Chapter 7: Back to School
"Ready, Ben?" Grandpa said as he put on his seatbelt. "Your first day of school in five years! How exciting is that?"
"You do realise I went to school in those five years, right? Even though I don't remember much from the dream coma."
"Yeah, but this time it's for real," Gwen interrupted. "At least pretend to be excited, put on a smile on your face or something."
"Yeah, alright," I laughed. "I guess I can try to be happy. After all, I get to make new friends."
Grandpa volunteered to take me to my first day of school in his caravan, along with Gwen.
"So, Ben, have you tried out the Omnitrix yet?" Grandpa asked.
"Yeah, I have. There's a lot of aliens I can transform into and they all have amazing powers and abilities. I've been practicing with it by taking down bad guys and I think I'm ready for anything, including Vilgax."
After about ten minutes, we reached the school. There were high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors all around the school. Senior jocks were playing soccer in the oval-shaped grass field while other seniors were either studying or talking to each other.
"The twelfth grade," I said as I walked out of the caravan and waved goodbye to Grandpa. "I can't wait to make new friends, I'm so excited."
Gwen smiled and patted my back.
"Don't sweat it," she said. "It's just school. How hard could it be?"
I held the straps of my backpack and walked through the front gate, looking for new people to talk to.
A blonde haired boy with blue eyes wearing a blue shirt with the letter C on it walked up to me.
"Hey, you must be the new kid, right?" He asked. "I'm Cooper."
"This is my cousin Ben," Gwen introduced. "The one I told you about who fell into a coma for five years, remember?"
"Oh, that's right! You lived those five years in a dream state, right?" I nodded in response to his question. "Yeah, I've been studying up on dream states. Apparently you can get a lot of information from a single blood test."
"So, Cooper, what are your hobbies?" I asked. He looked at me and smiled.
"I like to invent things. I make mechanical robots and other machinery. What about you?"
Huh, what are my hobbies? I mean, I enjoy beating up criminals and putting them where they belong, but I can't really say that.
"Just a few days ago I woke up from a five year coma, so I guess I don't really have any hobbies."
The two laughed awkwardly and then looked away, waiting for the silence to break and for someone to end the awkwardness.
A soccer ball came flying at me, and in an instant, I leaped to the air, jumping about three or four feet, and caught the ball.
"Nice!" Someone in the field complimented. "Now pass it back to me!"
I dropped the ball onto my leg and kicked it, shooting the air far onto the field.
"Dude, that was awesome!" Another jock exclaimed. "You should totally play with us, you'd make an awesome goalkeeper!"
"I guess this is my hobby," I said to Cooper, then looking back at the jock. "Sure, why not? I'll play with you guys after class." The jock gave a thumbs up and his friend standing next to him grinned excitedly.
"How hard could it be?" I said to Gwen, laughing.
The school bell rang, alerting us that class is about to begin. I rushed to the lockers and opened mine, placing my bag at the top shelf and taking out my books from the back pocket. After about a minute of organising my locker, the bell rang once again and I walked into the classroom holding onto my books, along with Gwen and Cooper.
"Quiet, please, settle down. We have a new student today," the teacher announced, "from the Tennysons. Would you like to introduce yourself?"
"Sure," I nodded. "My name's Ben and I've been in a coma for five years. I woke up from the coma a few days ago and I'm ready for whatever life has to throw at me."
"What's the green thing on your wrist?" Someone asked from the back of the class.
"It's a smart watch," I lied. "Sometimes it says things here and there, but that's just a technical glitch."
"A technical glitch?!" The Omnitrix said, luckily in my mind. Well, I'm not going to say I can transform into aliens from space with it.
"Well, you can call me Miss Marianne. Take your seat next to Kevin over there," the teacher pointed. I walked over to the back of the class and sat next to Kevin. He had black emo-style hair and a black shirt with grey sleeves. He was the same person who asked about the Omnitrix.
"'Sup, Ben," he said.
"Hey.".
I opened my math book to page 47. All the equations on the page felt... familiar. The teacher's voice drowned out in the background as I solved the questions, each Algebra problem getting easier and easier. Seconds later, I finished an entire page of the textbook. It felt like a breeze, I was solving problems at a fast pace. A tap on the shoulder came from behind me. I turned around and looked at Gwen, confused.
"How did you do that?" She whispered. "I'm still on the second question."
"I don't know. It felt familiar to me, like I've already solved it before."
I turned around and continued onto the next page. Minutes went by and already I finished six pages of the textbook while Miss Marianne was still explaining the fourth question. The teacher noticed I was on page 54 and walked up to me.
"Just because you're new here doesn't mean you have the right to do your own thing," she said, her arms at her waist. "You're on the wrong page. Go to page 47 and pay attention to how I explain the question."
I did as she instructed and went back to page 47, covering half the page so she doesn't realise I finished it already.
I wanted to tell her I was on another page because I finished the other six pages, but I wondered if this was because of my meta-human powers. I couldn't let something like that spread throughout the school, so I kept quiet. After she finished explaining the question, I moved my hand further down the page and pretended I was solving the questions. After about forty-five minutes, the bell rang.
"We'll talk about this in English class," Gwen whispered. Cooper looked at me and I shrugged back at him. I was just as confused as he was. What is going on with my powers?
I rushed out of the classroom, constantly apologising as I accidentally bumped into a few people, and ran to my locker. A quick book change later and I was ready, walking with Gwen and Cooper into the classroom. Once again, the teacher introduced me to the class and sat me down next to someone.
"Hi, I'm Ben," I introduced to the girl next to me.
"Nice to meet you, Ben. I'm Julie," she said.
We shook hands and took our seats. Julie was wearing a pink hoodie and black skirt. She had black hair and brown eyes. She was... different to anyone else. Something about her is going to change my life, I just don't know what yet. I can feel it.
We opened our books to page 30, as instructed by the teacher, and read the article on the page. It was a 2014 article of the Particle Accelerator explosion, written a month after the incident.
According to the page, hundreds of lives were affected and many people died. A few people fell into a coma and their names were listed at the end of the page. At the top of the list, Barry Allen - wait, Barry fell into a coma? Did everyone who ended up falling into a coma just decide on becoming a superhero? There were more names on the list, including mine, but the article was cut off by questions that we needed to answer.
After a minute of answering questions like what tenses were used and how did the writer describe certain events, I waited for everyone else to finish so I can move on to the next task.
Patience was running out, along with the lesson time, so I just decided to start the next task. After all, two other people finished the questions, so it can't be that suspicious.
The task says to write an article about someone who was affected by the Particle Accelerator - it can be one of the meta-human superheroes - and describe every situation with as much detail as possible.
I wrote about the day I fell into a coma and what happened during the coma. All the events inside the coma dream - well, the little memories that I can barely remember - was written down on the page. I wrote about the day I woke up, when the doctor found out I had the knowledge of a normal teenager and how she found that out with a single blood test.
A few minutes after I finished, the bell rang, some students complaining about how they didn't have time to finish the questions, while a few whined about not finishing their articles.
"What class do we have now?" I asked Gwen.
"No class now, it's break time."
Soccer players wearing different jerseys walked up to me, grinning.
"Ready?" They asked. I nodded back. We walked over to the field and took our positions, me standing at the goal. The players started the match, passing to each other and dribbling past our team. One of our defenders managed to get the ball and kick it away, but the player on the opposing team rushed in front of our teammate and intercepted the pass, running back to our goal.
Players in red jerseys dribbled passed our blue jersey team, including most of our defenders, and kicked the ball, shooting it at the goal. I leapt from the corner of the goal, arms out, blocking the shot and stopped the other team from winning a point.
"Great job!" One of the teammates shouted.
"The new kid's a skilled goalkeeper," the jock complimented. I gave a thumbs up and passed the ball to our striker.
This time, our team was more successful. The two strikers dribbled past a lot of the other team's defenders, and one of them took the shot, kicking the ball up high in the air, but then the opposing team's goalkeeper managed to grab onto the ball and block the shot. The two strikers groaned and ran back to our side of the field.
The opposing team's strikers ran up to our side of the field, but one of them lost control of the ball and our team's defender managed to kick it to the midfielder, who passed it onto the striker.
Now our team has another chance at this. Our team's striker rushed forward to the left side of the field, passing to his teammate and his teammate passing back. They dribbled past the couple of defenders on the left side of the field, reaching closer to the goal, and kicked it straight forward. The ball went flying, eventually landing on the striker's head and shooting onto the goal. Our team went wild, cheering for our striker and lifting him above us, carrying him around as he waved his arms stupidly in the air.
We put him back down and continued the match, but just before I was about to take my position as goalkeeper, I saw Cooper getting pushed around by two scrawny teenagers. I clenched my fist and walked up to them, immediately stopped by a jock calling me. It was the one who scored the goal. He rushed over to me, sweating like crazy after the intense match, and put his hand on my shoulder.
"Hey, where you goin'? The match ain't over yet," he said. He noticed the two bullies fighting Cooper and looked back at me.
"These guys giving your friend trouble?" He asked. I nodded back.
He walked up to them and held the two bullies by their collars, one on each hand. They moved around and struggled to escape from his gripped hands, but no luck.
"Listen, J.T. and Cash, if you ever mess with this guy again, I'll kick your heads in and make your lives a living hell. Understood?" The jock threatened.
"Y-yeah, understood," Cash nodded, worried as he stood up again.
"Let's go, Cash," J.T said. They ran away terrified, their faces filled with fear.
"Thanks," Cooper said.
"Anytime," The jock said as he looked back at me.
"What's your name, kid?" He asked.
"Tennyson. Ben Tennyson."
"Name's Orion. Tom Orion." He then looked back at Cooper. "Any friend of Ben is a friend of mine, Cooper. If these guys give you any trouble, don't hesitate to let me know."
"I-I'll let you know, Tom," he stuttered. "Again, t-thanks for the help."
"No problem."
After a long day of school, the bell finally rang its sweet siren. Students cheered as a stampede of them came running down the hallway, pushing and bumping into each other. I, however, waited for the river of people to leave the hallway and give us seniors a chance to walk out. Even the jocks waited with us, some of them I recognised from the soccer game earlier today.
"Ben, Coach told me to give you this," Tom said. "If you're interested, have your parents sign the form and give it to Coach Jordan in the morning." Once the hallway calmed down, the jocks rushed out first and then Gwen, Cooper and I walked out.
"What is it?" Cooper asked, staring at the scrunched-up paper in my hand.
I opened it up and read the form.
"It's a tournament," Gwen said, peeking from my shoulder. "They want you to join the soccer tournament."
I checked the form again, not entirely convinced at what Gwen said, but she was right. They want me to join them in the soccer tournament.
"This is the biggest opportunity of my life, I have to do it."
"We're not saying you shouldn't," Cooper said as we walked out of the building, "we support you."
A silver black Porsche honked as I walked up to the driveway.
"Sorry, I think you have the wrong person!" I shouted from a distance. The tinted car window slid down, revealing Cisco in a black suit and sunglasses.
"Mr... Tennyson, was it? Hop in," Cisco said. "We're going to the library for your tutoring lesson."
I walked off and sat in the passenger's seat. The car drove off at high speed.
"What's up?" I asked. "You look like you're in a hurry."
"A pod crash-landed in Bakers street and we figured your alien powers might come in handy."
"My meta-human powers could be useful, too."
"Your visions?"
"No, my mind-reading powers. I only ever used it once on Caitlin by accident, but if I can read the alien's mind, we might be able to find out who they are and why they're here."
The car zoomed past the streets, and ten minutes later, we reached Bakers street. Well, Bakers street with a sizeable crater in the middle and a pod in the crater.
A girl wearing a dark purple costume and a mask covering her face was standing in front of the pod, staring at it.
"I'll deal with this," I said as I walked out of car, "you deal with the girl."
"Where's your supersuit?"
"Back at home. I'll transform behind a big rock or something."
I hid behind a parked car on the other side of the street and transformed into a new alien. It was a big humanoid dinosaur alien with brown and beige skin and a tail. It had the Omnitrix on the centre of its chest. It was about 20 feet tall and 30 feet wide.
Cisco, in his Vibe supersuit, ran to the girl and told her to get out of the way, but she refused to listen.
"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," she argued. Wait a second - velvet rose hair, annoying arguing habit - it's my cousin Gwen! I can tell from her voice, it's her! What does she think she's doing?
Focusing on her voice, I tried reading her mind. At first attempt, nothing. Second attempt, no luck. But then, at the third attempt, I found out what she was thinking. When she was younger, she'd always babble on about her favourite cartoon character, Lucky Girl. This had to be her Lucky Girl costume. And also, her Anodite powers, she has... magical abilities.
A pink, glowing orb surrounded her right hand, followed by another one on her left, with two lines extending and reaching the pod, surrounding it with a pink, glowing dome.
The look on Cisco's face - shocked at the powers of the young teenager, like the first time he saw my powers.
Rushing forward with my arms straight, I slammed into the dome, shattering it like glass, the tiny pieces falling onto the floor and then disappearing. The same thing had happened to the orbs on her hands.
A news van, followed by police cars, came from the front of the street, stopping in front of the crater.
The police opened the car doors and stood outside, guns pointing at me.
"Hey, don't get the wrong idea! I'm on your side!" The police looked at each other and shrugged, still pointing their guns at me.
"Put your hands in the air and walk away from the crater!" The female officer ordered.
"Don't worry, he's with me," Cisco said. "He's a new superhero."
The police put their guns down and pulled out police tape from the trunk of the car, some of the officers covering the area in police tape, while the others took care of the crowd.
The news van opened up and a news reporter rushed to the scene.
"Sarah Hamilton, Channel 6 news. Are you a meta-human hero or an alien from outer space?" She interviewed.
"Both, actually," I began to explain. "I am multiple aliens, whether it's this humongous...saur, or Blizzard the frost-breathing alien, I'm always here to help. You can call me Shifter."
"Okay, Shifter," she chuckled. "Were you also the blue alien who helped stop Cobalt Blue alongside Flash and his team?"
"Yeah, but it was nothing, really. We did what we had to do to save the city. It's our duty as heroes, both meta-humans and aliens, to stop any threat invading our world."
After hearing the sentence play out again in my head, I realised this was more dangerous than I thought. What if this pod isn't just any ordinary alien escape vehicle, what if it's Vilgax? It seems a little far-fetched since the vision Cisco and I saw was an armada of alien spaceships invading Earth, but this could be the beginning of the invasion.
We watched the strange alien vehicle and waited. Minutes past and yet nothing happened. It didn't shake or move, no sounds came out of it, nothing.
"Maybe it's a dud?" I asked. Cisco pulled out a camera and metal rod from his pocket, then he extended the metal rod into a tripod and attached the camera to the top of the tripod.
"If anything happens, we'll know," Cisco said as he opened a portal and jumped in, closing the portal afterwards. A minute later, Cisco appeared walking out from the side of the street, wearing a black suit and tie.
I walked over to the side of the building and transformed back, following Cisco back to his car. We went inside, started up the car, and drove off. Looking back behind me, the civilians on the other side of the street followed his idea and drove off in their cars.
"Where are we going now?" I asked.
"Star Labs. We're going to wait for Barry to get back from work. He should be done in a few minutes."
"What about Caitlin and Iris?"
"Iris is at work writing up her news article and Caitlin is back at Star Labs. Nora's with Barry helping him out on a case."
Fifteen minutes later, we reached Star Labs. We went to the computer desks, or as Cisco calls it, the Cortex. Caitlin was working and then saw us walk in.
"What happened?" She asked.
"The pod didn't open," Cisco replied. "I attached a camera at the scene so we can keep an eye on it until Barry gets back."
He pulled out his phone and played a live video from the camera at Bakers street. The video opened up on one of the TV screens.
Police were still there, watching the pod, and the news reporter Sarah Hamilton was discussing the events that happened earlier to Channel 6 news. Gwen wasn't there, I assumed she went home.
Two streaks of light came in, yellow and purple, stopping in front of us.
"The Alien ship, what was in it?" Barry asked.
"We don't know yet. I was with Ben earlier at Baker's street and we watched the pod, but nothing happened."
Iris came in a minute later wearing the same trench coat as last time.
"Before you ask, nothing happened. The pod landed and it didn't move or open or anything. It didn't even make a sound," I told her.
"I was actually just going to go with Barry to see my dad. Nora, you coming?"
"No thanks, I'll stay here."
"Alright. Let's go, Barry." Barry zoomed off with Iris, revealing a yellow streak.
"Ben, can I talk to you for a second?" Nora asked.
I walked with her to the other room.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Do you want to go to CC Jitters with me tomorrow?" She asked.
"Sure, I love hanging out with you guys."
"I meant... just us two."
"Okay, I guess it makes sense for us to get to know each other as friends outside of work."
"Can't you take a hint, Ben?" The Omnitrix said in my mind. What do you mean? "She's obviously trying to ask you out on a date."
"Wait, you mean... as a date?"
"Yeah... if you want to."
"Isn't that sort of... weird? I'm sixteen, you're-"
"Eighteen," she interrupted. "In my timeline, I graduated from university early. It's not... too weird, right? I mean, I'm from the future, so I understand if you don't want to-"
"No, no, it's fine. I'm willing to give it a shot."
"Great! 5:00?"
"Sure."
"See you then!" She zoomed out of the building with a wide grin on her face. Cisco and Caitlin were snickering as I walked back in.
"What was that about?" Caitlin asked.
"What do you mean?" I replied.
"She clearly has a thing for you and it doesn't even put a smile on your face?"
"It's just one date," I said. "How hard could it be?"
"Just be confident," Cisco interrupted, "and be yourself."
Just then, the pod began to shake, drawing the attention of the three of us to the screen. A bright light emitted from the top of the pod, opening up the alien vehicle, revealing a man in a black metal-plated armoured suit. His hair was black and his eyes were glowing light blue.
The police officers pulled out their guns and aimed it at the space-age man.
"Cisco, open a portal to Bakers street," I ordered as I transformed into the dino alien from before. After jumping into the portal, I landed at Bakers street, right in front of the police officers.
"It's okay, I've got this," I said as I walked through. "Who are you?"
"I mean you all no harm," he assured. "My name is Calvin Nova and I'm the Avatar. I need help getting back to my world."
"Come with me, I'll help you."
"And how can I trust you?"
"You're the one who crash-landed on our world. How can WE trust YOU?"
"Fine," he accepted. "But don't underestimate me. The minute you try anything, I'll destroy you."
We reached Star Labs and went to the Cortex. Barry, Iris and Nora were there along with Cisco and Caitlin.
"Calvin, we have a few questions we need to ask you," Barry said. "What planet are you from?"
"Earth, but not this one," he replied.
"Do you know which Earth?"
"I don't know. Can you get me back to my world or not?"
"Not without a specific Earth number. Can you tell us why you came here in an escape pod?"
"I wasn't planning on coming here. There are three different realms on my Earth: Outworld, Nether-Realm and Earth-Realm. A ruthless ruler, Shao Khan, had risen from the dead and formed an army to take over not just my world but other universes. I originally planned on going to Realmfire, where Shao Khan was going to recruit more powerful soldiers, but the 'escape pod' malfunctioned and changed it's course to whatever Earth this is, crash-landing here and destroying the alien pod."
"Woah, slow down," Cisco interrupted. "How powerful is this Shao Khan guy?"
"He can create abominations of pure evil he calls the Tarkatans. Razor-sharp blades attached to the insides of their wrists, trained combat knowledge from warriors of past and present generations, the Tarkatans are dangerous war machines at his disposal. And that's not even the worst part. If he ever gets his hands on his Wrath Hammer and Conquerer's Helmet, he will be unstoppable."
"Where is the hammer and helmet?" I asked.
"The Elder Gods hid them in a secret location where no one will find them. Now, can you help me get back to my Earth?"
"We don't know if we can get you to your Earth," Cisco said, "but we can do you one better. We'll help you stop this ruthless ruler from taking over your world and others, but we can't do it alone."
"Then we'll get backup. I'll call Kara, Oliver, Ralph and the Legends," Barry said.
"I appreciate your help, thank you."
Barry pulled out his phone and walked off, making a few phone calls.
"Calvin, can I talk to you about something in private?" I asked him.
"Sure," he answered as he followed me to the other room. "What is it?"
"You said you were the Avatar, but the Avatar is just a myth-"
"Wrong. For centuries, everyone believed the Avatar generation ended with Avatar Korra, including me, but I discovered the secrets of controlling the elements by mastering the powers of magic and the skills of martial arts. Months later, the Avatar spirit was reborn and fused within me, forming the Avatar. After that, I used my powers to help people and restore balance to the world."
"You're telling us your secrets as if you know us. Why?"
"I trust you and your team because I know there is good in each and every one of you."
"Well, your story checks out, except for-"
"My 'story'? You still don't trust me. I know you're reading my mind. I'm like you, a telepath."
"What's a telepath?"
"Telepaths, like you and me, are people with advanced psychic abilities such as telepathy, telekinesis and more. One of mine is accessing the powers of my ancestors - the Elder Gods."
I transformed back to my human form, revealing my secret identity.
"Can I trust you with my secret identity?"
"You can trust me with anything. After all, I trust you. All of you."
A disappointed Barry Allen crossed his arms.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"No one's answering," he sighed. "We're on our own."
"Not entirely on our own. My cousin has superpowers?"
"And you didn't think to tell us this earlier?"
"I didn't know until I-"
"Until you?"
"It doesn't matter. Should I call her and tell her to come here?"
"We're going to need all the help we can get."
I pulled out my phone and dialled her number. A few rings later, she answered.
"Hey Ben, what's up?"
"You need to come to Star Labs."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"Now, Gwen."
"Okay, but you better tell me what's going on when I get there."
Twenty minutes later and she was at Star Labs, surprised to see me standing next to the Flash and XS.
"What's going on here?" She asked, very confused.
"Gwen, I need to trust you with something very important," I said. "The world, multiple worlds, are in danger. We need all the help we can get."
"And let me guess, you want my help?"
"We NEED your help, Gwen."
"Fine, I'll do my best to stop this crisis."
After a few minutes of explaining later, she grabbed a whiteboard marker and wrote down what we knew.
"Shao Khan the Conquerer," she began to explain, "has formed an army of Tarkatan creatures to take over two or three Earths, right? Now, why would a powerful ruler with an unstoppable army only take over a couple of worlds? He has all this power and more, so what is he really planning?"
"He's taking over the multiverse," Cisco replied. "He's recruiting more henchmen from Realmfire so nothing can stop him."
"Oh crap, I forgot Shao Khan was at Realmfire!" Calvin said. "I... I'm sorry, this is all my fault."
"Calvin, don't worry about it, we'll stop him. I have a plan. Barry, Cisco, go to Realmfire and find out who Shao Khan is recruiting and why," she ordered. "Try to get as much information as possible but don't risk exposing yourselves, this is recon only. Ben, Nora, stop the Tarkatan from attacking Funtime Plaza."
"Wait, what Tarkatan?" I wondered. "The Tarkatan aren't-"
I was interrupted by an alert on the computer, opening a live video file of the Traktan, the monster itself, attacking people outside of Funtime Plaza.
"How did you know-"
"You're not the only one with alien powers, Ben. As for Callum-"
"It's Calvin," Calvin corrected. "Calvin Nova."
"Sorry. Calvin, Caitlin, you two will remain here and try to get in contact with the Legends, Supergirl, Green Arrow and Elongated Man. As for me, I will stay as backup in case the city is in danger. Well, more danger. Alright, why are we standing around here doing nothing? Let's go, people!"
Cisco opened a portal and jumped in, followed by Barry in his Flash suit. Nora zoomed out, followed by me transformed into Jetray, the new name of the red manta-ray alien from twice before.
I flew out of Star Labs, faster than Nora, and I took to the skies. In just a few seconds, I found the Tarkatan and flew down, grabbing onto his shoulders and throwing him onto a building wall. Nora appeared behind me with a purple streak in her XS suit, zooming around in a circle and throwing a purple lightning bolt at the creature but it only made him angrier.
Silver blades appeared from his upper wrists, one on each hand, rushing towards me. I reacted and shot out a green laser from my eyes which blasted him away, but he managed to get up and run at me again. Nora zoomed in front of me and spun around in a circle once again, throwing a purple lightning bolt at the monster, which once again had no effect.
He roared and rushed at me, striking his blade at my left wing, causing me to bleed. I felt unbearable pain and I almost threw up, but not just because of the pain. The appearance of the monster was terrifying, it had sharp needles of teeth replacing its jaws and near-human flesh. A nightmare come to life would've been an understatement.
I transformed into Chromastone, the alien with the crystals on its body from the erased timeline vision, and shot out a barrage of lasers at the Tarkatan. The scorch marks on its body disappeared in a matter of seconds, but while the monster was distracted, Nora managed to get a few punches in and knock it to the ground.
After transforming into Humungasaur, I grabbed the monster and slammed it into the ground. With my hands shaped into a fist, I punched the Tarkatan in the stomach as it stood up, knocking it into a pile of boxes.
The monster stood up once again and grabbed Nora by the neck just as she zoomed around him, choking her.
"If you move one step closer, I'll kill her!" It threatened, pointing its blade at her neck.
"Not if I kill you first!" I threatened as I clapped my hands, releasing a blast of energy, knocking it into the ground once again. "You just don't give up, do you?"
"You think killing me will make a difference?" The monster laughed. "You're too late. This wretched planet and it's people will soon meet its end!"
A portal opened behind the Tarkatan monster, giving it a chance to escape, after which the portal and the monster disappeared.
Sirens sounded as police cars drove up the road, stopping in front of us.
"It got away," Nora stressed. "The monster got away."
"Thanks for the help," the police officer said. "Although, I have to ask, Shifter. Is there any human inside of you? Or are you completely alien?"
"Alien or not, I'm just like you and everyone else in this city," I responded. "It doesn't matter what I am but what matters is what I do and what I do is protect this city."
Nora was nervous and in a lot of stress, but she needs to know we did the best we could. Right now, she needs Ben, not Shifter.
I walked with her to the other side of the building and transformed back.
"He was too powerful," Nora stressed. "People were in danger and l-"
"Hey, it's okay, don't worry about it," I said.
"How can I not worry about it?" Tears ran down her face as she panicked, pacing from side to side. "He was going to kill all those people and I couldn't stop him!"
"It wasn't your fault, we did the best we could."
"But he got away!"
"Nora, calm down. You were amazing out there. You're fast, really fast, but you're also smart. If it weren't for you, I would have lost more than a wing."
She looked up at me and smiled, slightly blushing.
"Thanks, but you were amazing too."
"I'm just a kid with a watch, you're the hero."
"I'm glad I have a friend like you."
"Just friends?"
My heart was in my throat, almost jumping out, and my palms were sweaty. For a moment, we stared into each other's eyes and smiled. A tingly, warm feeling was sparking up within my heart.
Almost like a spell, I found myself leaning closer, losing a sense of reality. Gently, as I wrapped my arms around her, my lips pressed onto hers, causing a sense of excitement inside of me. Her lips were soft and her hands even more so, it felt precious kissing her.
We kissed for several minutes until she stopped and stepped away.
"Wow, that was... amazing," she said. "It's my first time kissing anyone."
"It's my first time too."
Her eyes glistened in the shadows, like stars in the night sky, but it didn't last long when an alert sounded from Nora's phone.
"It's Cisco, we need to get to Star Labs."
After we made it to Star Labs, Nora and I were surprised to see a stranger at the Cortex.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"You have no need to fear me," he assured us. "My name is Bruce Wayne and I need your help. Gotham City is in danger."
"Isn't Gotham City always in danger?" Cisco interrupted.
"This time it's different," Bruce replied. "An army of monsters have taken over the city and killed hundreds of people. I tried to stop them, but they were too powerful."
"Wait, you tried to fight them?" I asked. "You don't even have powers! Do you know how reckless that is?"
"Batman doesn't need powers to fight crime."
"YOU'RE Batman?"
"Yes, and I need your help. I'm recruiting a team of superheroes to join me in the battle against the monsters that call themselves the Tarkatans."
"We'll do everything we can to stop them," Gwen said.
This stupidly rich billionaire is the Dark Knight himself? I don't understand, how can he trust us with his secret identity? How does he know who we are? How can WE trust HIM with our secret identities?
"Well, I guess we're going to Gotham," Barry said.
"Ben, can I talk to you for a second?" Nora asked.
"Sure," I said as I walked with her to the other room. "What's up?"
"Are we still on for tomorrow night's date?"
"Of course, I love spending every minute with you."
"What about Shao Khan?"
"I'm sure he's not going to conquer the world tomorrow. And even if he does, we'll stop him. Together."
"Great! I mean, alright, cool."
An alert came from one of the computers. A live video appeared on the screen. Shao Khan and his army of Tarkatan monsters attacked the city, killing hundreds of people.
"It's Shao Khan," Calvin said. "He's opened a portal between your world and mine... we're too late."
Author's Notes:
I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! I decided to change the Ben x Julie pairing to Ben x Nora. What do you all think of that decision? As for the whole "Mortal Kombat" thing, I decided to play around with it and turn it into an actual "crisis" sort of thing... there's a new chapter I'm planning for that one. Also, Cooper has been added, so that's cool. Anyways, make sure to leave a review if you have any questions on what you would like to see edited/added and I'll see to it.