CHAPTER 13! Was the wait excruciating? I hope not...
Chapter 13
What are you afraid of
Ghostfreak's cackled, everyone in the stadium feeling a chill creep up their back. His very laugh was giving them all goosebumps. Bakugo was the only one who didn't seem affected. "Shut up already!" He hissed, his palms crackling with sparks as he boosted himself into the air. He pointed his hands at Ghostfreak, as a huge blast rocketed outward, but Ghostfreak vanished once more, as the explosion completely missed its target. Bakugo gritted his teeth, his gaze moving across the stage as he searched for the specter's location. Suddenly, he felt a chill creep up his left arm, as he spun around and sent a blast in that direction.
"AAGHAH-" Too his satisfaction, he heard Ghostfreak's cry of pain as his attack hit. He could hear a thump as something invisible hit the ground. Bakugo quickly moved to where the thing landed, blasting the point where the thump came from. He could see dust get kicked up right before the explosion hit, followed by a loud sigh. "That was close..." Bakugo immediately took off, readying to create another explosion, but suddenly he felt something grab him by the throat, as he was slammed into the ground. "INVISIBLE CHOKE-SLAM!" Bakugo felt his breath escape his lungs as he hit the ground. He tried to tear the hand from his throat, but no matter what he tried he couldn't get a hold of it.
"LET GO OF ME!" He roared, as he shoved his hand forwards, his palm glowing brightly. "STUN GRENADE!" Instead of creating an explosion, a massive burst of light erupted. Ghostfreak cried out in pain, letting go of Bakugo's neck. Most people would try to form some distance after breaking free, but not Bakugo, who instead leaped forward, grabbing where he assumed Ghostfreak's neck was. Luckily for him, he actually did grab him by the neck, followed by him grabbing him by the face. "DIE!" His palm sparked, before he felt himself being thrown backwards by the surge of heat and pressure that erupted, as Ghostfreak's pained screech was overpowered by the sound of the explosion.
As Bakugo neared the ground, he began using his explosions to slow his decent. He eventually allowed himself to hit the ground. Smoke was, as usual, covering the stage, but now, there was also flakes of ash floating through the wind. Bakugo caught a large flake out of the air, as he inspected it. It was rather sticky, and leathery. He looked back into the smoke, as he could see someone sitting hunched over in the darkness. He splayed his arms, letting them heat up, before he waved them inward, setting off explosions to create a surge of air to push the smoke and ash away, clearing the area. He sees Ghostfreak hunched over, covering his face with his hand. He was so deeply crouched that his spine was poking out of his skin.
"D-damn you..." Ghostfrak hissed, as he rubbed his face.
"Get up! Fight me!" He roared as he ran at Ghostfreak, who suddenly sank into the ground, vanishing. "DON'T RUN, COWARD!" He charged up an explosion, as fire began to form, but suddenly he felt someone grab his arms and forcefully point them at his own face, just as the explosions went off, burned his own face. "Gah!" He tores his hands free from the spirit's grip, as he spun around to set off another explosion, but Ghostfreak socked him in the mouth before he had a chance. He backed away, covering his mouth as blood dripped down his chin. He looked up to give his opponent a glare, but as his gaze locked onto Ghostfreak, he felt his blood run cold.
Ghostfreak's face was completely torn off, revealing what resembled a human skull with a single eye socket, his glowing eye giving Bakugo's the most intimidating glare he's ever seen. "You want to fight me? Fine... I'll fight." He punched Bakugo across the jaw, snapping him out of his horrified state. He flexed his fingers, his palm crackling. He reeled his arm back before throwing it forwards, releasing the explosion towards Ghostfreak who quickly spun around to hide his face from the flames. He was thrown forwards by the blast and slammed into the ground. He winced as he felt his back boil and the skin begin to peel off. Bakugo got ready to set off another explosion, but Ghostfreak took off into the air, flying high above Bakugo, who followed him into the sky.
Bakugo boosted himself at Ghostfreak, reaching out to hit him with another explosion, his palm glistening with heat and light, but Ghostfreak easily dodged the attack by weaving to the left as the ball of fire barreled past him. He flew downwards at insane speed right through Bakugo, grabbing him by the foot while he passed through him, as he continued flying towards the ground at blaring speed. Bakugo grabbed Ghostfreak by the arm, readying to burn it off, but Ghostfreak finally threw him downward, slamming him into the ground with excessive force. The ground cracked as Bakugo smashed into it. You'd think Bakugo's spine would be awfully damaged by this... and yeah, it is, but Bakugo was currently running on adrenaline and the fury in his blood overpowered the pain in his back.
Bakugo groaned, but he gritted his teeth to silence himself. 'That bastard. How the hell am I supposed to kill something I can't touch?!' He was about to sit up, but... then he noticed something. His right palm was covered by some... gross slime. "The hell is this?" He muttered as he grimaced at the substance's gross consistency. It was like slime, but a lot more compact. He tried to pull it off with his left hand, but his hand just passed right through the slime... and his palm, as if it was intangible! "What the hell-"
"Time to serve up some Bakugo suchi!" Bakugo looked up to see Ghostfreak fly at him, his sharp, claw-like fingers at the ready as he neared the ground. Bakugo immediately got down on all fours and blasted himself out of the way of Ghostfreak's attack.
"I'm not hungry!" He responded with a roar. As he landed, he looked up to... something unexpected.
Ghostfreak was looking at him with a tear-filled look. He lifted a hand up to his face and rubbed his eye. "Wow... y-your first quip... I am so proud..."
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Bakugo roared as he charged at Ghostfreak, his left palm crackling as he readied an explosion.
Ghostfreak rolled his eye. "And we're back to the edgy trash talk..." He readied his claws as he flew at Bakugo. He reeled his arm back, his claws glistening in the light, just as he threw his arm forwards, but Bakugo quickly threw his right arm out and let Ghostfreak's attack hit his palm, his claws simply passing through it. "Wait wha-" Bakugo then grabbed him by the collar and blasted him at point-blank. "GAH-" Bakugo lifted his feet and dug them into Ghostfreak's abdomen, making the specter retch. Finally, Ghostfreak went intangible, letting Bakugo lose his grip and fall to the ground, but as expected, he slowed his decent with a few explosions, hitting the ground harmlessly. "How did you do that?!" Bakugo remined quiet as his left palm sparked. Ghostfreak looked down at his left hand to see some weird slime covering it. "What is..." He looked up his arm to see that his left arm was... less shiny then the rest of him. "Oh... crap..." He looked down to see Bakugo rub his right palm.
'The ghost slime is gone... I guess the freak pulled it off when he pulled away.' He looked up to see Ben rub his arm. 'That slime... was it some membrane of sorts? Some kind of... protection?' He shook his head. It didn't matter what it was. He knew that if he pulled it off Ghostfreak would be as good as dead. But he decided to let the ghost make the first move. He stood his ground, flexing his fingers as usual to force out more sweat.
Ghostfreak was silent for a moment, before a chuckled lightly. "You think you're real tough, don't you..." Bakugo raised a brow. "Let me guess. You got your quirk and everyone started praising you, and you really liked that." Bakugo tensed up as he felt himself lose his composure, as Ghostfreak grinned. "You let the fact that they thought you were great influence you. The only reason you constantly put down others is because you don't want to feel obsolete. No one can be better then you, or they will have been wrong about you..." Bakugo's heart was beating like crazy as he started hyperventilating. Ghostfreak laughed. "Or you would have been wrong about yourself..."
Suddenly, Bakugo zoomed forwards, roaring in fury as Ghostfreak just remained unmoving. "You wanna know the best part about this form?" He suddenly vanished as Bakugo stopped in his track to not fly out of bounds. He spun around wildly, searching for the specter, when he suddenly felt a chill run up his back. "Psychological torture..." He turned around, searching for the origin of the unsettling remark, when he suddenly felt a fist slam into his face, cracking his nose and sending blood in all directions. "When you battle, you need to destroy your opponents will to fight! Some people do it with brute force, but as Ghostfreak I turn my enemies thoughts against them!"
Bakugo gritted his teeth as he charged at Ben once more. "I'M SO TIRED OF YOUR BABBLING!" He splayed his arms before throwing them forwards, sending a wave of flames. In response, Ghostfreak sunk into the ground just in time to dodge the explosion. Bakugo gritted his teeth, barely holding back the urge to throw a tantrum... a very explosive tantrum. "I'M SO DONE WITH YOU!" He slammed his hand into the ground, before he slowly dragged his hand across the ground, forming a ring of sweat around him. "Now... F*CKING DIE!" He rammed his hand at the ground, forming a spark and detonating the sweat, rocking the stage with a powerful blast, cracking the ground and sending heat deep into the concrete.
He looked around, searching for Ghostfreak. He was sure the spirit would pop out somewhere. "Alright, about time I finish this." Bakugo spun around, his hand glowing, but... suddenly, he felt something. It was like he took a deep breath with his whole body. A surging feeling, as something crept through his veins. His mind became glossy and his thoughts were foggy. "Ah... there we go."
Bakugo now lied on the ground. Unmoving. He looked like a dropped doll, his limbs spread out in an inhuman way, his face trapped in an... inmoving smile, his dead eyes staring into nothing. Midnight looked at the scene with a worried expression, all while everyone in the stands looked down at the horrific scene with disgust. And then, Bakugo jerked, his fingers twitching. He slowly started moving, his torso lifting up as his limbs remained unmoving. Then, his hands followed, moving off the ground along with his body. He looked like a puppet being slowly raised off the ground by a its strings.
His head hung low, looking down as he was fully raised off the ground, his legs dangling above the ground and his arms being raised over his head. And then, he slowly lifted his head showing everyone his neon-green eyes. "Hello everyone..." Bakugo spoke with his own voice, but it was strained. It sounded like he didn't want to speak. As if the words were forced out. He was lowered to the ground, his legs barely being able to support his own weight. "Been a while since I last possessed someone." Bakugo took an uncertain step forwards, as he slowly moved forwards. He lifted his hand to his face, inspecting it. He narrowed his eyes as he flexed his fingers.
To Bakugo's dismay, nothing happened. He gritted his teeth as he flexed his arm, grunting loudly. Suddenly, a pop was heard, followed by sizzling. Bakugo grinned, as the sizzling continued to be heard before small sparks shot from his palm. He chuckled as the sparks generated loud crackling, his face being illuminated by the flickering heat from his hands. His chuckle grew into full-fledged laughter as the crackling burst into flames. Slowly, he moved on from laughter into a full on cackle. He threw his hands downwards as an explosion erupted, boosting him into the air. "BAHAHAHAHAH! This is incredible!" His smile grew inhumanly wide, displaying his teeth and gums for all to see as he moved into the sky. Then suddenly, the explosions seized, but Bakugo remained airborne.
He floated high above the ground weightlessly, his unmoving smile remaining on his face. "Now this is a body I can get used to." He muttered, his palms sparking. He began circling above the stage, his horrible grin remaining on his face. As he flew, he accelerated, flying faster and faster. Slowly, white skin began to show peaking out from Bakugo. Suddenly, Ghostfreak rose out of Bakugo, keeping his arms burried in Bakugo's body as he kept spinning, building up momentum. "Enjoy the RIDE!" He finally tore his arms free, launching Bakugo towards the limits of the stage. Bakugo neared the edge, drool running down his chin, waving in the wind as his clouded mind refused to respond to any stimuli. "Heh... this was fun, but it was about time that I ended this. See ya later, Bakug-"
"RAAAGHH! "Before Ghostfreak could finish his sentence, Bakugo sprang to life, roaring with fury as his palms sparked, blasting himself away from the edge and back onto the stage. He hit the ground with a loud thud, hunched over and gasping for air. "What... WHAT THE F*CK WAS THAT?!" Bakugo turned around with the most furious face he had ever worn. Everyone in the stadium grasped for breath as they looked at his flaming eyes. Even Aizawa seemed shaken by Bakugo's sudden fury.
Ghostfreak shuttered as he floated towards the ground, trying to shake off his fear. "It was a possession. What, was it not nice to get closer to someone for once." Bakugo's fingers cracked as he closed his hands into fists. "Oh, don't be such a bitch, it was a little fun..." Bakugo's hands began to smoke, grey clouds and embers rising off of them. "I can see you're unhappy." Ghostfreak raised his torn arm... "Fine. Playing dirty is no fun anyway... so if you want a fair fight..." As long, bone-like claws suddenly tore through his flesh, shimmering in the sunlight. "Then I'll give you a fair fight!"
"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT A FAIR FIGHT!" He knelt down as his hands began to glow. "I WANT TO BEAT YOU AT YOUR STRONGEST! DON'T HOLD BACK YOU BASTARD!" He threw his arms back as he started running at Ghostfreak, boosting his speed by generating blasts.
"No holding back? Heh..." Ghostfreak put a hand to the seam running along his chest as he dug his claws into it. "Be careful what you wish for." He tore his torso open, as a black and white striped tentacle shot out of his ripcage, moving through the air at high speed towards Bakugo.
Ghostfreak
This ghoul-like alien has the power to levitate, pass through walls and turn invisible, like any ghost can. His insides are a mish-mash of powerful tentacles and bones, which he can control with ease, but sadly, he's not a big fan of light.
Bakugo quickly boosted himself into the air, avoiding being jabbed by tendril. He landed on the tentacle and started running along it, continuing his advance.
"I don't care if you're some octopus freak! I'll still roast you!" He roared as his sweat began to pool in his palms. "Here I come!" The blast he generated pushed him all the way forwards, as he reeled his leg back to knee the spirit in the chest, but he simply passed through him. "DAMN IT!"
"Nice try!" He reeled his tentacle in as another one slithered out from his chest. It quickly wrapped around Bakugo's leg and yanked him back as the other tentacle wrapped around his body, pinning his arms to his sides.
"LET ME GO YOU SLIMY FREAK!" He started kicking at the tentacle wrapped around his foot, forcing it to let go. He immediately begins rocking his feet back and forth, the swinging weakening the tentacle's grip. Bakugo finally generated a blast, which allowed him to break free of the tentacle's weakened grip. Before he could hit the ground, he boosted himself through the air and tackled Ghostfreak to the ground. He reached forward to blast the ghost in the face, but he quickly fazed through the ground, vanishing from view. "Damn it!"
Ghostfreak quickly leaped out from the ground behind Bakugo, grabbing him in a chokehold. Bakugo immediately grabbed onto the arms wrapped around his neck and started searing the skin. Ghostfreak groaned as he went intangible once more, sinking into the ground and freeing Bakugo from his grip. Katsuki fell to his knees and took a deep breath, before immedietaly spinning around and blasting apart the ground. Bakugo looked into the hole, seeing Ghostfreak. "HEY! Do you mind?" Ghostfreak swiftly flew upwards, tackling Bakugo, who immediately lifted his hand above his head, making them glow brightly, before throwing them downwards, releasing a wave of flames into the alien's back, making him screech.
He passed through Bakugo, flying into the air before he weaved around and flew downwards, reeling his arm back, readying a strike. Bakugo crouched down, flexing his fingers and making his palms spark. "Come and get some, you whisp!" Bakugo pointed his arms at Ghostfreak, releasing the built-up explosion, but Ghostfreak vanished before the blast could reach him, making Bakugo grit his teeth. "STOP HIDING YOU BI-" He gasped as he felt something enter his chest, his mind beginning to cloud.
"I'll gladly get some of your body, hehe!" Ghostfreak said as he possessed Bakugo once more.
"Gahhhhh..." Bakugo groaned as he began losing control, but he struggled against Ghostfreak's control. He lifted his arms against Ghostfreak's will.
"What the... what are you doing? How are you fighting ba-" Suddenly, Bakugo blasted himself in the face, burning his face and forcing Ghostfreak out of his body. He hit the ground, dragging up dust as he slid across it. "Ugh..." He turned to see Bakugo on his knees, holding his hands to his head. 'How... did he do that? Is his will THAT strong? He blasted himself without hesitation... not once has anyone resisted me... besides HIM...' Ghostfreak shuttered as he thought back to his squid-faced nemesis. 'Get it together... gotta focus.' Ghostfreak shook his head, flexing his claws as he vanished from view.
Bakugo sat unmoving, his dazed sight slowly returning to him. Puke ran down his lip as he heard the air shift as Ghostfreak went intangible behind him. He blinked, returning control of his eyes. He slowly turned his head, not finding any trace of the specter. But as he looked, he could see something. Some, weird blurry thing, that could never be spotted by an untrained eye. But bakugo could see it. Just barely. He fully spun around, sending a wave of fire towards the emptyness before him, hearing Ghostfreak hiss in pain, fading back into view. Bakugo grinned, as he finally stood up on his weak legs. "So I was right."
Bakugo immediately charged Ghostfreak, rearing his arm back and readying a sucker punch, which simply passed through Ghostfreak. But Bakugo was expecting this, as he kept a trained eye on his arm, as it passed through the specter, and he quickly saw how it was not just passing through Ghostfreak, but his torso was warping, shifting to let his arm slip through. Bakugo grinned, as he opened the hand inside Ghostfreak. "Go. To. Hell..." Ghostfreak shrieked as he burst, fire and smoke erupting from under his pale skin.
"GAAAAHHHAAH-" He reared backwards, warping and twisting, tendrils and bones slithering and tearing out of his flesh to get away from the heat. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" He cried as smoke eminated from his every orifice and pore. His eye boiled as his skull-like head spun and warped, his jaw dislocating and spewing warmth.
Bakugo backed away, smiling at his handy-work. 'That moron either didn't know his own weaknesses or thought I was too stupid to find them.' He looked up to see the slimy ash float through the air again. 'That slime covering him... that's the shit that let's him do all that ghosty stuff. When my hand passed through him, his body warped and shifted, which means that he doesn't go intangible, his cells simply shift and slide through whatever touches him... including light.' He thought back to the blurry movement he spotted just a minute ago. 'He lets light slide through him too, which makes him invisible, but the light warps. A trained eye could just barely see him.' Bakugo grinned as he narrowed his eyes. 'And my eyes are nothing, but trained...'
Ghostfreak layed hunched on the ground, his spine whistled as he breathed. He took slow and heavy breaths, as his skin hanged off of him like drapes, dripping with slime which pooled on the ground. "You... have just signed your death warrent... with your own blood." Ghostfreak raised his head, as tendriled began slithering out from under his skin, wrapping around him and pulling at his torn skin, tightening it in an attempt to hide whatever horrors hid underneath. He raised from the ground, looking at Bakugo with his single glowing eye. "I'm a very patient man, Bakugo... but you've tested me enough." His claws shimmered in the light. "And you shall learn what happens when you mess with Benjamin Kirby Tennyson..."
Bakugo looked at him with a stoic, yet confident look as he cracked his knuckles. "Your middle name is Kirby?" Ghostfreak took off, zooming forwards as he reeled both his arms back. Bakugo's palms sparked as he clapped them together as they began to glow, light breaking free from between his palms. "DIE!" His arms are torn apart as the blast erupts, zooming forwards, but Ghostfreak sinks into the ground before the blast can connect. Bakugo lets his palms simmer as he looks around, keeping his eyes on the ground, when suddenly Ghostfreak rises from the ground behind Bakugo, who boosts into the air using the built-up explosion.
"Slow down you snake!" Ghostfreak takes off, more tendrils rearing up to attack Bakugo who quickly spins around mid-air and raises his arms over his head as his palms glow, but Ghostfreak isn't going to let him boost back to the ground as his tendrils stretch out to grab him, but Bakugo quickly redirects his arms, sending the blast right into the tendrils, making Ghostfreak flinch, which gives Bakugo the perfect oppurtunity to close the distance, zooming forwards with a blast and reaching forwards to blast him, but Ghostfreak quickly grabs his arm with a tentacle, redirecting it and letting the explosion brush past him. Ghostfreak quickly flies back towards the ground, slamming his classmate into the ground.
Bakugo grunts as he's rammed into the ground, but he immediately sears the tentacle wrapped around his arm, making it loosen its grip and allowing him to distance himself from the phantom. Ghostfreak lowers himself towards the ground, breathing heavily. "You... are very... persistent."
"Shut... up..." Bakugo sighs as his sweat drenches his shirt. Ghostfreak narrowed his eyes as he flexed his claws as Bakugo flexed his fingers. He threw down his hands, blasting himself into the air as the ground underneath him was torn to shreads by the powerful blast, Ghostfreak also zooms upwards, wind and smoke being thrown into the air by his speed. Bakugo clenches his clammy hands, as they befin to sear. 'It's time...'
'To finish this!' Ghostfreak's skin begins to twist as his tendrils and bones shift and move, as Bakugo begins to boost himself higher and higher into the air, his palms growing brighter and brighter with every blast. More tendrils rise out from his depths, wriggling and slithering as they wrap around him, all while Bakugo begins to use his explosions to spin, moving higher and higher into the air, and building up momentum. Ghostfreak grabs the seams of his torn skin, as he looks up at Bakugo, who is flying high above him, a trail of flame spinning behind him.
Bakugo begins to generate more and more blasts, spinning faster and faster as he redirects himself, beginning to move towards Ghostfreak, who feels his skin being torn apart as his tendrils begin to extend further and further, spines forming along them. He rears his head as Bakugo grows nearer, the flaming twister grows larger and larger as Bakugo spins. "Here we go..." Bakugo is a few meters from Ghostfreak, he begins to pull at the seams of his body.
"RAAAHHHH!" Bakugo roars as he throws his hands forwards, his palms glowing brightly, fire and smoke eminatingh from them as he's barely a feet away from his opponent. "HOWITZER IMPACT!"
Ghostfreak tears open his skin, as all of his tendrils shoot forwards, his skin hanging freely as the flames absorb the two. "ELDRITCH FEAST!" Bakugo is pulled into the horrifying embrace of the monstrous alien, his ribs wrapping around him as his skin is closed up once more. Bakugo feels thousands of eyes watch him from all directions, as the flaming twister rams into the spirit, making him roar in pain, his tendrils being carbonized, his skin erupting into ash, his hellish, skeletal appearence being hidden within the flames. Bakugo feels his skin burst, as something bites down onto him. He can't see, but he knows that Ghostfreak is behind it. His palms ignite, adding more fuel to the blast, as his uniform is ignited, the twister finally reaching him.
Beyond the ear-shattering boom of the explosions surrounding them, nothing can be heard. Not even the cries and screams of the people in the audience, along with their teachers. Like a meteaorite, the ball of spinning fire, hits the ground with a deafening boom, as the stadium shakes, tsunamis of wind pushing back everyone in the stadium and tearing the food stands outside out of the ground. Chunks of the stage are launched into the air, raining down from above, barely missing the blinded people in the stands as smoke and ash are thrown about in the wind like snow.
Midnight and Cementoss cough as the waves of smoke hit them, making them sway. Midnight rubs her eyes as she looks to the arena, a cloud of smoke hiding any remains of her students. "Cementoss! Clear the smoke!" The angular hero nods, as he puts a hand to the ground and forms a large malluable mass from the concrete under him, which wafts away the ashy cloud, clearing the area of anything that could block their view. "BAKUGO! BEN!"
Before them, was a massive crater, embers and flaming ashes surrounding the two people lying there. Bakugo was miraculously free of serious injuries, besides some scrapes and a few mild burns. Being fire-resistant sure comes in handy. Sadly his uniform was far worse for wear. It was completely chared, and looked like a mild breeze could turn it into a pile of ash. He lied on top of Ben. He was riddled with wounds, scratches and burns, and his uniform was actually fairly intact, although it was riddled with holes. Both of them... were very much passed out.
Midnight looked at the two for a moment, before she raised her whip. "Katsuki Bakugo and Ben Tennyson are both unconscious. It's a draw!" The people in the stands are silent as they hear the results. People turn to eachother, unsure of what to think of this battle and of these dissapointing results. Even Mic doesn't know what to say.
"W-well... there goes the final match... let's let our competators rest before we hand out their prizes. Just wait patiently until the ceremony people!"
Ben groaned, as he lifted a hand to his face. "Ugh... what... happened." He rubbed his eyes before he opened them. He looked to find himself back in the green void. "Ah man, not this place again." He looked around, seeing the many floating islands surrounding him. He sees many, some having green ponds with a green fountain dispensing a green liquid into said ponds.
He looks around, until he sees a pale island, with black and white striped tendrils resembling grass. In its center it has a pond, like all the other islands, with a metallic green fountain, the Omnitrix symbol resting in its center. From the pond, a bright light eminated. Ben begins moving, making swimming movements to move closer to the island. "This... is a lot harder... then swimming... through water." He grunted as he spoke, moving through the void being very tiring compared to swimming through water. He lands on one of the islands which was covered in orange fur and rectangular quills.
He takes a few breaths, leaning on the fountain before he leapt again, moving closer to the glowing island. He continued making the swimming motions, as he finally reached the island. He landed, taking a few deep breaths. "Who thought dreams required so much cardio..." He sighed as he walked up to the glowing pond, crouching down to see that his reflection was... well... it was Ghostfreak, like how he saw Upgrade in the pond the last time he was here. "Yeah, I don't know what I was expecting." Suddenly, Ghostfreak leaped out of the pond, grabbing Ben by his shoulders and pulling him into the pond.
Ben opened his eyes again, finding himself looking straight into a blinding light, making him grunt. "Ah, jeez!" He rubbed his eyes before he reopened them. As they slowly adjusted to the light he found himself in Max's old RV, the rust bucket. He stood up, looking around, finding no trace of his former self or his family. Ben steps out of the RV to have a look around. And the first thing he sees is a frisbee fly towards him. He immediately flinches, falling backwards and hitting his head as he shrieks.
He falls to the ground, hitting the back of his head. "Aw... crap..." He hears the groans of a few teenagers as they rush past him to pick up the frisbee, none of them being aware of the invisivle time-traveler. Ben sat up, seeing that the one who had thrown the disk was wearing a versity jacket, with the school's initials being branded onto its left breast. "B.U?" Ben thinks for a moment. "Oh... oh no..." He stood up and turned to see a massive, spanning campus. Not nearly as big as U.A., but still rather big. The school looked very fancy, and it had a large clock tower. "Oh no, NO!" He spins around, seeing a very certain trio follow a blue-haired lady in a very professional-looking suit and pants.
"I'm very happy you've decided to have a look at our prestigous high school, but aren't you a bit young to be thinking about this now?" The lady asks, turning to a 10 year old Gwen Tennyson.
"Well, my mom always says it's never too early to plan ahead!" She sayed as she looked across the campus with joy.
"I don't like your mom." Ben muttered, barely loud enough for Gwen to hear.
"Shh!" She hisses, before returning her attention to the lady. "Continue?"
The lady nodded as she turned her head to one of the student groups. "As you can see, all students are free to use their quirks on school-grounds." She sayed, pointing to said group as a rather bulky dude is doing tricks with a football, kicking it into the air while reading.
Ben raised a brow as he looked across the field, seeing many students wander about. "Hey, lady." The woman turned to him. "Why are there so many kids here? Isn't it summer vacation?"
She nodded. "It is, but most students like to stick around and train with their quirks, socialize with friends or just chill here in the school. It's big, and who doesn't enjoy free quirk usage?" The students in the distance kicked the ball high into the air, when suddenly a winged student swooped in, grabbing the ball out of the air.
"Hey! Lower yourself and return that ball to me, Warren!" The guy put away his book as he screamed at his bewinged classmate, Warren, who held out the ball provonkingly.
"Come get it yourself, Hank!" He taunted, laughing.
"As you wish!" Hank crouched down and leaped into the air, grabbing onto Warren's foot.
"HEY! Let go of me!" Warren hissed, flapping his wings and flying downwards, readying to slam Hank into the ground, but Hank quickly let go, landing on the ground harmlessly as Warren slamed his foot into the ground, making him shriek. "OUCH!" He jumped up and down as he rubbed his foot. "Screw you..." He raised his wing, rushing forwards, trying to jab his friend with his powerful wing, but Hank sidestepped to avoid the attack.
"Warren, your assaults are simply too easy to predict and therefore avoid. You should stick to evasion and scouting."
"SHUT UP!" He roars as he spins around and tries to strike him with both wings from both sides, but Hank leaped into the air and flipped over him, landing behind him to elbow him in the back. "Gah!"
"Once again has my agility proven to be superior compared your mindless attacks." Angel spins around, trying to attack Hank once more, but he simply takes off, running on all fours like an ape. Warren grits his teeth as he takes off into the air to pursue his classmate.
The lady sighs, shaking his head. "Of course, sometimes they go to far, which is why a teacher always has to be present to intervene." She puts two fingers to her temples, readying to activate her quirk, but Ben calls out for her attention.
"Wait, wait... may I?" The lady raises a brow at Ben's suggestion, but she slowly smiles, interested.
"Sure." She nods.
Ben grins, as he activates the Omnitrix, and slams down on the core as a flash of powerful green light illuminated him, blinding the lady and making her back away and rub her eyes. When she reopened them, Ben was now transformed into the extraterrestrial phantom, known as Ghostfreak. "What in the-" Before she can even finish her sentance, Ghostfreak takes off, flying straight for the two students. Before they can even react to the specter's presence, two tendrils bursts forth from his abdomen, wrapping around the two and hoisting them into the air.
"What a fascinating quirk." The lady scratched her chin as Max chuckles and Gwen simply crosses her arms.
Ghostfreak turns around, keeping his momentum, as he flies back to the group, slowing to a stop only a few feet from the lady. His tendrils returned to their fleshy hiding place, dropping Hank and Warren to the ground. "Ugh, what in the world just occured?" Hank muttered as he rubbed his head.
Warren opened his eyes to see the lady looking down at the two disapprovingly. "I think we're in trouble..."
"That's what happens when you fight on school grounds." The lady says, putting two fingers to her temple as a purple aura surrounds the two, lifting them to their feet.
"Sorry, Jamie... / I apologize, Jamie..."
"It's alright... now, to the principal's office!" She points into the distance, making the two groan as they stand up and walk off. She turns to look at Ghostfreak. "What an interesting power you have... what is it called?"
Ghostfreak flinched slightly, as he put a finger to his chin. "Oh, it's... uhm..."
Max suddenly cleared his throat. "Let's not get off track here. We're on a tour, yes?"
Jamie smiles, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. "Right, sorry." She turned around, continuing to walk as the others followed.
Ghostfreak breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Grandpa..."
Max nods. "No problem. We should really get a proper cover story for that power of yours."
"Yeah... weird we haven't yet..." Ghostfreak muttered, scratching his head. He shrugged. "Whatever. If anyone gets to close, we could always just off 'em." He laughed to himself, as Max and Gwen looked at him for a moment, before Gwen released a forced chuckle.
"Eheh... right..." She sped up slightly, catching up with Jamie.
Ghostfreak suddenly flinched, as he put a hand to his head. 'God, I gotta stop saying stuff like that... what is up with me...'
Future Ben followed them with a furrowed brow and a somber look, as someone looked on from the distance. A shadowy figure was standing at the entrance to the grounds, as he adjusted his hat and licked his lips. "God, I'm hungry... Eheheheh..."
The group wandered through the grey brick hallways of the school as students rush past them. "This place is pretty lively, huh." Max muttered as lizard-like kid crawled along the roof to get past them.
"Of course. All students here are expected to go above and beyond to get to every class and excell. If they don't take their classes seriously, then they can't be expected to take heroics seriously."
Gwen could hear Ghostfreak scoff from behind her. "A hero school? Alrighty then." She turned around, glaring at him, seeing him look around, befuddled. He looked at her, seeing an irritated frown. "That wasn't me!" He whispered, which made Gwen raise a brow.
"Do you want to have a look at the training room?" Gwen immediately turns to Jamie, nodding enthusiastically.
Ghostfreak sighs slightly. "Can I check out the cafeteria instead?"
Jamie shrugs. "Sure, as long as you pay for your food."
Gwen turns to look at her. "Wait. You're just gonna let him go running off?"
"Of course! What's the fun in restricting the places someone can visit. This is a tour, might as well let someone have a look around themselves." Ghostfreak smiles as he takes off, fazing through the wall and vanishing from view. Jamie looks at the wall for a moment, before turning to Max. "Ok, seriously, what the hell is up with that quirk?"
Ghostfreak flew through the halls, staying invisible to not disturb any classes. He looks left and right, searching for any traces of... well food. Suddenly, he sees... "Food!" A kid is sitting on the floor, looking at YouTube videos while eating chips. Ghostfreak sunk to the ground snatching the bag and passing through the wall. The seam lining his face opens up revealing a vertical maw hiding underneath as he shoveled down a handful of chips.
He suddenly gasped, looking down at the bag. "Why did I...?" He shook his head as he phased back through the wall, dropping the bag on the dude's head before he retreated through the wall. He growled as he looked down at his hands. "What the heck is up with m-" Suddenly, he was thrown against the wall as something hit him from the side. He hit the ground, slowly gliding across it, but he dug his claws into the floor, stopping himself. He looked up, being met with the sight of a hulking man, with grey skin and bulging muscles, and... a massive fingernail on his forehead? "What the..."
He was immediately kicked across the room, slamming into the hard, metallic wall, making it bend inwards and split open. The spirit groaned as he swlowly peeled himself off the wall. "Crap, he's still alive!" The thumbskulled man muttered, as another person stepped forth.
"I'll fix that!" A girl hissed, with long, thick strands of red hair which raised into the air, stretching forwards towards Ghostfreak who swiftly flew out of the way as the hair dug into the wall, making it buckle further.
"Yeah, you sure did a lot... allow me!" A third character spoke with a raspy and weak voice. He was definately a teen, like the other two, but his wrinkly and dry skin made him resemble an elderly man with rotten teeth. He reeled his head back as a stream of smoking acid launched out of his maw towards Ghostfreak, who narrowly avoided it, the green liquid marking the wall behind him.
"Who the heck are you guys?!" Ghostfreak hissed at the weirdos as the large dude charged towards him.
"Wait, this one talks! STOP!" The wrinkly dude called out to his buff buddy, who dug his heels into the ground to stop himself. The hunched boy walked forwards and looked down at Ghostfreak. "Are you another student?"
Ghostfreak looked at him for a moment before shaking his head. "No... I'm just here for a tour..."
"Then what are you doing in the training room?" The girl asked with a hint of sass as she leaned against her buff friend, her hair wrapping up into a bun.
"I was looking for the cafeteria... when I was punched to the ground by Thumbskull over here."
The large boy raised a brow in confusion, looking around. "Thumbskull? Where?"
The redhead rolled her eyes as she elbowed him in the side. "He meant you, T."
"Oh..." He put a hand to the nail on his forehead. "Thumbskull... heh... that's pretty good."
She shrugged. "It'd be a pretty fitting hero name."
Ghostfreak looked at the two, before returning his attention to the acid-spewing teen. "So you guys are students here?"
He nodded. "Name's Edwin. Call me Ed."
The redhead raised her hand. "Frieda."
"I'm Tommy." The thumb-headed boy said, waving.
Ghostfreak returned the wave, as he looked around, seeing the entire room was made out of a reflective metal. "So, this is a training room." He looked around, seeing piles of scraps lining the room, oil pooling underneath them as sparks illuminated their torn insides. "You guys thought I was a robot?"
Ed shrugged. "Yeah, well, they're very lively. Next-level stuff." Suddenly, a hissing sound was heard, as a sliding door opened up, letting some natural light into the room.
"And this is the training... room... what are you doing here?" Jaime pointed to Ghostfreak, Gwen and Max standing by her sides.
"Eh... I got lost?"
"Hi, Jaime! / Sup, James. / Good to see ya', J." Tom, Frieda and Ed said, respectively.
She gave them a nod before she returned her attention to Ghostfreak. "Well, would you like to deactivate your quirk? It could activate the training room."
Ghostfreak rubbed the back of his head as he cleared his throat. "Ehm, well... e-heh... I can't really... deactivate it. It has a sort of timer whenever I activate it."
Jaime was about to respond, but Max quickly jumped in. "Hold on a moment... haven't you been transformed for over ten minuted now?"
"Yeah, shouldn't you be... well... you, again?" Gwen added.
Ghostfreak looked down at the Omnitrix for a moment. He put a hand to it, knocking on it a few times. "Weird." He put a finger to it, when suddenly, he yanked his arm back. "STOP!" He looked up to see everyone look at him with confused stares. "Ehm... I mean... eh, screw it." He shot forwards, flying past the people in the room and taking off into the halls.
"Ben, wait!" Max shouts, before he took off, running out of the room, Gwen hot on his trail.
Jaime stood there for a moment before she turned to the freaky trio. "I'll be seeing you kids later!" She took off, chasing after the others.
"Ehm... what do we do now?" Tommy asked.
Frieda shrugged. "I don't know..." Ed stood silently, furrowing his brow with concern.
Ghostfreak shot through the halls, pushing past students as any decore or paintings were thrown to the ground by the wind that trailed behind him. He put a hand to his face, rubbing his eye. "I can't believe I'm a slave to a mere child!" He opened his eye, looking down at his hand, as the skin covering his fingers began to tear, long claws erupting from them. "Finally, I'm starting to regain control!" He looked up a second to late, ramming straight into a door, tearing it off its hinges as he flew into the darkness of a supply closet.
He hissed, rubbing his head as sparks eminated from the Omnitrix. "NO! I'm... loosing control!" The sparks settled as the Omnitrix began to flash. "Damn it! NO! I'm not going back! I REFUSE TO GO BACK!" He dug his claws under the Omnitrix, trying to tear it off of him, the pale skin covering him peeling free as well. Purple blood spewed from him, as the Omnitrix generated its final flash as Ghostfreak's slender form vanished and Ben finally appeared as the light settled.
He stumbled out of the closet, falling to the ground as he was blinded by the light peeking in through the blinds covering the windows. He groaned as he sat up, rubbing his temples. "Jeez... what the heck..." He stood up as he looked down at the Omnitrix, small purple sparks shooting from it. "I... jeez, I'm never using that freak again..." His future self looked on from ahead, looking up to see into the dark closet, as a breathless laugh came from the darkness.
"Eheheh... such unkind words, from such an unpleasent child..." Both of the Bens felt a shiver run up their spines, as the younger one turned to look into the darkness, a single purple eye illuminating the empty room. "Hello, Ben." Ben shuttered as he saw the inhuman thing look down at him with a hateful, yet satisfied sneer. "I believe you would now say something witty, so... I had strings, but now I'm free... there are no strings... on ME!" He lunged as he bellowed the final word, but still kept himself hidden in the darkness. He cackled as Ben crawled away from him, the child's face being masked by nothing but unfiltered fear.
"How... are you alive? Y-your me!" Ben cried out, pointing at the thing accusingly, which made it clench its teeth in irritation.
"I was never you! I'm no slave! I'm not a soulless husk for you to inhabit!" The creature sharpened its claws on the doorway's metal frame. "I was possessing one of the creatures who's genes were collected for the Omnitrix, my very essence being forced out of my host. I found myself trapped in the collected sample, and fused to the ectonurite sample that had already been collected." It clenched its fist. "I was stuck, unmoving, lifeless for what felt like eons, until you transformed into 'Ghostfreak'. I was freed from one prison, only to find myself in a new one!" It dug its claws into the floor as it crawled towards Ben. "But now... I'm finally free."
Ben breathed slowly, gasping for air. "T-then, what do you want from me! You're free, so now you can go home!" He hissed, struggling to force out the two sentences.
The ghast burst into laughter, as it finally flew into the light, revealing its hellish appearence. Its flesh was an ugly purple, its ribs hanging on its outside, wrapping around the creature's chest. Its head resembled a twisted, crooked skull, spun around, hanging upside down from its neck. Its claws were several inches, and its tail was warped and twisted, the end of it was devoid of skin, the inside of the tail resembling one of Ghostfreak's striped tentacles. "Now that I'm free, I'm going to tear down your world! Warp and reform it to fit my wishes." It grinned, revealing its uneven and musky teeth.
Ben continued to crawl away, kicking his feet. "Why?!"
The ghoul slithered forwards through the air as it patted Ben. "Oh you poor, poor child." It neared Ben as he looked at him with pity. "It's because I want to." It suddenly raised Ben into the air by his head as it reeled its other arm back, readying its claws. Ben flailed about, struggling against the beasts grip as his arm hit one of the blinds, pushing them to the side and letting more light into the room. As the light hit the ghost, its skin began to boil, smoke rising from its body. It shrieked as it lurched backwards, sinking into the ground and dissapearing from view as its scream echoed through the halls.
Ben lied on the ground unmoving, his breathing was slow, heavy and difficult. He looked at the floor with baited breath, wating to see if the horrible creature would resurface. Minutes passed as Ben remained unmoving, the room remaining quiet, no trace of the demon being registered. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard approaching, making Ben spin around. Relief washed over him as he saw Gwen and Max run through the hall towards him.
"Ben, are you okay?" Max asked as he helped his grandson to his feet.
"Are you crazy! Are you trying to ruin my chances of getting in here?!" As Gwen screamed at her unresponsive cousin, Jamie finally caught up with them.
"Tennyson, what happened?" She breathed heavily, exhausted by chasing after the surprisingly quick family, as Max and Gwen looked at Ben.
"What happened, son?" Max asked as he put a hand to his shoulder.
Ben remained silent, looking at his feet. He blinked, shaking his head before he raised it. "Ghostfreak..."
The others looked at him with confusion and concern. "What about him?" Gwen asked.
Ben looked at her for a moment, as he took a deep breath, clearing his throat and finally relieving himself of his terror. "He's escaped the Omnitrix."
The freaky trio walked tiredly through the school. Ed munched on an apple which seemed to rot, growing more and more disgusting with every bite, Tommy was chewing away at a jaw breaker, and Frieda was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "Hmm... lunch." Tommy muttered, biting off another chunk of the impossibly durable sweet, his teeth somehow remaining intact.
Ed nodded, swallowing down a piece of his rotten apple as he released a sigh, melting apart what remained of the apple. "Indeed."
Frieda just kept eating, refusing to add anything to the conversation besides a nod. But, from the bushes, someone looked on with a large, tooty grin. He stood up, keeping his eyes locked on the trio, before he returned his attention to something lying on the ground, hidden behind the leaves of the bush. "Now, now... don't be sad. You were delicious, but there really isn't anything else I can drain from you." He gave his victim a quick pat on the head before he wandered out from the bushes, standing a fair distance behind the students.
He raised his hand, as the area around him began to warp. "I'm in need of some new toys." Suddenly, the trio began to feel dizzy, the sight warping and twisting. "You all will be perfect." They fell to their knees, their eyes being clouded and their pupils dilating fully, removing their irises. "Now... let's go, my circus freaks..." He cackled as the blue orbs covering his sleeves began to glow brightly.
"What the hell are you talking about? You're not even elaborating! What do you mean Ghostfreak escaped?" Gwen shouted at Ben as he wandered through the halls, looking at every wall, into every room and under every thing he could find.
"It means, Ghostfreak escaped! He's... alive, somehow..."
Jaime looked at Max. "I expect an explanation."
Max sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "I promise you, I'll explain everything once all of this is settled, but until then, I promise you, no harm will come to this school." He put a hand to his chest, lifting the opposing hand and showing its palm. Jaime looked at him for a moment, before sighing.
"Alright... I trust you..." She turned away from him. 'But only because you used to be the #4 hero...'
"He said that when DNA was collected for the watch, he was dragged along with someone he was possessing, trapping him in the Omnitrix. Looks like he's weak to sunlight now though, so-" Suddenly, the Omnitrix chirped, announcing that it had recharged. "Finally!" Ben activated it, the core popping out. But, he quickly stopped himself, as he turned to Max with a pleading expression.
Max's expression was nautral for a moment, before he sighed, giving Ben a nod. He smiled, before he began turning the dial, before settling on a certain four-legged tracker. He raised his hand and slammed down the core as a burst of green light illuminated the hallway. In Ben's place, Wildmutt sat proudly, as he put his face to the ground, sniffing loudly.
"WHAT?! What is with this kid?!" Jaime cried, as Max patted her on the shoulder.
"It'd take too much time to explain, so trust me. You don't want to know." Wildmutt continued to sniff, walking slowly to make sure not a single particle of the ghast would be undetected. Suddenly-
"Ughh?" He growled, turning his head. He lowered himself once more, taking another whiff. "Aggh-uuhh-raagh!" He took off, running straight forwards, as the others groaned before they chased after him. The beast rushed with great speed, jumping across the walls, crawling on the room and rushing along the floor, making sure not a single particle of this stench escape him. He leapt from the ceiling to the ground, the boards under him cracking slightly under his weight.
Jaime turned to Max with an irritated expression, who sighed, rubbing the back of his head. He pulled out a few 100$ bills. "For the damages."
Jaime looked at the money in confusion. "The damage should only cost about 20$ to repair it."
Max sighed again. "I know... this is for later." Jaime furrowed their brow, as Wildmutt rushed forwards. Suddenly, he dug his heels into the ground, sliding to a stop infront of a window, which he threw open, before he leapt out of it.
Gwen rushed forwards, looking down, as Jaime walked forwards, readying her quirk to float the Three down, but gwen raised a hand. "May I?" Jaime looked at her for a moment.
"Alright?" Gwen's hand began to glow with blue energy, as a slide formed from the window, all the way to the ground. Jaime looked at the transparent slide, before nodding. "Not bad." Gwen smiled with pride as Jaime climbed out of the window, sliding down the slide, followed by Gwen and Max, before the slide vanished.
Wildmutt ran through the campus as the darkness of the night had arrived, the many lampposts lining the area illuminating the darkness. Strangely, there were no students blocking his way. 'I wonder where everyone is... whatever. If no one's here, then no one will slow me down. I'll find the source of this awful smell.' He jumped into the air, landing on the side of a tree before jumping off of it, boosting himself forwards. He landed with a thud, keeping up the momentum by leaping back into the air immediately. He shot towards the wall of the university, using the traction to boost his momentum once more. He took another large whiff, locking down the source of the potent smell. He allowed himself to land, charging forwards to the source of the smell. He rounded the corner and... "Ughu?" He tilted his head, feeling the strong smell before him. He growled at the one before him.
"Well, what do we have here?" Wildmutt backed away as he heard a raspy voice. "Who released their mutt?" Wildmutt could hear the others finally reach him.
"Ben, what's up? Did you find what you were looking for?" Gwen asked as she rushed forwards. She looked up, gasping when she saw what stood before her, Max and Jamie looking at the thing ahead of them with muted terror.
Before them, a clown sat on his knees, cradling a person in a student unifrom, their skin hanging loosely onto their skeleton. They seemed to have no muscle or fat, and their eyes were blank and unmoving. But, they still breathed. They looked like a zombie, or a person who's on the verge of death, either from sickness, or age. They looked at the people before them with blank eyes, before they were suddenly, thrown to the side.
The clown stood tall, looking at the ones who had interupted his meal. He wore a tall top hat, a grey pair of pants and a suit, with sleeves lined with blue orbs. He wore a striped sweater under the decorated coat. His hair was red and curly and his face was pale, besides a blue, round nose sitting at the center of his goofy face. He opened his mouth, revealing a full set of yellow teeth, as well as a black and white striped tongue. "I was in the middle of eating, mind you, so I'm a bit hangry." He snapped his fingers. "Take care of these ones, will ya'?"
Wildmutt wondered who he was talking about, when suddenly he sensed an incoming attack. He threw himself backwards just in time to avoid being struck from above my a long, red tendril made of hair. A stream of acid was shot at him from behind, but luckily he leapt to the side in time to avoid it. Sadly, he didn't have time to react as a hulking figure punched him across the grounds. "BEN!" Max called out before he was grappled by the hair-like tendril.
He hit the ground, kicking up a ground of dust. 'Why couldn't I detect their presence until now?' He got up wearily, shaking his body to dust himself off as long strings of slobber were thrown about. He turned to prepare a charge, but he was immeidately met with another punch which sent him crashing into a wall, shattering it and sending bricks in all directions. He released a tired growl, struggling out a confused bark. 'Why are you attacking me? I thought you guys were pretty cool!' He thought as the empty-eyed Tommy leapt into the air, readying to crush him with a slam, butWildmutt swiftly leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding his attack.
Tommy Arne
Quirk: Nail On The Head
This quirk grants the user extreme strength and durability. It also gives them a thumb-like head, with an extremely durable nail lodged in his forhead. Talk about freaky!
Max struggled against the arm wrapped around his torso, which tightened, making him gasp. He swiftly pulled a can full of froglegs, which he tightly crushed in his hand. He felt his breath being forced out of him by Frieda's grip, as he felt his legs change and grow. He reeled his feet back, and kicked the tendril, making Frieda flinch and loosen her grip. Max immediately tore himself free and hit the ground, his large, muscle-filled froglegs absorbing the impact. He swiftly leapt forwards, reeling his feet back and readying to kick the girl, but she quickly blocks his attack with her hair, but she still hisses as his attack landed.
Frieda Cheve
Quirk: Living Hair
This quirk makes Frieda's hair made from living cells, unlike normal hair, which allows her to control it like tendrils. She can wrap her hairs together into extremely strong and thick tentacles. Sadly, since her hair is alive, attacking it can hurt her, and cutting it is excruciating. Luckily, she can control the length of her hair! This girl never has a bad hair day!
Gwen formed a force-field around herself and Jaime as Ed spat a stream of acid at them. He circled the force-field, covering every centimeter of the blue-bubble in his acidic barf. Gwen began to sweat as she felt herself heat up. Jaime put a hand to her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Gwen nodded, wearily. "Y-yeah... it's just, that... my contructs are connected... to my vitality, and... it burns!" She gritted her teeth as she spoke, which made Jaime furrow her brow. She held out her hands as blue energy began to form around the bricks making up the ground under Ed's feet. Suddenly, the bricks shot out of the ground, throwing Ed into the air.
"I'm sorry about this, Ed, but you're clearly not yourself right now." She took a deep breath as the bricks suddenly wrapped around his body, covering him and lowering himself back to the ground as another brick was shoved into his mouth. "LIFT AND PIN!"
"Gghhghm..." He struggled to free himself, but the bricks were too heavy, pinning him to the ground.
Jaime Leva
Quirk: Psychic
She can lift and move objects at a distance using only her mind. It takes a lot of precision and skill to move multiple objects in multiple directions at the same time, but Jaime is one determined lady. And before you ask, yes, she did get a lot of nosebleeds when she were a child.
Gwen smiled as she allowed her force-field to dissipate. "T-thanks..."
Jaime put a hand to her shoulder, nodding. "No problem. You did great yourself."
Ed struggled to to try to free himself, but he looked back up to see that the force-field had dissipated. He considered spewing some acid to melt the brick in his maw, but he didn't want to risk drowning with his barf. He instead took a deep breath, and as he exhaled, a blast of yellow gas shot out of his nostrils aimed at Gwen, but Jaime notices and instinctively and swiftly puches her out of the way, the stream of gas hitting her in the back, melting through her shirt and making her cry out in pain as her back began to boil, chunks of it peeling off, revealing the silhouette of her spine. She fell to her knees, wrapping her arms around her body as she shook.
Edward Green
Quirk: Acid Barf
His stomach acids are far more deadly then any normal person's, and his gag reflex is entirely under his control, letting him easily spew out large amounts of his deadly stomach juices. His breath is also affected, making it awful to smell, and he can also spit out his acid's fumes, which is so potent it itself can melt through rock. Pee-ew! Talk about morning breath!
Gwen propped her up as Jaime shivered, her skin bubbling and reeking. "Are you okay?" Jaime groaned, giving a weary nod. Ed continued to struggle, as he readied to send another cloud of gas at Gwen, but she quickly turned to him, giving him a terrifying glare. She raised her hand as a blue tendril moved forwards, slithering down and wrapping around him, scooping him up and grabbing him tightly.
He struggled against the blue transparent tendril, which tightened, making him grit his teeth. "Ghghhhgh!" He took a deep breath, readying to send a stream of gas at her, but the transparent tentacle suddenly grew a small tendril which shot out, slapping him across the face, which made him miss Gwen. The tenril then wrapped around his neck.
"Have you heard of mouth-wash?!" She then rammed him into the ground, forcing his breath out of him and made the brick shoot out of his mouth from the force. He groaned as he lied on the ground. It seems the attack knocked him out... and gave him a concussion. "Wow, that was easy." She turned to see Max kick Frieda into a tree with such force that it was pulled straight out of the ground. Her hair softened the blow so her spine wasn't shattered, but she was still seemingly knocked out.
Gwen then turned to see Wildmmutt leap over Tom to avoid the punch. He landed behind him and reels his arm back, slicing across his back, slashing open his shirt, but his back just seemed bruised. Tom spun around, raising his arms above his head, but Wildmutt dodged by jumping backwards. He leapt forwards, landing on top of him, biting down on his head. Tom suddenly started shouting, punching and grappling the dog-like alien. He raised his arm to bash the mutt's skull in, but Wildmutt quickly spat out Tom's head, just in time to avoid his punch, with the attack instead hitting... well, Tom. He gasped as his skull was smashed. He walked a few steps before he collapsed.
Wildmutt walked forwards, sniffing a few times. 'He's alive... probably gave himself a concussion though.' Wildmutt patted him on the head before he walked over him to return to the others.
Max took over for Gwen to help Jaime to stay on their feet. "T-thank you... Mr. Tennyson..." Her legs were shaky. She raised her head, looking around for something. "T... the c-clown... where is the clown?"
Max and Gwen turned to where the clown stood, realizing he was now completely gone. They looked around, trying to find a trace of the villain. Suddenly, Wildmutt growled, catching the others attention. He was looking straight up at the school. The three looked up to see the clown standing at the edge of the school's roof. He was munching on pop corn, chuckling to himself. "Hehehehe! Talk about a good show! You all would do great at the circus!"
"Y-you..." The clown shifted his attention to Jaime. "Y-your the one... t-that took control over t-the students..."
The clown laughed, nodding. "That's right! My powers are simply limitless!" He laughed. "Although hypnosis is fun, I much prefer my more lively powers!"
Max frowned. "Gwen." She looked at Max. "Can you get him down here?" She nodded, as her hand began to glow, a blue tendril shot forwards towards the clown, who swiftly slid the side, narrowly avoiding it.
"Woah! Watch it kid, quirks are dangerous to play around with!" He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out an umbrella which couldn't possibly have fit in there. "If you want me to come down, I'll come down!" He opened the umbrella above his head, but water poured out of it, drenching him. Even a fish fell out, and it landed on his hat. It splashed around, gasping for air, but the clown grabbed it and shoved it into his pocket. "Sorry about that. This one's full of holes." He said, showing the inside of the umbrella, showing that there were multiple holes in it. He threw it aside as it hit something loud out of sight and making a cat shriek.
He suddenly walked off the edge, making everyone jump, but instead of falling to the ground, his foot landed on the side of the building. He then took another step, showing that he could walk on the wall, like the building itself had a gravitational pull. He then continued walking all the way to the ground and leapt from it, landing on the ground. "Ta-da!" He cheered, giving jazz hands, lifting one foot into the air. "Heheh, no no, hold your applause." He said as he bowed theatrically.
Wildmutt growled at the clown, his claws extending as a sign of aggression. "Calm down, Ben... let's not let our fear get the best of us, son." Max said, side-eyeing Wildmutt. He returned his attention to the clown. "What do you want?" He asked, flaxing his legs in case the clown tries anything.
He just laughs, putting his hands to his stomach. "Oh, I'm just here for a little snack! That's not a crime, is it?"
Max narrowed his eyes. "No... unless you eat other people's vitality."
The clown's smile grew even more, his face growing wrinkly, which cracked his face-paint. "You are one smart cookie, aren't you... No wonder you used to be the #4 hero..." Gwen and Wildmutt jumped, turning to Max, who kept up his poker-face.
"Yes wel-"
"But... you're not clever enough." Max furrowed his brow. "I'm not draining their vitality... but rather their emotions." He pointed a hand to the skeletal student he had been toying with earlier. "Although it is very similar to ones life-force, emotions can be completely drained without killing them. They enter a catatonic state. Unmoving, but still breathing."
"Then why do they look like that?" Gwen asked. "They look like they have no flesh on their bones."
"Their brain panics and thinks the loss of emotion is because of insufficient energy. It burns any calories they may have in an attempt to reawaken the body."
Max raised a brow. "That is simply impossible."
"Hmm?"
"Burning that many calories? Just like that? If the brain is shutting down, then how are they able to burn away their very muscles? I don't see their organs!"
The clown's crazed smile began to shrink. He seemed stunned, but he slowly regained his grin. "Let's agree to disagree." He raised his hands and flexed his fingers, which put everyone on edge, with Gwen raising her hands, Max, flexing his legs and Wildmutt, flexing his claws and peeling back his lips, showing his teeth. "Now, now. I'm sure you all want an encore, but running a bit late for my ESCAPE!" He reeled his arms back as his bones cracked into dust, before his arms compressed like an accordion. Everyone gasped, Gwen wanting to gag at the crunching of his bones, before his arms suddenly shot out, extending past them.
They wrap around a tree a few meters away, before his arms begin to contract, reeling him in at a great speed. Wildmutt and Gwen attempt to strike, but both of them miss. He cackled as he was dragged across the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and dirt after him. "Wow, talk about a tough crowd! AHAHAHAH-" He hit his head on the tree. "GAOUCH! Crap, I gotta watch where I drag myself..." He muttered, as Wildmutt leaps at him, raising his arms over his head. "Woop, gotta g- oof... what the-" He looked down, finding a blue tendril had popped out of the ground and wrapped around his leg. He looked up to be met with a powerful fist which sent him flying. "WAAAAHHH!"
He hit the ground, rolling across the field, grass and dirt covering his suit. "ROAAAGHH!" Wildmutt roared as he took chase, readying to grab the villain, but the clown suddenly threw himself into the air with one arm, spinning through the air like an acrobat before he landed in a hero pose.
"Well, well, well, I'd say that one deserved a 10!" He said cockily just before Wildmutt grabbed his collar, pulling him in close. "Woah, ok, ok, I'll take a 9!" Wildmutt growled, sending spit into the clowns face. "UGH! Jeez, can someone get over here and leash their dog?!" He kicked the mutt in the face, sending it flying backwards and freeing himself from his grip. "Better yet, I'll do it myself!" His arm suddenly shot out once more, wrapping around Wildmutt's neck. He started struggling, thrashing to escape his grip. "What's wrong Fido? Don't like clowns?" He started cackling, when he was suddenly interupted by a weird sound.
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
A burst of light blinded the clown, his arms recoiling and reeling back to his body as the mighty energy pushed him back, and slowly shrinked Wildmutt down and reforming him into the 10-year-old Ben Tennyson. Ben looked down at his hands. "Ah man!" He looked up, being met with the clown's curious grin, only a few inches from Ben's face.
"Well, well, well... isn't this interesting. Quite the freaky power you have, my boy." Ben gasped as he threw himself backwards, crawling away from the clown while keeping his eyes on him. "What? Are you afraid of little old me? I'm just a funny clown!" He said, splaying his arms. Gwen suddenly formed a blue wall to block his path, protecting Ben.
"Ben! Move!" She hissed, standing a few meters away.
The clown grinned as he simply walked through the forcefield as if it wasn't even there. "What a nice girl... is she your friend? Sister? Cousin?" Ben was gasping, barely being able to breath. His face was masked with terror. "Oh, please, I don't want to hurt you... I would never hurt a child! My name's Zombozo." He said, tipping his hat. Suddenly, Zombozo was hit in the face with a blue disc thrown by Gwen. "Oof... nice shot..." He muttered, as his arm shot out towards Gwen, but Max swiftly jumped in, kicking his arm away. "Gah! You've got quite the pep in your step, don't you, grandpa!"
Suddenly, Max leapt forwards, reeling his foot back to kick the clown into next saturday, but Zombozo immediately grabbed Ben, wrapping his arm around his neck and holding him up like a shield. Max immediately weaved in the air to avoid hitting either of them. He landed and rolled to avoid any serious harm. "Listen up! If you don't stay back, I'll drain this kid of every drop of fear in his tiny body! He'll be a husk of his old self! I hope you'll enjoy the next week nursing this poor boy back to health!" He roared, covering Ben's mouth with his free hand. "And even then, with this much fear... at this age... this experience will harm his psyche for the rest of his life!" He cackled, showing off his striped tongue again which slithered in his mouth like a snake.
Gwen and Max raised their hands, backing away from him. Jaime looked on, resting against the side of a building, when she saw something... fade into existance. She gasped, seeing a large creature hulking over Zombozo, making Gwen and Max back further away. Zombozo looked around, confused by their reactions. "What? I'm not that scary!" He chuckled, as he suddenly felt something drip onto his shoulder. "Huh?" He turned around seeing spirit's hulking form. "WAAAGHHA!" He dropped Ben to the ground and backed away, tripping over his own feet, making him fall on his ass. He raised his hand as a blast of fire shot out, forming a wall of flames to stop the ghost, but it simply passed straight through the blazing blockade.
"I must admit, your illusions are rather impressive... but you toying with my plaything is rather annoying."
"I-i-illusions? W-w-what are you talking about! I'm no illusionists! I'M ALL POWER-FUL!" He roared, as his bones began to break, dislocating and shattering, his body expanding and increasing in length. "I AM NO ORDINARY CLOWN! I'M A REALITY BENDING SHAPE-SHIFTER!" His eyes began to glow like hellfire and his teeth became sharper.
The spirit looked on with disinterest before he suddenly threw his arm forwards, the sound of flesh tearing and blood dripping echoing across the campus. Suddenly, the monstrous Zombozo vanished, revealing the real one was impaled through the chest by the spirit's claws. He gagged, struggling to look down, seeing his blood pool on the ground under him.
Herbert John Zomboni
Quirk: Emotion Absorbtion
He can drain people of their emotions to give him many abilities, ranging from enhanced strength, flight, limited body-alteration, hypnosis and hallucikinesis. An extremely dangerous and powerful ability, which makes him almost unstoppable! Well... almost.
"I shall reiterate that your illusions are incredible. Probably the best I've ever seen. But that does not mean you can pretend to be a god..." It lifted Zombozo's head to look him in the eyes. "In front of a true god." The ghast swiftly tore its arm out of his abdomen, letting him fall to the ground. "Pest..." It turned to Ben, making him jump. "Now then... it is time I become whole." It muttered as he began floating towards Ben, who immediately leapt to his feet and took off, attempting to escape it, but it swiftly flew forwards and hoisted him into the air by the back of his shirt.
"H-hey, let me down you freak!" He cried, kicking his feet.
It was about to respond, but a blue disc shot out, hitting its hand and making it let go of the child. It turned to see that Gwen's hands were glowing blue. "Don't interfere!" It hissed before he was suddenly kicked in the back by Max. "Gah!" It growled, spinning around to slash at Max, but something invisible grabbed its arm and hoisted it away. 'Damn, there's a telekinetic among them...' Before it could reflect on it further, Gwen formed a tentacle which wrapped around its body and pinned him to the ground as Max readied another high-jump kick. It tried to sink into the ground, but it couldn't escape his restraint. 'Is this girl manipulating mana?!' Max slammed his foot onto the geist, but it passed through its head, hitting the ground instead.
"Ouch!" Max cried out, jumping up and down as he rubbed his heel.
"Grandpa, are you okay?" Gwen asked, looking to Max. The spirit swiftly used this distraction to slip out of its restraints and sink into the ground. "NO!" The tentacle dissipated, as she looked around.
Ben was standing to the side, looking around for the ghoul. Before either of them could find even a trace of it, two tentacles slithered out of the ground and wrapped around Ben's legs when suddenly the intangability spread to the boy, letting the ghost pull him into the ground. Gwen and Max gasp as they run forwards, putting their hands to the ground, digging and clawing at it. "NO, BEN!" Max turned to Jaime. "Is there anything down there."
Jaime looked at the ground for a moment. She thought. "I think we have a cellar, but... I don't have the keys..."
Ben was dropped to the ground as dust was sent in all directions, making him cough and gasp. He waved his arms around, clearing any dust surrounding him. "Gah..." He looked around, seeing that he was in some grey and dark room with rocky and uneven walls. The lighting was weak and clearly old, as the room flickered between darkness and light. Suddenly, the ghoul faded into view, hanging over the boy. "Get away from me, Ghostfreak!" Ben cried, crawling away as his future self stood in the corner of the room, looking on with a deadpanned look.
"I don't think I like that name..." The thing muttered, shaking its head as it flew to one of the walls. It put a claw to it, carving into it with ease. "No, I much more prefer my real name." It smiled. "It was given to me a long time after my conception..." It continued clawing at the wall, crumbs of the wall falling to the ground, piling up as the sound of cracking and cutting was heard through the room. Ben looked at it in morbid curiousity. He wanted to run, but he knew he couldn't get away without the Omnitrix... seems like he'll be playing the waiting game for now.
The ghoul grinned as it looked at its handiwork. "I was born... I believe for you earthlings it would be over a millennium..." It pointed at a carving showing a small ghosty boy in what resembled a spider-web. "Anur Phaetos... that is the home of my kind. A dimension that can only be accessed through a planet-sized portal found in the Anur System... " It sighed. "It was such an awful place... everyone just layed around, possessing each other, fighting above trivial matters... it was too empty and saddening. Someone needed to liberate them." It pointed to the next carving, which showed the ghost leading the other of its kind away from the spider-web and towards a planet.
"So, I lead my kind out of that world to be able to thrive on a new one, devoid of life so we could keep living alone..." It frowned. "But the planet we chose... it was... something unholy... all of the ectonurites who flew down... they died... dissipating into nothingness." It shuttered. "That planet was undead, feeding on the very life-force of those who neared it." It put a hand to the third carving, sighing. It dragged away his hand, showing the ghost gasp as its people vanished into nothing. It furrowed its brow. "We decided to get away from that planet and thought to visit one that was actually populated. Maybe they were kind." It gritted its teeth. "How wrong I was..."
It pointed to the fourth carving, which showed the ghoul commanding its people to attack other creatures, which resembled Frankenstrike, Snare-Oh and Blitzwolfer. "The ones on the other planets were the ones to destroy the undead world. Some kind of dangerous species lived there, and so they decided to exterminate them all by turning their homeworld into a black hole of death with their united power..." It narrowed its eye. "It was sickening. My people had died because of them... whether their deaths were accidental or not, they still expunged an entire species." It then turned to Ben with a wide grin. "So we expunged them." Ben felt a shiver run up his spine as the ghoul looked at him with its purple eye.
"After we cleansed the land, trapping, killing and enslaving every last one of them, I was the first ectonurite to gain my very own name after we learned about them from the other creatures." It pointed to the final carving, which shoved him splay his arms as its people cheered for it. "I was given the title, as the High Ecto-Lord... Zs'Skayr..." Ben backed away from him, which made Zs'Skayr smile.
"W-why do you want to destroy my world then? Expunge us? Why?" Ben asked, spitting out as many words as he could, hoping anything would throw him off.
"I've already told you... it's because I want to..." Ben furrowed his brow. "After I started cleansing the killers... I realized something... genocide is fun." Ben's face was unmoving for a moment, as if he didn't hear what he had said. But then... it registered, at which point his face warped into a terrified expression. Zs'Skayr grinned, seemingly satisfied by the reaction. "It was fun to rule for a few centuries. To tell people what to do, to be free. Wasn't an awful experience, but it simply was never as fulfilling as my take-over... so I decided to take off, leaving someone else to take the throne."
Ben stood up, looking at Zs'Skayr. "How many worlds have you destroyed?"
Zs'Skayr put a hand to his chin, scratching it. "I believe... about 7, not counting the planets in Anur System." Ben looked at him with terror. "I was about to finish my 8th when I was taken to the Omnitrix." Suddenly, as if it heard him, the Omnitrix chirped, announcing it has recharged. "Ah, speak of the devil!" Ben immediately tried to activate it, but Zs'Skayr grabbed his arm and covered Ben's watch with his large hand before he could reach it. "Nice try."
"What do you want with me?! Why are you after me? I didn't know you were alive, I'm sorry!" Ben cried, thrashing in an attempt to loosen Zs'Skayr's grip.
"Because most of my genetic code is still within the Omnitrix... if I can fuse with you and gain control of the Omnitrix, not only would I regain my skin and immunity to sun-light, but I will also get a hold of a device so powerful I'll be able to destroy worlds on a scale never seen before! I'll be unstoppable!" He cackled, his grip on the Omnitrix growing tighter. Ben groaned, when suddenly.
'Wait a second... can't I...' Ben then touched Zs'Skayr's hand, as he activated his quirk.
"Hmm? What are you up to?" Suddenly, Ben's skin began to turn into a pale white. "What in the world?" Ben's bones grew sharper, and his pupils became purple. Ben then quickly passed through the geist's grip using Zs'Skayr's intangability. "How'd you do that?!" He hissed as he reared his arm back, readying to slash the boy, but he quickly vanished, as Zs'Skayr's attack completely missed its target. "Damn it!" He looked around. 'If only I could see him... this is simply unfair!' He roared, as his claws extended even further. "I'll find you, even if it means burying you under the remains of this damned school!" He roared as he dug his claws into one of the walls and flew forwards, tearing through it with ease.
He then moved to the opposing wall and did the same, sending small chunks of debris across the cellar. He slashed at the floor, tearing it up with ease. He slashes apart even more of it, showering any crates and objects with concrete. "GET OUT HERE, YOU COWARD!"
"Damn it he's loud." The future Ben muttered as he rubbed his ears.
He continued slashing randomly, slicing through objects, shelves and crates like a hot knife through butter. "I'LL KILL YOU, NO MATTER WHAT! DO YOU HEAR ME, BEN TENNYSON?!"
"Yeah, I hear you, no need to shout." Zs'Skayr and the future Ben turned to the source of the sound, as both of them saw something... unexpected.
'Damn it... he transformed.' Zs'Skayr growled at the shapeshifting 10-year-old.
Meanwhile, the future Ben saw something... weird. Well, weirder then the usual anyway. Before him stood the pitch-black silhouette of a tall humanoid, with two long tendrils coming from its head, and tail coming from its rear. the tips of its fingers were thick and bulky, and the Omnitrix symbol was shining brightly on its chest... but nothing else of the creature was recognizable to Ben. Its form was completely black, like it was absorbing any light that hit it. Ben didn't have a memory of having any alien with that power back when he was 10... or since then. Neither did he recognize its shape. "Who... is that."
"Now, I hope you don't mind if I give you some positive F*e*b**k!" Ben couldn't quite make out what he said, as the younger Ben crouched down and formed a ball of blue electric energy between his two hands before he threw them forwards, the ball turning into a powerful stream of energy. The geist swiftly flew out of the way, but Ben kept the blast going, aiming to follow the spirit with the stream of electricity. Zs'Skayr flew about, weaving to avoid the energy from hitting him. The energy slashed and burned at many corners of the room, searing them and making them crack.
"Don't tell me this is the best you can do? Your aim is simply dreadful!" He taunted as he ducked down to avoid the electricity again. "Are you even trying to hit me?!"
"No." Ben said confidently, making Zs'Skayr paus.
"Huh?" Suddenly, a loud crack was heard, as dust fell from the ceiling. He looked up to see that the ceiling was completely cracked and segmented. "Oh... crap." Suddenly the ceiling caved in, the walls and floor shattering and displacing, showering the specter in concrete and rebar. Ben raised his arms and used a large discharge to make sure that anything falling on him would be destroyed or pushed aside, like an umbrella.
Future Ben just danced around all the stuff, weaving and jumping to avoid the concrete. Getting crushed wouldn't kill him, but he thinks it's fun. The ghoul roared out as he was buried, crushed and beaten down by debris. Ben simply stood there, continuing to burn through anything that could harm him. "Ah, what a nice late-night shower!" He laughed as dust and smoke was sent in every direction, blinding him.
"Ben! Are you okay?!" Max's voice reached through the dirty cloud.
"Yeah, just wanted to redecorate..." He looked over at Jaime who glared at him with the rage of a thousand suns, her condition doing nothing to dampen her intimidation. "GAH, I'M SORRY, I FORGOT?!"
Jaime looked over at Max, who started sweating. "I... I..." He sighed. "How much?" Jaime thought for a moment.
"Uh... yeah, no clue... I'll have to ask the principle." She muttered as she rubbed her temples. The transformed Ben leaped from the pile of debris and landed on the solid ground, when suddenly three tentacles shot out from the sea of concrete and rebar, wrapping around Max, Gwen and Jaime. Ben's hand began to spark as he got ready to blast the tentacles, but a fourth one wrapped around his arms and redirected them.
"Tennyson!" Zs'Skayr rose from the ground. "If I were you I would surrender."
"And why would I do that?!" Ben hissed, as he tried to tear himself free from the spirits grip.
"Because if you don't..." The tentacles wrapped around the others began tightening their grip, making them scream. "I'll crush these friends of yours into paste!" He hissed, his claws shining in the moon light as he raised them into the air. "Maybe I'll gut them... I'm very curious to see what they have hidden inside of them." He grinned, making Ben shutter. He looked at his family, both Max and Gwen giving him a look, pleading that he don't surrender.
"I... I..." Ben thought for a moment. "I'll surrender... on one condition!" Zs'Skayr tilted his head. "That you don't destroy my planet..." He said, looking at him with a pleading expression.
Zs'Skayr thought for a moment. "Deal." He said, as he released the others and wrapped him up in more tentacles. "Heheheh..." He laughed, his raspy voice echoing out as he flew forwards grabbed Ben by his throat. "I'm impressed your smart enough to know there is no point in fighting back againt the High Ecto-Lord!" Ben narrowed his eye, glaring daggers at the ghoul as it put a finger to the Omnitrix, before he suddenly made it intangible, sinking it into it. Purple electricity began shooting out, weaving and flickering in and out of existance.
Suddenly, Ben began to glow green as his body began to warp and reform his once rather slim pitch-black body turning bulky and cyan-colored, as he fully transformed into Diamondhead. "W-what? What are you-" Suddenly, he began warping, his body slimming down once more, this time transforming into the blue speedster, XLR8.
"I need to transform you back to normal to fuse with you and gain control of the Omnitrix." He muttered, as the green glow grew brighter, XLR8 transforming into Upgrade.
"Ugh, I think I'm gonna throw up... Hnng!" He grunted as he transformed once more, turning into Snare-Oh. "I don't even know who this guy is!" His body turned rocky as a bright energy began to peek out from between the cracks when suddenly his head erupted in flames.
"GAAAHH!" Zs'Skayr reeled backwards as his hand was seared, the flesh covering it beginning to peel off. "D-damn that blasted watch." He muttered as Heatblast hit the ground.
"Well, well, well. This is gonna be easier then I thought!" He laughed as his hands began to glow brightly, readying to blast the ghost with a stream of fire, but before he could, the Omnitrix started sparking, glowing a creepy purple before he transformed back into Ben is a flash of purple light. "What? Already?!"
Zs'Skayr shot forwards, reeling his arm back to slice open the boy. "I don't even care anymore! I'll slice you to pieces and possess your remains!" He roared, ready to gut Ben with a single slash, when suddenly a blue bubble formed around his hand, as a solid beam of mana yanked his hand away. He turned to look at Gwen, but was instead met with Max's skull-shattering kick, as he was sent flying backwards, slamming into the ground. He growled as he sat up, saliva dripping down his mouth.
"Ben! RUN!" Max hissed, as Ben nodded hastily, throwing himself forwards, taking off.
"NO!" Zs'Skayr growled as he was suddenly restrained by some unseen force. "GAH!" He struggled, but found himself unable to get anywhere. 'The telekinetic is back on their feet it seems.' He looked to see that Jaime was now standing on her own, although shaking, she was still holding both of her arms forwards to have a proper grip. 'I suppose I'll have to kill them yet. If that boy won't hold keep his end of the bargain, then why should I?'
His tendrils tore out of his abdomen and shot towards Jaime, who stopped them in their tracks using their quirk, but the tendrils slithered and wriggled, struggling to free themselves from her grip. Max ran towards Zs'Skayr and leapt into the air, preparing another sick kick, but a new tendril shot out of him, wrapping around Max's leg and throwing him into the ground. "Don't touch me!" He hissed, before he suddenly vanished.
"W-what? Where did he go?" Jaime asked, lowering her hands.
"Wait, don't!" Gwen called out to stop Jaime from deactivating her quirk, but it was too late. A tentacle wrapped around her and Jaime, as Zs'Skayr faded back into view.
"TENNYSON!" Ben heard his call in the distance. "COME OUT BEFORE YOUR COUSINS INSIDES WILL BE ON HER OUTSIDE!" He roared as Ben looked out from around a corner of the school. Ben sat back, as he took a deeb breath, closing his eyes.
"God... what am I gonna do..." He put his hands to his head, when he suddenly heard a spark. He looked down at the Omnitrix to see it glowing purple, glitching and flickering, before the sparks suddenly vanished and the watch returned to its green color. "Is it recharged?" Ben looked around, before he activated the Omnitrix, the core popping out to reveal Ghostfreak's silhouette. Ben looked at him for a moment, before he shook his head. "N-no. I'm not using that freak ever again." He muttered as he turned to dial. But the silhouette didn't change. "Huh?" He continued twisting the dial, only to find that Ghostfreak was the only alien.
"YOU HAVE 10 SECONDS!" Ben felt his blood run cold, as he looked at the whispy silhouette. "1!" Ben turned to check around the corner, seeing Zs'Skayr hold a knocked-out Gwen by the back of her shirt, as Max and Jaime lied on the ground underneath him, pinned down by his tentacles. "2!" Ben looked back down at the Omnitrix, turning the dial again. "3!" Ghostfreak remained. "4!" Ben felt his eyes begin to grow watery... "5!" His heart beating faster then it ever has before. "4!" Ben put a hand to his face, as he gritted his teeth. "6!" Ben opened his eyes, and looked down at the Omnitrix again. "7!" His eyebrows began to furrow, as he felt his fear turn into determination. "8!" Zs'Skayr flexed his claws as he looked down at Gwen. "9!" Zs'Skayr raised his arm over his head as his claws shimmered.
"10." Zs'Skayr heard a raspy voice call out from behind him. He turned around, immediately being met with a pale fist directly to the face, which made him drop Gwen. He flew backwards, rubbing his face as he looked up to see Ghostfreak lower Gwen to the ground. He looked up at Zs'Skayr, who was grinning ear to ear.
"And here you are, transformed into exactly what I need!" He laughed. "I thought this would be harder." He flew forwards to grab Ghostfreak, but he immediately vanished, letting Zs'Skayr dig his claws into the ground. "Damn it!"
"Not so fun, when someone uses your own tricks against you, huh?" Ghostfreak teased, remaining invisible.
"You can't hide fore-" Suddenly, he was met with a punch to his spine, making him cry out in pain, but he quickly spun around, attempting to slice at Ghostfreak, but he was already gone. "Where are you?!"
"Right here!" He spun around as Ghostfreak moved forwards for anothe punch, but this time, Zs'Skayr caught it.
"Heheh. Nice try-" Suddenly, Zs'Skayr was grappled by several of Ghostfreak's tentacles, before he was thrown to the ground, but this time, he phased through it just in time. In response, Ghostfreak vanished once more. Zs'Skayr resurfaced, looking around for Ghostfreak. "Tennyson, if you don't stop hiding, I'll kill your family!"
"Who said I was hiding?" Zs'Skayr turned to see Ghostfreak float infront of the school with his arms crossed. Zs'Skayr shrieked as he flew straight for the shapeshifter, who quickly took off, flying high into the air along the side of the school as Zs'Skayr pursued him. Ghostfreak grabbed a hold of the roof's edge, using it to swiftly to fly along the school's roof. Zs'Skayr flew higher into the air to shoot down towards Ghostfreak from above. "You're pretty fast for someone your age!" Zs'Skayr hissed at him like a cat before he shot down, reeling his claw back to grab him, but Ghostfreak quickly weaved to the right to dodge the attack. "But not fast enough!"
"SILENCE!" Zs'Skayr commanded, as he followed Ghostfreak, who swiftly flew up along the side of the clock tower. Ghostfreak then quickly flew into it through the clock face. Zs'Skayr followed through it as he roared, his voice echoing through the massive mechanism. He looked around, only seeing gears, rods and and a single bell, hanging amidst the large mechanisms. "Tennyson..." He looked around. "I'll find you eventually... it's only a matter of time before the Omnitrix looses power, and then I'll be free to possess you!" He looked around, spinning like a top in his search for Ghostfreak.
"Yeah, sure... soon I'll be out of time, but I can say the same for you!" Ghostfreak's voice echoed through the darkness of the clock tower. Zs'Skayr raised a brow, as he looked around, searching for the sound of his voice.
"Care to elabrate?" Zs'Skayr said, as his eye slowly moved along the room, scanning for any trace of his opponent.
"Eh, not really. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Suddenly, Zs'Skayr saw the air warp around where the voice came from.
Zs'Skayr flew forwards, reeling his arm back and activating his intangability and struck... but his arm flew clean through it. "Wha-" Ghostfreak punched him in the face, pushing him backwards.
"I was still tangible. I'm smarter then I look, you know." He muttered as he became visible, cracking his knuckles. Zs'Skayr tried to strike once more, but Ghostfreak flew upwards, lingering above him. Zs'Skayr looked up at him with malice before he flew upwards to tackle him, but Ghostfreak flew out of the way, letting Zs'Skayr fly straight into the clock tower's bell, making it ring loudly, deafening the ghoul. He rubbed his head and rubbed his ears.
"It... hurts... what a hellish noice." He groaned, resting himself against the bell. "God damn it."
"Hey!" Zs'Skayr looked up at Ghostfreak. "You coming? You don't wanna miss the view." He muttered, pointing behind him as he passed through the clock face to exit the tower. Zs'Skayr growled, his rage and horrid headache blinding him as he took off, flying out of the clock tower, only to be met with... pain? What in the-
"GAAAAGGHAAAA-" He shrieked in pain as he was met with the beautiful view of the sunrise, the sunlight burning his skin. He flew backwards, trying to return to hide in the clock tower, but instead he flew straight into the embrace of Ghostfreak, who wrapped his arms around his torso, restraining him. "MERCY, PLEASE! HAVE MERCYAAHAAAAAAAAAAHHH-"
Suddenly he erupted in purple flames, his flesh beginning to turn grey and harden like rock. He thrashed, his arms immediately cracking apart, the cracks spreading to the rest of his body, as the flames began glowing even brighter, making Ghostfreak release him, but instead of remaining in the air, he fell towards the school's roof like a flaming statue. As he hit the roof, he exploded into hundreds of shards of rock, the purple flames erupting in a blinding explosion. Ghostfreak rubbed his eye, before he looked down, seeing that literally nothing remained of the ghould, besides a pile of smoking dust, which was quickly pulled away by the wind.
"Jeez... that was... I... I didn't know that would happen..." He muttered as he rubbed the back of his head.
Future Ben looked up with mild discomfort. "Yeah, that was... that was pretty messed up..." He muttered before he cleared his throat. Gwen and Max sat up weakly as Jaime groaned, signifying they were all back from their sleep.
"Guys!" Ghostfreak called out as he flew back down to the ground. "I stopped him! I beat Zs'Skayr!"
"Who?" Gwen asked wearily as she rubbed her head.
"Oh... eh... yeah, I guess I owe you an explanation."
"You bet your over-powered quirk you do!" Jaime hissed as she sat up, making Ghostfreak sweat.
"Ehm... W-w-well, you see... ehm-" Suddenly a booming sound was heard as a UFO-like plumber ship made its presence known, slowly lowering itself to the ground. It landed as a compartmend opened, turning to reach all the way to the ground like a ramp. Patelliday ran down the ramp with clear stress, nearly tripping and falling down it.
"The scanner picked up the genetic signature of a genocidal ectonurite! Max! Have you seen him?!" Max looked at him for a moment, before pointing a thumb at Jaime. Patelliday looked at them for a moment. "Oh, hello Ms. Jaime! I'm sorry I forgot to greet you." Jaime slowly turned to the trio, as they slowly turned to look at her. Patelliday looked between them for a few seconds. "Eh... did you guys not know everyone here were plumbers?" They all looked at him, shaking their heads, as he stood there for a moment. "Well... ehm... have you seen Zs'Skayr?"
Jaime looked on as paramedics moved Ed, Tommy and Frieda into an ambulance, along with Zombozo who was tied down to a stretcher as he was rolled into a seperate ambulance. Another paramedic walked up to Jaime. "Are you certain you do not require any medical care, Mstery?" They asked, referring to Jaime by her hero name.
She nods. "I'll be fine." The paramedic nodded as they returned to the ambulance and stepped into the back, closing the door after them before it drove off. She sighed, rubbing her face. She looked over at the heroic trio before she walked up to them. "Well, that's the last one." The trio nodded, Gwen being too embarrased by this whole ordeal to look her in the eye. Jaime raised a brow. "What's up with you?"
"Huh, what? Oh... ehm, nothin-"
"She thinks she's lost her chance to get into the school." Ben muttered, making Gwen look at him in annoyance.
She looked at her for a moment. "Well, I guess we should ask the principle..."
"Oh yeah, where were they this entire time?" Max asked.
"Well... they were with you the whole time..." Jaime muttered. Max, furrowed his brow, Gwen was simply confused, and Ben just looked at her like she was crazy. "I'm the principle."
...
"WHAT?! You're a hero, a plumber and a principle?!"
"Well, I'll handle the tours myself, acting like a random teacher so I can judge people myself, without anyone putting on a fake face or making anyone excessively nervous." She shrugs. "It usually works pretty well." She then crouched down to be at Gwen's eye level as she put a hand on her shoulder. "And you did great."
"W-what? Even after everything that's happened?"
"What really happened that was your fault? None of you knew of Zs'Skayr's existance, so you couldn't have prevented it. And Ed's acid hitting my back was my fault really. I was the one who pushed you out of the way myself instead of using my quirk." She smiled. "In fact, your skill is incredible, and your instincts are incredible... you fought well, showing little fear, even in the face of death." Gwen smiled, her eyes watering. "I'm very certain that once its your time to enter high school, I'm more then certain you'll get in... but I expect you'll be studying for the entrance exam." Gwen wiped her eyes before she nodded. Ben rolled his eyes at the sappy scene, until Jamie looked at him. "I'm also sure you would fit in here quite nicely." Ben looked at her for a moment, before he smiled.
"Of course I would. I'm Ben Tennyson!" He crossed his arms. "But... thanks." Jaime nodded, before she stood up.
"Well, this was quite the tour, huh? Do you wanna eat anything? I'm starving."
"FINALLY! I thought I was gonna starve to death!" He laughed, making Jaime and Max snicker, while Gwen just rolled her eyes.
The future Ben looked on with a smile. "Hmmm... maybe this day wasn't as bad as I thought..." Suddenly, he began to glow brightly, as his body began to fall apart like dust. "Huh, guess it's time to wake up." He muttered, as the light fully consumed him, and he fully vanished, being forced back into consciousness.
AND THAT'S CHAPTER 13! YEY! Finally done after like an eternity. Sorry this took so long, I was just busy with a lot of school, watching shows, playin games and a whole lot of procrastination... but now it's done. I hope you guys liked how I handled Ghostfreak and Zs'Skayr. I'm... sorry if you don't... Also, can you guys guess who the creepy silhouette alien is? I hope so, cuz I literally did my best to spell it out for you.
Sorry about the flashback thing being so long. The fight between Ghostfreak and Bakugo was so short, but I had a really hard time dragging it out. Anyway, next chapter will be the end to the festival... finally! And I hope you guys are looking forwards to the Internship arc, cuz things are gonna get WILD! See you guys next chapter!