People watched in the city street as a building was engulfed in flames, with sirens blaring in the distance, a sign that first responders were coming, but they'd never be there in time.
The students were quickly horrified at the burning building while the adults were deeply concerned, but not quite as fearful as the students. "Oh, no! Do you think people are in there!?" Uraraka asked worriedly.
"Unfortunately, I'd say that's a strong possibility. Based on the flame in the lower window, my guess is it started from the lower floors. Meaning anyone on the higher floors were likely trapped." Iida analyzed, deeply trouble by this.
"Well, looks like that 'Good Times' billboard was false advertising." Kaminari said, trying to lighten the mood, only to be jabbed by Jiro's earphone jacks.
Inside the building, a boy and his mother ran to the door, but a piece of burning debris trapped them in their room.
"Dang it, Iida! Why did you have to be right?!" Hagakure complained.
"They're trapped. And based on the sounds of those sirens, they're too far out to get there before the building collapses." All Might said, hating he wasn't able to help the family.
"B-but Ben's going to arrive on the scene soon, right?" Koda asked worriedly.
"I'm sure he will, Koda. Why else would we be seeing this?" Midoriya said, trying to raise the morale of his class, before looking to the screen. "He HAS to..." He said quietly, putting all of his hope on a ten-year-old boy with a crazy watch.
They looked around as pieces fell around them. Eventually, the ceiling above them starts to cave in.
"NO!" The entire audience screamed.
They both shut their eyes and braced for it... But nothing happened. The young boy slowly opened his eyes, seeing someone standing in front of them. "...Who are you?" The boy asked as before them was a being made of fire, holding the ceiling debris above their heads.
"Alright, Ben! You did it!" Ashido cheered.
"Hell yeah! Heatblast! Nice choice, kid!" Bakugo said, eager to see more of the Pyronite.
"Just as long as he doesn't make the fire worse like he did in the forest until his grandpa showed up." Asui pointed out.
"I-I'm sure he's learned how to better control his aliens by now." Midoriya said awkwardly, wanting to give Ben the benefit of the doubt.
Heatblast grunted under the weight of the debris. "I'm here to help." He assured the boy, before throwing away the debris and extending his hands. Suddenly, all the fire in the room was absorbed into his hands.
Not one member of the audience managed to keep their jaw off the floor at this display. "No way... He just ABSORBED the fire." Midnight said in awe.
"I... suppose it DOES make sense. Fire IS a state of plasma, after all and we've seen Heatblast possesses the ability to manipulate plasma and is quite literally MADE of it. So, while it's absolutely unprecedented, there is a reasonable explanation." Yaoyorozu admitted, albeit while still fighting through a state of shock.
"Whoa, man. How long has it been since Ben got the Omnitrix?" Sato asked.
"Eh. 3 or 4 days? A week at the ABSOLUTE most." Maverick explained. [1]
"Such a short amount of time and yet this kid already figured out something so different from conventional means of fire manipulation. Even at such a young age, he might just have potential to go full pro." Aizawa said with a crazed grin similar to the one he had after Midoriya's softball throw test.
"Hey, Todoroki. Think you can do that?" Mineta asked.
"No, I don't think so. My fire power may eventually surpass my father's, but I see no reason why it would be so vastly different from his to allow me to do that." Todoroki said, feeling a slight blow to his pride that even if he can manage to reach Heatblast's level, he still couldn't do all he could.
Heatblast then turned around and motioned for the family to come with him. The boy was less afraid to follow than his mom.
"Come on! Go, lady! This guy's trying to help you!" Sero yelled at the woman.
"Well, remember, young listener! This may be commonplace here in OUR world, but to them, this is a scary situation made EVEN SCARIER by a giant fire monster coming in. Even if he seems to be here to help, encountering an unknown being like this would have you on edge and suspicious." Present Mic told him.
Heatblast looked to some stairs leading down. "This way!" He told them, about to lead the way down the stairs, but they suddenly collapsed. "Er, on second thought..." He said awkwardly, before looking to a barred-up window. "That way." He decided. And an outside view of the wall was shown, before a beam of plasma cut a hole around the window. Then, the people outside watched as a tornado of fire exited the hole and touched straight down to the ground. It dispersed and Heatblast, the boy and the mother were all okay, causing the crowd to gasp in shock.
There were a few chuckles when Ben had to immediately correct himself on the escape route. "That has to be embarrassing." Ojiro said.
"Maybe, but that is a legitimate concern. As houses burn in a fire, their structures weaken and become unstable, so you have to take things like that into account when you're leading civilians to safety. It's why I'd probably have a few ears at the ends of my arms to listen out for any structures creaking or breaking so I'd know where to avoid." Shoji explained.
But then, all of them were left in awe at Heatblast's flame vortex. "Oh, my! Such true panache! Incredible!" Aoyama praised.
"Way to go, Ben! Way to save the day! Super manly, buddy!" Kirishima cheered.
"He brought them out in a tornado of fire. But yet the civilians are perfectly fine! How is that possible?!" Yaoyorozu asked.
"Well, Ben controls the fire. He's making it spin around them fast enough to create enough wind pressure to lift them, but the fire itself doesn't touch them, so it doesn't burn them. That's our best guess, anyway." Maverick said.
"Amazing. Heatblast just became insanely more versatile!" Midoriya said in awe, jotting down notes.
"Man, these aliens just keep getting better and better! It's just two episodes in and he's making Endeavor seem like a chump!" Dark Shadow declared.
"Indeed. If Ben did exist in our world, I'd have no doubt he could easily be one of our top heroes. And that's even without seeing his final six forms." Tokoyami said.
Heatblast began to bask in the glory. "I'm sure you all want to thank me personally, but really it's all in a day's work for-" He began, before noticing something.
"So, what was that about the kid teaching us not to be gloryhounds? 'Cuz I'm pretty sure that's what he's doing." Bakugo said to the hosts with a smirk, thinking he'd finally gotten one over on the hosts, that their hero that's "so much better than them" is doing exactly what they said heroes SHOULDN'T do.
"Well, yes, but he's just starting and just learning. And he'll learn a valuable lesson about that THIS VERY adventure." Anemone explained, earning a "Tch" from the explosive pomeranian.
What he noticed was the boy he rescued was holding three golden trading cards, causing him to gasp. "No way! A gold Sumo Slammer Card!" He exclaimed as he knelt down and sat beside the boy. "Where'd you get it? I've been looking all over for that!" He explained.
The students all got a chuckle out of this. "Ah, yes. I, the glorious hero... will now sit down and talk to a child about trading cards." Jiro said, turning the chuckles into full-blown laughter and getting some chuckles out of the teachers as well.
"Just another reminder Ben IS still a kid at the end of the day." Uraraka giggled.
"But what is Sumo Slammer?" Sato asked.
"A TV show Ben likes that expanded into... Well, everything really: video games, trading cards, etc." Anemone explained.
"Huh. Kinda surprised American kids would be into Sumo. You'd think they'd be all about WWE wrestling." Present Mic said.
"That was one of the better things about 2005, America started looking into other cultures and accepting their new styles and ideas. Including Japan, so we got ourselves a sweet taste of things like martial arts and anime, which even bled inspiration into some of our own creations." Maverick explained.
"And yet, they let kids believe rice balls were jelly donuts." Anemone said with a roll of her eyes.
"Well, it is nice to see Young Ben willing to extend his interests to other cultures, at least." All Might said.
"I-It was a prize inside a box of 'Sumo-Smack Cereal'." The boy told him.
The Rust Bucket pulled up and honked at Heatblast, with Gwen leaning out the window. "Yo, Super-Doofus! The fire was just a diversion to cover up a jewelry store robbery. The bad guys are getting away!" She yelled at her mutated cousin.
"What!? That's so messed up!" Ashido said in horror.
"Some jerk set a building on fire and risked people's lives for a quick cash grab!? Oh, heck no! Roast 'em, Ben!" Hagakure cried out.
"Indeed. To do something so heinous simply for money cannot be forgiven! They must be brought to justice!" Iida declared.
Heatblast looked from Gwen, to the cards and back to Gwen. "Er- I knew that." He lied.
"Suuuuure you did." Was the sentiment shared by the entire audience, hosts included.
A car speeds through the city street, with two masked thieves inside. As Max drove the Rust Bucket behind them, he sniffed something burning and looked to see Heatblast sitting next to him. "Knew I should've bought those asbestos seat covers when I had the chance." He lamented.
"Oof. Hope insurance covers that." Kaminari said.
"That could be one of Heatblast's main drawbacks, since he doesn't seem to be much faster than a normal human." Todoroki said.
"Yeah. They better learn to fireproof the RV. Unless Heatblast learns to fly." Asui said, not noticing the hosts giggling.
"Or, it might be better for him to ride on the roof or something." Mineta pointed out.
"That might actually be better than the asbestos seat covers, since exposure to asbestos can cause SEVERAL different types of cancer." Yaoyorozu pointed out, causing everyone else to grimace.
"Sorry Grandpa, I can't help it. I'm hot..." Heatblast apologized.
Suddenly, Gwen blasted Heatblast with a fire extinguisher. "Ugh. Ten superheroes on that stupid watch and you picked the one with the flaming butt?!" She asked incredulously.
"I mean, to be fair, he just thought he was dealing with a burning building at first. That's right up Heatblast's alley." Sato admitted.
"Just goes to show a hero has to be ready for anything. Ben clearly wasn't." Aizawa said.
"Well, he's probably still good for catching villains, just bad for the inside of that RV. They'd better look into fireproofing." Uraraka said.
"Jealous?" Heatblast asked, to which Gwen huffed and sprayed him again, but he dodged it this time. (This got some laughs, but no one SAID anything.)
Heatblast leaned out the side window and shot a ball of fire towards the car, blasting all four tires off it and sending the car spinning out of control. "Stee-rike!" He exclaimed.
"Hell yeah! One shot! Nice!" Bakugo said.
"Still, maybe not the BEST solution, since now the car's out of control and could easily hit someone." Midnight pointed out. "Remember kids, it's not just about catching the villains, but keeping civilians from harm as well." She told the students.
Robber #1 screamed as their car crashed into a wall. As they recovered, Heatblast walked up to them and ripped the car door right off. "Unless you punks want a permanent sunburn..." Heatblast began, before bending the door with his bare hands. "HANDS AGAINST THE WALL!" He ordered. The robbers looked at each other and walked out the car, doing as he said.
"Y-yeah, I'd definitely be doing as he said." Koda said nervously.
"Yeah, definitely the worst thing you could do in that situation is give THAT THING a reason to be mad at you." Sero agreed, also slightly nervous.
"Especially when 'that thing' has the mind of a bratty, impatient ten-year-old." Shoji added.
Heatblast stood triumphant with his hands on his hips. "You punks picked the wrong day to be bad-" He began, unaware of the watch starting to flash red.
And then, the red flash appeared and Heatblast transformed back into Ben. "-guys!" The ten-year-old finished, somehow STILL unaware he changed back.
"Oh, no! Not now! Ben still needs his powers until the cops show up!" Ojiro said worriedly.
"Aww, man! Total rip-off! For a watch, that thing has the worst timing!" Ashido complained.
"Oh, yeah. You are gonna grow to HATE that beeping sound." Maverick told them.
"Huh? Wha-?" Robber #1 questioned as he spun around and saw Ben. "Hey, it's just a kid! Get the jewels!" He told his partner.
Ben looked down and FINALLY realized he was back to normal. "Wow. Time sure flies when you're having fun! I-I've decided to let you guys off with a warning this time!" He said awkwardly, waving to them and walking away.
But just then, a police cars arrived, surrounding them. "Whoa!" Ben exclaimed in surprise.
"Alright! The cops! Nice timing guys! Way to get the job done!" Kirishima cheered.
"Still, it is quite shocking to see a world where the police take such an active role in apprehending criminals instead of keeping civilians back as heroes fight them." Aoyama admitted.
"And some times, they don't even do that." Anemone muttered under her breath with a roll of her eyes, clearly thinking of the cops standing around watching Kamui Woods fight that giant villain, leaving Backdraft to keep the civilians back instead of helping fight the villain.
"Freeze!" One of the officers demanded, pointing his gun at them.
"They're all yours, officers! Now I know y'all want to thank me, but..." Ben still tried to boast, only for the cops to brush past him.
"Step aside, son! This isn't playtime!" The officer reprimanded.
"'Playtime'? I'm the one who captured them! It's not fair! I'm the hero! Oh, man..." Ben lamented.
"That is indeed a shame. While we can agree being a gloryhound is bad, he should at least get some credit." Tokoyami said sympathetically.
"Yeah, but no one's gonna believe a ten-year-old stopped a bunch of criminals. Especially since they weren't there to see him in action as Heatblast." Dark Shadow added.
The next day, a man named Roger knocked at a door, with a sign labelled "Dr. Animo" hanging outside. "Yo! Animo! I know you're in there. Open up!" Roger yelled.
"A doctor? Why are we seeing this?" Iida questioned.
"I don't know, but something about this doesn't sit right with me." Midoriya said suspiciously.
"Probably the fact no LEGIT doctor would practice at a place like this." Bakugo said.
Roger came in, walking past all sorts of equipment, cages and glass cases holding various animals. "Phew! Smells like a zoo in here!" Roger said in disgust.
"So, he must be a vet, then. That's nice!" Hagakure said, happy someone was helping animals.
"But if it smells bad like that, it probably means he's not changing the cages regularly enough. That's really unhealthy, especially for animals in cages and enclosures where they can't get far from their waste." Koda said in concern.
A figure silently followed behind him. As Roger turned around, he was extremely startled by the Doctor. "HOW did you get in?!" Animo demanded angrily.
Many of the students let out a shriek of fear at seeing the doctor. "What the heck is wrong with that guy!? He almost looks like an alien himself!" Mineta freaked out.
"Mineta, that's incredibly rude! He may simply have a case of jaundice." Yaoyorozu said.
"And a SERIOUS need for a dentist." Jiro added.
"Pass key. I am still your landlord, remember? Maybe not, since your rent is six months past due..." Roger explained, adjusting his tie.
"Six months!? How was he allowed to stay for so long!? I used to get an eviction notice if my parents were even A DAY late to pay my apartment's rent!" Uraraka said in shock. "Thank goodness they give you three days after the notice to pay."
"Indeed! It's his duty to pay the landowner then money they are owed in exchange for him living there! That is the rule and it should be honored! That's not even assuming he's breaking the rule by having animals in the building!" Iida snapped, chopping away as usual.
"That's the part you chose to focus on?" Shoji asked.
"All my funds go into my research. Now GET OUT! You're disturbing me!" Animo ordered.
"Little late for that." Aizawa said.
"What kind of research could he be doing, I wonder?" Ojiro wondered.
"It must have something to do with the animals. Which can't be anything good. There must be a reason we're seeing this." Todoroki said, now suspicious of the doctor.
"Hmm. Looks like you were 'disturbed' long before I got here, pal!" Roger said as he looked around (The teachers laughed at the man making the same claim as Aizawa). "Listen, Doc, you and your furry friends are out on the street, unless you pony up the green." He snapped.
Animo smirked "'Pony up'..." He began as he picked up a frog from one of the cases. "Interesting choice of phrases... You must be an animal lover! Then you're gonna love this." Animo declared as he set the frog down, then put on an odd-looking helmet with two horn-like protrusions.
Some students were laughing at this. "What the heck is that supposed to be?! It's the goofiest thing I've ever seen in my life!" Kaminari laughed.
"It looks like he's wearing a dish strainer on his head!" Ashido giggled as well.
"Looks can be deceiving, students. For him to believe this device will somehow get him out of eviction, it CAN'T be for anything good or legal." All Might said.
Roger pauses before laughing. "What's that? You a member of the 'moose lodge' or something?" He asked mockingly.
"This is my Transmodulator. Phase number one. It creates and accelerates mutations at the genetic level. Observe..." Animo explained, before twisting a dial on his chest, activating the Transmodulator. Beams shot out from its horns and to the frog on the ground, severely mutating the amphibian, acquiring more toad-like features, a second set of eyes and a pair of horns.
Everyone was in disbelief at this. "Giant monster frog!" Mineta screamed.
"No! That poor frog! Look what he's done to it!" Koda cried out in horror.
"That couldn't have felt good. And now the poor thing must be so confused, to be so big and have an extra set of eyes, it's probably going to freak out! It could have a heart attack or something!" Asui said, equally concerned.
"W-what?! But that's impossible! Animals don't simply mutate like that. Mutations and adaptation only happen through hundreds upon thousands of years of reproduction! They don't just grow and change like Pokemon!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed.
"Looks like it's not just ALIEN tech that's way beyond ours. This world in general has tech that's way too crazy for us." Jiro said, subconsciously moving closer to Yaoyorozu.
Roger looked up and screamed as the frog opened its mouth an engulfed him. All that was heard from him were some muffled grunts.
"I'm sorry! I can't hear you. Sounds like you have a frog in your throat! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!" The doctor laughed like a madman. "Or is that - the other way around?!" He continued to laugh maniacally as the frog spat out Roger. He fell to the floor, groaned and passed out.
Everyone was horrified at the landlord being eaten. "Oh, my god! He's getting eaten! And Ben's not around to save him this time!" Hagakure shrieked.
"Something's gotta happen! Please don't let him die!" Midoriya prayed to any deity in that universe that would listen.
But then, they sighed in relief as the landlord was spat out. "Thank goodness..." The students all said thankfully.
A card in Present Mic's deck of info cards lit up with a red light this time instead of the usual green. "Doctor Aloysius James Animo! A mad scientist obsessed with proving his intellectual superiority and mutating all life on Earth in his 'improved' image!" Hizashi announced, although with a clear disdain in his tone this time.
"This guy's a monster!" Koda snapped.
"Yeah. I hope Ben brings him down." Asui agreed harshly.
"Right. I'd hate to see this freak's idea of an 'improved image'." Bakugo concurred as well.
Animo checked a slip of newspaper. "So close to having what is rightfully mine... All I need is a FEW LOUSY COMPONENTS to finish my work!" He cursed his fate, crushing the slip of paper in his hand. (A few thought there may be some significance to that paper, but said nothing.)
However, as if fate was listening to him, A TV interrupted him. "-So whatever your need, from hair spray to state-of-the-art electronics, you'll find them under one roof at the grand opening of the district's newest MegaMart!" The TV announcer said as the commercial showed the stores logo, a giant M above the word "Mart", with a couple dollar signs on each side.
"Okay, I call cap! We didn't even hear the TV before that! And what are the odds of that commercial playing at that moment!?" Kaminari asked.
"What are the odds of anything, really? There's 125 million people in Japan, so what are the odds that your father met your mother? And what are the odds you were born exactly the way you are instead of being a girl or even a completely different person because? The odds of everything that happens or will happen might be slim, but they're almost NEVER zero." Maverick told him.
"But either way, now that MegaMart is going to be in danger!" Kirishima said worriedly.
"Ah! Just what the doctor ordered..." Animo said menacingly.
Gwen, Max and Ben were shopping at the MegaMart, walking down aisles. Ben strayed from them and found a "Sumo-Smacks" cereal box with his desired cards advertised inside. "Sumo Slammer cards, cool!" He said excitedly, before getting an idea and grinning. "Hmm..." He hummed deviously.
"Oh, no way. They just HAPPEN to be there?" Mineta asked.
"Please refer to my earlier lecture on statistics." Maverick said simply.
"But this is good! That means that Ben can save the place! And maybe we'll even see a new alien!" Uraraka said hopefully.
"Well... Both of those things do happen..." Anemone said awkwardly.
"But not concurrently..." Maverick said in a hushed tone.
"Am I the only one who saw that grin on Ben's face?" Midnight asked suspiciously.
"No, I definitely saw it, too." Midoriya said, groaning at Ben possibly misusing his powers.
Max picked up a canned octopus. "Only canned octopus? Huh. I thought this store prided itself on wide selection." He complained.
"Uh, Grandpa? No offense, but can we have a normal dinner for once? You know, one that doesn't involve stir-fried tentacles?" Gwen pleaded.
"I mean, it's better than bugs." Jiro said.
"Indeed. Octopus is actually very delicious. If you simply eat it raw, it already tastes like calamari or squid [2], but depending on how you cook it and with what sauces and herbs you use, it could taste like chicken, pork or even lobster." Yaoyorozu added. Several members of the audience soon summoned and order of octopus and were quite pleased with the taste.
"Wow. It might look gross, but it's really good. Maybe trying out all these crazy foods isn't so bad after all." Sero admitted.
"Still, don't expect me to be trying any bugs." Hagakure said.
"Heh! Nonsense. Now where do you suppose they keep the sheep's bladders?" Max wondered as he continued his search. (Some groans were heard.)
Suddenly, Gwen flinched as she heard Ben's watch activate behind her. "Ben...?" She questioned, turning the aisle corner, gasping as she saw the entire cereal aisle in tatters.
Many were shocked and horrified at what the boy had done. "Noooo! That poor, sweet cereal! It was innocent!" Sato cried out in despair.
"Benjamin Tennyson! That is an egregious misuse of your power! Not only have you wasted it on perhaps THE most foolish reason I can think of, but you also wasted perfectly good cereal that could feed hungry families! And done at least a few tens of thousands of yen in damages from all of those wasted boxes!" Iida shouted, chopping away as always. [3]
"Oh, come on, Iida. I mean, sure, that's not great what he did, but he's just a kid. I'm sure plenty of kids in our world would do that if they thought they could get away with it. I know I would've if my mom had left me out of her sight in the cereal isle for more than a minute." Kaminari said.
"Which is why there are Quirk restrictions in place, so children can't abuse these potentially dangerous and chaotic powers. And just one more reason why this kid shouldn't have the watch." Aizawa grumbled.
"But, remember, Aizawa. The watch won't come off on its own. Of course, what young Ben did was thoughtless and a misuse of his power, but there's no REAL harm done here. He didn't hurt anyone..." All Might said reasonably. "And that cereal's probably overpriced and seriously unhealthy anyway." He said in a more joking tone, to which the other teachers and even a few students facevaulted.
"Is anyone else just wondering what alien he did this with?" Mineta wondered.
She walked over to a shaking box. "Oh man, another red card!" A high-pitched voice complained inside the box.
Gwen picked up the box and pulled out a little grey frog-like humanoid alien from the box.
"Whoa! An alien tinier than Mineta!" Sero said, ignoring Mineta's indignant screeching.
"Aww, it's kind of cute!" Ashido cooed.
The much more welcome and familiar green light shined from one of the English Teacher's info cards. "Grey Matter! A Galvan! He may be small, but he's got a big brain! Actually, TWO big brains! Their species is considered to be THE smartest in the galaxy! MULTIPLE galaxies, even! But, they can also breathe underwater, crawl up walls, jump like a frog and have long, prehensile tongues." Present Mic announced in a tone with far more levity and excitement this time.
"So, it's almost like a frog. Just like me!" Asui said, smiling at the tiny alien in Gwen's grasp. Although that smile faltered a bit when she remembered Ben was using its powers for juvenile, borderline illegal purposes.
"Two brains?! Oh, man, that would be awesome for helping out with homework." Kirishima said.
"I'm honestly amazed how they're considered the smartest species in multiple galaxies... Amazing." Yaoyorozu said in awe.
"With that in mind, he may be effective for disabling or reconfiguring machinery. Stealth infiltration would also be a useful application for him. Those would be his best uses, since he's too small and weak to be used for fighting and rescuing." Midoriya said, once again missing the hosts who were smirking, knowing "They Lurk Below" would throw that theory back in the broccoli boy's face.
"But if this tiny alien took so long to discover the card inside THIS box, how did he clear the rest of the isle so quickly?" Aoyama wondered. Everyone had to admit that was a good point.
"Gotcha! What are you doing?" Gwen demanded.
"Uh... Looking for the gold Sumo Slammer Card? Duh." Grey Matter said as if it were obvious.
"You're supposed to use your powers to help people, not find some stupid trading card." His cousin reprimanded him.
"Right? It's a stupid trading card! Don't they sell booster packs or some shit like that?" Bakugo questioned.
"I would've tried that ghost alien we saw the silhouette of. If it's like a normal ghost and can fly through things, he could pass through the boxes, see the card, then just buy the one with the gold card." Shoji said.
"I'd say that violates the spirit of the promotion, hiding the cards in the boxes, but it'd cause less damage." Ojiro said.
"Well, like All Might said, the cereal's overpriced anyway, so Ben should do whatever he can to get what he needs, as long as it's legal." Uraraka said, having learned to be savvy with her money when buying food, usually only buying things that are heavily discounted.
"But that would still be misusing the powers..." Koda pointed out.
"Ahem." Store Manager made his presence known as he walked up behind Gwen.
Gwen hid Grey Matter behind her back as she turned to face him. "Just what do you think you are doing, young lady?" He demanded.
"It wasn't me! It was my doofus cousin!" She defended herself.
"Well someone is gonna have to pay for all this!" The manager told her, causing her shock to become a glare.
Max looked at the mountain of cereal boxes on his shopping cart. "So, uh, why are we buying all this cereal?" Max questioned.
"I'm surprised he's not more mad about HAVING to buy all that cereal." Hagakure said.
"He certainly has every right to be mad! Ben misused his powers for petty, childish reasons, caused damage to the store and ruined food people would eat in the name of something as trivial as a trading card!" Iida reprimanded.
"I mean, those shelves looked pretty full, I doubt many people were buying that cereal." Todoroki said. "Regardless, what's done is done. And they're paying for it, so like All Might said, no harm done." Todoroki said.
"Well, we would have only had to buy the one that I found the gold Sumo Slammer card in if Gwen hadn't butted in with her big butt!" Ben complained.
The women were aghast at this. "Benjamin Kirby Tennyson! You do NOT comment on the size of a girl's butt like that!" Ashido snapped, all the girls nodding fiercely in agreement.
"Exactly! A woman's figure is sacred and you NEVER insult or ridicule them!" Hagakure agreed angrily.
"Suddenly, I think I got off easy with just that jab in the eye..." Mineta said, remembering the time he tried to peek into the girl's locker room.
"Hello? You were trashing the whole cereal aisle just to find some stupid piece of cardboard!" Gwen reminded him.
"Ben, now I can appreciate how much this card means to you, but don't you think you're getting a little... obsessed?" Max asked.
"Maybe you're right, Grandpa. I don't deserve a gold Sumo Slammer card." Ben said, seeming to be genuinely ashamed of his actions...
"Well, at least he seems to have learned from his actions." All Might said.
"Wait for it..." Present Mic said, already having a feeling of what was coming.
"I mean, it's not like I rescued a bunch of people from a burning building or anything like that!" He sarcastically reminded his family.
"Using guilt to try and win your ill-gotten gains!? That is truly despicable!" Iida snapped, chopping away once again.
"Yeah, I'm really starting to question if we can learn anything about being a real hero from Ben." Asui agreed.
"Well, again, he's still learning himself, he's had these powers for less than a week. And two, when you guys ask for rewards for your heroism, you want fat stacks of cash, TV shows, endorsement deals and your own agencies. All Ben wants is a booster pack." Maverick said.
"W-well... He might have a point there..." Uraraka admitted, knowing she was mainly in the hero business for the money.
"Superhero guilt? Pretty low." Gwen chastised him again.
"Hey, whatever it takes." Ben said dismissively.
Ben saw a Sumo Slammer card display. "Huh? Yeah!" He said excitedly and walked over to display. "Whoa. Sumo Slammer cards! A complete set!" He marveled at the cards before him.
"A complete set? There's only, like, five of them. And only one gold card, where we saw that kid had three!" Kaminari pointed out.
"Right? Even All Might had a full deck of trading cards in different outfits and poses." Midoriya agreed.
"Let's check out the pet department." Max suggested.
"Please tell me you aren't looking for our breakfast..." Gwen groaned as she walked past.
"Please, no..." Koda pleaded.
"Don't worry, Koda. Max seems like a good guy. He probably wouldn't eat an animal that's supposed to be a pet." Jiro assured him.
Ben kept staring at the display. "Someday you'll be all mine." He declared.
Suddenly, the entire shop began to rumble. TV sets fell from their displays and people began screaming. Ben suddenly had a sense of danger and dove behind a display case JUST before the walls burst open, revealing Dr. Animo mounted on his giant frog. "Whoa!" Ben said in shock.
"Oh, no! Animo!" Sato said worriedly.
"We knew he was coming, but it still caught me off-guard." Ojiro admitted.
"But this is the worst possible time he could've shown up. Now Ben can't transform into an alien to fight them." Yaoyorozu said worriedly.
"All because he wasted his time limit on ridiculous trading cards." Aizawa scoffed.
Animo got down from the croaking frog and began to start pocketing the electronics. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Ben demanded, stepping out from cover.
The Giant frog used its tongue to knock stacked boxes on top of Ben. "Don't be a hero, kid. Just run along and play." Animo warned him.
"Oh, man! There's no way he can stop him without his power. Ben's doomed!" Kirishima said worriedly.
"At least Animo doesn't seem interested in him. Maybe they can just let him get what he needs here, then bust him later when the watch is recharged." Sero said hopefully.
"Don't count Young Ben out just yet, students. We've already seen what Young Gwen was capable of with a mere shovel. Perhaps these children will surprise us once again." All Might told them.
Ben looked down at the Omnitrix, which was still glowing red. "You are so lucky I can't go hero." He grumbled.
Animo smiled and mounted the frog again. Two security guards arrived on the scene. "Freeze!" The first guard ordered, albeit very nervously.
"Get down off that giant...frog and put your hands up!" The second guard ordered while fighting through sheer bewilderment.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, rent-a-cops!? The hell do you think you're gonna do against THAT without a Quirk!?" Bakugo snapped.
"Well, I commend them for still trying to do their job in the face of such danger, at least." Aoyama said.
However, Animo just confidently rode away on the frog.
"Uh, we got a grab-and-dash in Electronics. Male, five-foot-six, riding on a giant frog - or a toad. Trust me, you can't miss him!" The second guard informed his superior through his walkie-talkie.
Meanwhile, Max and Gwen innocently looked around in the pet section. Max reviewed his list of items while Gwen played with a hamster.
"Oh, crap! I think Animo just found himself some new pets! In the WORST WAY!" Shoji said.
"Noooo! Not the cute little hamster!" Hagakure shrieked.
"That's not even the worst one! Parrots like that cockatiel are incredibly smart, so this one would be able to follow Animo's orders better than any of the others!" Koda said worriedly.
Suddenly, Animo's frog landed in front of them. Animo turned the dial and red beams shot out of his transmodulator again. "Aah!" Max exclaimed as he pushed him and Gwen out of its way.
The beam mutated a hamster and a cockatiel, both of whom exploded out of their cages and stared menacingly at the gasping Max and Gwen.
"Ariiiiise to your full potential, my pets!" Animo declared, both dramatically and manically.
"Oh, come on! Three giant animals?! That's not fair!" Mineta complained.
"Now he has one for each terrain. The parrot for the sky, the hamster for the land and, if necessary, the frog for the water." Todoroki said.
"Those poor animals..." Koda said, tearing up, before putting on a face of anger never before seen by his classmates. "This guy's a monster!" He growled with a fury the others didn't thik him capable of.
"Huh. Anyone else think those transformations aren't as impressive? The frog gained horns and extra eyes, the hamster just got longer legs and gnarly teeth and the parrot just got bigger." Ashido noted.
"I don't think the appearance is really the thing to focus on right now, Ashido. More what those gnarly teeth and giant beak can do to the Tennysons." Midnight said in concern.
"Okay, so, I can buy that he's mutating the animals and everything, but then how is he controlling them without a Quirk like Koda's?" Jiro asked.
"Eh. Not sure, to be honest with you. Maybe he added a special function that makes them recognize him as their alpha, or their minds mutated to make them smart enough to take orders?" Maverick theorized. [4]
Ben ran over and was shocked to see Gwen and Max screaming and run away from the hamster. It roared at him. "Oh, man! What kind of pet food are they selling around here?" He questioned in shock.
"He CAN'T be serious." The entire audience said.
Dr. Animo theatrically presented his mutated animals, all aligned next to him. "Behold the genius of Dr. Animo. Nothing can stop me from getting what I deserve. Mark my words! Today I will make history, or- should I say... prehistory!" He declared proudly.
"Prehistory? As in... dinosaurs? I mean, his animals are definitely huge, but I wouldn't call them DINOSAURS, exactly." Kaminari said.
"Well, in a way, he's already done it. It may not have TECHNICALLY been a dinosaur, but his frog easily dwarfs Beelzebufo, the largest frog that even lived at 41 centimeters long and 4.5 kilograms. And the cockatiel is roughly the same size as the Argentavis, which had a height of 1.5 meters, length of 3.5 meters and 7 meter wingspan." Yaoyorozu said.
"I think you guys are taking this too literally. He's probably just saying his animals are the closest thing to dinosaurs now." Asui said.
Meanwhile, the teachers were looking at each other as they began to have their own theories. "You don't think that he might be able to fine-tune exactly how animals evolve with those extra components for his transmodulator, do you?" Midnight asked in a hushed tone.
"And actually turn them into dinosaurs? Sounds a little far-fetched, but I heard we're not actually too far away from that ourselves." Present Mic whispered.
"Are you talking about that Discovery Channel movie where they tried to genetically change an emu embryo into something like a raptor? Because that was dubious at best. And even then, they said that'd still take us 50 years." Aizawa quietly told him.
"Maybe we should just wait and see. But no matter what his plan is, we can only hope it DOESN'T come to fruition." All Might said silently.
Gwen looked over and saw Ben looking at the recharging watch. "If you didn't go cereal diving, one of those heroes could be saving us from becoming hamster chow." She chastised him again.
"Exactly! He must be aware that he only has a limited time to use the Omnitrix! Any time he uses it for such frivolous nonsense leaves him running the risk of needing the watch only for it to not be available! He should be more responsible!" Iida declared, chopping yet again.
"Well, he is just a kid. They mess up sometimes. I guess this is just one of those 'live and learn' moments?" Ashido said, trying to cut Ben a little slack.
"Yeah, but that's assuming the kid GETS the chance to live from this." Bakugo said in a troubled tone, not liking seeing the family in danger.
The three gasped and screamed as the hamster roared, taking a step forward. As they run away, the hamster leapt over Ben, cornering his family.
"Oh, no! Gwen! Max!" Uraraka said worriedly.
"Ben, hurry! You've got to do something!" Midoriya cried out.
"But what CAN he do without the Omnitrix?" Ojiro wondered.
Ben looked down at the watch, knowing he couldn't transform. Luckily, he spotted a scooter nearby. "I don't need to go hero to stop an overgrown fur-ball!" He said, making his way to the scooter.
Many of the class was shocked at Ben's plan, yet at the same time, strangely eager to see it happen. "No way! This kid's crazy. Totally punk rock." Jiro said, leaning forward in anticipation.
"He's really gonna try and outrun that hamster freak on that thing!? No way!" Mineta cried out, both amazed and greatly worried by Ben's plan.
"It's a long shot, but it just might work. Even in this new form, the hamster didn't seem all that fast, since Gwen and Max were able to outrun it until it cornered them. That scooter JUST might be able to stay ahead of it." Todoroki said.
"Come on, Ben! You got this!" Dark Shadow cheered.
"If there is a way for him to succeed here, this just might be his best bet." Tokoyami agreed.
Ben lobbed an American football at the hamster's head, getting its attention. He then drove away on a scooter, the hamster giving chase. The hamster gained on him and took a leaping bite, but Ben swerves under it.
"That's the manly way, Ben! Always find some way out of a tough spot!" Kirishima cheered.
"I must admit, seeing this actually work, it's quite ingenious. The scooter is quite a bit faster than I expected, making it difficult for it to simply pounce on Ben and maul him. But Ben himself deserves some credit for having the reflexes to react to the attack and enough control over the scooter to dodge under it. Very well done." Yaoyorozu praised.
"Yeah! He's making me start to believe Quirkless people can be heroes!" Hagakure said excitedly.
"The boy has such drive and determination to protect his family! Oh, the spirit of youth is so invigorating!" Midnight said excitedly.
The hamster then landed on a knocked-over shelf in front of the boy. Ben decided to ride up the shelf like a ramp, flying in the air. The hamster leapt up and tried to bite him, but missed and fell in between two shelves. As luck would have it, Ben landed on a shelf with the scooter, causing it to topple over on the one next to the hamster, making it fall on top of the mutated beast, trapping it for good.
"YES!" Almost all the students, minus a shocked Bakugo, cheered.
"Alright, Ben! You did it!" Midoriya cheered, happy to see that a Quirkless person could still stand up and be a hero when needed.
"Those shelves are way too big and heavy. That hamster's not going anywhere." Asui said with a smile.
"It still doesn't excuse his earlier actions, but I must admit, the boy did a good job." Iida admitted.
"You got that right, young listener! That's what I call skill!" Present Mic said in amazement.
"Tch. The kid just got lucky. No way he could've planned the shelf would fall like that." Bakugo said, still fighting the idea Quirkless people could be heroes, or even useful in any way, for that matter.
"Ben!" They both exclaimed, relieved the boy was okay.
"Uh-huh! That's right! Not even giant hamsters can mess with Ben Tennyson!" Ben declared proudly.
"But he's still letting his ego get the best of him." Aizawa sighed.
"Come on, Aizawa, give him credit. He DID just stop that thing." All Might reasoned.
"Yeah, but... It's not like he wrestled it to the ground and put it in submission or anything. He's getting a little too full of himself for just pushing a shelf on the thing." Sero said.
"And yet I'm pretty sure if it was you, Kaminari or Mineta, you'd be expecting the whole store to sing your praises." Jiro said with a smile and roll of her eyes, ignoring the indignant cries of the boys.
"Clean-up on aisle six." An employee said over the intercom. (There were some laughs at this, but no real comments.)
Ben heard a rumble and turned to see the frog hop behind them. "Young fool! You cannot stop me! I will turn Washington D.C. into 'Washington B.C.'!" Animo declared as he jumped from his frog to the mutated parrot, who flew off with him through a sky light, the frog following after.
"There it is again. That's the second time he's mentioned dinosaurs." Uraraka said.
"Just what could those components do that he would liken the devices creations to creatures of the past?" Yaoyorozu wondered.
"It's either them being the closest thing to dinosaurs or him actually controlling the change to make them into next gen dinos. What else could it be?" Sato asked.
"Just guessing gets us nowhere. All we can do is wait and watch. Either way, the one thing we can say for certain, it can't be good." Ojiro said.
The store manager then came up to Ben. "You saved the store! If there's anything I can do to repay you... anything you want!" He offered. Ben was surprised at this, but then peaked at a gold Sumo Slammer card and grinned.
"And now he's using his good deed as a reason to get the cards?! Is there no limit to this child's selfishness!?" Iida asked.
"I mean... The manager asked first, to be fair." Shoji admitted.
"Not to mention, I could totally see Mt. Lady doing that. Only she'd want the biggest TV they had." Mineta said, shuddering at the memory of interning for the Gigantification heroine.
"Well, now that you mention it..." He said, walking forward, only for Max to pick him up and drag him away.
"OH, COME ON!" The Bakusquad (minus Bakugo), Hagakure, Sato, Mineta and Uraraka complained.
"He just saved the whole store! Even without alien powers! I'd say he earned that card." Sato said.
"How much could this card even be!? 2,000 yen?!" Mineta asked. ($12.75)
"Grandpa?! I was finally gonna score the gold Sumo Slammer card!" He complained.
"No time for that now, Ben. We have a giant parrot to follow." Max told him.
"How are they possibly gonna follow it?! It's got a huge head start! And it can fly! All they've got is a janky RV!" Kaminari said.
"But that's just why they need to get going so they don't fall too far behind." Midoriya pointed out.
"But shouldn't they just let the police handle it at this point? Jumping in to save people is one thing, but now they're actively taking the law in their own hands." Asui said. Much like Bakugo and his views of the Quirkless, she still has yet to completely break out of the black and white mindset she's held all her life.
"Well, it's as I told Young Midoriya once. Meddling, even when you don't have to, is the essence of being a hero." All Might declared.
Gwen snickered at Ben.
"Oh, come on, Gwen! Don't kick a guy while he's down! That's not manly!" Kirishima said.
"This brat's starting to get on my nerves." Bakugo grumbled.
"Yeah. And I'm pretty sure he saved you again, so you could be a bit more grateful." Uraraka agreed with a pout.