A/N: Morning, everyone! Well, it's Friday once again, and after a long week of forbidden doors, blood and guts and dinosaurs becoming bad guys (you know if you know), I believe it's time we get back to our usual programming. We've got another training chapter on our hands today, so let's dive right on into things, shall we? This is…

Chapter 40: Six on Eight

…..

There was a feeling of existential dread going through the minds of Ben, Ruby, Yang, Ilia, Ren and Nora as they and the rest of their team were lowered into the Plumber Base. What they had been told only an hour earlier was about to come to pass; their training session today involved fighting the Sixth Deadliest Man of one Earth… and probably on at least another Earth as well. They all saw what Agent Six could do in combat, and they were rightfully nervous about what was to come. And if what Rex had told them was true, then they were in for one hell of a bad time.

And their biggest advantage? He was currently wiped out from fixing the magma-covered roads in the sweltering sun. Yang could see the sweat practically dripping off his brow, and she could tell that he was relieved to be inside of an air-conditioned building again. She placed a hand onto her boyfriend's back in support. "Green Boy, I know that Clockwork makes repairing damages from bad guys a lot easier… but I think you WAY overdid it by fixing every road."

"Hmph, my only regret is that I couldn't fix that building before the Omnitrix needed a break." Ben muttered.

Penny glanced back to him. "Ben, I understand that you want to help your town as much as possible… but you all are going into battle against one of the most skilled men in the world." The android's features scrunched in concern. "One who I'm fairly certain has KILLED people before. Wouldn't you want the Omnitrix to be at optimal performance for that? If not, you would be at a significant disadvantage."

"Trust me, Penny, I get what you're saying." Ben nodded, cringing a bit himself. "And I do know how dangerous Six is." He quickly put on a grin and raised the Omnitrix, pointing to the faceplate. "But at long as this is green, we're gonna be okay. Because for as dangerous as Six is, he's still just a guy with no super powers. I'm fairly certain we'll be—"

"HAHAHAHA!" The sudden laugh took everyone off guard, the Omni-Hunters setting their sights onto Rex as he leaned up against the elevator wall. "Oh, Ben, amigo, you do NOT wanna go into a fight with Six with THAT kind of mentality." He jerked his thumb to his chest. "You wanna know how many times he's kicked MY ass? More times than I can count." He stood up straight and stepped over to the Omnitrix bearer. "Not to mention all of the times that he's gone up against EVOs that're probably twenty or even FIFTY times his size. The man is fearless, skilled, and most importantly; cunning and creative. He'll find a way to take ALL of you down. You're basically dealing with Batman if he wasn't afraid to kill."

The group of six paled at the thought, with Ben sucking in his lips nervously. "…Okay, that DOES kinda concern me. But still, even HE must have his weaknesses."

"Oh, he does." Rex nodded. "…But good luck trying to find 'em."

Nora threw her hands up. "GAH! Seriously, Rex?! You're not even gonna give us a hint?!"

The EVO shook his head. "Nope. I'm not just gonna expose Six like that, not with the trust we have." He smirked and crossed his arms. "That said, good luck. I've had to endure these "punishments" myself, so I'm interested to see how all of you handle 'em. Hehehe…"

"Rex, you are absolutely evil!" Ruby whined before spinning toward her partner. "Weiss, please tell him to stop and at least give us SOME advice! He'll actually listen to you!"

However, Weiss simply closed her eyes and held her head up high. "Sorry, Ruby, but this is out of my hands." Ruby's expression could only be described as "hollow" as Weiss denied her. "This is your problem to deal with. The rest of us who weren't on last night's mission are merely spectators here. Sorry, but there's nothing that can be done for you now."

Ruby fell to her knees, reaching her hands up to Weiss pleadingly as she started to tear up. "N-No, Weiss, please, don't leave us to the wolves! We'll get slaughtered by Six if we don't have SOME idea how to beat him!"

Ren sighed and felt his shoulders slack. "I suppose it cannot be helped. We're the ones who failed last night's mission, so… we might as well take what we deserve—URK!"

"I DON'T WANNA DIE, RENNY!" Nora shouted as she shook her partner by the shoulders. But just as she did, the elevator came to a halt right in the main control room… where there were several Plumbers still working diligently. Or at least, they were, until Nora's scream carried out through the room, bringing their attention to the teens.

The Omni-Hunters stared back at the massive group awkwardly before Jaune elbowed the hyper redhead. "Nora, chill! You're causing a scene!"

Nora was brought out of her fear-induced breakdown and snapped her eyes out to the Plumbers, wearing a bashful grin as she took her hands away from Ren. "Ah, haha… sorry!" Thankfully, the Plumbers just went back to their work, and Nora let out a sigh. "Hah, sorry guys, I just—wait." Her sights went straight to Jaune curiously. "Uh, Fearless Leader… you gonna put your hoodie back on?"

"Ha! In this weather?" Jaune balked. "We might be inside and with air conditioning, but I'm still feeling the effects of the Hot Spot. The hoodie's gonna stay off for now."

"Okay… but would you at least put on a shirt? Because those Plumber girls over there are getting a show."

Jaune's eyes widened and he whipped his head down, seeing that he was still quite bare-chested. And indeed, some nearby Plumber women, human and alien, were all gazing at him with yearning grins. The knight's cheeks flushed red in embarrassment… but that feeling was quickly overtaken by a new sensation; terror. He could sense an uncomfortable chill run up his spine and, reluctantly, he peered over his shoulder. Just as he feared, it was Pyrrha who was the source of this terror, and he could see a rare darkness in her eyes as she glared at the women. And the second those women saw her, they all ran away screaming.

"Jaune. Shirt. NOW." Pyrrha said in a deathly calm voice.

"AH! A-Alright, putting a shirt on, putting a shirt on!" Jaune quickly put on the white t-shirt he had on under his hoodie, covering his chest. "Hah, o-okay, done."

The very next instant, Pyrrha was all smiles as she leaned up and pecked her boyfriend's cheek. "Thank you!" she sang. Though in her mind, she couldn't help but be a bit disappointed. 'I might have to deny seeing him in his full glory… but if it keeps other women from looking at him, that's something I'll have to deal with.'

The others, however, were still stunned… though not entirely for the right reasons. "Dude…" Neptune fell to his knees and bowed before Jaune, taking him off guard. "TELL ME YOUR SECRET!"

"W-What?!"

"I've been trying to get that reaction for YEARS and yet YOU got it in seconds!" The blue haired boy emphasized. "How do you do it?!"

Jaune scratched his cheek, uncertain how to answer. "Er, w-well, I—ah!"

Pyrrha suddenly latched her arm onto Jaune and started leading him off the elevator and into the base itself. "It's probably best that he keeps that information to himself, Neptune." She scanned her eyes around the base, making sure no other woman was looking at her boyfriend longingly. "That's a dangerous secret to let loose."

As the couple walked away, Blake shook her head, trying to make sense of all this. "Please tell me that whole thing was a figment of my imagination."

"Sadly, no." Sun reaffirmed, putting an arm around Blake's shoulders as they also went walking into the base with the team. As they went, though, a certain thought occurred to the monkey boy. "Though I gotta admit, it's kinda weird that I don't get those kinda looks all the time. I mean, I'm practically open-shirt twenty-four-seven."

"Hm, you know, I—" But Blake cut herself off suddenly as she managed to see a few ladies side-eying the group. More specifically, they were glancing right at her boyfriend. Blake was in utter disbelief… and she was also kinda pissed, so she quickly lunged in front of her boyfriend and went to do up his buttons. "Just to be on the safe side, let's keep your abs covered, okay?"

"Ah! Uh… o-okay."

As the team continued down a long hallway, Ilia couldn't help but roll her eyes at what a few sets of eyes managed to do in that moment. 'Good lord, who knew Plumber girls could be so thirsty. Thank goodness I'm not THAT desperate.'

"AH! Hey, Freckles!"

Immediately, Ilia stopped in her tracks and her spots became a bright shade of pink, but she quickly got herself under control. It was a voice she hadn't heard in a while, one that just so happened to belong to a good friend… that she was crushing on. She spun around and gave her best smile. "Ah! Swift! So good to—what the…"

But the chameleon girl trailed off the second she saw her friend… wearing on of the strangest uniforms she had ever seen. The Aerophibian was in a yellow and maroon-striped shirt with a matching apron over it, along with a pair of black pants. Swift paused as Ilia simply gawked at her, raising an eyeridge. "Hm? Hey, what's wrong, Ilia? You… okay?" But then she caught sight of the other Omni-Hunters' eyes on her, all of them either stunned or confused. And then, it hit her; she was still in her store uniform. "AAAAAHHH!" She covered herself up as best she could, waving them away. "STOP LOOKING! Stop looking, ALL of you!"

The teens immediately did a collective spin, taking their sights off the half-alien girl. "Gah! S-Sorry, Swift!" Ruby called back. "W-We just weren't expecting… um, that."

"Grr, dammit." Swift growled as she took off the backpack she was wearing, rifing through it to find her usual clothes. "I knew I should've changed before I left work… hold on a sec." Swift made a break for a nearby bathroom to change, coming out several minutes later in her usual black leather jacket, white undershirt, and black ripped jeans. "Ah, there, that's better."

"MUCH better." Ilia agreed before going up to her for a hug. "But how've you been?! We haven't talked in a while!"

Swift smirked, tilting her head to her. "Uh, yeah, ya came home yesterday and didn't so much as even say "hi". What gives, huh?"

Ilia's jaw fell open in disbelief, realizing that she really hadn't said "hello" yesterday. "AH! Oh my gosh, I am SO sorry!" She apologized with a bow. "I-It's just we had so much going on yesterday and I had a mission last night, and—"

"Haha! Hey, hey, no need to get so worked up!" Swift gave her friend a pat on the shoulder. "Trust me, I get ya. You guys are busy, and believe me, I am too. Mr. Baumann's been workin' me to the bone over there, so I understand not getting some good free time." She pointed up to the ceiling. "But man, if I had to deal with what you guys had to go through today, I'd have NO idea how to handle that!"

"Heh, yeah, bet you don't envy us on that one." Ben chuckled, crossing his arms with a knowing grin. "But hey, glad to hear that Mr. Baumann's keeping you busy. Speaking of… I'm guessing THAT'S where you got that uniform?"

Swift narrowed her eyes at Ben and pointed to him. "You say NOTHING about the uniform, Tennyson. I hate it enough as it is." She sighed and took up her backpack, which had the uniform inside. "But yeah, Mr. Baumann just got these new uniforms in and he wants all of his employees wear them… LUCKY ME!"

Ilia winced, but couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Hehe, yeah, that does sound pretty sucky." She put an arm around her friend's shoulders in support. "But hey, you're done with your shift, right? So there's a plus."

"Yep, you're right about that one, Frecks." Swift winked, her smile becoming sympathetic. "Though, uh, from the sound of it, your day is only just getting started. I'm hearin' that you're gonna be put through the wringer, huh?"

And within a second, Ilia grimaced at the reminder. "Ugh, something like that, yes." Her head flung back and she groaned at their predicament. "Oh god, this is gonna be hell!"

Nora was biting on her finger, she was so nervous. "Ooh, what're we gonna do?! We need SOME kind of plan to take Six down!"

"Well, fortunately, I just so happen to have one." At the sound of a very self-assured voice, the team set their sights down the hall just in time to see Gwen and Kevin coming their way, the duo both wearing confident faces. "Hey there, guys!" Gwen greeted. "I heard the mission went pretty well, huh?"

"GWEN!" Ruby and Nora zipped right over to the Anodite and gave her a surprise hug, relief washing over them. "Thank god, we're SAVED!"

"Uh, gals, ya might wanna actually hear the plan first before jumping to conclusions." Yang advised before giving Gwen a thumbs up. "But yeah, things went pretty well… aside from the whole magma flood thing, but Ben cleaned up the damages with Clockwork."

Gwen's eyes widened and her gaze landed on her cousin, a bit of her own concern starting to show. "You used Clockwork for a while?" She received a nod from Ben, leading her to ponder their options. "Hm, that does make things a bit more complicated. I was hoping the Omnitrix would have a decent amount of charge left, but after that…"

"D'oh, dang it!" Ruby whipped around and started scolding Ben. "Penny was right! Overdoing the Omnitrix like that is gonna cost us BIG time!"

"H-Hey, we don't know that for sure!" Ben insisted, looking to his cousin for confirmation. "Gwen, you know I've gotten by on only a partial charge before, right? There's honestly nothing to worry about, I can promise you." He raised the Omnitrix with a self-assured smile. "Trust me, we're gonna be fine. Besides, it's just a spar, right?"

Kevin cleared his throat, getting his chance to speak. "Er, yeah, about that… Six has already set up the Hazard Room." He caught the others' attention in an instant. "Pretty sure he's programmed it for SOME sort of environment, and I think he's even gone in ahead of us. We might wanna take this one seriously, Ben."

As Ben took in this information, he did have to admit that it definitely didn't sound like Six was messing around. Whatever he had planned for them, it must've been very well planned out. All the same, he nodded to his best friend. "Trust me, Kevin, I am. When it comes to Six, I figured out fairly quick to take anything he does seriously." The hero set his attention down the hall, where the elevator to the Hazard Room was only a few feet away. "But we can't exactly know what he's got planned until we get there, so… let's do this."

…..

Ding!

Holiday perked her head up at the sound of the elevator coming to a stop. She had been in the hall for several minutes, waiting for the team to show up. And, as the doors parted open, she could see Team JNPR, Team SN, Gwen and Kevin all come filing out, before the elevator closed again and went back down. "Well, hello there, everyone." Holiday smiled in greeting. "Nice job on the mission today. I heard you were all rather successful, despite the magma trouble."

"Ah, it was nothin'!" Neptune placed his hands behind his head. "Like we were gonna let a little heat get to us."

Sun pointed over to Jaune. "You should've seen THIS mad man. Bro took his armor, hoodie AND shirt off just to fight back against the Kraaho."

"Hm, really now?" Holiday raised a knowing brow to Jaune, giving him a smirk. "I guess Cesar and I should probably start working on some heat-regulating clothing for all of you. Summer CAN be a bit taxing when you're wearing that much gear."

"Hehe, thanks, Doc." Jaune rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I WAS overheating quite a bit back there, so that'd come in pretty handy…" He sent a nervous glance over to Pyrrha. "And it'll also help keep Pyrrha from scaring off girls."

The doctor's face scrunched in confusion. "I'm sorry, what?"

"O-Oh, it's nothing, really." Pyrrha waved off with a blush. "Just a little… mishap that happened when we came in, that's all."

Nora, however, slid over and whispered to Holiday; "Jaune was still shirtless when we came in and Pyrrha caught some Plumber girls staring. She scared them off with just a glare, it was terrifying."

As the Pink Dynamo slid back, Holiday couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Hmhm, is that so? Well, we can't have that, now can we?" Right at that moment, though, the elevator dinged again and out came Ben, Rex, Team RWBY, Penny, Ilia and Swift, the team all gathered up once again. "Ah, and there's the rest of you! Hope all of you are ready, because Six and Vernal have spent the last hour making this course for you."

Ruby started shaking in place, fearing just what lied beyond that final door at the other end of the hall. They were so close to the Hazard Chamber control center, and just the proximity to it was making her feel apprehensive. She clung to her sister's arm, her eyes wide and face pale. "I-I-I REALLY don't wanna know what that "course" is! For all we know, it can be something of complete, pure agony!"

Yang sighed and took her arm back, putting her hands firmly to Ruby's shoulders to snap her out of it. "Ruby! Calm. Down. Remember; Professor Ozpin chose you to be our leader for a reason. Are you really going to let something like a training session scare you after everything else we've had to deal with in the past?"

"I… I-I just… no. No, no, you're RIGHT, Yang!" With her features set in a determined stare, Ruby balled her fists and raised her head up high. "You're absolutely right! I'm freaking out over absolutely nothing! This is no life-or-death scenario, this is training! And I'm not gonna let a little bit of training scare ME!"

"That's the spirit!" Yang pumped a fist high into the air. "Now let's go show 'em what half of Team RWBY can do!"

At that moment, Nora's spirits were heightened as well. "Hey, you're right!" She slung an arm over Ren's shoulder and started leading him to the Hazard Chamber, practically dragging him with her. "C'mon, Renny! We're not gonna let ONE guy scare half of Team JNPR, are we?!"

"W-While I agree with that sentiment, maybe we could slow down a bit?!" the green ninja requested.

As she watched the four head off toward the Hazard Chamber, Holiday sighed to herself. 'Their positivity is compelling… but they have NO idea what they're in for.' She craned her head back to the rest of the team, nudging her shoulder to the door. "Well, we'd better follow them. The others are waiting in the control center."

The Omni-Hunters all followed her, silently wondering what she meant by "others". But, the second the door opened for all of them, the team got their answer. Waiting on the other side were none other than Qrow, Tetrax, Manny and Helen, the four of them standing side-by-side before them. Tetrax placed his hands on his hips and gave them a nod. "Welcome, everyone. We've been expecting you."

"Oh, hiya, Tetrax." Ben greeted, with his other teammates echoing him in various ways. "Guess I should've expected you to be here." He craned his head over to Helen and Manny, the two standing more casually than Tetrax and Qrow. "Manny, Helen, how's it goin'?"

"Yo, Ben." Manny offered a fistbump, which Ben returned. "Doin' pretty good. Better than yesterday, at least." He glanced down toward Helen, the Kineceleran standing with her arms crossed. "We've… both had a bit of time to cool off an blow off some steam after the stuff with the Knights an' all that."

Neptune weaved his way out of the crowd, concern etched across his features as he went over to Helen. "Oh yeah, that's right! Helen… a-are you okay, today? I—"

But before he could finish, Helen gasped and met him half way. "Ah! Neptune!" Her eyes were slightly sad as she bowed her head to him. "I'm SO sorry for blowing you off like that yesterday! You were just trying to help and… i-it was something I really shouldn't have done. I hope you can—"

"Woah, woah, Helen, don't worry!" Neptune gave her a reassuring smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, I get it. If I were in your place and that Forever King guy told me all that stuff, I'd be pretty steamed, too. I really can't blame ya for reacting that way. I'm honestly just glad that you're doing better today."

Helen was taken aback, needless to say. But slowly, her lips turned up into a smile and she reached for his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly. "…Thank you. I appreciate the kind words."

"No problem. …By the way, don't know if you know this, but there's actually a WHOLE bunch of Kineceleran teenagers who live down in Undertown." Neptune jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "We ran into 'em today playing street hockey topside."

"Oh, pfft, of course I know them." Helen smirked. "Some of 'em are my cousins, actually."

That bit of info managed to take everyone by surprise. "Woah, really?!" Ruby exclaimed. "No kidding!"

"Nope, no kidding here." Helen shook her head. "A lot of their parents were actually on the same ship that my dad was on when HE came to Earth. It's just that rather than sticking to the group… he broke off and met my mom." The alien-human hybrid gestured to herself. "And well, the rest is history."

"Hm, ya learn something new every day." Ruby shrugged before suddenly, a pair of arms suddenly came up from behind, giving her a bear hug and lifting her up off the ground. "AAAAH! Hey, what the—haha!"

"Not gonna even acknowledge your poor uncle there, Shortstack?" Qrow quipped before setting Ruby down and giving her a noogie. "An' here I thought I taught ya more respect than that!"

"AHAHA! Stop, no, please! Haha!" Ruby managed to wiggle out of the submission and give her uncle a proper hug. "Haha, okay, okay, I get the picture, Uncle Qrow! Sorry to make you wait on that." She tilted her head up at him curiously. "So, what've YOU been doing all day while we were out on our mission?"

Qrow leaned back against the wall, giving Ruby a pat on the back. "Ah, you know, just puttin' in a few reps in the Hazard Chamber myself. Gotta say, that thing runs like a dream." He sent a wink down to her. "After this, I should show ya some of the custom courses that I made in here. Then we can REALLY put all of ya to the test."

"Uh, thanks old man, but I'm pretty sure we're all gonna be wiped out after this one." Kevin pointed out. "And if I'm being honest, I kinda wanna get through this as quick as possible, so if anyone wants to get us started, feel free."

"Um, hold on, where's Vernal?" Ren pointed out. "I thought she was going to be here to oversee this."

Tetrax cleared his throat, an awkward tone heard in his voice. "She, um… had to make a quick pit stop in the ladies' room. She'll be back soon, but for now, I think it's best that we get things started." The Petrosapien failed to notice Swift giving him a skeptical side-eyed look as he went to the central console and began inputting commands. Within moments, a holographic image of a dense forest popped up. "This is the training course that Six has in mind for you today; the forest. It's going do be very close-quarters here, especially with all of these trees, so be sure to use caution."

Ilia couldn't help but wince a bit at the sight. "Hmph, the man's smart. His green suit's gonna blend in pretty well with all the foliage. We'll have to keep an eye out for him, too, if he's hiding down there."

"Exactly." Qrow confirmed. "Mr. Stiff is lookin' to test just how sharp all of ya are, so don't get distracted down there, got it?" He pointed over to Tetrax. "Also, he left a message for the eight of you that he wanted you to watch before you went in. Bring it up, Shard."

Tetrax nodded and put in another command, the forest's image being replaced with that of Six's head and upper body. "Greetings, everyone. I assume you've all made it back. But, on the off chance that some of you've tried to run from this training session, I've told Bobo to hunt you down if necessary."

The group set their sights on Rex incredulously, who seemed to be just as lost. "Hey, don't look at me, he probably bribed him."

"But, if all of you ARE here, then it's about time we get started." Six continued. "As you've been told, today we'll be training in the forest. The mission statement is simple; take ME down." He paused for a moment to let that all sink in. "Easier said than done, I'm aware, but remember; you all brought this upon yourselves. Now, in addition, I would like all of you to use some of the strategies you used last night in order to fight off the Creepers. Which means, Ben, I'm hoping to see you use Four Arms for this battle."

In the hero's mind, however, that set off some red flags. Six specifically wanted him to use Four Arms. Of course, the first question to enter the hero's mind was; "Why?", but he quickly found himself answering his own question. 'Six must have SOME sort of surprise in mind if he wants me to use one of my most powerful aliens off the bat.'

The Providence agent went on. "I'll also be very blunt with you; I don't plan on fighting fair. Think of me as a villain in this scenario, one that will take any and every advantage that opens up to me. In combat, this IS always the case, as you probably already know." His brow furrowed to the team. "But whereas the villains you've faced have their own exploitable weaknesses, you can imagine that I won't make mine nearly as obvious. Remember; the exercise only ends when you BEAT me… or if I beat all of you, in which case, I'll be very disappointed. Good luck, you're going to need it."

With that, the hologram deactivated, leaving the eight teens all feeling apprehensive once again. "Oh, well isn't THAT just encouraging?" Gwen murmured sarcastically.

"Yes, that's Six for you." Holiday affirmed, giving the group a sympathetic grin. "But he's doing this because he DOES care about your skills as a team. He wants to test your effectiveness in battle, and this is the best way to do it. If you can beat him, then I'm sure you'll earn his respect."

"Or at least a tiny bit." Rex added, earning him another collective glare. "Hey, I'm just saying, it took me YEARS to fully earn that."

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "Okay, well, I guess there's no time like the present." He ushered the team of eight over to the nearby lift, where they all loaded up at once. They set their gaze onto their friends as Ben gave them a salute. "Well, wish us luck."

"Sure thing." Jaune returned the gesture. "We'll see you guys on the other side." With that, the lift door closed and the eight teens were lowered down into the Hazard Chamber. "…So, what do you think their chances are?"

"Not very high, if I'm being brutally honest." Swift noted regrettably. "And that's hard to say since it's Freckles who's down there with them." The Aerophibian girl lowered her head, pursing her lips. "But with the eight of them facing two pretty experienced fighters, they're in for a hard time."

Pyrrha and the others sent her a perplexed glance, wondering just what she meant. "Um… Swift? Six is the only one down there, you know."

"Yeah… 'bout that." Swift set her sights up to the team forebodingly. "If Vernal was gonna go to the little girl's room, she probably would've been in the one I went to since it's the nearest one… but she wasn't in there. If she was, I would've told ya." The team were still confused for a moment, but as the revelation dawned on them, Swift could see it in their faces that they realized what was going on. "Yeah, remember when Six said he wouldn't be fighting fairly? I think that's a part of it."

Penny craned her head over to Tetrax and the others, who were focused on the Chamber below. "Vernal is down there with Six, isn't she?"

"…Begin training scenario." Tetrax announced.

…..

Down in the Hazard Chamber below, the eight teens exited the lift and were all immediately on high alert. Ruby, Yang, Ren, Nora and Ilia all pulled out their weapons while Gwen and Kevin got themselves ready, with Kevin absorbing some of the metal from the lift interior. Ben, meanwhile, went straight for the Omnitrix, somewhat reluctant to follow through with Six's order. However, he also knew that disobeying simple instructions would be the last thing the agent would want, so who was he to disappoint? "Well, if Six wants Four Arms…" The hero activated the watch after finding the Tetramand's icon, transforming into the alien in a split second. "Then Four Arms, he's gonna get."

"…I don't know, Ben." Gwen piped up, her eyes scanning through the dense forest for any sign of the Providence agent. "I get that he wants us to use similar combat techniques as the ones we did last night, but don't you think Six wanting you as Four Arms specifically seems a bit off?"

"Believe me, Gwen, I noticed that too." Four Arms affirmed as he took the lead, his four eyes glaring through the trees. "But trust me, I don't plan on taking this lightly. Whatever Six might have planned for me, I'll find a way to deal with it." He pointed down a nearby dirt path, the only clear sign of any direction to follow. "C'mon, let's head in. He's probably waiting to ambush us, so stay on your toes."

With weapons in hand and their senses on high alert, the team followed the Tetramand into the woods… all while unaware of something following silently close behind. Surprisingly enough, however, the group didn't have to go far before they actually found Six. Much to their confusion, the man was standing right out in the open in the most exposed place imaginable; on a low-hanging tree branch that was large enough to support his weight. The agent was leaning against its trunk as they approached, moving his head just slightly to acknowledge them. "Hm, so you're all finally here. Good to see that none of you turned tail and ran."

Yang punched her hands together, creating a couple sparks. "I think you'll see that we're not gonna back down from a fight that easily, Six."

"Yeah, anything you can dish out, we can handle." Kevin added, transforming his hands into a hammer and mace. "So bring it on. We're ready for anything."

"Is that so?" Six asked before raising his hand. "Then see if you're ready for this."

*SNAP*

"ERK! UuUuUuGgHh!" The team let out a collective gasp as Four Arms suddenly started convulsing in pain, with several parts of his body trembling erratically before just going limp all together.

"B-BEN!" Yang shouted before seeing her boyfriend's face drooping as well, his jaw falling open with his tongue lolling out before falling to the ground like a mighty tree. The seven teens were stunned by what they saw when he did fall, however. On several points in the Tetramand's back, there were several darts with very thin needles at their tips, covering him practically from head to toe. How these extremely fine needles managed to pierce his skin, they didn't know, but the team were more concerned for the hero than anything else. "NO! B-Ben, speak to me!" Yang rushed down to his side, but all she got from him was a bunch of gibberish, to which she glared up at Six. "What did you DO to him?!"

"I didn't do anything." Six emphasized. "But I can safely say that my first plan was a success."

Gwen bent down and took a closer look at the needles that were at the darts' tips, and she immediately recognized what type of needle they were. "Wait… these are acupuncture needles!"

"Precisely! Good deduction, Red." The group of teens were taken aback at the sound of a familiar voice and a wave of shock came over them as they saw who else was in the trees behind them. Standing high above them was Vernal, the former bandit smirking down as she twirled a blow dart gun in her hand. "And I gotta say, they worked like a charm!"

Ruby gasped, covering her mouth. "V-Vernal?! I thought you were—"

"In the bathroom?" Vernal leapt down from the tree, landing next to Four Arms' fallen body. "Heh, just a clever misdirection that I had Tetrax tell ya."

"Tetrax LIED to us?!" Nora exclaimed.

Yang furrowed her brow up at Vernal before standing up, the two girls eye-to-eye. "No, she HAD him lie to us so we wouldn't see this coming." At this point, Ruby was visibly disheartened at such a betrayal, and Yang was growing all the more frustrated. "…Big Sis, I thought you were past stuff like this."

Vernal rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "No "Big Sis" here, Yang. That goes the same for you, Ruby. Today, I'm your instructor, and it's time to start training, Bandit Style." She came up and placed a foot on Four Arms' shoulder, careful not to push any of the needles further in. "And today's first lesson… is learning to get on without your powerhouse of a leader."

"How the hell did you even DO that anyway?!" Kevin thrust his hand down to his fallen friend. "Do you have any clue how tough a Tetramand's skin is?! What're those needles made out of?"

"Infinitum." Six answered, leaping down from the tree as well. "Which, as you already know, is a metal so durable that it can pierce through almost anything, including the skin of a Tetramand." The team spun around toward him, their apprehension returning several times over. "And just like any creature, Tetramands have nerve endings that, given the right amount of pressure, can disable body parts temporarily. I'm made sure to study the topic extensively for Manny's own training. Through this training, he's gotten stronger…" He saw Four Arms twitch on the ground, which he pursed his lips at. "Though it's evident that Ben IS stronger than Manny, so he'll be up much sooner than him. But here's MY question…" He extended his arms and ejected his swords into his hands, now ready for combat. "Can you all survive against me until then?"

…..

"That crafty bastard!" Sun exclaimed, his hands slamming the table. "They DUPED them!"

"They were bamboozled!" Neptune added.

"They've been speckledorpped!" Rex said as well… which was met with a bunch of confused stares afterward. "…Oh, right, you guys probably don't get that reference." The EVO muttered.

Swift, however, raised her hand. "But I do! That's not even a WORD and I agree with ya!" Rex wore a grateful smile and gave her a high five, before Swift set her attention back down to the Hazard Chamber itself. "But yeah, I had a feeling something like this would happen. The second I heard Six say that he wouldn't be fighting fairly, something like this is what I imagined he'd do."

Jaune put his hand to his chin, pondering what would happen next as the team squared off with Six below. "Okay, so Ben's been taken out temporarily, which definitely helps Six out a lot." The team set their sights on him as he continued. "Because honestly, Ben probably WOULD beat Six in at least a minute if this were a fair fight."

"So that leaves the question of if the others can hold him off, or even beat him themselves." Pyrrha concluded, lacing her hands together. "I hope they'll be alright…"

Just then, the sound of the control center's door opening caught everyone's attention, leading them to see Rook and Winter come walking in. But accompanying them was, much to their surprise, a certain young Kraaho girl. "Oh, good, it would seem that we're just in time." Winter noticed as she made her way over.

"W-Winter!" Weiss' eyes widened. "I didn't think you'd be here… and with Ester?"

"Hiya! Weiss, right?" Ester waved with a cheery grin. "Yeah, I know, betcha didn't expect to see me so soon after that whole thing, huh?"

Blake tilted her head at the half-alien hybrid. "Um, you could say that. But what ARE you doing here, anyway? I would've thought you'd be free to go back to Undertown after your questioning."

"Technically, I am." Ester shrugged. "But I wanted to see you guys again before I did just so I could say thank you for your help…" She trailed off as she saw Manny, Helen and Swift all staring at her curiously, and the moment she saw them, she lit up in a bright smile. "Woah! Whaddup my fellow half-breeds?" Ester made a horned sign with her hand in greeting. "Cool to see more human-alien hybrids around these parts."

"Uh… yeah, sure." Swift muttered before whispering to Helen; "You know this girl?"

Helen rolled her eyes and whispered back; "She's the perp who stole the fusion engine last night. Apparently, she's innocent, but that was a whole thing I wasn't there for." The Kineceleran shook her head. "Personally, I don't trust her. My aunt says she's a bad influence on my cousins."

Manny shrugged his massive shoulders. "I dunno, she seems cool."

But then, Rook came up and interjected with; "Actually, quite the opposite. She cannot handle "cool" temperatures." The others couldn't help but facepalm at that as Rook peered down into the Hazard Room, where the team was currently trying their best to at least land a good hit on Six, though to no avail. "But it would seem that the others are not having the easiest time down there."

Rex smirked and gave a small chuckle. "Nope! Six might be a total stiff, but he's one hell of an ass-kicker. Wonder how they plan on handling him down there…"

…..

Back down in the chamber itself, things were not going as well as the team were initially hoping. So far, Six was handing them their butts on silver plates. They had tried to overwhelm him by charging all at once at him, but that quickly proved to be a big mistake. Kevin had taken to the front of the group, acting as the rally-man for the team. "C'mon, people! Tennyson wouldn't want us doin' nothin'! LET'S GO!"

With a collective yell, Nora, Yang and Ruby were quick to follow his example, with Ren, Ilia and Gwen staying behind reluctantly. "Kevin, wait!" the redhead pleaded. "A head-on attack won't work!"

But by then, it had been too late. Six furrowed his brow at the four incoming combatants and took a battle stance, patiently waiting for his opportunity. Kevin, meanwhile, raised his hammer hand up and went to take a hit on Six. Then, at the precise moment Kevin went to bring his arm down, Six snapped his blades together, making his Magna Blade and raising it up just as Kevin came down. "W-Woah—WOAH! HEY!" The three charging girls stopped, stunned at the sight of Six spinning Kevin around through the air effortlessly with his magnetic blades… before he then tossed Kevin right at them.

"AH! Retreat!" Ruby ordered, which her sister and Nora were too happy to comply with. The trio ducked just as Kevin was sent sailing over their heads, the Osmosian crashing into the dirt and leaving a rut before stopping at Gwen's feet.

"Hah… yep, knew that'd happen." Gwen sighed before her eyes and hands lit up. She rose up gently into the air and started floating over to Six, all while chanting a spell; "MAGNESIA!" The Anodite extended her hands and pulled against Six's blades with her own magically-induced magnetism, the swords flying out of the agent's hands and into hers. "Hm, you're not the only one who's capable of being magnetic, Six."

"Perhaps." Six admitted before reaching into his pocket, pulling out a pen-shaped device with a red button on top. "But the swords to more than just that." He clicked the button and then…

KA-BOOOM!

Gwen let out a scream as the swords suddenly exploded in her hands, the weapons emitting a concussive wave of energy out of their hilts. The Anodite was sent flying back, slamming against the truck of a tree before falling into the bushes. "GWEN!" Yang, Nora and Ruby made a break for their friend, but before they could reach her, Six dashed in and started punching and kicking all of them, taking them off guard. He then dove to the ground and recovered one of his blades, then made a break for the other one.

Before he could get it, though, it was actually yanked away from him yet again, this time by a certain whip. Ilia pulled the blade toward her and caught it, pointing it at Six with narrowed eyes. "I get the feeling that you can't do that trick again."

"Not for a while, no." Six admitted.

The chameleon girl tossed the sword further down the pathway, standing between it and the agent. She pulled the trigger on her Lightning Lash, making the weapon crackle to life with electric energy. "Don't make me hurt you, Six. My weapon's good for killing Grimm… but I didn't have that purpose in mind when making it."

Six took hold of his single blade in both hands, ready for whatever she had to dish out. "Believe me, I know how lethal that thing can be." Without even giving her so much as time to speak again, Six rushed forward once again, taking Ilia off guard. She pulled back her Lightning Lash and whipped it forward, but to her surprise, Six actually JUMPED out of the way, the agent sailing high over her head before throwing his sword down.

The blade spun through the air before stabbing right into the whip, impaling it into the ground and sending all of its electricity into the earth below. "W-What the—" SMACK! "Augh—AAAAAHH!" Six had come down and kicked Ilia in the back, making her trip and fall… right onto her own lash. Thankfully, she wasn't shocked for long as the fall made her let go of the trigger, but it was enough to leave her stunned for a few moments.

Six then dashed up and went for his other blade, and he picked it up just in time to deflect a certain pair of weapons that nearly hit his head. He saw the spinning, green weapons go spinning back through the air before being caught by Ren, the green ninja glaring at him silently. Six stood up and pointed his sword at him. "Got something to say, kid?"

All he got was a determined battle cry before Ren came dashing toward him, firing several Dust rounds at the Sixth Deadliest Man in the world. But, for as fast as he was shooting at him, Six was able to keep deflecting Ren's bullets just as fast. The projectiles were sent every which way, impacting the ground, trees, even the bushes. One bullet, Six actually managed to split in half with a sword strike, which then went into two separate trees.

This kept going until Ren was right in Six's proximity, where he switched things up to melee attacks. He swung his blades fervently against Six's own, but to Ren's astonishment, Six was actually able to parry each and every one of those slashes. Even with a single sword, the agent was able to hold his own against the ninja, who couldn't help but silently marvel at how fluid and utterly smooth his technique was.

'…Such beautiful swordsmanship.'

However, Six could tell that Ren had been entranced by his technique. And he had to admit, even he recognized that the young man had potential when it came to the blade. But, in the end, training was still training, and he had to take every advantage he could. 'Sorry, kid.' Swiftly, Six brought his leg up, and…

*DING*

"AUGH!" Ren felt his legs suddenly give out, an intense pain flowing through his groin as the wind had been taken out of him completely. He felt his stomach churn as he was forced to his knees, his hands moving down to cradle himself through the agony. "…Really?" he squeaked out.

"Not fighting fair, remember?"

"I know, but… really?"

Before Six could do anything else, a shrill voice shouted at him from his left; "HEY!" The agent leaped away just as Nora came flying in, swinging her hammer down at him. The weapon struck the dirt as Nora glowered at him, her expression filled with genuine anger. She rushed him once again with her hammer up and ready, but Six simply flipped out of the way and back toward Ilia. The chameleon girl herself was only just starting to regain her bearings, but Six paid her no mind as he retrieved his other blade, its handle insulated so he wouldn't be shocked by any remaining electricity.

Nora brought her hammer down just as Six got his blade, the agent crossing them up to block the Pink Dynamo's strike. The two struggled in place as Nora drew in closer with a snarl. "That was NOT cool!"

"Protective of your boyfriend?" Six shot back in his stoic tone.

Nora decided not to comment on the "boyfriend" part and just whisper her response; "You think? It's awful to see him hurt, and…" Her cheeks flushed red as she muttered the next part; "I might need those in the future."

Six resisted a smirk, glancing to Ren out the corner of his eye. 'Kid, best of luck with her.' He went back to Nora before pushing her back. "What you need is to focus up. Stop worrying about your teammates and put your attention on the bigger picture." Six dashed forward once again and started slashing at Nora, but the redhead was able to dodge and jump out of the way before converting Magnhild into its grenade launcher form.

"Whaddya think I'm doin' NOW, huh?!" BAM! She shot out a single grenade at Six… only for him to put his blades together again. With an effortless swing, the agent returned the grenade to its sender, much to Nora's horror. "…Shi—" BOOM! "AAIIEE!" With that, Nora was blown away, landing next to Ren as her aura took the brunt of the hit.

"Nora!" Ren reached out, only to cringe after moving just a little bit. "Erk! Damn it!"

"Is that all?" Six wondered aloud. "I certainly expected better than—huh?!" Right at that second, a massive blizzard of red and yellow petals started circling around Six, whipping wind around him at flurrying speeds. His jacket and tie fluttered in the breeze as he was caught in the center of this petal blizzard, and in no time at all, he saw the source of it come bursting out of the storm itself.

"Golden Rose formation!" Ruby shouted as she and Yang came careening down to him.

Yang belted out a battle cry as she shot several Fire Dust rounds from her gauntlets, her barrage of punches making for a veritable maelstrom of fire. "This! Is! For! BEN!" she shouted with every punch, all while she continued to fall down to Six. She saw her bullets grazing his clothes, so she knew she had him right where she wanted him. The Blonde Brawler brought her fist back and came crashing down with a mighty punch… only for Six to block it with his arms crossed above his head.

…But, it was evident she had done some damage. Six was gritting his teeth and wincing after the fist struck his arms, and Yang couldn't help but smile. She wasted no time in pulling back and going for a massive roundhouse kick, but Six wasn't through yet. He matched her strikes effectively with his own punches and kicks, pulling his swords into his sleeves for more effective hand-to-hand combat. Granted, her Ember Celica were definitely adding more to her punches, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. "Not bad, but how're you going to follow up?" he asked.

"Easy." Yang said before flipping away, giving her sister the signal. "Ruby, go!"

From out of nowhere, Ruby came swooping down with Crescent Rose in hand, the Hooded Huntress twirling it around before swinging the backend of its blade at Six, hitting him straight in the gut. "GOTCHA!" Six was sent sliding back across the dirt path, the agent crouching down while doubled over after the hit. "Haha! Yes!" Ruby gave Yang a high five. "We got him!"

From the sidelines, Nora, Ilia, Kevin and Gwen all looked on, stunned to see that the sisters were able to get in some good hits. "Woah, now THAT'S how you do it!" Ilia cheered.

"Hm, as I suspected." Gwen nodded. "Taking him on one-on-one was a mistake. But if we pair up, we'll have a better chance."

"Kinda obvious now that I think about it." Kevin admitted before absorbing a nearby boulder, absorbing its rocky exterior before reaching into his pocket to pull out some Dust. He went for his Ice Dust and absorbed the light blue crystal, forming a pair of swords on his arms and clashing them together to make a pair of massive ice blades. "Gwen, throw me back in there! I'm gonna lend 'em a hand."

"Right." Gwen created a mana tether and wrapped it around Kevin's waist, her eyes glowing pink as she mustered up some added power. "Alright, here goes! GAH!" With a powerful toss, Gwen sent Kevin into battle… before reaching to her back and clenching her teeth in pain. "Agh, ow! Still hurts."

Nora, for her part, gave Gwen a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Gwen! We'll help Kev and the girls out, right Renny?" But then, Nora was met with the reminder that Ren's reset button had been hit hard, and she winced again at his situation. "Oh… right. Ah! Wait, what the heck am I thinking?!" She spun to Ilia with a determined gaze. "Ilia, give me a charge!"

Ilia slapped her forehead at the realization. "Agh! Of course!" She retracted her Lightning Lash and started charging it up, aiming the hilt directly at Nora. "We REALLY must've been nervous about all this if we forgot our strategies." ZZZZAP! She pulled the trigger and blasted a spark of lightning at Nora, the redhead immediately absorbing it thanks to her Semblance. The yellow electricity became pink as it surged through Nora's body, powering her up immensely. "Alright, you're good to go!"

"Correction; WE are good to go!" The chameleon girl was confused by that at first… until Nora grabbed her by the waist and put Magnhild into its hammer form, slamming its head on the ground before both girls mounted it. "Now let's go! TO BATTLE!"

Ilia's spots became white in an instant. "W-Wait, I didn't sign up for—" BOOM! "THIIIIISS!"

Meanwhile, things between Six, Yang and Ruby had escalated, the agent bringing his swords out again to counter the young huntresses more effectively. Crescent Rose was certainly a difficult weapon to parry given its size, but Six made to, as he always did. No matter the size of the weapon, what mattered to him was how effectively it was used. It's how he usually compensated for when his enemies usually went bigger. Still, when he caught sight of Kevin flying into the fray as well, he needed to pull back so he could reassess his plan. 'Good, so these kids CAN work together effectively.'

"Haha! Didn't expect THIS, now did ya, Six?" Kevin belted out as he started swiping at the man with his own ice blades, all while Ruby and Yang set upon the agent with him. The Osmosian started going blow-for-blow on Six, the two opponents clashing their respective blades against one another repeatedly. However, to Kevin's dismay, he quickly found himself down two weapons as Six sliced through his massive icicles, leading him to changing things up. "Oh, okay, that's how you want it…" He reshaped his hands underneath into a hammer and mace, smashing them together to generate more ice weapons. "Then you've got it!"

Six was finding himself rapidly getting backed into a corner, with the dense forest at his back while Ruby, Yang and Kevin kept pushing him toward it. Thankfully, he had cooked up another plan and was about to use his Magna Blade on Crescent Rose… but then two more entered the battle unexpectedly. "HIGH-HO, MAGNHILD!" Nora came sailing into view, carrying Ilia by the hip before she actually threw her down at the battle. "Ilia, do your thing!"

"R-Right!" Ilia affirmed, taking out her Lightning Lash and whipping it down at Six's blades. The lash wrapped around them both as he went to bring them together, yanking them out of his hands again as she landed. "Nora! Go for it!"

Six was left defenseless as Nora landed in front of him, her muscles overflowing with electricity as her eyes sparked. "IT'S HAMMER TIME!" KLANG! With a mighty swing, Nora slammed her hammer right into Six's midsection, sending the man sailing away and tumbling across the forest floor. The group cheered at the sight, with Nora raising her hands up high. "WOO! We're doing it! We're beating him!"

"Don't let up now!" Ruby ordered before making a break toward Six. "We've got him on the ropes, so let's finish this before anything happens!" The five teens all rallied together, belting out their own battle cries as they ran toward Six.

But they quickly found that the Hooded Huntress was on point, because something DID happen. While Six was down, he certainly wasn't out. He quickly reached into his jacket and took out a white, cylindrical device with a pin in it. Though that didn't stay in for every long as he pulled it out and threw the cylinder at the teens' feet. Six ducked and, a few seconds later… BAM! A huge flash covered the entire area, accompanied by an explosion that kicked up a plume of dust and made everyone's ears ring.

"AGH! AAAHH! My eyes!"

"Dammit, flashbang! I can't see!"

"WHAT?! What'd you say?!"

After a moment passed, Six got back to his feet and went right to work, taking advantage of their temporary blindness and hearing loss. With several precise strikes to their legs, abdomen and even their necks, Six brought three of the five teens down to the forest floor in seconds, leaving them all dazed. Ruby and Kevin were the only one left, and they had managed to find one another so they stood back-to-back. "Ruby, you there?"

"Y-Yeah…" Ruby placed a hand on Kevin's back, which reassured her a bit. "But my eyesight's still blurry…"

"But we can hear again, obviously." Kevin pointed out. "Keep a sharp ear out for Six, he could be coming from any side."

With her eyes still closed, Ruby nodded and started focusing on her hearing, keeping track of any steps. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long before hearing a set of footsteps approaching rapidly from her left. "There!" Ruby swung Crescent Rose in that direction… but hit nothing. She soon found out why, though, as something actually landed on the blade of her scythe. "Ah! Kevin!"

"On it!" Kevin dashed around Ruby and jumped, having heard Six land on Ruby's scythe as well. He tackled Six off and managed to wrestle him away from Ruby, before hoisting him up over his head and tossing him away.

The dust began to settle, revealing Yang, Ilia and Nora all rubbing their sore spots where Six had hit them. Thankfully, their vision had cleared and they were able to hear again. "Ugh… god, Six packs a punch, that's for sure." Yang bemoaned.

Ilia glanced up, just in time to see Kevin throwing Six away from him and Ruby. "Maybe, but so do we! Go, Kevin!"

But the feeling of victory was fleeting as Six spun around in midair and landed on his feet, skidding to a halt as he brought his swords back out. "Impressive, I'll give you that." he commended while pointing his blades at the two. "You managed to use your other senses when others failed, and that's good. But it's not enough."

At that moment, Ruby and Kevin found themselves flanked by Ilia, Yang and Nora once again, with even Gwen and Ren joining them as they supported one another on their shoulders. Ruby smiled and pointed Crescent Rose at him. "Well, we don't give up so easily, Six! We don't care we long it takes, we WILL beat you!"

"Preach it, sis!" Yang affirmed, slamming her fist into her palm as she cracked her knuckles. "Get ready for round two!"

The two opposing sides began to square off again… but then, a certain other player managed to finally rejoin the fight. WHAM! As he landed after a mighty leap, the team were surprised and overjoyed to see none other than Four Arms standing before them… with his hands all full with the darts that had taken him out earlier. "Actually, guys, if ya don't mind, I'd actually like a go at him." The Tetramand threw the darts away, balling his fists up. "It's time I get some payback for him turning my muscles into jelly!"

"Haha! Alright, Ben's back!" Nora cheered.

Ren sighed with relief. "Hah, good. What a relief."

"Don't get your hopes up too high." Six warned, his eyes narrowing at the Omnitrix bearer. "I've still got a plan when it comes to you, Ben."

"Oh, do ya, now?" Four Arms lowered himself, ready to charge. "Good, because I wouldn't want it any other way! RAAAAGH!" Belting out his own war cry, the alien blasted forward in an impressive burst of speed, barreling down at Six. He reared two arms back as he got closer and closer, but right as he was about to close the distance, Six jumped and landed right on his arm as he thrusted it forward, the agent then leaping further up onto his back and dealing a precisely landed kick into one of his shoulder blades. Almost immediately, Four Arms felt a twinge in his upper back, making him recoil at the sudden pain. "AAAGH! Crap, what the hell?!"

Six smiled knowingly as he landed and started striking Four Arms' back in other specific places, making the Tetramand jut around in discomfort. "Just as I suspected. Just like Manny, your muscles are still sensitive after the acupuncture." THWAP! Six dealt a hard chop to the back of Four Arms' neck, making him recoil yet again. "It was a mistake to come at me so soon after you got back up."

"Hah… well, maybe." Four Arms admitted as one of his arms reached toward his chest. "But I think you forget…" Six went to apply another hard strike when a green light flashed before his eyes, his hand making contact… followed by a loud CRACK! Six recoiled and took hold of his hand, which now bled after making contact with the hot, rocky hide of Heatblast. The Pyronite swung his arm back, hitting Six right in the stomach "I've got more than ONE alien to fall back on!" As Six stumbled back, Heatblast raised his hands and began shooting fireballs at him, forcing the agent to stagger away to avoid them.

Six breathed hard, bobbing and weaving away from the fiery blasts before tucking and rolling, reaching into his coat pocket to pull something out. He threw the item he procured right at Heatblast and, much to everyone's surprise, it exploded in a massive burst of foam, covering the hero from head to toe. Heatblast's flames were extinguished immediately, coughing up some foam that had got in his mouth. "ACK! Hak-HAK! What?!"

"Fire extinguisher pellets." Six informed, taking up his swords once again. He ran right up to Heatblast and began slashing him right across the face, forcing him back. "I've trained with Manny's ENTIRE team, remember? Sometimes I have to cool Alan down when he gets frustrated."

"Hak! Is that so?" Heatblast caught one of Six's blades in his hands before hitting the Omnitrix again, switching to XLR8. "Well, I betcha Helen's got nothin' on MY speed!" The now Kineceleran swung his legs up and started pelting Six with multiple kicks, before then sending him falling backward with a whip of his tail. The hero brought down his visor as he zoomed off down the forest path. "Now for the finishing touch!" Performing a quick U-turn, XLR8 came barreling back toward Six, intent on finishing him off.

But, once again taken by surprise, XLR8 saw that Six had gotten up fairly quick, and he now had his Magna Blade put together and at the ready. The hero was about to close the distance when Six thrust his magnetic sword at him, aiming directly at his forehead. While the weapon didn't make contact, XLR8 suddenly felt a powerful force push him back, making him stumble and trip up. "Agh! Oh, you've gotta be kidd—ING!" Just as abruptly, XLR8's whole body was being swung around by Six, being pulled magnetically by his head.

"A Kineceleran's helmet is made of ninety-five percent silicon metal." Six elaborated once again, slamming XLR8 onto his back. "Helen's been irritated with me ever since I found that out. Getting the picture yet, Ben?"

"…Oh, I've got it, alright." XLR8 could feel Six starting to magnetically pull him up by his helmet again, but before he could get airborne, he hit the Omnitrix yet again. Finally, just by the look that Six was giving him, the hero could tell he had stumped him. "You wanna fight with MAGNETS, Six?!" Lodestar proclaimed as he raised his clawed hands. "Well then, I'm happy to oblige!" All at once, Lodestar began focusing all of his magnetic force on Six's blades, intent on pulling them out of his hands.

But Six still had his weapons in their Magna Blade configuration, so he decided to make the most of it. He too started putting more power into his weapons, attempting to bring Lodestar to him instead. The two opposing yet attracting forces continued to struggle against one another, their feet dragging along the dirt as they were pulled toward one another. But eventually, Lodestar was starting to get bored, so he figured now was as good a time as any. 'Time to finish this.' In a snap decision, Lodestar abruptly changed the polarity of his magnetism, pushing against Six instead of pulling.

What happened next was something that almost no one had expected. Right as the forces changed, Six was sent rocketing backward, almost as if he had been shot right out of a cannon. The teens gasped in unison at what just happened. "W-What was THAT?!" Nora shouted.

"That was Lodestar exerting his dominance." Gwen answered. "Not only can he create magnetic forces from himself, but he can also manipulate the magnetic forces of other things as well. And… well, Six just learned the hard way that you don't get into a magnetism competition with a Biosavarian."

Just then, Lodestar changed things up yet again, this time going back to attraction. In an instant, Six was snapped out of midflight and brought straight back to Lodestar, who caught his swords in his hands before swinging him down onto the ground below. The Biosavaran snatched the swords and blasted them away before going straight into hand-to-hand combat, his blows all the more effective given that he was made of metal. Six attempted to counter him as best he could, but ultimately found himself being backed up against a tree. Lodestar reared his arm back and brought it straight at Six's throat, and then…

CRACK!

The team gave a collective gasp as Lodestar slammed his claw into the tree, pinning Six's neck beneath it as the tips dug into the trunk. With the agent effectively pinned, Lodestar slammed him straight in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. "…Say it."

"Hah… hah… alright." Six gave a couple of coughs, giving a steady nod. "Training… is over. You've all passed."

Lodestar smiled as the rest of his team all cheered at their victory, transforming back into Ben in a split second. He extended his hand down to Six, who took it immediately. "I had a feeling we would. I couldn't move, but I DID see how the guys got along without me, and they were pretty—AH!" Without warning, Six suddenly swung Ben up and over his shoulder, pinning him to the ground and wrenching his arm behind his back. The teens were stunned as Ben started tapping out. "ACK! H-Hey! I thought you said—"

"Training IS over, but consider that a receipt for rag dolling me around." Six answered, letting Ben out of the submission soon after. "I didn't exactly appreciate the ride that could've snapped my neck."

Ben guiltily gazed up at the man, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh… right. Sorry about that. I probably let loose way too much on that one." He stood up, with Six assisting him to his feet before offering his hand to the man. "Sorry I was that rough on ya."

"It's fine. In reality, I'm actually quite impressed." Six shook Ben's hand and set his sights across the eight teens before him, all of whom seemed very happy to hear that. "Granted, things started a bit rough, but you all quickly realized what wasn't working and course-corrected effectively." He cracked a small smile to the Omni-Hunters. "Your teamwork following that was exceptional, and I hope to see more of that in our future training sessions."

"Yeah, not bad, you guys!" The group craned their heads around to see Vernal come running up to them, the older girl offering them a thumbs up. "You guys handled yourselves out there pretty well, even without your leader for a little bit." She sent an apologetic smile toward Ben. "Speaking of… sorry about the darts."

But Ben just waved it off assuredly. "Ah, don't worry about it. I've dealt with a lot worse." His attention went back to his team, placing his hands to his hips. "But I've gotta agree with Vernal, you guys did great on your own, from what I could see, anyway." Ben focused in on Ruby and Yang specifically. "Especially you girls. You guys started on the team attacks pretty quick."

Yang jerked her thumb toward her little sister. "You can thank Rubes for that one, Ben. She pulled me to the side and stopped me before I could go in gauntlets blazing."

"Oh, hehe, w-well…" Ruby poked her fingers together bashfully. "I-I just figured that strength in numbers would be the way to go… plus I was scared to take Six on by myself."

"Well, next time, I think we ALL know what we're doin'." Nora came up and put an arm around Ruby, grinning from ear to ear. "Team attacks are the way to go!" But then, she suddenly narrowed her eyes seriously at Six. "But if you kick my partner in the nards again, I WILL have your head, Six."

"Understandable." Six said bluntly before moving over to Ren, checking up on his condition. "How're you doing, kid? Able to stand by yourself yet?"

"Hmph… yeah. Yeah, I'd say so." Ren muttered.

Six nodded slightly. "Sorry about the low blow. Wanted to drive the point home that I was the villain in this scenario."

Ren sighed, still a bit unsure of how to handle what he was feeling at the moment. "It's… it's alright, Agent Six. Trust me, I understand completely. But… i-if it isn't too much trouble…" He saw Six raise a single eyebrow, and it was then that he decided to go for broke. To everyone's shock, Ren fell to his hands and knees, bowing before the man. "Will you please teach me your technique?! Your swordsmanship is amazing and… I would be honored if you would allow me to be your pupil."

As the green ninja bowed, Six wasn't at all surprised by this. He had seen how Ren marveled at the way he fought, and was expecting the kid to ask him how he did it. Granted, he hadn't expected Ren to ask THIS soon, but still. "…Tomorrow, 10 A.M. sharp." Six said directly, making Ren do a double take. "I want to see you in the gym at that exact time and not a minute later. Only then will our training begin. Is that understood?"

A gasp escaped Ren's lips and he stood up tall, giving the agent a salute. "Yes, sir!"

"Good answer. Now, you're all dismissed." Six ushered them to follow as he started toward the lift. "C'mon, your team's waiting for you."

…..

The very second the eight teens, Six and Vernal were lifted up into the control room, Ruby and Ilia were met with a pair of stereo hugs. Penny and Swift respectively embraced their good friends, thankful that they had made it out alright. "Haha! Sensational! Ruby, you guys all beat Six!" the android cheered.

"Woo! Nice one, Freckles!" Swift offered Ilia a fist bump. "You rocked it out there!"

"H-Heh… th-thanks, Swift." Ilia returned the gesture, having to resist blushing profusely. "It wasn't easy, though…" As the chameleon girl scanned her eyes across the room, however, she noticed that Rook and Winter had arrived as well… along with another certain someone. "W-Wait, ESTER?! What're you doing here?!"

The others were quick to take notice of Ester as well, the Kraaho girl putting her hands to her hips. "Wow, good to know how well-liked I am around here. Thanks, Ilia."

Ilia's face soured at that. "I-I didn't mean it like that, and you know it!"

"Haha! Yeah, I know." Ester laughed with a wink. "Just a little joke, that's all." She focused in on Ben and stepped toward him, with Yang moving a bit closer to him as she did. Ester didn't let that go unnoticed, but resolved to address it after this. "I just wanted to swing by and thank you all once again. I know what happened today… well, it didn't happen under the BEST of circumstances, but I meant what I said." She placed her hand over her heart, her expression filled with resolve. "As leader of the Kraaho, not only will I work hard to make up for what my people have done, but I WILL be a good neighbor to all of you."

Ben smiled and gave her a nod. "I know you will, Ester. And you're welcome."

Ester nodded back and then shifted her focus to Yang, giving her a soft smile. "And Yang, I'm sorry for flirting with your boyfriend so much, and I hope you can forgive me." She glanced between the two, knowing how content they must've been. "I can see that you've got a good thing going here between you two, and I'm very happy for both of you. …I only hope that one day, I can be in a relationship as awesome as yours."

Her words gave Yang pause, the Blonde Brawler feeling her lips curl into a grin of her own. "Oh… I, uh… I honestly don't know what to say." She rubbed the back of her head, feeling somewhat guilty. "Though I guess a good place to start is to apologize for being such a jerk to you earlier. I can see that you're a nice girl, Ester, and I hope you find that happiness you're searching for."

"Heh, thanks. Best of luck to both of you." The two girls shook hands before Ester gave them all a salute. "Well, I'll see you guys around sometime!" She faced Winter and made a call sign with her hand. "And Winter, I'll keep in touch. If I see Sebik doing anything, I'll call ya."

"That is much appreciated, Ester." Winter bowed her head. "Have a safe journey back home." With a final goodbye from the team, Ester was shown out of the control room by Rook, who led her out of the base from there. Winter then eyed the Omni-Hunters once again, curious as to what they'd do next. "Well, after such a long, hot, and exciting day, I imagine that all of you are ready for some relaxation."

"Oh, you betcha, Winter. And I have a pretty good idea where to start…" Ben raised his hands up to the team and announced; "Who's up for Mr. Smoothies, on me?!" A collective cheer rang out through the entire room, the teens all desperate to get something cool an refreshing after a day full of excitement.

…..

A/N: Believe me, Ben, after these past couple weeks, I think we can ALL use some smoothies right about now. But, there you have it! It seems for the most part, the gang handled Six fairly well, all things considered. Yes, there was a bit of a stumble near the start, but that can be attributed to their general apprehension of not knowing HOW to handle Six at first. But, once the teamwork train got a-rolling, they managed to fend for themselves pretty well. …Aside from poor Ren. BIG oof. But hey, at least he got a pretty good consolation prize out of it; being able to train under the Sixth Deadliest Man in the world is no joke, and I'm sure his own skill with the blade will improve as a result.

But, that wasn't the only thing that happened in this chapter, of course. Because indeed, Swift has returned once again! …And in probably one of the most embarrassing ways possible. Don't worry, Swift, I'd probably feel mortified if anyone saw me in THAT uniform, too. Plus, we got to see Manny and Helen briefly to see how they're doing after that whole debacle with Enoch, so there's that as well. And finally, Ester showed up one more time to thank the team again. Of course, this won't be the last time we see her, but it was still nice of her to do.

Now, as for what comes next… well, you could say we're getting back to a "return to form" for this series in a way. Because NEXT TIME we'll be going back to the casual chapter format, where we'll see not only what our villains are up to… but we'll be going back to showing off some Earth stuff to the Remnant crew. After the heroes' smoothie excursion ends, they return to Ben's house for a bit of fun… only for Sandra to ask for their help in cleaning out the attic. While doing so, however, the teens from Remnant come across a bunch of odd boxes stowed away in an odd place. And what do they find when they open them? A bunch of battery-chomping, samba music-playing dinosaur action figures. …It'll make sense, I promise. Until then, I'll catch you all next time, everyone! Thanks for reading, and as always, stay safe out there!