UA's Hero Course Curriculum wasn't too different from the other schools considering it had normal core classes such as English, which no one wanted to be in. They had a main cafeteria where they ate lunch which Ben had to admit was much better than the food his school used to serve. Then the afternoon, the class they were all excited for. Hero Basic Training.
"I AM HERE! COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A HERO!"
The class looked and gasped in awe at the fact that All Might himself was here to teach them. Considering he was the number one hero, this wasn't anything to think lightly of.
"WELCOME TO THE MOST IMPORTANT CLASS AT UA HIGH! THINK OF IT AS HEROING 101! HERE YOU WILL LEARN THE BASICS OF BEING A PRO! AND WHAT IT MEANS TO FIGHT IN THE NAME OF GOOD! LET'S GET INTO IT! TODAY'S LESSON WILL PULL NO PUNCHES"
"Fight training!"
R-Real combat?
"But one of the keys is looking good! These were designed for you based on your quirk registration forms and the requests you sent in before school started! Get yourselves suited up and meet me at training ground beta!"
"YES SIR!"
Ben looked at the costume he was given and found it wanting. Though that was more for the lack of material science this universe had in comparison to his own. It wasn't bad looking or anything, green painted armor made of carbon nanotubes with a general black DNA aesthetic for maximum light weightness and durability. Not that he'd actually ever BE in his costume much at all given how varied his alien transformations are.
He walked up to All Might and asked if he could take his hero costume home to work on it himself. Normally he wouldn't be one for it back home but when in Rome.
"Why of course you can, young man! Though if you prefer not to wear it now, you can just go in your training uniform!"
He smiled and did just that already thinking of how to upgrade his suit… perhaps he can add anti gravity to it by replicating his hoverboard. Seeing as he's decided to go sans uniform he was the first to arrive besides the permanently invisible girl Toru Hagakure anyway.
Combat training huh? Well hopefully this will go a lot more smoother than the practical exam. No giant robots destroying buildings and almost getting people killed. Hopefully at least. Soon enough the rest of the class showed up outside the training ground beta. Ben gazed upon the rest of his classmates and their costumes. He had to admit they looked good in them.
Ben walked up to Izuku and looked him up and down. Not a bad design. Not too shabby at all.
"You look good Izuku."
"Oh! Yeah, I was going to fill out my form at City Hall so they could make a costume for me but my mom beat me to it with her own and well I just had to wear it. What about you? You don't seem to be wearing yours."
"Eh. I figured I'd take mine home and work on it. Though if we're being completely honest here Izuku, costumes were never really my thing."
All Might stilled for a moment as he gazed upon Izuku's costume and noticed the bunny ears and the large smile similar to his own.
Wow, you are so obvious!
"IT'S TIME FOR COMBAT TRAINING!"
"Sir!"
Oh! So that's Lida under there! He looks so cool!
"This is the fake city from our entrance exam! Does that mean that we'll be conducting urban battles again?"
"Not quite! I'm going to move you two steps ahead! Most of the villain fights you see on the news take place outside! However, statistically speaking run-ins with the most dastardly evil doers take place indoors! Think about it! Backroom deals, home invasions, secret underground lairs! Truly intelligent villains still hidden in the shadows! For this training exercise, you'll split into teams of good guys and bad guys! Two on two in door battles!"
"Isn't this a little advanced?"
"The best training you can get is on the battlefield! But remember you can't just punch a robot this time! You're dealing with actual people now!"
This explanation caused a slew of different questions all of which you would expect from this group.
"Sir, will you be the one deciding who wins?"
"How much can we hurt the other team?"
"Do we need to worry about the losers getting expelled like earlier?"
"Will you be splitting us up based on chance or comparative skill?
"Isn't this cape incredible?"
"Ugh! I wasn't done talking yet!"
Soon enough All Might explained the situation. Two villains have hidden a nuclear missile somewhere in their hideout while the heroes must try to foil their plans. To do that they either have to catch the criminals or recover the weapon...safely. The bad guys succeed if they capture the heroes or keep their weapon safe. Soon enough, All Might pulled out a box of lots for them to choose teams.
They were all placed in their teams Team A including Izuku and Uraraka, Team B Todoroki and Shoji, Team C Ben and Momo, Team D Bakugo and Iida, Team E Ayoama and Ashido, Team F Sato and Koda, Team G Kaminari and Jiro, Team H Tokoyami and Asui, Team I Ojiro and Hakakure, and Team J Kirishima and Sero.
Ben really hoped he'd get a villain role, he had to admit it was pretty fun when he did something similar with the Plumbers' Helpers when he was 15. All Might soon got everyone's attention and placed his hands into two boxes one for villains and the other for heroes.
"I declare that the first teams to fight will be...these guys! Team A will be the heroes and Team D will be the villains! Everyone else can join me in the monitoring room to watch!"
All Might yelled excitedly as he pulled out the letters D and A putting Izuku and Uraraka against Bakugo and lida. Izuku's eyes widened slightly as he realized he would have to fight against Bakugo. Izuku turned to see Bakugo glaring at him but he didn't back down and glared right back.
"Bad guys you can go on in and get set up! And in two minutes the good guys will be let loose and the battle will start! You two, the key to being successful is to emboy villainy! Think from the perspective of an evildoer! If things go too far, I'll step in!"
Lida walked up to the giant dummy weapon and examined it as Bakugo stared forward. It pained lida to be acting as a villain even if it was just training.
"Hey! Do you really think Deku has a quirk?"
"You saw how he threw that ball. Though I think his power hurts his body. Why is it that you seem to be so angry towards Midoriya?"
Bakugo grunted as he began to think anger clouding his judgement as it usually did.
Was he seriously just tricking me all these years?! I'm gonna roast that damn nerd today!
Back on the ground outside, Izuku and Uraraka were talking about how huge the building was and how difficult it would be to memorize its flooring pattern. She then turned to Izuku who was shivering in slight terror.
"Hey, what's wrong? You're sweating through your costume!"
"W-Well...it's just because we're up against Kacchan...and lida. We should keep our guard up. Who knows what they'll pull."
"Oh right Bakugo. He's the one who's always making fun of you."
"Y-Yeah. As awful as he is, he's sort of amazing. His quirk is so powerful and tactical, not to mention his confidence added on top of that. They're all so much greater than mine. But that just means I'll have to do better. I refuse to lose!"
"Well then let's take them down as a team!"
Back in the monitoring room, they all looked at the screen as All Might started speaking.
"ALRIGHT! Let's begin indoor combat training! Teams! Your time starts now! Pay attention kids, think about what you would do!"
Young Midoriya, in this class you're just another student. I'll try to keep myself unbiased. I'll grade as I'd grade anyone else! Without playing favorites!
Ben frowned as he kept a close eye on the fight, he didn't trust Bakugo to not go too far. Once he has he'll intervene himself if All Might doesn't for whatever reason.
Izuku why're you praising someone who's made your life hell? I get you have an inferiority complex due to bullying and I know how hard those are to get over myself but this isn't healthy.
The two entered from a window and were inside the building. They soon started walking down the halls trying to watch their blindspots. The two walked around looking to see if anyone was around in the area they were in.
I still basically have no control over One for All. I can't risk using it and Ben isn't here to heal whatever body part I shatter. Besides, I'd probably end up killing someone! We'll just have to work with Uraraka's zero gravity and whatever I can do without a quirk. I've just got to use my head. I took a lot of notes on fighting in tight and indoor spaces. I can do this!
Izuku soon gasped as he saw Bakugo jumping in the air rearing a charged fist straight at his face. Izuku paused for a moment before grabbing Uraraka and jumping to the side dodging the punch but his mask wasn't completely unscathed. They looked back and Uraraka noticed his ruined mask.
"Izuku are you ok?!"
"It's just my mask, I'm fine!"
The dust soon cleared as Bakugo started to speak with the clear ruined and burned part of the wall where his punch connected.
"What's the matter Deku? Afraid to stand up and fight me?!"
"I knew you'd come at me first! And figured you'd try to catch me by surprise!"
In the room, they all started commenting on what just transpired on the screen.
"A sneak attack? Really? What kind of a man pulls cheap crap like that?!"
"It's a viable strategy! He's playing the part! Acting like a true villain would!"
"It didn't work! Midoriya dodged him!"
"Wait, there he goes!"
Bakugo once again charged towards Izuku with pure anger on his face despite the wide smile.
"I WON'T HURT YOU SO BAD THEY'RE GONNA HAVE TO STOP THE FIGHT! JUST CLOSE!"
Izuku soon slammed into the charging teen almost like a hug which shocked both Bakugo and everyone watching. Soon enough, Izuku changed his footing and threw all of Bakugo's weight over him slamming him down hard onto the ground.
"Kacchan, you always used a big right hook to start a fight! I know because I've watched you for years! I analyzed every amazing hero, even you! I wanted to know everything I could about them! It was all in the notebook you burned and threw away! You can call me Deku but I'm not the same weak, helpless kid anymore! You hear me?! I've changed!"
Bakugo slowly got off of the floor strangely silently before getting into a fighting position with a look of pure hatred on his face. He opened his fists to light them up once more. Izuku was still trembling as he stared Bakugo down but he wasn't backing down. Not this time.
"Deku...you're shaking in your boots, you're so scared! But you want to fight me anyway! THAT'S WHY I HATE YOU!"
Ben curled his hands into fists as he looked on at the display, wondering when exactly All Might will step in to stop this. He didn't seem to be moving in to do anything so Ben continued to watch but this gets any more violent and he's calling him out on it.
Bakugo tightened his fist and Izuku yelled for Uraraka to run which she did. Bakugo shot off towards Deku trying to land a kick to the skull but only met Izuku's arm.
"Ballsy move! Think you can take me alone?!"
Izuku didn't say anything as he tried to wrap the capture tape around Bakugo's leg. Izuku thought of what Kacchan did and dodged to the left as Bakugo punched the wall once more causing another explosion. The other students marveled at Izuku's quick thinking and quick reflexes to Bakugo's attacks.
He kicked first this time! He's switching things up so I can't predict his moves! Does that mean he's worried?
At the first sight of Bakugo blasting towards him again, Izuku soon ran around the corner so he wouldn't get an easy target. Bakugo was quickly unsure of where Izuku went due to the maze-like interior of the building. This of course caused him to get frustrated as most things did.
"UGH! DAMN IT! YOU WERE TRICKING ME FOR YEARS BY ACTING WEAK! BET YOU'VE BEEN LAUGHING BEHIND MY BACK HUH?! SO WHERE'S THAT FLASHY POWER OF YOURS NOW?!"
The rest of the class watched commenting on how sort of scary Bakugo was. Incredibly violent too. They continued to show scenes of Izuku hiding and running around corners as Bakugo tried desperately to find him blowing down every door he could find. Bakugo soon found a staircase and walked up it, his anger only growing.
Just another worthless bug for me to smash! I didn't need your stupid help! I've never needed it! Yet you looked at me like I was some kind of weakling! Like you but I'm not you! I'm so much better than you are!
Uraraka turned her head around the large pillar and saw lida standing next to the weapon. Perfect, now all she needed to do was tell Izuku. Iida was too busy talking about how he needed to embody a villain's mindset. He was sort of like a cartoony villain you'd see on tv. Unfortunately with how goofy it was, Uraraka let her position be known.
"Uraraka is that you?! I knew you would come here alone, the instance Bakugo ran off by himself! Your quirk allows you to float anything you touch but I've prepared for that! By hiding everything that could help you away from this room! My dastardly tricks have rendered you helpless! You've messed up, hero! MUAHAHA!"
"He...really is playing the part."
Bakugo grinned viciously as his gauntlet gleamed iron hot red for a brief moment as he stalked closer to Izuku.
"I sweat a nitroglycerin like substance for my Quirk… and my gauntlets collect it. Let's see how much you can handle useless Deku! I'll show you you'll never be better than me!"
Ben's eyes widen in shock as he quickly transforms as Bakugo goes to pull the pin attachment on his right gauntlet and stretch out his arm. As All Might screams for him to stop Ben is already in the building speeding to their location as XLR8. As Bakugo responds that he'd only kill him if he doesn't dodge Ben got in-between them as the explosion was sent out. In another flash of light Heatblast replaced XLR8 as he slid to a halt and the explosion expanded. Upon contact with Heatblast it was absorbed as he glared, the fire around him rising from his anger as he clenched his fists.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
As Heatblast yelled he stalked to the shocked Bakugo as each footfall melted the concrete of the floor.
"You never use deadly force in combat simulations! This is training! I have no idea what All Might was thinking when he didn't step in to stop someone like you, who clearly has no grasp on safe use of force, and frankly I don't care. You want to act like a wild animal?! You better be ready to be treated like one."
Izuku stared at the two in front of him and spoke. It wasn't that Izuku was angry that Ben was here to help. It was just that he was sick of being saved. He would've come up with something.
"Ben! I'm thankful for the help but I had it covered! You don't need to do this!"
"Were you going to use your quirk against him?"
"I…"
"I thought so. Bakugo here clearly doesn't understand the difference between an actual fight and training. While I'm sure you would've come up with something, this could've gotten very deadly very quickly."
Heatblast growled as he punched the wall closest to him causing it to shatter to pieces.
"Fuck, even if it didn't kill you he'd have given you permanent 3rd degree burns at best. There's no scenario where anything like this is ok to happen in a school. If something isn't done from this I'll make it happen, even if I have to share this fight with the damn news!"
Heatblast closed his eyes as Ben transformed back to normal as he stepped out of a nearby window to walk back to the observation room on Mana platforms to cool his head. Izuku looked in shock as he let out a tired sigh. It was kind of awful considering Bakugo's blasts would most likely kill him if he didn't dodge. And even then, if he didn't die those 3rd degree burns would be more than unpleasant.
All Might watched before sighing and speaking into his earpiece.
"Team A and Team D. I'm going to cut this match short. For what it's worth, Team D would win considering both played their roles as villains even if one took it too far. Plus there was also Uraraka letting her position be known. Return to the monitoring rooms and we'll continue with the rest of the groups."
Izuku gasped but looked down before back at Bakugo. He was pissed as always. He punched the wall as Izuku inched out of the same window Ben stepped out of. Izuku walked up behind him before speaking.
"Ben? Are you ok?"
He looked behind him and sighed as he swept a hand through his hair.
"Yeah, you didn't do anything wrong. This whole situation just makes me angry is all, sure I could have healed you physically from near any wound you could get. Psychologically though? That much physical trauma would get to most anyone even if you no longer had the wounds to match your memories."
Ben chuckled self deprecatingly making sure the radio was off.
"After all I've been aged to dust a few times and sometimes I still freak out a bit whenever I get covered in it thinking it's somehow happening again."
Izuku was about to comment on that but figured it would be best not to bring up bad memories. He rubbed his head as he smiled slightly.
"Well, thank you for stepping in like that. It's nice to have someone who cares. We should go to the monitoring room and watch the other people go. I'd love to see you as a villain."
Ben laughs and nods.
"Yeah, I've done that once before back home. It's actually pretty fun. I hope I get a villain team up. Though I'll definitely show them how a real one acts, not that crazed berserker Bakugo was. … Assuming I'm still able to participate anyway given I interrupted your training."
"I'm sure All Might will let you participate. I mean, you are in the right. It'd be pretty unbecoming of a hero to punish someone for doing the right thing even if it was sort of brash."
Ben frowns and shrugs.
"So far the actions of UA haven't really given me much confidence honestly. If nothing is actually done from what happened just now, it'll pretty much kill my trust in the school in terms of it's priority to keeping students safe."
"Yeah...yeah that's fair. I really didn't want to get burned and find out that nothing would happen to Ka-Bakugo. That would make me pretty mad. But let's go to the others."
Ben nods as he makes a Mana slide to the ground so they can reach it quicker and soon enough they were back in the observation room with Ben staring at Bakugo with disgust. Bakugo stared back angrily as Izuku just let out a sigh and looked back to the screen. Bakugo wasn't the only person Ben was pissed off with however.
"I figure I might as well ask this now, why exactly didn't you stop the fight sooner All Might? I get there's a quasi miracle healer on staff but I doubt she'd be able to deal with 3rd degree burns, let alone the psychological damage something like that causes."
Ben asked as he shifted his glare from Bakugo to All Might as he folded his arms in front of him.
"I...I suppose I wanted young Midoriya to figure this one out on his own but I didn't take into account Bakugo's...intensity. I realize that was my mistake...I'm sorry."
Ben sighs as he leans back against the wall.
"I trust there will actually be punishments for both Bakugo and yourself, yes? Hell I'll gladly be punished too if the school deems it necessary. Something like this should never happen in any school, let alone one for mastering super powers."
"Truthfully, I'm not entirely sure. But I'll be sure to inform the school and ask for punishments for myself and Bakugo. It'd be the right thing to do."
"Punishment for what?! Taking this seriously?! It's not my fault Deku's a goddamn weakling! I'll kick your ass!"
Ben froze as cold fury engulfed him before stalking over to Bakugo and punching him in the face. His glare inadvertently activating his Mana, making them glow an eerie green.
"Did you not pay attention to anything I've said? Get your head out of your ass Katsuki! If I was All Might I'd honestly expell you out right! If I didn't intervene, and Izuku failed to dodge out of the way, the best case scenario you're looking at is whole body 3rd degree burns! You attacked someone with deadly force in a training simulation, and if you can't see what's wrong with that quite frankly you. Shouldn't. Be. Here."
Bakugo simply just glared back at Ben as Izuku rubbed his hair at all the yelling that was going on. Quite frankly, he was never really good when there was yelling. Or at least negative yelling anway. He was just fine whenever All Might was yelling as he usually did. He usually got all shaky and nervous whenever Bakugo yelled or hell even just really looked in his direction. He hated it.
"Look, let's just forget about it for now and move onto the next people so they don't miss their chance alright?!"
Izuku exclaimed, shocking everyone in the room before All Might simply nodded. All Might wasn't the only one to notice how shaky Izuku was.
Ben backed off with a huff and stalked back to his corner with a sigh, determined to ignore Bakugo least he inadvertently triggers Izuku again.
Things were pretty awkward after that. The others had their chances to try and win with some pretty interesting and sort of fun results. Soon enough it was Momo and Ben as villains against Todoroki and Shoji as heroes. A pretty interesting matchup to say the least. Ben was basically a natural while Todoroki was put in on request so he had to be good.
Upon getting the results of his villain status Ben grinned and whooped.
"Alright! Time to show you all how a real villain fights, not like the berserker Bakugo was. So you all better pay attention!"
Ben waves as he exits with Momo to enter the building and guard the fake nuke.
"Seeing that we're up against Todoroki we should probably expect some power from him since he got in on a recommendation like you did right Momo?"
"Power isn't the only factor, but yes we did get in that way."
Ben nodded but that also probably meant that power was a large factor in it. If any of his years of heroing has proven anything it's that people with power usually think highly of themselves and he can use that to his advantage.
"Seeing as we don't know the extent of his power we should focus on reinforcement of the room. I'll set up a barrier between the various entrances, you can make it as difficult as you can to get to the payload."
With that, Ben crosses his legs as he floats in the air, a thin shell of Mana holding him up as one by one the windows and doorway was sealed as thick as he could make barriers currently. Nowhere near Gwen's in strength but they would hold up against even a tank for prolonged periods.
Once the hero team got the ok to do so the barriers came in handy as they blocked Todoroki's ice from coming inside when he tried to freeze the entire building.
This blocking of the ice would have to force Todorki to enter the building. There were a couple of ways this could go down. Ben could use his mana constructs which were impressive but not as impressive as Gwen's. He could turn into one of his incredibly quick aliens to take them out efficiently. He could use some of his more mental aliens to get into Todoroki's head. So many different options.
Ben grinned as he turned into Ghostfreak, the chains on him rattling in a etheral way as his eye moved to his back to look at Momo.
"I'll keep them busy, this shouldn't take too long."
Ghostfreak hissed out a chuckle as he turned into mist.
"It'll be fun to show Todoroki he can't rely on just his power alone for fights. Sometimes no matter what you do, you'll never stand a ghost of a chance."
In no time at all Ghostfreak was peering at his temporary foes through a wall before grinning, making sure to have his voice echo.
"My my, that was a good move you know. But unfortunately for you we delt with the ice. Tell me… have any of you ever seen a ghost?"
As Ghostfreak talked he made sure to rattle his chains and made a show of turning off and on his invisibility to make it look like he was skipping space entirely between movements.
His chest mouth smirked as Ghostfreak went to grab at the seams in his middle.
"Wanna see a dead body?"
Without waiting for a response he ripped himself open revealing his insides and the swarming tentacles therein as a unholy screech filled the building.
The rest of the students watched in horror as they saw the alien's insides being revealed and tentacles swarming and moving in an uncanny moment. Jesus Christ this was horrifying to watch.
"Well...that's horrifying."
"Really really horrifying."
"A-Are those tentacles?! Did he rip his skin open?!"
"Let's just be glad that Ben isn't a villain and on our side."
"Yeah heheh...but he's just a little too good at playing villain for my taste…"
Izuku stared at the screen, split between terrified and impressed. He was playing the role of creepy villain well but as others have stated too well for comfort.
Done playing with them Ghostfreak vanished from sight as he turned into mist again before reappearing in front of Todoroki.
"How's that saying go? Ah yes, sticks and stones might break my bones, but ghosts will always haunt me."
With that Ghostfreak possessed Todoroki who gained an equally chilling smirk as both sides of his body activated their Quirks in a steady controlled manner.
"Wouldn't you agree?"
He turns to Shoji as black lines form on his body and quick as can be he was frozen in place.
With that done Ghostfreak let Todoroki go who promptly passed out as Ben transformed back to normal and gave a nearby camera a bow. The rest of the class just looked at the scene terrified, impressed but terrified nonetheless.
"Wow...that was...wow."
"So, I'm scared of a dude with the middle name Kirby now."
"Jesus, I sure hope he doesn't have any other forms that are like that! That was horrifying!"
"Just seeing him control Todoroki like some uncanny puppetmaster ugh! No thank you!"
"Todoroki was admitted here by request as well. How was Ben not? He's incredible!"
Ben grins as he waits for All Might to give the all clear for passing the simulation while breaking the ice around Shoji.
"Sorry if I scared you badly but I couldn't resist. It's always fun playing the part of a bad guy, ya know?"
"Y-Yeah."
All Might hesitated for a moment still thinking over Ben's creepy performance before speaking.
"Alright you guys! Villains win! Good work! Meet us all back here!"
Ben nods and makes a Mana platform to carry Todoroki as the ones upstairs vanish. As he does he adds a bit of Mana to his forehead to wake him up faster, noticing the burned tissue on his face and deciding to ask later if he'd like it healed as an apology for going a tad overboard.
"No. It's fine."
Todoroki was always the more stoic type anyway. Besides, it's not like there was much point in trying anyway.
Izuku smiled at the screen happy that Ben won but it did make him feel like he was cheated out of something. He didn't know what exactly but it was something. It's not like he got to finish his round and truthfully he'd rather not go up against Bakugo after that. He wasn't necessarily mad about it but still.
Soon enough, the class returned to the classroom talking about each of their battles trying not to mention Izuku and Bakugo's confrontation as the blonde looked just about ready to explode.
"All Might Sensei, I really hope we get to do something like that again. Though if possible I wouldn't mind taking on the entire class if we do. I'm not sure what the objective could be unfortunately. Ah, maybe stopping a assasination attempt? You could be the hypothetical target and they can be the elite team sent in to stop me. I could even restrict myself to 3 forms and distribute profiles for them…"
Ben rubs his chin in thought before shaking his head.
"Though I'd understand if we can't really suggest material in case you have lessons planned in advance."
All Might rubbed his bright hair back liking the idea but he did have lessons in plan and plus he probably wouldn't be the only one teaching the class anyway. Those consequences he needed to talk to the school board about.
"Young Ben! While the idea is great, I do have other lessons planned! Plus, I don't think putting the whole group against one person in a match is right! Plus...I'm not really worried for you, you can handle yourself but Bakugo might try something."
All Might said bending down and whispering the last part into the teen's ear.
"Oh. Yeah. That makes sense. Speaking of which I think it'd be good if you announced whatever punishment they give you both to the class if you weren't planning to already. Ah and as I said I'd be ok with being punished too if they seem it right."
Ben whispers back mentally berating himself for not factoring Bakugo. All Might nodded. While the others were doing their own runs, All Might had notified the school about their punishments. It was unfortunate but necessary.
"Alright everyone listen up! As of now I will have an assistant at all times before I can teach on my own! And young Bakugo has one more chance but if he messes up he'll be expelled from UA!"
This instantly caused anger out of the blonde asking why and just straight up complaining.
"Oh come on that's bullshit!"
"I can assure you it's not young man! Instead of complaining why not try to look at it more critically? When put in situations like these you can do two things, you can hate it or you can learn from it!"
Ben nods.
"After all I doubt you'd have liked being in Izuku's place if he failed to dodge and I wasn't there. Unless you're saying you'd be fine with a permanently disfigured body from a explosion that should never have been used in school grounds?"
He asks as he quirks an eyebrow and looking at the teen. The teen looked back at Ben before tsking and looking to the side.
"Yeah. Whatever."
"But for now, the school day is over! Go home and rest up for tomorrow! A new day means new experiences! Take what you learned from this day and use it your advantage! You're dismissed!"
The students nodded before beginning to file out of the classroom. Izuku let out a small smile before walking up to Ben.
"You want to get something to eat?"
"Sure, anywhere in mind?"
"I know a place, come on!"
The two soon found themselves at a restaurant and sat down eating as they talked. As expected Izuku wanted to know more about Ben's universe since it wasn't everyday you get an opportunity like this.
"So what's your world like?"
"Hmmm well it's a lot more advanced than here since alien and human cohabitation is in full swing. In fact all the forms you've seen me transform into are each a member of a different alien species."
"Really?! So you said you're popular right? Are there no other heroes in your world? Or is it like here where people have to fight for popularity?"
"Fight for popularity? No no. Being a hero isn't about that where I'm from and shouldn't be anywhere frankly. I'm a member of the Plumbers, who are basically universal police helping to enforce cosmic law. I'm just really popular because I've helped restore two species from the brink of extinction (one of whom wanted to commit galactic Omnicide previously), and… well I have been put on trial by the universe like I said previously. At that point people really can't not know who you are, especially when it was live streamed to everyone around the universe for real time voting on if I was guilty or not."
"Oh! Well it's just being a hero is a job here and less popularity means less money. It is sort of selfish yeah. I suppose in your world it's more like a noble thing to do. I was thinking of having a day job for money. Also you keep mentioning that. What happened that you were put on trial?"
Ben laughs and shakes his head.
"It's not that we don't get paid, we do, it's just that the only examples I've seen of people doing it for fame or glory eventually just started staging accidents to solve. As for what I did… I'll let you finish eating first before I tell you. I wouldn't want you to choke after all."
Izuku nodded chuckling and finished before looking at Ben interested to see what got Ben put on trial by the universe itself.
Ben shrugs and scratches his neck self consciously.
"Well… I used one of my forms to recreate the universe after it was destroyed, and apparently that was in violation of the Multiversal Preservation Act, which I didn't even know existed at the time."
"Woah...heavy. So how'd you get out of that? Also one of your forms recreated a whole universe?! Ben! You are way too awesome!"
He smiles and eats a chilli fri before laughing a bit.
"Well I did a trial by combat. I won but still got fined a bit for it. Definitely don't want to do that again."
"Huh. Jeez so end of the world stuff is normal for you huh? So how long does that take before it becomes just another day?"
Ben does a so so motion.
"I wouldn't say it happens too often. Planetary stuff is more frequent than galactic and higher. After all most people aren't insane enough to destroy a galaxy much less the universe or all of reality."
"Huh. Well thank God for that. Honestly, I think the only real dangerous thing I've seen besides what almost happened today was when that monster was destroying part of the city...or when I almost got killed by that sludge monster. Yeah. Not a fun time."
"Ah, right that happened a bit before I arrived here right?"
"Yeah...not a pleasant experience. As it turns out, being suffocated isn't fun. But hey! Did put a lot of things into perspective so there's that."
"Yeah… I've almost been choked to death plenty of times. Definitely not fun. Ah, which reminds me I was wondering if you'd like to be taught Mana manipulation, it's how I create all those energy constructs. I figured if you get good enough at it you can heal yourself in case I'm not available."
"Seriously?! Yeah, I'd love that! You saved me a lot using those!"
"Great! Though I don't know how easy it'd be for you to pick up really. It took me a year and a half to do it and my cousin was teaching me."
"Well practice takes time! Plus it'll really help me in becoming a more efficient hero! You'd also be teaching me! You're just the...best Ben."
Izuku said smiling like an excited kid. Truthfully, anything that came to being a hero made Izuku smile brightly like that. It wasn't even Ben's powers that really made him smile so widely. It was just Ben himself. He was a true hero and a great friend..
Ben chuckled and winked playfully as he smirks.
"Keep going on like that and I'll think you're flirting with me with how much you praise me you know."
He shrugs and chuckles as he smiled while Izuku turned the other way for a moment to hide his small blush.
"Besides no need to thank me, anyone decent would have done the things I have and even most indecent people would see the value of having a universe to live in."
"Yeah, so I'll have to squeeze in time training with you while I train my body to handle One for All. How should we go about it?"
"Oh, I can just let you use my workout equipment in my apartment if you want. I can upload the books I read on Mana Manipulation and Magic into you since I don't have them on hand, at least nothing for beginners anyway. That way you can practice trying to use your Mana whenever you aren't busy with other things."
He hums slightly in thought before shrugging.
"Hell, you can even sleep over if you want to. We do live next door after all."
"I could yeah. Sounds good Ben. By the way, All Might told me why One for All is shattering my body so bad. While it's true I did train it to hold it, I rushed it and overworked myself. Which I...can't disagree with. I did find myself collapsing a lot more due to the excess training. I guess that one's on me."
Izuku explained chuckling as he looked down at the table. He was so excited at the chance of being a hero and inheriting All Might's quirk that he overdid the training. So much so that half the time he could barely feel his limbs. He should've taken it easy. Izuku mentally berated himself for such a childish mistake.
"I was wondering about that but each time I asked you if you were ok you'd insist you were. Did you cause permanent damage?"
"No no! I mean, I'm fine now! But I probably should've told you about those times I had trouble getting up in the morning...Sorry…"
Ben huffs as he sips his smoothie.
"Idiot. What good would a hero be if he was too exhausted to hero? I should know. I used to do 4 all nighters in a row."
Izuku looked down rubbing his head with slight guilt. It's just he was so used to others having to help make whatever progress he had. He wanted to be a hero? He needed a quirk which All Might provided. He needed to get into UA? Uraraka while not giving her points still influenced something. His body was broken putting a halt into superheroing? Ben came in and healed him. He was grateful for it all but for once he'd just like to get something done himself. Nothing coming in last minute to save him.
Ben frowns at the look on his face and pokes his forehead with a chuckle
"Hey now, I can't help you feel better if you don't tell me what's wrong."
"I don't know, it's just...I'd like to do something on my own without anything coming to save my butt at the last second. I'm grateful for all the help I'm getting but it's kind of self deprecating you know? I mean a hero has to rely on himself at times. I can't always rely on others because there's going to be a time when there won't be others! It'll just be myself and I can't just break every bone in my body and hope someone saves the day! I have to be better! I...need to be better."
It was something that had been bothering him for awhile. Heroes teamed up with others sure but they were usually able to deal with problems on their own. Izuku didn't want everything to just be him failing but then some random coincidence or chance saves him in the end. Izuku looked at his hand and sighed.
"Really now? Who was it that worked out your body to get where you are? Who spent hours and hours studying and analyzing all things Quirk?"
"...Me…"
Ben nods as he points his straw at him.
"And who was it that tried to save Bakugo even after years of bullying and knowing you didn't have a Quirk? You again. Just because you have people that care about you doesn't mean you're any less of a Hero. Trust me, that way leads to something like the first time I met my future self. He got so obsessed with Heroing by himself so no one else gets hurt and, sure, he singlehandedly stopped all crime on Earth but it was slowly killing him inside. Luckily he seems to have learned his lesson by the time I left and started to have fun again."
Ben moves his hand to point at Izuku with the straw.
"What I'm trying to say is that relying on others doesn't make you less of a hero. Given how long you've had your Quirk it's expected you'd need help. Ah… I just thought of something, are you done with your food? If so we should head back to my place, I'm curious to see something."
Izuku nods as he finishes the last of his food, mulling over what Ben said on the way back to his apartment. As much as he hated to admit it, he really has been playing catch up. Still, all the more reason to try harder than everyone else to catch up!
Once they were both inside Ben vanished in his characteristic green flash and in his place was a vampire looking alien who latched on to a bookcase to hang upside down.
"I do my best thinking in this form upside down… Whampire here can see the life energy of others. If you can, can you please summon up your Quirk like you're going to use it but not actually do so?"
Izuku nodded and looked at his arm once more. He had to try and summon it without using it. Alright. Izuku started to focus and concentrate really hard feeling the strange powerful energy build up in his arm once more. He wasn't going to expel it out this time...hopefully his arm doesn't explode.
Whampire lets out an ahhh as he appears in front of Izuku's arm, drool almost escaping his mouth as he stares at the absolutely absurd amount of Mana being channeled through his body.
"I see your problem now, too much Mana in too little fine a point! Try distributing it across your body like so."
As he says so a thin shell of Mana wrapped around Whampire's body. Izuku watched carefully as Whampire did it and tried to replicate it. That was also probably why his body part usually hurt so much along his excess exercise. He was usually focusing all of his power into one point all at once.
Izuku let some of the incredible energy release from his hand and move to the rest of his body. It was slightly uncomfortable but it wasn't hurting so there was that.
Whampire nods as he licks his lips before transforming back into Ben with a blush as he coughed.
"Sorry, that form is basically a space vampire in case you couldn't tell. The amount of Mana you were emitting was… getting hard to resist to eat. Erm, anyway how much would you say that is in terms of your total power output?"
Ben asked as he got out his hero costume to begin working on it. Izuku didn't bother to question Ben eating his Mana as Whampire. Something told him he didn't want to know. It did make him blush though.
"I...seventy percent? I was trying hard to force that power out but I could've tried harder."
Ben blinked.
"Huh? No no! Go lower. As low as you can until it doesn't hurt to draw it out. After that is done practice using it automatically without having to think about it. If I'm right it should boost up every part of your body equally with no harm to you, and getting more fit will allow you to draw in more power later."
Izuku nodded and tried once more. He needed to try and go as low as he could. Izuku took a deep breath before letting out and trying again. The power inside him reawakened and was starting to spread throughout his body once more. He was going as low as he could but it wasn't hurting! Honestly, he didn't really feel anything in either way but that was progress right?
"Once you've gotten it as low as you can without it hurting, tell me at what percentage you feel it at. We should give it a name too if only to catagorize your different percentage levels. I have names for all my forms back home actually, I just haven't been using them much here since that'd give away my location whenever I Hero."
"I...I think it's about thirty now. It's not hurting so that's good...Wait all your heroes have names? So like what you'd shout them out whenever you'd transform?"
Izuku asked finding that to be kind of funny honestly.
Ben pouts seeing the laughter in his eyes.
"Well yeah, basically. I use it to strike fear into my enemies because some of my forms coming out mean I'm not playing around. I actually tore apart my arch nemesis Vilgax when he got me too angry at one point. He didn't die or anything but that's more because of how much of a tenatious bastard he is than me trying to spare his life. I can't count the times we've tried to kill each other at this point. Having a universal conquerer after you since you were ten… well it definitely builds up some resentment on both sides."
"Jeez. I can't imagine going through all that. Well, that's pretty strong willed of you not to just end it when you have the chance."
Ben laughs as he shakes his head.
"I can't say I haven't thought about unfreezing him so he'd die from just being most of a torso and a head honestly. But that wouldn't be enough punishment for his crimes. He's destroyed around a dozen planets after all and killed billions upon billions of lives. Hell at one point he even managed to kill an infinite number of lives. But… knowing that he's aware and frozen, brooding on his loss for years… well I can't say it doesn't feel good to think about it."
"Huh. Well regardless of whatever you choose to do in that situation. I could say you're in the right in both. Sparing him does show your mercy and that you're a hero not the executioner. But on the other hand, genocider so letting him die probably wouldn't make anyone mad. But I'm sure you're right in keeping him frozen."
Ben scratches his cheek in thought, currently the small fry from like alien Grey Matter.
"I wouldn't really call his situation merciful. That'd be putting him into a induced coma. He is after all aware of every single second while he's frozen. The look of hate he gave me once I told him his former empire joined the Plumbers with open arms was delicious and so satisfying."
As Grey Matter talked he was busy taring apart his microwave, toaster, and a medical syringe and in moments Ben had what he wanted. A DNA sampler that'd work on even his smallest of aliens.
"Well, sure maybe not merciful. But I can't blame you for that."
Ben quickly turned into 4 forms in rapid succession before turning back into Grey Matter and picking up the sampler again, now loaded with Nanomech, Gutrot, Upgrade, and Lenopan samples. Hooking it up to his computer he started to run simulations on possible DNA combinations to get a sort of nanochip like goop that can be applied to his suit and instantly outfit it with technology and chemical warfare synched up to his watch and thus master control. If his calculations were right, and they always were, by the time he's synthesized the purpleish goop they'd make his costume much akin to what his Nanomech form could do already paired with Upgrade's ignoring of the square cube law and the Lenopan's nigh unlimited shapeshifting.
Izuku at this point was laying on Ben's bed throwing a ball up and down as Ben worked. Izuku wasn't stupid by any means, quite intelligent actually. But different planes here so he'd basically be of no help.
"So who's your smartest alien?"
"Ah you're looking at it actually. Grey Matter belongs to a race of hyper intelligent aliens. It's no exaggeration that even the dumbest of their species would make the smartest of most any other look like a barely formed fetus in comparison intellect wise. To tell you the truth I'm still not sure how my smart forms even work considering they flat out seem to know things I've never even studied let alone seen before."
The frog shrugged as he transformed back into Ben now that the simulation was on auto and would continue to work until it found the right combination.
Ben laughed as he sat on a nearby chair.
"Sorry if I was ignoring you. It's just Nanomech, the really small alien you saw me turn into briefly, is part of a hivemind and I had to make sure the resulting nano goop I was making didn't suddenly gain sentience since… that'd be bad."
Izuku chuckled at that as he continued to throw the ball up and down.
"No it's fine! And yeah that does sound bad. Ok how bout this? Personal favorite alien? And considering all the aliens you have now, if you had to limit it to ten. What would be your choices?"
Ben leaned back and huffed as he thought before shaking his head.
"I can't really answer that sorry. I would have said Feedback was my favorite if you asked 11 year old me but now… they all hold equal value to me and are each useful in different situations. As for 10 aliens assuming I'd only ever have those… well you've seen 6 of them today alright. Ghostfreak, Nanomech, Gutrot, Upgrade, Grey Matter, Lenopan. The last 4 would be Clockwork, the Pugnavore form I told you about when I asked if you wanted to tour the Galaxy, Gravvatack, and Echo Echo."
Ben points to the scanner as an explanation.
"See, I'd use Grey Matter to do something like I'm doing now. Combining the DNA of the four I showed you here to create what'd basically amount to a technological singularity due to the inherent adaptability of Nanomech paired with Upgrade's ability to significantly enhance technology. I'd also tinker with the Lenopan sample to add Gutrot's ability to create any chemical on the fly and Nanomech again to create the world's best smart clothes that'd act like a biological version of the previous combination."
Ben blushes and coughs.
"Sorry if I'm boring you but I've had a lot of time to think about that hypothetical myself. The other 4 are for drastic measures. Gravvatack is so powerful he can create a blackhole, Echo Echo can contain a nuke via sound waves and provides me with extra lives via clone spam, the Pugnavore form lets me choose the battlefield or if need be escape, and Clockwork is juuuuuuust in case I need to manipulate time for whatever reason."
"Well those make sense! Let's say, you're going up against someone who has all your powers at once! What do you do then?"
Izuku asked laying upside down on the bedside smiling at Ben.
Ben laughs at the question as he leans forward.
"Funny you should ask that, my best friend back home used to go crazy when he absorbed too much energy, and he actually used to have most of my powers at once but only a tenth of their original strength. It was pretty hard to deal with most times, thankfully I had help honestly. Otherwise he'd have drained me dry."
"Dude. Your life just keeps on surprising me. Was the great Ben Tennyson ever good with romance?"
Izuku asked getting back up to make sure he didn't get dizzy from all the blood rushing to his brain.
Ben shrugged as he looked to the floor and chuckled.
"I mean, not really no. There's multiple people back home who only like one of my forms and my longest term girlfriend was ok for a while but… it rapidly deteriorated once my identity was made public and she started to get upset at me prioritizing saving lives over our hangout time or problems with my unwanted fame I couldn't even control."
Ben chuckled self deprecatingly as he shrugged again.
"Then again I can't really fault her for wanting a normal relationship. After all, not many people would stick around with someone that could be on the other side of the universe the next day brokering peace between warring species or whatever."
He shakes his head and laughs.
"That and I'm honestly so busy back home I barely get days off for weeks at a time, so I'm too busy to even go on a date even if I wanted to."
He blinked as he looked at Izuku in curiosity.
"Why do you ask? I hope you aren't asking to see if I'm available because erm… I'm really 18. I was just deaged once I stepped through the portal to 15. So it'd be pretty awkward to date with how young you are."
"Really? Huh. Well I guess I was just curious."
Izuku blushed for a moment but shook his head. He felt bad for bringing up bad memories. He got up from Ben's bed and gave him a hug despite how awkward that was given Ben was sitting and letting go.
"Sorry for bringing up bad memories. You're doing your best and being a hero isn't just something you put off. You're a great hero and an even greater person Ben."
Ben blinked as he smiled and hugged Izuku back briefly.
"Heh, thanks Izuku. I guess I've been wanting to get that off my chest for a while but you know… too busy and any time spent in a psych appointment might be time when I'm needed to deal with something back home."
Ben pokes his chest with a grin.
"Also I'm not the only great hero here, you're definitely on your way to top hero status."
Izuku smiled at Ben's words happily. It wasn't often he heard that so of course it made him giddy. Izuku soon sat back down on Ben's bed and laid down.
"Yeah. I'll need to train though."
Ben hums in thought.
"I'd ask if you'd be interested in doing Vigilante work with me but I wouldn't want you to accidentally maim someone."
Izuku's eyes widened as he sat up and looked at Ben.
"You're doing vigilante work?!"
Ben blinked in surprise as he looked at Izuku oddly and shrugged.
"Yeah? I mentioned it a bit ago today. Thought you heard. I'm not about to wait for some piece of paper that says I can use my powers to save lives. Even if I wasn't as experienced as I am now I'd still do it. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if someone died who I could have saved just because society deems it illegal. After all, what's legal isn't always what's right and Heroes do what's right no matter the cost."
Izuku really couldn't help but agree. Truthfully, if Izuku could control his powers now he'd probably try to do some himself. One because heroes don't wait to save people and two he'd probably die of boredom of having a quirk and not using it. A bit selfish sure but he's got the right mentality. Izuku nodded laying back on the bed.
"Uh...yeah I can't really argue with that. Just be careful alright? I don't want that to get you into any trouble."
Ben snickers as he turns into Ghostfreak as he turns into mist.
"With this form? They'd never stand a chance of finding me, let alone finding any evidence of my powers. With XLR8 I can patrol this entire perfector and Ghostfreak makes it easy to stop crimes without anyone noticing."
As he stops talking Ben turns back and sits back down.
"If I was sloppy you'd have heard of me on the news by now. After all, I've been doing Vigilante work since I got here."
"Yeah...yeah that makes sense for you honestly. Well you're helping people and that's all that matters...Want to play video games?"
Ben nods and grins.
"Sure, do you have any or do you want to play one of mine?"
"I do have a few but I'd love to try a few of yours...bet you I could beat you!"
Ben laughs as he ruffled his hair and plugs in his gameoctagon loading up a Sumo Slammers beat em up projected from a holoscreen. Two virtual controllers pop into existence in front of it.
"Why fight against each other when we can fight together hm?"
Ben asked as he handed over the virtual controller and explained how to play and All Things Sumo Slammers. Izuku nodded and the two started to play. Izuku was actually pretty good at it. Playing together was a bit more fun than fighting against one another he could admit. The two played up until they needed to sleep for tomorrow.