Chapter 2: Beneath The Mask, Part 1
One Week Later
Tony was still hiding himself upon different rooftops as he continued to study up on this world's history and everything else that it entailed. Sending small nanobots to steal small snacks from gas stations and other small stores had more or less kept him full until he could finish up studying and move on to whatever the next step of his plan would be. He only had step one which was to study, but he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.
Quirks, heroes and villains, the rankings, school systems and so on and so forth was a very interesting read especially since he could tell this world had a very good system in place compared to the one he had back home. Although very confusing, he had to admit that some of this world's customs were pretty…out there.
"So let me get this straight, they have kids fight to the death for grades? You were talking about U.A. right?"
"Not fight to the death, boss. They just showcase their quirks in a more hands on approach that is akin to combat sports. Many who do well in the Sports Festival go on to become top ranked heroes or even international stars. The man ranked Number 2, Enji Todoroki, A.K.A. Endeavor had actually managed to win the tournament his entire tenure at the school."
Tony whistled in surprise, "All three years? That's pretty impressive," He summoned his visor to take a good look at him before snickering, "Man he looks like he has a perpetual resting bitch face. I hope his personality does not match his hero profile photo."
"If you intend on going through with this plan of yours then there is a 99% chance that you will end up crossing paths with him. I still implore you to reconsider your options considering…your condition as it is currently."
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. I've been planning this since we started studying, remember? This is another world full of heroes and what better way of formally introducing myself to them is there by fighting crime?"
"That is not what I'm referring to and you know it. I'm talking about the current state that your body is in, boss. It's not good and you need to go to a hospital for medical attention. I don't know how long you'll be able to operate before the signals your body is sending me completely goes off the rails."
When the dust had settled and they both had time to try and figure out why he had been de-aged into most likely a fifteen-sixteen year old brat(who still looked quite dashing by the way), he noticed that his arc reactor that contained his nanites…had been fused into his chest.
Fused? Well more like welded with how it was now a more permanent fixture to his chest which he chalked up to maybe being a part of it being snapped here with him. F.R.I.D.A.Y. looked into it as best she could but for all intents and purposes, his arc reactor wasn't going anywhere.
"We still do not understand why the arc reactor has become a part of you and your entire right half is still covered in those scars. Put it off all you want, but you will eventually need actual medical help."
"Don't you think I've taken that into account? Cmon, you know me better than that, F.R.I.D.A.Y. I promise I'll be a good little boy while I'm out fighting crime okay? She didn't miss that hint of sarcasm in that last bit.
Finishing off the last bag of chips he had, Tony stood up, now full and ready to make his actual grand debut to the public, "Any updates on that police scanner I asked you to hack? Kinda wanna be ahead of the curve before any heroes can get there. If I wanna lower my wanted level, I gotta start small and gain people's trust. Then maybe work my way up to actual villains and then I'll smooth talk them into giving me a hero license early. .
"Boss, you do understand that you have not a single file on file since you do not exist here. The odds of that happening are extremely low."
He shook his head, "Nah, that's only because they don't know what I can do. Once they see all the good I can do for them, they'll have to let me receive a license and afterwards, maybe an internship with a really rich hero company. After that's done, I can get to work on researching a way back home."
"I hope you are right," F.R.I.D.A.Y. worried.
Hearing a buzz in his ear, Tony knew she'd just caught wind of a crime that needed to be stopped, "If you are ready to move, I've just overheard a store being robbed just a few blocks away and should be fairly easy to stop. Be wary that I won't actually be able to analyze their quirks until I am up close and personal with them."
"Finally! Time to introduce the world to Iron Man. How's my hair? Can't go out there looking completely shaggy. I may be homeless at the moment but I'm not lazy enough to mess up my first impression."
He couldn't see her, but he could tell she was not phased by his attempts to joke. He summoned his suit and made sure the coordinates were right before taking off into the sky.
"Any idea on how many guy's I'm dealing with?" Tony asked.
"Four, maybe five at the most, but the cops say they are all quirked individuals. I have no doubt your armor can withstand whatever they may throw at you, but the civilians do not have the same luxuries as you. Please keep that in mind when fighting."
"Gotcha!" Accelerating through the air and spotting one of the perps standing guard outside the store, Tony spun himself and splashed down directly in front of him.
He started walking toward the man who roared back in anger throwing shards of what looked like rocks from the palm of his hands. They bounced off his armor which caused him to stumble back in fear.
"What the-" Tony dashed forward and punched the man in the face, knocking him unconscious.
"Boss, remember that you cannot kill them. Killing is heavily frowned upon in this world even if you have no problems with it should the need arise. From my readings I can sense…four hostages inside the store along with four robbers. Proceed with caution."
Weighing his options and knowing that the people inside most likely heard one of their men go down, Tony decided to take a more unique approach to the situation. "This may end up being a terrible idea, but I need you to craft something for me. There was a guy that Rocket told me about that might end up being just what I need. He could control some sort of spear-like weapon with the sound of his whistling. I need you to make something like that with my nanites, but form it into a miniature ball that I can control remotely."
"With that I should be able to finish them off in one go, but I'd need to keep them distracted while you work out the kinks."
"On it."
Seeing no other safe way to seperate the hostages from the robbers, Tony walked through the door and everyone in the store turned to him shocked that he would so brazenly walk through the door as if nothing was wrong.
"Stay back hero! This is our score and we ain't letting you take it away from us!" One of the mooks yelled as his eyes grew bright.
His HUD began scanning him along with every other robber in the store, "He's got heat ray vision, huh. And what about the rest…"
To his left…"Able to generate chunks of metal out of his body," The two in the back…"One can manipulate the blood within his body and use it as a weapon while the other can generate wind currents strong enough to slice through people."
"Thirty seconds left until completion. Stall until your new construct is ready."
Witty banter and being annoying? Oh, he could definitely do that.
"Guys! Guys! There's no need for all of this. Why don't you tell me what's wrong and how I can help make sure everyone leaves here in one piece."
"Turn around and walk back out or we'll kill every last person in this store! Do not test us!" One of the men in the back yelled as he grabbed hold of the small little boy who had been in the store only wanting to buy a comic.
"Wait a minute, there's no need for that! I don't know why any fine, upstanding members of society like yourselves have turned to a life of crime, but don't worry, I promise I'll make sure you get the help you all so desperately need," They didn't miss how smug and obnoxious he reflected his voice. It pissed them off even more.
"What stupidity are you talking about? We take what we want because we can, not because we're sick! It's not our fault society doesn't see it the way we do!"
Tony raised his hands hoping to appease them, "And I so wholeheartedly agree with you, but I still need you to release the kid. It'll hurt a whole lot less if you showed some human decency."
"You aren't making any sense! Why would I be scared of you when you won't try and fight us as long as we have hostages! This is our last time warning you, turn around and leave or things get messy." The villain's eyes grew brighter and brighter signaling he was about to attack.
He heard a small buzz in his ear, "Boss, it's done. Fire when ready."
Locking on to all four of them, Tony began to laugh as the men looked at him confused.
"Why are you laughing, hero? You can't do shit to us!" The laser eyed villain barked.
He continued to laugh and Tony looked back at him, "Man, you guys really really shouldn't have given me so much time to do what I'm about to do. Brace yourself."
"Huh-" Cut off faster than he could react too, a miniature ball crafted from nanites was fired from Tony's shoulder and smacked the man in the center of his forehead knocking him unconscious.
The man to his left tried to attack, but was cut off and swiftly punched into unconsciousness.
The two in the back tried to react and attack him which earned the one on the right a stun repulsor to the chest blasting him into a wall and the other was swiftly knocked out by the nanite ball which caused his nose to splurt blood as his eyes rolled back into his head. Tony made sure that one hurt more since he tried to use a kid as hostage.
"Well…" Looking around the store and the civilians that were staring, Tony figured now would be the time to make a good impression, "It is ok, ladies and gentlemen, the crisis is over. The day is saved. You don't have to thank me, but maybe you could spread the word that I am not a villain who attacked those heroes last week.
A woman walked forward clutching her purse, "B-but, they said you're a vigilante. You made things harder for the heroes last week and now you show up here trying to get us killed!"
"Um lady I dunno if you saw, but I most definitely saved your bacon. Every last threat is out cold and the cops should be arriving any moment now."
She saw that he did have a point, but refused to back down from her argument, "Vigilantism is illegal. You know that right?"
"Yeah, I know it's outlawed. Personally, I think it's stupid to restrict the ability to help others if you're able to help. I turned a blind eye a long time ago and I gotta say, I think I'll take a pass on doing it again."
That answer left the woman stunned and confused. Tony walked over to the little boy who had been grabbed as a hostage and kneeled down to check on him, "You alright kid?"
The boy nodded his head signifying he was unharmed. "Any reason why you're here so late at night by yourself?"
The boy hesitated in response. He looked like he'd been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to and it showed in how fearful he looked at him. "Kid, it's ok. I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna know if you have anyone coming to pick you up."
That struck some sort of nerve since the boy tried to turn and run before Tony grabbed him by his arm trying to stop him, "Kid! Calm down, I'm not gonna hurt-" He saw bruises covering his shoulders and what looked like chain markings on his ankles and wrists. Somebody was hurting this boy and he obviously had gotten away from whoever was doing it.
"You're hurt," Tony said. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., scan the kid for injuries. These bruises look fresh."
"This is…I'm detecting multiple hairline fractures along his wrists, ribs that are still healing themselves up, light concussion that is also in its healing stages and numerous bruises riddling his body. Whoever was hurting him, it has been going on for quite some time. Old bruises are mixed in with new ones."
Tony had heard all he needed to hear. Directing everyone outside and away from the unconscious bodies, Tony picked up the kid and walked him outside to police cars and sirens blaring. "Stay where you are, vigilante! Put the boy down and surrender peacefully!" One of the officers drew his weapon which caused Tony to place the kid down and put his hands up.
"Sorry fellas, action's already over. No need to thank me," Tony replied. "Is there somebody in charge I can speak with? I have an issue that needs resolving!" He called out trying to locate whoever was in charge.
The police chief stepped forward with his gun drawn somewhat cautiously, "Come with us and maybe we'll consider answering your questions."
Tony took one look at the scared little boy and wondered whether or not this was the right move. He was shaking which most likely meant that he had a fear of grown ups thanks to the shithead that had used the kid as a punching bag.
"Please, don't come any closer. The kid next to me needs medical attention and the closer you people get, the closer he is to running away," The scans came back negative for a quirk which meant that he was what would be considered quirkless. If he ran, he wouldn't be hard to catch, but God he didn't wanna put him through anything unnecessary if he didn't have to.
"Listen, punk, I don't care what you have to say when you've illegally broken the law twice now and endangered lives with your antics. We are going to take you in and that is final. Little boy, come with me," The chief said as he drew closer. Tony saw the boy start breathing funny and knew a panic attack when he saw one. After all, he had them for years.
Tony stepped in front of the little boy and stood his ground, "I'm gonna ask again, take a couple steps back and let's talk about what the kid needs. Can't you see he's scared?"
"That is irrelevant when you are the issue here! Once you are detained for questioning, the heroes can determine what, if anything, is wrong with this boy."
Tony watched as multiple officers began moving towards him and the little boy behind him started hyperventilating mumbling, "No heroes, no heroes, no heroes, no heroes," He could tell the boy was losing it and fast. He needed to get him out of there. Luckily for them, Tony could fly and they could not.
"I tried to be reasonable," Tony said before turning, grabbing the boy and blasting out of there and back into the sky. He made sure to reduce the speed as he didn't want to injure the kid while flying. He looked frail enough as is.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y., find the closest hospital to us and mind dialing them up for me. I'm gonna drop him off and try to explain a few things to whoever will be examining him."
Searching through the databases, she pulled up Musutafu General and rang them up, "They are on the line, boss."
"Musutafu General, how can I help you?"
"Hi, hello, um, look I've…got a situation here that needs your utmost discretion. I've got a kid who needs medical attention. I think he's been abused."
"Thank you for contacting us, does this child have a name? She asked.
"Kid? Hey, kid?" It was no good, he'd passed out right in Tony's arms as they were flying to the hospital. "Can't help you there, he's out cold. No doubt thanks to the numerous injuries he has."
"He's with you? What's your name, sir and what is your relation to him?"
"It's…complicated. See he's not my kid, but I couldn't just leave him with those cops and with how he reacted to heroes, I definitely didn't wanna leave him with any of them, so I'm just cutting out the middleman and bringing him to you myself. We only just met like ten minutes ago."
"What about your name, sir?"
"Well you see, I…also can't give you that either, you're gonna just have to take my word that I'm an upstanding citizen who's telling the truth."
"I can barely hear you. It's like you're flying right now."
"Well that's because I am flying. Thought it'd be faster that way," Tony answered.
Silence on the other end. Never a good sign. Pepper always did the same thing whenever she tried to figure out just what he was up to while they were on the phone.
"You're the guy on the news. Aren't you?" She asked.
"You got me. I am the flying robot guy you saw last week and most likely are listening to on the news as we speak. Whatever they're saying I did, they're wrong."
"No…no, no I believe you. You saved my life last week when you shielded us from the rubble and saved those two boys. I never was a huge fan of vigilantes, but if you have a patient that needs help then you have every right to bring that person in without the fear of being arrested."
"Finally! Someone with some sort of human decency. And here I thought everyone had lost their minds," Tony joked as he heard the nurse chuckle on the phone. "Got a name, sweetheart?"
"My name is Makoto Haru and I've seen incidents and situations like yours time and time again. I take it, you'd want as much discretion with bringing him in as possible, right?" She asked him.
"If you wouldn't mind of course. How fast can you make it to the rooftop? I'll be there in another minute or so."
Tony accelerated not wanting to waste another minute and made it to the rooftop of the hospital where the person he had been speaking to on the phone. He landed in front of her with the kid in his had a face resembling a mix of questioning and concern when seeing the state the little boy was in.
"I'd have gotten here sooner, but you would not believe the traffic," Tony quipped, but it was ignored as she scooped the child out of his arms and into her own. To say she looked horrified when looking at him up close would be an understatement.
"This child…he's definitely been abused and had you not brought him to us sooner, it may have gotten worse. I haven't run any tests, but he is severely malnourished and the amount of bruises is terrible. Who could do such a thing to someone so young?"
"Funny you should mention it, I think a hero was the one who did this to him," Tony stated.
"What?! A hero could never do something so cruel to a child…at least I hope not."
"Lady, the moment the word hero was even mentioned around him, he freaked out and had a mini panic attack. I could spot it from a mile away and my gut is telling me that whoever did this to him, is someone on the good guys side. Or at least acts like he's on our side."
She pondered a moment about the prospect of what he was implying and it sent chills down her spine. She bit her lip knowing if he was lying, she'd be in some hot water with the hospital which could very well be the end of her career, but looking at this child in such a state sent ripples of chills and anger through her.
"I have a friend…who normally comes here from time to time with unique cases such as yourself and this child. He doesn't enjoy the spotlight so he's very low key and values discretion over fame and other things of that nature. I'm not saying I fully trust you, but if you are telling the truth then this hero needs to be exposed to the public for the fraud and monster that he is."
"If I set you up with a meeting with him, I assume you'd be on your best behavior while speaking to him? I'm pretty sure you don't have any underhanded goals, but I still need you to promise that you won't get into a fight with him just because of the opposite ends of the spectrum you both lie in. He's worked with vigilante's in the past so it should be fine temporarily working with another."
Tony placed his right hand up boy scout style, "I promise that I will be on my very best behavior when dealing with this mystery man. I also promise to keep the quips at a minimum."
Makoto looked at him worriedly. "Sorry, force of habit. I will do my best to not piss him off anymore than necessary. Deal?"
Weighing her options, their current predicament didn't leave her much of a choice, "Do you always talk so much?"
"Yeah, I've been known to be a bit of a motor mouth," He admitted.
"A bit?" She returned back.
"Ok, maybe a lot more than just a bit, but I know how to behave when talking to an adult. I'll be fine."
She sighed, but he seemed like his heart was in the right place. That's all anyone really needed to do something heroic in the first place.
"Do you have a phone on you? I'll put the coordinates into it and I want you to wait until he gets there."
He opened up his palm and waited until the hologram touch screen materialized which caused her to take a step back in shock, "What is this?"
"Oh, nothing special. Just a neat little trick I learned how to do," He teased. "You should be able to type in the coordinates on it and I should be good to head on over to it."
"Is this a part of your quirk?" She asked as she typed in the address and specific building.
"A magician never reveals his secrets. If I did, there'd be no fun in figuring out the legend of Iron Man."
"Iron Man?"
"My hero name, cupcake. You gotta be more quick on the uptake or people may take advantage of you. Definitely something we've gotta work on down the road."
The woman furiously blushed in a mix of embarrassment and anger, "Now hold on just a min-"
Knowing she was about to go off on him, Tony activated his thrusters as he floated upward preparing to take off, "This was fun and we should definitely do this again sometime, but I've got a mystery man to meet and you've got a sick kid to take care of."
"Take good care of him for me." She could hear that his tone was sincere even if he was very immature.
"See ya round!" He burst off into the sky as Makoto made her way downstairs with her new patient in her arms.
Shota Aizawa was never a terribly busy man and never enjoyed fighting crime during the day, so turning himself into a nighttime pro hero who prowls the deepest and darkest corners of what society ignores was an absolute no brainer for someone like him.
No annoying fans, no pointless rankings, no other heroes breathing down his neck for some of his more…unorthodox methods of fighting crime and the list could go on and on. Tonight however was looking like it was going to be a quiet and peaceful one with not much going on. Hell maybe he would've headed home and caught up on some shut eye that he'd been sorely missing. The possibilities were endless.
So you could imagine his surprise when he received a message from one of his acquaintances telling him about a potentially corrupt pro hero and the robotic vigilante who just so happened to save the kid supposedly covered in bruises.
Aizawa could smell bullshit a mile away and if this man was lying at all, he would not show mercy when restraining him. It doesn't matter who it may be, all quirks are rendered useless under his gaze.
Spotting the meeting place Makoto had sent him, he in all honesty had a hard time believing what he was seeing. This robotic vigilante was sitting atop of one of the billboards with a now empty bag of chips in hand. Seems like he'd just missed the window to see his identity.
He landed on the rooftop as Tony looked down at him, "So…you must be the mystery man Makoto told me about? Do you always dress like a vampire?"
Aizawa was not amused with his jokes, "Come down so we can talk. I do not have all night to play games with another one of you dangerous vigilantes."
Tony rolled his eyes, "Jesus, are you people always so uptight? Fine, I'm coming down," He hopped off the billboard and landed in front of Aizawa.
Taking a look at his costume, Aizawa noticed how…upscaled it looked compared to most heroes. "So he has a lot of money? Great, another rich big shot wanting to play hero." Exactly what he does not need.
"I assume she already told you why we needed to meet?" Tony asked.
"She did and I'll be honest with you, I still find it hard to believe that a seemingly well off vigilante like yourself is doing this out of the kindness of his heart," Aizawa shot back.
"Well that's because you haven't met one like me yet, buddy. Look, when that kid wakes up and blows the lid on whoever or whatever had him captive, I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that he'll be in danger until the scumbag who did it is locked away for good."
"You may not trust me, believe me any sane person wouldn't, but deep down I get the feeling that you know more than you're letting on. I did some research while I was waiting and did you know that there have been over thirteen reported missing persons within the past three months?
That was supposed to be classified information. He'd been investigating and reporting his findings to Tsukauchi for a while now. "How do you know about that-"
Tony cut him off before he could protest, "How many of them were quirkless?"
The silence that followed was all the confirmation he needed.
"Ding, ding, ding, they all were and unless that's just a coincidence, the pattern is one where a powerful hero could quite easily take advantage of people like them. Can't fight back and slip so easily through the cracks."
"The boy managed to escape, but there are still others out there who need help. You gotta know that this hero won't be happy that one of his playthings escaped from under his nose."
Aizawa bit his lip and walked to the edge of the building. This robotic man made a whole lot of sense for someone who wasn't even supposed to know about this information. He was far more detailed about it than most of the other police members he had talked about this with as well.
Something was wrong here. Aizawa had a bad feeling about him.
"You seem to know a lot about this. Wouldn't mind telling me how exactly you came across classified information that not even other heroes know?"
"I'm…just a very good observer," Tony lied.
"Right, right…well since you can't tell me where you gained this information from, I'd have to assume that you stole it somehow. Makoto told me that you managed to pull up some sort of map thanks to that suit of yours which makes me believe that that is probably something you are capable of. Am I wrong?"
Tony almost choked, "Wow, that is pretty accurate. Scary even. You sure you aren't some sort of mind reading vampire?"
Again with the jokes. Aizawa silently grabbed hold of his capture scarf and readied himself to attack. He turned around and leapt forward throwing his scarf around Tony, wrapping him up as he activated his quirk hoping to subdue him and get some actual answers out of him.
Aizawa walked up to him with his Erasure quirk in full effect, "I don't know how you got this information, but you will tell me and then turn yourself in. You're way in over your head."
"Um, rude! I believe that my head is in the best place it's ever been. Although whatever this bdsm tomfoolery you've got going here is supposed to be, leave me out of it," Tony tore through the restraints with ease as he grabbed hold of Aizawa and slammed him into the ground while placing a knee on top of him for good measure.
"Damn he's heavy!" Aizawa struggled, but found it impossible to escape from. It may be nanotechnology infused armor. But it was still actual armor which provided him the necessary weight to subdue him.
"Calm down there, dry eye, I just wanted to talk before you went all captain commando on me," Tony teased him.
"You don't know what you're getting yourself into. Leave this to the pros. Fools like you will only make a delicate situation like this worse," Aizawa growled.
"Maybe you haven't noticed, but I was the one who found the kid after I stopped that robbery and managed to beat you without breaking a sweat. I'm sure I can handle myself without tripping over my own two feet."
"Now, if you've calmed down, I wanted to exchange information with you about some of the stuff I dug up on some of our missing persons. Unless you wanna continue to be my knee rest?"
"...Fine, but I'll be on guard the entire time should you decide to try and fly off."
That got a giggle out of Tony before he let the man up. Aizawa rubbed his chest knowing it'd probably be sore in the morning.
"What…exactly do you have that us heroes haven't been able to figure out?" Aizawa asked.
"I thought you'd never ask," Tony pulled out a small holographic database with the names and faces of each missing person that had gone missing within the three month window, "From what I gathered, the prick who's been doing this has been extremely careful to not leave a trail to wherever he's been taking them, but them being quirkless leaves me to believe that he wouldn't put much effort into a hiding place for his victims since they stood no chance of actually escaping."
"The fact that the kid managed to get away is a testament to it being fairly normal and tame compared to some of the other ways to hold prisoners with powers. He also couldn't have walked far as he didn't immediately collapse from his wounds. Wherever the kid was being held, it's most likely near the store I found him in."
"That…makes perfect sense. If that's the case then we should try and locate it now while he's sure to be stumbling in panic once he realizes one of his captives is gone," Aizawa said.
"Nah, that would be the absolute worst move to make. What if he gets scared and just tries to kill them and dispose of the bodies?"
Aizawa envisioned a scenario where that happened and shook his head. This vigilante was correct. Whoever did this must be cornered properly before his captives can be rescued.
"Let's say I agree with what you're saying, how long are we supposed to wait before getting them to safety?"
Tony held up three fingers exactly, "Just gimme three days to figure out who he is, build a case against him and expose him to the public. It'll be a piece of cake if he's as arrogant as he is sloppy."
"And why would I let you handle building a case against a Pro Hero when that is supposed to be my expertise? I barely trust you to begin with and now you're asking for a lot of leeway here."
"Because I need you at the hospital protecting our friend who may or may not end up on somebody's hit list once word gets out that the one who got away is at the hospital ten minutes from the gas station."
"Also your erasure quirk and fighting skills make you the perfect operative for the job. It's kind of a no brainer don't ya think?"
God, this man was going to give Aizawa a headache. He'd only known him for all of five minutes and he had heard enough to last a lifetime.
"You have three days and I'll keep what we discussed on the downlow until then, but the moment you slip up, fail and get someone hurt or worse, I will hunt you down with all my might. Got it?"
"Holy hell, Batman, why so serious?" Tony joked as he patted the man on the shoulder much to Aizawa's annoyance. Aizawa swatted it off before getting face to face with this vigilante.
"And keep in mind that this isn't a game nor some sort of popularity winning contest. These are real people's lives at stake and at any moment, a simple mistake could cost them their lives. Don't be a hero and try to fight an actual pro hero if that's who is responsible. Report back whatever you find to me and actual heroes can take it from there. You're lucky I don't arrest you on the spot after forcing me into partnering with you."
That got another giggle from Tony. This man really thought he could arrest him when Shield on their best day wouldn't be able to do it. Absolutely hilarious, but Tony could tell his heart was in the right place.
Tony stuck his hand out hoping that they could put themselves on equal footing as partners even if temporary, "Put her there, slick. The name's Iron Man, don't wear it out."
It earned him a sharp glare, but Aizawa returned it nonetheless.
"Well now that we're in agreement, I'm gonna head home and get some shut eye. It looks like I've got a long few days ahead of me," He started to hover off the ground and snorted seeing Aizawa try and erase his quirk yet again. The confusion that met the man's eyes was pretty funny.
"Why can't I erase your quirk?" He asked while staring even harder.
"Aw, now where's the fun in that? You seem like a smart man so I'll let you crack the code of that one," Tony shot off into the sky leaving Aizawa on the rooftop with many thoughts racing in his head.
He didn't know much about this new vigilante, but he was sure his cockiness would spell disaster for everyone involved. For now though, he didn't have much to go on other than what he'd told him, so for now he'd protect that child and get as much information out of him as possible. Hopefully before the man did something brave or stupid. Possibly a combination of both of them.
Little did he know that Tony specialized in doing shit like this on a daily basis.
"Boss, what exactly do you plan on doing? Finding this supposed corrupt hero will not be easy."
"You know I've never been into detective work. The answer to our problem is fairly simple. All I need to do is walk around the area like I'm homeless and wait until someone kidnaps me and takes me to where the captives are being held. After that all I'd need to do would be to open a can of whoop ass on the bad guy and we win."
"Excellent plan, don't ya think?"
If she could facepalm, Tony would probably be in stitches laughing, "I figure there is no way you will consider any other option, right?"
"Nope! I'm already headed to the area where the disappearances have been happening. All we need to do is wait and whoever it is will fall right into my plan. Lighten up, F.R.I.D.A.Y., this'll be a good warmup to gauge just how nasty the villains can really get here. If they're anything like back home…"
He didn't finish that sentence. F.R.I.D.A.Y. also didn't push as she could feel his heartbeat beat faster and faster almost as if he was remembering some of the villains he fought. She'd learned over the years that his mind was full of horrors and he tried to joke in order to alleviate the tension he felt, but he could not lie to her. She was his A.I. after all.
"I just hope you know what you're getting into, boss."
"Don't I always?" He joked as he sped off even faster to their location.
Kamashiru Mishima also known as the man who rules all within his sight, Kingdom, was a relatively stable pro hero within the scene who, while friendly, always slinked through the darker parts of the criminal underworld with a sort of hunger in his heart. His quirk was quite powerful which allowed him to remain unchallenged while leading his double life and anyone who tried to out him had always met a similar fate.
Being crushed under the weight of his quirk was always satisfying to see, but he did not have time to indulge in such interests today. No, today he had a bone to pick with a certain broker who screwed him on this supposed undetectable and impenetrable safehouse which ended up being not the thing he mentioned.
Grabbing Giran by the throat and slamming him into a wall, the man who he had bought the safehouse from was none too pleased that one of his subjects had escaped.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't snap your neck right here and now! Do you have any idea how much shit I could be in if my colleagues could track that brat back to me!" The man curled his hand even tighter around the broker's neck.
"I-I can still-" Giran pulled out a communicator from his pocket and put it close to his face, "There's…a tracker on the kid. I'm sure you've beaten some discipline in him, so I doubt he'll talk."
"Here, take it," He handed the device to the large man as he released him from the chokehold as he slid down the wall trying to catch his breath.
The anger he had swiftly turned into laughter now realizing one of his subjects really didn't escape him like he thought.
"How do you have this?" Kingdom asked.
"What kind of broker would I be if I didn't have some insurance on my items?" Giran smiled as Kingdom watched it beep over and over.
"So…the brat managed to make it to a hospital huh. No matter, I have enough friends on the police force and on the villains side that can help me end his life before he starts talking. Can't have him spoiling my fun."
He turned, ready to resume having his "fun" with his subjects before he stopped with one last question on his mind, "What do you know of this…Iron Man? One of my cop buddies told me he was the one who showed up and flew off with him."
"He's a vigilante that showed up last week and other than tonight, nobody has seen him much. I dunno what his angle is, but he obviously has a pretty strong quirk if he could tangle with pro's and stop a robbery in no time at all," Giran replied.
Kingdom scoffed at that, "It does not matter what or who gets in my way. All will kneel down before me whether in the light for all to see or in the shadows where I reign supreme! The moment I get my hands on this piece of garbage, I'll snap his neck before feeding his carcass to the dogs! No one fucks with me and get's away with it!"
"He can count on it…"