Hello everybody! It's been a while, I know. Adult life is harder than taydenite these days. I got a lot of stories on the burner atm, with most having gotten decent reception, with the Blind Hero getting, by far, the most love.
However, the only reason I even have time to write now is because of my recent deployment to the Middle East. Nothing dangerous, but not exactly a vacation either. More like being alone in a desert with people I don't know, and with no wife to love on. I digress.
Let's cut to the chase. I've gotten a few reviews asking where the hell I am and whether I'm continuing stories or not, as well as strongly worded DMs. Though this is more of a pastime for me, I recognise that leaving a story hanging can be torturous. Therefore, I am officially asking for help writing The Blind Hero: Toph Beifong. Chapter 18 is in the works, but the story is a bit bigger than me now. I need an extra head and pair of hands if at all possible. Please DM me if you're interested in continuing the story of Toph Beifong, UA Student.
Now then, back to the Alien Hero (man, I am not that creative with story names.) I own neither BNHA or Ben 10.
The Alien Hero
Chapter Six
FIGHT!
"Izuku, dear!" Inko called out the window the next day. "Come get breakfast! You'll miss the bus!"
"Got it! On my way!" Fourarms called back. "Almost got it?"
"Gotcha! Thanks mister!" a kid bowed. The Tetramand set the car down carefully after the kid recovered his RC car, changing back in an instant.
"Coming Mom!" Izuku called, coming in the door. Meanwhile, from the roof of the building across the street, Hisashi looked through his scanner at the Omnitrix. And his son. And wife.
God, this was hard.
"Not that I understand the human family unit, Magister," Flynn said casually. "Or any species' family unit for that matter, but why is this difficult? They are your kin, are they not?"
"That's a tough question to answer, friend." Hisashi replied grimly. "I've been away for so long…I don't know if they'll accept me or not." He put down the scanner, looking down. "When you leave your family, for better or worse, you hurt them. And although my reasons are sound…"
"They will be upset that you returned at all." Flynn clicked his mandibles. "Like reopening a wound."
"Exactly." He looked through his scanner again. Izuku just boarded the bus, a banana in hand. Now was the time.
He stood up, dusting himself off. "So…how do I look?"
"Like a Plumber, sir."
"Shit, good point. I'd better change. And you need an ID mask."
The necrofriggian cocked an eyelid. "Why am I coming?"
"Back-up."
"This isn't a combat situa-"
"Trust me. I may need it."
xXx
Though it didn't surprise Midoriya at all, he did secretly hope they'd be working on heroics all day long.
No such luck. Instead, they were learning English, Heroic Arts, Math, Social Studies, History, Heroic Law, etc during the morning and right after lunch. For Midoriya, it was only slightly more of a challenge than normal. His grades were decent and could keep up fairly well given his notetaking skills.
Others, on the other hand…
"And what would 81 squared be? Anyone?" Ectoplasm asked the class. Several hands went up, including Midoriya, Yaoyorozu, Bakugo, Iida and…Ashido?
"Ashido, if you would?" the Pro asked.
"Three!" she declared confidently.
Ectoplasm blinked. "No. Anyone else? Koji?"
Koda Koji, a boy with a head like a rock, startled at being called out. Most everyone thought he was mute due to his demeanor. And general silence. He held up 9 fingers.
"Correct. Moving on…"
"Dang it…" Mina groaned. Bakugo scoffed a bit, but said nothing.
Later that day, Aizawa shuffled in for the final homeroom.
"Everyone settle down," he said gruffly.
"Uh…everyone's seated, sir." Sero told him.
"Good." The underground hero stood at the podium. "Now, I know you're all excited for your first Practical Heroics lesson…"
"WOOOOO!"
"Quiet." Red eyes flared over the classroom, shutting them up. "First, we have an announcement to make. We have a transfer student from abroad to fill our 20th spot. Be patient with her, customs are still pretty new to her."
"Wow, a new girl in our class?" Kaminari said thoughtfully.
"Whoever she is, she'll be a definite improvement over the last guy." Shoji whispered.
Mina squealed in excitement. "Another girl! Sweet!"
"Alright, come in." Aizawa waved at the door. The door swung open. A petite blond girl with purple eyes stepped in happily with a huge grin on her face. "This is Lucy Mann. She's a last minute transfer student from the United States. Introduce yourself."
"Yessir!" She chirped. She spoke perfect Japanese for someone foreign. "Hi everybody, I'm Lucy! It is a-ma-zing to be here! I literally cannot wait!"
Like all Lenopans, Lucy was a master of disguise with her ability to shapeshift her muddy body into anything she wanted. She scored a perfect score in espionage in her plumber training and had been a key player in multiple sting operations.
Aizawa nearly rolled his eyes. If he didn't know better, he'd tell the rookie plumber she was overplaying her part. But the alien was genuinely like this. Go figure.
"What's your quirk? If you don't mind me asking." Midoriya asked.
"Not at all, Iz-kid! Guy!" She nearly blew it there. "My quirk's called Mud! Wanna see?"
"S-sure! I'd love to-"
SPLAT!
His question was answered with a big, purple mud pie in his face! Lucy broke into a fit of snorting laughter, clutching her stomach.
"Oh jeez! HAHAHA! That was too funny! Snort! You should see the look on your face! HAHAHAsnorthehehehe…" She pulled out a rag, wiping the mud off her new classmate's face. "Sorry, hehe, I'm a bit of a prankster."
'I-I-It's fine…ha ha…" Midoriya stammered. She was a bit too close for comfort now. But now that his face was covered, she slipped a small chip onto the watch face while she was close. The chip glowed for a moment, and hid out of sight.
"Ooh, I like her!" Ashido said.
"You like everybody, though." Asui croaked. Meanwhile, Aizawa glared impatiently.
"Now that Midoriya's cleaned up from your childishness," Aizawa said irritably. "Take your seat, transfer student."
"Okie-dokey!" She said cheerfully, skipping to the seat behind Midoriya. Aizawa seemed to take a calming breath as the clock struck 3:30.
"I…AM…HEREEE!" None other than All Might burst into the room, hanging off the doorframe! "COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE AN ORDINARY PERSON!"
"Hey, it's All Might!" Midoriya said excitedly. Sure, he knew the man personally, but he was still excited!
"Holy crap! I heard he was teaching here, but I wasn't sure!"
"Is that his Silver Age costume?"
"Alright! We're learning from the best!"
All Might strutted dramatically into the classroom, putting on a show as usual. Lucy remembered the Number One Hero from the briefing with Hisashi. Supposedly, Toshinori Yagi was the physically strongest human in the universe! From the Magister's own calculations, All Might, at full strength, could man-handle a fully grown Vaxasaurian with ease. He could also theoretically punch through 10 levels of dwarf star alloy. In terms of sheer power, no human could ever compete with the smiling hero before them.
She shivered, thinking about if they had to arrest this mountain of a man.
"ALRIGHT, SETTLE DOWN PLEASE!" All Might cleared his throat, taking his place next to Aizawa. "NOW THAT YOU'VE FINISHED WITH YOUR MAIN CURRICULUM, IT'S TIME FOR YOUR HEROICS LESSON! AND ONE OF THE MAIN COMPONENTS OF HEROICS IS…"
He whipped out a flash card with BATTLE written on it. "PRACTICAL COMBAT!"
"FIGHT TRAINING!" Bakugo said with sadistic glee. "Finally!"
"AND ONE OF THE KEYS TO HERO WORK IIIIIISSSS…LOOKING GOOD DOING IT! AIZAWA, IF YOU'D PLEASE!"
"Right," Eraserhead said calmly. "You'll need these." He pressed a remote, causing twenty metal cases to come out of the side wall. "Your costumes make you recognizable for the people you save and serve as a deterrent for villains who spot you. Although, you may need to utilize stealth or focus on practicality depending on your powerset. I hope you considered your costumes rationally."
"RIGHT THEN, I WANT TO SEE ALL OF YOU AT GROUND BETA IN 20 MINUTES. NOW SUIT UP!"
"YES SIR!"
xXx
At Ground Beta, All Might and Eraserhead awaited their students. From the entryway, they could start to see their wards coming into the light.
"THE CLOTHES MAKE THE PRO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. AND YOU ARE THE PROOF! YOU ARE…HEROES IN TRAINING!"
Class 1A stepped out, practically shining in their brand new gear. Iida was dressed like a white knight crossed with a muscle car, his engines jetting out of his calves. Bakugo wore a black tank top and baggy pants, with large grenade gauntlets on his arms. Several costumes soon followed, with various levels of practicality, showiness and downright weirdness. Hagakure was completely invisible, so her suit only had gloves and boots. Aoyama wore sparkling armor and a blue glittery cape, with wide red glasses to protect his vision. Yaoyorozu wore a red, revealing leotard to best use her Creation quirk. Some suits were simple enough, like Tokoyami's black cloak or Ojiro's white gi.
Lucy had no suit per se. Instead she merely shifted into a muddy, humanoid form that resembled her true species. The only clues to her alien heritage were the antennae and purple eyes.
For Midoriya, his suit was basic, but pretty perfect all things considered. His original design was too much like All Might and frankly was a bit weird. He kept it functional instead, opting for cargo pants to fit medical supplies, ropes and other items he may need, with a large belt holding them up. The belt buckle had the hourglass design in silver chrome, in keeping with his theme. He also wore a black t-shirt with a white line running down the center, just like his transformations. The only flashy part was body armor he placed over the Omnitrix to both protect it and make it stand out. The armor wrapped around the device in a perfect fit, reaching up to his elbow. He also wore fingerless gloves and more body armor under his clothes for when he's stuck in human form. Nothing covered his head, but he did sport a wide respirator around his neck, which could support him underwater for a few minutes at a time (if he ever timed out as Ripjaws). It also filtered smoke and poisonous gas if needed.
It was plain as could be. Yet better than he could have imagined!
"Hey, Midori! Love the look! Very retro!" Ashido complimented. Her own design was very flashy. She wore a skintight, pink, leopard pattern leotard with a fluffy neck piece to keep it modest around the shoulders. The more technical parts of her suit were the specialized boots, which had small holes in them to release her acid and slip and slide around.
"T-T-Thanks, Ashido-san!" Midoriya replied, blushing furiously. Most of the girls costumes left little to the imagination, except maybe Jirou's, but Mina's was definitely an attention-grabber.
"Alright, everyone gather around," Aizawa called. "All Might will explain the exercise, so pay close attention."
"RIGHT, LISTEN UP!" The large hero read some flash cards briefly. He was new, after all. "TODAY'S BATTLE EXERCISE WILL BE THE FOLLOWING SCENARIO. VILLAINS HAVE MADE THIS EIGHT STORY BUILDING THEIR HIDEOUT AND HAVE ACTIVATED A CITY LEVEL BOMB TO EXPLODE IN 20 MINUTES. AS SOON AS THE TIMER BEGINS, HEROES WILL THEN INFILTRATE THE BUILDING TO STOP THE VILLAINS. ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR?"
All at once, various students bombarded him with questions. Some were relevant, like how to defeat the villains or how teams were divided up. Others were not, like how badly they were allowed to hurt the other team. (Really, Bakugo?)
"HOLD IT, ONE AT A TIME!" All Might cut them off. "IIDA, YOUR QUESTION?"
"Yes, Sensei!" Iida said beneath his helmet. "How does each team achieve success? And how will we be divided?"
"GOOD QUESTIONS! I'LL ANSWER THE FIRST ONE. THE HEROES WIN BY EITHER CAPTURING ALL THE VILLAINS WITH CAPTURE TAPE OR TOUCHING THE BOMB FOR 10 SECONDS. HOWEVER, THE VILLAINS WIN BY EITHER CAPTURING THE HEROES, AGAIN WITH CAPTURE TAPE, OR SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDING THE WEAPON UNTIL TIME RUNS OUT!"
"Doesn't that put the heroes at a huge disadvantage?" Asui asked, raising her hand.
"YES, IT DOES!" All Might gave a thumbs up. "BUT FOR HEROES, THAT IS ALWAYS THE CASE. HEROES ONLY RESPOND TO SOMETHING THAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED. UNFORTUNATELY, WE CANNOT PREDICT A CRIME BEFORE IT TAKES PLACE. THEREFORE, VILLAINS ALWAYS HAVE THE INITIATIVE. IT IS THE HERO'S JOB TO OVERCOME THAT FACT AND PREVAIL ANYWAY!"
"And as for how you'll be divided," Aizawa continued. "You will be split into teams of two. Two heroes, two villains. 5 matches in total. We'll draw lots to determine the teams."
"THANK YOU, ERASER. NOW COME FORTH! FIND YOUR TEAMMATE!" All Might held out a large box, full of multicolored balls. The pairing were as follows:
Team A: Bakugo and Mann
Team B: Yaoyorozu and Jirou
Team C: Koji and Tokoyami
Team D: Midoriya and Ashido
Team E: Iida and Shoji
Team F: Uraraka and Asui
Team G: Aoyama and Ojiro
Team H: Hagakure and Todoroki
Team J: Sero and Sato
Team K: Kaminari and Kirishima
"Alright! We're a team, Midoriya!" Ashido celebrated. Midoriya was as nervous as could be, but was just as excited. Everyone split into their various pairs.
"And the first match is as follows," Aizawa announced boredly. "Team A as the villains, and team D as the heroes."
'Wait…WHAT?' Midoriya thought frantically. That meant…
Bakugo glared right at him, murder in his eyes.
'Great…'
xXx
"Now everyone watch each match carefully," All Might instructed in the observation room. "Learn from your fellow students. Think about what they're doing right and what they could do better next time." He held his own clipboard in anticipation. Midoriya may be his successor, but he was there as everyone's teacher. He must score all of them fairly to help them grow.
Within the building, Bakugo checked his equipment and stretched out. He may have accepted Deku was here at UA, and that he was strong now, but that didn't mean he'd make it easy for the nerd. He was still leagues ahead of Deku, and he intended to keep it that way.
"Hey Mudpie," he barked. "Whatever you do, just stay out of my way. Deku's mine." Explosions popped from his palms in anticipation. Lucy blinked, then shrugged.
"Fine by me," she replied. Her voice was distorted from her own transformation. "Any suggestions?"
Bakugo growled. He really didn't care what she did, but he'd be an idiot not to strategise. "He's got a transformation that's all speed. I can beat it, but he could just dash in and steal the bomb. Do something about that."
"Ok, mister splody-pants!"
"HAH?" Bakugo snarled savagely.
"Kidding! Kidding! How many forms does he have anyway?" she asked. Of course, she had her own intentions with that question.
"Eleven that I know of," Bakugo grunted. "Not that it matters for you, I'll blow any of them to hell and back."
Lucy cocked an eyebrow. She knew he had at least a couple aliens a mere explosion couldn't touch. "Right, but if he sneaks past you, I'd like to know what I'm dealing with. Just saying."
"Tch!" He was getting irritated. "Don't fucking worry about it! There's no way he'll just sneak past me! Not a chance!"
"You're that aware of your surroundings?"
"Yeah, but I don't gotta be," Katsuki yelled. "He'll head straight for me. 9 out of 10 odds. Just defend the damn weapon."
Meanwhile, Midoriya and Ashido waited at the base of the building. They had 5 minutes to plan, which they had to spend wisely in order to win. Meanwhile, Bakugo and Lucy had that time to hide the bomb, set up the building, plan, etc.
So Midoriya called in some help.
"All Might," he called through his earpiece. "Are we allowed to prepare using our quirks?"
"I should hope so, young Midoriya!"
"Ok, close your eyes, Ashido-san." Midoriya popped the dial up.
"Why?" she asked, shielding her vision. "What are you-"
FLASH!
She looked up. Then around. Then down. "Wow! You're so small!"
"Uh…thanks?" Grey Matter replied. He closed his bulbous eyes for a total of three seconds.
"...our best bet is to approach from the top of the building. You can get us up there with your acid by melting handholds into the concrete while I ride on your shoulder. From there, I'll change into a different form to locate the weapon from outside the building…."
Mina did her best to follow the grey frog's plan, word for word. She wasn't the best at thinking, but she had the general idea. "So, why do you need to fight Bakugo? Couldn't I just hold him off while you sneak towards the weapon?"
"That would work with any other classmate." Grey Matter admitted. "But Kaachan and I have history, and he will most certainly seek me out to fight. He's also incredibly talented and will sweep right by you. Through you if necessary. No offense."
Mina shrugged. "None taken."
"HEROES!" All Might's voice rang through their eyepieces. "YOUR TIME IS UP! THE EXERCISE BEGINS NOW! GO!"
"RIGHT!" Mina yelled with a grin. "C'mon, froggy!" She grabbed Grey Matter and ran for the building. Like they planned, she began to scale the wall, moving quicker than Midoriya had anticipated. Her acid was potent enough to melt the concrete, but not so potent that she lost her grip. Grey Matter kept track of that data, calculating how potent her acid could be and what it may or may not work on. If he had to fight her one day, he'd rather know than not know.
But now wasn't the time to plot against his immediate ally.
"Avoid windows if you can," he advised from her shoulder. "If he sees us, our plan is foiled."
"Got it!" She grunted, now at the fifth floor and counting. Every once in a while, they heard a resounding boom from within the building. Bakugo was searching for them!
"Fourth…no third." Midoriya listened carefully. "Bakugo is below us on the third floor, in the northeast quadrant of the building."
"You know, you get way more nerdy like this. It's kinda cute." Mina said jokingly. The Galvan might have fallen off if he wasn't so sticky.
Once they made it to the top, Grey Matter hopped off, getting plenty of space from his teammate.
"Ok, now I won't be able to speak for a while, so remember the plan!" he reminded her. She gave a pretend salute, clearly having fun with the exercise. He reached back, twisting the dial. One perk of using Grey Matter was that he never mistransformed while in that form. He knew exactly how to use the Omnitrix, even without directly looking at it.
And sure enough…
FLASH!
"RRARRGGGHhhh…" Wildmutt growled instinctively. Ashido was amazed by the feat. What couldn't this guy do? Wildmutt sniffed the roof, echolocating for their target. He located Bakugo with ease, he'd never forget the smell of nitro after the Slime incident. He also found Lucy, who seemed to be…spread out? The weapon was in the middle of the same room, on the fourth floor. He placed himself right above the weapon and scratched the concrete, marking the spot.
"Great! Good boy!" Mina grinned. "Now let me…"
FLASH!
She covered her eyes at the green transformation. Midoriya changed again!
"What gives?" She asked. "I thought the plan was to-"
"Change of plans, had to warn you." Ghostfreak said grimly. His pale form was translucent in the sunlight "Lucy is guarding the weapon. And from what I could detect, I don't think you'll be able to sneak up on her. So instead, you'll have to drop in ready for a fight. Or just grab the weapon and make a break for it."
"Ok…but you said there's a limit right?" Mina hissed. "Can you still fight?"
"I know…I'll have to defeat Kaachan quickly before I time out, or just stall him without fighting." He looked down at the Omnitrix. He had maybe 3 or 4 minutes until it timed out. "We proceed with the plan, just modified. Ready?"
"Ready. Scooch over…" She put herself right over the gash in the roof, pouring acid to melt a manhole into the building. "Let's go!" They both dropped in, silent as could be. Midoriya floated through the walls to find Bakugo while Ashido kept melting the floor, dropping closer and closer to the weapon.
Midoriya flew down the fire escape, invisibly sneaking into the third floor. Bakugo should be here somewhere…or at least close. He didn't have much time now.
"Midori," Mina buzzed in his ear (if he had one anyway). "I'm right above the weapon. Go now?"
"Hold position…" he whispered. "I'll try to cause a distraction. When you hear it, take her down."
"How will I know?"
"Trust me, you will." He already had an alien in mind, thanks to Grey Matter. One perfectly suited to fight Kaachan…
BOOOOM!
A sneak attack! From around the corner! Midoriya let the force go through him, but the heat burned him from the inside, making him cry out in pain. He became visible, his purple eye glaring at his offender.
"Seriously? A ghost?" Bakugo snarled with an evil grin. "Most ghosts don't talk and give themselves away! Idiot!" He rushed forward, swinging his right fist!
Then it went straight through his head. He didn't even flinch.
"WHAT?" Bakugo yelled. He overextended, stumbling through Ghostfreak entirely. A striped tentacle burst out of Ghostfreak's back to hit him, but he blasted it into smoke. "THAT'S CHEATING AND YOU KNOW IT!"
"The right hook, typical." Midoriya said, making his eye crawl around his head to look at him. "You can't beat me like this. I cannot be touched." His whole body twisted and contorted to face him again. The hall they were in was fairly dark, giving the Ectonurite the boost he needed! He sharpened his claws and laughed evilly. "It's over, Kaachan! It's time for you to fear the dark!"
Beep bop boop booh…FLASH!
Red light flooded the hall, returning Midoriya to normal. Midoriya was left in a weird position, baring his teeth and holding his fingers like talons.
Bakugo could only stare for a moment. Then wordlessly, he blasted himself up and drop kicked Izuku into a wall!
CRASH!
"GAH!" he cried. He timed out! He took too much time! Now Bakugo was bearing down on him in all his fury!
"THINK YOU'RE BETTER, HUH?" He pulled the boy up, kneeing him in the stomach. "FEAR THE DARK? WHAT A LOAD!" With explosions in his hands, he threw Deku down the hall with a boom.
"YOU SAY YOU CAN BE HERE? YOU SAY YOU DESERVE TO HANG WITH THE BEST OF THE BEST? FINE! PROVE IT!" Bakugo roared. "Don't wuss out now, idiot!"
Midoriya shook as he climbed to his knees. The Omnitrix wouldn't recharge for another 5 minutes. He was stuck! Breathing in, then out, he got up to his feet.
"Ok…I'll prove it!" he declared. He clenched his fists. "I'm gonna show you what I'm really made of!"
He took a fighting stance. "I'm fighting you! Powers or no powers, it won't matter! I'm going to be a hero! Just like I said!"
Bakugo picked himself up. His face was full of sheer disbelief. Sure, he lost against that red armed freak, and that ghost might have given him trouble, but this was just Deku! He ground his teeth in rage…at the audacity!
"GGRRRRAAAAAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, DEKU?" he hollered in rage. "WHAT, AM I NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOUR FANCY POWER? WELL? ANSWER M-"
'Wait…' Bakugo got to thinking. 'Why wouldn't he use his power to fight me? He's a cowardly weakling, but he's not stupid.' He tried to see what was different. A red gleam caught his eye.
'Ah…there it is…'
"Heh…you can't can you?" Bakugo grinned! Midoriya was still as a statue. His silence only confirmed it.
"You stupid Deku…you overused your quirk, didn't you?" Bakugo blasted forward, aiming his leg low to sweep Deku. Midoriya tried to evade, but was tripped! And Bakugo was above him!
BA-BOOOOOOM!
"AAAAUGH!" Midoriya yelled. Bakugo blasted him through the floor! He landed on the 2nd story, with Bakugo standing right above him. "Figures, you've only had this power what, a year? Barely?"
He struck with another blast, sending them both to the first floor for good measure. "You can't compete!" If it weren't for Midoriya's body armor, he'd have a flail chest by now!
"What now, Deku?" Katsuki snarled. He planted his boot on the Omnitrix, keeping Midoriya from touching it. "Can't use your quirk without touching that damn watch, right? Even if it recharges, you'll be too dead to do anything about it!"
Midoriya grimaced. He never told Kaachan about his time limit! He figured it out!
"rrrrRRRAGH!" Midoriya cried, using his legs to wrap Bakugo! They rolled, fighting for dominance. It was difficult, but Midoriya managed to escape his hold. He glanced at the watch, still gleaming red. He looked up, just barely dodging another explosion. He ran down the hall to stall for time.
"GET BACK HERE DEKU! FIGHT ME!" Bakugo roared, blasting after him. He grabbed Izuku by the collar, landed in front of him, and flipped him down the hall with an explosion! He tumbled through the door to the next room, appearing to be a large office space. He got up, aching from the burns and bruises and ran further into the room.
"What was that you said, hah?" Bakugo challenged. "'Powers or no powers?' Don't give me that crap, idiot!"
Midoriya stood firm, holding his fists up to fight. Though his legs shook in fear, Midoriya kept his eyes locked on his opponent. Not backing down.
"Dammit…are you mocking me?" Bakugo screamed. "I'LL SHOW YOU TO MAKE FUN OF ME, DEKU!"
"I never mocked you, Kaachan!" Midoriya countered. "You're strong, and I look up to that! But that's why I have to beat you! Because I think you're amazing!"
"Don't give me that crap!" Bakugo barked. "You're a worthless Deku piece of shit! You're the same as always, even with that fancy power!"
"You're wrong…" Midoriya felt like crying, but held it back. "You can call me Deku, but I'm not the same weakling who I was! You hear me? I've changed! And not just my quirk!"
Midoriya shouted with all his heart at his childhood friend. "FROM NOW ON, DEKU IS THE NAME OF A HERO!"
Bakugo grit his teeth, then grinned. His palms smoked in anticipation. "Then come at me! Fight me with your full power! Whatever you think you have up your sleeve, I wanna see it! So I can crush it into the dirt!"
Midoriya smiled nervously, checking the Omnitrix and twisting the dial. Still timed out. By his count, he had a couple minutes to go. He had to make this count!
Bakugo rushed him, raising his right arm! 'Left hook!' He moved to counter!
But Bakugo blasted upwards instead! He blasted over Midoriya and hit him in the back with an explosion. He wasn't done yet! He grabbed Midoriya's arm, exploding with the other hand, and slammed Deku into the ground!
"Pretty pathetic showing, Deku!" Bakugo jeered. "Is that dumb quirk all you got against me?" He kicked Midoriya while he was down, sending him rolling. "At least make this fun for me!"
Midoriya got up again, dazing from the beatdown. Bakugo was rocketing towards him again, ready to blast him to hell!
Ding!
Midoriya heard the telltale beep from the watch. He was ready! And he managed to get right under the weapon! Just like he planned.
But Bakugo was coming in too fast! He wouldn't be able to hit the dial in time! Without thinking, or even realizing he had done it, he raised his arm from the Omnitrix.
It glowed!
"SMASH!" he yelled, punching Bakugo in the face! Bakugo was taken completely by surprise by the boosted punch!
"HAH?" Bakugo slurred. "WHAT THE FU-"
Deku slammed the dial down! Red rocks burst from his wrist and climbed over his entire body. Yellow plasma flared through every crevice of his body, setting his whole form ablaze! Pale eyes were hidden by the flames on his skull-like head, with the grey Omnitrix dial seated on his chest.
FLASH!
In an instant, Bakugo was blasted back again by a huge heatwave! An inferno ripped through the room, revealing a blazing figure in the center. Heatblast lit two fireballs in his hands.
"You'll need more firepower if you plan on beating me like this, Kaachan!" Midoriya declared. All his injuries carried over from form to form, so he was still pretty out of it. But he stood strong! "Well?"
"Fine by me!" Bakugo yelled, raising his gauntlet. "Since you're such a stalker, you probably know how my Explosion works right?"
"Not a stalker, but yeah I do. You don't mean…"
"That's right!" Bakugo yelled. "These arm pieces aren't for show! They've been storing my sweat for one…big…BANG!" He pulled the handle, revealing a grenade pin!
"Wait, no!" Heatblast held his oversized arm out. "Don't do it!"
"BAKUGO, STOP! THAT'S TOO MUCH!" All Might yelled through his ear piece.
"HE'LL BE FINE AS LONG AS HE DODGES!" Bakugo roared back. He pulled the pin!
Heatblast smirked at the action as time seemed to slow down. This was all according to his plan. Technically, Grey Matter's plan. And it all relied on three conditions.
One, Bakugo would seek him out to fight, practically ignoring the point of the exercise in his drive to beat him.
Two, Bakugo would be willing to use maximum firepower within the building. As soon as Midoriya saw Bakugo's new support items, he guessed that they had that kind of feature. And Grey Matter was able to determine the inner workings and maximum output from memory.
And three, which was most important, Bakugo has never seen Heatblast before. Therefore, he'd have no idea that Heatblast's true power wasn't just making flames. It was also manipulating them!
So as the explosion roared towards Midoriya with all its might, he did not dodge or block to escape the damage. Instead, he put his hands together to create a small cyclone of fire to catch the explosive force! The explosion was drawn in by his power, creating a terrible tornado of conflagration!
And what does heat do?
It rises.
BA-BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
WHOOOOOOOOOOSSH!
The spiraling inferno blasted straight through the ceiling, right next where the mock weapon was being kept! It kept going, soaring into the sky with devastating results!
"WHAAAAAAA?" Lucy yelled in fright. The tower of flames erupted in the next room, blowing herself and her mud into the back wall. At the very same moment, Ashido melted through the ceiling and dropped down. She grabbed the weapon and ran while Lucy was dazed!
"ASHIDO HAS CONTROL OF THE WEAPON!" All Might yelled through the intercom.
"WHAT?" Bakugo roared in rage looking up at the smoking hole. "NO! NO FUCKING WA-" he was cut off by the flaming punch hitting his face, knocking him back. He reciprocated with explosions of his own, blasting the alien back in the wall. Though the flames couldn't hurt the Pyronite, the shockwave was strong enough to knock him back! Bakugo exploded up through the hole, pursuing the pink hero.
"GET OVER HERE, HORNS!" he hollered.
"EEP!" Ashido squealed, sliding away with the weapon in her arms. As long as they held it for 10 seconds, they'd win!
SPLAT!
"EH?" Ashido ran straight into a wall of purple mud! The mud reformed into Lucy herself! "Psych!" she yelled gurgly, swiping the weapon from Mina's grasp.
"I GOT YOU!" Bakugo yelled.
"NO YOU DON'T!" Heatblast yelled back, grabbing his former friend's ankle. As soon as he recovered, Heatblast blasted his way through the whole as well, following his opponent. Bakugo was thrown back by the alien, with a couple of fireballs to keep him busy. From there, Heatblast sent a wall of flames to stop Lucy from escaping. Seeing no exit, Lucy melted into mud and covered the weapon completely.
"Can't win if you can't touch it!" she said smugly.
Even more smugly, Mina drove her hands into the muddy shell, her hands hissing with potent acid. "Wanna bet?"
"OWOWOWOWOWOWOW!" Lucy screamed in pain. "THAT HURTS SO MUCH, VIZISHAQ! JUSSIE VIZISHAQ!"
"Great job Mina! I'll cover your-OOF!" Heatblasted doubled over from Bakugo's dropkick to the stomach.
"WHAT'S THAT?" Bakugo yelled sarcastically. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU, DIPSHIT!"
Lucy tried to envelop Mina too, to try and remove her from the weapon, but acid coated her entire body! She couldn't be touched without acid burns!
Midoriya was not having the same success. Though Heatblast's durability was way better than a human's, Bakugo was relentless in his physical attacks. When his normal explosions proved ineffective against his opponent, he changed tactics! Instead, he used his explosions to put more force behind his punches and kicks, beating Heatblast down relentlessly! And the building was as hot as a sauna, which empowered Bakugo's sweat-fueled attacks.
Midoriya was frustrated. Though his fire was strong enough to take Bakugo down, it would be too much force to use on a human being. It would likely kill him. And he was already weakened from before. He had to think, but he didn't have time!
Without time to even think about picking what form to take, he moved to slap the dial!
SLAM!
"PAY ATTENTION, IDIOT!" As Midoriya raised his arm, he dropped his guard, allowing Bakugo to punch his rocky face with his gauntlet. Heatblast retaliated, slamming a large glowing fist into Bakugo's stomach. They grappled, punching and kicking with wild abandon, crashing through three different walls. Heatblast suddenly flared up, forcing Bakugo back.
"Like that'll stop me! COME ON!" He roared. "FIGHT ME FOR REAL, BBQ-BOY!"
"It's HEATBLAST!" Midoriya yelled back, dashing at his opponent in a roaring blaze. Bakugo spun, using his explosions to gain momentum to kick the Pyronite. Heatblast blocked the kick, but Bakugo used his initial attack as a springboard to kick him in the face again!
"Heatblast? That's a dumb name and you know it!" Bakugo jeered. Burns started to form on his face and clothes from the proximity. "What, did you name all your dumbass forms?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"You should've named it 'Discount Katsuki!' You're just a fake me!"
"Better than yelling 'die' after every explosion!"
"HAH? DIE, FUCK-BLAST!"
"THE HERO TEAM WINS!"
"WHAAAAAAT?"
"WHAAAAAAT?"
"GAH!" Mina pulled her hands out of the muddy cocoon. "Sorry, Lucy! It was the only way I could…"
"No sweat…" Lucy gurgled, sliding off the weapon into a puddle. "You're pretty cool, you know! Oww…"
Both Bakugo and Midoriya collapsed from their fight, right as they heard the announcement. Bakugo plopped down in exhaustion, sweating from the ambient heat. He sported several burns and was covered head to toe in ash. Heatblast leaned up against a wall, holding his arm in pain as the Omnitrix timed out. In a flash, he was back to normal, covered in bruises.
Bakugo looked at the greenette. Looked like his attacks were felt after all, despite the rocky armor. But he beat the living hell out of Deku, and he wasn't nearly as hurt as he should've been. And his heart was still racing!
"You…held back…bastard…" Bakugo growled. Midoriya looked over at him.
"What…should I have…burned you alive? Idiot…"
"Like you'd ever be able…to kill me…"
"I've thrown you a mile away before."
"One time! Augh…that was one fucking time, bastard!"
xXx
"That…was…EPIC!" Kaminari shouted as they came back.
"Yeah!" Kirishima cheered. "You guys fought like true men!"
"Don't…really know what you mean by that?" Midoriya said sheepishly. He was truly a terrible sight. He was completely covered in burns and bruises, and his shirt was ripped from Bakugo's assault. Bakugo was in a similar state, but definitely wasn't worse for wear.
Mina and Lucy weren't hurt at all, though Lucy wouldn't underestimate acid ever again. Ashido was covered head to toe in mud too.
"They really tore into each other," Ojiro said to his classmates. "Bakugo, especially."
"Yes, but the winner is in worse shape than anyone." Tokoyami pointed out. "What do they say? Lost the battle, but won the war?"
"It was an excellent strategy," Yaoyorozu analyzed. "Though Midoriya left himself open, which was rather foolish. His quirk must have hit its limit at the wrong time."
"Are you alright, Midoriya?" Iida checked on his friend. "You've sustained several injuries!"
"Yeah, nothing I can't handle. I can stand." He assured him.
"GOOD TO SEE EACH OF YOU IN ONE PIECE! AN EXCELLENT START TO OUR BATTLE TRAINING!" All Might clapped loudly, queuing applause from the rest of the class. "AND THE MVP OF THIS ROUND IS…LUCY MANN!"
"Wait, what?" Uraraka asked. "But her team lost?"
"THAT'S CORRECT! SO WHY DID WE CHOSE MS. MANN? CARE TO EXPLAIN, ERASER?"
"Gladly," Aizawa took over. Using a small remote, he replaying the fight on the various monitors in the darkened room. "Ms. Mann was the only one who took every measure possible to achieve her goal, right until the very end of the exercise. She stayed focused on defense, sending out her mud to detect or trap the enemy before they could reach the weapon. When that failed, she recovered the weapon almost immediately and reworked her plan, covering the weapon entirely to stop the heroes from deactivating it. Had it been the real deal, the villains would have succeeded."
"Oh yeah!" Lucy whooped. "That's how it's done!"
"On the other hand, Ashido did well to lie in wait and ambush Mann when she was incapacitated, and prioritized taking the weapon over fighting." Aizawa continued.
"Thank you, sir!" Ashido grinned! But Aizawa wasn't done yet.
"However, using your acid to burn through the mud and get to the weapon was half-baked at best. The mock weapon was severely damaged by your attempt to reach it in the end. Had it been real, you would have set it off prematurely and died a painful death. Work on finite control."
"Dang it…" she pouted.
"Moving on," Aizawa looked at Bakugo. "You were too single minded in your pursuit of Midoriya. You had many chances to capture him with your tape and eliminate him from the exercise. Your priority should be to end the fight, not just to fight. Furthermore," he added. "Using that level of destructive force inside a building was foolishly stupid, as a hero or a villain. You're a talented fighter, but you have a brain too, and you were outsmarted today. I saw your test scores, so use the judgment I know you have."
Bakugo nodded, not saying anything. He was burning up internally from his loss, but kept his mouth shut for now.
"And Midoriya…" Aizawa said, making the boy freeze in place. "You made full use of your variety of abilities on the battlefield. Using a high intelligence form to plan out your attack then changing to detection and stealth forms to locate the weapon and opponents was both rational and somewhat inspired. However, you timed out your quirk early and made yourself vulnerable. In doing so, you effectively fought quirkless and would've been killed by any real villain. Later, did you mean to redirect Bakugo's attack through the roof as a distraction?"
"Yes sir."
"Right," Aizawa snapped. "Never do that again. If your aim had been just a smidge off, you could've maimed or killed someone. And I'd hold both you and Bakugo accountable for that."
Midoriya gulped. Actually, he did calculate exactly where he needed to be for that work. But things do go wrong sometimes. "Got it. I'll do better."
"Good. Get to Recovery Girl and come back as soon as you're better. You too, Bakugo. Those burns need treatment." Aizawa instructed. "If everyone else is uninjuried, we'll continue the exercise."
"Yes sir!" The class said. Midoriya hurried out, nursing his wounds. Bakugo followed him, speed walking to step in front of the boy.
"Walk behind me, dammit."
They walked in relative silence. Tension was nothing new for the two, but some of the walls Bakugo built seemed to…break down in their match. Midoriya didn't know what to make of it. Their relationship was twisted to start with, after all.
But maybe…they could talk about it?
"Hey um…" Midoriya tried. "You know…I had a lot of fun. Fighting, you know?"
Bakugo ignored the boy, continuing down the hall. Midoriya sighed inwardly. Every day, he earned just a shred of respect from his childhood friend, but it wasn't enough. Maybe it isn't worth trying. Or maybe he shouldn't care what he thinks.
"It's like Sensei said," Bakugo said without turning. "If you're doing this for fun, then you shouldn't be here."
Midoriya's eyes widened.
"If you're gonna be here, then take it seriously," he continued. "I'm gonna be the number one hero. So you better be able to keep up if you plan on being in my world. Got it?"
Midoriya dropped sweat. Arrogant as always, but he'll take it.
"Got it."
xXx
Later that day…
Midoriya pushed the door the Class 1A open, followed by a surly Bakugo.
"YHey! They're back!" Kirishima shouted. The entire class was on them in a moment, congratulating them on their performance in the exercise.
"That was epic!" Kaminari, a boy with yellow hair and electric powers whooped. "You were both on fire! Literally!"
"Seriously! There was no stopping you two!" Kirishima addressed Bakugo directly. "Takes more than a sunburn to put you down, huh?"
"Tch, whatever, weird hair." Bakugo shoved off.
"I didn't know you could turn into a frog, Midoriya," Asui commented with a ribbit. "We'll have to share notes or something."
"I-I-I'd like that!" Midoriya stammered. It seemed that Midoriya only had such a cool head in battle, but was still pretty awkward otherwise. But that was fine.
"You were a bouquet of darkness, my friend." A bird headed boy said stoically. "It was a sight to behold."
"Thanks, uh…"
"Tokoyami." he introduced. "What did you call that form? The ghost?"
"Oh, that was Ghostfreak." Midoriya shivered a bit. "Definitely my creepiest ali…-transformation."
"Indeed. It seems we are both plagued by dark spirits." Tokoyami closed his eyes in reverence. "I salute you, good friend."
"...sure thing." Midoriya wasn't sure what he meant by that. "Sorry we missed you guy's fights."
"You kidding?" Sero leaned back in his chair. "You guys beat the snot out of each other! Don't even worry about it. I think we all fought harder because you two went ham!"
"Yeah! It was a slug fest!" Hagakure cheered, her uniform seeming to move on its own. "Though I didn't get to do much. Todoroki took out the team and got the weapon pretty much right away."
"Really?" Midoriya asked. Bakugo cocked an eyebrow too, looking at the bicolor boy in the back of the room. Unlike everyone else, he didn't seem too excited. About anything really. Was he that good?
"Anyway, class is dismissed," Uraraka told them. "We were just packing up."
"Please vacate the room in an orderly fashion!" Iida directed, already packed and ready at the door.
"Dude, the day's over." Sero reasoned. "You can relax now."
"What are you talking about?" Iida asked, still as a board. "I am relaxed!"
"Lighten up, jeez…" Jirou muttered. Uraraka just giggled. Before long, Ashido managed to find Midoriya.
"Hey Midori! Thanks for leading us to victory! You were amazing!" She hugged him tightly, making the boy freeze into stone.
"S-s-s-s-s-s-sure thing, A-Ashido-san!" Midoriya gritted out, bright red. He almost thought he was Heatblast again. Mina didn't seem to notice his embarrassment, though Kirishima did frown at the display of affection. He didn't say anything though, and didn't plan to.
As they all filed out, Midoriya was still in a daze, muttering to himself incoherently. And kept muttering all the way outside as the sun began to set. Bakugo, who had been walking the same direction, eventually got tired of it and slapped him behind the head.
SMACK
"Ow! Hey, that's mean!"
"Concentrate, dipshit!" Bakugo raged. "You almost ran into three walls in a row. Get it together!"
"Sorry! Sorry…" Midoriya shook his head. "That's just…that's never really happened before…"
"What, a girl?" Katsuki spat. "Get your head out of the gutter, Deku. Aren't you trying to become a hero?"
"My mind's not in the gutter!" Midoriya went beat red again.
"Yeah, it is! If you're seriously trying to go pro, you need to stay fucking focused!" Bakugo yelled. "Girls are just wastes of time!"
"I…I don't know about that." Midoriya pouted. "I mean, what I'm trying to say is-"
"Just stop, idiot." Bakugo snapped.
"No, but…" Midoriya continued. "Has you ever, um…"
Katsuki stopped in his tracks. For once, he didn't look angry at Izuku. Just focused. Of course the nerd wouldn't have that kind of experience.
"Look, Deku," he started. "The answer is yes. Some girls tried to talk me up during middle school. They thought they could leech off my greatness like the rest of the bugs there." He jerked a thumb at his chest. "I'M going to be the number one, remember? Just like All Might! You ever see some bimbo hanging off HIS arm?"
Midoriya thought about it. "I guess not. Lots of people theorize, but no."
"Exactly. Because he doesn't have time for dumb shit like that." Bakugo reasoned. "So I shook them off, told them to fuck off. And if you're even considering trying to be on my level, you'll do it too."
"But…wouldn't that be…I don't know…lonely?" Izuku reasoned. "Heroes are people too, you know."
Bakugo kept walking to the train station, with Midoriya close behind. "Do what you want nerd," he growled. "But keep that gooey, lovey-dovey shit to yourself. Besides, it was just a hug. It's not like Racoon-Eyes wants to marry you or some crap."
"I guess not…" Midoriya laughed. Ashido was very extraverted to begin with, so it likely wasn't anything like that. "Also, don't call her that. It's rude."
"Shut the fuck up."
xXx
Back in orbit…
"Heeello, everybody!" Lucy sang as she teleported aboard. Manny chuckled as he rediverted the power from the teleporter pad to the main engine. Lucy skipped to the bridge, looking around curiously. "Where's boss-man?"
"Told you not to call him that," Manny reprimanded, though lightheartedly. "It's Magister."
"Yeah, yeah, anyway," she rolled her eyes. "Where's he at? I need to give him my report."
That very moment, Flynn floated in through the windshield of the large plumber craft and landed in the bridge. "Magister Midoriya has commenced his deep cover mission on the surface, same as you. We won't be seeing much of him, not until the Omnitrix is recovered."
"Wait, he's already started?" Lucy asked. "I thought the plan was to wait a while, to make our appearances unrelated?"
"That was the plan," they replied. "But I believe he got…impatient. It is his family, mission or no. Did you plant the tracker?"
Lucy grinned, letting her arm turn to mud and producing a device from within. "Here you go! Sorry it's messy, I had to hide it somehow. You wouldn't believe the day I had!"
"I'm sure. Thank you." Flynn took the device, freezing the mud and chipping it off with his claws. "Now we can track the Omnitrix wherever Izuku goes, active or not."
"So, when did this become a long-term tour?" asked Manny. He crossed both sets of arms indignantly. "The gig was supposed to be simple. Get planetside, grab the tech, get out. Why are we taking our time? I had a date!"
Flynn frowned. As the Magister's second in command, they was in operational control until Midoriya's return. So it was down to them to lead this squad in his absence.
"It became a long-term tour when the tech turned out to be a level 20 DNA splicer with a near limitless power source, and attached itself to a prepubescent child," Flynn answered shortly. "It has self-destructed before, but we believe it was done strategically to kill the warlord. The planet is not in immediate danger."
"So why not grab the kid, take him somewhere we can remove it, and drop him off?" Manny insisted. "He's the Magister's kid, it shouldn't be the end of the world if his family knows about life outside of Earth."
"As far as Inko and Izuku Midoriya are concerned," Flynn explained patiently. "The Omnitrix is nothing more than a superpower the boy was born with. Though untrue, Magister is insistent that his family is not involved in his work life, no matter how stressful it becomes for him. He'll take every measure to remove the Omnitrix without alerting the boy to his true occupation."
"I don't think that's going to be possible," Lucy added with a frown. "It's not like quirks can be taken off like a hat. And neither can the Omnitrix."
"And bounty hunters are all over the planet trying to find it, and they're narrowing it down." Manny continued. "Kid's gonna find out eventually, if not already."
The necrofriggian sighed. The fact was, they agreed with them. But Hisashi's mind was made up.
"True. So for now, we watch over Izuku Midoriya and the Omnitrix from a distance. Lucy, you're in position to keep current tabs on him while he's at UA. Aizawa is an old friend of the Plumbers, and will assist you however he can. Magister will keep an eye on him at home. The rest of the time, Vonaq and myself will take shifts tracking him everywhere else." They turned to Manny. "Are we prepared for phase two?"
"Yep, coordinates are set," the half-tetramand answered. He pulled up the map, scrolling all the way to the northern United States. "Mt. Rushmore, here we come!"
xXx
Planetside…at the train station…
"Phew…what a day." Midoriya sighed to himself. Kaachan had taken a different stop, so he was finally alone. Talk about an awkward train ride. Now he only had the five minute walk home. He pulled out a notebook as he walked, writing in different notes from today's training.
"Heatblast's flame manipulation is way more powerful than I thought. I'll have to be sure to absorb some of the heat next time to increase my control." He flipped through the pages to Ghostfreak's section. He had already written 9 pages on the Ectonurite alone.
"Ghostfreak seems to be able to phase through most attacks, but heat inside his body hurts way more than I think it should. Weakness to fire? Or just heat? Maybe his cells get spread apart while he's intangible and the heat messes up his composition." He muttered as he wrote, filling yet a 10th page on the transformation. Before he even knew it, he had wandered all the way home with his head in his book. He snapped the notebook shut as he turned his key in the door.
But it was unlocked. And ajar?
The hairs on his neck stood straight up as he thought in rapid fire. Mom has yoga class today after work, so there's no way she's back already. And she would never leave the door unsecure like this. He let go of the door and crouched cautiously, staying away from the windows. He anxiously pulled out his phone to call the police when he looked over the balcony, spotting Inko's car. So she was home. But if she was home…she could be in trouble! There was no time!
He pressed down on the Omnitrix, letting the dial pop up. He didn't have much time, but he had to choose carefully…
FLASH!
After 2 seconds, and without so much of a warning, an orange blur exploded into the apartment, snarling with rage. Wildmutt detected his mother and a strange man leaning against the counter. And Inko was down on the floor! He sprinted forward, surprising the intruder with a shoulder-check and doubling back to cover Inko. Wildmutt roared savagely, putting himself between them.
"IZUKU!" Inko yelled in shock. "IZUKU, STOP!"
"RRR?" he growled out. The man groaned in pain sitting himself up.
"Easy boy…" he put both hands up. "Calm down, everything's fine."
Wildmutt snarled again, bristling the needles on his back. Everything was not fine.
"Izuku, please!" Inko got up, holding the Vulpimancer back. "He's not going to hurt us. I was just surprised, that's all!"
"rrrRRAGGRRrrr…" Izuku snarled. He took an exploratory sniff, checking the man for weapons. He had several metal objects, including what looked like a chrome gun on his belt. But the smell. He smelled familiar.
"Easy kiddo. It's me…don't you remember?" The man stood up carefully, rubbing his bruised side. He coughed, heat escaping from his lips.
Wildmutt froze, realization kicking in. He reached with his paw to his shoulder, tapping the Omnitrix.
beew…FLASH!
As the red light dimmed, Midoriya's sight returned, finally identifying the intruder. He had a large, spry build, and wore a casual shirt and jeans. He wore a white metal belt with a red dot over the buckle, with a sidearm strapped to the side. His hair was black, but wildly curly like his own, with freckles to match. Teal eyes met his own greens. He had a calm, though firm look. Like he had seen the whole world twice over. He smiled at his son.
"Hello Izuku," Hisashi greeted. "It's been a while, eh?"
xXx
Reviews
Gamelover41592:
Thanks for the question and review. I decided not to have Vilgax in the story because there's already so much going on story-wise. It also didn't make sense that Vilgax wouldn't just find the Omnitrix within the last 150-some years before Midoriya, even if it was still rebuilding itself. Also, we have AfO, and various Ben 10 villains, so it was just a lot to cover. Glad you enjoyed!
Berrus-sama:
Honestly, I do like most of the names of the aliens and don't want to make things confusing. That said, some aliens will have more original names as the story progresses. Big Chill and Way Big are on that list.
ProjectIceman:
Thanks for the review, glad you enjoyed! And yes, that's where I got the idea for the pairing.
Thanks for the correction as well.
:
Thank you.
The One Beyond You:
Thanks for the honest critique. IRL, I watched the show religiously as a kid (and teen {and today adult}), so I'll explain my justification.
Firstly, the show as a whole isn't terribly consistent as far as alien abilities go. They straight up forgot that Humongasaur could grow in Omniverse and can't decide whether or not Big Chill is weak to electricity or not. So the show, as much as I loved it, isn't terribly reliable.
Second, physics are weird in canon. Being able to talk in space should not be possible, but the Vreedle brothers do so on a regular basis, along with Jetray and other space-faring aliens, despite there being no air to talk through. So yes, Stinkfly is able to handle a lot more punishment in canon than I gave him here, but I feel like he shouldn't be able to. Just trying to keep things balanced.
As for carrying two people, he didn't want to risk them getting hit while he was flying. And Ashido wriggling out of his grip anyway. She's slippery.
Nevertheless, thank you for your review. Hope you stay tuned.
Gameguy2026:
Too early for Way Big. Deku would be overpowered. Thanks for the review!
Blaze1992:
Xylene dying is sad, RIP. However, she doesn't really have relevance with both Ben and Grandpa Max long dead and buried. Drop an F in the chat for sexy lizard woman.
Not sure who Big O is.
Khoashex:
Thanks for the review. Ben 10 villains will definitely make an appearance, though Albedo wouldn't be so obsessed with chili fries. Alternative suggestions? Katsudon-addicted Albedo? Lmk.
Guest:
Thank you!
Geek-God of Speed:
As you may have noticed, I decided to keep OfA in, and with Midoriya. But like in canon, he won't have very good control over it and will be very limited in use until much later. Burning out the time limit keeps it balanced as well.
I felt like a total nimrod not thinking of Undertown sooner. Like, it was right there.
A ben ten fan:
Thank you, will do my best with my new work schedule.
Ppsspp:
TBH, I kind of agree with your stance on pairings. For one thing, writing them is messy and complicated. I can write pages of action and fight scenes, but romance is a chore for me. Maybe I should get a ghostwriter just for pairings.
But I did it anyway, because love conquers all.
Glad you like the mechanic with OfA/Omnitrix boost. I don't really care for the reboot, but it did give me ideas for how I'll blend the two abilities. Thanks for the review!
SonicMax:
Agreed. 150%. Fatherhood is as serious as a hand grenade and those feelings do not deserve to be shoved off. It will be many, many chapters until Izuku forgives or really builds that relationship.
Not to say Hisashi is the villain, per se. But I would consider him an antagonist for now, given his true goal. And in his position, I'd try and get the Omnitrix away from my son too.
Thank you all for the support. Peace out.