In an alleyway a few streets down, Wayne Industries Izuku sat huddled behind a rusted dumpster, his knees pulled tight to his chest. His iconic green hair was matted with grime, and his skin was a sickly, pale grey underneath the grey jumper over his body. Now you may wonder, where the heck did the clothes come from well, he may have stolen them from some thugs but that doesn't matter right now.
Izuku thoughts: One more hour... if I can just make it one more hour without moving, maybe the hunger will go numb again. My stomach feels like it's being twisted on the inside...
Nana: "Midoriya... please, kiddo. You're shivering so hard I can feel it in the core of the quirk. Look at me."
Nana Shimura appeared in a haze of translucent light, her face etched with a maternal agony that seemed to transcend death. She reached out a hand, but it passed through Izuku's shoulder like smoke.
Nana: "On your way here, we saw a convenience store two blocks over. Just a piece of bread, Izuku. Or a piece of fruit. You're starving yourself to death. How are you supposed to protect the world if you can't even stand up? Steal it if you have to !"
Izuku's thoughts: "I'm not stealing anything, Nana. And I won't eat either. Every time I use my other powers, I lose a little more of myself. If I stay weak... then they stay asleep."
Nana: "You aren't a monster ninth! You're just a boy who lost control, it happens! Please, just eat something. For your mother, for Toshinori, for Bruce !"
Suddenly, a gruff, orange-tinted silhouette stepped forward from the mist of the vestige world. Daigoro Banjo, the fifth user, crossed his arms, his goggles reflecting the dark alleyway.
Banjo: "Seventh, give it a rest. You're wasting your breath. The kid's got a head made of rock. He's decided he's the villain of his own story, and nothing we say is gonna change that right now."
Nana: "How can you say that, Banjo?! Look at him! He's dying!"
Yoichi: "But what more can we do, if he won't listen seventh."
The First User, Yoichi Shigaraki, emerged with a calm, tragic grace. He looked down at Izuku with eyes filled with compassion and a deep sadness.
Yoichi: "He thinks that by starving his body, he can resist the darkness. It's a fool's errand, but it is his choice. Seventh. If we push him too hard, he might snap in the wrong direction. Let him find his own path to the light, even if it's through the dirt. We can only support him."
Banjo: "The First is right. Look at his eyes, Nana. There's no hero in there right now. Just a scared kid trying to disappear. Let him be."
Nana looked between the other users and Izuku, her bottom lip trembling. With a heavy sigh, she faded into the darkness of his subconscious, leaving Izuku alone with the sound of the rain. Izuku couldn't help but think in that moment about Rokuro, Natsu and Meliodas and what they might say, he couldn't stop thinking of why they had gone silent.
Izuku's thoughts: "Shut up, all of you. Just... shut up."
Meanwhile back at Wayne Manor:
Back in the cold sanctuary of the Batcave, the hum of supercomputers provided a rhythmic backdrop to a conversation filled with heavy silence. Bruce Wayne, now sat in his civilian clothes but with the cowl resting on the desk beside him, staring at a grainy satellite image of the Narrows.
The monitor flickered, revealing the skeletal, sunken face of Toshinori Yagi—All Might.
All Might: "Bruce... tell me you have something. Please. My heart can't take much more of this waiting."
Bruce leaned back, his eyes dark with a fatigue that went deeper than bone. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking every bit the man who carried the weight of a city on his shoulders.
Bruce: "I've checked the facial recognition scans from every street corner in the East End, Toshinori. He's staying off the grid. He's using the urban survival tactics I taught him. And he's discarded his hero suit, though it doesn't matter as the tracker I had put into it was destroyed during his rampage."
All Might: "He's only sixteen, Bruce! He's in a foreign city, he has no money, and he thinks he's dangerous because of what happened. He's probably terrified!"
Bruce: "I know. And every time I think about him out there, I see Hisashi's face. I care about him too, Toshinori.I promised myself I'd look out for him. I'm failing that promise right now. And I wont give up on looking for him, I've had Clark scour all of Japan and Metropolis, the Flash is covering Star City, Green Lanterns are looking over Coast City and I tried having John use his telepathy across the earth but somehow the boy's blocking him."
All Might: "This is all my fault. I gave him my power, but I never made sure to check on his mentality, the burden I've placed on his shoulder and the threats he's faced. I feel like a failure who watched as he ran into a burning building and couldn't pull him out. If you find him... if you see him...please let me know."
Bruce: "I'll find him, Toshinori. I swear no matter where he is. If he's in this city, he's under my protection, whether he wants to be or not."
Suddenly, a piercing siren blared through the cave. A red window popped up on the primary Batcomputer screen, flashing with an urgent priority alert.
Bruce: "Toshinori, I have to go. There's a breach at Wayne Enterprises Labs. Silent alarm triggered. High-level chemical theft in progress."
All Might: "Be careful, Bruce. If the boy is anywhere near there... the chaos might draw him out."
Bruce: "That's what I'm afraid of."
Bruce pulled the cowl over his face, the white lenses snapping into place. The billionaire vanished, replaced by the Dark Knight. He vaulted into the Batmobile, the engine roaring to life like a caged beast.
In a girls bedroom somewhere in Gotham suburbs:
In a cozy, brightly lit bedroom in the heart of Gotham's residential district, a girl with vibrant orange hair and piercing green eyes sat cross-legged on her bed. She was surrounded by tech—three laptops were open, scrolling through lines of code, while a soldering iron sat on her nightstand. She held a phone to her ear, a wide grin on her face.
Girl: "No way! Harles, you are totally making that up! There is no way Joker tried to use a giant whoopee cushion on the Mayor's limo!"
Harleen: (On the phone) "I swear on my puddin's giant hammer, Babsy-wabsy! It was gonna be the 'Greatest Guffaw of the century'! But then the big bad Bat showed up and ruined everything! He's such a party pooper, honestly. Why can't he let a girl have a little fun?"
Girl: "Maybe because your 'fun' usually involves grand larceny and property damage, Harles? Just a thought."
Harleen: "Aw, such a Girl Scout, it's cute! Just like you! Anyway, Babsy, did you see the new Batman comic? The way they drew his cape is totally unrealistic. No way he gets that much lift with that much velvet!"
Girl: "I'm more interested in the tactical analysis, honestly. The way he handled the Penguin's goons in the last issue... Batman was amazing, but Robin got his but kicked; it was sloppy. He left his left flank open for at least three seconds. If I were there, I would have used a low-sweep kick and a flash-bang."
Harleen: "Oooooh, listen to Miss Sidekick-in-training! You're obsessed, Babs! You're gonna turn into a Bat-fanatic just like those weirdos on the forums."
Girl: "I'm not a fanatic. I'm a student of the craft. There's a difference."
Suddenly, a loud, booming voice echoed from downstairs. It was the sound of a man who had seen too much and slept too little.
Jim Gordon: "WHAT?! Are you sure?! Get the SWAT teams to the Diamond District NOW! If Crane gets those chemicals, the whole city is a graveyard!"
The girl froze. Her green eyes sharpened, and the playful smile vanished.
Jim Gordon: "PUMPKIN! I'm heading out! There's an emergency at the lab! Lock the doors and don't open them for anyone! I love you!"
Girl: "Love you too, Dad! Be safe!"
The front door slammed shut. The girl immediately dove for her main laptop, her fingers flying across the keys with a speed that rivaled a professional hacker.
Girl: "Harles, I gotta go. My... uh... my cat just knocked over a lamp. Talk later!"
She hung up and clicked into a secure frequency. Within seconds, she was listening to the police band.
Dispatcher: "...Multiple hostages at Wayne Laboratories. Subject identified as Jonathan Crane, alias Scarecrow. He has a mercenary contingent with him. They've established a perimeter. The Batman has been sighted on the roof, but he's pinned down by heavy fire."
The girl stood up, her heart hammering against her ribs. She looked at her closet, where a hidden compartment sat waiting.
Girl: "He's pinned down... he needs help. And if I can get in there and save those hostages before he does, he'll have to take me seriously. He'll have to see that I'm better than Robin."
She opened the closet. Hanging there was a suit of deep, regal purple with a brilliant yellow bat symbol across the chest. A yellow cape, matching boots, and a utility belt sat neatly below it.
Girl: "It's time. Time for Batgirl to show Gotham what she can do."
Back with Izuku:
Izuku was still in the alley, his head lolling against the dumpster, when the air was suddenly ripped apart by the sound of gunfire and a distant explosion.
Izuku thoughts: Gunshots... screams... it's coming from the big building at the end of the block. People are in danger.
He tried to stand, but his legs felt like lead. He clutched his stomach as it let out a sharp, painful growl.
Izuku thoughts: No. I can't go. If I go, I'll try to help. I'll hurt the police. I'll hurt the hostages. I have to get away. I have to go the other way.
He began to stumble toward the mouth of the alley, his eyes fixed on the ground, when a shadow passed over him. It wasn't the broad, terrifying silhouette of the Batman. It was smaller. Lighter.
He looked up. Standing on the edge of a three-story tenement was a figure in purple. Her yellow cape snapped in the wind, and her orange hair flowed out from under her cowl. She looked down at the chaos with a look of pure, unadulterated joy—the kind of look Izuku used to have when he watched All Might videos as a child.
Present mic: Barbara Gordon, Aka Batgirl. This rocking dudette is a ragtag, nifty little genius with the quirk Digital smarts !!! Anything she wants to build as long as it's not too powerful and she has a deep undersanding of its abilities, she can build, with blueprints appearing in her mind and a tech-savvy personality, she is the best type of nerd there is ! Her drawback is that depending on the level of tech of the thing she wants to build, she may get a powerful headache. So not groovy man !
Izuku thoughts: She... she looks so happy. She's going toward the danger because she wants to help. She looks like... like me when I used to play hero with mum and dad.
For the first time in weeks, Izuku's eyes sparked with something other than sorrow. Despite the hunger, despite the fear, his body began to move on its own. He followed her through the shadows, his footsteps silent as he trailed the purple-clad hero toward the Wayne Laboratory.
Barbara Gordon Pov:
Barbara Gordon—now Batgirl—felt like she was walking on air. The wind in her face, the weight of the gadgets on her belt, the adrenaline pumping through her veins—it was better than any dream.
Batgirl: "Okay, Babs. Deep breaths. You've practiced this. You've studied the blueprints. You're ready. Batman is on the roof, but the side entrance is unguarded. If I can slip in there, I can reach the labs before Scarecrow releases the gas and save the hostages."
She saw her father down in the street, shouting orders into a megaphone. Harvey Bullock was beside him, looking grumpy as ever, and Detective Montoya was coordinating the SWAT perimeter.
Batgirl: "Sorry, Dad. But I can't just sit at home while you're in the line of fire."
She saw the Batman glide from a high spire, disappearing into a ventilation shaft on the upper floors.
Batgirl: "Wait for me, big guy."
"Okay, Babs. Just like you practiced," she whispered.
She launched her grapple gun, the cable hissing through the air and hooking onto a gargoyle near the side tower. She zipped over, landing silently on the balcony. She slipped through a window and found herself in a dimly lit corridor.
Two armed thugs were patrolling, their rifles held loosely.
Batgirl: "Okay. Just like the training vids."
She reached into her belt and pulled out two batarangs. With a flick of her wrists, she sent them flying. One hit a light fixture, plunging the hall into darkness, and the other struck the lead thug's gun, knocking it out of his hands.
She dropped from the rafters, a whirlwind of purple. A kick to the knee, a palm strike to the chin, and a quick taser to the chest. Within seconds, both men were unconscious on the floor.
Batgirl: "Phew! That wasn't so hard. I don't know why Robin makes such a big deal out of—"
The air suddenly became heavy. A massive, looming shadow stretched across the floor, eclipsing her completely. A chill that had nothing to do with the rain crawled up her spine.
Batgirl: "Wait... who..."
Her blood turned to ice. Standing seven feet tall, a mountain of scarred muscle and cold malice, was the man who had broken the Batman. Bane.
"It is only easy because you were allowed to enter, pájaro."
I froze. I turned around and my heart nearly stopped. He was huge. Bigger than any man I'd ever seen. A black mask, tubes of red connected from his wrist to the back of his skull.
Barbara: "Bane..."
Bane: "The Batman has his little birds. But this one... this one has not yet learned how to fly."
Batgirl: "Bane! What are you doing here? This is Scarecrow's job!"
Bane: "Scarecrow is a distraction. I am the reality. And you... you will be good entertainment."
Batgirl didn't wait. she lunged forward, unleashing a flurry of martial arts strikes. She was fast, her kicks aiming for his joints, her punches targeting his pressure points. But it was like hitting a brick wall. Bane didn't even flinch. He caught her mid-air, his hand closing around her ankle.
Bane: "Your technique is flawless. But you lack the power to make use of it."
He spun her around and tossed her like a ragdoll. She slammed into a cement wall, the impact knocking the wind out of her.
Izuku Pov:
Izuku was hiding behind a stack of shipping crates, his eyes wide with horror as he watched the fight.
Izuku thoughts: Bane. The man with the Venom compound. I've read about him in the files Batman showed me. He's a tactical genius with a strength quirk that can level buildings and a venom drug that enhances that power. She can't win! She's just a girl!
He saw Batgirl try to use a taser, but Bane caught the line before it could touch him. She threw a batarang, and Bane caught it between two fingers, bending the reinforced steel as if it were made of aluminum.
Bane: "Is this all the Batman has sent to stop me? A child in a costume? How disappointing."
Batgirl pulled a smoke bomb from her belt and slammed it into the ground. A thick cloud filled the hall, and she tried to use the cover to escape, but Bane was too fast. He reached through the smoke, his hand closing around her yellow cape as she tried darting away. He lifted her into the air, her feet dangling helplessly.
( Edna: NO CAPES!)
Bane: "Beg for mercy, little bird. You have nothing. You are beaten, and now you will serve as a message to the Batman that he has failed"
He spoke with a deep, Latin-accent that vibrated through the room. He lifted her high above his head, standing near the edge of the mezzanine that looked down into a dark, fifty-foot pit used for chemical storage.
Bane: "Fly, little bird. Fly to your death."
He threw her.
Batgirl let out a piercing scream as she fell through the air. She was terrified, crying, her cape snapping violently. She saw the concrete floor approaching at a terminal velocity.
Izuku: "NO!"
The hunger, the exhaustion, the fear—it all vanished in a heartbeat. The hero inside Izuku, the boy who couldn't stand to see a single person cry, took control.
Izuku thoughts: Make it! I need to reach her! FASTER! FASTER!
One For All: Full Cowl exploded into life. Green lightning danced across Izuku's body, his muscles screaming as he forced them to work on an empty tank. He pushed his output to the absolute limit his body could handle without tearing itself apart.
WHAM!
Izuku launched himself off the crates, a red blur. He caught her in mid-air, pulling her tight against his chest. He didn't have time to use his quirk to slow down, so he twisted his body, intending to take the full force of the impact.
They crashed into the ground, sliding across the concrete in a shower of sparks and dust. Izuku felt his skin tear, his bones groan, and his already weakened body scream in agony, but he didn't let go. He held her until they finally stopped.
Izuku: "Are you okay? Hey... look at me. You're safe."
Batgirl's eyes were squeezed shut, her body trembling. She slowly opened them, her vision blurry with tears. She saw a boy with messy green hair and eyes that looked like they had seen the end of the world.
Batgirl: "How did I..You... you saved me? Who... who are you?"
Izuku: "I'm... nobody... but are you hur-?"
Before he could finish his sentence, the ground shook.
BOOM!
Bane landed twenty feet away, his boots cracking the concrete. They were behind the main laboratory building now, away from the police lights. Bane walked toward them, his red lenses glowing in the dark.
Bane: "A rescue? How poetic. You have courage, boy. I am impressed by your speed. But now... you will die."
Izuku slowly stood up, his back to the man. He felt sick, his vision was swimming, and Nana was screaming in his head to run. But he didn't. He stood between Bane and the girl.
Izuku: "Leave the girl alone. You've already done enough."
Bane laughed, a dark, hollow sound. "I will break her, boy. And now, I will break you too. You will watch as I crush her spirit, and then I will crush your bones."
Bane stood directly behind Izuku, his massive arms reaching out to wrap around him in a bone-crushing hug.
Bane: "Die with honor."
But before Bane's hands could close, Izuku spun. With a roar of defiance, he delivered a right hook so fast and so powerful that the air itself seemed to crack.
KRA-KOOM!
Bane was sent flying backward, his boots skidding across the ground for thirty feet before he finally came to a stop. He rubbed his chin, looking at Izuku with a mixture of shock and pure rage.
Bane: "You... little... pest! You will pay for that in blood!"
He pressed a button on his wrist device. Suddenly, a neon green liquid began to pump through the tubes snaked around his body. His muscles began to distort, growing six times their original size. His chest expanded until it was like a wall of steel tearing through his upper body clothes, and his hands became the size of Izuku's entire torso. He stood as a true, towering giant, the Venom pumping through his veins.
Bane: "NOW I AM BANE!!"
Bane charged.
Izuku: "Get back!"
Batgirl watched in horror as Bane lifted his massive fists into the air.
Batgirl: "LOOK OUT!"
WHAM!
BOOOOOM!!!!!!
Bane smashed his fists down. Izuku's Danger Sense went off like a siren, and he dove to the right just in time. The impact shattered the concrete, sending a shockwave that knocked Izuku onto his back.
Danger Sense went off again.
Nana: "IZUKU, LOOK OUT!"
Izuku spun around to see a massive fist coming right for him. He crossed his arms to block, but the force was too much. He was sent flying through a parked car, crashing into the brick wall of the laboratory.
Izuku: "Urgh... it hurts..."
Bane walked toward him, his heavy footsteps sounding like a death knell.
Bane: "You are strong for a child. But I am Bane. I will break your spine and leave you for the rats."
Suddenly, Batgirl jumped onto Bane's back, stabbing her batarangs into his trunk sized neck.
Batgirl: "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
Bane growled and spun around, grabbing her by the head.
Batgirl: "AAAAAH!"
She screamed as he added pressure, his fingers threatening to crush her skull. With a flick of his wrist, he threw her aside. She landed hard on the ground, blood dripping down her forehead as she went limp.
Izuku's eyes widened. He saw the blood. He saw her lying there, hurt because of him.
Izuku thoughts: How dare you..HOW DARE YOU !!
Izuku's expression twisted into a mask of pure, unbridled rage. The green lightning around his body intensified, turning a darker, more violent shade.A pure black and purple outlines flicker of energy surged across his muscles.
Bane: "Now... to finish the—"
Before Bane could finish his sentence, Izuku was already in front of him.
POW!
An uppercut caught Bane under the chin, sending the giant tumbling back a few steps, his head ringing. He shook his head to focus, only to see Izuku running at him again. Bane tried to punch him, but Izuku ducked under the massive arm.
BAM! WHAM! CRACK!
Izuku delivered a right hook, then a left hook. Each hit sounded like a thunderbolt hitting an anvil. The shockwaves from the punches were enough to crack the glass in the windows nearby.
Izuku: "YOU... WILL... NOT... HURT... ANYONE... ELSE!"
Izuku charged one last time, his body glowing with a blinding light. He twisted his entire frame, putting every ounce of One For All's power into his fist.
Izuku: "DETROIT... SMASH!"
He slammed his fist straight into Bane's gut. The impact created a shockwave so powerful that every window in the laboratory shattered instantly. Bane's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he was lifted off the ground. The giant man was sent flying, crashing through the back wall of Wayne Laboratories and through several interior walls before finally coming to a stop in a mangled heap.
Silence fell over the alley.
Batgirl looked up, her vision blurry. She saw Izuku standing there, his chest heaving, his green lightning slowly fading. She had so many questions. Who was he? What kind of quirk was that? She tried to speak, her inner hero-nerd already cataloging the incident.
Batgirl: "Who... who are you? That was... incredible..."
But Izuku didn't answer. He turned to look at her, his eyes soft and filled with a deep sadness.
Izuku thoughts: "Nana... I'm so tired..."
Nana: "Ninth...NINTH, NINTH! IZUKU!!!"
Izuku swayed on his feet, his vision turning black. He collapsed onto the cold concrete, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
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