"Are you ok?" Eric leaned over a hyperventilating Kaminari, who was sprawled on the ground.
"I just thought, that I was, that I was going to die!" He spoke between breaths. Eric slowly nodded. "Yeah, the plants, even sealed, do leak some methane. They've been there for a couple years now so the build up has gotten to the extreme."
"How can you live like that?! I mean, how does anything work in there?" Kaminari sat up as he gestured towards the door frantically.
"Well, everything is electric so there isn't much risk of a fire. And it just reminds me of home." He reminisced to Kaminari, offering his hand to him. Kaminari took it and was practically thrown up by Eric. Kaminari stumbled slightly when he landed on his feet.
"Well, what now?" Kaminari asked, slightly startled from Eric's strength. Eric's head turned to the side, gazing down the road.
"Well, I guess the best thing is that we try to find your friends before anything happens. Plus, it's getting late and your parents will get worried." Kaminari gulped. Oh no, he forgot about his parents. What's he going to say? 'Oh hey, turns out the watch you got from the fair is actually this alien device thing!', like that's going to go well!
"Sssooo, you know a way to find two humans and uh, the closest route to a train station?" Kaminari nervously chuckled while rubbing his hands.
"Nervous? I guess you are, not everyday this happens to someone, huh?" Eric joked.
"I guess? I'm just worried about my parents, man. They think I'm just training my quirk with Sero." He sighed.
Eric hummed in agreement. " I see. Well, I don't think you have to worry about that. I think I can see your friends from here." Kaminari followed the gesture of Eric towards the distance. The smiling faces of Kirishima and Sero were growing in the distance.
"Guys!" Kaminari hollered at them, his legs breaking into a sprint to meet them halfway.
"You- You won't believe it, Kamianri!" The three of them finished their sprint, standing around each other in a close circle.
"Al-Aliens! Aliens are-" Sero panted between recollected breaths, having to hold himself up off his knees.
"They're real? Yeah, I kinda figured that out by myself." Kaminari chimed. The other two glanced at each other quickly and then back to him.
"Even the fact that you've turned into them?" Kirishima asked. Kaminari nodded quietly. They eyed each other and sighed in defeat.
"Well, guess there goes the surprise. Heh, guess we all learned a few things by ourselves, huh?" Kirishima said.
"Yeah, weird things but I guess they are things." Sero exhaled quickly. "So, I assume we're heading back?" He turned his attention towards Eric, who nodded.
"I can take you back through where we came. It's not a far walk from here." Taking a few paces in front of them, he waved them over. "Come, follow me."
The trio trailed behind him in silence. The weight of everything that had happened that day started to settle on them. Kaminari started to feel slightly tired. His stomach, however, growled. Oh yeah, it would be time for dinner.
"Hey Mister Eric, I have a question." Kirishima cut the silence of the group with his question. Eric twisted his head towards them, waiting for Kirishima to continue.
"Is there a problem with gangs here? Like, thugs or bullies?" He asked curiously. Eric's eyes widened for a moment. He sighed before slowly nodding.
"Nothing major. A few unsavory folk. Every town has that. And I guess, there is the Carpenters." He muttered.
"Carpenters?" Sero piped up.
Eric flinched. "Ugh, grimebark." He quickly mumbled before sighing loudly. "Yeah, I guess they're the closest thing we have to a formal gang here. They don't really do much. They mostly just harass and threaten people."
"What? Don't the Pros do something about that?" Sero asked.
"Pros don't exist here." Kaminari informed him. Sero stared at him in bewilderment.
"Yeah, long story short, Pros are a human concept. While a few may know of aliens or even have family here, they don't really have the jurisdiction to do something here. We have our own law enforcement and the Carpenters don't cause enough trouble to warrant any look into." Eric quickly explained to the other two.
Silence fell over the group.
"Wait, there are alien pros?" The three asked in unison.
"Yes, there are alien pros. Only a sparse few of them though. They usually team up with other alien pros or go solo. Unless you show them that you know aliens exist, they won't ever show that to you or the public ." Eric replied.
"You three have any other questions? I'll be glad to help if I can." Kaminari pondered it for a moment. He thought about the conversation they had before, racking over each statement. He did note a few things that seemed weird to him, it wouldn't hurt to ask.
"Well, I have three. Or, I guess two questions." Kaminari started. "Do you have any idea on how I could have lost my quirk?"
"Your guess is mine. Maybe your body is just adjusting to having the transformations. I'm sure you'll probably get your quirk back soon." He reaffirmed Kaminari.
"But I mean, in the meanwhile, you basically have ten quirks. So, it's a great trade off." Sero joked.
"Ten flashy ones." Kirishima specified.
"Yeah, I suppose so. But I guess with my other question, and you don't have to answer this if it's too serious, but who were Sparky and Index? You mentioned them in our conversations." Eric's smile faltered. His eyes glazed over, reminiscing on the past.
"They were old buddies of mine. We went our own ways a few years ago, I don't know where they are or how they're doing. Well, I hope." He pulled a tired smile for them. The message was clear to them, all of their heads going straight ahead towards the staircase rapidly approaching.
"Well, sorry for being such a downer. We're here now." Eric picked up his tone quickly. Kaminari was honestly surprised at how quickly he could recover from that. Guess it was a perk of being a father to such a cheerful kid.
"I'm sorry if I brought up any bad memories. I didn't mean to do that, you know?" Eric looked at Kaminari and smiled.
"No, it's fine, Kaminari. If anything, you reminded me of the cheerful times I had with them. That's a good thing." He placed his hand on Kaminari's head and ruffled his hair as any cheerful father would do. "Thanks. Now, you three better get going. I don't know much about your parents, but I know for sure I wouldn't want Mura missing any curfew I set."
"Right, thanks. Maybe we can see you again?" Sero asked, leading the group to the stairs.
Eric shrugged. "I can't stop you guys anymore."
The three of them nodded with bright smiles. They all began their march up the stairs in new quiet excitement. Kaminari, at the end of their train, took one last look over the cavern. The lights of housing began to flicker on and there was a faint sound of laughter echoing over the buildings. He smiled before returning his attention upwards to the surface. Towards home.
…
Kaminari slowly opened the door, slinking into the house. The smell of food wafted through the air, maybe he made it in time. He crept towards the opening of the main room.
And into the sightline of his mom.
Both of his parents were sitting there, a set plate in front of them. His mom was definitely cross, while his dad was nervously sitting there like he was the one who was suffering from her ire before he walked in.
'Ok, let's try to survive this without dying.' Kaminari took a deep breath and gave them a smile.
"So, dinner seems ready!" He chimed.
"You're late. Why?"
"Well uh," Kaminari stuttered. Ok, figure out a reasonable lie here. If he can't default back onto something, he's going to never see the light of day again. "Me and Sero met a friend! We just practiced with each other and hung out! I just lost track of time." He blurted out.
His mom raised an eyebrow. "Is that what happened?" Kaminari sheepishly nodded to that. It was true, he just omitted most of what happened. Just, ignoring all the alien things and the whole subterranean city that just was a car drive away.
"Eiko, maybe we should just leave him be. I mean, what kid gets a chance like this? I'm sure he just got distracted. You know how he is." His dad leaned over and put his hand on her shoulder. His mom sighed, turning down at her own plate and nodding.
"Alright then. Why don't you get ready for dinner? I'll heat your plate up." Kaminari nodded and slowly made his way upstairs. It was only when he got to the top step did all the tension in his body release.
"We did ittt, let's gooo." He hyped himself quietly, slinking towards his room. He entered and gave himself a silent fist pump. He did it. Managed to actually get a lie past his parents. The last time he tried that he couldn't leave the house for anything other than school and work.
He quickly took off what he had, there was an ever so faint smell of methane on them. He quickly grabbed another pair of casual clothes, stuff he couldn't care about wearing for only a few hours at most. As he progressed into changing, the whole situation dawned him and made him more giddy.
He actually managed to keep the secret of aliens from his parents. He managed to tell a story and they didn't seem all the wiser. Maybe if he could fool his parents, who are like living lie detectors, maybe he could keep aliens a secret for years!
He could keep his promise to Eric. And with his abilities now, there was no way he couldn't pass the UA exam with flying colors, right? Ampfibian, his kiner whatever form and his Methanosian form probably could probably solo the entire exam!
He slipped out of his room, with some pep in his step. He made his way towards the staircase, ready to join his parents downstairs.
"I'm just worried about him."
Kaminari stopped on the stairs. His breathing and body immediately became rigid, not daring to move.
"I know you are. I am too." His dad replied. They were talking about him. They must've not heard him leave his room. He did ignore his door so maybe they were trying to listen to that. Listening is rude, but he'd be lying if there was some part of himself that was curious about this.
"It's just, you know how I worry about what he wants to do." His mom said.
"I know. We've had this conversation before, you know?" They had this conversation before? His parents may have had conflicting feelings on him being a hero, but he always chalked it up to his quirk's drawback. Now that he somehow lost it, and arguably has an ability that is thousands of times better. But, they're having it now?
"I know, but now, things are different. He's got that thing now and he's already crossed paths with a villain. My main worry now is that he's going to get himself into trouble with someone that he can't handle." She vented.
Oh, they're worried now about him that way. Now that he has power, they're worried he's going to encounter someone- someone like…
He shook his head. Nope, not that again.
"Hey hey hey, it's fine. It's fine. His heart is in the right place. You need to remember, he's your son. Our son. If we were able to tackle anything that came our way, he'll be able to do it." His dad comforted her. Kaminari slowly exhaled, feeling his shoulders relax.
There was something about that. He didn't know what the feeling was, but he liked it.
"Yeah." His mom took a pause. "At least he's making friends to help him on the road ahead." Kaminari looked down at the edge of the stairs. Maybe it was time to stop listening in on this. He slowly made his way to his door, avoiding making any creaking on the floorboards of the hall. He grabbed his handle and pulled the door closed, the click of the latch silencing the conversation downstairs.
"Alright, that work has worked up my appetite. I'm hungry." Kaminari said with a forced smile. His parents didn't seem any wiser to him eavesdropping on their conversation, judging by their smiles towards him.
"Well, better eat because if I recall, you've got work tomorrow and I don't think Mr. Grouchy is going to be excited if you can't function from hunger!" His dad joked to Kaminari.
"I have work tomorrow?" Kaminari blanked. His mom sighed and facepalmed before smiling. "Yes, it was only a break for a few days. You're also going to school in the next few days."
"That part I wish I didn't learn." Kaminari grumbled as he sat down.
…
"Welcome back." Mr. Hiroshi greeted him over the paper as Kaminari slowly walked back into the store. He inspected the shop out of concern, seeing how the attack a few days prior had impacted everything.
Compared to the outside, that still had some construction going on to repair the infrastructure and roads, nothing seemed to have broken here. The pens for the pets did change in other ways. Some of the pens now included stuffed animals or additional props for them to run on and alongside. The rest were empty, the animals inside nowhere to be seen.
Including the puppy pen in the front.
Kaminari turned to Mr. Hiroshi for an answer. The man sighed, setting his paper down. "After the whole incident, some of the animals couldn't deal with the stress. So I had to relocate them temporarily so they aren't worked up by any customers." He calmly explained.
"Wait, then where are they?" Kaminari asked.
"My own place. I don't-" He paused for a moment, sighing. He picked up his paper and went back to reading it, hiding his expression. "How have you been holding up?" He asked.
"Good, I suppose. A pro is offering to train me with my new quirk." He explained. He held up the Omnitrix and shook it towards Mr. Hiroshi. He only grumbled in response, leading to Kaminari chuckling.
"Oh, you haven't changed! That's amusing." Kaminari laughed. "Nice to know you're doing well." Mr. Hiroshi nodded in silence. His arms lowered, his face different from his normal scowl. His eyes followed Kaminari as he made his way towards the back.
"Kaminari." He stopped in his tracks.
"Yeah, Mr. Hiroshi?" The man looked guilty, as if he was pondering something he regretted a long time ago. He sighed, setting down the paper.
"Could you do me a favor?" He asked.
"Yeah, what kind of favor?" He questioned. Mr. Hiroshi closed his eyes and shuddered. His hand slowly rubbed his eyes before they opened again. "Do you think you could transform into one of your forms? Maybe one you haven't been before?"
"Uh, but that's illegal?"
"Yes Kaminari, it is illegal. But not for you." He pointed out. Kaminari nodded, bringing up the Omnitrix. He guessed, if it's just inside the shop and he doesn't turn into something that causes damage by just existing, it should be alright.
Wait.
The little voice in his head is picking up on something here.
"What do you mean by it's not illegal for me?" There wasn't a chance that he knew, right? Maybe he's inferring that he's working under a pro now.
Mr. Hiroshi sighed again. He leaned back and crossed his arms. "With age, comes wisdom. Wisdom like knowing we aren't alone in the world." He answered. He turned to Kaminari and they stared at each other in awkward silence.
Really long awkward silence.
"Aliens, Kaminari. I'm talking about aliens." Mr. Hiroshi folded with an agitated grumble.
"Wait, you know about aliens? How? Oh crap, wait, please don't tell my parents. See, I lied about this and if I'm caught, I'm on a one way trip to the afterlife." Kaminari begged. His plea was only answered with a chuckle from Mr. Hiroshi.
"Trust me kid, your secret's safe with me. I've got plenty of my own, what's one more?" He proposed.
"I guess that makes sense but why do you want to see me transform? I mean, if you know aliens exist, why would you want to see me become one?" Kaminari asked.
Mr. Hiroshi shifted, his eyes distant on what they're focusing on. "When I was younger, there wasn't much for me." He started to wearily tell. "There wasn't really anyone there for me. No parents, no siblings, just me. The only companions I've had are the animals around me and the stories I've heard." He took a deep breath, not to calm his nerves but to recollect his thoughts to continue.
"The legends of the Omnitrix. Heh, such wild tales. Ones of marvels, wonders and miracles. Who knows if all or even a few of those are truth? It's those that helped me get through those times with my animal companions." He was starry eyed as he talked, but that started to fade.
Kaminari was far removed from the moment. He couldn't believe it! Mr. Hiroshi was actually opening up? This is the longest they've ever talked since he was hired! But, then again, the whole conversation was bringing him down. "But what happened? I mean, something good happened right?" Kaminari cautiously asked.
He desperately wanted to hear something great. Maybe Mr. Hiroshi got a job working with aliens who all united under the fairy tale of the watch. Maybe he somehow fell in love. As much as a crotchety old man like himself could love in that way.
"I suppose. But, that's a story for another time." He regained his composure and Kaminari felt like the rug was pulled under him in an instant.
"What? That's it!? Man, I wanted to hear more. Like, why don't you like heroes? Did you work with others who liked the stories? Did some poor soul date you?" The stern and dead glance Mr. Hiroshi had told him he was pushing it. He sighed. Well, if he doesn't get in trouble from this, guess it's ok.
He opened the hologram and scanned his options. He was already four of these guys so six remain. He still needed to come up with names for a few of them but he could figure it out later. He remembered that Kamakiri knew most of the aliens and found one to be amusing. In his experience, that one was the embarrassing one. Probably best to avoid it.
After some consideration, he settled on a cyclops, whose body was fluid and without structure. They didn't appear bulky so Kaminari didn't worry that they were going to destroy the shelves with their size. Their appearance also didn't have something that seemed to be a hassle like how Ampfibian had multiple arms. In fact, they appeared rather boring with their skin sporting a pattern similar to a circuit board.
Other than that, they appeared to be one of the more boring forms he could see. Shouldn't be an issue here.
He activated the dial and slammed down. He felt the shimmer of the transformation taking place but this one, it felt a little different. He hadn't really figured out how transforming felt beyond it feeling off but this one felt weirder to the others.
His entire body began to break down and unify into something foreign. The flesh, blood, and bone shifted into something foreign and definitely alien. Kaminari didn't know what was actually happening but for a split second, he could feel every cell in his body. His thoughts and senses in that infinitely small moment divided and echoed into a formless choir before coming back together into a singular entity, him.
When the feeling passed over, the pets that remained in the store began to cry out after being startled by the sudden flash and newcomer. Kaminari studied himself, something that'd likely become common practice when he becomes a new alien.
There wasn't much difference between what he saw from the hologram and what he was now but the singular eye was strange. Kaminari was expecting everything to appear weird given what he had heard from his games and shows on having one eye but if anything, it seemed clearer to him. Granted, everything was tinted in a shade between green and yellow and visually styled after a security camera, distortions and all.
He moved his body and shivered at how weird it felt. There wasn't anything that resisted him moving his arm. No bone, no muscle, no skin, nothing. Flexing his arm and rolling his shoulder felt fluid and easy. His legs felt the same but they were sturdy enough to function like normal.
"Whoa, this one feels weird." He mumbled to himself. He paused for a moment, feeling his face, or at least what could be his face.
"My voice doesn't change with this one? Well, it's coming through a filter but still. Bummer. That's a kinda cool thing they do." He commented to Mr. Hiroshi. He looked down and spread his arms out, to let Mr. Hiroshi see his entire form.
"What do you think of this one?" He asked. Mr. Hiroshi scoffed. "I was hoping for some animalistic one but I suppose this one is fine."
Kaminari flexed his fingers to get used to the feeling of this form. "So, what can this guy do?" He asked.
"Well, you've become a mechamorph. They can," He stopped himself before groaning aloud. "Oh great. This is actually a horrible alien for you to pick." Mr. Hiroshi facepalmed and rubbed his face.
"What? I didn't choose something that irradiates radiation, did I?" He questioned.
"I didn't know you had that word in your dictionary but no. Mechamorphs can improve technology. The problem is, young Mechamorphs, such as yourself, possess poor control over that, resulting in mechanical monstrosities of weapons and science fiction." Mr. Hiroshi said.
"..."
"I realize telling this to a teenager whose attention span is comparable to a goldfish was a poor idea on my part. Please, for the love of all the minds who devoted themselves to the advancement of humanity, don't destroy my shop."
"Sooo, what is around for me to upgrade? A vacuum maybe?" Kaminari asked, rubbing his hands together in excitement, the possibilities flowing through his head. Mr. Hiroshi groaned, knowing he unleashed something horrid on his shop.
A sound clang scooped up Kaminari's attention to the desk. Mr. Hiroshi had placed a small desk lamp on the counter and gave him a glare.
"Start small."
"That little thing? What's that going to do? Become a giant heater?" Kaminari remarked.
Mr. Hiroshi rolled his eyes at Kaminari's joke. "Raise your hand if you have experience with Mechamorphs." He waited for Kaminari's response before raising his own hand with heavy sarcasm and emphasis.
"Alright then, start small." He returned to his paper, leaving Kaminari to stare at the lamp. As Kaminari slowly approached with hesitation, Mr. Hiroshi leaned back. He stared at the lamp, trying to tap into that similar feeling in his gut to try and activate the upgrading power Mr. Hiroshi told him he had.
Nothing was happening, despite the gut feeling bubbling within. The lamp remained the same.
"So, how does this exactly work?" He relented to ask.
"Well, you need to touch it and then cover it. It's hard to explain. You just need to try it." Mr. Hiroshi advised.
Oh, this one works by touch? Ok, that makes sense, Kaminari guessed.
He reached out and placed his large hand on the lampshade. There was an immediate response in his palm, it felt like an electric hum that tickled. He didn't know how to explain it but he could feel the lamp in its entirety as the buzz trickled into his hand. The feeling stopped in his palm but if Kaminari had to guess, this was the feeling he had to allow to travel in order to do this upgrade.
He closed his eye and let the feeling wash over his body. The electric hum soon took over every other feeling, the feeling of his feet on the floor and the still air of the shop. It was for a brief moment but the feeling died down and Kaminari couldn't describe what he felt now. He didn't really feel anything now.
Kaminari slowly opened his eyes to see what happened but he was amazed to see what appeared to be a screen in front of him with the same grain he had in his vision. The screen had a scaled down view of Mr. Hiroshi's desk so Kaminari had to assume he actually became the lamp itself.
But the space he was in was like a pocket dimension. Yellow tinted green static and circuitry surrounded him as if he was in that one really old American action movie. He took a glance down and was surprised to see his human body, although it was composed of static fuzz.
"Woah…" Kaminari's voice echoed as he mumbled. One source was his own body in this space and then from the screen. He went back to the screen and thought for a moment.
Just as he thought, the screen shifted towards Mr. Hiroshi, who was eyeing down at him and watching his movements. He could feel a tingle in his neck, as if he had done the exact same action. He looked down at his hands as another idea popped up.
He slowly lifted his hand towards his face and watched as a claw rose up in a similar fashion to the screen.
"Sick! It's like I'm in a mech!" Kaminari cheered with vigor.
"What do you mean by that? You're more crustacean than mech." Mr. Hiroshi curiously asked. Despite him being from the outside, Kaminari could perfectly hear what he was saying as if Mr. Hiroshi was standing right next to him.
"Is that how it works?' He thought to himself. No, wouldn't it be a speaker system if he was here?
So maybe this place he's in doesn't actually exist. It's probably just some mental area he's in and his real body is part of the lamp right now.
"Well, it looks like I'm in that piloting room you see in the shows. But I guess this is just a visual thing for me? How do I look?" Mr. Hiroshi scanned him over real quick.
"As I said, you look like a crustacean. You've got four legs and two claws with some cylinder based tool. Other than that, you're a lampshade. Maybe a more science fiction kind of lamp shade but a lamp shade nonetheless." He told the boy, before turning his attention back towards his paper.
"You can see yourself without this," Mr. Hiroshi paused for a moment. "Screen? Fairly certain mechamorphs can still project their original bodies off of the tech they enhance."
Kaminari glanced down at his virtual body. How would he even do that? Maybe try reaching for the feeling again? It worked getting into the lamp so doing it again will get him out, right? He closed his eyes, grasped onto that feeling again and pulled on it.
"HEY HEY HEY!" A frenzied choir of yelps and cries accompanied Mr. Hiroshi's hollers of panic, jolting Kaminari from his trance. The low hum of fire came from his claw that was now acting as a blowtorch.
Now, Kaminari wasn't proud of what his immediate response was. Sure, he had covered his body in electricity before, which can equally be as much of a fire hazard as actual fire, especially when he wasn't thinking with his quirk beforehand. But he never produced another element before. None of his other forms had.
So at the moment, waving his claw to try to get the fire put out seemed logical to him.
"OH GOD, FIRE! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!" Kaminari screamed in utter fear.
"KAMINARI, STOP MOVING! YOU'RE GOING TO SET MY COUNTER ON FIRE!" Mr. Hiroshi screamed, failing to grab the frantic lamp.
"I'M ON FIRE!" Kaminari lashed out, as that seemed reasonable to shout at someone in this situation.
"Just stop!" Mr. Hiroshi finally succeeded in grabbing Kaminari. His surprising strength showed its head again, even though Kaminari probably weighed like nothing. Kaminari stared at him as his claw hissed.
"Do you feel any pain?" Mr. Hiroshi slowly articulated each word, trying to get a message through Kaminari.
"No- I just feel a weird static feeling? Like ambient charge in the air." He responded. Mr. Hiorshi nodded.
"Disregard that." He blurted. "Is that feeling pain?" He asked again.
"Noooo?"
"Then it's no problem. Control yourself, and focus on turning off the gas to the blow torch. Think you can do that? Think of it as a circuit. You're just turning the flow of electricity to that function off. Can you see that?" Mr. Hiroshi instructed.
Kaminari slowly nodded and Mr. Hiroshi released him carefully. Kaminari looked at his claw and thought about that. It's a circuit. That was already in line with what he usually thought about his alien forms, relating it to his quirk. That feeling in his gut that he tapped into to try and use whatever power the aliens had.
But if he thought of it as a circuit, maybe that'll work better? Think of that gut feeling as the battery and its use as the circuit. Well, his hand is burning so this might be a way to try that idea.
He envisioned the circuit, from his gut feeling to his claw. It was as simple as flicking the switch. The hiss began to quiet with the flame growing smaller. The warm glow from the exhaust slowly turned back to the yellowish green of his skin. He couldn't help but feel giddy.
"Sick. Um, sorry about that. I, uh, panicked." He chuckled.
"I can see that." Mr. Hiroshi's eyes rolled before settling on the front.
The chime was what got Kaminari's attention. He turned his head to see Yosuke standing awkwardly halfway in, taking up the entire door frame. He was blankly staring at them, confused why there was a lamp looking directly at him.
"Is this a bad time?"
"Yosuke! It's me! Kaminari!" He hopped off the desk and landed with a loud clunk. "I was just, uh, using my quirk! I can take over electronics with this one!" He scrambled to the colossal hero who crouched down to attempt to even the distance.
"I see… is there a reason why you're breaking the law and using your quirk here?" Yosuke questioned. Kaminari's mind blanked.
"Uhhhh."
"I gave him permission to use his quirk here. I know he doesn't have the legal permissions to do so but he's not using it to help with my business so that clause doesn't fall onto him. And before you bring up public use, I don't receive any assistance from the government so he using his quirk here has the same freedom as he would in his own home." Mr. Hiroshi spoke up, giving Yosuke a glare that would stop a bull in its tracks.
"Is that enough legal protection for Kaminari here?" He spat out. Yosuke could only stare at him with a confused face.
"My apologies, but have we met before? You look familiar." Yosuke asked. Mr. Hiroshi paused briefly before taking his paper and burying himself in it.
"You must have confused me with someone else. We've never met." He grumbled. Yosuke paused, sighing in defeat.
"Perhaps so. My age might be starting to catch up to my memory. Apologies." Yosuke bowed his head in respect to Mr. Hiroshi. He remained silent.
"Wait, why are you here then?" Kaminari raised his claw to grab the hero's attention.
"Ah, yes. I was here to request if I could take Kaminari and Sero out for some more quirk training. I had asked his parents where he was and they told me about this address. But, it seems you have already been doing that." He guessed.
"Knock yourself out. My mood's been ruined." Mr. Hiroshi grumbled.
"Sir, I didn't even clock in yet." Kaminari pointed out.
"Consider it a work vacation. Not much I can do against the law, now can I?" Mr. Hiroshi remarked. Kaminari thought about that. He guessed that made sense.
But it was Mr. Hiroshi's reaction that made him pause. He couldn't see his face from the floor but the way he was holding his paper and how close it was to his face were weird for him. His fingers were tense and his face was hidden, opposed to his usual glean over the pages and loose fingers for easy adjustment.
He never got that mad when Water Hose came by.
"Alright then, I guess I can come." Kaminari meekly said. Yosuke nodded with a smile to him, holding out his hand.
"How much longer do you have in this form?" He asked him.
"Uh…"
"About two minutes." Mr. Hiroshi chipped in from behind.
"Two minutes then." Kaminari confirmed, clipping onto Yosuke's hand. It felt a little weird climbing onto his skin but Kaminari was going to have to get used to feeling weird.
"Till then, I think it'll be the best if I just carry your, uh, small frame till then." He joked. Kaminari looked up to him as Yosuke brought his hand up.
"So, where are we going? Back to the quirk training grounds?" He asked as the two left the store and Mr. Hiroshi behind.
"Even better." Yosuke egged on.
"Oh god, are we training with All Might?!"
"What? No. We're going on a hike!"
…
"Remind me why we're going on a hike through the woods?" Sero asked as the three of them exited Yosuke's car. They had parked on a well worn grass patch before the entrance to a trail into ever-expansive woods. It was a serious drive to get there, at least by Kaminari's standards. The nearest human settlement was like 20 minutes away.
Maybe if he can ditch, his Kine- blue velociraptor form could make it before he turned back.
He really needs to get a name for that one soon.
"It's simple. It's just simple endurance training. Plus, seeing the scenery of Japan is never a bad thing. It's quite a lovely country." Yosuke had changed before they arrived, or more so he literally tore off the outfit he had on when he grabbed Kaminari and threw it into the back with the lamp Kaminari took over. He was thankfully wearing conventional hiking gear underneath, thank god, but Kaminari was concerned for his clothing.
Apparently, whenever Yosuke needs to do a quick change, he just rips his clothing off. He told Kaminari he doesn't really spend his paychecks on anything so buying new clothing wasn't a hassle for him.
"So, what's the idea? We just hike?" Kaminari questioned as they stepped closer to the opening.
"Well, yes. More specifically for you however, we'll eventually have you transform and see if your endurance transfers over, due to the change in strength your forms seem to have." Yosuke explained as he was the first one to start the trail.
"Don't most, uh, transformation quirks run on stamina essentially?" Sero asked, pausing over to make sure he didn't say the wrong thing.
"Yeah, we met a friend who has a transformation quirk. We can just ask him." Kaminari pointed out. The area around them became darker as the forest's canopy blotted out the sun. The air seemed to become fresher and crisp, as Kaminari could smell the faint smell of bark and dirt around him.
"That's true, but your quirk is a special case. Due to your mutation and regulator, we need to see how much variance there is to what is already believed. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses will be the key to your growth." Yosuke explained.
Sero and Kaminari took a worried glance at each other. With what they know now, it's going to be a miracle if they can keep this up and explain everything with it being a quirk.
"Ok, just a hike in the woods. Gotcha." Kaminari mumbled.
The three of them walked in silence for who knows how long. Kaminari didn't. Sero wasn't saying much, nor was Kaminari. It was kinda hard when the two of them had to push themselves in order to keep speed with Yosuke's long and energetic strides. Whether he noticed that the two were struggling to keep up, it was beyond them. He was more focused on humming a tune to a song that Kaminari didn't know.
It was a okay song though. It had an upbeat tune to it but it didn't sound like anything he heard recently.
"What are you humming?" Kaminari asked, breaking the silence. Yosuke's humming paused as he cranked his head back to look at him.
"Oh, it's just a song from an old American band. I'd be surprised if you knew about them." He smiled with glee.
"Oh, you're a fan of American media?" Sero asked, but his tone was dry from the growing exhaustion.
"Yes, you could say that. The job I had before being a Pro had me deal with the United States frequently for travel." Yosuke explained to the two of them.
"What did you do before being a pro?" Kaminari questioned in response.
"Ah, I was all over the place. Doing work here and there. My quirk is versatile in being able to handle a lot of situations. I got the idea to return to Japan and go for my hero license from someone in America's west coast. So, I came back and took a job with Best Jeanist." He reminisced. As their conversation began to continue, the ground beneath them began to rise and form an incline. Soon, their trail started to climb up a winding hill. Roots formed steps that were worn down from the weather, animals, and people tracking over them for many years.
"Oh, I didn't know you traveled so much." Kaminari remarked in surprise. Yosuke chuckled.
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me. But, those aren't as appealing to someone like you." He turned away shyly.
"Aw, come on! Entertain us on this boring hike!" Kaminari spread his arms out wide as the trees to their side began to thin, exposing a scenic view of a cliffside that towered over an expansive forest.
"Well, let's see." Yosuke thought, bringing his finger up to his chin.
"Oh! I was once a delivery boy! That was fun."
Kaminari's body slowly deflated in disappointment. Oh, he wasn't kidding. That's incredibly boring. Kaminari was expecting something like he was dangerously plunging his hands into molten metal to forge steel beams, since Yosuke's quirk apparently gives him nigh indestructible skin. Which he decided to name Dura-Skin.
How can you come up with a cool name like Ampfibian and Crashopper and then come up with Dura-Skin?
Well, he apparently isn't much better but Kaminari still stands that Krickett was a cool idea.
Yosuke kept going on about some of the odd jobs he did here and there, something about working in some factory as a member of IT but Kaminari wasn't paying attention anymore. He just started to drift, his attention overlooking the cliff side view. His hands were fiddling with the Omnitrix, nothing that would make him transform though. He was rotating the dial and rubbing the leather of the wristband.
Maybe he should think of a name for the forms he has. He's turned into five of these guys and only two of them have actual names. Is Yosuke saying anything interesting? No, he's still talking about the IT thing.
Ok, so he has a speed dinosaur, a rancid smelling plant man, and a tech blob. Kinetic? Velociraptor? Wildthorn? Swamp Thing?
Actually, that last one is a thing already. Probably not that one.
What about the robot blob thing? He can just upgrade things so what does he have to work with? Update?
Actually, that doesn't sound too crummy now that he said it to himself. But it'll probably need a little work.
You know what, why not Upgrade? It sounds cool enough to be a name and plus, it's not like it's rare for pros to name themselves after their quirk. He's fairly certain Ms. Joke's quirk is named Joke so it's not insane.
Kaminari was moments from turning to Sero to ask for his opinion before he saw a shine of something from the forest below out of the corner of his eye. His feet slowed to a stop while Sero and Yosuke kept walking, unaware he stopped. He crept to the edge closer, his curiosity over taken him. He peered down the ledge. Maybe it was just his imagination. It's a cliff side with no railing. Maybe someone dropped something down there.
"That's my foot, you bonehead!"
Oh, it wasn't his imagination.
Below there was a clearing in the forest but it was filled with a group of trucks and crates. Several people were moving the crates around, shifting them from the trucks onto bizarre vehicles. What Kaminari saw and heard were a pair of them, with a crate of some weird funnels spilled out onto the floor. They were bickering at one another and everyone else was visibly annoyed with how they were acting but paid no mind to the two screaming at each other.
"What in the world?" Kaminari twisted his head to Sero, questioning what he was seeing as well. The two must have noticed he had stopped or heard that one guy presumably got his foot smashed by the crate on the floor.
"I don't know. Looks like they're trading something?" Kaminari reasoned.
"Whatever it is, it doesn't seem legal. I'll contact the local authorities. You two, stay quiet and step away from the ledge." Yosuke quietly ordered as he pulled out his phone. Sero and Kaminari nodded with Sero retreating from the edge but Kaminari lagged behind.
"You moron! Do you know what you could have done! I just, ARGH! I could just throttle you!" The injured one yelled.
"Well I'm sorry! How was I supposed to know the crate I was carrying had laser lances in them?" The other yelled in retaliation. There was an audible click from behind Kaminari, the sound of a phone hanging up. He turned to Yosuke pocketing his phone and twisting, his face becoming a scowl.
"Kaminari, Sero. Stay here. There's been a change in plans." Kaminari barely got a question out before he witnessed Yosuke launch himself off the cliff. Sero rushed to the edge with Kaminari in awe. They watched as Yosuke's large frame landed on the ground with an audible thud. Everyone was too shocked in order to respond to this giant man landing with no visible injuries out of seemingly nowhere but Yosuke wasn't. The two watched him move forward with precision and immediately knock the two who were bickering out onto the ground cold.
"Holy crap…" Sero mumbled before turning to Kaminari. "Did he ever do that in training?"
Kaminari watched Yosuke move forward, his element of surprise wearing off. They began to act, some grabbing weapons like clubs or electric prods and the others just went forward to him. Lasers soon began to fly through the air from the ones who picked up weapons but Yosuke dealt with them all the same. Whatever fool decided to engage with him head on was knocked to the ground with efficiency and weapons shattered when they struck him.
Guess that is a versatile quirk after all.
"Did you catch what the hell they were saying?" Sero asked. Kaminari turned to him confused.
"What do you mean? They were talking about laser lances." Sero shook his head confused.
"No, they were just speaking gibberish. How did you get anything out of that?" Kaminari thought about it for a second. Did they not hear what he heard? It sounded pretty clear to him.
Wait, if Sero didn't know what they were saying, then how did-
"Wait, is he in trouble?" Sero's panic brought Kaminari out of his stupor. The amount of lasers were dramatically higher now as everyone had realized how futile attacking Yosuke was. Kaminari was about to disagree before they witnessed someone bring up a tube and point it at Yosuke.
"Wait, defensive quirks like Yosuke's generally have one weakness…" Sero mumbled.
It happened so quickly. The sudden rip of a rocket going off caused Kaminari to flinch and the rumble of the impact against Yosuke caused Kaminari to nearly stumble off the cliffside. Yosuke's body went flying, crashing through one of their trucks and piercing through it as a human projectile.
"How strong was that rocket!? It was like a nuke!" Sero yelled in panic with his hands going through his hair. Kaminari looked at the fight. It didn't seem like Yosuke could pull through this with their vast numbers and with whatever technology they had.
That's when a dumb idea reached Kaminari's head. He took a few steps to the edge until his toes were looming over the edge. He prepared himself to press the button on the Omnitrix and slam down on the dial. Sero stared at him in shock.
"What are you doing!? Yosuke told us to stay here!" He said in fear.
"I don't know if he'll be doing well for much longer. But don't worry! I'll just go Upgrade, take over one of their things, and then be some weird robot. It'll be cool." Kaminari boldly claimed with a smile on his face.
"Who!?" Sero shouted.
"You'll see." Kaminari smirked. He pushed off the cliff and gravity soon took over. He could feel the wind rushing through his hair as the ground and sounds of chaos grew closer.
'It should be okay if I hit the ground as Upgrade, he doesn't have any bones.' He reasoned to himself as he pressed the button and slammed the dial down, the yellow glow overtaking him.
Hitting the ground however, hurt.
It hurt a lot.
Kaminari felt horrid pain as his knees felt the impact of him hitting the ground and even worse, he could feel his entire body just compress down. It was so severe that he couldn't help but collapse.
But something was off. He could feel a weird tingle on his back that felt unnaturally heavy for Upgrade. He could hear everything having died down in curiosity of whatever just landed in the area but whatever happened kicked up a lot of dust for Kaminari.
He pushed himself off the ground slowly, the ebbing pain becoming a slow tickle. He immediately noticed that the world wasn't a shade of greenish yellow and his arms were definitely not Upgrades. They were chubby, or muscular, Kaminari didn't know. His forearms had some sort of yellow plate on them that was outlined with black scales and his hand was incredibly chubby, if you could even call it that. The only thing that resembled a hand were his fingers that were now black claws.
He slowly stood but whatever weight was on his back and the pain made him stumble backwards. He barely caught himself before he fell backwards. Whatever happened, he was not liking this form at all.
He somehow managed to regain his balance and quickly took a quick scan of his new form. Whatever he was, it wasn't Upgrade. His skin was pure white with a singular black stripe running on his torso. He stumbled briefly when he turned his head down, giving a long look at his stubby legs that were similar to his arms. He touched his head, feeling the dial of the Omnitrix square on his forehead but nothing else.
Why was this one so top heavy? This sucks.
"What the cosmos is that?" Kaminari's attention was jolted up to everyone staring at him in confusion. The dust cloud he kicked up had died down enough to show everyone where he was and they were equally as confused as he was.
Kaminari chuckled before taking several slow and planned steps backwards, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. "I'm just as confused as you are." He joked to them in a gravelly voice.
"Eh, whatever it is, it'll die." Someone reasoned. Everyone nodded before raising their weapons to him.
Well, what a great plan this was.
Kaminari barely had enough time (or the dexterity really) to turn around and try to run to avoid being shot. Lasers were whizzing around his head as he screamed in terror. He could feel some of them hit him and they stung. Not crazy but with the amount of shots he was getting, it was like just being repeatedly getting hit with kickballs in some twisted game of dodgeball.
"WHY? WHY THIS ONE? I DON'T EVEN KNOW THIS ONE! WHY DIDN'T I GET UPGRADE!?" Kaminari screamed at no one in particular. He tried to think, sure he has used this thing a lot but he never-
It was because he was messing with it while he was ignoring Yosuke earlier, wasn't it?
'Great, this thing works even without the button. Just my luck.' He deadpanned. Now he has to survive for 10 minutes to even turn back to human, let alone the recharge needed to try something new and someone he knows! Great, had to get maybe the worst alien he probably has and ever will have.
Kaminari was so deep in his own thoughts, he didn't even realize the one who had fired the rocket at Kaminari had reloaded and fired again. He only realized when the blast barely missed him and launched him forward.
It seemed to be slow motion for him as he flipped in the air. He could see his feet nearing his face and he was ready to just eat dirt.
Except, his body just kept going. His feet kept approaching his face as he could feel his muscles contract in his arms, bringing them in for a tuck. Kaminari's mind blanked as his eyes closed out of instinct, not sure what was really happening.
He hit the ground, he could definitely tell that but it didn't hurt. Weirdest of all, he knew where he was. He could tell that the tree line wasn't that far away. He felt that there were people turned to him as he rolled forward but he didn't feel nauseous.
Did he just roll into a ball like an armadillo?
Wow, that's lame. And Kaminari turned into a glorified human grasshopper.
'Can I even do anything about this?' Kaminari thought. He tried to force himself to move and was mildly surprised that he actually turned, feeling a slow shift in his body towards the gunners.
"What the fuck?" Someone angrily shouted in shock.
At that exact moment, it was extremely hard for Kaminari to not start laughing. The small numbing pain he felt and the fear for his life he was experiencing were pretty good distractions.
"Just shoot it!" Kaminari pushed himself forward, rolling out of the way of blaster fire. Now that he was a ball, moving seemed far more natural and his weird vision not only helped him but strangely didn't seem to rely on his eyes. Whatever he was seeing, it was like radar.
But Kaminari didn't know what to do. Sure, now he could avoid fire and whenever he did get hit, he didn't even really notice it like last time but he still had no clue what to do. All he could do right now was stall while he literally rolled circles around these guys.
For the love of all things, please have Yosuke be all right and come in to save the day.
"LOADING ANOTHER SHOT!" Kaminari gulped. That sounded like it came from the guy with the rocket launcher. He should be fine with his shell.
Right?
"Backblast clear! Aimin- AGH, plfff." Whatever happened, the man suddenly just stopped speaking. It was like something got into his mouth-
"BFFT!"
Kaminari paused his rolling and unfurled onto his knees. He saw a poor soul slumped into the door of a truck with their eyes rolled back and a smoldering shirt. Kaminari's eyes followed the path and they landed on Sero, standing triumphantly over one of the trucks with a smoking technologically advanced rifle in his hands. He had his wild grin on his face but the sweat and shaky eyes and hands perfectly portrayed how terrified he was of this moment.
"Oh man, these things are cool. I gotta get me one of these." Sero admitted to himself, raising his rifle for what would be an action shot for several movies.
Kaminari took a look at the one with the rocket, as he ripped out tape from his mouth. His gaze must have alerted Sero who quickly whipped around and fired.
You'd imagine that for how Sero has presented himself to be smarter than Kaminari would realize that shooting a rocket with an energized beam of light wouldn't be a superb idea.
But I guess when adrenaline is working, Sero's logic goes out the window and his accuracy gets pretty sharp.
Sero's shot hit the rocket just shy of dead center and shredded the metal frame of it. Which then led to the ignition of whatever was inside. And the rocket went boom while still loaded.
Kaminari was pretty sure that if he didn't see the guy getting thrown back somewhere in the woods, Sero probably would have started a kill count for himself.
"Oh…" Sero lowered the rifle with a soft expression on his face. Well, that's probably going to be etched into his psyche for a while.
Sero turned to Kaminari, everyone being equally stunned at what occurred. "I was not expecting that."
"And I thought I was dumb!" Kaminari yelled at him.
"Oh my creator, they killed Ly'Thann! You monsters!" Someone shouted from behind. Kaminari saw them reach for one of those laser lances the initial pair had dropped earlier.
His mind raced. If that pair was scared of them, then what could they do in their hands?
Kaminari tucked back in and rolled forward as fast as he could towards Sero. He practically almost fell over when he unfurled to wrap himself around Sero. He felt so small when Kaminari plucked him off the truck and brought him in close to shield him as much as possible.
Compared to whatever they were using before, the laser lance was so much more powerful. If it wasn't for the truck, Kaminari would have fallen to the ground from the force and probably crushed Sero under his weight. He could definitely feel it through his shell. Kaminari was fairly certain he was still alive and could feel himself still in one piece so it probably didn't pierce his shell.
But it was fairly clear why they were so scared of them being dropped.
He braced for another shot. Or for gun fire to resume but nothing followed. Not even a shout. Sero began to shift in Kaminari's arms, trying to get out. Kaminari opened his arms and Sero let out a dramatic gasp, dropping the rifle to the ground for thankfully no consequences.
"Ok, this one smells horrid. Your skin smells like a faint shoe." Sero gave an exaggerated gag to prove his point. Kaminari raised an eyebrow and took a whiff of his armpit. He didn't smell anything.
"Great, am I two for ten with smelly aliens?" Kaminari groaned.
"For two? Just what have you done without me?" Sero questioned.
"I could ask the same thing." The two froze from Yosuke's tone. They slowly turned to pro standing over many unconscious bodies in a smoldering outfit that thankfully still kept him decent. His scowl pierced through them with no remorse, waiting for their answer.
"Heey Yosuke, looks like you got the rest of them. How did you even do that?" Kaminari jokingly asked, trying to deflect some of the tension.
"Those who work for Best Jeanist strive for efficiency and speed. Now, I expect the same from you two as well. Why did you disobey my orders?" Yosuke asked again. The two teens glanced at each other with panic.
"HE DID IT!" Sero immediately pointed to Kaminari. "It was his idea to jump. I just followed so he wouldn't die!"
"Sero, you bastard!" Kaminari shouted at him.
"Is that so? Then, let's hear your story Kaminari." Yosuke waited, slowly tapping his finger on his arm.
"I thought you could use the help. Just the problem is that, I uh, didn't get who I wanted?" He braced for reprimanded but all that came from Yosuke was a sigh.
"This was reckless behavior, if it was not for your form's durability you would have surely died. That is what should be known." Kaminari's shoulders deflated and Sero just snickered in his suffering.
"And for you Sero." Sero stiffened up as Yosuke began to walk forward, raising a finger in disappointment.
"What you did may have ended in either your own death, another's, or your own. Had you actually resulted in someone's death, I would be within legal grounds right now to place you in custody and send you to a cell to await trial."
"Oh…" Yosuke loomed over the two, even with Kaminari's additional height from his taller frame.
"And that is what you two need to think about going forward. Being a hero is a constant life and death battle. For yours, for your foes, and for bystanders. Remember that. Ingrain that in your mind. People can get hurt. I trust that between the three of us, you two know that more than most, don't you?" He sternly questioned them.
"Yes sir."
"Now, I am not mad you took the initiative to assist me. I am proud you two had each other's back and enough ingenuity to keep each other safe. But, I'm severely disappointed in how brash and careless you two were here today. I never want to see this again while I mentor you, understand?" Yosuke asked the two. They could only nod in agreement, leaving Yosuke to relax just a hair.
"A verbal agreement please."
"Yes sir." The two said in unison. That seemed to take the tension away from Yosuke and he fully relaxed.
"Now then, I suppose I should place a call with Best Jeanist. These criminals are going to need to be processed, along with whatever they are doing here." He explained, turning. "Although, whatever language they speak is going to need to be interrupted." He mumbled to himself, walking over to one of the first criminals he took out. He crouched down and examined them for a moment.
"Hmm? What's this?" He reached down to their face and to Kaminari's surprise, peeled it off. A blue shimmer waved over the person and his form distorted to a lean insectoid purple form. In Yosuke's hand was a blank mask with a singular crack running through it, blue static crackling around it occasionally.
"Wait, he has a mutant quirk?" Kaminari asked.
"It appears so. But I've never seen something like this before. I wonder…" Yosuke trailed over, moving over to another body. He did the same process, peeling off the person's face only to expose a blue humanoid cat.
"Hmm, it seems they might all have this strange mask. I'll have to check with Best Jeanist if there are any criminals with these heteromorphic traits. But, this could be concerning. Where did these come from?" He asked himself. Kaminari was moments from saying something before he felt a jab from Sero.
He looked down to his friend, who was staring at him with wide eyes. Kaminari was only confused at whatever he was getting at. Sero's eyes rolled before he tapped his forehead. Kaminari stared at his forehead before Sero just aggressively pointed to him.
Oh, his forehead. Does he mean the Omnitrix? Why would he be-
"Oh…" It just clicked to Kaminari. They were all aliens. They were using whatever the tree was using to appear as humans. Whatever they were doing was alien technology. That's why they shot lasers.
Sero could only facepalm in Kaminari's lapse in judgment.
"Is there a problem?" Yosuke asked.
"No sir, Kaminari was just giving me name ideas for this new form." Sero deflected. Suddenly, Kaminari was put on the spot. The thought didn't even cross his mind.
"Uh, The Worst." Kaminari blurted, earning a sigh from both of them.
"Dude, you're a rolly polly with an indestructible shell. That's the best you got?" Sero verbally and sarcastically judged aloud.
"This guys got nothing else! At least with Yosuke's and Kirishima, they can attack and stuff! I just roll around!" Kaminari raised his arms in protest, wondering what they wanted him to do about being dealt a horrid form.
"Kirishima? I assume he's a friend?" Yosuke asked.
"Uh yeah, we met him at the quirk training camp." Sero quickly answered. Yosuke only nodded, lost in thought.
"Well, I have an idea for a name." Kaminari could feel the bubbly rush of excitement.
"Really?! What is it?"
"Well, you want my idea so bad? Fine then, it'll be your punishment." Yosuke said. Kaminari blinked in confusion.
"What?"
"No power is useless. As punishment for that comment and this stunt, I won't give my name idea until you find a way to turn this form into one that isn't "The Worst". Do you understand me?" Yosuke commanded. Kaminari's shoulders slumped in disappointment, kicking dust from the ground like a disappointed toddler.
"Fine, I guess."
Hey, so guess who got hit with the fanfic author curse? I hope to upload more regularly now i have everything planned and sorted out. Until then, hope you all have a great day.