Chapter 20: Path of Compromise
The area was covered with red spherical energy, before a sudden flash of white consumed everything, and ended with an explosion.
Among the split of the dispersing smoke, stood a black and yellow ball, suddenly unraveling and revealing three U.A. students!
*Inhale!*
*Cough! Cough! Cough!*
"Are you guys okay?" Cannonbolt held up his hands.
Kirishima wheezed. "Yeah… just… give us a second."
"Not… enough… oxygen… inside." Midoriya also windedly said.
Ben hit the dial and transformed back. Thankfully they didn't seem hurt.
He looked at the Omnitrix. Even at the worst time, when he had no time to even turn the dial, the device had dealt him a good hand.
"Note to self: Thank Azmuth again for the upgrade…"
He moved to lend out his hand to his friends, to raise them up from the ground…
"I knew this would happen…"
His blurred, peripheral vision let everything in.
Behind that hand of his, on the cracked floor, just getting done with their coughing, laid his school friends.
Splinters falling from the support beams near them…
Forever symbols decorating the temple they're in.
Ruined tapestries of aliens falling at the hand of this order.
"That's why I was lying." He states, calming his frantic heart.
He had gone on this to keep them safe. That's why he decided to respond to Labrid's holodisk.
It made him feel active.
His eyebrows knitted.
It made him feel like a hero, the wielder of the Omnitrix, who fulfilled his responsibility.
And that… made this whole place his territory.
Ben turned back to see the crater that was left over. The knight himself, as well as the stone flooring had completely disintegrated, and dirt was left clear as day.
That one explosion which eviscerated the knight, was all from one gun.
One laser gun of the tens of batches that he needed to get rid of tonight.
He then suddenly felt a hand wave in front of him.
It was Midoriya, and he had gotten to his feet.
"It's okay, Tennyson." He said. "You protected us from the blast. We're unhurt."
Ben nodded. "I'm glad."
His voice was still a bit weak from before, but that would straighten itself out.
"Now, I kind of have a little something to get back to."
He wanted to brush past him—
"This secret of yours…" The greenette's voice, though, came from his side. "I know you just said you can't share it, but… can I at least ask a question?"
Ben had one eyebrow raised.
"This secret…" he said.
Ben tilted his head. The greenette was actually more tense and… ashamed?
"Is it yours to share?"
Ben tilted his head. "Huh..."
"I guess it's…" He put a hand on his chin. "It's a bit complicated."
"Hey!"
Kevin had called out to them.
"If you guys are done, you might wanna take a look here.." He pointed to one of the cracks formed on the wall.
Ben squinted his eyes. Some pebbles had fallen from their place and… was there a room behind that?
Kevin pressed his hand on the wall and he watched as the stone wrapped around his arm.
He then skipped around on his feet, punched the air a bit, before riling it back and bringing the wall down in one fell swoop!
"Jackpot."
It was a room with a full metal interior, and what seemed to be a boundless number of display tables.
On top of them, sparkly, shiny, very appealing weapons were lined up, all with different triggers, grips, muzzles…
Some of them didn't even look like guns. They were more like cannons, or remotes. "Those are sometimes just the best kinds…"
Kevin then saw Tennyson rush to his side, but honestly, he couldn't care less.
He had to walk inside and admire the collection.
"A Noisy Cricket?.. M41A Pulse Rifle?.."
He traveled his gaze. "Even Proton Packs…"
He tilted his head. "Those are quite rare. Banned in fourteen whole systems—!"
His eyes had landed on something else.
"The holy hand grenade of antioch?!"
A gleeful smile went over his face as he picked up the user manual. "Man, I thought these only existed in myths!"
*Ahem! Ahem!*
Kevin started reading out loud. "First you take out the Holy Pin. Then you count to three, no more, no less. Three must be the number you must count—"
The bracelets suddenly sparked up blue and stuck together, making him drop it.
Kevin looked at Labrid. He seemed to have the remote in one of his hands yet again.
"You're still under arrest, remember that."
Kevin rolled his eyes, frustrated. "Yeah yeah, I know…"
He started walking out the vault. The cuffs became undone as he did so.
"And now, what am I supposed to do…"
His eyes caught the remains of the once great Kiry— Or rather, just the Japanese Forever Knight dragon.
"Well, it's not like the knights are gonna use it."
He raised his eyebrows and crouched down.
Labrid watched Kevin Levin as he fiddled with the dragon.
One finger hovered over the remote's button, but…
"He did find us the weapons' room…" He put it back on his belt. "I'll let him keep himself busy."
He then turned to Ben. "Whenever you're ready."
And the transforming hero nodded before slamming the dial, and Blitzwolfer appeared.
*HOOOOOOOOOOOWL!*
The weapons cracked, and all combusted in a flash of light with the sonic wave. Thankfully none caught major fire, or exploded too violently.
He tapped on the dial and turned back. "That should be all, right?"
Labrid nodded.
"Then let's move onto the next one." Ben said.
Labrid though was taken aback by the sudden serious air around him. "Are you sure?"
"Yep." Ben fixed up his jacket. "I want to. Let's go get Kevin and do it."
Labrid though didn't seem convinced. Tennyson very much seemed uneasy.
"I'm sorry but I don't believe you're at one hundred percent."
Ben's gaze turned to him… with the green bonfire lit inside.
"I said, I want to." with his voice raising slightly.
Labrid, closing his mouth, responded with a nod… and walked over to Kevin.
"Where is our next location?" The Magister asked.
Kevin raised his head, and then got up, supporting himself with one knee. The two were pretty much equal in height.
"Tell me where the DNAliens met up with you."
Kevin crossed his arms. "An empty warehouse. Checked before going in, checked after coming out. It was just an empty classic meetup spot."
He shrugged. "If you want their vault, your guess is as good as mine—"
"Don't give me that." Labrid cut in.
The magister pointed to him. "It might be our first time meeting, but I know your type. You don't just make blind deals and be done."
He waved his hand. "You would like information of their whereabouts, as a precaution against swindling."
Labrid squinted his eyes. "Just like tonight."
A smile ran across Kevin's face. "I'm glad I gave you credit, old man. You really do know your stuff."
He reached into his pocket and a receiver appeared in his hand.
As soon as he opened it, one of the dots immediately disappeared, only leaving one another.
"Shiromaru Mine…" Labrid stated.
"You sure you want to go?" Kevin asked. "These guys won't be as much of a pushover as the Knights."
Labrid thought about it… and turned to Tennyson who was circling the room, hands assembled behind him, his narrowed eyes looking off into infinity.
"It is what he wants."
Kevin also turned his sights to Ben. "I see…"
He turned back to the magister, eyebrows knitted. "I'll drive."
He started going out of the castle, back to his car. It should have been parked close by.
He picked up the keys from his back pocket and yelled behind him. "Next stop is Shiromaru Mine, Tennyson!"
The girl's voice, just like he thought, perked up from the back first as he left the room.
"Are you still planning on going, Tennyson?"
"Yeah." the transforming hero put his hands into his jacket. "Clearly I'm still needed for tonight—"
"No." Her dead set voice interrupted him.
Her hands were still close to her chest and fidgeting… but her face reflected none of that.
"If I can't get you to stop, I would want you to at the very least allow us to come along…"
Ben's pupils shrunk. "No, Yaoyorozu, you're not listening—"
"As otherwise I will have no choice… but to report you to the teachers."
Midoriya opened his mouth. "WHAT."
Kirishima stepped forward. "Uhh.. Wouldn't that be instant expulsion, Yaomomo?"
Her voice shook as she replied to him. "It might be."
"...Unless he decides to let me come with…"
"Let us come with, you mean." Kirishima fixed it for her.
She turned to him and then to Midoriya…
The greenette gave her a nod and turned to Ben. "We're coming with Tennyson, whether you like it or not!"
She took a deep breath, and stood her ground.
The hand was now down to her side, it was still fidgeting and still clenched… but she had to look strong.
"Ugh…" Ben put a hand on the bridge of his nose.
A shadow was cast over his face.
"Chop chop Tennyson, clock's ticking." The criminal's shouts also echoed.
And so the transforming hero replied. "Fine. But you will allpromise to stay in the car."
Momo tried to object. "But you—"
"You stalked, put yourself in danger and, just now, blackmailed me, Yaomomo."
The green fire in Ben sparked up."That's the final offer. Take it… or go home."
Yaomomo faltered in her standing. "Understood…"
Ben sighed, before gesturing to them. "Follow me."
They all started walking out, but as they did… Midoriya noticed the person in the armor's gaze on him.
"Um…"
He looked forward and saw the rest of the group walk away. He however…
"Uh.. hi?" He raised his hand.
Labrid had his hands assembled behind him. "Hello."
"Why are you watching me… if I may ask?"
The magister raised his eyebrows. Almost like it had just clicked with him.
"I was just giving a particular matter some thought…" He said. "I'm sorry if I may have disturbed you."
Midoriya waved his hands. "No, really it's fine."
The armored person then seemingly noticed Tennyson was walking away with his other classmates, and started walking as well.
But Midoriya didn't want this to end here.
"I-I don't think we met." The pupil of All Might followed after him " My name is Midoriya Izuku."
He walked by his side, and the armored person looked down at him. His expression was of seriousness, but… a bit of a hollowed out version.
"I'm aware…" he replied.
"You're *aware*?" Midoriya tilted his head.
"I've made sure to keep tabs on all connections of Ben Tennyson here... You were one of the first ones to get into my list."
"Oh…" Midoriya said. "Thanks? What did you mean by 'kept tabs' though, Sir? And, connections?"
The person however, didn't seem to acknowledge the questions. "You may call me Labrid, Magister."
Midoriya raised his eyebrows. "Oh nice to meet you, Mr Magister…"
"Magister is my rank." Labrid says and out from the corner of his eye, catches the greenette about to apologize.
"It's fine though." He quickly adds on at the end. "Lots of people…"
He pauses for a second.
"Lots of people here make that mistake."
Midoriya nods. "Oh, I… see…"
He seemed like a very intense person. Kind of like Mr. Aizawa, but much more awake.
Or rather, he didn't want to imply Mr. Aizawa wasn't paying attention by saying "awake", but rather, much more dedicated, professional. Like a government agent or…
The idea just popped in his head. Was this Ben's secret? Did he work with the government?
After all, he said his secret was complicated when it came to sharing… Did that mean Tennyson actually had a say in it?
Because he didn't say no—
"Was it true?"
Midoriya snapped out of his thoughts.
"What was, Mr. Labrid?"
"The way Momo Yaoyorozu of your class described Ben earlier." He asked, hands still assembled behind. "Was he really that kind of classmate?"
His expression hadn't changed, but his words held curiosity.
"Yeah…" Midoriya shook his head.
The image of Yaoyorozu and Tennyson's clash…
"He hadn't argued with anyone like that before. He's usually really casual around us, and even a bit of a performer when he's having fun playing with his quirk…"
Midoriya also looked forward, as they finally exited the gate.
He saw the convict inspecting the limo alongside Launchpad, while Tennyson, Yaoyorozu and Kirishima seemed to be talking about something.
Tennyson had his arms crossed, and held a cynical look.
"But recently, I noticed he became much more on edge. Tennyson grew distant…"
Midoriya looked down. "And I hated seeing him like that."
"I cared and so… kind of fueled my friend to act."
It was true, he had fueled Yaoyorozu to act like this. She seemed reluctant but satisfied after thanking Ben during lunch time, however he kept pushing…
He raised his head and came eye to eye with Labrid.
Wait… He had just confessed to being responsible for busting their operation!
"I-I mean! I just wanted to look out, like I said, for Tennyson, and I—"
"It's fine, like I said." Labrid turned away and also faced what was down the stairs. "Perhaps it would be best for you to join your friends."
Midorya could differentiate between a suggestion and an implication.
"Sure."
He went down.
The Magister got a moment for himself. In his field of vision, the greenette had held an expression of… regret, melancholy… all about Tennyson's situation.
"Hmmm…" he rested a hand on his chin and turned to the transforming hero in question.
Midoriya might have been right, the kid seemed much more hardened than before, and also tense.
"He's not taking it well."
Who would? After all, he just had his second life forcefully exposed…
"I should have been more vigilant about that. I should have known recruiting someone public like Tennyson would arouse suspicion."
It should have been his second priority alongside the mission, but…
"Whatever's done is done now."
"Magister Labrid!" The transforming hero had caught wind of his presence. "Are you alright?"
He ran over. "You seemed… deep in thought."
"I'm fine." The Magister raised his hand. "It was just a brief notion. Let's get a move on."
He walked towards Kevin's car, but Ben got in front of him.
"We're… forced to take the limo."
He followed Ben's pointing and saw Launchpad.
"Since my friends from school have also *insisted* on coming…"
Labrid noticed the bitter emphasis on the 'insisted'.
"...there would be no space for all of us in Kevin's car."
Kevin stepped forward and tossed something into his hand. "This tracker has a built-in audio and video system…"
Ben cut in. "Basically we're going to have him facecam while driving."
Kevin nodded. "Tennyson's bright idea is that if I…"
He groaned and made quote signs with his hands. "...'get' out of line, you can use that fancy remote and make me crash—"
"And we know he cares about his car more than anything else. So, there is no way he would take the risk."
Kevin took a deep breath, and got to his driver seat. He gave a thumbs up.
Momo nodded. "Is everything functional, Launchpad?"
Launchpad checked the rear view mirror which he taped the screen on for Kevin's webcam, and then glanced down at his four shining new tires.
"As functioning as anything, little Miss."
Kirishima thought to himself. "Is this safe?..."
Labrid had followed Ben's logic. "I see your point, but maybe it would still be better if I sat with him?"
Ben shook his head. "Trust me…"
He shot a glance at Kevin.
"You're better off staying with me."
Kevin scoffed and got in his car.
"Come on." Ben said. "We'll all sit in the back."
"No." Labrid shook his head. "I think it will be best for me to leave you alone with your classmates."
He put a hand on his shoulder. "You seem like you have a lot to unpack."
Ben's voice had actually become shaky with that for a second. "Okay, if you say so."
Labrid then sat down at the passenger seat and closed the door.
From the side view mirror, he watched as the teens got inside.
Tennyson still seemed like a mess… and the divider was put up.
"You guys ready?" Kevin's voice shone through the speakers.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Launchpad let the engine roar.
However, Labrid's gaze didn't turn to the two.
He muttered to himself, now looking through the rear view mirror. "I just hope he is…"
Ben 10: Hero Force
Chapter 20
Path of Compromise
Ever since the cars had left the temple of the Forever Knights of Japan, silence had taken hold.
All four UA students had finally reunited, in their uniforms… gazes all over the place.
Yaoyorozu had assembled her hands on her lap, waiting for their destination.
Midoriya had one of his hero notebooks open, pencil in hand, however his hand wasn't moving at all. It was like he was lost in his own words… or thoughts.
Tennyson was looking out the limo's window, elbow on the sill.
And Kirishima… just couldn't take the silent tension any longer.
"So…" he mumbled. "How long have you been at this, Tennyson?"
Ben took a deep breath.
"Three days, with this being the third."
His voice held some snarkiness.
"I'm personally thankful that we decided to act this early." Momo said. "I…"
She was struggling to keep her disciplined and natural tone. Either exhaustion, or she was hesitating.
"I wouldn't like to know how your situation would escalate in a week, or perhaps even a month."
"Yep, how it would escalate…" Ben shrugged, still mocking. "Because you put it down so gently this time."
Momo closed her mouth in response, and Kirishima threw him an angry gaze.
Ben closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. "That was too much."
He took a deep breath.
"Sorry." He said. "Yaomomo, I shouldn't have said that."
He brushed back his hair, trying to get a handle on… just pretty much everything.
"I guess, I've been a little tense. Being busted like a criminal like that."
"You are not a criminal, Tennyson. We never meant to treat you like that." Midoriya said. "Sorry if we came off that way."
"I know…" Ben bowed his head.
Midoriya then raised his hands, as his frantic side seemed to be putting a hand on his wheel. "You're a vigilante!"
There was no accusation there, just excitement, wonder, and questions… waaaay too many questions.
But Ben just shrugged again. "If that's what you want to call it…"
"Acting outside of the laws set regarding quirk usage…" Momo opened her mouth.
But immediately Ben countered with a sigh. "I mean, what I deal with is a little above the law's paygrade—"
He interrupted himself.
And found that everyone was suddenly looking at him.
"Uh…" Kirishima said, and Ben put his hand over his eyes.
"Look." He took off his hand and shot a quick glance to Labrid's direction. He was still facing forward… not that it mattered.
"There are some things I can't reveal…"
He itched the back of his neck.
"But I want you to know– all of you to know that I never came here, wanting to lie and… lead a double life like this."
He looked at Midoriya for now… the one he knew the longest from this crew.
"When I got word of here, coming to Japan and going to U.A. and all that, I didn't come here for some mission." He lent out his hand.
"I came here for the same reason as you, to be a hero. I knew the power I had and I wanted to try to get a way better handle on the—"
He realized he was raising his arm with the Omnitrix.
"... on my quirk…" He exhaustively said. "...again."
"Again?" Ben turned to Kirishima, who seemed the most clueless.
Ben spoke. "I… When my quirk manifested, I always had the desire to use it for the good of others and so, I did that… for a while."
He turned to Momo. "Guess that vigilante blood flowed within me right from the jump."
She looked back at him too.
It felt like there was still a curtain between them but… he was reaching out.
"Okay." Kirishima said. "But what made you just… stop? Why was U.A. a second shot?"
"I…" Ben's breath hitched.
Reliving that memory felt like a lighting strike to his system. "I lost…"
He bit his tongue. "...bad."
"Lost?" It was Midoriya this time, tilting his head.
"I lost someone I cared about." Ben followed up.
He lowered his head again, this time on the dial. "Or rather, a part of myself…"
Ben turned to Momo, who… even after the yelling, showed support to him.
"And, I just couldn't continue after that. I hung up the metaphorical coat for 4 years."
She leaned forward.
"Then, why even return to this double life?"
Ben's voice had hardened.
"Duty called," he answered. "I wasn't responsible enough back then and I lost. I didn't want to make the same mistake again."
Midoriya raised his hand. "Why not let the pro-heroes deal with it? Just tell them your situation and—"
"Don't you think I would have done that, Midoriya?"
His voice had come out a little harsh again, but he reserved himself quickly.
"I know I'm really scraping the end of your trust bucket, but believe me when I say there are things out there that you *shouldn't* comprehend."
He took a deep breath. "The threats I face would be too much for the police, the teachers, pro-heroes—"
"Are you working with the government, bro?"
Ben turned his head at Kirishima's sudden comment.
And Midoriya quickly jumped on. "I was suspecting that too."
Ben laughed it off. "Oh yep, I'm in the special unit." he gestured to his clothes. "Forgot my tux but I still have the mind wiper."
He took out a black pen from his jacket and waved it in front of him. "Or… whatever it's called. I never watched the movie, so…"
"We get it." Kirishima said.
"Point is, the government has no idea—"
"Tennyson."
Momo cut in on her own accord for the first time, and looked at him with a curious and skeptical gaze, one hand on her chin.
"I've been taking this time to listen…" Her voice hesitated. "After all, my interference has seemed to do… damage."
Ben opened his mouth, but… he couldn't come up with an excuse.
"You mentioned being above the law, government not being aware or *shouldn't* be aware of your work and…"
She squinted. "Things being out there that shouldn't be comprehended…"
The amalgamation of various bodily parts in one villain…
The tall, imposing, mechanical mutant-type villain with the octopus-face…
"Other than the villains we saw tonight, are you perhaps… dealing with cryptids?"
Ben's jaw dropped. "Eh–?"
The divider lowered down.
"We're here." Labrid's voice rose.
And Ben promptly cut himself off from the conversation. "Would you look at that, it's my stop."
He opened the limo's door and got outside.
"Like we talked, you stay inside and I'll be back in ten minutes, fifteen tops."
He put on a smile for the group, but none of them seemed to be taking it.
Ben, reluctant of what to do, just decided to close the door.
He then saw Kevin already out and Labrid getting out.
His hand made its way down to his jacket's sleeve.
"It's hero time."
They had arrived at a mineshaft, a hole on the side of a mound, with rusty minecarts and crates scattered all around…
…as well as a police officer with a shotgun at the door.
"Tough security." Kevin quipped.
"It doesn't have to be." Labrid said. "If they get even a wind of us being here, the whole base will go into lockdown."
"We would know…" Ben's eyes turned to Kevin. "And let's say these people aren't the types to take bribes."
Kevin crossed his arms. "Then what's the plan?"
Ben put a hand on his chin.
"Because of the weapon's deal, they would already be on high alert…" Labrid pointed out. "Not to mention our consecutive operations."
"Then, if the front door is out…" Ben reached for the Omnitrix.
Without hesitation he scrolled, and then slammed down.
Wildvine clenched his hand. "Let's make our own entrance."
His venus flytrap-like head closed up and he dove into the ground.
Kevin watched after him, before his eyes turned at the officer.
Labrid seemed… distracted slightly.
"Guys, jump down here." Wildvine's voice rose through.
Labrid looked up to him, his face straightened up. "After you."
Kevin shrugged and threw caution to the wind. The next thing his shoes touched was a platform of vines made by the Florauna hero. Labrid then landed next to him.
"Not much to see down here."
Wildvine didn't even look back at him. "Don't think so?"
The platform lowered and the giant secret lying under Musutafu, Japan, came to their view.
"It's the mother ship…" Labrid said.
It stood before them like a skyscraper, with a cone-like tip, indigo colored lights, four red boosters at the bottom, and…
"It's like, merged into the ground." Kevin said.
There wasn't just one platform that the DNAliens were using as a ramp, but the whole bottom section seemed to be still underground, with 5 or so hatches serving as all unique entry points.
The vine platform reached the ground and everyone hopped off.
"This must be how all this alien stuff arrived in Japan in the first place." Ben said. "The airport was the main base of operations and this…"
"This has the beach head." Labrid says. "Ben, if we manage to succeed here, it might just cut off the artery of Highbreed operations in Japan."
Ben clenched his hands.
"Cool story." Kevin interjected. "But how do we get in?"
Wildvine put a hand on his chin yet again, and then snapped his fingers. "Got a plan. Give me the ID Mask."
Labrid did as so, and Wildvine put it on, turning into a DNAlien.
He then looked around for another one of those levitating mining carts…
"Get in." he said, getting one of them working.
Kevin raises his hands. "Why?"
Ben could hardly stop himself from facepalming.
He looked around. No DNAliens were in sight.
Wildvine stopped the cart and took off the ID mask. "End of the line."
Kevin got out, immediately rubbing his arms. "Aah… It's freezing in here."
Labrid gasped. "These creatures like it cold…"
However, Ben wasn't in the listening mood.
"Come on." He tapped on the dial, Blitzwolfer emerging in his place. "I can sense the ringing from the weapon power cells."
He walked forward with weighted steps, almost like he was stomping on the ground.
His claws were getting extended—
"Something you want to talk about?"
Blitzwolfer's ears perked up. "Hmm?"
He shook his head. "Not really."
Labrid however, didn't let it go. "I want to know what's bothering you. I need to make sure your head is still in this…"
"It is!" He said, giving away a desperate tone. "I'm not going anywhere from this, trust me."
Labrid picked up on the jumpiness… and Blitzwolfer seemed to realize that.
"I…" he scratched his fur. "Yes, I'm still into taking down the Highbreed. They might have seen me but we still have a planet to save…"
"They…" Labrid sighed, upsettingly. "You value their opinion."
"Of course I do." Blitzwolfer said. "They are my friends, they are great to be around, talk to… but that's exactly why I need to keep my mouth shut."
"I need to give them a chance at a normal life."
The coin dropped in Blizwolfer's head. "Well, as normal as a life of constant crime fighting and climbing hero charts will be, but you get my point."
Labrid however, had his attention elsewhere, besides the quips.
He could see the claws that Ben used to scratch, start to dig into his skin.
"That doesn't seem to change the fact that you want to tell…"
Blitzwolfer raised his hand. "Of course it doesn't…"
He exhaled but even as he did so, his four hinged jaw opened by accident.
"I am *sick* of lying to their face. They have me there." Blitzwolfer said. " It really is not something I want to do, but…"
He lowered his head again. "Them being here, seeing what I do… It was all a mistake."
"And what can I do with a mistake like that?"
He blinked, and looked at the officer next to him. "What would you do, Magister Labrid?"
The officer's eyes fell.
Unlike his usual style, there… wasn't an immediate answer.
"There it is." Kevin's voice came through to both of them.
Apparently he overtook the two with some fast walking.
A black door slid open before them, revealing an empty circular room with… a giant red lava lamp?
"Great… More things we don't understand." Blitzwolfer said, as he then noticed the patterns on the ground. "Is that supposed to be a socket?"
Kevin placed his hand on the wall and started walking around.
He closed his eyes and focused on the material…
"Hmm?"
The feeling of metal… It changed or…
He absorbed just enough for his arm, and punched through the wall. "Yep, the thickness changed."
Kevin then absorbed it with his other arm and pushed the door out of the way, just like crumpling some aluminum sheets.
"Two for two."
Ben stepped forward and saw the rifles in the room.
"One last one for tonight…"
His jaw opened.
*HOOOOOOOOOOOWL!*
And all lances shattered upon impact.
Kevin crossed his arms. "A little louder, why don't you?"
Blitzwolfers jaw closed. "It's no big deal. We'll be out before they even—"
*HsSsSsSsSssSssSS—!*
The three of them turned around. There was a DNAlien…
*RAaAaAaAaAaAa!*
More of them started swarming into the room.
"Oh man…"
Labrid drew his gun and Kevin fully armored up.
"Stay behind me, old man."
The Magister… actually took his advice.
And Ben's jaw opened again.
"What is it? Round 3 with you guys or… 4?-"
He could see the giant humanoid outline of a new figure, also coming from the door.
Shivers ran down his spine.
"One round 2 for you."
He bared his teeth.
The Highbreed commander came into light, behind his DNAlien army.
"What are you creatures doing on my ship…" His eyes grew. "Tennyson…"
A green fire lit under Ben's eyes.
He turned to the Magister and Kevin. "Handle the group…"
Labrid turned to him. "Tennyson, we—"
"No." His fur stood on edge. "I'm not letting another airport incident happen, Magister. We're keeping this base and healing everyone in it."
"All I have to do… is beat him."
Concern was written over Labrid's face, however Kevin just gave a smirk and nod.
"Do your thing."
Veins appeared at Blitzwolfer's hand as his claws fully extended!
*HAAAAAAAAAA!*
He ran forward on four limbs. *HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWL!*
The sonic barrage hit the entrance, crippling the metal wall and launching the DNAliens, but it didn't do anything to the Highbreed.
Blitzwolfer jumped right at him, the Highbreed smacked him away!
"Insect…"
However, he landed on his limb and jumped right back, going for a slash!
The Highbreed however, stepped back, avoiding yet another hit.
He assembled both of his hands and brought it down on Blitzwolfer!
"AHH!"
The floor dented by the sheer force, creating a small crater in the shape of the wolf hero.
"You would face me alone…" Highbreed was offended and a bit curious.
Blitzwolfer though was relentless.
"YES, I WOULD!"
He went for another slash, but the second the HIghbreed dodged, he spun in the air and slashed him with his feet!
"You…" The Highbreed had frozen on his words.
But Tennyson wasn't done.
As his feet landed on the ground, that mouth opened again.
*HOOOOOOOOOOOOWL!*
In the presence of the sonic boom, the alien was blown back through the door, with his back crashing against the mining cart and more DNAliens.
His purple muscle was showing, slight green fluid was coming out.
His eyes narrowed, looking into his damaged ship and the wolf getting up on his hind legs.
The eyes of him were glowing, his wings had opened and veins went up through the arms.
"You dare… Vermin!"
Highbreed ran straight at him and took a swing.
Blitzwolfer didn't have time to dodge. He blocked with one hand, but his shoulder felt like it dislocated, just with that one hit!
The Highbreed then landed a back hand, and grabbed him by the mane!
"Filthy creature!"
He slammed him to the wall.
And then at another.
"You've ruined everything by discovering this location."
Blitzwolfer's back hit another wall.
His jaw tried to open again, but the Highbreed landed another punch on his face, and shook him.
"You've set our plans back months!"
Blitzwolfer's jaw remained open. His back… It felt like he had a rope tied to his windpipe, his chest could hardly puff up.
The Highbreed brought him to the outside, the echoing of the vast area irritating his ears even more.
"Now, I have to move my ship, find a new hiding place and sterilize the area."
Life came back to the hero's eyes. "You… can't…"
"I can, and I wi—"
Blitzwolfer's jaw closed like a mouse trap, biting down on his hand!
"Aah! Filth!"
He let him go and Ben weakly slammed on the dial.
"You infected me!" The Highbreed cried out as it looked at his hand. Unfortunately, with those razor sharp teeth, his skin couldn't come out unscathed.
The alien then reached into the green flash with fury, only for two beams of lasers to hit back!
The red supersonic manta-ray of the Omnitrix, Jetray, soared into the sky. "I won't make it as easy as last time, Highbreed!"
Both the tail and his eyes luminated in green as he sped at the white giant.
The Highbreed tried to grab him, but Jetray was too fast. He zoomed all around him, hitting wherever he saw an opening. His chest, his arms, his back!
Jetray just left his neuroshock on as he spun all around him!
"What's wrong?! Things are moving a little too fast?"
The Highbred tried swatting away the pest, but… it then suddenly went away on its own.
It felt above him, all arrogant.
"Then again, I should have expected that. Compared to Jetray, you're just too slow."
The Highbreed, coming out from his more closed up state, stood tall again. "Being more nimble, won't bring you victory, insect."
He raised his hand, and claw darts suddenly shot at him!
Jetray dodged out of the way. "Did you really think— OW!"
A fist of the Highbreed connected with his face. He also had his wings spread out, and was flying.
The Highbreed then grabbed Jetray's arms, and when the giant alien turned off his flying, Jetray found himself quickly connected with the ground.
Pinned yet again, Jetray saw the Highbreed direct a fist right to his head.
He tilted his head to the left. A punch landed to the right.
And then to the right. A punch landed on the left.
"Hold still!"
Ben perked up. "Why would I do that?!"
His eyes glowed again and blasted another neuroshock, but the Highbreed started blocking it with the palm of his hand.
"End of the line."
Jetray's eyes widened. "Okay, time for another switch!"
He tried to move, but the Highbreed pinned him with one arm and fired his claw darts with the other again stapling the patagia under his arms to the wall!
"AHHHHHH!"
What kind of sadistic—!
*POW!*
He got punched in the face.
"He's gonna crack me open like an egg!"
He stretched his legs, letting a blast from his tail combine with the blast from his eyes.
"Persistent creature!" The Highbreed was pushed back, but only for now.
His arms were fully stapled. If he tried anything now, it would hurt like waxing off the hair on his arms… only a thousand times worse!
"Any chance we can talk this out over a smoothie?"
All that came through was the Highbreeds grunts as he tried working through the laser.
"Yeah, well, I didn't think so either…"
As he said that, from out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kevin and Labrid get out.
But they were still held up with DNAliens—!
A hand grabbed his throat.
"Now, your existence shall come to an end."
His grip started closing—
Only for an explosion to go off in his back.
He raised his head, a tone that was seething. "Who dares?.."
Ben also tried looking over… and saw Momo, with her midriff showing, and a smoking cannon by her side.
"Get away from him!" She then made a staff and held it true.
"Momo are you—" Jetray was shut up with another stomp from the Highbreed.
With no other words, the general stepped forward towards her.
That earlier blast hadn't hurt much… yet she was continuing to stand defiantly. This wouldn't stan—
"SMASH!"
A fist connected with the side of his torso, and sent him flying face first into a wall!
"Another one?!" he quickly raised himself up though.
Now it was a green haired male, with a bleeding right hand.
"Is there no end to today's annoyances?"
Midoriya's eyes went as small as dots.
That… That was 100%!
A punch with the same power behind it as All Might and… he still rallied himself up?!
Midoriya squinted. The giant seemed to be at least holding onto his ribs, maybe… he broke one?
He let go of his right and readied his left hand for some flicks.
The villain got up from his crash zone and… started walking towards him.
"Watch the limiter Midoriya!" He yelled to himself from the inside. "SMASH!"
He let his index finger loose!
Jetray shook his head, slowly coming to.
"What…" His dizzy vision made everything difficult. "Those… were not… the size twelves I asked for…"
Ben felt like he was on a loopty loop. After, it wasn't like his disoriented vision was helping. All he could see was…
"Three… Yaomomo's?"
They were all spinning together, before stacking on top of one.
"Stay with us, Tennyson." She said, and looked at the claw darts. "I will get these off from you in a second. I promise."
She had run over from her cannon at the mine's elevator as Midoriya kept the creature at bay. All according to plan.
Now, it was time to start from one of the darts and…
There was a light green liquid on the wall… oozing from the patagia.
"They pierced through—"
She heard Jetray speak faintly.
"Tennyson?" She once again came face to face with him.
"The dial…" he shook his head. "Tap the—"
Life returned to his voice. "Look out!"
And as she turned, she saw the black claw… descend on her head.
"DIE! FILTHY SPECIMEN!"
Time almost felt slowed down.
"AHHHHHHHH!"
A scream echoed close to her ear. She closed her eyes.
But the impact didn't come.
*Huff… Puff…*
She opened her eyes, and saw a dark green-teal metal hand grabbing the black claw.
Momo also felt some of the warm metal around her waist.
"Now…" NRG spoke, who had lifted himself up slightly, and pushed Yaomomo out of the way with his left hand.
His right hand warmed up, turning orange and burning the Highbreed. "The gloves are off."
Meanwhile, inside the ship—
"Hey!" Kevin sidestepped. "If you're gonna throw up, do it somewhere else!"
He landed an uppercut on the DNAlien, before many more took his place.
"These guys are just never ending, aren't they?"
"They are." Labrid also shot at them from his corner, before having his hand move down to his belt. "But they are not invincible."
He tossed a couple Lodestone disks. "Kevin, now!"
The criminal smirked as he saw the weapons rip away from the DNAlien's hands. But as he rushed in, he also found himself knocked off his feet and getting pulled towards them!
"What the—" A lightbulb went off. "Oh, I get it!"
He outstretched his arms and as the disks rapidly pulled his metal body, he turned the chance into an unblockable double lariat!
"A strike!"
Labrid turned off the disks, and Kevin skid on his metal feet for a second, before stumbling and getting his footing back.
He saw another horde approaching. "Set me up again Labrid."
"Can't." The officer responded. "Currently working with a limited stock of these."
Kevin palmed his fist. "Okay, old fashioned way it is."
He dug his hand into the ground and ripped off the plating!
"Here goes—!"
A blast hit his wrist and… it actually hurt!
"Ah!" He looked at the smoke coming from it. "A phased pulse clip?"
"Now is not the time to be distracted!"
Labrid jumped in front of him and in one consecutive beam, laid out four of them!
The energy cell ejected from his gun as he locked in a new one. "Come on!"
Kevin watched on. "Right behind you."
He grabbed the plating again and tossed it… but.
He looked at his wrist again, as his eyes widened.
That pain wasn't from the clip used… One of the bracelets on his wrist couldn't withstand the punishment and… exploded.
"No wonder one of my hands started feeling lighter than the other."
His eyes rose up to the officer. Labrid didn't look like he had noticed…
"So, we keep it that way."
He then ran after the officer, and decked the first DNAlien he saw in the gut, with his elbow!
There was more still c—
"I'll smash your group to pieces!" a voice rose through, as several fists came through behind the DNAlien lines.
It was the red spiky kid and with his whole body hardened up, he was mowing the unsuspecting ones down one by one.
Labrid took this chance too, shooting all the startled ones.
"I won't be outdone here by a kid." Kevin puffed.
He put his hand on the grounds again, renewing the armor, and then stomping on the ground, sending a shockwave that knocked all off their feet!
Kevin crossed his arms. From the looks of it, that was the end.
The officer approached the redhead.
"You're from Ben's group." Labrid said.
"Yep." the teen extended his hand. "Name's Kirishima, at your service."
Labrid shook his hand. "I thought he instructed you to stay in the car."
"Well…" Kirishima said. "It became 10 minutes, and he wasn't back. Figured he was in trouble."
"Brave kid." Kevin crossed his arms and smirked.
Labrid just settled for shaking his head though. "How is Ben doing on the outside? I assume you came through the elevator."
"We did." Kirishima nodded. "But I have no idea. As soon as we landed, Yaomomo started creating a cannon and we decided that I should beeline it straight for you."
"Then let's get a move on to help." Labrid said. "If we can prevent the… *giant* from entering this base, then we might have a chance."
Kirishima relaxed his arms. "Whatever you say." As all three started running towards the door.
Kevin in the meantime rolled his eyes. "Translation: These things can't take off in their spaceship without their boss."
The three got outside, went down the platform and…
"Come back and fight—!"
They saw NRG running after the Highbreed, trying to get his heated hands on him, however the white giant was seemingly paying no mind, and going right for the girl who was bandaging the greenette's hands.
NRG, firing his laser at the ground he was going to step on, managed to make him falter!
"Now, you're—"
The Highbreed stomped him back.
However, there wasn't even a faint sign of that hurting.
NRG threw another scorching punch.
The Highbreed, in response, took flight.
The nuclear alien's voice got jittery. "You can't escape me… that easily!"
He slammed his hand to the side of his head, and shot his nuclear beam to the mine's dome!
The Highbreed though had mobility and practically danced around the blasts!
"Come on, so close!" Kirishima clenched his hands, like he was watching a sports game. However, to Kevin, it didn't seem that way.
His eyes were stuck on the cracks forming on the dome.
Tennyson wasn't holding anything back as they melted right through stone.
One crack above them was traveling and—
"Look out!"
He shoved Labrid and Kirishima out the way as a part of the roof gave out and dropped down on top of him!
"Is he insane?" Kevin thought as he had barely caught the thing in his hands, with his back particularly not feeling fond of the sudden move.
He could then barely toss it aside. "Hey Tennyson!"
The three slits faced him. The big headed furnace could hear.
"Keep up that lousy aim, and you'll bring the whole roof down on us!"
The nuclear beam from the NRG came to an end. He clenched his hand to maybe find another way.
But the Highbreed wasn't courteous.
He spun around in mid-air and fired his claw darts.
Not towards NRG, but at the roof!
"Oh come on!"
Part of the roof above NRG gave out too, and he found himself getting buried!
"Bastard!"
He worked his way through the shower.
None of the dirt was hurting, it literally couldn't reach because of the armor.
But the dust got in the way of his sight.
And the sudden impacts from larger boulders made getting a proper footing impossible!
Out from the corner, he could see the Highbreed moving towards his two classmates.
Yaoyorozu and Midoriya…
The creature was stomping at them.
"Get away from t—!"
A giant rock landed on him, burying him from sight, and letting moonlight from the outside enter the battlefield.
Midoriya turned to the villain, and saw his slow… imposing movements.
It wasn't because of exerting a sense of superiority, or trying to make them fear…
It was because he was genuinely hurt… and angry.
"Stand behind me, Midoriya."
Yaoyorozu got up from where she was bandaging him. "Your hands are too damaged to continue on for tonight. I will fight instead."
She stood her ground, steeled her standing.
He could only groan from where he sat. "Yaoyorozu, he's too…"
He saw the red slits look back at her. They almost glowed.
"He's undaunted."
Chills ran down his spine.
He attempted to straighten himself up, but Yaoyorozu immediately generated a pink glow from her hand.
"I can handle myself!"
The glow dazzled his eyes, but…
He could see her shaking.
Yaoyorozu stared down the giant villain… as her breath couldn't help but hitch.
"What's there to create?" She thought to herself. "Even my cannon… It seemed to do some damage, but it was still shrugged off."
"It…" She sighed. It wasn't even close to the most powerful blast the villain was hit with tonight. Tennyson… and Midoriya…
Light swirls were appearing inside her pupils.
Blanks… All she could come up with were blanks!
"Impure mongrel." The villain's words snapped her out of it. "Still standing…"
She created a net and tossed it, but the Highbreed's claw made short work of it.
"How much patience do I need to have… for your minute intelligence make peace with it?.."
She swung the staff, but the villain grabbed it, easily making it shrivel.
His other claw grew as it rose up on her again.
"You, your entire race, your planet will all fall before us. One. By. One."
Momo tried to pull it back from his grip, but he didn't budge.
From her peripheral, she saw NRG, still trying to work his way through the stone. "Yaomomo!"
Countless voices felt like they reached out at the same time.
She let go of the staff.
…but the whole world fell on deaf ears.
"SMASH!"
She snapped back.
The giant villain was knocked away once again, but this time he didn't seem like he would get back up so fast.
Midoriya had gotten up, the bandages on his hand ripped through.
"I will… I need to fight."
His fingers were red and swelling… but he had already used them once and in this second time the pain… It wasn't feeling different.
He forced his hand into a fist. The greenette looked like he was just about ready to end it.
"No, Midoriya. Not so recklessly—"
He didn't listen though.
The white monster started to pick itself up from the ground.
He directed his hand to her classmate, about to fire the claw darts—!
"Not so fast!"
Kirishima jumped on one of the hands and held it down.
Yaomomo's eyes went wide, but Kirishima didn't falter.
He dug his hardened legs into the ground. "Time to make you take a time out!"
She was about to yell at him—
"Yeah, just like that kid." The criminal ran and grabbed the other arm.
"You, primitives!"
They started holding him down, but it was barely.
"Ughhhh!" With one pull, Kirishima's legs were already starting to show above ground. "What kind of juice does he drink?! He's too strong!"
He hardened his arms even more, relying on the friction to keep his grip locked.
The criminal winced as well. "Don't whine about it and pull, it will only take a second."
The red armor with the yellow lines of technology around the criminal started to warp. It was moving from the criminal to… covering the white villain?!
"What are you doing?"
The criminal smirked. "Making a point!"
It was spreading all over like a body cast, but equivalently, the criminal's armor was getting thinner and thinner.
"LET GO!"
The metal finished settling on the legs first.
"One half done." The criminal said, and Kirishima gritted his teeth.
He saw Kevin was about to be shaken off, so he clamped down even harder!
"Almost..!" The criminal dug his nails.
The metal started going above the giant's waist, and then the chest. The side with Kirishima's arm was complete, all that was left was—
"Enough!"
With one last push, the Highbreed shook of Kevin!
"I will not be defeated!"
He grabbed him with the one free arm and tossed him, face first into the rocks.
"Kevin!" Kirishima yelled.
Without the metal, he had gone down for the count.
Kirishima didn't let go of the arm. Except for the one arm and head, the cast was complete, maybe they still could…
"Don't think this can hold me."
The metal was starting to bend from within, specifically at the joint areas.
"Shit, that doesn't look like it's gonna hold either!" Kirishima cried out.
"It doesn't… have to."
He looked to his side, and saw NRG, fuming.
NRG put his hand next to his head, and as he took careful aim…
"All I need… is one second to finish this…"
He uttered those words… with no sympathy.
Even Yaoyorozu, who was a bit further away, could feel a goosebump-inducing warmth wash over her.
Ever since she came here, she was freezing but, NRG's body was now making it warm…
Too warm…
The head of the furnace, the three slits that he used to fire his beam from… were facing right at the villain's chest.
A glow overtook his face.
That much time for powering up. Tennyson, he couldn't—
"Don't!" Midoriya yelled, and NRG shook his head.
The greenette pointed up, and as NRG followed his gaze he got what his friend meant.
He directed his head upwards.
"Let's see how you like it."
Kirishima let go of the arm and ran back.
Momo put a hand over her face as the beam melted through, and another cave-in followed with dirt, dust and boulders!
NRG stood his ground, watching as his enemy, who was already in an almost full body cast, get buried by rocks.
However… The Highbreed continued to persist.
"YOU."
His head and arm immediately poked out.
"...ARE. ALL. BENEATH. ME!"
The white villain, as he brought up his head, saw the green headed welp once more… as a green electric spark flashed by his eye.
"DETROIT…"
The red power was traveling all across his arm!
"...SMASH!"
With glowing eyes, he brought down his fist right on his face, so hard that it even resulted in a devastating blast of air!
Everyone was blown away, except NRG who just mildly shielded the slits to see.
"Is it…"
As the wind died down, Momo got up from the ground and ran to Midoriya's side.
Half of his jacket and shirt was ripped all the way though and he was inhaling like his life depended on it.
He started to collapse. "Midoriya!"
Momo set him down, before looking forward yet again.
The punch had completely destroyed the makeshift prison. Pieces of the body cast and rubble were scattered all over.
Even on the wall of the mine, a dent like a tunnel entrance had formed.
However, despite the destruction, there laid their enemy.
Unconscious…
Injured all over his body…
And alive…
They had won.
NRG took a knee.
His hand was shaking.
"I usually hate repeating aliens… but this time is an exception."
He touched the dial, and Wildvine emerged again.
Immediately a burning sensation came over under his arms.
*AH–ssss*
He bit his tongue, preventing any screaming.
Even as the wines were tying each other back under his arms, it hurt. "Maybe it was best to lay down a little."
He put his head on the ground and looked up.
Almost immediately, Yaoyorozu entered his view of rocks and the spaceship.
"Ugh…" And now, here was a whole nother conversation he'd rather not do…
But…
Just like before she seemed shaken.
Fear was written all over her.
And she had seemed to come to him… for answers.
He sighed and rose up from the ground where he laid.
She sat down next to him, head down.
Neither of them, sure on what to say.
"Well…" Wildvine clicked his mouth. "Did I tell you, or did I tell you?"
Momo looked over to him from the side of her eye.
"Yes… You have. I…" She sighed. "I didn't expect anything… akin to this."
"I know things… this night, rather, has been hectic."
The dial started blinking on its own. The time of the Omnitrix was out and Ben immediately transformed back.
"You have seen lots of stuff that I wanted to keep secret."
He kept his hands together.
She kept her head bowed, eyes closed.
Ben wanted to speak softly, just like her, but… now that the fight was done, all the things circling in his head came forward.
He opened his mouth. "But, I gotta say…"
That gentleness faded. "Blackmailing me? After all that happened?"
Momo was shrinking where she stood.
"I want to know what was going through your head." He turned more judgemental, not raising his voice. "Because, if I didn't know any better, I would say your intelligence dropped after hanging around me too much."
"Maybe it would do some good to get away."
"I…" she could say, but Ben was reading her like a book.
"I know. You wanted to protect me, keep a lookout. But you did it through *stalking* and then *blackmail*."
With a stinging tone: "That's your style, really?"
Momo, didn't say anything.
She had her hands clasped together, not looking at him.
From behind him, Ben heard another tone.
"In case you forgot…"
He raised his head and saw Kirishima, Midoriya and Kevin standing all together.
Kirishima continued his sentence. "You almost died while fighting against that villain, Tennyson."
Ben shook his head. "I think we both saw I was NRG—"
"And you were getting nowhere."
This time it was Kevin, with his arms crossed. "You couldn't get close. And *he* would run out your clock eventually."
He rose from Momo's side.
"Hey, I would like to see you do better!"
Kevin shrugged, even against the knitted Tennyson. "I sort of did."
"Tennyson…" Midoriya spoke with his bandaged hands.
"What Midoriya?" he tried to raise his arms, but immediately got reminded as to why it's a bad idea.
He made eye contact with Midoriya again and he saw that the greenette noticed that as well.
Ben steadied his voice.
"Are *you* gonna defend your actions, all with a matching set of broken fingers and a shredded school uniform?"
Midoriya also backed down.
Ben scoffed, frustrated. "You guys just—"
"That's enough."
Labrid stepped forward.
"Magister, but they—"
"Come with me." The officer wasn't in the mood. "I have something to show. And discuss."
In silence, Ben walked away, but… He briefly looked back at them.
Kirishima was standing strong, even a little irritated.
Midoriya had shrunken a little, still trying to come to terms with how things played out and… observant in how everyone was taking it in.
Yaoyorozu, though, seemed guilty.
"Just a mistake…" He seethed under his breath. "My mistake…"
He shook his head.
"Look at this."
Ben raised his head. It was the spaceship.
He crossed his arms. "What of it?"
Labrid raised an eyebrow to him. "Get closer to it."
Ben rolled his eyes. "Might as well humor—"
"Error."
He felt spooked with the sudden voice coming from his wrist. Ben, despite his arms still hurting like hell, rolled back his sleeve.
"Severe widespread genetic damage detected."
It was the Omnitrix, with the dial blinking green so fast that it could have its own epilepsy warning.
"Error. Number of subjects exceeding parameters. Calculating."
Ben watched as the watch's dial rose up, and computation continued in the device.
"I would call the Galvans."
Ben raised his head at Labrid.
"Call the Galvans?- You mean Azmuth?" He was rather perplexed.
"To take another look at the watch?-"
"No." Labrid with his hands tied behind his back, turned away from facing the ship, to instead facing the hero.
"You asked me before. How I would handle the given situation."
Ben's raised his eyebrows. Yeah, he had when he was still Blitzwolfer hadn't he…
"I would call the Galvans to wipe the three of them's memories."
He… He asked, his eyes widened. "Wait, they can do that… Can *we* do that?!"
But Labrid stayed stern. With a judgemental tone of his own, he pressed.
"Do you want to do that?"
Labrid's eyebrows were knitted, hands were down.
Ben's breath hitched. "I—"
Labrid pressed. "I thought that's not what you wanted."
"I want…" Ben said. "I want to correct my mistake."
He looked down at the watch.
His responsibility…
Labrid continued to speak.
"There is more than one meaning to the word, Ben Tennyson."
The dial settled back down.
"Two hundred and fifty six subjects in the recently set range of transmission. Should we attempt to repair?"
Ben's eyes widened. He looked up at the spaceship.
Two hundred… Almost three hundred people inside that thing…
All saved…
"Yeah." Ben said,
Without wasting a second, he raised his arm, despite the blood trickling down his sleeves. "Let's do it!"
A green light enveloped the dial, before it shot out in waves.
From the door, he could see the DNAliens… glowing one by one, until the whole ship was covered in it.
The waves then slowed down, and so did the light.
Ben, still pained, settled down the watch. "Omnitrix?"
"Program Complete. All genetic impairment in range of transmission caused by the Xenocites has been reversed."
"The DNA of the humans have been restored."
Ben… put on a smile.
He just felt… so light.
A hand landed on his shoulder.
"Ow." he said.
"My mistake." Labrid said.
"It's fine."
His happiness just couldn't be taken away.
"My point is…" Labrid said. "You can correct your mistake by continuing to run… or by taking responsibility."
Ben raised an eyebrow though. He looked at Kevin, before his gaze slid down to the trio of his friends from school.
"But, the job… It requires us to—"
"I'm your commanding officer." Labrid says. "And I won't let you tear yourself in half over something I can prevent."
Labrid raised his head, and looked at the students too. "Even I have to admit that they did good work here tonight."
"They didn't do much." Ben instinctively retorted. "It was mostly us. Mostly us running the show."
"Which makes you the perfect person to teach them."
What was being implied… finally dawned on the transforming hero.
He looked at them once again, but his gaze slid again… at their uniforms… at Midoriya's hands.
"They got hurt…"
"Of course they did." Labrid says, crossing his arms. "I said good work, but they are still green, in need of a teacher."
Ben takes a deep breath.
"I think they would be good for you, however…" Labrid said as he took a step forward to them.
"I want you to ultimately make the decision yourself."
He continued on walking, leaving Ben to his lonesome.
"I refuse to interfere in your life any longer… Ben Tennyson."
And the transforming hero… who had his fist clenched… finally let it relax.
The humans were taken out from the spaceship. And the very same kind of bracelets that were put on Kevin, were now on the unconscious Highbreed's wrists.
Ben had taken the chance to heal the damage under his arms.
Now, he had the trio stand before him.
Midoriya was on his left, trying to stand straight like he had become the class prez all over again.
Kirishima was on his right, eyes widened and mouth closed like he was in the principal's office.
And then Yaomomo… right in front of him.
Ben took a deep breath. Thankfully Labrid was standing by his right… even though he was mostly watching Kevin in the distance, who looked on with crossed arms.
"Well, this is it." he said. "Next stop is the point of no return, so, get off while you still can."
None of them even budged.
"You guys really are that stubborn." Ben exhaustedly said, lifting up his hair again, but… this time it was a bit more jovial.
He smirked. "There really is no way I can make you give up?"
"Just tell us!" Kirishima said, a bit angry, and Ben dropped the pretenses.
"Okay, okay. Then…"
It started when an alien device did what it did
It stuck itself upon his wrist with secrets that it hid
Now he's got superpowers he's no ordinary kid
He's—
"Are you seriously going to go through the whole story, Tennyson?" Kevin said from a far.
Labrid then stepped forward. "Maybe start with the important stuff."
"Oh, right." Ben put a hand on the back of his neck. "Probably should have thought about that…"
The trio looked at each other in the meantime.
Kirishima and Midoriya made eye contact and Midoriya just lifted up his arms.
"Okay." Ben steadied himself. "Well, Yaomomo was thankfully very close to guessing, so I guess we can start there."
He waved his hands. "Yeah, I have a bit of a vigilante side, but I don't really deal with cryptids, monsters or whatever… but with aliens."
Kirishima tilted his head. "Aliens?"
Ben continued. "It started when the Omnitrix fell out of the sky. I was 10 years old…"
He showed them the dial.
"And, there is alien DNA in the Omnitrix!"
As he slammed it down and transformed!
With his arms crossed, now in human form, Ben finished it.
"Now Gwen, my grandpa, Magister Labrid and I are the Plumbers."
"Plumbers?.." Midoriya did a double take.
Ben could see the confusion.
"Yeah, I didn't come up with the name." He said. "It's about fixing the leaks of extraterrestrial life, among other things."
"But don't worry, any guy who comes to fix your toilet isn't an intergalactic police officer."
Kirishima had to do a triple take, being in way more than what he had signed up for.
"Intergalactic…" he muttered under his breath.
"So, aliens are real?" Midoriya asked again, and Ben shook his head.
"Yeah, that's what I've been telling you for the last 10 minutes."
His eyes widened. "So, what we fought just now..."
"Also yeah…" Ben said. "Midoriya, what you just knocked out, was a full-blooded alien."
The greenette had practically shut down.
"And you're also quirkless…"
Ben couldn't help but laugh. "Guess I am… surprised?"
Kirishima deadpanned. "Surprised?! That, this… It should be impossible."
"Believe it." Kevin smirked from the side as well. "Without that device on his wrist, you really could snap him like a twig."
Ben immediately retorted. "And *who* won our fight again?"
Kevin just shrugged.
"So…" Midoriya said. "Wait…"
He was moving his arms around, like he was treading one string from one end to the other.
"In Yaoyorozu's limousine you said… You said duty called you."
He tilted his head. "I'm sure it was alien again, but what kind?"
At that point, Ben straightened up.
"An alien conspiracy." He stated, getting a bit more strict with its mentioning.
"The Highbreed, the species of alien you just punched into sleep, are dying out and hence looking to pull the largest kamikaze move in history."
"Kamikaze…"
"Bottom line, all life in the universe." Ben said.
"And as you can presume, Earth is one of these targets." Labrid said.
"However, due to Earth's technology lacking interplanetary travel, it has been deemed to be a backwater planet, and the once prominent Plumber presence has been scaled back in these times."
Ben then took over. "Basically, with no space cops around, we're the last line of defense."
"So, you became a vigilante…" Kirishima said.
"To protect the planet. And that's what you followed me through, yeah." Ben said. "I know I had others who could take up the mantle as I was at school…"
He showed them the watch. "... Learning how to use this thing the right way, and getting my hero license, but…"
"When aliens were literally popping up in front of my eyes here in Japan, I couldn't sit still."
He outstretched his hands.
"Like, my body… wanted to move."
Midoriya's eyes grew.
Ben shrugged. "So, after the USJ, I let it move. Figured everything would be better if I did since power is meaningless… if it isn't used."
He sighed.
"And now, I'm letting you…"
It was still… a bit of a difficult choice.
"I'm letting you get a choice in the matter."
Labrid stepped forward.
Midoriya felt a whole nother presence from the "Magister of Plumbers" this time.
"You three showed skill tonight. With what you now know, I'm willing to let you keep watch alongside Tennyson."
"If it eases your mind, you can consider it… as being drafted, due to circumstance."
Midoriya's eyes grew. Being drafted… as a space cop.
"It's only temporary though." Ben quickly cut in. "Probably only going to be valid until this Highbreed stuff blows over."
The transforming hero leaned to Labrid. "Am I right on that?"
Labrid nodded.
And Midoriya nodded too, in order to show them that he understood.
"In times of crisis relating to aliens…"
"Or anything else that my past might spring up…" Ben cut in.
Labrid finished his sentence. "You will be free to act alongside Ben, and resolve these conflicts, as otherwise we would need you to keep your distance and leave it to Tennyson."
Ben nodded. "I'm leaving the choice to you now… since apparently 'No' isn't a valid answer."
He said the last part in a stinging, but also a bit of a levity induced way.
Midoriya looked at his friends, and then at Tennyso—
"Don't look at me." Ben said his arms crossed. "It's…"
He sighed.
"I will say this."
He looked back at the spaceship, and all the cured unconscious people.
"If it's worth anything, I'm glad I had you by my side tonight. You… picked up my slack and… helped me save hundreds of people here."
He scratched the back of his neck. "Thanks for that and… I guess I wouldn't mind having you by my side more often."
Kirishima immediately spoke up.
"I'm with you."
Ben was… dumbfounded. "You didn't even consi—"
"I don't need to!" Kirishima said. "If you said we could do some good like this, then we're in!"
Midoriya felt the need to nod as well.
"If this will make my hand reach… to so many more people…"
He clenched his hand, not even wincing from the pain. "Then I'm in too."
Ben felt… happy that they still felt like this.
He then turned to Yaomomo. He saw her nodding as well, but… her eyes were facing the ground.
"Very well…" Labrid cut in, and then put his hand on Ben's shoulder. "Take good care of them."
"They're not my pets." Ben said, smirking.
However, Labrid wasn't as happy.
He closes his eyes. "...for this is where I take my leave."
Ben crossed his arms. "Yeah, we three will—"
He turned. "Leave?"
"We talked about this." Labrid stated, and gestured to the spaceship. "Ben, this was the beachhead to their operation in Japan."
"Without it, the only forces left have to be stragglers. Something that I can trust you and your new group to deal with."
Ben nodded. That made sense in his head, but…
"Then, what will you do?" he asked.
With some hesitance from Labrid, he got his answer.
"I will move back to America." he had a special glare in his eye. "I still believe the location we have to be on the lookout for the most, will be there."
"Then I'll come with you." Ben said. "Together we—"
"No." he held up his hand. "This is your place."
He looked at the friends in question.
"And I don't want to drive a wedge between you any longer."
Ben turned to his group. And… understood.
"If I need your assistance, I will call."
Ben raised an eyebrow. "You have my number?"
Labrid responded. "I have all of your numbers."
Midoriya… felt scared by that sudden statement.
"Now, I will take care of the spaceship…" Labrid said. "I have someone who can help me with transporting all the humans back to their homes…"
His glare then landed on Kevin. "...And then I will deal with our prisoners for today."
The trio and Ben turned to him too. Kevin kept his arms crossed.
"Let's move along." Labrid said, taking out the remote. And Ben's tone turned less sympathetic.
"Thanks for the help too, Kevin." he said. "Too bad, we just about reached the end of our time."
Kevin shrugged. "You're really gonna put me in cold storage?"
Labrid pressed it, however nothing happened.
Ben reached for the dial with one hand. "Magister?"
Labrid also stood on edge. The only reason for that kind of reaction…
"Let me see your braces." he said, coldly.
Kevin humored him and once he raised them up...
"What did you do?" Labrid asked, as he took out his gun.
"One fell off during the battle," he said. "Should have wrapped it around tighter."
Kirishima watched as the Plumber trio got tenser as Kevin walked up on them.
"Face it Tennyson."
As soon as the name existed in his mouth, Ben reached closer for the watch.
He knitted his eyebrows.
"If you want to do anything good here, with your little group, you're gonna need me."
Ben crossed his arms. "I can take the bus, instead of your car, any day of the week. Not to mention Jetray—"
"I'm not talking about the car," he said. "How do you think you'll know if any stragglers show up? You're gonna wait for them to waltz into your fancy prep school?"
"No!-"
"You got any connections?"
"Yeah, I do." Ben says. "I…"
Ben's thought process got derailed. "I know… Gwen? And Magister Labrid!"
Labrid responded. "I will be in America, undercover."
Kevin rolls his eyes.
Ben, regardless of that, continued.
"Point is, we can't trust you."
"Why not?"
It was Kirishima, who had tilted his head.
"I purposely skipped over it." Ben answered. "But he was one of my arch-enemies from way back then."
Kevin humored him. "I couldn't outrank Vilgax?"
Ben sinisterly spoke under his breath. "Among others…"
He turned to Kirishima. "Trust me, this guy is bad news. And letting him out, even this long…"
Kirishima crossed his arms. "He pushed us out from the way under a boulder though. And then fought the Highbreed?"
"That may be." Midoriya was still doubtful. "But, he seems to have a record. This wasn't his first offense."
Yaoyorozu nodded her head as well.
Kirishima… didn't defend him. After all, he barely knew the guy and… Tennyson seemed to know him way better.
The Magister however had a hand on his chin.
Tennyson, after getting a team together because of him, knew that look. "You have an idea?"
Labrid didn't hold his information back. "I do."
"But… you're hesitant?"
Labrid nodded.
Tennyson then leaned close to his ear, and whispered something.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm not a one trick pony." Tennyson said. "If you want to leave him in Japan and it comes down to it, I can put him down…"
He raised his voice so that Kevin could hear. "... any day of the week!"
Kevin scoffed, and Labrid… nodded.
"Very well."
He walked up to the criminal from the Null Void. "Help me load the Highbreed to your vehicle."
Kevin tilted his head. "Load the Highbreed— Have you seen how big he is?!"
Labrid narrowed his gaze. "I'm going to transport him to a cell in Mount Rushmore… You could join him as well."
Kevin exhaled.
"Or you can go along with what I say, and I'll find a place for you here."
He rubbed his eyes. "Fine, but we're tying him to the roof. No way he's coming inside."
Labrid tilted his head, and Ben couldn't help but crack a smile, seeing his old enemy suffer.
In the meantime though, he stepped to his friends.
"It was more than you expected, wasn't it?"
Momo nodded, and… spoke for the first time. "It was…"
Ben could see her being regretful.. unnerved.
"I…" He made his own mood drop. "I'm sorry I gave you a hard t—"
"No." Momo interrupted him. "You don't have to apologize."
He opened his mouth, but she wasn't looking up to face him.
"Yaoyorozu, listen."
She didn't though, and Ben could see that.
"Yaoyorozu…"
She didn't respond to his calling.
"I will be sure… to be of some help…" she hesitantly said.
"Yeah." Kirishima joined too. "We won't let you regret trusting us."
He put his hand in the middle of them.
And Midoriya put his hand on top first.
"I will do my best."
Ben saw the determination of the two.
He looked at Yaomomo… before forcing a smile.
"Oh yeah?" He raised an eyebrow, before placing his hand. "Make sure to show a bit of that determination in the festival."
Midoriya looked up at him.
Ben winked. "Consider it a test for this new team."
He then saw Momo place her hand to the huddle.
She didn't say anything. She didn't react.
And to Ben, her hand… felt cold.
As the late night continued on, some lights were still open at the Team Idaten offices.
Ingenium heard the tap on his office door.
He lifted his head up from the map with strings. "Enter."
A young woman with short curly hair, wearing a mask and a Chinese dress pokes her head through the door.
"Oh, Onemu Shinya." He put the marker aside.
"Hey boss." She said, in a rather blunt way. "Are you planning on staying in longer?"
"Just a bit." Ingenium said. "You can clock out for tonight if you want though. I'm sure Enigma and I can take care of anything that comes up."
"Good…" She says with relief. "Oh, by the way, I got a couple of guys here. They say they want to see you, personally."
Ingenium nods. "Well, send them in."
She looks back and then as she makes her retreat, the door fully opens.
One of them he doesn't recognise, but the other…
"Magister?"
Labrid nodded. "Greetings once again, cadet."
The second person points at him. "Cadet? As in Plumber?"
"Ex-Plumber." Ingenium says. "Who's asking?"
Labrid stepped forward, and gestured to the person he brought. "Kevin Levin. A convict who's been caught on the field today…"
"Caught on the field…" Ingenium nodded. "Along with Tennyson?"
He sighed. "Perhaps.".
"I mean, not really perhaps, he…" Kevin spoke up, but he was cut off with Labrid's glare.
Ingenium took another look. "Wait… You said a convict… isn't he a kid?"
He stood up from his desk and walked over. "Taller and more muscly, but still a kid?"
Kevin retorted. "I'm sixteen, thank you very much."
"I'm leaving Japan." Labrid states with his arms crossed. "And I don't want to drag him around in America with me. So, it's either here or the Null Void for him."
"The Null Void?.." Ingenium said, rather flabbergasted.
"Yeah, they put us in the prison for grown ups." Kevin says. "No juvenile detention centers if you didn't know."
Ingenium looked at Labrid, very much frustrated by this knowledge of harsh treatment.
"I've made you aware of the situation."
Ingenium nodded. "Okay, so… Are we just reporting what we're doing?"
He was trying to wrap his head around what the Magister could be doing here at this time of night.
"You misunderstand." Labrid said. "I've made you aware of the situation last time."
Tensei's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, DNAliens, Highbreed coming to take us over, or wipe us out, one of the two."
Labrid nodded.
"On top of having information…" He glanced back from the corner of his eye, meeting Kevin's glare.
Ingenium saw that.
"He could be a valuable asset."
Ingenium raised an eyebrow. "An asset?"
"He's strong." Labrid says. "And prison time… seemed to have worked in his favor."
"Glad you're feeling that way, old man." Kevin said, but Labrid didn't acknowledge it.
"However, as a precaution, I'm leaving him with you."
"Leaving—"
"I'm assigning you as his parole officer."
"Woah woah!" Ingenium waves his hand. "I quit, remember? I—"
"You have a duty." Labrid said. "You're one of the handful of people left on this planet that has proper insight, he could provide information that works in our favor, while I'm in America."
Ingenium steeled his standing. "It was tough enough covering up the explosion at the airport from yesterday, this—"
"I…" Labrid cut in. "...*reconsidered* Tennyson's situation, based on your words."
Ingenium's eyebrows rose. "Reconsidered?"
"He now has a team to work with." Labrid said, with a stern gaze. "Now, you get to follow my hunch. You will do this favor."
Ingenium sighed.
"With your agency, you have more than enough resources to assign a place for him."
"A garage, preferably." Kevin says. "Nothing fancy."
Labrid looked him in the eye, and Ingenium forfeited.
"Fine."
Labrid nodded, and walked towards the door. "Meet me outside in 10 minutes."
Ingenium raised an eyebrow. "What now?"
"I'm guessing you're the friend that will help with the clean up?" Kevin said.
"Clean up?"
However, Labrid didn't register the question. "I'm trusting you."
He walked out that door, leaving his question to stir, and the criminal and the new parole officer… alone.
"Crying out loud…" Ingenium collapsed back to his chair, staring at his helmet. What would—
"If it makes you feel any better…"
Kevin was the one speaking, all with a serious tone. "...I don't plan on blowing this chance."
Ingenium leaned back.
"I sure hope not."
His eyes looked up at the glimmering half moon.
And the knight looked down at the glimmering fire… rising from his temple.
"What. Caused this…"
The knight asked with a British accent.
His helmet was different from all the others. Unlike a normal great helm, it was instead a golden faceplate with distinct facial features. And over his head, he had a gray-blue crown.
"Sir Enoch!"
One of the lesser knights arrived and dropped onto his knee. "There is news."
"What?" Enoch said, his gaze still at the temple.
"One of the survivors has woken." he says. "He was still weak, however the culprits for the weapon vault's destruction, and the fire that started afterwards, the one who hindered our deal for tonight... The identity was reportedly unmistakeable."
Enoch assembled his hands behind himself, as the knight took out a holoviewer and showed him an image from the security.
All with one figure in the center. Brown hair, green eyes, green jacket and… a familiar dial.
"Ben Tennyson… is back."
Enoch's figure… didn't flinch.
"Leave me."
The knight immediately obliged, disappearing from sight.
Enoch then reached into his own armor, and took out a small watch, with a screen.
As he tapped to his side, a purple misty figure with yellow eyes greeted him. "This is a secure channel…"
Enoch spoke without hesitancy. "We have given your offer another thought."
He looked down at the lower ranked knights, scrambling to manage the situation… and then up at the waves of smoke rising.
"And a compromise… may be issued."
One of Kurogiri's eyes grew. "What may you have in mind?"
"A test." Enoch said. "That you have… the *supposed* capability to manage our resources."
Kurogiri continued to stare with blank eyes.
"There are two of them, both of them are aliens, mercenaries, and currently overseas."
His eyes behind that mask narrow. "I want them to be dealt with, on your own accord."
Kurogiri's look, though, didn't have any sinister undertones.
Almost like it was robotic, he made a sound… only for a man in a tux to appear behind the frame.
"That… can be arranged."