Here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
During her midterms, Ochako didn't have much time to play with Ship. So she had to come up with methods to 'make it up to him.' Ship was able to communicate a method for them to have some fun...and he was right to do so.
Ochako was having a lot of fun right now.
Ship's idea of fun was similar to that of a mechanical bull, an amusement attraction that simulates the experience of riding a bucking animal, such as a rodeo bull or horse. He'd apparently been watching random bits and pieces of TV while Ochako was away, and came up with his own version. It involved that monster truck Ochako bought him…and Grey Matter.
Ship was jumping around the place, as Ochako hung on for dear life. "SHIIIIP!" Her tiny voice squealed. "SLOW DOWNNNNN!"
Ship refused to, and shook itself like a wet dog trying to get dry. Eventually, Ochako was sent flying into her mattress, where she reverted back to human.
"Stop the world…" Ochako mumbled, totally out of it. "I'd like to get off."
Ship just drove around in circles a few times, and yipped in excitement. "Ship! Ship!" It said, wagging its 'tail'. Ochako chuckled, as Ship jumped up on the bed and began to nuzzle up to her.
"Yeah, that was fun…but maybe we should just stick to walks and playing fetch." Ochako said- she could not stay mad at her little blorpy.
Ochako's phone abruptly began to ring. The gaze shifted to her table, where Ship immediately fetched it for her. When she looked at her phone, Ochako began to itch his head. "Good boy."
The caller was a bit of a shock. Momo was usually a texter- why was she calling, especially this late at night?
Ochako picked up the phone. "Hey, what's up?" Ochako inquired.
"Uraraka…I need to ask you a favor." Momo stated.
Ochako blinked. "Sure. Whatcha need? Homework answers or something?" She joked.
Momo chuckled. "No, no. I need a place to stay."
"Huh?"
"You see- my parents are going to Napoli for a week. Usually I'd just stay at the mansion, but I also want to give some of the staff a week off." Momo explained. "Is it alright if I stay with you?"
Ochako hummed. "I mean. My place is pretty small."
"And I'll be fine with that." Momo said. "I'll bring my own mattress and everything."
Ochako looked down at Ship, and then back at her phone. "Alright, I guess you can stay. The more the merrier."
Momo grinned. "Splendid! I'll be over tomorrow to bring my bags and everything."
"R-right." Ochako nodded. "I'll see you then." Ochako hung up her phone, and looked up at the ceiling. Having Momo around should be fu-
Then she recalled she had the Omnitrix, a dog, and a patrol schedule. Ochako blinked.
"Shoot." Ochako flopped her back on her bed. I would be hurting her feelings if I canceled on her. I'll hurt her feelings if I sneak out... What should I do?
Ship snuggled up close to Ochako, attempting to soothe her from the unexpected tension. Ochako inhaled deeply.
"I don't believe I have any other option, Ship." She sighed. "I think... I have to tell Momo about the Omnitrix…"
Ochako helped Momo up the stairs with her large vintage suitcase (thank you, zero gravity quirk). Momo looked around.
"Thanks again- Mina said she had no room in her house, Tsu had to take care of her siblings, and Jirou…well, she just got all blushy when I asked." Momo said.
"Y-yeah, no problem." Ochako said, as they reached the top of the stairs. Ochako unlocked her room, and opened the door. "Be warned- it's VERY small."
Momo stepped inside, and raised an eyebrow. "I always assumed you were joking about how small it was."
Ochako rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah…I don't tend to exaggerate stuff like this.
Momo rolled her bag into the room, and looked down at the floor. What was with these weird tire tracks? She wondered, as Ochako closed the door.
"My living situation is just…complicated right now. I didn't wanna disappoint you." Ochako said.
Momo looked around. "I think I'll manage," She said, unbuttoning her blouse. Ochako's eyes widened, as she ran for the blinds. Ochako fumbled to put them down as Momo used her quirk to create a small mattress for herself.
"There we go." Momo said, buttoning up her blouse. "I'll make the pillows later."
"L-look, Momo." Ochako said, flopping down on her bed. "There's something you should know."
"Mm? What is it?" Momo asked, tilting her head. Ochako looked into her eyes, and looked away.
Why is this suddenly so nerve wracking? I was able to tell Midoryia and Iida and Kirishima no problem. Ochako thought. Just say it!
"You see…there's an issue with…" Ochako trailed off. Momo looked at her, confused. "T-the neighbors! They can be…crazy noisy sometimes. A bunch of lunatics."
That was a lie. Sometimes Ochako's neighbor brought her brownies.
"Oh, dear." Momo said. "Well, I'll survive. How hard can it be to stay for a week?"
Ochako totally forgot that 'week' part. "R-right!" Ochako nodded. "It won't be that hard."
It was gonna be so hard.
Ochako and Momo had drastically different lifestyles. One was born into the lap of luxury, and the other wasn't so well off financially. And that could best be reflected in their morning schedules.
Momo's phone buzzed at 6:30- she would slowly get up, and start her day from there. Momo was honestly worried that she wouldn't get much sleep due to Ochako's 'noisy' neighbors, but there wasn't a peep from them all night. Strange.
She'd brush her teeth, wash her hair and face in the shower, dry it, put it in her signature ponytail, get in her uniform and have some breakfast.
She only got to 'dry it' when she came to the first roadblock. Ochako mentioned she had a 'budget', meaning she had to limit some electronics. (This was no longer the case when Ben lended Ochako his credit card, but she was still wary. That landlord had it out for her.) Ochako never owned a hair dryer. Ever. So, Momo had to dry her hair by hand.
The next change came with breakfast. Momo looked in Ochako's fridge. Not many appetizing foods in there, just a lot of leftovers and loose assorted fruits. She looked in her freezer, which also had the same situation…save for a strange yellow box. Momo reached for it, and hummed.
"Waffles…" Momo said, looking at the box. She'd never had waffles before. Her usual breakfasts consisted of toast, eggs, oatmeal, milk, coffee, pancakes and bagels…but never waffles.
Momo was able to follow the instructions on the box, after locating Ochako's toaster. People would always joke that Momo was 'too rich to make her own breakfast', but nope. She knew how to make waffles in a toaster.
…she just didn't know when it was time to maybe let those waffles eject. Momo was less than thrilled to find that she'd burnt some of her waffle. "...whoops." Momo said, picking up the half burnt waffle.
Still, she made it.
Take that, Kaminari.
Momo was nearly done with breakfast when Ochako woke up. She looked like a mess, like she'd been in a few battles or something. "G-good morning." Momo said, as Ochako flopped out of bed.
"Mmmpngh." Ochako said, as she picked herself up. She threw off her 'sleeping gloves' (so she wouldn't accidentally make her bed float and cause her to flop on the ground) and made way to the bathroom. Momo 'blocked' out whatever Ochako was doing in there, and a few minutes later, Ochako walked out.
"Put a waffle in for me…" Ochako said, as she grabbed her uniform from out of the closet. She went back to the bathroom.
Momo nodded, before noticing something on Ochako's wrist. It looked like a wristband or something. Odd. How come she'd never noticed it before? Momo watched Ochako head back into the bathroom, and shook her head.
"Maybe that's a part of her 'sleep attire.'" Momo rationalized. "To help keep the gloves on."
A few minutes later, Ochako came back out, dressed in her summer uniform. "How did you sleep?" Ochako asked, as Momo gave her a less burnt waffle.
"It was fine. You sounded like you were tossing and turning at some point." Momo noted. "Bad dream?"
"Y-you could say that." Ochako looked away. In actuality, she'd gone to bed around the same time as Momo…and then snuck out after Momo had drifted asleep. She went on patrol for three hours, and then came back well around 2 AM. It took her a while to get to sleep.
Ochako scarfed down her waffle at lightning speed and grabbed her bag. "Alright- off to the train station."
That's where the next snafu happened.
Momo didn't understand public transit all that great.
Considering how many people use public transit in Japan, Momo was definitely the odd one out. The mass-transit system in Japan is dominated by railway transportation, with a passenger volume of over 25 billion in fiscal 20XX. Momo was never a 'contributor' to the railway system. She was always chauffeured around by her family's personal driver.
Getting to the train station was sort of a rush. Ochako insisted that they had to run to catch their train because 'it sometimes came early'.Momo was out of breath by the time they got to the station.
"A-apologies. I'm having a hard time keeping up." Momo said, wiping some sweat from her brow.
"Ah, don't sweat it." Ochako insisted, slightly winded. Sure enough, the train came early. Ochako lit up. "And we're just on time."
Momo watched the doors open, and felt immediately claustrophobic. So many people inside one little car! Ochako just dove in, squeezing her way through. "Come on!" Ochako said, as Momo uneasily entered the car. It was so crowded that Ochako had to grab her hand to keep her from being separated.
"I-is this ever not crowded?" Momo asked.
"Nope! Never." Ochako said.
"...how do you survive?" Momo asked.
"No idea!" Ochako lied. In actuality, this 'schedule' was sort of a facade.
Let me, the omnipotent and omniscient narrator, tell you Ochako's schedule since she'd gotten the Omnitrix.
UA classes started at 8:15 AM.
Ochako would get up at 7:30 AM, get washed up quickly, eat a waffle, and use XLR8 to run to UA and detransform behind an alleyway. That was all in the span of…maybe 15 minutes.
So having to go back to her mundane schedule sort of killed her inside.
The school day was, for the most part, uneventful. Despite any internships and other field training activities being months away, the faculty decided it would be a good idea to start informing the students on how to handle a force even worse than any possible villain, something that could turn the opinions of most people in the city, or even the world against a hero.
The media.
As such, the school brought in someone who had practically mastered the art of playing to the media's weakness, none other than Mt. Lady. The whole exercise was pretty standard, a mock interview with Mt. Lady playing the role of interviewer. Some people took to it better than others, though. People like Mina, Kaminari, and Kirishima excelled when in the spotlight, even if the size-changing Pro did have some advice to give. Others, like Izuku and Todoroki were a bit...hit and miss, let's say, with the former completely freezing for the camera and the latter taking things much too literally.
And then there was Bakugou, who she was shooting weird looks at. And he'd flip her off back. What was that about?
"I think I wanna die..." Izuku muttered after his interview. Ochako patted him on the back.
"You did fine, Deku!" She lied. Ochako was required by law TO lie. That was awful. Ochako's attention was drawn away by the sound of angry muttering from-
"Mineta, what are you so worked up about?" Ochako asked.
"...I hate Mt. Lady." He said, eyes narrowed with anger. Ochako's eyes went up in surprise. Mineta hating the most unapologetically revealing hero? Impossible. She was more to believe Bakugou having a normal conversation where he didn't yell or Monoma not going out of his way to insult 1-A.
"You?" Izuku said, also confused. "I thought you liked her."
"Don't let that succubus fool you!" Mineta hissed. "She may have the body of a smoking hot vixen, but behind those violaceous eyes is...is...a slave driver!"
Izuku and Ochako stared blankly at Mineta. "Huh?" They both said.
"She's also a hag…" Bakugou muttered, but no one heard him.
"She used me as free labor during MY internship arc! And it sucked!" Mineta hissed, picking up a can to throw at Mt. Lady. "GET OFF THE STAGE!" He chucked it...
And it bounced off of Ingenium's helmet. All eyes were on Mineta. Bakugou smirked at that.
"Why did you do that?" Iida asked. Mineta looked around, before seeing his out.
"M-MIDORYIA TOLD ME TO!" He yelled, before running off. The group stared at the running boy.
"So nobody believes that, right?" Mina asked.
"As much as I believe that All Might could lose to a street thug," Tooru said.
Mt. Lady's eyes lit up. Time for her improv skills to shine through. "Now, Mr. Ingenium! You seem to have a detractor in the crowd. Why do they think they may be unsatisfied with your work?"
Iida turned to Mt. Lady and...that one actually made him think for a minute. He'd always thought about how he should save them, that he never really thought about how to deal with some being unsatisfied with that. He was mostly just thinking it over in his head, so outwardly he was just rubbing his chin in thought.
"It could be-...no...no I have that covered. My run time has greatly improved since the start. I don't see how that would be unsatisfactory..." the speedster muttered to himself.
To see Iida in such a 'on the spot' situation was strange. Iida was the type of guy who had the answer to everything.
"I suppose I'll never know." He said, rubbing his head.
"See, you were doing good up until that," Mt. Lady said, pulling the microphone away, "The reporters just love to throw curveballs at you like that. They'll bring up all kinds of things like that, 'How do you respond to your sudden rise in popularity?' 'Any comments on your one-sided rivalry with Midnight?' So on and so forth."
"I see." Iida frowned. "How on Earth do you deal with it, seeing as you're not camera shy?"
"Easy. I'm open!" Mt. Lady said. "People LOVE an honest hero."
"An honest hero," Momo repeated, taking that into account. It would be her turn soon for this, here's hoping she didn't freeze like Izuku did.
"Hm! Well! I assume he means my straightforward personality- that fine gentleman was probably off put by it!" Iida said, moving his arms emphatically.
"See, much better!" Mt. Lady nodded in approval.
"I will do better." Iida pledged. "That man has my word!"
"Eh, I don't think he has that much to worry about," Mina chuckled.
Mt. Lady watched him walk off, and smiled. Such passionate heroes.
Maybe they'd get in a better situation than she was right now.
"Alright! Who hasn't gone yet?" Mt. Lady, pushing that thought aside for now.
Momo walked up, looking confident as could be. Ochako had hoped that Momo would ace this. She had regained that confidence she showed off at the start of the year.
"Ah! Miss Yaoyorozu." Mt. Lady said.
"H-hello," Momo greeted, just a little bit of stage fright lingering in her mind.
"How are you doing today?" Mt. Lady said.
"I-I'm good!" Momo grinned nervously.
"A little more confidence in the greeting! Say it like you just finished the biggest triumph of your career!" Mt. Lady cheered with maybe a bit too much enthusiasm.
"I-I'm good!" Momo said, standing up taller. All eyes were on her, and it was intense.
"That's better." Mt. Lady said. "Now, Miss Creati! Tell me- how did you think up that ingenious rescue plan on the fly?"
"W-well, it was quite easy," Momo said, trying to emulate Mt. Lady's own routine, make it seem like it wasn't that big a deal, "It was just the first thing I thought of a-and from there, it was like auto-pilot, I guess."
"Even the bit with giant insulator sheet to protect the rescued from the villain's powerful electrical quirk?" Mt. Lady said.
"Well, I had a scenario occur like that a few 'years' ago...with another villain. I didn't know IF it was going to happen, but I wasn't going to take any chances." Momo was slowly getting into the swing of things.
"And what do you have to say about the comments about your Hero costume?" My. Lady asked, getting a bit too into the role of reporter.
"My...costume?" Momo tilted her head in confusion.
"Some say that it's a bit...how do I say this nicely, way too revealing."
Momo made a face. "...this interview is over." She said, walking off stage. Mt. Lady clapped.
"Y-yes! T-that is exactly the TYPE of answer you want to give for questions like that!" Mt. Lady said.
"Is it just me, or do you guys think that she let a bit of her own interviews slip into that?" Kaminari asked, half-joking.
"You ask me, it could be either," Tooru shrugged.
Ochako watched Momo walk off stage, and huff. Momo wasn't usually the type to get so angry about something like that...
Maybe she should ask if everything was ok, considering how out of character this was for her. Ochako tried to catch up to the creation student.
"Momo- are...are you okay?" Ochako asked, concerned. Momo turned around and blinked.
"O-oh. I'm fine." Momo said.
"Are...you sure? You seemed...really offended by that last question. Angrier than I've ever really seen you."
"I'm seriously fine." Momo said. "I can assure you!"
Ochako looked worried, but she didn't want to pry any further. "If you say so..."
The rest of the school day was, thankfully, ordinary. Assignments for the next day were handed out which were thankfully quick to finish up.
Momo and Ochako took their time getting home. Ochako had some places she needed to stop.
"I like to keep my utility bills low, and I gotta be careful with you staying with me. So I tend to stick around the city. There's the public library I use to study, which has everything I need...and sometimes there's these great deals at the market downtown." Ochako said.
"You live quite an efficient life, Uraraka" Momo hummed.
"Yep. Took me a bit to get everything planned, but it's fine now," Ochako smiled a bit.
"How do you do it?" Momo inquired.
"Well, I simply do what I used to do with my folks." Ochako stated. "This is how we lived."
Momo seemed uneasy once more. "O-oh. I see."
"Something wrong?"
"Hm? No, I'm fine." Momo said, as she and Ochako walked down the street. The silence was very, very obvious.
Almost as if even the universe itself thought that the silence was too awkward, the duo of students heard police sirens whine from off in the distance. Not long after, they saw several squad cars race ahead of them before turning.
"Well, that can't be good," Momo said, blurting out the first thing that came to mind to change topics.
"Uh...yeah, that's really not good." Ochako said, eyes darting around. "Uh, hey. Real quick...I need to run to the bathroom. I'll be back in a bit. Okay? Okay."
Before Momo responded, Ochako bolted off. Momo was left in confusion. "U-uh, okay!" She yelled out.
Ochako bolted into an alleyway, and huffed. She transformed into XLR8, and darted back to her apartment to change into her Spanner outfit. She then raced back to where she was, and took off after the police cars. Wherever they were heading, it wasn't good.
It wasn't long until the squad cars and Ochako arrived at the scene. The crime scene was a small-time jewelry store. The windows had been smashed with glass littering the sidewalk in front of the building. Some officers had already responded to the alarm and set up a blockade in case the criminals decided to try and shoot their way out.
Ochako shifted forms to Chromastone. She began to absorb some sunlight, and walked over to an officer.
"What's the situation?" She asked.
"Ben 10K?" the officer asked, a bit surprised, "Uh, right. Situation. About ten minutes ago, the silent alarm was triggered here. When the first couple of cars got here, the perpetrators opened fire from inside the store."
"Just the bad guys inside?"
"No; they have at least five or six hostages inside as well."
"Alright..." Ochako said. "Do we know who the perpetrator is?"
"The guy called himself 'The Boss' or something lame." The officer said. "He's been an issue before."
"The Boss? That...that's it?" Ochako asked.
"I know. One of the most uncreative villain names I've ever heard," the officer answered, "but the guy behind the name's impressive. It's like he has a whole syndicate on his side."
"A whole syndicate..." Ochako hummed. That was new. She'd just handled small-scale robberies, one alien invasion and an S-tier villain. A crime syndicate was different.
"Someone's coming out!" An officer yelled. All eyes were trained on the door.
The individual, or rather, individuals, in question were one of the hostages and one of the robbers. The criminal was dressed in a full suit and tie, but his face was covered by a Japanese theatre mask. The robber had a gun pressed to the head of one of the employees of the shop.
"Alright, officers! Here's how this is going down," the man said, "You let us leave, you get the rest of the hostages and, to show you I'm nice, you get one back, free of charge."
"That's the Boss?" Ochako asked. "He kinda looks plain."
"Don't be fooled. He's a dangerous man..." The officer said, as Ochako walked forward.
"Oh and who the hell is-...holy shit, there's no way..." the Boss muttered.
"Yeah, hi." Ochako said, rolling her eye. "This is the part where you walk out of the building and get in the car before I shift to Fourarms and break your bones."
"You can try it, see how well it works out for you."
"Really? What makes you so confident that you can take me?" Ochako scoffed.
"I have...connections." The man said, snapping his fingers. Ochako suddenly saw something move beneath her feet. Ochako stepped back to see a hand reaching out of the concrete.
The hand pulled a massive humanoid form up from the concrete, followed by three other figures rising up from the stone. They all looked to Ochako with featureless faces that were just unnerving no matter who you were.
"This is his Quirk?" Ochako quietly muttered to herself.
"Take him." The Boss grinned, as the concrete man began to swing at Ochako. Ochako ducked under the attacks, and punched the concrete man's face in. The Boss watched his man fall to the ground and shatter.
"Eh, no problem," the Boss shrugged as two more concrete soldiers climbed up out of the ground. Before they could throw a punch, the police officers opened fire on the concrete men.
"How many can he generate?" Ochako muttered as she ducked another punch. She quickly grabbed the offending construct in response and used it as a makeshift bludgeon to slam into another.
The two crumbled like drywall. But still, more and more men began to appear from the ground. Ochako hummed. "Looks like I'll have to destroy the source!" Ochako leapt up, and began to blast the ground beneath her feet.
"C'mon then, spaceman. Take your best shot!" The Boss grinned.
"Gladly!" Chromastone said, as she crashed into him, imbued with ultraviolet energy.
Except, instead of hearing a cry of pain or a shocked gasp, the Boss just grinned and then brought down both fists on Ochako's back, sending her to the ground.
Ochako looked back up at the man, and squinted. Was it just her, or...did this guy made out of some sort of metal?
Wait.
He looked down at her and snapped his fingers. The storefront behind him erupted in a hail of gunfire from the men still inside it.
"I'll let the kind men and women in blue deal with that. You're probably gonna chase me aren't you?" The Boss taunted as he began to walk backwards, "Fine by me!" The leader turned and bolted, pistol still in hand.
Ochako stood back up, and frowned. Chances are, that wasn't the REAL boss, but instead an imposter. This has to be a front for something else…
Even if it was, she wasn't just gonna let him get away. She looked back to the police to see if they still needed help. When she saw one of them on a radio calling in reinforcements, she decided to chase after the guy. She quickly raced after the "main" criminal, firing off a few rays of rainbow-colored energy in his way to try and trip him up.
"Woah!" The real Boss said, looking up. "Great- now we got a flying moon rock chasing after me." He began to tap the surroundings around him, and created a bunch of material men.
"Material Men! Get off your lazy asses and defend your master!" The Boss yelled.
Humanoid figures began to emerge from every material he touched, from brick and mortar to steel. Each one threw themselves at Ochako in an attempt to protect their creator. The ones made of brick were easy enough to deal with, crumbling after one good punch or one well-placed laser blast. The ones made of metal were a bit sturdier, but fell all the same.
They still served their purpose, though. Beating "Ben 10K" was never the goal, just slow 'em down.
Ochako frowned. "Material Men, huh?" Ochako said, as her fist became coated in a blinding light. She threw a punch at the metal men, but faked him out- the material man was instead greeted by a harsh light. He stumbled backwards, cursing.
"They function like normal people!" Ochako said, dodging a few wild swings from a stone Material Man. Their eyesight must be as good as the user or something.
With that revelation came another. She knew exactly how to bypass all of them now. She channeled a large amount of energy into her hands, molding it into a massive ball of pure light. She tossed it into the air and closed her eyes, right before the orb of light exploded and blinded all of them. It was like a flashbang going off, but amplified by twenty.
The Material Men were now all stumbling around like blind mice, as Ochako flew past. "Suckers!" She smirked, now having a clear shot at the Boss.
"Shit, shit, shit!" He needed some leverage against 'Ben 10k'. A hostage or someone...and as he rounded the corner, he saw the perfect target.
A high school girl, from UA.
"Perfect!" The Boss grinned and summoned up two more constructs from the sidewalk. The stone men raced over and grabbed the student by the arms. The Boss smirked and sighed in relief.
"And with you, I'm gonna have myself a way outta this," the criminal grinned.
Momo gasped, as she was suddenly taken hostage by the Boss. Ochako came to a halt.
"M-momo!" The crystalline woman gasped.
"That's right, hero. I got a great hostage right here." The Boss grinned. "Some random UA twerp with no future, probably. Schools like those are scams..."
Ochako wanted to just blast that smug smirk off the criminal's face, but then the Material Men would probably hurt Momo in retaliation. Though, now she had a better idea of who she was dealing with...and maybe a way to deal with him. She composed herself a little, before she just glared daggers at the Boss.
"...you must not be very strong, are you?" Ochako asked.
"...what?" The Boss asked, taken off guard.
"You keep taking hostages, keep throwing your Quirk at me while you keep running."
"My quirk is the strongest there is." The Boss insisted. "What, do I need to punch that crystalline face of yours or something?"
"Do you want me to make it easier on those totally not bruised knuckles of yours?" Ochako scoffed. "Look at them. You probably punch with your thumb inside your knuckles."
Momo...was absolutely shocked that all of this was happening, just watching this crystalline hero taunt a villain.
"You try micromanaging these dummies AND shit talking. I can't parallel process well, dumbass!" The Boss insisted.
"Sure, talk to me like I'm one of your dummies. No wonder you leave the dirty work to them. You totally suck at everything BUT bossing them around." Ochako smirked. The Boss made a face, before tapping Momo's jacket.
"Fine. You wanna shit talk that way?" The Boss said. "Lemme show you what I'm good at."
Momo's jacket suddenly sprouted out a Material Man from the back, and grabbed Momo's head. "Let me walk away or I snap her neck."
Ochako froze when she saw that happen. OK, bad idea! Bad idea! Backfired terribly! the student mentally panicked. The energy collected in her crystals visibly flared, almost like it was reflecting her emotions. She needed to think of a plan, fast.
But before she could even think of something, her eye caught a glimpse of a familiar pink-hued glow, dim enough not to be easily noticed by the Boss. It was Momo's Quirk at work.
Momo quietly nodded at "Ben 10k", her face quiet with a tranquil determination. Whatever she was planning...Ochako trusted her.
"Do it, then." Ochako said.
The Boss was taken aback. "Woah, what? You wanna see that shit?!"
"You heard me, 'Boss!' If you're ready to put that big a target on your back, do it!"
"W-what!?" The Boss said. "You seriously want me to kill her!? What, you got some kind of secret snuff fetish?"
"No. I just think you're too much of a coward to actually do it," Ochako scoffed.
"I'm no goddamn coward!" The Boss yelled. "I beat the shit out of people all the time-"
"Your MEN beat the stuffing out of people." Ochako corrected him.
"SHUT UP! IF YOU WANT ME TO DO IT, I'LL SERIOUSLY KILL HER!" The Boss yelled, turning to Momo. "SAYONARA, YOU UA REJECT-"
The red Material Man was suddenly smacked in the chin by a metal rod that was fired out of Momo's back with enough force to knock the cloth construct back. Ochako took the opportunity created by the Boss' stupefied state to fire two precise blasts of energy at the stone mens' heads, shattering them immediately.
"A coward and someone who can't recognize someone stalling for time. You're not very good at this, are you?" Momo asked.
"I'm the goddamn Boss!" The man yelled, as Ochako shifted forms. "I run this town!"
"Yeah?" XLR8 said, a mask covering her face. "Okay. I'll just run you AROUND this town."
"...mother-" was all the Boss managed to squeak out in fear as he felt XLR8's claws grab him by the collar.
Ochako raced all around the city, with the villain SCREAMING as she did so. She knew exactly where to dump his sorry butt...
Momo watched as the speedster alien ran off in a blue blur.
"...Uraraka's never gonna believe me," Momo huffed.
Actually, hold on. Why did Ben 10k call her Momo? And where was Ochako?
Momo hadn't really noticed, but Ochako's sudden drop in 'attendance' towards most social events (karaoke, mall trips, free meals) was odd. She'd been acting this way, ever since the end of the internships. She also seemed more tired and out of it in the morning, and...
No. It couldn't be.
Could it?
The police had finished off the last criminals at the jewelry store, revealed to be more constructs and not real people. When one of them called it in, to let the commissioner know that the Boss got away, the answer surprised every officer on scene. The Boss was left at the front door of the precinct, seemingly terrified out of his mind and looking like he just went on the world's most terrifying roller coaster, commissioner's exact words. When one officer asked how that was possible, another gave the simplest answer she could.
"It's Ben 10K. You really think he doesn't have a speed alien? Or a teleporter?"
A few miles away, Ochako casually walked back to Momo, like nothing had happened. Momo had her jacket in hand, and was looking at Ochako.
"Hey, sorry I took so long. Had to stop and help someone-" Ochako said.
"I know." Momo cut Ochako off.
"You know?" Ochako repeated, tilting her head in confusion.
"You shouldn't have called me 'Momo', Chromastone." Momo smirked. Ochako looked around and shushed Momo.
"O-okay! That's a funny joke, Momo! I totally told Ben your name if he was here! And-" Ochako deflated. "...yeah, okay."
"How long have you had it?" Momo asked.
A few months." Ochako said. "Ben saw my fight on TV and...yeah, things worked out from there."
"I see..." Momo said. "Does anyone else know?"
"You, Deku, Iida, Todoroki, Kirishima, Bakugou...and I think Tsu knows. She gives me these weird, knowing smiles. I dunno if those are just 'friendship smiles' or 'I know your secret' smiles." Ochako said.
"I think she would just tell you if she knew. Tsu doesn't seem the type to keep that under wraps for this long," Momo countered, "But I could be wrong."
"Sometimes I can't get a read on her." Ochako said, shaking her head. "But...yeah. That's my big secret...oh, and I have a pet at home."
"...pet?" Momo said, tilting her head.
"It's better if I just show you." Ochako said.
Momo secretly thought that maybe Ochako meant one of those digital pets. The funny part was that she wasn't actually that far off from the truth.
"Let's just go home." Ochako said. "I think we've had enough action for one day..."
The walk back was thankfully calm. When Ochako opened the door to the apartment, the first thing she said caught Momo by surprise.
"Ship! We're home! You can come out now!" Ochako called.
Momo looked around, before Ship popped out of a box from the closet. "Ship!" They chirped, slithering over to Ochako.
"Momo, this is Ship, my little blorpy Mechamorph," Ochako beamed as she picked up Ship.
"...y-your what?" Momo said, smiling awkwardly.
"Ok, um...how do I explain this...do you know Upgrade?"
"I'm familiar with them." Momo said, offering her hand to Ship. Ship morphed onto Momo's hand and began to 'suck' it. "A-ah!"
"That's just his way of saying hello. Don't worry.
"He's...certainly something," Momo said, as Ship ran up and down her hand a bit.
"Well he did help me take down a giant, alien death-bot that put the villain bots from the entrance exam to shame," Ochako said oh so casually. Momo had to double take to make sure she heard that correctly. She looked down at the little guy with an expression of "how the hell?" and Ship only "smiled" at her and wagged his tail.
"What a good boy, then." Momo snickered, as Ochako flopped on her bed. She was exhausted after running around the city once or twice. Momo walked over, and sat next to her bed.
"...Uraraka. Can I be...honest with you?" Momo asked. "About why I wanted to stay with you specifically?"
"Yeah?" Ochako said, though it did come out sounding more like a question than she intended. If Momo had a hidden motive here, the Omnitrix's successor couldn't begin to guess at it.
"I came to stay with you...mainly because of what my mother was saying." Momo said. "Ever since I got into UA, she's been more demeaning than usual. Deep down, I think she knows that I won't be the next number one, or any one of the top 10 or possible 100. So...rather than accepting it, she just takes out this frustration on me."
"...what?" Ochako asked, completely shocked and horrified, "That...wha..." She was actually having a hard time processing that revelation.
"It's strange...when I was younger, she never treated me like such." Momo sighed. "But maybe that was because I hadn't committed to my hero work yet."
"That...that doesn't sound right at all. She shouldn't care about the position you get. Sure, some pros do care about it, some a bit too much where it borders on obsession, but your own mother? That just...that's just wrong. She should be happy you're following that dream!"
"She doesn't care. She just wants to maintain our family's status as a prestigious and rich bunch of socialites. I became a hero to escape falling into that same borish lifestyle- I wanted to help the people who weren't fortunate to live like me." Momo said. "I always wondered if my mom resented me for being able to live a dream she couldn't but..."
Momo took a deep breath. "I...I just don't know."
"...what about your dad?" Ochako asked, hoping she wasn't prying too much.
"He doesn't step in much." Momo frowned. "He supports me, but...he just isn't vocal about it."
"I...I see," Ochako said. She went quiet for a moment or two, trying to think of something she could say, some advice she could give. The sheer idea of someone's mother caring more about their status than their own daughter's happiness was just absurd to her.
"I just needed to be away from home for a bit. I wanted to stay with someone who could understand where I was coming from- don't get me wrong. The other girls would've empathized, but...they wouldn't have really understood it." Momo said. "And that's fine. But you want to become a hero to help your parents."
"Yeah...I wanted to give them some comfort and financial security because they've just been working all the time. They came home tired, and went to work tired. I hated seeing them so...stressed." Ochako said.
"Those are the people I'd like to assist. The person who requires aid in any form. I'll never be a combat master or the strongest person in the room...all I want is to be there." Momo elaborated. "I'd like to be there to assist them in any way I can. Like a true hero should."
"Like a true hero should," Ochako repeated, agreeing completely with the sentiment, "Even if she doesn't agree with that, I think everyone else can. Even your dad, despite him not saying anything. He probably doesn't want to start a conflict against your mother."
Momo took a deep breath. "I had my doubts if heroes like us would even be noticed, so I figured spending a week with you would...clear my head and strengthen my resolve. And obviously..." Momo looked down at Ochako's Omnitrix. "Your simple goals and desires have caught the attention of others who see potential."
Momo smiled. "I feel like this doubt has been lifted, thanks to you."
Ochako smiled and then pulled Momo into a soft and friendly hug.
"You're welcome."
Momo returned the hug, as Ship awkwardly squirmed his way out.
"...sorry." Ochako said, as Ship gave her a look.
"Ship!" the Mechamorph chirped before jumping up so that both girls would have to hug him too.
"It just...feels so nice to get some confirmation." Momo sighed.
"Sometimes that's all we need. Just some confirmation," Ochako comforted.
"Yeah..." Momo said. "But...let's focus on something more important." Ochako tilted her head.
"What are we doing about dinner?"
"O-oh! Uh..." Ochako wondered. She would need to check.
...wait, actually. Momo knew what to do.
"Hey, Momo...have you ever had a burger before?"
"Um...w-well," Momo looked away, a little embarrassed. Of course, given her family's wealth, it kinda made sense.
"I know a perfect place." Ochako grinned.
"I'll take your word on it then."
Momo looked at the burger, and tilted her head. "Is it...supposed to look so messy?" She asked.
"Yeah? That's the point." Ochako said, looking at her yummy pretzel bun burger.
"But...wouldn't that just stain...everything?" Momo asked.
"Eh, it'll come out!" Ochako insisted. "It did for my clothes."
"If...if you're sure," Momo said, before taking her own pretzel bun burger and taking a bite out of it.
Ochako watched Momo's face light up, and she looked down at her burger.
"This is great." Momo said.
"See, I told you," Ochako smirked before taking a bite of her own burger.