Chapter 42: The Trip

Author's note: Hello all my loyal readers! The most common question I get on this story is:

"When will the Joker make his appearance?"

"When will we get to see the Joker?"

"Will the Joker make an appearance?"

"Hey, stupid! Bring on the Joker!"

I hear your calls, and if this is the way the winds are blowing, let no one say that I, too, don't also blow.

... wait, no, nevermind.

And now, by popular demand, as promised, I present to you....

Chapter 42: The Trip

-Gotham City. Midnight.-

"Please, don't!"

Black Mask crawled along the floor of his office, the corpses of his men piled around him. His attacker stood over him, having killed every last one of them single-handedly. His attacker towered over him, his face obscured by a mask and hood, reloading two custom M1911 pistols. Black Mask was wounded, having taken several shots to the shoulder and abdomen from his attacker's pistols. Struggling, he got to his feet, holding his hands out in front of him, pleading.

"Please, you don't have to do this!" He begged. "I'll give you whatever you want. I'll go wherever you want. You'll never hear from me again, I promise!" He stopped abruptly as he realized his back was against the large window. He whimpered as his attacker placed one of the pistols against his cracked skeletal mask. "Please no!" He said. "I'll give you anything, just tell me what you want!"

The man drew his gun back, holstering it, and leaned in close. "I want you to go to hell."

Rearing back, the attacker kicked Black Mask hard in the chest, sending him crashing out the window, falling four stories. With a sickening splat, Black Mask, one of Gotham's most notorious crime bosses, lay dead in the alley below.

The attacker looked out the window, confirming his enemy's lifeless corpse. He walked over to the computer on his desk. Black Mask was just using it before the attack, and hadn't had time to lock it. He had little time to search it before the police arrived, so he had to act fast to obtain the information he needed.

After a few minutes of perusing, he had found what he was looking for. Black Mask received millions of dollars from an offshore account owned by one "Jack White." He had seen that name enough times to know exactly what it meant. It was one of the Joker's oldest aliases.

He'd found him.

The Joker had recently gone into hiding, and hadn't been seen by the people of Gotham since his escape from Arkham six months ago. It was rumored that he was responsible for a heist with the bank of Gotham three months ago, but nothing was conclusive. Due to the amount of money he was funneling into Black Masks account, it was obvious this was the case.

Black Mask was receiving funds from the Clown in exchange for muscle, weapons, and stolen technology, but the reasons were still unclear to the man. However, he had a lead on how to find the Clown, and now he had complete access to Black Mask's files and funds. He was downloading the information to an external harddisk and began transferring his funds to his own private account when something caught his attention: a file labeled "Operation Playtime."

Curious, he opened the file to see several images and documents in reference to Batman, but something else that piqued his interest. Many of the images were of a young boy, no older than 15. He recognized him as the young boy who had in Japan who had taken down the Hero Killer. He was the Quirkless boy who was attending UA high school, Izuku Midoriya.

There had been many rumors as of late across the criminal underworld that Batman had taken on a new protege. It appears the rumors were founded. As the man sifted through the files, he felt a feeling of anger begin to well up inside him. Three years after the death of his last sidekick, the Bat had already moved on to another. He supposed this shouldn't come as a surprise to him, the Bat seemed to move through partners quickly. Still, it was bothersome to the man, to move on so quickly after the death of someone so close to him. But was anyone really close to the Batman?

His thoughts were interrupted as he came across another image of the student, an image taken from the UA Sports Festival. This image, however, had a grotesque green smiley face painted over it. He was able to make out the words that were written beneath it:

You know what happens when you bring others into this game of ours.

The files finished copying, and the man shut the laptop. He began to douse the office in gasoline, using a molotov cocktail to light the room ablaze. Having made it safely outside the building, he mounted his motorcycle and made his exit. His mind was racing as he sped off towards the direction of his hideout in the Narrows. Everyone seemed to know, or suspect, that Izuku Midoriya was Batman's new sidekick. And now it seems the Clown knew about Batman's new sidekick as well. And now the boy was his next target.

He had to find out what "Operation Playtime" was.

It was a little over a week left before the end of summer break and the start of a new semester at UA high. Izuku had recovered fully from his injuries at the hospital and was at home, but not for long. He had finished packing his luggage, and would soon be boarding a plane for America.

He was going to spend the next week in Gotham City.

It had taken some persuasion, but Bruce had convinced her that, considering all that had transpired the past couple of weeks, it would be good for Izuku to take some time away to recuperate, and had offered to take him to his ancestral home outside of Gotham. The biggest reason for this trip, however, was because of Izuku's new quirk.

He had still not gotten used to having Kacchan's quirk. Despite his knowledge about its use and his aptitude with explosions, he often found himself accidentally activating it and causing explosions inside the house. More than once the landlord was called, and they had to come up with creative explanations to cover for them.

Bruce explained that he knew some of the best doctors and specialists in the world, and wanted to bring Izuku to them for examination. Izuku understood his reasoning, but was starting to feel rather annoyed at all this attention. He felt like a lab rat in a science experiment, and often found himself pining for the days where he didn't have a quirk, a time where he felt like he knew who he was and things made sense. It was ironic, considering how many times Izuku wished for a quirk like Kacchan's when he was a child.

"Izuku!" He heard his mom calling for him. "Alfred is almost here. Are you all packed?"

"Yes, mom," said Izuku, carrying his bag to the living room.

"Are you sure you want to go?" His mom asked, worried. "We can still cancel, if you want."

"It's fine, mom," Said Izuku. "I'll be fine, I promise. Bruce will be with me."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of," His mom replied. "Just promise me, no heroic stuff, okay? You're going there to get away from that."

"Hey," Said Izuku, hugging her. "I promise, no heroic stuff."

He pulled away as he heard a knock at the door. His mother opened it to reveal Alfred standing there, smiling. "Good Morning, Master Midoriya, Mrs. Midoriya," He said, bowing. "Are you ready to depart?"

"Yes," said Izuku, hugging his mom one more time.

"Be safe," She said, wiping tears away.

"I will, mom," Izuku said.

"You have my word, Mrs. Midoriya," Said Alfred. "Izuku will be returned to you safely."

"I'll hold you to that, Alfred," His mom said as they departed.

As they drove away from Izuku's apartment, he couldn't help but feel a funny feeling of foreboding strike him. He tried to shake it off. It was probably just his nerves. He still wasn't sleeping well at night, still plagued by the various nightmares that haunted him. Hopefully, wherever these doctors that Bruce was talking about were, they were at least able to help him with his nightmares.

"Is something amiss, Master Midoriya?" Said Alfred.

"I'm fine," Izuku lied.

"I am not the world's greatest detective, but I do know when I am being lied to," Alfred said.

Izuku sighed. "Todoroki, er, my friend, said that I need to make this power my own," He said. "But, I'm not sure I know how to. It feels like I'm. . . pretending."

"How so, Master Midoriya?" Asked Alfred.

"Kacchan was amazing," Said Izuku. "He was so good at everything he ever did. I had no doubts that he could have been a hero, and a great one, if he hadn't. . ." the words caught in his throat. He still had a hard time admitting to himself that Kacchan was dead, despite having brought his killer to justice. "But I don't know if I could ever be like him, as strong as him. I don't know if I could ever be worthy enough for this quirk."

"I understand," Said Alfred. "This is quite the responsibility that has been put on your shoulders: how to honor your fallen friend, but to adopt this new power as your own. It certainly is not an easy matter. But I believe that by the end of this trip, you will have a better understanding of the matter, and yourself."

"I hope so," Said Izuku. He leaned against the leather armrest of his seat and looked out the window. It was beginning to rain, and the water obscured his vision slightly. It was several minutes before he realized that they were not driving towards the airport at all. They had driven out of the city and were now surrounded by rice paddies and farmland.

"Alfred, where are we?" Said Izuku. "Aren't we going to the airport."

"Dreadfully sorry, Master Midoriya," Alfred replied. "We didn't want your mother to worry, but Master Bruce has arranged an alternative means of transportation, which should be commencing right. . ." Alfred checked his watch. "Now."

A bright light began to shine directly on Izuku, enveloping him in a bright blaze. Suddenly, Alfred and the Rolls Royce he was riding in faded away, replaced instead by a very large room he did not recognize. He was surrounded by computers and various machinery, standing on a large pad with a mechanical device that reminded him of a large shower head placed over him. There were several people in strange uniforms at the computers that he didn't recognize.

"Teleport complete," One of them announced. "Passenger has arrived."

Izuku realized that he was sitting down on the pad and tried to stand, but felt a wave of nausea come over him. He doubled over, trying to prevent himself from throwing up.

"Easy," Said a voice beside him. "The transporter takes some getting used to."

Izuku stood to see Batman standing over him, helping him up. Standing next to him on one side was a tall man wearing a skin-tight blue suit with flowing red cape, and a woman in battle armor, a large sword and glowing rope strapped to her belt, and a shield attached to her back. It took Izuku a minute before realizing that he had seen these two before. He gasped audibly, his heart racing as he pieced together who was standing before him and where he was just transported to.

"This is. . .you're," he stammered, trying to form the words.

"Welcome to the Watchtower, Izuku," Said the man, shaking Izuku's trembling hand.

"We've been looking forward to finally meeting you," Said the woman, smiling. "Batman has told us a lot about you."

Izuku still could scarcely believe it. He was in the Watchtower, standing in the presence of arguably the greatest heroes known to man: Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, the core members of the Justice League.

All angst and trepidation seemed to melt away from him in this very moment, replaced only with giddy excitement. This was the greatest day of Izuku's life.

Author's Note (addendum): kind of a short chapter today, I've been trying to catch up on things in life, but I thought it would be a great start and preview as to what is to come. I hope you are satisfied and thank you again for being such loyal readers. You are the reason I do this.

Plus Ultra!