"Oh.. are we best friends yet? Are we? ARE we?" 

Kyoka Jiro could only grit her teeth fearfully as she pushed hard against the giant syringe that was inches from her face.

The eyes of Toga leered at her, blushing as she let out a steamy breath of glee. 

"We can be friends right? Talking about boys? Doing girl stuff? Yes yes?"

It had only been moments since Himeko Toga had ambushed Kyoka out of the blue and all she could think in the end was 'what the actual heck!?'. 

"Jiro-chan!!" A familiar froggish tongue wrapped around Toga's waist and sent her flying back, before whipping back into Tsui's mouth. 

"Tsu-chan!" stammered Kyoka. "C-careful, I'm not sure what she can do- o.. oww.."

Kyoka blinked as she stared at the blood dripping from her arm and looked over to see that Toga had filled a bit of syringe with red liquid.

"Hmmmm, that might do, that might do nicely." said Toga as she giggled gleefully. "Ne, ne, that makes us friends now right?  Do you have any boys you like? Come on you can tell me-."

"BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!"

Something exploded into the side of the cliff next to the three girls.. a dust cloud momentarily filling the air.

"U-ugh.." Chromasatone wrenched himself out of the rocks. "Well that happened."

Toga stared at Chromastone for a moment before noticing the Omnitrix badge and then her mouth spread into a wide smile. "Ooooohhhhh.. cuuuute.." 

************

"GAAAAGGGGGHHH!!"

Magne fell to her knees, gasping for breath as Tetrax stood before her, his arms folded.  Behind him, Rojo was still standing, a few scars in her armor, but otherwise still in the fight. 

Nearby, Tiger was leaning against a tree, nursing a burned arm and Pixie Bob was lying on a worn out Mandalay's lap, unconscious. 

"N-no matter what I hit him with, he just doesn't go down!" stammered Magne. "Is Diamondhead also this durable!? Komodo Dragon must've been insane to get through that diamond skin!!"

Rojo glared at Tetrax. The bigger threat was Eraser Head due to his quirk erasure as far as she knew. But he was in the forest fighting Zombozo.  

Zombozo didn't actually have a quirk so she had no doubt that the clown would be fine. But so far even with Magne tag teaming alongside her, Tetrax had been able to easily repel them. d

She had seen the footage of Diamondhead from various sources. Ben was good in combat for a kid that was for sure. But Tetrax was a whole other level.  This guy's skill, it was no wonder he was widely regarded as a mercenary as one of the best by the other two she heard about, the Krab guy and the Jetpack one.. 

"At this point we probably should call in Sunder honey!" Magne exclaimed with a gasp.

"No need." said Rojo. "Even if we don't win, we're serving our purpose either way. But you've impressed me La Roca boy.  You can dance quite well."

"I've had my fair share of dance partners that is for sure." said Tetrax.  "Your partner's quirk is unique for sure, but I'm afraid she's a bad matchup for my species."

"That is for certain.." Rojo growled as she hurled out both hands and fired a massive bolt of energy from cannons that emerged in her palms. 

Tetrax crossed his arms together, creating a large crystal shield which easily deflected the blast, smoke sizzling off the surface of the hard diamond-like skin. 

Tetrax retracted his shield and drew his gun, pointing it at Rojo. "You've got impressive weapons, gives my gear a run for its money in fact, but only one of us is capable of being hurt by them in general.  Surrender and I won't have to get serious."

"And you really think I'd just fold like that? Rock Hard Hero Tetrax Petra?" asked Rojo with a smirk. 

Tetrax blinked before narrowing his eyes. "So you know about that huh?"

"I guessed. The similar powers.. the name.. I still wonder how you managed to appear human during your short hero career. And why? Did you think you'd just have a fiesta here on Tierra while your UFO was repaired?

"Disguises are necessary when you wish to keep your cover, and being a hero earns trust with the public and grants easy access to info, I'm sure one in your position can understand that much." said Tetrax. "But I still do have an actual hero's license, alien or not, so I'm licensed to pile drive you if you don't surrender nicely. Sound good?"

"How upstanding of you." said Rojo with a smirk. "But.."

Rojo looked into the distance and smirked as she saw a shape rapidly approaching from the forest.. something massive, something she knew.."

"Oh that hijo! Cash is all sorts of trouble." said Rojo.

"What!?" Tetrax growled right as he looked up to see the gargantuan cash, whose face now possessed skin armor  around his chin and sharp teeth, smashing forward, violently, holding the muffled Katsuki in one hand. 

"RETURN.. WITH.. BAKUGOU!!" roared Cash in a thunderous voice. 

"HEY GUYS! I think we better split.. NOW!" yelled Twice from the giant Cash's back. 

"Tsk, seems we weren't able to get Jiro or Tennyson, but that boy was the minimum goal to begin with so I guess I can't stay and play!" said Rojo. "Dabi! You know what to do!"

"Right.." Dabi suddenly appeared next to Tetrax, shifting out of a shadowy portal obviously created by Kurogiri himself. "Lets go.."

"WAIT! YOU-!" Tetrax yelled. 

"STOOOOOOOP!!!"

Izuku Midoriya soared out of the forest, full cowling energy wrapped around his body as he frantically leaped towards the giant Cash. 

Behind him, Todoroki slid on ice as Sero, Mezo and Kirishima leaped forward. 

"Tsk! Those guys again!" Twice exclaimed. "Why on earth Mr. Compress decided to stay home instead of helping out I'll never know!"

"KACCHAAAAAN!!" Izuku leaped as fast as he could towards Bakugou, reaching a hand out as Katsuki just managed to pull his chin above Cash's fingers. His eyes glinted with prideful fury and shame at being rescued by the boy before him..

"NO! DEKU! DON'T COME-.." Katsuki caught himself as suddenly an image of Cash's vicious sneering face appeared in his mind. 

I.. I won't become like that asshole...

Katsuki closed his eyes, gritting his teeth, repulsed and then instead yelled, "STOP WHINING AND JUMP FASTER USELESS DEKU!!"

"RIGHT!!" Izuku screamed as he reached his fingers closer and Katsuki, wrenching his arm out of his captor's grasp, also reached out, though reluctantly at first. 

"ROOOAAARRRRRRRR!" Cash hurled his fist down and Izuku was sent smashing straight into the ground, where Mezo Shoji only just managed to catch him with his powerful limbs. 

"NOOOOO!" Izuku roared. 

"D-Damnit!! GOOOO TOOOO HEEEEEEEELLLLLLL!" Katsuki hurled an explosion into Cash's eye, causing him to roar with pain and drop Katsuki

"GRRR!" Cash made to swipe at Bakugou.

Tetrax moved forward as Dabi and Rojo both made to move in as well.

"ZEEEN ZEEEN ZEEN!" suddenly multiple ultraviolet energy blasts rained down from the sky, causing Cash to veer back. 

From the clouds,  Chromastone flew down, ultraviolet light shimmering around his body and leaving an energy trail as he flew, Asui and Kyoka riding on his back. 

"GOTCHA!!" Chromastone yelled, grabbing Katsuki's hand. 

"HEH! What took ya so long!?" Bakugou grinned as he he gripped the alien's crystal fingers. 

"HE CAN FLLLY!?" exclaimed Kirishima, his eyes popping. 

"Th-That alien!" Tetrax's eyes went wide..

Everything seemed to freeze in time as he stared upon the unusual form that Ben had taken.

Tetrax fell to his knees, overwhelmed with emotions. 

"Th-there's hope.. dear God.. there is hope.. Ben all this time.. you had that with you..?"

"KAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEWWWWWWWWWWW!"

At that moment, a massive blast of sonic rings similar to a blast from Echo Echo exploded into Chromastone.. 

Chromastone let out an agonizing scream as his crystal body cracked all over from the powerful sonic attack. 

Kyoka screamed Ben's name as she, Asui and the shocked Katsuki all fell from the alien, whose crystals had stopped shimmering with light. 

At that moment, a familiar binding cloth flew out from the trees and caught Asui and Jiro in the nick of time.. Aizawa, blood pouring form his forehead, panting as he held on to a nearby tree branch.. 

And Cash snatched Katsuki out of the air as Chromastone smashed into the earth... 

Tetrax slowly turned his head to stare wide eyed at Rojo, whose hand had morphed into a dish-like projector, earphone jack-like structures protruding from her ear lobes and plugged into the device she had made to amplify her heartbeat into a devastating super sonic attack. 

"Tetrax's race is weaker against sound waves.. and yet she didn't utilize them at the beginning.." Aizawa panted weakly. "W-was she merely stalling all this time!?"

"You.." Tetrax whispered. 

Rojo's eye was contorted in fury and she gritted her teeh. "I'm just pruning the family tree of two useless people.. that's all.."

"DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE!?" Tetrax roared as he grabbed Rojo by the throat, taking the villain by surprise. "YOU.. JUST KILLED MY ENTIRE PLANET!!"

"Ugh.." Rojo glared down at Tetrax. "I don't know.. what you're talking about.. but I won't mourn for a stupid boy and girl who dared to take my place in my own house.. "

And with that, Kurogiri's portal slid around Rojo and she vanished from Tetrax's grasp, leaving him holding empty air, while Katsuki and Cash disappeared through another massive black cloud, along with all the other villains present..

The camp was now silent... the unconscious Chromastone's feebly flickering crystals dimly casting lights and shadows on the entire group.. 

"Did.. we just lose..?" Kirishima asked breathlessly, his eyes wide. 

*********************

When Ben awoke in the hospital, he was on a respirator, and he heard voices.

"Normally, a Crystalsapien's body would even be able to take sound waves of that level, but it appears that Tennyson's body was already strained from his previous usage of Ultimate Rath.  He was running on fumes at that point is all I can say..  "

A strange voice was speaking. But it didn't sound human or familiar. 

"I see." Ben heard All Might's voice. "Well it's good that Tetrax could ask you to come on short notice."

"I don't normally make Human House Calls, but when Azmuth told me who the patient was, I made a special exception. It's probably better that I become a more regular physician to somebody who possesses the anatomies of more than 10 different species.."

"Is it true what Tetrax said?" All Might asked. "The unique legend of this Crystalsapien he spoke of?"

"Indeed, I was surprised to see it as an entry in the Omnitrix myself." said the inhuman doctor. "Azmuth really has been places.  What Tennyson-san does with this 'Chromastone' is up to him overall, but given what just happened, I wouldn't ask him to start taking fieldtrips to dead planet remains.. at least not yet."

"I'm sure Tetrax will understand that sentiment." said All Might.

Ben turned his head, trying to get a look at the door so he might see what was going on. But it was blocked by somebody sitting at his bed side. Several somebodies in fact..

A BUNCH of somebodies.. and ONE of those somebodies had her face right in his face so close it functioned as a reasonable jump scare.

"Heeeey" said Mina. "you're awake!"

"AAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ben screamed Mina fell over in equal fright.

"I told you that you shouldn't DO that!" Momo stammered, blushing slightly. "Honestly Ashido-chan, what's he going to think with that so close to his face first thing in the morning!?"

"E-Everyone!?" Ben stammered as he stared at the entirety of Class 1A at his bedside.  "Wh-wh-what the heck!?" 

It was at that moment he noticed that he wasn't the only one who was the worse for wear. 

Some of those present were wearing hospital clothing as well, with bandages and casts, and  even Tokoyami had his bird-like head wrapped in gauze and was on crutches. 

"Ah jeez." Ben said. "You all look like crap."

"You should look at yourself man." said Denki with a wink. "First time Jiro-chan visited she nearly fainted!!"

Ben frowned as he looked at his own body and moaned. "Oh shiiiiit."

His arms, his legs, his entire body was wrapped from head to toe in bandages.. with various wires sticking out.  The Omnitrix was fit with what appeared to be a monitoring brace of some sort.

"Alien Doctor, you should've SEEN the guy.. like a giant blob!" said Toru, her disembodied torso wiggling around excitedly in her visible clothing. "Mr. Gluto or something!! He said that device is supposed to help the Omnitrix heal you or something.. you should be back up in several days or so.. but.."

"Honestly we couldn't keep from worrying, we didn't know your entire body was almost near breaking when we fought those villains." said Kirishima, scratching the back of his head. "Damn we were driving you way too much, asking you to fight Murray on your own in your condition."

"It's fine.." Ben said. "Not like we had much of a choice. Hey, where's Katsuki-san? I thought he'd be yelling at me to suck it up by now?"

There was a silence. 

Kyoka, who was sitting at Ben's bedside, holding his hand, dipped her head as Kirishima gritted his teeth. 

Izuku looked lifeless in his hospital gown, gripping his wrist. 

Ben's eyes slowly widened.  "I.. I failed.. I couldn't.."

"Not just you Ben." Kirishima said softly. "We all failed last night.. we.. "

"It wasn't just Bakugou who was taken." said Tokoyami. "In the aftermath we also discovered a few new things..  Tendo was seriously injured, she had to be brought into surgery after a run in with the monster from the Painting that Midoriya and Sero mentioned.  TetsuTetsu said they were dragged into another world where they were drowned in some sort of.. well he's shaky at the moment.. apparently they saw something terrifying they barely managed to escape from.. "

"Ragdoll from the Pussycats was taken as well." said Momo. "I.. I saw her being taken by one of those horrid Nomus.. and.."

"Well you did the right thing Momo-chan." said Ochaco. "You fit a tracking device and everything. So its  up to the Pro heroes now."

"The villains?" Ben murmured.

"Most of them escaped." said Kirishima. "Aizawa Sensei is healing up here too. He had a run in with that Clown guy we fought and it didn't end well. For some reason he isn't affected by sensei's quirk."

"Everything seems to be an enigma with that clown." said Sero shakily. "I knew felt something REALLY wrong about him when we were fighting. Tokoyami, are you sure you don't remember anything at all?"

"Nothing .. I've asked Dark Shadow and even he doesn't really have much memory of being under Zombozo's control. The most we could remember was... terror.. and screaming.. it's all a blur." said Tokoyami. 

"Mggh.." Ben shook his head. "I don't like to think about clowns to be honest.. and.. and.." 

Ben just couldn't bring himself to speak. His failure to save Katsuki was weighing so heavily, it was like a tire compressor made of sheer pain.

"I know." Kyoka whispered, stroking Ben's hair gently. 

The next few days weren't easy. 

The next morning, Ben had to go in for Physical Therapy and another checkup. And when he was wheeled into the room, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the giant orange blob-like alien with three eyes  and a mechanical lower dome-like two armed body gliding on several hover mechanisms. 

Apparently Dr. Gluto had been contacted by Tetrax with approval from Azmuth. 

Of course, Mrs and Mr. Jiro were both there with Kyoka to observe. 

"Mmmmm.." Gluto mused in his gurgling voice as they looked at Ben's X-Rays."Well this is sort of a conundrum. "As you can see, the Omnitrix fixed most of the damage fairly quickly. You could say a brilliant benefit of the device is that there's no such thing as a permanent injury.  But it was a very close call. It seems you were also in a state of adrenaline when you were Ultimate."

"What do you mean?" Mr. Jiro asked. "What's that mean for Ben?"

"It means that combined with the strain of being Ultimate, his body was utilizing an enormous amount of energy." said Gluto. "When living things are in stressful situations, they're capable of doing extraordinary things. A man pinned under rocks filled with this adrenaline can lift thousands of pounds, but at the cost of tremendous injury. Our bodies rarely use what they are fully capable of, that goes for most races.  When you combine that with the drawbacks of the Ultimatrix Initiative, well lets just say Ben's bones and vessels were all on the verge of collapse."

"Sh-shit." said Kyoka, putting a hand to her mouth.

"Yep, Chromastone's durability saved him overall, if he transformed into any less durable form, he'd likely be dead, and I don't know if there's a failsafe for that." said Gluto. "Not any technology that we know of anyways. Millions of advanced lifeforms in the universe and that Ultimate Question has yet to be solved."

"If it was I think it'd be creepy." Ben muttered. 

"In any case, I'd steer clear of the Ultimates from now on." said Gluto. "Azmuth never completed the feature to begin with, and the requirements to activate it is definitely likely to spike one's adrenaline, creating more risk for the same situation."

Ben frowned.

"You need to understand, though I know its tough." said Gluto as he used a gooey tendril to check his clipboard while a human doctor passed by, looking genuinely shocked as he looked into the room. "Its not an issue of learning to master it, or training to do it. It's not like your friend Midoriya-kun.  Your body is already in the top shape for your age thanks to the Omnitrix. And it's a machine. You can't train a machine like a muscle. You can learn to use the power with more skill and train your mind to adapt. But the Ultimatrix isn't that sort of thing."

"What would you recommend then?" Asked Mrs. Jiro, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder. 

"Well the best course of action would be to request Azmuth create some physical keys to lock the function so he doesn't accidentally activate it." said Gluto. "Or to switch the activation requirements from Emotion control to a switch of some sort for convenience.  I'll put in a request to him today. He's been following this situation quite closely too. He cares quite a bit what happens to Ben, even if he's not good at showing how much he cares."

"He seems to be a real tsundere." muttered Kyoka.

Gluto snorted. "Oh I like you. Yes he's a bit like that isn't he?"

Ben grinned slightly at these words, but then continued to look downcast. "I know I shouldn't let this get to me, but.. the Ultimates made me feel.. I don't know.. special. The thought that I could save anybody and everyone no matter what, that's the feeling I got when I turned Ultimate Heatblast. It was.. amazing."

"Take note that the Omnitrix is already considered absolutely amazing on its own. Very few know about the Ultimatrix initiative due to the negative message it sends about the device, Azmuth made sure to keep it quiet after the initial failure to use the program as a deterrent against war.  Sort of like showing a picture of somebody's lungs after smoking to deter smoking. I don't think he ever meant for the feature to see usage. He might have risked letting you use it as a consideration for the dangerous job you were taking on, which is the only reason I'm not suggesting deleting it from the device altogether. 

"I-I see.." said Ben.

"Don't be sad Ben, remember when you didn't even have powers?" said Kyoka, punching Ben's shoulder. "Now you could probably beat all of class 1A single handidly."

Ben smiled back, but Kyoka could sense his smile was fake. 

Kyoka's smile faded a little and she grabbed Ben's shoulder. "It's not what you wear on your wrist that makes you a hero, it's the person piloting that thing. You know that right?"

"If I hadn't gone Ultimate, Kota might have died.." Ben murmured. "And.. and if I had only gone Ultimate when Katsuki was taken.. then.. "

"You can't honestly think that, you heard what Dr. Gluto said, you were on your last legs, trying to do that might have shattered your body dear." said Mrs. Jiro. 

"That, and there wouldn't be an Ultimate Chromastone to begin with." 

The family gave a start as Tetrax stepped into the room. His helmet still on.

"Apologies." said Tetrax. "I don't mean to intrude."

"Hey! Ben and Kyoka's told us all about you!" said Mr. Jiro with a grin. "Your beat's on level with us. You're actually an alien under that helmet right?"

"Yes, though I prefer to keep a low profile. If any asks, I'm just a Pro Hero whose little known and in full costume." said Tetrax. "I thought I'd visit this wing to check on Ben, if that's alright."

"Of course it is." said Mrs. Jiro, bowing politely. "Thank you for looking after our children."

"U-uh of course." said Tetrax. 

"What do you mean when you say Chromastone can't go Ultimate by the way?" Ben asked. 

"The Ultimatrix creates Ultimates by simulating a Worst Scenario situation where an intergalactic civil war is simulated over millions of years." said Tetrax. "Taking both combat culture, and society types into consideration, it pushes the concept of Darwinian evolution to the max until the most combat able version of an alien is created. "

"I can see why not every alien would have an ultimate then." said Kyoka. "I mean some aliens probably don't survive the war right? Or some cultures are too peaceful and don't try to defend themselves.."

"Or, there's not enough of the species to procreate and pass down traits." said Tetrax.

"Wait are you saying there's only one Chromastone guy out there?" Ben asked.

"Two if we count you." said Kyoka.

"No.. just one.. formerly zero." said Tetrax. "Ben, thanks to Chromastone, you're the preserver of the last of that particular alien's species. And to top it off, next to Diamondhead, you hold the last of mine too."

There was a silence as slowly the gravity of these words hit everyone in the room.

"Mr. Tetrax-san, I'm sorry." said Mrs. Jiro.

"Petropia was a beautiful world. It was a horrible thing, what happened to it." said Gluto. 

"I will discuss Chromastone when the situation is more suitable." said Tetrax. "For now the burden of what it means to hold that particular alien form in your possession is not something I think you're ready for.  But there is something of more immediate import that I wish to say."

Tetrax looked at Ben quietly for a brief second.

"You can master them, the Ultimates. I have full confidence you can."

"M.. Mr. Tetrax.

"Forgive me. it probably sounds foolish to the ears of others. But I know why taking them from you at this moment when you failed to save your friend, bites into your heart. But it has nothing to do with being unique. It's about having faith." said Tetrax. "I witnessed your will with my own two eyes. You are the one whose truly worthy to master every facet of the Omnitrix. Even the ones that normally none would touch due to risk. You may not use them now or regularly, it might take years and years. But, one day you will. "

"T-Tetrax." said Ben, looking awed. 

"I'll do all I can to help you get there, every step of the way." said Tetrax. "And Jiro is right. It was never that feature that made you special. It's what makes you special which is why you will master it."

Tetrax bowed a little. "That's all I wished to say. Again, I do apologize for interrupting."

"Don't.. and uh.. thank you." said Ben. 

Later the next day, Ben sat on the sofa in one of the hospital recreation rooms, staring out over the street below. 

Izuku sat next to him. Ben, while still a bit injured, was healing quickly thanks to the Omnitrix, wearing normal clothes now. 

"You think he's still alive?" Ben asked.

"It's Kacchan,  I doubt I ever knew anybody who was more of a survivor than him." said Izuku. 

Ben frowned. "Yeah.. I.. guess."

"Hey  you two!"

Ben and Katsuki both looked up and blinked with a bit of surprise. 

Rachel, Kevin, Momo, Kirishima, Shoto and even Tenya Iida were standing behind the couch, wearing their hospital visitor passes. 

"Thought we could catch up a bit and chat." said Kirishima with a grin. 

Later, the group found an empty walk in closet, with Kirishima carefully closing the door, before turning quickly to the rest of the group and taking a breath.  "Okay, so this isn't exactly a normal visit."

"Yeah, I figured." Ben muttered, looking at Tenya. "I've never seen Iida-kun looking so.. quiet."

Tenya indeed didn't look very good. His face was serious, and the way he was sweating looked as if he was really preparing himself to dissuade everyone from something drastic. 

Momo also seemed to have a similar expression. 

Kevin and Kirishima however, both looked determined and solemn, as if they had made their minds up regarding something, as did Todoroki. 

And Rachel.. well.. Rachel just looked like Rachel, her expression unreadable as usual. 

"Okay, what laws are we breaking, and how many Mr. Smoothies are on the line?" Ben said. 

"This isn't that." said Kirishima. "Not this time anyways."

Momo turned slowly to look at Kirishima. "What do you mean.. this time?"

"Long story." said Kirishima. "Mostly involving Mr. Smoothy, the KGB, and Russian Smoothie enthusiasts.. from the Kremlin."

"That was a wild ride." Ben muttered.

"Except you two seemed to forget the part where we promised 'Never again' to discuss it." said Kevin with a sour expression.

"Riiiiight." said Ben. "Sorry."

I'm still struggling to gather why we had to blow half the Kremlin to smithereens in the first place." muttered Todoroki. 

"Okay, we now have a LOT to talk about that's unrelated to the current subject, but that can wait." said Momo. 

"Nothing waits when Smoothies are on the line." Ben said. "Except Bakugou, which I'm guessing is the situation if not the Russian Smoothie incident.. which never happened.. ever.."

"Precisely." said Kirishima. "You and Midoriya have suffered as much as any of us. I.. I lost my friend. I did what I could but in the end I couldn't save him. Midoriya-kun, you were right there, you had him but was just out of reach.. and Ben.. well, enough said on what happened there."

Ben bowed his head, as did Izuku.

"You two deserve to go rescue Bakugou the most out of any of us." said Kirishima. "And it's not going to stop eating at you both until we all do something about it. Todoroki's also made up his mind about this."

"And you guys?" Ben asked, looking at Momo, Tenya, Rachel and Kevin.

"I hate Bakugou plenty, but he's your friend, and you're my friend. I know this is eating you too, and I don't think sitting here and waiting for the Heroes to do their Job is gonna sit right with you. even if they do succeed, it's gonna eat at ya." said Kevin. "So I'm willing to give it a shot."

"I'm thoroughly against this. This is precisely the mistake I made when I went after Stain once!" growled Tenya. "Todoroki! Midoriya! You were both there! You can't just forget the mistakes I made! The trouble you two were nearly put into because of me!?"

"I'm with Iida-kun on this, however, I also don't believe Kirishima-kun or Levin-kun will stay quiet if we just sit around." said Momo. "I'm willing to participate in the plan granted that we exercise caution and remain out of combat completely, staying within the law. Ben included."

Ben blinked. "Uh?"

"Don't think I don't know about the loophole regarding Quirk Combat laws." said Momo. "You don't have a quirk, the Omnitrix is not a quirk. If you fought you technically wouldn't be breaking the law, however.."

Ben paused, bracing himself.

"If you DID fight, and it ended up on the media, just think of all the bad press that Will Harangue and the other anti-alien groups would use against you and the UA. I care too much about what happens to you to let you take that risk!" said Momo. "So if we do this, we do this using my rules.  We keep out of the fight."

Ben gulped. "Uhhh.. right."

"R-Right!? Don't tell me you're actually considering-!?" Tenya began. 

"He is." said Rachel. "And he has every right to, in spite of what the law says, in spite of what the heroes are working on. I come a place where Heroes aren't as regulated as they are here. Where superhumans are many, but still.. extremely few.. "

"Just what kind of boonies did you grow up in?" Kevin muttered.

"But I know this. The law never stopped my friends or me from doing what we could to help anyone in trouble." said Rachel. "And as far as these laws are concerned, I see why they're needed, but I can't abide by them in this situation. Bakugou.. he's.. my friend too, at least I'd like to think so."

"Way to go Roth-san!" said Kirishima, pumping a fist. 

Momo sighed. "And here it just proves the only reason I'm doing this, which is to help Iida-kun keep an eye out and make sure you all don't do something utterly reckless."

Tenya gritted his teeth and nodded. "As class representative I don't condone what is being done here, but I'm also liable to say that I'm coming along, if only to pull you all back if you go too far. You're my friends too, and I won't let you make my mistakes if I can help it. Do you hear me?"

There was a pause in the room. 

Ben looked at Izuku.

"I'm going." said Izuku. "I know it might possibly be wrong, but I can't just sit back anymore."

Ben sighed. "Guess I'm convinced too. So I gather we have some semblance of a plan? Otherwise Momo would be trying to tie us up instead of letting us go out there."

Momo held up what looked like a sonar device in her hand. "I made a Satellite GPS tracker and managed to attach one to that Nomu creature that kidnapped Ragdoll.  I handed off one of the trackers to All Might-san but I also made a backup just in case."

"So we have a precise idea of where they are, and I do mean precise." said Rachel. "Of course I could always track them with my powers, but it wouldn't give us as exact a readout as a tracker attached to something."

"Just what kind of quirk do you have?" muttered Tenya nervously. "Tracking, Telekinises.. it's got so many things it can do."

"I'll tell you all when the time is right.. one day." said Rachel. "But what's present is Bakugou."

"Indeed, the marker places them in a rather sly part of town I'm afraid to say." said Momo. "And to top it off, as far as stealth goes, we might not have much to go on."

"What do you mean?" Ben asked.

"The UA Sports Festival made plenty of us famous." said Izuku. "It's at the point where sometimes random people ask for my autograph in the streets.."

"Another thing to consider is Tennyson-kun's own kind of fame." said Momo. "He's the wielder of the Omnitrix, which is the current subject of controversy being made into a political movement by Will Harangue and his fake father.  He can't move in public without being mobbed by  reporters."

Ben nodded. "All Might actually sends a car to pick me and Kyoka up when we go to school nowadays because of that. So? What do we do?"

"W-well I have a plan for that of course." said Momo, going pink. "You'll just have to see for yourself! Though of course there's that other plan to counteract Ben's bad press that Jiro-chan Ochaco-chan and Tsu-chan have been developing on the side.. but.. umm.."

"Oh yeah that Welcome Aliens Committee thing, that won't work nearly fast enough though." said Kirishima.

"Huh-!? Welcome what now?" Ben said.

"TH-that's supposed to be a surprise!" Izuku stammered. "P-put it out of your mind!"

"Too late, it's in my mind and now it's festering and I'm not gonna stop asking about it." said Ben with a shrug.

"I'll buy you 5 Smoothies, my treat." said Izuku. 

"What were we talking about 2 seconds ago? I just completely forgot!" said Ben holding a thumbs up. 

"Alright then" said Momo. "L-lets get to work then!"

******************

"It is time.." 

The dark factory alit as lights one by one burned into existence, lighting over all the shimmering liquid tanks that held thousands of Nomu creatures in the process of being created. 

and the steps of a robed figure gliding over the metal floor, his finned head casting a shadow over the mechanisms filling the factory..

The beaten and gasping Ragdoll stared at the figure from where she was chained to the wall, blood dripping from her chin. "Ugh.. "

She had been hanging here for a while. Occasionally every so often, she would be brought tasteless and unsavory food just to keep her alive..  she had seen neither any members of the League, nor had she seen anyone else other than this dark figure approaching the large cylindrical chamber. 

The cylindrical chamber was huge, monolithic.. with spikes and tubes connected to it, like some sort of hellish monolith dedicated to a demon. 

And the voice that came out of it. It was a voice filled with nightmares. Ragdoll could only bite her lower lip in fear every time she heard it, trying to hold back her feverish panic. 

The dark finned figure knelt before the monolith, as he did every day. Ragdoll strained her ears to listen in spite of her fears. She knew that what she learned would be vital intel if she was ever rescued. She had to do what she could.

"My Master, your integration has been completed. The Power of the human filth calling himself All For One is now yours." said the being. "As are the powers he used to construct the body guard he called Gigantomachia.."

"Hmph.. pitiful alterations Psyphon, but any contributions to the power I already have is a mere step forward in my goal I suppose." said the horrid voice from the container. "And the League?"

"They have proceeded as planned. Katsuki Bakugou is now in their possession, Tennyson is sure to be driven by his bleeding heart to rescue him." said Psyphon.

"Hmph, then the hour has come.. NO more hiding.. NO more lurking in the shadows. The Earth shall now see the face.. of their ruler.."

"CHIIIN CHIIIN CHIIN!!!" The wires and tubes attached to monolith began to snap and detach, breaking apart as Ragdoll's eyes widened in terror. 

https://youtu.be/kEyUy5M4ikg

The entire factory rumbled as Psyphon knelt with his face kissing the very floor..  energy exploded from various parts in the monolith as chains chinked and strained on crude pulleys being operated by Nomus with spikes driven into their bodies for extra obedience who were forced to operate the cranks, moaning in sheer pain..

the monolith lifted, more wires, and tankards full of liquid, gushing and shattering.. 

A massive metal foot slammed out of the darkness of the lifted container's innards, and a huge figure stepped forward slowly..

With each step, the entire factory shook, as if the creature inside was readjusting his massive power so as to not accidentally shatter his surroundings for miles.. 

Ragdoll's eyes slowly rolled upwards as the figure towered above her at least Humungousaur's base height.. it's rippling green muscles, it's red horrid eyes boring into existence.

"Mmmm..ff.. mm.." Ragdoll cried against her gag, her eyes wide with horror as Vilgax stood above her, his very aura rivaling that of a walking nuke.

"Afraid my child?"  Vilgax whispered, putting a clawed finger to Ragdoll's chin. "Ahhhh, I know. I know fear. I've tasted it it, felt it, the cold blade of imminent doom pressed against my neck. Oh I know it so well. I know its horror, it's metal taste. However.. "

Vilgax rose up. "You will find that under my kingship, your fear is at an end. Humanity should rejoice at the generosity to join my stewardship. I don't pretend to not understand your will to resist. But in the end, you shall grow to appreciate it I'm sure.."

Vilgax raised his muscled fists to the air as powerful red light erupted flame-like from his eyes. "Come to me All Might. Show me humanity's greatest hero. I.. Vilgax.. challenge the worth of your species tonight!!!!"