Alien Force is 15 today! Wow I'm old
Anyways, we got a few more chapters before I go on break for a month. So, this will return in June, and Gemstones is hoping to return…late June.
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
The group walked through the faux city of the USJ. Tokoyami looked around.
"Last time I was here, Ojiro and I were fighting some E-Class villains. When we saw All Might punch that Nomu out of the arena, we knew our fight was over." Tokoyami reflected. "The villains did too. They just gave up."
"I've always wondered what would happen if a man like All Might went rogue." Todoroki admitted. "It's a thought that dominates a majority of my worst dreams."
"Sadly, there have been a lot of cases of pro heroes going rogue…I heard that one of the first heroes that popped up when Quirks were a thing is still in Tartarus." Izuku said.
"He's still alive?" Aoyoma said.
"Somehow." Izuku shuddered.
"Let's try and focus on something more…positive now, shall we?" Iida was right to be unnerved.
Uraraka wasn't speaking at the moment, her mind having gone into what she'd like to call "alien tactics mode." Since she had the Omnitrix, but not all of the forms, she had a pretty good idea of at least some of the options that Ben could take. Ghostfreak and Big Chill were the obvious picks for him if he wanted to go stealth, but if he wanted to go loud then...god, how many aliens could he choose from there? At least a hundred?
"I wish Sero came with us." Todoroki said. "He could've set up a good perimeter for us with his tape barrier."
"Shame none of us have a quirk like that." Izuku said. The irony would be lost on him in a few dozen chapters.
"Um...Izuku," Uraraka began, "About the aliens...if you were Ben right now, how'd you handle this? Go in silently or make some noise? I'm trying to figure out what plan to take but...for the 'going loud' route, there's way too many he could choose from."
"He'd have to be going quiet. A lot of his aliens make noise or smell really bad." Izuku said. "Stinkfly's flapping wings and stench, Heatblast's crackling fire, Ultraviolent always smells like 'fresh bloodshed'..."
"I really don't need to explain why the name 'Ultraviolent' scares me, right?" Aoyoma shivered, covering himself with his cape.
"Well, no...but in truth, you're actually the closest thing we have to that powerset," Izuku explained.
"Pardon?" Aoyoma turned to look at Izuku, confused.
"Ultraviolent's main powers, besides hand-to-claw combat, are ultraviolet lasers and constructs."
"Oh...so he one up's me. I see."
Uraraka looked around. "So he's probably using a stealth alien. Big Chill and Ghostfreak are perfect because they're so undetectable."
"He could be going for the third option." Iida said. "Or a fourth. Fifth- you get the gist. That's the trouble of trying to anticipate-"
The ground started to shake.
"Hm?"
"What...what's going on?" Aoyoma asked, trying to keep his balance.
Uraraka's eyes widened. "Oh, cra-"
The ground suddenly exploded as the loud noises of drill motors filled the air. Ben was unpredictable, and everyone always underestimated that. If you were on a water base, you'd always assume he'd use Ripjaws to get a jump on you. Nope. He'll just use Gutrot to fill the entire area with tear gas.
"Which alien is THIS?!" Aoyoma yelled over the mechanical droning.
"A-armadrillo!" Uraraka answered.
"...really?" Tokoyami deadpanned.
"Found another group of students...maybe these ones will be worth my while. The other ones just scampered away." Ben 10k said, as he reverted back to normal.
"Mr. Tennyson! Are you being controlled!?" Iida yelled.
"Being controlled? Ha-!" Ben was about to mock but then he froze mid-sentence. His hand shot up to his face and he groaned, "I-ida? U.A.? No...this isn't..."
"That's it, Ben 10K! Fight it!" Iida encouraged.
"Y-you kids have to help me...the overwhelming power...of Bofa-" Ben gasped, falling to ground.
"That fiend! Who is this Bofa?" Iida yelled.
Ben's face of twisted despair and anguish transformed into an expression of sick, twisted joy. "Oh, Mr. President...you're so gullible." Ben 10k said, before he transformed.
"Did...did he just..." Aoyoma began, before getting caught off by a flash of green. Standing in Ben's place was a rather thin and, honestly, unimposing insectoid alien that bore a striking resemblance to a grasshopper.
"Let's have some fun." Ben grinned, a menacing glint in his eyes. His legs made a 'boing' sound as he jumped at Todoroki. Todoroki didn't hesitate- he immediately brought up his signature Wall of Ice to protect everyone behind him.
"Get back!" Todoroki yelled, as Ben simply bounced off the wall. He jumped from one spot to the next, increasing in speed with each successive spring.
"That's a disgusting alien!" Yuga shuttered- he hated bugs.
"But it's exploitable," Uraraka said, "It's Crashhopper! Todoroki, can you melt the road?"
"It's possible, but only in patches right now. Still more accustomed to my ice than my fire," Todoroki replied.
"That'll do! We just need to get him stuck! Crashhopper's biggest strength is mobility, but it's also his biggest weakness!"
"It's like a regular bug. Trap him in something sticky, and he'll be immobile." Izuku said.
"Yes, but that bug CAN'T change forms!" Yuga pointed out.
"Worry about that bridge when we need to cross it!" Iida called out, "Todoroki!"
"On it," Todoroki said, igniting his right arm. While keeping the ice wall up, he held his arm above his head and unleashed several fireballs that flew over the barrier. Crashhopper, by some amount of luck, was actually hit by one and knocked out of the air, while the others all found their marks and began to melt away at the pavement. The insect alien shook off the hit and leapt back into the fray with another 'boing' sound.
"He's so fast..." Iida said, but he would not be detered by this show of strength. "Uraraka...reduce my gravity."
"Right!" Uraraka slapped Iida's back, as Iida launched himself towards Crashhopper. This was an ultimate move the two had discussed once and maybe attempted a few times, but this was the only way Iida could keep up with Ben here.
Crashhopper bounced off the ice barrier one more time, leaving a noticeable crack in it. The insect alien landed before he took notice of Iida. He grinned and prepared to jump, only to find himself rooted in place. He tried again in vain, before realizing that he'd been caught in one of the tar puddles Todoroki created with his flames.
"...clever little-" Crashhopper began before he was cut off, courtesy of Iida slamming into him.
"LANGUAGE!" Iida yelled, as Crashhopper was sent flying...but Ben miraculously recovered. And he was unharmed.
"Nice way to break your leg. Good thing you have armor." Ben pointed out.
Iida looked down to see a massive crack on his knee guards. He grit his teeth. "Not only is he fast, he's durable."
"Then let's see how durable he REALLY is." Izuku said, as he, Tokoyami and Todoroki stepped up.
"Two of the heavy hitters and Tokoyami. At least this'll be a bit more entertaining," Ben smirked, adjusting the dial on his chest.
"Stop him!" Tokoyami yelled, bringing out Dark Shadow and letting the shadow-bird lunge at the seemingly mind-controlled pro to stop him from changing forms again.
Todoroki took a step forward, and erected a moderate wall of ice. "Midoryia!" He yelled, as Izuku leapt at the wall. Izuku reared his fist back, before punching it at full force.
One for All- Alaska Smash! Izuku yelled mentally, as shards of ice went flying at Ben. Ben guarded up, letting the salvo of hail and ice pelt his body.
And that's when Dark Shadow struck. Snaking under the salvo as a literal shadow, Tokoyami's Quirk launched up from the pavement and slashed Ben in the jaw with a powerful uppercut.
Uraraka and Yuga rushed in next, with Uraraka slapping random bits of debris and levitating them. "Aoyoma! How hard can you fire your laser?"
"Depends on the plan!" Yuga smirked.
"Blast apart the stuff when I release it. You'll know my signal!" Uraraka said, racing ahead.
"Understood!" Aoyoma saluted, ready to fire on command.
Uraraka raced towards the center, where Ben had landed- right into another tar puddle. Uraraka picked up her pace, and right before Ben was going to escape...
Uraraka slapped him across the face, also removing his gravity. "SNAP OUT OF IT!" She yelled, as Ben began to helplessly float towards the debris.
Ben blinked a few times, processing the fact that he was slapped by a kid. Whatever was controlling him seemed to be stunned for a moment, but in the end, that mysterious entity, whatever it was, was still calling the shots. Ben grimaced and adjusted the dial before slamming it down. In a flash, the grasshopper alien was replaced by a form that resembled a reptilian humanoid. This new form hissed at Uraraka before two large wings unfurled from its back.
"Good luck getting out of that trap, monsieur!" Yuga grinned, charging up his laser again, "Can't dodge so we just need to land a good enough hit!" The shining blue laser fired from Aoyoma's middle and instead of reacting in fear, Ben just sighed. The sound of a roaring filled the air and Astrodactyl took to the skies when the laser was mere inches away from making contact.
"Or...not," Yuga corrected himself.
"No!" Uraraka said. "That's what we want! AIM FOR THE BIG DEBRIS!"
Aoyoma gave her a weird look...but, okay! If that's what she wanted. Aoyoma began to fire more and more beams, breaking up the larger chunks.
Thinking the target was him, Astrodactyl easily wove through the blasts, avoiding each and every shot. But that was better for the long term plan anyway. Each shot that missed Ben hit another piece of debris. More and more ammo was created for Uraraka's plan until she was ready to act. With a swift motion, she released her hold on the massive collection of debris and dropped it.
"Ben...I know, somehow, you're gonna survive this." Uraraka said. "But let's just hope this knocks some sense into you!" The fragments started to fall from the sky, and Ben had nowhere to run. His mind was too overclocked right now, with the lasers and the fragments- that was preventing his use of Master Control.
The best way to describe Ben's use of Master Control is like playing a fighting game and button mashing as a strategy. You'll be too messed up to block attacks or anything.
This isn't the BEST way to describe it, but hey. It's our only way of explaining why Master Control didn't just turn him into Ghostfreak to phase through it.
The storm of debris slammed into Ben, Astrodactyl letting out a surprised reptilian squawk. The sheer amount of stone crushed Ben under it, slamming into the ground. Somehow, he was fine, a little bruised and pinned under a small mountain of rock, but not fatally wounded or anything.
Uraraka gave a sigh of relief. "Bind him up." Uraraka said, moving towards the group. "Freeze him, restrain him with Dark Shadow- we just need to make sure he's unconscious before..."
A green flash got Uraraka's attention. She raised an eyebrow, before dashing over to the crushed body. Everyone surrounded Ben, who had turned into...
"Le garçon bruyant..." Aoyoma muttered. "That's what we call him in France."
"Interesting name for Echo Echo." Uraraka said, as she moved some debris off of him. "Guys...I don't think we fought the real Ben."
"Could...could he always do that?" Todoroki asked.
"Duplicate himself? Yeah, that's one of Echo-Echo's core powers. The other's sound based attacks. Ya know, there were rumors online that Ben once made two copies of his normal self using Echo-Echo, but they had different core personalities," Izuku listed off.
"Very educational, Izuku, but I think we're forgetting the key problem here," Iida said, "If we didn't just fight the real Ben...then where is he?"
"Momo's group!" Uraraka's team said in unison as they realized the true terror of the situation.
Momo looked around the Conflagration zone- the zone usually simulated a urban environment that was constantly on fire, but the fires had been put out by Thirteen, in order to reduce the risk of...something.
"This is stupid." Mineta huffed. "Why are we fighting a dude that can just go Atomix and blast us all to smithereens!? We're lambs to the slaughter, man! UA is wrong for doing this! WHY CAN'T WE JUST GET OUT OF HERE ALREADY!?"
"Que sera sera, Mineta." Mina said, kicking his back as lightly as she could.
"I have no IDEA what that means!" Mineta whined.
"Whatever will be, will be." Momo said. "We don't know what's possessing Mr. Tennyson. And if you don't be quiet, we may very well ambushed because you're giving away our location."
"B-but, his aliens-" Mineta insisted.
"All have a weakness." Momo said, as she held up her hand. She formed a strange looking gauntlet using her quirk- probably one of Hatsume's 'babies'.
"What did you create, Momo?" Tsu asked, tilting her head.
"This gauntlet is meant to simulate a punch from All Might. It's a prototype, but I figured learning how to make one could be useful. It isn't very durable, but...it packs a punch regardless." Momo explained.
"Woooah, that's awesome!" Mina said. "Go Yaomomo!"
"Yeah, it's cool until Ben uses Upgrade and takes it over..." Mineta huffed. Shoji shot him a look.
"That is the last thing we need to think about," Shoji said.
"Well, it's true."
"Mineta...why are you even with us?" Tsuyu asked, "If you're this scared of him, you could've gone with Thirteen."
"B-because! I didn't wanna handle caring for Ojiro and Jirou." Mineta said. "I'm...I'm not good with medical treatments."
"Wow, showing restraint at the opportunity to touch a girl. I'm kinda impressed." Mina said.
"Huh?"
"...you never considered that, did you?" Mina asked.
"Well...no. Look, I get it, I kinda have moments like that-" Mineta began.
"Kinda?" Shoji interrupted.
"Shut up, I'm being serious here. I have moments like that, but...Jirou and Ojiro were seriously hurt back there. I'd just be dead weight if I went over there."
"So, you're tagging along because you'd think you would be better here." Momo nodded.
"At least I can set traps for Ben. I've been randomly throwing my sticky balls when you guys weren't looking." Mineta pointed at a wall that had a sticky ball on it. "Knock Ben into one of those, and you guys could have a free hit."
"That...oh my god, that's actually a good idea. Yeah, they're visible, but that doesn't really matter if we aim our hits," Mina said.
"I wanna be able to leave my regrets behind, just for once. I know I'm whining like a kid, but it's better than doing nothing."
For a second, Momo was proud of Mineta. "Alright. Just stay quiet though. You are getting kind of grating...but, at least you have your heart in the right place."
Mineta smirked at that, for once without a hint of an ulterior motive aimed at getting a girl. He took off another of his grape-balls and threw it at another location, continuing his improvised minefield.
Mineta stayed back a bit, letting the others go ahead. He stopped throwing before his head started to hurt. Okay, now that that was done, all he needed to do was catch up with the others and-
Mineta jumped. Mineta thought he heard something.
He looked down an alley, thinking that maybe it was just...the wind? He was inside, but this place was always meant to be a simulation so they could've added wind for realism's sake. He took a few more steps down the alley, falling for one of the most avoidable horror movie tropes in the book.
If you hear something weird, don't run, find out what made the sound.
A torrent of bandages shot out from the darkness like snakes, wrapping around the small hero before he could even let out a scream for help.
Mina turned around to check on Mineta. "Hey, Mineta-" But he was gone. Mina looked back at Momo.
"Hey, Momo? He's gone." Mina said.
"What?" Shoji said. "Where'd he go?"
"I dunno, he was right here a minute ago. Maybe he ran after all?" Mina shrugged.
"Impossible. Mineta was super determined to prove himself." Tsu said. "Even if he IS a perv, I don't see him abandoning us again."
Shoji sprouted a few ears, and scanned the area. "Hm...I'm hearing something fluttering in the distance."
"Fluttering?" Mina repeated, "Like...wings?"
"Not all his aliens fly that way," Tsuyu pointed out.
"It's more like...paper." Shoji said. "Ever see a stack of paper get blown away by the wind?"
Momo tried to picture the alien in her head. A paper alien...she wasn't too up to date on every alien Ben had transformed into, but that sounded familiar.
"Wait...I don't think it's paper," Tsu said, remembering something from, of all places, her brother, "My brother's a big Ben 10K fan. He has this figure of a...mummy with the Omnitrix on it?"
"That's a thing?" Mina asked.
"I mean he has a ghost," Momo countered.
"Oh yeah..."
"There's a werewolf alien and a frankenstein's monster alien." Shoji pointed out. "Not too weird."
"THANK YOU for saying Frankenstein's monster. That's always a pet peeve of mine." Momo said.
"Can we focus on the fact Mineta is gone?" Satou asked.
"Right, right...but...you don't think he is the mummy, do you?" Mina asked, "I mean...how are we supposed to fight something like that?"
"Simple." Momo said, making another tool- the acid storing gauntlets from the exam. She passed them to Mina. "He's fast but not that durable. And he can get wet...I assume that'll slow him down."
"Let's assume he moves similar to Aizawa's capture tool." Satou said. "But like, a full body version of that."
"Aizawa is always quick with it, so we're gonna need to react jus as quick." Momo added.
"And he can probably hit from multiple angles. Kind of like my Quirk but tuned more to offensive," Shoji added.
"I could do something." Kouda said, getting everyone's attentions. "W-well, I've been getting better with bugs, so...maybe I could summon a bunch of ants to eat at his bandages?"
"That could work. But you're sure good with that?" Mina asked.
"Positive! It-it might not do the most damage to him, but it might surprise him, make him drop his guard."
"Good idea, Kouda!" Momo said. "...I also think this is the first time I'm hearing your voice."
"Y-yeah, sorry." Kouda said, looking away.
"Oh! N-no need to apologize!" Momo said. But before she could go any further with her words, the group was assaulted from every direction by bandages. They were snaking around street corners, slithering over the charred remains of buildings and down the sides of those that still stood. Mina immediately went into action first. She had already slipped on the acid-gloves and began storing up acid in them. She fired off a torrent of acid from her fingertips that began to dissolve some of the bandages.
"He's ready for us already!" Momo said, making a katana from her backside. She pulled it out, and held it up.
"I didn't know you could use one of those!" Mina said, shocked.
"I have MANY skills." Momo said, twirling it around to cut the bandages around her.
Shoji and the others who couldn't really do much if they were wrapped up simply tried their best to avoid the reach of the bandages. Satou occasionally grabbed a few handfuls of the bandages and tore them in half, but beyond that, it was mostly on Momo and Mina to keep them at bay.
"I need something bladed." Shoji huffed, before he looked down at his hands. Momo quickly generated a bunch of gloves with blades on them.
"Here! It'll have to do for now." Momo yelled.
He nodded and quickly slid the gloves over several generated hands, courtesy of his Quirk. In a whirlwind of blades, he began slicing up the bandages, leaving behind piles upon piles of shredded material.
"Now we're cooking with gas." Shoji smirked underneath his mask. He should really aim to integrate these into his main costume. These things are handy.
"But they keep coming. If we don't take out Ben, he'll tire us out!" Satou yelled, avoiding another flurry of bandages attempting to bind him.
"Then we find the head!" Tsu yelled, looking at Kouda. He began to murmur like crazy, hoping his tiny 'friends' could find their way to the surface.
Sure enough, through cracks in the simulated ground, a small swarm of ants emerged to heed Kouda's orders. The best part about Kouda's new army of scouts was that, unbeknownst to him at first glance, they could fly.
"A bunch of alates...good." Kouda said. "Find Ben Tennyson, and eat his bandages!"
The swarm of ants scattered, as a bunch of them swarmed the bandages that were attacking the group. Watching them eat was like something out of a cartoon- Mina always thought the way termites shred through things was an exaggeration.
"Nice going Koud-ahh!" Mina began, before being cut off by an almost successful sneak attack from some of the still uneaten bandages. She quickly blasted them with a torrent of acid and watched them dissolve away.
"Too close," Mina huffed.
Momo watched the ants fly off, and chased after them. "Come on!" Momo yelled, as the group followed the ants. If they could find a main body, they could properly fight Ben.
The ants buzzed through the air, leading the group to a pile of burned out rubble in the almost exact center of the zone. As they approached though, they all took notice that the bandages were returning to their source. As they arrived, the group saw Ben sat on the pile of rubble, reconstituting his full mummy-like form.
"Impressive, holding out for that long," Ben mockingly praised.
The mummy form looked compacted, meaning its density could be a problem. It was annoying at a distance, but how hard could he punch at close range?
Momo raised her weapon. "Mr. Tennyson- please, if you're under the control of someone-"
"Save it." Ben interrupted. "Search for any excuse in the book. But here's the truth. I'm here by my own free will. And I'm curious...are you kids worth all the trouble?"
"Are we worth it?" Mina repeated, sounding more than a little offended, "Of course we are!" Ben didn't answer at that, simply getting back up and cracking his neck, getting ready for the fight.
Ben sent out a cluster of bandages at the kids, but they were quickly shredded away by Shoji's extending arms. Kouda summoned his ants, which flew out and began to devour any tendrils that had wrapped around his allies. Momo ducked under the attack, and formed a lighter in her hand.
"Big mistake." Ben smirked.
"What do you-?" Momo began.
"Ignite me, and the fire travels up the way and hurts your friends. I'm flammable, and I can regenerate. The fire will just burn over and over again..." Ben smirked. "Or maybe I'm bluffing. What's your game plan?"
Momo froze for a moment. If he wasn't bluffing, she'd burn up her friends, but there was no real way to tell if he was. This mummy's voice was so...monotone, there was barely any emotion behind the words. Maybe boredom, at most. She wouldn't take that risk. She stowed the lighter for now and went with a different plan…
What could she do?