NOTE: I feel like I haven't been fulfilling the "And lots of property damage" portion of this fic enough. So this one and the next be about the gang dealing with some villains.
Enjoy and Review!
Log 24: A Bro-splosive Mall Trip (Part 1)
Cover Image: Ben, Gwen, and the four Investigation Team members stood behind several booths. The teens and kids were standing on a game stage as if they were on a questionnaire television show. Across from them was Teddie, the bear preparing to ask them a bunch of useless questions that he had thought up.
"Behave yourself while I'm gone."
"Jeez, Yukiko, I'm not gonna burn down a shopping mall!" Ben fussed.
"You almost burnt down a forest." Yukiko reminded him.
"Almost. That's the key word here."
A hand was softly placed on Yukiko's shoulders, bringing her attention to the ex-leader of the Investigation Team. "Don't worry, Yukiko. I can handle Ben during this shopping trip." Yu tried to reassure her.
Yukiko wasn't so sure, because Yu hadn't been spending the entire summer with a 10-year-old cousin who wielded the most powerful device in the universe on his wrist. "I know you're good with kids, Yu-kun, but this is Ben. He's not really anything like Nanako-chan or those kids at the daycare you worked at."
"Well that's the thing, I have spent time with plenty of different kids last year, so I think that watching over Ben won't be too much of a hassle." Yu countered. He already had a good grasp on Ben's personality, so watching over him shouldn't be too big of an issue.
Before Yukiko could say anything back one of their other companions joined in. Rise had grabbed Yukiko's arm, pulling her towards the other half of the group. "Listen to Senpai, Yukiko-senpai! We girls need to spend some time together while we have the chance. Though, it's a shame Chie-senpai can't be here but we should still have fun, right, Naoto-kun?" Rise turned to the other female companion.
Naoto tipped her hat downwards. "Yes, we should, but I refuse to try on whatever outfits you have planned."
"Silly, Naoto-kun. You talk like you have a choice."
"Pretty sure everyone has a choi-"
"Anyway!" Rise cut off the Prince Detective, earning herself a glare. "C'mon, Yukiko-senpai, you've been watching over Gwen and Ben all summer. Take some time to enjoy yourself for a while." Yukiko pondered the idol's words for a bit and realized Rise was correct. She had been stressing over making sure Ben and Gwen didn't get into any trouble, she really hadn't taken much time to indulge herself in things she wanted for much of this summer. And since Gwen had been dragged away by her brother and Max had left with Kenji-san, that left Ben by himself. Until Yu had suggested that he'd be fine watching over Ben while the girls did their own thing.
Yukiko released a reluctant sigh. "Fine, I trust that you'll keep Ben out of trouble. Just make sure not to give into his demands too much and watch him carefully if he decides to transform. Ben has a habit of sneaking off without us noticing."
"I don't do it that often." Ben muttered.
Yu nodded his head, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder. "Thanks and I'm sure Ben and I'll have fun together."
Yukiko left with her friends, but she couldn't help but give the two one last look. Something she desperately wanted was for her friends and cousins to get along. So, maybe letting them spend time together wasn't the worst thing to happen.
Yu-kun will make sure they don't get into trouble… right?
Yu followed behind Ben, allowing the kid to take the lead in their little exploration of the shopping mall. The Fool wondered just what he should do to keep Ben occupied until they all had to meet back up. His interactions with Ben weren't many, but that could easily change now. "So, Ben, what is it that you like to do?"
"Huh? Oh, playing video games and comic books." Ben answered.
"Really? What kind of games?"
"My favorite game series is Sumo Slammers! Have you heard of it?" Ben asked, talking about his favorite game always made him excited.
"Can't say that I have." It was when Yu saw Ben's disappointed face that he realized he needed to think of something. "U-uh… actually I think that I have seen it before!"
"Really?" Ben asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I think I remember Chie playing a sumo related game before when she brought her games over to my uncle's house. I wasn't paying much attention to it, since I was trying to keep Yukiko from burning down the kitchen." Yu explained, shivering from the memory.
Hearing that someone in their friend group actually played Sumo Slammers had brightened Ben's entire mood. "Cool! Isn't Chie Yukiko's best friend?"
"Yeah."
"Even cooler! Can't wait to meet her then, you seriously have no idea how exhausting it was trying to explain Sumo Slammers to Yukiko. Kenny likes playing the games, but he's not that into it and Gwen's a dweeb."
"...Not sure if that last part explains anything."
Ben shrugged, not feeling like talking about Gwen at all. In fact it was something he actively avoided doing on a daily basis. So, instead Ben decided to get to know Yu a bit more; the most he knew about the guy was from Yukiko's stories. "So, you worked at a daycare?"
"Hm? Yeah, it was pretty neat. I never imagined it as something I'd ever do, but the kids there were pretty interesting. It wasn't the only job I had back in Inaba either." Yu said.
"You had more than one?"
"Yup, I worked as a pub dishwasher, hospital janitor, a tutor, folded Origami Cranes, worked as a translator, and constructed envelopes. I also went around Inaba helping people with whatever they needed, kinda like an Odd-Jobs of sorts." Yu answered, much to the shock of Ben.
"You did all of that in a year!? Didn't you have school and stuff!? Not to mention the whole saving the town stuff!?" Ben asked.
Yu chuckled, remembering just how shocked Yosuke was when he told him about all of his jobs. "Of course, but that's all about time management, Ben. When you get older and have more responsibilities I'm sure you'll learn how to focus on managing all of your time."
"Tch, I'm already a full-time hero! That's all the responsibility that I need." Ben replied, waving off the Fool's words.
"Not really, Ben." Yu shook his head. "You'll also have the responsibility of working on your bonds with people."
"My bonds with people?" Ben asked, not understanding him.
"The bonds we form with people is what grants us power. When we're alone, we're weak but once we've attached our souls to others then we'll be strong enough to face any challenge." Yu explained. The Fool thought of everyone in Inaba and how his bonds with them had helped him win his final battle.
A small part of Ben tingled slightly after listening to Yu's explanation as if something resonated with him. But he didn't really know what that was, so he chose to ignore it. "I don't really get it."
"That's fine, Ben. You have more than enough time to figure it out-"
CRASH!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Both heroes flinched at the sudden explosions that shook the entire mall. Yu grabbed Ben, protecting the boy from the glass shards that had shattered from the sky light. The next thing the two saw were multiple goons in punk-like body armor dropped down into the mall. What caught their attention the most was the guy leading the charge, who may have been the strangest looking guy they've ever seen. He has an orange mohawk with black and white pain around his face. Over his muscular build is a black sleeveless shirt with a skull on it. Purple tattoos all over his body and he wears arm braces, leg braces, wrist bands, knee pads, orange pants, and silver shoes with black spikes on them.
"Whoo! Alright, Bros, let's get the Bro Show kickin'!"
This wasn't the only explosion site, because the entrance of the mall had also been blown open by two armored trucks with skulls spray painted on drove into the building. Gwen and Kenny were moving through the screaming panic of people, trying to see what was going on. Once they got past the panic, punk-styled thugs started to enter the mall's blown open entrance. A lot of them were female, and a few more exited the trucks.
"Alright, ladies, you know what to grab! I want this entire mall emptied out before noon!" A very familiar voice entered Gwen's ears. The young girl's eyes widened when she saw the last woman to exit the truck. She grabbed her brother, pulling him down behind a booth.
"G-Gwen, wha-"
"Shut up!" She hissed. When he listened to her, Gwen peeked her head up over the booth to get a good look at the woman leading the group. She has maroon hair, pale skin, and black lipstick and eyes. She was dressed in a grey suit of armor that had a red and white skull painted on the chest. Two large black gauntlets covered her arms, and she smashed them together, red energy surging forth.
"This time nothing is keeping me from getting my payday! That muscle-headed idiot better not screw things up!"
"ROJO!?" Gwen exclaimed mentally. She would love nothing more than to try stopping them, but there were a lot of armed thugs around Rojo and Kenny would be no help in this situation. Instead, Gwen took out her phone and dialed Yukiko's number.
Yukiko ignored the phone ringing in her pocket as she and her friends were surrounded by several punk-styled goons, their rifles aimed at the girls to intimidate them. "Give us everything you have, and we won't have to hurt your delicate faces!" One of the thugs ordered.
Rise pouted. "Are you big strong men really going to hurt three innocent young women?"
"Three? I only see two girls!"
Naoto rolled her eyes. "Hahaha. Very funny."
"I'm sure we can all talk this out like reasonable people… and if not…" Rise trailed off, her eyes turning to Yukiko.
"If not what!?" The thug asked forcefully.
"Then I guess hot pants are really going to be in season!" Rise smiled sweetly.
"What are you even-"
FWOOSH!
"AAAHHH!" All of the thugs dropped their guns, screaming in fear as their pants were literally set ablaze by a mysterious force. The idiots ran around like headless chickens trying to find some way to cool off their pants.
"Pfft! Hahahaha!" Yukiko couldn't help but laugh at them as they ran off.
"Are you sure that was safe?" Naoto asked.
"They tried to rob us and raided a super mall. I'm sure they'll be fine, the worst thing they'll face is running around in their underwear." Rise waved it off. "Anyway, what exactly is going on?"
"A raid from an organized gang from the looks of it." Naoto observed the rest of the chaos happening in the mall. The shop they were in wasn't the only one to have been robbed or attacked. Plenty of men and women thugs were stealing from shops, people, and booths. "It would be best for us to get in contact with the rest of our group."
Yukiko was already on that, having taken out her phone to see who had called her. She saw that Gwen had called her several times; panic quickly rose in her stomach. "Gwen!" Yukiko called her little cousin quickly and was relieved that she had picked up the phone.
"Y-Yukiko!?" That voice wasn't Gwen.
"Kenny!? Where's Gwen? Are you guys alright!?" Yukiko asked, her friends paying close attention. "The mall is being raided by some gang!"
"We know! And I really wish you had picked up the phone, because Gwen is engaging who she thinks is the leader. I think her name was Rojo!"
"Rojo!?" Yukiko remembered the biker woman. She had been corrupted by one of Vilgax's drones and tried to kill Ben. She didn't really think they'd ever encounter her again, but that was a dumb thought since all of their past enemies have returned to kill them.
"Who's Rojo?" Rise asked.
"The leader of an all-female biker gang. But I thought she had been arrested?" Naoto furrowed her brows.
Yukiko didn't have time to think about how Rojo got out of jail, because Gwen needed their help. "We can figure that part out later." She said to Naoto. "Kenny, keep an eye on Gwen and try not to get hurt. Where are you right now?"
"At the entrance of the mall!"
"We're on our way!" Yukiko hung up the phone after delivering the message. She turned to her companions, who were ready to help out. "Gwen and Kenny are at the front of the mall. They're gonna need our help."
"What about Ben, Senpai, and your Grandpas?" Rise asked.
"I'll try and call Grandpa as we head over to the front." Naoto said.
"And as worried as I usually am, Ben knows how to handle himself in these situations and so does Yu-kun. If they need help he'll contact us." Yukiko said. The three girls hurried out of the ruined store to assist Gwen and Kenny.
Ben and Yu hid inside of a ruined store, watching the muscular leader command his lackeys to steal as much loot that they want. "Any idea who this guy is?" Yu asked Ben.
The boy shrugged, activating the Omnitrix. "Nope, but it's not important." He selected the Four Arms icon. "Because he's about to get a taste of some Four-Armed butt kicking!"
FLASH!
Eye-Guy frowned at the Omnitrix symbol on his waist. "You are really becoming an EYE-sore." Yu wasn't sure what to make of this alien, considering he hasn't seen it before and the number of eyes on his body was a bit unsettling. Out of all of Ben's forms, this one had to resemble a Shadow the most.
"Okay, Ben, we don't know much about the enemy, so let's take this slow-" Yu didn't get to finish before Eye-Guy rushed out of the shop to confront the punk-themed crook. "-Or you could just rush out there, that works too." Yu sighed.
Eye-Guy used the eyes on his palms and blasted several of the thugs, gaining the leader's attention. His eyes widened at the sight of the eye-centric alien. "Woah, bro! You late for an eye exam or something?"
"EYE'm not good at exams, but kicking butt is my best subject!" Eye-Guy returned the banter.
The muscle punk cracked his knuckles as he grinned at the hero. "That's a bit unlucky for you, bro. Because Fistrick's favorite activity is teaching lame-bros like you how to work out!" Fistrick declared and rushed the alien hero. Eye-Guy combined the eyes on his hands, blasting the punk with a stronger beam. He was surprised when the leader jumped, kicking both his feet forward and allowing his boots to absorb the energy.
"What the!?" Eye-Guy exclaimed.
"It's gonna take a lot more than that to best me, bro!" Fistrick yelled. His boots illuminated with the green energy he had stolen and kicked the ground. The floor exploded for a moment, pushing the punk towards Eye-Guy, the hero wasn't quick enough to evade and took the full kick to the chest; he was sent flying across the mall. "And that's why doing your daily squats are important, bro!"
"Sorry, if I don't completely understand you."
"Huh-WOAH, BRO!" Fistrick ducked out of the way of a sword swipe. The muscular punk backflipped a few feet before standing in front of Yu, who's sword was brimming with electricity. "Cool sword, bro, but I prefer to let my fists do the talking."
"Heh. Reminds me of a friend of mine, except he doesn't use his muscles to commit crimes." Yu responded.
"Then he's doing it all wrong, bro. I'd be happy to teach him the proper lifting techniques after I'm done beating your skull in!" Fistrick declared as he engaged Yu in battle.
Log To Be Continued
NOTE: I hope that this little bit of Fistrick was in character. I'll have more room to write him in the next part and as well with Rojo. Bet y'all weren't expecting to see her in anything until Negative 10.
I decided to split this into two parts, because I wanted to leave some suspense and I felt that it was long enough as is. Next part will be action packed.
Don't worry too much about when this takes place, but it'll be referenced in the future.
Have a great day!
