Another collaboration between Steelcode, Redbat132, and myself. Here you go, Amigos! Enjoy! :)

Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man Of Action. Macy and Tommy belong to Redbat132. I only own Rachel.

Black Rebel Meets Rath

Macy was frustrated as she came back to the Grant Mansion. It had been a bad day for her because she had gone to the college and tried nearly every sport try-out and, although was the best in most of them, she didn't get in one single team because she was a girl. On top of that, she was steamed about the no-good jocks thinking she was nothing but a pretty face and should be out joining a cheer squad instead of being on a sport. She gave them something to think about before she had left.

And then, she had the joy of having to deal with Fisttrick and his street thugs. Although she defeated them as Black Rebel, though they still just barely managed to escape, she was disgusted that Corvo flirted with her and almost tried to kiss her while the others called her babe, princess, or sweetheart. That was pretty much the final straw and she now looked around, finding a gymnasium room and decided to try and let her anger out through exercising.

She had just finished a series of warm-ups before going over to some parallel bars when she bumped into a tall tiger. "Watch it, Fur Ball! I'm trying to work out here!" She snapped at him, not even caring that he was a huge tiger and looked like he could take down a couple brawlers.

Rath, not used to someone telling him off like that when he first met them, growled in anger. "You wanna battle, punk?! Let me tell you something! Rath's no fur ball and Rath's gonna teach you a lesson!"

Now Macy felt her anger spike and she growled, facing him fearlessly. "Come on then, you stupid cat!" She yelled back.

They clashed, brawling each other and still trash talking each other. Though while they were battling, Rath was secretly impressed by the girl's fighting skills. Every time he threw her to the mat, albeit trying to be gentle because she was a kid, she would swing upward and take him down with a head-scissors take-down. Not many could do that to him and Macy was starting to earn his respect, even if she was still acting like a ticked-off kitten. "Not bad for a punk," he said, smirking.

"I've got plenty more where that came from, you overgrown house cat!" She snarled as she charged at him. He caught her and lightly pinned her to the mat. "Get off me, tabby!"

Finally deciding that enough was enough, not to mention the kid was impressive and now earned his respect, Rath decided to find out what got her so upset. "What's your problem?" He asked, using a calmer voice, which was unusual because he usually always shouted, but had been working on lowering his voice to speak, especially now that he was a father.

Macy, however, didn't notice his attempt to calm her down. "I don't have to tell you anything, Tiger Man! Just leave me alone!" She snapped, following her words with a punch to hit him, but he moved quickly and she ended up getting trapped in a strong bear-like hug by the Appoplexian. "UGH! LET GO OF ME, YOU BIG STUPID CAT!" She shouted while still struggling to get free.

"Not until you calm down and tell Rath what has made you so mad," Rath told her, still keeping a firm grip around his trapped prisoner.

"WHO SAID I WAS MAD? I'M NOT MAD! I'M PERFECTLY FINE!" She continued yelling and trying to free herself with no success. The tiger alien was quiet and finally, after a few minutes of blowing off steam and remaining in the Appoplexian's arms, Macy gave up escaping and calmed down. "I've had a bad day, alright?" She mumbled out angrily.

Rath continued holding her. "Punks got on your nerves?" He asked gently.

"That's putting it mildly," she scoffed. "I tried out for sports in the local college, but despite being the best, I didn't get picked because I'm a girl and then some brainless jocks said that I should be on the cheer squad instead of in a sport. I kicked their butts to give them something to think about."

The tiger alien hummed thoughtfully. "Rath thinks you could be in a sport," he said finally. "You're athletic and agile."

She scoffed again. "That was the least of it," she said. "I then had to deal with Fisttrick and his gang of stupids, which was a lovely experience, let me tell you. One tried to kiss me and flirt with me and the others wouldn't stop calling me pet names!"

Macy wasn't one to show tears, because she didn't want to be thought of as a weakling, but tears began streaming down her face at a steady pace. Rath kept quiet as the girl spoke, also feeling disgust that she had to deal with Fisttrick's gang and he didn't blame her for getting upset. "Hope you gave those punks a lesson about being on the wrong side of the law," he said.

"Oh, yes I did," she said. "However, they did escape, though barely."

A few more tears came to her eyes before she turned to him. "If you tell anyone that I cried, I will hit you so hard that you won't have any fur left in that mangy cat coat of yours!" She threatened.

To her surprise, he only chuckled. "Like to see you try, Black Rebel," he said teasingly, poking her side in a playful manner before he looked serious. "But seriously, Rath won't tell anyone this. Not Rath's place to tell."

She sighed. "Thanks," she said softly. She was feeling a bit better and the alien had certainly been a good listener and had felt that Macy was a good athlete and not just another pretty face. She also felt better because this alien proved to be a good fighter and it was hard for her to find someone who matched her in skill like that.

Rath then had an idea. "Maybe an outside class would help you," he said. "Four Arms teaches a mixed Martial Arts and defense class to some of the older kids here at the Mansion. I bet he'd be willing to let you join in."

"At this point, I'm willing to take anything," she told him, totally fine with that suggestion. "...You know, this Grant Mansion is a lot bigger on the inside than out. I didn't even think you guys had a gym until just now," she admitted.

He chuckled. "This place is really big," he said. "Rachel's had it renovated many times to fit all of use and to fit everything else in here too. There's still some renovations going on to make sure the house is stable and add more to it."

"Miss Rachel's got a big heart," Macy said.

"Yes, she does," came another voice and they turned to see Big Chill, Whampire, and Ghostfreak in the doorway.

"Tommy came to us in worry that you had a bad day and he was hoping we could help you relax," said Big Chill. "But it looks like Rath beat us to the punch."

The girl smiled and looked at Rath. "It's hard to find someone who matches my skills," she admitted. "Think you'd be up to being my sparring partner now and again, Rath?"

"You let Rath know whenever you're ready and Rath will be ready to rumble," he said with a chuckle. "Still, Rath is very impressed. Not many can take a beating from Rath and bounce back quickly like you did, especially with a head-scissors take-down."

She blushed a little at his praise. "Just falling back on my fighting skills," she said modestly.

"And I hear someone's interested in joining my outside class," came Four Arms' voice as he entered the room. "You can join in if you'd like. It starts in about an hour."

She nodded. "Thanks," she said, appreciating his generosity at allowing her to join his mixed Martial Arts class.

"You won't be disappointed, Muscle Man," Rath said. "Black Rebel can really hold her own."

"So I've heard," the red alien smiled. "Saved my kids a little while back from some bullies."

"I had help that day," she quickly pointed out, which was the truth.

"Not to mention Snare-Oh mentioned how you pinned him down with a signature move of yours," Four Arms continued. "Not many can do that. Snare-Oh's usually too slippery to catch."

"But she's made me think of new ways to avoid such attacks," said Snare-Oh as he entered with Tommy on his back as he was giving the boy a piggy-back ride.

The boy looked at Macy. "You okay, sis?" He asked.

"I'm better now, Tommy. Thanks," she said, giving him a grateful smile. While he did annoy her at times, she was touched that he had called in some friends to try and help her recover from her bad day. Even Rachel came in and she smiled.

"Rook just got a very interesting call from Plumber HQ," she said. "Seems that Fisttrick and his gang turned themselves in after they got beat down by, get this, a girl who knew how to kick butt."

The aliens began laughing at that and Macy blushed before she looked at Rachel. "Wait, they turned themselves in?!" She asked in shock.

Rachel chuckled. "Sweetie, you gave them quite a beating," she said. "They had bruises that they couldn't cover up and they didn't feel like telling their other gang pals that they got pwned by a girl."

Rath laughed. "She bruised their prides as well as their faces," he said, lightly clapping Macy on the back in congratulations. She jumped a little, but it didn't hurt as she smiled up at her new friend.

"That's our Black Rebel," Whampire said with a smile.

"Tough as nails, but a good kid too," Ghostfreak said, also smiling.

Macy smiled and then headed out with Four Arms to join some of the other kids in the mixed Martial Arts and after the class, she felt much better. To think, an alien tiger with an attitude but mad fighting skills actually helped me to feel better and gave me a new direction, she thought to herself, mentally reminding herself to do something nice for her new friend someday.

Please leave Steelcode, Redbat132, and myself a review, but no flames!

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