The Tennysons were on the road in the Rustbucket. So, in order to pass the time and combat boredom, Ben and a kid in a nearby car were making funny faces at each other.
Many made strange faces at the boys, while others chuckled. "What ARE they doing?" Aizawa asked.
"Making funny faces at each other. It's something to do while they're stuck in a car going down long roads. I used to do that with my friends all the time." Kaminari laughed a bit. "In fact, I still do it sometimes." He added, pulling down on his bottom lip at Sero and Mineta, Sero responding by sticking his tongue out with his eyes crossed while Mineta pushed up on his nose to look like a pig.
"Ah, youth." Midnight said with a smile.
"They're being idiots and making fools out of themselves." Aizawa said.
"Yeah, but it's just a bunch of harmless fun. Like when Kacchan yells at everybody!" Uraraka said brightly.
"I'd warn you that your face might freeze like that, but in your case, it would be an improvement." Gwen taunted.
The kid in the other car then decided to eat his burger and showed the chewed up remains to Ben.
"Eww!" All the girls, Midnight and Aoyama all cried out in disgust.
"That is incredibly disgusting, disrespectful and inconsiderate!" Iida snapped, chopping robotically.
"It might be inconsiderate if Ben were eating, too, but he isn't, so I don't know about that one. The other two, definitely." Kirishima said.
"Ohh, man. The seafood special." Ben said in disgust. "Time to pull out the secret weapon." The boy declared.
Ben bent down so he couldn't be seen, activating the Omnitrix and transforming into Stinkfly, popping up and making horrifying faces and sounds. The kid was scared out of his wits and screamed, prompting his father to look at Stinkfly. The father was scared too and sped ahead of the RV. Stinkfly laid down on the floor and laughed.
"That was going too far. Those two are probably traumatized now." Asui said disapprovingly.
"Still, that is what I'd expect from a child. If they have any way to one-up each other, they'll use it. Even if they shouldn't." Tokoyami declared.
"Yeah. When kids play games, they play to WIN!" Dark Shadow agreed.
"Just too bad his supposed 'secret' goes out the window with it." Jiro said.
"There is such a thing as 'taking a joke too far', you know." Gwen scolded him.
Stinkfly continued to laugh, before he saw that Gwen was about to sit down, so he sprayed slime onto her seat and she sat on it, causing her to gasp and grumble at Stinkfly.
"Impossible. Funny is funny." The Lepidopteran declared.
"Eww, that's nasty." Ashido said in disgust.
"And she's wearing white pants. That's gonna stain." Hagakure added.
"At least it isn't acidic. That would do a little more than stain." Ojiro said.
Then, some frowned at Ben's line that funny is funny. "But some people have very different ideas of what's funny. And a lot of time it's at someone else's expense." Shoji said darkly, remembering how people thought it was funny to beat him for having a Mutation Quirk.
"Ben, better get up here." Max suddenly called for his grandson, hitting the brakes and the RV screeching to a halt. This caused Stinkfly to go sliding to the front. "Oh, good. You're all ready to go. We got trouble ahead." The elder informed the insectoid alien.
They all looked ahead and saw a a propane truck had overturned and the truck driver was stuck inside. There was also a fire spreading just outside the truck. "HELP!" The driver screamed, banging on the door.
"Oh, man. A truck flipped and on fire would already be bad enough, but a PROPANE truck makes this WAY worse." Midoriya said worriedly.
"And Ben's stuck with Stinkfly to handle it! Him and Grey Matter are probably the only ones that can't handle it!" Sero exclaimed, equally concerned.
"Now, now, students. We've seen Young Ben is quite resourceful when he has to be. I'm certain he can think of a way to save the day." All Might assured them.
"The door's stuck! He can't get out!" A bystander cried out.
"HELP!" The driver screamed again.
"If that propane he's hauling catches fire, that truck will become a rocket to the moon." Max exclaimed as the driver looked on, terrified.
"Tch. Propane isn't THAT explosive. It's limits are only between 2 and 9 percent." Bakugo scoffed.
"I REALLY don't think it matters when there's a WHOLE TANKER about to go up in flames!" Mineta cried out.
"Yeah. With that much fuel, everyone in at least a hundred feat is probably getting barbecued. Put in some work, fly boy!" Sato yelled encouragingly at the screen.
Stinkfly flew out of the RV and closer to the truck, but the flames' intensity increased, making Stinkfly step back. "Ugh! Ouch!" The Lepidopteran cried out in pain, flinching back from the flames.
"I feel his pain. Back in the USJ, I was fighting the heat from the flames of the Fire Zone I landed in just as much as I was fighting the villains." Ojiro said.
"Aww, but that just made you even hotter~" Hagakure lightly teased her boyfriend.
The crowd tried to step closer, but Max held out his arms, ushering for them to keep their distance. "Come on, folks. Give the... bug a chance to work." He requested.
Present Mic sighed at this. "Always hated it when civilians can't keep back, away from the action." The radio host complained, remembering a number of civilians calling his radio show, complaining they were present when he fought a villain and got a case of Tinnitus afterward.
"W-well, it's just human nature. They see something unusual or astonishing and they want a closer look. You can't really fault them for that." Midoriya said nervously.
"You've totally done that before, haven't you?" Asui asked, to which her fellow greenette chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"The fire's too intense. Ungh! I wish I was Heatblast." Stinkfly complained.
"You COULD'VE been Heatblast if you didn't use the watch to traumatize another child and his father." Yaoyorozu chided.
"Either way, it's too late now. We'll just have to see how Stinkfly can handle things." Todoroki said.
"Let's go, Stinky! You got this!" Sato cheered.
"Hey, that gives me an idea." The insectoid alien exclaimed. Stinkfly then took to the air and shot slime out at the fire, extinguishing it. He then went on top of the truck and used his sharp tail to tear the metal off the roof. Stinkfly used his hands to pry the two ends of the tear in the roof to create a hole big enough to get the truck driver out.
"Oh, yeah! That's right! I forgot Stinkfly's goo can put out fires!" Koda said, amazed. "I think I was too busy freaking out over the giant bug." He admitted sheepishly.
"It certainly lacks panache, but I cannot argue with the results." Aoyama admitted as well.
"And I know we were already told Stinkfly's tail could cut through metal, but seeing it actually do that makes it so much more real." Mineta said in disbelief.
He picked the driver up and flew away from the truck. "AAAAAH!" The driver cried out once again, before Stinkfly safely dropped the driver down.
"Loogie saves lives." The Lepidopteran declared. (A few chuckles from less mature audience members and some eyerolls from the mature ones.)
However, not everyone was amazed by Stinkfly's heroics. "AAAH! That's the monster that ate that kid!" The kid from earlier cried out, tugging at his father.
"Wow, look at the time. Gotta fly!" Stinkfly exclaimed as he flew away from the scene.
"And now there's at least two people that think Stinkfly is a maneater. I can't imagine that would go over well with people in the future." Aizawa said.
"I don't know, Mr. Aizawa. A lot more people just saw Stinkfly SAVE a person and NOT eat him. Maybe they'd just think the kid is making things up?" Uraraka reasoned.
"Yeah, but that was a grown man, not a little kid. Maybe they'd think adults are too big for Stinkfly? Like how predators might attack a baby giraffe, but not a full-grown one?" Sero countered.
"But then he probably wouldn't bother saving people if he eats them." Iida reasoned.
"Such a fascinating route this conversation has taken." Maverick said as Anemone shook her head.
The Tennysons continued along the road and approached a specific location. "'You'll have a ball with *IT*!', 'Next exit'." Gwen read the signs on the roadside aloud.
"Come on, Grandpa. At least give us a hint of what 'IT' is." Ben pleaded.
"Uh-uh. No hints. I've been planning this stop all summer." Max refused.
"Ooh, a special surprise! Fun!" Ashido said.
"I don't know. I think it'd be better if I knew what 'IT' was. Then I could could decide whether I wanted to go see it for myself or not, so I wouldn't spend my money and wind up having a bad time." Kirishima said uncertainly.
"I think that's the smartest thing I've ever heard you say." Bakugo admitted, nodding in approval that his friend at least had SOME sense. [1]
"But if we went to see 'IT' TOGETHER, I'm sure you'd still have a good time~" Ashido said flirtatiously.
"Hardening plus Acid. What do you even get from that?" Maverick asked Anemone, wondering what the Quirk of a child of such a pairing would be.
"I'm guessing it'd be a 'one or the other' case, instead of a combo." The snake-like hostess said.
They reached their destination. Max walked out of the RV first and took care of some things and then opened the door of the RV. "Now, both of you, close your eyes." He told them.
Ben and Gwen closed their eyes and walked out of the RV. "Okay, open 'em up!" Max instructed and the two excitedly opened their eyes. "Ta-da! Welcome to Sparksville!" Max exclaimed as the two bore witness to a huge billboard. They then glanced at the seemingly quiet and mundane town and its various stores and attractions, such as a sideways motel and several giant statues/structures, including a jackalope, a bottle of ketchup and a fish bowl.
All Might laughed at this. "Hahaha! Classic tourist traps! I loved those on my studies abroad in America. Such fun little distractions!" He said nostalgically.
"It looks stupid. What's the big deal about a giant bottle of ketchup or a rabbit with antlers?" Bakugo questioned.
"Oh, come on, Kacchan! It's goofy gimmicks like this that make them fun! Like if we put on a special show with our Quirks and turned Aoyama into a disco ball! People would come see that, because it's only something WE could do!" Kaminari told him.
"And, as an added little bonus, explosive young listener, the jackalope is a famous part of American folklore, just like with our own Japanese yokai! It has a special meaning to them, plus it's just a fun idea." Present Mic added.
"Hah, is this place great or what?" Max laughed.
"Uh... I'll go with 'or what'." Ben said, unimpressed.
"Come on! What's more exciting than the world's biggest fish bowl?" Max asked excitedly as they all looked at the fish bowl.
"Um, everything." Ben said, still rather unimpressed.
At that moment, they were approached by a man who seemed completely dead inside. "As the mayor of Sparksville, I welcome you, as seekers of wonder." The mayor said in a monotone voice.
"Wow. Well, this guy's just a bundle of energy, isn't he?" Jiro said sarcastically.
"Oh! Look, Shota! It's your long lost brother!" Midnight said teasingly.
"Very funny..." Aizawa grumbled, glaring at the R-Rated Hero.
"But yeah, I thought people who run big sideshow places like this are supposed to be upbeat, energetic and welcoming to want to bring people in?" Hagakure asked.
"Do anything for long enough, you're bound to get tired of it, I guess." Shoji said with a shrug.
The Tennysons looked at Earl strangely for a short while, but shook it off. "I know you guys are probably excited to see 'IT'. So, I'll go check us in." Max told his grandkids, giving them a ticket each and walking away. Ben and Gwen looked at each other and shrugged.
Ben and Gwen went to an exhibit named "The Jack-A-Lope".
Ben rang the bell. Ben and Gwen were surprised to see Earl walked out as the ticket collector. "Tickets, please." The mayor requested.
A few members of the audience shook their heads, caught off-guard at this. "Quoi? But, I thought this man was the mayor, not a booth operator." Aoyama said in confusion.
"That would probably explain why he's so out of energy. He's tired from doing too much. Something I completely relate to." Aizawa said.
"I thought you were the mayor." Ben said as they gave their tickets.
"He who wears the crown is burdened by many hats, son." Earl said simply. "Mind the signs." He warned as Ben and Gwen went in.
Ben and Gwen went to the various attractions and took pictures. First, they stood next to the jackalope with Ben looking ready to fall asleep. Then, another near the jackalope with Gwen making a goofy expression while dancing around with her fingers on her head like antlers to make Ben laugh. Next was a different location: the sideways hotel, where Ben was horizontal on the left side of the picture while Gwen had her head tilted sideways so only a bit of her head and her eye could be seen. Afterwards, they posed in a cutout of the "American Gothic" painting. Finally, something interesting was seen, a planetarium, but things got a little underwhelming, as an employee had to replace the bulb that made the sun. And next, they both stopped and looked up at a giant house of cards.
"Aww. They really are quite sweet when they are getting along like this." Yaoyorozu said with a smile, almost wishing she had a sibling growing up. [2]
"It just goes to show, when you let go of the little things and just try to enjoy yourself, you can enjoy almost anyone's company." Tokoyami said.
"Yeah. I bet even that Monoma kid from Class 1-B wouldn't be so bad if he stopped trying to prove his class is better." Dark Shadow agreed.
"And they're making some great memories with those funny pictures, too!" Sato said, chuckling at the one with Gwen making antlers for herself and the sideways hotel one.
"Makes you wonder where their grandfather is, though. Shouldn't he be enjoying this with them?" Koda asked, feeling bad the elderly Tennyson is missing out.
They eventually stopped for lunch, Ben enjoying the smell of a very large hot dog. But Gwen put a damper on that by spraying him with ketchup and mustard, prompting Ben to throw the hot dog at her.
"Hey! Now that's just a waste of good food!" Sato complained.
"It was a hot dog and condiments. That's not what I'd call 'good' food. They're not very good for you." Todoroki told him.
"I'll have you know, young Todoroki, ketchup and mustard can actually be very healthy in moderation." All Might informed his rival's son. "I can't argue about the hot dogs, however. But they are a tasty treat if only eaten occasionally." He admitted.
"Regardless, it's food they should be grateful for! Wasting it in such a manner is disrespectful to those who can't afford, or don't have access to something so vital!" Iida scolded, chopping his arms.
"Not to mention, it cost money." Uraraka said with a huff, despising the thought of money going to waste on uneaten food.
After that, they got back to exploring and goofing around, now posed back to back with their arms crossed as Ben wore some cool sunglasses and jackalope antlers while Gwen wore a ball cap and glasses with fake eyes popping out on springs. Next, they stood in front of the world's largest fish bowl, both of them puffing their cheeks out, pretending to be fish. But then, they must've run out of things to do, as they were sitting on a bench with rather bored expressions, before eventually coming across an arrow sign in the road, reading "IT is this way".
"Yay! Back to more fun, cute stuff!" Hagakure cheered.
"Even with the goofy hat and silly glasses, they do look kinda cool posing like that." Ashido said with a giggle.
"But honestly, the 'World's Biggest Fishbowl' isn't even that impressive. It doesn't even look big enough to hold something human-sized, so there's no way it could contain something like a Goliath Grouper like the specialized aquarium tanks my mother keeps." Yaoyorozu said, showing a picture of herself stood next to her mother in front of a massive fish tank with a huge grouper inside of it.
"WHAT IS YOUR LIFE!" Uraraka cried out, falling back into Bakugo.
And finally, they arrived at the barn with a sign "IT's Here". "Through these doors lies the weirdest, wildest thing ever to find it's way to Sparksville." Earl informed the children as the doors opened and they entered.
"After all that damn build-up, it better be worth it." Bakugo grumbled.
"I-I'm sure it will be! You know what they say: save the best for last!" Midoriya said nervously, knowing Bakugo becomes EVEN ANGRIER when he's impatient.
There was an ominous darkness and as they made their way forward. "Please tell me this is 'IT', because I can't stand 'IT' anymore." Ben complained, before they saw several neon signs. "'Do not touch *IT*!'" Ben read the first one.
"'Do not photograph *IT*!'" Gwen read the next one.
"'Do not use batteries or electrical equipment anywhere near *IT*!'" The cousins read together.
"Aww. Sorry, Kaminari, I guess you can't go see 'IT'." Jiro said teasingly.
"Jeez, with all these rules, why let people near it at all?" Kaminari asked.
"It's not that many rules. And, it's pretty much what you'd expect from most places you go. You wouldn't go to a museum expecting to touch stuff." Asui reasoned.
"I wouldn't go to a museum, period." Chargebolt said.
"Makes me wonder, though: do you think the Omnitrix counts as electrical equipment?" Sero asked.
"It's alien technology, so it could run on anything, I suppose." Iida said.
"We don't know the exact name of what powers it, but it runs on special, self-renewable power supply that will long outlive Ben." Anemone informed them.
"That being said, most energy sources are some form of plasma, which is what electricity is." Maverick chimed in.
The light returned as Ben and Gwen saw a huge sign reading "THIS IS IT", leaving the two of them actually shocked and awed.
A few raised an eyebrow at the giant sign. "So, they warn not to use electric equipment around 'IT', but then have a sign with flashing lights that run on electricity right in front of it?" Aizawa questioned.
"Yeah, no. Can't even defend this one. That's just dumb." Present Mic agreed with his friend.
"Still makes you wonder what 'IT' is to have so many rules around it. Maybe it's not something people should be near!" Mineta said nervously.
The sign moved away and revealed a giant rubber-band ball. "This is 'IT'?" Ben asked, disappointed.
"It's a big ball of rubber bands." Gwen, equally unimpressed.
"A rubber band ball!? Are you freaking kidding me!?" Bakugo snapped.
"Yeah, I gotta admit, that is kinda lame." Ojiro agreed.
"Oh, come on, guys! Sure, it's not the coolest thing ever, but you gotta appreciate the effort it took to make it. It's gigantic! That must have taken THOUSANDS of rubber bands and a lot of effort to stretch them that far to keep stretching them once the ball started getting big. Whoever did that HAD to be super manly!" Kirishima declared.
"And who knows what secrets lie within." Earl said in a suspenseful tone... or as much of one as he could muster.
"Uhh, more rubber bands?" Ben said jokingly.
"Stay as long as you like. Mind the signs." Earl declared, walking away.
"Look at this place. These guys are full of 'it'. We've been punked!" Ben complained.
"It is pretty lame. I can't believe Grandpa was so excited about this place." Gwen agreed.
"Yeah. Gramps must've been pretty sheltered to think THIS is fun." Hagakure agreed as well.
"You saw how boring his sister was. It starts to make sense now." Ashido sighed, any excitement she had before now gone.
"I wanna say we should appreciate it for what it is... but yeah, it is pretty boring." Asui admitted.
But then, Ben smiled and walked closer to the ball. "I know that look, Ben. What're you thinking?" Gwen demanded.
Ben went behind the ball and transformed into Four Arms, lifting the ball with ease. "One good prank deserves another." The Tetramand declared.
"Benjamin Tennyson! One of the signs EXPLICITLY said not to touch IT!" Iida snapped, chopping away like always.
"Not to mention those rubber bands MUST be close to snapping with how much they've been stretched. It probably wouldn't take much more to break them. And when that happens, someone will probably get hurt." Midoriya said worriedly.
"I say let it break! Show these idiots not to hype up something completely stupid!" Bakugo snapped.
"But then the Tennysons would likely have to pay for it. Which would likely be costly. As young Kirishima said, that must have taken thousands of rubber bands and any decent sized bag of rubber bands will still cost at least a dollar. I'm willing to bet it would be a few hundred, if not at least a thousand." All Might pointed out.
"For once, I agree with you. Got something special in mind?" Gwen asked, a smirk soon growing on her face.
"I don't know. Maybe... the world's biggest booger?" Four Arms suggested, to which Gwen actually laughed.
"Sounds like something you'd want Stinkfly for, not Four Arms." Sato said.
"Should we really be offering input on how Ben should carry out pranks? Which, in this case, would likely be closer to vandalism?" Yaoyorozu asked.
"Oh, come on, Yaomomo. I'm sure it would wash off." Jiro told her.
"But it might not stay in on piece after that." Yaoyorozu pointed out.
"I think you forgot the fact, even if you DID offer him some pranking pointers... He can't hear you." Maverick said.
But then Four Arms began to juggle the ball rather confidently. "Careful, dweeb! You'll drop it!" Gwen warned him.
"Not a chance! I could life this thing with three hands tied behind my-" Four Arms began. But, as he tried to hold the ball in one arm, he ended up losing the balance and ball bounced off, heading right for Gwen.
"It's not a matter of weight. It's about balancing that weight. And one arm, even if it's super strong, can't balance something that large." Todoroki said.
"And now it's on the loose! It's gonna be like Indiana Jones!" Mineta cried out fearfully.
"Aah-AAAAAH!" Gwen screamed, diving out of the way to avoid getting crushed.
Then, after hitting the ground, the giant ball bounced and was launched into the air, crashing through the roof. "Oops." The muscular alien exclaimed.
The ball continued to bounce after it left the barn, knocking over several exhibits and crushing a food cart. Four Arms was able to catch the ball and start slowing it down as it sent him skidding back, but it made him slam into a building and bounced off him, causing it to crash into the giant house of cards before coming to a stop.
"Oh, bullshit! No way a rubber band ball does that much damage!" Bakugo snapped.
"With it being that big, I'd have to imagine it weight nearly 10,000 pounds." Aoyama said, everyone looking to him. "It's close to what the real-life world's largest rubber band ball weighs: 9,032 pounds." The Naval Laser-User explained. Everyone just tilted their heads, wondering how he knew this. "I read it in the book of world records. I'm a record enthusiast." He explained.
"Something with the elasticity and bounciness of rubber with the weight of an elephant. Bad combo." Shoji said.
Four Arms went down to his knees tiredly, where Gwen slapped him on his shoulder. "OW! What was that for?" The Tetramand complained.
"For turning me into a criminal." She snapped.
"Don't get your shorts in a twist. I'll just put everything back the way it was. No problem." The warrior alien assured her, getting up and walking to the ball.
"Somehow, I doubt it." Aizawa doubted.
"Even if he could perfectly rearrange the first floor of the house of cards, there's no way he could do it for the next two floors. He'd need a crane for something like that." Midoriya said. "Or an alien that was the size of a skyscraper." He added, the hosts sharing a knowing smirk.
"Or use Ghostfreak's telekinesis. But he'd have to turn back and wait for the watch to recharge. And they'd probably get caught in the meantime." Uraraka threw in as well.
"Of course, I believe you're both forgetting that the roof and that food cart were both destroyed. And I don't believe Ben has an alien that can easily fix those, if at all." Iida reminded them.
However, at that moment, the Omnitrix timed out and Four Arms changed back into Ben. "Okay. Maybe a little problem." The boy admitted.
Ben leaned against the giant ball, causing a small charge from the Omnitrix to be drawn into the ball, unbeknownst to the two.
Everyone leaned in closely as they saw this. "Wait, what was that?" Hagakure asked.
"It looked like an electrical surge." Kaminari said.
"Like the kind that was supposed to be kept away from 'IT' at all costs." Midnight said in concern.
"But now the big question is, what exactly is that going to do?" Mineta asked fearfully.
"What are we going to tell Grandpa?" Gwen asked.
"Nothing. We just play dumb." Ben explained.
"They should just tell him the truth. Sure, he'll be upset with them, but honesty is the best policy." Asui said.
"Tell that to the people who arrested Stain." Todoroki grumbled quietly, upset his father was the one who got credit for the arrest.
"Easy for you. You're a lot better at it than I am." Gwen told him.
Gwen and Ben entered the motel through a door that appears to be a big mail slot. Inside, it appeared that the entire room had been turned on its side, including the beds and the door.
"Hey, there you are. Isn't this place a riot?" Max asked, marveling at the room.
"Cute idea, but it seems unsafe." Tokoyami said.
"Yeah, I don't think GRAVITY cares if you're trying to sleep or not." Dark Shadow agreed.
"No way! How are all the drawers and cabinets staying closed?!" Kirishima asked in awe.
"I'm guessing they're either superglued or just nailed shut." Jiro said.
Gwen tensed at this. "Why? What'd you see? We don't know anything about it." She said nervously.
"Jeez. You would swear she's never lied before. What kid never lied!?" Ashido asked.
"Well behaved ones." Yaoyorozu said in a prim, proper manner, as if she were above the concept of lying.
"You weren't all that well behaved when you broke the rules to save Bakugo." Aizawa reminded her, causing her to shrink a bit.
"Are you STILL on that? I thought we went over this when you guys first got here. That was barely an hour ago." Maverick said.
"She means it's... great, Grandpa. Can't wait check out the bathroom." Ben interrupted her.
Back at the rubber-band ball, the charge had spread all over the surface. A small electric bolt escaped from it and started to circle the power lines and exhibits. It then put a hole through the welcome sign for the town. The bolt then revealed itself to what appeared to be a yellow creature that looked like a living battery. It laughed maniacally and zipped away.
"WHAT THE!?" All the students exclaimed as the bolt of electricity moved on its own.
"Mon Dieu! The electricity! It's moving on its own!" Aoyama cried out in shock.
"B-but that's impossible! The air is an insulator and electricity would face massive amounts of resistance whenever it isn't traveling through a conductive source! It shouldn't be behaving in this way!" Midoriya exclaimed.
"Unless it's not normal electricity. And something's manipulating it." Bakugo declared.
And almost as soon as the explosive pomeranian said this, the source of the electricity made itself known. "Living battery!" Most of the students cried out.
"It must be some kind of alien!" Sato theorized.
"You know... It's actually kinda cute. Like a little mini-Kaminari!" Ashido cooed.
"What?! Why me!?" Kaminari asked, only for EVERYONE to look at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Mic, anything?" Midnight asked, looking to her loud-mouthed friend.
"Nothing yet. Must not be time for a proper introduction." Present Mic said, leafing through the cards.
"For now, I think we've seen all we need to. That these things are trouble." Shoji declared.
Ben and Gwen were sleeping, while Max was just outside. "What the heck happened here?" The grandfather asked, causing Ben and Gwen to wake up and fall out of bed.
"They ACTUALLY managed to stay like that?! How?!" Sato asked.
"Maybe they were tucked in really well?" Koda suggested.
"Not tight enough, if they just fell like that." Mineta pointed out.
"Uh, I think you're all forgetting the bigger issue here." All Might reminded the students.
The students jolted at this. "Right! The mini-nari!" Mineta exclaimed as he remembered.
"Can we NOT call it that?" Kaminari pleaded.
"Not unless we get a different name for them." Hagakure said teasingly.
"Ah. He knows everything. We are so busted. We have to come clean and tell Grandpa everything." Gwen exclaimed, nearly having a nervous breakdown.
Ben rolled his eyes at this, however. "Sometimes it's hard to believe you're really a kid. Never admit anything, until you absolutely have to. Got it?" He demanded.
"Well, you know, now that the mini-nari is out there, maybe they could blame it on it, instead!" Sero suggested.
"Sero! They should do the right thing and take responsibility for their actions!" Iida scolded.
"But he has a point. We've seen this thing can already do damage. So the question is just how much MORE damage did it do overnight?" Aizawa pondered.
"Benjamin. Gwendolyn. Get out here." Max ordered.
The cousins were terrified at this. "Gwendolyn? We're doomed!" Gwen exclaimed.
Ben and Gwen came outside and saw that the entire place had been trashed, far more than what Four Arms had caused.
"Whoa! The whole town is wrecked!" Kirishima exclaimed in horror.
"How could such a little thing do so much damage?" Ojiro asked.
"It IS still basically a living lightning bolt. With the amount of electricity it gives off, it shouldn't be that much of a surprise it could do something like this." Todoroki said.
"So, this is what it would be like if Kaminari were a villain." Jiro said, earning an indignant "Hey!" from Chargebolt.
"Whhoooaa! What happened?" Ben asked in shock.
"I don't know. Looks like a tornado tore through here overnight." Max exclaimed as the people of Sparksville look on at the destruction.
"Good." Ben said, relieved the blame was off of him.
Max looked at Ben strangely for that comment. "I-I mean... yeah. It was just one of those freaky nature things. Right, Gwen?" The boy quickly corrected himself, while Gwen noded, trying to look innocent.
"Real smooth." Asui said sarcastically.
"Actually, you might be surprised how often people fall for sloppy cover-ups like that." Midoriya admitted, remembering how easily a couple dismissed his claim of seeing All Might after the entrance exam.
Earl then walked up to them. "I think it's pretty clear who's responsible for these juvenile acts." The mayor said.
"Juvenile acts?" Max asked, looking at Ben and Gwen. "Huh, if I didn't know better, that sounds like-" He began, but was interrupted.
"I mean, sure they caused a little bit of damage, but you can't blame them for ALL of it." Hagakure said.
"Yes, they can, actually." Midnight told her students. "They are the reason the mini-nari escaped, so they're on the hook for the damage it has done." She explained.
"Not the teachers, too!" Kaminari cried as the teachers even joined in on the nickname for the creature.
"Oh, I'm not talking about these youngsters." Earl assured them.
"You're not?!" All three Tennysons asked, surprised. Max looked back at his grandkids suspiciously, to which they smiled nervously. (Several facepalms rang out.)
"Yeah, well, if they didn't do it... who did?" Max asked.
At that very moment, the little creature from before arrived and zipped around the children. First, it popped up at Ben's foot, then his wrist where the Omnitrix was, then around Gwen's thigh/hip, then back to Ben's other arm, waving childishly. It then moved to the top of Gwen's head and saluting, then flying back to Ben's shoulder. It then zipped up to Gwen's left shoulder and blew a raspberry in her face, before reaching behind her and pulling a pink fabric up and over her head. [3]
"Ouch! Atomic wedgie. Those aren't fun." Uraraka winced. Again, hanging with people with mutations like Ashido and Asui often got her bullied alongside them.
"How do you know? Who gave you one?!" Bakugo demanded, becoming protective of his girlfriend.
"Uh! It's fine! It was from a long time ago! Before I was even in UA!" The gravity girl lied.
"What a little bully! Not cool at all!" Ashido cried out, making an X with her arms.
"Right. Practical jokes are only harmless fun when they ARE harmless. The moment they cause someone pain, that's assault and harassment." Iida agreed.
It tapped on Ben's shoulder to get his attention, causing him to look over that shoulder, before the creature popped up at the other shoulder, blowing a raspberry in his face as well as he simply looked on, before zipping away. "What was that?" Ben asked.
"Megawatt." Earl explained, walking up to him.
"Mega - what?" Ben asked.
"Exactly." The mayor confirmed.
"Uh, don't think that's what he meant, dude." Ashido said.
Finally, one of the cards in Present Mic's hands flashed red. "Megawhatt! A Nosedeenian! Mischievous little living batteries, they can fly at high speeds and obviously generate electricity, as well as travel through conductive materials and even control technology like Upgrade! Albeit it can't upgrade the tech." The radio host hero announced.
"So, then, they're WORSE than an evil Kaminari, because they can fly and travel as electricity." Jiro noted.
"Come on, Jiro! Quit messing with me!" Kaminari complained.
"But that does make them quite dangerous. Electricity moves at relativistic speed. So these creatures can potentially move nearly the speed of light. Even faster than XLR8!" Yaoyorozu said worriedly.
"Normally wrapped up tight inside of IT... That is, until last night." Earl explained, to which Ben and Gwen looked at each other. "Some say might be a ball of lightning come alive. Others think it's static cling run amok. Tough to say." He said.
"Maybe it's an alien." Gwen suggested.
"Alien? That's just plan kooky talk." Earl dismissed her theory.
"Tch. Right. Because a BALL of lightning coming to life and sentient STATIC CLING makes so much more sense." Aizawa scoffed.
"You'd be surprised some of the things people will come up with to rationalize what they just saw." Anemone told him.
"Nowadays, most things are pretty much explained by 'it's a weird Quirk'. Man, I'm glad things are simpler in our world." Hagakure said.
"Still, probably better than people knowing there's aliens out there. That might make them freak out." Ojiro pointed out.
Near a soda machine, the Megawhatt saw the chance to cause even more trouble. It entered the machine and caused it to tremble.
"What's it doing?" Ben asked.
"It eats electricity. The more it gobbles, the more powerful it gets." The mayor explained.
"Truly a fearsome opponent." Tokoyami said, unnerved.
"Yeah. I don't even want to think of what would happen if it gets ahold of a big light display or something!" Dark Shadow said fearfully.
"Well, at least it's just a soda machine, right? How much harm can that do?" Koda asked, not noticing the hosts wince.
The Megawhatt caused the machine to fire canned drinks. The Tennysons tried to avoid getting hit while Earl stood calmly. "It's also got a dangerous sense of humor." He said, bored as ever.
"You HAD to say something?!" Sato snapped.
"I'm sorry!" Koda squeaked.
"Simple schoolyard bullying is bad enough, but shooting filled soda cans at high speeds in such a manner could easily break bones or cause serious internal damage. It could even be life-threatening!" Yaoyorozu said in horror.
The barrage continued and the four took cover behind a nearby overturned car. "You left that thing inside a rubber-band ball all this time? Isn't that kind of dangerous?" Max asked.
"Not so long as people minded the signs." Earl said simply, looking at Ben and Gwen.
"Exactly! Signs are there for a reason! Rules are meant to be followed!" Iida declared.
"Okay, we get it! But yelling or placing blame won't fix the problem! The only thing that will is taking it down!" Ashido insisted.
"Down with the mini-nari!" Mineta shouted.
"It HAS a NAME now!" Kaminari complained.
The two looked at each other for a moment. "Alright, we did it! We're guilty!" Ben finally caved and admitted.
"So much for 'admit nothing'!" Gwen huffed.
"Until you had to. And at this point, you basically had to." Sero pointed out.
"Still, even if you lie at first, it takes a strong person to admit when they're wrong." All Might told his students. "That and they have an evil electric gremlin to deal with. Priorities." He added, causing everyone to facevault as he kind of ruined his inspirational message.
"We're gonna talk about this later, you two." Max warned them. "But, for now, how do we stop this thing, Mr. Mayor?" He asked the man in charge.
"Whatchu mean 'we'? You let it out, you catch it." Earl told them, sitting back and chewing on a straw as the Megawhatt caused more mayhem, before flying off.
"Are you kidding me, you lazy bastard?! This thing's trashing your town! If you know how to stop it, but you decide to sit around with your thumb up your ass, it's on you!" Bakugo snapped.
"A little vulgar, but you're not wrong, explosive listener. He is in a position of power and authority, so him choosing to sit on the sidelines is pretty much gross negligence." Present Mic said.
"I would've said it was gross negligence by not having that rubber band ball guarded by a security force 24/7. That thing should've had as much security keeping it under control as All For One has now in Tartarus." Aizawa huffed.
Max, Ben and Gwen walked through Sparksville in search of the Nosedeenian. "Should we try to lure it out with some batteries or something?" Gwen suggested.
"Not a bad idea. One of the best ways to trap something is to lure it in with bait." All Might said with a nod.
"Maybe, but that's with animals, not sentient creatures, which we can guess these Nosedeenian things are, since they can understand the meaning of taunts and bullying." Midoriya pointed out to his mentor.
"Not to mention, what's stopping it from controlling the batteries and sending them flying at people like electrified bullets?" Uraraka pointed out.
The Megawhatt travelled as electricity through electricity cables, emerging from a street light above them. It then turned back into electricity, moving through the pole and sneaking into Max's pant leg.
"Oh, crap! It's sneaky, too!" Hagakure squeaked.
"How on Earth could Monsieur Tennyson, nor the young ones not notice that?" Aoyama asked.
"They're looking up for a tiny creature they have to focus hard to see. They aren't looking down for things around their feet." Shoji said.
"And it's moving super fast, like Yaoyorozu said. We only saw it because of how this viewing focuses on it." Sato added.
For a moment, nothing happened, but then the tiny creature ACTUALLY lifted him off the ground and into the air by his underwear, although it struggled with his weight. "AAAAGH! That's not funny! Oh, it's just painful." Max gasped in pain as he dangled in a wedgie.
Many winced at the hanging wedgie on the screen. "Yikes! That can't be good for his old colon." Mineta said.
"But to be able to lift a fully-grown human, who is on the larger side like Max, means these Nosedeenians are quite strong for their size." Yaoyorozu pointed out.
"Wait, does he have little lightning bolts on his underwear? Jeez, you'd think an old guy like him would wear something a little more mature." Kaminari said.
"Really? Because I'm willing to bet yours are the exact same." Jiro teased, reaching over and giving a yank to Kaminari's own underwear, earning a small yelp from the lightning-haired boy. This also revealed that, indeed, he had little lightning bolts on his undies as well. "Ha! Looks like the pot calling the kettle black!" She laughed, letting go.
"You're certainly one to talk, little miss music notes." Yaoyorozu teased her girlfriend, who began glowing bright red from blushing.
"Can you all please stop talking about each other's UNDERWEAR?" Aizawa requested, completely done with the conversation.
"Don't worry, Grandpa. I know just the hero to deal with a troublemaker like this!" Ben declared, slamming the watch down (as always).
Starting from the Omnitrix, Ben's skin started changing black with a green circuit board-like pattern, spreading across his body to his face, focusing on a particularly bright horizontal line between his eyes. The line then opened up into a large circle, the singular eye of Upgrade, the camera zooming out to show the Galvanic Mechamorph in all its glory as he flexed mightily in preparation for action.
"Upgrade? But he's made out of a bunch of tiny machines, right? So, he's basically metal. Wouldn't that be bad for going up against something that controls electricity?" Sero asked.
"Maybe it's a special, nonconductive alien metal?" Kirishima guessed.
"Or, maybe he can jump into whatever machine the mini-Dunce Face jumps into so he can't control it." Bakugo theorized.
"All good theories, students. But we'll just have to wait for Ben to tell us." Midnight said.
"Why go Upgrade?" Gwen asked.
"It's complicated. You wouldn't understand." The mass of nanites brushed off the question as, in the background, the Megawhatt dropped Max.
"Watch didn't let you change into what you wanted it to, did it?" Gwen questioned with a smirk.
Upgrade narrowed his eye in frustration at this. "Shut up!" He said in a sing-song voice.
"Oh." Most of the audience said with a deadpan, while Bakugo and Aizawa both facepalmed.
"Man, I forgot that could happen." Ashido huffed.
"Yeah, it hasn't been a problem in the last two adventures, so I don't think we really thought about it." Asui agreed.
The Megawhatt continued to cause havoc on the other exhibits, making the world's largest ketchup bottle overflow, causing the top to fly off and cut the head off a giant chicken, forcing people to run in panic to avoid being crushed. All while the Megawhatt laughed at their terror from atop the ketchup bottle.
"This thing's a little psychopath!" Iida said in horror.
"Let's hope Upgrade can show this thing some terror and give this little creep a taste of its own medicine." Present Mic said, glaring at the creature.
Upgrade then rolled up on the rubber ball. "Okay, twinkle toes. Time to go home!" The Galvanic Mechamorph declared. But then, the rubber bands started to snap, sending them flying in every direction, which caused even more damage and forced people run away, frightened.
"Smart idea, but how are you gonna get it BACK into the ball?" Shoji asked.
"Plus, they'd need to figure out how to move it without Ben touching it again, so it doesn't just get right back out because of another electric surge from the watch." Ojiro said.
"But, Four Arms touched the ball and nothing happened, so shouldn't Upgrade be the same?" Hagakure asked her boyfriend.
"Maybe, but Four Arms wasn't made of nanomachines." The tailed boy told her.
"You know, I don't think he should be rolling and stepping on the rubber band ball like that. I don't think those rubber bands can handle that much pressure and strain." Koda said nervously.
And, as if on cue, the rubber bands began to snap and go flying. "Oh, jeez! Ben's wrecking the place more than Megawhatt!" Dark Shadow cried out.
"That's why you need to account for variables like that out in the field, so mishaps like that can be avoided. You can only use things in the environment to your advantage if they can withstand what you're trying to do with them. Otherwise, they're a minor obstacle and best and a liability at worst." Tokoyami noted.
"Hey, doofus! Who's side are you on?!" Gwen snapped.
"Is it just me, or is there a lot of excitement today?" Earl asked calmly as he ate some popcorn.
"Shut the hell up, you walking lifeless corpse!" Bakugo snapped.
"Yeah! You can sass if you help, but if you're not gonna help, than be quiet!" Uraraka yelled as well.
The Megawhatt laughed at the damage Upgrade had done, mocking him. The understandably angered Upgrade, to the point he accidentally fired a laser from his eye, which the Megawhatt managed to dodge at the last moment. "Whoa! That's new. Not so funny now, is it?" Upgrade taunted back.
"Whoa! Eye lasers! Awesome!" Ashido exclaimed.
"Oh, such panache! Magnifique! Upgrade is rather quickly becoming my favorite." Aoyama said.
"That gives Upgrade a huge boost in efficiency! That means he doesn't necessarily NEED to take over technology to be useful in combat and allows him to fight at both long and short range." Midoriya analyzed, quickly taking more notes.
"And, more importantly, he can fry that sparkly little brat!" Kirishima cheered.
"But, we already saw Megawhatt dodge it, even though it caught him by surprise. So now it's going to be even harder to catch him with it." Todoroki pointed out.
The Megawhatt continued to laugh and took off as Upgrade chased it, though it proved to be too fast to hit as it zipped all around the street. Upgrade attempted to get a hold of it, but it dodged. He finally managed to grab it while it was mocking him, but the Megawhatt delivered a powerful shock that sent him hurtling back.
"UNGH! Okay. Do not touch the electrical guy when you're made of living metal." Upgrade made a mental note.
"Well, it looks like you were right, young Sero. Being made of nanomachines does come with the unfortunate drawback of being vulnerable to electricity." All Might said.
"So, that means Upgrade probably won't be the one to beat him." Jiro said.
"What about Heatblast? Fire doesn't conduct electricity, right?" Uraraka asked.
"Maybe, but he's also made of rocks, which DO conduct electricity." Asui pointed out.
"But then again, it's VOLCANIC rock Heatblast is made out of, which isn't a good conductor." Midoriya informed the frog girl.
"How are we gonna ground that electric devil?" Max questioned.
This gave Gwen an idea. "Grandpa, you're a genius!" She declared as she ran away.
"Well, thank you, Gwen." Max said with a smile, but then got confused. "Why?" He asked, following her as Upgrade continued chasing the Megawhatt.
"Oh, I get it! They're gonna try and send him into the ground, like how lightning rods send bolts of lightning into the ground so they don't wreck the buildings! And then it'll run out of power because electric things lose their charge when they hit the ground!" Kaminari said.
"Not exactly, Kaminari. They don't just 'lose' power like the ground destroys the charge. The ground is more like a wire that allows electricity to run through it until it reaches some form of ground electrode. So, it would only delay Megawhatt until he can find some electric device in the ground to escape from, such as a street light." Yaoyorozu informed him.
"Uh. Why is it never easy!?" Ashido complained.
"Villains are relentless. And crafty. You need to be better than to bring them down. A lot of times, that means smarter. So you've gotta work hard. If you want an easy job, being a Pro isn't it." Aizawa told the class.
"That's it! I'm pulling the plug on this guy's pranks!" Upgrade snapped picking up a sewer lid. "Hey, sparky, catch!" He declared, throwing the lid at it, causing it to cut the Megawhatt in half.
"Oh, jeez! He killed it!" The students all cried out in shock.
"I know we've already said lethal force can be justified, but only when they're threatening someone's life. And they weren't doing that here!" Sato cried out.
"Well, several of its actions could've easily resulted in someone's death and Megawhatt hardly seemed to care. I can't say it was the best option, but I suppose it is TECHNICALLY justifiable." Iida tried to rationalize, but was still shaken by the action.
"Wait, something's wrong here... where's the blood?" Present Mic asked.
However, before any permanent damage was believed to be done, it regenerated into two separate Megawhatts, leaving Upgrade shocked while the two Megawhatts laughed at each other.
"OH, COME ON!" The students all cried out.
"They can multiply!? That's just not fair!" Sero complained.
"One was already too much of a handful. How's he gonna deal with two!?" Kirishima asked.
"This CAN'T get any worse!" Hagakure said.
"NO!" All the other students cried out.
"O-kay. So that wasn't the best idea." Upgrade said, still rather stunned.
To make matters worse, the Omnitrix timed out and Upgrade turned back into Ben.
"Oh, right..." Hagakure said, shrinking in her seat.
"He barely had a chance as a walking superweapon. Now he's got no chance." Bakugo scoffed.
"Whatever Gwen and Max are doing, they better do it fast." Midoriya said worriedly.
The Megawhatts fired bolts of lighting at Ben that narrowly missed, but Max and Gwen arrived in a truck carrying the world's largest thermometer, picking him up before the beastly batteries could get him. (A few sighed in relief, someone muttered "good save", but nothing else.)
"Grandpa, what're you doing?" Ben asked.
"Giving these sparklers a science lesson they won't forget." Max declared as he continued driving, the Megawhatts chasing the truck.
"Hey, mega-weirds! Come and get us!" Gwen taunted, shifting a gear, releasing the large thermometer into the ground vertically, causing the Megawhatts to crash into the thermometer and get grounded.
"Right. They can phase into objects. Almost forgot about that." Uraraka said.
"Huh. Then I wonder if Upgrade could've gotten them into the rubber band ball if it hadn't broke apart?" Ashido wondered.
"Unlikely. I'd have to assume they can only phase into conductive materials. Hitting it with the rubber band ball probably would've just given it a good smack." Midnight said.
"Makes you wonder how they got it in there in the first place. Did they catch it while it was sleeping and wrap it up in rubber bands until it was a giant ball?" Kaminari questioned.
"We'll never know." Anemone said, both hosts shrugging as not even they knew the answer.
"What happened?" Ben asked.
"We just used the biggest thermometer as a lightning rod. Who needs an alien superhero when you've got good old-fashioned brainpower?" Gwen declared proudly. (Yaoyorozu was about to open her mouth, but...)
"'Course, the ground is basically just one big conductor." Earl reminded her, walking up to her.
"What does that mean?" Ben asked.
Gwen, however, realized what that meant and quickly grew concerned. "Oh, no. It means the Megawhatts are just zipping around underground until they find some way to get back to the surface." She realized.
"Well, hopefully it should take them a while, right?" Koda asked nervously.
"Kinda doubt it." Dark Shadow said.
"Indeed. As Yaoyorozu previously informed us, any electrical devices connected to the ground should be sufficient for them to escape through: street lights, generators, telephone poles. At most, it might take a few minutes for them to find power lines under a store and pop out through an electrical outlet." Tokoyami elaborated.
At that moment, various payphones started ringing as the group looked on anxiously. "They're in the underground phone lines." Max said worriedly.
The Megawhatts finally emerged out of the payphones, multiplying greatly in number.
"OH! COME! ON!" All the students, plus even All Might, Present Mic and Midnight, complained all at once.
"They've got an army! That is TOTALLY CHEATING!" Mineta yelled fearfully.
"How did that even happen?! Upgrade split the original Megawhatt in half for it to duplicate! So, they can just do that on their own!?" Jiro asked.
"Apparently. These aliens keep getting crazier and crazier. More than any Quirk." Aizawa sighed.
The Megawhatts zipped around all things containing electricity, including vehicles and power lines, also smashing the top off a hydrant. A Megawhatt maniacally laughed in front of the crowd of people and zipped away.
"Well, that's quite problematic." All Might said, concerned.
"It was already a big deal when there was just one or two of them. Now there's a whole army to keep track of! Even if they manage to catch them, how will they know if they got them all?" Present Mic asked, exasperated.
"Worse than that, what if they decide to scatter and terrorize the entire country. It would take forever to round them all up. Certainly longer than a single Summer." Midnight added.
"Uh-oh. Now they really did it." One woman said in concern.
Ben smirked at Gwen. "Ben Tennyson, don't say a word." She warned her cousin.
"Hey, I'm just glad I wasn't the one who screwed up this time." Ben said, before a small explosion occurred, causing Ben to smile while Gwen looked distraught.
"Ben, now really isn't the time for that." Asui said.
"He just smiled when an explosion went off?! I'm starting to think HE'S a little psycho, too!" Sero exclaimed.
"I also think he's forgetting HE'S still the one that released the little monster in the first place." Yaoyorozu said as she slipped the headphones she made for Jiro back during The Krakken back onto her girlfriend's head after a cue from Anemone.
All of the Megawhatts appeared on the giant hot dog exhibit and laughed together at once, producing a sonic scream, forcing everybody except Earl to cover their ears.
"Phew. Thanks, Yaomomo." Jiro said, cuddling up to Creati.
"Man, am I glad I don't have a hearing Quirk." Kirishima said in relief.
"I knew more of them would cause more problems, but I wasn't expecting a giant sonic scream." Midoriya said, writing at down as well.
The sonic scream broke the glass containing the world's largest toothpicks, causing them to fall towards the crowd. "Everybody, move!" Max warned everyone, all of them running away.
"Okay, these things are definitely TRYING to kill someone now!" Hagakure said fearfully.
"And you can't even hit them without risking getting shocked, or worse, making even more of them." Ashido complained.
"They're starting to seem unstoppable!" Uraraka cried out.
"No. They have to be. The original Megawhatt was trapped once before, so they can be beaten. It's just a question of how." Asui told her friend.
All except Earl, as the toothpicks landed all around him. "There goes the world's largest toothpicks. Oh, the humanity." He said, bored as ever as he ate more popcorn.
"Why couldn't he have gotten impaled?" Bakugo grumbled.
"You can't let someone come to harm just because you don't like them, Bakugo." Aizawa chided, but then sighed. "Though, I will agree. He's getting on my last nerve. I'd definitely be looking into hitting him with negligence charges." He admitted.
The Megawhatts laughed, then scattered. "Those creeps' idea of good, clean fun is gonna have us all pushin' up daisies." Max said grimly.
"Don't just stand there, doofus. Dial up some help." Gwen ordered her cousin.
"Duh! Like I haven't' been trying." Ben snapped back, fiddling with the Omnitrix.
"Oh, no! They scattered, just like Ms. Midnight said! Now who knows how much trouble they'll cause!" Asui said worriedly.
"Hurry up, you dumb watch!" Kaminari cried out.
"Even if it does work, Ben still has to figure out a way to beat them. And in a timely manner, so he doesn't turn back before the job is done." Yaoyorozu pointed out in concern.
One of the Megawhatts seemed to be commanding the other Megawhatts in their language, leading them as they collectively zipped away.
"Uhh, where'd they go?" Ben asked, scratching his head.
"I don't know. But I don't think it's good." Max told his grandson.
Suddenly, an explosion occurred in one of the shops, revealing the Megawhatts appeared to have taken over the planetarium exhibit, forming it into a strangely humanoid shape, sparkling with electricity as it walked away.
"Oh, come on! Like they weren't dangerous enough!? Now they basically have a battle mech!" Sero exclaimed.
"But maybe smashing it could beat up the Megawhatts inside!" Kirishima theorized.
"Unlikely, but I guess the possibility can't be ruled out." Present Mic admitted.
The woman from earlier then walked up to the group. "Well, there's somethin' you don't see everyday. They brought that planetarium exhibit to life." She exclaimed.
"Come on, we'll head it off in the-" Max said, heading to the Rustbucket, only to find the Megawhatts had removed the tires and written "U AM LAME" on the side, as well as smiley faces drawn all over it. "Oh, my." The eldest Tennyson said in surprise.
"'U am lame'? That's weak." Ben scoffed.
"And don't even get me started on the grammar and the spelling." Gwen criticized.
"Such little vandals! That's incredibly disrespectful and it will take great time and money to remove that disgraceful graffiti!" Iida snapped, chopping as always.
"Iida, they pretty much tried to kill people. I think being a little disrespectful is the least of their issues." Sato reminded him.
"I agree with Gwen, if they were going to be vandals and deface the RV, they could've at least done proper grammar." Yaoyorozu agreed.
"Why am I not surprised YOU were the one to get hung up on that?" Jiro giggled.
"I reckon they'll head for the big hydroelectric dam to power up. After that, they'll just wipe out the next town and so on and son on. They think it's funny. Yup. Megawhatts got a real twisted sense of humor." Earl explained.
"Oh, crap! These things might be the biggest threat they've faced so far! Even the Limaxes only wanted to eat a small town of senior citizens, then they would've left!" Ojiro said in horror.
"I'm really starting to hate these little pranksters!" Hagakure snapped.
"And we're only seeing what a few dozen can do. I'd hate to imagine a whole planet full of these things." Shoji said.
"That's sounding more like hell than where Heatblast came from." Bakugo scoffed.
"We DID say Heatblast comes from A SUN, right? You could at least SURVIVE on the Nosedeenian planet... I think... But you would die INSTANTLY where Heatblast comes from." Maverick reminded them.
Gwen looked around, before she and Ben observed the largest fish bowl and smiled. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" She asked.
"Yeah. Beat those pranksters at their own game." Ben declared raising his arm in front of his face and the Omnitrix dial popped up.
Midoriya gasped at this. "Of course! Glass in non-conductive! So the Megawhatts wouldn't be able to phase through and escape! Just like how the original was trapped in a ball of rubber for so long!" He realized.
"So, he just has to smash the planetarium exhibit to get them out of it and stuff them all in the jar!" Ashido exclaimed happily.
"But how will he do that all at once, or without any of them escaping?" Aoyama asked.
"Well, these things don't seem very smart. In fact, they basically act like little kids, so it shouldn't be that hard to trick them or bait them into going into it." Uraraka pointed out.
"What about KEEPING them in there?" Mineta asked nervously.
"Perhaps they have the World's Largest Cork in that town, as well. Cork is non-conductive. Or perhaps a thick sheet of rubber." All Might suggested.
"How about we just watch and find out ourselves?" Aizawa suggested tiredly.
At the dam, the humanoid planetarium was busy trying to smash through the dam.
"Oh, no! The dam!" Koda said worriedly.
"The Megawhatts absorbing power would already be enough of a problem, but if they destroy the dam, it could cause huge amounts of flooding and even wipe out the nearby town!" Midnight said in concern.
"Any day now, Tennysons!" Bakugo snapped.
But then, a column of flame engulfed it. The planetarium walked back and looked up to see Heatblast on top of the dam. "This is your only warning. Knock off the funny business or I'll fry your twinkling butts!" The Pyronite threatened. (The students cheered for Heatblast, but said nothing else.)
The planetarium hit the dam hard, causing it to crack and leak water. The tremor shook Heatblast, causing him to hop and run downward. He seemed to trip and inadvertently created a flaming fireboard and rode on it.
"Holy crap! That's so manly! He can fly now!" Kirishima cried out.
"That is the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Hagakure asked, turning towards their class' resident flame-wielder. "Hey, Todoroki, do you think you could do that!?" She asked.
"Unlikely. Fire isn't a solid ground you can just stand on. Heatblast can manipulate the plasma of fire differently than I can, so maybe he's changing the way the fire of his feet burn to stand on it. I couldn't do that. But at least I can still slide on my ice." He said.
"Still, that gives Heatblast a lot more versatility and makes up for his weakness of limited mobility. And if he can consistently do that, there's no more worrying about him setting the RV on fire." Midoriya said, taking more notes.
Approaching the ground, he jumped off the board. "Heheheheh." The arsonist alien chuckled, rather surprised and impressed by his newfound ability.
"Honestly, I can't even blame him. That looked like a helluva ride!" Present Mic said.
"Yeah, I want to do it, too!" Sero cheered.
"Well, at least you can swing on your tape or Ashido and Todoroki can slide around on acid and ice. The rest of us are just stuck running everywhere!" Sato complained.
"Or Bakugo blasting himself around with his explosions." Kaminari huffed.
However, his delight was short-lived as he turned around and saw the cracks on the dam. "Better seal that up, fast." Heatblast said to himself, running towards the dam.
"He's learning to prioritize issues. Good." Aizawa said, nodding in approval.
Some distance behind him, the planetarium got up and moved to the turbines, absorbing the energy. Near the turbines, a large tarp covering a sphere-shaped object could be seen. (The students all realized that had to be where the fish bowl was.)
As the giant planetarium approached the turbines, Heatblast arrived, riding another fireboard, seeming confident and getting the hang of his ability as he approached the planetarium. But Heatblast lost control of his fireboard and crashed into a nearby wall, sending him down on his knees, dazed.
"Ooh!" Most of the students cried out in sympathy as they saw Heatblast crash.
"That's what he gets for messing around, I guess." Dark Shadow said.
"Indeed. That ability is no doubt useful, but now is the time for relying on the tried and true moves, rather than testing out a new ability you don't have the hang of yet." Tokoyami agreed.
"Agreed. That's better left to work on during their next training session rather than in combat." Iida concurred.
The planetarium walked closer and hit him away. "Uhhhh... Ungh!" Heatblast groaned dizzily and fell down as the planetarium looked on.
"Hey, mega-wimps! You wanna see something really funny? You guys are all wet!" Gwen called out from below the monstrosity, spraying water at it with a hose to annoy it, before running away as the planetarium tried to stomp on her [4].
"The hell are you doing, you Quirkless idiot brat!? Get the hell out of there! You're dead weight!" Bakugo snapped.
"I mean, she's definitely brave, but she should probably leave it to Heatblast." Ashido agreed.
Anemone sighed. "Again, your power driven society makes it easy to overlook those without Quirks, but simply having powers doesn't mean you can do anything, nor does NOT have powers mean you're powerless. If someone has the proper skills and training, they can be capable of anything." Anemone told them.
"Or did you guys already forget how she smashed a killer robot with a shovel, or beat back a giant parrot with a spear?" Maverick asked. "Not to mention, Heatblast is kinda... knocked the fuck out right now." He added.
Behind the planetarium, a voice was heard. "What's the matter? Can't take a joke?" Heatblast taunted as it was revealed he had recovered and made a large fireball, which he threw the at the planetarium, obliterating it.
"Alright! No more killer mech! Now it's just the Megawhatts!" Hagakure cheered.
"You make it sound like that wasn't the part they had to worry about." Ojiro chuckled awkwardly at his girlfriend.
The Megawhatts zipped out of the structure. "You really got burned with that one. You guys should really quit while you're behind." Heatblast continued to taunt them.
The Megawhatts tried to attack him, but he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, immediately reappearing near the tarp. "Missed me, doofus!" He taunted YET AGAIN, waving and blowing kisses at them.
"Oh, that will definitely get them going, ribbit." Asui said with a small giggle, remembering times when she plays with her siblings and teases them in similar ways to get them to chase her.
"Yep. It would work for any little kid. Or Bakugo." Sero agreed with a smirk.
"You wanna say that to my face, tape arms?!" Bakugo snapped.
The Megawhatts were annoyed at this and attacked recklessly. Heatblast retreated inside the tarp and the Megawhatts followed him in, while Max and Gwen appeared from behind the tarp. "Ben did it! They took the bait!" Max cheered, pulling the tarp off, revealing the largest fish bowl, filled with the Megawhatts inside.
"Alright! They're in!" Uraraka cheered.
"Now seal it up quick before any of them think to fly out!" Jiro cried out.
"They're probably too confused and disoriented to figure that out right now." Shoji theorized.
"Still, I'm sure if they go buzzing around enough, they'll eventually find the top." Koda said nervously.
Heatblast showed up and breathed fire like a dragon, completely sealing up the bowl by melting the top, trapping the Megawhatts inside.
"Alright! They're trapped! The danger's FINALLY over. We can catch our breath now." Mineta sighed.
"Still, he's lucky that worked out so well." Aizawa said.
"Indeed. Melting the glass worked, but that amount of heat could've created a thermal shock that could've easily broken the glass. That was a far riskier move than simply finding some kind of non-conductive plug." Yaoyorozu elaborated for her homeroom teacher.
"But wait, these guys are strong enough to lift Max up into the air. Shouldn't they be strong enough to just smash the glass?" Iida wondered.
"Unlikely, Young Iida. That glass would have to be quite thick and sturdy to maintain its shape and survive however the Tennysons lugged it there. As well as, of course, not breaking from Heatblast's fire, as Young Yaoyorozu said. It's likely some heavy duty, reinforced glass. You'd have to be strong enough to lift A CAR to break that. And, while that Megawhatt COULD lift Max, it clearly struggled to do so, so I'm guessing somewhere around 200 pounds is their limit." All Might said.
"Na-Na!" The Pyronite taunted even more and blew raspberries to taunt the Megawhatts.
"Nice touch using that fish bowl. With non-conductive glass sealed up tight, sparky and his pals won't be going anywhere." Max praised his grandkids.
"Once again, science saves the day." Gwen said proudly.
The Omnitrix timed out and Heatblast turned back into Ben. "With a little help from science fiction." The boy declared.
"Again, one of the many examples that powers aren't everything. While Heatblast likely COULD defeat the Megawhatts, he'd have quite a difficult time doing so, if he could even defeat ALL OF THEM. But things went much smoother because they used brain, not brawn. Powers didn't win the day here. Intelligence did. And you don't need superpowers for that." Anemone said.
"Inspiring words, Anemone. We'll certainly take this to heart." Midnight said, placing a hand over her chest. "And hopefully, all you students will, too." She said.
"Yes, ma'am!" All the students shouted. Well... almost all of them.
"Tch. Yeah, sure. Whatever." Bakugo huffed, growling a bit that, once again, his beliefs that power is everything and those without Quirks are useless, having taken a solid blow. He'd have to seriously think on his thoughts and beliefs, something he hated doing.
Back at the town, the workers were busy getting everything back to normal as Earl and the Tennysons stood in front of an object covered by a tarp. "You folks done right by us." Earl told them.
"They did? How?" Kaminari asked.
"That tarp... Don't tell me..." Aizawa groaned.
"Hope this adventure wasn't a big setback for Sparksville." Max said, slightly concerned.
"More like giant step forward. What, with our new attraction, soon we'll be raking 'em in." Earl assured him as he removed the tarp to reveal a giant light bulb. "Biggest light bulb! It'll be a humdinger." He declared as it was revealed that the light bulb was powered by the Megawhatts, who were trapped inside.
"Lovely. They haven't learned their lesson." The narcoleptic teacher groaned.
"Yeah, I'm with you on this one. That thing should be a mile underground in a bunker lined with non-conductive material." Present Mic agreed.
"Bruh, they're a small town out in the middle of the DESERT. Not a lot of people want to stay in a place like that. They need revenue to keep their town going SOMEHOW. If it has to be with tourist traps containing tiny, psychopathic aliens, so be it. That's just what they gotta do. The U.S already has almost 4,000 ghost towns, they don't need any more." Maverick told them.
"So long as folks mind the signs." Earl added, bending closer to Ben and staring at him, before walking away, allowing them to see a sign in front of the light bulb.
"That is a good point. The only reason all this happened was because Young Ben didn't listen to the signs. If he had, this entire mess could've been avoided." All Might admitted.
"Yeah. I do kinda doubt anyone else could've caused that to happen." Midoriya agreed with his mentor.
"Except Kaminari." Jiro said, giggling at her friend's indignant "Hey!".
"'In case of emergency, do not break glass.'" Ben read.
The boy simply shrugged, before the Tennysons walked towards the Rustbucket. "I think I'm pranked out for a while." Ben sighed
"There is a time and a place for a practical joke." Max told his grandson.
"Yes. Wise words, Sir Tennyson." Iida said, nodding in approval.
"Well, at least this could be a humbling moment for Ben he can grow and mature from." Yaoyorozu agreed.
"I feel like something's off about this." Uraraka said suspiciously.
Ben stared at Max blankly, before opening the RV's door. However, this caused a bucket of water to fall over him, causing Max to chuckle. "But funny is funny. Especially when it's not on you." He declared, to which Ben heaved a sigh as Gwen and Max laughed at him.
"Oh, come on! You JUST said there's a time for practical jokes!" Hagakure complained.
"That DOES kinda lessen the impact of the lesson." Ojiro agreed.
"Not to mention makes Max seem like a hypocrite." Mineta added.
"Well, what did you think?" Anemone asked them.
"It was pretty cool! Those Megawhatts were pretty crazy and dangerous, but- for the most part- they weren't going out of their way to hurt people." Hagakure said.
"Yeah. And even if they could've been more dangerous in the long run, they weren't nearly as scary or intimidating as those Limaxes or the bounty hunters." Sato added.
"Plus, even though thing could've EVENTUALLY been really bad, this adventure was a lot funnier and wackier than the other ones." Uraraka threw in as well.
"Right. It definitely brought down the tension from the last few adventures so we weren't super worried all the time. Kind of like filler in an anime to give you a breather between the serious episodes." Asui agreed.
"And I was rather impressed with their creative solution to stop the Megawhatts, even if there was a risk of destroying the glass. It was nice to see a plan that involved strategy and tactics as opposed to mindless violence." Yaoyorozu piped up.
"Plus, it was super cool when Heatblast surfed of a fireball like that! That is gonna be SUPER awesome in the future." Kaminari said in amazement.
"So, what happened next?" Ashido asked eagerly.
Both hosts winced a bit at this question. "Oh, right. That..." Anemone said, sounding a bit hesitant.
Maverick then leaned in close to his snake-like friend, turning them both around so their backs faced the audience. "You know, we COULD always skip this one. Tell them Kevin is just a random freak who came out of nowhere." He suggested to his co-host.
"No. They're here to understand Ben, to learn and grow from his adventures, his highs and his lows, including his flaws and lapses in judgement. Plus, next episode has one of the most important lessons they'll learn in the entire series." She denied the suggestion.
The audience grew somewhat concerned at this. "Maverick? Anemone? Is everything alright?" Midoriya asked hesitantly.
The hosts sighed and turned back around. "Everything's fine, Midoriya, don't worry. It's just..." The cobra woman began, before sighing. "This next viewing will not paint Ben in the best light. But it's important to remember, people make mistakes and can do the wrong thing sometimes. But that shouldn't mean they should be condemned for their actions, especially minor ones. Everyone should have a second chance to prove themselves and be better. Especially someone as young as Ben." Anemone told them.
This didn't ease the audience's concerns very much. What could Ben have done to make the hosts so reluctant to show them this next adventure? Still, they couldn't deny that they themselves had made mistakes on more than one occasion, but they were still here, able to continue their dream of being heroes despite those shortcomings or lapses in judgement.
"We understand. We shall try to remain impartial and not judge Young Ben too harshly." All Might said. Not everyone fully agreed with All Might, but decided to go along with what he was saying. If only to move things along.
"Alright, then. Get ready, because you're about to meet one of Ben's all-time greatest rivals. Prepare yourself for... Kevin. 11." Maverick said as the screen came to life.
[1] I just watched Two Heroes and Heroes Rising on Netflix. Both great movies and Kirishima was good in both, but jeez, Two Heroes made him seem like an idiot, being taken out of a fight because he couldn't figure out to turn his Quirk off to get unstuck from a wall.
[2] Yes, she knows they're cousins, but they're practically acting like siblings now.
[3] So, on very rare occasion, I will make INCREDIBLY MINOR tweaks to certain episodes. Yes, I know in the original episode, Megawatt pulls her SHIRT over her her, not her underwear, but Gwen is the only one of the Tennysons who didn't get a wedgie in the original series, whereas Ben and Max BOTH got at least two. Plus, they're the butt of the joke way more often than Gwen is. And she never got NEARLY as much repercussions as she deserved for her bratty behavior. At least when Ben is a brat, he gets his comeuppance at some point. In fact, she sometimes even gets rewarded for ultimately doing nothing, like getting the music player Ben got at the carnival or- oh, yeah- the time she GASLIT AND BLACKMAILED Ben into doing her chores for the rest of the Summer.
[4] Man, these transcripts are lazy with the description of the fights, even flat-out wrong at some points. It said the planetarium tried to PUNCH Gwen, when it actually tried to stomp on her.