Chapter 9: Enemy Unknown
Sorry for being late. The world may be on lockdown, but life still goes on. I'm not suffering from any mental or physical conditions, but I am really busy. Like, REALLY busy. It takes a while to draft a chapter, and even longer to proofread and even then I don't catch everything. I actually did finish a draft of this chapter, like 2 weeks ago, but after a read-over, I HATED it. It felt clunky, stiff, and kinda jumped from plot point to plot point with no connectivity. So I started over, and split it apart. So, this is about 2/3 of the original chapter, but just rewritten to be, well better. This may be just a hobby of mine, but anything that I do that is online will meet a certain quality standard dammit!
Before the story, I've had a question asked a ton, and I wanted to address it. This question was sent directly to me a lot via DM. I had kinda strong feelings about this so that's why it's being written out.
Question: Why does Ben have a quirk? Why not make him quirkless?
My answer is thus: there is no reason to make him quirkless. I'm going to say this a lot, but this story is a massive division of both canons. Putting the Ben 10 universe in the MHA universe means tweaking some things to make the flow better. Dealing with a quirk, or lack of one, is important for Ben. In MHA, the majority of the human population has a quirk, however noticeable or not. Mathematically, it would make sense for Ben to have one, as in the canon story of MHA, we only meet, like, single-digit amounts of quirkless people with any real importance to the story. Ben having a quirk would probably be what would happen, and I just made it so it merged with the Omnitrix in a way. Besides, I didn't want to write Ben being quirkless. There already exists a story similar to what these people are asking for. They want a story where a lost boy wants to be a hero, but is put down by the people around him, but everything changes when one event gives him the power needed to make a difference. Well, there is a story like that! It's called My Hero Academia, by Kohei Horikoshi. Sarcasm aside, if you want a story dealing with quirklessness or wanting the Omnitrix wearer to deal with that stuff, the two biggest constantly updated Ben 10/MHA fanfics have that. They have Midoriya with the Omnitrix, so yeah, to me, it's pointless.
TLDR: Ben isn't quirkless b/c there is no need for him to be. He's got enough to build upon, and Midoriya already fills that niche and the other fanfics have that plot device cornered.
Okok, enough monologuing and sarcasm. Here goes.
Sleep was awesome, any kid would tell you that. Nothing to worry about, nothing to do. Just resting your head while straining your neck as it dangled at an uncomfortable angle, limbs spread wide, held in place by alien restraints, and- wait, what?
"Gah?" Ben's eyes flew open as the feeling of his comfortable bed disappeared entirely, as he was no longer even laying down. He was suspended in mid-air, his legs and right arm held at the ankles and wrists by a mysterious blue light at just enough length not to strain his body, but also prevented movement. His left arm was almost entirely engulfed in a massive piece of alien machinery, up to his elbow. The realization of seeing the Omnitrix, the source of his power, gone underneath a cold metal shell was enough to shock Ben into full awareness.
"Huh? Where... where am I? Wait, I know this place!" It was a while ago, but a powerful memory that had burned itself into Ben's mind. After he was easily defeated by that green and red alien, and captured, and then taken to a ship, he saw this same sight! This was the same ship! The lack of personnel, replaced entirely by drones, which gave the place a distinctive humming, like a nightmarish beehive from hell. This was-
"You don't seem to understand, child, the importance of what you have on your wrist. What you stole from me. What is rightfully mine!" A powerful voice boomed, forcing Ben to angle his head away, as if that would earn him some respite. Ben kept his eyes screwed shut.
'It's not real, it's not real! This is just a dream, a dream! It's gotta be! There's no way it's him. You threw him into space! It. Is. Not. Real.' The clacking of a cybernetically enhanced body making its way ever closer seemed to disagree.
"Imagine: the perfect army. All without the weakness of mortal emotions and compassion. All linked to the power of the Omnitrix, able to change species at will. All at my command!" The voice was now right in front of Ben. He could feel raw power emanating from this person. He kept his eyes shut and kept his head angled away. A rough, cold claw grabbed his chin and forced him to face the figure. Ben cracked his eyes open, and his blood ran cold.
"With that kind of power, I could never lose a battle. I would be invincible! I would rule the universe!" The figure had smooth green skin with black lines and red veins all around his body. Sleek black armor on his chest, shoulders, forearms, and legs contrasted his natural musculature. A strange beard of tentacles moved every slightly he spoke, and Ben finally looked him in the face. Green met red. Terror met power.
"And the only person left standing between me and my destiny" Vilgax uttered with pure contempt, reaching towards Ben's face with his other hand, "Is you!"
Ben finally began struggling in earnest. He fought, straining his body, trying so desperately to get away, anywhere, just not here! But the alien restraints held fast, and Vilgax's hand was getting closer, closer!
"SHIT!" Ben flung himself upright, clutching his heart. Covered in sweat, panting, and wildly shaking his head from side to side, trying to find Vilgax. It took a while, but eventually Ben's heart rate fell back down, and he was able to calm down. Taking a deep breath, Ben gently laid back down on his bed, kicking off the covers to let the chilly morning air cool his body down. Ben shut his eyes, and tried to maintain his breathing. That's what Grandpa Max said to do, and it was working. Ben cracked his right eye open and peered to his side, taking a look at his alarm clock.
6 AM
'Well, no point in going back to sleep. As if I could after that.' Ben grouchily thought as he flung himself off his bed and gathered his UA uniform. Ben made his way to his bathroom where he decided to take a long shower to wake himself up and get rid of the chills that just wouldn't leave. He rested his head against the shower wall, letting the water run down his body while he did nothing but think.
'It was just so real. It was like the other ones I had. The weeks before he did show up. Does that mean...?' Ben pondered as he finally stepped out of the shower, got dressed, and lugged his bag with his school books out to the living room. May as well get some studying done if he wasn't going back to sleep. Shocking nobody, as he always went to bed early and woke up even earlier, Grandpa Max was sitting at the dining table, fiddling with some box covered in strange symbols. He looked up the moment Ben opened his door.
"Are you alright Ben? You're never up this early." Grandpa Max took note of his grandson's slouched posture, eyes that had too little sleep and the lack of a response. Ben slid into the chair opposite of Max, and slowly took out his books. Max leaned back in his chair. "A nightmare?"
Ben nodded. He opened his mouth, then closed it, hesitating.
"Yeah. A bad one. It was so... real. Like, I could feel. My body could feel." Ben slowly got out. Grandpa Max nodded along. "Grandpa... Vilgax was in it."
That got his attention. No longer leaning back, Grandpa Max no leaned forward, interlocking his fingers to make a ball out of his hands, and resting his chin on it. He made no noises, so Ben took that as an indication to continue.
"It was just like when he first contacted me, through those visions. I could hear him, feel him. But he wasn't inside a stasis pod anymore. He was moving, and he touched me, trying to kill me." Ben shuddered as he recalled the feeling. "Grandpa, does this mean he's back? Should we prepare, or do something?"
"No." Grandpa Max shook his head. He made eye contact once more to communicate just how sincere he was. "I understand how you feel Ben, I really do. After what happened that summer, you have every right to be scared. Vilgax set a precedent, and you're acting on the patterns you're seeing. However, it wasn't just us that learned a thing or two after Vilgax attacked. The Plumbers were aghast that they never picked up that Vilgax was in our solar system, and attacked the planet at that. Over the last two years, the Plumbers of Earth number one priority has been to update their intergalactic sensory array. If Vilgax is attacking, he'd need a big ship. He couldn't hide that, not if he wants a chance against the Omnitrix. Besides, after you flung him deep into space in your battle on Xenon, no one's heard of him since. It's hard to keep the movement's of a feared intergalactic warlord on the down-low after all."
Ben didn't say anything. He just kept his head down and mulled over what Grandpa Max just said. It was true that Vilgax needed a big ship for his drone army, and Plumber tech was super-advanced. He could believe that Vilgax wasn't nearby. It was a huge relief to know that just throwing Vilgax wasn't a mistake either. However, Ben couldn't shake off the feeling of dread that lingered.
"Thanks Grandpa, I needed to hear that." Ben shot his Grandpa a shaky smile. It soon disappeared and Ben looked down again. "I just... can't shake off this feeling. Like something bad is gonna to happen and Vilgax is going to attack."
"Well, I actually have a theory on that." Grandpa Max began. "The way Vilgax contacted you, it makes no sense. When you first told me of your 'visions,' I had thoughts of Vilgax, but dismissed them. Chimera Sui Generi have many abilities, but none of which are telepathy and they certainly can not induce hallucinations of such vivid detail to the point where one can still have sensory input. I understand that the visions started when, as Upgrade, you tried to combat Rojo. Then, a couple weeks later, they came true. This is still just a work in progress, but I think those visions were some sort of warning, to tell you that your life would soon be in danger. An early warning signal, put simply."
"An early warning signal?" Ben echoed.
"Yes. I understand it doesn't make a lot of sense, I see the holes too. How could your subconscious have known what Vilgax looked like? What he sounded like, what he was after? Why did it only work on Vilgax, and for any other of our foes? The theory needs work, but the point still remains that those visions were a warning of what is to come. Perhaps this is another warning."
"Oh, I think I get it! Since I got those visions again, you think that something bad is gonna happen, just not involving Vilgax." Ben asked and Grandpa Max nodded. Ben started to feel a little better at this, and this time it was him who learned back in his chair, a smile dancing on his lips.
"Then I've got nothing to worry about! I'm at UA now Grandpa, my teachers are literally some of Japan's greatest heroes. We've got freakin All Might now! Anyone less than Vilgax is nothing to worry about. Kevin's still stuck in the Null Void, Animo's been behaving, Hex and his goon of a niece haven't made a move for a while now, and Driscoll with with his merry band of knight-rejects and the looser 10 haven't made a move on us either." Ben moved his arms to put his hands behind his head. He really did not have anything to worry about!
"Don't you think you're forgetting something?" Ben gave his Grandpa a blank look. Grandpa Max sighed. "Ben, not every villain you need to worry about as a hero has a personal vendetta with you. There could be a group of quirk users in Japan looking to cause you harm."
"Are you kidding Grandpa?" Ben asked incredulously. "Like, I get there are villains in Japan, but All Might is teaching at UA! Besides, what idiot would attack All Might? He's the strongest there is!"
"And that is precisely why they would attack." Grandpa Max interrupted. Seeing Ben's confused face, Max sighed again and continued. "You must understand Ben, that there is a problem with today's quirk-society, and that All Might himself. That man isn't just the number one hero, he is the very symbol of modern heroism, hence his title as the symbol of peace. The gap between All Might and the rest of the world's heroes is so incomprehensibly vast that while he seems invincible, it also paints a large target on his back. Should someone, anyone, put up even a decent fight against him, then they've secured themselves a spot in the history books. This isn't even considering the recent rumors surrounding his record-low heroic appearances. All Might has been progressively doing less and less, and now he's gotten a job at UA, teaching of all things? People are starting to talk, to wonder, why he's acting the way he is."
"So you're saying that people will try to fight him, even if they know they'll lose?" Ben asked, puzzled.
"Indeed. All Might is not a fool. He knows what he is doing. It's almost like he's trying to make himself a target. Like he's trying to bait someone out of hiding, to make a move. It's what I would do, if a villain I knew was still out there but was too good at laying low. Make myself too tempting a target to pass up. Act like I'm weakening or slowing down, then strike back hard." Grandpa Max mused more to himself than to Ben. He quickly shook his head and got back on track.
"Point being Ben, is that I want you to be on alert for the next couple days. This could just be a nightmare, but it could also be a bad omen. It wouldn't hurt to be a bit more attentive during school hours either." Ben agreed with that. Ben would argue that he already paid good attention during class, but what was a little bit more on top of that?
Ben had a substantial amount of time to burn before he had to leave, so he spent the time going over Japanese quirk history with his Grandpa. It wasn't really going over the material though, it was more listening to what Grandpa Max said he was doing at the time. Call Ben whatever you wanted, but Ben would take awesome kick-ass space police adventures over dull history any day of the week.
All too soon the clock counted down and Ben had to leave for the day. Carefully packing everything back in his backpack and making his way towards his school's campus, Ben had to stifle multiple yawns. He was starting to feel the consequences of waking up hours before he was used too. The yawns didn't stop as Ben went through the gate, preventing him from noticing the large amounts of tarp covering the gate's sides. He also didn't notice two UA staff members standing guard, carefully monitoring the morning flow of students. Meandering through the halls and stairs, Ben let his muscle memory carry him to his desk where he flopped down. He placed his bag next to him and threw out his arms and yawned again. Ben was debating if he had enough time to power nap when he heard the marching of feet moving in his direction. Looking up, he saw Ida and Yaoyorozu moving towards him with papers in hand.
'Looks like no rest for Ben.' Ben thought to himself grouchily before plastering a fake smile on his face. When the class representatives stood before him, he gazed up at them. "Can I help you?"
"Indeed you can Tennyson!" Ida spoke with his usual pep and vigor. He was waving a paper around in his right hand, and tapping it with his left. Ben couldn't make out what was written on the page, but he could see his school identification picture. "Yesterday, myself and Yaoyorozu were going over the basic student profiles given to us by the school after we went to report our elected positions, and we simply wanted to confirm two things with you. The first is your age Tennyson: 11 years old. I am not accusing you of anything, I just want to be sure!"
Ben gave a chuckle at Ida's rushed-out defense of his question while Yaoyorozu kept a neutral expression. "Yeah, it's fine dude. Yeah, I'm 11. It's only, what, three years younger than you guys."
"Four."
"Uh, what?" Ben turned to face Yaoyorozu after her interjection.
"Four years younger. The average UA first year's age is 15 years of age." Yaoyorozu repeated.
"Huh? But I thought we were in high school? So why would-" Ben started to ask but Yaoyorozu quickly cut him off with a gentle smile.
"It is understandable, you come from the United State's education system which has a different format than the Japanese education standard. In American terms: here in Japan, middle school and high school last three years each. Compared to the 2-4 spread of the States, all of your classmates are about a year older, give-or-take." Yaoyorozu explained.
"Ohhhh." Ben nodded in understanding. "Thanks Yaoyorozu. But, wasn't there one more thing?"
"Yes!" Ida began again, fixing his glasses while looking at the paper. "It says here that you still have parents, but your current guardian and emergency contact claim to be your grandfather. Can you tell us why, if it does not intrude on your personal circumstance?"
"You gotta cut out the formal talk Ida, we're not coworkers yet, just classmates." Ben deadpanned. He laughed as Ida sputtered out something about upholding UA's moral compass or whatever. "It's nothing too big, so I can spill. I'm not from a poor family, but we aren't rich either. Back in Bellwood, both my parents work. They supported me going to UA, but they couldn't just leave their jobs for three years. We lived comfortably but they couldn't just decide to stop working just for me. Grandpa was free, so he volunteered! Nothing too crazy. I thought it would be obvious."
As Ben finished up he noticed how uncomfortable Ida and Yaoyorozu looked. Ida had taken off his glasses and was cleaning them despite them not having a speck of dust on them. Yaoyorozu was fidgeting in place and refused to meet Ben's eyes.
"Hahaha, yes, it was obvious, yes!" Ida laughed, as he put his glasses back on. "It makes sense that UA would be full of students from different economic backgrounds! We just wanted to make sure, nothing more!"
Yaoyorozu nodded in agreement, giving off a strained laugh of her own. Ben switched his gaze between the two, narrowing his eyes. Ben opened his mouth to say something, but the yellow blob from beside the teacher's desk suddenly spoke up.
"Class starts in 15 seconds. Get in your seats."
The general chatter of the class ceased immediately as the students rushed to seat themselves and quiet down. Before ten seconds had passed, all of 1-A were in their seats, eyes forward, and silent. The yellow blob unfurreled like some demented cocoon and Aizawa's face popped out. Their teacher shimmied his way out and stood in front of the class behind the desk just as the bell rang out.
"Good. You're learning. Less than a week too, better than last year's class. Anyway, some basic bookkeeping. For today..."
The day passed as normally as any other day could go. The general excitement of making it into UA had passed for the mostpart, and the general education all branches of UA got were as basic as they came. The only difference for UA being the standards the school held for its students, especially the hero course. 1-A slogged through their morning classes as best they could, but they were still teenagers plus one pre-teen, and paying attention during english lectures, no matter how energetic Present Mic was, proved to be difficult.
Things changed when the lunch period rolled around. The entire school was still reeling from yesterday's break-in and everyone was alert. Teachers were seen patrolling the school grounds, with unusually grim and determined looks on their faces. Students tried to enjoy themselves, but the chatter in the cafeteria was significantly lower than usual. Ben sat with his friends from class 1-B, well, more like they yanked him down and forced him to sit with them. He was then barraged by questions on all sides if he was OK and what he did yesterday. Kendo, Pony and Tetsutetsu were especially worried, as they had seen Ben get knocked to the side.
After assuring them he was alright and no harm came to him, the table settled down and they started eating. Ben told them the tale of how Midoriya voluntarily gave his position as class president to Ida the other day, to which the others told him of how Ida calmed the panicked crowd. It was a good tension-breaker, and Ben left the cafeteria feeling full and content.
Class 1-A had a complete 180 change in energy level after lunch. The realization that they had another class with All Might in their next session of heroic studies had their blood flowing once more. Unlike the first day of class, science with Snipe went more smoothly than any other class, as unlike before lunch, the students were willing to expend energy to have the class go by faster to get to heroic studies.
Once Snipe had packed up and left, the familiar rumblings of the rest of the school leaving caused the class to erupt into another frenzy. When the doors opened, the entire class swung their heads, with eager smiles on their faces, with the expectation that All Might would be there with his signature grin as well. To their disappointment, Aizawa was there instead, looking back at them, clearly seeing the excitement in their faces leaving.
"You all need to work on that. It won't do for heroes to wear their emotions so plainly on their faces. Never know when that could give your foes an advantage." Their homeroom teacher stood behind the desk once more. The class gave him their full attention, as it was clear class had begun once more.
"Today we will be introducing you all to a basic foundational skill of heroics. It has been decided that for this event, you will be supervised by a team of three individuals, consisting of me, All Might, and one other." Aizawa looked like he was going to continue when Sero raised his hand. Pausing, Aizawa pointed at him.
"Sensei! What will we be doing then?" Sero asked.
"If you'd just wait a moment, you would have been answered." Aizawa spoke back plainly. A couple people giggled as Sero looked down, his cheeks red with embarrassment. "As I was saying, this is a special case, an event that UA prepared for by constructing an entirely different facility housed off-campus."
Aizawa raised his hand from behind the desk, and in it, was another metal emblem. Similar to the one All Might showed them on the first day, this one was different only in what was written on it. The one Aizawa held had 'Rescue' engraved on it. "Be it in floods, earthquakes, fires or worse, learning to be the hero everyone needs in dire times in a cornerstone of the UA hero curriculum. It's the trial of rescue!"
The class gave into their excitement and chatter started up once more, stronger than ever. Some of the students were excited for this trial, as combat is not their specialty. However, just as many seemed to be a bit nervous and gloomy at this change of pace.
"Trial of rescue, huh? Sounds like it's going to be really difficult this time around." Grumbled Kaminari. While Kaminari had a powerful electrical emitter quirk, he lacked precision and general control with it, traits that are undesirable with a rescue hero. That last thing someone like Kaminari wants while trying to save someone, is for their quirk to put civilians in more danger than they were in before.
"Totally! It's going to be so different from the first trial! Oh, I'm so excited!" Ashido was shaking her fists in excitement. Contrary to Kaminari, Ashido had incredible control over her emitter quirk. While acid may not be what one would think of as a good rescue quirk, many of the most prominent modern rescue heroes used quirks that were deadly in nature. It didn't matter that much of what one's quirk was for rescue, rather their quirk control and mental strength.
"C'mon man!" Kirishima reached from his seat behind Kaminari to shake his shoulder. "Difficult or not, rescuing people in need is the core of a hero's job! We gotta prove ourselves today!" Kirishima's transformation quirk was simple, and only held as much agency as he gave it. For someone like him, being good at rescue would be determined by his mental and stamina.
"I hope it's a flood-based rescue simulation. Or anything with water. Aquatic environments are my speciality, ribbit." Asui pondered aloud. Mutation quirks changed one's biology, giving them unique strengths and weaknesses when it came to rescue. As one would expect from a frog, Asui would excel in damp environments that required swimming or unconventional ways of movement.
"Don't get ahead of yourselves." Aizawa's voice cut through the conversations, bringing noise in the room to zero once more. "In regards to what you should wear, this is a perfect opportunity to test your costumes out in a variety of different climates, environments, and situations. It's easy to design a flashy or 'cool' costume, but a functional one? That takes experience in the field to create. Learning the flaws in your costumes in a learning environment rather than in the field is a crucial advantage; use it to remove unnecessary or problematic features or consider adding new ones that you did not think of previously."
Aizawa clicked a small device in his hand, which caused the shelves to extend out of the walls once more. "As I said, the training area is off-campus, and is a fair distance away. We will travel by bus. If you wish, get into your costumes. Meet me in Lot C in five minutes. Get prepared."
Their teacher left as the class went to collect their boxes, with the only exception being Midoriya who was already holding a bag he had gotten during their lunch period. In the locker rooms, it was revealed to be another set of the standard UA gym uniform, identical to the ones they used in the quirk assessment exam. Talk was absent this time around, as Ida made sure to hurry the class with his usual snippets of acting like model students. Ben and the others quickly changed into their hero costumes, those with more complex outfits were able to move more quickly as they had done it once before. It also helped that they had an Ida crying out behind them, loud and proud. He sure was taking his role of class president seriously, to the point of starting to get on people's nerves.
PHREET!
"Everyone! Line yourselves up in numerical order! We will sit in standard pairs! Enter in an orderly fashion and- hey! Get back in line Tokoyami!"
Scratch that. Ida was already on people's nerves. Where did he even get a whistle? It's not a part of his costume.
The class mingled around Lot C for a minute or two, when a bus rolled by and pulled to a stop in front of them. As the bus lowered itself and opened its doors, Aizawa greeted them with a simple inclination of his head. He then stepped back and ushered them in, waving his hand while not saying anything. Much to Ida's dismay, which he vocalized with arm-chopping and detailed protests, the class just crowded around the entrance and crammed themselves in. Ben had no expectations for this bus, having only experienced the crappy standard school buses from America. What he saw blew his mind.
"Wow! This is a japanese school bus? Killer!" Ben gazed down the single lane that split the bus in two in awe. The seats were made of some soft fabric that wasn't torn to shreds, and the seats weren't crammed so claustrophobically! In fact, the front half wasn't even the standard booth-style seats at all, instead the seat's backs were flushed against the sides of the bus, giving some passengers near unlimited legroom!
"I call dibs!" Ben did a small hop, spun, and landed with an 'oomph' on the comfy seats, loving how the fabric wasn't ice cold and needed human body warmth to be comfortable. Ben squirmed a bit, feeling the seat move slightly beneath his weight. Feeling with his fingers below the seat, Ben was shocked to not feel any lumps. No gum either? This was, like, the first-class of school buses!
The class had mixed reactions to Ben's actions. Some like Ashido joined with Ben, jumping into their seats, although it may have been more to spite Ida. Although, that wasn't needed, as the student in question was smacking himself in the head with his hands, muttering something about should have prepared for multiple bus layouts. Some, like Midoriya, just laughed or chuckled as they took their own seats. Then there were sticks-in-the-mud, like Yaoyorozu, who shook their heads at such undignified behavior.
After the class seated themselves, the driver and Aizawa shared a couple words before the doors closed and the engine revved up again. After some maneuvering, the bus was out of the lot and moving down an empty street, with the passengers doing whatever they wanted to do in order to pass the time. A couple dozed off, one or two wrote stuff down in a notepad, and those who needed to double-checked their costumes and gadgets. The majority, however, started talking amongst themselves. It was still the first week of school after all, and most still didn't know much about each other. And there was a particular American that everyone wanted to get to know just a little bit better.
"Oi, Tennyson!" Ben dragged his eyes down from the window he was looking out of to look at Sato, sitting across from him. His arms were crossed, and his skin-tight yellow costume showed the muscles bulging from his muscular arms. Despite the crossed arms, the boy had a smile on his lips. The smile parted as he asked, "I take it from earlier that you were impressed by the bus. What, they didn't have anything like this back in the United States?"
"Ah yes monsieur." Aoyama suddenly popped up, resting his head in his palms as he looked at Ben. "Bedazzle us with tales from the United States, where All Might worked for so many years! Is it as beautiful as the legends say it is?"
"Uhh, probably? The famous cities like Los Angeles and New York are probably really cultural and stuff, but I'm from Bellwood, and we aren't exactly known for being 'bedazzling.'" Ben awkwardly scratched his neck. "I wouldn't say the United States is as great as the stories you were told Aoyama, but I think it's a pretty cool place to live."
"What were the schools like? Do they have a 'UA' of their own?" Sato asked, leaning slightly forward. He wasn't the only one starting to pay more attention, the class was slowly quieting down to listen to Ben.
"I dunno if America has a school like UA. Well, not that I know of." Ben admitted. "But what I do know is that the school system isn't nearly as good as Japans. Back in Bellwood elementary, we had out-of-date, raggedy textbooks that weren't completely accurate anymore for starters. General equipment was shoddy: old computers, scarred whiteboards, you name it. Food was awful, all watered down and over salted. Teachers were ok. I just didn't get to know them that well."
"Yikes. Sounds rough. Kinda makes me glad that I'm not in America." Sato said, leaning back in his seat.
"In all fairness." Yaoyorozu began to point out. "Tennyson went to a public school. It's all too easy to forget that UA runs on it's own funding, which lets it be as extravagant as it is. Trust me Tennyson, the Japanese public education is not nearly as nice as UA. The gap is not as big as it seems to be."
Ben just nodded along, starting to zone out. Really, he didn't really mind Bellwood elementary. He wasn't the best student, and his bullys Cash and J.T. didn't make life any easier, but it was alright everything else considered. Loving family, video games, smoothies, what more could a Tennyson ask for? Ben turned around to watch the scenery go by, unaware that the conversation had started to shift less of America and more towards quirks. He heard Asui and Midoriya talking, and Kirishima soon joined in. Ben was more entertained by the Japanese flora than what was being talked about though. Japan was much nicer looking than the States, Ben would admit that much.
"...yeah Todoroki, Bakugo and Midoriya have awesome quirks, but if you're really looking at this year's powerhouse, it's Tennyson, without question." Ben's attention was grabbed at the sound of his name. He turned back around to see that a lot of eyes were on him. The one speaking was Kaminari, and he was not done.
"It's all well and good that Midoriya has strength, Todoroki has ice, and Bakugo has explosions, but Tennyson has all that and more! I think. Well, we saw strength with his red form. But my point still stands! You wanna talk popularity? Power and flashiness. These four guys have that in spades!"
"Uhh, what?" Ben started to speak but Asui spoke first.
"We were talking about potential ranking spots for our classmates and most people agree that you take the top spot, ribbit." Asui explained. Many of Ben's classmates nodded at that.
"That's putting it lightly! It's unfair that your quirk does so much!" Ojiro complained from the back. "People with simple quirks like me have no chance when someone like you can turn into some freakishly overpowered form to match any situation!"
"Like beasts from the abyss, with powers to match." Muttered Tokoyami from his seat, barely loud enough to be heard.
"I'm more concerned with how he transforms." Shoji said. "A quirk as drastic as his must be taxing on the body."
"Oh come on guys!" Ben tried to wave this off. "Yeah I've got something flashy, but this class is full of quirks that can match me and more!"
"Really? You can fully transform your body into something with powers beyond comprehension, and you think we can match you?" Jiro asked with heavy amounts of skepticism in her voice. Ben gave her a deadpanned look.
"Are. You. Guys. Kidding me!" Ben would not let this go. Time to tell them how he saw things! "This class is full of overpowered and unexplainable quirks! Look at Uraraka!"
The class saw Ben pointing his finger at the permanently blushing girl to see her with wide eyes, clearly showing her confusion.
"She can turn off gravity on an object, but how does that work Shoji? It's not like gravity stops working period, we all are still affected. Uraraka controls a fundamental force with her fingertips. How does that work?" Uraraka looked down and an even more prominent blush swept over her face. It seems that even the wielder of the Zero Gravity quirk could not explain how it worked. Ben then moved his finger to Tokoyami.
"This guy literally has a living being in his body! Like, his quirk is alive. It has its own personality, thoughts, and voice! I honestly don't know why you all are so interested in me when this guy has a sentient quirk! At least there are people with similar transformation quirks like mine, but literally no one has ever had a quirk with its own consciousness before! I hope I'm not offending either of you guys by the way." Ben quickly added at the end.
"None taken." Reassured Tokoyami, who seemed unfazed by Ben's speech.
"I actually like the attention!" Dark Shadow chimed in as he popped out of his wielder's chest. He flashed Ben a thumbs up before slinking back 'inside' Tokoyami's body.
Ben then moved his hand to the front of the bus, where their teacher was sitting, all wrapped up in his sleeping bag.
"Our teacher has a quirk that can neutralize other quirks, but how does that work? We learned from Midnight in class that quirks are biological functions, so how does a single person's quirk have the ability to shut down anything? And with just his sight, not even by touch?" Ben waved his hands around to try to prove his point.
"Leave me out of this." Aizawa's tired voice replied. Ben turned back around to see he had the class's eyes on him. Maybe, he thought, he got a little too heated.
"Point being, I'm not that special. Yeah, it's flashy and I can't really explain it myself, I got nothing to say about that." Ben lied through his teeth. "But if you really stop to think about everyone in class, it's really not too much more powerful than quirks you guys have."
"That may be Tennyson." Sero leaned forward with his easy-going grin still on his face. "However, the fact still remains that the forms you have shown us exceed many modern heroes in terms of power and speed. Your quirk isn't just flashy, it's incredibly powerful too."
"No comment." Ben quickly blurted out and looked down, a blush creeping onto his face. Darn Sero and his basic observational skills! Ben was not willing to tell the cover story Azmuth and Nezu prepared for him to the entire class. He was saving it for when he was cornered by individual people. Best shut up and not give anything critical away that may blow his cover.
"Hard to believe all that power is locked away in a kid's body." Chuckled Sato. "Still, Tennyson is so powerful that he can get away with any personality he wants when it comes to popularity. I mean, Todoroki's cool guy persona is probably going to be popular, and Midoriya is honest and pure. I can easily see Tennyson, Todoroki, Midoriya and Bakugo in the top ten with power alone."
"Maybe, ribbit, but Bakugo is really angry and mean all the time." The Asui said it was so nonchalantly that one would think that she would have set off a bomb. The moment the words left her lips, Bakugo, who was just leaning his head on his fist staring out the window flared up. Glaring angrily at the frog-girl, he started to bare his teeth, but Asui was undeterred.
"Someone so unhinged like that will never be popular." Asui looked like she wanted to talk more but Bakugo's temper had already reached critical levels.
"What'd you say frog-face? I can be just as popular as anyone else! Just watch me!" He roared, bolting upright, yelling with a look of fury on his face. Poor Jiro, who ended up sitting next to him, learned so far away from the explosive teen that more of her body was out of the booth than inside. She wasn't the only one reacting to Bakugo, although the other reactions were far more light-hearted. Mostly.
"Come on dude, we've been classmates for less than a week and everyone already knows how you are. You barely socialize, but everyone already knows your personality is about as pleasant as a week-old dog turd on a rainy day." Kaminari sniggered, showing no signs of fear. Everyone started chuckling at that, even Midoriya, but he turned the other way and hid his face behind his hands. This only fueled Bakugos rage as his face started to go red.
"Tch, whatever? What do you extras know about power or popularity? I'll be number one, and I'll beat down anyone who stands in my way!" Bakugo suddenly turned to pierce Ben with his angry gaze. Ben involuntarily shuddered as Bakugo raised a finger to point in his direction. "Especially you america-boy! Stand in my way and I don't care what you turn into; I'll beat you into the ground!"
While normally Ben would be trying to calm him down, he had learned early that Bakugo was not one to listen to reason and logic. Or anyone for that matter. The only way to end this hostility was to not be a threat to him, but everyone was simultaneously an 'extra' and 'looking down on him.' So Ben just sighed and decided to tell him what was really going to happen in 3 years.
"Look, I don't know what I did to piss you off so much Bakugo," Ben began, and his words caused Bakguo's eyes to narrow dangerously. Despite this warning, Ben continued. "But if you're worried I'll compete with you for the spot of number one hero, don't worry, I'm not going to. I'm not going to even be in Japan for long after we graduate."
That got people's attention. Ben wasn't speaking that loudly, but people's other conversations stopped and they looked at him. Even Aizawa, who seemed to have gone back to sleep in the front carefully angled his sleeping bag to inconspicuously listen in. Bakugo's face went from angry, to ready-to-burst furious, to lowering down into confusion after hearing what Ben said, in that order. It was Ida who asked the question everyone was thinking.
"Why is that Tennyson? Are you not going to pursue a heroic license, despite being in UA's heroics course?" He questioned.
"What? Oh, no, of course I'll be a hero!" Ben quickly corrected him. "It's just that I'll be going back to America when I graduate. I'll be doing hero stuff there, so I won't appear on the Japanese hero popularity charts. I don't even think the USA has popularity polls."
"I share your situation Tennsyon!" Aoyama nodded in agreement from where he was sitting. He alone was unfazed by what Ben had said earlier. Aoyama himself was a french transfer student, the only one in the school in fact. "After my graduation, I'll be heading back home to France! Did you all really think that transfer students would stay in Japan after UA?"
"Well-no, of course not! It's just that - I suppose-" Ida had turned into a sputtering mess of blushing and frantic hand waving. The rest of the class had similar confusion, they just held it in better. All of them except for Ben and Aoyama were japanese citizens, born and raised. It did make sense for them to not really think about other countries, especially when Japan's hero culture was so prevalent.
"It's just..." Trailed off Uraraka, struggling to put together the proper words. "I guess our worldviews are still small. I mean, it is hard to imagine doing hero work outside of Japan; the japanese hero industry is the most dominant globally after all. I guess there is still a need for other countries to have good heroes."
"It's not just us either. Pony from class 1-B is also from the United States. She'll probably be leaving after three years too." Ben added.
"Other countries need their heroes as well my friend! But worry not!" Aoyama continued in his dramatic flair. "We may be absent from the japanese polls, but there is still the international one! Tennyson and myself will let ourselves shine from there, for the whole world to witness!"
"Heck yeah bro!" Ben gave a toothy smile and held his fist out to the french boy, who mimicked the action. It felt good to connect with someone, no matter how that connection was made. All talk, however, was brought to a screeching halt when Aizawa poked his head out to the side to make an announcement.
"We're almost there. Everyone be quiet and get ready to get off. We can't waste any time today, so I expect everyone to follow me into the facility." While conversation stopped, people were now more excited than ever upon hearing this. Looking out the windows on the bus' left side, the senariy of the urban cityscape and the open area outside the city had been replaced by steel and concrete. The tall walls were lined with electrical wires and the wall eventually turned into some clear material that encased the whole facility like a dome. Then the bus started to slow down, and then came to a stop.
Pshfewwwwwww
"Alright, everyone out and follow me." Aizawa ordered as he disembarked. The class followed, in an orderly fashion that would have made Ida jealous if he wasn't also overflowing with excitement, although he hid it well. Class 1-A filed out of the bus, after which it revved back up and took off, and followed their teacher through an imposing gate not too dissimilar to the one found on the main campus. What lay beyond the gate blew even the most imaginative in the class away.
"Holy crap! It's like an amusement park in here!" Someone cried out as the class walked in, everyone looking up and around, taking in the sights. While a strange comparison to make, that person was not exactly wrong.
The USJ was an impressive facility, one that flexed UA's incredible wealth in the most constructive way possible. What better way to give future heroes rescue practice than to have real simulated environments to practice saving people from? The path leading in was in the middle, and a single figure waited for them just ahead. To the left and right were separate 'zones' each an isolated environment dedicated to a single type of disaster. There was flooding, urban firescapes, landslides, and more, each with realistic elements to boot. The fire zones had real fire that emanated a dangerous amount of heat, and water zones had miniature bodies of water that wouldn't be out of place at an aquarium, and the occasional tremors gave away what was happening in the earthquake and landslide zones.
The figure waiting for the class was humanoid, but that's where the similarities ended. It looked human, but was completely encased inside an astronaut suit. Or at least something similar, the pure white, puffy body of the suit gave no details away about the person's body. The helmet was black with white 'eyes.' Ben really had nothing to work off of here, this was a truly mysterious hero.
Uraraka and Midoriya had the exact opposite reaction.
"N. 13!" They cried out, leaping into the air in excitement. Midoriya went into his muttering moment, something about this hero being a rescue specialist. Expected, considering the lesson today. Uraraka was babbling about how she was her favorite hero, and someone she aspired to be like in the future. That was- wait a second. Uraraka used 'she.' Did that mean-?
"That hero's a girl?" Ben wondered out loud, titling his head. He watched closely as Aizawa and N.13 conversed, or at least Aizawa did. Ben couldn't see any indication that N.13 was speaking, but she(?) did hold up a hand and held up 3 fingers, so she was communicating somehow.
"Yes, N. 13 is a woman." Jiro replied from her position to Ben's right. A frown crossed her features. "Is that a problem?"
"Oh come on! You know that's not what I meant!" Ben pouted. Seeing Jiro smirk made Ben's eyes roll and he continued. "I mean to ask how did people find out? I can't figure anything out with that suit she's wearing."
"You are not the only one wondering that Tennyson." Ida walked into the conversation. "While N. 13 has never made an appearance without her uniform, she has made statements about herself regarding her person as 'female.' As her quirk prevents her from ever exposing skin, or giving blood, her word is the only thing to believe."
"All right Class 1-A! As Aizawa has no doubt informed you already, you are here today for basic introductory rescue operation practice! But, before we begin, I do have some points that I would like to go over before we begin. May I?" She turned to Aizawa, who gave a small nod, and she turned back to the class to continue.
"As many of you know, I am a rescue specialist; I primarily respond to disaster areas resulting from villain attacks or natural disasters. I use my quirk, Black Hole, to remove debris and help civilians. I rarely fight head-on battles, but that does not mean I can not. I just choose not to based on my own morals." While N. 13 started with a cheery tone, it quickly dropped to a much more serious one, and the class' mood changed with it.
"My quirk can seriously maim, and kill, an indiscriminate number of people. Many of you have quirks of similar capabilities, seeing as you passed the practical exam. In modern quirk society, usage of quirks is heavily restricted outside of specific circumstances and law enforcement. However, as you all definitely are aware of, there exist many people who reject this law and use their quirks freely. You all know the power of quirks: Aizawa's exam showed you the potential that is dormant within everyone, and All Might's combat trial exposed the real damage quirks can deal, and the dangers that accompany their usage.
"Our duty as heroes is to use our quirks for the good of society, for the good of the people. We are to utilize our privilege of public quirk usage to protect the people and preserve the peace. While rescue may be seen as just a different way of using quirks in the hero business, it is my belief that there is no better training than rescue training to really emphasize our duty to help people. The goal of today is not to be the one who 'rescues' the most, but rather to leave with an understanding of what it means to help people." N. 13 finished with a bow, sweeping her hand out.
"That is all! Without further delay, let us begin!"
The class politely clapped, with some even cheering. Ben would have been impressed as well... if he had been listening. Look, N. 13 had all the best intentions, and to her credit, she had no idea what Ben had been through. This was nothing he hadn't heard before. Grandpa Max constantly hammered into him that the Omnitrix was to be used for good, and Azmuth criticized his usage of the watch to be more like a weapon. Ben has combat experience beyond his years and has nearly perfected his forms to minimize public damage when he could. So, he couldn't help but tune out the rescue hero and let his mind and eyes wander when he realized what she was talking about. Ben was lazily gazing around the multitude of zones along the perimeter of the USJ when something different caught his eye.
You know when weird splodges of dark coloration enter your vision when you rub your eyes too hard or shut them for too long? It was something similar to that. Ben didn't pay attention to it at first, he just thought it was just a discoloration due to his vision. After a few seconds, it was obvious that it was something more. The splotches grew in size and eventually merged together to form an inky black circle in the middle of the USJ. At least Ben thought it was a circle. He couldn't see it's dimensions from where he was staring. Was it a circle, a sphere, or a different shape? Ben was so engrossed in this new object that he didn't even notice Aizawa stalking up to him.
"Tennyson, now is not the time to be daydreaming. Did you even hear anything of what N. 13 said?" Aizawa snapped, very much annoyed.
"What? Oh, sorry sensei. I just saw the black stuff forming and kinda, you know, thought it was more interesting. Is it a part of today's exercise?" Ben replied sheepishly.
"Black stuff? What are you talking about?" Aizawa's voice quickly changed to genuine confusion. Ben turned around and pointed to the black mass that had grown even larger, about the size of a small child, which was still in the main area. Both teacher and student gazed upon the mysterious coloration, neither sure of what it was or it's purpose.
Then a hand emerged from the black depths.
A literal hand. Dry, pale, but very much moving and alive, the hand pulled itself out of the portal and then the rest of the body emeged. Covered in a simple black jumpsuit, this person would have seemed normal if not for the many, many other hands all over his body. Unlike the first hand seem, these were severed hands. On his torso, legs, arms, and even over his face. Yet, the fingers of the face-hand were parted just so, to allow the eyes of the person to see clearly. His red eyes opened and looked directly at the student teacher pair. His face moved, perhaps his lips were moving? Then the portal exploded in size.
Humanoids were pouring out of the portal, and none of them looked friendly. Those who had mutation quirks that could be used in battle were handling or brandishing them menacingly. Those without obvious weapons wielded knives or knuckles. Many of them wore cobbled together costumes with various armor or weapon additions. The most concerning however, was the one person that didn't have any of that. He/she/it stood a good bit taller than even the tallest in the group while hunched over. It's face was devoid of any humanoid features, and it's brain was exposed. It's skin was black and it's body was overly muscular, almost resembling All Might.
"Everyone, back off and stay together!" Barked out Aizawa. Ben kept away from his teacher, shocked at the sudden change of character. Aizawa, for as long as Ben had known him (barely a week) was slow, lifeless and dull. Now, he was alert, tense, and moving very fast. He whipped out a strange pair of goggles and put them on as well as unfurreling his capture scarf from around his neck. The rest of class 1-A reacted in a way that Aizawa probably did not want. They were muddling around, nervously talking amongst themselves and pointing at the new group of people that had emerged.
"N. 13, protect the students! Listen everyone, stay as a group and get out of here! This is not a drill, these are villains!" Aizawa shouted as he jumped onto a railing, adjusting his goggles.
Villains. A term that has emerged as an opposite to a hero. Where a hero is someone that is government sanctioned to use their quirk as long as it is for the public good, villains do everything but. Using their quirks for personal gain, or just for general mayhem and chaos, these individuals are the archenemies of the hero associations around the globe. For one reason or another, a large group was at the USJ now. Class 1-A was in disarray; many were starting to panic, others gazing over the villain group in horror, some hid their fear under a facade, but one student had a very distinct reaction.
"Alright, some real action! Let's do this!" Ben celebrated as he walked up to Aizawa's side. Ignoring the cries from behind him and the stern words from beside him, Ben activated the Omnitrix and basked in it's green glow. Turning the faceplate, Ben cycled through until he reached the outline of a Tetramand. "Four Arms, let's go!"
Ben raised his hand high, and was moving it down to slam the dial when the capture scarf from beside him lashed out and wrapped around his right arm.
"Tennyson, stand down." Aizawa's voice and gaze were unlike anything Ben had ever seen before. Cold and unflinching, it was obvious that this was not the homeroom teacher Aizawa Ben was accustomed to. "Back off and join your classmates."
"But sensei! There's got to be at least twenty five of them!" Ben waved his left arm, with the Omnitrix still dialed up, at the crowd before them. "I can help, honest! You've seen what I can do! Let me help!"
"No." Aizawa's cold voice cut through Ben's pleas. "You are a student and I am a teacher. It is my duty to ensure your safety. I can handle them, there's more to me than what I've shown you. Stand. Down. Now."
Ben grit his teeth angrily, looked down and gave a curt nod. Aizawa released his right arm, to which he used to deactivate the Omnitrix. Ben took several steps back, nearing the front of his class, and watched as Aizawa crouched down and leaped into the middle of the villains. As the fight commenced, Class 1-A started nervously talking about escape possibilities.
"How could have they breached the USJ's defenses? I thought this place had security like the main campus?"
"They must have bypassed the security with that portal of theirs. Either that or they disabled the security grid ahead of time."
"Forget how they got in, how are we going to get out? Are they even going to let us move?"
"Quiet!" N. 13's voice shouted above the rabble. Hearing a voice with authority, the class immediately shut up and turned to look at the space hero. "They wouldn't have attacked a secure location like this if they were not fully prepared. Engaging a force that outnumbers us is a fool's errand. We need to evacuate while they are not between us and the gate."
"Kaminari, I hope that antennae on your costume is for more than just show, because that is the only communication device here that isn't connected to the main building which has probably been disabled. One of the villains must have a quirk that prevents us from calling for help, but try it anyway!" Kaminari gave a nod and removed his device to start fiddling with it. The rest of the class started moving towards the gate that they had entered through, which was now closed. Those at the back of the pack let their gazes linger on Aizawa a little bit longer.
For someone as lanky and unkempt as him, he certainly was a phenomenal fighter. Incredible agility let him evade every attack thrown at him and let him space himself properly. Those that tried to use ranged quirks were caught by his capture device and tossed around like rag dolls. Those that tried to stay further away were caught off-guard when a single look disabled their quirks long enough for him to close the distance and take them down. Bulky close-quarter fighters were taken aback by his brutal strength, with Aizawa taking down thugs much larger than him in a single blow. Not a single action was wasteful, and while Aizawa was racking up bodies, he had yet to suffer a single blow. Although, the hand-guy and the large, hulking black mass of muscle had yet to move themselves.
"Hurry everyone!" Ida urgently called out to the stragglers. "We must evacuate while we can!"
Midoriya and Ben were in the back. Midoriya broke out in a run at Ida's call, but Ben was much more reluctant. Compared to Midoriya's run, Ben was almost dragging his feet, muttering to himself.
'I'm trying to be a pro hero. I've fought guys worse than everyone down there put together. I could have solved this in five minutes, tops! And here I am, running away.' Ben thought, angry at his own inaction. If there was anything that Ben hated more than anything else, it was standing by and letting something bad happen when he could easily be doing something to help.
"Nothing N. 13! All I'm getting is static!" Kaminari cried out, holding a headphone to his ear while tapping his device with the antenne.
"It's fine Kaminari! As soon as I get the gate open, we should be able to put enough distance between us and the villains to call for help!" Reassured N. 13.
"I'm afraid I can not let that happen." A mass of shadowy clouds suddenly appeared between the class and the gate. The center was pitch black, and shadowy tendrils whipped around the edges, daring anyone to approach. The class came to a halt, with N. 13 putting herself at the front and taking a combat stance. The voice seemed to be coming from the shadows itself, and that soon proved to be true as a figure started to materialize out of the same shadowy material. A mass of the shadow, given form only by a metal neck brace that was far too long for a normal human neck, raised two limbs and spoke again.
"I believe you are N. 13, are you not? We had obtained intel that there would be three heroes here today, one of them being our target. I do not see him, however. Were we mistaken? No matter. If he is not here now, we shall force him to appear." The shadow muttered to himself before straightening his metaphorical back and held his hands out wide.
"Forgive our audacity, attacking the very bastion of heroism that is UA, but our goals demand such aggressive advancements. We are here today with a single purpose. To end the life of the symbol of peace: All Might. Yet he is not here, where he is supposed to be." Despite the severity of the situation that everyone was very much aware of, a barely contained snigger was heard near the back of the mass of students. If the shadow-man was peeved by this, he made no mention of it and continued speaking. "For we are, the League of Villains."
That last sentence proved to be too much, and the sniggers from the person earlier had elevated to full out laughter. The entire class, N. 13, and the shadow-man turned their attention to the back of the pack, where who else but Tennyson, was doubled over. Ben was laughing so hard that his stomach hurt, tears starting to run down his cheeks as he struggled to contain himself. Ben had encountered more than his fair share of wacky villains, but this took the cake!
"Are-are you serious?" Ben managed to croak out, his left hand clutching his stomach and his right wiping his tears away. "'League of Villains?' That's the best name you guys could come up with? Gahahahahahahahaha!"
Ben doubled over once more, laughter forcing him out of breath as he struggled to collect himself. His classmates and teacher were looking at him with a variety of emotions, ranging from confusion, to anger and even some with panic. The shadow-man seemed at a loss of what to say or do. Out of all the potential outcomes he calculated would happen after his appearance, a student completely losing it and laughing was not one of them.
"Look buddy, look." Ben held his hands out in a calming manner. "Your goal is already generic enough: killing All Might. Come on, what villain does not have that as his end goal? But then you guys call yourselves the 'League of Villains?' Why don't we just call ourselves the 'Heroes of Goodness?' You guys have portals, technology and numbers, but you don't have an ounce of creativity. You'll never grow as a brand with a name like that!"
"The name we call ourselves is irrelevant." Maybe it was just Ben, but the shadow's voice seemed a bit more tense than before. "All that matters is our actions, which will be remembered far better than our words. For it will be us who-"
The shadow's voice was cut off as two students rushed out, charging straight at him! Kirishima high, swinging a massive left haymaker and Bakugo low, jutting out his right hand in a fiery explosion!
BOOOOOOOM!
"Not if we get you first, you monologuer!" Kirishima cried out, panting from the adrenaline. "Bet you didn't see that one coming!" Bakugo said nothing, and just kept his narrow eyes glued to the cloud that his explosions generated, where the figure used to be.
"That was close- for a child." The figure's calm voice spoke from behind the dust. A sudden surge of power caused gusts of wind to blow in the student's direction, forcing their hands up to cover their eyes. From between their fingers, they saw the dust clouds part and the inky-black figure emerge, unscatheed. "Between that trigger-happy rush and the disrespectful small one, I'd say that this is an interesting group to be considered Japan's future heroes. However, my interests and thoughts will not interfere with my duty that I must perform today.
"No! Both of you, get back!" N. 13 reached forward, calling out to Bakugo and Kirishima. The two boys just turned around, confusion on their faces. What was there to worry about?
"Begone."
FOOOOM
A web of darkness sprouted from behind the person, it's tendrils quickly extending to envelope a good portion of the class. Some with quick reflexes like Todoroki and Ashido managed to dart out of the web of dark influence. For some, however, they were too slow, either stunned at the display like Midoriya or paralyzed with fear like Koda, it was too late. The web completed it's surround and began warping the students caught inside in a swirling dark pool. Students all around shouted in alarm as the very ground below them disappeared, and they fell into areas unknown.
Ben was one of them.
"GAHHHHHHH!"