Chapter 16: Bad Sense of Déjà Vu Part 2
Ben couldn't help but be freaked out.
"They just stored them here…" he looked through the red glass casing of the pod to the lying person inside. "With a Xenocite on each of their faces…"
He could see them twitching. Extending their tentacles and settling more and more onto the person's face…
It was unsettling to say the least.
"Never too— Ah!" he choked on his words as the eye of the xenocite suddenly opened, glancing back.
"Never took the Highbreed for the Matrix type…" he finished his quip and looked at the people one by one.
"All casual clothes…" his eyebrows crossed.
"Makes sense…" he seethed. "After all, they seem to like getting the jump on innocent civilians."
One of those abductees even seemed to be around his friends' age.
A 15, no, 16 year old girl with black straight hair…
She looked to be 5'11, a bit tan…
He squinted his eyes. It was hard to tell with the red hue the glass was giving.
She had a relatively slender figure sporting an orange Texas jersey with the number 12 on it along with blue shorts and brown sandals.
He looked around and saw that some of them weren't in casual clothes, but one or two people weren't going to change how he felt.
*Thump* *Thump* *Thump*
He hears some rumbling in the background. He quickly turns around and puts on his mask again.
"I can't stay too long in this room." he put his back on the wall next to the door.
Like before, the door slides right open and gives him the chance to take a slight peek outside. "Before they find out all the snooping around I did, I need to secure a lead…"
Ben then put his hand in his pocket. The white crystal was still there.
"I need to find out what this is and why they have a boatload of it stored down here."
He took his hands off the wall. As he tried to have his body assume a much more natural stance, the supposed hero stepped to walk out.
His foot was already ahead of the door's threshold.
All he had to do was put another step forward, and then one after that, and then one after that…
All the way until the next big storage room that he would come across.
But…
Ben glanced back. That was 15 pods that he left behind.
15 people…
"They are lined up like canned goods… "
All for them to turn into DNAliens with the Xenocite on their face.
He gritted his teeth and completed his step..
Ben managed to let the door close behind him, and after making sure he wasn't jumping in anyone's way, he started walking down the corridor.
However, only after 10 or so steps, he paused again…
He stood completely still, not knowing whether it was for 2 seconds or for a whole minute.
Once he was done, he continued with the steps.
This time, in the opposite direction.
He re-entered the room with stern steps, and walked over to the center computer..
"I can't leave you guys like this.."
He stood over the panel and… He didn't know what to press.
"Ugh" He couldn't read anything! What was he supposed to…
A light bulb went off in his head. "Duh."
He gripped the watch.
"Alright Omnitrix, I know it's been like 20 minutes since you timed out and you're still probably charging, but please, give me something."
He pressed on the rims and twisted the dial.
Thankfully, the dial popped out, giving him a hologram.
"YES!" He scrolled through.
His glance traveled between all the pods as his heart rate elevated.
"Time to get to work."
Ben 10: Hero Force
Chapter 16
Bad Case of Deja Vu
Her eyes were closed.
She could feel the water around her skin, as well as the oxygen mask around her face, keeping her alive.
Her hair was flowing along with the water, moving according to the fidgeting of her body.
The muffled beeps of machines, the incoherent talking of the people behind the glass…
She could feel something off, however felt no strength in her muscles.
She tried shaking her hand and putting her hands on the glass, however the continuous jolts of pain were too much.
She could feel it spreading through her body, burning her…
The bandages around her—!
"AHHH—mmmm!" the girl opened her eyes and screamed!
But a hand appeared on her mouth to cover it.
"Shhhhhh!" She saw a person, with a hard red outer shell that covered their gray body. They were also clearly larger than her in terms of figure, and as something else, they had green slanted eyes. She could also feel some kind of hole in his hand through her lips.
"I know this is scary, but please try to not scream." a deeper voice, similar to a person underwater, responds.
He makes a shhh motion again as the hand gets lifted off her mouth. "They still don't know you have been freed yet and I need it to stay that way.."
She knitted her eyebrows, before getting on her feet and taking a look around.
She also looked back at her pod. "No water?"
The girl tried to calm her nerves, and looked at her clenched fists.
This place… This facility, it didn't feel…
It didn't feel like the one she was imagining… "Just… a dream?"
She relaxed her hands and asked. "Who's 'they'?"
The hero glanced at her. "The bad guys."
"And… who are you?" She raised an eyebrow, trying to keep her calm tone.
The hero didn't respond and walked over to the next pod.
So her tone quickly turned agitated. "Where am I?!"
She raised her voice again, which had the hero raise his hands. "Okay okay, chill with the tone, my name is Water Hazard."
"I'm… uh…" He hesitated before crouching down to answer.
"I'm what you would call a pro-hero." He got back up and walked away.
Her gaze followed him. What were those things? Pods?
There were people lying in them… But they looked unconscious. And what were the purple things on their faces?
"As for where you are…"
Water Hazard held out his hand in front of one of them, and a bright green light emerged out of his chest.
Next thing she knew, those purple things on those 5 people were nothing but dust.
"If there are bad guys, then you're inside a villain base, where else?" he then faced her and replied. "And a pretty nasty one at th—"
Water Hazard was about to walk back, but he saw someone stumble from the group next to him and about to fall!
"Woah, there we go…" he swiftly caught him and helped him up. "You okay?"
The man in a casual gray shirt and jeans replied. "Yeah, thanks."
"Don't mention it." Water Hazard then turned his glance to the others next to him. "You guys feeling okay?"
The people gave him a thumbs up. They were holding their heads in their hands and leaned onto the pod they were coming out from…
Though…
She tilted her head.
Water Hazard stuck with them. He very much stayed with them… at least up until they could look him in the eye.
That was his confirmation to move onto someone else, however it was always to someone new.
He didn't walk back to the ones he tended to… such as her.
She gritted her teeth. It was… frustrating to be in the dark about it all.
Who were these bad guys? What evil base?!
She walked towards him.
She heard him mutter… "That should be the last batch."
So, he was done(?) Perfect, now he could answer her questions(!)
With every step, her annoyance at the situation was rising. He was tending to all those other people, leaving her all ignored, making her frustration boil…
It made her clench her fist and—
"Ow!"
A sharp pain ran through her knuckle. She held it up and looked.
There was blood… A wound had opened up.
Immediately she stopped and looked around. Had anyone seen that?
Thankfully, people were too busy reeling from what they woke up from.
She was sure, so she turned and started licking the blood off.
However, from the corner of her ear, she could hear the footsteps approaching her.
She turned around. It was Water Hazard. "Let me."
She shook her head in response, but the hero was like a leech. He still crouched, lended his hand and didn't go away!
After some hesitation… she let him see it.
There was a deep gash on her knuckles and the hero didn't waste time pointing the porthole in his palm and washing the blood off with cold water.
"Sorry I don't have a med kit with me." he said. "But, I will ask around for some piece of cloth…."
"I said… I'm. Fine." She gritted and growled from under her breath.
Ben could feel that the cold water was probably getting on her nerves.
"You know…" he tried to start a conversation.
Maybe it could take her mind off this… and it would help him get some answers."Unlike everyone else around these parts, they went through the trouble of attaching extra sedatives on—."
"I said I'm fine!" She forcefully pulled her arm back and walked away from him..
And Ben… didn't respond.
If she didn't want help, then that's fine. It was her choice…
… though that stunt still got on his nerves.
"A thank you would have been nice…"
He saw her playing with the area of the wound as she walked away and… there was no more blood flowing out from her.
"Hmm?"
And then…His gaze fell to her arms.
"I'm sure the tubes were inserted there…" he thought. He had admittedly pulled them out pretty suddenly as well.
"Then, why is there no mark?"
"Huh…" he wanted to go over there and ask, but he'd most likely just anger her further.
"Maybe later…"
He took a deep breath.
And took one final look around the place, as well as the people who were just recuperating after the effects of the Xenocites. "Brainstorm did a good job deactivating the systems and securing a way out…"
He then looked at the dial on his chest. "And Water Hazard's style seems to be putting people at ease."
Ben closed his eyes.
The rooms, the corridors…
He could see the whole map that Brainstorm had left behind.
"The idea's ready… It's all in the execution now."
"Mr. Water Hazard…"
He turned his head and saw a group of people. Or rather, all of them.!
"Can you tell us what's going on here?"
"Then, we're adjourned."
Teachers from around the table leaned back on their seats.
"Good work with the discussion everyone!" Nezu spoke with his usual cheerful tone.
Tsukauchi tidied up his files. "I will do more digging on some leads."
"I will make sure to come back with a lot more next time."
His frustration in grabbing the documents from the table was getting more and more obvious.
Nezu spoke in his cheerful tone. "I know it hasn't been the most fruitful meeting Tsukauchi, however we can't let ourselves be frustrated."
"We're going to make sure to take further precautions in increasing the surveillance and security around the school, making sure our students are heading home safely"
The detective nodded. It made sense. He couldn't let the ambiguity of the case get to his head.
"Right…" His movement in picking up the files on the U-shaped table slowed down and relaxed.
As he picked up the files in front of All Might—
"Toshinori." he heard from across the room.
It was Aizawa. "A word?"
The detective then watched as Toshinori got up from his seat. "Sure."
The living, breathing mummy, as well as the skeleton, walked out of the room.
After heading to the teacher lounge, Aizawa, without wasting time, asks…
"So, what plans do you have this time?"
A jolt runs up All Might's body and once that settles, a smile forms instead.
"Nothing really gets by you Aizawa…"
"No." he states, with his irises becoming red. "It doesn't."
All Might took a deep breath. He hesitated, because…
Sure, Aizawa could tell that he has been favoring Midoriya, training and helping him, but talking about doing the same to Tennyson as well…
He thought it could mess with the balance between them.
However, Aizawa wasn't about to let go.
"We've had a conversation similar to this before All Might…" he continued his stance. "When you showed the same interest as you did in Midoriya."
How could All Might forget? The day that Midoriya nearly got expelled because he could barely use One for All…
Toshinori then looked down on himself. "Huh… Wearing the same suit as that time…"
However, Aizawa wasn't reminiscing like him. Not yet anyway."I would like for you to come forward cleanly this time."
"Since, watching over one loose cannon like Midoriya is one thing…"
The battle trial between Midoriya and Bakugo flashed before All Might's eyes.
"...and letting you have one more, in the form of Tennyson, is another."
The shapeshifter's arrogant, and maybe even disrespectful attitude to him during the long jump section of the Quirk assessment, played back in Aizawa's mind.
"I don't want irrationality and arrogance to fester in my class."
Toshinori held up his hands in defense. He got his point and so…
He told him what he had in mind…
Aizawa didn't interrupt him once. Of course, it was Aizawa, the underground Erasure Hero! Most of his jobs consisted of waiting and listening.
Due to the bandages, it was hard to measure a visible reaction as well.
However, from his eyes , All Might could tell… that he wasn't dismissing it.
At the end, when All Might asked for his thoughts, he only said…
"I'll allow it."
All Might was blown back. "Really?"
It was rare for the two to agree on anything!
And Aizawa responded…
"His head is in the right place, someone just needs to help him use it better."
Toshinori smiled. He couldn't believe he had gotten a "go ahead" from Aizawa. However, before he had gone and done it…
"One more stop… Then I'll decide."
"...And that's the situation." Ben finished explaining.
The girl looked all around her. Murmurs were rising up from the crowd, and the hero was holding up his arms to keep everyone quiet.
The whispers do die down, however hands still get raised.
"Yeah?" Ben points to a woman in the crowd.
She puts her hand close to her mouth, but at the last moment, she backs down and approaches Ben instead.
"Nice." Ben thinks as he lends his ear. "People are getting the idea."
"Do you have a plan to get us out then, Water Hazard?"
Ben smiles. "Yep, I got the whole map of this place in my head."
"All we have to do is get to the emergency hatch, located on a close-by section of the base."
There were the stairs that he initially entered from as well as that elevator…
"But I'd rather avoid a fire fight." Ben said in his head and pressed his point.
"I assure you, this will all be over pretty quick."
However, not all in the crowd was that trusting.
"What happens if we're discovered?!" an elderly man spoke up, quite loudly as well by comparison.
Ben could barely avoid facepalming. "Or… They don't get the idea at all."
And, not only that but, even though it was just one line, he had already gathered some people with the same mindset as him.
"We are…" He looked around for a second to count. "...15? Yeah, 15 people here you have to keep an eye on!"
"Don't worry…" Ben says. "I'll make sure to be vigilant–"
The crowd's expression grew even more skeptical. The odds were just too stacked against them
And, as their "pro-hero", it was Ben's job to reassure them somehow.
The question was how… to which Ben unfortunately had an idea to
Interrupting his previous line, he sighs. "Maybe it's a stretch…"
It was pretty dangerous too, but he just didn't have any other ideas in the heat of the moment.
"...Unless…" he said. "Are any one of you pro-heroes as well?"
The people raise their eyebrows.
"If you think I'm not enough, is there someone that can help me protect the 15 people group we have here?" Water Hazard asks of them and the crowd starts looking at one another.
All the while, Water Hazard crossed his arms.
"In hindsight, I shouldn't even risk anyone fighting those DNAliens. They aren't just normal crooks from off the streets. They are soldiers of an all-powerful empire."
However, he knew that if he denied the help, if it came his way, would be suspicious. "Guess I'll just have to carry double the weight."
The discussion slowly dies down.
"Did they find someone?"
"Um…" Ben then hears someone from right in front of him.
"Hm?"
She was seemingly a young woman, with a slim figure, notably straight teeth and long dark hair in the form of two plaits with a bit of a fringe over the eyes.
Speaking of the eyes, they were oval-shaped and completely blacked out! No pupil or anything.
"Nice to meet you, Water Hazard." She holds out her hand. "I'm Enigma."
"Enigma?" Ben shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too…"
She reached into her pocket and then flashed a card right at him. "I was hoping we could team-up to get these people to safety?"
Ben squinted down at Enigma's card.
And it was the real deal! An official hero license!
He sweatdropped, remembering the premature manner he activated the Omnitrix. "I really hope I don't get to time-out now."
In the meantime, the girl from before, continued observing the room.
She closed her eyes and… sniffed the room.
Her expression didn't change. It didn't really pick up somethi—
She sniffed again.
That neutral state of hers immediately changed.
Ben had pulled his hand back from the handshake with Enigma.
"So…" He scratched the back of his neck. "What's your quirk?"
"Yes, um, it is—"
Starting from her arm, her body starts growing and getting darkened out, but before it can spread all the way–!
"Hey, what about you?!" he hears the old man yell from the background. "Aren't you another costumed hero?!"
The crowd around the individual being yelled at dispersed and both "pro-heroes" got a good look at him.
He was wearing a black plague mask, with a gold trim and circular glasses over his eyes. And covering his body, was a raincoat with the hood up.
Ben's eyes drifted down to the most expressive of the crowd… The girl.
Her hair stood on end like a cat who had seen a dog in a back alley. And her anger… wasn't like the annoyance towards him.
He looked back with caution.
"I'm sorry."he said with a calm and composed voice. "But, I'm not part of any hero group."
The elderly man steps back as the hooded figure stares to his soul. "Can't really call myself a supporter of them, you know?"
"Yep, definitely bad news…" Ben thought.
Enigma stood neutral with her arms at her sides, as the man walked up to the both of them. She didn't look phased, but that didn't mean she was any less on edge.
A villain… was also among them.
"You have quite the number of people here, heroes." He faced Water Hazard, then looked down to her.
"I will cut to the case for your sake, I'm willing to help you keep a lid on things here… if I may be offered safe passage."
"Once we manage to escape, we will go separate ways." he stood straight. He clearly held himself in high regard. "Agreed?"
Water Hazard's answer though, was swift. "You're kidding, right?"
The villain reponds, quite slyly: "Admit it hero, you're shorthanded."
"From what you told us…"
He gestured to the room. "We're stuck inside a villain's base and the only way is to sneak everyone to an emergency hatch at the other side."
"I think it goes without saying that we're going to be seen."
"And we need more fighters?" Enigma asked with her eyebrow raised.
"Naturally." The villain nodded and she crossed her arms.
Distrust was in the air, so she looked at Water Hazard, who had his arms crossed in the exact same way, with his eyes narrowed.
And then, under his breath, he voiced his decision.
"Nah."
He turned to the public, raising one hand.
Everyone looked over.
"Here is the plan," he declared. "We will assign one hero to each end of the group."
"I will take point since I know the way and Enigma will cover the back."
He then turned his head to the villain. "And you… will be with me in the front."
The villain scoffs. "And why should I stick with you?"
Ben looked him in the eye. "Well, it's either that…"
He puts on a smile and palms his fist. "Or I will knock you out right there and leave you."
Ben could imagine him narrowing his eyes under his mask, either pouting or measuring his chances… so he humored him.
He put on a real arrogant expression and did not let up on the eye contact.
It was a matter of whoever folded first.
And it quickly ended up being the villain.
"Very well…" he sighed. "The sooner we get moving, the sooner I can be rid of you..."
Ben smirked. He looked back at the crowd, and saw the girl still glancing daggers at the villain.
There was also the hero, Enigma…
And then the colorful crowd…
He couldn't help but think. "Well, this will be entertaining…"
"Alright!" He clapped his hands and took initiative. "Let's move out, people!"
"Tennyson?" Midoriya pulled on the strings of his hoodie. "What brought him up, All Might?"
"Did something happen to him?"
"Oh no, no." Toshinori responded. "I just… had something in my mind and I've been going around asking my friends about their takes."
He extended his hand towards him, almost like he was presenting Midoriya to a crowd. "And I feel that the select group would include you as well."
The greenette's chest swelled with pride. Hearing his hero refer to him as a friend…
His smile, despite him trying to prevent it, grew.
It was something that would really never get old.
"Well…" All Might then repeated. "How would you describe Tennyson?"
"Um…" He starts pondering. With his idol's demand, all of what he can say about Tennyson rush to his head.
"I-I mean, in what regard? I mean, he is a great friend,and in terms of a hero,I thinkheisreallycapabledeterminedreliablepowerfulhereallyisapersonIaspiretobelike…
"There you go again..." Toshinori sweat drops. "Okay, young Midoriya, wait."
Midoriya doesn't hear him. "..inhindsightIunderstandhimnotusingnrgmoreoftenbutchromastonecouldberea…"
"Young Midoriya?"
The greenette snaps out of his thoughts. "Y-Yes?"
"One at a time please?"
"Oh…" Midoriya covered his mouth in embarrassment. "Of course."
He itches the scar on his face. Clearly, his mind was still racing.
"Well, I… Um…" he said as words were just now forming in his mouth. "In terms of a hero, I would have to say that he's very capable.
"And determined," he adds.
"And—"
"Alright, all clear!"
Ben booked it right across to the corridor, while pulling the villain's arm with one hand.
And after him, people also ran out of the room.
"You know this really is unnecessary, right?" The villain said as he struggled to keep up with Water Hazard.
Ben shrugs. "Probably…"
"But, why should I take chances?"
The villain got visibly frustrated. "You think I can't just shout?"
"Go ahead." Ben edged him on. "You'd make it a party for both of us."
He then tightened his grip around his arm.
But, a bystander interrupted their conversation as he ran next to them and tapped on Ben's shoulder.
"How far is it?"
"Not much." Ben pointed forward. "There should only be a couple more turns to the hatch…"
He tilted his hand left and right as he said it.
"After that, we will get to the fun part…" he crossed his arms.
However, the man didn't understand.
Ben exhaled. This was his calling card.
So, I didn't mention this part but this base is in a really remote location." he said.
"We would never make it on foot and so the plan is to hijack a vehicle and drive right on out from the front gate."
"There will be guards?" It was the girl again, getting slightly ahead of them as she ran.
"Plenty of them." Ben answered. "Once we get to the topside, we'll have tons of these henchmen crawling up our butts.
"There is no way that we won't be seen."
"It's almost like someone said the same thing." The villain said and Water Hazard just seethed. He was this close to elbowing him in the kidney….
"Can't we… I mean…" The bystander took Water Hazard's attention.
He panted for a second, before holding up his hands.
"Can't you do something about that?"
Ben noticed the rephrase but didn't pick him up on it.
The hero shook his head. "Nope."
He looked at him. "Once they start shooting, I will split away and start fighting as a distraction. For the rest that focus on you, Enigma will play as a shield until you all get that ride working."
"Okay…" the man said. "Okay, I get it."
Ben then continued. "All we need right now is someone who can hotwire the thing."
Ben immediately glanced at the man standing at his side.
"What now?" the villain says.
"Just checking if we have an actual use for you."
The villain grits his teeth.
"That's probably a yes."
Ben puts on a smirk. And then, he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was the bystander again.
"Thanks for doing this for us." He bowed his head.
Ben however waved his hand at the gesture. "Don't mention it, really."
And now that their little talk was over, he fell back. Probably exhausted from running as hard as Water Hazard.
"We've been doing well on the plan so far…" He thought, as the thumps of various shoes rang in his ears.
"Thankfully the Highbreed cut costs on surveillance for their free labor..."
He had been lifting up his eyes and checking at the upper parts of the corridor walls. Not one camera so far.
And considering the incomplete state of the walls, with it being half man-made steel and half… whatever the Highbreed brought, he really shouldn't have been surprised.
"This whole place is a rush job."
It wasn't a dump, or anything to scoff at really, but…
He didn't know. Guess there was just something that screamed at him, low effort.
"But hey, who's to stop them…" His glance danced around again, keeping his smirk. "I mean, how many corridors have we cut through now?.. 5? 6?"
Ben puts his hand on his chin. "Or was it 7–Hey!"
The supposed pro-hero suddenly got pulled back and fell on the ground!
It was so hard that his whole arm felt like it was going to pop right off!
"Ow!…" he thinks, before quickly springing back on his feet.
He dusted himself off. "...Is what I would have said if I were human."
He turned his gaze around.
"Whoever did that will…"
He stops. It was the girl again, this time looking very angry and pointing to right behind him.
Ben didn't need to turn as he could hear them.
The DNAliens… with armed guns right in their hands, they were coming from the corridor on the left of the crew.
Ben briefly peaked his head from the corner. He saw them then turning around and walking back to where they came from.
Ben turned back and found her with one finger on her mouth, making a "shhhh" motion.
"Yeah..." Ben says. "Thanks for that."
"Saved by a little girl…" The villain scoffed at him, with his arm finally free. "Truly a heroic stature."
Water Hazard knitted his eyebrows and before he could do anything, grabbed his arm again.
"Just get moving."
"Umm…" Midoriya had calmed down by now.
The pair were still at the beach, and sitting on a bench.
"He…"
The words…
Just like All Might, he also wanted to be as accurate to his thoughts as possible.
"I guess, there is also how easy he makes stuff look."
"Like, he has all those forms, but I've never seen him freeze up." Midoriya admits, recalling all their sessions training together, and the quirk assessment…
"He always knows what form he wants to be."
The greenette put a hand on his chin. "Almost like nothing can… inconvenience him."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAD TO GO TO THE BATHROOM?!" Water Hazard shoots back from the corner as laser fire from the DNAliens rains down!
"Well, excuse me! But sitting in that pod for all that time has really got my bladder going!" the old man yells.
All the people, including him, had taken cover behind other corridor walls as the DNAlien crowd in front of them grew.
Ben took aim and blasted another one into the wall.
"Do DNAliens even use the bathroom—" He ducked and dodged a laser to his face. "Questions for later."
He then got back up and knocked 2 more down with his water. But more of them kept coming.
"There are just too many of them…" he thought. "Maybe if Enigma can…"
"Come on hero—" The villain tried to speak, but Ben really was just over it.
"Don't you start." he said, brushing him off. "It's really NOT the time right now."
"Oh, stop being such a spoilsport…" the villain responded. "Didn't you promise to be vigilant?"
"You failed and so, now, you have to make it up for them."
The villain continued.
"Like, this is what's wrong with our society you heroes a-..."
"Ugh…!" Ben exhaled.
Water Hazard already had one thing to worry about, and now adding a backseat villain monologue into the mix…
"HAAAAAAAAAA!" Water Hazard ran out from his corner and dove straight into the pile of DNAliens.
They tried to use their numbers to swarm and hold him down, but it wasn't enough!
Ben just started slamming them across the face and landing mid-air kicks.
Once he was done… None of them were left standing.
"It's so easy…" the villain thinks.
"Enigma!" Ben yells. "To the front, with me!"
The female hero also tried standing up, but laser fire came back from further back in the corridor.
She transformed into her monster form and looked at Ben.
"We can't fight for too long. All we can do is one big push to the hatch, before they can get around and swarm us."
People start getting up.
"Come on people, double time—!"
A DNAlien showed up in front of him, but Water Hazard landed a fierce uppercut, knocking it out cold!
"And you!" Ben briefly pointed to the villain, before raising his arms to shield his face from gunfire.
"You can do whatever you want now." Ben says as he runs ahead and decks another DNAlien in the face. "You can't possibly make this worse."
The villain smiles. "You presume so much."
However, he continues to follow after the group.
"In your… tangent?..." All Might didn't know what to call it as Midoriya sheepishly grinned.
"You talked about how friendly he was?"
Midoriya itched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I…"
All Might held up his hand. He knew what Midoriya had gone through before inheriting his quirk. He didn't need to open old wounds.
And so, Midoriya didn't. But he did say…
"I guess… I'm grateful for that." he says. "It was before the exam and having someone to hang out with, just…"
He dazzled his hands for effect. "...drop down from the sky'…"
Midoriya then chuckled at his own quip. "...was nice. He is really chill too."
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Water Hazard screamed to his heart's content and leapt into a crowd of DNAliens, starting to absolutely go to town on them.
All the while, the girl watched from behind Enigma.
Her eyes widened as he punched one with his left!
Another one with his right!
He was absolutely relentless with his punches as the "henchmen" gathered around him and rushed, like it was a cage fight, the hero would just send them flying right back!
And as she watched the hero duck and jump up to deliver an insane double uppercut, she saw a massive black elastic hand descend down in front of him.
"Stay back."
The girl looked up and saw the white mask-like face of the rubbery pitch-black mass.
It was standing right in between where Water Hazard was fighting against the "henchmen" and where she and the other people hid, tossing the DNAlien with her elongated hands.
"How are you holding up, Enigma?!" She heard the hero ask from the battlefield, as he skipped around with his hands raised to his chest, almost like a boxer.
"Pretty good." The giant blob answered as she slammed some "henchmen" to the ground. "Pretty good."
Ben took a deeper breath as he dodged and smacked an alien with his elbow. "What about the hatch?!"
Enigma… couldn't answer as she wasn't able to turn away due to her giant form.
"We're still not through."
Ben then turned his head and saw the little girl actually talking to him, in her own volition,
"Well…" she saw him blast two more with water. "Can you tell them to pick up the pace a little?"
The girl nodded and walked back.
In the midst of 13 people, there was one ladder going up in the sky, with a tanned, very buff and white haired middle-aged man trying to pry it open.
"Graaaaaagh!" he grunts, before sliding back down.
"I'm sorry!" he says with a deep voice and shows off his hulking physique. "Even with the strength of a medium-sized house cat, I can't open it!"
She sees the people around her despair.
"Can't you do anything?!" the old man springs up. "Can't you open it?!"
The villain dazzled his hands. "Sorry, not a strength quirk."
"Then why did we bring you?!"
The villain raised an eyebrow. "You… didn't? I tagged along."
"Exactly!" the man said. "Water Hazard was right! You are useless!"
The villain scoffed. "This is ridiculous…"
They were pinned to a corner and the heroes wouldn't last forever.
From what he could tell, the enemies really had the numbers.
He raised his hand and looked to the battlefield.
"If I want to go back, I might need to fight too."
The idea alone was irritating… infuriating even, but the times were desperate.
He walked to get past Enigma's giant body… and something else passed right by him.
"Hmm?" he looked back.
It was that little brat with angry eyes.
She had pushed him and dove right into the crowd.
He could see her glance up to the lock of the hatch, and like a monkey raised in the wild, she took a great leap up onto the ladder and started jumping up.
The villain watched on from the ground. "What is she—"
Upon seconds from reaching the top, he couldn't see what she did, but the hatch slid open and she got on outside!
"What?!"
He brushed past the people and became the next person to climb the ladder.
Once up top, he managed to take a look at it. The locking mechanism on the side…
Both of his eyebrows raised. "She could… tear the lock—?"
"Hey, get a move on!" People started protesting, so he got on outside.
The bystander with the gray shirt and jeans yelled as people started lining up at the ladder. "Water Hazard! Time to go!"
Midoriya leaned back as he stretched his legs.
To be honest, he knew he had been going on for a bit…
But, despite it, he still didn't feel like he was done…
"Oh!" An idea popped in his mind. "Also—!"
"Understood." Ben said as he panted and more laser fire started coming from the other room.
"These guys really don't let up, do they?"
He turned his head. "Enigma."
The giant blob raised her head.
"I can handle things here…" he raised himself back up. "You go out and set up something defensive up top."
Enigma considered it for a second.
"Okay!" she innocently said. "Boop."
Her physique suddenly shrunk down to normal as she ran back towards the ladder.
And the people seeing her, had to ask. "Where is Water Hazard?"
"He is covering our back." She pointed to the ladder. "Can I—"
"Oh, of course!" they immediately stepped back and let the hero climb up.
She climbed on up.
"Wait, we forgot to mention!"
Enigma looks down.
"A little girl already went on up, you have to save her!"
Enigma blinked once.
"Okay." she blankly responded and… started going up the ladder faster.
The man deadpanned. "I will never understand pro-heroes."
She gets up top and immediately gets greeted by 10-20 of those "henchmen".
"I should make a perimeter."
She clenches her fists and her body grows again.
Only this time, since she's outside, she lets loose with her power and grows as tall as a residential building!
Enigma could feel the laser blasts hitting her back already.
She turned around.
"Get back." and slammed her hand to the ground!
Out of the corner of her eye, Enigma then saw the increasing number of people around the hatch…
…and the "henchmen" moving to them.
She brought her hands down and made a dome. "Don't worry. I will keep you safe."
Speaking on keeping safe…
"Oh…" she uttered and raised her head. "I forgot the girl."
As her hands shielded the group, she looked around. Where was the little girl?
Her giant eyes darted around and when she found her…
Enigma would raise an eyebrow, if she had eyebrows. "Does she need saving?"
The little girl was jumping, dodging, and rolling her heart out in the distance. Even though she wasn't fighting the DNAliens, the aliens couldn't hit her either!
*Knock* *Knock*
She felt something in her hands.
"Hmm?" Enigma opened them.
It was Water Hazard. He was worn out and a bit scuffed… but he was still on his feet and out from the hatch.
Holding off on saying anything, he jumps onto her arm and then takes several leaps up to her shoulder.
"That's all of them in the base." the hero said. "What's the situation…"
His eyes saw the same previous sight as her… however he noticed a lot more.
Such as the police van behind the girl!
He pointed down. "I'm executing the plan now. Get the people over to the van."
She watched him jump down, land properly using his water, and get right back into fighting.
"Hmm…Okay."
She fully opened her hands. "Get on please."
The people rushed to her palm.
"We're on!" the buff man reported.
Enigma nodded and then lifted them up, only to put them at the back of the truck. "Get inside."
The girl stopped her moving as the cavalry seemed to have finally arrived beside her. She sees Enigma get in front of the van with her rubbery body.
"You too, please."
However, the girl wasn't so compliant. Hell, she wasn't even paying attention.
As soon as she had seen Enigma with the people arriving, her eyes were searching the premises for one figure.
A figure… who paused in his fight against the henchmen, only to start running to one specific place.
"How could I forget?!" Ben yells to himself.
"I will come back for you too. Promise."
The men he cured at the entrance booth. He had almost run off without them!
"I still have time. I will save you too."
He raised his head up and looked at the entrance.
"10 more…" Water Hazard counted. "Not a problem!"
He raised his hands for an all-out water blast—!
*BBBLLLAAARRRGGGHHH!*
He watched as the bodies of the DNAliens collectively convulsed and spit something out from his tentacle mouth!
"What the f—?!"
He shot water at it, but he couldn't wash it all away! And one landed on his hand!
"Tch! Get it off me! Get off!"
He tried to claw it out with his other hand, but it was no use. It was yellow, gross and got everywhere.
Ben aimed his palm, maybe water would–
*Blech!* *Blech!*
No time for a treatment. Here came the second barrage!
*Blech!* *Blech!* *Blech!*
Ben jumped off the ground. "One handed…!"
"TORRENTIAL DOWNSTORM!
Waving his hand with his water, cranked up to full-pressure, all DNAliens were literally buried to the ground!
"Yeah, that's it…" He thought to himself, before landing to the ground.
"Ow–!"
He had landed on his feet, but the fighting… all that jumping kicking, running… His legs were getting way too much of a workout.
And as for his hand with the yellow stuff…
He disgustedly looked at his hand. "You know, if my life wasn't at stake, I would hurl right now."
He wiped it to the side of the building. His pothole was still closed, but other than that it largely worked for him.
"Good enough." He opened and closed it, testing his hand just before he broke the door down on the entrance booth!
"Nobody move!" He aimed his one hand. "This is a stick up!"
Yeah, the situation wasn't good, but quiping always made things better.
The room though, was just as he had left it… except for the two DNAliens inside, with fresh Xenocites in their hands to infect those people again.
His muscles tensed. "Put those down if you know what's good for ya!.."
He felt something next to him… No, it was someone.
Ben averted his gaze. It was the girl!
"What are you—"
*RaAaAaAaAaAaaAaAa!*
The DNAliens saw their chance to attack and rushed at him!
"Dammit. Get back!" Water Hazard pushed her away and got ready to punch—!
*Beep!* *Beep!* *Beep!*
A green light flashed around him, stopping both parties in their tracks.
And in the place of the red, tall, mollusk-like alien… a brown haired, green eyed teen with a black t-shirt and jeans appeared.
Both the girl and the DNAliens were taken aback.
"No…" Ben looked at his hands. Omnitrix, what's with the timing?!
He looked to his side and saw the wide-eyed girl. She had seen too.
"This is so bad—"
*RaAaAaAaaAaAa!* The DNAliens, coming back to their senses, roared again and rushed.
Ben tried getting out his gun, but it wasn't here! He had left it in the room!
*HsSsSsSsSssSssSS—!*
He tried to put up his hands, to fight… but the girl acted before he got them up.
With her black hair waving all over the place, she jumped towards the alien without hesitation, got on top of it, put her hands together and brought it down right on the brain!
*RAaAaAaAaAaAa!*
The alien screamed and collapsed, however before she could move, the second one grabbed her from her arms and lifted her up from behind.
His claws dug into her skin, and blood flowed… However, she didn't scream.
"YAH!" She hit him with the back of her head and once his grip got loose, she got off and then headbutted him again.
The DNAlien faltered… He was shaking on his feet, before falling to the ground as well.
With all said and done, Ben couldn't help but be wowed…
"Wow, where—" Ben tried to ask, but the girl immediately gave him the death glare.
"Okay okay…" he held his hands up. "Touchy subject, I get it."
She, however, approached him regardless and started looking at him with a curious, yet still agitated manner. "Hmm…"
"Uh…" Ben stood completely stiff as she… investigated him?
Searched him?
Wondering where he put the hero?
He didn't know what to call it. However, Ben wasn't willing to wait around.
"We don't have time for this." If he guessed right, reinforcements would already be on their way since the force at the gate was down.
He brushed her aside, completely ignoring the fact that the girl could kick the crap out of him if she wanted.
Ben started helping one of the recently waking up people.
"Now, can you start helping me or…"
The girl did run over as he wanted. However, as she grabbed one of them, she then started pulling them by the ankles… instead of properly rolling their arm around his neck and picking them up.
And to the questioning looks of Ben, she replies…
"I have a better idea."
Enigma stomps more of the arriving soldiers, before looking back at the police van. "You done yet?"
The window of the police van slowly goes down.
"WE'LL BE DONE WHEN WE GET DONE!" an agitated scream cries out.
As, inside the van, the villain was hard at work.
Just, this vehicle…
He couldn't quite make his techniques work.
The old man from the back walked over, with his cane helping him stand up right.
"Son…"
The villain looked back.
"You can't get it to work?"
"Yes." The villain cautiously replied, trying to be as calm as possible. "I can't seem to get it to function at all."
He didn't understand, he was doing everything right, then why—
"Did you try working the shaft?"
The villain turned around his seat… as he saw the old man, and the entire crowd in the back started to crack up.
In response, an arrow-like strand of hair pierced through his raincoat and stabbed right into the man's arm!
"AH!" He screamed as he stepped back, lost his balance and fell to the ground.
The crowd tried to help him get back up. One person even tried to give him his cane back.
But when he reached for it… His movements were slow…
But not in his usual elderly way either. It was like his whole body was set to slow motion.
"What's wrong, old man?" The villain said to the fallen elderly. "Don't have any more 'snarky comments' left in the tank?"
Unlike last time though, there was no laughter…The villain didn't even make a remark as he turned back around.
To him, this silence was all he needed.
Enigma however, couldn't see any of the exchange, and was too busy fighting to hear what happened.
"Well…" she spoke. "Hurry up then…"
Her eyes then looked into the distance, right at the entrance where they were going to leave from.
"Hmm?" She tilted her head.
The henchmen there… They were all knocked for the count…
And… who were those little guys at the booth?...
She grew to her max size again and walked over a bit, before managing to pick the group up.
"Huh, it is the little girl, three more people and…" she thought. "...Another teen?"
The new teen was leaning onto the girl. Could it…
This group was new too. They just rescued them?
It… didn't really make sense to her.
"That's—!" Ben yelled for Enigma to hear him. However… the girl took over.
"THAT'S EVERYONE!" She stated.
Her voice was shaky, and had to screech. Clearly she wasn't used to shouting like this. "WATER HAZARD CLEARED THE WAY, WE NEED TO GO!"
Enigma nodded and put them back down next to the truck.
Ben, before hopping on, helped carry the other three people into the truck, as some people along with the girl assisted him.
Enigma, with everyone on, shrunk down to her normal size and got on the shotgun seat.
"We need to go." She glanced at the villain…
He looked really agitated and frustrated for some reason…
She couldn't quite place her finger on it though…
"Hm.." Enigma mindlessly gazed into the vehicle, before seeing her sunshade sticking out on the front for some reason.
"Huh?" She opened it, and the keys to the vehicle… fell onto her lap.
"I…" She glanced at the villain, and could see him fuming behind his mask.
However, when he reached for it, his hands weren't shaking.
He just calmly reached…
Picked up the keys…
Started the ignition and—
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He took out all of his anger on the DNAliens as the group rode out.
All Might nods. He feels his pupil being sincere with his answer, and so he stands up.
"Thanks, young Midoriya."
And Midoriya smiles. It felt good to be of help to the number 1, but…
"What brought this up, All Might?" The greenette stood up after him. "I mean, why ask this now?"
Toshinori thinks about his answer.
"Well I was thinking about extending an offer to young Tennyson as All Might, to train alongside you."
Midoriya raised an eyebrow. "Are you… going to reveal your secret?"
"No…" All Might immediately denied. He wasn't ready to go that far.
"But we won't have to have your training with me, and young Tennyson separately… And I wanted to keep a closer eye on him."
He extended his hand. "Like you said, he has lots of potential."
"Potential that should be in the good hands…"
Midoriya nods. Yeah, getting closer to All Might and being recognized…
It would be a good thing for him.
"I'll give him the news tomorrow during or after class." Toshinori says.
Midoriya replies: "I'll be there."
"Ugh…" Ben groaned as he continued to sit and leaned back. They had been driving for a while…
Actually…
He turned to the woman sitting next to him. "How long have we been driving?"
The woman took a look at her watch. "About 40 minutes by now…"
"Oh good…" Ben thought, they should be entering the city by now.
"Thanks." the teen replied to her and tried to stretch, but his shoulders clearly didn't allow for such a motion.
"Are you okay?" the woman asked concernedly. "Do you need help?"
"No…" he closed his eyes and turned to his other side. "Tired…"
His muscles were absolutely killing him. It felt like he had done a full-body workout for 3 hours straight after not hitting the gym even once in his life.
And the aching of his hands and feet were completely another thing.
Water Hazard's armor was tough, sure. And it had protected him from all kinds of harm.
But after punching and kicking against those aliens again, again and again… The recoil had got to him.
He didn't even want to close his hands… and even though trying to stretch his legs felt like actual heaven, there wasn't much space in the van to do so. Especially with all these passengers.
If it was any consolation, the DNAliens didn't choose to pursue, so his fighting for tonight… was done.
And now that he thought about it… The seat wasn't bad either. His body had heated it up and there was now a cool breeze coming from the opened windows.
If only he had his jacket to use as a small blanket—
The van suddenly stopped.
And it triggered Ben's hero senses. "What happened?"
He tried to reach for the dial again, but his aching stopped him yet again.
"Ah!.. Are we under attack?"
From out the window, he could see some lights and buildings but—
"We're here." He saw Enigma turn around on her seat.
And he saw a couple of people in the back open the doors. Once outside, people practically lost their minds.
After being released from literal pods, getting shot at, running all over a supervillain complex, and constantly being under the danger of dying…
The adrenaline in their system dissipated and their nerves gave out.
"YEEEEEEEEEEEES!"
"WE DID IT!"
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…"
Ben slowly got out from his seat as well and got to his feet. He'd rather not walk and lie in the van, but.. That probably wasn't the best idea.
Out of the corner of his eye, he then sees the tanned buff man on his knees and preaching the lovely and empty street corners of Musutafu.
A Hawaiian drink suddenly manifested in his hand. "HERE IS TO THE HEROES OF TONIGHT, WATER HAZARD AND ENIGMA!"
The people started to cheer and see their happiness… and support.
"Maybe its time to leave…"
He saw the muscular man then look around.
"HEY, WHERE IS WATER HAZARD?"
"Yep!" Ben thought to himself. "Definitely the time to leave!"
He slowly moved away from the distracted crowd, into one of the street corners.
The ride back had given the watch plenty of time.
"Could go Jetray…" he thought to himself. But the aching was getting really bad.
"It might affect my flying."
He slammed down the dial, and his body transformed into Wildvine.
"Yes!" There was still some aching but he could feel it decreasing.
He shot his hand to the nearby building and got on top of it.
He had learnt a decent bit about the Highbreed now… What they were up to…
He took out the crystal from his pocket. Whatever this thing is…
Sure, there were still some questions. But he could figure them out on his own…
…kind of like what a Highbreed actually looked like…
After all, the most important part of the mission… was done.
From his vantage point, he looked down at the cheering, smiling, absolutely exhilarated crowd.
"They're safe…"
He counted with his eye. "1, 2, 3…"
However…
"14, 15, 16…" he thought. "16 and…"
His singular eye went around, but that was it.
"We saved three more from the entrance booth…"
The ones missing were…
"The villain?"
To be honest, that much didn't surprise him. They hadn't agreed to his deal and—
"Wait, wasn't he driving?" Ben looked around and saw literally no sign of him in the vicinity. "HOW DID HE DO THAT?"
"Anyway…" he shook his head. Guess he was going to catch him another time. "Who else?.."
And the second missing person was obvious to him too.
"The girl…"
The teen about his age that didn't sell him out to Enigma—
It just hit him.
"Damn it, Water Hazard." He cursed his heroic gusto at the time.
He had so many questions about her and yet… he hadn't even bothered to get a name.
After swinging for several miles, he had finally gotten to it.
The open window of his room.
He carefully sneaked inside and slapped the dial, transforming back.
And as fast as he could, he checked his door first.
"Locked." he tried twisting the door knob. "Good, mom took note to not knock the door this time."
Speaking of which, he unlocked it and walked out.
Tiptoeing as silently as he could, Ben walked to his mom's room in the dark.
And, when he opened the door, he saw his mom collapsed onto the bed, sleeping to her heart's content.
"Note to self…" he thought. "Make up an excuse when you wake up in the morning…"
Actually, what time was it?
Ben closed the door and yawned. You know what, it didn't matter.
He tiptoed back, locked his door again and collapsed onto his bed, going to sleep almost immediately.
If only he was energetic enough, to see his flashing phone with an unreasonable number of messages...
…as well as the small disk-like object placed next to it.