A/N: Thanks everyone who reviewed! Be assured, I loved every single one I got. :) I think this might be the last chapter for the kids as thirteen, as this story is supposed to mostly document various points in the boys lives.

Also, if anyone has any ideas for future chapters, PLEASE feel free to suggest them! It took my long enough to think of THIS chapter!

---

Sometimes, Klaus just didn't understand Ben. The kid was a klutz, gullible, and sometimes as dumb as a sack of potatoes as Diego put it, and was never put off whenever Hargreeves yelled at him for calling him "daddy." The others had grown out of this habit, but obviously Ben was not taking the hint.

But this... Klaus blinked, taking off his mask for a moment to scrub at his eyes. He put his mask back on, and sighed. Well, it wasn't his eyes.

"Benji, what're you doing?" He asked, walking through the large oranate living room towards his friend.

Ben looked up from where he was seated on the floor, crayon in hand. "Drawin'." He replied, and smiled at Vanya, who was seated next to him, also holding a crayon. The girl looked guiltily up at Klaus, as if she had been caught doing something awful.

"I can see that." Klaus said, choosing to ignore Vanya. Why was Ben hanging out with her? It would only put him off more with Hargreeves. If there was one thing the academy had taught him, it was that the less time you spent with 00.07, the more Hargreeves liked you.

Ben shrugged, going back to drawing what looked vaguely like a horse. Or a squid. Vanya followed suit and went in to color a flower next to the horse-squid.

Klaus just shrugged, content to watch. If Ben wanted to become the second-to-last favorite, it was up to him.

At that moment, Luther burst into the room. Kalus could practically smell the "I-am-in-charge-here" pheromones seeping off him. "Come on! There's been another robbery, it looks like the it's her again." He paused briefly, glancing at Ben and Vanya sitting on the floor and Klaus hovering nearby. "Come on, Six, Four, get moving!" He barked, and was gone.

Ben scrambled to his feet, "Sorry, Vanya, you can finish our picture! I'll be back, 'kay?" He said, following Klaus as he floated out of the room.

"Be careful." Vanya said quietly, sadly poking at the crayons.

---

"I thought we put that hag in jail." Diego mumbled for what must have been the fifth time.

"Two, would you please shut up?" Allison grumbled, ducking and dodging another knife thrown her way. For a 70-something woman, Grandmother Esther was freakishly strong, and armed to the teeth. It was amazing she could shoot a machine gun and hold all those bags of money at the same time.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you to respect your ELDERS?!" She shrieked, and nailed Diego in the face with the butt of the gun as he ran at her, knife extended. Splatters of his blood landed on her floor-length flowered purple dress, staining it dark red.

"Should we really be beating up an old lady?" Ben asked, hovering by the sidelines and looking worried, tentacles still poised to strike.

"She's the one beating us up, Six!" Luther grunted while circling around the old woman, searching for an opening to attack. He ran at her just as she ran out of ammo for her machine gun, only to be shot at with a rather large shotgun. He ducked back, looking for a diffrent approach.

"Six, freakin' DO SOMETHING, even Four is doing something and he's a lazy-ass!" Diego screamed, trying to stop the flow of blood from his nose.

Klaus glared down at Diego from him spot near the ceiling, where he was busily floating the bags of money out of Grandmother Esthers grasp. "I resent that." He called.

Looking stressed, Ben ran forward, snapping his tentacles out to grab at Grandmother Esthers chainsaw strapped to her back.

"Oh, no you don't, sonny!" The old hag scratched out harshly, single-handedly aiming her gun and shooting point blank at Bens stomach.

Ben choked out a garbled gasp, doubling over as his tentacles swooshed back inside him, all except for a single foot-long chunk of tentacle, severed by the close-range shot, laying on the floor, blood-covered and twitching violently like a fish out of water.

Allison gasped in horror and covered her mouth, all of them stock-still for a split second. That split second was all Klaus needed to swoop down from the ceiling to land next to his fallen teammate. "Ben! Ben, wake up!"

"Self-sacrifice!" Grandmother Esther screeched happily, "Very noble of you, my boy!" And she leveled her gun to aim directly at the back of the mediums head.

"Grandmother Esther!" Allison shouted, her shock replaced with anger, "I heard a rumour you went into cardiac arrest."

For a moment, the old woman looked curiously at the purple-haired girl. "What on earth do you mean, I- ...ack." She clutched at her chest, and stumbled to her knees. "You... you brat..." And fell over.

Klaus payed her no mind, focused intently on the bleeding boy on the floor. "C'mon Ben, get up..."

---

He was stable. Stable and currently under Moms tender loving care, so Klaus had ceased to be worried a long time ago. According to Mom, as she worked on bandaging the unconcious youth as he lay in their medical wing, his tentacles had sustained the majority on the damage, and as soon as he retracted them they regenerated themselves. After that she had begun to talk about how noble they both had been in the fight, and Klaus had sort of tuned her out, just hovering by the bed and watching her work.

That is, until Hargreeves entered the room, Vanya quietly tagging along. The small girl instantly went to Bens bedside, their picture from earlier in her hands. Hargreeves fixed his gaze on Klaus, who met it evenly. Show no fear, show no fear...

"Number Four, I would like to speak with you." He said cooly, motioning for Klaus to step out of the room. Klaus did so, wondering what on earth he could have done this time. "Get down on the floor, boy, stop that ridiculous hovering inside." Hargreeves snapped, and Klaus obeyed instantly. "Number One tells me that you got into the line of fire after Number Six was shot. Is this true?"

Klaus averted his gaze, staring at the wall behind Hargreeves. "Yes, yes it is."

"This was a stupid, foolish decision." Hargreeves replied harshly, "You have obviously yet to realize that you are far more valuble than Number Six. You are never to put his life before yours, do you understand?"

Klaus blinked, geniunely shocked. "I..."

"Are far more intelligent, and entirely more useful than Number Six. Do not do it again." And Hargreeves turned, and left down the hallway.

Klaus glared at his back. The asshole! He floated upwards again, and returned to the medical wing. Ben was awake, smiling and talking to Vanya, who was showing him their picture of the horse-squid or whatever she had finished. As soon as Klaus entered without Hargreeves, Vanya muttered her goodbyes and got up, quickly leaving the room.

Ben looked sad. "I think you scared her." He said. His frown deepened as he saw the look on Klaus' face. "Did Dad yell at you?" Ben asked as Klaus floated over. He scooted over to let Klaus sit on the side of the bed.

Klaus just laughed dryly at his concern. "You're turning me soft, Benji."

---