Chapter 14: Cooldown
"Wow…" Ben exclaimed.
With the events of the USJ coming to a close, Ben and a couple more of his friends were taken in for questioning…
The shapeshifter had originally expected some casual conversation in Tsukauchi's office, perhaps a quick summary of what happened and then just be done with it…
But the detective had other plans.
He had brought him to a full-blown interrogation room!
"You guys really are being thorough with this..." he exclaimed as he sat down..
"It's almost enough to make me feel like a criminal."
"Of course." the detective replied. "It's an officer's duty to never slack off until the job is done."
The detective turned to look and Ben who, in response, briefly flashed a polite smile.
"So…" Tsukauchi sat down on his own chair and put a voice recorder on the table.
He looked up to the student's face. "Do you mind–?"
"Hm? Oh no no…" Ben said and waved his hand. "It's cool. Just a standard procedure?"
"Yeah," he says. "I just wanted to make sure since most people who are questioned see the room and then the recorder, get nervous."
"I'm fine." Ben replies.
"Okay…" he hits the button and tells the date of today outloud. "Now, if you could just state your name, age, occupation here…"
Ben sighs under his breath… before leaning over, making sure the device could pick up his voice.
"Umm, my name is Ben… Ben Tennyson. I'm 15 years old. And then I'm… a student in the U.A. High."
Tsukauchi nodded and gestured to him to lie back. "Then young Tenyson, can you give me your perspective on the villain attack that happened this morning?"
Ben nods. "Yeah, uhh…"
He scratches the back of his head, trying to recall everything. "I guess it all happened after Thirteen's speech."
The young transforming hero then told the detective about everything that he had done during the USJ.
And throughout all of it, despite the big empty room, the chains at the corner to restrain real suspects, the voice recorder, the one way glass… Ben never once felt nervous.
He even had an officer bring him tea before the questioning properly started.
The air felt very casual… and yet there was still some form of intensity, all coming from the detective who took notes as Ben talked and asked him questions to keep the conversation going
He was trying to piece a story together, making sure nothing was left out before the student was sent home, owning up to his rank as a detective and proving his swift, proper and most importantly, cautious nature.
The word that best fit him, his manners, his technique and his approach, was "professional."
And Ben would appreciate that more…if his mind wasn't somewhere else entirely.
"I really hope they're doing okay…"
As the authorities rolled into a warzone of a USJ, his friends who were "infected by the squid" were taken to the hospital to get checked, and the others, who had injuries due to all the fighting, were sent to be treated by Recovery Girl.
"I mean… The Omnitrix would report if they had something wrong, right?"
It was created by Azmuth for God's sake. Was there a better seal of approval out there than that?
"Hmm?" Tsukauchi lifted up his head and Ben changed his glance away, realizing that he had been making these impatient faces right in front of the officer.
However, he couldn't help it. The whole thing was his fault. He should not be sitting here. He should be at the hospital, checking up on them, being there for them…
"At least, they all looked okay." He tried to reassure and calm himself.
That had to count for something…
Then, flipping to another page, Tsukauchi suddenly took the attention of the teen right back.
"Okay, Tennyson, is there also anything you could tell us more about the 'squids'?"
Ben put his arms back on the table. "Not… really."
"I wish I did…"
"Are you sure?" Tsukauchi asked. "Because we just went over the fact that you guessed that the connection they made was rooted in their DNA."
"Well…" Ben says and shrugs. "Like you said, I just guessed."
Tsukauchi raised his gaze from his notes as Ben got lost in his thoughts…
"With punching not being an option, I felt like… I should do something." he said.
"I wasn't hearing any ambulance sirens at the time, I guessed that they hadn't got the news yet, and my friends really looked like they were in pain."
He crossed his arms.
"So I didn't want to wait around. And, with how my quirk worked, that was the only thing I could think of…"
"I see…" he takes a note and Ben takes a deep breath.
He honestly just wanted to go and–
"I believe that was everything. Thank you for your contribution, Young Tennyson."
Ben perks up from his seat and he looks back at the detective. He seemed relatively concerned…
Tsukauchi then gestures to him to answer the recording.
"Yes… umm… It was no problem." Ben replies and Tsukauchi hits the button, stopping the recording.
"You seemed really out of it towards the end there…" the detective then said. "Is there something that you wanted to talk about?"
Ben puts his hands on the back of his neck. "No, not… I… I don't know actually."
He didn't know how to say it.
"I guess… I just wish that I could have helped more with this…"
"The body snatching squids, the woman with high tech weapons, the mindless brute that was 'supposedly a match for All Might'... Not to mention a cheap villain name like 'League of Villains' getting a backing of over 50 villains…" He worded his thoughts carefully.
"It just feels like way too much to handle…"
Tsukauchi nodded and took one more look at his notepad… "I get what you mean."
…before putting it on the table.
"But I assure you Young Tennyson… It won't take us long to get to the bottom of this…"
"The people who have put you and your friends through this will be detained and their intentions, alongside the names of all of their supporters, will be snuffed out from them immediately."
Ben… was surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah, it's not the first time that we have faced a quirk like this…" he said. "...Well, that one was with bees, however if we consider it to be an off-shoot of that for now, it does give us some options and a few leads…"
The embers of hope in Ben, as soon as he heard that word, were extinguished out as fast as they formed.
"Oh yeah, 'quirk'... as in 'common criminal'." He laid back on his chair.
Tsukauchi however stands up and takes a sip from his coffee.
"The tactic that villains with these types of quirks have shown to act elusive, hide among the crowds and send their quirks on long distances." he says. "Quite the difficult one for us to deal with, especially if they have the assistance of someone with a warp quirk."
"But, with the detailed descriptions you had for their accomplices and based on data we will get from future attacks… It will only be a matter of time before we crack them down–"
"Wait, future– You'll let them attack again?" Ben asks, unable to prevent his impulse.
Tsukauchi tilts his head and puts his hand on his chin. "They are a force who can virtually attack from anywhere… Knowing what the quirk is gives us an advantage, but it is much harder to find a user of the quirk with that than the other way around… as groups like these are known to have members with no proper registration."
"Without a pattern, it will–"
"But what about the people that will be hurt?" Ben interrupts again, with the vision of his hurt classmates appearing right before his eyes...
"Not to mention the infected." he thought inside his head "Midoriya… Sero… and Yaoyorozu…"
They were physically hurt, with bruises and concussions for the latter duo and straight up broken bones for the former.
Granted, most of those were self-inflicted because of his quirk, but the point still stood.
"If you wait for attacks like that, won't many others be caught in the crossfire?" Ben says. "They might have attacked us in the school now, but what if it happened in the city?"
His control on his words slipped a bit, however Ben wasn't considering it. "What would happen if those same lunatics went out downtown?"
That took Tsukauchi's attention.
He opened his arms up and waved them around for emphasis. "Trust me, the guy with the hands was a seriously messed up fruit loop… "
"The second he gets another big brute and a second batch of interns, he WILL try this again and call for blood…
Ben waited on his words here. He didn't want to slip.
"…All Might's blood."
Tsukauchi wanted to object, saying that this should not be a careful organization's style… However, he also did consider the fact that Tennyson was the one who had faced them first hand…
Ben then continues. "That's why I think they should be given more importance… Because there won't be a Recovery Girl inside every hospital…"
"We–" he stopped himself and remembered…
This wasn't America anymore.
"You should not allow them to attack… and hurt others again."
"I'm aware." Tsukauchi says. "However…"
He takes out his hat and brushes his hair. "The fact of the matter is Tennyson, that I got a limited number of men here…"
It was his turn to open his arms. "... and when it comes to crime groups, they can be compared to diseases. I am aware that the new ones can add onto the damage that already exists within the body… However, this doesn't mean that I can act reckless, put all my antibodies into one single effort, and act like the other ones will just wait for me to be done…"
"This will be seen as a weakness and be exploited. And it's my job… my responsibility to not let that happen."
Then, in that instant, he made eye contact with Ben again.
He saw his evident gloomy mood… and most importantly, just who he was having this intense talk with.
The mistake that he had made, slapped him across the face.
"I'm sorry…" He lightly bows his head. "I shouldn't have started discussing business with you like that..."
Ben wanted to object to the response. However, it soon closed his mouth.
"And I'm supposed to be the professional here…"Tsukauchi said internally, but the student sitting in front of him had seemingly shrugged it off.
"It's…" Ben struggles to calm down for a second. "It's fine, Detective Tsukauchi, sir."
The detective doesn't say anything.
"I shouldn't have gotten too into it either…" Ben admits.
The detective notices that Ben was still upset, so he attempts to put on another polite smile and quip.
"Look on the bright side, now that makes the two of us who spoke out of turn…" He takes a sip from his coffee.
And Ben returned the kind gesture.
He took a sip from his tea. "I guess it does..."
Tsukauchi understood that Ben lacked any kind of stern attitude, rage, in that moment. He was speaking out of curiosity and compassion towards the situation… which kind of made him glad.
Since the future… really seemed like it was in good hands.
So, the detective just opened the door. "Can you ask your next classmate to walk in?"
Ben shrugs. "Sure."
As the shapeshifting American hero walked out, Tsukauchi added on at the last second. "Oh Tennyson!"
Ben looked around.
"We… have secured the evidence from this attack at the evidence room and…"
He reforms his words. "If it makes you feel any better, looking through them will be my number 1 priority today and tomorrow!"
Ben however, in response, did something that he had gotten, oh so very used to…
He put on a respectful smile, thanked him for his concern… and walked away.
Unlike other students, who had carried some sort of relief and reassurance on their way out from the interrogation room, all Ben carried… was a stinging pain in his chest, which was invisible to all… but to himself.
In the meantime, Tsukauchi continued to interview all the students one by one.
It took a while, and it certainly exhausted his mind and the pages of his notebook. However he could still make room… for one last visit.
"Hi Tsukauchi!" All Might, in his Toshinori Yagi form, poked his head from the open door.
Tsukauchi, with his hand over his face, looked over and quickly straightened up. "Oh, hey Toshinori…"
"May I come in?"
Tsukauchi looked in the room and said: "Umm… Yeah sure."
Toshinori nodded and pushed the door open with the side of his body… with two cups of coffee at hand.
"Your men had just made a fresh pot of coffee…" he said. "Thought you could use some."
The detective rubbed under his eyes and grabbed the cup from his hands, immediately taking a quick sip out of it. "Thanks. You're a lifesaver."
"I know." Toshinori smiled and the detective smiled along with him.
"So…" the pro-hero got into the business. "How did it go?"
Tsukauchi took another sip and then set down the cup.
"To be honest…" He flipped through the pages. "...I have to say that it went way better than I expected…"
Before All Might can say anything, the detective continued.
"Despite their… 'experience'..." Tsukauchi sighed. "Their statements still provided at least decent descriptions and the various points of view they had, does give me a… workable overview of what happened…"
"I see…" All Might said, but the detective wasn't done.
Tsukauchi put his other hand on his chin. "Except for one…"
He flipped over a new page and passed the notebook over to him. "The statement that one of your students gave was far in a way the most informative and well-structured…"
Toshinori picked it up and briefly looked at all the pages, seeing that Tsukauchi had made a title for every student he had interviewed.
And… when he went back… and the page that the detective marked…
That's when he saw.
"Young Tennyson…" Toshinori starts skimming through the page.
"I remembered you being curious about him."
"Indeed…" All Might lifts his head. "And from what I heard, he was an outstanding hero during this emergency…"
"He was…" Tsukauchi said, leaning back on his chair.
"It is still… quite something to take in the fact that a student not only took on the villain that almost killed Eraser Head and was designed to kill you…"
"...But it's the fact that he won, right?" Toshinori finished his sentence.
Honestly, he was flabbergasted as well by the results. "That quirk of his…"
"That level of capability… at such a young age…"
Tsukauchi then however pointed to the notebook. "Check his statement."
All Might looks down at the notebook.
"He said that, by the time he was done, the time-limit on his quirk was on the verge of running out."
Tsukauchi then crosses his arms. "And yet, in his voice, there was no sign of him feeling dread or shaken up…"
All Might puts a hand on his chin. Indeed, for a boy his age to come face to face with death like that and not sweat it, was unusual… and brave.
Tsukauchi continued. "He even had the will left to berate the tactics of the police… saying that they should be more active and not let this 'League of Villains' get away."
"You have to admit…" he took another sip. "...He has quite the character."
"He does. I have talked with Young Midoriya about him." All Might acknowledges, with his gaze stuck on the notebook's pages.
Specifically on where Ben confesses to jumping into action on his own and fighting the villains head on…
And as he read along, he could almost start to see the battle.
A kid with a very powerful quirk, just throwing himself in harm's way and fighting tooth and nail for others…
It kind of–
"It reminds you of yourself, doesn't it?" Tsukauchi said.
All Might was caught off guard. "Well, n– I mean, I don't know–"
Tsukauchi then replied. "This is what I'll say to you, Toshinori…"
"I haven't spent that much time with young Tennyson…" he says. "...However, from what I listened to from him and what I heard from others, I can say that he's talented…"
He leans forward to Toshinori.
"And as you know, talent and potential like this… can only come by once or twice in a lifetime."
All Might listened on.
"I would suggest not wasting this opportunity Toshi…" the detective says.
Toshinori nods. "I know I should…"
"...but how would I approach him… as All Might?"
"Oh, and also… Tsukauchi says. "We have something else to report…"
"Specifically about what we found… at the USJ."
Ben 10: Hero Force
Chapter 14
Cooldown
"Mooooooom! Have you seen my tie anywhere?" Ben yells from across his room.
His mom was washing the dishes, so he hoped she heard it.
He kept checking his closet, opening his drawers…
And as he was sitting on the ground, checking the bottom one with all of his Sumo Slammer dol– action figures, he heard…
"Have you checked the back of your door?!"
Ben paused… and immediately got up from the ground.
He checks it. Yep, it was hung on the rack behind it.
"Thanks!" he yells back.
"You're welcome!"
He gets it around his neck and as Ben is tying it, he notices his pants.
"Oof…" They were covered with a bit of dust from all the searching.
He patted them off to the best that he could. "Note to self, clean the room when you get back…"
He opened his closet again and looked back at himself through the mirror that hung on the back of the door.
Tightening his tie around his neck, he thought: "Okay Tennyson, this is your first day back since you-know-what…"
As he leaves the tie alone, his hand fidgets for a second.
He combs his hair. "All you have to do is try to not show up like you've lived like a homeless guy over the weekend and for another day or so, piece of cake."
Ever since the USJ, the school had closed down temporarily and it wasn't the easiest time to…well… take it easy.
But now that it was starting back up again, all with the chance to see his classmates once again.
He did one final check. "Okay, looks good…"
He closed the closet and picked up his backpack, before making his way to the living room.
He sees her mom taking the clean dishes out of the dishwasher and peeking at the open TV with the side of her eye.
Turns out she had found a channel that actually gave the news in English.
"I'm heading out…" he says, taking her attention.
"Alright." she finishes and makes a move over to the couch. "Have fun at school sweetie."
Ben smiles at that line as he takes a deep breath. He was still a bit on edge.
"Sure mom."
However, before he could step away, the news, who had been going over the weather so far, had switched back to breaking news.
"This is a follow-up report on the incident that took place in the U.A 's rescue training facility several days ago..." A female news presenter spoke up.
"...where students of hero course class 1-A were attacked by villains and two pro-heroes have been hospitalized."
Ben's eyes were immediately transfixed on the screen.
"According to police investigation, the criminals call themselves 'The League of Villains' and have been plotting to kill All Might, who has been a teacher at U.A. since spring of this year."
"Police have arrested 72 villains on the scene, however it is still suggested that the whereabouts of their ringleader are not kn–"
At that moment, the tv had turned off, and once Ben looked, he saw his mom holding the remote.
She had a worried face on for a second, and Ben looked down at his hand.
His fidgeting had gotten worse.
He managed to stop himself and his mom also recomposed herself. "So… you told me you were heading out?"
Ben shakes his head, blinking and snapping himself out. "Yeah yep…"
He checks his phone. "20 minutes until the train."
He runs over to the door, wears his shoes and runs off. "See you tonight!"
He speedruns down the stairs and once he does, he hits the rims on his watch.
"With Jetray, it will be easy to get to the station."
He had dialed him in, and as Ben lifted his hand in the air, the hesitation hit him.
He deactivated the watch.
"Right…" he told himself. "No powers in public…"
Without elaborating in his mind, he then quickly found the bicycle racks.
On the one plus side of the school being out, Ben had found himself time to go and buy himself a new light-blue bike.
"Good." he unlocked it. "I'll make it in time with this."
And indeed he did, with the bike making him go fast enough to get to the train station, and the train going fast enough to make it to school.
However, as Ben surfed the internet on the train, he had none of his usual glee…
It didn't take long for Ben to finally arrive at the door of his class after he got off the train.
He reached with his hand to slide the door open… but hesitated.
"Come on…" Ben thought. He closed his eyes and shook his arms and hands for a second. "You weren't nervous on the first day, why are you nervous now–"
He grabbed the handle and pushed the door to the side.
The sight that greeted him… was of complete silence.
"Oh…"
He slowly walked over to his seat, but as he did so, he saw his classmates sitting at their desks, mouth closed, silence at the forefront and sights set ahead, either at their phones, the desk, or their hands.
It wasn't the case, but… Ben felt as though their sights weren't necessarily set TO something, but instead they were set away…
Set away… from him.
He tried looking for a couple of familiar faces.
"Jiro and Kirishima aren't here yet…" he thought. "How is Midoriya–"
Ben's eyes widened as his gaze settled on Midoriya.
He looked fine on the outset, but…
"A scar…"
It was on the side of his right eye, in the form of a straight line, starting from above his eyebrow and going down to over his cheek…
He looked like that movie character with the laser sword or whatever.
If he had cut it just a bit closer, it would have been over his eye…
Probably blinding him… permanently.
Ben opened his mouth to say something. Maybe asking how he was, how that scar had happened…
However, everything that he thought… felt insensitive. So, he just moved along.
And as he found his seat, he looked at the place behind him and made eye contact… with Yaoyorozu.
She was the only one among the group that wasn't doing something. She was instead looking right at Tennyson.
"Yaoyorozu."
He hadn't forgotten their little incident back at the combat training and so, the memories quickly came rushing back to him.
How he dived into the action during the USJ, fought countless villains and destroyed that big brute…
"She probably got word of me curing everyone too." He thought, now feeling the weight of every little thing he did during the USJ.
"Well sayonara, secret identity…"
He saw Yaomomo open his mouth to talk, potentially about this subject, and it just… got on his nerves.
He didn't want to explain himself… not now, not to her, not to anyone.
So, before she could say anything, Ben put his bag down next to his desk and sat at his seat… the seat that was right in front of her, turning his back to his friend.
"I don't care…"
Now, he sat down with that idea, but actually acting according to it…
It just frustrated him further.
He closed his eyes for a second. He–
He needed to calm down.
He needed to clear his head.
Ben opened his eyes again and from the corner of his eye, saw the teacher's table.
"That reminds me…" he thought. "With Eraser Head out of commission…"
"Who will teach us?" He took a glance at the rest of the class.
The door slid open.
"Morning."
All of a sudden, a bandaged-up Aizawa had shown-up at their doorstep. The entire class was speechless!
"Now that's a pro." Ben stared in wonder alongside them. "I mean I have Wildvine to recover my injuries, but I have to admit… This is dedication."
As their teacher moved to the desk, Iida broke the silence.
He raised his hand. "So, you're all right, Mr. Aizawa?!"
Uraraka muttered in response. "Can you really call that 'all right'?"
"My well-being doesn't matter." Aizawa faces his class.
"More importantly, I have an announcement regarding what happened several days ago."
Ben's ears perked up.
Aizawa put his hands together and on the desk.
"In light of what happened at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, the teachers have assembled for a meeting to make some plans on going forward."
He looked at the faces of his students.
"Plans that, seeing as you have been unable to rally by now, I am forced to put into place."
The door slides open once again and the guidance counselor of the prestigious U.A. Hero High School, Hound Dog… enters the room.
This caught Ben's attention. It was his first time really meeting this teacher.
He had the appearance of a dog, with yellow scruffy hair and an almost default expression of anger. The most notable thing he could say about his hero costume was that it had a muzzle right over his slightly pointed snout.
Aizawa turns to his side to gesture to him. "For the coming weeks, we have decided to conduct psych evaluation meetings, to provide a time slot for you to voice your concerns and lingering situations, if there may be any."
With that, Ben leaned forward. This… was unexpected.
Hound Dog then growled: "Hrrrrrrrr… You will set the pace. We will stop whenever you want… But, the first session is mandatory for all of you."
"Yes. At the end of each meeting, you will be asked if you want to keep going." The word goes back to Aizawa. "And, to cover all of our bases, we have also decided to let you pick another teacher to do the counseling with if you so choose, as long as they are not currently in class."
Hound Dog growled louder than last time with that last remark. Almost daring the class to go ahead and pick someone else.
Aizawa continues. "Naturally, this means the lessons will be slowed down a little to accommodate such a change…
He sighs.
"I highly think this is an irrational move, seeing as how when you become heroes, events that are of the same vein as this should be a common occurrence, but since I don't have a say in the matter, I suggest you make the best of this situation."
"Now…" Hound Dog steps forward with a clipboard in his hand.
He takes a look at it. "The first student… will be Tennyson!"
"Which one of you is Tennyson!" He barked at them, with the veins on the sides of his eyes popping out!
Ben, in response, rolls his eyes. "Oh come on…"
He then raised his hand, ensuring that Hound Dog sees him.
He gets up from his seat and exits the class alongside him.
"Now!" he said. "Which teacher do you want to be tended by..?!"
Hound Dog noted that the choices that Ben had were relatively limited, since a good amount of teachers were at their morning classes.
But, that didn't mean he was out of options…
As the two walked, he voiced his choice to the counselor and after a bit of walking, the pair reached the necessary room.
"In here!.." Hound Dog snarled. And as soon as the student stepped inside, the pro-hero closed the door behind him.
Ben took a look around.
It was mostly an empty office, with walls colored in white, the floor made out of wood, a small green plant in the corner and a blue carpet that complemented everything nicely.
The thing that immediately got his attention though… was the giant full-body window.
The full view of the greenery it gave to the room from outside of the campus but also within the walls felt quite pleasant as well as safe to the young alien hero.
Honestly, if this wasn't peaceful, he didn't know what was.
And lastly, at the two ends of the carpet, stood two black single seater couches that were directly across one another…
One of which… currently had someone waiting for him.
"Hello Tennyson…" She stands up and walks over to meet him.
"Hi…" Ben put his hand behind his neck. "Ms. Midnight."
She was a relatively tall and um…curvaceous woman, with blue eyes, spiky purple hair which reached down to her waist and a beauty mark below her left eye.
As for her hero costume, she wore a tight, skin-tight, white bodysuit with a black leotard over it. She also had black, thigh-high garter stockings, a leather belt with gold studs and a handcuff on each wrist.
"I would like to say I'm glad that you trusted me to be your counselor…" she said.
"It was no issue." Ben replied, trying to be polite.
However, internally: "Well, it was either you or Present Mic…"
"Now, if you are ready…" she gestured towards the seat. "Shall we begin?"
As the session between the student and the pro-hero continued, the rest of the class was busy with a science class, with every two students pairing up to do some sort of experiment.
"Remember to not be too close to the burner!" said Snipe, finishing passing beakers full of material and taking center stage in front of the class. "When pouring something into the beaker, make sure to do it slowly! Some of these materials are highly corrosive!"
"And never take off the safety goggles until I say so!"
Among the crowd, Kaminari piped up. "Don't worry, teacher, we got this being careful thing dow–"
As he was about to pour the beaker in his hand, Jiro quickly grabbed it.
"Kaminari, I don't even trust you to pour a glass of water carefully, nevermind what's inside this."
She put it back down on the table and then checked the instructions…
As the other students also start their experiments, she admits.
"Yeah… Apparently you DO put that…" She then picks the beaker back up and pours the contents back inside.
Kaminari looks over with concern. "Jiro…"
"I just…" she holds up her hand. "I want to be careful…"
She checks the list and continues. Kaminari, also calms down in response and pulls the notes closer in front of him…
Everyone then also does the same, pulling the notes in front of them, checking which beaker is which, maybe even preparing their strikers to light the bunsen burner…
All except one…
Midoriya was busy, looking at the window, not to the outside which had just been washed up with rain and the clouds had cleared out, but his reflection…
Specifically, at the new addition on his face…
He touched and followed along with his hand. It really started up from above his eyebrow and it just continued down… Skipping his eye entirely, by the lack of feeling of a mark on his eyelid, and ending up at his cheek.
"Does it hurt?"
He immediately turned and took his hand off his face.
It was Yaomomo, currently his lab partner. So far, she had been facing forward and carrying out the experiment as instructed… however now, she was looking over to him.
"Oh, no…" Midoriya relied, instinctively putting his hand on the scar again. "It's just… kind of hard to shake off…"
"...That we stood face to face against real villains…" He said.
"I know what you mean." Yaoyorozu replied. "It is probably not making it any easier on the class as well that this has been all the news-outlets covering for the past couple of days and actually showing footage of us…"
She rested her arm on the table and placed one finger on her cheek. "I assume it is all for well-placed intentions and is there to keep the public informed. However, it concerns me as the pain for our classmates is only getting refreshed from this."
"Y-Yeah…" Midoriya was surprised that Yaoyorozu covered what he was thinking that concisely and efficiently.
Just by being here, he could feel the air of the classroom not be anything like he felt when they were starting out. Everyone just hadn't recovered and…
It made him feel fortunate.
Since receiving All Might's power, he has been having these… inherent feelings.
What if he would get attacked by villains?
He did have All Might's power now, the power of the number 1 hero in all of Japan coursing through his veins, so there was definitely a reason. Even though most of the people didn't know it was All Might's.
He swore that he would become a hero just like him–
"No…" he thought. "Not just a hero. The greatest hero…"
The greatest hero… that could save everyone. And to deliver on that, to own up to this responsibility, he knew he had to accept the risks…
He had to put himself out there… to fight villains.
However, maybe because it was so early in his school year and that All Might was his teacher, he never anticipated that it would actually come true.
Now, despite not wanting to admit it, the requirement of mastering this new quirk and becoming a real hero… felt all the more real.
He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm at least glad to see that you're doing alright."
Yaomomo nods. "Of course. Truth be told, this wasn't my first time being on the news…"
As soon as she said that, Midoriya felt the reality slap him across the face. He heard her mention having a whole driver waiting for her at the end of school before.
Of course she was rich and of course she would be known for it.
"Not in this kind of light before of course, it was mostly with my mom." she said. "But I guess seeing everything in a more familiar medium managed to calm me down… despite the overall feeling still being quite surreal."
The greenette also got a chance to think about it.
"Yeah…" He instinctively put his hand back on the scar.
"I just hope that everyone gets better…" he sighs. "...And it doesn't take long for us to be a class..."
A small grin formed on Yaomomo's face before she got a grip on herself again. "I share the same sentiment, Midoriya."
"But, from my experience…"
"Traumas, by the nature of their composition, tend to linger."
Midoriya opened his mouth to talk more, but when she saw Yaomomo's face…
Her proper and careful posture was visibly withdrawn and her eyes were not facing neither the experiment nor Midoriya, but the classroom door, where Tennyson had been taken away, and still not returned.
"I can only imagine how devastating it was…" Midnight says.
"...being a witness to an attack of over 70 villains, seeing your teachers get overwhelmed, you and your friends being actively forced to fight.
"I'm sure…"Her eyes catch movement on Ben's part. She sees him briefly clench his fists, before releasing them.
"...it must have been horrible for you."
Ben, in response, tried to avert his gaze.
"Yeah…" he said. "It was tough… with the time limit as well and all that."
Midnight nodded. "Oh yeah, I remember your quirk being mentioned as having a time limit…"
"10 minutes." said Ben.
"10 minutes..." Midnight repeated curiously. "Considering what I've been hearing about your actions, would you say you were cutting it close?"
Ben leaned back on the couch and crossed his arms. He hesitated to answer.
"Yeah… I had to overextend myself a bit… but it was no big deal."
Midnight put a finger on her chin. "Interesting…"
She looked at the clipboard in front of her. "You seem pretty calm…"
"...At least… compared to your other classmates." Midnight felt the need to clarify.
She was going to go on for longer and mention how he even killed one of those villains… But the results of the question spoke for itself…
Ben had shifted from his position and bent forward, with his elbows resting on his knees.
With the light coming from above, his face was left in the shadow, with the gleam coming from the giant window being obscured with a semi-transparent curtain, not doing much to alleviate the effect.
"Like Eraser Head said, us heroes… have to be prepared for this kind of thing."
"Us…" Midnight observes him, and finds that line very peculiar, along with his current hesitation.
Maybe there would be a follow-up. Something that he wanted to clarify?
She wanted to give him time to answer on his own, without intervention.
She didn't want to alter his thought process…
But she was unsure as well.
There wasn't an answer from him yet and with the way that Ben had covered his face from her, she couldn't tell if Ben was carefully choosing his words…
…Or drowning within their context.
One thing was for sure though, it made her worried. She felt like she could see some of Ben's struggles.
And maybe it was her little bit of frustration towards getting such little information from the student also seeping into her thoughts…
Because she then said…
"I…" she pauses. "...understand."
Ben's overall posture doesn't change, but he does clasp his hands even harder.
"You are Tennyson. The strongest student in class 1-A. The 100-points in the entrance exam…"
She leans forward. "You feel like you're not supposed to have feelings of sadness, or vulnerability."
Ben's hands ease up, his nerves start to relax.
"You feel like you need to stand strong and reliable for everyone's sake… and I get that. It's a noble choice "
"It really shows that you… have a hero's heart." Midnight puts her hand on his knee.
"But the simple matter of fact is, you aren't ready for this."
She pulled away her hand, leaned back on her seat again. "You're only 15, a high school student."
She took off her glasses.
"It hasn't been that long since you've started UA and… you have not garnered enough experience but it will come to you. This is why we are here.
"So…" She put his hands on the arms of the chair.
"Until your time comes in the spotlight… leave the job to us… the pro-heroes."
Ben stood up.
"Tennyson?" Midnight said.
Ben wasn't listening to her however. He just made his way to the door.
He opened it himself and said:
"I think I'm done."
… before exiting the room without another word.
Midnight took off her glasses. She didn't know what set him off like that…
She rushed after him.
"Tennyson!" She managed to catch up before he got too far and hearing her, Ben stopped in his tracks as well.
She tried looking at him but Ben continued to hide his eyes. "I apologize if I said something wrong."
"No no…" Ben held up his hand and he raised his face. "I just… want to leave it here… for today."
"Oh…" Midnight couldn't really do anything about that. "Then, I need to ask: Will we be having another session?"
Ben put his hand on his chin.
Midnight read through him. He was conflicted.
Ben asked: "Could I ask for one… later?"
Midnight replied. "Of course!"
"Then… I'll ask when I need it."
Midnight disagreed. However, that contention remained internal.
After all, she couldn't force the student to take a therapy session again. He had to ask for it himself.
So, all she could do was let go…
And once Ben managed to walk away and get further and further away from her, he wondered…
How would she–
How would anyone on Earth… know the weight on his shoulders and act… like he wanted?
"They couldn't!" a roar was heard, echoing around the room. "They couldn't! They couldn't! They couldn't! THEY WERE WEAK!"
Inside a small, dimly-lit bar, with a wooden table, wooden floors and brick walls without a shade of paint, Shigaraki…
…The supposed leader of the "League of Villains"...
… finished screaming to his heart's content.
He slams his hand at the counter. "We lost completely..."
"They were weak…All the underlings!.. Even Nomu was defeated!"
He walked back and forth inside the bar.
"We didn't even approach the Symbol of Peace!"
Kurogiri, who stuck to observing from behind the counter, wanted to approach him and comfort his troubled master.
He was clearly feeling flustered, angry, upset, annoyed… all at the same time. Not to mention that these were his first words ever since he got back from UA a few days ago.
However… It was not his turn to speak.
Behind an old tv, with no visuals other than a simple "Sound only"...
"Is that so?"
It was delivered with a bone-chilling tone.
To the untrained and unfamiliar… it would have felt like a hunter tightening the cage around his captured prey, or a lawyer getting ready to crack the witness in front of the whole jury…
To him though… There was also a hint of softness. Like a father ensuring his son that everything was okay and it would all… eventually work out.
Whether it was intentional, Kurogiri never had a chance to ask.
In any case, Shigaraki continued, with his temper still at the helm. "My henchmen couldn't compare to them, Master!"
"If I had been given better ones, better minions, better henchmen, a better army!.. I would be able to squash them all..."
He clenches his fist. "Both that multiclass pain in my ass, and that green haired bastard."
With that, the voice that enveloped the bar for so long… dies down.
All this time, all these days, Shigaraki had stayed silent, thinking of ways why it went so wrong, what got in his way, who would have to be the one to pay… regardless of incompetence or opposition.
And all the while, he got to fester in his anger, imagining all the things he would do… once those "so-called" heroes show their face again in his presence.
For the time being though, the room descends into silence… or rather, it would have…
"That might be so, Tomura." The voice intervenes. "It is unfortunate that we have not prepared enough."
Shigaraki continues to clench his fists. "I do hear your regrets… "
The younger master with the severed hands relaxes. "However, never forget that you will always be able to try again."
"Over and over… Up until you get it right…"
Another voice speaks up from the screen. This one lacks the presence of the other one and just comes out… older.
"Yes, we underestimated them. It's a good thing we did it under that cheap 'League of Villains' name."
The same voice then asks. "Oh, by the way, what about Master and my joint creation, Nomu?"
The first voice takes the word. "He was not retrieved?"
Shigaraki can't bring himself to speak. He tried his best to not tense the nerves that his master just calmed down, by avoiding the question.
In response, Kurogiri steps forward, but he doesn't fare much better either.
"He was… murdered."
"What?!" The older voice spoke up.
"More specifically, he was melted away… by one of the students we encountered."
"Oh?"
"After all that we did to make him as powerful as All Might!" the voice said, like he was actually offended by what he heard.
Shigaraki also returned to the conversation. "I know… Now I have to continue to put up with that big grin of his on TV… All because that student couldn't wither away like I wanted…"
The Master acknowledges the atmosphere, and takes in everyone's frustrations… However, he refuses to be bent or shaken.
"Regardless of how I feel, I must admit…" the master said. "The fact that our Nomu didn't even get to face its intended target, is a surprising report to hear."
No one in the room, couldn't add anything.
"Kurogiri…" Master continued.
His face wasn't seen by anyone, but they just felt the master's head turn towards the purple mist.
"I need you to detail everything within Tomura's report…"
Shigaraki wants to pipe up and say that he can do that himself, but does not want to get in the way of his Master.
"...starting from the strange woman that you've met within that alleyway."
Kurogiri bows, feeling the pressure to fulfill one of Master's immediate orders.
"Well, I can't say that there was much to be worth mentioning about her… but, not for the reasons you might assume."
Kurogiri tried to recall to the best of his abilities. "In terms of abilities, she had a power armor of cutting edge technology, far more advanced…"
He considers his next words carefully.
"...far more advanced than anything I've ever seen."
He could feel his master leaning forward with intrigue and the pressure of the gaze increased on his body.
"Kurogiri…" the elder voice spoke up. "You have been to our lab… and have personally seen the current predicament our master is in."
"Yes Doctor Ujiko…" Kurogiri nods.
"And you choose to stand by your statement?"
Kurogiri didn't have a shadow of a doubt in his mind. "I do."
A separate, brief silence takes hold of the room. Shigaraki folds his arms, looking away…
"Incredible…"The doctor responds.
And as for Master… no response.
Kurogiri continues. "She told us that she wanted to assist our cause, using whatever she had… including a brand new weapon."
The small box with slime came before his eyes.
"She didn't know of the specifics herself, however she told us about a new weapon…"
The black eye, with the red iris of the small creature came to mind.
"An invasive and unstoppable parasite… called… Xenocites."
"They are unique and sinister beasts, teacher…" Tokoyami recalls, sitting at the exact same black couch that Ben was sitting on, with Midnight sitting right across him.
"Sinister beasts that are imbued with the ability to attach strings on the body and puppeteer them against their own will… akin to some sort of dark magician…"
"To also consider that we were conscious during all of it…"He closes his eyes. "I wouldn't wish for that even on my most ominous foes."
He opens them back up and puts a hand under his beak. "I assume that would have only lasted until our DNA's were changed, however, I'm grateful to Tennyson for saving us from finding out. That is all."
Midnight lies back on her couch and carefully considers what the student said, before leaning forward yet again.
There was a really awkward air in the room.
"That's… all very helpful, Tokoyami. Thank you…" she says.
Tokoyami bows his head slightly. "It's my pleasure to be of assistance to bringers of light."
Midnight nods. "But…"
Tokoyami looks up to her.
"This session… was supposed to be about how you felt while you were inside of the USJ."
With a concerned tone… "This might all be very useful during a police questioning and in the future when this organization is brought down, but, right now, it also doesn't tell me much… or rather, anything, about you…"
Tokoyami lowers his head again, this time for another reason. "I… see. I apologize."
Midnight quickly waves his hands. "It's okay! I'm just concerned for you, that's all. It just feels like you're trying to hide your emotions."
She thinks to herself. "You wouldn't exactly be the only one…"
Tokoyami raises his head again and looks the teacher in the eye. "It's just…"
A dark aura begins emanating from Tokoyami's back before being fully summoned forth and starting to manifest at his side.
Midnight doesn't flinch and continues observing.
Appearing as a formless, absence of light initially, it quickly shapes up to be a humanoid figure with a bird-like head, sharpened claws and a black cord attached to Tokoyami's stomach in place of legs.
"I assume you're familiar with my quirk?"
Midnight nods. "Of course. You all might be Eraser Head's kids, but just like any teacher, I make sure to keep myself knowledgeable about all of you."
Dark Shadow's yellow eyes glimmer. "Then you know all about my nature…"
Midnight however, doesn't nod this time. She waits for an elaboration.
And both Tokoyami and Dark Shadow see that.
The quirk speaks first: "Well, it turns out that me and Fumi have a much different ball game than most people and their quirks. Ain't that right?"
"Yes…" Tokoyami replies. "It is true that my quirk is to summon him from my body."
He gestures to Dark Shadow. "However, that sort of manifestation does not mean that his consciousness is an extension of my own…"
Midnight leans forward. "What do you mean exactly?"
"It's simple." Dark Shadow points to himself with his thumb and puts on a cocky smile. "I'm my own master! No matter what Fumi might make you believe."
"If we really want to get into the specifics, it can be said that during the day time, I hold more control over Dark Shadow, hence once I was compromised by the parasite, Dark Shadow was also forced to fight our classmates, regardless of both of our dismay and after the sunsets…"
Dark Shadow gets in between Midnight and Tokoyami. "And that's when I take the wheel!"
"In moments where I lose control of course, which are instances that I've been training to have less and less…" Tokoyami pointed out and Dark Shadow scratched the back of his neck.
"Yeah, I get why. I CAN be a bit of a frantic driver once behind the wheel…"
"Which leads us to our point though." Dark Shadow says, becoming the one to course correct. "Since only one out of the two players in the body was out for the count, it gave us the chance to cross-check notes from both sides and figure out just how this bloodsucker worked…"
Dark Shadow looks over to Tokoyami before finishing up. "... all so that we could help you guys out."
He puts his hand on the shoulder. "Ain't that right Fumi?"
Tokoyami slouches forward and Midnight moves over her gaze to the quirk user.
"Because of my unique situation, I can't say that I'm deeply affected by the mind control inflicted on me…"
"However, because of the trouble I might have caused, I thought that reflecting on this and facing what I did with Dark Shadow… could be the least that I could do."
"I hope… that it was helpful."
Midnight leans forward and puts her hand on Tokoyami's other shoulder.
"It very much has… Thank you Tokoyami and Dark Shadow…"
Both heroes bow their heads.
Midnight, sits back down. "Well now, I'm going to have to ask: 'Are you two planning on taking another session?'"
Tokoyami gets ready to answer but Dark Shadow nudges him on the shoulder.
"Fumi, before that, make sure to not forget…"
Tokoyami immediately remembers. "Oh right. Ms Midnight, there is one more thing I was saving for the end."
Midnight puts her hands together.
Tokoyami takes a deep breath. "There was one more thing Dark Shadow had voiced to me about that whole experience… And it was the fact that Dark Shadow felt less and less… 'present' during the fight."
Midnight opens her mouth but Dark Shadow beats her to it.
"It wasn't anything like being hit by light. Since that zaps my energy like hell! With this one though, I literally felt like I was… 'disappearing' before my own eyes."
Midnight still doesn't follow.
And so Tokoyami, with a heavy heart, moves in to deliver the core of their theory.
"Since Tennyson made the connection that the parasite was DNA related…"
It clicks.
Midnight thinks out loud. "You said it overwrites DNA…"
"...Which wasn't something I based only on Tennyson's assessment." Tokoyami finishes her sentence.
Dark Shadow fidgets in place.
"Whatever that parasite is, it overwrites DNA which also includes… the quirk genes."
"Heh, that's some status effect." Shigaraki crosses his arms, shrugging it off. "I wasn't sure before but this just proves it. With an army like that, all you'd command are a bunch of level 1 NPC's."
"This 'organization'..." he makes air quotes with his hands. "...that she hyped up is just some new fish in the water with waaaaaay too much money on its hands."
"Indeed…" the doctor says. "I can't talk about the system of the organization myself. However, for their little creatures, I…"
He thinks about his own standing a bit further. "Technology and sheer numbers are important… A man with a profession such as myself cannot deny that, however, objectively, nothing can hope to keep up with the natural, inherent power of evolution within the quirks."
And Kurogiri… couldn't help but agree. He compared it to his own ability of opening warp gates and…
There was no way that he would trade it for some brand new tech.
Shigaraki puts a hand on his chin and immediately voices an idea.
"We could use this, master. Use their naivety, wipe them out first and use what they have to deal with all those heroes."
Among the group, the Master speaks last. "No."
"We need not give in to such impulses."
Kurogiri and Shigaraki both fully face the screen, and almost like he had sensed Shigaraki's upcoming protests, he continued to speak.
"The unrest they've been causing within the underworld have been noticeable for quite some time now."
"Really, Master?!" Shigaraki says, unable to prevent himself.
"Yes, Tomura." He replies. "And even though they strive for an image against that, trying to act as though they are invisible within our society… The sheer force and sway they hold is sizable."
"Are you saying that they might be aware of this weakness within their creatures?" asks Doctor Ujiko.
He leans back in his chair and puts a hand on the side of his head.
"Yes. However, considering that they've come out of their territory now, with an ill-prepared manner such as this, something must have disturbed their arrangement."
Shigaraki puts the puzzle pieces in his mind.
"The woman, Master…" he said, interrupting him.
"The woman with the armor mentioned a name. A name that she… and her 'employers' wanted to be gone."
Everyone's attention was on Shigaraki now.
He tried recalling the events better. "She said she would go after him first. I think it was one of the students."
"What was it…" He put both of his hands on his head. "WHAT WAS IT?!"
"I think I know…" Kurogiri stepped forward and as he did, a full list of pictures of the students of UA came on screen.
"Hi–"
Shigaraki brushed him aside. "HIM!"
He pointed to a close-up of a teen, with brown hair, green eyes and a confident smile.
The doctor's voice came through the monitor. "Ben Tennyson…"
"Ben Tennyson." The master repeated with his colder and arrogant tone being tainted with sadism… and malevolence. "Here in Japan…"
"Master?" said Shigaraki.
All for One's voice softens. "I will be making some calls."
Shigaraki felt his master's eyes on himself.
"In my absence Tomura, be patient."
"Using the chess pieces I will set up, you'll be able to do everything you've ever wanted."
Kurogiri watched on as the doctor, himself and the young master didn't utter another word, and watched as his young master took a seat on a bar stool and put his hand on the side of his head.
He was thinking… about their next move.
And all that he could do was stand by his side, just like the Master ordered, for in case his services were needed.
In the meantime, lunch time had arrived for the students of UA.
And without missing a beat, Ben had fast walked all the way over from his class to the cafeteria, brushing past other students.
There was no way that he would wait in the line.
Maybe it was because of his nerves and his agitated state, but once he arrived, he actually found himself getting his wish… kind of.
He wasn't the first one there, yet a cool seventh wasn't far off either, considering the sheer number of students in this school.
However, in hindsight, it didn't really matter.
Once his turn came up, he got himself a bowl of pork cutlet rice bowl and sat down, alone.
He picks up his chopsticks and slowly starts to eat, as his eyes wander from the giant room that was filling up with other students, down to his food.
"That's good…" he thinks to himself. As he takes another bite, an impulsive smile appears on his face. "That's really good actually."
He gets ready to eat it faster, to let himself get caught up on the flavor, however, that moment doesn't come.
His eyes got stuck on the left hand that he had put on the table, right behind the bowl, more specifically, at the Omnitrix.
Nothing had changed from the USJ onwards in terms of the device. Sure it had acted "weird" during that one time, but he had tested it afterwards.
The timer for staying alien was still 10 minutes and tapping the dial was no longer allowing him to transform between aliens.
"Right back to square one…" Ben thought. "And just when I thought we were finally starting to understand one another…"
He stared at the dial, but it wasn't like the device was going to follow up on what he was thinking.
Ben taps on the rims, but right as the first hologram appears before him, he closes the Omnitrix again.
He had been thinking about this for so long already, so at this point he just wanted to dismiss it.
The simple matter was that he believed that he could do some good. Just like the USJ! However, after all those talks…
Normally, they wouldn't affect him. After all, it was his responsibility to stand strong and not waver. But, thinking about it, made it start to get to him.
He internally asks: "No one wants my help, do they?"
As he was about to continue his food, someone appeared before him.
With an overly cheerful and sweet voice, she asked: "Mind if I sit here?!"
Ben looked up and saw Pony.
"Oh hi." he wore his surprise plainly on his face. "Yeah sure, you can sit here."
She sat right across from him. "How are you doing?"
"There is a bit on my mind right now." He acts honest in the beginning but quickly switches to leaning back to match Pony's naturally cheerful vibe. "But other than that, I'm holding up really well. Thanks for asking."
"How is school going for you? The class, lessons, and stuff?"
"I'm doing fine…" Pony waves his question aside. "But are you sure about yourself?"
Ben flinches for a second but doesn't show it. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
He watches as Pony puts her hand on her cheek and assumes a clueless attitude.
"I mean, I know your class went through a lot in the last couple of days…"
Ben leans forward again and puts his hand to the side of his head.
He says exhaustedly: "Can we just not talk about that anymore?"
"I already have had enough people giving me lectures. Trust me, I get what I'm supposed to feel and do right now."
Pony however quickly waves her hands. "No no, I'm not here to lecture you, Ben."
She scratches her head. "I just know your rescue training didn't exactly… 'pan out' like they wanted and you looked like it was really getting to you…"
Ben raises his eyebrow, and makes a face like: "You noticed already?"
"Yeah, I've seen enough cheer to know when it's faked!" Pony answers that even though he didn't really ask.
That just made Ben even more surprised. "Now what's that supposed to mean?!"
Even though her cheerful attitude switched to concern during those previous lines, a smile appeared on her face. "Anyway though, so, instead of saying something, I thought…"
"Maybe I could just… listen to you."
Now, that initially didn't register with Ben. "Listen?"
"Yeah!" she says. "People usually just… tend to say whatever comes to their mind as you're going through something tough."
She crosses her arms and her smile… falters a bit.
She looks up. "Like, you know they just want the best for you by trying to give you ways to be happy… But you still can't help to think they're being insensitive."
"Like sometimes, you just want someone to be heard to, someone to sit by you and–" Pony looks back down and blushes a bit, from embarrassment.
And Ben was making zero effort on his side to hide his surprise to her frustrations…
To be honest, it kinda made him feel bad.
"So anyway…" She regains her composure and grin. "I thought, I could just listen if you want to talk a bit, allow you to let all that stress out."
Her innocence took a bit of the control. "Maybe that could get rid of some stuff that you had in your mind. What do you say?"
In Ben's mind, there was only one answer.
"Thanks for the thought, Pony." Ben shrugs. "But, like I said, you don't need to worry…"
He looked into Pony's eyes and even though her mouth wasn't making any moves, her eyes were very much eager… and insistent.
"Really?" Ben asks and goes into joking mode. "You sure you don't want to spend your lunch break in any other way?"
"Well…" she says. "Not while I can help someone… I guess."
"Alright…" Ben smiled out of instinct. "Don't say I didn't warn you though."
And then, as the two eat the food in front of them, Ben lays it all out.
Retelling the events of the USJ once again…
What he did, his role…
How he thinks it was for everyone else…
The glares that… didn't greet him upon entering the classroom…
"It's just frustrating, you know. And I get why…" he says, raising some rice with the chopsticks.
"Like, we didn't get to see for ourselves until later but during the battle… our teachers…"
Ben exhales and puts the food down.
He didn't feel like eating right now.
"These villains hurt them… badly… Way worse than I ever got hurt before." He points to her with his chopstick. "I'm guessing you don't want the details…"
Pony, so far trying to keep a straight face and not judge at what Ben's saying, tilts her head and shrugs.
"Well, it's your call."
Ben opts not to. He didn't need to relive his reaction second by second to remember just how bad the situation was.
"And it wasn't just them either."
"My classmates…" he paused, remembering how he felt.
How shivers ran down his spine… when he caught Bakugo being carried away on a stretcher… with his arm looking like a broken toothpick.
Playing with his food using one chopstick, he keeps quiet for a second, before changing his glance over to the windows.
"When I jumped down there, I did it to put myself out there… With the idea that they would focus on me…
He pauses. "...And would leave everyone else alone. But that didn't happen."
He ponders to himself. "I know you think: 'You shouldn't be that hard on yourself', 'I'm sure you did your best', 'Everyone's okay now, isn't that what matters', right?"
He mocks the idea and looks up at Pony. But the questions he was expecting didn't come…
The thought goes by his head. "She's really here to listen."
And Ben still acts like she still asked for it, and answers: "I guess, the main thing is that…
"I don't feel like I did much… in terms of helping others."
With that, Pony's expression softens, and she speaks to him.
"That's not true."
"Hm?" And before he could object, a student walks over and sits right next to Pony.
"Hi, Tennyson…"
Ben doesn't miss a beat. "Yaoyorozu?"
He… didn't expect that. He wants to get up in response…
"Hey, Tennyson."
Ben looks at the person sitting next to him. "Midoriya."
"Hey everyone." Ben then sees Uraraka sit down next to the greenette, on the same row as him.
"Hey hero of the day, long time no see!" Kirishima also sat down, carrying some enthusiasm with him.
And one by one, Class 1-A started filling up the once empty table.
Iida, Jiro, Ashido, Asui, Kaminari, Sero…
The only ones who didn't show up were Todoroki and Bakugo, though their absence was expected.
Everyone around him looked happy, completely free of the doom and gloom that he had seen this morning.
"What–" Ben was still a bit perplexed by all this. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Ask our vice pres." Sero exclaimed among the crowd. "She assembled us together."
"Was I set up?" he pondered and his thought process immediately went to Kirishima's words. "Hero of the day…"
He was alarmed. "Did… she tell them?-"
He then turned his gaze to Pony, who sat with a reassured grin. "More importantly, did Pony help them set me up?"
All kinds of possibilities were going through his mind, and they weren't making him happy. However, before he could burst, Yaomomo came clean.
"Indeed Tennyson, I was the one who called them…" She said, with a hand on her neck, clearly nervous.
"I had the idea to set up this meeting… because you didn't seem like yourself.."
"Didn't seem like myself?" He thinks.
"Yeah, like you were possessed by one of the spirits or 'dark beings' that Tokoyami likes to talk about." Jiro said and earned himself a glare from the eternally brooding one.
She shrugged in his direction. "I mean, am I wrong?"
"In any case though..." Kirishima joined the conversation. "We were worried. And the vice pres felt as though you wouldn't really let us get close to you…"
Ben turned to Pony, as he listened to Kirishima. "... unless there was another factor at play."
"Hence came the idea to ask Pony to distract me." Ben thought.
Pony took the word. "Once they told me that something was up with you Tennyson… How could I say no to helping them, help you?"
She said that last part in her usual cheer and in his mind,the gesture was well appreciated.
To be honest, it really had taken a load off his shoulders…
Except, there was one big thing they weren't mentioning.
"But… you guys weren't so different either!" Ben used a louder tone, taking the reins of the conversation back into his hands. "Back during the morning, you all were also upset, depressed, you looked like you barely had any energy. So how…"
Ben felt as the atmosphere took a more melancholic turn.
"Yeah…" Kirishima scratched his hair. "We weren't doing so well…"
"But…"Kaminari said. "After Yaomomo reminded us, we realized that we could have been doing worse."
"Yep, you were awesome out there, Tennyson!" Ashido gets straight to the point.
That sudden comment stunned the shapeshifter.
"I agree!" Ben changed his gaze to the always robotic Iida. "Had this kind of behavior been subject to theoretical discussion, I would have argued against it. However, for now, I have to side with the results! You did a lot more than any one of us and helped out many of our classmates."
Ben didn't know what to say. Iida too–?
"I wouldn't approve of this either Tennyson…" Ben then turned to Asui and saw her say that.
"Just jumping into a battle like that is dangerous. Something could have happened to you. "She slightly tensed up. "...But I won't take away credit... You did save us from those villains Tennyson…"
…Maybe just as much as the teachers did."
Ben didn't know what to say. "Kaminari and Ashido are fine, but…"
Having Yaoyorozu, Iida and even Asui, perhaps the one most measured with her reactions, say that…
It made him feel all warm inside.
"That was why I brought us all together Tennyson…" Yaomomo spoke and as the two were almost sitting directly across from one another, they made eye contact.
"Without you…" She gestured to everyone. "As they would say, 'go off-script' as you did… I frankly… can't imagine what would have happened."
Ben saw the sadness in Yaomomo's tone. He wanted to step forward to save her from her thoughts, but there was this table…
"So…" Yaoyorozu gathered her thoughts again, and she channeled the most sincere tone she could. "Thank you… for all of your efforts to protect the class."
Ben wanted to almost wave his hands. "No, it was nothing, it–"
The class wasn't having it though.
"Oh come one Tennyson, learn to take some pride in for once." Jiro said from her seat next to Kaminari, trying to keep her deadpanned tone but still channeling some of Ashido's enthusiasm into it as well. "You helped the class, plain and simple."
Ben still tried to wave it off, but the rest of the class who hadn't properly tanked yet, didn't let him, especially the infected people and the ones who were closest to the action.
And once it was Midoriya's turn, he said: "Thanks Ben, and… From me, I just want to say that, if anything like this happens, remember that we're here."
"You aren't alone and you just did something amazing for our class…" He nervously smiles. "And I think everyone would like to return the favor."
Ben nodded in response. "I'll keep that in mind!"
However, he wasn't listening properly… as he was busy, doing the one thing Jiro suggested.
Take pride… of his little heroism.
After the dinner, even though the heroism classes had started, the therapy sessions were also continuing with full force.
"Greetings, Ms Midnight!" Iida entered the room and closed the door after him. "I believe it's my turn…"
"Yes, it is." Midnight welcomes him in and watches as he sits down. "I see that you're in a good mood…"
"Indeed!" he replies. "As, Class 1-A's vice president Yaoyorozu, set up the most pure exercise for support within the class I've ever seen."
"Really?" Midnight says. "What did she do?"
Iida then tells her of the small gathering that Yaoyorozu executed.
And Midnight can't help but smile. "It's really sweet of her to do that."
Iida nods. "I have to admit that… She has gotten used to the role extremely quickly…"
He was pausing between some of his words. "And I would say she earned her place better… than me."
Midnight caught that. "Is there perhaps something that makes you unsure of your position?"
"No, of course not…" Iida immediately denied, not breaking his proper posture and eye contact.
He very much liked being chosen as the class representative. But…
"I… presume that ever since I've talked to Sero, I have questioned my own contributions to some level."
"Talked to Sero…" Midnight repeats.
"Yes…" Iida replies. "Apparently the two were in the Mountain Zone together with Ojiro, during the attack of the criminals."
He voiced what he then heard from Sero. How it all started with them getting teleported, villains appearing out of nowhere, Jiro getting caught off guard by one of the squids and having to switch allegiances…
And then how Yaoyorozu commanded and fought alongside her classmates. How she put herself on the firing line and even getting in front of people sometimes, with her metal shield at hand.
He had also seen her bruises… so he didn't forget to mention them either.
"Meanwhile she became a hero for her two classmates… I acted like an errand boy, as they would call it."
He let it out. "The plan that Thirteen and the rest of our class came up with was for everyone to buy me enough time from the warping culprit… so that I could run back to the school to call for help."
Midnight leaned forward as Iida continued his eye contact. "As you might have heard from All Might… That plan… didn't come to fruition."
Midnight could feel the regret in his tone and wanted to say something, but didn't. She wanted him to let it all out… let out all of his regret.
"Even though Thirteen initially fought well, he ended up turning the tables by reversing the black hole quirk back onto our teacher…"
"The rest of the class, in the heat of the moment, tried clearing the path and I was almost out for a second… as Uraraka launched the villain into the air and Aoyama tried keeping his attention using the Navel Laser." He continued reliving.
"However, he never lost focus… He went after me regardless… and teleported me back to where I started, almost like I was being mocked."
His irritation surfaced.
"Lastly, as he mentioned needing to leave here, he teleported our friend Todoroki onto the entrance and he…"
Midnight remembered from the report. "He was under control… and he froze you."
Iida nodded. "He froze our bodies before also leaving us… apparently to fight Tennyson at the center."
"Aoyama eventually weakened the ice enough with his Navel Laser for us to break out, but it was too late. The fight was over…"
Midnight could guess the incoming words, but she let him say them anyway. "...And I didn't do anything."
She put her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. You did the right thing. You followed what your teacher judged to be the best plan at the time…"
"Even though it didn't work out, I believe that you and your group being alright after everything, probably helped your class in the best way that was ever possible at the time…
"Helped them by letting them be relieved… Be relieved that it's over."
Iida however… couldn't shake it. "That doesn't change that I didn't contribute physically…"
"Many of my friends got injured and if I had been there… I would have been able to make a difference."
Midnight took her arm off as he continued. "Even if they weren't hurt, the class this morning… was disheartening to be inside."
"When I took on the burden of being the representative of my class, I did it with the intention of also being a leader… A leader that did whatever was needed to, alongside keeping his fellow teammates out of harm…"
"Not providing that leadership… Or rather not being there at all…"
He concludes. "It makes me hard to believe that I'm the class rep to begin with."
Midnight wasn't sure of what to say, but she saw through that last line.
"You're thinking about resignation?"
Iida sighed and… broke eye contact.
"I have pondered the question once or twice, I have to admit."
She had found her opening. "Iida…"
She sits on the edge of the couch. "I've heard that you… are perhaps the most earnest, intelligent and disciplined person inside Class 1-A."
She clasps her hand. "And I know that you're too diligent to do something as convenient as quitting."
Iida re-establishes eye contact.
"You might think she might have pulled ahead with this, being both a leader and a hero, but you have the qualities, you have the potential!" She tries her best with encouragement.
"Remember that, once Midoriya resigned, everyone in the class chose you… without question."
Midnight internally let out a sigh of relief. "Thankfully, I read everyone's file…"
Iida pondered what she said. It made sense…
HE was chosen. He couldn't just shift this burden to someone else just because they performed better than him!
He had to take this challenge and do better!
Do better… as everyone expected of him.
With the hero classes also going by… school came to a close.
It was time for everyone to go back to their houses, do their homework and rest up for tomorrow.
"Finally…" Ben exclaims as he opens the door and drops off his bag. "...Living room couch, here I come.."
Both his body and his eyelids were so impatient at the prospect that… It actually took him to realize.
"Mom?" he called out before turning on the lights.
He looked all over but there was no sign of her. And so, he checked his phone.
"Oh, unread message…"
It turned out that his mom was over at Midoriya's… and the meatloaf was over in the fridge. He knew how to reheat it.
To be honest, seeing this made him glad. It was good to see his mom also managing to get a friend in this foreign country.
"Oh well…" He stretched as he walked to the bathroom. "Guess the house is mine for now…"
After washing his hands and splashing some water on his face, he walked into his room in a good mood, still thinking about what happened over lunch.
"Man, Yaomomo… That was some surprise."
He hung up his jacket to his chair and then lay down on his bed, with his legs dangling off the edge and hands on his sides.
It honestly was a complete 180 of the morning. His fidgeting hands, his overwhelmed mind, they were calm.
He looked over to the Omnitrix as he thought that last part.
It was all gone.
This sense of… feeling helpful, feeling effective, feeling… like a good hero.
It all just eased his mind.
He eventually gets up and starts changing into something more comfortable.
"The only thing that can make this better right now would be a smoothie." He starts unbuttoning his shirt.
"Maybe I could go out and check again, who knows, with Jetray…"
The sound of police sirens and the red and blue lights of them passing by, instantly cut through his thoughts like butter.
He quickly slid on his t-shirt and opened the window. "What is–"
As he looked outside, he saw a classic car chase between the police… and a truck with two villains on top.
"Take a look at this bro, looks like we attracted some stragglers to us!"
The second villain crossed his arms and looked down at the cars. "I guess that's what you get for attacking the nest… Would you like to do the honors?"
The first criminal grinned. "With pleasure!"
He put his hands on the ground and immediately part of the road, turned from asphalt to sand, causing two police cars to crash!
"Yeah, that's how it's done!" the two high five.
Ben got his head out the window and looked as far down the street as he could. "They can handle this… as they always do."
A breeze brushed past him.
"Halt! In the name of law and justice, villains!" a hero yelled out as he soared through the skies with his jetpack.
"Oh ho?" the second villain smiled. "Is that you again, Air Jet?"
"In my sector, I can't let an attack on the headquarters of the officers of the law go unpunished!" Air Jet spoke with all kinds of gusto. "So, stop the vehicle, and make this easier on yourselves!"
The second villain smiled.
"Oh, I'm gonna make it easier for us, alright!" And the masked criminal opened up his coat and took out a gauntlet, putting it on his right hand!
"Let's see what this babe can do!" He eyeballs his target and then shoots a red laser.
A red laser, that felt all too familiar to Ben. "Oh no…"
"Is that Rojo's–!"
"Woah!" Air Jet dodges, letting it hit a billboard. "That was close, but nothing you have can match my speed!"
The villain eyes up the buttons on that thing. "We'll see!"
"I've gotta help…" he put one foot on the still. "They don't know what they're messing with."
He almost jumped off, but he stopped himself at the last second…
He couldn't help, remember?
He felt reminded. That the "Hero time" was over and his role now was just watching… on the sidelines. As the heroes did all the work…
Then, the light of the city dazzled his eyes for a second, which instinctively had him protect them with his left hand.
When he opened them though, the Omnitrix, covered in the shadow of his arm, looked back at him.
He slid his hands over his face… and then permanently put them back on the window still while continuing to look outside.
The chilling breeze of the darkening sky filled the room, the wind messed up his hair and the lights of the streets at this time of day… did look quite beautiful.
"No…" he tried to fight back, thinking out loud. "The police told you Tennyson, Midnight told you as well… Just leave it alone."
The fact that some crooks had managed to get a hold of those weapons that easily. It was frustrating again…
He thought they were safe, they were secure…
"What about those squids then?"
They were also in a similar situation. What happened to them? Were they stolen as well?
He couldn't deny it. The night, the life he had before… and especially the idea of having some control over all this… pulled at him.
It called to him…
He didn't know what to do. The USJ was fine, but this would be going overboard…
This WOULD be living the old days once again, the days he thought he left behind.
And eventually he closed his eyes and took a deep breath…
Emptying everything inside his head, he looked at the matter, with one simple question.
"Was this…" he imagined the police chase. "...Hero Time?"
And the answer which formed in his head, was crystal clear.
He puts one foot over the window still and then, right as he's about to jump off–!
"So this is what you've been doing-"
Ben just barely manages to stop and avoid slipping off and falling to the ground below.
"Who…" He turns around and immediately gets greeted with an ultra bright light coming from the floor of this dark room.
Only when it dissipates, does he see who spoke.
"Azmuth?!"
"Yes…" The elderly galvan nods. "It's been a while since we have spoken face to face, hasn't it Ben Tennyson?"
"If you give or take 4 years then sure." Ben says, jumping back into his room.
He sits in front of him. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here for the Omnitrix."
Ben puts his arm in front of him, allowing the creator to access it if need be.
"Two days ago, I got an emergency message from it. One of my, still-experimental, failsafes had been forcefully activated…"
He points to Ben. "As it granted you more access to the Omnitrix than you should have, it also overloaded the thing so badly that I could sense it half a galaxy away."
Ben looks at the dial and recalls all that had happened once again, with not transforming back from Wildvine after the watch had started blinking.
The mid-switch over to NRG, the even more fighting he did as him, hearing the Omnitrix talk for the first time, curing his classmates…
"Really now?…" he lifted his head up for a second. "Never noticed."
Azmuth wasn't really having it though. "This is no time to joke around Ben."
And the shapeshifter straightens up. "I know, and I wasn't joking around. My friends needed saving and I was just about to–"
"I am aware of that." he says, interrupting Ben. "After all, I would come all this way to poke blame now, would I?"
Ben knew that was a good point. He didn't even swing by when his Omnitrix decided to give itself an upgrade.
"So, you're here to fix up that error?"
However Azmuth doesn't answer, which greatly concerns him.
Ben leaned forward and even though Azmuth wasn't a person he hung around a lot, managed to put some pieces together.
"The Earth is in trouble, isn't it?"
Azmuth, in response, shakes his head. "I wish the situation was as optimistic…"
He clicks a button on his sleeve and a portal sparks forth…
Ben stands up and from what he can see… On the other side of this portal, was Galvan Prime… and most importantly, Azmuth's lab.
He had been there once or twice as a kid… but never because he was necessarily invited.
"I will explain in greater detail… If you would come with me, that is…"
Ben doesn't even think twice. "Do you even need to ask?"
Azmuth closes his eyes. "Of course not…"
The two then step forth and the portal closes shut.