screaming uncontrollably, and the screams rang through Rock Lock's ears, sending shivers down his spine.
It did not take long for the police force to arrive alongside ambulances to help out the critically injured, and the media started to get interested in this whole incident as well, so the media vans were already on their way there as well.
The police force quickly apprehended the still hallucinating Death Arms, chaining him up and leading him towards an armored van where he would be brought to the police station. "LET GO OFF ME! STAY AWAY!" The pro hero screamed out as he struggled in vain.
The police started to evacuate the restaurant, every customer, injured or not was taken to the medics to get treated, but considering that they were all still under the effects of the fear toxin, they needed to contain them until the toxin wore off.
After some time, the media vans started pulling up close to the restaurant, camera crews and reporters coming out to report this whole event, but they all made sure to keep a good distance since the police force did not permit them to get any closer.
"Breaking News! There was a brutal villain attack on the Kowu Restaurant recently, Police are suspecting that the recent villain, Scarecrow, was behind this attack. There is no doubt that there have been casualties and those who were brutally injured. The pro hero Death Arms has been put under arrest and according to witnesses, he had been wrecking the entire place." The reporter talked as the camera rolled.
"We have here with us pro hero Rock Lock, who was patrolling the streets alongside Mt. Lady nearby and got involved as soon as they heard the loud crashing coming from the restaurant." The reporter said as the camera panned over to include the pro hero in the shot "Please, could you tell us what happened?" The reporter asked.
The pro hero had decided that it was a good idea to reach out to the civilians at home and reassure them about the situation, that is the least he could do right now since the police force, medics and Mt. Lady were helping the injured civilians.
" and I were on patrol after our most recent villain attack when we heard a loud crash at the restaurant. We found Death Arms attacking anyone in sight, and Mt. Lady quickly managed to contain him in the palm of her hand while I carried some of the critically injured civilians outside until the ambulances arrived." The pro hero explained, there was some visible blood on the back of his hero suit from some of the civilians he was carrying.
"While you were present up there, did you encounter the villain responsible for this horrible attack?" The reporter asked the pro hero.
Rock Lock slightly shook his head in response. "I speculate that the villain managed to flee the scene before me and Mt. Lady even arrived. This was no doubt a coordinated attack. But right now we need to let the police investigate the area in order to find more clues." The hero responded.
"Do you have a message to send to our concerned audience currently watching?" The reporter asked.
"Stay safe and report any suspicious activity that you manage to spot. This incident was a great tragedy and I send my condolences to all the families who lost their loved ones, but I can assure all of you...The villain will be brought to justice, and we will make sure he will never be able to hurt anyone again." The hero said, the camera slowly zooming in on his face as he was giving his final message to the viewers.
At the same time, Bruce Wayne was watching the report live from his new manor in Musutafu. The billionaire quickly stood up as Rock Lock finished his message. He started walking towards the room where he kept his bat suit at, knowing very well that this was an act of Scarecrow.
But the male knew that one more person will be wanting to come with him, especially since he had a feeling that he saw the news of the attack done by Scarecrow.
Damian quickly exited his room and went into the hallway, conveniently bumping into his father who was already on his way to the bat suit. "I will go with you." The raven haired male said as he locked eye contact with his father.
Bruce knew that something like this would have happened, so he had to be straight with him. "I really would like you to come with me as Robin, Damian. But considering some of the current circumstances, for now I will be going alone." Bruce said as he crossed his arms.
Damian of course was a bit outraged by the statement his father gave him. "What?! Why can I not come with you, You said that the detective you met with would allow us to operate freely!" Damian said in a bit of a higher tone.
"That is still undecided. The detective first has to get in contact with the Hero Public Safety Commission, and they are the ones who would decide whether we could get these hero licenses to operate freely, or not. All we can do now is hope he explains the entire situation well enough for them to understand." Bruce said to his son.
"That still does not explain why I cannot come with you right now, so why are you going if you still do not have free access?" Damian asked once more, but he had a feeling that no matter how much he argued, his father would still go through with what he had in mind.
"The detective is the only one currently who understands how critical the situation is, and I still need to investigate the area for any important clues the police may have missed, that means keeping a low profile. So this is something only I can do." Bruce said once more.
Damian just groaned, through experience he knew that arguing with his father would get him almost nowhere. "Fine...But if you are going to engage in a huge scale operation against Scarecrow I want in." Damian said sternly as he walked past his father with his arms crossed.
Bruce was glad that they got this out of the way, he needed to hurry up while the evidence is still very much fresh. He finally arrived at the room where the bat suit was held, as he started to swiftly change into it.
Batman opened the window that was in the room, as he jumped through it, gliding his way to a nearby building and then grappling himself atop of it.
The hero then swiftly landed on a moving civilian train that was going right next to the building. He was glad that this railway was so close to the manor, since right now this train was his only way of transportation in the city.
Detective Tsukauchi had finally arrived on the scene of the wrecked restaurant, walking by some of the medics who were treating the wounds of those who were injured, while they were still screaming in fear from the fear toxin.
"Casualty Report..." He said to the police officer next to him as he started making his way towards the top dining area of the restaurant.
"Seven Dead, Fifteen critically injured. The youngest casualty was a five year old boy." The officer stated as he went through the report on the clipboard he held in his hands.
Tsukauchi cursed under his breath as he heard that the youngest one killed was a five year old boy. He was going to make sure that Scarecrow will be put behind pars where he will never again hurt anyone.
After a while Tsukauchi was the only one left in the dining area, since the focus right now was stabilizing the civilians and getting them treatment, as well as keeping the press and the bystanders at bey.
Tsukauchi started looking around for any more clues about what exactly happened, and came a cross the round shaped container that previously contained the fear toxin under a table.
The detective picked it up in his hands, and since all of the fear toxin was released from it, the container was harmless. He quickly figured out that Scarecrow must have used the ventilation shafts to release the toxin upon all of the customers, it was the only logical thing.
A drop was heard behind him, and the detective quickly turned around to be greeted with the sight of the Dark Knight "I had a feeling that you would come" The detective said, still holding the container in his hands.
"Any clues on what went down here?" Batman said as he approached the detective, taking notice of the round container in the palm of his hands.
"As of now not much is known. I have a feeling that this container was used to unleash the fear toxin unto the customers." Tsukauchi said as he stepped forward towards the hero, handing him the container.
Batman took ahold of the round container and activated the detective vision in his cowl, as he started to scan the container. "I have seen this one before on my previous cases against Scarecrow, there is no doubt that he was the one who caused all this" Batman said a she scanned it for any fingerprints "No Fingerprints..." The hero stated.
Tsukauchi took notice of the eyes on the cowl light up in a turqoise color. He was impressed on all the numerous gadgets Batman used, and how efficient he was in using them, of course he already knew that he was quirkless, and it still amazed him how a quirkless individual could hold so much power.
Batman started scanning the area for any more important clues, but to his surprise there was nothing left, except one palm print on one of the turned over tables. He walked up to it and scanned the palm print. "This is the palm print of Jonathan Crane, seems like he was right here when it happened." Batman said as everything started re-constructing itself in front of his eyes.
"Death Arms walked up to Scarecrow, and he quickly stood up and gassed him in the face. He was not able to recognize him as Scarecrow because he was wearing civilian clothing." Batman commented, watching the re-construction of the event through his detective vision.
"Amazing...How are you seeing that?" Tsukauchi asked as he observed Batman carefully looking at the area where Scarecrow was supposed to be sitting at.
"I have the ability to re-construct events that happened in a certain area, all I need is a finger print and some damage that was caused." The Batman replied looking back at Tsukauchi.
Tsukauchi was even more amazed, their police force did not have that kind of advanced technology, but he would save those questions for later, since now they had to focus on the case. "Now it makes sense..." The detective though to himself.
"He most likely gassed Death Arms with a different kind of toxin, that is the reason why none of the customers are having the same violent behavior as him." Tsukauchi stated his theory to Batman.
Batman obviously already figured that "That is correct. Scarecrow would not go around hurting civilians for no reason, that would be a waste of resources for him. It is most likely that he came here to test out this new formula of his." Batman responded.
Now it even made sense as to why he would unleash the fear toxin on the other civilians, so that they all would stand still and have no chance of escaping the rampage of the drugged hero. "But what is he planning..." Tsukauchi muttered out as he started thinking about everything.
"That is what we are going to find out...There is no doubt that a lot of chaos can be caused with his new formula. I recommend locking Death Arms up to see if the toxin would wear off anytime soon." Batman said as he went besides the detective, facing the top of another building since the rooftop was torn off.
"No doubt that he would be devastated when he finds out what he did here." Tsukauchi muttered out once more before his he's perked up once more. "By the way, I talked with the President of the Hero Public Safety Commission about the topic of you being allowed to operate freely." Tsukauchi said.
Batman was just about to grapple away to search the neighborhood for any more clues, before he turned his head to the side, facing the detective "What did she say?" He asked, and according to the facial expression he was seeing on the face of the detective, those were not good news.
"She understands the situation on how you were transported here alongside all of those villains. But she does not want another vigilante roaming the streets, and says that the pro heroes will be able to handle your villains considering the fact that they are quirkless...And that if you did not listen to her orders, she will not hesitate to put all of the pro heroes on your trail." Tsukauchi said with a bit of disappointed face.
"She is making a big mistake. She is underestimating them for being quirkless, and trust me when I say that this will be the downfall of everyone." Batman stated. Scarecrow already managed to outmaneuver and outsmart the hero society two times.
"There is nothing much I can really do. I do understand how big of a threat those villains are, and how much of a great benefit you could be in stopping them, but if the President says one thing then it stays that way. And it is already a great risk for even allowing you to be here and not calling the police force over, if I am seen cooperating with a vigilante then I will be in great trouble." Tsukauchi told the Dark Knght.
"Then it is for the best for us to go our own ways...For now, I have a feeling that once the President sees just how much of a threat they are, she may reconsider" Batman said to Tsukauchi.
Tsukauchi sighed and turned around "I hope you are right, I cannot be seen working with you, and I really recommend not intervening much-" Tsukauchi turned around to suddenly notice that the Batman had vanished without a trail. He sighed once more, making his way outside to where the police force was. Without the approval of the President he could not be seen working with Batman, so they needed to cut ties for now.
Batman was jumping rooftop to rooftop, getting further away from the scene of the crime. Obviously he was not going to listen to the orders of the President of the Hero Public Safety Commission, he had to stop Scarecrow at all costs, and was aware that the pro heroes, as well as the police force, were not going to be able to track him down that easily...Scarecrow was planning something, something big...And he is going to get to the bottom of it.