Ben 10: Hero Force

by DBZpower197

It had now been 3 years since Ben took a chance at a normal life. However, history had a tendency to repeat and life had a tendency to be unfair. With the news of someone person putting in a good word for him at UA, Ben would once again don the Omnitrix and face the challenges ahead all the while having one question in mind: "Could he meet the legacy of that watch once again?"

37. Chapter 36: Hardened Hearts

Twitter: HeroForceFanfic

Hi, everyone. Welcome back for another chapter, and specifically the part 2 of this "Megawatt/Knight" adventure. I know you all have questions about the girl (as well as concerns I imagine) and rightfully so.

For at the end of the chapter, I have prepared something to help elaborate and answer some questions. In short though, in case you don't want to read it, no I'm not full-on bringing another show into this. But rather I will be adapting another IP into this universe, because I think it will be beneficial and most importantly add on the story that I want to tell.

But before we do get on with it, I want to say some things about a loss that means a lot to not only me, but I imagine many people have been affected by. On March 8th, we learned that Akira Toriyama, the mangaka who has penned Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball, passed away on March 1st, at the age of 68.

(Before anything, sorry for the absolutely massive wall of text you're about to see, but I just wanted to voice my gratitude in the most sincere way that I knew how.)

The time when I first got to anime, it was through the courtesy of a friend of mine in middle school. He was absolutely in love with many series, and tried to get me into it as well, saying "Bro just pick one and start from there." He remained insistent, and so after a bit of stalling, I gave in. And the anime that I ended up choosing, without really knowing anything other than having heard or seen some small things like "Goku", "Super Saiyan", etc, was Dragon Ball.

Suffice it to say, that I fell in love with it like him and just anime in general. After that, when I first got into writing, it was my Dragon Ball OC's story that I first wrote down. You won't find it, since it was just me and the editor messing around in several word documents, but you can best believe that it was far from good. Especially my writing style. But what then got me to think about my writing, specifically about actually sitting down and improving it, was Dragon Ball videos on youtube, breaking down the story's narrative.

Without them, I doubt I would have any motivation or incentive to go and learn about the art of storytelling. I mean, once I had felt as though I consumed all of Dragon Ball, ranging from the anime, all the movies and any game I could get my hands on, the very next one that I ended up choosing in a similar fashion became My Hero Academia.

If I had to choose an anime back then, without Dragon Ball ever having come and went, I have no idea who I would have become. But right now, I feel really glad that it has.

I felt the ripples of his work at every step of the way. And so, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to say: "Thank you, Akira Toriyama."

"Thank you for creating all that you have, and inspiring us to try to do the same. Rest in peace."

---

Four years ago. USA, Location: Undisclosed

The industrial lights hummed above the heads of the personnel as the clunking of metal boots rippled inside a supremely vast compound. Many Forever Knights with chainmail armor and romanticized masks dueled within separate mats, while one brawny knight strutted on a bridge atop them all–!

A smaller scrawny knight bumped into him, dropping all his papers.

"AYE, I'm walkin 'ere!"

"Yes, sir, sorry, sir!" The knight dropped to his knees, starting to collect his stuff.

"Ya better be!" Sir Morton waited with arms crossed. A cross-shaped vein appeared as the rustling of papers got on his nerves… He huffed!

"Too slow!"

"No, no!" the knight reached out as the papers were kicked off the bridge.

"Hmph." Sir Morton grunted with a small grin. He walked away as the knight huffed disappointedly from behind him.

Sir Morton stopped at the end of the bridge. One of the cameras above him turned.

"Identification." The voice of another knight came out of the speaker.

Sir Morton's lips pursed into a scowl. He rolled his eyes, before looking at the panel on the door's right and the blinking card scanner. He put a hand over his waist and patted it very half-heartedly.

"Must be in ma other set." He said bluntly.

However, the door stayed closed.

He shot a glare. The spikes came out from his knuckles and he palmed his fist.

Almost instantly the door clicked and hissed, before opening to its sides.

"That better."

Sir Morton walked inside, before being greeted by a long, barren, however extremely well-kept passage, covered by doors. He whistled through the gap between his teeth with his hands behind his back.

Many people passed by him with clipboards, vials or carts. But the second they looked at him from the corner of their eye, they knew to swerve and get out of the way.

At the end, the doors opened on their own as an observation room was laid bare in front of him. Knights with gray bodysuits were managing terminals surrounding the raised circular glass platform. They rose to attention as the door closed behind him.

Sir Morton however didn't bother with them. He went up the stairs to the top, and looked at the five gigantic screens surrounding the room. Various other monitors were scattered around as well.

Some people in this room had fashioned a white labcoat, curiously looking on while others were knights just like Sir Morton, all in shining armor.

The monitors were displaying recordings of different teens or young adults. One young woman had a red laser coming out of both her eyes aimed at several giant mechanical horse-like walkers as another teen who was dark-skinned and had bright white eyes flew up high with wind and struck lightning down onto plasma-beam tanks!

"Pull up trainin room twenty three." He casually stated, unraveling his arms and putting them on his hip.

On the center screen, the visual changed to a massive door opening, as the infinity symbol shining over the lock, split open.

Out from the steam came out a short, slim girl with black hair and pale green eyes, wearing full black leather. Her head was down as her hands twitched into becoming fists, making two shining claws emerge out of her knuckles–!

"She's on the field?!"

Suddenly a middle-aged woman with black hair and pale green eyes, wearing a lab coat, ran to his side with a clipboard.

Sir Morton waved his hand.

"Ah, don't get your panties in a bunch, doc. It's just some light exercise… You know, get those limbs all stretched out."

With hissing and clanking of their own, three barred doors rose up and three sets of glowing eyes greeted the ten year old.

"This wasn't on her schedule." The doctor gritted her teeth–

"It really is light though, doc!" Someone else's voice came from behind them. It belonged to a man wearing a metallic mask, white coat with gray cuffs and sports combat gear. He walked up the stairs as well and joined the two of them

"Don't tell me you're gettin sentimental." He said as he settled on her right.

"Ah, I knew I smelled rust." Sir Morton remarked, sardonically rolling his eyes.

"Fuck you." The masked man said as he leaned on the brute knight and rubbed his eye. "You made me get up early for the shift."

"Aww, c'mon now Wolfram." He said in response. "Ya know you like doin this just as much as me. It's like watchin joustin!"

Wolfram rolled his eyes.

"I would say it's just 'without the horse, sure' but… then I'd have to connect the dots."

The doctor tried to get in front of them. "This is supposed to be for her training–"

"Shhhhhh!" Sir Morton put a finger on his lips though, still managing to watch due to his towering figure. "It's startin!"

With their tails slamming on the ground like whips and fire illuminating from their mouths, three mechanical dragons entered the arena!

From the screen, they saw blood trickle down from her blades, as her eyes went from one side to the other.

The doctor's hands, as they held a clipboard, were shivering as the robots continued to growl and the girl did too, faintly, as the begin-alarm rang!

One dragon instantly started scorching with a torrent of fire as the other two soared into the air. The girl emerged from the fire, with deep red scars and hair aflame.

Sir Morton's grin grew. However, the doctor found her grip tightening over her pen, as the light of the flames reflected off her eyes.

"Eh, it's not like joustin maybe. You right." Sir Morton rubbed the stubble on his chin. "It's more em…"

"Gladiator games, I think." Wolfram watched with crossed arms.

"Ye ye, like them ones with the lions." Sir Morton snapped his fingers, right as Wolfram's eyebrows went up. Bringing a hand down from above, the girl clasped over its nostrils and clawed into its eyes!

His pupils slyly turned back to Sir Morton.

"Which side's the lion though?" He asked, and Sir Morton's delighted grin only grew with the hand going up to his mouth.

"Great point."

The dragon roared and started furiously shaking its head. That move worked as it knocked the girl off from her position, making her slide as far down as its torso.

The doctor winced.

However, the girl didn't let up!

With singular blades also coming out from each foot, she stabbed more into the dragon and dashed into its heart. Electricity shot out as it screamed!

"Oooooh!" Sir Morton closed one eye, but still kept up that smile.

She crawled inside. The other two dragons watched as the third one then slowly stopped limping, fidgeting, and went still. The light inside its eyes withered, and safe for the whooshing and creaking of the robot wings, the place went silent.

However, a muffled rumbling, grinding sound persisted– right as the girl burst forth, covered in oil and parts!

She roared right back at the dragons, fully unhinged, her claws were at her sides and dripped oil along with the rest of her body.

The dragons engulfed her in fire once more which she took head on with a crazed look in her eyes!

Sir Morton and Wolfram laughed.

"You think she'll be a match to smiles over in Japan?" Wolfram asked.

"Ehhhhh, who knows?" Sir Morton retorted. "I hear the big lad is losing the pep in his step."

At that point, when Wolfram and Sir Morton were increasingly looking like they were gonna get popcorn, the doctor turned away. She slouched, averting her eyes, only to get two steps away before bumping into one of her colleagues.

A slender man with black hair and a red scar on his right blue eye with a black left eye.. He looked stern and disciplined in his labcoat, with hands behind his back, standing up straight as a pole, and a scornful expression.

Her head slightly raised in response, even though her eyes remained on the ground.

"She's in good health yet again, Doctor Chadwick." The doctor said with venom, as she sighed. "Pitch perfect…"

Doctor Chadwick took it in good stride however.

"Excellent." he merely received the clipboard from her–

---

"HAAAAA!"

Back in the present, the girl growled as her eyes were looking into Sir Morton's. She pressed forth against the ninja and tried to land a kick to its pelvis but the ninja jumped back– And Sir Morton rocked her world with a left roundhouse!

"I've been waitin for ya girlie!" He said as she stumbled back. "'Ere was your memory fadin from my head. How've you been? Still kickin?"

With blood coming out her mouth, she glared right as the wound on her lip had closed up. Sir Morton laughed though.

"Pun most surely intended."

Kirishima watched as she rose back up with her blades and started with a left jab, only for the knight to block with his right forearm and ninja to land an elbow!

He put his hands on the ground, trying to get back up just one more time.

The hit hadn't knocked her far, but Sir Morton took his chance and landed one right cross followed with a left hook. Her healing factor had long since kicked in though. She responded with a right slam. Sir Morton skipped back, barely letting the blades graze his armor. As he ripped off one of the steel poles from the railing, he went right back in!

The girl blocked with both her blades crossed, and as the solid steel landed in the middle of them, she pulled her hands apart, slicing it into five.

"Surprisin..." Sir Morton said, letting the pole drop. "...But surprisinly dull. Come on baby, take off them trainin wheels and show me somethin!"

She growled, before engaging yet again with a right cross. Sir Morton swerved to the left. He avoided the blow, right before reflecting the fist coming from his right side. As he backed away, the girl jumped with her left knee and right arm, only for them to be a farce.

As she kept the momentum to make a one handed handspring, she cut him with the blade in her foot!

"Aha." Sir Morton brushed his hand across the wound. "Oh yeah, like a ballerina, them footworks very fancy…" His tongue clicked as he then looked down on his hand, seeing the blood. "Wanna see mine?!"

He whistled. Right as she was upside down, the ninja kicked her in the back! It launched her to the wall, cracking it as she then slid off, falling on her own head.

Sir Morton hit his knuckles together. "Now… let's have a heart-to-heart, girlie."

Almost instantly, she appeared before him after those words. The ninja got in the middle of them, and used its energy-imbued swords to block her blades as Sir Morton landed a hammerfist, dropping her to the ground!

"Tell me." He towered over her. "How in the ever lovin blazes did ya go MIA–?!"

Making her claws emerge, she made them flinch and right in that moment, she leaped away with all four limbs to the side of one of the pillars.

"Oh ye…" Sir Morton muttered in recognition. "Those."

He clicked his teeth. The ninja appeared before her and kicked her right in the face, back down onto the ground!

She could raise her head, just enough to do a backflip and recover.

"You're quite the cub, girlie, I'll admit. Durable like yer old man, but still a mama's girl." Sir Morton chuckled, before his knuckles slammed together. "But I grow tired of the chase…"

The electricity on the small spikes of his gauntlets crackled as the ninja split its arms into four!

"I'll ask again!" Sir Morton raised his voice only for her to snarl defensively and hold up her hands–!

He sighed as the ninja came down with its swords raised up over its own head and tips directed down! She stepped back and right as the bot tried to reposition she then slashed at its side and leg, cutting off major parts of tech.

"Knight!" Sir Morton shouted. The onlooker tossed him a sword right as the girl poked the ninja's regenerating leg–

Sir Morton, on that end, slid from next to the ninja and smashed his elbow to her face! The girl's head made the wall cave in as her guard opened.

"AHHH!"

She gritted her teeth, as Sir Morton had taken his chance and stabbed the sword through her shoulder, into the stone of the wall. The ninja followed up as well. It took out one of his katanas and made it go through her left leg.

She let out a squeal… as Sir Morton whistled once more.

"Nah girlie." He grabbed her by the chin. "Not this time."

The knights approached and hesitated as they unsheathed their swords. With their hands shaking, some of them even stepped back, only for Sir Morton to turn his head and shown them a commanding and disapproving scowl.

Instantly, one of the shaking knights was pushed forward by the crowd. And he also stabbed her sword through her.

She kept her jaw clenched this time, but her pupils dilated with the pain.

"This' the end of the road now." He said, as the pity in his tone got ever so sardonic. "Yer cozy home awaits– Ay!"

With her mouth open, she bit into his armor's arm! The knights outright jumped, however Sir Morton only ever showed annoyance.

He clobbered her in the head with his left! In a brief moment, her jaw opened enough for him to slip away. He instantly checked the armor with his hand.

"You little bugger…" Sir Morton said, before landing a rear hook. Her head slogged to the left, as a left cross to send her head to the right!

"Yer's still fine enough." He said. "The man at the top's not gonna mind whether I tenderize ya or nah."

Blood trickled down from her cheek, and it only took a second for her to heal. But she hadn't calmed down one bit. The girl gave her a glare as the color of her pupils darkened. Her hands clenched into fists and her arms faintly shook.

"Oh, just stop it will ya!" Sir Morton put his hands on his knees as the select knights followed by his example, putting their swords through her muscles, so that they may not wind back together.

"Yer Forever Knight property, girlie." He said. "Always was, an always will–!"

"You're wrong!"

He turned– only to hear a foot slam down on the ground and be slugged by Kirishima with a punch to the cheek! All the knights were stunned.

"Nobody's your property… Or anything like that!" Eijiro declared.

Sir Morton rubbed his hand to his cheek.

"Wrong, huh?" He said as the knights around him armed themselves.

"You said you were waiting for her… For what, so you could lock her up like the battery dudes and harvest her?!" Kirishima gritted his teeth.

Sir Morton shrugged. "I do happen to be civilized."

"You're insane!"

"And *I* happen to agree."

Sir Morton felt a shiver right as an ice cold gust hit the side of his body and froze it!

Tennyson faded in from being just a blue silhouette, with seemingly his new transformation! The smile had faded off his face.

"Oh kids… not knowin any better and yet..." He groaned between his teeth as his knights assembled behind him. "Squirt, not every vermin in pain is worthy of help. SOME deserve it!"

His head lowered and turned to the left, glaring behind him at the girl.

"Cuz they have bloody fun… running, and avoidin the blame–"

"All of us have somethin we're hurt by!" Kirishima declared however as his hands opened to his sides. "But moving, even if we're feeling pain… No one, who's capable of that, deserves their pain! They aren't vermin, they deserve the help!"

He continued by opening his hand… and showing the switch for the energy field right in his hands. Sir Morton's eyebrows went up–

"I don't need to know better." Kirishima closed his fist and crushed it. The top-section of the pylons lowered and the force field that held the third member of their team vanished!

"I believe in what I see right before me… the manly spirit that can make any of us rise above!" Kirishima yelled as Big Chill descended next to him and Yaomomo exited the force field with her staff, even if her wrist was still fractured and had to be in a brace.

The girl, ever so faintly, opened her eyes ajar and looked at him. Sir Morton grinded his teeth.

"You won't get out of 'ere breathin." His knights drew their remaining weapons as they gathered behind the ninja itself.

"That, we shall see for ourselves!" Yaoyorozu declared as she stood with her friends, and Sir Morton opened his mouth.

"SEIZE 'EM!"

---

Ben 10: Hero Force

Chapter 36

Hardened Hearts

---

While the battle raged on inside the Koike Power Plant at Hosu, the city of Musutafu was mostly quiet… Mostly being the operative word.

"Okay…" Pony took a deep breath.

Even though today was an off-day, she wanted to come to the luscious forest and hills of Ground Omega to practice flying.

As two of her horns floated next to her, she pursed her lips. "It's one hoove ahead of the other just like normal."

She took a deep breath.

"I wouldn't be able to stand making any of us lose. We'll beat them black and blue!" She looked down, recalling her own words– before the ground rumbled in one ferocious explosion!

Her arms opened to her sides before she stumbled back on the ground as her horns fell down. Once she looked up, there she saw the smoke cloud rising.

"Oh, KNOCK IT OFF, BAKUGO!" She shouted with steam coming off the top of her head.

"The pros are busy with cleanin, extra!" He had said when she arrived, but that didn't mean he could shove smoke and embers to her face!

Pony huffed frustratedly before raising up her hand and letting her horns levitate. Guess it was time to try again…

Now managing to get on them without any interruptions, she levitated herself up to the level of the observation tower next to the facility.

"This should be good–" She said internally, only to look down.

Instantly her breath hitched and dizziness washed over her!

"Easy!.." She told herself before her arms opened to the sides and her eyes closed. "Remember the basics."

She commanded them to slowly move forward. As the faint breeze hit her face, she felt a shiver going down from her spine all the way to her tail. There were still noises of explosions on her ear, but thankfully they were barely audible since they were coming from the ground–

The noise suddenly blared louder.

Afraid of falling, she didn't command the horns to stop and instead just opened her eyes, trying to see whatever she could. Going from one branch to the other, the explosions *were* getting closer to her as the light and smoke that erupted from them also increased.

However, something else then stood out to her. While some of the explosions were fully visible, others were more hidden inside the greenery as if they weren't being fired off from the same height, not to mention the swirling black cloud of–!

"HOWITZER.."

Her hair stood on its end as Bakugo had leaped right under her, flying at half the height of the observation tower!

"IMPACT!"

"What?!" Pony couldn't help but shout!

Without thinking, she gave the order and immediately zipped out of the way of the blast radius.

Putting his arm back, he then tried to fly after her, but something must have happened that he instead brought it forward again and clutched it with his other hand.

Pony flew down after him. Soon he also outstretched both hands and used his explosions to land down safely.

"WHAT…" Her hooves touched the ground. "...IS. YOUR. DAMAGE?!"

If that had hit her, who knows what could've happened!

Bakugo however had the same angry look.

"Mine?! What the hell is yours?! Standing there like a damn target to shoot!"

"I'm *TRYING* to stay away from you!" Pony shouted right back as a disapproving scowl appeared on Bakugo's face.

"And that passes as training?!"

Pony's eyebrows went up, as Bakugo walked up to her.

"Do you think there's gonna be some bastard villain that doesn't take a shot at you when you're up there?" He pointed to the sky right before his palms opened up again and mini explosions went off. "Huh!?"

Pony released two more of her horns slowly right as Bakugo took another swing at her!

The horns stabbed through Bakugo's sleeves and made him miss! Though this time, even though she avoided the brunt of the impact, the heat had certainly burned her skin.

"I'm working on my concentration!.." Pony pleaded, however Bakugo wasn't slowing down. The crackling in his palms only intensified.

"YEAH?! WILL YOUR OPPONENT JUST SIT THERE WHILE YOU DO THAT?!"

Exploding the horns on him, he took another swing. Hovering just one feet above the ground, Pony dodged and countered with a horn barrage.

"DAMMIT!" He shouted between his teeth. Crossing his arms, he exploded all of them away!

As he was distracted by them though, she tried to zip around behind him. Getting off her horns, she grabbed one from her head and went for close quarters only for Bakugo to aim his hands down and create a shockwave around him that sent her tumbling back.

"FLY!" he still shouted. She lifted her face out of the dirt.

"I can't!" she retorted back. "This– I… I can't–!"

She had pulled her face out the dirt however Bakugo wasn't where she had left him. With yet another blast, he had perched on one of the branches. She took her fighting stance, levitating the two horns around her, however the aggression had calmed from him. Even though every fiber of his being seemed tense and angry beyond all belief, his glowing palms squeezed down on the tree branch instead.

"Not if you *focus* on flying, instead of just fucking flying." He said under his breath as he rolled his eyes. "What happened to THAT backbone, you extra?!"

Pony's eyebrows went up.

"I wouldn't be able to stand making any of us lose… We'll beat them black and blue!" She recalled again. "I said that to the team in the cavalry battle."

Bakugo grinded his teeth.

"At the very least, I do see your pride." Tennyson, in his damn metal form, had dared to drag him. "But next time… check it at the door."

As she sent another barrage, he waved his hand and exploded them all in a flash!

Putting his hands back, he leaped into the sky and raised his palms all the while he muttered between his teeth. Pony could sense what he was about to do. He was going to slam the ground just like before, but this time, making him miss or levitating just barely above ground wasn't going to do it!

Two more horns shot out from her head, and got under her feet. She soared to the sky, right at him. With a pursed mouth, Bakugo narrowed his eyes. Using his left arm, he swerved to the right and to his intrigue, Pony followed suit. He tried going to the left, and yet she adapted yet again, fully keeping her balance–!

Pony's eyebrows went up. She hadn't realized it, but she really was in a high-speed airbrawl–

"Eyes up here!"

Pony looked back up, flinching ever so briefly as Bakugo lowered his hand and put it behind him.

"You think just the basics are gonna beat me?!"

"N-No!" She shakily said before taking a deep breath and steeling her spirit. "I-I will!"

Bakugo's eyebrows raised in surprise as they crossed right back down.

"Oh, you better bring your all now…" His eyes glowed red as he shouted even more than before. "EXTRA!"

They clashed in the air.

---

Three sudden red beams of energy went through Big Chill, right as he clapped back with an exhale. The freeze breath put several knights in ice cubes.

"Good shot… Though I suppose that's cold comfort–!" He said only for the Forever Ninja to jump in and twirl his ignited dual-sided plasma blade to fan it away!

"Woah." Big Chill barely dodged, right as Yaomomo leaped away from another danger herself.

"Finally." Kurogiri remarked as she kept her head down and stature small, running ahead towards him.

He waved his hands and sent small portals, however Yaomomo was fast on her feet. She dodged and weaved around. Kurogiri did a leg-sweep motion and sent another portal down low, which forced her to jump forward with both hands holding onto the staff. He raised his hand and another portal opened between them right before the staff connected.

Going through it, Yaomomo found herself on the other side of the room– in the way of Forever Ninja's blade!

However, with Big Chill freezing the robot's hand, she dodged under it with her back facing the ground, and tossed up a flashbang pellet into the portal she came out from!

"I agree!"

It went through and appeared right next to Kurogiri, blinding knights and villains alike!

"So." Yaomomo appeared before them again as she went through the portal. "These gateways you open work both ways."

As the effect wore off, Kurogiri put his hands to his sides. "We shall see."

Waving his hand, he summoned a portal under her feet. Yaomomo gasped as she sank to the ground and when it got to her waist, Kurogiri closed his fist–!

With a pink flash Yaomomo made a grappling hook. She threw it up, and pulled herself out right as Kirishima passed by her, knocking out even more of the soldiers!

---

Winston pursed his lips from the bar. Stain had decided to stand and observe the situation beside him, with Shigaraki watching TV from the front of the counter.

Several knights took aim, however they froze before they could even pull the trigger.

"Nothing like combat to break the ice." Tennyson said in his wispy voice before he soared and turned intangible, making the Forever Ninja miss his ninja stars.

Winston rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Your forces are outmatched." Stain stated bluntly.

"I'm well aware, Stain–"

"No." he cut in again, before he leaned forward and pointed at another part of the screen. "You aren't."

A chill ran down the squire's spine. The ninja was distracted by Tennyson, Kurogiri by Yaoyorozu, Sir Morton frozen, and their soldiers down for the count, Kirishima Eijiro was left to his own devices!

He was pulling on the swords that held the experiment in place, with assistance from a few batteries!

"O-Our associate is right." The radio glitched on the ground team's side as Winston sighed. "Time is of the essence."

"Huh?" Sir Morton grunted!

"I'm pulling out the personnel, sir." Winston continued with a serious tone. "Even if our objectives remain lost… Today just wasn't our day–!"

"WHADAYA MEAN WITH THIS AIN'T OUR DAY!"

Kirishima, as he was still fighting other knights, got caught off-guard by the sudden screaming.

"It was just now gettin good. We have Tennyson's team here, don't we? We have her here. And we have our missions here!" He yelled. "If today ain't our day, then what day is?!"

Winston opened his mouth, but faltered before he could say anything.

"Stain."

Kurogiri's voice had come through, and they heard a shuffling from the bar. "This is your call."

Sir Morton's eyes widened angrily once more! How dare he–!

"Extermination of these young hatchling heroes is what you were promised from this mission." The smoke villain continued.

From the background, despite all static that attempted to interfere, they could hear the steps and the clinking from the iron spiky soles of his shoes, approaching the hologram display. Sir Morton's helmet cam was probably still online, they were watching the same battle he had been in.

"You tell me." He heard his deep and oh-so-lull voice. "Regardless of what I can claim, my perspective is obstructed from behind this curtain."

The unsheathing of his katana came through. As the line had gone silent, he could hear his hands assemble behind him and the blade clipping the ground–

"Alright, Kurogiri!" The gray haired child's voice came through. "Tell him what for… Tell him to kill that girl–"

"I'm aware of her interference."Stain cut in."However, behind her staff there was someone who needed saving."

"What the f**k do you mean? She was in that tournament that you detest!" He responded.

"And yet she exhibited effort with no bluster."Stain retorted. "There was no more fame or money to be gained than what she already had."

Sir Morton rolled his eyes.

"Oh come off it. Is it that or does the blade of your devotion treat one gender differently?" Slamming his drink to the table, Shigaraki stood up. "Come on, send me in! We will take them!"

"That's true." The little rat joined the conversation. "However in the process, you'd lose control, perhaps even destroy our anonymity…"

The rat sighed solemnly.

"...and bring the weight of this planet's champions down on us, before there was even a chance to fight back and make our stand otherwise."

"I wouldn't *lOsE* control!" Shigaraki roared, with hands definitely open.

A moment of silence rang out.

"I'm afraid, I must disagree, Young Master." Kurogiri intervened. "You do have an affinity for… bringing in the chaos, which we can't have right now."

The lines briefly went silent again.

"Okay yeah." Shigaraki pouted before he sighed annoyedly and waved his hand. "Pull them back."

Sir Morton's eyes went wide. He looked at the girl and saw the redhead taking out the rest of the swords as well.

"Agreed." Winston's voice came through. "Kurogiri. Get the device and… our associate out of there. The soldiers are my responsibility."

"Understoo–!"

A thunderous roar interrupted his response as a flash of lightning struck down in the building!

From the dust that had kicked up, Kurogiri exited first. He got sent rolling out of it as something had forced him.

Spinning her staff, Yaomomo emerged next to the broken container with an electric scowl as even though the dust dispersed, the cloud of glowing and spinning electric batteries hadn't!

*BUZZ!* They roared– only for Kurogiri's yellow eyes to glow.

"You child…" He raised both hands, and suddenly a warp gate formed over the Nosedeenian cloud!

*Buzz–!?*

"No–!" Yaomomo rushed ahead, only for another gate to open in front of her as well.

And unlike before, she couldn't react in time.

---

The end of the purple warpgate surged into existence, and dropped her down along with–

*Beep! Beeeeeeee..!*

Her eyebrows went up. Yaomomo picked up her staff, and flipped over her hands right as a car passed by!

Her five senses just now clicked as she felt the warm sun and heard the honking of the cars along with noises of people. The end of the purple warpgate had opened outside and had dropped her on the street!

"Excuse me!" She said before starting to run. Her hand reached for her phone to quickly pull up the GPS, only to see she was warped *several* streets away!

"Buzz!" "Buzz!"

She looked around her. Megawatts were also flying beside her, with some also running on the power lines. However, that didn't make her feel any better. Her hands clasped onto her staff.

"Everyone!"

---

Kurogiri closed his warp gates, and looked back at Albedo.

The little creature nodded, and the smoke villain created a gate to the bar–!

"Oh no, you don't!" Big Chill said, only to see the robot from the corner of its eye. He went intangible again, however the Forever Ninja's visor glowed red as its entire body glowed yellow!

It gained speed over some rails and shot itself up on a collision course with the moth. Big Chill let him go through, but once it did, the volatile energy of the armor reacted and pain soared in his body.

"Ahhhh!" He winced and after Forever Ninja went through, Big Chill collapsed to the ground on one knee as his wings wrapped back around him.

"I got it, Tennyson–!" Kirishima called out, up until he got tackled.

"NAH, YA DON'T!" Sir Morton yelled as he had broken out of the ice. He pushed him down to one knee with ease! "You're goin nowhere, ya quirked wanker!"

He made him watch as the smoke villain from the USJ and the other important, little gray dude escaped.

"NOW!" Sir Morton smirked, with cross-shaped veins showing next to his face as the left cheek part of his mask had broken off after the redhead's first punch. "What were ya sayin' bout me being wrong?!"

His left hand clenched more before he pulled the student close, freed his right fist and struck the kid in the face with it!

Kirishima reeled back.

"You wanna try sayin' that again?!" Sir Morton yelled.

Taking a breath, Kirishima ran back in and started off with a hardened right punch to the chest followed up by a left side hit to his arm. He pulled back.

"Yaomomo utilizes spinning for heavier blows, so let me try!" He thought. Turning to his right so that his left knee raised, he landed a kick to the side of his head. However, Sir Morton barely moved.

"Huh–?!" Kirishima's eyebrows went up right as the knight countered with a punch to his gut and a roundhouse to the face!

Kirishima reeled back, slouched.

"You just uprooted everythin. And for what?!" Sir Morton slammed his fists onto his back and grabbed him by the face before landing a knee. "SENTIMENT?!"

Kirishima was sent into the air. However Sir Morton grabbed him by the ankle and slammed him to the ground! He dragged and threw him right to the wall. Kirishima tumbled, rolling on the ground and barely landing on his stomach.

"It shows you're green, squirt." Sir Morton fixed his gauntlet. "This ain't like them pro-hero work…"

He stood before him. Kirishima barely raised his head, and saw a grin on Sir Morton's face.

"This battle's in the shadows. And the thing about shadows, squirt?… is that you can't see."

With electricity crackling from his gauntlet, he riled his right fist back– Kirishima barely rolled out of the way as the ground shook with the blow!

"You don't even know the kind of shit that animal's to be blamed for!" Sir Morton continued.

Kirishima panted, but still kept his body hardened. Seeing the knight recovering, he dove in, slammed his foot and landed a superman punch right to the face!

However yet again, that barely phased the knight. Sir Morton grinned, even as the blood went down his face again.

"You don't know the kind of blood on 'er hands!"

The redhead put up both hands, but Sir Morton struck with an uppercut to his stomach, sweeping Kirishima's feet off the ground again before putting him back down with a down lead hook!

Kirishima's hand went to his stomach, and yet Sir Morton followed up with a shoulder bash, slammed both hands onto his back once more as he was off balance, and threw him up.

However, instead of a fist, he extended his left leg and kicked him. Kirishima spun mid-air, before crashing back on the ground, face first.

"She isn't what you think she is." Sir Morton shook his head, pitying at the kid sardonically. He looked over, and saw the girl watching with crossed eyebrows and pupils ever greener and darker from the corner.

Kirishima… coughed.

"I…" He said, with blood coming from his nose and mouth. "I said… I didn't care… about that."

With a hand on his knee, and a forearm wiping the blood off his face, he got back up. Sir Morton's anger faded.

"This guy…" he said.

"I care about spirit. And she had it in spades… compared to who deals with the Highbreed!"

Sir Morton's eyebrows went up. And the smile vanished.

"I heard about y'all from Yaomomo… and Tennyson." He could say, and recalled what he saw at the docks when he first became a part of all of this!

"And yet, for all y'all are against quirks and aliens, you still deal with them!"

Sir Morton's arms unraveled. And yet, Kirishima didn't back down.

…

"The problem though…" Tennyson had said. "...is that I didn't get fifteen people out of there that day." He sighed. "I got *seventeen*. One was wearing a plague mask and just… clearly a villain. But the other…"

"The girl." Yaomomo had put the pieces together.

…

"She fought with us against the knights!" Eijiro had jumped in. "And she fought with you!"

…

"She fought against the Highbreed, against you, and came to save us two times in one day!" Kirishima retorted. "Compared to you who're complacent!"

"Just 'cause you think a damn bloody leopard can change spots…" He heard Sir Morton mumble. The second Kirishima opened his eyes, he found the knight right in front of him.

However he crossed his arms in front of himself, making his skin even more jagged and hard before closing his bright red eyes, and yelling!

"Yes… in this world, with quirks and aliens, THEY. CAN!" He planted himself firmly before roaring with a lionhearted will!

---

Elsewhere

Inside of a warehouse of boarded windows, and dusty equipment, Kevin was waiting with a coin flipping over his knuckles, leaning on his car– right as sounds of footsteps came to his ear.

He straightened up and put the coin away, as a nervous looking man, wearing a black jacket and pants with a white patterned shirt and fedora then arrived at the scene.

"Hey, Fitz!" Kevin called out.

However, the man with the fedora instantly stepped back.

"H-Hey, Kevin." He said, rubbing his hands and checking his sides.

"Y-You sure we don't have eyes on us, right?"

Kevin rolled his eyes.

"Relax." he said. "Nearest police officer to here is two hundred miles away. And Plumbers?" He cracked a laugh. "Even further."

"T-That's great!" Fitz said as he stopped slouching with glee.

However Kevin's smile faded away. He held up his hand.

"Well?"

Fitz grabbed the ends of his jacket and pulled.

"Oh, yeah, yeah… Umm, y-you see–!"

Kevin's eyebrow raised, as suddenly motorcycles crashed through the windows into the complex!

Guys and girls alike pulled alien tech weaponry on him. Kevin opened his arms in response, only for Fitz to do the same to him point blank.

"We couldn't… *really* get that done." He said.

Kevin exasperatedly rolled his eyes, as he leaned onto his car.

"Man, and I even offered you two times the going rate." He said exasperatedly–

"Yeah!…" Fitz cut him off, waving his gun around. "Yeah, you did. You really did, but!"

Fitz cocked the gun with a more and more arrogant smile spreading over his face.

"You know how things are. Getting into Galvan Prime was a gambit, and now… well, it's just easier to fill the coffer from the desperate, or stupid."

"And sometimes both!" One of the other guys shouted, and they broke into laughter.

Kevin however sighed.

"For the incoming storm, isn't it pal?…" He thought.

"Jokes aside though Kevin, when I heard the order, I didn't believe it at first." Fitz tilted his head. "A regen tank and a nerve duplicator? You wanted in on the heart of the universal army and that's the tech you wanted!?"

Fitz fixed his fedora, with one hand on the bridge of his nose. "Kevin… Just, what is this? You runnin a humanitarian mission or somethin–"

"When has asking questions worked for you in this job, Fitz?" Kevin clapped back with his eyes narrowed angrily.

Fitz then took his hand off, and focused on his gun again that was pointed to Kevin.

"Yeah… but I thought I'd at least ask, for old times sake." He said. "Speakin of which, anythin else you wanna say?"

Kevin shook his head, smiling.

"Nah." He said, right before his body got covered in the green metal!

Fitz's eyes went wide.

"OPEN FIRE–!" He ordered right as Kevin knocked him out with one punch, before taking cover.

"Hmm… I guess Argit's wouldn't have been a bad choice…!"

---

"WITHER YOU LITTLE–!" Sir Morton yelled as his fist hit the kid's cheek–

"REDDDD… GAUNTLEEEEEET!"

Both fists slammed into each other's cheeks. Sir Morton's helmet broke fully as pieces of its metal shattered. Kirishima on the other hand felt his skin crumble.

The girl perked up. She could hear the stretching and softening of his muscles, as well as his accelerated heart rate. The dents and stone-like texture finally relaxed, he had hit his limit.

However, he remained on his feet.

"And I…" He uttered as steam soared off his body and undid his hardening. "And I…" Kirishima repeated, feeling lightheaded. "I won't ever give up…" His hand fell off of Sir Morton's cheek. "...and think otherwise."

Sir Morton's eyes outright glowed however, even with his helmet gone and his bald, raggedy head exposed, he was getting back up–!

With two blades coming out each hand and one coming out from each foot, the girl ran in between them. She landed an elbow right under the knight's exposed chin!

Kirishima was flabbergasted as Sir Morton was sent tumbling to the ground with a follow-up spinning kick.

Her hands were straight as if she was ready to land a couple of chops while her blades retracted back into her body.

"You…" Kirishima felt a sharp pain in his fists. It hurt to try to open them. So he tried to harden but his skin didn't obey him. The second it swelled and stretched to harden like a plank of wood, it would do the same thing to his wounds and hurt him.

"Is that… really it from me?" He thought to himself. The girl's eyes, unbeknownst to him, went back and her hand flinched–

"Speak of the devil!"

Sir Morton, in the brief second that she took her eyes off him, had shakily got back on his feet. The girl's pupils shrunk as he beckoned.

"C'mere…" Sir Morton cracked his knuckles. "Let's end it."

The girl started to hiss, before sneaking another look at the redhead. He was still panting and so she glared back, and zoomed off from beside him!

Riling back her right fist, she went for a stab. However with his hands straight, Sir Morton parried the strike. She attempted a slice from above, however Sir Morton struck her wrist, knocking the momentum off her blow. Skipping in place she went for a downward strike for him to barely jump back! The metal of his gauntlet's were grazed, however they didn't pierce. With a smirk, Sir Morton looked down and noticed her crooked standing.

"I know I said ya didn't lose a pep in your step there." Sir Morton thought. "But… somethin *is* different!"

He swept her feet. She fell, only for her feet with the blades to raise– However, Sir Morton dodged back again, out of the way. Withdrawing back her blades, she rolled backwards and got to her feet. Her blades extended– only for Sir Morton to step on the single claw on her foot and pin it! Her mouth opened right as she got hit in the cheek!

"Rookie mistake!" Sir Morton called out before landing another combo and grabbing her by the skull–!

"HA!" However before he could hit back, Kirishima kicked Sir Morton's leg, freeing her. With the claw extended, she spun around and landed another spinning kick! She looked back at him. Kirishima hadn't hardened, however, determination was still on his face. Her mouth closed as she gave a nod! With her blades unsheathed, she struck back with a rising uppercut!

---

Winston and Stain continued to watch on from the bar as Sir Morton backed away. The redhead tried to trip him up but got dodged and countered instead.

"Your commander still remains." Stain pointed out.

"A commander can refuse to be recalled." Winston responded, looking back at him before turning to watch the ninja's viewpoint. "And the warrior is bound to the commander."

Kurogiri assembled his hands behind him, before seeing the gray little mechanist.

"It was a far fetched attempt." Albedo said as he was turned away from him, tweaking the device.

Kurogiri turned his head, and saw the now disconnected device made for the Nosedeenians.

"What was the percentage?" He asked. Albedo frustratedly turned to his side. Small sparks of yellow energy came off from the device's side which flashed into green. Albedo pressed on its sides and a small ding sound came from it. Kurogiri's yellow slits widened. However, just as quickly, the device fell colorless.

Albedo sighed. "Three percent."

Kurogiri tilted his head.

"We've stalled for more than an hour." he said.

"And the knights guarding me worked around that clock to fully assist me in energy absorption, on top of their regular duties." Albedo retorted sharply. "Your point is moot."

"So, despite our efforts, it only raised one percent." Kurogiri lowered his head and narrowed his eyes.

"Like I said your point… is just moot." Albedo sighed, grabbing and rubbing the area between his eyes. He assembled his hands behind his back again, and leaned forward.

"Of course, this stroke of genius can't be recreated from scraps so easily." he said under his breath and Kurogiri caught that.

"What exactly is this stroke of genius, if I may ask?" His smoke flared.

The little alien looked down at his device, and saw it flicker again. His rectangle pupils went down, before they went back up to the warp gate creature.

"Salvation." He stated. "Salvation of all, from a xenocidal rampage."

---

As he flapped his wings and phased through pillars, Big Chill looked back. The Forever Ninja had swung and leaped off the beams of the roof with the yellow energy persisting.

"So this is a little much for this form… or? Maybe it adapted? Anyway, let's change the game plan." he twirled in the air and soared!

All four arms of the ninja opened. It grabbed the swords before leaping after him. However, Ben gave a smirk and slammed the dial!

"CANNONBOLT!"

He formed into a ball mid-air, and dropped down!

The Forever Ninja flinched as it put away one sword and took out its ninja stars. It swung his hand into the air, halting its own momentum right as the Cannonbolt still hit its legs.

They smashed the ground together, kicking up dust!

Cannonbolt rolled on from out of it, and uncurled with a smirk. As it dispersed, the Forever Ninja was inside a crater with its legs broken from the knee down!

"Weak at the knees, heh?" He mocked.

But wires shot out from the severed parts, regenerating–!

Cannonbolt's eyes widened. Trying to run while keeping his steps wide and balanced, he slammed the dial yet again.

"NRG!"

He grabbed and pinned down the ninja. "Time to end fight. Hard way."

The light behind his vent got brighter as his hands steamed and turned red, he stabbed through the armor. Electricity surged from the ninja, spazzing as its regeneration failed. NRG's radiance from the slits grew more and more, and the sounds of his inner fire soared as his hands dug further in.

"I crack you open, like egg–!"

As if someone smacked him upside the head, NRG flinched.

Gleam and outcry of energy had vanished, as his grip loosened faintly. Just in that moment, the Forever Ninja took out its ninja stars but with one swift strike NRG struck his hand into the chest and pulled out the power core.

Light instantly faded from the robot's visor. NRG got back up, and he saw the wires on the Forever Ninja's legs jolting up before also falling flat.

However, once that silence enveloped him, NRG raised the power core in his hand up to his slits. The fire and energy that was pulsating inside himself intensified more and more… before his hand shook.

And as one click sound came from the lock of his armor, NRG threw the power core up. He touched the dial and Ben himself caught the power core in his human form… all with a grim expression.

---

On the other end of the room, Sir Morton skidded back with crossed arms!

He opened them, and tried to hit back, however the girl flipped around and struck him on the side with an open palm. As his guard dropped, Kirishima slammed his unhardened fist right to his face!

Sir Morton fell to his knee, and he didn't rush further ahead– but the girl did.

"Wait!" Kirishima called out only for her to follow up with a left cross, before landing a roundhouse kick and a downward punch!

Sir Morton stumbled from side to side, and so she continued with a spinning back kick. As her blades got sheathed, the girl grabbed his face by her right, and pressed her left knuckle to the side of his head. If she were to extend her blades–!

Kirishima reached out, but he was aching all over.

"Ha ha…" Sir Morton kept his head lowered. "Just do it, 'ere."

"NO!" Kirishima yelled–

"Eat your milk and cookies somewhere else, brat!" Sir Morton spat out, before looking back into her pale green eyes.

"I'm right here, in yer mercy… But others? They know now, thanks to this helm."

The girl's eyebrows nodded, as her hand started to shake.

"An it's not only me whom pulled through yer shenanigans." Sir Morton gazed into her pale green eyes, all with a shit-eating grin. "Japan'll be the next hot tourist spot!" He proclaimed. "An if you happen to p*ssy out…"

He snickered with blood going down his nose.

"I'm gonna be right there with 'em. Bein. The one. Who KNOCK–!"

The girl let go, got behind him and with her forearms around his neck, she started choking him, as she even grabbed the chin and top of his head!

Her blades extended as she looked up. Kirishima was most likely watching on, with bated breath.

"You're gonna run out… girlie…" Sir Morton struggled to speak. "One day… you won't have any more people to blame… an then–!"

She let him go and landed a swift chop next to his neck!

Sir Morton's upper body slumped. It shook from side to side before it slammed onto the ground, face first.

"Yer can keep blamin us… an killin us…" He muttered as her hair stood on its end. "But yer nature will remain–"

A hand landed on her shoulder.

"Hey, you still okay?" Kirishima said, only for her to turn with blades extended!

Ben watched them from afar with a scowl. He threw away the power core and started walking over, only for the girl to lower her hands and retract her claws. The redhead had raised his hands however when the anger on her face faded he also lowered them–

"Tennyson, Kirishima!" Yaomomo entered with the batteries by her side. "I'm back, I… " She trailed off as she saw no soldier standing.

Ben relaxed. "Sorry…" he remarked with a faint exhausted smile. "We couldn't leave any for you, Creati."

She bowed her head ashamedly.

"My apologies–" Yaomomo replied, before perking up. "Creati?"

"Yeah, it's your moniker, isn't it?" Ben raised his hand, however Yaomomo averted her eyes just as quickly.

"It is… admittedly still a work in progress."

"Uh-huh." Ben said right as a Megawatt flew by his line of sight, laughing and screeching in triumph as many of them also soared.

*Buzz! Buzz!*

Ben sighed.

"Well… I guess, still, we're not done here." he said before stretching with both hands raised. "UGHHHHHHHHH…" Ben groaned, before rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm too sore for this part… there's no Ingenium to help us either–"

However Yaomomo seemed the complete opposite. Her eyes were open and she approached next to him.

"I might have an idea for them, Tennyson." She said, clutching one hand over her chest. "It's risky, but if you were to allow it… I'd like to give it a try."

Ben turned to her, and gave her a smile.

"Well, I don't want them to get into Kevin's hands, that's for sure." he said.

Just when he said that, Yaomomo felt something rubbing against her ankles. She looked down, and saw a couple Megawatts actually grabbed onto her ankles, looking up and grinning.

She smiled back at them, and lowered her hands. Ben shrugged.

"If you think you have a good idea to take care of them, Yaomomo. Then, I'm gonna trust you."

Yaomomo felt her heart skip a beat. Her apologetic tone vanished from her face.

"You can count on me!" She remarked in her upbeat self.

"Buuuuuut…" Ben crossed his arms. "I just gotta make sure, what do you *really* have in mind?"

She noticed how her eyes may be sparkling. Momo coughed into her hand.

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry." She put the staff behind her. "You see… Have you perhaps heard of recent rumors of a haunted mine, here in Japan?"

Ben tilted his head.

"No…?" He could only say right as his eyes stared off into the distance. "Kirishima!?"

"Huh?" Yaomomo turned. At the same time, they both saw that their friend was laid down on the ground, eyes shut. Ben immediately reached for the Omnitrix dial, looking around while Yaomomo crouched down next to the redhead.

"What happened?" He asked as a few of the redhead's wounds seemed to have already been wrapped with ripped cloth.

Yaomomo's nerves had looked shot, but worry ended up fading from her face quickly.

"I…" She put a hand under her chin. "I think he's merely unconscious."

Ben flinched, looking back at her questioningly. Once he did however, he also saw Kirishima faintly groaning. Both of them took a sigh of relief at the same time.

Ben faced away, scanning the room and as he took a glance above, he faintly saw the shadow and glowing green eyes of the girl, looking back at them.

His mouth pursed, and eyebrows narrowed… but he looked next to him. Sir Morton's body was still here, with a broken teleporter as well as the Forever Ninja's remains.

Ben sighed exasperatedly.

---

Winston turned off the hologram, as in the midst of the villains, a grim atmosphere had descended into the room.

Everyone's mouths had been sealed for one reason or another–

"Now, you'll return me to Hosu." Stain declared, walking away.

Winston's eyebrows went up, as Kurogiri gasped.

"Sir, today…" He attempted to speak. "Like Squire Winston said, today was not our da–"

However, Shigaraki cut him off.

"Let him go." He said, putting his drink down and getting up from the bar stool. He walked up before the killer while putting the entire rest of the party behind him. "Like I said, we don't need a crazy player… especially if they're just gonna whine like a spoiled little brat when they don't get what they want."

Stain raised an eyebrow, as did Winston and Albedo.

"And I believe this is what they mean when they say, 'pot calling the kettle black'." Albedo remarked up to Kurogiri, which made the purple smoke turn to him for a minute.

It made Shigaraki grit his teeth as well,. Stain however didn't end up reaching for his blades. An action which only pissed him off more.

Shigaraki raised a finger.

"You could have gone there, and you didn't–!"

"Because I refuse to be a tool for your lust to kill children." Stain said as his arms crossed.

"The knight commander claimed he could provide me with indisputable evidence that these ones would be corrupt in one shape or form, in addition to aiding that one with charging his device." Stain remarked as he gestured to Albedo.

"However all he did, from my understanding, was provide these kids with a chance to save other creatures." He claimed. "It was a lousy plan… and a fool-hardy waste of my time."

His eyes turned red.

"Return me to Hosu." He demanded as his tainted tongue licked his lips. "There are many false heroes I must tend to there."

Kurogiri defeatedly looked down… before holding up his hand. A gate manifested, and Stain took one last look at the group before turning back and going through.

He closed the gate, and then walked up to one of the monitors, putting one hand on his chest.

"Master?" He bowed his head. "May I take a moment of your time, and share a word?"

The screen turned on, and His voice came through. "Of course."

Kurogiri opened a gate–

"What the hell, Kurogiri?!.." Shigaraki caught him and held him back by the shoulder. However, Kurogiri was intent.

"I apologize, Young Master." he said, as he glanced in Albedo's direction.

…

"You talk, as if we're missing a grander picture."

"Talk with your one true master." Albedo had retorted. "He's the only one on this rock that's more aware than he lets on."

…

"I have to learn more…" Kurogiri thought. "...for your safety."

He went through, and left Shigaraki standing there, seething in his own fruitless anger. Winston looked around as in just one fell swoop, the tavern itself had felt that much more quiet. It reminded him of their Forever Knight castles back in America. Everything felt that much more orderly.

"Squire." A tranquil order then came from behind him.

Winston turned. "M-Master Enoch, sir?" Winston moved out from his way. "You…" He attempted to say, only to be mostly ignored.

Slowly, Enoch's head turned, scanning the tavern. Shigaraki's clenched fists were shaking as he then swung it and went back to the bar stool. Albedo was off in his corner, working on his device with a downcast look.

Between the two who remained, Enoch took his steps towards Albedo.

The gray creature raised his head.

"Oh, you again?.." The alien however rolled his eyes, scoffing and keeping his focus on his machines. "How may I be of service?"

Winston kept quiet, and stayed behind Enoch as the knight with the golden mask opened his hand and showed him a small apparatus.

"My liege has given permission for our latest gain to be tested." He put it on the table. "Even despite your exhaustion, I was sure you would be quite eager."

Winston raised an eyebrow, as his lips were pursed together and eyes narrowed at the device. It looked circular in design, with a green color along with black markings, kind of similar to a disfigured protractor.

"At least there's one knight who can actually stay on task." Albedo snarkily remarked, before picking it up.

"I apologize for my colleague's actions. " Enoch responded. "His act of self-destruction is inexcusable, even if every act of creation is first an act of destruction."

Winston saw the slits of his golden masked master turn to the bar, specifically at Shigaraki–

"That's a half-decent saying." Albedo said, getting his attention back again.

"The latter part is from a famous painter, Pablo Picasso. A man of true vision." Enoch assembled his hands behind him. "Like many others before him."

Winston noticed that the slits of his master's eyes were fixated on the device.

"Sir… could I ask, what is it?"

"It's classified, for the development of an entirely separate project." Enoch said, assembling his hands behind his back. "However, to share a clue, it's suspectedly a power-enhancer."

Albedo curiously looked at the designs, and the green wiring.

"Our forces have liberated it from the Louvre." He turned to Winston. "That's what I've been recalled for." He said with an uneasy tone. "That branch's decision to use the prying eyes of the masses as their shield was deemed problematic, which required me to get recalled from my post here."

As he inspected it though, the eyes of Albedo started to widen. He ran, and attached it to his own device!

Suddenly the yellow sparks which merely flickered, came back stronger. Wonder and awe were spread across his face.

"Will this serve your purposes well?"

"Ohhhhh, yes." Albedo said, before standing in front of Enoch and staring up at him.

A grin formed across his mouth.

"That's twice today I've found a small measure of hope on this world." He said as his eyes went up and the grin vanished.

"By and large, a very disturbing pattern." His eyebrows knitted. "Thanks for that." he spat out.

Enoch however responded with a nod.

"Come now, Winston." He extended his right arm, and Winston walked beneath it. "We have one more stop to make, together."

From the corner of his eyes, Albedo caught the bright light that engulfed the pair, before they ended up vanishing.

No longer feeling their presence, his eyes went back down to his device. He got on one knee and took out one of the metal covers to press some circuitry on the inside. Unsurprisingly he heard them making noise, and functioning as intended.

"I'm close, first thinker." He took off his hand and made it into a fist. "Don't fret, as your wishes will be fulfilled… the right way–"

"What's with the new bling?"

The sudden interruption from Shigaraki almost made him jump. He had begrudgingly approached him, with a glass of whisky with ice still in hand.

"I asked a question." Shigaraki put a growling tone into his voice, and put a hand on the table. However, Albedo rolled his eyes before turning to him. He extended one hand to his side, gesturing to the device.

"If you're going to be insistent, just be aware that it's definitely more important than some loose, immature, female beast that the other knight was drooling for."

Shigaraki's eyebrows moved– however Albedo sidestepped in his line of sight.

"Because I have higher aspirations than merely causing chaos. So, don't disturb me."

Shigaraki showed his teeth, not seeing electricity surging even more from the device next to Albedo. However, for a moment, he bit down on his tongue.

"Is it… a cheat?" He raised a finger and pointed at it.

Albedo tilted his head. "Pardon? A cheat?"

Shigaraki's eyes narrowed in frustration, and so Albedo looked at his device.

"That's on a need-to-know basis… which only *I* qualify for." He answered to Shigaraki, before turning to work on it again.

"So, don't disturb me." Albedo nonchalantly raised his hand. "It's already a nuisance, working over your screams."

The glare of Shigaraki's eyes descended on him, and Albedo instantly felt a flutter.

"You little–!" Shigaraki raised a hand, as Albedo could barely see it. He ducked down right as an energy pulse shot out from its dial, blasting both of them back. Shigaraki crashed onto another set of table and chairs, knocking them down as Albedo got thrown to the wall.

"What… the hell?!" Shigaraki remarked, getting up with the empty glass.

However, Albedo didn't open his mouth. With wide eyes, he lifted himself up from the wall and leapt back next to the device like a frog.

Outstretching his hand, Albedo inspected the device as it powered down. Shigaraki stomped before him angrily but, this time Albedo… stood up straight, with his hands behind his back.

"You… what, child?" He said, lowering and tilting his head. "I apologize, as I think you were in the middle of something."

Shigaraki grumbled, undoing one fist as it crawled to scratch the side of his face as Albedo's sharp teeth made way for another satisfied grin.

"There are forces on this very earth that you can't comprehend, Shigaraki." He remarked. "And you think a childish tantrum can take that on?"

The bluish-haired villain slammed both hands on the table.

"You're here, because of me, frog."

Albedo nodded snarkily.

"Touche, it indeed got you this far." He said, before raising both of his hands. "But where exactly *IS* here?"

Shigaraki raised, and took a look back at the tavern… only to see it empty, with even the TV screen not turned on.

He turned around, and was still met with the ever so snarky grin and knitted eyes of Albedo.

His eyes widened ever so slightly.

"I believe you're done here." Albedo remarked.

Seething in his own anger, Shigaraki stepped away and Albedo nodded to himself pridefully in his head.

"You were intriguing once, Shigaraki…" He thought. Looking back, he laid eyes back at the dial. "However you're spoiled, by nature. Your growth will stop here."

He laid a hand on it.

"Meanwhile mine, is about to get started."

The dial flickered…

---

… as Yaoyorozu found herself staring back at it.

"There's no one in here, Tennyson." She put her hands on the window sill, looking back outside to Big Chill who held an unconscious and bandaged Kirishima.

They had arrived at his residence, as he was too injured to continue. Big Chill floated inside and set him down on his bed.

"I'm not sure whether we should be doing this though, Tennyson." Yaomomo whispered. "This is assuredly trespassing, and can be considered breaking and entering, all done with illegal quirk usage."

Her arms crossed. "Maybe if we were to knock on the door and inform his father…"

Big Chill turned his head. "And tell them what exactly…?" He spoke in his raspy tone with a bit of icy mist coming out of his mouth.

Big Chill hit the dial and Ben appeared in his place.

"Don't doubt it Yaomomo, I'd love to but this is the safest way."

The ends of her mouth didn't stop pointing down however.

"We could say it was a training accident. By your or my hands." She gestured.

But Ben's eyebrows remained crossed. He looked down on Kirishima.

"I guess you're right." He said, sighing defeatedly. "But then… they'd ask why didn't you take him to Recovery Girl or something and…" His head tilted, before letting out a yawn.

Yaomomo reassembled her hands on top of her stomach, as Ben rubbed his tearing up eye.

"There's also the Megawatts to take care of." He looked back at her. "I want to make sure their little hidey hole is secure at least, before we pack it in. Kirishima can take care of himself."

Her mouth opened with her eyes flinching in protest, however she bit down on her tongue.

"You're correct." She responded. "We should be able to take care of ourselves, by ourselves."

Ben shrugged, before he put on a prideful smile for her. "Well, that's the hero gig."

Seeing him, Yaomomo couldn't help but look away as her face mimicked his.

"As for the person we've met today?" Yaomomo added.

Ben shrugged. "Something tells me, we'll see her again. For good or bad."

She nodded, not having an answer back.

"Come on." Ben gestured with his head. "Let's get out of here before some parental instinct kicks in or our luck runs out, or somethin."

"Right." Yaomomo nodded her head as they faced the open window again.

"We shall…" she looked out the window, before she spoke under her breath. "... Ben 10."

Ben himself flinched, and raised his eyes from his holograms. "Ben what?"

Almost immediately Yaomomo's hands went up to her ponytail.

"W-Well, you brought up my hero name earlier and… I was pondering about how I should be referring to you in the field."

"Yeah, but all my villains technically know my name." Ben retorted.

"Yes, however all heroes must have a moniker." She pressed. "And… I imagine it won't just be your villains which come to haunt us. And then you'll need a name."

Ben looked up, and clicked his tongue.

"Ben 10, then." He uttered. Yaomomo felt herself blushing, as he then raised the Omnitrix. "...Even though I kinda missed my window?"

She tilts her head, embarrassedly. "Well, your family name still fits. And… " She averted her eyes. "...It's still reflective of where you started." Her hands pried open. "I think, even though you had your break, it's emblematic that you returned to be the hero which you once were."

Ben's response however… was looking down as his hands gathered and mouth pursed.

"Yeah? Well, I don't know if it's enough to just return to the hero I was back then."

Yaomomo's eyebrows flinched. However, before she could respond, Ben raised the Omnitrix and transformed into Jetray, soaring out of the room. She found herself staring after him, before she also glanced back at Kirishima's sleeping body and then threw her grappling hook outside, swinging off as the sun set…

"Hmph?!" Kirishima, just in that moment, flinched and bolted awake.

However instead of a cold, steel facility with generators and rotating machines, he saw his own bookshelf, and walls of his bedroom.

Kirishima stretched, and put one hand on his neck. He was completely moon-eyed, as the soreness felt overwhelming along with the breeze.

Eijiro quickly caught that the window was open–

"Ow…" He put a hand on his cheek, and felt his skin flare below the bandage. Taking off his shirt, he saw many more bandages wrapped around his abs and under his pecks, along with little cold pads over his bruised arms.

*Knock knock!*

Eijiro flinched.

"Son!" His father yelled.

"Yeah, father, I'm closing the window right now!" Kirishima yelled back, putting his shirt back on–

"Not that!" His father responded. "The door! Someone's here to see ya!"

Kirishima's eyebrows went up.

"Oh… Comin!" He got up and opened his room's door. Even despite the pain he ran, still feeling relatively dutiful and in the zone.

However when he got there, the person that greeted him… was definitely surprising.

"SHITTY HAIR!"

Wearing a black tank top and pants, Bakugo made a face as he looked at him from head to toe.

"You look like shit." he said in his usual angry fashion.

"Oh, yeah…" Eijiro said as if he realized it again. But he quickly channeled a smile and flexed!

"That's what happens when you put in the extra hours to the gym. I know you know how it is, man!". He lowered his hands, and put one on his hair. "I just haven't freshened up yet, that's all."

Bakugo however didn't seem satisfied. He put his hands in his pockets.

"I was at the school the whole day, clown." He said with weary contempt. "And they didn't open up the gym once."

Kirishima looked surprised–

"Whatever." Bakugo dismissively rolled his eyes, before raising his fist. "You know why I'm here."

Kirishima narrowed his eyes.

"Uh… well, could you remind me?" He sheepishly remarked.

Bakugo glared as taking one hand out of his pocket, he unlocked and showed him his phone.

UA's webpage which held a collage of matches that were deemed the highlights, as well as the podium at the end; where Tennyson was number 1, Todoroki was number 2 and Midoriya was number 3 showed up.

He then opened his messages to him.

"We're fixing this. Immediately."

"UA Gym at 12:00, shitty hair."

"BE LATE, AND I'LL PERSONALLY ESCORT YOU TO HELL–"

Bakugo calmly put away his phone, and Kirishima sweated right as he smelled smoke in the air!

"Wait, Bakugo, man, give me a sec!" He raised his hands, and Bakugo obliged.

"Sorry I didn't reply." Eijiro said, rubbing the back of his head, before his fingers snapped. "If you're good though, man, we can for sure train tomorrow!"

His hand slipped from his hair, to the back of his neck, only for a couple of his bones to crack… in pain.

"I'll definitely sleep off today first." He sheepishly giggled, as the rest of his body was stuck stiff like a tree.

Bakugo groaned.

"Fine." He growled between his teeth. "TOMORROW, we're going to UA and fixing this."

"That's the idea!" Kirishima replied, closing his eyes–

"-AND YOU BETTER NOT KEEP US WAITING!" Bakugo spat, looking away angrily. "We're gonna be running those hands from noon till dawn!" Explosions rang out from his hands.

"Yeah, you got it!" He responded, only to pause. "Wait, did you say us–"

Bakugo however, either didn't hear him, or refused to hear him as he grumbled and stomped away.

"It's hard to tell when it comes to him." Kirishima remarked to himself before attempting to close the door with his foot as his upper body was still stuck. However, just then… the glimmer of two pale green eyes caught his eyes.

He could barely stop the door. The girl had appeared again, wearing a green shirt with white ends, classic blue jeans, and brown leather wristbands. He could barely stop the closing door as she approached him and, with her thumbs, pressed on the pressure points on the back of both his shoulders.

As if it were magic, the stiffness of his body disappeared!

"Thanks!" He said as he raised his arms up and down, outright enjoying himself. However, the girl kept up a stoic expression and crossed her arms.

"He arrived before me." she said, taking Kirishima's attention. However, his smile didn't break, or anything of the sort.

Her nose wrinkled further, and her fingers pressed on her arms. "You shouldn't let yourself be pushed around."

Kirishima looked in the way that she was staring though, and just waved his hand.

"Nah, that's just Bakugo." Kirishima said. "It's just part of his intense, manly style!"

However, that didn't wipe the frown off her face. Quite the opposite, it made her tighten her arms and raised her shoulders, closing into herself more and more.

She turned her back to him. "I'm sorry for running away back at the power plant."

Eijiro took it in a good stride though. Wearing his shoes, he stepped out and closed the door behind him.

"It's okay." He said, taking a step forward, only for her to take a step away from him.

The smile on his face faltered a bit. He also looked away, while rubbing one of his arms.

"Those knights…" He stood tall, and waved his hand. "All of them were way out of line–"

"They weren't."

Kirishima's eyes widened. However, instead of narrowing his gaze with animosity, the ends of his eyebrows lowered.

"What are you talking about?"

Her teeth gritted. "You had a question to ask me." She said bluntly. "Ask."

Kirishima fully lost his smile.

"Okay." He gathered his breath, and instinctively stretched as he was still a bit sore. "I… Sorry I didn't get to thank you."

The girl raised an eyebrow, and turned around.

"I mean…" Eijiro raised a finger under his chin. "I thanked you for the time at the power station, not the alleyway."

Opening her eyes ever so briefly, she then rolled them, unimpressed. The girl turned her back again–

"Right, right, the question!" Kirishima waved both his hands. "It's just… uhhh… I was wondering…" He leaned onto the rails nervously, as his apartment was several stories above ground.

"After saving us, in that alley, why did you run?" He turned to her, and saw her tense up.

"I mean, we met up at the same palace at the end. You helped us also take down the knights, and save everyone."

Her head lowered.

"I *figured* you… " She pursed her lips, before opening them again. "I *didn't want* for you to be scared."

"Why would we be scared?" Kirishima immediately retorted.

The girl turned and closed her eyes briefly.

"Because of the sketch?" Kirishima asked again. "Because those battery dudes… I mean, now that we saved them the team's probably doin something with them, but they're probably cool with you now. They even helped you."

However, none of that seemed to get through. Remaining emotionally mute, she recalled.

---

Four years ago. USA, Location: Undisclosed

Inside a white padded seclusion room, with only a bench and a windowed door to the outside, she was sitting, wearing pure pink patient clothes with her head down–

An alarm blared, and the door of the padded room opened. She straightened up from where she sat as her blades extended out instinctively!

However, the person that was at the frame was a doctor… who had black hair, and green eyes just like her. She was holding a wooden box with both hands.

The girl knew better though, to just sit down, purse her mouth shut, and knit her eyebrows with her gaze directed to her hands.

"It's okay." The doctor said, and attempted to put her hand over her assembled hands–

The girl's hands trembled, and so the doctor also paused her hand mid-air.

However, a defeated expression manifested on her face. The trembling stopped, and just then… she felt the warmth of the doctor's hand, through the plastic safety glove.

The girl then broke off her gaze from the white, padded ground and looked at the box. The doctor opened it, and in a second, a small ballerina rose up and started to spin and play high-pitched music.

She tilted her head, right as she felt the gaze of the doctor on herself. The girl looked up, confirming her suspicions, as if she was caught like a cat that was about to knead at the figure.

The doctor really leaned back, and so with cynical eyes, the girl watched it spin, round and round as the high-pitched music continued to play… unpleasantly in her ear. However, it sounded… light enough, so she allowed it.

The girl rested her head, specifically the bottom of her chin, on the doctor's lap, as the doctor also raised her other hand, and put it across the girl's hair–!

All of a sudden, the door opened and the doctor immediately retracted her hand.

"Doctor Chadwick!.." The doctor closed the box, stopping the music as the girl's eyes then also met him. A slender man with black hair and a red scar over his right blue eye.

Even though the doctor's face was now composed, the girl could hear the frantic heartbeat of her doctor..

"Ah, Doctor Kinney, I see." Chadwick responded, standing tall and poised before the girl had her eyes meet with his.

Chadwick faced Kinney.

"Hurry up. The subject needs to be prepared for her next session."

Doctor Kinney perked up.

"She had one, just the day prior."

"Repetition is the mother of learning, and father of action." Doctor Chadwick off-handily remarked though as he excused himself inside along with his guards.

The girl put her left hand on the doctor, lifting herself up and showing her teeth as her right claw extended.

However it only lasted about a second before she felt frozen still.

A blue glow had sparked from her, as the intense angry expression vanished from her face, in place of distress.

Taking off one of the Forever Knight helmets, Wolfram showed himself.

"It's all yours, doctor."

"Excellent." He remarked with his hands tied behind his back. "Take her to Level 2, as usual."

Doctor Kinney didn't resist, as Wolfram and the guard approached and lifted up the girl's body. As her pupils went back and forth between the two, narrowed as they were for a fight, they laid her on a hospital bed and wheeled her to the elevator.

She followed after them.

Going down several levels, they were then greeted by another long corridor, but at the end of it they got to see another small square room… illuminated from above with yellow light, vents on the walls, a slab for her to sit, a door which was entirely glass, and two handcuffs chained to the ground.

Lifting her up again, they set her down inside the room, handcuffed her arms and legs before leaving and sealing the door. Wolfram snapped his fingers. The glow went off again, and her body was back for her to control.

"The metal coating of her bones was really prudent, wouldn't ya say, doc?" Wolfram remarked with his helmet under his arm.

Chadwick however kept his eyes on the subject as she had kept calm.

She tried to reach the glass, but the chains kept her back. So, since the chains were decently long, she managed to move and step on one of them before extending the single claw on her foot to scratch it.

However even when she stuck the blade inside the chain and tried rubbing or pulling from the inside, it didn't budge or do anything for that matter.

"Indeed." he succinctly remarked. "If only they also didn't strangle us for funds."

Wolfram shrugged.

"Hey, only the strongest metal on Earth can fight against the strongest metal on Earth."

Chadwick rolled his eyes. "Right… Adamantium." He scowled. "How is our metallurgy team's progress in creating a substitute?"

"You mean, one which is just as strong but artificial?" Wolfram coyly asked. "Let's just say they're trying."

Doctor Kinney raised her head.

"I have heard they're looking into mystical solutions." she said, with a growing scowl and an intensifying glare on the back of Chadwick's head from one eye.

Wolfram held in a laugh, as Chadwick rolled his eyes.

"Well, as they idle, I suppose we can do our work here." He tapped one of the buttons, and got to his feet.

And all of a sudden, the lights inside the rooms started to dim and then brightened.

The girl got to her feet, looking up with wide-eyes just as the vents opened and a new smell appeared by her nose. It WAS mostly odorless, and colorless but it clearly wasn't air–!

Suddenly, a high-pitched ear-splitting noise rang out!

She stumbled as if an arrow had stabbed her in the forehead and its head just kept on twisting over… AND OVER!

The blades on her hands extended. The blades on her foot also extended as she had tried to jump and break the handcuffs with sheer strength right before her blades moved in a fit of rage!

The chains clanked together before they stood absolutely straight. She glared back at the door intensely as from the one way glass, she could see Chadwick basking right behind it.

"I know you can hear me, Twenty Three." He spoke in his normal speaking voice. "So unpack this very carefully…" He stated.

Doctor Kinney bowed her head even more, as one of her hands clenched on the box.

"Who are you?" He asked. "And what do you want?"

The girl fell to her knees, and stabbed her claws into the floor… only for them to bounce off!

Her eyes widened.

"Your answer? A weapon." Dr. Chadwick said, before glancing down at the console. "An animal to be at only our beck and call."

The alarm blared even louder. She put her hands over her ears. The claws on her hands and feet retracted.

"The Order of the Forever Knights, girlie." Wolfram remarked, with a grin. "Hear that? *Order*…"

"A girl."

The girl flinched, as her eyes opened ajar. From behind everyone, Doctor Kinney had her eyes set straight, and a clipboard raised over her mouth.

"You're just a girl… Laura."

---

"Tennyson told me what you did."

Taking another step away, she shook her head. But Kirishima didn't stop.

"When… his quirk ran out, you pitched in. You helped those people get to safety too."He raised his hand. "You have the spirit. I just don't get why you don't want to use it–"

"*That* knight wasn't wrong about one thing, Kirishima Eijiro." She spoke, returning back to reality to then lean on the rails and look back at him with a hand raised. "You *truly* don't know better."

However, Kirishima didn't have a spec of surprise on his face.

"And I think I had a reply for that, twice now, I don't think I need to." He opened his hands– however she stepped away again.

Her gaze turned down though. As her blades had popped out of one of her assembled hands, she looked at them, glimmering under the moonlight.

He also stopped himself, sighing.

"I also know how…" He said, putting his hands on the rails and looking up. "I *know* a thing or two about regret." Eijiro said.

The girl, with the expression on her face unchanged, turned to him.

"Fear, anger, self-pity… That's kind of what it likes to manifest as, when you become shameless enough to express it. They feel like they've become your nature." He smiled with the last part, looking up to see his scarlet red hair ever so slightly.

However, that smile faded.

He remembered Tennyson's outburst when they were first caught in the castle… How he was scarred by the thought of them getting hurt, how they almost did when Cannonbolt saved them from an exploding gun.

He then recalled Bakugo just now.

'We're fixing this. Immediately… Be late and I'll personally escort you to hell… We're gonna be running those hands from noon till dawn!'

He had spat out angrily like that, and based on the marks, had gotten into trouble for it. Eijiro sighed.

"They haven't." He shook his head. "I know how much it seems like so, and how scary it is to open up to actually say that outloud to someone but… I just can't stand watching someone live *with* that, feeling like they have no choice but to grit their teeth and stay silent just because it feels like the safest thing"

He opened his arms and directed his whole body towards her, instead of just the head,as she also turned with eyebrows no longer knitted.

"So… *I'll* say it. You were a hero, not an animal like that knight liked to make believe." He stopped leaning, and instead just held on with his left hand instead. "That's not your nature, no matter the story–"

The girl mimicked him, however her arms immediately crossed.

"I was someone else…" She said, before noticing that her blades were still unsheathed. However, instead of retracting them… she raised the dual shining blades up and showed them to him.

"Some*thing* else." A glare from one of the nearby lights reflected off of it as it started from the bottom and went up to the tip.

"And all you need for that is a trigger."

She lowered her hand and retracted it back into her knuckle. The blood flowed from the holes and even though her skin closed up the wounds, Eijiro looked on with melancholy. However, just then, the smirk came back.

"Yeah, but it doesn't take a trigger for someone to get convinced to have this kind of talk." He gestured to his own front door, and the girl looked at it too, disgruntled.

"Especially if I didn't threaten anyone you like, or something like that." Kirishima tilted his head. "You had no reason to come and entertain the request I had… before I kinda let myself go." Kirishima put a hand on his hair and made his smirk much more sheepish.

The girl winced, before gritting her teeth and averting her eyes once more.

"You don't know what this is." She chose to bluntly repeat, before turning around, passing a glance over her shoulder. Her blades were still extended. "So, stop acting as if you do."

Her hands unraveled and she widened her stance, ready to jump into the nearby tree–

"Alright. I don't." Kirishima spoke up, getting her attention. "But do me a favor."

The girl turned her head.

"You do." he stated, making direct eye-contact. "And don't lose sight of that."

The girl looked down, as she raised one of her fists again and looked at it before staring back at him. With hands on his hips and standing tall, Kirishima showed her his teeth, flashing a smile and even though the expression on her face didn't change, he could see her body loosening. She was clearly less tense.

Bending her knees, the girl jumped to a nearby tree and Kirishima approached the rails. With the moonlight only allowing her silhouette to be visible, he watched her leave, vanish into the dark sky while leaning down.

"With courage and pride, I'll fight and carry on. You shouldn't, if you think that's not right." He spoke under his breath. "But bringing hope to everyone–"

His eyebrows went up.

"Oh, dang it!" He facepalmed and spoke outloud. "I didn't even ask for her name!"

And even as the wind howled in her ear, the girl's head perked up ever so slightly to sneak a look back.

Perched up on a tree, she stood up and looked back at his building.

"Laura." She stated to herself. "Laura Kinney."

---

And that's the end! What did you think?

To be honest, I never really wanted to divide this adventure into two parts, since I felt like it might drag on. But now that I look at it, I see that I got to implement some new scenes like with Bakugo and Kevin to preserve some flow instead of all action in the power plant and… they felt kinda cool and unique to write. Especially with Bakugo, I enjoyed picking up on his attitude after the Sports Festival this soon and getting the chance to explore it.

However, now, let's tackle the elephant in the room. Yes, I will be confirming it here, the girl's identity is indeed X-23 from Marvel.

Honestly, the big reason as to why I wanted to do it is because I have this world that's basically a mishmash of both Ben 10 and MHA, and just how they were interacting with each other history-wise.

Like, who could be a Plumber in MHA, or how the existence of quirks would be affecting the Forever Knights. When I got to the age of heroes though with MHA and how that came to be, I didn't want to just say a version of: "Oh, yeah, it started with aliens." and then make that kind of pass at it. Not to say that's a bad way of handling it though, rather I just wanted to lean into the legacy aspect of heroes.

Just like how Ben 10's world has a history with aliens, I also wanted a history with heroes for MHA, and… Yeah, when I considered what we know so far of MHA, throwing in a bit of X-Men felt like a perfect fit for what I had in mind. There's probably a world where I did it with OC's instead, but making it from another show just felt like some fun extra spice. However, that also doesn't mean I will be just throwing out X-Men stuff all willy nilly from the comics, movies or etc. Any concepts, like characters, will resemble their original selves but be firmly rooted in this Ben 10 x MHA world.

For example there won't be a scene of "Oh, look! It's Colossus, but specifically from the Deadpool movies!" No rather, look it's Colossus, he has the same name, powers, maybe he was also in the X-Men, but his history and background were different since he lived here, in this universe, so it will never be exactly the same as any one version. (It'll probably be closer to a mishmash of them tbh)

Any characters will be exactly the same as Yaoyorozu's master, Splinter. As in we'll see them every so often when it's appropriate, but the grand plot remains 100% Ben 10 and MHA.

And then yeah, X-23 felt like the right envoy to do this with since she's also a teen. All in all, I thought it would just be to the benefit of this story and expand the possibilities even more, and I hope you give me a chance with this to maybe change your mind if you think this is a bad idea. (The editor definitely let his doubts be known)

Anyway, as for the next upload, I'm currently swamped with university-work but we'll definitely continue with the updates over on Twitter. Until then, have a great day and see you on the next one.

---

Replies to 'Guest' reviews

Tiger1301: I'm even more convinced of my guess on who's the mysterious girl

DBZpower197: Well, here she is now!

Guest: It's nice to know that Tensei isn't dead and I read Sir Morton's lines with an Aussie accent in my head, don't know if that's right, don't remember him from the show, but that's what I'm sticking with. Kirishima gets some nice time in the spotlight, good for him. The identity of this OP mystery girl has been bugging me since you introduced her. I've been like "Who is this GIRL to make Ben's struggle with the Highbreed seem laughable and needlessly complicated?" with what you've implied this chapter, I think she's X-23 but I can't say for sure

DBZpower197: Yeah no worries about the rant, I didn't mind it that much. For me, it mostly just felt surprising XD.

And for the girl, boom! Now you know and… I guess I should ask, what do you think?