Ben found something interesting from the rooftop of a building near the café he, Ryuko and Mako were having some pudding from.
It was called Della's café.
The patio was enclosed in a two meter black wooden fence. The tiles were made of red cobblestone. Ten green plastic tables were surrounded by four white chairs. Patio umbrellas stood next to the tables, giving shade from the sun. The barista delivered a tray full of lemon iced tea with red and white striped bendy straws and donuts sprinkled with sugar.
Mako helped herself to the donuts. Ryuko pressed her lips to the straw and took a sip of the iced tea. Ben reached for his when he noticed something at the edge of his vision that accelerated his senses.
It was after school and the three were relaxing after the hassle that was No-Late Day 4 AM earlier that day. Ben had switched Gravattack's gravity powers for XLR8's super speed and hyper awareness for no other reason than because he liked super speed.
It was useful for moments like these.
Moments were someone attempts a surprise attack on him and his friends.
It was a sewing needle frozen in the air a meter from his face. The only reason he picked up its presence was its glint against the afternoon sun. The silence ensured that if he didn't possess superpowers he would've been struck by the strange ammunition.
He plucked it out of the air when he noticed a similar needle approaching Mako. He scowled. They were being targeted. Ben stood up. He looked at the direction the needles came from. They were pointed diagonally. He looked at the rooftops of the buildings across the street. The shooter would need a good vantage point to snipe them from.
He crossed the street. There were three gray buildings that offered a nice view of the patio Ben and the others were at. He needed to check all three. One to his right. Another in front of him. Another to his left. He picked the one on the left and pushed the revolving door into the lobby. There was a receptionist greeting a customer. The elevator door was open. A bellboy stood inside it. A stairway beside the elevator led to the upper floors. Ben borrowed the bellboy's keys and ran up the steps until he reached the door leading to the rooftop. He turned the knob. It was lock. He inspected the keys he borrowed. There were over fifty of them. He tried all forty-nine and cursed each time it didn't work. When the fiftieth slid in he mentally cheered and opened the door. This particular rooftop was empty. But when he peered to the two neighboring rooftops he found a man crouching on the rooftop beside the one Ben was on.
He ran over the roof and leapt over the five meter gap between them, reaching the ledge of the sniper's rooftop with ease.
He stood behind the sniper, crouched next to them, put a hand over his eyes and lowered his speed. "Nice view, isn't it?" Ben asked. Mako and Ryuko turned their heads, looking for Ben, unaware he was confronting a sniper that attempted to attack them with needles of all things. The sniper widened his eyes under his balaclava and at Ben in surprise, aimed what looked like a sewing machine gun and fired as he rolled into a crouch and leapt two feet away.
Ben could've used super speed to avoid all the needles fired his way and knock the sniper unconscious. But he didn't. Instead, he made it look more natural. Superhuman, maybe, but nothing so ridiculous as virtually stopping time to process one second in minutes or longer. He ran to the side, dodging the needle that flew over the ledge to the back of the building. The sniper fired more needles at him. He ran faster than the needles could hit him, turning a circle towards the sniper. They were ten yards apart and Ben was closing it fast. The sniper pulled the trigger only to realize they ran out of ammo. They dropped the magazine to reload when Ben created a burst of speed and was beside the sniper, kicking the weapon out of their hands.
Instead of falling back, the sniper extracted a knife from a sheath attached to a belt at their back, accompanied by a shashing sound. The knife was a 6.5 inch double edged spear point wasp-waisted blade. A Gerber Mark II. A sniper with a combat knife. Who was this guy?
The sniper thrust the knife for Ben's face. He stepped back as the knife passed an inch from his left cheek. The sniper followed it with a slash for Ben's neck. He countered with a fist to the sniper's wrist, pushing it away. The sniper responded with a fist of his own. His hand, covered with a black fingerless glove, looked thicker and stronger than Ben's. It was aiming for Ben's outstretched forearm. If the hit connected there would be no doubt Ben's bones would shatter from the impact.
Luckily Ben had super speed. His outstretched hand went for the sniper's arm, striking the wrist. He wasn't as built for hand-to-hand combat the way the sniper was. Ben was a stick compared to this guy. Nonetheless, the sniper was the one with the disadvantage. When he attempted to stab Ben again, Ben scythed an elbow to his wrist and followed it with a knuckle to his left temple. The sniper slightly staggered but kept fighting, this time lunging towards Ben with a full-on body tackle. Ben struck his jaw, and then his right cheek. There was no way to dodge the tackle with normal human speed without risking falling off the roof so with a burst of super speed Ben sidestepped the tackle and threw a chop to the back of the guy's neck. The sniper growled and turned towards Ben, meeting a closed fist hitting his nose. He tried grabbing Ben's wrist, but again the burst of speed allowed Ben to go in and out of the fight. He jabbed the sternum. Kicked the shin. Punched the stomach. Elbowed the sniper's head.
That did the trick.
The sniper was almost unconscious when Ben scythed another elbow to his nose. The sniper let go of the knife and fell on his back at the rooftop floor.
"What to do, what to do." Ben could send this man to the police. But Revocs controlled this town. There was no doubt Revocs would interrogate this man and make him disappear in a black site somewhere. If it was Satsuki who got her hands on him he'd just end up dead.
"What do you think of Ben?" Ryuko asked once they've settled down. She didn't know where Ben went. One moment he was here, and when she blinked her eyes he was gone. Mako had flat out told her she was staring at Ben and he suddenly disappeared.
"I think he's a great friend!" Mako said honestly.
Ryuko smiled and turned to her drink. She agreed Ben was a good friend and a reliable ally.
But he was also scary.
He destroyed buildings and flew like a god. When he brought them with him Ryuko had to admit it was exhilarating flying around. But another part of her thought she was at the mercy of Ben and if he so desired to crush her she would be helpless to stop him. Hell, when he made those one star students fall to the street earlier that day it was almost like they were in a state of worship prostrating themselves before him.
He didn't even notice.
All that power in the world and he treated them like equals.
"Ryuko, is something wrong?" Mako asked.
"N-no." Ryuko shook her head. "Just thinking about stuff."
When Tsumugu came to, it was with a groan. The one sided fight against the foreigner was beyond his expectation. He tried to stand up and failed. Chains rattled behind him, bounding his wrists and legs to the wooden floor. Concrete walls were stained with blood. Iron bars kept him from escaping. On the other side of the cell stood his opponent, the one called Ben.
"Who are you?" Ben asked.
Tsumugu ignored him. He was unmasked. His red mohawk was a little redder, being dyed with blood. His face hurt. He was probably sporting an ugly bruise. The swelling from one eye affected his vision, forcing him to close it.
"I asked you a question," Ben said.
Tsumugu refused to answer. He was not merely fighting for himself, but for the entirety of Nudist Beach. He didn't know this man's allegiance and couldn't risk compromising his allies on the chance this Ben might release him.
He glanced at the dried blood.
There was no windows.
It was probably an underground cell under a basement in an undisclosed area. He was most likely going to die here.
He cursed. This was not how he was supposed to meet his end.
He just wanted to neutralize Ryuko Matio's two classmates before he took down her kamui. What he didn't expect was for one of those classmates to disappear from the patio down the street and reappear behind him on the rooftop he used as a vantage point to attack them.
And that scuffle was the most horrible moment of his life. He felt the enemy was lacking in techniques and when it came to a direct fistfight Tsumugu would emerge triumphant. But what this Ben lacked in skill he more than made up for in speed. Was he hired to protect Ryuko Matio? Tsumugu wondered how he missed, but that was nothing compared to the beating he received from his jailer.
"Tsk." Ben sneered. "I'll get it out of you yet." He turned to the door ten meters to the left. "Bring him in!"
Tsumugu observed with slight curiosity. He wasn't aware he was going to have cellmates.
A masked man brought in another prisoner with a sack over his face. Ben took out his keys, opened the bars and the masked man threw the prisoner inside. Their face hit the wall and they groaned in pain as they slid down the floor and curled into a ball.
Ben closed the bars and alongside his subordinate left the room.
"Hey man," the sacked prisoner said. "A-are they gone?" He coughed.
"They are," Tsumugu said.
His cellmate began laughing, before coughing again. Blood from his mouth colored the sack red.
"T-those idiots don't know who they're messing with," the prisoner said. He forced himself to sit up and pulled the sack over his head, revealing a long beard, oily black hair and scars all over his face. When he grinned he was missing two teeth.
"What's your name?" the prisoner asked.
"I believe there is no point in talking," Tsumugu said. "We are both most likely going to die in this place. Let it be in peace." Plus there might be hidden cameras observing them.
"S-so if I get you out of here…" The bearded old man paused to cover his mouth and hold his cough. When he removed his hand it revealed blood and spit on his palm. "You'll tell me?"
Tsumugu raised a brow. "Whatever you say, old man. But we'd need a miracle to get out of this place. I am in far better shape than you and Ben beat me without even trying."
The bearded old man shivered upon hearing Ben's name. "W-who is that guy?"
"I don't know." Tsumugu grimaced. "I wished I knew. I was under the misconception he was merely a foreign exchange student. Not a physical combatant like myself." He shook his head. "It appears now I will be paying the price for it."
The old man grinned. "Not if I have anything to say about it."
He held a hand up and pressed his forefinger to his thumb. When he pulled it apart there was a crackle accompanying yellow electricity charging between his fingers. Tsumugu widened his eyes. Did this old man possess a Goku uniform? The bearded old man grinned and pulled up his chest.
There, implanted on his left pectoral were two black stars pulsing with red energy revealing their nature as life fibers.
"W-what did they do to you?" Tsumugu asked.
"I was a guinea pig," the old man said. "An experiment to see if they could implant life fibers into human flesh directly." He lost his grin. "It worked."
"This…" Tsumugu's horrified face told the old man everything.
"This'll only work once," the old man said. "And only one of us can get out of here. My power's teleportation and in small bursts I can use it constantly but each time I move living bodies my heart beats a little slower." Ah. That would explain his coughs. "It's too late for me, kid. But not for you. Put a stop to all this."
Tsumugu nodded grimly. "I won't forget this," he said. He would avenge this old man by killing Ben and Revocs and everyone dabbling in life fibers.
These sick bastards were going to pay.
"But first," the old man said with a wink as he reached a hand behind Tsumugu and he heard his chains shatter. "Tell me who you are and how you got here. Just a little something to entertain me before I die."
Tsumugu nodded solemnly. "I am Kinagase Tsumugu." He crossed his hands over his chest and knelt in front of the old man who looked like he was struggling to breathe. For the one who would grant his freedom a little honesty would be a small price to pay.
"W-why are you here?" The old man coughed. It was getting worse.
"I attempted to subdue Ryuko Matoi's classmates and terminate her kamui. It is nothing but a danger to this world." He closed his eyes and sighed. "Alas, this classmate of hers managed to find my location and put me down the moment I tried to shoot them."
The old man nodded. "I-I see." He grimaced and held his chest. "A-are you ready?" he asked. "Picture a place I can send you to and that's where you're going."
The last place he recalled was the rooftop Ben fought him on.
"Understood."
"O-one last thing." The old man covered his entire left arm from his fingertips to his shoulders in yellow electricity. "Who do you work for?"
"Nudist Beach."
"A-ah." The old man nodded. "Thank you, sonny. I'll see you around."
"I'll avenge you if it's the last thing I do." This Tsumugu promised. The old man shook his head, smiled in amusement and reached with a hand coated in yellow electricity towards Tsumugu and tapped his head. He was coated in light and everything vanished.
Ben wore the alien form of Pesky Dust the fairy-like dreamweaver. He flew above the Nudist Beach operative Tsumugu Kinagase and released silver dusts that coated Tsumugu's skin. He manufactured a dream world and made himself look like a monster in order to mislead Tsumugu into thinking Ben would kill him and then offered an olive branch in the form of an old man desperate to save someone else. The fact the old man was dying would make him pitiful and that he would be willing to save Tsumugu instead of himself would make him heroic in the eyes of the sniper.
Ben turned into Ghostfreak, a greenish white ghost-like alien with a wispy tail, chains covering his body and one eye which glowed green. He turned invisible and watched. Tsumugu gasped and held his chest as he sat up with a groan. He looked around him and grimaced.
"Have to get out of here before he returns," Tsumugu said, going under the assumption the dream Ben gave him was real. He ran for the door leading to the stairs. Ben sunk into the floor and followed after him.
If he could find Tsumugu's allies in Nudist Beach it might prove useful later on.
For now he observed.