And I'm back! It turns out I've had more time on my hands than I know what to do with! Do not expect this to be a recurring thing however.
Anyways, I have an announcement to share with all; A very good friend of mine who has given me excellent ideas for this story has once again helped me! And so, I thought it only fair to help them. As I've mentioned in my previous chapter, I have felt beyond lonely being the only Ben 10/Monster High crossover out there, and this reader has felt pity. They have posted "plot bunnies" on the Ben 10/Monster High forums, and have asked me to share this information will all of you.
Special thanks to menatron!
As another reader has mention, this story has been quite bland without any of the classic Ben 10 action, and so it shall commence! Thank you, Codecrash for reminding me of this important detail!
On with the story!
"Ben! Ben!"
Ben groaned and cracked open an eye to see his whole vision filled with a pair of translucent, violet orbs. He screamed in surprise and rolled off the couch, landing on the floor with a dull thud. "What is it, Spectra?" he groaned, rubbing his sore skull.
"There's a fire at 13th Bloodsucker Street!" Spectra said with excitement, tightly clutching her iCoffin in her see through hands.
"And this makes you happy how?" Ben asked confused as he pulled himself off the floor, swiping off dust and invisible cobwebs from his sleeves. Spectra's smile got even bigger. "It means I have news to report! Come on!" she squealed.
"Wait, why do I have to come? Not that I don't want to." he added quickly. While Spectra was a good friend, he wasn't sure if she would hesitate to kick him out of her house if he didn't somehow pull his weight around. The young ghost rolled her eyes. "Because, if you rescue anyone or put the fire out, I'll get more views on my blog if I report it! And, all the good publicity could be good for your image. You can't stay hidden forever you know." she said with a sly smile, knowing he couldn't refuse her this time. Ben sighed. "Fine. Lets go."
They quickly arrived at the location of the previously mentioned fire to see a large apartment building ablaze. Flames spat forth like angry dragons from the windows and doors, spewing hot fire out of the chimney and air vents. Down below, groups of monsters that had been forced out of their homes huddled together, watching the building burn to the ground as the fire department battled the hot coals. The fire truck, while looking like a normal one, was different in some ways. The front bender resembled a fanged maw, and clawed hands curved themselves over the front and back fires. The hose was attached to the back like a tail, with ladders on top like sharp spikes. Lone screams could be heard within the building, helpless residents left to die in the flames as the firefighters tried relentlessly to enter. Every time, they were forced out by a wave of searing flames, like mice running away from a broom that was trying to whack them. The fire seemed determined to keep the officials out, and the helpless victims in as it ate away at the building's foundations and walls.
"Well, what are you for, Ben? Do you're thing!" Spectra urged him, knocking him lose from his thoughts. "Oh. Right." he said sheepishly. He tapped the Omnitrix and selected his intended alien before slapping the activation button.
His skin started to harden, becoming unbearably hot and solid as rock. It suddenly split apart, floating like bath toys on a rapidly appearing magma sea. Hot, molten lava swirled and pushed it's way through the cracks and crevices of his skin as Ben's bones literally melted away. His hair began to burn, smoke curling lightly off it until it burst into flames, causing Spectra to yelp in surprise. His fingers disappeared altogether as white hot lava covered them and solidified into a sort of gelatin like substance. His toes melted into two digits that resembled claws as his eyes turned bright yellow.
"Heatblast? Seriously? I was hoping for XLR8, but I guess this is better." he said aloud with an exasperated tone.
"How does that possibly help the problem? There's already enough fire to begin with!" she exclaimed, snapping a quick picture. The Pyronite gave a slight smile. "You'll see." was all he said. The ground beneath his feet suddenly rumbled until it suddenly ripped free to become a single floating piece. Striking a quick pose for Spectra he flew off, riding the boulder like a surfboard as he rocketed toward the air. Before long he was over the burning building, the crowd beneath him yelling and pointing upward with worried expressions. "Don't worry! I got this!" he yelled, though he was pretty sure none of them had much faith in a dude who was already on fire. Before anyone could protest, he angled the rock downward and rushed toward the burning apartment, crashing right through the roof and into a red hot room below. He leaped off the boulder and looked around. It appeared he was in a kid's bedroom of some sort, with the equivalent of a teddy bear sitting on a smoking bed. Heatblast quickly grabbed the stuffed skeleton and held in his hand as he listened carefully.
"Waaaaaah! Help!" a small voice cried, not too far away.
"Hang on! I'm coming!" the Pyronite yelled. The cry for help had come from the nearby closet. Heatblast grabbed hold of the door knob concentrated until the metal piece melted in his hands. He just hoped whoever was on the other side wasn't standing too close to the molten liquid. The cries for help got louder, and Heatblast quickly decided to rip the door off its hinges. He grabbed hold of the door frame and yanked back, cracks forming in the wall. Another pull, and the door was yanked off its hinges and fed to the fast approaching fire behind him. Heatblast gazed into the smoke filled closet to see a little vampire girl dressed in purple footie pajamas with little black bats all over them. She looked up at him with wide, green eyes. "Are you a fireman?" she asked with a scared voice.
"Nope. I'm a superhero, kid." Heatblast answered. "Lets get you outta here. I assume this is yours?" he asked handing her the stuffed skeleton. The young monster stole from his grasp and cuddled it graciously as Heatblast picked her up in his arms, it taking all his will power to not let the flames that encased his body to consume her. He pulled her out of the closet and ran over to an open window, the glass having been melted in the extreme heat. He quickly jumped out of it and tucked in his head and legs as he fell to the pavement below, protecting the little vampire until he hit the ground. He gently set her down and watched as she ran to join her worried parents. A bright flash of light indicated Spectra had taken another photo.
And then came the firefighters.
Without warning, four firefighters rushed up to him, holding fire extinguishers in their hands, all the hose aimed directly at him. "No! Wait! Don't shoot!" Ben cried as white foam gushed forth from the canisters and washed over him, turning him into something that resembled an ugly snowman. The dancing flames that surrounded his head sizzled out, and he glared at the firefighters with loathing. "I so did not need." he hissed, wiping the white froth off of his arms and legs. The firemen looked at him with sheepish expressions as he suddenly burst back into flames, as if nothing happened.
"Everyone here!?" he yelled aloud. One by one, the panicked families yelled 'yes', indicating that all of their loved ones had been rescued and were safe and sound. "Good. Now watch, as the Amazing Heatblast makes your fire problem . . . . disappear!" he yelled in a dramatic fashion. The crowd looked at him with confused looks as he spun around on his heel and put up his hands. He concentrated heavily on the burning building before him, imagining the fire to come to him, to become him. The flames responded after a few seconds of hesitation, flying up into the night sky and flowing back down to Heatblast's hands as he absorbed the fire, let it join the eternal flame that burned at his very core. Slowly, the burning embers and coals left the rubble of the building, the fire's vanishing as if they had never been there, though the wreckage proved otherwise. Before long, ever last bit of fire was gone, just chard remains of the building's skeleton being that all remained. The crowd watched with stunned silence as Heatblast turned around and gave a short bow.
The crowd gave a thunderous applause and cheers as the young vampire girl broke free from her mother's grasp to run up to Heatblast and hug his leg, her little skeleton clutched tightly in her hand. Heatblast grinned and patted her lightly on the head. "Stay out of trouble, kid." he said with a laugh as he summoned the ground beneath his feet rise. Once more he was airborne, hovering a dozen feet above the ground. "I'll send a friend of mine to fix your building!" he yelled down. "Hasta la vista!" he cried as he seemingly rode the piece of concrete off into the distance. In reality, he was flying just down the block, out of the crowd's sights to make a quick transformation. He flew down into an alley and stowed the broken piece of sidewalk into a dumpster before he tapped the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. In a bright flash of green light, he became Clockwork once more.
The Chronosapien quickly walked down the alleyway and out onto the street where the crowd was starring off into the night where Heatblast had disappeared. Clockwork lightly cleared his throat, grabbing the crowd's attention. "Um, hello. I understand you have a building in need of repair?" he inquired with his thick German voice. The little vampire nodded her head, running back to her mother as Clockwork approached the building. "I suggested you all take a step back." Clockwork told the crowd. No sooner had he said the words did the entire crowd of monsters take a big step back. Clockwork then stepped in front of the building and raised his arms, the key like protrusion on his head spinning backwards at a fast pace. Before the world around could once again slow down, he imagined the green energy within himself aimed at the rumble of the building.
Slowly, the bricks rose into the air, as if carried by invisible hands. They stacked themselves back into black as invisible mortar was placed down. The melted pools of concrete pillars suddenly flowed backwards, as if being sucked up by a straw, and solidified themselves into the foundations of the building. Broken doors pulled themselves together and the windows reappeared as if my magic. The area surrounding the building was traveling back through time, before the fire had caused chaos. The crowd watched in wonder as broken tables and chard chairs snapped back together. Splintered beds molded themselves back together as the soot filled carpets were cleaned, as if a giant invisible vacuum had sucked it up. The plasters walls repaired themselves as Clockwork concentrated on turning back the clock until the building was brand new. Panting, he dropped his arms and the protrusion on his head stopped spinning. "You might want to go in there and find out whatever caused the fire, unless you want to have to do this whole mess all over again." he told the firemen. The officials nodded and dashed into the building as the crowd gave another round of applause. Clockwork waved a goodbye and trudged back down the street, just as the firemen came out with a flaming wastebasket, which was quickly put out with a fire extinguisher.
The Chronosapien quickly disappeared down another alley way and slapped the Omnitrix symbol on his chest, reverting back to his human form. A few moments later, Spectra appeared through another wall next to him, a big smile on her white face. "How'd I do?" he asked her.
"Fantastic!" she practically squealed. She flipped through her photos, capturing hundreds of perfect shots of Ben rescuing the little vampire, commanding the flames to be put out, flying on the boulder, even the little vampire hugging Heatblast. "I even got a video of you repairing the building!"
"Cool! We better head over to school before Headmistress yells at us." Ben said with a wide grin. "You can post what you need on the way."
The pair stood hidden behind a large shrub just in front of the school's front gate, the bush's branches concealing them as Ben fiddled with the Omnitrix. Spectra hovered impatiently nearby, eager to get within Wifi range to post her blog. "Come on! My viewers can't wait any longer!" she said. Ben rolled his eyes. "Give me a moment . . . and there! Lets go!" he yelled, slapping the activation button. The familiar green light encased him, changing him at the molecular level. Ben's arms became more muscular, his legs stronger and longer. He soon became so big that he lost his shirt, it being torn off his body and tossed away. His skin became patchwork, stitches holding random colored flesh together as the Omnitrix symbol appeared on his right pectoral. Metallic bolts sprouted up from his shoulders, wrists, and neck as thick black hair sprouted from his head and down to his chin, stopping. The final transformation was the sudden growth of two large conductor like coils, crackling with electricity. Ben crashed his fists together, a surge of electricity coursing through his conductors.
"Yes! Frankenstrike's back!" he yelled in triumph. Spectra smiled and rolled her eyes as the two stepped out from behind the bush and entered the courtyard. Spectra forced herself to remain silent as the two walked along, everyone looking at Frankenstrike with a mixture of surprise and shock. "Sooo, how do you think Frankie will react to seeing me again?" he asked when he was suddenly slammed into from the side! The pair tumbled through the courtyard and slammed into a tree. "Frankenstrike! You're back!" Frankie cried, hugging him tightly. "I was so worried about you!"
"Uhh, yeah. Why were you worried about again?" Frankenstrike asked as he picked himself up and pulled the young cadaver up from the ground with a large hand. Nearby were Cleo, Clawdeen, Draculaura, Ghoulia, and Spectra, all attempting to stay hidden and keeping from bursting out into laughter. Frankie turned a deep shade of red. "Um, no reason!" she said perhaps a little too quickly. "Just concerned for your safety, that's all." she said with a nervous laugh. Frankenstrike looked at her with a confused look. "You do realize I'm probably more than twice your size, right?" he asked with disbelief. Frankie turned an even deeper shade of red as the rest of ghouls walked over. "So, Frankenstrike? Where have you been lurking all this time?" Cleo asked with a sly grin.
"Oh, um, I was working on finding a place to crash." Frankenstrike lied. While the lie wasn't exactly complete nonsense, how did one explain that they were hiding in the bodies of other supposed monsters? "Spectra was kind enough to let me crash at her place last night." he told Frankie. Frankie blinked and looked back and forth between the large monster before him and the transparent ghost behind her. Do they have a thing? she wondered. Are they just good friends? Oh please, for the love of Sphinx let them just be friends!
"Anyway, did you ghouls see the news about the fire?" Frankenstrike asked. The ghouls all shook their friends, Specta's face splitting into a broad grin. "Excellent! You can be the first to hear about on my blog! It's so awesome, you won't believe it! And I have all the proof I need, too!" Spectra exclaimed with excitement. The ghouls all looked at each other and then reached for their iCoffins when an earth shattering explosion rocked the school grounds. A large cloud of smoke rose from the back of the school as all the windows on the first floor shattered at once. Students began running in fright as large tentacles suddenly ripped out the earth, grabbing and reaching for them. A giant Mayan wheel came out of no where, rolling down the courtyard and chasing a group of unfortunate students.
"What's happening!?" Frankenstrike yelped as they all fell to the ground.
"Oh, no! It's Hoodude!" Frankie cried with worry.
"Who?"
Yeah, sorry this was so short. I just wasn't into it as I hoped I would be.
Things are about to get loco! Zs'skayer is still lurking around somewhere, Charmcaster's in hiding, and now the school seems to be on the brink of utter destruction! What will happen, and how long will it be before Ben's secret is out!? As always, please review and comment on the story and tell me how I'm doing. And don't forget about the forums!
I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!
(I sound incredibly pathetic, don't I ;)