Chapter 29 - First Job (2/2)

A/N:

Hey guys. Here's the second part of the chapter.

I was going to upload this 4 days ago, but while I wrote it, I couldn't remember certain details from Assassination Classroom, so I spent the past week binging the anime and reading the manga. I've edited the last part of the previous chapter. I specifically corrected the part about the governments knowing it was antimatter that destroyed the moon. They didn't actually know what happened. There's also one difference. In this story, the destruction of the moon happens a day or two before schools start in Japan, which is when the story offically starts, but in the original, it happens during March.

Jason's previous AI image was horrible, so I replaced it with a better one. I used midjourney, so the quality is just amazing. Check it out in the auxiliary chapter of the character images.

I've also changed how I wrote emphasized words by just using capital letters instead. If you guys end up disliking it, I'll change it back.

One of my acquaintances recommended I make a discord, but I wasn't sure about it. So here's the deal, if this gets a good amount of upvotes in the paragraph comments, I'll start making one. Just put '+1' or something.

Lastly, I appreciate everyone's support for this story. I'm a bit bummed it doesn't at least reach the top 50 of the rankings, but I know you guys can't be blamed for that since there's just too much competition. The top stories also update often or daily, unlike mine.

Sorry for the long author's note. As always, thanks for reading, and enjoy the chapter!

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Outside Ruby and Aqua's preschool, parents and children gawked and stared as a grey sports car drove into the nearby parking spaces.

Inside the car, Jason turned to Ruby. "We're here. Do I need to take you guys inside and drop you off?"

Aqua nodded wordlessly while Ruby nodded with a smile.

"Mhm! Miyako-san always drops us off at the school."

"Alright then. Let's go."

After shutting the car's engine with a voice command and getting off, Jason locked the doors with a tap on the car key. Ruby smiled and hummed the tune of Ai's song while Aqua stoically walked beside her.

As they walked to the kids' preschool, he could see people turning their heads at him and heard the whispers and gossiping of the parents around them as clear as day.

"Oh my… That's the most handsome man I've ever seen."

"I know, right? I haven't seen him before. Is he the father of those two children?"

"I don't think so. They don't resemble him at all."

Jason had no change in expression as he listened. But it looked like he was right about his theory relating to his new ability to remain unnoticed, even in plain sight.

Joe merged his soul with data of multiple people. Batman, Deathstroke, Red Robin, Robin, Orphan, Nightwing, and two versions of himself from different universes or timelines.

One thing every one of them had in common was their complete mastery of stealth at similar degrees. He also said the merging would trigger qualitative evolutions through the accumulation of compatible information. Knowing that, would it be too farfetched to guess that because they were all masters of stealth, it resulted in this new ability of his?

Jason didn't know for sure if his guess was completely correct, but he wasn't complaining. If he was unnoticeable in plain sight, even when in a crowd and standing at his full size, then how much more effective would it be in other situations?

Would his enemies in combat completely miss his presence if they lost sight of him for a mere moment? Or would he be able to just walk into heavily guarded areas in plain sight without issue? That was something he needed to test out.

His first attempt at controlling this new ability—which seemed to have succeeded on the night he met Karasuma—involved consciously wanting people to see him. It was clear this ability wasn't linked to his physical control, as no amount of changing his body language, flexing, or relaxing his muscles worked. That meant it was mental or spiritual, similar to what he imagined telekinesis would be like or similar to how he summoned the All-Blades.

As he thought about the potential uses for this new ability of his, Ruby tugged his hand, breaking his train of thought. They had just reached the drop-off area near the school's entrance and parents around them bid their children goodbye.

He looked down at Ruby. "Hm? What is it?"

"Are you gonna pick us up later?"

Jason hummed in thought. "Maybe. I'll call Miyako-san and ask."

Her smile disappeared, replaced by a pout of disappointment. "Oh, okay."

Seeing this, Jason rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. He hadn't spent that much time with Ai's family aside from his frequent hospital visits in the past and sometimes eating a meal at his place. And he certainly enjoyed spending time with them, but he occasionally wondered if getting too close to them was bad. Bad for him, and for them.

He understood that, in due time, they would find out more about him, maybe unmasking the reality of his identity as a killer. Then, the carefully constructed guise of the 'friendly neighbor' would vanish like wisps of smoke.

Would they still want to talk to him after that? Instead of a smile, would they look at him with fear instead?

"Okay. Look, if Miyako-san wants to pick you up herself, then there's nothing I can do about it. But what about this?" he said, crouching down to their level. Ruby and Aqua tilted their heads in curiosity. "I'll see if I can negotiate with them about your schedules. And if all goes well, then maybe I can start occasionally picking you guys up after school. Are you two fine with that?

Aqua shrugged. "I have no issues with it."

Ruby's smile came back two-fold and she eagerly nodded her head. "I'd like that."

Smiling, he softly patted their heads. He could sense people staring at him, including the school staff members.

'Maybe I should keep my ability on when I go outside. I'm just attracting unnecessary attention.'

Just as he was about to stand up, Ruby hugged him.

"Thanks for dropping us off, Jay-san."

Behind her, Aqua bowed and thanked him as well.

"No problem, guys." He returned the hug before turning her around. "Now go. Behave in school, okay?"

"Okayyy."

He watched them reach the door of the school before Ruby suddenly turned around and waved at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

'Oh no.'

She cupped her mouth with one hand and shouted, "Bye, Papa!"

Groaning into his hand out of embarrassment, he waved back. The people and staff around them chuckled at his reaction and mistook it as family banter.

"I knew it! He IS their father," the mother from before gossiped to her friend.

"Oh, shush you. They still look nothing alike. He's probably just their step-father."

'Okay… I'm out of here.'

Slipping between the gaps in people's attention and peripheral vision, Jason turned on his ability and hid his presence before eventually reaching his car and driving off.

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While Jason drove home, he called Miyako-san, who was with Ai, and asked if he could occasionally pick Ruby and Aqua up, and they happily agreed. When he got home, he immediately returned to the training space and traveled to an open area next to the arena.

"Wheatley, where's all the equipment I sent you schematics of?" he asked as he looked around.

Wheatley's voice resounded in his head. [Oops. I completely forgot about them. Sorry about that. They should be there… Now.]

Instead of an empty space with nothing but a polished floor, there were workout equipment placed a few meters between each other. It was similar to a top of the line home gym.

There was a dumbbell rack with weights ranging from 10 metric tons (about 22,000 lbs) to 30 metric tons (about 67,000 lbs) and various equipment. The most he could currently lift with one arm was a 15 metric tons dumbbell, and each jump to the next metric ton was going to take time, even with his vastly improved recovery rate and regeneration thanks to Deathstroke.

And yet, as Jason took off his shirt, he revealed many faint scars of varying sizes. Bullet wounds, slash wounds, puncture wounds, and more. When he first saw them, he asked Wheatley why he still had scars when they should be gone. The answer he received surprised him.

They were scars that manifested because of his and his other selves' pain and suffering, enhanced by the soul merging. And to make matters worse, Wheatley said they were permanent. No matter how much he regenerated, his scars would remain.

But he could accept it. The only reason it slightly bothered Jason was because it meant he'd be constantly reminded of what he suffered under the hands of the Joker. As if he didn't already have the memories of the damn beatings in his head.

Well, at least his face didn't have scars.

"Alright, let's see here…"

He walked up to a metal rack for bench-presses and other workouts that used a barbell. Picking up six weight plates, he added them to the bar. The bar itself weighed 5 metric tons and with the added plates, it totalled to 25. Laying down on the bench and positioning his eyes parallel to the bar, Jason gripped it before slowly pushing it up.

His muscles tensed because of the weight. Maintaining his breath, he continued doing bench presses, perfectly maintaining a slow pace with proper control and muscle activation. When he was properly warmed up, he added two smaller plates, making the total weight 27 metric tons. It was the most he could lift in a bench-press position.

For hours, he tested the limits of his strength, performing workouts with almost no breaks in between, since his body could recover. By the end of it, he didn't sweat, but his entire body was certainly sore.

Satisfaction filled him as he drank a gallon of protein shake. He had already finished two and placed them on the metal table next to him.

While he knew he was much, much, stronger than before, and was still growing because of the energy inside him, he didn't think the difference would be this big. Before, he could lift at least 5 tons, punch through a submarine's hull, and even once held a falling roof above his head to let civilians escape.

"I really have to thank Joe the next time I see him," he muttered to himself.

After Wheatley freshened him up, he put on his suit and put the helmet on the table in front of the TV. Jason left the training space and checked the online databases and channels to see if he could find any information about what caused the moon to blow up.

Jin jumped next to him on the couch, seemingly curious about what he was doing.

He greeted Jin and idly rubbed the pup's head with his left hand.

It seemed the world's leaders were under some stress because of a new octopus-like creature. An image of the creature displayed on his laptop's monitor. Donning a black academic dress and a small black squarish mortarboard, the creature stood three meters tall. It possessed long yellow tentacles and a large round head with beady eyes.

"Huh. That's interesting. An anomaly, huh?"

[It certainly seems friendly. Just look at that big smile on its bulbous head.]

He'd seen stranger things, but it was a new species, as far as he knew. Ruby might even be right. The creature certainly looked like an alien.

Jason dug deeper, reading the reports and the government's profile on it. Whatever the creature was, it took responsibility for the moon's destruction and threatened to end the world in March. But as Jason read further down, his confusion slowly grew. The octopus threatened to end the Earth in one year, but not before teaching Class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Junior High School, one of the top schools found in Tokyo. Come to think of it, most of the schools in Japan are starting soon.

Then there was the list of its known capabilities. Flight with a top speed of mach 20 being the most impressive.

The country's military already tried to eliminate it with their fighter jets. But it said in the report that it simply… cleaned and polished the jets before racing ahead and escaping them.

"This is… not what I expected."

Jason held his chin in thought, his other hand still petting Jin.

[Why? Is it that strange?]

"Think about it like this. You're a being that possesses the power to reduce the moon into a crescent and move twenty times the speed of sound. What would you do?"

[Uh. Take over the world?]

"Probably. I certainly know many of my past enemies would do something on a similar, if not larger, scale. The Joker would cause unimaginable destruction and chaos if he had that much power."

Jason heavily frowned at the scenario he thought of. If there were an infinite amount of Jokers in the omniverse, was there a Joker with that much power? It was a terrifying thought, and something he stopped entertaining.

The report had limited info. They've likely put the most important information on physical documents and stored it in secure databases with limited online access. For now, he'll scout the creature and head to the school himself. If this creature truly did plan to destroy the moon, he'll need all the information he can get and create a plan to eliminate it.

Frowning, Jason stored the laptop in his ring, wore a domino mask, and put on the helmet. He touched its side and the helmet's plates mechanically shifted, securing itself and locking in place. The domino mask was unnecessary, but it had turned into a habit of his to wear it beneath the helmet.

"Hey Jin," Jason called out, making Jin look up. "Want to come with me on one of my patrols?"

Jin stood up with his tail wagging and barked excitedly. He leapt at Jason.

Jason caught Jin in his arms and chuckled.

"Looks like that's a yes. Hey, have you ever killed criminals before?"

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On a mountain one kilometer away from Kunugigaoka Junior High's main building was the location of Class 3-E.

Karasuma sat in the building's staff office. It had been a hectic month since he met Deathstroke. Since then, he had been reassigned to a different assignment his superiors had prioritized.

The assassination of the creature who destroyed most of the moon. Allegedly, at least. There were behind-the-scenes activities he was aware of, but was not informed about.

Since the start of his reassignment, he had become the P.E. teacher for Class 3-E and was currently working with the class to assassinate Koro-sensei, their teacher. The same teacher who also planned on destroying the moon in the middle of March.

There had been times where a few of the students had managed to take out a tentacle or two. Most notably, Karma Akabane, a talented student with a penchant for violence according to his student report. Regardless, none of them have come close to assassinating the octopus.

The government had even recruited outside help, hiring Irina Jelavic. She was a professional hitman with a reputable history of successfully assassinating high-profile targets using her beauty and skills. Unfortunately, her assassination failed miserably. She stayed after her failed attempt and continued teaching the class what she knew.

Now, Karasuma folded his hands together as he contemplated whether to go with this decision. His superiors had found his report on Deathstroke and were interested in hiring him. Their interest peaked after reading the report on what the man had accomplished in Tokyo, including Karasuma's confrontation with him. They were running out of options, and desperation had convinced them hiring an unknown mercenary was an excellent decision.

Yet that was exactly why he was hesitating. Irina was at least normal in the sense that she did not seem superhuman. But based on his experience, Deathstroke was clearly anything BUT normal, and the children's safety was his priority. He didn't think anyone would be safe around that man.

Finally giving up, Karasuma took a calming breath and contacted the number given to him by Deathstroke.

It only took a second before he answered.

"Karasuma. What a surprise," Deathstroke said calmly.

"The government is interested in hiring you for an assignment." Karasuma stood up and looked out the window, watching the students play sports.

"Let me guess… You're all desperate and want me to kill the creature that destroyed the moon, the one also teaching Kunugigaoka High's class 3-E."

Karasuma's eyes widened in surprise before a frown marred his face.

"That's classified information."

"Not for me," Deathstroke answered cryptically. "Now, let's schedule a meeting. Discuss the details. After all, the world… is running out of time."