A birthday/request story for one of my best friends, Redbat132. Here you go, Amiga! :) Happy Birthday! :)
Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. Balan Wonderworld belongs to Square Enix. Spider-Man belongs to Marvel. Dana and Rose belong to Redbat132. Rachel, Melodica, and Phantasmo belong to me. :)
Family Helps Lift Your Heart High
In the Grant Mansion, Dana the Ectonurite Hybrid was in her human form, stretching. She prepared her own warm-up before beginning some new moves that she hoped would be mastered super soon.
"Okay, Silvania. You got this," Dana talked to herself, using her real name when reaching for her foot when doing the splits. "You've done enough ballet fighting moves. This routine shouldn't be any different. You danced one combination style, you danced them all."
Once finishing her warm-up, the black-haired girl played a certain song that was soulful and graceful. Dana kept poised while moving to the beat. She practiced this routine plus music multiple times. Not one step was missed.
However, despite doing good at the beginning, the next routine Dana did was difficult. She kept tumbling and tripping throughout the song. Even was off beat. It wasn't until Rachel came in to see the Ectonurite girl looking frustrated and tired that the girl sat down on a nearby bench, sighing a little.
"Everything okay, sweetie?" Rachel asked, deeply concerned for her sister.
"Oh. Hey, Rachel," Dana responded, trying to stay positive yet didn't sound nor look like it. "Just working on a never-before-seen dance-fighting style I'm working on. It's a working process."
"You look like you've been at it for quite a while," the young woman said, sitting down beside her. "Are you looking to do a performance soon?"
"Yes," the girl said before looking shy. "It's...for someone special."
Rachel smiled. "A certain hero, perhaps?" She asked before her tone turned teasing. "One that makes your heart feel light and makes you swoon into his arms?"
Dana sighed happily. "Yes, and...HEY!" She exclaimed, realizing what her sister said at the end, making Rachel laugh in amusement. "I did not swoon! I gracefully ran into him."
The blonde-haired woman laughed in amusement. "I know, hon. I'm just teasing you," she said. "But in all seriousness, maybe take a break? You don't want to end up twisting your ankle by accident while trying to do your routine."
"I'll be okay," the girl said. "Besides, it's not going to perfect itself if I don't practice."
Seeing her sister get up and try again, Rachel grew a bit worried and quietly left, deciding to call a certain maestro to help Dana out. "She's stressing out so much that she's not having fun with it and I'm worried she's going to break her ankle," the young woman said to herself before going to grab her phone, about to dial her uncle's number when two arms clad in white and ending in red ruffles and white gloves with gold accents wrapped around her from behind, making her jump and yelp in surprise as she grabbed one of the person's wrists, but stopped at noticing the arms looked familiar and then a familiar chuckle sounded by her right ear.
"It's me, my little magician," came a familiar voice and Rachel let out a sigh of relief, tilting her head back to look up into the familiar face of Balan, who smiled at her.
"Uncle Balan," she said, turning around so that she could hug him. Feeling his warm arms surround her as he hugged her back, she rested her head against his left shoulder, feeling the backs of his fingers gently rubbing against her face and she looked up at him with a smile. "You must have felt your ears burning, because I was just about to call you."
Balan chuckled. "Actually, I sensed someone here was genuinely upset and came to investigate," he admitted. "Did something happen, my dear?"
Rachel nodded. "My sister Dana is getting frustrated over a dance routine not coming out right," she said.
"Dana?" He asked curiously. "I didn't know you and Sasha had another sister."
The young woman smiled. "She's the daughter of Phantasmo and Melodica, two of my dear friends and the parents of Ghostfreak, Snare-Oh, and Kuphulu, my brothers," she said.
"Ah," Balan said, smiling now. "Your family certainly has grown in the past years."
"Yes, it has," she said before looking somber. "Dana is working on a routine for someone she really likes, but the routine isn't going the way she wants it to. I just saw her and she looked so frustrated. I'm worried that she's not having fun with the routine and in her state, she might twist her ankle or worse." The young woman hugged her uncle again. "I was hoping maybe you could help her."
"Of course I will," he said instantly. "Can you show me where she is now?"
Rachel led him to the dance room where Dana was struggling with the routine still and it was making the girl even more upset. "Why can't I get this right?" They heard the young girl ask herself.
Balan grew thoughtful before snapping his fingers and a surprised Leo appeared beside him and the boy looked at him. "Balan? What's up?" He asked.
"Sorry for the short notice, my boy, but I was wondering if you'd be willing to help out a fellow dancer," the tall maestro said, gesturing to Dana, who once again fell to the floor as a jump-and-twirl step didn't work out again.
Leo was quick to notice something. "She's really tense," he said. "That's one of the reasons she's having a hard time with her balance."
"She's really stressing out over getting this right for the guy she likes," Rachel said before they saw the young girl fall down once again.
Dana sniffled in sadness as her tears began forming in her eyes. "I just can't do it! I'll never get it perfect enough for Flash in time! I tried so hard in getting it right, but I manage to mess it up!" She then looked at her new white ballet shoes that were given to her from the same boy she was giving thanks to. "…He deserves a better girl who isn't a hybrid freak."
"Now that's not a flattering compliment to yourself, little one," came an unfamiliar voice and the girl jumped up, switching to her Ectonurite form as a result. She looked to see a tall being that was taller than most people she had met enter the room and he looked to be a ringmaster with the way he dressed. His white top hat was pulled halfway over his face, making her wonder why that was when she saw his eyes blink and as she settled down, her fear was replaced with cautious curiosity.
"Who are you?" She asked curiously as she circled around him. "I've never seen you here before."
He chuckled. "I come here to visit now and then," he said, finding her curiosity amusing as she continued circling him, sensing his aura to be one of happiness.
"Well, you don't seem to be a threat," she said before moving back a bit. "Though, you haven't told me your name yet."
"Ah, of course. Where are my manners?" He asked, bowing before her. "My name is Balan, little one. And you must be Dana."
She blinked. "How do you know my name?" She asked.
"My niece told me," Balan said with a smile as Rachel and a boy that Dana hadn't seen before came in.
"Hey, Dana," Rachel said with a smile. "I see you've met Uncle Balan."
The girl looked surprised. "He's your uncle?" She asked in surprise. "Wow. This family is larger than I thought."
Balan chuckled in amusement before gesturing to the boy beside him. "And this is Leo, a dear friend of mine."
"Hi," the boy said before looking curiously at her. "How did you do that trick of looking like a human?"
"Oh, that's just one of my specialties," Dana replied modestly. "What I sort of looked like before becoming like this."
"Cool," he said.
A bit surprised the boy wasn't afraid, she smiled before feeling Balan placed a gloved hand on her shoulder.
"My dear, you seem a bit troubled," he said. "What's on your mind?"
"Well, there's this guy I like," Dana admitted. "And I want this routine I'm doing for him to have no errors because he deserves nothing but the best and if I mess it up, he may not like it." She sighed. "I've been trying really hard, but I keep stumbling and getting off beat."
Balan nodded understandingly. "I think I see what might be wrong," he said.
She sniffled and looked at him. "What?" She asked.
He smiled. "You're focusing so much on getting the routine right, you're forgetting to have fun with it," he said. "And this guy you speak of, does he like you for you? Or for your talent?"
Dana blushed a bit and Balan chuckled. "If this boy your speak so fondly of loves you for you, he's going to love the routine you did for him because it's coming from you," he continued, gently tilting her chin up to look up him. "Now, how about Leo and I help you? Leo himself is an exceptional dancer and I'm sure he could give you a few pointers."
"Sure," Leo said with a smile. "Let me stretch out a bit first."
Dana nodded. "Sure," she said before feeling a poke to her sides that made her jump and she gave him a playful glare. "Oh, you just asked for it, funny man!" She said playfully as she unleashed her tentacles.
"Let's see what you've got, my dear," he playfully challenged as he sneakily made a few clones appear before he went to spin away, but Dana reached out her tentacles and caught him, tying him up and he chuckled before winking. "Clever trick, my dear," he told her.
She was curious as to what he was chuckling about until she felt arms hug her from behind and turned to see four clones surrounding her with a fifth one holding her in a hug before his fingers began wiggling over the underside of her tentacles.
A squeal left the girl and she began laughing, trying to untie the real maestro, but another clone wiggled his fingers in the spot between her wings and she lost it.
'AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO! NOHOHOHOHOT THEHEHEHEHEHEHEHERE!" She laughed out, squirming as the last three clones stepped in to tickle her too, one tickling her neck, another going for her sides, and the last one going for her tail.
"Cootchie, cootchie, coo, Dana!" Balan cooed as he stood still tied up in the Ectonurite's tentacles. He could have gotten free at any time, but he decided to wait until the tickle torture was over.
Dana squealed again as a clone blew a raspberry into her neck before she began to feel winded. "G-Guys," she managed to gasp out.
Hearing that, the clones stopped, gently catching the half-alien as she collapsed to the floor and they kneeled down. The girl's tentacles retracted from the real maestro and he came over, his clones vanishing as he scooped the girl up into his arms, seeing her transform back to her human form as she leaned her head against his shoulder. He rubbed her back to help her catch her breath and she looked up at him with a smile. "That was sneaky," she said without heat.
He chuckled. "Ah, but you did need that laugh, didn't you?" He asked knowingly.
She giggled. "Yes," she said before he gently set her down on her feet and she hugged him. He returned the hug, stroking her head soothingly, which made her smile again. "Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome, my dear," he said. "And I think I have an idea as to make your performance for the one you love even more spectacular."
"You do?" She asked in surprise.
He nodded, seeing she was eager to know what idea he had and he smiled, leaning in so that his mouth was next to her ear and he whispered his idea to her. She gasped as she grinned, immediately liking the idea and agreeing, hugging Balan again before he and Leo began helping her with the routine, making Rachel smile as she knew that Flash was indeed going to love what Dana had in mind for him.
In New York City…
Around another hard day of teaching and saving the day, Spidey and Agent Venom felt like having a guys' night out break. "Man, I hope the bad guys take a break for my birthday," the latter said. "They've been keeping all of us busy lately."
"Tell me about it," Peter agreed. "So, what should we do?"
"I don't know," Flash said. "Maybe a show or a movie, one we haven't yet seen."
"I'm down for that," his friend said.
Just then, Fury approached them and he nodded. "Good job out there earlier," he said. "By the way, this arrived for you, Agent. Security cleared it."
"Thanks, Fury," the young man said before looking at the envelope. "Wonder what this is."
"Well, it's not going to open itself," Peter teased lightly.
Flash scoffed lightly, smiling before opening the envelope and his eyes scanned the contents. "Greetings, Flash Thompson. You are hereby invited to a new theater in New York City. Enclosed are two VIP tickets for you and a friend. We hope to see you there. Sincerely, the staff of Balan Wonderworld Theater," he said aloud before looking curious. "Balan Wonderworld Theater? I've never heard of that place before."
"Me neither," Spidey replied before looking pensive. "You think it might be a trap?"
"Well, security cleared it according to Fury, so...I don't know."
Just then, Peter's phone rang and he answered it. "Hello? Oh, hi, Rachel," he said, smiling.
"Hi, Peter," the young woman said, a smile in her voice. "Hey, I was wondering, did Flash get an invitation to a theater recently?"
"Uh, yeah," the webslinger said. "How did you know?"
"It was sent by a friend of mine," she replied. "Someone who know asked me for a favor and so, I called my friend and he sent out the invitation. Don't worry, it's legit. I promise."
"Okay," he said. "I'll let Flash know."
"Okay, catch you later, Peter," Rachel said before signing off.
The young man turned to his once-enemy. "Well, Rachel Jocklin says the invitation is legit and we know she doesn't work with our enemies, so it must be safe."
"Well, Cho's interviewing Mr. Stark on new tech ideas, Miles is spending time with his mom, and Ben's out hanging with Rose, at least...I'm fairly sure he is," Flash said before looking at the two tickets. "Well, we did want to see a show. How about it, Pete?"
"As if I'll turn down a free ticket, and a VIP one at that too," Peter said with a grin. "Let's go."
As they were heading down the street, Flash chuckled a bit as he reread the invitation. "Remember that play we did back at Midtown High. The one called 'It's a Wild, Wild Web!'?"
"Yeah," the webslinger said. "That was quite a show, huh?"
Midtown High had once put on a Spider-Man musical called 'It's a Wild, Wild Web!', starring Flash Thompson as Spider-Man. And that had been way before Flash became Agent Venom and knew about Peter's secret identity. Flash had been the so-called 'student from Drama class' who chose Spider-Man as the main idea for the musical. If things hadn't been crazy enough, Trapster crashed the play and thought Flash was the real Spider-Man. However, Peter was able to save it. Not only that, it was the same day Flash started to get a better perspective in changing from a bully to a friend...progressively in a slow pace.
"I've really grown a lot to another person since then," Flash admitted. "I wonder if there are any people who look up to me as Agent Venom the same way I looked up to you, Spidey. You know, become an inspiration for some people."
"Oh, there are, Flash," Peter said reassuringly. "I can even think of one person besides Aunt May who sees you as a neat hero. A certain girl that's part alien, but super cute."
Flash blushed, knowing Peter was talking about Dana. "Yeah," he said as they continued on their way, following the invitation address to an alleyway that looked fairly new. Just then, two puffballs appeared before them. One was red and had cat ears while another was green and had a mohawk. "What are these things?" He asked before looking at the invitation. "Hey, they match these guys on the invitation."
"We must be in the right spot then," Peter said as they saw the two puffballs hop away and then stop and look back at the two. "And I think those two want us to follow them."
They looked at each other before shrugging and heading down the alleyway, entering the doors of the theater that was in front of them and they spotted a young boy there and the boy smiled at them. "Hi," he said. "We've been expecting you."
"You have?" Flash asked.
"Yeah," the boy said. "My name's Leo. Come on, I'll show you to your seats."
He led them to a lobby filled with tables and directed them to a table near the stage. "Enjoy," he said before heading away.
"Hmm, we're the only ones here," Flash said.
"Yeah, I noticed," Peter said. "But I'm not picking up any bad vibes on my spider sense."
Just then, the lights dimmed and a spot light came onto the stage before a fog covered the stage and out of the fog rose a tall figure in a top hat, his golden eyes glowing before he flung out his arms in a grand gesture and confetti rained down as the fog vanished and the lights on the stage brightened. "Welcome, our dear guests!" The man said in a deep, pleasant voice. "Tonight is a very special performance to you both from a very special fan of yours."
"Huh?" Flash asked in a low voice to Peter. "For us? From who?"
"You got me," his friend replied in a low voice.
"That shall be revealed soon, my young heroes," the man said, suddenly appearing near the table and making them jump in surprise. "Now, without further ado, please direct your attention to the stage to welcome the star of tonight's show."
Both turned to watch as soft music began playing and a mysterious female figure started coming down from a spinning hoop ring that lowered her to the stage before she began dancing and three figures rose up from the stage, all kneeling down on one knee.
Dana, who had a mask covering her whole face and wearing her Cotton Candy themed dress, reached out to Invisible Man, who took her hand and began dancing with her before Paladin Puncher stood up and accepted Dana as she spun away from Invisible Man and began dancing with the knight before Pumpkin Puncher moved and did a backflip before standing up and reaching for Dana as she spun away from the knight and took Pumpkin Puncher's outstretched hand before dancing with him. The trade-off dance continued for a bit, making Peter and Flash watch in awe. "They're good," the webslinger said quietly.
"Yeah," his friend agreed just as quietly.
Just then, all three male costume dancers came together with the female dancer between them and the music began to increase in tempo and the three spun away as the girl spun while moving toward the front of the stage.
Dana took a deep breath as she did this and felt Balan's magic surround her, changing her current dress into a cheerleader-style Dalmation outfit and jumping into a routine as the music became livelier like a Superbowl halftime show.
"He's not just strong, but also tough,
Once he starts, can't get enough.
With black armor ready to attack,
He's got his superhero teams' back.
Solid heart he can't be beat,
Come on y'all, get on your feet.
When we say Agent, you say Venom.
'Agent Venom'!
'Agent Venom'!"
Both heroes were surprised at this finale and their faces showed it and they two looked at each other. "I thought this was going to be dedicated to you, Spidey," Flash said softly.
"I had that thought too," Peter shrugged. "But you know what? How often do you get to be in the limelight?"
"Not often," his friend said.
Balan appeared before the stage and he smiled as a set of stairs appeared in front of the stage and he reached out a hand to the mystery dancer, who bowed politely and took his hand, coming down the stairs and stopping in front of Agent Venom. "Good evening, Agent Venom," she said sweetly. "Did you enjoy the show?"
"I did, yes," he said before looking curious. "But, how did you guys know...?"
The dancer giggled before removing her mask. "Dana?" Both young men asked in surprise.
She giggled. "Yes," she said. "I wanted to do a special routine as a thank you to you, Flash, for being so nice to me." She smiled again.
"Really?" He asked, still surprised.
She nodded. "I had some help from Balan and Leo," she said, gesturing to the two. "They helped me not only with the dance routine, but also to help me not feel discouraged in making something overly perfect. That it's perfect when I am being myself in expressing how much you both mean to me. You, Peter, as a best friend, and you, Flash, as someone I really like."
Flash blushed a bit. "Dana...this was incredible," he said. "And you don't have to worry about a dance routine being perfect. It came from you, so...it's already perfect because...it came from your heart."
Peter smiled. "What he's trying to say is that he really thought your performance was awesome," he said. "And he liked it more because it came from a girl that's special to him."
Dana blushed and smiled, to which Flash smiled back at her and the next thing both knew, they were sharing a kiss.
Balan smiled as he, Leo, and Peter discreetly left the room to give the lovebirds some privacy while Rachel, who was behind the curtains, grinned as she, Phantasmo, and Melodica watched.
"Our little girl is growing up," Melodica said softly.
"As long as that boy treats her right, I'm fine with them dating," Phantasmo said before seeing Balan, Leo, and Peter coming up to them and he smiled. "And thank you, for lifting my daughter's heart high when she felt discouraged."
"It was our pleasure, sir," Leo said.
"That's one thing this family will always do," Rachel said with a smile as the two lovebirds, who were still kissing, only had eyes for each other right then and there.
Happy Birthday, Redbat132! :) Hope it's a blast! :)
Please leave a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418
