Chapter 7: Permanent Retirement
The Rust Bucket was stopped on a desert road at an ice cream parlor. Ben and Gwen were inside, getting ice cream while Max was using the local ATM. But suddenly, a dirty red pickup truck pulled up to the same spot and a big burly man walked up to Max. "Outta the way, 'Grandpa'. I got a major withdrawal to make!" He snapped, grabbing and throwing Max to the ground. The elderly man looked up and saw a buck-toothed man in front of him and smiling, likely the associate of the burly man.
"Oh, no! Max!" Uraraka exclaimed as the elder was thrown to the ground.
"Jeez! It seems like every episode starts off strong with chaos!" Kaminari exclaimed, he and several others shocked by how quickly the everyday situation suddenly escalated to a robbery.
"It's not a TV show, Dunce Face! These aren't episodes!" Bakugo snapped.
"Committing crime in broad daylight. I can't tell if these criminals are bold, or just dumb." Ojiro said.
"I'd go with dumb, considering they don't even bother hiding their faces." Present Mic said.
"To be fair, they seem to be in the dessert, so they're probably in the middle of nowhere and aren't likely to encounter many people." Aizawa admitted. "But, like you said, they don't have anything to cover their faces in the event they DID run into people. Not to mention, most ATM's have cameras and alarms for if they're tampered with. I doubt these men put ANY thought into this beyond 'machine has money, want money'." He added.
"And now they're gonna pay for it once Ben shows up! Maybe he'll even use a new alien!" Sato cheered.
In the parlor, the kids were choosing their ice cream, with a frowning old man serving them. "What do you have that's non-fat with less than 3% sugar?" Gwen asked.
A few students couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this. "Are we SURE she's only ten? What kind of kid wants LESS sugar?" Mineta asked.
"Maybe she's trying to watch her figure. I can respect that." Hagakure said, the movements of her uniform suggesting she was running her hands down her invisible figure.
"Still, I don't know what she's expecting, not a lot of ice cream are low fat or low sugar. Especially not back then. Ribbit." Asui pointed out.
"Only the sugar free kind, to my knowledge. And that stuff is vile." Jiro said in disgust.
"Napkins!" The parlor worker snapped.
This got a few laughs from some students. "I mean, he's not wrong! Those are probably the only things that fit the bill!" Sero laughed.
"Still, he didn't have to be so rude to a little girl! Whatever happened to service with a smile?!" Ashido demanded with a huff.
"What about you, kid?" He then asked Ben.
Ben opened his mouth, but wa cut off by the sound of a large chain. He looked out the window and saw the burly man walking to the ATM with a chained metal hook. "I'm about to go 'rocky road'!" He declared, running out of the parlor and priming the Omnitrix.
"Why would you tell HIM that? Aren't you trying to keep your identity a secret!?" Aoyama questioned.
"That guy must be so confused right now." Koda said.
"He's probably not paying attention. Come on, Ben! Take those guys down, super manly style!" Kirishima cheered.
Outside, the burly man dug the hook into the ATM. "Hit it!" He yelled to his associate in the pickup truck.
The buck-toothed man tried pumping the gas, but nothing happened. Suddenly, the wheel melted out of his hands and the entire dashboard formed into a far more advanced form with white and black coloring with green accents like a circuit board pattern, with a large circle for an eye where the wheel once was. "Your cash request has been denied!" The alien declared in a filtered voice as the eye flashed with his words, before the creature entirely merged with the pickup and kicked the man out the door. He then separated from the vehicle in an almost liquid form, reshaping back into a large blob-like humanoid.
Many of the group were awestruck by this new alien. "Whoa! did you see that?! It has a body like a liquid! And it covered the whole truck!" Hagakure said, amazed.
"It'd didn't simply COVER it. It looked like it actually MERGED WITH and reshaped the whole vehicle!" Iida said in awe.
A green flash erupted from one of the card's in Present Mic's hand, signaling the teacher on what to do. "Upgrade! A Galvanic Mechamorph! A techno-organic species with a gel-like body composed tiny machines known as Nanites! With a liquid body, they can reshape it however they please, even into puddles or weaponry! And they can even cover, take control of and reform technology into much more advanced versions! Like the world's greatest upgrade, hence the name!" The radio host hero announced.
"Incredible! In today's day and age with technology being so prevalent, that gives this alien almost no shortage of resources at its disposal. Not to mention making this technology sentient is mostly inconspicuous and unpredictable, as well as adding an intimidation factor of seeing an inanimate object moving on its own. And it goes without saying that the type of technology goes a long way. A truck on its own is already a dangerous weapon on its own, but when upgraded like that, it becomes even more so. Just imagine if he took over actual weaponry like a tank." Midoriya said, writing a mile a minute.
"It's a good thing Hatsume isn't here. She might freak out over seeing this alien." Uraraka said.
"Indeed. I'm hesitant to imagine just what she might do if she got her hands on such a creature." Iida agreed with a shiver.
Yaoyorozu pondered something about the name, however. "GALVANIC Mechamorph? Like the Galvan? Like Grey Matter?" She questioned.
Confetti then burst from cannons on the walls as the dinging sound from a game show was heard. "Correct, Yaoyorozu! Well done. Indeed, it was the Galvan who created the Galvanic Mechamorph on the moon of their planet, Galvan B. By COMPLETE accident, mind you." Anemone explained.
"Well, I'd say this is one awesome accident!" Kaminari said.
"Nice catch, Yaomomo. But what else would you expect from the smartest girl in class?" Jiro praised, snuggling up to her girlfriend a bit.
The burly man grabbed the hook, swung it in the air and threw it at Upgrade. However, the alien simply raised his right arm and let the chain wrap around it, giving a hard tug, launching the man upwards into a utility pole.
"And strong in its own right. This is one versatile alien." Shoji said, impressed.
"All of his aliens seem to be pretty versatile, honestly. Which is a good thing, since there's sure to be more times when he'll get the wrong alien and work with what he's given." Todoroki theorized, remembering last episode when Ben became XLR8 instead of Ripjaws.
"So he'll have to be smart and adapt to the situation in hand. Let's hope he's good at improvising in the future." Midnight said.
"Oh, there may be no one BETTER." Maverick told her.
As he tried to get up, Max put his foot on his chest. "Where do ya think you're going? Good work, Ben!" Max praised his grandson.
"Oh yeah! I'm ready for anything! Bring it on! What's next?" Upgrade asked excitedly.
"We're headin' off to see your Great Aunt Vera for the weekend!" Max explained with a smile.
And any excitement the transformed boy was feeling was immediately gone. "Ugh, boring old Aunt Vera?! Nooooo!" The techno-organic creature cried out in exasperation.
There were a few sweatdrops amongst the audience at Ben's horrified response. "Well... so much for anything." All Might said.
"What's wrong going to see his aunt?" Dark Shadow asked.
"Same reason he doesn't get along with Gwen. Vera likes quiet, calm, peaceful things and everything Ben likes is the OPPOSITE." Anemone explained.
"A battle of the generations. A tale as old as time." Tokoyami said.
The Rust Bucket continued driving through the barren desert. "When Aunt Vera said she wanted to 'move away from it all', she really meant it!" Gwen exclaimed.
"Aw man, this summer was supposed to be about F-U-N, not hanging out in some old lady's place." Ben lamented.
Several audience members raised a brow at this. "Did he forget he's traveling around with his grandfather, who's also pretty old?" Mineta asked. [1]
"He should have more respect for his elders!" Iida snapped, chopping away as always.
"We all know the kid's a little shit. Nothing we can do about it. We're not here to smack the kid over the head, so get over it." Bakugo told him.
"I'm STILL a little concerned that was your mom's answer for everything." Uraraka said, a little unnerved.
"I like Aunt Vera!" Gwen defended their great aunt as she washed the dishes.
"Duh! That's because you act like you're a hundred years old!" Ben taunted, but it didn't seem to bother her all that much as she just returned to her task at hand.
"I hope those two start getting along eventually. This is getting old, ribbit." Asui groaned.
"I'm honestly amazed their grandfather hasn't gone insane from all their bickering. I certainly would've." Aizawa agreed.
"They have their endearing moments, don't worry." Anemone assured them.
Meanwhile, on her lawn, Vera spoke with Marty, a neighbor of hers. "It's been years since I've seen Max and the kids! I'm not sure I'll even recognize them! Stop by and say hello." She offered.
"That's their aunt Vera? She seems nice." Koda said.
"Why are we seeing her NOW, though? I doubt anything exciting will happen with a bunch of old people before Ben shows up." Kaminari said.
"Kaminari! What did I just say about BEN not respecting his elders?! Even if they are from another universe, we should treat them with respect as those wiser and more mature than us!" Iida snapped.
"I'd like that." Marty accepted, before entering his house.
"Oh, by the way, to spare you guys from calling him 'the old guy' or 'the elderly man' this whole viewing, his name is Marty." Maverick quickly told them.
The blinds were closed. He put on a scary movie and got a bowl of snacks next to him. A sentient green glob of liquid suddenly slithered up next to the bowl.
Many in the audience jumped or let out a small cry of horror at the creature. "What the heck is that!?" Ashido asked in horror.
"Mon dieu! It's hideous!" Aoyama shrieked in disgust.
"It looks like its body is liquid, like Upgrade. Could they be the same species!?" Ojiro asked.
"I doubt it. Why would it be interested in the old man, then? He's not technology it can upgrade. Not to mention, it's a different color." Midoriya pointed out.
"Well, they DO come in different colors, but usually black, mixed with another color, usually green, but there are also blue, white, yellow, purple... and one red." Anemone explained, shuddering at that last one. [2]
"Did you all forget it's going after the guy!?" Jiro snapped, bringing their attention back to the screen.
Marty gasped in horror when he first felt it on his hand. His shadow was then seen as the blob was revealed to have crept onto his hand. "Help me-!" He tried to call for help, but the blob jumped to his face, muffling his cries.
"Dammit! It got him!" All Might growled, feeling helpless as he saw the old man's apparent demise.
"But why? What was the purpose?" Shoji asked, trying to find a meaning to the attack, a reason the old man met his end.
"Who knows? Let's just hope Ben makes that thing pay for this!" Kirishima snapped, slamming his fists together.
The Rust Bucket finally entered Vera's retirement village, driving past old folks' homes and some people out on the sidewalk. "This is gonna be soooo boring! Their idea of excitement in this place is probably watching the grass grow." Ben complained yet again.
"Oh, come on, Ben! Plenty of seniors are still lots of fun. My grandfather and I love watching sports together!" Sato told the boy.
"Boy, the kid's sure not shy about sharing his opinion, is he?" Sero asked.
"That's one of the joys of youth, young listener, being free to speak your mind and be as sassy as you want, even if you're a little too blunt for some people's likings." Present Mic told them.
"Then clearly you're still a child, too. You certainly act like one." Aizawa said with a small smirk.
An old man was climbing on his roof, trying to reach his satellite, but started slipping down.
"Oh, no! He's gonna fall!" Uraraka cried out.
"Ben, hurry! Do something!" Ashido shrieked as well.
However, instead of falling off, he made an expert Olympic-level backflip off the roof and landed safely on the ground just as the Rust Bucket passed by. "Woah! Did you see that?!" He asked in disbelief.
"Whoa! That old dude must be a hardcore gymnast!" Kaminari said, impressed.
"But... That shouldn't be possible. Elderly people shouldn't be flexible enough to do something like that. The cartilage structures in the knee by that age would've stiffened and weakened, making them less able to do their job and absorb the shock of the fall. That should've still resulted in serious injury." Todoroki explained in shock.
"Maybe this guy's got the good vitamins that gives him better cartilage?" Dark Shadow guessed.
"I somehow doubt it dark shadow. Something is VERY WRONG in this town. Could it have something to do with what attacked that old man?" Tokoyami questioned.
However, Gwen's attention had been solely focused on her laptop, so when she looked out her window, she only saw seemingly normal old people. "See what? The heat must be frying that pea-sized brain of yours." She taunted, to which Ben frowned.
The trio finally arrived at Vera's. Ben was the first to step out, but was forced to raise his hand up against the glaring sun. "Seriously, why do old people have to live where it's soooo hot!" He asked as he walked forward with Gwen walking behind him with a sinister grin on her face.
"Ugh! Seriously, that's what I wanna know, too! When she got a little older, my grandma up and moved to Kumagaya! I sweat so much when I'm there, people can actually SEE me!" Hagakure complained. [3]
"It's not so much they prefer the heat than they hate the cold. Elders have a higher risk of hypothermia, they lose heat more quickly as they have less fat and muscle to insulate themselves, older muscles become painfully stiff in cold weather, limiting movement and hotter places such as the desert allow for a greater intake of Vitamin D and Serotonin to make people feel happier, healthier and less anxious." Yaoyorozu answered matter-of-factly.
And suddenly, the female Tennyson surprised her cousin with a spray from a water gun. "Hey!" Ben exclaimed, glaring back at her, only for her to laugh and run away.
Instead of running after her, Marty's window caught Ben's eye. Marty was staring at him.
"Oh, thank goodness! He's alive!" Uraraka said happily.
"But we saw that blob thing attack him!" Kaminari said.
"Maybe it just entered his stomach like some kind of parasite?" Midoriya theorized.
"If you quiet down and watch, we can find out." Aizawa told his students.
Suddenly, He violently hissed at Ben, cracking his neck in every direction and shutting the blinds on him.
Ashido gasped in horror as a look of realization hit her. "It's like Invasion of the Body Snatchers!" She cried out in horror.
"Why do you know so many terrifying old alien movies?!" Midnight said, looking at her student in shock and horror.
"But wait! Then, do you think that guy who jumped off the roof could be one?!" Asui asked worriedly.
"Then that's AT LEAST two... In which case, there's likely more." Iida said in concern.
"Huh, they really make you feel welcome here..." Ben said, understandably off-put by the harsh behavior.
"Just watch your cheeks, Vera's a pincher!" Max playfully warned them as they approached the house.
"Ugh. Why do old people do that?! My granny does that EVERY TIME she sees me!" Mineta complained.
"Probably because you LOOK like a baby... And act like it most of the time." Jiro said with a smirk, ignoring the diminutive boy's indignant cries.
Vera must have heard or seen them and made herself known by coming outside. "Max!" She greeted happily.
"Vera!" Max greeted back as Vera gave her brother a hug.
She then hugged Gwen and pinched her cheeks. "I can't believe you're finally here! And look at you two! So - grown - up!" She declared, shaking Gwen's face back and forth.
"Oww!" Gwen complained.
She hugged Ben and also pinched his cheeks. "Oww!" The boy complained as well.
"Well, he DID warn you both." Present Mic said.
"Come on in! I can't wait to chew the fat with all of you." Vera invited them inside.
They walked in, while Marty sneered at them through a crack in his blinds.
"Well, that's totally not creepy at all." Sato said sarcastically.
"At least they're pretty shit at impersonating people. It shouldn't take the kid long to realize something's up." Bakugo declared with a vicious grin on his face.
"Yeah. I can't wait to see Ben stomp those things! Preying on old people SO isn't manly!" Kirishima snapped.
As the trio walked around and observed the house. Ben sniffed the house air. "Ugh, why do old people's houses always smell like somebody's cooking socks or something?" He complained.
"Benjamin Tennyson! You WILL learn to respect your elders!" Iida snapped, chopping away once again.
"Iida, he's on the other side of a screen. He can't hear you." Uraraka told him.
"Lucky..." The more troublesome members of the class (basically the Bakusquad and Mineta) complained quietly.
Later on, the family was sat down for dinner. At the center of the kitchen table was a giant orange gelatin mold with brown and white bits. It sat on a plate, continuously wiggling.
"Ooh, Vera, this is delicious! Now, what are these brown chunks in the mold?" Max asked.
"Pork chops! And the white parts are cauliflower!" Vera answered with a smile, while Ben and Gwen exchanged looks of disgust.
"Ew! Who puts meat in jelly?!" Hagakure cried out in disgust.
"I guess weird food choices runs in the family." Sero said, equally grossed out.
"Actually, it's called Aspic and it's fairly popular, especially around Christmas or Easter. And it's not the actual, sugary kind of jello, it's meat stock or broth that's been left to cool and solidify into gelatin. Usually has chunks of meats, seafood, veggies or eggs." Anemone explained.
Maverick then showed them a few images on his phone, holographically projecting the images for them. "Yeah, we never had it before, but some of them actually look pretty good. We're just mostly seeing the world through Ben's perspective, so anything that's not meat, potatoes, eggs, sweets or junk food is nasty to him." The Mantis added.
"It still beats worms or tongues, I guess." Uraraka admitted.
"So, Ben, what have you been doing so far this summer?" She asked.
"Dealing with alien life forms." Ben answered bluntly.
"Ohoho, you!" She laughed off his answer.
"Wow. Are we sure he's trying to hide the fact he's a hero? Because he just blurted it out." Jiro said with a raised brow.
"Yeah, no. Even WE can't defend this one. Sometimes he tries, but EASILY 80% of the time, he blurts it out that he's a hero, fights aliens or saves the world." Maverick admitted.
"Well, it's just lucky he's a kid. Because if he were an adult, or even a teen saying this, he'd sound insane." Midnight said.
Gwen noticed Vera's shelf and got up from the table to see. Various frames and trinkets were on the bottom shelves, but the top shelf held many taxidermied birds of different species.
"Whyyyyyy?!" Koda cried out in despair at seeing the taxidermied animal.
"Easy, Koda. Maybe it's faux-taxidermy? That's a thing." Sato tried to cheer up his occasional teammate.
"Aunt Vera, is that a stuffed Red-Billed North American Chickadee?" The girl asked.
Vera gasped at this, before joining her. "How perceptive, Gwen! And did you know the song of the Red-Billed North American Chickadee is actually-" She began.
"-A call indicating alarm or excitement! Brrrrrr!" The declared together and made the bird noise.
"Aww, that's actually kind of sweet. At least those two can bond a little." Ashido said sweetly.
"Indeed. I also have fond memories of my grandfather sharing his knowledge with me." Iida said fondly.
While they were all distracted, Ben moved his slice of mold onto Gwen's plate.
"I am toootally stuffed!" The boy exclaimed.
"Ben, now that's just rude to both your cousin AND your great aunt." All Might chided.
"Well, he'll likely be paying for it later when he's hungry and everyone else wonders why, so they'll know he didn't eat." Ojiro said.
"Ben, would you like some candy?" Vera asked as she brought him a bowl full of small brown pieces.
"Now we're talking!" The boy said in delight, shooting one in his mouth and chewing out it, but then paused and spat it out. "UGH! Coffee? As a candy?! Is this some kind of joke?" He asked incredulously.
"Oh, come on! Is this lady TRYING to be boring on purpose?" Mineta complained.
"It makes sense. As we age, our tastebuds shrink and stop regenerating, so we lose the acuity of our sense of taste, with salty and sweet usually being the first to go. So they often prefer stronger or more bitter flavors like coffee, as it's something they CAN still taste." Yaoyorozu told him. [4]
"I need to use the bathroom!" He said, getting up and running into the bathroom, shutting the door. "It's 'Attack of the Old People'! I gotta get out of here." He groaned, before getting an idea and turning on the Omnitrix.
"Oh, come on, Ben! You're there to spend time with your aunt! Ditching them like that is SO not manly!" Kirishima admonished.
"Yeah. One day you won't have them anymore and you'll regret any chance you missed out on to spend time with them..." Kaminari agreed sadly, surprising his fellow classmates.
"Wow, Kaminari, that was... actually pretty deep." Jiro admitted.
He then slammed down and began to transform. The boy turned around in the void as his appearance started to look more skeletal and his eyes were focused on as they disappeared from his sockets, the dark void where his eye once was engulfing the screen. A featureless head with a line running through it was seen, before a single pink, sideways eye with a pupil and no iris appeared on the line. The view then zoomed out to reveal a phantom alien wrapped in grey cloth-like skin.
Several members of the audience let out a shriek at this transformation. "Okay, I think this one HAS to be the creepiest out of all of them so far, probably out of all of them!" Uraraka said fearfully.
"Just the eye vanishing like that... Just HAUNTING." Shoji agreed.
But then, they were shocked and amazed at the sight of this alien. "Whoa! It's an ACTUAL ghost!" Asui said in shock.
"So, ghosts are aliens. That's pretty crazy." Ojiro said in awe.
And once more, the cards in Present Mic's hands flashed with green light, the one for the new alien at the top. "Ghostfreak! An Ectonurite! Basically a real life ghost, he has all the usual powers: flight, invisibility, intangibility, body possession and telekinesis." The hyper-voiced hero declared.
"Revelry in the dark..." Tokoyami said in amazement.
"Oh! He just like me, FOR REAL for real!" Dark Shadow exclaimed.
"Whoa! That's so awesome! Those are all insane powers! Mixed together, that's just OP!" Hagakure said in amazement.
"It's like a blend of several students at UA." Midnight said, thinking of Hagakure, a few students from 1-B and Togata from 3-A.
"I'll admit, pretty cool alien. Just too bad the kid's IMMEDIATELY abusing its powers." Aizawa said in annoyance.
Ghostfreak flew out of the bathroom through a wall, making himself invisible. Meanwhile, Vera continued to show Gwen her collection, now moved on to a conch shell. "-And this one is a Valentiana. Can you hear the ocean?" She asked.
Gwen held the shell to her ear, but- "Loser..." Ghostfreak's voice echoed quietly, causing Gwen to go wide-eyed. "Loooooser...!" He repeated louder this time, then cackled as he revealed himself to her.
There were actually a few snorts, small laughs and giggles amongst the students. "Okay, that's actually kind of funny." Sero admitted.
"And relatively harmless, considering everything we heard this alien was capable of." Midoriya said, shivering as he imagined what Bakugo could've done with this alien when he was still a bully, like possessing him and making him do something humiliating, or telekinesis to ragdoll him like an enemy grabbed with The Force in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. [5]
"Ben?" She questioned quietly as she looked back at Max and Vera, who were talking and not noticing.
"See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!" Ghostfreak said his farewells as he waved at her and flew through a wall, out of the house.
"Oh, dear. I have a bad feeling Monsieur Ben is going to cause trouble." Aoyama said.
"Well, we should be thankful Young Ben desires to be a hero and help people. Because I can only imagine how much chaos he could cause with this alien alone." All Might said.
Now outside, the ethereal alien looked around the neighborhood. "There has to be something fun to do around here..." Ghostfreak said, before a neighbor's golf cart caught his eye. "Hello!" He exclaimed.
He drove the golf cart down the street, leaving people on the sidewalk were baffled as they saw no driver.
"Benjamin Tennyson! That is Grand Theft Auto! You have OFFICIALLY committed a felony!" Iida snapped, chopping his arms so fast they looked like Shoji's dupli-arms. [6]
"I'm sure he's gonna bring it back, so it's just borrowing." Uraraka said.
"Doesn't matter. The little shit still took it without permission." Bakugo told her with a growl, he and many others in the crowd starting to turn on Ben.
"I ask you to reserve your judgment. Just keep watching." Anemone told them.
Ghostfreak only drove for a bit before he caught a whiff of a smell and went to investigate. "Apple pie!" He exclaimed as he spotted delicious dessert sitting out on a windowsill, cooling off.
"Ben! Don't even think about it!" Sato snapped, furious at the thought of someone stealing such a delectable treat.
"Yeah! Stealing sweets is crossing a line!" Hagakure pouted.
"I'm starting to wonder about some of our students priorities." Present Mic whispered to Aizawa.
"You're only STARTING?" Aizawa questioned.
The spacial specter was about to take the pie, when he suddenly took notice of the pie's cook: an old lady trying to swat a fly in a room. The fly rose above her flyswatters' reach and landed upside down on the ceiling, seemingly safe. But suddenly, the old woman sprang up on the ceiling and ate the fly right off it!
"EWW!" Most of the students and even teachers cried out in disgust, while those that didn't were just left in shock.
"So that makes three. Even if these elders were incredible gymnasts and kept in the best shape possible for their age, there's no way they'd be able to climb on the walls like that. And it goes without saying they would have no desire to eat flies." Yaoyorozu said.
"You don't think it could actually be like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and it's a full-on invasion, do you?" Koda asked worriedly.
"Even if it is, I'm sure Ben will handle it!" Midoriya said.
Ghostfreak was understandably both shocked and disgusted by this display. "Eugh! No way! Ninja old people!" He exclaimed in disbelief, before she landed back on the ground and cracked her neck, very similar to Marty.
This got a few snickers as well. "That's certainly... One way to react." Midnight giggled.
"But at least now Ben's aware something must be going on here. Because if he wasn't suspicious of Marty, he certainly can be suspicious of this." Todoroki said.
"And all because he was a goofy kid that wanted to mess around! If he wasn't doing that, he never would've seen any of this. " Maverick declared.
"This can be a lesson to all of you- some more than others." Anemone said, before stopping and looking at Aizawa. "Sometimes it's important not to take everything so seriously. Because sometimes if you're too serious and focused on one thing, you can miss the bigger picture." She told them.
"I suppose that is a good point. My old sidekick, Sir Nighteye, also emphasized the importance of humor. It also helps us seem more human and relatable." All Might admitted, everyone else nodding in consideration, even Aizawa, albeit very hesitantly.
The ectoplasmic extraterrestrial lost interest in the pie, turning to leave, when he suddenly spotted Marty himself driving the golf cart, carrying a rolled up rug with him on the cart. As he passed the fly lady's house, her automatic sprinkler system kicked in, spraying water everywhere. Marty freaked out at the sight of the sprinkler and swerved the cart around it, panicked to the point of breaking a sweat, even as he drove off.
"Why is he carrying around a rolled-up rug?" Ashido asked absentmindedly.
Meanwhile, the heroes were shocked and concerned. "In our experience, that is usually the best way to dispose of a body without arousing suspicion." All Might explained in concern.
"Meaning that could very well be the real Marty in that rug." Aizawa theorized angrily.
"This just got SO MUCH darker than what a child should be involved with." Midnight said in concerned.
"Honestly, a child shouldn't be involved in ANYTHING this kid's been involved in." Present Mic admitted.
But then, everyone leaned in close and narrowed their eyes at the old man's aversion to water. "Whoa! You guys see that!? He totally FREAKED out when that water went off near him!" Shoji pointed out.
"So that might be there weakness!" Asui exclaimed hopefully.
"Too bad the kid doesn't have any water aliens. The closest thing would be Ripjaws, who's an UNDERwater alien." Bakugo said.
"Wonder what 'Mr. Friendly' is up to..." Ghostfreak pondered.
"Investigation time!" Hagakure said.
"Heck yeah! Ghost detective!" Dark Shadow cheered.
"I'd honestly watch a show like that." Tokoyami admitted.
Marty (and Ghostfreak) soon arrived at a gated-off dumpster site. Marty unloaded the rolled up rug, carrying it to the fence, whereupon he STRETCHED his legs beyond human capability, getting himself and the rug over the fence.
Again, many were shocked at this. "Okay, if there was ANY more doubt, it's gone now." Ojiro said.
"Human bodies definitely can't do that. So, that rules out a parasite taking over his body. That must mean the blob shaped itself to look like him!" Sato realized.
"This place just keeps getting weirder by the minute." The Ectonurite exclaimed, shocked once again by the display, before passing through the gate himself.
Marty pushed one of the dumpsters aside, revealing a trapdoor underneath.
"A trapdoor! So, they must be hiding the real people down there!" Midoriya said.
"And next to a dumpster, so people wouldn't question the shitty smell from dead bodies." Bakugo added.
"N-now, now, Kacchan! We don't know they're dead yet." Uraraka told him.
As he opened the trapdoor, the Omnitrix timed out and turned Ghostfreak back into Ben.
"OH, COME ON!" All of the students cried out.
"That noise is going to end up haunting my dreams." Mineta complained.
"You KNOW it must haunt Ben's." Ashido agreed.
The noise and light immediately alerted Marty, who COMPLETELY rotated his head behind himself, to which Ben gasped.
"Oh, god! So creepy!" Hagakure cried out.
"Ugh. I'm gonna be sick. I hate body horror." Jiro groaned, covering her mouth as Yaoyorozu made her and everyone else precautionary barf bags.
Marty let the door and rug go, turning the rest of his body around and roared at Ben, causing the boy to scream.
"RUN, BEN! RUN!" Most of the students (basically all except Bakugo and Todoroki) cried out.
The boy could only look on in shock and fear as Marty rushed forward and grabbed him. But thankfully, Ben managed to squirm out of his grasp and run to the gate, climbing over it as fast as he could, while Marty elongated his legs to walk over it again.
"Good, he managed to get away." Yaoyorozu said in disbelief.
"But how's he gonna get away from an alien that can do all that crazy stuff! That's totally not fair!" Koda cried out worriedly.
"He'll think of something. He has to." Asui said.
Ben jumped in the golf cart and rode it away, while Marty chased after him. And even though he's the one on foot, Marty was catching up to Ben. "Uhh, I didn't see your face suddenly pop on the back of your head, I swear!" Ben tried to make himself seem innocent, before looking forward again as he drove. "What kinda vitamins are these freaky old people taking?" He questioned to himself.
"What the heck kind of medicine does this kid think can do that!?" Kaminari asked in shock.
"Well, he is just a child, likely the only medicine he's familiar with are mild painkillers, like aspirin." Iida said.
"Is that really important right now?! We all know the kid's an idiot! But let's hope he's smart enough to figure out how to lose that freak!" Bakugo snapped.
To make matters worse, even though her was flooring it, the cart's main gauge started lowering to 0. "Come on, come on!" Ben urged the vehicle as he tried to maintain his speed.
"Crap! It's not fast enough!" Kirishima cried out.
"Not surprising. Even the more powerful gas-powered golf carts can only reach around 32 kilometers per hour. Even fit normal humans can sprint that fast, so there's no telling how fast this creature is." All Might said worriedly.
"And that's without it being able to stretch like Kamui Woods." Midoriya added.
Marty got close enough to be able to stretch his arms and grab the two front bars on the cart, literally stopping it in its tracks and dragging it backwards towards him. "Let me go!" Ben demanded as Marty hissed violently.
"No! Leave him alone!" Sero cried out.
"I hate sitting here, not being able to do something." Aizawa said angrily.
"Why won't that stupid watch recharge faster!?" Mineta shrieked.
"Why does the watch need to recharge in the first place, anyway?" Sato asked.
"If it didn't, repeated or extensive use could possibly damage Ben's DNA and turn him into a mutant combination of all the aliens. It's not pretty." Anemone explained.
"As they'll see eventually." Maverick added quietly.
As Ben tried to escape, he noticed the bag of golf clubs beside him, taking one out and aiming a shot at the old man's arm. "Fore!" The boy declared as he swung. Surprisingly, the club sliced right through, as if it was made of something more liquid than solid. Still, it was enough to make Marty lose his grip and get the cart moving again.
"Whoa! Did you see that?! His arm broke off like nothing!" Ashido exclaimed.
"Well, remember, they are still basically giant blobs. They may look human, but they're basically still liquid. That must be how their bodies can stretch and contort, because their sacs of liquid instead of all the bones and muscles humans have." Shoji theorized.
"So, it's both a strength and a weakness. Excellent elasticity and maneuverability, but very low structural integrity to keep itself together." Todoroki pointed out.
But as soon as Ben started driving smoothly, he felt a rumble above him: Marty had made his way onto the roof of the cart!
"Crap! He's got his hand back!" Ojiro snapped.
"One more advantage to being made or liquid is that it can simply reform itself." Tokoyami added.
"Oh, that's just cheating!" Dark Shadow complained.
"Let us hope the boy can find some water soon." Aoyama said.
"If he even pieced together that's their weakness." Jiro pointed out.
He extended his hands underneath, trying to grab Ben. "No!" Ben cried out, unable to maintain his grip on the wheel, causing him to swerve the cart over a speed bump, causing it to fly in the air and crash on someone's lawn.
"Jeez! It's not even TRYING to hide anymore!" Sero exclaimed.
"Do you think that means they've gotten everyone else that could've seen them?" Hagakure asked worriedly.
"Or maybe this thing just got too focused on hunting Ben to remember it needed to hide. If we're lucky, that will be its downfall." Asui said.
But then, the boy crashed the cart. "Ben!" The audience cried out once again.
"Well, Tsu, I don't think we're getting lucky." Kaminari said worriedly.
As Ben recovered, he saw Marty standing up, cracking his arm and neck back into place and extending his arms to Ben, catching him and reeling him in across the lawn. Ben panickingly tried the Omnitrix, but it was still recharging.
"Let him go!" The class all shouted together.
"He's finished! It's all over!" Present Mic cried out.
"Unless the watch recharges RIGHT NOW... You might be right." Aizawa said in concern.
Suddenly, a sprinkler system went off next to Marty. He winced at the water, dropping Ben and running away. Ben lied on the lawn, stunned. "Okay... what just happened here?" The boy questioned.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief at this. "That was way too close." Uraraka sighed.
"But now there is NO doubt for Ben that something's wrong. So now, he just needs to get Max and Gwen and they'll take those things down!" Kirishima declared.
"Assuming they DO get on board with him this time." Mineta said.
"Well, at least this time, Ben hasn't done anything that would make them skeptical of his validity this time." Midnight said.
At sundown, Ben finally got back to Vera's home, rushing to the kitchen. "Grandpa! Gwen!" He called out for them.
The two of them soon showed themselves, Max shushing his grandson. "Shhh, your Aunt Vera's in bed!" He told him quietly.
"Seriously? It's like only 6:30." The boy said.
"That's the same with my grandparents. I never understood why." Mineta said.
"A simple shift in our circadian rhythms. It happens as we age." Yaoyorozu explained yet again.
However, he remembered the important information. "Nevermind. Listen, this whole place is way creepier than I thought. First, this old lady runs up a wall and then munches a fly! Then Marty, that weird next door neighbor, i-is an 'E.T.' or something! With a face on the back of his head and these long sticky arms and this body that oozed right through this gate and-!"
"Not exactly how I would've described events, but I guess nothing he's saying is exactly wrong." Shoji said.
"I don't remember Marty oozing through the gate, though. He stretched over it." Todoroki pointed out.
"Doesn't matter, Icy-Hot! Normal people still can't do that shit!... In their world." Bakugo told him.
"Ben, you snuck out. Aunt Vera was hurt!" Gwen scolded him.
"He's telling you ALL OF THIS and you think THAT is more important?" Aizawa questioned.
"I mean... He didn't tell her anything serious, like how Marty was trying to kill him, or had something rolled up in a rug." Jiro explained.
"True, but she interrupted him before he finished, so he might have JUST been about to say that." Yaoyorozu countered the claim.
"Ah, she's old, she'll forget." Ben said dismissively.
"Ugh... I give up. This boy will never cease to be a disrespectful miscreant." Iida sighed, slumping in defeat.
"Seriously, he's really starting to be a jerk about old people." Ashido pouted.
"Especially when he's talking to his grandfather, who is ALSO on the older side." Ojiro agreed.
"Okay, I say I go Four Arms and we check out Marty's apartment!" The boy suggested.
"Well, maybe we should do some investigating, but you stay as you are!" Max told him. "Us old fogeys don't forget as much as ya think!" He said in an old man voice, before winking at them ast he left the room.
This got a few chuckles from the audience. "Well, at least Max is cool about it." Uraraka said.
"Maybe he shouldn't be so cool about it. He lets the kid get away with too much. He needs a little smack upside the head every so often. That's what my mom did for me and I turned out fine." Bakugo declared.
"Um, Kacchan? I don't think that's the argument you think it is." Midoriya told him, albeit a bit nervously, shrinking a bit at the "HAH!?" from his rival.
"You know, ever since you've had that watch, you're like a magnet for the weird." Gwen told Ben.
In response, Ben made his body snap and point to Gwen like a magnet. "You're right!" He exclaimed jokingly.
"Very funny." She grumbled.
This earned a bit more laughter from the crowd. "I thought it WAS actually funny!" Hagakure giggled.
"Yeah. This more playful teasing is definitely something I can get behind." Ashido agreed.
"Same. This is how family SHOULD be. They can tease and kid around with each other, but it's never deliberately mean." Asui added, thinking of the time she spends with her little siblings.
Max opened the door to Marty's apartment. "Hello? Anyone home?" The retired plumber asked.
Aizawa groaned at this. "Excellent work. Getting rid of your element of surprise and your target being unaware." He said.
"Well, to be fair, if they didn't announce themselves, they could be seen as breaking and entering." Midnight told him.
The apartment was dark, deserted. The pendulum of a grandfather clock swung to and fro as the trio walked past it. Suddenly, something seemed to leap at them from out of the darkness!
Half of the students screamed at this. "LOOK OUT!" The other half screamed.
However, Max turned on the lights, revealing only a jacket on a coat rack, blowing from the open window beside it.
The half the yelled the warning sighed in relief, while the other half groaned in annoyance. "I HATE jumpscares!" Hagakure complained, not even seeing the irony in what she said.
"It's something you'll have to get used to, students. Villains will attempt to leap out of the shadows and catch you by surprise all the time as Pro Heroes." All Might told them.
"Yep. You gotta react at a moment's notice! And screaming doesn't count." Present Mic said, much like Hagakure, not seeing the irony in his words.
"Well, nothing here seems out of whack..." Max said simply.
"Except for what he rolled up in his rug- that was right here!" Ben exclaimed, pointing to a rug outline on the floor, which left his grandfather puzzled.
Back at Vera's, the remaining Tennysons were now getting ready for bed as well. "You two sleep well. I'll be in the guest room if you need me." Max told them.
"That's it!? They just gave up!?" Mineta exclaimed.
"Well, they didn't find anything." Iida said simply.
"So!? They should keep looking!" Sato insisted.
"It seems like the aliens have left a pretty clean trail so far. I doubt there's much too find. They'd just be wasting time while the aliens further their plans. Or worse, find out they're there and set a trap for them." Todoroki said.
"But, Grandpa-!" Ben tried to insist.
"There's nothing more we can do tonight. I'm going for an early walk in the morning, but once I'm back, we'll check things out again. Now get some rest." He told the kids.
As Vera slept that night, another sentient green blob made its way into her room.
"No! Not Vera!" The students all cried out.
"Damn. Another we couldn't save!" All Might cursed.
"Guys, chill. It's not even your universe! You couldn't save them even if you wanted to! Besides, you should know by now you can't save EVERYONE." Maverick told them.
"You may be right. But that doesn't make it easier when we can't." Midnight told him.
As her limp arm fell off the bed, it crawled up it. Just as Vera woke up, it wrapped around her mouth and eyes, preventing her from screaming. (They all had to look away at this, unable to say much of anything.)
In the morning, Ben opened up Vera's fridge. "Prune juice, prune juice and- oh, what a surprise- more prune juice." He said, turning to Gwen. "Why does it seem old people were always old?" He asked.
Gwen didn't answer, however, as she saw they had company. "Morning, Aunt Vera! How'd you sleep?" She asked as Vera entered the kitchen, though something felt off about her.
"That's not your aunt, kids! Get away!" Kaminari told them.
"What are the odds you'd think the alien would try something with the two of them there?" Koda asked worriedly.
"The one pretending to be Marty tried to grab Ben in broad daylight! I doubt it's worried about what little kids see it doing, especially since it could probably finish both of them off in ONE MINUTE if Ben doesn't transform." Mineta said worriedly.
"Just... Fine. How 'bout you?" She asked, before violently grabbing and shaking Ben's cheeks.
"Fine, Aunt Vera!" Ben answered through the pain.
"I made you some coffee." Gwen told her aunt as she brought her a tray with a mug of coffee and a glass of water.
But she suddenly tripped and spilled both of them on the floor. "Sorry!" Gwen apologized.
Just before the spilled water made its way to Vera's shoes, she jumped up and held a perfect split against the walls. "CLEAN IT UP! CLEAN IT UP RIGHT NOW!" Vera ordered in a panic.
"Man, these aliens REALLY aren't good at acting. I'm surprised ANYONE fell for it before they took this place over." Present Mic said.
"At least to be fair to this one, it's worst fear is right in front of it. It's easy to drop your act around things that frighten you." Iida admitted.
Both younger Tennysons were stunned at this, especially Gwen. "I'm sorry!" She said in shame, starting to clean the water.
Once it was cleaned, Vera landed back on the ground, looking over to the empty guest room. "Where did your grandfather go?" She asked.
"He said he was going for an early walk." Gwen informed her.
"Whew. Well, at least Max is safe." Sato said.
"But now he's separated from Ben, the ONE PERSON who can save him!" Sero pointed out.
"Assuming he can't save himself." Aizawa whispered to the other teachers, who nodded in agreement, all of them suspecting Max knew more about aliens than he let on.
Vera seemed to hesitate for a moment. "...Well, behave yourselves. I'll be back soon." She said as she left the house.
"She's totally one of them!" Ben exclaimed.
"'One of' what?" Gwen questioned.
"Whatever's possessing these old people. Something or someone's gotten to Aunt Vera! And who knows how many other of the fossils around here?" The boy declared.
"Oh, come on, Ben! That's just way too mean. Especially when you know these people are probably in trouble!" Uraraka told him.
"Uraraka, if even IIDA gave up, I don't think you're gonna do much better." Hagakure said.
Some time later, Ben took Gwen for a walk through the village, taking alleys and out-of-site paths. "So, where we headed, Sherlock?" She questioned as she tightened the backpack she brought with her.
Ben quickly hid behind the corner of the alley as some old folks walked past. "We need to get to that trapdoor by the dumpster." He explained, before holding Gwen back, waiting for the folks to walk further before quickly crossing the street.
"Good idea. We know they're hiding something down there, but who knows what?" Yaoyorozu questioned.
"I just hope it's not a bunch of dead bodies like Bakugo said." Hagakure said fearfully.
In another part of town, Marty and another old man stood, looking rather shifty-eyed. "Is the food supply ready for transport?" A voice called out as a figure stepped up from the shadows to meet them. It was Vera.
The more intellectual members of the group were shocked at this. "N-no... They couldn't be..." All Might said in horror.
"Food? So they've been attacking and disposing of these old people because they want their weird jello molds?!" Kaminari said in disbelief.
"For some reason, bro, I don't think that's what they meant." Kirishima told him, a dreadful feeling rising up in his stomach.
"The pods are in the final stages of gestation." 'Marty' explained. "What about the young ones?" He questioned.
"Too chewy! They need to age more before they get nice and tender..." 'Vera' explained.
And finally, the big bomb dropped, leaving EVERYONE shocked and horrified. "They're eating PEOPLE!? That's SO messed up!" Ashido cried out.
"So that means Ben's aunt and all the other old people were these guys munchies?!" Sero asked in horror.
"No, I don't think so. 'Marty' said that the pods were in the final stages of gestation. I think that means these pods were preparing the elders to be the way these aliens like them. Kind of like a slow cooker. So that might mean they're still alive, so that gives the Tennysons a chance to save them!" Midoriya theorized.
"Dammit, Deku! Now you're gonna make me hate cooking!" Bakugo snapped.
"But still, at least there's hope now!" Uraraka said.
"I'm not talking about eating! The boy suspects too much." 'Marty' told her grimly, to which 'Vera' smiled.
A wave of dread then washed over the audience. "And there GOES that hope." Tokoyami said.
"I didn't think they could get much worse than EATING PEOPLE, but they found a way!" Dark Shadow exclaimed in disgust.
The kids continued, now close to the dumpster site. "It's right over there!" Ben declared.
"Just follow the disgusting smell." Gwen said in disgust.
They passed by two old ladies, innocently playing Shuffleboard. Ben and Gwen kept their eyes on them. But suddenly, they hissed at the kids with sharp yellow teeth and whacked the pucks in their direction.
"Ooh, shuffleboard! I love that game!" Yaoyorozu said with a smile. But that smile went away REALLY quick when the pucks started flying. "But not anymore!" She cried out.
"Run, kids, run!" Midnight cried out to them.
"DUCK!" Gwen cried out as she evaded one.
"RUN!" Ben cried out as well as he also evaded one, before the two bolted away, pucks flying after them.
They hid behind a corner to catch their breath, when Max suddenly approached them. "Guys, what's going on?" He asked his grandchildren.
"Max! Oh, thank goodness!" Mineta said in relief.
"Yeah! Now the family's back together and they can give these aliens a beatdown!" Kirishima declared.
"Something's not right here..." Bakugo started.
"He should be more surprised and concerned to see his grandkids run around the corner with those pucks flying everywhere." Aizawa agreed with his student.
"They're everywhere!" Ben exclaimed.
"I know!" Max declared, his teeth revealed to be green as he started stretching his arm towards the kids, just like Marty. "Come here, I'll protect ya!" He told them, letting out a roar.
"Not Max, too!" Koda cried out in horror.
"So, the kids are all on their own. This is getting worse by the second." Shoji said.
"At least Ben still has the Omnitrix! I bet Four Arms could dominate these freaks!" Sato declared.
"Let's get out of here!" Gwen exclaimed.
The kids started running away, but blocking their path was 'Marty', 'Vera' and the other man, all holding up a car, while 'Max' was behind them, blocking off their attempt to escape the way they had been running before..
"A CAR!?" The students cried out in disbelief.
"Elasticity, agility, regeneration AND strength. That's a devastating combo." All Might said.
"And it's aimed at a couple of ten-year-olds!" Present Mic exclaimed in horror.
"Ooh, this is not good!" Ben exclaimed as they threw the car at the kids.
Thankfully, Ben and Gwen dodged out of the way of the car, just as 'Max' tried swiping at them, resulting in him getting crushed by the car. "No!" Gwen exclaimed.
Many were almost as horrified as Gwen, but soon reminded themselves it WASN'T Max. "Thank goodness these are blob lookalikes and not the real things possessed by them." Midnight sighed in relief.
"Still, even if it's not him, that's gotta mess with your head, seeing your grandpa get flattened." Asui said, concerned for the kids' wellbeing.
Soon after, green slime flew out from under the car and assembled back into Max, save for his left eye, which was bright green and orange.
Now reformed, Max and the other elders kept advancing towards the kids. "Come on! The trapdoor!" Ben told his cousin.
Gwen ran to and finds it under a dumpster, while Ben stood off against the fake elders. As she tried to budge the dumpster, Ben slammed down on the Omnitrix and turned into Wildmutt.
"Alright! Wildmutt's gotta be a good fight for these things!" Sato cheered.
"Yeah! Take 'em down like a man, 'Mutt!" Kirishima cried out in excitement.
"The hell took him that long to do that!?" Bakugo questioned.
Gwen still struggled to move the dumpster, so Wildmutt simply took the trash receptacle and threw it at the elders.
He slobbered at Gwen, "motioning" to the trapdoor. "Got it!" She declared while Wildmutt panted behind her. "That's scary, I'm starting to speak mutt..." She exclaimed.
The elders were back up on their feet and ran after the two. Gwen opened the door to a giant pit, leading underground. With no time, Wildmutt bucked her up on his back and leapt down into the pit. "Whoa!" Gwen exclaimed as they plummeted into the darkness.
As they were falling, Wildmutt tried to slow his fall by digging into the walls of rock, though they still hit the floor pretty hard. "Does the expression 'look before you leap' mean anything to you?!" She demanded.
"Exactly. Always remember, students: when entering an unknown location, especially with low visibility, you should always proceed with caution in case the enemy has any traps for you or the area is just generally dangerous." Midnight told them.
"Oh, don't worry, madame. We learned all about this in All Might's battle training." Aoyama told her.
However, she looks above them, seeing that the elders were crawling down after them. "Move it!" She told him frantically.
Wildmutt sped down a dark tunnel for a while, only stopping when he came to a split path. Gwen took that moment to get off his back. "These tunnels must go under the whole complex!" She realized.
The group was all shocked at the size of these caves. "Unbelievable... Did the aliens do all of this?!" Present Mic asked in shock.
"If they did, they would've had to have been here for a while. All that must have take forever!" Sero said in disbelief.
Far behind Gwen, a pair of red eyes stalked her in the dark.
"Oh, great! What else could be down here?!" Hagakure complained.
"That means there's AT LEAST one more of those creatures." Aizawa said.
"Or one of the ones from up top already made it down here and is navigating it faster than Wildmutt can." Yaoyorozu suggested in concern.
Wildmutt started sensing with his gills and made out the outline of 'Max', just as he tried to grab Gwen with his stretchy arms.
"No, Gwen!" Koda cried out.
"Oh, man. Wildmutt was a way better choice than I think Ben realized. That echolocation rocks hardcore." Jiro said in relief.
Wildmutt clamped down on the arms and tugged 'Max' into a wall, but he quickly got up. Wildmutt stood protectively in front of Gwen and charged at 'Max', but the doppelganger grabbed Wildmutt by the neck and suplexed him.
"Crap! We already knew these things were physically strong, but they're pretty capable fighters, too." Shoji said angrily.
"That suplex was crazy. So these aliens must have some level of knowledge fighting human-like targets before to learn to fight like this." Ojiro noted.
"Come on, Wildmutt! Turn that thing into a chew toy!" Sato yelled.
As Wildmutt got up, 'Max' punched him repeatedly, smiling. But then, Wildmutt's spines stood on end and he got a second wind. Wildmutt snapped his jaws at 'Max', before shoulder-bashing him into a wall and grabbed his arm in his mouth, shaking him all around until he launched him across the cave.
"These... monsters are brutal." All Might said, greatly disturbed seeing Wildmutt beaten down.
But then, the crowd was initial shocked as Wildmutt got back up, but soon cheered. "Oh yeah, that's right! Second wind! Take him down, Wildmutt!" Kaminari cheered.
"That was a solid combo definitely a lot of damage!"Dark Shadow said happily.
"Indeed. It's what that doppelganger deserves for taking the form of Ben's loved one." Tokoyami agreed.
Wildmutt ran to 'Max' while he was down and raised his arms, preparing to finish him.
"Hell yeah, furball! Finish him!" Bakugo cheered.
"I know these aliens are evil and all, but do we really want Ben to KILL them?" Uraraka asked.
"They're trying to kill him, his cousin and all the elders of this retirement complex. This is an incredibly deadly situation and he's pushed into a corner. If lethal force was ever an option, I'd say now is the time." Todoroki pointed out.
However, 'Max' changed his left eye to form back into that of the REAL Max's. "You wouldn't wanna hurt old Grandpa Max, now would ya?" He asked innocently. And this played with Ben's emotions, causing Wildmutt to wince with hesitation. And that hesitation was all the doppelganger needed, as 'Max' quickly kicked him away and twisted himself back on his feet.
"Wildmutt hesitated!" Ojiro said.
"They're manipulating Ben's emotions, using his love for his grandfather against him as an emotional body shield." Midoriya noted sourly, he'd hate if someone used the image of his friends against him.
"Oh, that's cheap! So not manly!" Kirishima snapped.
"They're here to eat people, I don't think they care about fighting fair!" Ashido exclaimed.
Gwen climbed on Wildmutt's back. "Hey, 'short, dumb, & hairy'? Rule 1: he's not Grandpa, he's an alien freak! And that leads to Rule 2, which is we kick alien butt!" She declared.
"Heck yeah, Gwen!" The girls all cheered at the girl's words.
"Show that damn blob what happens when he crosses the line!" Bakugo snapped.
Wildmutt angrily charged at 'Max', smacking him into a wall with enough force for rocks to crash down on him and bury him for good.
"Wow, that was lucky." Mineta said with a smile.
"That should take care of him for a while." All Might agreed, a slight hint of relief in his voice.
"Even if it doesn't have bones to break or organs to damage, those rocks are probably packed in too tightly for it to slide out of." Aizawa noted.
"And we don't know if these things can be knocked unconscious or not. Assuming they CAN, that should be sufficient." Yaoyorozu added.
Wildmutt suddenly sensed something big. "What?" Gwen asked, before Wildmutt suddenly bolted off in a direction, with Gwen struggling to hang on. "Whoa! You don't come with seatbelts, remember?" She told him. (This got some laughs, but they said nothing.)
The Omnitrix started beeping red... right when they were about to hit a wall of wooden boards and moss.
"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" The students screamed yet again.
"If that watch really DOES have an AI, it needs to learn when to give him an extra minute!" Uraraka huffed.
"Yeah. You'd think the LITERAL WATCH would have a better sense of timing." Jiro complained.
"Preeeeetty sure you guys said that already." Anemone told them.
"Well, it's worth repeating!" Ashido insisted.
"Look out!" Gwen cried out, before they JUST managed to crash through before Wildmutt turned back into Ben. (They let out a sigh of relief, but said nothing.)
"Hey, freakshow! What do I look like, a crash test dummy?!" Gwen demanded as she was getting up.
"Listen, I don't know what it is, but I picked up some kind of scent in here." Ben explained.
"Another lucky break that he picked Wildmutt, then. I doubt the other aliens would've noticed this place. Or at least not as fast." Midnight said.
"Yeah. Let's just hope it's not some sort of alien birthing ground." Iida said worriedly.
"B-birthing ground?" Hagakure asked nervously.
"Yes. It probably should've been mentioned earlier, when 'Marty' spoke of gestation pods and Midoriya believed this meant the elders were in the pods, being prepared. But another meaning for gestation- and the more common use of it- is the development inside a womb between conception and birth. So, it's possible those pods are their offspring about to hatch." The class rep explained.
"And if that happens, they might have enough aliens for a full-on planetary takeover!" Present Mic said in concern, leaving the students in horror.
They walked for a bit and found that the tunnel lead to an enormous room, with a large spaceship in the middle and small green pods lining the entire floor.
They walked for a bit among the pods, Marty's unconscious body visible in one of them. "It's like everyone in Retirement Village has been podded up!" Gwen exclaimed.
"It's the old people!" Kaminari explained.
"Which means that Midoriya's theory about the pods was correct, not Iida's." Yaoyorozu said.
The class let out a sigh of relief. "So we don't have to worry about an army of alien babies." Sero said thankfully.
"Nope, just the army of ADULT aliens." Dark Shadow pointed out.
"Indeed. This is fortunate news, but they're still in the middle of a very bad situation." Tokoyami agreed.
Ben looked to another pod and saw... "Grandpa!" He exclaimed at the sight of his grandfather, tugging on the pod and it cracked open, Max's body falling out.
And thankfully, this allowed him to wake up. "Huh, I was out for a walk and then... can't remember what happened next." He explained.
The group let out another sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. They're okay." Asui said in relief.
"And they've got the family back together! Now they've got a chance of fighting back!" Kirishima declared.
"Not unless the Omnitrix comes back online. They're just useless Quirkless right now." Bakugo said.
"Did you already forget the part where Gwen kicked a giant parrot's ass? Or Max and Gwen took down a trained merc with a gun?" Maverick reminded him.
"You have a point, Maverick, but so does Bakugo. They've already taken Max down once, so they can likely do it again and with their anatomy, the children have very few ways of fighting against them." Aizawa admitted.
Ben reached for another pod, before a voice stopped him. "I wouldn't do that If I were you...!" 'Vera' said as the three remaining fake elders advanced on the three Tennysons.
"Well, you're not me!" Ben declared.
"Not yet, I'm not!" 'Marty' snapped back as he and the others morphed into their true selves, green liquid aliens with orange eyes and pink internal organs.
"So that's what they REALLY look like." Midoriya said, writing it down.
"Eww, they look like creepy germs under a microscope!" Hagakure said, shuddering as she thought back to their biology class where they looked at bacteria under a microscope.
"You can fill me in later!" Max said as the three Tennysons backed up.
As they did so, Gwen accidentally touched the back of the ship with her hand and 'activated' it, revealing a doorway to more pods loaded onboard. "Look what's back here!" Gwen exclaimed.
"Their ship!" Max realized.
"So that's how they got here. Not a meteor like in Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Mina said.
"But that begs the question of when did they land here and if it was recent? They could've possibly used the ship to hollow out this tunnel system, so it might not have taken very long. So if it WAS recent, how were they not detected until now?" Iida wondered.
"At this point, who cares? Let's just be thankful Ben is gonna take them down NOW!" Sato declared.
"They found it! We can't let them out!" The first Limax declared.
"Get the pods on board, they've been marinating long enough!" The second Limax ordered.
"'Marinating'?" Max asked in horror.
"Oh, good. MORE confirmation they eat people." Uraraka groaned sickly.
"Let's just be thankful that 'marinade' hasn't melted them. That's what they do, soften the meat so it falls off the bone." Bakugo said, leaving everyone else to dread that imagery.
Gwen looked inside the ship and saw Vera inside one of the pods on a wall. "They've got Aunt Vera!" She exclaimed.
Ben turned on the Omnitrix and selected Heatblast. "You guys really burn me up!" He snapped, slamming the dial and turning into the Pyronite.
"Ah, yes. Now Monsieur Heatblast will flambe them!" Aoyama declared.
"I don't know, Aoyama. We already know there weakness is water, so that might mean fire has no affect." Jiro said.
"Well, they DID pick the desert of all places to come to." Kirishima said, nodding in consideration of Jiro's point.
"In the summer." Ashido agreed.
"Now, I'm going to return the favor!" Heatblast declared, unleashing a wave of fire on the Limax.
However, instead of being damaged, they were unaffected and instead grew into one big combined alien. "Whatever you are, you just made a terrible mistake. Us Limaxes live for the heat! Why do you think we came to the desert in the summer?" The Limax declared.
"Oh, come on! They combine, too! These guys are SO cheap!" Hagakure complained.
"Dang it! Why did Jiro have to be right!?" Kaminari complained, crying out in pain when he felt one of her jacks poke into him.
"More importantly, why couldn't Ben have a water alien!? That would've been a lot better than Grey Matter!" Mineta complained as well.
"I'm sure Grey Matter will have his uses. Two brains could definitely come in handy at some point." Midoriya tried to defend the Galvan.
"It just means Heatblast will have to be smart about this." All Might told them.
Heatblast frowned and started punching the Giant Limax's leg. It grabbed his arm and threw him repeatedly on the ground. It looked behind it and saw Gwen and Max carrying pods out of the ship and spawned two small Limaxes from its back to deal with them.
A resounding round of facepalms filled the room. "If they fire didn't work, why would punching?" Iida questioned.
"So much for that 'thinking smart' thing." Present Mic said.
(Come on, Heatblast... You can do this. Think of a way out of this...) Midoriya thought to himself, all but praying for the boy's victory.
But then, they saw the other two Tennysons in danger. "Damn! I didn't think they'd target them!" Todoroki said, concerned for the powerless Tennysons.
"THEY SPLIT INTO MORE ALIENS?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Hagakure screamed.
"These creatures might honestly be more terrifying than the Krakken. At least it was just ONE creature, confined to water." Yaoyorozu said nervously.
One of them swiped at Gwen, but she ducked and it only knocked her backpack over. All of its contents, including her water gun, spilled on the floor. The two Limaxes suddenly saw the gun and ran away from it in fear.
Gwen grabbed the gun and sprayed them through the head, causing them to screech and collapse into liquid on the ground.
But the tables soon turned and the students were filled with excitement when Gwen managed to take down the aliens. "Alright, Gwen!" Uraraka cheered.
"Uh-oh! You're in trouble now, aliens!" Ashido said with a slight manic edge to her tone, something all of the Bakusquad occasionally noticed was rubbing off on them from their leader.
"Yeah! Time to get turned into ACTUAL puddles!" Sero declared.
Gwen gasped at this realization. "THEY HATE WATER!" She exclaimed, looking to Heatblast. "Aunt Vera, when she was in the kitchen!" She reminded her mutated cousin.
"Or Marty, when I was on the golf cart!" Heatblast realized as well.
While the Limax held him up in the air, Heatblast noticed a water pipe above them and shot fire at it. The Limax tried to dig into Heatblast's eye, but he continued firing.
"Oh, god... Not the eyes..." Koda said fearfully.
"Good thing Heatblast doesn't seem to be organic, so it isn't affecting him too much." Aizawa said, cringing a bit as he remembered the injury to his own eyes after the fight with Nomu.
"Come on, stupid pipe! Break already!" Bakugo snapped.
The pipe eventually burst, spraying water and causing the Limax to drop Heatblast in pain. Heatblast ran away as the Limax started to come falling down. "See ya, slimeball!" He declared as the giant was reduced to a large puddle. Heatblast picked the liquid of his eye and tossed it.
"FINALLY." All the students exclaimed at once.
"Man, that was close." Present Mic sighed in relief.
"WAY too close. I almost thought they were goners." Midnight agreed.
"Yeah! That's what you get for trying to eat people, ya freaks!" Dark Shadow declared.
"In the end, justice prevails." Tokoyami agreed.
At the ship, Gwen and Max finished carrying the last of the pods- Gwen rolling one out as Max CARRIED two, one under his arm one over his shoulder- just as the ship started to make a whirring noise, indicating it was about to take off. "Sorry, there's no drive-through service here!" Max declared as he ran out, the last liquidy remains of the Limax crawling inside and the door shut.
"Thank goodness. They got everyone." Asui sighed.
"But wait a minute." Yaoyorozu said, getting everyone's attention. "So, each of those pods contains a full-grown human in them, correct?" She asked, everyone following her line of sight, falling on Max, the group soon realizing the same thing she was.
"He's carrying one in each arm." Jiro realized.
"Dang, so Max is still pretty strong for an old guy." Kaminari said.
"Alright, Max! Way to stay in shape at your age! Super manly!" Kirishima praised the old man.
The ship shook the ground and rose up out of the crater it created, tunneling right out of the cave and bursting onto the moonlit desert above, where it zoomed out of Earth's atmosphere.
"AND DON'T COME BACK!" The entire audience, teachers and students, all shouted.
The Tennysons were now in an empty room, surrounded by the entire population of Retirement Village.
"Alright! They saved all of them!" Uraraka cheered.
"They're all heroes! The whole family! They're all so manly!" Kirishima yelled excitedly.
"...We should put them all back in their condos, so they'll think they never left." Max suggested.
"That could take hours." Gwen complained, sitting against a pod.
The students all groaned at that idea. "Oh, man. I am not envying them right now." Mineta said.
"These are the lengths we as heroes must go to so as to ensure the safety and peace of mind of civilians. We owe them no less as their protectors." Iida told him.
"Still doesn't mean it wouldn't take forever and be totally exhausting." Kaminari complained.
"Gimme a few minutes, I'll see if XLR8 can help out." Heatblast announced.
"What was that you were saying, Kaminari?" Jiro asked with a smirk.
"Oh, yeah... Almost forgot about him." Chargebolt admitted.
"And we know he can already carry full-grown people. Nice and easy solution. Hooray!" Hagakure cheered.
The next morning was the end of the weekend, with Max hugging Vera goodbye. "Don't be strangers!" Vera told her brother.
"We won't." Max assured her.
"Bye Aunt Vera!" Gwen said her farewells.
"Bye dear-" Vera gave her goodbyes as well, before remembering something. "Oh, this is for the road!" She said and handed Gwen a green mold of hers in a glass container. "Ben told me how much you liked my gelatin mold. This one's lime with chunks of grouper and chickpeas!" She declared.
Ben smiled to himself as Gwen was forced to put on a smile. "Uhh, thanks." She said 'gratefully', beforehugging Vera and taking it to the Rust Bucket, leaving only Ben to say goodbye.
"How is this a prank on Gwen? Surely he must know his grandfather will make ALL of them eat it, not just Gwen." Yaoyorozu pointed out.
"You really think the kid thought that through?" Bakugo scoffed.
"Maybe he's just willing to suffer as long as Gwen does, too? Still not a great idea in the long run." Asui said.
"I'm sorry, Ben, if there wasn't enough excitement here for you. I hope you weren't bored to tears!" Vera told him.
"Actually, it turned out better than I thought!" Ben assured her.
"Aww, that's nice." Ashido cooed.
"Well, Monsieur Iida, it looked like the boy did learn to respect his elders after all." Aoyama said.
Iida sighed at this. "I suppose better late than never." The speedster admitted.
"I'm glad. Well, have fun on the road!" She declared.
"I will!" Ben confirmed as he hugs her and hopped in the Rust Bucket.
"Oh- and Ben? Keep up the good work, dealing with all those aliens you were telling me about!" She told him.
They were all shocked at this. "She remembers!?" Midoriya asked.
"Or did she possibly know about it from Max?" Aizawa wondered.
"Let's hope this doesn't lead to any lasting trauma." Midnight said in concern.
"You're- kidding... right?" Ben asked, worried she remembered the horrors she went through.
Thankfully, Vera just laughed at this. "Of course, dear!" She assured him. (They all sighed in relief at this.)
As the Rust Bucket left the desert, it passed the giant hole the Limax spaceship left.
"Why are we focusing back on the hole?" Ashido asked worriedly.
"I have a bad feeling about this..." All Might said.
However, down the hole and back through the caverns, the Limax that impersonated Max crawled out of buried rocks and slowly crept along the tunnel floor...
"Oh crap! We forgot about that one!" Sero realized.
"W-well, it's only one of them, at least! It can't do much harm on its own, right?" Uraraka asked worriedly.
"But we saw they are able to self-replicate! This means that everything that just happened could start all over again!" Iida exclaimed in concern.
"Oh, don't worry about it. They got a lot of rain later that night and it caused a flash flood that washed into the cave and killed it." Maverick told them dismissively, calming them down. [7]
"So, how about that one, huh? Pretty crazy ride, am I right?" Maverick asked.
"Alien blobs wanting to eat people? I'd say that's an understatement." Midoriya exclaimed.
"I still don't approve of Ben's attitude towards his elders, but he was a true hero this day and saved who knows how many lives." Iida said.
"Just barely. This had to be the closest one the family came to losing so far. My heart's still racing!" Hagakure exclaimed.
"And, again, Ben never would've found out about all of this if he wasn't messing around." Anemone said, looking to Aizawa in particular, a slightly smug look on the cobra woman's face.
The Erasure Heo sighed at this. "I guess it is important to relax and have fun every so often and not take yourself so seriously. But the kid's still on thin ice for that. He did still steal that golf cart." He said.
"And he almost stole that pie!" Sato snapped.
"Still, like Yaomomo was saying, those aliens might be the scariest thing Ben's gone up against so far!" Ashido exclaimed.
"Yeah. Turning into anyone they want, bodies that bend like Kamui Woods, they're practically indestructible, they can merge together and grow giant or make copies of themselves. That's just broken!" Kaminari cried out.
"And don't forget, they were totally immune to heat, so even our heaviest hitters like Todoroki and Bakubro couldn't do anything to them!" Kirishima added.
"Shut it, Shitty Hair! I could totally take those walking slime puddles! They might take the heat from my blasts, but let's see them handle the blast from the explosions!" Bakugo declared.
"But! The important thing is the Tennysons worked together to stop them and save everyone. All three of them are heroes in my book." Midnight said.
"So, what's next?" Jiro asked.
"Oh, I'm glad YOU asked that in particular, Jiro. Because a few universal observers like us out there made Ben his own theme song and another one animated it, so it's like the intro for a cartoon. And that's what we're going to show you know." Anemone told her.
"What?! The brat has his own theme song?! Bullshit!" Bakugo snapped.
"Yeah! Even WE don't have our own theme songs! No fair!" Kaminari complained.
"Oh, man! This is gonna be SO rockin'!" Jiro exclaimed excitedly.