A woman was standing at the bus stop waiting patiently for her bus when a man in a ski mask ran up to her and grabbed her purse.

"Hey!" she shouted with a gasp as he smirked and yanked the purse out of her grasp and then ran into an adjacent alleyway as she screamed after him.

"Stop! Thief!"

The thief ran for about 10 minutes through the town alleyways and gasped, hitting his knees as he rifled through the woman's purse, unaware that a shadowy presence was leering on him from the rooftops as she glared out and then leaped off of the building, her hands glowing with a shadowy energy as she seemingly teleported through the shadows.

Suddenly, the thief was blasted back with a shadow blast as she walked forwards and the shadows that were cast down from the lights on the alley and then she formed them into tendrils, including using his own shadow against him to bind him and hold him in the air as she glared hatefully, emerging from the shadows, her prominent features hidden by the darkness.

"Wh-wha-"

"Drop the purse," the young woman ordered in a rough voice.

He didn't need to be told twice as he dropped the purse at her feet and started whimpering in fear as she picked the purse up and moved back into the shadows before she dropped him on the ground and then gave him a nice slug across the face with a powerful punch, echoing through the night and sending him into unconsciousness as he fell into a puddle and she put a sign on his chest that said "Arrest me," before moving back into the shadows, vanishing from the area.

She then moved back to the distressed woman at the bus stop and then dropped her purse onto the bench by her side as she walked back home, hands in her pockets, her blue eyes mostly obscured by her long black hair and she wore dark clothes and had pale skin.

"Thank you!" the woman said as the girl looked back over her shoulder. "Whoever you are."

"I'm trying to figure that out myself," she said under her breath as she moved back, not escaping the attention of the triplets looking on from another rooftop.

"Power over shadows?" Lila asked. "Sounds like your kind of girl, Nate."

"Better tell the Omni-Team about this, guys," Wade said.

Ally shouted out in effort as she let out a few punches and kicks outwards, dodging her opponents swipes before she shouted out and landed a kick on the side of the woman at the other end before landing her with a series of jabs to the head before dodging a punch and slamming her with an uppercut, drawing some blood as she glared out, sweat pouring down her pale skin.

"Finish her!" the coach shouted as Ally nodded and shouted out, landing a strong right hook to the nose, sending her to the end of the ring in a daze as she fell down, and Ally smiled and took her kickboxing gloves off and then walked over to her opponent and then tossed her a towel and a water bottle.

"Hit the showers, Tara," the coach said as the woman groaned out and poured the water over her, washing away all the blood and wiped it off with the towel.

"Wow. I haven't been hit like that for awhile," Tara said in compliments to her.

"You're not so bad yourself, sister," Ally said with a smile.

"I never expected a goth like you to be this tough or this chipper," another fighter said from behind.

"You can thank my best friend Jen for that," she said. "I think she's rubbing off on me. And yeah, I'm a goth. But that doesn't mean I can't be cheerful when it calls for it."

"Allison?" said a voice and they looked over to see a man wearing a business suit nearby and with the coach.

"Oh man," Ally said as she turned to the other girls and she packed her stuff up into her bag. "It's Chris, my manager."

"This might be good," another girl said.

"I'm sure, Valerie."

Ally walked over and went into the office with Chris and the coach.

"Now, Allison," Chris said as she took a seat. "Your reputation is growing exponentially. You've been getting better and better at your fights the last few months. You even managed to tie with one of the best young fighters in Paris. That is why me and Corey here think that you're ready."

"Ready?" Ally asked with a raised eyebrow. "Ready for what?"

"Your next match is probably going to be the biggest fight of your career, young lady," Corey said with a smile.

"What are you talking about?"

"A match with Loud."

"Loud? Lynn Loud?" Ally asked, knowing first hand the raw strength that young woman possessed in her body that just didn't seem human... mostly because it wasn't. It was superhuman.

"The one and only," Corey said with a smile as he looked to her. "You're the best fighter we have right now and we would't have signed you up for this if we didn't think you could do it. What do you say?"

Ally looked down and then flashed back to her gym in her apartment that had her awards for kickboxing tournaments lining the shelves. To do something like this was to put her reputation on the line. But all her life, she's been a risk-taker and to refuse an opportunity like this would be completely out of character for her. She had to do this.

"Let's do it," Ally said, shaking Chris' hand with a smile as he nodded.

"Great. I'll give Lynn's agent a call right now. Your fight is in Royal Woods in two weeks."

"Awesome. I'm really looking forward to brawling with her," Ally smiled as she tossed a few punches in the air and then slung her bag over her shoulder and then walked towards the door and slung her bike helmet down on her head and then revved up her bike. "And maybe recruit the L-Crew to help us fight the Highbreed."

She then drove off towards her job at Stratton's Ale House and then she sighed and walked off, changing into her jacket and started chopping up the aromatics for the day as the chefs all looked to her as she wiped her bow off.

"Wow," the other chef said as they looked to her. "You're working hard today."

"I just got back from the gym," Ally said as put her veggies in the pan and started sauteing them. "I'm going to Royal Woods in two weeks to fight Lynn Loud."

"Ooh, she's a tough one," said a waitress with a smile. "The entire Loud family is."

"Believe me, very few people know that better than me and my friends," she said as she put a plate of fried chicken up and sent it out on the line, showing them sitting at a table, conversing about plans on how to defeat the Highbreed as the camera panned over to the girl taking their order, who was the same young woman from the opening.

She had dark black hair that went down to the middle of her back in length and pale skin that had freckles and green eyes. She wore the Stratton's Ale House short sleeved shirt as she put on a smile to the Omni-Team as she looked on.

"Welcome to Stratton's Ale House, can I take your order?" she asked, holding out a notepad. "How about some drinks?"

"Yeah. Can I have a Coca-Cola?" Jen asked as Gwen smiled.

"I'll take a root beer."

"Mountain Dew for me," Becky said.

"Coke: Zero Sugar," Ben said.

"And for you?" she asked Kevin.

"Water."

"I'll get those in now," she said as she went over to the soda dispenser and started filling the glasses and looked at her hand as she saw the tips of her fingers generated dark energy as Ally walked over with a smile.

"Hey, Maggie," she said to her. "How's it going?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing," Maggie said, though it was obviously lying through her teeth.

"No seriously. How's it going?"

"Just have a lot on my plate at home. You know, friend issues," Maggie said, though she wasn't entirely lying at that point.

"I get that," Ally said, jabbing her arm as Maggie chuckled weakly before rubbing her arm and looked at her phone and sighed, shaking her head.

"My shift is over. I'll see you Saturday, then?"

"Deal," Ally said as they shook hands as Maggie turned to get her things just before Ally got a serious look on her face and then thrust her arm out and her bracelet from the hideout shot out a tracking device that latched onto the back pocket of Maggie's pants and she walked out, not knowing the suspicious look her co-worker sent her as she sent the drinks out to her friends with a smile.

"So, what's happening, Ally?" Jen asked as Ally crossed her arms and presented the group their drinks.

"Well, for one thing, I've got a fight against Lynn in two weeks," Ally said.

"No way! You know her super-strength. You can't beat her," Ben said.

"If she lets me absorb and copy her powers, I might have a chance."

"You have worked miracles before," Jen said with a smile and took her best friend's hand.

"Anything else?" Gwen asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Well, there's a waitress who works here, Maggie. Something's clearly going on with her and I want to know what."

"We also got the scoop from the Light Triplets that saw a young woman battling in the shadows last night who took out a thug and returned a purse to a woman waiting for the bus," Becky said as Ally smiled to her.

"Call me crazy, but I did hear a few rumors from Luan a few years back about a friend she had who had the ability to manipulate shadows. Her name was Maggie too. I wonder."

"You're going to follow Maggie so you can see if you're right?" Jen asked.

"Of course," Ally said. "Don't follow me. This is something I've got to do on my own this time."

"Done," Ben said as he and Jen smiled. "I have a date in an hour with Julie anyway."

"Justin said he was going to show me his guitars later anyway."

"And we've got karate practice," Gwen said as Becky smiled.

"What's your record?" Kevin asked.

"We're all tied up," Becky said. "I beat her thirteen times, she beat me thirteen times."

"Well, good luck to both of you," Ally said as she stood up and went back to work for about two more hours. "And from the looks of things, I'm going to need some luck too."

Later at nightfall, Ally, clad in her Matter Girl costume, looked out on the streets, doing patrol as she looked at her Plumber's badge to show the tracking device she had secretly planted on Maggie as she drove forwards and approached it before she pulled up to a nearby alleyway and parked her bike, locking it up as she saw the black dot on her device ping outwards before she was suddenly swatted back by a shadowy tendril and was pulled into the alleyway all by herself as she groaned and rubbed her head.

"Ugh," she groaned as she saw a young woman step out in a purple hoodie, a plaid skirt and heavy combat boots with a glare as she walked up and Matter Girl stepped up and put her hands in front of her face as she saw her badge and saw it pinging, confirming she had located her target.

"Maggie?" Matter Girl asked as Maggie gasped and stepped back, shocked.

"How did you know who I am?"

"Why wouldn't I know you who are?" Matter Girl asked as she removed her mask to reveal herself. "It's me, Ally!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Maggie asked. "All my best friends always turn out to be superheroes."

"Huh?"

"Promise not to freak out, Ally," Maggie said as she rose her hands and the shadows that were formed on the sides of the alleyway by the lights suddenly morphed upwards by her and Maggie looked to see her own shadow separate from her as Maggie willed them all to morph into shadowy tendrils and blades with a sigh before she dispelled her powers, sending her shadow back to her, leaving her stunned.

"You have superpowers?"

"Um... yeah."

"Cool!" Ally said

"Wait, you're not at all freaked out by this?"

"Maggie, my best friend is a half-alien who can control and manipulate life energy. Do you really expect me to be freaked out by this?"

"Fair point... your best friend's half alien?"

"We've got a lot to talk about. Come on, we'll meet back at my apartment."

"How did you find me anyway?" Maggie asked as she waked with Ally as she transformed back and handed her a spare bike helmet.

"Tracking device. That's how it always is, isn't it?"

"I guess," Maggie sighed as Ally drove off back to her apartment.

Maggie sat down on the sofa as Ally came in and smiled warmly to her as she sat down.

"What kind of a goth are you?" Maggie asked, noticing Ally's dark clothes but obviously cheerful mood. "When I lived in Royal Woods, there was a group of goths and you're nothing like them."

"Hey, 'dark' doesn't always mean 'depressing,'" Ally said, pushing a tray of cookies over. "Cookie?"

"Thanks," Maggie said as she took a bite of a cookie with a small sigh. "Wow. Your reputation around town is warranted."

"I'm not sure that my powers are absorbing or incredible cooking," Ally smirked before she crossed her legs. "So, what about you? You said you were from Royal Woods?"

"Originally," Maggie said as she began her tale. "Gather round and listen to my tale of woe. It all started about three months after the L-Crew showed up in Royal Woods and started doing deeds. I was starting to stand up for myself a bit to some popular girls for mocking me and my friends. I was out with a group of some emo friends one night at a barn and I had uncovered this spellbook and a scythe. An incantation from the book brought the horror movie villain the Harvester to life."

"I saw that movie. I didn't like it," Ally said. "Everything in that movie looks so fake."

"The L-Crew tried to stop me and they did, but in the process I was struck with dark energy and there I was, left with these," the emo girl said, showing her hand that emanated dark shadowy energy from it before she closed her hand. "The ability to control and manipulate shadows. Some may view this as a gift, but I saw them as a curse. I wanted to get rid of them. So I teamed up with that jerk Hydro and his crew called the Revenants the L-Crew. One of them was my best friend Luan Loud. When I found out about the Louds being the L-Crew, I turned against them but then I ran away to Salem, Massachusetts about the time you and the Omni-Team showed up there and took down that Enchantress witch."

"Wait, wait, hold the phone," Ally said. "You're that Maggie? Luan mentioned you on a video chat 3 years ago. I didn't think too much of it until now. How did you get here to Bellwood?"

"I may have caused a bit of a ruckus in Salem, so I used my ability to travel through the shadows to sneak onto a plane with everything I had and then found myself here and then got a job as a waitress to make money for an apartment."

"Wow," Ally said, stunned a bit. "That's a crazy story."

"I know, but it's true."

"Believe it or not, Maggie, I was like you once upon a time," Ally said as she laid down and sighed. "Me and my younger brother Kevin were raised in a really rough neighborhood in New York."

"Harlem?"

"No. The Bronx," Ally said, sighing. "South Bronx to be precise. Tons of gangs in the streets, violence, riots, the kind of place you would never want to live in. But the one we looked up to the most was our dad, Devin Levin. Me especially. When I was 6, he died on a secret mission for this organization called the Plumbers and it was shortly after that that my brother and I discovered our powers to absorb pretty much anything. Kevin demolished our home and I ran away with him," Ally said.

"Wow. And I thought that I had it bad," Maggie said.

"I thought I was a freak for a while too," Ally said. "I wanted to be normal for a bit too. And this is something I never told anybody. But you know what made me realize that I wasn't a freak? My best friend Jen Tennyson."

"Pinkie? She's your best friend?"

"Of course she is. Opposites attract after all. She helped me realize that my powers don't make me a freak. They just make me me."

"Maybe that's how it works for you, Ally. But I just want to be normal."

"That's just the thing, Mags. You're not normal. In my mind, normal doesn't exist because everybody is unique in their own way. I hate to say it, but it's the truth."

"What's your point?"

"I think you should give these powers of yours a chance. Not accepting these powers is like not accepting yourselves. Give it about, say... a month before you get back to me. Just take the advice of your co-worker, okay?"

"...Okay," Maggie said as she stepped up and walked off.

"Besides, the Omni-Team and I have a major problem with this group of evil aliens called the DNAliens who want to take over the world. We could really use your help."

"Why do you need my help?"

"With a group of aliens as numerous and as powerful as this, we need all the help we can get. Are you in or are you in?"

"Given those options, I'm in," Maggie said. "On one condition."

"What?"

"Next time you see Luan, tell her I said 'Hi.'"

"Done. See you in three days," Ally said as Maggie smiled and walked to the door back to her apartment before ally stopped her.

"You're a great person and your friends know that for a fact," Ally said with a smile. "And if some people think that you're a freak because of your powers, then that's their loss. Not yours."

"...I'll keep that in mind," Maggie said as she closed the door and Ally sighed as she laid back down on her couch and then sighed, looking up at the ceiling and she turned on her TV with a smile as she turned it to the news of her friends battling it out in a car chase against some bank robbers.

"Pity I had to miss that action," she said to herself. "Oh well. Sometimes you need priorities."

Next time on Ben and Jen 10:

Pet Project