Good morning, afternoon or evening, and welcome back, Ultras to the second chapter of Volume 2! And welcome to all of our new readers! Of course, this is Chapter 33 in the entire Chronicles. So if you haven't read the first 31 chapters, go read The Ultra 10 Chronicles: Volume 1: The Beginning of Ultra 10, which is on my profile page! And if you haven't read chapter 32, well, go back a chapter and read that too!

Summer is here, and so is my full-time job. While I still find time to write, it is difficult at times, and I likely won't be able to keep up my chapter-a-week schedule until school starts again in the fall. So I will be aiming at updating this every other week, and hopefully the occasional update in-between weeks, for at least the next month or more. If you would like to help me keep the weekly update, I would really appreciate a review! If anyone would be interested in writing or co-writing a chapter, be sure to let me know with a private message! We can work out the details so that I don't just leave you empty handed. No pressure, but it would help me be able to keep up with the chapter-a-week schedule I'd like to push myself to continue doing! No pressure, but if you're interested, let me know!

There are a number of soundtracks for this chapter, as the chapter heading alludes to! There is a dance scene towards the end of the chapter, and the soundtrack to the dance is as follows: "Everything I Do" by Brian Adams, (Which I actually think is a great overall soundtrack for the entire chapter.) "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran, "Here We Stand" by Amber Pacific, "What a Wonderful World" cover by Kina Grannis and Imaginary Future, "Fall On Me" By Andrea & Matteo Bocelli. These are the songs for the dance. The soundtrack for the kiss scene is "Everytime We Touch" by Cascada. And the final song for the chapter is "Dancing With Tears in my Eyes" by Ke$ha.

The Ultra 10 Chronicles: Volume 2: A Hero Earth Needs

Chapter 33: A Dance A Kiss A Broken Heart

October

"That's it, Steel Girl!" Lucky Girl shouted. She muttered another spell, summoning several more stone golems. "Exploit their weakness!" Maddi shot up into the air, her nano-mech suit forming a jetpack, rocketing her a dozen feet into the air. Her wrist gauntlet morphed into an energy cannon, which she immediately trained on one of the golems.

"Come on, give me a challenge!" Maddi shouted as she fired on the golem, blasting it into rubble. Out of nowhere, she was violently shoved forward as an energy bolt hit her back. She spun around to see Morph floating behind her, his own gauntlet still hot from the energy bolt.

"Hey! No fair!" Maddi shouted.

"Criminals don't play fair," Cooper replied as he fired again on her. "You need to remain aware of the environment around you at all times!" Steel Girl dodged the energy blast, and fired one of her own. She engaged Morph in a dogfight, chasing him as she fired, only to soon be dodging blasts as he fired on her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a large stone golem that looked like a bird flying straight towards her. Spinning as she dodged a blast from Morph, she fired on the creature, blasting it into pebbles.

"Ha! Take that!" She shouted triumphantly, only to be hit in the back again by one of Morph's energy blasts.

"FLIGHT SYSTEMS DAMAGED," her suit warned her through her mask. She felt the jetpack between her shoulder blades sputter as they seized up. Her stomach did flips as she tumbled through the air towards the field below. Thinking fast, she fired her energy cannons at the ground, using the recoil force to slow her fall, and stabilize herself.

"EMERGENCY LANDING ENGAGED," her suit informed her as it immediately expanded, like a balloon. She hit the ground, her suit taking the brunt of the impact, folding in on itself like a house of cards. Slowly, the mech constricted around her, again protecting her like a shield. She stood up, unscathed as Morph landed gracefully beside her.

"How was my landing?" She asked cheerfully.

"You're unhurt," Morph said. "But remember that the emergency landing takes all systems except for weapons to activate, meaning that you're vulnerable as you're falling. You should have used your wrist cannons to protect yourself, instead of trying to blast a hole to the Earth's core." Maddie looked down at the burned grass and dirt she was standing on.

"Point taken," she said. "But other than that?"

"You kept an eye on my golems," Lucky Girl said, walking up to the two of them. "That's good, but you need to remember how many there are…" At that moment, a stone golem burst out of the bushes, charging at Maddi. She charged her wrist cannon, firing on it, and turning it into dust.

"One step ahead of you," Maddi said with a smirk.

"That's enough training for one day," Julie's voice came through their communicators simultaneously. "It's going to get late soon, and regardless of how fast two of you can fly, you're still a ways out of the city."

"Lucky for me," Lucky Girl smirked. "My teleportation spell will drop me off on the other side instantly."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Show off," Maddi teased. She turned to Cooper. "Last one to finish their patrol is a rotten egg!" She took off into the sky, her nano-mech having repaired her flight systems enough for her to fly off.

"You're on!" Morph shouted, blasting off into the sky. He quickly outpaced her. "And my flight systems are still in perfect working condition!" Gwen sat down cross-legged in the grass and summoned the Arcamada Book of Spells. She quickly drew herself a teleportation portal, and stepped through it, finding herself in her bedroom once she emerged from the other side.

"Onscuro!" Gwen spoke, her Lucky Girl suit disappeared, being replaced by her school uniform. Seeing them, Gwen frowned, looking frustrated. "No, that's not it… Onscuro!" Her clothes faded in and out of reality, like a tv screen experiencing static. Finally, her clothes were replaced with her street clothes. Her favorite blue t-shirt with a cat logo on it, along with a white pair of capris. She smiled at herself, pleased.

"That's more like it." Gwen smiled. She got out her homework and sat down at her desk, starting on her algebra. After a few minutes, her cell phone rang. A little annoyed, Gwen looked at the caller ID. Seeing it was Ellie, she quickly got over her annoyance, and answered.

"What's up, Ellie?" Gwen answered.

"Hey, Gwen," Ellie replied. "You know that the Halloween Ball at school is coming up next week, right?"

"How could I not?" Gwen asked. "Every girl in school has been talking about it. Not that I really care, though."

"Well, I'm on the planning committee," Ellie said. "And I was thinking that you should definitely go."

"With who?" Gwen asked. "There's not really anyone I like, and no one's asked me?"

"Why not ask Ultra 10?" Ellie threw out.

"Um, because he's done being Ultra 10? And I don't know his identity? Lukas and Sam were the only ones who did. And I can't ask either one of them." Gwen blurted out. "Besides, we're just friends. We aren't dating or anything…"

"Alright, you can drop the act, girl," Ellie said. "We all know you got a thing for Ultra 10, and you could drop a few fliers around town. He'll get the message you wanna dance."

"Well, what about the dancing part?" Gwen continued to protest. "He'd know who I was, and I would find out his identity?"

"Are you serious?" Ellie asked. "It's the Halloween Ball! As in Halloween? Everyone's going to be dressed up anyway! With you in your suit, and he in his, no one is even going to bat an eye or think that you're actually Lucky Girl or Ultra 10, except for you and him!" Gwen was out of plausible excuses.

"What if he doesn't want to dance? What if he is still avoiding the Ultra 10 persona? He might just say no anyway?"

"You'll never know until you ask," Ellie retorted. "Worst comes to worst, you have a fun night at the dance with your other friends. Best case scenario…" Ellie made a dramatic sigh.

"You fall madly in love with the love of your life!" Gwen heard more dramatic sighs come from her friend.

"Alright, alright Miss Matchmaker," Gwen chided her friend. "I'll ask him to the dance. But there's no guaranteeing that he will show. And if he's a no show, then I have a free pass on calling it a night early." Gwen heard a huff from Ellie's side of the phone call.

"You drive a hard bargain, spoil sport," Ellie said. "But it's a deal. But I'll expect you to keep your side of the promise!" With that, Ellie hung up. Gwen sat in her seat for a few minutes, thinking about what Ellie had just got her to agree to.

"It would definitely be a night to remember," Gwen whispered wistfully. Her cell phone buzzed, shaking her out of her thoughts. Checking it, she saw a text from Ellie, with the details for the dance. Attached was an image of a flyer for the dance that Gwen could print out to leave around to ask Ultra 10.

"You got this!" The text read with a thumbs up emoji. Gwen smiled and closed her phone.

"I've got to stay up to date on my homework, if I even hope to have my parents let me go to the ball," with that, she set her phone down, and continued with her homework.

The next morning, Gwen woke up a little earlier than usual for school. Using her parent's at-home printer, she printed out a small bundle of flyers from the one that Ellie had sent her the day before. Stuffing them into her backpack, she loaded up her homework, books, and a stapler, and left for school.

Arriving outside of the old, brick-built school, she pulled out the stapler out of her backpack, as well as one of the flyers.

"Well, here goes nothing," Gwen said with a deep breath. Walking up to one of the ancient trees on the school property, she stapled a flyer to the trunk, making sure that it was easily readable from the street as well as from the school. She stapled several other flyers around the schoolyard before the bell rang, signaling the students to arrive to their homeroom. Quickly, Gwen sipped open her backpack and slid the remainder of the flyers and the stapler inside, before heading inside the school herself.

Gwen walked into her homeroom, sitting down on her usual desk, near the front of the classroom. Setting her backpack on the floor beside her, she started pulling out the homework and textbooks she would need for her first hour. Beside her, Maddisen sat down, waiving to Gwen when she saw her.

"Hey, Maddi," Gwen said, waiving back to her friend. "Have you seen Ellie yet?" Maddi shook her head.

"Nope. She's excused all the way until second hour," Maddisen said. "She's doing planning for the Halloween Ball in the library." Maddi started to pull out her homework and books for first hour.

"So… I heard that you were asking Ultra 10 to the Halloween dance?" Maddisen asked.

"How did you… Ellie, right," Gwen realized. "When did she tell you?"

"Yesterday afternoon, right after training," Maddisen said.

"That's even before she called me…" Gwen realized. "She must have been planning on getting me hooked up with him for some time."

"You two are the perfect couple," Maddi mused. Gwen gave her friend a flat stare. "What? It's so true!"

"Maybe," Gwen replied. She started working on her homework.

"Soo… Do you think that he will actually show up?" Maddi singsonged.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Gwen asked.

"Nope!" Maddisen replied cheerfully. Gwen took a deep breath.

"I don't know…" Gwen started. "He was pretty adamant about not wanting to be Ultra 10 anymore. And I don't want him to think that I'm trying to drag him into something that he doesn't want."

"Oh please!" Maddi interrupted.

"What?" Gwen asked confused. "What did I say?"

"Look at you! You're gorgeous! Of course he wants you! Who wouldn't? Every boy does!" Maddisen exclaimed.

"Not appreciated," Gwen mumbled, her face going almost as red as her hair as she felt like every boy in the class were suddenly staring at her.

"It's true, though," Maddisen said again, this time much lower for Gwen's sake. "I'm sure that if he knew that you asked him to the dance, he'd show up."

"Well what about yourself," Gwen asked, eager to change the subject. "Who are you going to the Halloween Ball with?"

"Do you know Bridger Cluff?" Maddisen asked.

"From science class?" Gwen asked, trying to remember the boy.

"Mm-hmm," Maddi hummed. "He asked me on Friday, just before the weekend. He slipped a cute little note through the slits in my locker. It was adorable!"

"So have you answered him yet?" Gwen asked.

"Of course I have!" Maddisen almost squealed with delight. "This morning, I slipped a note into his backpack as I passed him in the halls…"

"That's pretty impressive," Gwen started to say.

"Ok, so maybe I had to follow him around so that he didn't see me… And got one of his buddies to slip it in for me! But it's pretty similar, right?" Maddisen all but burst out. Gwen tried to look excited about it, though what she was really thinking about was how she had to get her homework done before first hour started.

"That was a good idea," Gwen complemented her. "If you don't mind though, I'd better get done with this homework before class starts. If I start falling behind, my parents wouldn't even dream of letting me go to the dance."

"Well you had better hurry," Maddisen said. "Because class is starting in just a couple of minutes!" Gwen shook her head, and started working on her homework again. She only got through a couple of problems before the bell rang, signaling the start of the first hour. The school day passed quickly though, and within a short time, Gwen was walking out of school.

"Hey, Gwen!" Ellie called out from down the hallway. Gwen looked back, and slowed her walk, allowing Ellie to catch up to her. Maddisen wasn't far behind her, quickly catching up to both Gwen and her cousin.

"So… How are you?" Ellie asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Maddi, on the other hand, looked like she was a balloon about to pop with excitement.

"Let me guess, have I asked Ultra 10 to the dance yet?" Gwen asked, guessing from Maddi's excitement that the conversation was already going to head there rather quickly.

"Sure, if you want to jump right to it," Ellie said.

"Yeah! She does want to jump right to it! Have you asked him yet?" Maddisen interrupted.

"Easy there," Gwen said. "I don't even know his identity yet, so it's not like I asked him during lunch." Gwen slung off her backpack and unzipped it, showing the remaining flyers inside. "I hung a couple of these up before school started, but there's no real way that I can tell if he's seen them yet."

"Lukas went to our school," Ellie said. "Sam too. It's safe to say that he attends the school. So there's a pretty good chance if you hang them up around the school as well as around town, he will see them."

"Just imagine," Maddisen said. "What if you two were in the same class and didn't even know it?"

"Probably not," Gwen said. "There's a lot of students at our school, especially since Bellwood Elementary blew up a couple of years ago. Speaking of which, I wonder if they are ever going to finish rebuilding it…"

"Well we can help you post up the flyers," Ellie suggested. "You know, on street corners or at Ross Park? Make sure that he sees them?"

"Oh yes!" Maddi said. "We can do that! I'm so excited to see the two of you at the dance!" Maddi grabbed several flyers from Gwen's still open backpack, and skipped down the street.

"What's her deal today?" Gwen asked Ellie. "She's been like this all day."

"I think that it has something to do with her new favorite tv show," Ellie said. "It's about this woman who pairs all of her friends up on dates with all of her other friends…"

"Are you sure it's not your favorite show?" Gwen asked Ellie as the two started walking in the direction that Maddisen skipped off.

"So Maddisen told you, huh?" Ellie said with a slight blush. "Sorry about that. Maddisen had me over to her house watching the show, and I mentioned that Ultra 10 would be a good match for you, especially for the dance. And it was all Maddi from there."

"It's alright," Gwen replied. "I actually don't mind. I just… I don't want to pressure him to do something he does not want to do, you know?"

"But what about what you want to do, hmm?" Ellie asked back. "Surely that's important too?"

"Yeah, I guess," Gwen conceded.

"I'd better catch up to Maddi before she contacts the radio stations with a 'special announcement,' if you know what I mean. She's pretty excited about matching all of her friends up with someone." Gwen smiled.

"Go ahead, I'm just going to hang a few flyers up here and there and hope Ultra 10 sees them," Gwen said.

"He will," Ellie said. "And He will come to the dance, I can feel it." With that, Ellie jogged down the sidewalk, calling after her cousin.

"I sure hope so," Gwen said. "It would make it pretty magical."

True to her word, Gwen stapled a few more flyers around town, even taping them to a few street lamps and stoplights. When she ran out of flyers, she headed home to do some homework, and to get ready for her patrol later on.

The next few days passed by pretty average. Gwen found herself hoping for some kind of an answer from Ultra 10, though she could not figure out how he would reply. She didn't even know if he had seen her invite, despite Ellie and Maddi both insisting that he had. And despite her reluctance, she couldn't help but get excited for the big night.

Saturday evening, as Gwen was doing her homework, she felt her cell phone buzz. Answering it, she put it to her ear.

"Hello?" Gwen asked. She hadn't looked at the caller ID, and had no idea who was on the other end.

"What's up, Dweeb?" Ben said from the other end. "What are you doing?"

"Homework," Gwen replied. "But since you are asking, I am guessing that you have something to say."

"I-I was actually calling for some advice," Ben said, somewhat shyly.

"You've been acting strange the last few months," Gwen said. "But this is a whole new level of strange. Since when does the Doofus call me to ask for advice?"

"It-it's about a girl," Ben said uncertainly. "And you are a girl, so I figured that you could give me some advice…"

"I'm not sure whether I should be complemented or offended by that," Gwen said.

"You know what? This was a stupid idea. Sorry for calling you-" Ben started to say before Gwen cut him off.

"Come on, you made the call. You might as well get it off your chest," Gwen said. "Besides, I didn't mean what I said."

"Alright…" Ben said sounding like he was trying to talk with rocks in his mouth. "Do you know about the Halloween Party coming up in school?" Gwen pursed her lips in refrain.

"It's not a party, it is a dance, Doofus," Gwen said. "Yeah, the Halloween Ball."

"Yeah, whatever it is… Some girl asked me to go," Ben said, trying to get the words out.

"Really?" Gwen asked shocked.

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?" Ben shot back, offense in his voice. "It could happen!"

"Sorry!" Gwen apologized. "I didn't mean it like that! I was just surprised, that's all! Who's this girl?"

"Umm…" Ben stumbled over his words. "You wouldn't know her, I was in her class back in Bellwood Elementary. In fact, she got sent to another school, so I'm sure that you wouldn't know her!"

"Do you at least know her name?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah, of course! It is… umm… Lucy! That's right, Lucy!" Ben sputtered.

"Alright, Lucy…" Gwen said. "So what were you going to ask me again?"

"If you were in my place… I mean, if someone were to ask you to a dance… how would you respond?" Ben asked. "Even if you weren't sure if you wanted to go?"

"With a yes, of course-" Gwen was cut off.

"I mean, I want to go with her! Like I really want to go with her! Nothing wrong with her, just… it's hard for me to go because of… well… like homework or something…"

"Ben? Shut up for a moment," Gwen commanded.

"Shutting up," Ben complied.

"This Lucy… She probably took a leap of faith asking you to the dance. I mean, you haven't gone to Bellwood Elementary for a couple of years, so she probably has not seen you in quite a while. And she still would like to go with you. Further, she's probably worried sick that you wouldn't want to go with her, or that you were already asked by some other girl, or that you wouldn't remember her… Whatever the reasons she had not to ask you, she still did."

"I guess that's true," Ben said, thoughtful for the first time since calling.

"So, even if you have some sort of reservations about going, you should still try to go, unless you absolutely can not," Gwen finished.

"Thanks, cuz," Ben said. "I knew that you would know what to say." Despite herself, Gwen couldn't help but let a smile grow across her face.

"Anytime, Doofus," she said. With that, she hung up, and reluctantly started on her homework again.

Ben's room

Ben ended the call and set his cell phone back down onto his bedside table and laid back onto his bed. He blew out a sigh of relief.

"So, even Gwen thinks that I should go with Lucky Girl," Ben said to himself. He pulled out the crinkled-up flyer out of his pocket and read it over again. It was pretty simple, but still fancy. It was addressed to Ultra 10, asking him to the masquerade Halloween Ball at the school on Tuesday. It said where it was being held, at Riverview Academy, as well as what time it was beginning. And at the bottom, it had a logo of a black cat, a clear indicator of who was asking. Lucky Girl.

"There's no way that I can tell Lucky Girl that I accepted," Ben said out loud. "Not without posting flyers all around town, which I am not going to do. That would just be too lame. So I guess that she will get my answer when she sees me on Tuesday." Ben sighed on his bed.

"And that still leaves one question… The one I've been struggling with…" Ben took a deep breath. "I'm done being Ultra 10, and it is probably still too dangerous to go out in public as him. So, how do I go as Ultra 10, without going as Ultra 10?" Randomly, Ben looked at his closet, full of some clothes on hangers, but most of them on the ground underneath, or sliding off of the hangers. One of the articles of clothing he saw on a hanger shoved against the wall was the suit he wore to Lukas's funeral.

"That's an idea," Ben said. "Just wear the mask, and dress in a suit. The mask is distinctive enough that she'd recognize it, but the clothing is common enough that it wouldn't draw too much attention. Especially if there are other people dressing up too. It is Halloween after all!" Ben got up off of his bed and headed over to his closet, shoving most of the hangers aside to get a better look at the dress suit.

"Of course, this suit is much too out of fashion to wear… I'd look like a total Dweeb showing up in this thing. But I'm sure my folks wouldn't mind renting me a suit if I said it was for a school dance." Ben liked where this idea was heading. With a smile on his face, he activated his Ultra 10 suit, allowing it to unfold over his body as it opened up. Looking at himself in his rarely-used closet mirror, Ben started taking mental notes as to how he could replicate the mask with some cloth, tinfoil and paint.

"Actually, I could just wear it," Ben said to himself after a little while. "Just tuck the cape in, and wear the suit over the top of it!" He chuckled a bit at himself. "It would probably look a little ridiculous, but at least Lucky Girl would know it's the real me…"

Several nights later, Riverview Academy

Gwen stood outside of the main doors to the school, feeling a bit awkward. She wore her Lucky Girl mask over her face. However, instead of her black leotard, she wore a long black dress. She had tied her purple sash around her hips, slightly loose, like it was a fashion accessory. It actually looked really nice with the dress, but her looks isn't what she felt so awkward about.

She hadn't had any indicator that Ultra 10 had even seen any of her flyers, much less show up. The ball was just about to start, and she was worried that he wouldn't come. She'd just be the only girl to go over the top to dress up to go to the dance, only to not have a date. And then she would have to just stand awkwardly at the entrance, watching all of her laughing and smiling classmates head on in with their dates.

"Don't worry, Gwen," Ellie reassured her as she came walking up from the steps. "My date hasn't come yet either."

"Who is your date, Ell?" Gwen asked.

"I don't know yet," Ellie replied. "I just got too busy planning the dance that I guess that I never got around to asking anyone, or getting asked for that matter. I guess that I'll just have to match up with one of the single guys in there…"

"Oh Ellie..." Gwen started.

"Don't worry about it! I'm not!" Ellie said nonchalantly. "It's all about having fun! Besides, the night is still young! I will have a guy wrapped around my fingers before too long! Just you see! It's Maddi that I'm worried about! I just hope she doesn't scare her date away before the night's over!"

"I hope so," Gwen said. She gave Ellie a quick hug before she headed inside. "I guess that I'll see you and Maddi later." Gwen waited a few more minutes, looking through the darkness for Ultra 10 to come walking up. However, there didn't seem to be any other teenagers getting out of their cars or heading up towards the school. Inside, Gwen could hear the first song start to play, and imagined the sight of dozens of teenage couples swaying slowly to the music.

Turning around, Gwen peered into the gym, seeing the heads of dozens of masked teenagers dancing slowly to the music. She took a deep breath and blew it out, letting it out slowly, feeling bitterness begin to swell up inside of her.

"I knew that he wasn't going to come," Gwen muttered to herself. "I wouldn't if I were him."

"I sure hope you would come," someone said from behind her. Startled, Gwen tried, if unsuccessfully so, to keep from yelping as she spun around. There, only a few feet away from her was a man, emerging from the darkness wearing a fancy dress suit, and a mask. He had messy brown hair that poked out from behind the mask, and he had brilliant green eyes.

"Ultra 10?" Gwen asked. "You came?"

"Well how could you be Lucky Girl if I stood you up?" He joked. "Your name kind of necessitated that I come…" He smiled, making Gwen forget the bitterness that she had felt inside only moments before.

"I brought something for you," Ultra 10 said, pulling out a small bouquet of flowers from behind his back.

"Ultra… They're beautiful," Gwen said, taking and smelling them.

"I believe the dance floor is waiting for us," Ultra said, extending his arm to her. With a shy smile, Gwen took his arm, and the two of them walked inside. Placing the bouquet of flowers on a nearby abandoned table, they were just in time to dance to the second song of the night. They swayed back and forth for a while, looking into the others' eyes. Finally, after what seemed only a couple of seconds, the song ended. They found an empty table in the corner of the room where they could have some privacy.

"I was worried that you wouldn't come," Gwen started the conversation. "It seems silly now, just a girl fretting over nothing…"

"I almost didn't come," Ultra 10 replied. "Not because of you, obviously! I mean, I came because of you, you asked me… But I still wanted to come, even if you hadn't asked me… What I mean is… Why is it so hard to say what I mean?" Gwen couldn't keep from laughing.

"Sorry," she apologized, still giggling. "I totally understand! You just get so tongue-tied!"

"What I mean to say," Ultra 10 said. "Is thanks for asking me to come with you. A good friend gave me some advice, and they told me that I should definitely go."

"They sound like a pretty good friend," Gwen responded. "I'm guessing that they don't have anything to do with… you know… us?"

"Nope, nothing to do with crime fighting," Ultra 10 said. "Just a really good friend for a long time now. Although it feels like a lifetime away sometimes."

"Hey, I get it," Gwen said. "I have this cousin… He used to drive me crazy! But in despite of that, we always seem to be able to trust each other. And occasionally even get along."

"Same," Ultra 10 said. "My cousin is actually a lot like you- Different too! But… also similar. You might even say that me driving her insane is what keeps me sane. It's one of the few things that's still normal in my life."

"At least you have more time to spend with her, or your other friends now that you're not doing the Ultra 10 gig anymore," Gwen continued the conversation.

"Less than you would think," Ultra 10 replied. "I guess that she's found other hobbies to do other than to hang with me, which you can't blame her for. It's actually really funny… I have so much time to do anything now that I'm not doing Ultra 10, but I have nothing to spend it on. Its just funny how the tables have turned. She always seems to be doing homework, or hanging with friends, or going to exercise or something else. Everyone else seems to have their own things to do."

"Maybe that's a sign that you're not yet done being Ultra 10?" Gwen asked. That seemed to hit a soft spot, and Gwen instantly knew that it was the wrong thing to say.

"I told you, I didn't quit because it's an easy thing to do, or because I want it," Ultra 10 said defensively. "It was a hard decision to make, but I had to, so that I didn't put people like my cousin or my parents in danger."

"I know, I'm sorry," Gwen backtracked. "You did it to protect them. I didn't mean to guilt you…" Ultra looked down at the table.

"… No… No, you're right, I shouldn't have been offended," Ultra took a deep breath. "Sounds like this song is over, would you like to dance to the next one?" He stood up, offering his hand to Gwen.

"Sure," Gwen responded, taking his hand. He led her onto the dance floor, and they swayed to another slow song. Gwen even rested her head on his chest halfway through the song. In a moment it seemed, the song was ending. Ultra 10 closed his eyes and leaned in. Gwen instinctively did the same.

The moment their lips touched, electricity shot through her entire body. It was the most amazing feeling she had ever felt. Like fireworks going off all around her. And while it lasted, the school could be burning down around them, and they wouldn't even notice. After what felt like ages, they broke away, Gwen feeling her face redden as understanding dawned on her what had just happened.

"I-I'm sorry," Ultra 10 gasped. "I-I didn't mean to…"

"No, no it was my fault," Gwen said. "Or, it was as much mine as yours. Let's just go sit down for a while…" Ultra nodded as they both retreated back to their table. Scarcely had they sat down, then Ultra 10 began loosening his tie.

"It is getting a little warm in here," he said. "Would you mind if we moved over by the doors?" Gwen shook her head and followed Ultra over to the doors leading outside, sitting down on some chairs that lined the wall.

"So, don't take this the wrong way," Gwen started, still a little red from her first kiss, but noticing that their shared silence was only adding to the awkwardness. "But I'm surprised how well you can dance."

"My cousin," Ultra 10 said. "Years ago her and I were part of a family wedding. I had no idea how to dance, and she was nice enough to teach me the basics." Embarrassment was still evident in his voice, though it was hard to tell what was from their kiss, and what was from admitting that his cousin taught him to dance.

"She seems like an amazing friend," Gwen said. "It'd be nice to meet her sometime… You know, if we weren't superheroes and the danger that came with it and all that…"

"…Yeah," Ultra 10 said. "If it wasn't for the danger." He took a deep breath.
"So, where did you learn to dance?"

"I took cotillion," Gwen said.

"Gesundheit," Ultra 10 said. Gwen smiled.

"No, it's an etiquette class. They teach you to dance and use manners and stuff like that," Gwen said. Ultra 10 nodded.

"I didn't know they had classes about that kind of stuff." The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, listening to the music playing and enjoying the cool air from the night drifting in.

"So, Ultra," Gwen began. "Any idea when you'll return to crime fighting?" Immediately, she knew that was the wrong question to ask.

"What is it about you?" Ultra 10 asked. "Is that all that matters to you? When I return to the life?"

"I didn't mean it like that," Gwen began, only to be cut off by her date.

"Of course you did, that's all you've been wanting to talk about all evening! Why I quit! When I'll start up again!" Ultra 10 was getting more and more upset as he went on. "Is that the only thing we share? The fact that we beat up people for fun?"

"Ultra," Gwen tried again to calm him down. "Why are you getting so upset?"

"Why? Why? Because that's all that you seem to see in me! It's probably why you asked me to this dance in the first place, isn't it? To try to get me to get back into the life!" Ultra 10 continued to blow at her. "It's not easy to resist, I've already told you! If it were up to me, I'd be out there right now, solving crimes and taking down bad guys. But that call isn't up to me to make. And you were asking me out, and dancing with me, and kissing me just so that I'll come back, aren't you?"

"No, it's not like that at all!" Gwen said.

"Sorry, Lucky Girl, but you may not be so lucky tonight after all," Ultra 10 stood up. "Thanks for the night, it was fun while it lasted. But I've got to go."

"Ultra, please," Gwen pleaded, tears filling her eyes. "Please don't go..." She watched with sorrow as Ultra stormed out of the building, out into the night, disappearing in the darkness.

"Ultra, I didn't mean for you to be offended," Gwen whispered. "I just wanted to dance with you…"

A/N:

That's it for this chapter. I typed almost all of it on Sunday, so I didn't get the chance to proofread it as I usually like to do, so sorry if there are any mistakes, I'll try to fix them in the coming week. But what did you think? A lot of relationship development in this chapter, hope it is all the fluff you were hoping for! As well as a good amount of heartbreak, for what is drama but life with the boring bits cut out? Got to keep it interesting! Ben is obviously struggling with his decision to quit being Ultra 10, and it is hurting his relationships with Cooper, Julie and Lucky Girl. Any ideas when he'll get back into the suit for real? Any other speculations? Comments, criticism, critiques, or just want to say hi? Leave me a review! And don't forget to favorite and follow while you're at it!

Thank you so much for reading, and have an awesome day!

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