SZ: And welcome to one of the few rest chapters for gse after that huge arc we had. Trust us..after all that happened in that arc(despite a rest chapter or two)...some break form the action won't hurt. Plus don't worry about GSESS…we still have stuff planned for that.
GT: Indeed we do. *points at a pile of papers* All ideas for chapters.
SZ: Mm hmm..so we hope at least you enjoy this. But before we begin as usual…we don't own anything aside form original content and…wait. GT where's Z0?
GT: Knowing our luck? He's planning on destroying the stage. But ye shall not destroy it this time! *hangs up a sign reading 'your manga sucks, Haruka.'* And there we go. *walks off*
Z0: *walks in followed by DonMomotaro dragging GT* What I miss?
GT: HOW?!
Z0: *removes mask to reveal a second DonMomotaro* HAHAHAHAHAHA!
SZ: HOW DOES HE KEEP GETTING IN?!
Vice: I know right, it's totes annoying, anyway back to me and my awesomeness~
SZ: It's not even your story!
Vice: But it could! I am way more entertaining than any human! I'm the amazingly awesome Vice!
OniSister: *Walks in* Okay, who called me and…*sees the sign*...Who dies tonight?
GT: He wrote it and paid me with Ikki's debit card. *points at Vice*
OniSister:...*hefts up her Kanabo*Ok…time to bash some skulls in.
Vice: …YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE! *runs off with OniSister chasing him, swinging her kanabo around and breaking the screen in the process*
"Aw~! Mari-chan~!" Noel cooed, cuddling her mutant mink in the backyard of the team's house, "Did you have a good time? I missed you so much!" she whispered, "And great job on filling the whole notebook." Mari purred as she nuzzled into her owner.
"Ah…" Lambda walked over as she had Bluey in her arms, "Bluey…Mari and Robotboy. Mari and Robotboy…Bluey."
"She's La-chan's new pet! That makes you family!" Noel smiled, "Oh! Almost forgot." she took off Funkfreed and he transformed, "Mari, Robotboy, this is Funkfreed! Funkfreed, these are Mari and Robotboy!"
Funkfreed tilted his head as he looked at the mink in his owner's arms. Bluey smiled as he gave a wave before vanishing in Lambda's arms before popping into appearance on Funkfreed's head. Mari chittered before getting out of Noel's arms and ran up Funkfreed's offered trunk.
"Ooh~! Funkfreed sugei~!" Robotboy beamed as he flew up on top of Funkfreed.
"Aww~ They're already friends," Noel cooed, seeing the quartet starting to play.
"Mmm~" Lambda smiled.
"I'm just happy…" Makoto began as she and Ben plopped onto the couch, "To finally be home…"
"Is it just me or does this feel like a new couch?" Ben muttered.
"Who cares? It's ours…no more split rooms where we need to sleep on a shared cot…"
"You guys got a cot? Tsukasa just gave us pillows and a blanket then left us in a room…" Ben muttered.
"And sign here," Tsubaki spoke at the dining room table, where she and Naoto were at with the latter signing paperwork, "...and here. …Initial here and sign there."
"This is insane…and I'm a guy who's been going through different worlds without control over it and seen a lot of messed up stuff…like a world where everyone was wooden puppets," Naoto muttered, "Why do I have to fill out so much paperwork?"
"Because you are a combat veteran and the Plumber's Academy refuses to take in combat veterans after Ben, Gwen, and Kevin had to go through it," Tsubaki replied.
"Oh…I see," Naoto muttered.
"Trust us…We all went through it," Mai sighed as she walked by.
"You're better off not going. All the yelling of a drill instructor to tell you what you already know how to do…but you do it ten times more efficiently," Ben smiled.
"Oh! Souvenirs!" Makoto recalled, digging into her tail and pulling out the large green sack, "I am so glad for Roll giving me that advanced technique for hiding stuff in trade for Ma's Strawberry Chestnut Shortcake recipe." she looked around, "Hey, where's Kajun?"
"Since it's her mandatory day off, most likely in her lab," Tsubaki replied.
"Oh, you finally had to implement that?" Makoto asked.
"It was getting…worrisome," Tsubaki sighed, "Right up to the point we had to have Max drag her out of the lab."
"Actually had to use Turbo Strength even," Max admitted.
=Probably gonna have to with her home lab if the fact everyone is back with a new guy isn't enough= Steel added.
"I'll go get her," Max sighed as he walked off, "I swear it's every other day with this girl…"
"So…what I miss?" Makoto asked with a mischievous smile.
"For the record, I refused to take part of this Ship Pool you girls started!" Ben quickly spoke up.
"...Oh where do I begin?" Tsubaki sighed, "Many things….helping to establish an Undertown in El Tigre's hometown, helping with a local disturbance in Japan, having to deal with quite a few of Ben's enemies…"
"Oh right…that's what I forgot!" Ben spoke up, "I'll be right back, Babe! I need to assert dominance on my rogues gallery. Be back in a bit!" he smiled, giving Makoto a quick kiss on the head before he ran off.
"The game room will be set up by the time you get back!" Makoto called out.
"...What exactly did you buy?" Tsubaki cautiously asked.
"...It will be easier to list what I didn't buy…" Makoto bluntly replied. She then began tapping her cheek as she thought that over, "Okay…so…don't be upset…but we may have…Pre-ordered several games…that do not exist yet. Also, a Digital Flash Drive with tons of manga chapters and shows that have not aired in Japan or the US yet…"
"...You went to a place in the future, didn't you?"
"Well if you want to be nitpicky, it was their present of the year 2021…" Makoto replied, "So…technically no timey-wimey nonsense happened."
"Didn't you two, Kaito, Sonic, and Roll get sucked up into a time vortex into their past?" Naoto asked.
"Naoto, why~?!"
"...Makoto Acornia Nanaya…"
"I swear nothing bad happened!" Makoto argued, "I could barely even see when it happened…I lost my squirrel girl powers!"
"Reports on my desk first thing in the morning," Tsubaki ordered.
"...No~!" she cried as she ran off, Tsubaki hot on her tail as she gave chase, "I just got back~! No work! Yada~!"
"I just have the last world we went to for my reports," Sari shrugged.
"I got her!" Max called, carrying Kajun over his shoulder as she uselessly bopped on his back with her fists, "Kajun, as much as I'm enjoying the massage, ya may wanna look around."
"Hmm?" Kajun blinked, pausing in her bopping as she took notice of who else was there, "...ah…Mai, Sari, Noel, La-chan…you're home….and just when I had finished up a device to help try and contact you…where's…"
"Rook's at HQ helping sort things out, Ben's going to 'assert dominance over his enemies', and Makoto just ran off from Tsubaki," Sari listed before pointing at Naoto, "Oh, and we got a new friend/teammate."
"Yo," Naoto greeted before groaning as he put his pen down, "Finally done….not even school was this brutal…"
"Oh that was just the first stack," Tsubaki noted, dragging in Makoto by her tail as she twitched with swirls in place of her eyes and a smoking bump on her head, "You have three more."
"...Three more?" Naoto paled at that, "...Is it too late to go to that academy?"
"Page 7 of the first stack had your signature confirm you accept doing the paperwork over attending the academy," Tsubaki replied, "Page 2 had your signature confirm you will not contact Chadzmuth as your lawyer if you want to sue for the agreements you sign for this method of enlistment."
"..."
"Again, we all had to go through with it," Mai sighed…before noticing Kajun staring at her spear, "...I had a feeling you were gonna get curious." she pulled it out, "This is Outseal: Adept Remnant."
"...What…did you do to my spear I made you?" Kajun cautiously asked.
"Um…It was my fault, Kajun," Sari sheepishly admitted as Mai handed it over to the purplette, "We had to overload it to defeat this dangerous Adept who could control water, but Mai took his weapons and we found a Kamen Rider and Huntsman in Training that combined them together with the remains of her spear to make this upgrade."
"...Interesting," Kajun whispered as she examined it, "Hmm…What's this in these chambers? A gray mineral?"
"Ah…Guess I had a leftover bit of Dust in them. That's a magical crystal stuff in Remnant, the name of the world we were at where I got this, and it doesn't work if it leaves Remnant for some reason," Mai explained.
"Huh…I see," Kajun noted before tensing a bit in surprise when the spear went into anchor mode when she hit the button, "...fascinating…"
"Jumpin' jiminy! That's amazing!" Jenny gawked.
"Lambda also has a pair of nunchucks/flails she can use to grab and create hard light copies of weapons," Sari added.
"Would demonstrate…but don't want to risk anything," Lambda stated, reaching into the green bag before pulling out a plethora of plushies and the Switch, "For now…relax in my room…and play."
"...and the phoenix motif she had earlier?" Tsubaki asked once Lambda left the room.
"That we're…honestly still trying to figure out," Mai muttered, "But at best…she inherited it from someone we knew during this battle against a cult leader who intended to control people through their warped ideology of what they perceived as 'love.'"
"We should not have told Roll about that…" Makoto groaned as she got up, rubbing the bump on her head, "The rant she gave was as bad as a Tsubaki lecture."
"Tell me about it," Sari muttered.
"...Makoto," Kajun spoke, earning the Beastkin's attention, "You're hiding something from me."
"Hmm?"
"I know you….you're deliberately hiding something from me…"
"..." Makoto slowly blinked…before pulling out her Sheikah Slate just as Kajun jumped at her, tapping it as the purplette froze midair, faint gold chains of light sticking to her.
"...What…is that?" Max blinked.
"My Sheikah Slate…got from the first world we arrived in," Makoto explained before grinning, "It's a magic tablet~! I can make bombs, make icy plateforms, take pics, use it to control metal parts like a magnet, and the best part…" she motioned to the currently frozen Kajun, "Freeze things for a certain amount of time and…after a few moments if you hit it enough, send it flying into an unsuspecting group of enemies!" for emphasis, she began lightly tapping Kajun's side and aimed her at the couch, "3….2….1…."
"KYA!" Kajun yelped as she suddenly found herself flung onto the couch, "...What just happened?"
"Ehem…" Makoto held the Slate up with a smile, "Mine~" she sang as she put it away in her tail before pulling out the blueprints and formulas, "And these are for you for the Plumbers. From Boku no Hero Academia."
"Wait, you did what?" Tsubaki blinked.
"My Hero Academia?" Jenny repeated, "Isn't that the new manga that came out you and Ben like?"
"Yep! We went there and they made this formula to make ten times better Proto-Armor…that can be customized into a cute superhero suit~" Makoto posed as she flashed the peace sign over her eye.
"Her old uniform broke because of a Gold-Man's powers breaking it while we were in a world of armored riders going to a sengoku-like school on an island in the middle of a lake in Japan with a girl wearing the thing Omniketsu came from," Mai explained.
"Kamui," Makoto corrected.
"God Robe?" Jenny translated, "...Considering the folktale about the kami I've heard in school…" she blushed, "I think I get why it's so revealing…"
"And that 'Remnant' place Mai and Sari mentioned?" Makoto began with a grin, "I met my best punny gal pal there~"
"Oh! I found a BluRay collection of it while in the game shop with La-chan!" Noel recalled as she looked in the sack, "It doesn't have the Kamen Riders in it from what I saw, though."
"...Please tell me Makoto's joking," Tsubaki begged Mai and Sari.
"..." both slumped.
"...She can't get here, can she?" Tsubaki asked.
"Nope…not unless they have a special means of traversing dimensions," Sari answered.
"Oh thank the Celestialsapiens…" Tsubaki sighed in relief.
"Should we mention the one we met is friends with people who carry swords that can…cut reality?" Ben muttered.
"Beg pardon?" Jenny blinked at that.
"Yeah, they…basically know about other realities thanks to said swords," Mai muttered.
"Swords…that can cut reality?" Robotboy blinked, "Ohh…powerful knights…" he held up a stick, "So cool!"
"...Oh! That also reminds me…" Noel began as she reached into the bag, "We also ended up finding a game…and it featured Link."
"Wait, what?" Makoto blinked as Noel pulled out a case, showing Link standing over a cliff looking in the distance with the title 'Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild' over the cover, "...huh…That's as weird as you two finding that we have a game series in Kaito and Sonic's world."
"HAH?!" Tsubaki gawked.
"La-chan refused to let us buy any copies of anything but the first game and this rhythm side-game," Noel explained, pulling out the two games in question.
"...huh…guess Arc System Works has some catching up to do here then," Max noted.
"If it happens…I refuse to be relegated to DLC!" Makoto snapped.
"..." Lambda and Noel traded looks when Makoto wasn't looking at them.
"So…Anything else happen while we were gone?" Sari asked.
"We have a new therapist for the Plumbers," Tsubaki explained.
"We do?" Makoto, Mai, Sari, and Noel blinked.
"Yup...His name's Alf. Well, Gordon Shumway, but he prefers 'Alf,'" Max replied, "And Alf lives next door with Kagura and Hibiki."
"I heard someone mention my name three times."
"AHH!" Noel yelped in surprise, turning to see Alf leaning on the open windowsill.
"Hello, Alf," Tsubaki greeted.
"Hmm…Squirrel ears and tail…Ah, you must be Makoto! And these must be the rest of your pals that went missing, huh?"
"We're missing three since one's at HQ, one is in her bedroom, and the last is showing his rogues gallery he's back," Tsubaki replied.
"Wait. Let me guess, Ben, Lambda, and Rook?" Alf asked, earning nods, "Good…I didn't have worries for the boys after our talks. It's these ones and the girl I worried about." he motioned to the others, "Reading their files…they may just need as much help as you did, Tsubaki."
"Haha…you're the one who needed the most visits!" Makoto laughed.
"Yes…but you're not exempt from this, Makoto," Tsubaki argued.
"Eh? ...Hey, I don't need therapy," Makoto argued.
"You sure?" Noel blinked, "I mean you did have a nightmare or two wh-"
"What nightmare? I don't have any nightmares. You are the one with therapy issues, missy!"
"...Well you are gonna be quite the project then," Alf noted, shaking his head, "From what I can tell, Ms. Excitable mostly keeps her issues at bay due to what I can only call: The most Wholesome relationship to ever happen in the presence of these people ever." he quoted someone, but clearly in a way as to not say who, "But I imagine without the boyfriend…the bad dreams creep up…"
"Very much so…" Noel muttered, "Though it seems cuddles help."
"I did not authorize those cuddles…" Lambda muttered.
"...Makoto, are…you sure you're okay?" Tsubaki asked, looking at Makoto in concern.
"Oh totally! I'm just fine!" Makoto laughed a bit…yet they could tell she was denying it as she picked the bag up, "Now if you'll excuse me..I got some game systems to set up in the gaming room. Okayseeyabye!"
"...that was concerning…" Max muttered once the Beastkin was out of the room.
"I still never authorized those cuddles…" Lambda repeated.
The alarms for multiple buildings began ringing all at once in downtown Bellwood. Several of the town's well known Super villains were in the midst of another mid-day heist. They laughed as they met up in the middle of the road to compare who got what this time.
"Hah…okay, who got what this time?" Animo sighed, riding on a giant mutant crab, "We agreed just stealing basic money from the bank is amature time!"
"Oh please Animo, we're not some new street punk chump time gang here. We know the rules, it has to be weird and or expensive in a different way!" Zombozo laughed, "What would be the point otherwise…" the zombified clown sighed.
"Yeah-yeah…let's just get on with it. I got plans for later," Vulkanus sighed.
"Indeed," Psyphon agreed, "So who first?"
"Well, I was struck by an old idea I had totally forgotten after my defeat at the hands of Ben Tennyson! So…I raided the Bellwood natural history museum…and revived my newest pet. Say hello to Spinosaurus Aegyptiacus!" he motioned to the hulking Spinosarus as it lumbered over to them, it roared at the other supervillains before crouching down next to Animo, "It turns out they got the tail wrong…look! It's made for swimming and is flat…" he motioned to the tail.
"Wait, you can bring stuff back to life?" Zombozo asked.
"Yes, I have done it with extinct animals…and dead cryptids…" Animo nodded, "Though the last one was sadly more of an unintentional homage to the fictional Dr. Frankenstein…" he muttered, earning some looks, "Oh fine…Fully intentional, happy!?"
"Mostly," Zombozo replied, "As for myself…" he stretched his sleeves to show nothing within before reaching behind Psyphon and pulling out a tray of brains in jars, "I do believe these were your professors, were they not, Dr. Animo?"
"Ah!" he gasped, "Professor Irwin…" he took a closer look, "...Hmm…I told him to get that headache checked out…though ironically that wasn't what did him in so…eh…"
"Yeesh…That's what yer brains look like?" Vulkanus asked, "They're so…wrinkly…"
"What? Are Alien brain's not?" Animo asked.
"No…"
"Oh…" he nodded.
"Oh yeah, well what did you bring this time, Vulky?" Zombozo asked.
"Really glad that turkey earlier distracted Bloodedge enough. Pakmar was sellin' these!" Vulkanus grinned as he pulled out a large sack and opened it, revealing various handles.
"...I'm guessing there's more to them than just being handles."
"Hard-light tech," Vulkanus grinned as he pulled out one and a mace popped out made of a red energy, "Fresh from the Andromeda Galaxy. Fun little planet there's apparently uses hard-light tech for everyday stuff to the point that while we need big sources of juice for 'em or they're pretty fraul if it ain't also hard-light, their tech can run off a AAA Battery from Earth for years and withstand a blast that breaks things down on the atomic level."
"I dare say that actually is very impressive," Animo spoke, "Physics isn't my scene, but that is just astounding. Has my vote this week, Sorry Mr. Snappy…" he sighed to the dinosaur.
"Heh…please. Unlike the rest of you, I play it safe," Psyphon smirked as Liam tossed a baseball at him…only for it to bounce off him and slam into a nearby car, causing it to cave in, "A portable barrier that sends out any incoming attack at the original owner..but double the pain."
"Hm...not bad, your best haul yet." Zombozo nodded.
"Yes…so we are ready if Tennyson's bothersome sidekicks show up and interfere," Psyphon stated, the smirk still growing on his face, "Also…I doubt the 'grim reaper' will be able to hit me now…"
"I dunno…he could probably make you hit yourself," a voice spoke up, making the villains tense up as they all turned…to see a smirking Ben leaning against a lamppost, "Hello~"
"TENNYSON?!"
"Aw…you missed me! You must really like me~" Ben fake sobbed as he used half his Omnitrix arm up to his head to tap the dial with his head, a flash going off as he turned into FourArms, "Well, I missed work, as crazy as it must sound!" he clapped his arms, sending out a shockwave that sent them all flying.
"Oh you're gonna wish you stayed gone, Tennyson!" Vulkanus snapped as he got up, charging right at FourArms as he hefted his weapon up.
"Gosh I missed this game." FourArms tapped the Omnitrix, making Vulkanus miss as he swung too high over his new form.
"What the…" Vulkanus blinked before something small and blue crawled up his back, "Ahh…it's in my suit!" he jumped around before the chest of his suit burst open letting Stitch pop out with multiple wires in his mouth.
"...what in the world is this now?" Animo blinked as he looked on in interest, "A rather unique coloring for a…koala alien?"
"Feeboogoo!" Stitch challenged as he ripped Vulkanus out of his suit and tossed him at Animo, sending them both flying back and stumbling across the ground.
"Well…that's weird…" Zombozo muttered before Stitch rolled up and slammed into him sending him sliding back along the ground.
"Bad Zombie!" Stitch growled as he kicked some dirt on his face, "Sleep…" he turned to the Spinosaurus as it roared in his face. Stitch opened his mouth and roared right back making the Dinosaur flinch and step back, "Akoota naga pitu!" he snarled as it crouched and sat down, "Good!" he gave a thumbs up, he then pointed to the crab, "Ikata!" he ordered as the Spinosarus chased the mutant crab down.
"...go ahead Tennyson," Psyphon challenged with a grin, "I dare you to hit me…"
"Stupid head…" Stitch shook his head.
"...boss he's-bukaw!-planning something!" Liam exclaimed in a bit of worry, "I don't like it when he plans things!"
"Oh nonsense," Psyphon quietly huffed to him, "We're protected from any incoming attacks. There's no way he can ever harm us."
Stitch walked around them before he found a fire hydrant and ripped it off in such a way the water sprayed at both Psyphon and Liam. The deluge of water washing over their force fields before they saw Stitch already climbing up a streetlight. He waved before knocking it down so the bulb cracked on the ground and the sparks electrified the water around their feet.
"...I…Loath….you," Psyphon scowled at Stitch before he and Liam cried out as they were shocked.
"Honestly he should've seen it coming," Skurd shook his head, "Pride cometh before the fall as they say after all."
"Ih…" Stitch nodded as he hopped down, "Ahh…missed this though…messing with my…colorful gallery of rogues…"
"Cure you Ben Tennyson! CURST YOU!" Animo called out, his voice breaking as if sobbing, "He's back…finally~!"
"Aw…I miss you too." Stitch spoke as he ripped a metal pole out of the ground and used it to tie everyone together, "Bye~!" he waved off as he flashed and flew off as Jetray. "Animo, Vulkanus, Zombozo, Psyphon…now…who else do I need to mess with? Oh…I know a certain forever boy genius who would love to meet some of my new faces~"
"What if…no…" Billy muttered as he went through some blueprints, "Dang it not that one…gah…come on think!" he snapped as he moved the blueprints away, "I gotta think up the perfect revenge strategy against Tennyson once he comes back!"
=Wow…I think he's gotten even crazier…= ReBoot muttered watching from a muted computer screen =I wonder how much effort it would take to make him think he's going insane?=
"Hmm…what if..no…" Billy muttered before grinning, "I got it…I end up humiliating him by deploying a new robot that defeats every single one of his villains..and his stupid alien forms! That way…people will reject him, his family will oust him and make me their honorary son, his friends will ditch him for me…and best of all? His girlfriend will dump him and swoon all over me."
=...oh yeah. Totally gonna make him think he's going insane= ReBoot deadpanned before Billy's phone rang.
"Hmm?" Billy blinked as he picked his phone up and answered, "Hello? Who is this?"
=Hello, this is the family book keeper. I'm sad to inform you that you have wasted so many company resources we are going to need to impound your lab, inventions and belongings to make up the deficit…oh also your trust fund is frozen, thank you for your understanding, and acceptance of these new changes, men will be here within the day to impound your belongings~ Have a nice day~=
"...WAIT WHAT?!" Billy gawked, "Now look here! I…." he began before he was hung up on, "...grr…oh no you don't!" he snapped as he tried to dial back…only to see the number gone, "What the…?! Where…" he tried to redial the number..only to get a busy signal, "..."
=Now…lets see…cut off his network…and make him think…it's ten years in the past…= ReBoot chuckled as he swung his arms around and rearranged things from inside the network =Oh yeah…yeah…if he believes this then he is totally an idiot…=
"...wait…what if…" Billy muttered as he began to pace around, "...oh god. Did I end up making something to blow me ten years into the past?! Wait…then that would mean past me is here…but I can't meet me because that might end up making the timeline worse!"
=I almost feel sorry for the poor boy= Skurd muttered quietly =...ok my pity well is dry now. Shall we continuum to torment the little brat, or shall we move onto something else?=
=Hang on…I'm locking him in for the next 72 Hours, and recordings of his scheme to his family and the local police…= ReBoot replied, =Also…I'm gonna turn off his firewall and flood this computer with so many popup-ads, mwahahahaha~=
=May I suggest the jumpscare from the Scary Maze Game popping up randomly?=
=I love it~ Now let's get onto the next on the list~= with that ReBoot vanished from the computer system.
"What…why won't the door open!? Even the bathroom!? What is this!" Billy panicked before all the screens changed to the Omnitrix Symbol as the words 'I'm Back!' flashed all along them. He looked around in shock as he realized, "No…no…TENNYSON!"
"Hmm?" Celica blinked, stopping in the middle of Undertown's marketplace as she looked up, "Huh…I could've swarn I heard someone cursing out Ben-san's name…"
"He's back?" someone asked.
"Ben 10 has returned?!"
"Oh crap Tennyson is back! Our time is over!" a thug shouted.
"Oh thank god…we're saved."
"...oh right," Celica recalled as she bopped her fist into her open palm, "Ragna said Ben and his friends were back from their trip…and no one had the idea of prepping a return home parry for them…oh! Maybe I can make a cake for them!"
"Lady y-!" one thug began before tensing…seeing Ragna and Bullet glaring at him from teh shadows, "...you can find the ingredients over at Mr. Baumann's. There's a special elevator that leads up to his store not too far from here."
"Oh thank you!" she smiled as she walked off.
"N…no problem…" the thug waved….before he ran off.
"..honestly glad Ben's back," Ragna admitted as he and Bullet walked out of the shadows..and trailer behind Celica to maek sure she went the right direction, "A man can only take his freaky and stupid villains so many times…"
"Agreed," Bullet muttered before shivering a bit, "I swear I still feel the slime from Animo's slug army…"
"What is with that guy…" Ragna groaned at the memory.
"I'm half convinced he was dropped on the head multiple times as a child," Bullet muttered…before sighing, "And she's going the wrong way again."
"Well hopefully we can cut back a little more with Ben back. I'm sure he's itching to use all his whacky new forms to spook people."
"Seriously, some of those were…weird. Especially the outfit one."
"Pot meet kettle…"
"...really?" Bullet deadpanned as she looked at him, "That again?"
"I swear I will get you in decent attire!" he declared, "If for the sake of my own sanity…also Mom's complain about you sometimes…"
"...what if I tied a sweater over it?"
"At that point you're better off wearing a skirt over them…" he grumbled.
"...I'm still not changing my uniform," Bullet huffed
"Woman its a struggle to get you to wear actual pants during the winter!" RAgna snapped, "And I have to get Celica to help me with that!"
"I…!" Bullet began before tensing, "...we got distracted again…"
"...shit."
"...ugh. I'll go grab her this time," Bullet sighed as she ran off, "CELICA!"
"I swear that girl has the worst sense of direction," Ragna muttered before looking at a nearby clock, "...almost time for lunch anyway…may as well check out what specials there are…"
"You better get me something spicy!" Bullet shouted from the distance.
"Alright-alright!" he shouted back, "Ugh I swear that woman is gonna drive me up the wall…" he muttered as he began to walk off, only to blink as a ringing went off, "..oh right..forgot Yayoi got me a phone to keep better contact…" he recalled, reaching into his pocket as he pulled out a red and black touchphon, "...unknown number…I swear if this is pencil neck trying to sound threatening again…" he grumbled as he answered "What?"
=Well hello to you too, asshole= Kokonoe's voice spoke.
"...hold on. You're that catgirl Celica told me about..Kokonoe right?" Ragna recalled.
=Yes…listen, you've been taking care of Celica right? Making sure she doesn't get into trouble or harmed?=
"...outside of her getting lost a lot and somehow ending up in trouble, yes…me and my deputies have been taking care of her," Ragna assured, "Oh….and real bright idea dropping her on Ben and his team…seriously I had to step in because they kept losing her!"
=...ugh…I knew I shouldn't have left her with a bunch of idiots= Kokonoe sighed.
"Then why leave her w-!?"
=Because she'll get lost on Galvan and god above she ends up bumping into a new project me and/or Azmuth are working on=
"..just…just fuckign tell me why you bothered to call me," Ragna groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
=...okay fine. I finished working on a new machine meant to act as Celica's bodyguard and having it head straight to her right away=
"Well thanks for the warning. I imagine that will spook a few folks when a robo bodyguard just drops from the sky."
=So long as you aren't deemed as a threat to her, it'll be okay= Kokonoe assured =Now if you'll excuse me, I have another experiment to get back to=
"Wait, but wh-and she hung up on me…" Ragna muttered as he got a tone dial, "...yeesh. How did Nanaya even deal with her?...Doesn't matter, not my…" he began as he started to walk off…only to tense up, "..wait…she's heading to Baumann's…SHIT!"
"How is it you ended up near the lake…and nearly got eaten, I'll never know," Bullet muttered, wearing Celica's cape over her pants so to not…cause a scene as the two were walking around Mr. Baumann's store.
"Funny…I could've sworn I had walked in the direction that nice man pointed me to," Celica admitted.
"...No…no, you….ugh," Bullet facepalmed, "Let's just get your stupid ingredients so I can get some lunch…"
"Well there's no need to be so rude, and they are not stupid ingredients," Celica argued, "I'm going to forgive you, because you're probably hungry and that is making you cranky."
"...I am hungry…" Bullet muttered as she looked away.
"Then I'll be sure to hurry so you don't miss out on lunch," Celica smiled
"Yeah, yeah…" Bullet muttered, the two turning a corner before someone bumped into her, "Oi! Watch it a-oh…it's you…"
"Hmm?" Celcia blinked as she turned to see who had bumped into Bullet, "Oh! Ben-san! I wasn't expecting to see you here."
"Yeah, well..I had to pick up a few things from the store for the others on my way back," Ben admitted with a sheepish chuckle, "I take it you're out shopping?"
"Yup. It's a secret though,"
"...She got lost again, I take it?" Ben whispered to Bullet.
"The lake near Undertown..nearly got ate."
"Ah…" he nodded, "Well I'd love to chat, but I really want to get out of here before Mr. Baumann realizes that A: I am here right now, B: I'm here…and C: I…left a revived Spinosaurus I tamed chained up outside…"
"Wh…How can someone…?" Bullet began.
"Oh! I hope you find it a good home," Celica smiled.
"It's a giant prehistoric reptile that could eat people," Bullet deadpanned
"So long as it's away from p-" Celica began before a crash went off, followed by a loud roar, "?!"
"And it got out…"
"TENNYSON!"
"I'm gonna go use self check out and deal with that. Good catching up!" Ben chuckled, "See you guys some other time!" he ran off.
"Okay! Ja ne, Ben-san!" Celica waved.
"...I swear you're just too innocent at t-" Bullet began before the spinosaurus charged through a few isles…with Ben caught up in the chain right around its neck, "?!"
"In what way would a chain hold it down?!" Skurd snapped at Ben.
"It was a good plan because he was being behaved!" Ben argued, "Not my fault those idiots thought he was a coin-operated ride!"
"It's a dinosaur outside of a grocery store! What do you think was going to happen?!"
"...ugh. Celica, go hide," Bullet sighed, handing her her cloak as she cracked her knuckles, "I gotta go save Nananya's significant other…" she muttered before leaping at the Spinosaurus….only to get smacked away by its tail, "GAH!"
"...Oh dear…" Celica whispered before seeing the dinosaur looking down at her hungrily, "...uh…nice dinosaur?" she flinched when it roared in her face, "?!"
"Celica, run!" Ben shouted.
"KYA!" she screamed as she began to run, the spinosaurus hot on her tail as it crashed through the store.
"BEN, STOP THIS THING RIGHT NOW!" Baumann snapped from behind the counter.
"I'm trying!"
"WELL TRY FASTER OR ELSE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS ARE BANNED FROM MY STORE!"
"HEY! WHY THEM?! ME, I GET, BUT THE OTHERS?!"
"DO SOMETHING!"
"Okay…" Ben shrugged, slapping the Omnitrix, before Stitch was sent flying and slamming into Baumann, "Uh-oh…I left this one preset…must…resist…urge…to…DESTROY! HAHAHAHA!"
"NO DON'T…!" Baumman began in worry...before Stitch ended up joining in on destroying everything in site, "BEN!-!-!-!-!-!-!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Celica screamed as she ran by, the Spinosaurus still chasing after her.
"As am I!" Skurd called as Stitch rolled by.
"Ugh….what is today…I just wanted freaking lunch!" Bullet complained, currently under a pile of frozen foods.
"I'm sorry~!" Celica cried before she soon found herself cornered by the Spinosaurus, "...oh dear…"
The Spinosaurus roared out as it opened its jaws, prepared to bite down on its prey…before something shot down through the ceiling and crashed into the dinosaur's head, making its eyes bug out as it was forced hard into the ground, resulting in a crater as the area rumbled a bit.
"...eh?" Celica blinked for a few moments, trying to register what just happened.
"...what just happened?" Bullet asked as the dust cloud began to die down, revealing a now unconscious Spinosaurus…and the fist belonging to the figure that had crashed into it.
Floating there was a female figure robot. She was tall with a very human face that seemed set to a very neutral expression on her whire metallic skin, as her red eyes looked down at Celica. She had medium length black hair with what looked like a long electrical cord extending like a ponytail, and a large fanning out head crest that resembled a maid's headband. Her body was seemingly covered in a white thin fabric like armor that covered her torso with a gold pendent in the center of her chest, going down to black briefs covering her waist with a golden V shaped buckle in the center, the legs covered in gray leggings that went over the knees and over her thighs. She had white arms with black armor over each shoulder which flowed off into two long sleeves…which were in fact a second set of larger arms ending with 4 fingered hands.
"...Robot?" Stitch blinked, stopping in his destruction to look at the newcomer.
"Interesting. But…does it not remind you of that Relius Clover fellow's puppet?" Skurd pondered.
"Oh no!" Stitch shouted at the memory, "Run!" he yelped, only to be grabbed by Bullet, "Uh-oh…"
"You brought that stupid dinosaur in here…you deal with this problem!" she snapped before tossing Stitch at the robot…only for her to grab him with one of her hands, "...Oh n-" she began before Stitch was tossed right into her...resulting in the two being sent flying through the wall, "Ow…"
"I'm okay. I'm fluffy!" Stitch called.
"..." the robot then looked over at Celica.
"Hello?" Celica blinked.
"Ooh…shiny…" Stitch muttered as he rolled back over towards Celica, "Friend?"
The robot's eyes narrowed as she became a blur, shooting right before Celica…before she punted Stitch into a nearby water tank.
"BWAGH!" Stitch gagged out as he surfaced, "Why?!"
The robot girl just chose to ignore him…as she began to examine Celica, as if checking for any possible injuries on her.
"...huh. You…honestly remind me of my friend Nirvana," Celica noted, any fear she had replaced with curiosity.
"..."
"Oh! So Kokonoe sent you? That's great!" Celica smiled.
"...what?" Bullet slowly blinked as she slowly stood up.
"...oh so you must be that one project Kokonoe was working back when we lived in Los Solidad…I was curious about that," Celica noted as she crossed her arms, "I just thought she was hiding something super embarrassing, but I didn't want to pry because that would be incredibly rude."
"..."
"What is even happening anymore?" Bullet asked before Stitch slid over along with a small wave of water which covered the floor, "Do you have anything to add to this?"
"...Slippery when wet!" he declared producing the sign from thin-air.
"...thats not helpful," Bullet deadpanned.
"Never said it had to be…" he argued, making her blink before frowning, "You can't hurt me! I'm fluffy!"
"...ugh whatever…" Bullet muttered before she walked over to Celica, "If your done aweing the robot, let's hurry and pay for you stuff before.." she began as she put her hand on Celica…only to soon find herself flung into the water tank Stitch had been thrown into. A moment passed before she surfaced, "HAH?!"
"Oh…that's how work…" Stitch nodded.
"What works?" Celica asked.
"Robo…protect…you." he pointed to Celica before flinching at the robot looking at his claw, "Ooh! No! All good!" he flipped over to present his belly.
"Wait…she is protecting me?" Celica blinked as she picked Stitch up to teach the robot girl that he was no threat.
"Ih!" he nodded, "Hyper sensitive…no smarts yet. Need teach!"
"Oh! Good idea!" Celica beamed.
"This will be long road you know…" Stitch sighed as his ears dropped, "She's not too smart yet."
"..."
"Oh don't let him get to you, Minerva," Celica assured when she saw the robot glare at Stitch, "He's just trying to help is all. HE is a good boy afterall."
"Seriously, how is she understanding it?!" Bullet hissed ot herself as she got out of the water tank, about to take her jacket off before Mr. Baumann blew a whistle, "Ugh! WHAT?!"
"Bathroom's over…" Mr. Baumann began before he noticed the bathroom was destroyed, "...was over there…..Ben….!"
"Not my fault!" Stitch shouted, "She did it!" he pointed to the robot girl, "Or Mr. Chompy…" he muttered.
"But you had a hand in it!" he snapped.
"Sorry, speak with lawyer." he pointed to Minerva.
"Oh no! You won't…!"
"Ano…sir?" Celica spoke up, earning his attention, "He really didn't have any control over the situation…especially when the dinosaur started attacking, so how can you blame him for something he had no control over?"
"...Well that's…"
"And furthermore, you were actually gonna ban him and his friends from your store…and his friends had no part in this so that's just equally as cruel," she added, making him flinch at the stern frown she was giving him, "He was trying to help take control of the situation, and yet you further blamed him over something he still had no control over."
"W-well…but still…"
"Besides, how can you stay mad at this form?" she held up Stitch, "It's blue and fluffy…you can't be mad at that combination."
"Mmm~" Stitch gave a whimper as he gave him the puppy dog eyes.
"...d'oh….I…won't charge you for the destruction for my store…" Mr. Baumann sighed as he caved in ,"...But you still have to repair my store and get that…thing…" he pointed right at the still unconscious Spinosaurus, "Far away from here as possible."
"See? We can be reasonable," Celica smiled before turning Stitch around, "Ben-san, can you fix his store? It's the least you can do since you helped save it."
"Eh? But…" Stitch began before flinching at the stern frown she gave him, "...Okay."
"It's like a mother scolding her child when she gives that stern look," Skurd whispered as Celica put Stitch down, letting him change back into Ben.
"No kidding…" Ben muttered before blinking, "...hey wait…" he began before pointing at Minerva, "She had a hand in this, so shouldn't she be helping?!"
"..."
"Well true…Minerva, mind helping Ben-san fix this pl-" Celica began before a pair of jet wings popped out of her back, a blue energy flaring off them before she instantly became a blur, "?!"
"Wh-?!" Bullet began before Minerva shot by her…and she soon found herself completely dry and cleaned up…and a pair of jeans on, "?!"
"..."
"...not one word, Tennyson," Bullet frowned.
"I didn't say any…" Ben began before Minerva came to a stop…with the store now completely repaired, "...that….was fast."
"And you didn't even need ot transform…" Skurd added in shock.
"Guess Kokonoe programmed more into her than I thought," Celica figured.
"?!" Bullet tensed up at the name, "...you know…!" she began as she approached Celica….before she suddenly found herself in the water tank once more, "Blarugh!"
"Maybe…approach in a more warm and calm manner?" Ben offered, "You know like your happy to see Celica and won't hurt her?"
"I'm always open for a hug." Celica smiled.
"Grr…" Bullet frowned a bit as she surfaced, moving her bangs out of her face.
"...what's taking Ben so long?" Makoto pondered, finishing setting up a PS5 to the TV in the game room as she looked at her phone, "Normally he shouldn't take this long in dealing with his bad guys…and at Mr. Baumann's store…"
"Maybe he got held up," Sari offered, "I mean…he and Mr. Baumann…usually don't get along well, so chances are…he got into a fight and ended up wrecking parts of his store…again."
"Oh yeah that's right, I'm sure he should be back later." Makoto muttered. She then picked up her phone once a message popped up, "'Sorry babe held up at the store, also need to find a place to drop off a recently revived and anatomically accurate Spinosaurus…'"
"...Animo," the two girls deapanned.
"Why am I not surprised?" Max shook his head as he leaned against the doorway.
=That man needs some serious hobbies…= Steel deadpanned.
"Hmm?" Makoto blinked once she saw a follow up message "'Also heads up…Celica will be arriving and she has this new guard robot Kokonoe sent to protect her.'"
"Guard robot?" Sari and Max repeated.
"News to me," Makoto shrugged. before typing on her phone, "'Take it to the Autobots. They have two robo dinosaurs, don't they?'" A moment passed and she looked at the response, "'Don't want to give them a headache or have an accident happen and we have to deal with a techno-organic Spinosaurus that can transform.'"
"...he's not wrong," Sari muttered.
"Well we can't keep it…" Makoto added, "Noel can't possibly handle a giant prehistoric carnivore as a pet." she paused, "Okay maybe she can…but…I don't need that nightmare fuel….last thing I need is to wake up and see her playing fetch with a dinosaur…and it brings back Mr. Baumann…and his car…"
"...Why can I see that being a thing?" Sari groaned.
"Because she has a mutated mink that could be mistaken for a Kamaitachi, her sister has a ghost bunny that pops out gems when it gets hurt, can turn invisible, and seemingly teleport, and do we need to address the sword that turns into an elephant in the room?" Makoto gestured to Funkfreed who was holding up the sack that Makoto pulled out a Switch from, "Thanks, Funky."
"You really want her learning lizard pet tips to take care of a dinosaur that can cheapshot a T-Rex?" Max joked.
"I still call hax on that!" Makoto pouted.
"I'm very certain it was a joke…" Sari muttered.
"Duh, everyone knows the first movie is the only good one," Max laughed, high-fiving Sari.
"Hah?! Hey…What's wrong with the one with the Indoraptor?" Makoto asked.
"The what?" Max and Sari asked.
"Oh…We haven't gotten there, have we?" she blinked as Funkfreed trumpeted, "I know I goofed…" she looked in the sack, "Oh phew! Yep. Really glad for that blue blur."
"How deep is that sack, anyway?" Max asked.
"I have no idea. Skye said the best comparison would be to this 'Jimmy Neutron' and this 'Hyper Cube' he has which you shouldn't put cream corn in," Makoto replied, "I didn't get it, but then my buddy Magine said it's more or less a giant bag of holding."
=Oh…= Steel nodded.
"You understood that?" Max blinked.
=A bit. …It's not filled with potatoes that keep multiplying, is it?= Steel asked.
"..." Makoto pulled out a plush toy Eevee, "Uh no…but I keep finding these every three pulls…"
"Thank you," Noel misled as she snatched it from her, "I was hoping to find my life-size Eeevee plush...now she can join her sisters in my room," she smiled as she walked off.
"...Why am I not surprised she got life-sized plushies?" Sari sighed.
"She tried to buy the giant beanbag one, too…" Makoto replied as she pulled out several games and DVDs, "But I figure she was probably running low on space in her room."
"...fair point."
"And best of all…now you guys will get my references if I slip up!" Makoto beamed.
"I figured we'll be doing movie and game marathons for a while anyway, so...may as well enjoy it," Max shrugged as he plopped onto the couch and pulled out a pair of gloves.
"What are those?" Makoto asked.
"Kajun made these so I won't short-circuit controllers," Max explained, "She said this would be easier than making a new controller for each new console that comes out. It's also why I can drive, too. Hahaha…ah…Magister needed a new RV…"
=How many does that make?= Steel asked.
"Um…Given the stories Ben shared? This will be Rustbucket number nine," Makoto replied, "And out of models one through eight, only two were because they got impounded."
"Wait, how does that…?" Max began.
"Ben panicked and thought it would reveal the secret and…kaboom…" Makoto muttered.
"Ooh…." Max cringed once he realized what that implied, "Fair point…"
"Anyway…until Ben-kun gets back..." Makoto began as she held up one game, "Who's up for some Smash Bros~?"
"...They made an Ultimate?" Max blinked.
"I honestly never made it past Brawl when it was still a thing," Sari added.
"Yeah, I got it back in the MHA world," Makoto grinned, "And the DLC in Sonic's world thanks to Skye, so…we got a roster of…" she paused as she began to count a bit, "...82 fighters."
"Huh…" Max muttered, "Well dang…"
=I call Meta Knight!= Steel spoke up, taking a Pro controller.
"Get outta town! The Classic Mega Man is in this game?" Sari asked, looking at the back of the box, "When did he get added?"
"Told you to check it out…" Makoto muttered.
"...Now I'm curious who they added as DLC," Max admitted.
"...Oh you'll be in for quite the surprise."
"So let me get this straight…" Ragna began, standing outside of Mr. Baumann's store with Ben and the others once he caught up, "I leave Bullet to look after Celica…and pretty much right after a spinosaurus that crazy old man Animo made went nuts, that robot…" he looked over at Minerva, "Just came in and knocked it out cold?"
"To protect me as Professor Kokonoe made her to do, hai," Celica replied.
"...Right. What does she eat? Galvanic Mechamorph data clusters? Or those gigabyte packets from Centauri 4?" Ragna asked, earning looks from Bullet and Ben, "What? I know several folks in Undertown that are tech-made aliens. Helped a new family of them with their shopping before the Incursean Occupation."
"..."
"Hmm...I see," Celica noted, looking at Minerva for a moment before looking back at Ragna, "She says she doesn't need to eat..she has an internal engine that pretty much fuels her."
"Seriously, how is she doing that?!" Bullet hissed to herself.
"I'm just gonna say that because she was made for Celica, she 'talks' in a frequency only she can hear," Ben replied quietly, "That or Kokonoe made some sort of telepathic communication thing…either or sound possible…I mean…look at this thing." he pointed to the Omnitrix.
"...Right…" Bullet muttered.
"Moving back to the subject at hand…" Ragna muttered, "Kokonoe mentioned something about a bodyguard for Celica…so I guess this is it."
"Just be careful how you approach Celica. She's pretty…" Ben began as Ranga approached…before Minerva grabbed him and tossed him a nearby truck filled with water, "...defensive."
"BLAUGH!" Ragna gasped as he surfaced, "THE HELL?!"
"To be fair…you do look intimidating," Bullet stated.
"Oh like you're any better!?" Ragna snapped as he climbed out, his clothes and hair dripping wet.
"Hey! I spent like ten minutes trying to stop that from happening!" Bullet complained.
"You promise to teach her not to be so sensitive right?" Ben turned to Celica, "I'm sure she's really sweet, but having such a hair trigger could turn out bad."
"Oh of course," Celica nodded, "Anyone can be be a good person if taught right."
"Cause I mean I'm not concerned about them," he motioned to Bullet and Ragna, "But you know…last thing we need is her to go off and accidentally hurt a kid who's playing too close to you."
Celica gasped, covering her mouth with a hand, "Oh goodness no! That would be horrible!"
"Then you'll have your work cut out for you, madam," Skurd stated as he looked at Minerva, "She might take quite a bit to work on…"
"I just tell ya cause she's so fast… to you know…do that." Ben pointed out, "I know you are a bit of a social butterfly, so I figure the last thing you want is innocent folks you hang around with, getting hurt. Also…she is kind of intimidating. Maybe teach her to smile?"
"Can she even smile?" Ragna asked, currently ringing his jacket out.
"Oh I'm sure she does!" Celica replied, reaching up to Minerva as she pushed her cheeks up to make it as if she was smiling, "See?" she said as she moved her hands away…and Minerva's face went back to its neutral look, "Aww…"
"Good luck, Celica," Ben chuckled, "Also maybe 'till you get a hang of her learning curve, you be the one that hugs folks first."
"Yeah…like that's gonna not come off as creepy," Bullet muttered…before Minerva ended up tossing her into the truck of water, "OH COME ON!"
"Okay…notes of importance…she understands biting sarcasm…" Ben muttered.
"Oh…well, at least this means she can learn social knowledge," Celica smiled, "Though you're right about teaching her. That was most rude."
"Wish I could help, but I bet if I mess with Kokonoe's stuff…she will do something to my Omnitrix that will leave me stuck as my lamest aliens…" Ben muttered.
"...Didn't you get a copy of that one book back in that alternate Hawaii?" Skurd asked.
"...Hold that thought," Ben spoek, turning the Omnitrix on as he quickly transformed into FastTrack, "Be Right back!"
"I swear I…" Bullet began as she began to climb out…only for the sonic boom FastTrack gave off in his run to knock her back in, "DAMN YOU, TENNYSON!"
"SORRY!"
"...well on the bright side, she won't need a shower for the rest of the day," Celica offered.
"...right…" Ragna sweatdropped. He then blinked, "Wait…was that a joke at her expense? From you?" he chuckled.
"Hmm?" Celica blinked in innocence at that.
=GAME!=
"Booyah!" Max laughed as he shot up from the couch.
=What have they done to Meta Knight?!= Steel snapped.
"They balanced him out so he's not as broken as he was in Brawl," Makoto pointed out before pouting, "Also shoot…I thought I had you with Sonic…"
"Good game, my friends! Good game!" Max bowed.
"I'm actually surprised Disney of all companies would let their Kingdom Hearts games be in this," Sari noted as she put her controller down.
"Never underestimate Masahiro Sakurai," Makoto grinned before her ears twitched, "And I just heard my BF enter…real quick. Guess he went XLR8, FastTrack, or ShadowEdge." her ear twitched, "Ah. FastTrack. XLR8 sounds like wheels spinning and ShadowEdge has a much fainter footprint."
"What did he do?" Max blinked, looking around.
"...Funky?" Makoto asked as Funkfreed held up the bag, letting her reach in, "Hmm…missing a book….Oh, it must be a copy of Stitch's book."
=What book?= Steel asked.
"It was to show how naughty and nice he was," Makoto explained, "...There was a lot of the evil/naughty on there before the original Stitch Ben got his form from was shown the concept of a loving family."
"...Oh I think I recognize that form now!" Max realized.
"Really? Well I mean we showed you when we got back…" Makoto muttered.
=Yes…that's what he meant…= Steel spoke as he covered Max's mouth.
"Wonder what he needed it for?" Makoto ignored them.
"Okay…This?" Ben held up the book, showing a drawing of Minerva on it in the form of an outline with all but the top half of her head colored in red, "This is where she currently is at."
"Mmm…and Red is Bad." Celica nodded.
"Well she's not evil or anything so let's call it…aggression?" Ben asked.
"Well she is very aggressive with people…so it's as nice as we can be while staying honest." Celica nodded.
"Exactly."
"...Please tell me they're joking," Bullet deadpanned as she and Ragna stood nearby.
"I wish I could…but this is happening…" Ragna sighed.
"Hey. This works," Ben argued as he looked over at the two.
"Mr. Baumann's store begs to differ," Bullet deadpanned.
"So…bump in the road?" Ben chuckled with Celica.
"Maybe, but we a smooth that bump into something productive," Celica smiled.
"Maybe you can teach her…Attack mode and…Safe mode?" Ben offered, "You know so while in Safe Mode…she just…moves you away from danger. And attack mode for…the jerks Ragna puts in prison."
"Like Pencil neck and his goons," Ragna added.
"Oh, that's a good idea." Celica nodded, "At least that way she won't hurt people when I go out to do my errands."
"But first…we need a test of sorts for her," Skurd pointed out, "..like a certain rat spying on us and possibly thinking of taking Minerva for himself."
"GH?!" Argit tensed from inside a nearby trashcan, about to try and flee before Ragna grabbed his tail, "Oh come on~!"
"You realize that this robot lady is like…linked to Celica in a way you're literally too stupid to ever understand right?" Ben deadpanned.
"More like he possibly though he could hire someone to reprogram it to work for him instead," Bullet deadpanned.
"Hey, give me a break! I'm really tired of being the town buttmonkey!" Argit snapped.
"And who sided with the Incursions to save his ass?" Ragna countered.
"Who keeps coming up with stupid plans that would never work anyway?" Ben added.
"Who deserves to get punched in the nose for his endless sexist comments?" Bullet sighed.
"You are kind of a jerk…" Celica muttered sheepishly.
"D'oh…" Argit grumbled before Ragna dropped him, "OW! Jerk…"
"And right now..you are gonna be our little..test subject," Ragna grinned before pointing at Minerva, "You have to come off as not a creepy little prick towards Celica…so she doesn't end up attacking you."
"...that's it?"
"Well I mean it involves not being creepy, crude, crass, rude, offensive, annoying…" Ragna muttered.
"I get it!" Argit snapped before blinking, "..wait..what's the catch?"
"Hmm?"
"There's something screwy about this…" Argit frowned, "For I know, I…"
"Just go do the damn test," Bullet frowned as she punted him near Celica and Minerva.
"GAH!" Argit yelped as he flew…before Minerva caught him just as he was heading towards Celica, "...don't hurt me…."
"..."
"Minerva…"
"..."
"Well yes I know he has quills, they are his only means of self defense…and I do mean only. I've seen him get winded playing smartphone games…" Celica muttered.
"Hey hey..." Argit whispered in an offended tone.
"So why not just put him down? He doesn't mean any harm."
"..." Minerva slowly nodded…before she ended up tossing Argit into Bullet, sending her flying as the two ended up in the river nearby.
"OH COME ON!"
"...well…technically Bullet kicked Argit towards her, so…she was being defensive in a way…" Skurd muttered.
"Okay so…she can learn, but she maybe…has opinions on folks…" Ben muttered, "Implying she's way more sentient then one would assume…maybe I can ask Jen or Sari to help out with this. This is more their field of expertise."
"Oh that sounds so wonderful, we can become friends!" Celica smiled.
"You can make an entire day out of it." Ben offered, "Anything to help Minerva…not pick unneeded fights with people…"
"Oh of course!"
"Joy…" Bullet deadpanned, poking out of the water with her hair dripping wet.
"Hey…you kicked him after all," Ragna stated, earning a stink eye from the former mercenary.
"So you need me to help keep this Minerva's…defensive urges in check," Sari noted, standing out near the entrance to UnderTown with Ben as Celica, Minerva and Ragna stood nearby.
"More or less," Ben nodded, "Her job is to protect Celica, but she takes it a little too seriously. Which I mean isn't so bad but Celica is kind of super social, so she doesn't want Minerva to hurt anyone innocent while she's out and about."
"Hmm…" Sari muttered as she walked up to Celica, "Do you mind if I take a look at Minerva?"
"Sure," Celica nodded.
"..."
"She's just going to check up on you…not hurt me," Celcia assured Minerva.
"..." Minerva justted nodded as Sari touched one of her larger arms.
"Hmm…yeah one of the docs really put a lot of work into her," Sari noted as her eyes glowed faintly, "She's definitely designed to protect Celcia from all forms of harm…at least until it's time to use…" she paused before biking, "...Kushinada's Lynchpin?"
"?!" Ragna tensed at that.
"The heck i-" Ben began.
"NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!" Ragna snapped.
"Whoa! Dude!" Ben called out jumping back at the volume and his tone.
"Me thinks he might know something about it," Skurd whispered to Ben.
"I think my sister talked about it once or twice," Celcia recalled, "Same for the professor…not sure why she needs it though…"
"Uh…yeah hi…what in the name of the omniverse is going on?" Ben blinked.
"At first I wanted to see if I could talk to her, but…now I feel we may have stepped into something we shouldn't have," Sari responded
"...maybe best not to pressure about it and focus on the task at hand," Skurd offered.
"Okay…let's move on then…" Ben muttered.
"Right. I did 'hear' one other thing," Sari noted, "You should have your right elbow joint looked at, Minerva. The screw in it is older than the rest and is starting to strip."
"Well I guess we're brushing that whole bit under the rug till it blows up in our faces later." Ben sighed to himself, "But know what? Problems for later."
"Mmm…" Skurd mummbered, narrowing his eyes at Minerva for a bit before turning just as she looked at him.
"Okay…if we're gonna be helping Minerva socialize and…well not act so overprotective, we need to think on something," Sari muttered as she held her chin in thought, "Hmm…did you try interaction?"
"We tried with Argit..but he and Bullet ended up in the river," Ragna stated.
"Well that's the problem…you tried with Argit," Sari pointed out, "Maybe try someone who…well is less of a sleazebag…hmm…Ben, try changing into one of your big forms."
"You sure?"
"Hey. Gotta show her even if they look..well threatening, that doesn't mean they're looking to harm Celica," Sari pointed out, "Once she sees ya acting nice to Celica, she'll be on the road to socializing just like that," she smirked as she snapped her fingers…which inadvertently caused some neon-green lightning to zap Ragna and make Celica yelp from the loud clap, "?!"
"GH?! WHY!?"
"It was a mistake! I…" Sari began before Minerva was instantly before her, "...uh oh..it was a mistake! I-" she began before she was grabbed..and tossed right into a sizable puddle of water, ""BLblbb!"
"Okay that can't have been there…" Ben muttered as Celica went to check on Ragna, "So if your surprised she does it to then…" he noted to Celica, "Halloween is gonna be a problem for you…"
"Oh…I was looking forward to going with the kids…" she pouted.
"Maybe she needs to be around people with…well no powers and is less likely to be a threat," Skurd suggested.
"Honestly I'm just worried about Minerva attacking random innocent folks on the street. I'm not all that concerned what happens to people like us." Ben added, "So maybe its best we let Celica try and acclimate her new bodyguard to not attacking regular people."
"Probably…for the best," Sari groaned as she got up, moving her wet hair out of her face.
"Mmm…this maybe harder than I thought," Celica muttered as she finished healing Rgna, "..no worries though! I know Minerva has some good in her, so it'll make all the hard effort come off in the end!"
"You just gotta teach her like a very pouty socially awkward kid," Ben offered, earning a look from Minerva, "See, pouty."
"Oh your right Ben…she is pouty…" Celica nodded, "How did you know?"
"I'm a superhero…kids follow me around all the time. You learn how to tell what kind of kids are the difficult one." Ben explained, "Just try and remember she doesn't play well with others yet."
"Oh I understand, Minerva is an innocent new child to the world. I just need to help her get used to it." Celica smiled.
"Not how I'd word it, but you get my point. Just treat her like a pouty and maybe clingy kid who hasn't learned to play well with others…yet." Ben smiled.
"So long as she doesn't keep throwing people into any nearby bodies of water," Ragna muttered.
"Honestly, I wish you luck, Celica," Sari sighed as she began to walk off, "I'll see ya back at the house Ben…"
"Thanks Sari," Ben sighed.
"Hmm…Today wasn't what I hoped it would be," Celica muttered, resting in her room back at Ragna's place as Minerva looked at her from across the room, "...but it won't deter me!"
"You are just one big ball of positivity…" Bullet sighed as she leaned against the doorway, "Also...I doubt you can get that thing under control."
"Hey hey. Minerva's not a thing," Celica argued.
"It keeps throwing me into the water!" Bullet snapped, "Also…why Minerva?"
"Eh?"
"This...thing didn't even have a name, and you keep calling it Minerva…why?"
"Oh…well she reminds me of Nirvana, so I decided I'd move the letters a bit and replace one of the N's with an 'M' and an 'A' with an 'E'," Celica explained, making Bullet facefault.
"That's barely the same thing anymore!" Bullet shouted, jumping back up.
"That's what helps her feel unique," Celica smiled, making Bullet facefault once more, "Oh my… You sure are dizzy today, aren't you…"
"You're lucky I can't hate you…" Bullet groaned from the ground.
"Aw~ I like you too, Bullet." she smiled.
"...ugh…why don't you go check on Ragna?" Bullet sighed as she got up, "I think he's backed up on bills and invoices again…"
"Oh not again," Celica frowned, "I keep telling him to take care of it the day he gets them, but he just doesn't do that."
"Maybe because they're boring?" Bullet deadpanned.
"Well you still gotta pay them. I often had to remind my sister of that when she had to help put food on the table when father was busy," Celica pointed out before looking at Minerva, "I'll be right back. I just need to go help Ragna, so…be a good girl and stay."
"..."
"Again it won't take me long," Celica assured as she began to step out, "Bullet, mind watching her for me for a bit?"
"Yeah, yeah…" Bullet sighed.
"Thanks!" she beamed as she walked off.
"..." Bullet's eyes trailed after Celica…before she turned her gaze towards Minerva with a frown, "I know Kokonoe built you…"
"..."
"Knowing her, she most likely fit something in you…and is spying right now," Bullet frowned as she approached the female robot, "Whatever you're scheming…just know…I will find you.." she stated, standing face to face with Minerva as she glared her straight in the eyes, "And you will tell me what happened to my captain…and if anything happens to Celica…" her eyes narrowed as her fist clenched, "There will be issues…especially from Ragna."
"..."
"Well…I was hoping for something…but I guess you are just a robot…not like those friends of Tennyson…" she groaned, "But I'm keeping an eye on you."
"..."
"...Hmph," Bullet scoffed as she began to walk out of the room.
=...tch. I really didn't think I met one of those survivors from his assault…= Kokonoe's voice silently came from one of Minerva's ears =Ugh…I knew that was gonna come bite me in the ass one day….regardless…Minerva, keep a close eye on Celica…I still need her in case Terumi shows up…as powerful Azmuth's Omnitrix is….it's still no match for that manipulative snake…or them
SZ: Well..this was an interesting way to introduce Minerva into the story.
GT: Eeyup. *dripping wet* …Yeah, I bumped into Celica and she threw me in the river.
Z0: *totally unaffected due to being strongest here* I had no problems with her at all.
SZ: That's because you've been hunting Diablos and other monsters all day on Sunbreak
Z0: *ptsd flares up* BANZAI! *grabs GT and SZ like twin swords and begins swinging around the place like a beyblade*
SZ: OH GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE?!*gets slammed into the wall*blearugh…KO…
GT: Read and review~!
Z0: AAAAHHHH! *lifts giant buster sword while running through the walls*