A Day With Mine

It was early in the morning as the sun was just rising. Everyone at the hideout was fast asleep, but it wasn't for long as something caught their attention. Quickly, everyone got up and met up in the meeting room.

"Do you feel that," asked Bulat.

"Yeah, we've got an intruder," said Mine.

"But how is that possible? I didn't feel anything with my threads," said Lubbock.

"Whoever it is, we're not gonna let them roam around the kitchen and let them do as they please," said Akame.

"Then let's greet our guest properly," said Ben with a smirk and everyone nodded.

Everyone got to the kitchen and Bulat was about to bust the door open, but was held back by Ben.

"Whoa, dude. Let's first figure out who it is and then we can pound 'em, okay," said Ben and Bulat nodded in agreement.

"Getting to know your enemy before striking? I like the way you think," said Najenda, earning a smile from Ben.

The teen hero slightly opened the door as the rest of Night Raid got their Imperial Arms ready, and was shocked at what he saw in the kitchen before slamming the door open. "CLEO!?" Indeed, in the kitchen was their newest member, who was preparing breakfast.

"Hey, Ben. I got up early and decided to make breakfast," said Cleo.

Ben went in and was followed by the others, who were surprised at what they saw.

"Wow, that actually smells kind of nice," said Najenda.

"It's just toast with some bacon and eggs," said Cleo. "I made extra bacon for Akame." "I like meat," said Akame with her neutral expression, but deep down was happy.

"Hold on a second, who's that girl," asked Mine as she pointed at Cleo.

"Oh yeah, you guys came back a little late last night and didn't get the chance to meet our newest member," said Leone with a grin.

"Her name's Cleo. She won't be assassinating anyone, but she'll be doing chores around the hideout," said Najenda. "She came last night after she helped Ben take Ogre down." "Wait, you actually took Ogre down," said Lubbock as he looked at Ben.

"It was awesome to see. We tricked him pretty good," said Cleo as she looked at the teen hero. "If you ever need to use my body again, just ask me."

"What does she mean by that," asked Sheele.

"Wow, Ben! I didn't know you were that type of guy," said Bulat.

"She didn't mean it like that," said Ben with a red face.

"It's true. He used Ghostfreak to possess her body to lure Ogre away from public," said Akame, shocking the rest of Night Raid.

"Ghostfreak can actually do that," asked Lubbock.

"Yeah, that's one of his abilities," said Ben with a nod.

"Well, enough chit chat. Let's not get this food go to waste," said Najenda as she took a seat on the table, followed by the others.

Before he knew it, the only place left for Ben to sit on was between Akame and Mine. Seeing that he didn't have any other choice, he sat down between the two girls and was quickly given some bacon from Akame.

"You're now part of us and did a good job against Ogre. Now I can share my meat with you," said Akame with a slight smile.

"Thanks, Akame. I appreciate it," said Ben, earning a nod from Akame. "But, Ogre was just the beginning. There'll be bigger fish to fry and sooner or later, I'm sure that we'll come face–to–face with someone very powerful. But I also know that no–matter–who we ever come up against, we'll make them regret messing with us for the rest of their very short lives, right?"

"Spoken like a true assassin," said Najenda with a proud tone. "I'm sure we'll succeed with you on our side."

"Happy to help," said Ben with a nod.

"You sound like you're certain that you'll live," said Mine. "Remember that you get only one chance to live."

"Thanks to the watch, I'm sure I will," said Ben with a smirk.

"And why is that," asked Lubbock.

"OK, I think it's time to tell you more about the functions of the Omnitrix," said Ben with a sigh.

"I did tell you their names, so which one would you like to know about?" "How about the Fail–safe mode," said Bulat.

"Well, that mode is the reason why I'm still alive after all these years," said Ben.

"Why? What can it do," asked Najenda.

"In the moment I'm about to die, the Omnitrix's fail–safe will automatically kick in and turn me into the alien that'll help me survive," explained Ben, surprising everyone.

"Hold on! Are you saying you can't die," asked Mine.

"I can still die. I just can't be killed," said Ben with a smirk.

"Okay, so how about the life–form lock," asked Sheele.

"That mode will allow me to remain a single alien for, well, until it's deactivated," said Ben. "For example, I can remain as, let's say, AmpFibian, from a few minutes to a couple of hours. Heck, maybe even days or longer."

"That sounds cool," said Leone. "But what's the watch's best function?" "Easy. That would be the Master Control," said Ben.

"And what does it do," asked Cleo.

"Simple. It gives me unlimited access to all of the Omnitrix's functions like access to all alien forms in the watch and also, instant changes with no time limit. Without a doubt, it's the watch's best feature," explained Ben, shocking everyone.

"I'll be damned. We knew you were tough, but this is on a whole new level," said Leone in awe.

"That means we can't let anyone get your watch," said Najenda.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't worry about it," said Ben, confusing the others. "If someone else tries to use it, the Omnitrix would just shut itself down, making it completely useless. The other way to stop others from using it is for me to activate the SDM." "What's SDM," asked Bulat.

"Self–destruct mode. And the result of the explosion will be depending for how long the build–up is," said Ben. "If it's only for a few seconds, the explosion will be like that of a grenade, but if it's build–up for a few days, the Universe will be history."

"Are you saying that the watch can destroy the Universe if it self–destructs," asked Lubbock, earning a nod from Ben, stunning everyone.

"It's not called "The most powerful weapon in the Universe" for nothing," said Ben.

No one what to say about it. Everyone, including Cleo, was staring at Ben in shock and awe. At this moment, none of them were more thankful that Ben has joined them and wasn't their enemy.

Suddenly, Lubbock gasped as he felt something with his threads.

"Najenda, we've got intruders," said Lubbock.

"How many and where," asked Najenda.

"According to my threads, they should be 15 and they've infiltrated the hideout grounds," said Lubbock.

"They're good. They're probably mercenaries from the tribes," said Najenda as she looked at everyone and Ben could feel the atmosphere change. "Oh well, emergency dispatch! Don't let anyone alive! GO!"

Everyone immediately went out, but Ben stopped at the exit before activating the Omnitrix.

"It's hero time," said Ben as he pressed the core down, engulfing him in green light.

Akame was standing at edge of the river with three invaders standing in front of her with confident smiles on their faces while Akame stared at them with an emotionless expression. The invaders wore white clothes and had dark skin.

"The fact that she's here means their hideout's not very far," one of the invaders concluded. "All that searching paid off."

"But she's still a cute little thing," said another invader.

"Yeah, we can have some with her after we kill her. Just don't damage her body too–", started the third invader, but Akame quickly passed the three of them, and with a quick movement of her

Murasame, cut their throats. "– much."

"You're too relaxed in enemy territory," said Akame in her neutral tone as two of the invaders fell down, dead.

"SHIT! I can still strike her–," said the third invader as he was about to run at Akame, but stopped as he felt a stab in his heart. "– down. A curse from the wound? A poison?" With that, he fell down, dead, as Akame turned to the fallen invaders.

"One strike, certain kill," said Akame.

"The enemy has detected our infiltration, but it's certain the hideout is here! I'll survive and report it to our client in the empire," one of the invaders smiled victoriously as he ran.

Little did he know, however, was that Mine was aiming at his head with the sight of her Imperial Arms, Pumpkin.

"He got pretty far. I'll have to give my passion away if I want to strike him," said Mine.

Then one of the invaders jumped behind Mine with a sadistic grin as he held his sword, intending to cut Mine's head off.

"Gotcha," said the invader.

But Mine had already sensed his presence as she gave a confidant smile, knowing he wasn't a problem.

Suddenly, Sheele appeared behind the invader and pulled out a pair of giant scissors. She opened the scissors and then closed them, slicing the invader in half in the waist region.

"I'm sorry," said Sheele with a blank expression.

"Thank you, Sheele," said Mine with a smile. "Nice pinch. It'll reach just fine with this risk." Mine then aimed her Pumpkin at the fleeing invader and a burst of energy was fired from it, and completely disintegrated when it struck him. "Alright! Right on target! The more trouble I'm in, the more powerful my Pumpkin gets."

"I guess that was Mine's Pumpkin just now. I can't believe she keeps on using that thing," said Leone as she was sitting on one of the invaders' corpse. "As for me, I turn into a beast and just beat them to death. So much easier to understand."

In a dark cave, Lubbock was holding, with his metal wires, a girl who appeared to be one of the invaders.

"Ugh," the girl moaned in pain.

"I though the weight of the threads felt light, but it was a girl all along," said Lubbock.

"Save me! Please, I'll do anything," begged the girl.

"I don't think so," said Lubbock with a grim expression. "I knew a guy who died by getting tricked by seduction."

Lubbock then made the wires tighten around the girl until she was cut into several parts. He then made the wires drop the girl's body that fell dead on the floor with several cuts on her body. Lubbock turned his back to leave, but stopped and took one last look at the girl before sighting in disappointment.

"Man, what a waste! It's times like this my job stinks," complained Lubbock.

Meanwhile, Bulat was surrounded by 3 invaders that charged at him at the same time.

"Guys, you're just making this too easy," said Bulat as he easily sliced the invaders when they got near him.

"Were these the last of them," asked Leone as she and the rest of Night Raid showed up.

However, before anyone could answer, 5 more invaders showed up and faced the group.

"Shit, the entire Night Raid is here," said one of them.

"Who cares? Let's wipe them all out," said another invader as he charged at Night Raid. But, before he reached them, the ground underneath him started to shake before it erupted and he was send flying back to his group. "What the hell!?"

Everyone looked at what happened and even Night Raid were surprised to see a yellow ten-foot-tall alien with an armored, robotic-like body. His head was similar to a Greek Corinthian helmet with two long ears on it, giving him the appearance of an armadillo. He had a gray tail and jackhammer parts on his elbows, wrists and hands, creating the impression that he was a digging robot. He had grey bolts with black markings on his shoulders and a metal circle on top of his head. He wore the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. This was Ben's Talpaedan form he called Armodrillo.

"Looks like you started the party without me," said Armodrillo.

"What the hell are you," asked one of the invaders.

"The last thing you'll see," said Armodrillo.

"Oh yeah? Then the last thing you'll see is my sword," said one of the invaders as he charged at Armodrillo, who didn't even flinch.

"I'm so scared, pipsqueak," said Armodrillo as the invader slashed him with his sword, but it didn't faze the Talpaedan at all. "That the best you got?"

Without a warning, Armodrillo retracted his fingers and punched the invader into the ground, crushing his skull.

"That was my brother, you metal jerk," said another invader as she and another invader charged at Armodrillo.

"This is getting ridiculous," said Armodrillo as his hands turned to drills and easily pierced the two invaders in their chests, instantly killing them. "Who's next?"

"Let's get him," said one of the two remaining invaders as he charged at Armodrillo with his mace. "No, wait," said the last invader, but was ignored.

"You really are dumb," said Armodrillo as he picked up the charging invader before shaking him with his jackhammers.

After a while, Armodrillo dropped the invader, who could only stumble disoriented from the shaking. He then picked the mace the invader had dropped up before launching it at the stumbling invader, taking his head off.

"Forget it! No one told me about a robot killing machine," said the final invader as he turned to flee.

"I don't think so," said Armodrillo as he slammed his hands on the ground, generating an earthquake, which caused the invader to fall to his death into the fissure. "That takes care of them."

"Whoa," said a voice and Armodrillo turned around, and saw the rest of Night Raid standing there with their mouths opened.

"I was wondering where you guys were," said Armodrillo as he went up to them.

"We were dealing with the rest of the invaders," said Leone. "But I had no idea you had an earthquake–generating alien."

"What can I say? Shaking things up is what Armodrillo's all about," said Armodrillo. "Now, were these the last of them or we can go back? Because of them I didn't get to enjoy the breakfast Cleo made."

"Mission is complete. Let's get back," said Akame as she ran back to the hideout, followed by the others while Armodrillo went underground and drilled his way back.

Later that night, everyone was in their respective rooms fast asleep. But, not everyone was asleep as a certain teen hero stared at the ceiling with a sleeping Cleo by his side. Ben sighed as he looked at the sleeping girl.

"Cleo, I promise I'll make sure you'll have a wonderful life. When the time comes for me to go back to my world, I'm gonna take you with me. You're like a little sister to me and I'm sure that mon and dad will be happy to have a daughter like you. I'll do whatever I can to make sure no one from Night Raid suffers, not Akame, not Mine, not Sheele, not Lubbock, no one will suffer because of the Empire! Not if I have anything to say about it," Ben thought to himself as he held the sleeping girl tightly.

The next day, Sheele was walking across one of the corridors of the hideout. Her hair was messed up and was wiping her glasses with a cloth as she walked. She put her glasses on and saw Ben, who was leaning on the wall next to the meeting room.

"Morning, Ben. Is something the matter," asked Sheele.

"Hey, Sheele. The boss said I'll be working with Mine today, but I'm still waiting for her Majesty to wake up," said Ben in irritation.

"Yeah, she doesn't like to wake up early," said Sheele as she opened the door.

"What!? How much longer do I have to wait for her," asked Ben, annoyed.

"I'm not sure. I better go wake her up," said Sheele as she started to walk towards Mine's room,

but was stopped by Najenda.

"No, Ben will do that," said Najenda.

"And why me," asked Ben in annoyance.

"You'll be working with her today, so it's your job as her subordinate to wake her up," said Najenda.

"Fine! Whatever," groaned Ben as he walked towards Mine's room.

"I wasn't aware we had that rule," said Sheele in confusion.

"Consider it another test," said Najenda with a laugh, which only confused Sheele more.

When he got to Mine's room, Ben put his hand on the doorknob and pulled the door open.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty," said Ben as he entered Mine's room, but stopped when he looked forward and saw that Mine was already awake, but she was only in her lingerie.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH," a female scream was heard throughout the hideout before a beam was shot out of the hideout, causing a huge explosion.

Ben was crouched beside a huge hole of the hideout with a frightened look on his face.

"Are you trying to kill me," asked Ben angrily as he got up.

"Of course I am! You, filthy pervert, how dare you dodge when you know you deserve to die," said Mine in irritation as she was embarrassed to be seen in her lingerie by a man.

"Yeah, well if you hadn't slept in so late, I wouldn't have been ordered to come get–," started Ben, but stopped as he heard Pumpkin charging up for another shot.

"Maybe so, but have you ever heard of a thing called knocking," asked Mine as she was about to fire another shot.

Ben acted quickly and activated the Omnitrix before slamming the core down, engulfing him in green light. When the light faded, in Ben's place was an alien with a black body with one green eye in the middle of his head, two antennae, a tail with round plugs on their tips, four-fingered hands, and feet with only two front toes. His chest was green and his fingers were square. He also had gold battery bolts on his shoulders, arms, and hips. The Omnitrix symbol was located on his chest.

This was Ben's Conductiod form he called Feedback.

"Feedback," exclaimed Feedback just as Mine fired her shot, which he easily absorbed with the plugs on his antennae and tail, much to Mine's shock.

"WHAT!? How did you do that," asked Mine.

"I'm a Conductiod, genius. I can absorb pretty much all kinds of energy–based attacks, which means that your shots are useless against me," said Feedback in a mocking tone.

"You're arrogant and a pervert so stop absorbing my shots," demanded Mine.

"There's something wrong with you, you know that? First you kiss me and now, you try to kill me," said Feedback, which caused Mine to blush as she was reminded of the kiss. "What, did my charm get to you?"

"N–n–no way," stuttered Mine as she blushed, which was noticed by Feedback.

"The look on your face tells me you'd probably like to kiss me again, am I right," asked Feedback with a smirk, which only caused Mine's face to become redder that Four Arms' skin.

"Don't be ridiculous," said Mine in denial as she was trying to hide her blushing face. "Damn it, why did he had to mention the kiss!?"

"Ohhh, is little poor Mine falling for moa," asked Feedback with a devious smirk.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY," yelled Mine.

"You know, you do have a potential to be my girlfriend," said Feedback before looking at Mine's bra–covered chest and a devious idea came up to his mind. "You just need to grow a little in the chest department."

"YOU…YOU, PERVERTED FREAK! I'M GONNA KILL YOU FOR THIS," yelled Mine as she

fired more shots from her Pumpkin, but Feedback absorbed them all.

"This brings me back at the day when Gwen and I didn't get along," Feedback thought to himself as he continued to absorb Mine's shots. "Something tells me I hit a nerve with that last part.

Maybe I should apologize to her. Nah! Irritating her is pretty fun."

Meanwhile, in the meeting room, Najenda and Sheele were sitting around the table with Najenda smoking a cigarette and Sheele reading a book before Leone rushed in from having heard Mine's shots.

"Hey, is there some kind of a festival going on," asked Leone.

"Those two seem to be going all out," said Sheele.

"It's just another for Ben," said Najenda with a laugh.

(Later in the Capital)

Ben and Mine were walking through the streets of the Capital with Mine being a few steps ahead of Ben. The teen hero looked around him and noticed the sad expressions some of the people had.

"Hey, pervert! You're wasting time," said Mine, earning an annoyed look from Ben. "Today you'll follow me as my footman." "Footman," asked Ben.

"Isn't that what the boss said," replied Mine.

"She told me to learn from you," said Ben.

"So that means you're my footman so shut up and hurry up," said Mine without patience as she walked again.

"Hey, wait up," said Ben as he ran after her.

As they continued walking, Ben looked around and saw several beggars and imperial soldiers oppressing citizens. Overall, a scenario of profound sadness.

"Hey, Mine. Is it just me or there are several people suffering," asked Ben.

"They're dealing with the oppressive government policy. Only one social segment lives in prosperity, the others are treated like trash," explained Mine.

They continued to walk until they stopped in front of an alley where they heard someone moaning in pain. They saw two lads and a girl. One of the boys was fat and wore a yellow shirt and gray pants. The other was thinner and wore a green blouse, a black scarf and brown pants. The fatter man was strangling the girl, who had smooth white hair that went to her back, and was wearing a kind of dress made out of old rags. The fatter man tightened his grip on her neck while the thinner laughed at the situation.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing," asked Ben angrily as he & Mine approached them.

"Stop bothering the most weak," said Mine with a serious expression on her face.

The fatter man let the girl go, causing her to yelp in pain when she hit the ground.

"Who even are you," asked the fatter man.

"This girl is a refugee," said the thinner man as he pointed to the frightened girl. "She has to do what we tell her."

"Oh yeah," asked Mine in a somber tone, causing the two men to shudder at her facial expression.

"Ben."

"Got it," said Ben as he walked towards the two men.

"Damn you," said the fatter man as he pulled his fist back, but before he could do anything, Ben kicked him in the stomach, causing him to fall on his knees, before getting spin–kicked in the chin. "You better stay down if you know what's good for ya," said Ben with a glare.

"Screw you! We'll report you to the guards. Do you know what they'll do to you? They'll take you to the minister and he'll kill you before dealing with this street rat and your fucking whore," exclaimed the thinner man, as he pointed at Ben, the little girl and Mine, respectively, not knowing that he just made a very big mistake.

"I don't think you're gonna do that," said Ben in a low tone, which surprised Mine, as he activated the Omnitrix.

"And why is that," asked the man.

"You won't be alive for long," said Ben before pressing the core down, engulfing him in green light.

When the light faded, in Ben's place stood a green, humanoid pile of goo with green eyes and an Anti–Gravity Projector above him. He had a nose–like beak and an amoeba–like shape. The Omnitrix symbol was located on his Anti–Gravity Projector. This was Ben's Polymorph form he called Goop.

"Goop," exclaimed Goop as he glared at the man.

"What the hell are you," asked the thin man.

"Your worst nightmare, freak," said Goop before jumping at the man and wrapping himself around the man, leaving only his head outside of his body. "Now here's a question for you. What happens when human skin meets acid?"

"What the hell do you mean," asked the man and he got his answer when Goop activated his acidic abilities, causing the man to grit his teeth in pain. "What's happening? What are you doing?"

"Your voice is annoying," said Goop as he covered the man's mouth with his acidic slime. "What did you say? I can't hear you."

The man could only struggle as his body was slowly melted by Goop's acid.

"Let me make one thing perfectly clear for ya. You can try to do whatever you want to me, but I won't let anyone touch Mine, even if she's easy to irritate. I swear, if anyone even dares to touch or hurt Mine, I personally make sure that they won't be alive for much longer!"

Meanwhile, Mine could only watch in shock. At first, she didn't think Goop was anything special, but having acidic abilities just made her think that this was a very dangerous alien to go up against. But, she also couldn't help but stare in both awe and confusion at Ben. This morning, he insulted her about her chest size and now, he was defending her. She was also glad that he was standing up for her, not that she'll ever tell him that. There were just two things that were going through her mind right now: one, never underestimate Ben; and two, never make him mad.

"I think you've had enough," said Goop as he let the thin man out of his body.

Unfortunately, the fatter man had recovered while Goop was dealing with his friend.

"You'll pay for this, slimy jerk," shouted the man as he charged at Goop.

However, Goop saw it coming and easily slipped beneath the man, tripping him in the process.

"If you thought that was actually gonna work, then you're dumber than you look," said Goop as he charged at the man, who could only scream before the Polymorph entered his mouth and spread his body throughout the insides of the man before activating his acidic abilities once again.

At that moment the only thing Mine could think was that anyone, who made Ben mad is totally fucked up.

It didn't take more than a minute for man's insides to completely melt from Goop's acid. The Polymorph got out of the man's body before glaring at the now dead men.

"Where I come from, I might've holding back against bullies, but not anymore," said Goop before the Omnitrix timed out, turning him back to Ben.

He then approached the little girl and picked her up from the ground.

"You're okay now. Those guys won't bother you or anyone else ever again," said Ben in a much softer tone.

"Do you promise," asked the girl.

"Yeah. In fact, soon, no one will suffer because of the empire and the minister. I'll make sure of it," said Ben.

"Really? Are you an assassin," asked the girl.

"Not quite. I'm a superhero and saving lives is what I do, even if it involves killing," said Ben, earning a smile from the girl.

"Thank you, mister," said the girl.

"Call me, Ben," said Ben with a smile.

"Okay, Ben," said the girl with a giggle. "I'm Selena."

"It's nice to meet you, Selena," said Ben before he stood up and went up to Mine before facing her.

"We better get going. Stay safe out there."

"I will and thank you again, Ben," said Selena as she ran off.

"So, shall we get going," Ben asked Mine, but the pink–haired sniper didn't even move as she just stared at Ben with a blank expression. "Hello, Earth to Mine? Come in, Mine."

Ben snapped his fingers and waved his hands in front of her face, but Mine didn't even budge, causing Ben to sigh.

"Okay, I'm about to something drastic, but this is because you're acting not like yourself," said Ben as he leaned towards her before pressing his lips against hers.

Mine blinked a few times before coming to her senses and realizing that Ben was kissing her. Her eyes widened and blushed at what was happening.

After a minute, Ben separated his lips from Mine's and looked at the blushing sniper.

"W–w–what was that for," asked Mine.

"Well, you spaced out for a moment and I needed to bring you back to Earth," said Ben with a slight blush. "So, shall we continue to wherever we're going?"

"Yes, yes of course. Just one more thing," said Mine before punching Ben in the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for," asked Ben as he rubbed his shoulder.

"That was showing your powers to a civilian," said Mine.

"They got on my nerves. There was no chance I would let those guys take you and that little girl to that prime minster freak show," said Ben. "Besides, I'm the only one who can insult you. It's not fun if anyone else does it."

"Look, Ben. I appreciate you standing up for me and that girl, but you shouldn't let your emotions get the best of you. Plus, I can take care of myself and you should sometimes let the people defend themselves," said Mine as she walked back towards the street.

Ben could only sigh and followed Mine to the street.

"Hey, Mine. Is it okay for us to walk like this during the day," asked Ben.

"Yeah, the only ones with posters are those four," said Mine as she pointed towards several posters on a nearby wall.

Ben looked at them at could recognize Akame, Sheele & Najenda. However, he couldn't recognize the person in the middle.

"Who's the guy in the middle," asked Ben.

"That's Bulat," said Mine, shocking Ben. "He changed is look after joining Night Raid." "Isn't that too much of a change," thought Ben.

"Anyway, now that's out of the way, we have a mission to complete," said Mine excitedly.

"Oh yeah, that's why you brought us here, isn't it," asked Ben, starting to feel excited as well.

"Then let's start with the inspection of the city's condition," said Mine with a cheerful smile.

"I have no idea what that's all about, but yeah," said Ben with a confused expression.

Ben and Mine began to walk together through the city. First, they stopped by a snack bar where Mine ordered a Crepe while Ben ordered a cup of soda.

"Man, I miss Mr. Smoothies," Ben thought to himself.

After the snack bar, they went to a shop that sold lingerie. Mine looked for a lingerie that suited her while Ben looked around, wondering how this could be a mission. After Mine bought all the clothes she wanted, she and Ben walked the streets again with Mine walking ahead of Ben, who was carrying several bags with the clothes Mine bought in them. They walked until Mine spotted a mannequin that was wearing a pink dress with black details and several frills at a shop window. She became interested in the dress and pulled Ben inside the shop. Ben was outside of the fitting room, waiting for Mine to finish trying the dress on. When she got out of the fitting room, Ben looked at her from head to toe and had to admit that she actually looked pretty in the dress.

"So newbie, do I look pretty in the dress," asked Mine a slight blush.

"You look amazing," drooled Ben before looking away. "I mean, it looks really good on you. "What's gotten into me?"

Mine bought the dress and they both left the shop, and went to another diner. Mine ordered a cup of coffee and Ben ordered another soda, and sat on a round table.

"Phew, we sure bough a lot," said Mine as took a sip of her coffee. "As expected, pink clothes really stand out best in spring."

"I guess," said Ben with a bored expression.

"It's good to let your hair down on your days off, huh," said Mine.

"I guess," repeated Ben.

"Okay, mission completed," said Mine with a cheerful smile after finishing her coffee.

"Yay," said Ben before putting his head on the table.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden," asked Mine.

"No offense, spending the day with you was awesome, but this had to be the most boring and confusing mission I've ever been to and this is coming from a guy, who has been to Sparksville and the guys there are major wackos when it comes to "it", whatever that "it" is supposed to be," said Ben, confusing Mine.

"Excuse me!? How was this mission boring by any way," asked Mine, irritated.

"Let's see. First, we went to a snack bar with terrible taste for drinks, then we went to two clothing shops for some unknown reason, except that dress that suits you really well. And, worst of all, this place doesn't have any Mr. Smoothies," explained Ben. "I'm almost tempted to transform into Way Big or Alien X to end this damn war so I can go back to my world just to taste that drink of heaven again. Unfortunately, there's a time and place for everything, so it wouldn't be right to transform into an omnipotent for such a selfish reason."

"Okay, you lost me there. What's an omnipotent," asked Mine.

"It means Alien X can shift time, space and reality however he wants," said Ben, shocking Mine.

"You make it sound like he's some sort of a God," said Mine.

"Well, I used him to recreate the Universe once, so I guess he's like a God," said Ben, shocking Mine even more.

"So you have a God that you can just transform into whenever you want," asked Mine.

"Well, I had some trouble controlling him at first, but everything's cool now. The only reason I haven't used him to stop this madness yet is because he's just too powerful and I gave myself the promise to use him only when none of my other aliens will work," explained Ben.

"I can actually respect that. I'm not sure how the others will react to this news, however," said Mine.

"Actually, I want you to keep it a secret from them. Leone was the first to know about the fail–safe until I decided to tell you guys about the functions of the watch. Now, I need you to keep Alien X a secret until it's time for the others to know," said Ben with a serious expression.

"Okay, I'm gonna keep it a secret, but it's gonna cost you," said Mine with smirk. "I've got it! If you want me to keep Alien X a secret, you'll have to take me out on date some time, got it?" "Wait, that's it? A date? Sure, I can do that," said Ben.

"Good," said Mine.

"What did I got myself into," Ben thought to himself as he looked at Mine's smile. "Damn, she looks pretty when she's smiling. It's like the most beautiful thing in the world. It's good to know that Mine's got a nice side beside that sassy attitude she has most of the time. But damn, first we kiss and now we'll going out on a date. When the heck did we become a couple?" Ben looked to the side and saw many people gathering at one place.

"What's with the commotion," asked Ben.

"Probably the public execution of someone, who defied the empire," said Mine calmly. "It's a usual thing in the capital."

Ben looked horrified at Mine when she said that. He walked into the crowd until he saw several wooden crosses in the middle of the street that had several people nailed on them. He looked terrified at the deplorable scene, wondering how something like this could be happening.

"How cruel," said Ben in a weak voice.

"It's because the minister says it's okay and it's because of his shrewdness that the current emperor won the battle for succession," said Mine in a somber voice. "But, I won't end up like them! I'll definitely live and see this fight to the end!"

Ben gritted his teeth in anger. He wanted to at least try safe those people, but noticed the guards and he knew that if he tried anything, he'd just cause trouble for Night Raid. He was angry at not only the minister to allow such cruelty, but also at himself for not being able to do anything.

Mine noticed all the irritation Ben was radiating and pulled him away from the crowd by the arm. "What are you doing," asked Ben.

"What I'm doing is getting you out of here. You're emanating intense aura because of your anger that cause us unnecessary attention," said Mine firmly as she sighed. "Look, I know you want to save everyone, but some people are just beyond saving. I don't know how things work in your world, but that's how things are here. Anyone could die at some point in the empire, and I'm not just talking about the people from the capital, but anyone from Night Raid could also die during a mission."

"I'm sorry, Mine," said Ben as he sighed with a sad expression. "I just feel helpless watching those people suffer like this. I'm a superhero and it's in my nature to want to save as many lives as possible. Watching those people suffer like this just makes me want to turn into Rath, charge into the palace and beat the hell out of that douchebag minister. As far as anyone from Night Raid dying, you don't need to worry. I'll make sure that no one will get hurt."

"I appreciate your determination to keep us safe, Ben," said Mine with a slight smile that turned into a frown. "Just don't do anything stupid if one of us dies, okay?" "I promise to try," said Ben.

"Fair enough," said Mine with a shrug. "Come on, let's get back to the hideout. The mission is complete!"

"Right behind you," said Ben as he followed Mine back to the Night Raid hideout with one thought in mind. "Watch out, minister. Sooner or later, you're going down and I'll make sure you won't survive."

(Royal Palace; Throne room)

All of the emperor's counselors were gathered in the throne room. Sitting on a huge golden throne was the young emperor. He was a young boy with green shoulder–length hair and green eyes. He wore a purple outfit with white boots and a blue mantle, as well as a large headdress. He was carrying a golden scepter with a blue orb attached to it.

"Internal affairs officer Shoui," the emperor said in a firm voice to a man in his 40s with black hair and beard, who was kneeling before the emperor. "Thou objected our political measures, for the sin of delaying our political affairs we sentence thee to death by dismemberment by bulls."

When Shoui heard the sentence, he looked pale and everyone looked at the emperor with frightened eyes.

"Is this good, Minister," questioned the emperor as he looked back from the corner of his eye.

"Huhuhu. Well done," said Prime Minster Honest as he appeared from behind the emperor's throne with a devilish smile while eating a piece of meat. "The emperor is such a wise ruler." "Meet again!? Thou eat that a lot," criticized the emperor in annoyed tone.

"Fufufu, you have to eat it when it's still fresh," said the minster with a jocular tone and a satisfied smile on his lips.

"ENOUGH! The minister is fooling the emperor," yelled Shoui as loud as he could. "Please, listen the voices of your people!"

"He's accusing you," said the emperor as he pointed at Shoui.

"Have his rumblings confused you, my lord," asked the minister with a smile on his face.

"Of course not! The words thou have spoken have always been right since long ago," said the emperor calmly.

"Shoui," said the minister, his gaze changing from gentle to sadistic. "Seems this will be our final parting."

Two Imperial Guards then hit Shoui in the back with two wooden spears, causing him to scream in pain and fall on the ground.

"Your majesty! If this continues, the thousand years history of the Empire will end," shouted Shoui to the emperor.

"Shoui," said the minister as he walked towards him and crouched down with a somber expression on his face. "Please don't worry about that lovely wife you're leaving behind. I'll make sure to take care of her… every single part of here."

Shoui looked horrified at the minister's malicious tone.

"How… how is it possible for something like this to be allowed!? Someone, anyone, please bring justice to this demon," Shoui begged mentally as he was dragged out of the throne room by two guards.

(Night Raid hideout)

Everyone, except for Cleo, was gathered in the meeting room of the hideout as Najenda was explaining the details of the next mission.

"There's a new request. The target's name is a blood relative of the prime minister, a man named Iwokaru. Using the minister's name, he abducts girls from the capital and beats them to death," explained Najenda with a somber look on her face.

"So, another freak to take out," thought Ben in anger as he gritted his teeth.

"His five bodyguards also share his guilt so I'm sending everyone," said Najenda.

Everyone nodded before leaving the hideout and ran towards Iwokaru Mansion.

(Later)

Ben and Mine were sitting on the branch of a tree that was just outside the mansion. Mine was preparing her Pumpkin as Ben was sitting next to her, but he wasn't in his form as he had transformed into an alien. This alien resembled a blue iguana that wore black pants and a black open–front shirt with white cuffs, and his chest was covered in white underbelly shell. He had four pointed fins on his back, black stripes on his face that went around his mouth and small spikes on his chin. He wore the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. This was Ben's Polar Manzardill form he called Arctiguana.

"That's the mansion Iwokaru lives in. That's some security," said Arctiguana as he looked through the binoculars he was holding.

"I won't be able to hit him at this distance. I'll need to wait until he comes out to strike him," said Mine.

"And then it's my turn after you shoot him, right? Just leave it to me," said Arctiguana.

"Hmpf, don't get your hopes up," said Mine with a mocking smile on her lips.

Mine then turned towards the entrance of the mansion and began to concentrate, her expression completely changing.

"Awesome concentration. I can even feel her willpower over here," thought Arctiguana, impressed.

"He's come out," said Mine.

"Huh… what? Where," asked Arctiguana before finding him with the binoculars as he was coming out of the mansion with several women around him. "Found him, but you can't attack now. A lot of people came out with him."

So what," asked Mine, uninterested.

"What do you mean "so what"? How are you gonna snipe him," asked Arctiguana.

"It doesn't matter," answered Mine in a somber voice.

"Don't tell me you're gonna kill innocent bystanders," exclaimed Arctiguana, but Mine ignored him as she fired her shot aimed for his forehead and struck him without hurting anyone else, killing him instantly.

Arctiguana's jaw dropped at the result as couldn't believe his eyes.

"You should know that I'm a badass genius sniper," said Mine with a smile on her lips.

(Later)

Four of Iwokaru's bodyguards were running through the forest that lay around the mansion, looking for Iwokaru's killer.

"Catch the assassins no matter what it takes," said the first bodyguard.

"If we allow them to escape, the prime minister will kill us himself," said the second bodyguard.

"They shouldn't have gotten…," started the first bodyguard, but stopped when he spotted five people further ahead.

These five people were Akame, Sheele, Lubbock, Leone and Bulat.

"Well, well, now then. Let's go wild," said Leone with a lively smile on her face.

(In Another Place)

"Ahhhh geez! These roots are hard to walk on," complained Mine as she was walking towards a cherry tree that was the meeting spot for the group.

"I did offer you a ride," said a voice and Mine looked at one of the trees.

On one of the branches was standing a small monkey–like alien with four arms, two legs, three fingers on each hand and three toes on each foot, blue fur over a dark blue center, and a tail with two white stripes near the tip. He had three pairs of green eyes (making a total of six), his hair was flipped up, and the fur on his head was spiky with white stripes. The Omnitrix symbol on his chest is now connected to two green sashes worn across his chest. This was Ben's Arachnichimp form he called Spidermonkey.

"Like I would allow you to carry me," said Mine with a scoff.

"Suite yourself. So, do you think our pursuers have all been taken out already," asked Spidermonkey.

"Those enemies were trained at Koukenji, the best martial arts temple in the empire," replied Mine. "They may not be taken out so easily. If you're a relative of the minister, the grade of your bodyguards goes up. Doing whatever he wants using his relative's name for cover is the type of thing I hate the most."

"Has something like this happened her past," thought Spidermonkey.

"As a special service, I'll tell you a story of my past," said Mine with a sigh.

"I didn't even ask! Did she become a mind reader all of a sudden," wondered Spidermonkey.

"I was born and raised on the western border of the empire and half of my blood is foreign. I was mercilessly ridiculed, nobody accepted me. My childhood was made out of misery," said Mine as she remembered her painful past before looking at Spidermonkey with determination. "But, the revolutionary army formed an alliance with the people from the west. If we made a new country, political relations would grow. Many races would mingle and no more kids will suffer like I did. I will make sure there won't be any more discrimination!"

"Mine…," Spidermonkey looked at Mine in shock at what she just revealed about her past.

"And someone who had so much to do with the revolution, I'll get a giant reward and live like a celebrity! Hohohohoho," said Mine in an arrogant tone before giving a convinced laugh.

Spidermonkey just shook his head with a smile as he knew that she only staging it and hiding her true feelings. He knew that Mine wasn't doing it because of the fame or money.

"Yeah, try fooling someone else," said Spidermonkey with a smirk before swinging away towards the meeting spot.

"What's that supposed to mean!? Hey, primate, get back here," shouted Mine as she ran after the teen hero.

(Meanwhile)

Leone's fist hit a bodyguard's nose, breaking his mask in several places, who then fell on the ground completely knocked out.

"A–hah," groaned Leone in satisfaction. "I feel so refreshed."

"They were quite strong, weren't they," asked Sheele.

"Strange," said Akame with a thoughtful expression. "There should've been five bodyguards, not four."

"I didn't even get to kill one of them," pouted Lubbock.

"That means half of your reward goes to me," mocked Leone with a smirk.

Akame was still trying to figure out where the fifth bodyguard was until she managed to deduce his location. She looked up at night sky with several stars in it.

"Ben…," said Akame with a tone of concern.

(At the meeting place)

"We're almost there," said Ben, who had turned back to human.

"That means mission accomplished," said Mine.

Ben and Mine were walking together towards the meeting place that was located in a clearing in the middle of the forest, near a cherry tree.

"If Akame was here, she would certainly say: The mission is not over until you give your report," said Ben, imitating Akame's usual expression and voice tone.

"Hahahaha! I admit that Akame imitation was funny, but don't be convinced rookie," said Mine with a smile.

Ben turned his gaze to Mine, but before he could say anything, his eyes widened when he saw that behind her was one of the bodyguards with the intention of striking Mine from behind with his fist. He instinctively jumped towards Mine and pushed her out of the way, but he wasn't quick enough to avoid the attack and was send flying a few feet away before landing painfully on the ground.

Mine turned to face the bodyguard and gritted her teeth as she glanced hesitantly at her adversary.

"Th–this guy, the assistant instructor for the past ten years. He's strong as expected," said Mine.

"My skills surely have dulled," said the bodyguard.

"Full of yourself, aren't you? Let's take you down a peg," said Mine before aiming her Pumpkin at the bodyguard and fired several shots at him.

The bodyguard easily deflected all the energy bundles with a confidant smile on his lips.

"No way…," said Mine in disbelieve and wide eyes.

The bodyguard jumped towards Mine and grabbed both of her hands before pinning her against the cherry tree as he held her hands above her head with one hand. This caused Mine to drop her Pumpkin, leaving her vulnerable.

"I'm gonna deliver you alive to the minister, so I hope you're ready," said the bodyguard with a sadistic smile before looking her up and down. "Or maybe, I should take you myself."

Even though Mine had a fearless expression on her face, deep down she was scared at what the minister could do to her. She knew that she would be raped and tortured before being publicly executed. She closed her eyes when the bodyguard was about to rip her dress off of her.

However, what the bodyguard said wasn't heard only by Mine, but also by Ben who had regained his strength to stand up. And after hearing what the bodyguard was planning to do to Mine, his blood boiled in anger. He activated the Omnitrix before slamming the core down, engulfing him in green light, which caught the attention of the bodyguard and Mine.

"What the hell," asked the bodyguard as he still had Mine pinned against the tree.

When the light faded, in Ben's place was an alien that resembled an orange and white bipedal tiger with one grayish–silver claw coming out of each wrist and no tail. He was also muscular and had green eyes and black stripes on his shoulders, head, legs, and upper body as well as a white jaw, neck, chest, stomach, hands, and feet. He was dressed in a luchador outfit. The outfit had a green and black color scheme, consisting of black boots, black gloves, and a luchador mask. The Omnitrix symbol was on his luchador belt. This was Ben's Appoplexian form he called Rath.

"RATH," exclaimed Rath before looking at the bodyguard. "LET ME TELL YA SOMETHING, SHIHANDAI, BODYGUARD OF THE PRIME MINISTER'S DEAD RELATIVE, WHO'S ABOUT TO TAKE MINE, A FELLOW NIGHT RAID TEAMMATE WHO RATH COULDN'T STAND, BUT IS STARTING TO LIKE MORE THAN THE OTHERS! NOBODY IS TAKING ANYBODY ANYWHERE!"

"What'd you say," asked the bodyguard and got his answer when Rath charged at him and nailed him in the jaw, which not only caused him to let go of Mine, but also send him flying several feet away.

Mine was about to hit the ground, but was caught by Rath. She looked up and stared at the Appoplexian.

"Are you okay," asked Rath in a much gentler tone, earning a nod from Mine. "Good to know." The bodyguard stood up and spit blood out of his mouth from the punch by Rath.

"How dare you!? Don't you know who I am!? I'm gonna kill you and then I'm gonna make sure your useless whore suffers for the rest of her life," shouted the bodyguard, which was a very big mistake.

Rath murderously glared at the bodyguard.

"LET ME TELL YA SOMETHING, SHIHANDAI, BODYGUARD OF THE PRIME MINISTER'S DEAD RELATIVE! YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO RATH, BUT NO ONE TOUCHES MINE WITHOUT GETTING THE BEATIN' OF THEIR PATHETIC LIVES," shouted Rath before charging at the bodyguard.

The bodyguard also charged at the Appoplexian, but quickly got overpowered by the angered Rath.

Mine picked her Pumpkin up when she saw the rest of Night Raid arriving.

"Hey, guys, everything alright," asked Mine.

"Yeah, we're okay. But what happened to you," asked Leone as she gestured to the small bruises on Mine's hands.

"Nothing much. That bodyguard took us by surprise," said Mine as she gestured to the bodyguard, who was getting beaten by Rath.

"Is that Ben? He seems pretty aggressive," said Lubbock.

"Should we help him," asked Sheele.

"No. He appears to be dealing with the bodyguard," said Akame in her usual tone.

Night Raid continued to watch as Rath continued his beat down on the bodyguard for a few more minutes with Leone even sitting on the ground.

"Isn't he done," asked Lubbock.

"The bodyguard died 5 minutes ago. He's just beating a corpse right now," said Akame.

"What could've pissed him off so much," questioned Leone and Mine's face blushed.

"LET ME TELL YA SOMETHING, CORPSE OF THE PRIME MINISTER'S DEAD RELATIVE'S BODYGUARD! I JUST BEAT YOU DEAD! TRY TO TAKE MINE, FELLOW NIGHT RAID MEMBER WHO RATH COULDN'T STAND, BUT IS STARTING TO LIKE MORE THAN THE OTHERS, TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND I'LL DO IT AGAIN! ONLY NEXT TIME, I'LL JUMP DOWN YOUR THROAT AND KNIT YOUR INTESNIS INTO A SWEATER," shouted Rath before delivering one more punch to the bodyguard's corpse and turned to see the other members of Night Raid, who were staring at him, speechless. "WHAT!? HE WAS ALREADY DEAD!"

"Hahahaha! I like this one," laughed Leone from the show Rath just gave them.

"Did he just yelled at a corpse," asked Bulat. "I know we're assassins, but that's a little too much."

"Whatever. Are we done," asked Rath as he crossed his arms.

"The mission is complete! Let's head back," said Akame with a nod and everyone headed back to the hideout.

To be continued…

Hey, everyone. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sure most of you are happy to see Rath in action. At least now everyone in Night Raid, especially Mine, know what happens when Ben is mad. Next time, Ben and Night Raid will deal with Zanku.

R&R