BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY HERO ACADEMIA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MAN, I WISH I COULD GO TO ANOTHER UNIVERSE RIGHT NOW. FIRST TO MAKE ME AN OFFER CAN COME WITH, AS LONG AS YOU'RE NOT A JERK.

So, things went from zero to life-threatening real quick, huh? Might as well lead this chapter with a new opening, right?

BTW, I would kill for someone to actually animate this one, because it looked really cool in my head, and no matter how many times I wrote it, it feels like it needs visuals.

Also, fair warning: there might be some uncomfortable imagery in this chapter. I've tried to keep the gory details to a minimum (not explaining exactly how bad an injury was, and just going with a general description), but this one gets a little bad. Sorry.

(Papermoon—Tommy heavenly6, TV Version)

The music starts, revealing the Rustbucket III flying into a bright light, pursued by tendrils of darkness. When the entire screen becomes black, the title rolls past. The void becomes dark, murky water, through which Todoroki plunges, illuminated by a column of red light.

The scene briefly changes to show Kevin, his body covered in metal, punching an unknown enemy.

It changes back to the dark water, where Asui appears, also surrounded by red light.

Then the scene switches to Julie, tears streaming down her face as armor forms around her body; her arms transform into cannons, and she fires a huge beam at a hulking beast.

Now, as the music picks up, Yaoyorozu and Iida both plunge into the water, also glowing from the red light.

The scene changes to Jen, leaping over Lex Luthor, arms crossed as she fires a cosmic ray. Luthor frowns as fires rage around him, then nods at Paradox, who closes his eyes and fades away.

Ashido and Sero fall into the water; Ashido reaches up to the source of the red light, and then closes her eyes.

Togata now stands back to back with Gwen; the former shoots Blackwhip into the distance, while the latter erupts with pink Mana.

Uraraka is the last to fall into the water, holding Eri close to her chest, her eyes clenched shut.

Midoriya sinks to his knees among the rubble, weeping, and screaming up at the sky as the music fades.

My Alien Academia

Chapter 45

Crisis at Heart

Earthland

Natsu breathed a stream of fire that incinerated hordes of the nameless things that had attacked his home. He couldn't help but grin; even in the face of impossible odds, he loved a fight that got his blood burning!

"Hey, Ben!" he shouted. "This area's clear!"

"Thanks!" Ben, as Diamondhead, stormed past to slice another abomination with a crystal blade. "You missed one."

"I had to give you something to do, right?" Natsu's bravado faltered when he saw the sky fracture like glass. "So… this is bad?"

Ben shrugged. "Honestly, I don't even know what this is. All we can do is keep fighting until someone comes up with an answer."

Natsu grinned again. "Good enough for me! Hey, did you see any of the others?"

"Lucy and Gray are holding down the fort with the rest of the Guild." Ben smiled fondly. "And Erza is doing her thing."

Natsu was confused, until he saw Erza leap from one rooftop to another, a sword in each hand, cutting down the monsters with graceful ferocity.

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Natsu paused when the sky started to completely dissolve; where there had once been bright blue and white clouds, there was only… nothing.

"Ben! Natsu!" Erza landed nearby, glancing nervously at the sky before heading to her boyfriend. "I… I have no idea what to do about that."

Ben took her hand in his own. "I—"

"Universes are dying, even as we speak," Paradox said sternly, as he stepped between Jen and Luthor. "I know it is ironic, coming from me, but we do not have time for your grudge, Jennifer."

"Grudge? Grudge!?" Jen shoved Paradox out of the way, and grew to nearly forty feet tall. "Oh, this goes way beyond a grudge!" She snatched Luthor up in one enormous hand. "I swore that if you ever got out of prison again, I'd kill you, Lex!"

Despite his earlier attitude, Luthor didn't even struggle, and met Jen's eyes evenly. "And you have every right to. Even I have limits to what I would do to further my goals—I have rules, and I broke them."

"You're damn right you did!"

There was a flash of green light, and then Humungousaur grabbed Jen's arm; he had grown to equal her size, but she was still several times stronger.

"Jen, let him go," he said. "I can see you hate him, but you're a hero; you're not supposed to be judge, jury and executioner."

Jen glared at him. "And you don't know what he did to me! Me, and my family!" She shot a withering glare at Paradox. "And I'll bet he wouldn't bother to tell you what kind of monster he's asking us to work with, so I'll tell all of you. This guy…" she dropped Luthor unceremoniously on the ground. "This guy is the reason my brother died!"

Midoriya blinked. "Ken is dead?"

"He got better," Paradox said mildly.

"Doesn't matter!" Jen shouted. "He handed Ken over to Darkseid, the literal god of evil and tyranny! His soul was killed, and only because of time-traveling ghosts is he still here! And that's not the only thing he's done against my family! He spent years trying to kill my uncle! He used the Book of Fate to rewrite reality, and made a universe where my mom and dad were enemies! They killed each other! After we fixed things, they couldn't even look at each other for six months!"

Kevin shared a glance with Gwen. "Okay, I'm gonna need some context, but I think it's obvious this guy is pretty bad."

As Jen returned to her normal size, she laughed; it wasn't a nice laugh. "Oh, it's way worse than 'bad'. Lex Luthor was given thirty-two death sentences—not life sentences, death sentences. He was going to be executed tomorrow." She glared at Paradox again. "And you want us to work with him."

"I do," Paradox said calmly. "Your hatred of him is justified, but in this case, there is no one more suited to the role he must play if we are to survive what is happening."

Luthor struggled to his feet, and smoothed out his tie. "Ah, yes, it's obvious you didn't recruit me for my personality."

"That implies you have a personality with any redeeming qualities," Jen snapped; she turned back to Paradox. "You're positive we have to work with him?"

Paradox nodded. "Believe me, Jennifer, I find him as deplorable as anyone, and had the Crisis not been a factor, I would have gladly watched him meet his maker—several times, as a matter of fact. But the fact remains that we do need him."

Jen glanced at the rest of the team, but they just collectively shrugged; this decision was up to her.

"Fine," she ground out, but then grabbed Luthor by the throat. "I'll play nice for now, but if I even think you're up to your old tricks, I won't hesitate. I'll crush your skull faster than you can blink, old man."

Paradox smiled and clapped his hands together. "Well, now that that's settled, shall we be on our way?"

Gwen glanced at Jen with concern, then shrugged. "Um, where are we going? And how are we going to get there?"

"I'm sure Paradox will just snap his fingers, and we'll be there," Kevin half-joked.

"Actually, that is not the case," Paradox admitted. "The Crisis is affecting my powers at an alarming rate. It is all I can do to remain anchored in this timestream. The best I can offer is to send you where you need to go, while I remain here, to conserve my energies." He paused. "And it may seem longer to you than a brief flash. That is why I brought your ship with you; it will need to build up a bit of momentum before I can send it on its way. Don't worry, I'll be able to track your progress, and I'll know when you need to leave.

"As for where you're going… well, that part is easy." Paradox's smile was bitter. "Vilgax—this version, at least—has an unhealthy hatred of Ben Tennyson. He wants to destroy any universe that has any connection to him."

Togata raised his hand. "Wait, if that's the case, why didn't he start with this universe?"

Paradox chuckled, and there was a hint of smugness to it. "Because this universe's Ben Tennyson is the one who beat him—quite thoroughly, I might add. Vilgax would never admit it, but he is frightened of this universe, and will only come to destroy it once he is sure that Ben has no chance of stopping him again."

"Um, I have another question." Midoriya resisted the urge to rub his head; he could feel a headache coming on. "If the multiverse is infinite, shouldn't there be an infinite number of Bens? How can Vilgax destroy it all?"

"He doesn't have to," Luthor cut in. "The multiverse is far more sensitive than you might think. Imagine the multiverse as a plate spinning on a stick. What Vilgax is doing is taking a small chunk out of the plate; that unbalances it, and will make the whole thing fall apart."

"An accurate analogy," Paradox said. "Your task is to find a way to undo the damage already done; to fill in the cracks in the plate, as it were. If you can do that, we may buy ourselves enough time to stop Vilgax himself."

The teenagers of the team—which was all of them, barring Luthor—shared a slightly confused look, but then nodded.

"I guess there's only one question left," Julie said. "Where are we going?"

"Vilgax didn't start destroying universes immediately after escaping the Phantom Zone," Paradox said. "I'm sending you to the universe he and his followers first used as a refuge. You'll need to pick up his trail, retrace his steps, and see if he left anything behind. After that… well, let's see if you can get past this first step."

Jen sighed. "And on that optimistic note, let's get on the plane. Dibs on a window seat!"

Most of the team, including Luthor, moved quickly into the Rustbucket III, but Midoriya lingered. Paradox noticed, and walked over to him.

"Is something wrong?"

Midoriya shrugged. "I'm not sure why I'm here. Gwen, Kevin and Julie… their universe was just destroyed, so that makes sense. Jen is really strong, and I guess we need someone as smart as that Luthor person. And Mirio… he's the most heroic person I've ever met. He didn't even think about how dangerous this could be."

"You didn't exactly hesitate to help," Paradox pointed out. "Only long enough for Ben to confirm that I was not an enemy. But you truly underestimate yourself, young man. You have the qualities necessary to lead this team to victory."

"Lead!?" Midoriya shook his head. "N-no, that's not me. Maybe I could lead a team of Heroes someday, but I'm still learning! If anyone was going to be in charge, I'd say Jen or Mirio."

Paradox held out a brown bag. "Have a gumball, it'll calm your nerve. As for your suggestions… Jennifer is no leader. She thinks with her heart, and is too emotionally invested to be objective. As for your friend, he has the same problem, and is constantly struggling to come to terms that he must live up to All Might's legacy. It doesn't help that his mentor practically worships All Might, putting him on a bigger pedestal than he deserves.

"But you, Izuku… you fight with all your heart, yes, but you use your head just as much. You see a problem, and use every tool at your disposal to solve it. Those qualities are what I prefer in a leader; it is why I put so much faith in the Ben Tennyson of this universe. You, however, learned those lessons far earlier in life than he did. All you need to do is stop doubting yourself."

"I'll…" Midoriya was about to say that he would try, until he remembered a conversation he'd had with Ben. "I will."

"Good lad." Paradox raised the paper bag. "Were you going to take a gumball?"

"Uh, sure?" Midoriya took one of the candies. "Thanks for believing in me, Professor."

Paradox smiled. "You're worth believing in."

Kevin raised an eyebrow as Midoriya entered the plane. "Did you actually take one of those gumballs?"

Midoriya froze mid-chew. "Is that bad?"

"Nobody takes those things." Kevin turned in his seat and adjusted the controls. "Pretty sure they're from the nineteen-fifties."

Midoriya immediately spat the candy into a nearby trashcan.

"Okay, everyone better buckle up," Kevin called out. "This might get bumpy!"

"Um, question?" Julie pointed to the window. "This place is still locked up. How are we going to get moving?"

"I'll take care of that," Jen said, then raised a hand to her ear. "Hangar Control, this is Ultragirl. I need you to open Hangar Two. Oh, and until further notice, no one else is allowed to use this hangar. If someone asks, point them at Superman. Thanks."

"Ah, yes, the old standby of 'throwing your problems at Superman'," Luthor taunted.

"Well, unlike certain bald bastards I could name, I can rely on Superman," Jen retorted. "And you didn't buckle up. I'd hate for you to get killed by whiplash before I get a chance to break your legs."

Paradox was right, Midoriya thought. Jen is too emotional to be in charge.

"Seven champions assembled. None of them are strong enough to stop you."

"Of course they aren't. But until I destroy this wretched multiverse, we must abide by its rules. I will not target them directly. Not yet."

"What about indirectly?"

"Of course. Let us see just what makes these fools the multiverse's champions. Send the drones."

Midoriya had thought that his first trip in a spaceship would be smoother; maybe it was because Paradox's powers were unstable, but the brief journey between universes felt like he was being picked up and shaken by an oversized toddler. When the Rustbucket III came to a halt, he imagined his face was a green as his costume; judging by the many groans he heard, he wasn't the only one.

"Okay, so that wasn't fun," Togata said as he unsteadily got to his feet. "Where are we?"

"No idea," Kevin admitted. "This thing doesn't exactly have GPS for the multiverse."

"Fortunately, I do," Luthor said, and pulled what looked like a silver credit card from his pocket. "One of several of my old inventions that Paradox recovered for me."

With a flick of his wrist, Luthor's device created a hologram of the Milky Way. It then expanded to show the entire universe, then even further to show multiple universes. The image shifted to one such universe, and then zoomed in to what looked like Earth.

"Earth-901," Luthor said, and then hummed thoughtfully. "I never got a chance to conduct an in-depth scan of this one, but it has a breathable atmosphere."

Jen frowned. "When did you have time to make a map of the multiverse?"

"I was involved with many projects when I was part of the Light," Luthor said. "Vandal Savage was always afraid of time-travel, but he was tempted by the idea of going back to other Earths that were almost identical to ours, but where time hadn't caught up."

"What, did he want to relive his caveman days?" Jen asked.

"Actually, I think he wanted to try and make Germany win World War Two again. Apparently, he tried and failed to alter history."

"Yeah, the Justice League stopped him."

"As much as you may find it difficult to believe, but I'm glad they did," Luthor said as he brushed an imaginary speck of dust from his suit. "I was never fond of the Nazis."

During this exchange, the other five just stared.

"So… this sort of thing is normal for you guys, right?" Togata asked.

Luthor shrugged. "I wouldn't call this 'normal', but it's become easier to accept." He gestured to the door. "Now, shall we get going?"

"Hey, hold on." Jen grabbed his arm. "I don't trust you to go first, and I sure don't trust you to go last. You stay where we all can keep an eye on you."

Luthor rolled his eyes. "If it makes you feel better, girl."

Togata volunteered to be the first out. If it was dangerous, he could simply use Permeation to escape harm.

"Just give me a minute to change," he said, and hurried into the back with his costume case.

"Does he need a new wardrobe?" Gwen asked.

Julie sighed. "Unless you want him to run around naked, yes."

"… Dare I ask why?"

"His costume is made out of a special nanotech material," Midoriya explained. "It shifts to the same frequency he does. Regular clothes just… fall off him."

Kevin thought about it. "So many jokes I could make."

"I'm pretty sure my friends have made all of them already."

"That won't stop me from trying."

"Okay, I'm back!" Togata called out.

Midoriya raised an eyebrow when he noticed a change in his friend's costume. "No visor?"

Togata shrugged. "I was so used to taking it off all the time, I just decided to go without it. Besides, you rock that look way better than I do."

"Uh, thanks?"

Togata grinned and headed for the door; rather than wait for it to open, he merely stuck his head through it.

"If I hadn't seen Big Chill and Ghostfreak, that would be so weird," Gwen commented.

"Okay, looks like we're good," Togata reported. "There's an old shack about a hundred meters away, but nothing else of note. Mostly trees and bushes and a trail; nice place for a hike, actually."

Jen nodded. "All right, if Paradox sent us here, then that shack might be important. Still, maybe we shouldn't have the whole team go out there at once."

Togata slapped Midoriya on the back. "Deku and I can check it out; between my Permeation and his aliens, we should be safe."

"Don't jinx it." Still, Jen nodded again. "Okay, we'll be here for now, but I've got super-hearing; if something goes wrong, I'll know."

"Hey, wait." Julie frowned at Midoriya. "Why did he call you Deku? I'm putting the kanji together in my head, and that translates to 'useless'."

Midoriya winced. "Uh, can we explain it later? We might not have time right now."

"Sure." Julie sat back down and stared at her hand; it could have been Midoriya's imagination, but he thought he saw something writhing under her skin for a moment.

Once the ramp lowered, and the pair went outside, Midoriya gently nudged Togata. "Hey, maybe we shouldn't use our Hero names for this one?"

Togata looked confused. "Really? Why?"

"I don't know, this whole thing—saving the multiverse—is really big. It feels kind of silly to use codenames at this point, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Besides, most of the team is still getting to know us, and it might confuse them if we throw another couple of names into the mix."

"Good point." Togata pointed. "We're coming up on the shack. Want me to scout ahead?"

"You can pass through walls, but people can still see you." Midoriya turned into Ghostfreak. "I'll go invisible and look around. If it seems safe, I'll wave."

"You're going to stop being invisible so I can see you wave, right?"

Ghostfreak gave him a look; at least, Togata assumed he did, because all Ghostfreak could actually manage was a single narrowed eye.

Fortunately, there was no apparent danger, and Ghostfreak did wave him over. Togata peered through a dusty window; there was an old, rotted chair, and a few cracked picture frames, but nothing of note… aside from the gaping hole in the floor.

"I'd bet anything that's where we'll find answers," Ghostfreak said.

"Sucker's bet, no takers here." Togata cracked his knuckles. "No sense actually using the door, right?"

The two simply walked through the wall of the shack like it wasn't even there, and headed for the hole.

Togata frowned and stopped. "There are stairs."

"Yeah, I can see that."

"Someone carved a perfect set of stairs under the floor of a filthy old shack," Togata insisted. "That is really weird."

"Not if they have something to hide."

"We're in the middle of the woods, and this is a cabin no one in their right mind would go into! Why bother putting a secret entrance under that?"

Ghostfreak shrugged. "Paranoia? Come on, we won't find answers standing here."

Togata grumbled as Ghostfreak floated down the stairs. "You're not actually standing, you know."

The stairway went far underground; it was so dark, that Togata couldn't actually tell how long they walked for. It could have been five minutes, or five hours. Finally, they entered a large cavern; its walls were eerily smooth, as if it had been melted down and polished, rather than carved by any natural means. The floor was perfectly flat, save for a plinth in the center; surrounding the plinth were dozens of strange symbols, and the dusty skeletons of at least thirty people.

Normally, the sight of dead bodies would have disturbed both young Heroes, but they were far too distracted by the gaping portal that hovered over the plinth. It was like a hole in space itself, leading to an empty void of nothingness.

"What… what is all this?" Togata asked, once he'd found his voice again.

Midoriya turned back to normal and cautiously walked around the room. "Do all these skeletons look like they're bowing?"

Togata examined one of the bodies, and nodded. "Yeah, it looks like they're worshiping that portal thing."

"I found something!" Midoriya knelt by another skeleton, and pulled a dusty tome out from underneath it. He cracked it open, and immediately flinched.

"What's wrong?"

"I think this was all written in blood," Midoriya said shakily.

Togata glanced back at the symbols. They made his eyes hurt if he stared at them too long, but… "Yeah, I think everything here was."

Midoriya skimmed through the contents of the book, and swallowed. "Um, it looks like these guys were a cult. They all had dreams about this place, and this portal. They started worshiping it, because they thought their god was coming through. The last entry talks about how they 'can hear his footsteps, heralding his approach'…"

Togata fought hard not to shiver. "That's… pretty messed up."

"Lotta that going around."

That's not Izuku, Togata realized, and spun around, only for his vision to be filled with the business end of a gun. He took a step back, and saw who was holding it; he was a man that looked to be in his early thirties, and probably hadn't shaved since yesterday. He and the man next to him—taller, and with much longer hair—wore outfits that suggested they were used to the outdoors. The handguns they held, however, didn't suggest normal hunters.

"Hey, guys, maybe you can put down the guns?" Togata offered.

The shorter man raised an eyebrow. "I'm not taking advice from a kid that looked like he stepped right outta Comic-Con."

"Well, I doubt they're demons, Dean," the taller man said.

"They're standing in front of a portal to God-knows-where, Sam," 'Dean' said. "I'm not takin' chances."

Togata glanced at Midoriya, who gave the smallest of nods. Togata immediately used Permeation and sank into the floor; Dean fired on reflex, but the bullet passed harmlessly through him, skipped off the floor, and into the portal. By the time Sam shifted his aim, Midoriya turned into Diamondhead, grabbed both men by the face, and shoved them against the far wall.

"Sorry," Diamondhead said, "but I don't like it when people shoot at my friends."

"It wouldn't have worked on me," Togata pointed out.

"It's the principle of the thing!"

Before the two could argue, there was a sound like a drum; it echoed throughout the cavern, and though Togata could feel it in his bones, the cavern itself didn't shake. He and Diamondhead slowly turned towards the portal, where they saw a long, sinuous arm stretch through. It had too many joints, and six fingers on the hand, with sickly grey skin that looked more dead than alive.

"That," Diamondhead said, releasing the two men and pointing at the arm. "We're here to stop something like that!"

Dean and Sam didn't hesitate; clearly, the abomination reached through the hole in space was more threatening than two teenage boys. They raised their guns and started firing, even before the creature finished pulling itself into reality, but though the bullets dug into flesh, they didn't do enough.

The creature that emerged made Togata think of a horribly mutated Ghostfreak. Its arms were long, but it had no legs to speak of; instead, it looked like a mangled torso that hovered in the air. Its head was vaguely human, but it had no lower jaw; rather, it had a long, purple tongue that waved about like an antenna. Its small, beady eyes locked onto Togata and Diamondhead, and it shrieked; everyone else immediately clapped their hands over their ears—or whatever Diamondhead had—and almost fell to their knees from the horrible sound.

"Kill it!" someone shouted; Togata couldn't be sure it wasn't him, but he reacted anyway. He unleashed a web of dark tendrils; Blackwhip gripped the monstrosity's head and arms tight, and didn't let go. The creature struggled, but Togata upped One For All to thirty percent, and found that he was much stronger than the nightmare in front of him.

Sam and Dean reloaded their guns and resumed firing; their bullets didn't do much, until Diamondhead hurled a crystal javelin that tore open its chest. Its innards exposed, the creature was suddenly vulnerable to the bullets; more grey flesh was torn away, and it collapsed in a twitching heap.

"Okay, so, uh…" Sam pointed at the dead thing, even as it dissolved into a cloud of ash. "What the hell was that!?"

"We're not sure," Togata admitted, and picked up the book Midoriya had dropped. "We think this might help explain a few things."

"And help us stop it," Midoriya added as he turned back to normal. "This is why we're here."

Dean ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, Sammy, I think we might have stepped into something way weirder than demons."

"You don't know the half of it," Togata muttered, ignoring for the moment that demons were apparently a thing in this universe. "Izuku, we need to get back to the others and tell them what happened."

"Right." Midoriya was about to take a step back, but paused. "Um, is it just me, or is that portal getting bigger?"

Sam reloaded his gun. "Oh, that's never a good thing."

"Time to go," Dean said, already running for the stairs. "Right now!"

He almost made it to the first step when a long tendril of flesh burst from the portal and impaled him through the chest. Dean's head rolled toward Sam; blood poured from his mouth as he tried to speak, but he was dead before he could form the words.

"NO!" Sam screamed and fired at the tendril, but his bullets were even less effective. When he ran out of ammunition, he hurled the empty gun; the tendril whipped about, and Sam was crushed by Dean's body.

It all happened in less than ten seconds.

"We need to go," Midoriya said, clearly struggling not to vomit. "We need to go right now!"

Togata forced himself to look away from the mangled remains. "R-right!"

"So, you guys wanna listen to some music or something?" Kevin asked, after a few minutes of awkward silence.

Luthor looked up from the map he was studying, and raised an eyebrow. "Somehow, I doubt you have anything classical in your playlist. I prefer to listen to that while I work, or else work in silence."

Gwen frowned at her boyfriend. "Hey, didn't you get those Beethoven tracks I sent you?"

Kevin didn't meet her gaze. "Uh, I might have forgotten to actually download them."

"You mean you didn't even try."

Jen elbowed Julie. "He's so busted."

Julie grinned. "Oh, yeah. If I had money, I'd bet it all that he's sleeping in that chair tonight."

The two girls laughed, until Jen suddenly jumped to her feet.

"I know that reaction," Luthor sighed. "She just heard something."

"Gunshots," Jen said tersely. "And… screaming."

"Oh, that's never good." Kevin rose from his chair. "Let's check it out, make sure the other two are okay."

"You and I will," Jen corrected. "Gwen, be ready to make a barrier around the ship, just in case. Julie, keep an eye on Lex; if you think he's doing something he shouldn't, punch him in the face."

Julie narrowed her eyes; to everyone's surprise, black and green goop emerged from the skin of her right hand, wrapping around it and turning into an armored gauntlet.

"With pleasure," she said.

Luthor sighed again. "Why must the young always react with violence?"

"Because you're evil," Jen snapped as she and Kevin headed down the ramp.

Julie shrugged. "Actually, I just don't like bald guys, and I kinda always wanted to punch one."

Outside the Rustbucket III, Jen cracked her knuckles and took a few steps toward the shack. Kevin placed his hand on the ground, absorbing the qualities of the stone path; in a moment, he looked like a stone statue of himself.

"Be ready for anything," Jen said.

"Always am," Kevin said, as his hands morphed into rocky hammers.

The two of them nearly attacked when a pair of blurs crashed through the wall of the shack, until they realized who it was. Togata and Midoriya—who had turned into XLR8—were running for their lives.

"Run!" Togata shouted, waving his arms. "Run!"

"Get us out of here!" XLR8 added. "Right now!"

Jen was about to ask what was going on, until a grey, fleshy tendril destroyed what was left of the shack, and reared up like a cobra. The tip bulged, and split apart into a four-jawed maw; it screeched, and lunged forward at just under the speed of sound. Jen drew back her fist to punch it, but XLR8 beat her to it, turning into Diamondhead and slicing the jaws off the monstrosity in one fluid motion.

"That won't stop it for long," Diamondhead panted. "I've done that twice already!"

Jen nodded. "Kevin, get onboard and get the plane in the air. We'll hold it off until you're ready to go."

"We can't leave you here!" Kevin protested.

"You're not," Jen assured him, as the tendril writhed and regenerated. "Have Gwen teleport us back to you when you're ready."

"Oh. That makes sense." Kevin dropped his stone shell and ran back up the ramp.

"He'll need a minute," Jen said, and widened her stance.

Diamondhead turned into Buzzshock. "Then we hold the line."

There was a flash of light, and Buzzshock was suddenly very different. Instead of a floating battery with tiny arms and legs, he now looked like twenty more slender batteries, all connected in a giant chain. Four limbs sprouted from each battery, except for the front, and each limb ended in a scything blade of crackling yellow lightning. Ultimate Buzzshock's head had two enormous compound eyes, and mandibles made of even more lightning-blades.

"So that's what Ultimate Buzzshock looks like," Jen commented. "Weird."

The abomination had finished regenerating, and lunged at the heroes. Ultimate Buzzshock moved first; he shot forward in a straight line, his many legs outstretched; then, each segment began rotating at a different speed and direction. When he passed by the tendril, he landed without issue, but the monster fell apart into hundreds of smoking pieces.

"Holy sh—" Jen did a double-take, then stared at Togata. "Did you know he could do that!?"

"No way, I didn't even know Buzzshock could go Ultimate!"

"I was saving it," Ultimate Buzzshock said, his voice a hissing crackle. "Besides, there's more on the way."

Three more of the legless creatures Midoriya and Togata had faced underground now emerged from the remains of the shack. One of them pointed at the heroes and shrieked.

"Oh, that's just nasty," Jen said, wincing from the noise.

"Take 'em down!" Ultimate Buzzshock shouted, and skittered towards the closest creature.

Togata charged up One For All to thirty percent, and darted into range of another. He punched it in the chest, and was rewarded with a sickly squelch as his fist drove clean through the other side. The monster was still alive, and tried to grab him by the face, but Togata merely used Permeation—not only did he avoid the strike, he also freed his arm. He spun around and kicked at what he thought was an elbow; there was a crack, and the arm snapped in half. The creature shrieked again, but Togata covered its face with Blackwhip, muffling the sound.

"Not another word out of you!" he shouted, and reeled the thing in for a final blow that crushed its skull.

Jen caught the first blow from her opponent with one hand; she then heaved it over her shoulder, and slammed it into the ground. She hopped onto its chest and drew back a fist.

"You know, you caught me on a really bad—ah!" Jen stumbled as the creature's other hand lashed across her back, leaving behind three jagged cuts.

"Are you okay?" Togata called out, already rushing to her aid.

In response, Jen grabbed one of her earrings and tossed it onto the arm she'd pinned. It was instantly trapped, rooted to the ground by thick vines; she then grabbed the hand that had hurt her, and crushed it. The monster's head followed suit, once she drove her foot into its skull.

"Does that answer your question?" Jen asked, and Togata grinned.

Ultimate Buzzshock dealt with his own opponent quickly and efficiently. His twenty different segments detached from each other, darting around the monster faster than it could react. In seconds, it was reduced to burnt chunks of meat, and the segments reattached.

Midoriya turned back to normal, but just as he began jogging over to his friends, all three of them were blinded by a flash of pink light. When they could see again, they found themselves back aboard the Rustbucket III.

Gwen groaned and sank into her seat, clutching her head. "Ow… teleporting still gives me a migraine."

"Kevin better get us outta here, or we're all gonna feel a lot worse," Jen said. "How's it going, Levin?"

"We're taking off, don't have a cow!" Kevin shouted back.

Midoriya, Togata and Jen hadn't strapped in, so when the ship abruptly accelerated, all three tumbled into the rear section. They crashed in an undignified pile; unusually, it was Jen who let out a yelp of pain.

"Get off me!" she snapped. "I think I'm still bleeding here!"

Midoriya helped his 'cousin' to her feet, and inspected her back; sure enough, the cuts were still there, but he could see them healing before his eyes.

"How long will it take for you to heal?" he asked.

"Not sure," Jen admitted. "That's the first time something's hurt me like that before. It wasn't magic, I know what that feels like, and it definitely wasn't Kryptonite."

"Perhaps I can find some answers?" Luthor said, and waved his cane to get their attention. "If I could have a sample of one of those creatures, I might be able to figure out what they are, and how to defeat them."

Togata shrugged. "I don't know, we beat 'em pretty easily."

Luthor sneered. "If those four things you fought were the extent of the threat, I wouldn't be here. It was obvious that none of them were Vilgax himself, so that means he has disposable forces. We don't know what they are, where they come from, or how many Vilgax has under his control. If you think it's going to be easy just because you beat a few foot soldiers, you won't survive this mission."

Togata flinched, but noticed something on his glove. "You said you needed a sample, right?"

Luthor saw the grey ooze on Togata's glove, and smirked. "Now all I need is a laboratory. I believe the Watchtower has one?"

Midoriya saw Jen open her mouth to protest, but beat her to it. "Professor Paradox, if you're listening, I think we're ready to come back."

"Welcome back," Paradox said as the team descended the ramp. "I assume your task was successful?"

"Well, we got this book," Togata said, waving the dusty tome for emphasis. "Does that count?"

Paradox smiled. "Indeed, it does. If you don't mind, I'll take it to an associate who can help decipher any useful clues that may help us."

Jen raised an eyebrow. "Anyone I'd know?" When Paradox didn't meet her eyes, she frowned. "Wait… oh, you jerk! You're the reason we haven't seen John in almost a month, aren't you?"

Midoriya looked between Jen and Paradox; he was starting to get a headache trying to follow everything. "Who?"

"John Constantine," Jen said offhandedly. "One of the most powerful sorcerers on the planet. He's an ass at the best of times, but he's useful, and we tolerate him because he's dating a family friend."

"Jennifer is understating Mister Constantine's abilities," Paradox said. "I can safely say that if he cannot find something useful within the pages of this book, then there is nothing useful to be found."

"I hope he does find something," Midoriya said, and grimaced. "I watched two people die before we could get that book out of there."

Paradox solemnly nodded. "Unfortunately, there is little we can do to prevent casualties. Every minute that passes, entire universes die. The best we can do is stay the course, and do all we can to reverse the damage Vilgax has done."

Midoriya absorbed that. He had seen people badly hurt before—he'd been badly hurt before—and though he'd heard about people dying in connection to something he was a part of, he had never seen someone die in front of him. With all that had happened immediately after Sam and Dean's deaths, he hadn't had time to process it, but now, he could feel his gorge rising.

"Excuse me," he muttered, and managed to take a few steps before throwing up.

A strong hand rested on his shoulder. "Let it out, Freshman; get it out of your system."

Midoriya flinched; Paradox had mentioned that he was supposed to be leading this team, and here he was, vomiting in front of the people he was told to lead.

"First time seeing someone die, right?" Togata kept his composure, barring a little paleness.

"You mean you have?"

"Yeah, last year." Togata shuddered. "Sir Nighteye brought me to a murder investigation; the police were supposed to have removed the… the body before I arrived. That's part of an agreement between Heroes with interns and the police. Anyway, there was a mix-up, and I saw… well, let's just say you held it in longer than I did."

Midoriya noticed Gwen, Kevin and Julie giving him sympathetic looks, and remembered that they had seen their entire world die, including their friends and families. He felt pathetic; they were handling that kind of devastating loss better than he could handle the deaths of two strangers.

Then again, they were probably only able to keep going because they had hope that those losses could be undone.

"Hey, can you guys keep an eye on Luthor for a few minutes?" Jen asked, clearly pretending she hadn't seen and heard everything.

Kevin scoffed. "You got somewhere else to be?"

Jen turned to show the healing cuts on her back, still visible through the tatters of her costume. "Yeah, I'm gonna get changed. I have a spare costume, but if we need to travel for a while, I should probably pick up some extra clothes. Actually, I could pick up some stuff for all of you, unless you want to wear the same stuff for who knows how long."

"There's a washer and dryer on the Rustbucket," Gwen said, and then shrugged. "But, yeah, some fresh clothes might be nice."

"Cool. I'll be back in a bit." Jen waved, and headed deeper into the Watchtower.

"I'll watch Luthor," Kevin decided. "I could use something to do that isn't sitting in a cockpit."

Luthor rolled his eyes. "Ah, I see the delinquent is my babysitter. I suppose it's a good thing I've infiltrated the Watchtower before, since I won't be able to rely on you to guide me to the labs."

Kevin roughly shoved him forward. "You know, I'm starting to see why Jen hates you so much."

Paradox sighed, but once Kevin and Luthor were gone, he smiled again. "Ah, look at the time. Sorry, everyone, but I must be off for now. Do try to keep yourselves entertained until I find the next lead, would you?"

The time-walker vanished, leaving the four remaining teens alone. They stood awkwardly for a moment, until Midoriya coughed into his hand.

"So, um… anyone seen any good movies lately?"

"We were only able to test three of them."

"No matter. What we had merely hypothesized has become true. Your DNA improved the drones enough to wound the Kryptonian. If she is destroyed, their miniscule chances are reduced even further."

"What about the boy who bears the Omnitrix? You have often said how he is our biggest threat."

"That child is not Ben Tennyson, but a pale shadow playing make-believe. Even if he was another Ben Tennyson, no one in the multiverse is strong enough to stop me, save one. That is why we will not fight him. We need only finish our work, and the death of reality will kill him for us."

"And the champions who stand in our way?"

"As I said, none of them are Ben Tennyson. They are seven miserable souls that are out of their depth. I only hope they provide some entertainment before they drown."

Franchises visited by the champions: Supernatural

Casualties: Sam and Dean Winchester

I'd like to thank Ultimate10 for permission to cameo his story, Ultimate Fairy, in the beginning of this chapter. Expect similar snippets from other stories as this one progresses.

I should probably give you all a list of Ultimates that Midoriya has used thus far in the story. It's not all ten he has, but it's a quick reminder of what he's shown off. There's Ultimate Humungousaur, Swampfire, Water Hazard, Eatle, Terraspin and now, Buzzshock! Basically, imagine a centipede made of batteries and lightning. I've got four more planned out; one or two might be canon, but others are my own creation.

Anyway, yeah, the champions placed a collective toe into the deep end, but it's only going to get harder from here. Vilgax has abominations that can hurt Ultragirl, which should give you a clue as to how dangerous they are. Midoriya and Togata got lucky, since they had powers/aliens that let them not get hit at all, or could regenerate. Characters like Kevin, Gwen, Julie, and especially Luthor had better watch out.

As always, please consider buying my book, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. You can find it on my website (link in my profile), or on Amazon as an eBook or physical copy.

You can also support me on P-atreon (link in my profile). If enough of you donate, I can quit one of my three jobs, and really focus on writing again! I miss the days when I could pump out two or even three chapters in a single week.

I'd like to thank the following patrons for being awesome:

Serious Muffins: Nimrod009, Anders Lyngbye, Matthias Matanovic, John Collins, Red Bard, Aaron Meek, killroy225, Lokthar, Hakuryuken

Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, michaelb958, Crazyman844

Ultra Muffins: RangersRoll, Adam Costello

Next Chapter: The champions prepare, Paradox has a plan, and Vilgax continues his rampage.

Plus Muffin!