Chapter 17: Perspectives
"Izuku!"
The greenette half-opens his eyes. He can't quite hear the birds chirping on about, but the sun certainly makes itself present with its light piercing through the closed curtains.
It was 7:20 in the morning, and the train would leave at 8:00.
"I'm up! I'm up!" He returned his mother's call and jumped out of bed. Just like any other day, he rushed off to the bathroom, roughed up his hair and then wore his school uniform.
Buttoning his shirt, tying his tie, putting on his jacket and fixing up the collar… the usual.
And after breakfast, he was going to make his way to the train station—
"Izuku!"
He turned around. "Yeah, mom?"
The green haired and green eyed mother of the young hero stepped forward, with her hands clenched and nervously holding the remote.
With some shaking in her tone, she said: "Please be careful out there today, all right?"
"I…" Midoriya's mood dropped a bit, but he replied with a strong resolve. "I will, mom. Don't worry."
He knew his mother was worried for the past few days. And it was understandable, who wouldn't be?
Villains attacking the number 1 school and attacking their baby in the process… Yeah, that would do it for any mother.
He wanted to reassure her but he couldn't just brush it aside and say it wasn't a big deal.
"I know it was quite scary but…" he said as he put on his left shoe.. "I'm trying to make the best of it."
"It showed me how brave some of my classmates are. Tennyson, Todoroki, Kirishima, Kacchan…"
"And it made me want to be brave like them."
He wears his other shoe and finally looks up to her. "I can't be scared… If anything, I need to work harde—"
"Izuku, darling, I'm not talking about that."
He… What?
He shook his head, needing to do a double take.
"What do you mean?" He looked back at her mom's blunt expression.
Inko, using the remote in her hand, turned up the volume of the tv..
The sound of the news filled the room.
"And continuing on with the news from the distressing break-in to the Musutafu Police Precinct last night, the police have reportedly been going over the records of evidence…"
His face couldn't hide the surprise from hearing this. He thought she was talking about the USJ! What was this?!
A break-in? At their police precinct?
And his mom could read these thoughts.
"Some crooks apparently broke into the police precinct… made a mess of the evidence room and gave the police a chase…"
Midoriya immediately became upright.
She bit her lip. "A lot has been happening lately…"
"Mom, I…" Midoriya was about to answer, but his ears perked up with the following bit.
"...As you can see from the footage gathered, and the report from the hero onsite, Endeavor, there was another fourth accomplice sneaking away from the police…"
"One of those psychos is still out on our streets." Inko said, taking a deep breath and trying to calm her nerves. "I just don't want you to be caught up…"
Her tone was starting to quaver. "Promise me… you'll stay out of trouble!"
"Uh…" Midoriya stalled. However, his mom continued to press. She knew him waaay too well.
"Promise me!" she insisted.
"Uh… Yep!" All Might's new protege had to take a second with his thoughts racing about the events. "Yep, I will walk right away from there if I see anything! Run even!"
Inko… had a rather doubtful expression. "Okay, now—"
She was about to point to the clock, but Midoriya's frantic mind was 3 steps ahead of her.
"Oh, would you look at the time! It's 7:50. Gotta catch that train!.."
He blitzed right out of that door.
"Have a good day, Izuku!" she waved.
And added…
"I love you!"
She heard a loud noise from the stairs. Inko could tell it was her child stopping…
The noise then sparked back up, this time increasing.
Midoriya comes up the stairs. He runs back to her and…
"I love you too." he gives her a big hug, before inevitably running off yet again.
Inko saw him off as well, with her heart rate much calmer.
Midoriya then, after a bit of sprinting, arrived at the station.
He chose to sit down at one of the seats nearby, and opened up his phone.
"Let's see what happened…"
A news article, all about what happened last night, opened right before him. He started reading.
The crooks busting into their police district, ransacking a bunch of the evidence, and then riding off in a truck with police giving chase…
All ending with the famous Number 2 hero, Endeavor halting the group right then and there, on a highway.
He continues reading. "From the comments of the detective on site, Tsukauchi Naomasa, multiple inspections for the recovered items have been made, and reportedly only one item is missing."
"Further questions have been directed at the detective, however the only information disclosed has been the fact that it relates to the USJ case from 3 days ago."
Midoriya raises his eyebrow. What evidence could be stolen from there?
Some of the things rush to his mind, like the gauntlet. But he calms himself. It's just one item, not all.
"The police probably still have leads they can follow…" He prays for their success.
The last thing he wanted was to see the villain with the numerous hands again. Also the other one with the purple mist.
"Hmm?"
As Midoriya scrolls further down, he sees yet another piece of news, once again from last night.
"16 People Saved From Underground Base! Possible New Villain Group?!"
It was also from Musutafu. Last night as well…
He pressed on it and started reading.
Apparently, at 2 AM, 16 people of various backgrounds all over Japan, had suddenly showed up in the streets of Musutafu in a beaten and battered truck, while making all kinds of commotion.
Any police, who were probably not dealing with the evidence crisis, had been sent to the area. Along with news anchors somehow managing to show up faster than the ambulances.
"The crowd seemed to be recovering from the events that had befallen on them, and with the arrival of the authorities, they began voicing claims of their kidnapping by a villain organization and their rescue at the hands of one other hero, who had reportedly fled from the scene earlier."
Midoriya continued reading. "However, the sidekick on the scene, Enigma of the famous hero agency, Team Idaten, urged the crowd away from giving any other statements."
"The hero agency in question has not yet released a statement other than a confirmation to work with the police to get to the bottom of the mass kidnapping."
It makes Midoriya think. "Strange things are afoot at the streets of Japan."
"Boss?" Enigma speaks.
Currently inside the Team Idaten offices, with a file under her arms, she was peeking into the pitch black workplace.
Curtains were pulled, overhead lights turned off, even the plug of the desk lamp pulled…
"It isn't another empty office, right?"
"Ah Enigma!" She hears from behind her.
Standing in shining armor like a knight of the past, with engine exhaust ports in his arms and a coffee mug in his hand, Tensei Iida stood before her. He had square features just like his little brother as well as short spiked hair, but his hair was closer to dark blue and his eyebrows were arrow-shaped.
With the pulling of curtains, the office lights up. The properly kept file cabinets in the corner, the giant map of Japan with markings, and the missing helmet from the boss's hero costume on a rack…
"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Enigma." He picks up the helmet from his rack, gives it a toss up before catching it and sitting on his fancy brown leather chair behind the desk.
"Come on, don't stay up, take a seat." He says, gesturing, to which she complies, sitting on one of the chairs in front of the table… also brown leather and also equivalently fancy.
She sets down her file on the table.
"I'm… going to guess you want to talk about the influx of reporters at our doors."
He opened his arms and smiled widely. "Either that or Onemu Shinya wants a promotion again?"
Enigma looked down. "I'm sorry if I caused trouble…"
"There is no trouble." Ingenium says. He gets up and looks down at his agency's gates.
The reporters were absolutely swarming them… just like Tenya mentioned back when, with his own school.
"To be honest, I'm glad you got control of the situation when you did, and brought it to us."
He turns to her and raises his fist. "It shows a real sense of initiative!"
Enigma raises her head and smiles.
"Now…" Ingenium puts a hand on her file. "I've read the copy you sent me."
"And…" Enigma said rather reluctantly. "What do you think?"
Ingenium assembled his hands in front of him."This new villain faction you uncovered… I would like you to assemble a team and go do a little recon at their HQ."
"I don't really think much will be left there. If they are smart, they would immediately dismantle and relocate right after your breakout. But it doesn't hurt to stay safe."
Ingenium got up from his seat again and with that Enigma did too.
"Do your own check first and if it's really empty, hand the place over to the police."
She replied. "Understood… But are we not supposed to work *together* with the police?"
"We are working with them…" Ingenium refuses to backtrack. "We're… just being a bit creative, that's all."
"Uh-huh." she shrugged. "What about the hero…"
Ingenium is swift to answer. "For him, I was thinking it's best to leave him alone."
Enigma tilted her head.
He opened his hands to his side. "He did a good deed for us by saving you and a bunch of others."
"I *would* take him in for illegal quirk usage, but I can't say I want to spare anyone to find him right now…"
His hand pressed at the map. "...considering the bigger fish we have to fry."
A number of cities were circled with red.
Three or four X marks were drawn next to each…
All converging in one spot, the city… of Hosu.
Enigma settles with nodding and exits the office. After all, her boss's word was final and… what he did made sense.
With her teammate leaving, Ingenium moved to open the file relating to the case, coming across a facial composite of a shellfish with limbs and a symbol.
Ingenium chuckled, put the file on his drawer and looked at the still-rising sun.
"He really came back huh..."
Ben 10: Hero Force
Chapter 17
Perspectives
After a decently long ride with the train, Midoriya found himself walking through the corridors of his school.
"Hmm…" He then looked ahead at the classroom door and saw Tennyson sliding it open.
"Hey Tennyson!" All Might's disciple caught up.
And rather cheerfully, the transforming hero answered his call. "Oh hey Midoriya. What's up?"
"Good. I'm doing good." Midoriya said, before the two walked into the class together.
Midoriya looked around as the sight of a usual classroom greeted him.
The classic groups had assembled, chatting, laughing, discussing, even a bit of yelling.
The atmosphere was still a bit calmer as opposed to the first days, but there was a clear development compared to yesterday!
"Say, what about you though?" He then asked Tennyson. "I didn't see you on the train. How did you get here so fast?"
"Oh, my mom had to drop me off." He said.
"Had to?" Midoriya asked.
Ben ran his hand across his own messy hair. "Yeah, you see, I kinda stayed up too late."
He put his bag on his desk.
"Things to do, places to be…" he shrugged. "You know how it is."
He then sweatdropped with a smile. "And when the alarm rang and I didn't get up… my mom kinda 'took matters into her own hands'."
Midoriya also set down his stuff, and took a real look at Ben. And he could see a bit of what he meant.
His uniform was a bit wrinkly and swiftly put on. His hair was messy and the black parts around his eyes were much more apparent.
"But I'm still at one hundred percent." He crossed his arms. "Don't you doubt that, even for a second!"
"Hey guys!"
Kirishima then called out at the pair, with his crew at his side. Kaminari, Ashido, Sero and Jiro.
"Good morning everyone…" Midoriya actually spoke first.
"Good mornin." Kirishima responded for the group, and then lent out his hand for Ben.
"Ready for another round in the heroics class Tennyson?"
In response, Ben grabbed his hand. "You're on."
Kirishima hardened his hand. "You might have put on a show last time, but now, I am gonna be the one blowing the class away!"
"I don't know about that." Ben responded with a green glimmer inside his eyes just like his watch. "I have a good feeling about my quirk today."
Midoriya, in response, could feel something bubbling in him too.
He had to contend with Kacchan back in the day, who could also be like this. But Tennyson and Kirishima were something else.
"Somehow, whenever they do it, it also hypes me and…"
"Don't worry Kirishima." Ashido said, also getting into it. "We can see his bluff. Tennyson already looks winded!"
Ben immediately takes offense. "No, I don't!"
Midoriya continued. "... others."
"Actually…" He thought. "Hey, Kirishima…"
"Say, do you know where is Kac—?"
"I'M FINE, DAMMI…" A loud yell comes bursting through the door, right before a relatively silent thud follows, probably due to Midnight's Somnambulist quirk.
Midoriya replies. "N-Nevermind!"
"Yep." Sero answered. "They really couldn't wait to get his session started."
"I saw him walk up to the school and Midnight scooped him up before he could even make the stairs." He then added, trying to avoid laughing.
"Homeroom didn't even start, for crying out loud…" Jiro shook her head.
"Come on, everyone here knew that he would be the problem child though." Kaminari said. "Better get him checked in as soon as possible."
As the conversation was about to drag out from there though, Ashido's racoon-like eyes narrowed with a scheming manner.
"What do you say, Midoriya?"
The question made the greenette snap back like a whip.
"What?"
"We saw you up on the screen, talking in the combat trial." She raised an eyebrow, all with a cheshire grin. "Am I sensing some history?!"
"Um… About that…" On that note, he felt like maybe this was the time for him to step away. However, the crowd looked way too eager for him to walk away.
"Give him a break Ashido."
Thankfully, Ben came through with his always relaxed attitude. "The two do have a history, but I'd say it's just like Bakugo's personality."
He crossed his arms. "Not pleasant, in the least."
"Oh…" Ashido's winced, thinking that bringing this up could have upset the greenette. "I'm sorry about that Midori."
"N-no problem. I'm not bothered." He answered.
"Alright…" Jiro said, and then stepped forward among the crowd. "Let's talk about you then, Tennyson."
Midoriya looked and saw Ben visibly caught off guard. "Eh?"
She points to him. "What's with today's scuffed get-up?"
Ben looks at himself, and says the same thing. He stayed up late, hence he overslept, and then had to rush out.
"What made you stay up?" Jiro pressed, with 0 reservation. "A new Sumo Slammers episode?"
"I…" He, stumbling on his words for a second, raised his arm. "...The watch had to be taken to the shop for check-ups."
"You know, to make sure it's working properly." He tried to be inconspicuous.
"Oh…" Kirishima crossed his arms. "Do you perhaps have something new to spring on us?"
"What if I do?" Ben put his hands on his hip.
And with that, Kaminari put his hand on his face. "And they are going at it again…"
Jiro however…
"Oh, I had asked that as a joke, but didn't you say you got the watch in America?" She pressed yet again.
"Well…" Ben answered. "I did… and so I called the shop.. To send its people here to have my check-up. They arrived late and so I got my check-up late."
"Oh…" Ashido said with a finger on her chin. "Is it cuz of that crash on the highway…"
Ben's warm aura suddenly turned cold. "A crash?"
"Yeah." Ashido said, tilting her head. "Heard it happened last night. Work of some criminals or somethin… They opened the road back up this morning."
Midoriya opened the article back up on his phone and passed it to Ben.
Color drained away from Tennyson's face as he swiped down and read the article.
Midoriya could also feel himself getting uneasy. "Tennyson…"
"What's wrong Tennyson?" Kaminari eventually said. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Ben glanced back up. "Oh, nothing. It's just…"
He shook his head, and recomposed. "My people were also supposed to come through this road… I'm glad nothing happened to them…"
Ben then gave the phone back to Midoriya, however as Midoriya held out his hand, he didn't look at the phone… but at his friend.
His pale expression was gone, sure, and he was composed and smiling confidently yet again.
However, Tennyson's usual happy-go-lucky wind… had been taken out of his sails.
It worried him. "T—"
The homeroom teacher of class 1A, slid the door open. "Morning."
And from the side of his eye, he saw that everyone was also in their seats, waiting for the homeroom to start.
"Good, you're taking my instructions to heart." he commends them, albeit being very unenthusiastic while doing it. "I have a very important announcement for you today."
"Mr. Aizawa really doesn't waste time." Midoriya thinks to himself.
"And it would be good for all of you to listen up." he says, specifically looking at Tennyson who was currently a bit shaky.
He sighs.
"Because the fighting is not over."
Ben sat up in his seat.
The rest of the class also leaned forward.
"Fight?" Midoriya also heard Kacchan mutter, all the while his own heart sank.
"Don't tell me..!"
"The villains again…?!" Mineta panicked.
"If you had been thinking that the villain attack was it and we would let you take it easy, you're mistaken." Aizawa announces, taking a deep breath and narrowing his eyes.
"The U.A. Sports Festival draws near."
Relief washed over everyone in the class. "That's a super normal school event!"
Midoriya felt his frantic heart calm down, and he guessed a couple of others felt the same way… especially after seeing Ben leaning back in his chair, and crossing his arms.
"Oh good… " Ben muttered. "It's nothing…"
In the meantime, Midoriya felt a pressure on his chest. "The U.A. Sports Festival…"
He felt… intimidated.
"But Mr. Aizawa, wait a second…" Iida raised his hand.
Jiro then, without warning, took the word from right under the class pres. "Is it okay for us to have a sports festival right after villains snuck inside?"
"What if they snuck inside again?.." Ojiro added, to which made Bakugo and Tennyson knit their eyebrows at the mere thought.
However, the bandaged Aizawa eased their worries.
"Apparently, they think of it as U.A. showing that our crisis management system is solid as a rock by holding the event. Security will also be strengthened to five times that of previous years."
"Okay, the school is paying attention…" Ben looked at the watch's dial. "If this increase means there won't be any villains in the event and I get to keep my heroics on the stage…"
He crossed his arms, comfortably sinking to his seat. "I got no complaints."
AND, it's only a one day event. It shouldn't get in his way…
In the meantime, with Aizawa's statement, the classmates started muttering and nodding amongst one another about the upgrade, before a sinister red aura made itself present.
Aizawa's hair rose up. "I'm not done."
Everyone promptly shut up.
"Lastly, speaking of differences to our previous years, this announcement would usually be given to the students at the two week mark."
He glanced at some specific faces. "This time, you will have three."
That… caught Midoriya off-guard. "I.. can't say I mind."
The extra time did put him at ease… but he was still more on edge than he ever was.
He looked at his hand, and itched his scar. "It gives me more time to get my quirk further under control but—"
"For what reason?" The concerned question now came from the vice pres of the class, Yaoyorozu.
"It is another decision from the board." He replied. "Not just to give you time to feel more ready for the challenges, but to apparently give you the proper window to decide if you're willing to participate in an event like this so soon after the said attack."
Midoriya noticed that the last part in Aizawa's speech was delivered rather sarcastically by him. Like he was actually disappointed in the board.
"You're free to withdraw early, if you want. All you have to do is give me a signed statement by the end of the second week."
"Though…" Aizawa's tone changed again, this time more worked up. "If there are people that actually consider forfeiting this early…"
"I'd suggest them to revise the area of career they're signing up for."
The aura of Aizawa as he says that, takes the wind out of everyone in the room.
"That is all." He moves to leave the classroom.
Before he left, Mineta tried to argue for their cancellation and the topic dragged on from there… however Ben elected to tune it out.
He had gotten the gist. A Sports Festival, spanning all across the first years… in three weeks.
"Homeroom is dismissed." Erasure Hero then states, before walking out of the class, for real this time.
Midoriya couldn't help but be nervous… and excited.
"The legendary Sports Festival of U.A.!" he screamed on the inside. "It felt like we barely started, yet it's already here!"
And from the looks of it, the class was sharing his sentiment. The enthusiasm that he saw mostly in Kirishima… was starting to bubble in everyone, including himself!
"I know I'm not ready yet." His hand made its way to his scar. "There is still so much I don't understand."
Not to mention, he didn't have even the most basic functionality down. Him breaking his limbs with this power was still like a heavily skewed round of roulette!
"Then…" The voice in him refused to hesitate. "I won't hold back either."
He clenched his fist.
"Come hell or high water, I will keep up with Tennyson's and All Might's training and master this quirk!"
"If we put on a good show, it will be our first step to become pros!" Sero then voices his eagerness.
"It really was worth going through the trouble of coming to U.A.!" Sato palms his fist.
Bakugo however, didn't have his voice as restrained as his classmates. "Hmph! Any extra that doesn't have the stomach should just get out of the way."
That, of course, got the attention of the class pres. "Bakugo! That's very demoralizing to our classmates who are affected."
"Nope, it's just facts, four-eyes!"
Conversations, all with excitement, were popping up everywhere…
*Yaaaaaaawn.*
He then heard from the seat to his right.
Midoriya, even though he knew who it came from, was still surprised.
"Well…" Ben stretched. "That sounds fun. Can't wait for it to come around in three weeks."
He wasn't excited?
Pro-Hero Snipe arrived and the science class officially began.
And with Cementoss' departure, class time had finally ended for class 1-A and the lunchtime bell had rung!
The topic on everyone's mind was the same, however for once, it was not what Lunch Rush had cooked for them today.
"We won't have many chances like this Sports Festival." Tokoyami states, eyes closed and arms crossed. "We need to make the best of them and be noticed."
"You're so lucky Shoji…" Kaminari leans forward from the desk he was sitting on. "Your brawn just stands out on its own."
"Yes." Shoji puts one hand on himself. "However, I must also show the usefulness of my physique in order to be memorable."
"I agree completely." Yaoyorozu adds. "There will be a large number of students on the field. I doubt how we look will make any difference to the pro-heroes that are scouting for sidekicks."
An eerie shiver runs across her skin.
"Yaomomo?" Jiro says.
The creation girl replies. "I'm fine."
She puts her hand on her mouth. "Déjà vu?"
"Like we said…" Jiro takes the word back and turns to Kaminari. "Putting on a light show won't help."
"Though…" She snickers to herself. "If you wanna blow your fuse, then go ahead!..You'd make an impression alright."
"Hmm!.." Kaminari grits his teeth, embarrassed by her constant chatter. "Dammit…"
It did get a chuckle out of everyone else too, but Yaomomo still had the hand on her mouth, not wanting to add to her classmates… "despair".
"It is not really a laughing matter." She thought to herself. "I should make sure to remember that—"
She felt a tap on her shoulder and heard a murmur. *Umm, Yaoyorozu…*
She glances back from the group and sees Midoriya.
"Oh, hello Midoriya." She makes sure to do a proper greeting. "How may I help?"
And Midoriya doesn't miss a beat.
"Can we talk? In private?"
She almost tilts her head at the sudden request. But she doesn't see why not.
"Sure." She nods and turns to the group. "Excuse me."
"No problem." Kaminari says.
"We'll meet up in the cafeteria?" Jiro asks and Yaomomo nods.
"Of course." She then follows Midoriya out of the classroom. "So, what has been on your mind—!"
"YOUNG MIDORIYA…"
With absolutely 0 warning, the number 1 hero barged right in!
…IS HERE!"
"All Might?" Midoriya blinks twice, standing in the presence of the number 1.
"What's the matter?"
"I'M LOOKING FOR TENNYSON." He pointed at the class with his thumb. "IS HE INSIDE?"
Just like the greenette next to him, Yaoyorozu also got a whiplash effect from the manner of her teacher of heroics going down from 100 to 0.
Midoriya, keeping the blank expression from being surprised, nods. "Yep, he was in the classroom last time I checked."
"I SEE." All Might looks down on them with his famous smile. "THANK YOU."
He gives the two a thumbs up and walks inside.
That was… unexpected for Momo. She knew All Might was fast, but to see it upfront… It was breathtaking.
She looked at Midoriya, who was still looking after All Might. After a brief while the Symbol of Peace exits the classroom with the transforming hero by his side.
She still didn't want to be rude, so she just put her hands together and started waiting…
"Oh, I'm sorry…" Midoriya turned around. "I got distracted."
She chose to wave it off. "It's no issue. I was just wondering what you wanted to talk about."
Her eyes lit up. "Perhaps you have something about our class that you wanted to report?"
It had been a while since the election and… She knew she had gotten the role of "Vice President of Class 1-A" out of it, but other than meeting with Iida once every week… it really hadn't amounted to much.
Her initial aim with that was getting the chance to learn more about leadership during their hero classes… but she hadn't had enough of them either to see the difference.
"No no…" Midoriya then promptly shot down her happy thoughts. "I actually wanted to talk to you about Tennyson as well, just like All Might."
"Oh?"
Well, this topic of conversation was curious. "Well, what has been the issue? What did you want to talk about him?"
The idea couldn't help but be struck into her head the second the words left her mouth.
"His attitude in class today?" Yaoyorozu puts a hand on her chin. "Sure, I do agree that he was very spirited, even more than usual—"
"No, that's not an issue." Midoriya waved his hands.
Yaoyorozu narrowed her eyes.
"His spirit was fine, all things considered, however when I talked to him. He felt so jumpy, nervous…"
He pinched himself and reached for his scar. "Like he was lying… about something."
Midoriya couldn't help but introspect. "I was too enchanted by his quirk…"
"I should have noticed it… After all it's what I do…"
He bowed his head. "I know it is going to be a drastic accusation and I would like for you to know that I'm not one hundred percent sure… To be honest, I'm not even twenty percent sure."
"However, considering the timing and…" He hesitated with this next part. "...what we may know about him. If there is even one percent chanc—"
It still felt so surreal to him that they were having AND talking about suspicions like this. Tennyson, their classmate and his close friend, as a—
"Midoriya." Yaoyorozu spoke, kind of abruptly. "I… believe that we do not need to use the word 'may'."
Her hands, as well as her usual tone flinched for a second. But she recomposed.
"During the closed days of the campus, I've taken the time to listen to what happened through Ashido."
Midoriya sweat dropped. He remembered Ashido being there, along with Tennyson and Ojiro, during the final battle...
She had seen it all?
"Her way of telling was… quite expressive."
Midoriya got reminded of Ashido's chill and occasionally bombastic style, especially from this morning.
"Though it was also, thankfully, quite detailed."
"Which allowed me to give it some thought…" Yaoyorozu took a deep breath. Midoriya could feel the familiar and warm energy of her fade, and an observant as well as distant air take its place.
"...It is him." She says with certainty. "I have no other doubts."
Midoriya couldn't believe his ears. So, that was it…
A living, breathing hero in their class at their age.
"I have no question about it left in my head." She says. "And yesterday, I was hoping to have made my peace with it."
Yesterday
"Indeed Tennyson, I was the one who called them. I had the idea to set up this meeting."
…
"Without you, as they would say, 'go off-script' as you did. I frankly can't imagine what would have happened."
"So…"
"Thank you for all of your efforts to protect the class."
Midoriya put his hand on his chin. So, yesterday's assembly…
It wasn't just set up as a thank you for the USJ. It was also for—!
"It might not have been what I wanted." She closed her eyes. "But it was enough."
Midoriya spoke. "Then, you know why it's important we should talk with him. I'm afraid that he might—"
"I'm sorry Midoriya." She shook her head. "I hear your concerns, I truly do…"
"However…Tennyson has made it quite evident that he wishes to keep this part of himself away from us."
She opened her eyes and glanced back into Midoriya's. "And I believe the last thing we should do is push more than we have any right to, and cause him any further stress."
"I trust him that he will open up to us… when he wishes to do so."
Now, she was really hoping to draw the conclusion to this topic here. However, if she had to be honest, there was a side of her that did not feel like that would be the case.
Maybe it was the way that she worded it that gave Midoriya the curiosity.
Regardless, he asked: "And if he doesn't?"
"If he doesn't…" She shrugged. "...then that's his decision to make."
"In the meantime, I would rather put this aside, get to know and try to become friends… with this version of him."
She then glanced back to Midoriya. She wanted to gauge his reaction. Was what she said too much… too little… too… honest?
It was her first time, digging this deep and talking about something so personal to her. She didn't regret it though. Having someone so polite and strong-willed to consult, to bounce off from, to listen to her without judgment… Honestly, Midoriya had given her such a relieving feeling throughout all of this.
However, her friend's reaction was still that of concern.
"I understand…" Midoriya utters, but she could see him gritting his teeth, holding something back from her. "I understand how you're feeling."
"It is how I've been feeling as well, but…" She felt like Midoriya was closing into himself, so she saw fit to lean forward to hear his next words.
They didn't come through. He stalled, looked down,
"But?" She asked.
"I don't know..." Midoriya said, his head was down, expression unclear. " I guess… I can't quite make peace with it like you, Yaoyorozu."
Yaomomo, in response, took a step back.
"He didn't quite save my life…" Midoriya said. "... but I also owe him for helping me."
He wasn't exactly looking at her so he couldn't see, but Yaoyorozu had a very peculiar expression.
"It was right after the entrance exams." He crossed his arms and Yaoyorozu leaned forward, to get a better look of the greenette's expressions.
And Midoriya was determined to dig deep and avoid sugar coating.
"I was drowning in my own self-pity at the time, because of my result in the practical exams."
Yaoyorozu… couldn't help but feel sorry. She didn't have any info on what happened, but the way Mr. Aizawa had treated him on the first day had given her some indications.
"I remember being pretty tired. Both because of Recovery Girl's healing and the day itself." He says. "And when I got home, I could barely avoid crashing on the couch, but before long… Tennyson knocked on my door."
"He took me out to get food and then… as he transformed into Water Hazard, he then suggested to train me and my quirk."
Midoriya smiled. "We went on through the night and only stopped when we collapsed on the sand."
Yaoyorozu also put on a grin. It sounded really nice to her, for Tennyson to go that hard to cheer up his friend like that.
"And at the end, he told me… that this would only be the first day."
His nostalgic tone turned melancholic. "I don't know myself either, Yaoyorozu."
"But after occasionally seeing him so distant, evasive… or bored, I couldn't just sit still."
He raised his head to look at her and raised his voice. "I want to prevent him from straying further away… and keep the Tennyson we have."
Momo… didn't know Tennyson was like that.
She put a hand on her chest.. And yet…
"You… told something about him being bored—"
The penny dropped in Momo's head. "The Sports Festival…"
Midoriya spoke up. "It's perhaps the biggest chance that we've been given as hero students… and he didn't care."
"It's not really his disinterest that's my problem…" he continued, like his own feelings were also just clicking in his head. "It's his…"
"It's his condition that is resulting in disinterest." Momo spoke.
She was finding herself agreeing with him.
"What is your suggestion?"
Midoriya crossed his arms. That was the question, wasn't it? What would be the way to appropriately approach the situation?
After all they didn't even know if he was like this because of his past heroism.
"I guess…"
He heard Yaoyorozu's hesitant voice.
"We think about what to do today individually… and then discuss what we come up with tomorrow." She looked down at him. "Perhaps Tennyson will also not be tired, making it easier to talk to him?"
Midoriya was sort of caught off guard. "I thought you didn't want to."
He waved around his hands. "I mean, if I'm forcing youItstotallyfineIcantalktotennysononmyownafterallwehavebeenfriendsforagoodwhilenowimsureicanconvincehimonmyownyoudontneedtojoinifyoudontwantto"
"No no, I…" she waved her hand in front of Midoriya, interrupting his nervous rambling.
"I…"
She clenched her hands together… hard.
"I care… about his well-being too. And if you, his close friend, think something is wrong…"
A soft conviction rose in her voice.
"Then, I would like to be of assistance, in any way I can."
She got off to the wall she was leaning on. "Now, would you like to join our classmates in the cafeteria?"
"I would love to—"
He feels another hand on his shoulder, this time, a lot more gigantic.
"SORRY, YOUNG YAOYOROZU." All Might spoke with his booming voice. "HOWEVER, I MUST ALSO BORROW YOUNG MIDORIYA!"
Midoriya looked back. What did his master want to talk about? Where did Tennyson go?
"That's fine." She said and then made her way to the stairs. "We will meet up in class."
Midoriya gave her a soft nod. And after that, the two waved each other off as she went down to the cafeteria and left the two One for All users alone.
Midoriya asked his idol hero. "What happened, All Might?"
"Did he accept?" Anticipation coursed through his veins. "Did Tennyson accept your offer?!"
It had only been a couple of seconds.
On one hand, an ex-hero he knew.
And on the other, the greatest hero he knew.
Training all side by side! All to make a grand entrance at the Sports Festival!
"He turned it down."
All that momentary imagery in one fell swoop.
"B-But why?!" Midoriya could only spurt out. It didn't make any sense.
Why would he…
The Tennyson he knew would never miss a chance like that…
"You're the number 1! How could he not wanna train with you?!" He then asked.
"I don't know…" All Might actually dialed back on the resonance, concern also in his tone. "But, as you can infer, I won't force Tennyson into doing something he doesn't want."
Midoriya understood that and he nodded in response, but… It felt so off once again.
His master then showed his lunch box… in a blue sheet with white rabbit patterns. "Wanna eat together?"
"He's like a maiden…" Midoriya thought, finding the sheet very different to what he was expecting. "I would love to."
"Thanks." He put his other hand on his neck, noticing Young Midoriya's glances at his lunch.
"To be honest, I also wanted to get a hold of you to talk about the festival."
Midoriya's eyes widened.
"Of course." He straightened up. "I'll grab my stuff."
He went back into the classroom. Even though his mind was now racing on the topic of All Might, a part of him was still stuck on him.
His friend…
As he exited the cafeteria, Ben walked up the stairs.
There was no one else beside him.
"Everyone should still be at lunch…" he thought and then checked his phone.
Still 12:45. Lunch would end at 13:30.
"Yeah, I got time. Plenty of it." He put on a usual grin before checking his jacket's pocket.
There was something small and compact inside.
Good, he didn't leave it in his bag or drop it into the toilet or something.
He arrived at the classroom. It was empty, not even Iida was here yet. However, his skeptical expression remained.
"It's still gonna be a bit tough getting some privacy." Ben thought to himself and side-eyed the outside. "After the handy man's break-in, Nezu surely filled up the place with cameras."
And after double checking that he properly closed the door, Ben walked up to his seat.
"I can't afford to get careless like last night…" he thought. "I was so caught up that I didn't think about the news, about the police… The people here aren't as laid-back as Bellwood's."
"But…" he gripped the thing in his pocket. "This is important."
"I'll make it quick…" he bargained to himself. "Like…"
He lifted up his bag and then put it in front of him. He then took out his phone and then placed it inside the half opened bag.
"Here!" He put his hand on the bridge of his nose, frustrated. "The bag should mostly cover everything from the cameras."
"And if someone comes through the door, I can just pick up the phone and put it on my ear…"
He took one more look at his setup, even getting up to look at it from the sides…
"It looks so stupid…" He sat down. But, that didn't really mean he had a better option now, did it?
Ben sighed.
He then pressed on his phone and made a video call. "Let's just do this quick…"
Ben watched as it rang. "Come on… Pick up."
"I don't want to have to put it off." he said under his breath. "And… she needs to know."
He watched as his phone gave him the black "Connecting…" screen.
*Bzzzzz!* *Bzzzzz!*
The vibrating sounds came from her bedside table. And the cousin in question, in response, chose to bury her head in the pillow.
"What now?" she silently groaned as her room was pitch black with the curtains open.
It was literally the dead of the night.
Peeking one eye, she glanced at the alarm clock. The time in Bellwood right now was 23:45…
…AND HER PHONE. JUST. CONTINUED. TO BUZZ!
"Okay okay…"
She gave in. At least all it did was vibrate and not ring at this time and wake up the whole house.
Gwen grabbed her phone with one hand and the sudden flash of bright light dazzled her eyes.
Also, the screen itself felt kind of blurry.
Putting on the blue-tinted glasses which were lying on her bedside table, Gwen took one more look and saw Ben's picture.
She seethed: "This better be good." and then tapped on the screen.
Her cousin immediately greeted him.
"Hey Gwen."
"Hey…" she replied before starting to rub her eye. "What is it Ben? It's the middle of the night."
"I know…" her cousin said. "And I'm sorry."
He then noticed. "Wait, have you started wearing glasses since I was gone?"
Gwen rubbed her eyes. "I'm not gonna bother with lenses at this time of night."
"Well… That's fair." he responded, and immediately switched gears. "Okay, I—"
She then saw Ben briefly look away. She wanted to see what it was too, but the phone was surrounded from all sides because of the bag.
Wait, the bag…
"Are you calling me from school?" Gwen asks, and Ben replies in a rush.
"Yeah. I'll give you the tour of the place later."
"Please do…" Gwen says, channeling some of her enthusiasm from her tired expression.
Ben nods. "Of course. But right now, I'm a bit hard pressed for time."
From the side, Ben slid something into view. "And I thought you should see this."
He picked it up. It was something small, metal and disk-like with a glass-like center.
"A holo-viewer?" Gwen asked. Now her interest was piqued.
She sat up in her bed and turned on the lamp on her side. "How did you find that in Japan of all places?"
"Don't know." Ben shrugged and slid the thing inside the bag as well. "It was on my desk when I woke up this morning…"
He looked around him again, this time at both sides. She felt unsettled by Ben being this secretive.
"Now, for the difficult part…"
"What's wrong—?" She could only utter, before the hologram sparked into place.
The image of a man with white hair, elderly features, wearing a white-sleeved t-shirt, light brown pants and a green pouch with a sling that hung on his shoulder.
"Name: Maxwell Tennyson…"
"Grandpa?!" she said, outloud this time.
"Rank: Magister. Serial Number: 54985870."
"It's like a mission report…" Gwen mutters.
"4 new hideouts, containing Highbreed officers have been found throughout—" *Buzz*
The recording goes static.
"... and have been neutralized. Our observations have shown that all these locations seem to be smaller outposts, only levied for temporary purposes by DNAlien drones. The stronghold containing the Highbreed generals, still has not been discovered yet."
"However…" Grandpa briefly paused.
"I am also required to report that… there may be a lead. In the outskirts of—"
It goes static.
"...not yet taken down. A brief survey of the area has been made and—"
The recording goes static again.
"The coordinates are 35 point-"
The recording continues to go static on and off from here.
"...67...dash…1…39…"
Gwen, at first very invested with this message, crosses her arms. This much static, on this crucial of an info…
It felt suspicious.
"...point…65."
The massage concluded and Grandpa Max's hologram vanished.
Ben turned the disk off, before it started again. "I tried rerunning it multiple times. Those parts are still static."
Gwen noticed the determined way that Ben spoke about this.
"You're seriously not thinking of going, right?"
Ben however, didn't immediately reply. His cheerful expression became stern.
"Ben, both me and grandpa were in agreement. You need to keep your head low and let us—"
"I can't…" Ben cuts through with an attitude.
Gwen, raised an eyebrow. "Why? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong." He replied. "But you and grandpa have been looking into the techadon robot for months now."
He opened his arms to his sides and Gwen sighed in frustration. She knew what was coming next.
"You said you would give me a call when you had an update. But there hasn't even been one call."
She gets uppity. "I've been trying Ben. Trust me, I've rampaged the extranet."
"I've even had Grandpa lend me his Plumber Badge on occasion." she says. "To access some secure databases I came across."
"But it all came back blank. I—"
"And I'm not blaming you on that, Gwen." Ben said, holding up his hand. "But the situation is more dire than ever now, and who better to deal with it than me?"
He crosses his arms, and puts on a confident grin. "And you know I'm capable."
He points to himself. "You know it. I know it. I CAN help Grandpa with this. He's even in Japan—"
She agrees with a soft tone. "I know you can."
"But, current events, you don't know if Grandpa is in Japan. He only gave you a location. And we both know Grandpa can take care of himself in the first place…"
"Then why did he send that message?" Ben impatiently cut in again. Gwen however was ready.
Her voice also turned stern. "Because he didn't, Ben. You saw those edits. It's clearly a trap."
Ben shrugged. "Then I'll get to beat someone up to know where Grandpa really is."
He palmed his fist. "A bonus."
Gwen asks: "Are you even hearing yourself? It won't be just one guy Ben! It's way too reckless! You could get caught!"
Ben opened his mouth, but just then he heard chatter. He had to keep this short.
He took the phone and said: "I can't argue with you anymore Gwen."
She continued watching her cousin.
"I'm going. End of story."
"Ben I—" she tried to speak… but her cousin ended the call.
Immediately, one thought raced through her mind. "He's going to get himself killed…"
She tossed the sheet off from her, and then eyed the dark blue sweater on her chair and the pink helmet hanging on the back of her door.
"Guess, it's time for a late night visit…"
Wearing her usual get-up with the blue sweater, white shirt and black tights, she hopped on her own bike… and went to where she saw grandpa last.
"Lot 4…" She looked up at the sign above. "Please Grandpa… Be here…"
Gwen rode inside, passing by several motorhomes set up all around her.
It was kind of hard to see, since there were no lights up at a place like this, at this time of night.
Regardless however, she knew the way well, and it eventually stood before her.
"The Rust Bucket 2…"
She parked her bike and knocked on the door. "Grandpa Max!"
"Open up! It's me!"
No reply came back.
She created a pink orb with her and peaked through the half-open window… but there was nothing.
"Maybe he's sleeping…" Gwen crouched down and picked up a rock near the flowerpot. Under it… there was a key.
"The always reliable spare key…" She smiled and opened the door. "Ready or not Grandpa. Here I come."
"Hello?" She called out. "Grandpa?"
It was a mess on the inside. Empty cans, paper towels, a flashlight… even his favorite shirt was all on the ground.
"What happened in here?" Gwen thought. "Please don't tell me it was a one-way vacation to Japan…"
There was a light coming from the bathroom, so she let the pink orb float there, but—
*AaAaAAaAahHHHhHhh!*
Something rolled back the curtain of the bed in the back. And out came—!
"Okay, what are you supposed to be? One of Grandpa's experimental cuisine?" Her hands glowed pink.
It was a hideous looking creature, with yellow and purple skin, black claws, and a green eye with a red pupil and black iris.
"This must be a Highbreed…" She raised an eyebrow. "No, in the message, he also mentioned something like… DNAlien drones."
"This must be one of them."
*HHHhHhh aAaAAaAah!*
The creature launched itself towards her!
But she immediately rolled out of the way and threw it an energy disk, knocking the creature to the windshield.
"Someone needs a timeout. Ha!" She launched more pink energy and encased the alien up to his neck.
"Okay, tall, dark and creepy. Time to talk." He pulled the squirming alien closer to her. "What did you do with Grandpa?"
*GrRrRRrRRaaaHHhHhhHhH*
"Answer me!"
And the alien, in response… did as he was told.
He opened his mouth with tentacles and…!
*Blech!*
It shot some yellow slime right at her face, making her stop projecting the bindings!
"What the… Ewww!" She tried to get it off.
*RAaAaAaAaaA HAAaAaAaAaaAa* The DNAlien in the meantime rejoiced, then extended his claws. His prey was stunned.
It leaped forward. Time for the kill!
*HAaAaaA—* Suddenly two pink dots appeared from the face they covered with slime, and blasted him back yet again!
*raAaAaA?*
"I might not be able to see you…" She then leaned down and held him up by his neck. And the creature… got to see her pink eyes. "But I can sense you."
He tried to move again, but the bindings appeared yet again, this time in the form of energy ropes.
"Now, I will ask again. Where is Grandpa?!"
*RaAaAaaAa* The creature growled yet again and Gwen… was frankly getting sick of it.
"A good try…" She gritted her teeth and with her mana slowly ripping the slime apart, her voice became much sharper and not muffled.
She looked him dead in the eye, her pink eyes staring at their soul. "But you will kindly answer my question in the same language with which they were addressed to you, not this gibberish…"
Gwen was mad now… especially after getting her hair messed up by these things.
The DNAlien narrowed his eye. And… his entire body opened up like a flower, their tentacles going all over the place!
"Whoa!" Gwen stepped back, feeling the sudden change of wind. But, one of the tentacles then swept her feet.
The bindings were off yet again and the DNAlien, not taking a second chance, smashed the windshield, escaping for good.
"Dang it…" She then looked outside. Yep, it was gone.
"If only I could get something from it, then I could sense it from a long range…" She then put her hand on her hair, feeling more of the yellow goo.
She started to get it off. "And I really wish slime counted…"
Thankfully, it wasn't much since the target was her face and her little mana laser eye show cleared out most of it.
She looked around. That DNAlien wasn't here because of her, she had just gotten here, so…
"That thing was looking for something…"
She leaned down at Grandpa's red Hawaiian shirt and turning her eyes pink again, levitated it for a second.
A smile ran across her face. "Got something."
She got up and tried to take off the clock above the refrigerator. But it didn't budge and she didn't want to damage the Rust Bucket… anymore.
"Well, let's see if the old combination works…"
Gwen went to the driver seat, sat down and messed with the switches.
"There should be something here. A button inside the gearshift, a switch in the glove compartment…"
Once she messed with the radio… She got it.
The hands of the clock converged at 12 and the clock itself popped right out… revealing a hidden section inside.
"Another holo-viewer…" She grabs it and pushes on the button on the side.
Grandpa, once again, sparks into place.
"Hello Gwen, I left this recording where only you would find it."
"Well, kind of, but not really." She thought, considering that she was pressing the buttons at random. "Now what's going on, Grandpa?"
"I know we were supposed to look into the new alien activity your cousin found, together," he says. "But the situation has escalated."
"I'm investigating, and I will try to contact you soon."
Max looks behind him briefly, promptly giving her Ben vibes.
"Until then, say hi to your cousin Ben for me and…
He hesitates.
"...try to keep him in one place."
The hologram fades away.
And Gwen, after putting the viewer in her pocket, pauses…
She thinks about what her grandpa said before…
"Ben!" She takes out her phone and gives him another call. However, it goes to voicemail.
"His class must have started…" she thinks. And, unfortunately, she could guess that Ben wouldn't open up his phone even after classes, because of that message.
"Great…"
A plane ride would be too long, assuming that she could JUST hop on a plane like that, and she hadn't started studying transportation magic yet…
"I hope you know what you're doing Ben."
"Alright…" Ben murmured himself. "Time to go…"
It was now 15:40. The last bell had rung 30 minutes ago and the heroics class had come to an end.
He had changed back into his usual school uniform, put away all his school stuff, and… It looked like he was ready.
He hung his bag over his shoulder
It was time to—
"Hey! Tennyson!" He heard Midoriya call out from behind him. He had also gotten ready to leave. "Do you have a second?"
Ben looked back at him. "I… don't really, to be honest."
"I just need to talk to you about one thing."
Ben replied, kind of in groaning mode. "Can't it wait until tomorrow?"
And Midoriya, the ever-reasonable person he is, said: "It can but—"
"Okay, then let's let it wait."
Ben wanted to leave… as soon as he could.
"Wait!" Midoriya said again. "Are we at least on for training tonight?"
"Oh, umm…" Ben paused. "I'm not sure. Can I send a message later?"
Midoriya tilted his head, once again trying to be reasonable. "I guess it's fine, but are you sure about—"
"Thanks!" Ben gave him a thumbs up and bolted out the door. "You're the best. Mean it."
Ben found himself right out of the school's gate. He looked at both sides, and then went left. There were less people there in that direction.
He ran for a bit, looking for an appropriate place to transform… which was basically "an alleyway" in cursive.
And he did find one too, right out of the school gate…
"To be honest, this is a perfect stakeout spot." He looked at the trash cans, the puddle under some pipe. "Yeah, you got a perfect view of the gate, the front of the school. To be honest, there should really be a camera put here…"
He shook his head. "I'm getting sidetracked."
Ben dialed up the Omnitrix.
He could feel the sun shining on him as the watch's dial turned. "It's gonna be a daylight operation this time, but I should be able to work with it…"
It was gonna be quick, plus Jetray would look like a crimson blur at top speed…
"It should be fine, but first…"
The dial rose up, and he slammed down on the hologram of Wildvine.
All in a green flash, his physiology changed, and the two and a half meter Florauna appeared in Japan's streets… with a backpack in his hand.
"Let's deal with this first."
Vines broke free from the concreteground, and, grabbing the bag from his hands, grew to the bottom of some rusty fire escape, in the form of a relatively small cocoon.
"That should hold up for a few hours…" He thought, but a mischievous grin also ran across his face. "Just in case…"
He put his hand on vines and a frequent number of thorns grew out… as well as a couple of his seed bombs. "A bit old school for my taste… But good luck to any kid who tries to mess with my stuff."
Now, with his phone that had the coordinates typed in, he slapped the dial to turn into Jetray and took flight.
"It's not far off…"
From the map in his hand, it looked like an old warehouse on the outskirts of the city… abandoned 5 years ago.
And, thankfully with Jetray's speed, it doesn't take long to get there just like he thought.
There was only the matter of flying in the wrong direction for a second, since he mostly used North, West or etc as directions… not straight-up X and Y coordinates.
He saw the complex with the boarded and broken windows, aging paint job… and somehow many trucks standing on the outside.
"Time for another raid…" Jetray says with his raspy voice, and lands at the top of the complex, trying to not let the wind whoosh behind him so hard.
Even the roof didn't feel stable. "I really hope this place doesn't collapse…"
He shrugs. "...Well, rather, I hope it doesn't collapse before I'm done with it."
Ben looked down on the skylight. And guess what he found…
"DNAliens."
With their clipboards, containers, trucks…
"Up to no good again as usual…" He walked around, trying to get the best view of the inside.
It seemed to be a relatively open space, besides the boxes, and there did seem to be some sense of upper levels with small sections with rails.
"Looks like no boss fight again and a waaaaay smaller complex." Ben cracked a smile. "And it looks like there are no bystanders to save either…"
He rose up. "Showtime."
And tapped on the dial.
Suddenly, his manta-ray skin on his back and arms retracted into his body, letting his slender and drained posture be overcome by a sudden surge in muscle!
HIs skin color changed from black-red to orange-white and fur grew on what once was smooth fish-like skin. His finger count increased from three to four, a black claw grew at the back of each hand, and anger flowed through him like blood.
"RAAAAATH! OH YEAH! LET'S CAUSE SOME PAIN!"
He took one big leap and dove straight through the skylight!
The broken glass, and the sudden boom above them, made all DNAliens stop what they're doing and look at the center.
Rath, seeing the aliens, took one second.
"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING YOU DNALIEN HORDE WHO ARE IN REALITY JUST MIND CONTROLLED AND ALTERED HUMANS!" He yells out, looking all over the crowd around him. "RATH DOESN'T WANT TO SOLVE THIS WITH VIOLENCE… BUT RATH ALSO *REALLY* WANTS TO PUNCH YOU!"
He sees the crowd putting up their hands or reaching for their guns.
*HRRRRRR!*
"FINE!" He throws up his hands before extending his claws. "RATH CAN DO A CAGE MATCH! YEAH! JUST BRING IT ON!"
All the drones started bum rushing the tiger-esque hero. He clobbers one.
He sends another into the air with an uppercut.
He grabs another two of them by the head and collides them together.
This was getting fun… He hadn't thought much about it when he was Ben, but going on a rogue adventure like this…
A unique kind of impatience and excitement crawled down to his hands. The adrenaline took over his mind.
"HEH, THIS IS EASY! THIS IS SO EASY!"
He went on an absolute rampage! Tossing, kicking, punching all the incoming groups one by one! All like a hot knife through butter—
"WAIT NO!.." He looked at his claw. "LIKE A HOT *CLAW* THROUGH BUTTER…"
He destroyed another blaster and kicked the alien holding it. "THAT'S CLEVER, RIGHT?"
He then looked at the DNAlien in the distance. "HEY, IS THAT CLEVER?!"
The DNAlien didn't answer… and from what he could tell, the whole group were seemingly trying to hang back above and shoot from the rail…
"OH NO! YOU DON'T GET TO RUN AWAY! GET BACK HERE!"
He jumped up there and with one punch, five soldiers ate dirt!
More groups tried to rush while others got clear, but it didn't matter. All of them were going down, one after the other.
The laser fire was getting a bit irritating though.. Maybe it was burning his outer fur?
Ehhh… he couldn't tell.
As he ran through, he came across a single bridge connecting the two sides with the rails.
The DNAliens were rushing through, with laser fire covering their brethren and…
Rath, just had a very sinister smile.
With his claw, instead of going for a punch, he cut his side of the bridge!
The weight of the aliens was too much, making that end of the bridge and hence the horde crash onto the trucks.
"HA! HOPE YOU HAD A NICE FLIGHT!" He said. "SEE YOU NEXT—"
"UMM…" He put his finger on his chin, before yelling down at them: "RATH DOESN'T REMEMBER HOW THAT GOES!"
A slime shot stuck to his hand.
"WHO DID THAT?!"
He sees the culprit in the distance among the crowd, drooping with the evidence of what he just did.
With a growling voice: "Oh, you'll regret that…"
He opens his arms wide and runs forward, slamming two more DNAliens onto the ground, rolling afterwards to keep his momentum and…
At the hand where the slime was shot, one of the knocked-out alien's heads had stuck there and so…
"CEPHEUS THROW!"
He twirls around and throws the DNAlien, making the one crash the other and break the wall!
"YEAH!"
He then grabbed more of the downed soldiers next to him… and started throwing, like he was trying to win a prize in a carnival.
As he fought his battle, and had his fun though… Out from the corner of his ear, he heard some engines start.
Without warning, some trucks darted right outside, only having the soldiers loaded into the back instead of the equipment...
"YOU THINK YOU CAN GO?! WHO SAID YOU COULD GO?! CUZ RATH DIDN'T SA—!" He called out, only for one DNAlien to drop before him and the trucks.
With a hardened and deep voice, the alien declared. "I've seen enough."
"WHO ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE?!" Rath clenched his fists and rushed at the soldier, before the soldier in question raised a hand to his own face and pulled off… an ID-mask?!
The form of the DNAlien, in a blue spark starting from the head and going down to the limbs, changed. Instead of the yellow skin, a shiny gray, black and red suit took its place. All equipped with a utility belt, a smaller blaster and a badge…
And instead of a purple face with an exposed brain, a mauve-colored fish-like face showed up, once again all equipped with gills and a glass helmet, filled with something akin to water.
"RATH…" the tiger alien stopped in his place. "RATH REMEMBERS YOU!"
He hits the dial, turning back to Ben.
"You're one of Max's friends… Labrid, was it?"
The alien pulls out the badge with the hourglass symbol. "*Magister* Labrid, yes. It's good to see you again, the legendary Ben Tennyson."
"Legendary?" Ben's chest puffs up.
"Indeed, after all, you're the one who vanquished the infamous warlord Vilgax all those years ago." The magister proclaims. "The galaxy is still thankful about that."
Ben crosses his arms. "Trust me, the pleasure is all mine for that one."
"But, what are you doing here?"
Labrid gestured to the warehouse. "The same as you."
Immediately, a terrible thought passed by Ben's mind. "Oh no… Were you undercover and I messed up a deal or something?"
The magister puts on a small smile in response. "No, you don't need to worry about that."
"In fact, you did exactly as I wanted you to do."
Ben tilted his head. Exactly as he wanted? That didn't really make sense to him.
His eyes widened. "Unless—!"
Labrid nodded. He could tell what was going through the teen's head, all by his constantly changing expressions. "It's true Ben Tennyson, I was the one who gave that holo-disk to you."
Ben could feel his heart shake.
"So… Grandpa is not in danger." he uttered and Labrid, to his relief, shook his head.
"No, I don't believe so…"
Ben calmed down. So, that whole message, the mission report. It was just a test.
His grandpa was still back in America and—
The magister opens his mouth again. "But to be clear, I have not known of his activities for quite some time now."
Ben knitted his eyebrows.
"What do you mean?"
Labrid assembles his arms behind him. "The truth is, Ben Tennyson, that I've been working on this Highbreed case, on Earth, for a full year now."
"And, among the other developments I had, your grandpa had recently contacted me for a different matter…"
Ben thought to himself. "The Techadon robot…"
"I wasn't well equipped to answer him, but I thought a man of his skillset could be of assistance to me… However, after a week of working on this case side by side, we chose to part our ways."
Ben immediately asked. "Where is he now?"
Labrid shook his head. "I don't know."
"I tried contacting him again, but his plumber badge had gone dark."
Ben could feel an uneasy hunch taking the better of him, like…
He knew his grandpa could take care of himself… just like Gwen said to him, but…
"It's grandpa…" he thought.
Everything… suddenly felt so difficult.
"And…"
The magister's lines cut through his train of thought.
"This reason why I have contacted you, Ben Tennyson, I—"
"Just…" says the supposed legendary hero. "Call me Ben, dude."
"I understand…" he then replies. "...Ben, this is the reason why I've contacted you."
"You wield the most powerful device in the known universe…"
"The Omnitrix, I know." he replied, briefly raising his arm, showing the famous device to the officer.
"And with your grandfather missing, it is my belief that you need to consider taking his place, by my side… until we can locate him."
He takes a deep breath. "I know what I'm asking of you is probably immense, considering that it will require you to break the hero laws that this country has in place."
He then looks around the warehouse again. "However, according to my little test, that does not seem to be a crucial matter for you."
Ben, bites his lip. "It isn't."
And just… exhaled.
It wasn't supposed to go like this.
This… Hero school… Japan… This new life, it was supposed to be his new start.
His *correct* start… to heroism.
That was the reason why he had pulled out the watch again when he did, all those months ago.
And now, someone was saying otherwise…
All to save the world.
All to help people.
He clenched his fist. His head was down, and his eyes were closed.
And once he opened them… Ben knew what he must do.
"Where do we start?" He asks.
Standing outside of a wasteland, with dirt, sand, and tumbleweed being the only thing felt under his sneakers, seeing a large couple of buildings and roads all bunched together…
Labrid spoke. "Kokura Airport."
"Once a small airfield, serving the people of Kitakyūshū/Japan with only four flights between Tokyo and here, according to my research."
He passed a pair of high-tech binoculars to the young hero.
Immediately, multiple heat signatures came to view…
Not two, not twenty…
Ben's glance went down, deep under the airstrip.
Not even sixty...
"Today…" Labrid spoke. "The largest hub of DNAlien activity."
"For what reason?" Ben spoke up.
"Work force." Labrid replied. "This is the place for their Xenocite production and human-to-DNAlien conversion."
"What you took down yesterday, was an ex-missile silo, meant to only be a small off-shoot of here."
"And why is it here, in Japan?" Ben asks. "Why not anywhere else?"
Labrid takes a deep breath. "The people here have been documented as rather… docile by the Highbreed."
"As well as…" he pointed to Ben's pocket.
And as Ben reached into it, he found the white crystal.
"I don't know why yet, but the Highbreed are rather interested in a large supply of Quartz crystal."
Ben grits his teeth. "And let me guess, Japan has a good share, and this is their motherload…"
Labrid nods. "I knew of its existence for a while now. Any DNAlien gets to go through this place once or twice."
The magister turned to him. "I was even meaning to tell you of its existence yesterday… But it wasn't the right time."
Now, that has gotten Ben's attention. Was… the weird acting DNAlien…
The guy that pointed him in the right direction to the vaults… That was him?!
"So…" Labrid asks. "Are you still sure about this?"
Ben cracks his knuckles. "Yeah, no worries…"
"I know just what I'm doing."