At a small apartment building in downtown D.C, a crowd of anxious onlookers gathered. As they looked on in concern a few tried to call for help as the flames consuming the building grew higher, even worse from the sounds inside it was clear not everyone had made it out!
On the top floor a mother and her young son desperately tried to escape the blaze. Making a dash for the front door the sound of creaking wood gave her just enough time to pull her son back before part of the roof caved in, blocking their escape with burning timber. Huddling together, the pair froze as they heard the rest of the roof begin to creak and moan.
As the roof overhead came down with a loud 'crack', they clenched their eyes shut and waited for the blow. But it never came.
Slowly opening his eyes the son let out a gasp at the sight before him.
"Who…who are you?"
Hearing her son's question the mother too opened her eyes. And immediately covered her son's.
Standing over them, holding up the roof with hardly any effort was a woman made of fire. A very 'shapely' woman made of fire who seemed to lack any clothing even if nothing was technically visible.
"Don't worry" she cheerfully replied, oblivious to the mother's disapproving stare "I'm a superhero!"
Tossing the debris aside, she raised her hands and began to pull the flames towards herself. In moments the room had been extinguished and the door cleared. Gesturing at the pair to follow her, the mother and child cautiously did so, smoke still coming from the blaze downstairs. Spotting some stairs down the hero pointed towards them.
"Alright this way!" she announced, seconds before the stairs collapsed from the damage they'd already suffered "Um never mind…That way!" she instead pointed towards one of the barred windows down the hall.
Focusing a blast in her hands, the fiery hero cut a hole around the window before grabbing the surprised family. Summoning a whirlwind of fire she hopped out the opening, letting the flames gently carry them down.
As the flames cleared the crowd began to cheer at the rescue…only for many to trail off as they caught a good look at the rescuer. Many men (and a few women) openly gawked at the bombshell before them. As a few even sneakily took pictures a young voice called out from the side.
"Heart's Fire!"
The now identified Heart's Fire eagerly turned to face the newcomer. The mother noticed her face literally lit up as she smiled.
"Ben~ Did you see that?" Heart's Fire asked excitedly as a young boy with a strangely bulky watch ran up to her.
"I did, you were awesome!" Ben replied, eyes shining with awe "I knew you could do it!" he praised.
Heart's Fire seemed to glow even brighter as she crossed her arms under her chest in pride. The action caused her impressive bust to push up much to (most of) the crowd's delight, and the mother's dismay, once again covering her son's eyes. The surprised son almost lost his grip on the bag he was carrying, allowing part of its contents to be seen, a glint of gold reflecting in the Heart's Fire's glow.
Spotting the item Ben gasped and rushed forward, straight passed a comically weeping Heart's Fire who thought he had been going for a hug' leaving her awkwardly holding her arms out in empty air. As Ben stopped in front of the boy he began to bombard him with questions.
"No way is that a golden Sumo-Slammers card? I've been looking all over for that, where did you get it?"
Startled by Ben's sudden interest the boy stammered back "I-I got it out of a pack of 'Sumo-smack' cereal"
As Ben started gushing about it to the dejected superhero, the mother couldn't help but ask in concern "Do your parents know you're out with her?"
A loud honk from a car horn caught everyone's attention as the Rust Bucket pulled up beside the crowd, a young red headed girl leaning out the window.
"Hey dweeb and dweebier! The fire was a distraction for a jewellery store robbery. The bad guys are getting away!" she yelled
Sharing a quick look, Ben and Heart's Fire sheepishly turned back to his cousin "Er we…we knew that" he lied unconvincingly.
Moments later the Rust Bucket was racing through the streets in pursuit of a black S.U.V driven by two masked crooks. As Max did his best to keep up he caught the whiff of burning fabric and smoke. Sparing a glance at the passenger seat where Heart's Fire sat with Ben leaning on the armrest attempting to get a better view of the chase.
"Knew I should have bought those asbestos seat covers when I had the chance." He commented.
"Sorry Mr Max, guess I'm just too 'hot' to handle" she replied, giving a small shake to let her chest bounce. Pouting when Ben failed to react, still too absorbed in the chase to notice.
Max however did, nearly losing control of the wheel at the brazen display. "Oh god, this is how I die" he mentally wept as Gwen took the opportunity to blast the flirtatious alien with one of the extinguishers.
"Ten 'heroes' in that stupid watch and you pick the one with the big flaming butt" she snarked.
As her flames reignited, Heart's Fire smirks back "Jealous?" only to flinch away to avoid another blast.
As the S.U.V rounded a corner Max idd his best to pull up close behind. Leaning out of the window, Heart's Fire launched a fireball at the vehicle's rear. The shot hit the mark, obliterating the rear wheels and sending it swerving into a wall, much to Ben's delight.
"Str~ike!" he cheered, eagerly pulling the hero along behind him as they hopped out the parked R.V.
As the crooks shook themselves out of their stupor, they were startled as the driver side door was ripped from its hinges. With a mix of fear and embarrassment, the thieves watched as the door was crumpled into twisted metal by a flaming woman of generous proportions.
"Alright creeps unless you want a bad case of sunburn" she threatened, hands igniting with a fierce flame "Hands against the wall now!"
"Yes momm-I mean ma'am" one of the crooks yelped, earning a disbelieving stare from his partner as they moved to comply.
As the crooks took their places, Heart's Fire dropped her serious attitude and leant down to whisper excitedly to Ben "Did I get the banter right?"
"That was perfect" he whispered back, equally excited as she flushed with pride.
"Heh heh, I guess I'm pretty 'dominating' when I want to be~" she replied.
Before Ben could comment on her odd choice of words a familiar set of beeps began to ring out. The pair stared at each other's watch/collar and noticed them blinking red.
"Uh-oh"
The resulting flash caught the crook's attention who turned to see what had happened, now finding Ben standing alone. Gulping at their angry expressions Ben chuckled nervously as he began to back away.
"You know I'm actually in a pretty good mood tonight, so I'll let you off with a warning this time" he attempted to joke.
Fortunately the thieves were halted in their tracks by the sound of sirens as four police cruisers rumbled towards them. As the officers stepped out with their vehicles with their weapons drawn and the crooks threw their hands in the air, Ben let out a relieved breath.
"Criminals contained, now where's that flaming exhibitionist?" one of the officers asked, cuffing the thieves as Ben felt offended on Heart's Fire's behalf.
"Hey she's not an exhi-whatever, she's a superhero and she helped us catch these guys!" Ben yelled, finally drawing the attention of the officer.
"Hey kid this isn't playtime, step away before you get yourself hurt" he ordered dismissively.
As he trudged back to the Rust Bucket, Ben was met by his concerned Grandpa and cousin. "You alright Ben?" Max asked.
"It's not fair, I helped catch those creeps and the cops treated me like a dumb kid" Ben complained, shooting Gwen a look after she snarkily replied "Where's the lie?"
Frowning, Ben turned back to his grandpa as the cop's words came back to him. "Hey grandpa, what's an exhibitionist?"
As Ben rushed to help his choking grandfather, Gwen held her hands to her face as she felt a migraine coming on.
The next morning, across the city another apartment building also played host to an unusual sight. Inside a room filled with scientific gadgets and cages upon cages of animals stood a strange man.
His skin was a sickly greenish yellow, with greasy silver hair flowing from under a curious 'horned' helmet as a ramshackled harness with a large dial covered his scrawny chest. His name was Doctor Aloysuis Animo, disgraced former geneticist and current mad scientist.
He smiled sinisterly at a portly excuse for a landlord before him, the fool demanding him to "Pony up the green"
"An interesting choice of phrase, you must be an animal lover" he quipped, placing a small frog on the floor before activating "The you'll love my latest creation"
Gesturing to the dial on his chest he explained "This is my Transodulator; phase one. It creates and accelerates mutations at the genetic level. Observe!"
As he twisted the dial the 'horns on his helm lit up with a crimson glow, a lance of energy striking the small frog causing it to rapidly shift and grow. The landlord attempted to flee only to find himself pulled half way into its mouth as Animo cackled madly.
"Oh dear it sounds like you have a frog in your throat, or is it the other way around?" he taunted, letting the man squirm a little more before ordering his pet to spit him out.
As the landlord fainted Animo stepped over his body to pick up a slip of newspaper, glaring hatefully at it.
"So close to what is rightfully mine. I only need a FEW lousy components to finish my work" he snarled.
His train of thought was interrupted as his T.V began playing an advert for a new 'Megamart' promising everything from hair spray to state of the art electronics.
"My how convenient, and JUST what the doctor ordered" he began to cackle once more only to trail off in confusion "Wait I don't remember turning the T.V on"
As Animo grappled with the odd event, a few blocks away our heroes made their way around the very Megamart that had just been advertised.
What are the odds?
As Max groused over the lack of 'fresh' ingredients, much to Gwen's dismay, Ben found his attention drifting elsewhere.
"A whole aisle of Sumo-smacks cereal?" staring intently at the logo promising a free card in every pack, Ben glanced from the aisle to the watch as a sly grin spread over his face.
Making sure Gwen and Grandpa Max were busy, he quickly made his way over to his target. Confirming the aisle was clear he began cycling through the watch's icons. Finding one that appeared smaller than the others Ben slammed the dial down, wincing as the purple flash lit up the area.
Feeling a weight on his shoulder, Ben turned to find out the cause and came face to face with a diminutive grey skinned alien. She had fairly large eyes with a small tuft of black hair pulled into a ponytail. She was about the size (and proportions) of a Barbie doll, wearing a figure hugging, short sleeved/legged monochrome jumpsuit with the watch's heart icon on her back.
Blinking at the new 'hero' Ben offered her a friendly smile which she returned.
"Well hey there big boy" she greeted "What fun are we after today?"
While the idea had seemed so simple a few moments ago, now face to face with the 'hero' he felt a little embarrassed. This wasn't exactly a 'super' emergency afterall, but he pushed away any doubts as he focused on the prize.
"Hi. I uh…I know this probably isn't what you were expecting to be called for but I think you'll be a big help" he started, hoping that a few compliments would ease her into the plan.
Quirking a brow at his nervous tone, the tiny genius smirked back "Oh don't worry about that, I'm up for whatever you've got in mind" she practically purred.
"Huh weird. She looks more like a frog than a cat, guess aliens just work differently" Ben thought, ignoring her odd tone.
"Great! Now I need you to help me check these boxes for the one with a golden 'sumo-slammer' card. And we'll need to be sneaky about it" he explained, placing her on the shelf before making sure no one was coming.
"Searching for a card? A strange use of my skills but I suppose this sneaking does make for a sort of thrill" she conceded.
"Yeah I know it's not really a superhero thing, but this is 'super' important to me" he replied.
"A superhero? A curious roleplay but I must admit I find myself intrigued regardless" she hummed, Ben tilting his head questioningly.
"That's a lot of fancy words" he muttered.
"Yes I'm rather more cerebral than the others you might have met before" she admitted, nodding to the watch "But I believe that mental stimulation is just as important as the 'physical'" she finished, batting her eyes suggestively.
This act proved wasted as Ben suddenly snapped his fingers "Hey that could be your code name, Cerebra!"
"A code name? A rather low brow play on words, but I find it rather suits your primitive and impulsive charm" Cerebra mused.
"Um..thanks?" Ben replied unsure of how to respond to (what he assumed to be) an unusual compliment.
"You're welcome. Now let's get to work"
A few moments earlier, Gwen watched boredly as Max attempted to find a 'fitting' substitute for fresh octopus. As she groaned and tried not to think about what horrors awaited them at dinner, Gwen did take notice of the lack of a secondary complaint. Glancing around she quickly realised Ben had slipped away at some point.
As she wondered where he could have gotten to she noticed a purple flash coming from a few aisles back, her eye twitching she quietly slipped away from her grandpa and began doubling back. As she neared the aisle she began to pick up a pair of voices, one was definitely the doofus and the other must be one of those alien huss- sorry 'heroes'.
"Relax big boy, I'll get what you need, you just make sure we're not interrupted" a feminine voice assured.
Gwen felt herself freeze. No. They couldn't be.
"Sorry I'm just…I guess I'm worried about getting caught. This felt like a better idea in my head" he admitted.
"Some find the chance of almost getting caught to be quite 'thrilling'. But Don't worry I won't be much longer"
Okay enough was enough! Practically throwing herself around the corner she was prepared for the worst, and was subsequently both relieved yet still disappointed as she watched her cousin freeze up as he helped a small grey alien move onto the next shelf.
"You know part of me wants to be happy that this is all you're up to. The rest of me can't believe YOU'D BE SO STUPID!" she snapped, voice rising into a full yell by the end.
"We were gonna fix them back up" Ben huffed, as Cerebra took a seat on his shoulder.
"I can't believe you did all this for a dumb piece of cardboard. Now come on before anyone finds…us" Gwen attempted to lead him away, only to run into a VERY unamused store manager.
As Ben whispered for Cerebra to hide, sending her to jump into the back of his shirt. He tried to look innocent.
It didn't work.
"So remind me why I'm buying all this cereal again?" Max asked his grandkids, noting how Ben guiltily looked away while Gwen glowered at him.
"It would have only been one box if Gwen hadn't butted in with her big butt and started screaming the store down." said Ben, turning to glare back at her.
"Well I'm sorry for looking out for your clueless butt." She shot back "Besides you know grandpa doesn't want you using the watch if he's not around"
Holding up a hand to stop any further arguing, Max sighed and knelt down to look Ben in the eye.
"Ben, I can…appreciate how much the card means to you but don't you think you're taking this a bit too far?" Max asked as Ben looked away again "Especially using the watch to do it" he added, with only a tiny bit of worry leaking through.
"Why do you guys always worry about the watch? Cerebra was fine, even if she sounded a bit like the dweeb" he countered.
"Ugh I can't deal with this anymore, I'm going to look at the hamsters and focus on how cute they are." Gwen said, walking off.
As Ben stuck his tongue out, Max led out a disappointed sigh "I'm going to check on Gwen. When you're ready come find us" and with that Ben was alone.
Now in a foul mood, Ben wandered the aisles aimlessly until a brightly coloured display caught his eye. Making a beeline towards it Ben stared in awe at the prize within.
"Whoa, a full set" his eyes drawn to the golden card in the centre "One day, you'll be mine" he promised to himself.
His wistful daydreams were rudely interrupted as the store began to shake. As appliances toppled from their shelves and people began to panic the wall burst open as Dr Animo rode in atop his mutated mount. As Ben ducked behind the display case he watched as the (obvious) supervillain dismounted and began shoving various electronic components into a sack.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Ben yelled, his interruption barely registering to the mad doctor.
With a lazy gesture, Animo prompted his pet to strike the shelves behind the boy, burying him under the (thankfully empty) boxes stored on top. As Ben pushed them off the doctor gave him a contemptuous look.
"Don't try to be a hero boy. Now run along and play somewhere else" he threatened.
Scowling back at the villain Ben spared a glance at the watch, only to see it was still red. "You're lucky they can't come right now" he muttered quietly as he reluctantly backed off.
As Animo remounted his pet with his stolen goods a pair of security guards futilely attempted to stop him. With a mocking laugh he simply ordered the frog to leap over their heads as he headed further into the store.
Taking off after him Ben realised that the madman was heading for the pet department! As he pushed himself to go faster he almost collided with Gwen as she and Max fled back the other way. As the trio reunited they were soon confronted by the mad doctor, now flanked by a mutated parrot and hamster.
"Behold the genius of Dr Animo, today I shall make history! Or should I say, PRE-history!" he gloated before ushering the mutant hamster forward.
"Great. Thanks to you playing around with little 'Miss thrills' earlier, we're going to end up hamster chow" Gwen angrily snarked.
As the mutant let out a savage roar Max pulled the two away "Run now, fight later!"
A sudden pounce from the beast sent them tumbling, with Ben rolling off to the side as it carried on over their heads. As Ben scrambled to his feet he noticed that Max and Gwen were now cornered, the mutant's jaws opened wide as it prepared to strike. Desperately looking for something, anything, that could help his eyes fell on a motor scooter.
Well it's a dumb idea, but when has that ever stopped him before?
Hopping on Ben paused just long enough to throw a football that had rolled nearby at the creature's head. As it turned snarling in anger, Ben smirked and revved the engine before speeding off. The rapid boom of footsteps told him his plan had worked as he sped along the aisles, glancing back he saw it prepare to jump.
With a sharp turn, Ben watched as the overgrown rodent sailed by and collided with some nearby shelves, causing them to topple down on top of it as it shrieked in impotent rage.
"Hah! Guess I didn't even need to watch to deal with you, fuzz ball!" Ben taunted, as Max and Gwen caught up.
"No!" Animo snarled, startling the group as his pet leapt into view "Young fool, you can't stop me. I will turn Washington D.C, into Washington B.C!"
As the mutated parrot swooped past, Animo leapt onto its back and made his escape through a skylight. His pet frog leaping up after him as the store finally went silent. As Ben and his family caught their breath the store manager, and the two security guards from earlier, made their way over.
"Young man, you've saved the store! Please if there's anything I can do to pay you back let me know" he said thankfully.
Before Ben could answer he was scooped up by Max as he began heading back to the Rust Bucket.
"Wait Grandpa! I can finally get the gold sumo-slammer card!" he begged.
"Sorry Ben. But we've got a bird to catch." Max apologised as Ben slumped in defeat.
Once inside the R.V the chase continued into the evening. As Max attempted to keep the target in sight he let out a content sigh. "Ah, this takes me back to the good old days"
Gwen, pausing her attempts to look up any information about Animo, gave him a questioning look. "The good old days as a plumber?"
"Uh…Yes….Hey Ben are you doing alright there?" He deflected awkwardly, as Gwen shrugged and went back to her research.
"First I help save people from a burning building and catch some crooks, and now I save an entire Megamart without using the watch and I've got nothing to show for it. It's not fair" Ben complained, looking out the window in frustration.
"Ben, a Hero doesn't act for a reward. Doing good IS its own reward" Max replied, earning an unimpressed look from Ben.
"Get that from a greetings card?" he snarked.
"Hey those cards have a lot of good life advice" Max defended.
"I've found him!" Gwen called out, "Dr Animo used to be a well respected scientist until about 5 years ago, when it was discovered he was performing unethical experiments on animals and turning them into mutants. He ended up being turned down for a 'Vereties' award and totally flipped out" she explained "Huh, wonder why THAT sounds so familiar?" she asked with a pointed look at Ben.
As Ben averted his eyes in shame, Max slapped the wheel in frustration "Darn it, I lost him. He could be anywhere in Washington D.C now"
"Don't you mean B.C?" Gwen quipped, causing Ben to jump in realisation.
"Wait, that's it! I know where he's going"
Following Ben's hunch they arrived at the Natural History Museum. The giant hole in the wall was a pretty good sign they were on the right path. Making sure the watch was recharged the trio cautiously entered the building, making their way through the halls until they finally located Animo.
Without turning to address them he continued to tinker with his device "You're persistent, I HATE persistent"
"Give it up Animo, we know all about your messed up experiments. It's over" Ben demanded, as he held the watch ready.
"Oh but it has only just begun!" Animo chuckled, reattaching the dial to his harness. "With these final components I have pushed my creation into phase 2. The reanimation of dormant cells" he announced dramatically.
"And in English that means?" Ben snarked, as Animo grinned while adjusting the dial.
"Breath life back into that which is lifeless. Behold!" With that crazed cry, a red beam shot out from his helm and struck a stuffed mammoth (built around a real skeleton according to the plaque). As the glow enveloped it Animo dashed further into the museum.
As the titan slowly lumbered to life, Ben yelled at Max and Gwen to stop Animo before activating the watch. As the flash of purple faded Ben stared at his latest alien 'partner'.
Standing nearly 12 feet tall, with bright red skin, and four eyes and arms she cut an imposing figure. She had short tomboyish black hair and wore a tight pair of black shorts along with a monochrome tube top that was (valiantly) covering her impressive bust. Idily rubbing at an armband on her upper right that possessed the watch's heart icon, she took stock of the room.
"You look so strong!" Ben cheered, eyes trailing her muscular arms.
Gwen however felt another migraine coming on "Seriously, what freak designed that stupid watch" she grumbled as she prompted a rather distracted Max to get moving.
Finally deciding to act, the Mammoth snorted in challenge as it stared down the muscular beauty. At her questioning look Ben chimed in apologetically.
"Sorry to throw you into this, but could you take care of this guy? I'll explain everything once we're safe"
Taking the weird request in stride, she smirked dangerously at the towering brute "Heh not what I was expecting to be asked, but you're the boss. Just sit back" with a sudden lunge she closed the gap between her and the mammoth "And enjoy the show!"
Calling it a fight would be generous. The four armed 'hero' ruthlessly demolished her opponent, pummeling it with a flurry of blows before grabbing it by its trunk and slamming it repeatedly into the floor, leaving it weakly moaning as it lay still.
"Sorry for not holding back, but I wanted to show off for the boss" she mockingly apologised.
"That…was…AWESOME!" Ben cheered, dashing over he began gushing about the 'fight' to the now blushing hero.
"H-hey tone down the compliments short king, I'm already red enough" she joked, her sudden bashfulness was kinda..nice.
Assuming 'short king' was a weird alien compliment Ben continued "But you're so cool! And your arms are huge, they're bigger than my whole body!" staring at them in undisguised awe.
"Oh, you mean these?" she asked, kneeling down to let him see just how solid they were. She fought the urge to squee as he ran his hands over her biceps "This what you like, short king?"
As he nodded oblivious to her insinuation, suddenly had a thought "Hey that reminds me, we need to give you a hero code-name"
"A code name huh? Alright if that's how you wanna do this, what you got for me?" she asked, honestly pretty amused at his commitment to this 'hero' thing.
"How about..Armizon? 'Cause you kinda remind me of Wonder Woman, just with four arms." he suggested.
"So he likes puns? Heh, adorkable" she thought, voicing her acceptance of the name.
"Great! Now let's go catch up with Grandpa and Gwen, They should have dealt with Animo by now"
A distant roar followed by a loud crash, quickly shot down those hopes. Lifting him up for a piggyback with one hand, Armizon sped towards the roars location. As they neared Ben heard Gwen cry out before it faded out as she was moving away rapidly. Rounding the corner Ben barely registered Max call out to him as he spotted Animo's giant parrot fly off with Gwen in its claws.
Not needing to be told what to do now, Armizon sprinted towards the broken wall and launched herself after the flying menace. While her jump easily carried her up to the bird, keeping her grip proved tougher as the feathers in her grasp began to come loose. To make matters worse a very familiar chime began to go off, sending a spike of panic through them both.
As the feathers finally gave way, Armizon quickly brought Ben around to her front as they fell. Wrapping her arms protectively around him (and cushioning him against her breasts) she grunted as she impacted the road below, her large frame creating a sizable crater.
As the beeping sped up, Armizon managed to see that Ben was still safe, if a little smothered.
"At least it was a soft landing" came his dazed and muffled comment, just as she vanished in a flash of red leaving Ben to drop a short distance to the ground "Ow…never…mind".
As Ben dragged himself out of the crater, the Rust Bucket pulled up beside him with Max thanking god Ben was still in one piece. Clambering in the pair sped off, trying to pick up Gwen's trail. While he searched, Max passed Ben a Newspaper slip he discovered after Animo fled on a reanimated T-Rex ("So cool" Ben muttered).
"Dr Kelly accepts Vereties award" he read as the photo showed a younger Animo scowling at Kelly receiving the prize. "He must be going after him to get 'his' reward, we have to stop him!" Ben realised.
"First we need to rescue your cousin. If only we knew where that overgrown pigeon flew off to" Max replied, scanning the skies for any sign of it.
In another moment of perfect timing, the R.V's phone began to ring. The caller indicated it was Gwen, she must have had her cell phone on her! As she hurriedly informed them she was stuck atop the Washington monument Max floored the accelerator, reaching the famous landmark in record time. As they rushed out of the door they arrived just in time to see Gwen's phone shatter against the ground, and looking up it didn't look like Gwen had much time left either.
A sharp beep let Ben know the watch was charged and ready, "Don't worry Grandpa" he announced confidently, twisting the dial to a winged silhouette "We've got this"
Up above Gwen's grip finally failed, as she fell screaming a flash of purple flooded her vision. As her sight returned she felt her fall stop, as she began moving forward through the air instead of down. Twisting to look up Gwen was, for once, glad to see one of her cousin's aliens.
She appeared to be an insectoid like creature, with her lower half being more buglike but the upper body appearing more humanoid. The alien gave her (what was probably meant to be) a reassuring smile, revealing her face to be mostly covered in a black carapace 'mask' except for her mouth and four protruding eye stalks, with the heart logo resting dead centre of her 'facemask'. Despite how it should have come across the insectoid woman still managed to appear rather inexplicably cute.
From what Gwen could tell her outfit was sleeveless and , of course skintight, highlighting her respectable chest.
"Oh come on, why does a bug even need breasts!" Gwen mentally whined, as Ben poked his head from over her shoulder.
"Hey Gwen this is Stingwing. Stingwing that's the dweeb" Ben 'introduced' them.
"Mission accomplished master" Stingwing said, her voice carrying an odd chittering echo "The dweeb is safe and sound" she added with innocent insensitivity. Much to Gwen's annoyance and Ben's amusement.
Catching a whiff of something Gwen covered her nose. "Is that smell coming from her?" she asked, causing Stingwing's eye stalks to droop in embarrassment.
Confused, Ben leant forward and gave his own sniff "She smells fine to me" he commented, causing Stingwing to let out a surprised but happy buzz, much to Gwen's discomfort.
A loud squawk reminded them that they weren't truly safe yet. As Animo's flying mutant attempted to knock them out of the sky, Stingwing dodged to the best of her ability. Though she was forced to admit her options were limited while she carried the two young humans.
As they made another pass around the monument, Ben spotted his Grandfather waving at him from a viewing slit near the top. Leaning close so he could be heard over the rushing winds, Ben quickly told Stingwing his plan. Nodding in acknowledgment, the insectoid 'hero' rapidly began to ascend, before diving swiftly back down towards the spire. Without warning she let go of Gwen who had a moment of panic before she felt herself land in her Grandpa's arms.
Shaken but glad to be alive, Gwen's relief seemed short lived as the giant bird spotted her hanging from the window and dived towards the seemingly helpless prey. Before it got near her though, Stingwing returned and slammed the flat end of her stinger against the bird's back. With a startled shriek the parrot slammed into the wall below Gwen before spiralling to the ground.
As Max pulled gwen inside, he yelled out to Ben "Go stop Animo, we'll be fine"
"Speak for yourself" a shaking Gwen snarked as she tried to calm her heart.
Taking off it wasn't hard to follow Animo's trail. A giant lizard is hardly a stealthy mode of transportation after all. The pair arrived at 'Kelly Industries' and, making their way through a large hole busted into the building, found Animo victoriously clutching a golden flask trophy as his vicious mount attempted to chow down on a terrified Kelly. Blitzing forward Stingwing slashed the beast's face with her stinger, forcing it to rear back in pain.
As Animo turned to confront the new threat, only to stare in disbelief at the sight before him.
"You again boy! How do you keep interfering with my plans?!" he asked, shaking with fury as Ben shrugged mockingly.
"Well it helps that you keep yelling out your plans as you go" he teased, earning a laugh from Stingwing as she watched Animo begin to scream out in frustration.
And noticing Ben's 'partner', Animo had his own thoughts on the alien hybrid "And what is that ridiculous thing you've got with you?" he began, gesturing particularly at her chest "Such pointless additions to what could be a fine specimen for study"
As Stingwing angrily buzzed at the insult, Ben yelled back in outrage "Don't talk about her like that! She's awesome and looks way better than your crumby creations!" Thanks to his position on her back he couldn't see the dreamy smile on her face as he defended her.
"Master…you're so cool~" she chittered as Ben blushed at the praise, bashfully asking her to just call him Ben.
Animo however could see her reactions, with the odd display breaking through his usual cloud of self importance "Wait what is actually going on here? Is she…a consort? How old are you?"
"She's not a consort (whatever that is) she's a superhero. And now, she's gonna kick. Your. Butt"
With that declaration a newly motivated Stingwing shot forward, a stream of adhesive slime firing from her mouth and covering the T-Rex's eyes. As the terrible titan roared and flailed in a vain attempt to clear its vision Animo struggled to hold on and, in his struggles, let go of the Vereties award.
"Noooo!" Animo wailed as the award shattered against the floor.
Taking advantage of his distraction, Stingwing made another pass and snatched his helmet from his head. Giving him a mocking wave before she pitched it into the ground, the impact causing it to let out one last pulse before breaking.
As the pulse washed over the tyrannosaur, it rapidly began to decay back into bones before collapsing into a heap, trapping Animo in its ruined frame.
"We showed him, partner" Ben cheered, inadvertently brushing his hands against the sides of her chest as adjusted his grip.
As Stingwing trilled in…'happiness', which Ben mistook for agreement, the pair descended as the watch timed out. Leaving Ben with a very unsettled Dr Kelly.
"I'll...inform the authorities about Animo...(and maybe about the bug lady)" Kelly said, wanting to distance himself from...whatever insanity that was.
As the sun rose and the police led a ranting Animo away in cuffs, Ben couldn't help but reflect on his own actions the past few days. Seeing Animo so obsessed over a prize he 'deserved' made him realise he'd been..well a jerk to his Grandpa and Gwen. As the trio made their way back to the Rust Bucket Ben called out to him.
"Hey uh, Grandpa?" as Max turned questioningly, Ben took a deep breath "I'm..sorry…for what I said last night, you were right. A hero shouldn't be focused on a reward, helping people is its own reward right?" he finished bashfully.
Max, smiling proudly at his display of maturity, ruffled his hair as they climbed back into the R.V.
As Ben took a seat at the table Gwen placed something in front of him. It was the dial from Animo's device. At his curious expression she explained.
"It might not be a golden sumo-slammer card, but it will make a cool memento of your first supervillain right?"
Stunned, Ben couldn't help the bright smile forming on his face "Thanks Gwen"
She gave him a playful shove "Yeah yeah. Don't go all soft on me doofus"
As Max watched them playfully bicker, he prepared to set off. Feeling confident in the days to come for the rest of the trip.
"Oh by the way Grandpa, what's a 'consort'?" Ben asked, causing him to nearly steer the R.V into the nearest wall as he hacked for breath.
Nope. Still going to be the death of him.
-Non Canon Omake-
"Why does a bug even need breast?" Gwen yells in exasperation.
"Hand holds" Ben answered in utter seriousness.
"...What?" Gwen asked in disbelief.
"Yeah see" he continued on obliviously, taking hold of them as Stingwing let out a chittering moan. "Now you've got a solid hold so you don't fall, isn't that right?"
"Right~" Stingwing replied happliy as Gwen screamed "WRONG!"