Ben tapped his pencil awkwardly as he looked across the table at Velvet. She seemed pretty engrossed in that big Grimm encyclopedia, furiously scribbling down notes while Ben barely made any headway into the project.
So, you're probably wondering- why is Ben working with Velvet? Simple- Random assigned project. Ben had crossed his fingers he would get someone he knew, but alas, he got Velvet.
At least he wasn't Weiss, who got paired with Cardin.
"So, what's the plan, Velv? How are we going to take on this project?" Ben asked on in a half-assedly excited tone.
"Well, we were assigned the Blind Worms," Velvet hummed, looking up from her notes. "Kind of my area of expertise since I'm from around the parts where they're most common. So, I'm over qualified for the part."
"Wait, aren't worms already blind? They don't have eyes," Ben said, actually confused.
"Blind Worms were given its name due to the fact it tends to use blindsiding tactics when attacking, and its insides are pitch black." Velvet explained. "And yes, earthworms have no eyes, but they do have light receptors and can tell when they are in the dark, or in the light."
"So, like Wildmutt?" A lot of information just when in one of Ben's ears and out the other.
Velvet's ears perked up. "Like what? What's a Wildmutt?"
Ben had temporarily forgotten the whole 'keep secrets' thing.
"Uh...me...dog sometimes?" Ben realized his mistake and tried to backpedal. "Semblance?"
Velvet blinked. "That reminds me...what is your Semblance? I know you, like, turned into a walking chandelier when we first met...what's up with that?"
"Uh...my Semblance lets me...it's kind of like yours where, you know, fake animals?" Ben stuttered, lying terribly.
Velvet raised an eyebrow. "...Uh, alright..." She was confused, honestly, but hey, she had an idea of what it did. "Didn't know 'crystals' were an animal."
"I mean, I did say fake right? What's a better fake creature than ones made of rocks? Heh..."
"So, how many of those animals can you turn yourself into, exactly?" Velvet asked, pushing aside her work for the moment.
"Oh, around ten maybe, give or take?" Ben continued his fib as he tried to tie his web of lies together. "And it really isn't turning, per say. It's like a projection, I guess?"
Velvet grinned. "Oh, so like my weapon!"
"Yeah!" Ben rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess so."
Velvet pulled out a small camera. "So, I'm gonna guess your wrist watch operates like my camera. It creates these projections of weapons I've taken photos of. With my Semblance, I can mimic people's movements too! How do you get all those animals in the watch?"
"Oh, well. I scan animals and they get auto-altered?" Ben got nervous as Velvet curiously looked at the Omnitrix.
"Then, what did you scan to get that diamond guy?" Velvet asked. Fuck, she had him there.
"I...I think it was a bug on a rock?" Ben shrugged. "I was ten and very sleep deprived."
Velvet laughed. "So, you're telling me Cardin backed off because you turned into a bug on a rock?"
"Haha, yup! I think he just has a weird phobia!" Ben chuckled.
"Mind if I ask a favor of you, then?" Velvet grinned, an evil tint in her eye.
"Sure?" Ben looked confused. "What's the favor?"
Next thing Ben knew, he was outside in the school garden. "So, like...turn into that crystal guy," Velvet explained. "I wanna take some pictures."
"Yeah, of course. There's nothing wrong with just some pics," Ben reassured himself softly, pulling up the dial for Diamondhead on the watch and pushing down to select.
Velvet grinned, her eyes lighting up- she dashed around Ben, taking pictures at every side, taking in every single detail. Ben just stood there, uncomfortable.
Ben instinctively crossed his arms, hunching over slightly. "Is this okay?"
"Hm..." Velvet looked through the photos she'd just taken. "Can you do something intimidating?"
"...alright." Ben struck an awkward action pose, his arm sharpening into a blade. Velvet ooh'd and ahh'd as she took a few pictures of it.
"I've never seen a Semblance quite like this. Why don't you use it in battle?"
"It fritzes out on me every so often," Ben said truthfully. "I'm still working out the kinks."
"Ah, I got it. I honestly can't use my powers for too long either. Once I use up a weapon, I can't use it again until I take another photo of it. Plus, I gotta have a lot of film on me," Velvet told him, quickly switching out the film roll. "So that eats into my wallet."
"That's rough, buddy," Ben said. "Any others you need me to be?"
"Got anything else intimidating?" Velvet asked. "Like, something that'd make Cardin freak?"
"Hmm..." Ben slapped the Omnitrix and became Ghsotfreak. "How's this? I also have others in mind."
Velvet grinned, raising the camera. "Oh, this'll be perfect~"
Ben looked at the piece of paper in his hands- 95%. One of the highest grades he'd ever gotten in a class at Beacon. Velvet, upon seeing the score, became even more cheerful.
"Port said that was one of the best reports he's ever read!" Velvet exclaimed happily.
"I kinda feel bad for making you do all the work, though," Ben admitted, scratching the back of his head. "All I really did was run the thing through Grammarly and maybe add a few points about historical accounts."
"Hey, we got an A, and you helped me expand my arsenal with that Semblance of yours." Velvet beamed. "I wanna thank you for all this. So, how about you and Ruby meet with me and my team Friday night? There's a great restaurant in the town over."
"Depends." Ben grinned. "You paying?"
"Me? Probably not. But Coco probably will," Velvet told him. "I gotta get to a tutoring session. I'll text you later about it."
"Sounds good to me!" Ben grinned as Velvet ran off. Ben started to feel hungry, so he debated on going to the cafeteria or getting a snack from a vending machine-
"I can't fucking believe this!" Ben whirled around to see Cardin storm down the hall.
"Outta my way, scrub!" the bully hissed. Ben quickly got out of his war path. Weiss sighed loudly, joining up with Ben.
"What's jock strap's problem?" Ben asked the heiress.
"Oh, him? He got an F on the project." Weiss huffed and crossed her arms.
"...don't you mean 'we'?" Ben asked. "I thought you both got the same grade."
"Obviously you didn't read the syllabus," Weiss said. "Since I did the bulk of the work, I didn't see a reason to include Cardin's name on the sheet. I think Professor Port got the message about how much he contributed to the project."
"Damn." Ben blinked. "That's cold, Weiss."
Weiss flipped her ponytail for extra flair. "I grew up in Atlas. I've felt colder."
"I said get the FUCK out of my way, you sub-human!" Cardin yelled from down the hallway.
Weiss' eyebrows immediately shot up, before she ran down the hallway. Ben followed her to see Cardin looming over Velvet. She looked like she was blocking the way, finally taking a stand for herself...
Probably at the worst time, but still. Power to her.
"I said no, Cardin." Velvet had a determined look in her eyes. "I'm not your plaything anymore."
"Really? What, you gonna call your teammates here to help you? They can't always have your back, you know," Cardin sneered.
"I know," Velvet said, pulling something out of her satchel. "So, I took matters into my own hands." Ben peered over to see Velvet's camera in her hands.
Cardin scoffed. "What are you gonna do with that? Sell my picture to the paper?"
"Nah." Velvet smirked as she pressed a button. Suddenly, the camera turned into a small box, and the top opened up-
A light frame copy of Diamondhead burst out of the box. Ben and Weiss' jaws dropped as Cardin backed away slowly.
Velvet grinned. "I found your kryptonite."
The holographic Diamondhead suddenly flashed a menacing action pose, making Cardin stumble back. He still had that HORRIFYING memory of the crystalline monster stuck in his head. Cardin backed away, only to bump into another hologram of Diamondhead.
"Ah! Stay away! STAY AWAY!" Cardin screeched, trying to escape, only to run face first into an even more threatening hologram of Diamondhead.
Cardin fell to the ground, screaming as the Diamondheads closed in on him...only to vanish when Velvet took a picture.
"Now, this one may get me a few bucks, actually. School paper would love to see this," Velvet teased.
Cardin screamed and scurried off. Ben and Weiss stared in disbelief.
"...your partner scares me, Ben." Weiss shivered.
"Not even Ghostfreak could get that kind of reaction. I'm both impressed and horrified," Ben admitted.