Izuku watched in horror as the pro heroes were freaking out from the Fear Toxin. All of them were acting crazy, except for Ochako.

She just stood there, perfectly still... But her face showed signs of absolute misery.

From Ochako's perspective, she saw Izuku telling her how much he hates her.

"I hate you, Uraraka. I've despised you since the moment you left me behind like all the others did." the hallucination of Izuku said to her.

Ochako began to cry.

"Deku, I'm sorry!" she cried.

"YOU'RE NOT SORRY!" the hallucination shouted at her, "If you were, you would've confessed to me and been there for me when my mom died instead of prioritizing your career and ego over the person who literally saved your life. Doesn't matter now, though. I've moved on... And I've found someone else."

That's when a hallucination of a pregnant Melissa appeared next to the hallucination of Izuku and held his hand. She smirked at Ochako and flashed an engagement ring she was wearing on her ring finger to her.

"No..." Ochako whimpered.

"He's mine now, Ochako. Deku and I are getting married and starting a family. You should've confessed to him when you had the chance." Melissa said mockingly.

The hallucinations of Izuku and Melissa then kissed and began making out with their tongues right in front of Ochako.

Ochako collapsed to her knees and began crying hysterically.

"I'M SUCH A COWARD!!!" she screamed as she clutched fistfuls of her hair and looked down at the ground.

Meanwhile with the real Izuku, he saw Ochako suffering from a nervous breakdown. He didn't know why, but he rushed over to her, removed his helmet, got on his knees in front of her, and tried to calm her down.

"Uraraka, it's ok. I'm right here." he said to her as he put his hands on her shoulders.

Ochako still was having a panic attack. She kept mumbling "I'm sorry, Deku." and "I love you, Deku." over and over again.

"Uraraka! Ochako! Snap out of it!" Izuku shouted.

She was still having a panic attack. Izuku could only think of one thing to bring her back. He made a deep sigh.

"I really hope this works." he said.

And then...

Ochako slowly began to break free from the hallucinations of the Fear Gas and calmed down a bit as she felt Izuku's lips on hers. She was shocked at first, but soon gave in to the kiss and wrapped her arms around Izuku's neck and pulled him closer to her.

Izuku on the other hand had never felt a better experience in his life when he felt Ochako's soft lips on her own. Her body was so warm and smelled so nice.

As much as he wanted to continue kissing her, he pulled away.

"Better now?" he asked.

"Mm-hm." she nodded with tears still in her eyes.

Ochako still felt scared, but at least she wasn't completely in a state of terror anymore.

Back with Bruce and the others...

"Tim, what's happened to you?!" Barbara shouted.

"Oh, Barbara, you always were such a worrier. I'm never been better!" Tim said in Joker's voice.

(A/N: I'm just gonna call the Tim with Joker's voice "Joker Tim.")

"You've been infected by Joker's blood... How?!" Bruce asked in disbelief.

"That's the funny thing, Bats. I don't even know how! But one thing's for sure... I'm back." Joker Tim said with a crazed grin before laughing some more.

Dick and Jason both charged at Joker Tim and attempted to take him down, but they didn't want to seriously hurt Tim, so they held back. Joker Tim showed no such restraint and took them down with brute strength.

"Tim, snap out of it!" Barbara shouted.

"Tim's not here, Barbara! You left him for Dick and now he's all alone!" Joker Tim said before laughing some more.

Barbara was taken aback by this. Yes, she and Tim were once married a long time ago. Right after Bruce and Alfred faked their deaths, Tim proposed to Barbara and the two were married shortly thereafter. But after only a year of marriage, it all fell apart and they divorced. Barbara then hooked up with Dick and the two of them got married just a couple years after she and Tim divorced. Tim and Barbara agreed to still be friends, but Barbara should've realized that deep down Tim was still hurt by all that had happened between them.

"Tim... I'm so sorry. I really am." Barbara said as she tried to bring Tim back.

"It's too late to say sorry now, Babs! It's too late to fix anything!" Joker Tim laughed before engaging in hand-to-hand combat with Barbara and Bruce.

If Bruce wasn't so worn down from all his years of crime fighting, he would be able to take Joker Tim down easily, but that wasn't the case here. Tim grabbed Bruce and threw him into the screen of the Batcomputer, damaging Bruce's back and shattering the Batcomputer screen.

As Barbara continued fighting Joker Tim, Bruce slowly pulled himself up and activated her earpiece.

"Izuku..." he said weakly, "we need you back here. NOW."

Back with Izuku...

Izuku heard Bruce on his earpiece.

"I'm on my way." he said into the earpiece.

He was about to get up, but Ochako took his hand.

"Please be safe." she said.

"I will, Uraraka." Izuku said before standing up, "There's a vial in the Batcomputer room that cures the effects of Fear Toxin. Bring it to those who can make more of the cure and give it to the other heroes."

Izuku then put his helmet back on and left the atrium, leaving Ochako behind with the hero course students and the still terrified heroes.

Izuku entered the Batcomputer room and saw Tim looking like the Joker.

"Tim, what's happened to you?!" Izuku said.

"He's been infected with the Joker's blood somehow! You need to take him down!" Bruce shouted.

Joker Tim through a few punches at Izuku, but Izuku was able to block them.

"Not bad, Izuku old boy. But let's see how you do without that fancy suit." Joker Tim said before pressing a button on a device he was wearing on his wrist.

Izuku's Batsuit then started to short circuit and malfunction. Izuku had no choice but to take it off, leaving him in normal civilian clothes.

Izuku then realized something.

"You tampered with my suit and put fear gas in it!" he said with an excusing finger.

Joker Tim laughed.

"It really was obvious, Izu. World's Greatest Detective my ass." Joker Tim said while throwing his hands up a bit, "And in case you didn't also figure this out, it was yours truly who gave away our location to your former besties!"

"But why tell them where we are? There's no way you thought you could take all of them on too!" Izuku asked.

Joker Tim laughed again.

"You'll find out soon enough, Freckles! Meet me in good old Arkham City and you'll get your answers!" he said.

Then Joker Tim threw a smoke bomb on the ground and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Tim!" Dick called out, but it was too late.

"We'll go after him later. But right now we need to get out of here." Bruce said.

They left the Batcave through the back entrance, but they had to leave Izuku's old Batsuit behind because they didn't have time to grab it.

The next day...

Izuku and the other members of the Batfamily were about to get on a plane to return to Gotham City in America and go to Arkham City to confront Joker Tim, but there was something Izuku needed to do first.

He was at cemetery and paying his respects at his mother's grave.

"Doubt you'd be happy that I'm a fugitive vigilante again, Mom. Doubt you'd really approved of any part of my dream." Izuku said to his mother's grave.

He then heard footsteps coming from behind him.

"Are they gonna be ok?" Izuku asked her.

"Yeah. The cure's been mass manufactured and has been given to everyone who was exposed to the Fear Toxin. They're already starting to recover." Ochako said.

"Good." Izuku said, still not turning to face her.

There was a silence between them for a few moments.

"A lot of people still think you gassed us on purpose. I know you didn't and never would, but Japan's authorities say they're not gonna stop until you're behind bars." Ochako said warningly.

"Well it's a good thing I'm leaving Japan then." Izuku replied.

"What?" Ochako said in slight disbelief, "Why?"

"Because the one who was really responsible for gassing you all is in America, and that's where me and the rest of the Batfamily are going." Izuku said.

Ochako was silent for a few moments. She looked at the ground, then back up at Izuku.

"Let me come with you." she said.

Izuku almost snorted.

"Why should I?" Izuku asked, still not facing her.

"Because I'm done abandoning you." she said with a determined face.

Izuku sighed.

"Fine. But you better be aware of the sacrifices you're making." he said.

"I'm fully aware." she said.

The next day...

Izuku and Ochako arrived at an old abandoned plane landing strip out in the middle of nowhere in the countryside of Japan. Bruce, Dick, Barbara, Jason, James, and Melissa were all there waiting for them.

"Why is she here?!" Bruce demanded.

Izuku shrugged.

"She wasn't taking no for an answer. Couldn't think of anything else to do with her." Izuku said.

"Izuku, are you crazy?" Dick said, "She could be here to spy on us, or-"

"If I were, you'd all be surrounded by pros and police already." Ochako pointed out.

They realized she had a point.

"Fine. But she better do exactly as we tell her." Bruce said to Izuku.

Izuku nodded to Bruce and Melissa walked over to Ochako.

"Glad you decided to help us, Ochako." Melissa said.

Ochako didn't really know what to say to Melissa.

"Um..." Ochako said.

"Don't worry." Melissa laughed, "Izuku and I were never dating. We just became close friends when he asked me to help design some of his gear."

Ochako could finally breathe a little easier.

"Thank fuck!" she said.

That's when a plane landed near them.

"How did you get a pilot who could fly us under government radar, anyway?" Ochako asked.

"The pilot's an old friend of mine from our UA days. He owes me a favor." Izuku said.

The door to the plane opened and out stepped Rody Soul and his bird - Pico.

"Good to see you again, old buddy!" Rody said to Izuku as the two of them hugged.

"Hey, Rody. Hey, Pico. I really appreciate you guys doing this for us. I know you're risking a lot just by being here." Izuku said.

"What are friends for, Izuku?" Rody said.

They got in the plane and took off. Izuku sat in the cockpit next to Rody.

"So you and that Uraraka chick finally start going at it, huh?" Rody teased.

Izuku blushed slightly.

"Of course not!" Izuku said.

Rody chuckled as they flew across the sea.

Many hours later...

After almost 13 hours, they landed at a landing strip near Gotham City and said goodbye to Rody and Pico.

They changed into civilian disguises and drove through the rainy night streets of Gotham City. They passed by an abandoned Wayne Enterprises building, some GCPD and Wayne Enterprises billboards, and even some Batman graffiti.

That's when they reached Wayne Manor... or rather what was left of it.

"The secret entrance to the Batcave has remained hidden all these years. Follow me." Bruce said.

They went to the secret entrance that I'm too lazy to think of where it is, and they entered what was left of the Batcave. Some of the Batpods with Bruce's old Batsuits were still sealed and intact.

"Let me see if I can get the Batcomputer up and running." Bruce said as he went over to the Batcomputer and blew dust off the keyboard.

Once the power in the Batcave was back on, the Batpods opened up, revealing all of Bruce's old Batsuits.

Izuku and Ochako knew the stories behind each of these suits.

There was the suit Bruce wore in his early years as Batman. It was the same suit he wore on the night of Christmas Eve over 20 years ago when Bruce first fought the Joker after he sent a number of assassins after him:

There was the suit that Bruce wore just a few months later when he fought the Rat King and his followers:

There was the suit Bruce wore when he had to stop the Joker when he took over Arkham Asylum. Then Bruce repaired the suit and made some slight changes to it, then wore it during his time in Arkham City:

"Why did Wayne downgrade to a less armored suit anyway?" Ochako asked Izuku.

"He wanted to have more mobility and fluid movement." Izuku explained.

(A/N: This is based off an actual fan theory I saw on YouTube as to why Bruce has a more armored suit in Arkham Origins compared to the suit he had in Arkham Asylum and Arkham City.)

There was the suit Bruce wore post Arkham City:

There was also the more advanced suit that Bruce wore when Gotham City had been taken over by Scarecrow and his army. The suit had become incredibly battle damaged during that fight:

And that's when Bruce stepped out in his newer costume, the one he wore when Izuku first met him:

"Bruce, what do you think you're doing?" Dick asked.

"I'm going to face Tim and Joker... alone." Bruce said.

"Are you crazy?!" Jason said in disbelief.

"Absolutely not." Barbara told Bruce.

"Bruce, you're not nearly as strong as you used to be, especially after what Joker did to your back. Let us handle Tim and the Joker." Izuku said.

"Joker's hurt those close to me long enough. I'm not letting him hurt any more of you. This is something I have to do on my own." Bruce said sternly.

"Bruce, he's gonna kill you! You have to let us handle him!" Dick pleaded.

"No." Bruce said sternly and coldly.

That's when little James Grayson grabbed Bruce's hand.

"Please don't go, Grandpa Bruce. Let my parents and uncles save Uncle Tim." James pleaded with big innocent eyes.

"I'm not letting you become an orphan like me, Jimmy." Bruce said, "I need to-"

"Bruce, if Joker manages to kill you, the legend of the Batman will be destroyed completely. Because there's no way Joker won't let the world know that he's killed you." Izuku interrupted.

Bruce knew Izuku was right. If the world discovered that he was alive, only to be then killed by his own worst enemy who was harboring the body of his adopted son, then criminals would never again be afraid to hurt innocents.

Bruce signed and removed his helmet.

"You're right." he said, "But you're gonna need a suit to wear to fight Tim and Joker. My suits won't fit you, but the others have some spare equipment you can use until Lucius has finished work on the Beyond suit 2.0."

"Here's one of my old suits. It should fit you, Izuku." Dick said as he tossed Izuku an old Nightwing suit.

It's this suit but he doesn't have the batons:

"This old jacket of mine should fit you, Izuku, since it's unisex." Barbara said as she tossed a Batman-themed jacket to Izuku.

It's this jacket:

"And here's one of my old utility belts. It has some things in there that should be able to help you." Bruce said as he removed the utility belt from the Arkham City suit and handed it to Izuku.

It's this belt:

"These should do. But the jacket needs one little change." Izuku said.

"Go right on ahead." Barbara said.

After that, Izuku got changed in another room. He put on Dick's Nightwing suit, then put Barbara's jacket on over it, but not before spray painting a new Bat symbol on it. Then he put the utility belt and went back to the room the others were in.

They noticed the new Bat symbol sprayed onto the chest of the zipped up jacket:

"Looking good, kid." Dick said.

"Now all I need is a mask. The world may know who I am, but I still wanna look cool." Izuku said.

"There's something of mine you can wear. But it's locked up in the GCPD evidence locker." Jason said.

"Let's head over to GCPD now and grab it. I'll make sure no one notices us take it." Barbara said.

After that, Izuku, Ochako, Dick, Barbara, and Jason headed to the GCPD building, while Bruce, James, and Melissa waited back at the Batcave.

Barbara and Dick went inside the building to grab the mask of Jason's, while the others waited at the gas station across the street while it rained.

"So what kind of mask is it, Jason? A Red Hood mask? A Robin mask?" Ochako asked Jason.

Jason sighed.

"It's neither. It's a mask I wore during a very... dark time in my life." he replied.

Inside the building, Barbara and Dick found what they were looking for:

They opened the case and put the mask in a backpack, then left the building without anyone noticing they stole it. Barbara was the Commissioner now, so who would expect the Police Commissioner to do something like this?

They left the building and headed back to Izuku and the others. Dick pulled the mask out of the backpack and handed it to Izuku. The mask's HUD was gone due to the mask being powered off after being removed from the evidence display that was keeping it powered, so now it looked like this, except the visor has some cracks in it:

Ochako's eyes widened. She recognized the mask and turned to Jason with a shocked and angry look.

"You're the Arkham Knight?!" she angrily said.

"I was the Arkham Knight. But that was a long time ago." Jason said.

"It doesn't matter if it was a long time ago! You worked with supervillains and took this entire city hostage! You belong in prison!" Ochako shouted.

Izuku put his hand on Ochako's shoulder.

"He's not like that anymore, Uraraka. He's learned his lesson." Izuku said.

"I know what I did was wrong. But I was only working with Scarecrow and those other villains so I could get revenge on Bruce for abandoning me. After I did that, I planned to kill all the villains I was working with and become Gotham's new protector." Jason explained.

(A/N: This is also based off a fan theory I saw on YouTube.)

"And Jason here's done a lot of good since his Arkham Knight days. He helped take out Black Mask's criminal empire, and he even helped Bruce defeat Scarecrow. We don't approve of Jason using lethal force, but he's been there for us in times of serious crisis. Besides, we need him to help take down Joker once and for all." Barbara.

"Why is he so important to stopping Joker exactly?" Ochako asked.

"Because I know the most what it's like to suffer at the hands of that monster. The reason I called myself the Arkham Knight was because a long time ago, back when I was still Robin, Joker kidnapped me and tortured me in an abandoned part of Arkham Asylum for nearly two years. He's the one who gave me this scar." Jason said as he pointed to the J shaped scar on his left cheek.

"I... I had no idea..." Ochako said.

"Joker made me hate Bruce. He made me think Bruce had just given up on searching for me and had replaced me with Tim. And then when Joker had taken over Arkham Asylum and mutated himself into a giant monster, I used that as my opportunity to escape the asylum while Joker was busy dealing with Bruce." Jason explained, "Arkham is where I suffered, so I thought it fitting that I have it be part of my new identity. But now it's my job to right my wrongs and protect the innocent."

Ochako was speechless.

"I'm... sorry for all you went through. What you did as the Arkham Knight was wrong, but I'm sorry you felt like you were abandoned." Ochako said.

Ochako glanced at Izuku, who was currently inspecting the Arkham Knight mask.

'Is that how I made you feel?' she said to Izuku in her head.

After that, Izuku and the others fully geared up, and they went to the part of Gotham that was once Arkham City.

But little did they know they were being watched by someone on a nearby roof.

The man on the roof scoffed.

"We'll see who the true Heir to the Cowl is, Izuku Midoriya." he said.

Thx for reading. I'm taking some inspiration from the Arkham Knight comics for this book, in case you were wondering.