Chapter Text

a moving van pulls up in front of a neighborhood somewhere in vale The neighborhood was fairly old, but clearly well taken care of. The homes on both sides were well kept and the homes' yards were filled with foliage. Several older and younger boys and girls play games and such in the yards and on the street as the van pulls up. It was clearly a relatively middle class area as the cars on both streets were nothing fancy, but not exactly cheap either.

As the door to the van opened, a middle aged woman stepped out. She wore a simple blue button up, black jeans and black shoes. The woman had chestnut brown hair and a bright look on her face.

The sound of shuffling around came from the back of the van before the doors opened and a young man climbed out of the vehicle. He looked to be at most sixteen and wore a baggy t-shirt a pair of jeans and sneakers. He looked to be around six foot two inches, with chestnut brown hair and sky blue eyes. Upon the boy's face was a look of exhaustion, like he hadn't slept in days.

The woman, assumingly the boys mother, glanced at the expression on the teen's face and sighed softly. She walked up to him, placing her free hand on the top of his head as she started to ruffle up his messy hair with a small smile.

"You look tired, sweetie. Didn't sleep at all, did you?"

nah i couldnt had to say goodbye to the place the boy said

The woman hummed softly in sympathy as she continued ruffling up the teen's hair gently, smiling softly as she did. She knew the move was hard on the boy. It wasn't every day that you had to leave the only home you had known.

"You'll be ok, sweetie. I promise. It'll be hard for a bit, but once we settle in it'll get easier, ok?"

The teen didn't say anything as the woman continued to ruffle up his hair, almost like he was just accepting the comfort instead of trying to act like he didn't need it like most boys his age would.

the womans phone began to ring

The woman hummed softly as she heard her phone rang, pulling her free hand from the teen's head and going to reach for the device.

"Hold on, max. Let me just grab this real quick."

The woman said as she pulled her phone out and glancing down to see who was calling her.

As the woman looked down to her phone, Max glanced around the neighborhood, looking at all the kids playing and such. He didn't want to admit it, but the thought of making friends here filled him with a sense of dread.Not because he wasnt sociable but because the thought of just trying to forget all the good friends he had already made was not one he wanted to have he had no way to contact them and it would feel like hes replacing his old friends .

The woman finished glancing down at her phone before turning her attention back to her son. She gently tapped the top of his head to get his attention.

"Max, sweetie, you go ahead and go inside the new house. I have to grab a few things from the van real quick.

okay max said

The woman smiled faintly as her son agreed and nodded.

"There's snacks in the kitchen if you want them."

The woman said as she turned back to the van and the contents of it, starting to go through the different boxes to find the one she was looking for. She had already told Max that it would probably be best if he just stayed inside and settled into his new room while she settled in the rest of their stuff over the next few hours.

Max simply nodded as he headed towards the new house. As he got closer, he slowly took in the home. It was a fairly simple, single-level home with two stories. The front yard was relatively well kept.

Max made his way up to the door of the house and quickly slipped inside. He found himself instantly in the living room, a fairly spacious room that had an archway in the wall leading directly into the kitchen, which was to his right.

Max's mother smiled faintly as she finally saw the box she was looking for. She reached into the van and pulled the box out carefully, not wanting to accidentally damage or destroy the contents. Luckily it was fairly light so it was simple to pull out.

With the box in hand she finally answered the call on her phone

Max's mother pressed the phone to her ear and spoke into it once it had connected, all the while slowly closing the van door as she waited for the other person on the other side to speak

"Hello?"

Max's mother glanced down at the box in her hand, nodding faintly.

"Yeah. I got it right here."

Max's mother rolled her eyes faintly at the other side of the phone. She knew they couldn't afford to lose it, but the way they said it made it sound like they didn't trust in her ability to finish her task.

"You act like I don't have it in my hand."

The person, most like a man by the sound of their voice, chuckled on the other side of the phone as they heard her reply with a hint of mockery in their voice. Their tone definitely suggested that they were used to and tired of the woman being so sassy.

"It was just a question, no need to get defensive. Have you already started unpacking?"

Max's mother rolled her eyes once more as she heard the man's reply. She couldn't help her sass, especially to someone who clearly didn't think she could do her job.

"Of course I'm already unpacking. Can't get settled in if you don't unpack."

The man on the other side of the phone made a small sound of understanding before he spoke again, his tone almost sounding like he was amused by her sass instead of annoyed. There was a hint of genuine curiosity in his voice, though. He was curious about how Max had reacted to their arrival.

how is max settling in ?"I take it that he hasn't adjusted well yet?"

Max's mother hummed faintly at the man's question. Her expression turned to a soft frown as she thought over the question for a few moments. She knew that Max hadn't taken the move well, but she had hoped her son would have been more used to the situation by now.

"He really hasn't, no. It's hard on him. He had good friends back home, I'm worried that he's still upset at having to leave them."

Molly, Max's mother, was quiet for a few moments as she took a deep breath. Sure, she didn't like being unable to tell her son the full truth about their leaving, but she understood that it was necessary to keep the truth secret.

"I understand," Molly said, a slight hint of reluctance in her voice, "but it doesn't make it any easier, on me or him."

speaking of safety whats even in the box you never told me molly asked the man on the call

The man on the other side of the line was quiet for a few moments as Molly questioned the contents of the box. The box in question was currently sitting in Molly's hands as she was still holding it tightly so it wouldn't be dropped and ruined.

The man's voice came through the line once again, the tone turning from teasing and mocking to more serious

"Something that's very important and that needs tto be kept secret even to you im sorry."

Molly's expression turned into a frown of annoyance at the man's reply. It was bad enough that she was unable to tell her own son the real reason they had to uproot their lives and leave, but to not even tell her what was in the seemingly important box was irritating at best.

"Come on, James," Molly said, a hint of irritation in her voice, "You know I don't like being kept in the dark.

Molly let out a frustrated sigh as James' reasoning. To her, not knowing what was in the box was more annoying than anything else. She knew James wasn't going to tell her what was in it, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it.

"And I'm just supposed to trust that it's something important and safe?"

Molly huffed and rolled her eyes faintly as she heard James' answer. She knew there was no point in trying to press the issue. Whatever was in the box was important enough that James didn't even want her to know what it was, and clearly he wasn't going to tell her anyway.

Molly let out a small sigh, the irritation fading from her voice. "Fine, I trust you."

but unbeknownst to her the inside of the box in her hand was glowing a bright blue that it was not mere moments ago

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Max was still in the kitchen, searching through the cabinets and the fridge for any snacks that had been packed. However, like any normal fridge, there wasn't much to grab on the first day.

The teen's mind was still stuck on his old friends, wondering what they were doing now that he was gone. Max had gotten lucky and was able to say goodbye to a few, but it still hurt to leave them all behind.

Max closed the fridge, letting out a sigh as he did so. He frowned slightly, as he realized just how barren the fridge was. He knew he shouldn't be too surprised. It was the first day, after all, so it was only natural that the fridge looked so bare.

The teen turned around and leaned against the counter, his eyes slowly moving around the kitchen. He couldn't help but feel homesick, especially since all that was on his mind was how he missed his friends.

Max's expression slowly turned into a slight frown as his thoughts turned to his father. The teen slowly slid down the counter to sit on the floor. He wasn't sure why his mind suddenly shifted to his father, especially since the man had been gone for so long.

However, the more Max thought about it, the more he realized just how much he missed his dad. Sure, he missed his friends, but he missed his father more. It didn't take long before Max was frowning, lost in his memories of his father.

Max didn't know how long he sat on the kitchen floor. His thoughts consumed him as he continued to think about his father. He could still remember the man's eyes and smile like it was yesterday. Max would sometimes wonder what had happened to his father, and if he would ever see the man again. Every time he wondered, however, a pit would form in his stomach. He knew his father was likely never coming back, but that never stopped the hope from creeping in.

Max was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice his aura slowly flaring up. The boy was completely unaware that he was losing control over his emotions until it was too late. By the time Max realized something was wrong, his aura had already started to flare a faint blue color. His emotions, fueled by the thoughts of his father, were starting to spiral out of control. No matter how much Max tried to calm himself, the aura continued to flare.

As the aura continued to flare, Max began to feel like it was getting hard to breathe. The feeling only got worse the more his emotions spiraled. The air around him became difficult to breath as his emotions continued to go out of control. He could feel his chest tightening as he found it getting increasingly difficult to breathe properly.

Thinking quickly, Max grabbed a nearby chair and pulled himself up. The teen then began to take deep, shaky breaths in an effort to calm his emotions and reduce the straining in his chest.

Max slowly sat himself down on the nearby chair and took another deep breath. He could feel his heart beating, thumping hard against his chest as his emotions continued to spiral. It took all of his willpower to slow his breathing and allow his heart rate to begin to lower. Max knew he needed to calm down, otherwise the situation would get worse if he didn't get a handle on his emotions.

As Max's breaths became more even and regular, the boy could slowly start to feel himself returning to normal. The heavy feeling in his chest began to lift, and the straining in his lungs slowly began to ease. His heart rate began to slow to a more normal rate. After another minute of deep breathing, Max could feel his aura beginning to calm and recede as his emotions started to stabilize again.

Max was both puzzled and confused after his aura flared up suddenly. He had never experienced anything like it before, and he wasn't even sure exactly what had caused it to happen. The boy knew some basic information on the ability that almost everyone had: aura. However, he had never actually experienced an aura flare like that. Max had only ever been told that they occurred when a person's emotions become too strong to control.

The teen was at a loss. He knew that he had calmed down pretty fast, but he had no idea what had even caused his aura to flare in the first place. hell he hadnt even unlocked his aura.

Max's mind raced as he continued to think about the events that just occurred. His mind was trying to find logic and reason in something that he barely understood. Despite having only known the bare minimum about aura, the boy was sure that what he had just experienced was unusual.

Max let out a deep sigh, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He knew he wasn't going to get any answers just sitting there. He needed to figure out what had just happened, and more importantly, how to avoid it in the future.

Max slowly stood up from the chair, taking a deep breath as he did so. He felt surprisingly well after calming down, but he wasn't sure if his emotions would spike again. The teen had no idea what could cause another flare, but he still didn't want to take any chances.

Deciding to play it safe, Max headed for the front door so he could go out and test out his aura without causing any damage to the house.

Molly's got off the call just in time to see Max head for the door, a puzzled look on her face as she saw her son leaving. She knew Max was still struggling to adjust to the new house, but she hadn't expected him to go out on his own without telling her.

The woman quickly crossed the space between her and the door, grabbing Max by the wrist as she called out to him

"Max, where are you going?"

going to take a look around the neighborhood max said that was only a half lie he did want to check out the surrounding neighborhood he ust also wanted to test out these new abilities of his

Molly raised an eyebrow as Max replied, slightly suspicious that he was telling only half of the truth. However, she had no reason to believe that he was lying. So instead, the woman gave a nod and released her son's wrist.

"Just be careful, alright? And let me know if you're gonna be a while."

i will so dont worry mom he says before noticing the box in her hand

Molly gave her son a small, reassuring smile as he promised to let her know if he was taking a while. She trusted the teen to not get into trouble, but she still couldn't help but worry when he was on his own.

The woman was about to respond when she noticed Max's gaze shifting to the box in her hand. She glanced down at the container, a look of faint contemplation on her face.

Molly's eyes darted back up to Max as the teen asked about the box in her hand. For a moment, she wasn't sure if she should tell him or not. James had explicitly told her not to say anything about the contents in the container, but Molly had promised earlier that she'd tell Max if he asked.

After a few moments of contemplation, Molly let out a sigh and looked back at her son.

"old family heirlooms i dont want them breaking so ill be putting them in the attic..."

okay max said as he for some reason felt drawn to the box or rather what was inside it but molly didnt notice that

*Molly gave her son a nod in reply to his response. She could tell that Max was still slightly interested in the box, but the woman didn't think much of it. It was normal to be at least a little curious.

ah alright ill be leaving now max said as he snapped out of his almost trance

Molly gave another nod, her attention briefly shifting back to the box. She didn't notice Max snapping out of his seeming trance, but before he could think further on it, molly spoke again.

"Alright, have fun. Just make sure to come back before it gets late, alright?"

"Mhm, see you in a bit, then."

Molly responded to her son, watching as he began to walk out of the house. The woman didn't think much of it as Max passed her, until a faint blue glow caught in the corner of her eye. Molly's head whipped back to the box in her hands, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw the container faintly glow blue.

As soon as Molly was able to confirm that Max was gone, she put down the box on the ground and reached for her scroll, quickly dialing up James's number and calling him up.

After a few rings, the call was picked up by James, and the man's face appeared on the screen as he answered his scroll.

"What is it, Molly?"

James spoke up, his voice a mixture of surprise and annoyance at being interrupted mid meeting.

james what the hell is in this box

Max eventually found himself in an alleyway, away from the main streets and any prying eyes. The teen took a moment to gather himself, leaning his back against the wall behind him as he took a few deep breaths.

Once he had calmed down, Max began to focus on his aura once more. He took another few deep breaths as he tried to summon his aura again.

Max let out a frustrated sigh as his attempt to force his aura to reappear failed. He had been able to make it flare earlier; it shouldn't have been this hard to do now. But no matter how hard he tried, the boy's focus wouldn't waver enough to trigger his aura again.

Max huffed in frustration, his fist clenched tightly. He was starting to get annoyed at his inability to trigger his aura. It shouldn't have been that difficult; he'd been able to do it back at the house. The teen's mind began to race with questions as to why he couldn't replicate what he'd done earlier.

Max slumped back against the wall behind him, sliding down so he was sitting on the ground. He brought his knees in front of his chest, resting his head on them as he grumbled in annoyance to himself. The teen cursed his lack of control over his emotions and aura.

Max's eyes flicked up to the sky as he saw that the sun was beginning to disappear below the horizon. The sky was slowly turning into an array of dark colors. It looked like it was about to get dark really quickly.

Max was startled by how quickly it was getting dark. He had been so focused on trying to trigger his aura that he hadn't noticed just how much time had passed. The sky in front of him was now a deep mixture of blue to black, the stars starting to show.

The realization that it was getting really late kicked Max's brain into overdrive and the teen quickly got to his feet, cursing to himself as he realized he had to get back home soon. He had promised Molly he'd be back before it got late, and it was definitely getting late now.

Max began to make his way out of the alleyway, quickly leaving the deserted passage and heading back into the main streets. The teen started running, trying to get back to the house as fast as he could before his mom started to worry.

Max was so focused on trying to get home that he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going. In turn, the teen ended up running right into a girl who had been walking in the opposite direction, the impact knocking the both of them over to the ground.

Max winced as he landed hard on the concrete, the impact jarring as he hit the ground. He propped himself up by his arms, slowly sitting himself up as he looked towards the girl he had just ran into.

Max slowly took in the sight of the girl he had inadvertently ran into. The girl's hair and eyes were a mix of pink and brown, a rare combination he had never seen before. She wore a white cropped jacket, with a pink interior, cuffs, collar, and a single pink button. It was a simple but elegant outfit.

uh sorry max said as he got up

Max muttered an apology to the girl as he slowly got back up to his feet, a sheepish look on his face. He dusted himself off before looking back at the pink and brown haired girl, wincing a bit as his eyes met with hers.

The girl met Max's gaze, a look of slight surprise on her face as she met his eyes. She also slowly got to her feet, taking a moment to brush some of the dirt off her top before looking back at the boy in front of her.

A moment of awkward silence surrounded the two, neither one of them making a move to speak. Max scratched the back of his neck, unsure of what to do in the current situation. The girl met his gaze and studied him for a moment, her head tilting a bit as her eyes scanned him up and down.

Max felt a bit uncomfortable as the girl continued to stare at him. He got the feeling that she was studying him, her gaze slowly taking in every part of him, almost like he was the subject of some analysis. The teen's discomfort grew as the silence stretched on.

Max watched as the girl pulled out her scroll and started typing something into it. He had no idea what she was doing and could only awkwardly wait until she put her scroll back away. The silence between the two was starting to get more unbearable by the second.

Max hesitantly spoke up as an attempt to cut the awkward silence between him and the brown and pink haired girl.

"Hi."

The girl's head snapped up from her scroll as she heard Max speak, slightly surprised that he had broken the silence. She looked at him for a moment before putting her scroll away and fully giving her attention to the boy in front of her.

Max's eyes widened as the girl pulled out a parasol and pointed it at him. He was confused for a moment until he saw words start to form in the air in front of him. The teen read the question that was asking his identity and stared at it for a minute, dumbfounded.

He hesitated for a moment, mulling it over, before he answered the question.

"I'm Max... Who are you?"

Max's brow furrowed in confusion as he read the words written in front of him. The girl's answer told him that he didn't need to worry about who she was. That confused Max a good amount, but he decided not to press any further.

Instead, the boy decided to ask another question, hoping to try and get some kind of conversation going to kill the increasingly awkward silence.

"... what's with the parasol?"

Max's confusion only grew as the girl continued to ignore his question. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the girl start to look at her scroll again, a smirk growing on her face as she did so. It only grew even more as she began to shatter, breaking apart like glass.

Max was startled and surprised as he watched the girl shatter before his eyes, a look of dumbfounded disbelief on his face.

Max slowly let out a small sigh when he didn't see anything in the area. It appeared that whatever he had heard had just been his imagination. He slowly started to turn back around, thinking that it must have been just a trick of his mind. When he turned back around though, his eyes widened in terror at the sight in front of him.

Max stood paralyzed with fear as the massive rock monster stood above him, its one eye staring directly into his eyes. The monster was easily over ten feet tall with an intimidating build that would be able to crush him in an instant if the creature so desired.

The realization that he was alone against this giant rock monster in the middle of the streets at night dawned on Max, only making his fearful panic worse. He started to slowly step backwards, his legs shaking from the sudden fear, trying to get some distance between him and the monstrous creature in front of him.

Max continued to slowly step backwards, his heart beating furiously in his chest as he looked up at the monstrous creature in front of him. He had never seen anything like this before. The boy's eyes didn't leave the creature as he continued to think to himself.

"What is this? It's no Grimm that I've ever seen. This is entirely new."

His eyes continued to scan the monster as he tried to figure out what it was. He tried to figure out any semblance of a reason as to why the creature was here in the middle of Vale. There was no way that such a thing could have gone unnoticed for very long without the Vale Militia being alerted to it.

Max took a step back as the massive rock monster let out an earthly chuckle and stepped closer to him, sending another wave of fearful panic coursing through him.

His mind was racing frantically, trying to figure out some way to fight this creature and escape, but he was unable to think of any way he could survive this encounter, he was just a fifteen year old kid against a giant rock monster with just some basic physical training.

so youre the kid huh the creature begins to speak

The sound of the creature's voice made Max freeze up in surprise. He hadn't been expecting it to have the capacity to speak to him. His eyes widened in shock as the rock monster spoke, its voice loud and booming like a rockslide.

He took a shaky step back as he nervously looked up at the creature, his heart hammering in his chest.

Max continued to back away as the rock monster spoke again, taking slow threatening steps towards him as it approached. Each step the monster took shook the ground beneath them, sending up a small cloud of dust into the air as it moved. Max took another step back, his legs shaking from the fear as the monstrous being continued to approach.

*It was late into the night and Molly was still on the phone with james with the glowing box in front of her." it is a living biomechanical entity designed to bond with a person of a specific dna and energy signature james re explained *

Molly's eyes widened at the explanation of the box in front of her. She had never heard of something like this before, it was an entirely new entity to her. At this point, she had learned not to be too surprised by the sheer strangeness of the world she was living in.

and what does this have to do with max she asked

James paused for a moment before replying, seeming to think of the best way to explain the connection between MAX and the box. It took a moment before he responded.

"Well as I said, the being in the box is designed to bond with a designated dna signature, and that dna signature originally belonged .. to jim."

Molly's head tilted a bit as she listened to James's explanation. She slowly took in the information, mulling it over in her head as her mind worked to piece everything together.

so basically what your telling me is that this thing inside this box is part of the reason my husband died

James paused again, his voice becoming a bit more somber before he spoke again. He was quiet and calm, his voice lacking the enthusiasm from before, which said a lot for how he generally was.

".... Yes."

Molly was quiet for a moment, taking in the heavy blow of information that James just dropped on her. The realization that there was a being within that box that had essentially killed her beloved husband made her heart clench painfully in her chest.

but she had to ignore that for now and get to the more important question. why does it have to bond with max why not destroy it why do i have to keep it

James's voice took on a slightly more solemn tone to it again as he answered her question. He seemed to sigh through the phone before he answered, as if mulling over the information carefully.

"The being in the box needs a host to survive yes. but its host also needs it to survive because the only reason jim and by extention max can bond with this being is because of their dna and specifically the power that their dna grants them access to."

Molly's eyes widened further as she absorbed the new information, her mind trying to wrap around the entirety of the situation. What James was saying sounded like something crazy for her to comprehend, but it also sounded somehow plausible in the context of the world she was living in

maxs body generates a differnt kind of energy similar to aura but different this energy makes the host faster stronger and generally more powerful than aura allows them to be we call it turbo energy however the power cannot be contained in a human body without this being to manage that energy and if these two arent bonded by the time max starts to awaken that turbo energy...

James's voice took on a more severe tone as he explained the situation further, trying to impress upon Molly the seriousness of the situation and the time-crunch that she and MAX were on. It was obvious that he was worried, that if they didn't get MAX bonded to the creature soon then something terrible would happen.

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Max continued to back away from the rock monster, his eyes wide in sheer terror and fear as he gazed up at the giant towering above him. His heart was pounding so furiously in his chest that he could feel the pulses in his ears, his whole body shaken by the adrenaline rushing through him.

The rock monster slammed its hand down where Max had been standing just a split second ago, sending up another small cloud of dust into the air. Max had managed to jump out of the way just in time, his entire body suddenly flaring up in blue light as he did so.

The rock monster let out a annoyed sounding growl as it pulled its hand back up from the ground. Its eyes narrowed as it looked at Max, its gaze hardening as it realized that the boy was far more agile than it had originally thought.

Max saw the monster's pause as an opportunity and decided to make a break for it. He quickly began running away from the creature, trying to put as much distance between the two as he could as soon as possible.

Max's eyes widened in surprise as he found himself rapidly increasing in speed, outpacing anything he had ever achieved before. He could feel the adrenaline and energy pumping through his veins, making him feel faster, stronger, and more powerful than ever before as he ran from the giant rock

The rock giant roared in frustration and anger as Max continued to run away from the creature, his increased speed and power far outstripping whatever the monster had anticipated. Max continued to run, his heart pounding furiously in his chest as he tried to put as much distance as he could between him and the giant rock monster that continued to pursue him.k monster behind him.

As the rock monster hurled a stone projectile at Max, the boy used his increased speed and agility to dodge the attack. He leapt out of the way, narrowly avoiding the rock that whistled past him and slammed to the ground where he had just been standing.

Max continued his run, using his increased strength and dexterity to jump from wall to wall to propel himself towards the top of the building. He found that he was easily able to reach heights that he had never reached before, each jump pushing him higher and higher into the air until he reached the peak of the building and was now perched on top of it.

As Max stood atop the building, his earlier fear had been replaced with a rush of adrenaline and excitement. He stared down at the rock monster from his vantage point, his heart still pounding furiously in his chest but for a different reason this time. The power and energy coursing through him was exhilarating and he felt an eager anticipation building up inside him.

whats wrong dirtbag i thought you were trying to catch me

The rock monster let out an annoyed grow as it looked up at Max, its eyes narrowing with irritation as it glared up at the boy from the ground. Its hands clenched into fists as it gritted its teeth, clearly frustrated that Max had managed to reach such a high point and was now out of the monster's immediate reach.

The monster slammed its fist against the ground in frustration, sending up a cloud of dust and debris from the impact. Its gaze remained fixed on Max at the top of the building, its eyes filled with a mixture of anger and annoyance.

The rock monster's expression suddenly changed, a sly smirk spreading across its face as it looked up at Max on top of the building. There was a new gleam in its eyes as it continued to look up at him, a predatory look in its gaze that didn't bode well for Max.

Just as Max was about to taunt the rock monster again, he was suddenly and unexpectedly hit from behind. The unexpected blow caused him to topple forwards, sending him crashing down on his face. He let out a cry of surprise and pain as he fell, the sudden impact taking him completely off-guard.

Max was suddenly grabbed from behind and lifted up into the air. He let out a startled cry as he was picked up by the back of his shirt and hoisted upward, his eyes wide with shock and surprise as he found himself dangling several feet above the ground.

Max let out a small gasp in surprise as he saw the girl who had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, the same one who he had ran into earlier. She was holding him up by the back of his shirt, her grip firm and unwavering as she held him aloft. Max stared at her in shock, his heart pounding loudly in his chest as he felt the mix of surprise and embarrassment.

wait why are you here

The girl didn’t respond to Max’s question, her attention completely focused on the scroll in her hand as she rapidly typed something into it. Max was left hanging in the air, suspended by the back of his shirt as the girl continued to ignore him and concentrate on whatever it was that she was doing.

listen i dont know what i did to offend you guys or if i even did anything to offend you but im very sorry and im sure we can talk this whole misunderstanding out

The girl continued to type away at her scroll, not even acknowledging Max’s apology. Max could only dangle there awkwardly, the silence between them continuing to stretch on as the girl completely ignored him. He felt a mixture of nervousness and confusion, wondering what the girl’s intention was.

Before Max could say anything else, he gasped as he suddenly found himself plummeting towards the ground. The girl had suddenly let go of his shirt, dropping him and causing him to fall towards the hard ground below. As he fell, he could see the girl still standing above him, watching him with a sadistic smile on her face as letters appeared in front of her, spelling out the word “No”.

Just before he hit the ground, Max was suddenly caught by the rock monster, the giant beast’s hand wrapping around his body and stopping him from crashing into the hard ground below. Max let out a gasp of surprise as he found himself suddenly in the monster’s grasp, hanging in the air once more as the creature held him aloft.

The rock creature let out a sadistic chuckle as it held Max in its grip, its hand tightening around his small body. Max could feel himself being crushed in the creature's grasp, his body being painfully squeezed as the monster began to toy with him. There was a cruel gleam in the monster's eyes as it spoke, a sense of malicious enjoyment apparent in its expression.

my lucky day. he wont mind if i play with you for a bit

*The creature's grasp on Max continued to tighten, its hand crushing him so hard that Max thought his ribs would snap at any moment. He cried out in pain, the tears streaming down his face as he squirmed helplessly in the monster's grip. The creature seemed amused by his suffering, a cruel smile across its face as it held him up, continuing to toy with him like he was merely a plaything. Max could feel the pain coursing through his body as the creature's hold on him remained firm and brutal, the monster clearly relishing in his suffering.

As Max continued to struggle and flail against the monster's grip, the blue energy that was swirling around him suddenly flared up even more. It intensified, swirling and writhing in the air around him like a living thing, reflecting the pain and anger he was feeling at the monster's brutal treatment. Max's whole body was shaking violently as he tried to fight back against the powerful hand that held him, tears streaming heavily from his pain-filled eyes.

As Max continued to struggle and flail against the monster's grip, the blue energy that was swirling around him suddenly flared up even more. It intensified, swirling and writhing in the air around him like a living thing, reflecting the pain and anger he was feeling at the monster's brutal treatment. Max's whole body was shaking violently as he tried to fight back against the powerful hand that held him, tears streaming heavily from his pain-filled eyes.

the girl smirked down at him seeming to enjoy the pain that he was suffering through the agony the excruciating pain it was like she was enjoying watching him suffer

The crushing pain in Max's body was excruciating, his entire being flaring up in intense agony as the creature continued to hold him tightly in its grasp. The tears streamed down his face, his eyes squeezed shut against the suffering that was being inflicted upon him. The blue light that emanated from him now looked like a brilliant glow, reflecting not only his pain, but also his own desperate determination.

The blue energy that enveloped Max suddenly intensified even more, surging to the next level and causing his entire body to glow a brilliant blue. The light was blindingly bright, casting a intense glow over him like a brilliant beacon.

The girl continued to smirk down at Max, watching him struggle and writhe in the creature's grip with a sadistic gleam in her eyes. There was an almost gleeful expression on her face as she observed his suffering, like she was relishing in the pain that he was going through. It was clear that she was taking immense satisfaction in Max's torment, enjoying every moment of his torture.

The sight of the girl enjoying his suffering was the final straw for Max. It was enough to push him over the edge, the pain and anger inside of him reaching a boiling point. The blue light that illuminated him suddenly flared up even more, becoming even more intense in its brilliance, as a strange feeling overcame him

The pain and suffering that Max was feeling suddenly seemed to halt, like time itself had suddenly come to a standstill. He could still feel his broken and crushed bones, but it was as if the pain had been numbed, as if the intense agony he was going through had somehow diminished. There was still a strange feeling deep inside of him, a sense of something bigger, something worse, about to happen.

The energy that had been building and building within Max suddenly burst out of him in an explosion of brilliant blue light, so bright and powerful that it was like all of Vale had been lit up at once. The intensity of the blast was incredible, lighting up the surrounding area for miles around, so much so that it was blinding to even look at.

As the energy exploded outwards, it sent shockwave through the air, creating a gust of wind that rippled outwards from its epicentre, causing the trees and grass to sway violently. The explosion was so loud that it was like the sound of a thousand thunderbolts had been unleashed all at once, the thunderous roar shaking the earth and making the ground tremble.

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james you honestly cant be telling me- yes molly there is no other choice he needs to bond with it i had hope that he wouldnt have to and that neither of you would see what was in the box that it wouldnt be needed but if it is awakened then that means that max has already begun generating turbo energy and we need the two to bond now befor-

As James was speaking, they both suddenly heard the sound of a loud explosion in the distance. It was far away, but the sheer intensity of the blast was enough to cause James to pause mid-sentence, looking startled.

The sound of the explosion echoed loudly, the force of the blast enough to make both James and Molly flinch. The intense noise of the explosion rang in their ears, so loud that it almost drowned out all other sound. that james finished

In an instant, the box that had been clutched tightly in molly's hands began to glow a brilliant blue, its surface becoming radiant with a strange, otherworldly light. The sudden illumination was intense, so bright that it was almost impossible to look directly at it.

As the box continued to glow, it was clear that there was something happening inside of it. There was a sense of movement, like something was stirring within, and the glow began to become even more intense as the being inside suddenly became active and awoke.

A sudden flash of blue light erupted from the box, flying up and out towards the nearby window at an incredible speed. In a split second, it had gone through the glass, shattering it to pieces and disappearing into the night sky beyond.

Molly's eyes widened as she watched the blue light fly through her window, her jaw dropping in shock.

"What the...!"

She exclaimed, staring after the now-empty box in disbelief and confusion.

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Max lay on the ground, battered and broken, his body a mess of shattered bones and torn flesh. He was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he struggled to catch his breath.

The pain in his body was still intense, each breath causing new waves of agony to wash over him as he lay there. He tried to move, to look around, but he was too weak and hurt to do much more than just lie there on the ground, completely exhausted.

The girl behind him was also in a sorry state. She lay on the ground, her clothes torn and her aura shattered, as pieces of the building she had been on fell down around her. She was clearly battered and bruised, likely having also been caught up in the blast. However, unlike max, she was slowly getting back to her feet, groaning in pain as she struggled to stand.

The girl stumbled as she tried to get up, her legs weak and wobbly from the impact of the blast and the damage she had sustained. She made it to her feet for a moment, but her knees buckled under her own weight and she fell back to the ground, landing hard on the rubble-littered floor.

The rock elementor had also been knocked unconscious by the blast. He lay sprawled on the ground, unmoving, as the debris and rubble fell around him. The powerful impact of the explosion had clearly been too much for him to handle, and he had succumbed to it, slipping into unconsciousness as a result.

Max's eyes fluttering open as he slowly came back to his senses. He was still in pain, his body still a mess from the brutal beating he had just endured, but he was alive. Despite his injuries, he forced himself to focus and tried to push himself up onto his feet. It was a struggle, his muscles protesting the movement, but he managed to rise up onto his feet, wincing in pain as he stood.

As soon as Max managed to get to his feet, he immediately felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. His legs felt weak and unstable, unable to bear his own weight, and his knees buckled under him, nearly sending him sprawling back to the ground. He managed to catch himself before he fell, but it was clear that he was far from okay.

As Max struggled to stay upright, the girl on the ground behind him tried to stand up as well, using the last of her remaining strength to push herself up onto her feet. She stumbled slightly as she rose, still looking worse for wear, but she stayed upright and looked over at max, their eyes meeting across the rubble-strewn floor.

listen im not trying to fight not like i even can fight right now i just wanna go home alright so let me go home max's voice was exhausted as he spoke, his body and mind completely worn out from the brutal fight and the blast of energy he had unleashed. He looked at the girl pleadingly, hoping she would understand and let him leave unharmed.

The look in her eyes said it all. She was not going to let him go that easily, no matter how much he pleaded or how badly he was injured. Even though she was in no state for a fight herself, it was clear that she would do whatever it took to complete whatever mission she was given and stop Max from getting away.

as she tried to walk pain overtook her whole body it was clear taking an immense toll on her just to stand

The girl's eyes widened as something fast rammed into her from behind, sending her sprawling to the ground, unconscious once again. The unexpected attack had taken her completely by surprise, and she crumpled to the floor in a heap, unmoving and unresponsive.

max had never seen anything like it before it was a really futuristic looking robot, its body a smooth, sleek design of white and blue, with curves and angular lines forming its body. The robot's head was shaped like a giant "V", with a single, glowing cyan eye set in the middle. Its angular arms hung off the side, ending in sharp, pointed tips, with intricate blue hexagonal patterns etched into several sections of the metal.

Max and the robot locked eyes, their gazes meeting in a connection that seemed to be drawn together by some unseen force. Max could feel the drone's presence, almost as if it was calling out to him on some unspoken level. The drone seemed to be completely focused on him, its single eye locked onto Max's face, studying him intently.

The drone suddenly shot forward, rushing towards Max at a high speed and slamming itself into his chest. Max let out a grunt in surprise as the robot made contact, feeling the impact and expecting to be knocked to the ground. But instead of being pushed back, Max felt a strange sensation as the drone went right into his chest, as if it were merging with his body in some way.

suddenly a massive wave of energy surrounded him As the wave of energy surrounded him, Max braced himself for another explosion, expecting the energy to burst outwards and cause more destruction. But to his surprise, the energy didn't expand outwards or explode, instead staying contained around him in a glowing field of power. It seemed as if the energy was being controlled, contained within a specific area around him, preventing it from doing harm to anything outside of that area.

human are you conscious im not sure if you concious as the drone burst out of his body and floated in front of him, Max was surprised to hear it speak.

im not exactly a master of human biology so im going to assume your concious

Then its words suddenly registered in his mind, and his eyes widened as he processed what it was saying.

He stared at the robot, bewildered, before finally responding.

"Um... yeah. Yeah, I'm conscious. I think.

human you just experienced an immense surge of turbo energy that has awoken me now what im about to ask may seem like a strange request but would you allow me to bond with you

Max stared at the drone in disbelief, trying to make sense of what it was saying to him. Turbo energy? Bond? It all seemed so strange and unbelievable.

He took a moment to collect his thoughts before replying.

"Bond with me? What do you mean, exactly?"

you see that energy that just caused you to blow up that was Tachyon Unlimited Radiant Bio-Optimized Energy, or turbo energy for short basically it makes you faster stronger more agile and all that stuff however a human like you couldnt hope to control it which is why i exist to bond with you to make sure you dont go boom again

Max listened intently as the drone explained the concept of "turbo energy" to him. It sounded like something straight out of a movie, but then again Max just blew up a girl a few minutes ago, so anything was possible at this point.

The implications of what the drone was saying sunk in, and Max's eyes widened.

"Wait, so you're saying you can help me control this... turbo energy? Prevent me from going boom again?"

oh wow looks like we have an echo in here cause thats exactly what i just said

Max had to suppress a chuckle at the robot's sarcastic response. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the drone's dry sense of humor was strangely endearing.

He shook his head slightly and answered the question more seriously this time.

"Yeah, okay, I get it. You can bond with me to control this energy. But why do you want to bond with me? What's in it for you?"

well aside from being created for this i kind of need turbo energy to you know survive like your humans food

Max raised an eyebrow as the drone explained that it needed turbo energy to survive. It seemed odd to him that something so advanced, so technologically advanced, would rely on a single resource to survive, but then again, Max had no idea what the robot really was.

"Okay, so you need this turbo energy to survive. I get that. But why me, specifically? Why can't you just bond with someone else?"

oh my god your not gonna stop asking questions are you sigh okay at this current moment you are the only thing on this planet that generates turbo energy

Max had to admit, the drone was right. He had a dozen more questions swirling in his mind, but he forced himself to hold back for now. Instead, he focused on the information the robot was giving him.

"Wait, wait, wait. I'm the only thing on the entire planet generating this turbo energy? How is that even possible? What makes me so special

i dunno

Max looked at the robot, a bit taken aback by its response. He was expecting some sort of detailed explanation, not a simple "I dunno" in response.

"You don't know? You're telling me you're some kind of advanced robot built to feed off this stuff, probably built with cutting-edge technology, and you don't know why I, a regular guy, can generate this energy?"

do humans have all the knowledge of the universe?

Max huffed slightly as the robot threw his question back at him. He hated to admit it, but the robot had a point.

He crossed his arms and sighed.

"Alright, fair enough. I get it, you don't know why I can generate this energy. But you're still sure I'm the only one on the planet that can?"

im hyper sensitive to turbo energy if there was something else generating turbo energy i would know so heres whats gonna happen were gonna bond and your going to not explode and im not going to die because guess what we need each other now

Max took a moment to process the robot's words, mulling over the idea of the two of them bonding together and the implications that came with it.

He looked at the drone for a few more silent moments before finally speaking up.

"Alright, fine I agree to bond with you umm?"

N'Baro Aksteel X377

Max raised an eyebrow as the robot introduced itself, clearly surprised by the odd name.

"N'Bagel, nbatro, n, what

just call me steel

So, how exactly does this bonding thing work anyway?"

you just sit there and let me in the drivers seat max watched in disbelief as the robot, now called Steel, flew back into his chest, the energy field surrounding him sinking into his body and leaving him in shock. He looked down at his arms and body, taking in the sight of the full-body armor that now covered him from head to toe.

ok gotta admit this is awesome

He flexed his fingers, feeling the unfamiliar weight and strength of the suit.

Max's eyes widened as he saw a fleet of vehicles surround him. He was still getting used to the feel of the suit and trying to control his new powers, and now he was facing an entire army of foes.

He took a deep breath and clenched his fists, preparing himself for the coming fight. as soon as he raised his fists a man with white hair a paiir of sunglasses and a cane stepped out infront of him this was ozpin the head master of beacon academy and thhe words he said today would change max's life forever. hello mister mcgrath would you like to attend beacon academy?

Chapter Text

Legends. Stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, of a forgotten past.

Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful, but he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness — creatures of destruction — the creatures of Grimm- set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed, and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void.

However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named Dust.

Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life, life that paved the way to even greater innovation mankind sought to understand dust to understand the power they had within their grasp however some humans took this pursuit of knowledge too far and became less human than the grimm they fight against.

six years ago humans began advanced experimentation on dust attempting to figure out how it worked and how it could make humanity the true dominant species they began experimentation on grimm and in this they created nanites a new type of technology that could grant humans powers that surpassed what any semblance could give them however a mysterious accident caused the nanites to get out infecting the entire population of remnant.

the government has since covered this story up to keep the population from turning against them however they could not silence their mistakes and many humans have been changed by this event becoming something far from human evos no matter what they tried they could not cure these people, that was until one very special boy came along.

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Atlas, the city in the sky. The city of progress and technology. The main military state of Remnant. Where even the citizens are armed better than the other Kingdoms military, and airships fill the skies.

a massive two faced beast rampaged through the streets, destroying any buildings that got in its way. Even the citizens of Atlas were running for their lives. The military could do little but try to take it out with heavy attacks but that did nothing more than piss the creature off as it plowed through buildings like a like a line backer on crystal meth.

The beast was able to move quickly, and each stomp it made to destroy buildings only made it move faster. People were running for their lives, and the military couldn't get a clear enough shot at it to kill it.

a boy watched all of this chaos through his binoculars as he ate a burger the boy seemed to be around sixteen years old with lightly spiked, slicked back dark hair. he sports a pair of orange goggles on top of his head, with a matching red-orange patterned jacket. His T-shirt is blue on the top-half and white on the bottom-half, with two orange rectangles on the left pectoral as well as black pants with blue geometrical patterns.

The boy had a perfect view of chaos that was happening in Atlas. The military trying to kill the creature that was stomping through the city, to no avail. Civilians running for their lives, as buildings were collapsing left and right nothing could stop it.

well looks like its time to play the hero again the boy said with a shit eating grin on his face as he took the binoculars off his face he jumped off the building he was standing on his jacket blowing in the wind magnificently as orange machinery began forming on his back twisting and moving to create two giant orange mechanical wings that bore giant turbines at the end of them that pushed the teen higher into the air allowing him to take off flying straight towards the monster.

as soon as the teen neared the beast noticed it noticed him, and without thinking, lashed out to try to slap him out of the air. It was moving as fast as it could manage for a creature as big as itself.

but it still wasnt enough as the teen maneuvered through the beasts fingers with ease and flew directly up to its face before the wings on his back began to morph right back onto his skin before slithering across it and collecting on his arms to form massive orange gauntlets that he then used to punch the creature right in the face sending it straight into the floor

the beast was out unconscious on the ground as the boy began falling onto it only to quickly transition back to his wings that allowed him to land perfectly on the beasts body.

the atlesian military quickly sent in one of their agents atop of the creatures body as he used his semblance to create a giant black forcefield that blocked sight from outside leaving only him and the teen inside of it.

Most of the civilians were afraid to get anywhere near the unconscious creature. They had seen it destroy so much, but now they couldn't see anything happening. The military kept people back, not letting the civilians get close to it or letting them see what would come out of it.

inside the bubble the teen placed his hands on the massive creatures face and began concentrating

bright white lines began spreading throughout the monsters body starting from its face going down to its legs

moments later a bright blinding light flashed throughout the bubble as the gargantuant hulking two faced monster was turned back into a human

whew my job here is done the teen said as he was layed out on the ground exhausted from the curing proccess "this might be the most exhaustion ive ever felt curing one of these evos" he joked to himself as the agent didnt seem to care but he was used to that this was just another normal day for him.

a small human sized hole in the field was opened allowing for a tall and fair-skinned young woman to enter through, she wore long white hair with blue eyes and black eyebrows Her outfit consists of a white long-sleeved coat with a single dark blue clasp around the center waist holding it shut alongside a red jeweled brooch on the collar. The coat's length runs down to her ankles and the sleeves are split from shoulder to elbow.

The teenage boy that was on the floor turned his head to see the white haired girl in front of him. He took a deep sigh before letting out a weak chuckle

"Hey beautiful, whats up?" he joked, still drained from curing the EVO

the white haired woman ignored him and walked past him towards the man who was previously the giant monster and placed a hand on his chest " hes breathing" she said in a stoic voice

the teenage boy got up back to his feet as the woman walked over to the man

"Another one cured another one saved hurray for team providence" he replied, stretching as he felt pretty drained still. He was always exhausted and hungry after curing an EVO, it took a bit of work and his power never liked to do things in moderation

you were reckless rex it could have fallen on a civilian she chastised instead of praising him

"And it didnt" Rex replied, putting his goggles back on as he looked over at her "Besides, its done, no one was hurt, and we saved a person, seems like a pretty good day to me" he said in a cocky tone still having that grin on his face

you just need to chill out winter maybe take a vacation oh i know a great coffee nearby place rex said

Rex just chuckled as he was just ignored by winter. Though his smile grew when he thought about a coffee. He was always more relaxed during a cup of coffee.

"A coffee is always a great way to unwind" he said with a smile in his voice. "But how about we get lunch first and you treat me as a thank you, you know since i continue to be awesome" he said cheekily to winter, obviously being sarcastic

winter simply walked past him with the man hefted over her shoulders "get back to the airship" she said simply leaving no room for argument

"Yes ma'am" Rex replied with a playful chuckle, even though winter was being serious Rex always liked to have some fun. He took a deep sigh as he walked after winter, heading for the bullhead. His stomach growled as he did so, Rex hadn't eaten all day yet

Rex made his way onto the airship, looking around at all the military personnel on board. He leaned against a wall, his stomach still growling. He had been too busy with the EVO to even think about food. As they began to take off his eyes turned to see winter with the man hefted over her shoulder

so what are you gonna tell the public rex asked he had been well aware of the nanite event six years he was also aware that civilians werent allowed to know about evos so everytime one of them couldnt be taken down and cured silently he had always asked the question of "well how are you gonna cover it up this time" cause it was always fun to see how they lie themselves out of trouble

"new species of grimm that adapted to the harsh conditions of the continentter said as if she had practiced dozens of times "ah blaming the grimm again huh i swear to god ive heard you say that exact line like five different times now" rex said with mock annoyance in his tone "yes well it is the most reasonable excuse and the one thats least likely to get people asking questions" winter explained like she was tired of having to say those words again. "yeah but i mean come on i know you guys can come up with something original"

"how about an alien invasion" Rex joked "a new weapon created by some company here in atlas" he joked again, getting a glare from winter "ok ok" he said as he stopped spouting suggestions of how the military could explain the events that he had cured to the public

rex took a seat as he turned to winter "so how about that lunch you said you'd get me?" he said jokingly to winter in hopes of finally getting some food

go back to your room she said as she walked off somewhere with the man most likely to get him back to his home before anyone noticed he was gone.

Rex just sighed as winter walked away "not even a slice of bread" he groaned to himself, his stomach still growling. He then stood up and started heading to his room. His shoes clinking against the metal floor as he walked.

"hey Bobo" Rex greeted, as he caught the pair of shorts that got thrown in his direction, he wasn't surprised to see his friend Bobo at all. See bobo was a monkey who got turned into an evo after the nanite event. The two of them were close to inseparable and it would usually surprise people when they found out Bobo could talk.

"lemme guess ironwood beat you in poker, again" asked rex although it was less of a question and more of a statement

"I swear to you he's cheating somehow." bobo explained, he was always the best when it came to poker or gambling of any sort, so the fact that he was constantly losing to ironwood kinda made him feel bitter "im never letting that guy shuffle the deck again"

"oh yeah that reminds me where is he now" rex asked "i havent seen him since i got here" rex said since usually ironwood was the one who would greet him while he was curing an evo

"I dont know he said something about talking to a nephew i dont know i didnt care enough to listen in" said bobo who was still salty about losing.

"woah ironwood has a nephew? jeez i kinda feel bad for the poor kid"rex said mockingly

Rex's head turned to the hallway as he heard something outside his door. He had gotten used to the sounds of this ship and knew it wasn't normal.

yo bobo you hear that

"Hear what" Bobo replied, completely ignorant of the noise in the hall

thats what im gonna go figure out you stay in here

"i dont think so" Bobo said getting up as well to follow Rex but not before getting his guns

Rex stepped outside the room and into the long metal hallways of the ship, his eyes immediately began scanning the area looking for what made the noise he heard.

his steps echoed through the halls of the ship as he slowly walked, looking for the source. It was a bit hard to tell but he thought he heard noises, faint voices perhaps from just around the corner of the hallway

He turned the corner and entered the new hallway. There was a good chance that he had imagined the voices and maybe the noise as well. But he continued down the hallway anyways. Still keeping an ear out for any further noises or voices

soon he stumble upon two people in robes neither of them noticed him or bobo as they hid behind a corner to listen in

Rex raised an eyebrow, confused at what exactly was going on. He took a quick glance at Bobo, who also seemed confused. He then turned his attention back to the people. He tried to hear what they were saying

"that is not what we came hear to do, we had a simple mission get in destroy the cure get out i doubt those orders are very difficult to follow" said the much taller figure in a monotone voice clearlry agitated "oh come on you cant tell me it wouldnt be satisfying to kill him right now it wouldnt interfere with the mission and besides i waas simply ordered to follow you not to help you" said the shorter one in an unhinged voice very clearly not mentally stable.

rex tried to get a good look at the faces of the two people in front of him, not having seen their faces yet. He kept listening to what they were saying, it sounded like they wanted to kill something. That's all he really caught on to but there was a lot said to process. As he looked back at bobo, he could see the look of confusion on his face too. He had no clue who these people were or what they came to do

"you two behind the corner tell me wouldnt it be better to just kill him now" the unhinged man asked revealing their location to the taller figure who snarled at them

Rex's eyes widened as he heard the crazed man in front of him speak. He thought for a second to himself before stepping into view. A smug smirk on his face "well, depends on who your talking about." he said in a bit of a mocking tone

"why did you not inform me that we were being spied on" the taller one asked the shorter one very clearly angry "oh my with how much you pride yourself on your tracking skills i wouldve thought for sure you wouldve found them before me" the unhinged figure said mockingly causing the taller one to snarl at him before turning back to rex and bobo ready to pounce

Rex didn't even flinch or react to the taller one being ready to attack them. He stood there watching what was going on with a smug smirk on his face. "So are you like some kind of crazy cult or something." he joked knowing it was only going to anger them more. He stood there calm and cool, clearly not scared of their threats or actions

the taller one rushed at him but rex dodged to the side manifesting the big fists from earlier to punch him in the side throwing him into the wall . He let out a cocky chuckle as he looked over at the cultist that he had just hit. He was completely unfazed and in fact his cocky confidence seemed to grow as he stood there. "Well, that was the dumbest thing you could have done." he said smirking widely and mockingly

as he said that the unhinged one swiped at his neck with his weapon a pair folding blades attached to bracers on the mans arm but luckily bobo was quick enough to shoot the man before he could cut rex

Rex continued to stand there, now he had a cocky smirk on his face as well as being highly amused at the fact that these cultists seemed to think they could even scratch him let alone harm him. He didn't even bat an eye at the strike that was made before it got interrupted, he just chuckled like it was nothing. "Well, that's a shame, your not even strong enough to harm me." he mockingly taunted them, trying to bait them further into attacking

"hmph your arrogance is undeserved" said the bigger of the two as he got out of the crater on the wall that rex had slammed him into his cloak falling to reveal an evo with a mainly mechanical top heavy body with long lanky white biological arms with blotches dotting them at random locations, each arm held five seperate long sharp claws aand it had incredibly long white hair looking uncannily like a wolf.

Rex looked on, his cocky smirk unwavering as he saw the man stand up. As his cloak fell to the ground, he saw the evos true form and wasn't even surprised. He had seen stranger evos so he wasn't shocked in the slightest "Is that all you got?" he taunted, baiting the man to attack him again

Rex was sent flying back, hitting the wall behind him with a loud thud. He grunted a bit as he hit the wall but quickly gained his composure and stood up. He looked over at the larger of the evos who attacked him, a cocky smirk on his face, seemingly unfazed by the attack. "Come on guys, can't you hit me a little harder, im getting bored just standing here." he said tauntingly, baiting the man to attack him again

Rex dodged out of the way of the first slash, the cut in the wall that the slash produced surprised him a little, but he was fine. A cocky smirk appeared on his face as he continued to taunt them. "Is that all you got?" he said in a mocking tone. As the second slash of the tall guy came toward him, he tripped and fell on his ass, not having expected the slash to come so suddenly

Rex rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being stomped on by the creature. As he got up, he attempted to sweep kick the creature, but it jumped over the sweep, and promptly stomped on his leg, causing him to grunt in pain.

As the creature attempted to slash at him, Rex quickly blocked the attack with his big fists. He was beginning to get excited, he was clearly enjoying this.

Rex attempted to punch the creature, knowing full well that it wouldn't hit. He just needed to get it off his injured leg. As it jumped over his fist, Rex was suddenly hit in the face with a kick and was launched back a few feet. He hit the wall with a thud and slid down it. He groaned in pain and touched his face which now had a large bruise covering most of it

As the creature tried to punch him, he quickly dodged it. The creature's hand got stuck in the wall, leaving Rex to catch his breath a bit. He stood there, slightly dazed as he waited to see what the creature would do next

Just as he seemed to be catching his breath, he heard a noise behind him which caused him to quickly dodge to the side in order to avoid the attack that would have struck him. As he dodged, he looked over to see that it was the unhinged man that struck at him. He scoffed a bit "really?" he said in a mocking tone

bobo quickly jumped onto rex's side "sorry kid hes fast" was all bobo said

Rex groaned a bit, still slightly dazed after being slammed into the wall. He got up and looked up at Bobo before speaking "Yeah, no kidding." he said, his cocky attitude now slightly diminished after being surprised like that

Rex stood there looking at the man in front of him, he had a somewhat surprised look on his face. He was somewhat taken aback by the fact that the unhinged man in front of him was not an Evo himself considering that he was working with one.

"Well, that makes you a bit of a surprise then." Rex responded, his surprise fading slightly. He looked from the man to the evo. He was now intrigued by the two of them. He had seen many crazy things, but a man working with an Evo like this, it was rare and somewhat shocking to say in the least. Rex was never one to avoid asking questions, so he spoke "So who are you two anyway?"

"ha do you really believe that we would- my name is tyrian callows and my friend here is biowulf"introduced the now named tyrian cutting off his partners words

"Well Tyrian, a pleasure." Rex said with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. He looked over at Biowulf, the Evo, briefly before speaking again. "I assume that you two have a goal of some kind." he asked, still curious about this unlikely pair

the now named biowulf gave tyrian a look before saying "dont you dare" but tyrian who clearly didnt care for his partners mission decided to reveal the goal most likely just to piss off his partner" we obtained information that told us the atlesian mylitary had a way to cure evos we have come to find that cure and destroy it" tyrian said giving biowulf a look the entire time because he knew the big brute wouldnt attack him he was too loyal to his master to do that.

rex quickly realized that he was this cure that they were talking about as to his knowledge he was the only thing on the planet capable of curing evos and judging by the fact that they didn't mention his name or describe him, it was very likely that they had no idea that he was the cure they were searching for.

"now if you dont mind this big brute has a mission to get to so i would appreciate it if you could please, die for me" tyrian said as his voice turned 50 shades of psychotic. rex didn't have much time to proccess what he had just heard as Tyrian suddenly lunged at him and began slashing at him with his blades. Rex barely managed to dodge the attacks, his senses heightened and adrenaline pumping as he tried to stay one step ahead of Tyrian's relentless attacks

Tyrian quickly kneed Rex in the stomach, taking him off guard. Rex stumbled backwards, grunting in pain, but quickly regained his composure and tried to swing at Tyrian, but he managed to dodge the attack with ease and landed a blow to Rex's gut, causing him to double over in pain. Rex groaned in pain, realizing that he was in for a fight

Rex was still dazed from the previous attack when Tyrian suddenly struck again. He kicked him in the face, sending him sliding across the floor, and before Rex had a chance to react he found himself on the ground as his legs were suddenly kicked out from under him. Before he could even process what was happening, Tyrian kneed him in the face causing Rex's head to snap back

"what happened to all that bravado from a moment ago kid?"As he lay dazed and stunned on the ground, Rex heard Tyrian's mocking question. He was slowly regaining his composure, but the blow to his face had done a number on him. He gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain, as he spoke in a strained voice. "Don't underestimate me." Rex responded. Tyrian just chuckled before delivering a final kick to his stomach

"ha this was fun and all kid but i dont have all day so im just gonna kill you now" As Rex lay there, dazed and in pain, he heard Tyrian's words and felt his hand grasp his collar, lifting him up to his feet. He saw Tyrian's weapon being raised and knew he was about to be stabbed. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a shot rang out causing Tyrian to flinch and drop Rex back to the ground. Looking up, Rex saw bobo standing there, the smoking barrel of his gun pointed towards Tyrian who had been shot in the face.

Rex lay on the floor, his mind racing a mile a minute as he tried to process what had just happened. He looked up at Bobo, grateful for the sudden save. "Thanks" he said, his voice still strained as he struggled to catch his breath

my god that actually hurt you bastard" tyrian said in an unhinged maniacal voice that seemed to be filled with nothing but pure unadulterated ecstasy."hahahahhahahahahahahahahaha" tyrian let out a psychotic cackle with his head raised to the sky

Rex watched in slight terror as Tyrian started laughing madly after being shot in the face. It was clear that this man was completely unhinged and seemed to have a twisted enjoyment in this situation. Rex struggled to stand up, still in pain from the beating he had taken, but managed to get up and stand next to Bobo.

Bobo seemed just as stunned and confused as Rex was, shaking his head and muttering "Psycho....." under his breath. Rex still stood there, his body aching from the beating he had just taken, as he watched Tyrian continue to laugh and cackle like a madman

Rex nodded his head slowly in agreement. He had never met someone so utterly insane and unphased by being shot in the face. It was clear that this "Tyrian" individual was a few cards short of a full deck.

ha tyrian looked back at the two "i will enjoy watching you bleed" tyrian said ooking at them with eyes that had not a shred of sanity in them his voice was incrediblly unhinged and it sounded like he was saying those words while still giving out breathy cacky

Rex looked at Tyrian, noticing the utter lack of sanity in his eyes. He shuddered at the sight, his fight or flight response kicking in as he prepared himself for another attack. Rex was still feeling the pain from the previous blows, but he wasn't going to go down without a fight

In a sudden burst of adrenaline, Rex brought his hands up, and nanites quicklybegan to compound into his arm transforming his right arm into a large orange metallic sword. He quickly blocked Tyrian's lunge attack, the two weapons clashing with a loud metallic clang." Tyrian callows allow me to introduce to you, the BFS stands for BIG FAT SWORD"said rex

he pushed tyrian away before slashing at tyrian which was dodged followed by another strike from tyrian that got blocked as rex attempted to kick tyrian he blocked it with his knee tyrian then attempted to headbut rex but rex headbutted him first then kicked tyrian backwards as rex then jumped at tyrian to deliver the finishing blow.

suddenly out of his hair came a large scorpion like stinger He quickly brought up his sword to block the incoming attack. Rex tried to push Tyrian back, creating some distance between them, but the stinger proved to be a formidable weapon. Rex knew he had to be cautious and find an opportunity to strike back effectively

Rex quickly took advantage of the brief pause in the battle to make small talk, trying to catch his breath while also looking for an opening between Tyrian's attacks. "So, you're a Faunus, huh?" he said, and based on the appearance of Tyrian's scorpion-like tail, he assumed the stinger might also be venomous. "I assume it's poisonous?" Rex asked, hoping to gather more information that could help him in the fight

"why yes would you like to test its efficacy" Rex raised his sword defensively, his face revealing the skepticism he felt at Tyrian's offer. "I'm not particularly inclined to become a lab rat no," he replied with a hint of defiance in his voice.

oh but your friend there seems the perfect type tyrian said as he raised the stinger to strike at bobo

Rex quickly realized the threat that Tyrian posed to his friend Bobo, and without hesitation, he acted. He stepped between Bobo and Tyrian, he didnt have the time to pull up his sword and he knew he couldnt block it so he just assumed he was going to die as the stinger reached mere inches from his stomach.

Just as Rex was about to accept his fate, a gunshot rang out, and Tyrian collapsed, clutching his injured eye. Rex was stunned for a moment, realizing that he had been saved at the last possible instant. He looked around, trying to find the source of the shot, and eventually saw Winter holding a gun.

"Nice shot," Rex praised, his voice filled with a mixture of relief and gratitude. Winter shrugged, holstering her weapon. "I had an easy target," she replied coolly before looking him over "youre fine." she said matter of factly

Rex nodded, his gaze still lingering on the downed Tyrian. "Yeah, I guess I am," he said, wincing as he rubbed his bruised and sore muscles. "Thanks for the save, Winter. I thought I was a goner there."

do you know who he is?

Rex winced as he tried to stand up straight, his muscles still aching from the fight. "Uh yeah said his name is tyrian callows his friend whos stuck in the wall over there is biowulf." he waved as it snarled at him He then turned his attention to Tyrian, his who was still lying wounded on the ground. "it seems like they are a part of some kind of organization, and they figured out that we could cure evo's

"They're not entirely wrong," Rex added reluctantly, "But it's far more complicated than they know." He said making sure to watch his words around the wolf evo before he glanced at Winter, trying to gauge her reaction to the new information

Rex nodded in agreement with Winter's command. "Got it," he said, his mind already going through the logistics of how he was going to accomplish that task. He looked around, spotting a few nearby soldiers who could help him. "Hey, could you give me a hand with these two?" Rex asked, gesturing towards Tyrian who was still incapacitated on the ground and biowulf who well... they could figure that out later.

Rex nodded in agreement with Winter's command. "Got it," he said, his mind already going through the logistics of how he was going to accomplish that task. He looked around, spotting a few nearby soldiers who could help him. "Hey, could you give me a hand with these two?" Rex asked, gesturing towards Tyrian who was still incapacitated on the ground and biowulf who well... they could figure that out later.

"hey that dinner option is still on the table you know" rex said but winter ignored his advances

Rex couldn't help but chuckle at his own poor attempt at flirting, his usual cocky demeanor resurfacing for a moment before Winter quickly dismissed his advance with a cold glare. He shrugged it off, knowing better than to push his luck with her. "Worth a shot," he said with a small smile, already moving on to the task at hand of dealing with Tyrian and biowulf.

"What the hell?" Rex exclaimed, taken completely by surprise as a mysterious man in a black skull mask suddenly appeared out of nowhere grabbed Tyrian and biowulf and teleported away in a puff of black smoke before he could even react. He stood there for a moment, trying to process what had just happened.

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "Did that just happen?" he muttered to himself before turning to look at Winter, who was also looking just as confused as him. "You saw that too right?" he asked, his voice still sounding slightly dazed.

Winter nodded, her expression a mix of bewilderment and irritation. "I saw it, all right. Who the hell was that?" she asked, her eyes scanning the area where the masked man had disappeared, as if expecting him to reappear at any moment.

"I have no idea," Rex admitted, still trying to wrap his head around the situation. "But I have a feeling we're in over our heads here," he said, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at the empty spot where the masked man had been. He couldn't shake the feeling that something much larger was at play here, and they were just getting a glimpse of it.

Rex sat in Ironwood's office, his thoughts still reeling from the recent encounter. He fidgeted anxiously, waiting to hear what the General had to say.

so rex as you know you havent undergone any schooling due to your 'special circumstances'

Rex nodded, his curiosity piqued by the unexpected turn the conversation was taking. "Yeah, I'm aware," he replied, unsure of where Ironwood was going with this.

well what if i told you you werent the only child your age with special circumstances

Rex's interest was definitely aroused now. "Alright, I'm listening," he said, leaning forward in his seat, his eyes focused on Ironwood.

well not the exact same circumstances but special nonetheless kids who cant have proper schooling due to their special circumstances or responsibilities or power basically kids like you

Rex nodded, beginning to see where Ironwood was going with this. "Yeah i get it what are you implying here ironwood," he said, a small smile tugging at the edge of his lips. He found a strange comfort in knowing that there were others like him, experiencing similar challenges.

okay lets make this quick and easy.

Rex whipped his head around at the sudden noise of the door bursting open, and his eyes widened in surprise as he recognized the voice that spoke from behind it. "Wait, is that-how would you like to attend beacon academy mr salazar?" interrupted ozpin as he walked out of the shadows

Rex was left speechless for a moment, his eyes darting between Ironwood and Ozpin in disbelief. "Wait, you're serious?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Attending Beacon Academy had never even crossed his mind as a thing that he could do.

yes you see weve practically been collecting students with special circumstances today much like yourself. ozpin explained

Rex's mind was still reeling from the bombshell that had just been dropped on him. "So, you're saying you want me to just go to Beacon Academy? Just like that?" he asked, still trying to process the idea.

yes

"You make it sound so simple," Rex said with a small smile, his initial shock beginning to wear off and being replaced with excitement. "But what about the other stuff i need to do what if another evo shows up?" he asked, concerned about how attending Beacon would fit in with his current life.

weve figured that out already

"but arent i a little too young to enter beacon" rex asked "im only 16 im not old enough to join".

child i have made four exceptions to that rule 'TONIGHT' i dont think one more exception is really gonna matter all that much

Rex was taken aback by Ozpin's casual disregard for the age rule. "So you're just going to make an exception for me just like that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in skepticism. He couldn't help but feel a little skeptical about being allowed to attend Beacon at such a young age. After all, most students were at least 17 before they even applied to attend.

yes

Rex couldn't believe his luck. "Well shit im in." he muttered mostly to himself. "So, when do I start?'

"right now" ozpin said as he clicked a button on his cane that caused the seat that rex was sitting on to fly out of the office through the roof.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

"couldnt you have just taken him there like a normal person?"asks ironwood

yes

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Chapter Text

Mistral is the Kingdom of the South, the Kingdom of the Arts. Mistral is characterized by its beautiful architecture, the peaks of the mountains the City is built on, and the various cultures that it houses. A City built as a cultural utopia is a magnet for artists, politicians, and revolutionaries. In the City, the rich mingle with the poor, and many secrets are held under the moonlight.

In Mistral, the streets are always clean, the people are always content, and the sun is always shining...at least that's what the propaganda says, and it's easy to believe when you're not the one scrubbing away at the blood stained stones, or begging for Lien to be able to afford to survive for another week.

Though Mistral is known as a shining city of utopia, it's really just a city that hides its dirty laundry well.

Though it's to be expected, but it still stings. The rich are the ones that go to the art museums and to the symphonies to watch classical music, the poorest are the ones out in the streets, working their fingers to the bone so that they have a chance to maybe afford the cheapest seats or the most basic supplies.

No one talks about this, it's just how things are. The rich get richer, and the poor suffer for it, that's a tale as old as time.

so yeah youd think that youd be following some rich noble who is smart and powerful and doesnt have to steal to get by but no no no this is not that type of story

my name is randy cunningham and i am kind of a loser

"Ever since i was born ive always lived in mistral my mom had to work constant overnight shifts just to keep us alive and my dad well he was never really around he only ever showed up to beg for money and screw off whenever he didnt get any, my mom has always done the best she can to send me to school and i was always happy for it even though id always get picked on for being the "poor kid" i always kept my head down, never stepped out of line always did the best i could to not get into trouble so of course i always managed to get myself into trouble" randy finished his internal monologue as he sat downcast in his seat in the principals office just wanting to delete himself from life.

The principal was the stereotypical older man with a comb-over, thick black-rimmed glasses, and a look of disappointment. He steepled his fingers together as he sat in his chair, looking down at the boy in front of him.

"So... Randy, we have you in here because one of your teachers caught you fighting with another student. That's unacceptable behavior."

yeah yeah i know randy said rolling his eyes

The principal furrowed his brow.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, boy."

He said sternly.

"Fighting at school will not be tolerated. You are here to learn, and you can't do that if you're fighting every other day!"

"yeah well maybe you should 'learn' that i didnt start half those fights rick" randy says but the principal didnt care the other kid was rich randy wasnt so this was just how things went around here.

"Don't argue back at me,"

The principal said firmly.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you started the fights, if I'm hearing about them, then they're happening and stopping it is my job. Just because his dad is an Atleasan Representative doesn't mean you can go around punching him in the face, even if you think you're justified."

well he punched me first sooo

"And then you proceeded to give him a bloody nose and a fractured rib."

The principal points out, leaning back in his chair.

self defense

The principal takes off his glasses and cleans them with a handkerchief as he sighs.

"I know his dad is working hard on his political campaign, so I'm not willing to let you off the hook that easily. normally I would be giving you detention for two weeks but since these summer lessons are almost over you will be cleaning the toilets effective tommorow, I expect you to keep your grades up, or I'll have to get your mother involved."

"I understand...Sir."

Randy said, his voice flat and monotonous. He was not happy to say the least, his mother was a very busy woman and she didn't deserve to be dragged into all of this.

Randy left the dean's office, feeling defeated with a heavy sigh as he glanced at the clock, only to see that he had about five minutes until his next class.

As he walked through the hallway he quickly glanced into some of the open classrooms as he did so. One was a computer design class, another a class about Grimm, and the next was one about auras and semblances.

The school building itself was a mixture of high ceilings and metal, the occasional brick wall peaking through to remind everyone that this was a school rather than just some fancy office building.

"hey randy i heard you got detention" said a tall red haired girl as she walked up behind him scaring the living daylights out of him "jesus pyrrha can you please stop doing that ive got enough problems as it is i dont need a heart attack tacked onto that list" said randy with his usual quippyness

*Pyrrha let out a soft chuckle as she ruffled up Randy's hair, her green eyes shining softly as she smiled at him.*

"You're always so easy to sneak up on, you need to get that checked out my friend,"

*Pyrrha was easily Randy's closest friend, randy was two years younger than her but because the two always spent so much time together people just naturally assumed they were the same age. She was incredibly smart, the top of the class, and always willing to help him study or train. She was literally perfect nothing like randy who was constantly getting into fights and barely passing all of his classes infact she was the one who suggested he start join her in summerschool which was quite strange since she would be attending beacon tommorow.*

Randy was about to respond but was interrupted by a shout coming from further down the hall

"Cunningham!"

The voice was one he dreaded to hear, but just the same one he couldn't stop himself from getting nervous. The voice was soon followed by none other than the owner and Randy's least favorite person in the entire school.

Vince, the spoiled rich kid whom Randy had been sent to the deans office over. Vince was tall and muscular with short dark brown hair, the complete epitome of a bully.

Vince made his way down the hallway quickly, coming to a stop just in front of Randy with a furious look on his face. Behind him was a short stocky boy, and average girl with pink hair.

"You little shit I can give my old man a ring and tell him to make things worse for you. You know as well as I do that he can get your mom fired from her job without any issue. Do you want that to happen?"

hey vince how are the ribs

Vince's eyes narrowed as he glared at Randy.

"You better watch yourself, Cunningham. I'm serious. You think you're real tough, but you're not. You're nothing, just some poor little boy who's going nowhere in life. And when my dad becomes a councilman I'm going to make your life a living hell."

Vince clenched his fists as he stepped closer to Randy, clearly trying to intimidate him.

vince your about as intimidating as a cat on a leash stop it.

*Vince took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He knew he couldn't get into another fight in the hall or else his father would have his head but he was still furious. He turned on his heel and stormed off, disappearing around the corner as his friends followed behind him.*

Randy let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding as he watched Vince storm off before turning back to Pyrrha.

"I'm telling you, one of these days I'm going to snap,"

as if you havent done that already.

Randy rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well, you know what I mean."

Randy leaned back against the lockers letting out a soft sigh.

"I hate that I keep letting him get to me."

Pyrrha gave him a gentle punch to the shoulder.

"Hey, don't sweat it too much. He's not worth it."

Pyrrha leaned back next to him with a small smile.

"So, you got detention, huh? What happened this time?"

he started a fight i broke his ribs

Pyrrha looked over at Randy with a worried expression on her face.

"Randy, you can't keep doing this," she said softly, "I know Vince is a pain but violence isn't the answer. You're better than that.

"I know... I just... I can't stand it when he talks about himself like he's better than everyone else."

Randy groaned in frustration.

"I mean come on, who does he think he is? He's just some rich boy who's never had to work a day in his life and he thinks he's hot stuff cause his dad is running for some council position... It's infuriating."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement. She knew exactly how Randy felt.

"I know, I know. But you gotta try to ignore it. If you let him get to you like this, you're just going to end up in more trouble."

Pyrrha put a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"yeah yeah i know" randy says contemplating to himself "i should probably get to class."

Pyrrha nodded.

"We both should, we're going to be late."

*Randy sighed and pushed himself up from the lockers. Today was going to be another long day.

as randy left pyrrha to get to his classes he saw a strange bearded man wearing a cowboy hat staring at him from accross the hall and as randy blinked the man disappeared.

Randy shook his head, clearly wondering if he had imagined it or not before continuing on his way to his next class, feeling anxious about the day ahead of him.

as the day passed and classes went on randy couldnt help but notice how boring this day was turning out to be you know youd think in a combat school the most interesting thing that could happen wouldnt be detention yet that was just randys luck. in a combat school the most you learn how dust works the weak spots of grim how aura functions all that boring stuff you never actually fight anything unless your iin a club and unfortunately for randy no clubs wanted him so his life was just this boring routine over and over again.

Randy's last class of the day was History of Remnant. He took his seat in the last row next to one of the windows and waited for the professor to begin the lecture. He wasn't very good at listening to boring lectures, so he found his mind wandering towards what he would do after school. Maybe he'd go to Pyrrha's house or maybe he'd just hit the gym.

*and then he noticed that same bearded man staring at him through the window.

Randy's eyes narrowed as he stared back at the man, wondering who he was and why he was here. Maybe he was some new teacher or something like that. He tried to ignore him, focusing back on the lecture as the teacher began to drone on about the Great War.

randy looked back to where the man was and he dissapeared

Randy shook his head, clearly confused. Had he imagined the whole thing? He decided to ignore it for now and try to focus on the lecture, but the thought of the mysterious man lingered in the back of his mind for the rest of the class.

Finally the bell rang and Randy quickly packed up his thing, wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible. He swung his backpack over his shoulder and headed for the door, glancing out the window one last time to see that the bearded man still wasnt there.

As Randy made his way out of the classroom and down the hallway towards his locker he still couldn't help but feel uneasy. He just didn't like the fact that someone had been watching him like that.

as randy is walking somebody bumps into him knocking his bag off his back and walks away

Randy cursed under his breath as his bag dropped to the ground.

"Hey, watch it!" He called after the person, though as he looked up he saw that it was the bearded man who was staring at him as the bearded man continued to walk down the hall as randy quickly lost sight of him.

Randy shook his head with a sigh, quickly grabbing his bag and stuffing the scattered contents back inside.

"Freakin' weirdos man... Always showing up and then disappearing like a damn ninja."

"CUNNINGHAM!" yelled the familiar voice of vince as he walked towards randy with wrath

Randy sighed heavily as he saw Vince approaching. He had really hoped to avoid any more confrontations with him today.

"What do you want, Vince?"

"i saw those test results cunningham, you mustve cheated cause theres no way you could get a higher score than me" said vince rage in his voice

i didnt cheat vince im just smarter than you and besides its not like its my fault your brain is the same size as your dick

Vince clenched his fists as he heard Randy's insult. He was already in a bad mood and Randy mocking him like that just pissed him off even more.

"You take that back cunningham or I swear..."

youll do what get yourself put in the hospital again

"I mean it, cunningham," Vince stepped closer to Randy, his fists clenched tightly at his side.

"Take. It. Back."

randy looked up at him and gave him this smug look of superiority "I REFUSE"

(if you get the reference good for you)

That was the last straw. Vince reeled back and swung his fist, aiming straight for Randy's face.

randy dodged to the side and let vince fall into the floor

Vince tumbled to the ground with a groan, clearly not expecting Randy to dodge his punch like that. He quickly scrambled to his feet, turning to face Randy with an even angrier expression.

"You'll pay for that cunningham," he said through gritted teeth, his fists clenching tightly.

as vince through punch after punch randy dodged each and everyone with ease showing just how unfair this matchup is he even yawned at one point.

Vince was starting to get frustrated. Every time he threw a punch, Randy seemed to dodge it with ease. It was like he was playing with him, mocking him with every missed attack.

"Stand still, cunningham!" He growled. "Don't make this harder for yourself."

hmm lemme think about it no

Vince growled in frustration and lunged at Randy, hoping to finally land a hit on him.

randy didnt even need to dodge as vince jumped too high and slammed into the lockers behind randy

Vince groaned as he slammed into the lockers, dazed by the impact. He stumbled back, wincing in pain as he looked back up at Randy.

"You... You bastard... I'm gonna kill you cunningham..." *He panted through gritted teeth, the anger and frustration were starting to get the better of him "you think your safe? your nothing to me cunningham first im gonna make your life a living hell and then im gonna deal with that tramp mom of you-*but he didnt get to finish as randy kicked his head into the locker.

"what were you saying about my mom" asked randy with a very bloodthirsty look on his face

Vince looked up at Randy with a sneer on his face, clearly not intimidated by the bloodthirsty look.

"I said... Your mom is a tramp and you know it," he spat out. "How else do you think she gets all that money from to take care of you huh i mean with her looks did you really think she just worked an ordinary job ."

hm thats what i thought you said randy says as he is about to stomp vinces head into the dirt but pyrrha stops him

Pyrrha quickly grabbed Randy by the arm, stopping him from stomping Vince's head into the ground.

"Randy, stop! He's not worth it."

Randy looked down at Pyrrha, conflicted. He wanted to make Vince pay for everything he said about his mother, but he also knew she was right. He wasn't worth it.

"Fine..." He grumbled, stepping back from Vince. "Just... don't ever speak about my mother again, got it?" He glared down at Vince.

as vince was about to speak up pyrrha gave him a look and vince wasnt smart by any means but even he knew his father couldnt help him if the four time champion decided to knock him about.

"Whatever..." Vince spat, scowling at both Randy and Pyrrha. "I got better things to do anyway." With that, he stormed off, leaving Randy and Pyrrha alone in the hallway.

Randy let out a heavy sigh as Vince walked away, feeling slightly relieved that the confrontation was finally over.

"Thanks for stopping me, Pyrrha. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't there."

Pyrrha nodded, still holding onto Randy's arm.

"Of course. I know how much your mom means to you. Vince shouldn't speak about her like that." She gave him a small smile. "Just... don't let him get to you like that. He's not worth it."

yeah randy says as he absent mindedly looks back to see the bearded man staring at him before he disappears into the crowd of students.

Pyrrha noticed that Randy was distracted, looking off into the crowd of students.

"Randy? What's wrong?" She asked, following his gaze, but not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

nothing nothing at all ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------LATER THAT DAY--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Randy walked into the small, cramped apartment that he and his mother called home. The place wasn't much, but it was all they could afford on the money his mother made. He threw his backpack down on the couch and called out to his mother.

"Mom, I'm home!"

Randy sighed as he realized that his mother wasn't home. She must still be at work and likely wouldn't be home for another few hours at least.

"Well, might as well get some homework done," he muttered to himself, grabbing his backpack and heading to his bedroom then his face lights up "or".

Randy rushed into his bedroom and quickly kicked his door closed behind him. He dumped his bag on the ground and immediately went to the shelf where his meager video game collection was kept.

"Grave puncher time," he grinned to himself, grabbing the game case and popping it into the console. He was ready to take his frustration out on some virtual enemies.

his mom never had to buy him any video games which is why randy absolutely loved the few he had and yeah it was a cheap game made by a going out of stock company but he would always love it because well these were the only games he had as a kid so he would never let them go.

Randy spent hours playing the game, completely immersed in the virtual world. It was the perfect escape from the stress of school and all the troubles he had been facing lately. He felt a sense of satisfaction with every enemy he defeated, and the sense of accomplishment was addicting.

Eventually, Randy looked up at the clock and groaned. It was getting late, and he still had homework he needed to do before going to bed. He reluctantly paused the game and set the controller down, getting up to grab his backpack.

uuuugggh stupid school making me pause grave puncher randy frustratedly murmured to himself only to stop as when he opened his bag he saw a large book with a large red circle with another smaller red circle inside that and a big green ninja mask in the middle of it wiith a note sticking to it that read the ninjanomicon

"What...the heck is this?" Randy muttered, confusion evident on his face as he looked at the strange book. He carefully picked up the book, inspecting it curiously.

Randy carefully pulled the note out and read it, still confused but now with even more questions. "The Ninjanomicon...? Sounds lame" he said as he threw the book aside looking deeper into his bag until he found a black Ninja mask with red lines running down it.

Randy stared at the mask for a few moments, wondering where the heck it came from and why it was in his backpack. He had no idea what was going on and it felt like a weird prank.

Deciding to just roll with it, Randy picked up the book and sat on his bed, attempting to crack it open to see what was inside but the book just wouldnt budge.

"What the heck? This things like glued shut...," Randy muttered in frustration as he continued to try opening the book. He couldn't see any kind of seal or mechanism holding it closed, yet no matter what he tried, the book remained stubbornly shut.

After several minutes of trying to open the book, Randy let out an exasperated sigh and tossed the book off the side of his bed, flopping onto his back with a frustrated groan.

"This is stupid..." He grumbled, kicking at his bed in frustration. "I should be playing Grave Puncher right now but instead I'm trying to open some stupid, broken book."

Randy glanced over at the mask, which lay discarded on the floor next to the bed. He picked it up and inspected the intricate red lines running down it.

"At least this thing looks kinda cool..." He said aloud. "Looks like something you'd see in a ninja movie or something."

He turned it over in his hands, examining it from different angles, trying to make sense of this strange book and mask in his possession.

Randy sat up and looked at the two items lying on either side of him on the floor, curiosity getting the better of him.

"I wonder what would happen if I put it on..." He said aloud to himself, looking down at the mask again. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this than just a simple prank.

as he put it on a bunch of cloth wraps flew out of the mask knocking him up into the air as the cloth wraps covered his body from his legs to his neck and as he fell on his ass he looked in the mirror and saw himself, he was now wearing a suit that was very reminiscent of those classic ninja outfit with a red line going up the side of his chest with a red sash on its waist and a red scarf on his neck.

as randy got up he saw himself in the mirror and he was absolutely lost for words with the only thing coming to mind being

WHAT THE JUICE

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Deep within an underground cave, a figure stood chained up on a platform in the center of the room. There was not much light, making it hard to make out the features of the figure.

it was easy to see that he was green and wore a robe but that was all that could be seen of him

The green-robed figure remained motionless, his face shrouded in darkness. The only sounds that could be heard were the faint dripping of water echoing throughout the cave.

After a few moments of silence, the figure's head slowly raised as if he had noticed something. "Is someone there?" He called out quietly, his voice echoing through the dark chamber.

ah it seems your senses have not grown dull even after your imprisonment said a dark feminine voice

The figure stiffened as he heard the voice, his eyes narrowed and his muscles tensed. "why do you visit me after so long? What do you want?" He asked, his voice filled with suspicion.

it is time

The figure's eyes narrowed further. "Impossible i destroyed him." He said his tone reflecting anger. "the time shouldnt have come."

believe in it or dont it will make no difference as the time is upon us and you will not survive alone

"You are certain?" The figure asked finally looking towards the source of the voice.

makino has already awoken

A soft growl could be heard from the figure's direction. His hand clenched tight into a fist.

"Of course he has..." He muttered under his breath. "What of the device?"

Still in the hands of a child

The figure nodded slowly. "Very well" He said after a few moments. "I will do what must be done and play my part."

as he said this a massive burst of green energy surrounded him which the woman seemed unaffected by

As the green energy filled the room and the wisp of green mist escaped, leaving the room dark once more.

all hail the circle said the women

"all hail the circle," The figure echoed quietly, the words almost sounding like a prayer.

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The green wisp traveled for what seemed like hours upon hours, twisting and turning through various forests and towns in its path.

Eventually, the green wisp passed over a high class neighborhood, its mist weaving through the houses and streets of the affluent area.

The wisp wove it's way through the high class area, passing over houses and roads before finally stopping in front of a large manor.

The wisp of green energy passed through the manor's walls, going up an unseen staircase and down a hallway before reaching the room where Vince was lying on the couch. There, the wisp hovered over the boy, almost seeming to examine him.

stupid cunningham ill make you pay one of these days he cursed nursing the black eye randy gave him

The wisp of energy hovered over Vince for a few moments before darting towards his watch, quickly seeping into the watch and disappearing.

as it entered the watch a potent green energy began to swirl around him as he begins to change his body growing and molding into something else

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Meanwhile, back at Randy's house, he sat on the floor of his bedroom, still slightly freaking out at the ninja suit that was now covering his body however he had largely calmed down and that terrified freakout became more of an amazed freak out. "This is so cool" randy says twisting and turning to see more of how the suit looks "i wonder if theres anything else it can do randy says as he stares at his hands.

Randy's gaze moved towards the nearby window, his eyes scanning the outside surroundings of his small, suburban house.

Randy jumped out of the window and landed on the roof of his house with a loud thud. "Alright, let's see what this thing can do..." he said determinedly, a grin spreading across his face.

Randy continued to run across the rooftops with newfound ease. With every leap and jump, he felt stronger and more agile than ever before.

While Randy was in the middle of his rooftop-hopping adventure, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took out his phone and saw that he had received a text from Pyrrha that said call me.

Randy dialed up pyrrha and as she picked up he began leaning against a chimney as he spoke. "Hey Pyr, what's up? You wanted to talk?" He asked.

uh yeah its just... are you sure youll be okay without me

"I'll be fine Pyr," Randy said with a chuckle. "I'm pretty sure I can handle myself, don't worry about me go to beacon its your dream school isnt it dont let me drag you down."

Pyrrha smiled softly at the phone on her end. "I appreciate the words of encouragement, but just promise me you'll stay out of trouble, okay? I know you have a nack for getting into trouble."

oh please name one time randy said only to shut his mouth as he didnt even need to see pyrrhas face to know she was giving him a look

Randy let out a sigh on his end of the line. "Alright, maybe I have a slight problem, but I can handle myself, I promise." He said with a grin. "And if things get too hectic, I'll make sure to give you a call and then you can lecture me all you want."

you promise

"I promise," Randy said with a smile. "So don't worry about me, alright? Focus on your training and becoming the best huntress in the world. You're gonna do great things, I just know it."

Pyrrha let out a small sigh from her end of the phone, her voice soft. "Alright, I'll trust you." She said with a small smile. "Just be careful, alright?"

"yeah i will i mean besides whats the worst that could happen" as he says that a wall flies at him which he barely dodges out of the way of "alrightpyritwasnicetalkingtoyoubutigottahanguplikenowbye"he says as he hangs up the phone

"What the juice was that?" He said to himself, looking around for the source of the flying wall.

Randy's eyes widened as he saw the large, orange muscular monster with purple spikes all over its body and purple hair. He took a step back, startled by the sight of it.

"What the juice is that thing ?!" He exclaimed, his heart racing.

Randy's eyes narrowed as he studied the creature. "I've never seen anything like this before." He said, his voice quiet. "Maybe it's a new type of grimm?"

suddenly it jumped onto the roof that he was on and yelled "CUNNINGHAM! i told you id make you pay" and it was then that randy realized who this was "vince?"

Randy was surprised when he realized who the creature was. "Vince?! Is that you?!" He exclaimed, taking a step back in shock. "What happened to you, man? You look... uglier than usual."

There was a short moment of silence before Randy heard Vince's voice again, this time more distorted and guttural. "You think you're funny dont you? Well let's see how funny you are when i rip you apart!!" He taunted

Randy quickly dodged out of the way of Vince's punch and jumped over his hands as he attempted to crush him. As Randy kicked Vince in the face, he felt a twinge of pain in his leg, and he knew that the kick didn't do much against the large, muscular boy.

"Woah calm down there big guy how about we talk this out preferably over some pizza.

Vince roared in anger, his voice distorted and guttural. "You think this is funny?!" He yelled as he stood back up. "I'll show you funny!!" He added as he charged towards Randy, his fists raised.

Randy stepped back, realizing that talking wasn't going to work in this situation. "Fine, if you want a fight, you got one!" He shouted, pulling his fists up into a defensive stance.

Randy tried to take advantage of Vince's blind spot by jumping over him and kicking him in the back, but Vince quickly turned around before he could land the hit and delivered a powerful backhand to Randy's face, sending him flying back into a nearby chimney.

for some reason the ninjanomicon that he had brought with him (because plot) began to glow

Randy stumbled back, his head throbbing from the impact of hitting the chimney. He groaned in pain, rubbing his head as he looked up at Vince. "What the juice" He said, noticing the glow.

Randy was caught off guard as Vince grabbed him and slammed him into the roof below. "Damn it!" He grumbled, wincing as he made impact with the ground.

Randy writhed and struggled beneath Vince, trying to break free from his grip, but to no avail. The pressure from Vince's hand on his head was beginning to become overwhelming, and Randy could feel his consciousness slipping away.

As Randy's consciousness began to fade, he was desperate to find something anything in his pocket that could help him survive. He fumbled around for a moment before finding a small orb, which he accidentally dropped onto the roof below. Instantly, the orb exploded into a cloud of thick, red smoke that smelled absolutely rancid.

Vince looked around in confusion, realizing that Randy was no longer in his grasp. He frantically searched the roof, but there was no sign of him.

Randy quickly found a hiding spot on another roof, trying to stay out of sight from Vince. He listened to the sounds of Vince shuffling around, looking for him on the other roof.

As Vince continued to search, Randy noticed the nomicon beginning to glow. He cautiously picked it up, his eyes wide as he examined it, making sure not to let Vince see the glow.

he tried to crack it open and it was working the book could be opened the moment he fully opened the book however 'shloomp' randy fell unconcious onto the book.

Randy slowly opened his eyes, disoriented and confused by his surroundings. He found himself in what appeared to be an old painting, with pine trees all around him. In front of him stood three massive torii.

Randy's eyes widened as he took in his surroundings, marveling at the painting-like quality of the landscape. He could see mountainscapes and birds that looked like they had been painted in, and a sense of awe washed over him.

Randy could only stand there in awe, his eyes scanning the scenery before him. He had no idea what this place was or how he even got there, but he couldn't help but feel drawn to it.

Randy's curiosity piqued as he noticed the torii begin to glow, the words appearing inside them. He hesitantly approached the torii, taking a closer look at the words.

Randy's eyes widened as he read the words on the torii. "To release the monster from thi curse you must destroy the thing he loves first." He read aloud, mulling over the meaning of the words.

Randy turned to look at the second torii as it began to glow, the words slowly appearing on it. He took a step closer to get a better look, eager to see what it said.

Randy read the words on the second torii, "To attain the upper hand on this foe, use the weapons at your disposal." He furrowed his brow, wondering what that could mean.

Randy turned his attention to the third torii as it began to glow, his eyes narrowing as he tried to make out the words that were slowly appearing on it. He leaned in closer to get a better look, and as he did, he could make out the words, "To cut the enemy off at his roots, believe in the weapon that is the suit."

Suddenly, Randy felt like he was being jerked out of the painting-like world and back into his own body. As he opened his eyes, he found himself back on the roof where he had fallen unconscious.

As Randy regained his bearings, he heard a loud crash from behind him. He spun around to see Vince jumping and slamming into the ground behind him.

Randy quickly got into a defensive stance, his eyes never leaving Vince. "You found me, now what?" He asked, his voice filled with determination as he prepared for whatever might come next.

Randy dodged and weaved through Vince's attacks, his agility allowing him to avoid getting hit. But as he dodged yet another blow, Vince suddenly delivered a powerful kick that caught Randy off guard, sending him flying into the air.

Randy's quick reflexes allowed him to grab onto the scarf on his suit and block the punch that was coming at him, their arms locked together for a moment. He pushed back against Vince, trying to gain some leverage.

As Randy and Vince's arms locked together, Randy suddenly used his scarf to slap Vince away, creating some distance between them. He landed on the rooftop with a thud, quickly regaining his balance and readying himself for whatever Vince might do next.

Randy repeated the words of wisdom from the nomicon in his head, "To cut the enemy off from his roots, believe in the weapon that is the suit." He then used his scarf as a rope to grab Vince and swing him over to the other rooftop, using his agility and the momentum from the swing to his advantage.

Randy saw the watch on Vince's wrist, and in that moment, he realized that it must be important, since it was the only thing on his body that was intact.

He then recited the first wisdom of the nomicon, "To release the monster from his curse, destroy the thing he loves first."

With renewed determination, he pulled on the scarf, pulling Vince towards him. "Is that watch important to you?" He asked, hoping to provoke a reaction from Vince.

why do you wanna know cunningham vince said as randy pulled him towards himself

"Just curious," Randy said with a sly grin as he continued to pull Vince towards him, the tension between them growing.

Randy jumped over Vince, using the scarf to bind him as he fell to the ground. He then dragged Vince towards him and then unleashed a powerful kick, sending Vince flying up and over him.

Randy repeated the wisdom from the nomicon in his head, "To attain the upper hand on this foe, use the weapons at your disposal." He then used his scarf to pull Vince down and quickly rummaged through his back pocket. The first thing he felt was a sword, which he promptly used to cut through Vince's watch.

Randy watched as a green wisp of smoke flew out of Vince's watch, and immediately Vince began morphing back into his regular appearance. It was an abhorently disgusting sight for sure, and Randy was pretty sure he could feel his lunch coming up as he watched vince change back.

Randy covered his mouth and nose as the green smoke wafted towards him, the rancid smell overwhelming his senses. He could feel his stomach churning as he tried to fan the foul odor away. "Ugh, that stank," he said, coughing and trying to catch his breath.

Randy took a step closer to Vince, examining him from a distance. It was clear that he was unconscious, and he wasn't sure what to do next

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"you see it now dont you sorcerer the ninja has returned" said the woman as she spoke to the green skinned sorcerer "you can no longer deny it the time is upon us"

*The sorcerer let out a deep sigh, his voice heavy with resignation. "Indeed, it appears the ninja wasnt destroyed during our battle," he conceded. *

"Not yet" The woman says with a shake of her head, clearly frustrated. "He refuses to listen and is insistent on working alone."

"hmph why did i expect anything else from him"

dont worry he will come around eventually but for now these numbers are all we need she says as two other figures step out of the shadows.

makino, van kleiss, the sorcerer and Salem hmph the circle has reunited at last

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Randy looked around, trying to come up with a plan of action. He wasn't sure if he should take Vince to the authorities, or if he should wait for him to regain consciousness.

well take him off your hands came a voice from the shadows

Randy's eyes widened as he heard the voice coming from the shadows. He quickly turned to face the unknown speaker, his hand already reaching for his sword. "Who's there?" He called out, his voice low and guarded.

As the man stepped out from the shadows, revealing himself to be Ozpin, Randy relaxed slightly, though he still kept his guard up. "Wait your Ozpin headmaster of beacon academy what are you doing here?" he said, his voice filled with caution and curiosity.

Randy's eyebrow twitched at the mention of his new 'responsibility.' He had no idea what Ozpin was talking about, but the way he said it sounded like he had some sort of destiny to fulfill.

"Help me understand this new responsibility? what the juice are you talking about," he said, his voice laced with skepticism.

you see you are not the first person to don that mask or wield the nomicon there were many others before you. each new wielder of the ninjanomicon has a duty to fulfill to help protect all of remnant from an oncoming danger.

Randy's eyes widened in surprise as Ozpin explained the significance of the mask and the nomicon.

"Are you telling me that I'm some kind of chosen one?" Randy asked, he was very much skeptical of the man even though he was the headmaster of beacon i mean who wouldnt be this man just told him he was some chosen one destined to protect the world from the forces of evil it sounded like the plot of some Disney movie to him.

that is exactly what im telling you

*Randy let out a small laugh, unable to contain his disbelief. "Chosen One," "Saving the World," yeah right what age did this guy think he was that he would just fall for it *

"You've got to be joking right? This has to be some sort of prank. very funny and hey gotta admit you go a great actor to play ozpin i almost believed you were him."

Randy's response elicited a small smile from Ozpin, as he had encountered many others who had also been skeptical at first. He understood the skepticism, in fact it was quite common and he had come to expect it.

"Ah, skepticism, a healthy reaction," he replied calmly. "I could understand your reluctance to believe me, it's reasonable. But rest assured, I am not here to deceive you" he said, his eyes locked onto Randy's.

right next thing your gonna tell me is that santa claus is real

Ozpin chuckles at Randy's retort, amused by the cynicism.

"Well," he starts, his tone light and slightly playful. "I never said he wasn't. Though that's a different conversation for a different day."

He crosses his arms and leans against the wall. "I know this is a lot to believe. It's a lot to take in." He acknowledges, his expression softening slightly.

Randy raises an eyebrow at Ozpin's words, still incredbly skepticle.

"Oh yeah? And who might that be?"

ozpin tapped his cane to the ground which caused a portal to be opened allowing for a tall brown haired teen wearing a green jacket with the number ten emblazened on it to step out

"randy Cunningham meet Benjamin Tennyson."

Chapter Text

What makes a hero? bet thats a question you didnt expect to be asked today. what does it mean to be a hero most people have different interpretations of what heroism is some would say that being a hero is about always doing the right thing no matter what, some would say its about protecting the people around you even if it costs you and while those are both understandable opinions to have, they arent the right answer, truth be told there is no right answer when it comes down to it were all just following our own moral compass no matter where it leads us. a person steals from a bank to save his family would that make him a hero or a criminal, a person kills people to keep other people alive what about that would that be considered as heroism? there are lots of evils in this world a lot of them are worse than others but quite the number of them are simply following their moral compass doing what they think is right even though its not after all The road to hell is paved with good intentions. People choose their path, but not the destination.

Ben sat patiently on top of the building, the city of Atlas stretched out before him. A few Atlas airships could be seen in the sky, flying in patrols, the Atlesian Knights following, keeping the population safe.

A chair rockets towards Ben suddenly, crashing on the roof. The boy seemed dazed as he looked around, obviously confused. Ben noticed however he didn't even move his eyes when the boy landed, not even batting an eye. he had known he would be here known ozpin would send him in the way he did.

Rex stumbled to his feet, his head still spinning from the unexpected flight he didnt normally have motion sickness but that flight might've just given it to him. He glanced around, trying to get his bearings and to figure out where he had landed. He noticed the figure of Ben sitting on the other side of the building, and he couldn't help but be a bit wary.

"Who are you and where am I?" he asked, his voice tinged with a mixture of confusion and suspicion.

Rex nodded, his suspicions slightly waning at the mention of his name. very few people knew his name and to his knowledge the only people who even knew he existed were the people at providence and apparently ozpin. "Yeah, that's me," he replied, taking a step forward towards Ben. "What do you want? How do you know my name?" he asked, his tone still cautious.

ben simply looked out at the skyline contemplating something

The silence dragged on, broken only by the distant rumble of aircraft and the occasional metallic clanking of Atlesian Knights on patrol. Rex shifted his weight, growing increasingly impatient and anxious. "Well? You gonna answer my questions or not?" he asked, his patience starting to wear thin.

just gimme a minute will ya im thinking ben said staring out at the skyline

Rex sighed, crossing his arms impatiently. "Fine," he muttered, tapping his foot on the ground. He couldn't help but feel uneasy, standing out in the open like this. He glanced around, scanning the rooftops and alleyways for any potential threats, while he waited for Ben to finish thinking.

"have you ever been part of a team rex?" ben asked finishing his silence "and im not talking about working with someone else in your ear im asking if youve ever worked with someone else on the field"

Rex thought for a moment, before nodding. "Yeah, I've worked with a team before. Why do you ask?" he replied, looking curiously at Ben. He had been part of a few squads during his training and missions at Providence, but they were more colleagues than a true team.

"good at least im not the only non newbie on this team"

Rex raised an eyebrow at Ben's statement. "What do you mean 'team'? Are you saying we're gonna be on the same team?" he asked, a mix of confusion and surprise evident in his tone. He had been expecting to meet other students at Beacon, but he hadn't anticipated being placed on a team right off the bat.

Rex was starting to piece things together now. It seemed like Ozpin had already planned out this team before they had even met eachother. it made sense if he had heard what ozpin said correctly it made sense to place the special circumstances kids on the same team. Still, he found the whole idea of being on a team with complete strangers, especially at such a prestigious school, a bit daunting.

names ben tennyson ben introduces finally normally that means something to people but im guessing the military wouldnt have told you

Rex shook his head. "Nope, never heard of you before," he replied nonchalantly. He wasn't trying to be rude, he simply didn't know who Ben was. He had a limited knowledge of the world outside of his missions and training with Providence, and he didn't keep up with current events or pop culture.

so you wanna see your new dorm room cause i think your gonna like it

Rex shrugged, a small smile tugging at the edges of his lips. "Sure, why not," he said, his curiosity piqued once more. He figured it wouldn't hurt to see where he would be living for the next few years, even if he was still feeling a bit apprehensive about this whole team thing.

Rex's eyes widened in surprise as he watched Ben snap his fingers and a shimmering pink portal appeared before them. He had to admit, that was definitely not something he saw every day. He glanced back at Ben, who was already stepping through the portal. Hesitantly, Rex followed him, stepping through the portal and into the unknown.

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a young ten year old ben walked through the woods in the middle of the night (well i say walked he practically stomped) but ben seemed to look upset

stupid gwen why did she even come on this trip in the first place shes just gonna ruin it like everything else ben mutters to himself frustratedly

Ben continued to walk. Something could be heard rustling within the underbrush nearby. There weren't any Grimm nearby if his instincts were right. Just the normal animals.

after a while ben just decided to sit on a rock done with... everything he guesses gwen was coming on this trip that was just supposed to be him and grandpa max, the food is gonna be inedible if max's earlier attempt at feeding them mealworms was any indication, and the early training that ben was looking forward to was just being cancelled for reasons ben didnt even know. "This is gonna be the worst vacation ever" he says to himself frustrated

ben knew he couldnt stay out here all night as much as he wanted to just not be near gwen right now he did kind of need a place to sleep and since he had already been out there for almost half an hour he already knew grandpa max would be worried sick and probably gone out to look for him. so ben (reluctantly) got off the rock.

As Ben got up, he heard an odd sound and rustling behind him. Like something was chasing him. He turned and didn't see anything, but he could definitely still hear something. The sounds of some animal, maybe something small but he couldn't be sure. It seemed to be closing in on him in the shadows.

As the sound seemed to draw near, Ben was able to make out the sound of something... growling. Whatever it was, it wasn't pleasant with how low and deep it's throat rumbled.

The sounds continued.

*Soon, Ben could faintly see something in the distance. It's body was mostly hidden by the darkness of night though the moon and stars above illuminated it just enough to make out some of its features. It was a large Grimm that had a short, wide snout with its teeth overlapping over its jaw. The Grimm lacked eyes, but had canine ears and quill-like spines on its back, one of the former notably having been seemingly sliced off. It had a tar-like body, oozing black liquid from its mouth and body. it was like nothing ben had ever seen before.

It continued to growl, it's throat gurgling a bit as it did. It didn't seem to be going full-force, but it was clearly in attack mode. It was watching Ben, it's mouth hanging open and drool dripping from its mouth as it slowly stalked towards the young boy.

ben kept backing up slowly noticing that with the way it was stance it would start running the moment he did and he knew that whatever that thing was he couldnt out speed it.

The Grimm continued to get closer, and that same low, guttural growl continued. It soon stood up on it's hind legs and began to stand at roughly eight feet tall. As it did, more of its features became clearer as the light hit them. The Grimm was massive. It was now less than a dozen feet from Ben, and the growl it was making turned into a snarl as it crouched down, ready to pounce.

Ben turned and sprinted away, the Grimm quickly giving chase as it bounded along on all fours, its speed now matching the boy's own.

ben quickly made a sharp turn into the threes dodging and weaving through the three lines as the grimm seemed to have trouble making turns trough them allowing be to gain distance.

The Grimm continued to pursue him, soon catching up as it barreled through trees. It reached out, it's clawed hand just barely missing Ben as it attempted to swipe at him. The Grimm was fast, even if it had issues maneuvering it's large body it continued charging forward, following his scent.

ben slid under a massive slightly uprooted tree however since it was too focused on ben to pay attention to its surroundings the Grimm hit the tree, slamming into it hard enough the tree snapped in half. The Hound turned to look around, trying to catch sight of Ben in the darkness. It was a lot more difficult to track him now as the scent was fading and blending in with the natural forest around them.

The Grimm snarled, looking around and beginning its slow search for its prey. Unfortunately for the Grimm, it had very little light to help it find him, and the smells of nature were making picking up Ben's trail incredibly difficult. It growled again, looking at the remains of the tree it had destroyed. It slowly began to walk through the forest, looking all around it trying to catch sight of the young boy.

ben was hidden on top of a tree however he knew the grimm would be unable to smell him as he was caked in mud while also sweating an insane amount that along with the geosmin in the mud was causing the smell of petrichor which would make him basically untouchable to grimm due to a specific evolution in their olfactory system that made them avoid the compound geosmin. no one knew exactly why they had evolved like this but right now ben couldnt care less why they were like this he was just glad they were.( god he would have to thank his chemistry teacher after the summer ends)

ben slowly slid his way down the tree careful not to make any noise as he quietly snuck away from the beast.

ben quietly made his way into a nearby cave where he went as far away from the entrance as possible not wanting to take any chances the cave was damp, and the sounds of the running water were more clear here. The cave was small, and in it stood an odd looking circle. In the middle was a green hourglass-like shape, which sat between an inner and outer circle. It was glowing as well, the glow of it bathing the entire cave in a soft green light.

Ben was quite curious about this symbol and as he attempted to touch it, the circle seemingly jumped out and wrapped around his arm in a green, holographic fashion. The circle formed a mechanical strap around his wrist, holding it there firmly with wires and pipes forming to allow it to function.

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ben sat there waiting for the portal to open he knew ozpin wanted to talk to the kid but he didnt see the reason why oz decided to do it alone it would have been much easier to just have ben be there already instead of waiting for the kid to say no but hey the old man had to have his fun somehow he guessed.

this sucked more because of the fact that the extra 30 minutes of sleep did not help at all and he was stuck sitting here tired wanting to fall asleep but being unable to cause ha has to wait for the stupid portal.

as ben was waiting he looked up to see a pink portal start materialising infront of him "hmph about time ben mumble as he got up and walked through the portal making sure to look extra mysterious as he did so because dramatics.

"randy Cunningham meet Benjamin Tennyson."

Randy's eyes widen and his jaw drops as he sees the portal open and Ben step through."No way," He said in disbelief. " As in THE Ben tennyson?" He asked, recognizing the familiar face.

"in all my glory" ben said playfully hyping himself up he was just making a joke about it he wasnt narcisistic enough to think he was hot shit (not yet at least).

Randy could hardly believe his eyes, he had heard so much about Ben Tennyson and his heroic deeds both on practically every continent. Be was a living legend and here he was standing right in front of him."This is unreal," he said, still in a state of disbelief. "You're the Ben tennyson, the guy who single handedly took down a swarm of grim, the guy who lifted 2000 atlesian airships, the guy who froze an entire island." randy listed off with stars in his eyes he was very clearly a fan.

"dont forget fought an evil soul snatching clown stopped a giant ray from turning people into mutants and saved the planet dozens of times over people always seem to forget those parts" ben said very much tooting his own horn but eh it had been awhile since he got the chance to brag

I can't believe I'm actually meeting you. You're a legend. No scratch that your a godamn living myth," Randy said in awe. So what if he was fanboying he was in the presence of the greatest hero of all time he had the right to be a fanboy.

so you believe in that whole chosen one thing now or..

Randy snapped back to attention, realizing that he had gotten caught up in the excitement of meeting Ben."Oh yeah, right, the whole chosen one thing." He said, trying to compose himself."Well, I mean, if Ben Tennyson, the greatest hero ever, says that I'm some kind of chosen one, I guess I gotta at least consider it." Randy said with a playful grin.

eh one of four actually

Randy's eyes widened at Ben's words. "Wait, one of four? You mean I'm not the only chosen one?"

now now did you really think you were the only one kinda narcisistic if you ask me ben says teasing him

Randy let out a small huff of indignation at Ben's teasing."Hey, I'm not narcissistic! I'm just...surprised, that's all. It's not every day you find out that you're destined to be part of some elite group." He defensively, crossing his arms.

now with all that out the way how would you like to join beacon ozpin says knowing what the boys reaction will be

Randy's eyes lit up at Ozpin's question, and he immediately straightened up in response."Join Beacon? As in the huntsman academy? Me a random kid from the streets? You're not joking right?" Randy asked, his voice filled with excitement and disbelief.

Randy couldn't believe his luck. He had never even considered the possibility of joining Beacon before, but now it was right in front of him."Are you serious?" He asked once more, a grin spreading across his face. "This is shoobtastic i cant wait to tell pyr.." *

"woah woah calm down there you cant tell anyone about the mask or the whole chosen one thing okay." ben said only slightly taken off by randys lingo but this was nowhere near the first time he had heard people make up words so he just went with it

"well thats totally wonk" randy said taken off by the fact that he couldnt tell his best friend about this before having a quick realization "wait what about my mom i cant just leave to go to beacon without my mom knowing."

"your mother has already been made aware that you will be attending beacon" ozpin explains "where do you think she's been all night. i mean you shouldve seen the look on her face i dont think ive ever seen someone smile with so much happiness' i think she mightve broken a world record." ben says

Randy blinks, still processing the information. He hadn't expected his mother to be in on the whole Beacon thing. "Mom... She knows. And she's happy?" He asked, a mix of surprise and joy in his voice. It was a relief to know that his mother was on board with his decision, but it also made it feel all the more real. He was really doing this — he was really going to attend Beacon.

"yeah so tell you what we can take you to beacon but after you say goodbye to your mom okay" ben says

Randy nods, a mix of determination and gratitude in his eyes."Yeah, of course. I want to say goodbye to my mother before we go. She deserves at least that much." He says, realizing that he won't be seeing her as much anymore once he starts his training.

"now go home we'll be here until your ready" Ozpin says allowing randy to say goodbye to his mother before he leaves.

"Thank you," Randy said to Ozpin before turning to Ben. "I can't believe this is really happening. I'm joining Beacon, I'm going to be a hunter." He said, a sense of both excitement and nervousness coursing through him. "I'll go say goodbye to my mom now." He said, walking towards the exit. Before he left he looked back at Ben. "I won't let you down, I promise."

you better not i bet quite a lot of alcohol that you wouldnt ben says playfully as randy jumps off the roof on his way to talk to his mom.

as randy was a ways away ozpin looked at ben before asking " you seem out of it whats wrong"

Ben let out a small sigh as he turned to Ozpin. "It's nothing much, just a bit nostalgic you know ive just been thinking back on how it all started how i got to where i am now." ben explained looking at his omnitrix which continued to let off a faint green glow.

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As the circle wrapped around his arm, it soon morphed into a mechanical watch, taking its holographic and glowing green appearance and locking it onto Ben's wrist. Oddly enough, it felt like it was slightly tight, not an incredible amount but enough to feel noticeable.

what the ben yelled as he tried to get it off his arm it wasnt coming off unfortunately this also alerted the grimm

The Grimm could be heard rushing near the cave, it's snarls loud as the sound of its claws hitting the ground echoed loudly. It sounded like it was moving fast, and the sounds were coming closer and closer.

The Grimm could be heard right outside the cave now, it's snarls and growls clear as it searched for Ben. It was getting closer to the cave, and it wouldn't be long now before it discovered where Ben was hiding.

as ben heard the grimm he realized he was fucked as he had nowhere to run and the mud had been blasted off him in a green flash of light when the watch leaped onto his wrist.

The sounds of the Grimm were right outside the cave, clearly about to rush into the small cavern itself. Ben could hear it sniffing, it's breath heavy and it's snarls loud. It growled as it stepped into the cave, it's eyes darting around trying to catch sight of its prey. It was only a matter of time before it saw him, and with it right at the cave's entrance the chances of being able to run were quickly dropping.

as ben tried to back up further the watch lifted up the dial and began turning as ben looked down to see it turn he decided to press it down since he was about to die why not right.

As the Grimm finally noticed Ben and prepared to lunge at him, Ben pressed down on the watch. As he did, the watch began to glow intensely, the cave soon being lit up in it's green glow. The Grimm was caught off-guard and snarled as it was disoriented when the cave was suddenly bathed in this intense light.

as the grimm looked back up it saw that ben had transformed into a humanoid, plant-like creature that has an overall green and black colored body encrusted with muck, mostly with a red flame-patterned head and root-like feet, seemingly holding black rocks. His eyes are oval-shaped with points at each end with pupils copying the shape but are smaller. Also, his shoulders and head have red petals and his elbows and legs have green frills sticking out.

The Grim reeled back in surprise as it saw what seemed to be a new creature right in front of it. It took a step back, snarling as it stared at Ben, not moving closer. It seemed hesitant now with this new appearance, not knowing how exactly to deal with it.

woah what the ben said looking at himself now that he had changed

"what the hell could could this be my semblance" ben asked himself before realizing "no this happened when i slammed the watch so could it be that the watch is what caused this" ben concluded looking down at the symbol on his chest that was the same circle that had attached itself to his arm.

The Grimm continued its slow attempt at getting further away, it's growl lowering as it moved slowly outside the cave again. It seemed wary about Ben's new form and decided to keep it's distance for the time being. It looked at the watch carefully, growling again before it slowly backed out of the cave back into the forest.

ben noticed the grimm running and realised that it was scared of him? no no not fear something more like caution which ben found strange as normally grim just charge in no regard for their lives but this one this one was being cautious, this one was intelligent.

but then the grimm seemed to shake and rush at ben but considering that it was just being cautious ben put together that it was being controlled by something.

It growled and snarled as it closed the distance between the two of them, it's claws outstretched and ready to slash him. It seemed to lack any sense of the caution it was holding just moments ago now, attacking him suddenly without warning. The Grimm was under someone's command now, and it wouldn't hesitate to attack Ben.

ben dodged out of the way in his new form before punching it in the face hard enough to send it flying back

The Grimm was sent flying back, hitting the ground with a loud thud but ben did not have the time to contemplate his newfound strength. It snarled, not stopping it's assault. Instead it rolled with the hit, using the momentum to quickly get back on it's feet and charge at Ben again. The grimm swiped at him, attempting to cut him with its claws as it went right back into its relentless assault.

Ben dodged, blocking and weaving his way past the Grimm's flurry of strikes, it's claws missing him each time. The Grimm's assault showed no sign of slowing down, it kept moving, attacking and swiping at Ben with it's sharp claws that could easily tear into him.

Ben struck at the Grimm, knocking it back once more. However this time it did not seem to be affected. The Hound only grunted with the hit, it's body shaking from the blow. It seemed to be incredibly durable despite the force in the hit, and soon it struck back. Ben was struck again, being flung directly towards the wall of the cave. His back hit the stone wall with a loud thud, sure to leave a mark even if he wasn't injured now.

as the grimm readied to lunge at him ben heald out his hands which caused a large blast of fire to come out of his palm blasting the creature back as ben looked at his palm in shock

The fire blast struck the Grimm directly, knocking it back onto the stone floor. It snarled and growled as it seemed to shake it off and get back up. It was clearly resistant to the heat, as even with the fire blast it didn't seem too wounded. It looked at Ben, clearly not being too happy about being blasted by a fireball. It roared as it charged at him again, claws swiping aggressively

*Ben blocked the Grimm's attack and struck it back with a blast of fire. It knocked the Hound back quickly, it's flesh searing slightly from the heat. The Grimm stumbled back, the force and the fire causing it to tumble. It quickly got back on it's feet though, seemingly even more aggressive now.

it looked at him with a murderous gaze before pointing its finger at the dial on his chest and doing something absolutely fucking terrifying. "OMNITRIX" it spoke the damn thing spoke ben had already figured that it was intelligent but ben could have never imagined that it was this intelligent.

Ben knocked the Grimm to the floor, pinning it down and restraining it. It struggled under Ben's hold, snarling and growling as it attempted to break free. It seemed angry now, furious at being held down and restrained. The Hound snapped and growled, but was still under Ben's grasp

Ben unleashed a powerful wave of fire, the flames quickly engulfing the cave and burning with a bright, intense heat. The cave's stone walls and floor were quickly damaged by the fire as it shot out from Ben's new form. The area was suddenly filled with smoke and heat, the cave being set ablaze.

it didnt matter how resistant this grimm was to fire it clearly wasnt immune. the flames began searing the Grimm's flesh It cried out in pain, struggling and thrashing against Ben as the searing heat began to affect it. The Grimm's hide began to blacken as the fire grew stronger, and it began to smoke from the heat.

It was soon evident that the Grimm couldn't handle the flames much longer, the fire's intensity being too much for it to handle. The Hound writhed in pain as its hide turned into a charred, blackened mess, its own body smoking from the fire.

ben didnt know how he knew how to do this he just kinda knew you know kinda like an instinct and when this thing talked he had the instinct to kill it with fire which is exactly what he did.

As the Grimm continued writhing, it slowly stopped moving. It's body went still, the flames still burning it as Ben's fire raged on. Soon, the body was still entirely, no longer moving at all as it remained motionless on the ground. The Grimm looked like it was dead. It's body was charred and burned, having been damaged greatly by the fire that it had been set ablaze with

Ben slowly let go of it, and took in the sight. He looked at what was left of the Grimm, as it's flesh was charred and smoking. The Grimm was completely still and motionless, it's life having left it's body due to the fire unleashed upon it. His face was filled with amazement, though there was also terror clearly visible on his expression as well.

Ben continued to stare at the Grimm's body as it laid still on the ground. It's eyes were now lifeless, and it was completely motionless. His amazement from earlier had completely left now, and he was left with the look of a terrified young boy. He couldn't believe what had just happened, and he didn't know what would happen now. There was also the fact that the Grimm had spoken, it was something that was very clearly on his mind as he continued staring at the scene before him.

"quite the experience that was wouldnt you say" asks a voice from outside of the currently burning cave

Ben's attention was immediately drawn towards the exit of the cave, towards the voice that was speaking to him. It sounded vaguely familiar, and he could see the silhouette of a person standing outside. He watched them, his nerves still on high from what just happened.

"oh do forgive my interruption of what you were doing i am ozpin headmaster of beacon academy and friend of your grandfather max, " ben was still shocked from the events that just transpired, but now was also confused as to why the headmaster of Beacon was here.

i would like to have a word with you benjamin tennyson

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Max sat in Ozpin's office, staring at the headmaster as he pondered his decision. He had a lot to consider, and he was still trying to process everything that had happened in the short amount of time since meeting Steel and getting the invitation to Beacon.

"So, let me get this straight," Max started "You believe that im part of some chosen group who can save the world and all the people in it from some evil group that is trying to conquer the entire world. and you expect me to believe you."

Ozpin sighed and leaned against the edge of his desk, looking at Max sympathetically. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's the truth. The fate of the world hangs in the balance, and you, Max, have been chosen to be a part of the team that will make a difference."

"i dont believe him." says steel not believing a word coming out of the old guys mouth "listen i dont know about you but to me this sounds like the plot of a disney movie, or some really shitty fanfiction." max says also not believing ozpin

Ozpin sighed and shook his head. "I understand your skepticism. This whole situation does seem unreal, but I assure you, it's very real. I've been involved in this struggle for a long time, and I wouldn't ask you to join this fight if I didn't truly believe in your potential."

"Besides when you get out enough sometimes you learn that reality is insanely unrealistic" said ben as he walked through the door holding a box of donuts" want a donut" ben asked but max was too busy trying to piece together where he's seen this guy from to reply

"Where do I know you from?" Max asked, his brow furrowed as he tried to place where he had seen this person before. Something about him was familiar, but Max couldn't quite put his finger on it. "You look... familiar."

"you see mr mcgrath this boy right here" he says gesturing at ben "is ben tennyson one the most famous people in the world due to his superheroics"

Max's eyes widened as he recognized the name. Ben Tennyson was a well-known figure, known for his whole being a superhero thing and saving the world and all that junk. Max had heard about him in the news and on social media.

"Ben Tennyson?!" Max asked with relatively low excitement dont get me wrong he was excited but compared to the level of excitement that one would have meeting a superhero it was quite low. "I've heard of you. You're like a celebrity or something. I didn't know you went to Beacon."

max had heard about ben of course it would be impossible not to but he had never really been that big of a fan he had never really focused on it so his level of excitement was about at the same level as someone meeting a celebrity that they know but dont really care about all that much

"nah not yet at least the team hasnt been formed yet" ben says still munching down on doughnuts.

Max raised an eyebrow at Ben's casual tone. He couldn't believe this was the same person he had seen on the news and in the headlines.

"i thought ozpin told you already, uggh now i have to explain it, okay so think of it like this right" there are 5 big bad guys that formed a group calling themselves the circle and have been alive for quite a long time these guys were basically unbeatable and tried to rule remnant with an iron fist then a lady with a future sight semblance and saw that way into the future there would be 5 huntsmen strong enough to defeat this group and now is the beginning of the time foretold which surprise surprise we have found five of them, me, you and three others do you understand.

"You do realise that what you just told is kinda alot to take in," Max said defending himself. "I mean, you're telling me that we're supposedly the chosen ones, and we have to take down this group of ancient evil bad guys you cant tell me It doesnt sound like something out of a fairy tale."

so let me get this straight, we live in a world filled with people with superpowers who fight negative emotion powered fairy tail monsters with the power of dust and fantastical weapons and this seems far fetched to you?

"Fair enough," Max said with a small chuckle. "I guess you have a point there. Still kind of hard to wrap my head around the whole 'chosen one' thing though."

yeah uh im only slightly questing my existence right now steel chimed in from in as he exited max.

"dude ive met santa claus if theres anyone who should be questioning their existence its me" ben said

Max raised an eyebrow at Ben's unexpected comment. "You've met Santa Claus?" he asked, a mixture of curiosity and disbelief in his voice. "How did that even happen?"

story for another time now are you willing to join this team cause ive gotten like a total of 3 hours of sleep this week and me and ozpin have to talk to the other two so itd be really helpful if you answered fast.

Max considered the situation for a few moments, weighing the pros and cons of accepting Ozpin's invitation. He knew that going through with this would likely mean a life of danger and uncertainty. But there was something about the whole thing that excited him.

"Alright, I'll do it," Max said confidently, a determined expression on his face. "I'll join this team and help take down the Circle."

"great great thats great now if you excuse me ive got like like 30 minutes left that i plan to use on sleeping before i go talk to the next one." ben said as he walked out of the room yawning

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ben sat in the rust bucket with grandpa max in the background figuring out gwens music preferences while she slowly dies inside.

Ben sat back, his mind still processing everything that had happened. He listened to Ozpin speak, nodding every now and then to show that he heard what the headmaster had to say. He was still in shock from everything, but he was beginning to comprehend some of it. He still remembered the Grimm speaking, which was something that had really terrified him.

ben are you listening?

"Yeah, yeah of course." Ben spoke, trying to sound like he had been paying attention. But it was obvious that he had been lost in thought, and was barely paying attention to anything Ozpin said.

then tell me what i said

"Oh uh...." Ben paused for a moment, looking like he was trying to think. But it was clear that he hadn't really been listening.

"You said that... we should..." Ben said, struggling to remember. He had no clue what Ozpin had said, it was clear that he had missed everything.

alright listen closely and listen good this time

"Alright, I-I'm listening." Ben said nervously, clearing his throat as he prepared to listen this time.

long ago before the creation of remnant itself there were two brothers the god of light and the god of darkness when the gods were creating remnant they tried to make a species for the planet however each and every species they had created was too different from what they had in mind from too powerful to too intelligent these species were thrown away into a space the gods made to store all of their mistakes called the null void. soon after this they created humanity and humans began to thrive on the planet with the help of the gods they overcame every obstacle that tried to destroy them however one day remnant was invaded by two beings who had cconquered the null void and held all the species in their iron fist these two beings were known as makino and vilgax the humans tried to fight back against the two but they never stood a chance that was until a scientist from the nullvoid escaped and came to give earth a chance at victory and a chance to free the null void from these ruthless conquerors this chance came in the form of the omnitrix a device that held the dna of every species in the null void allowing its wearer to transform into a virtually endless number of species. using the omnitrix humanity was able to beat back the invasion and defeat makino and vilgax however they still live and they have joined a group known as the circle to hunt down and destroy any and all threats in their way.

Ben remained quiet, his mind racing. He was completely stunned by what Ozpin had told him. He couldn't believe any of it, but something in his head told him that it was all real, that all of it was true. It was just too much for him to wrap his head around. He continued to sit there, and after a few moments he finally spoke.

"That's… that's a lot to take in… I don't even know what to say…" Ben said quietly.

"A lot to take in" was definitely a huge understatement. Just the sheer amount of things Ozpin talked about was enough to make any normal person overwhelmed, and that's precisely what Ben was right now.

He sat up straighter, and looked at Ozpin. He was still clearly overwhelmed by everything he had just heard, but he had to ask something now that he had heard the story.

"S-So this thing on my wrist is the omnitrix?"

Ben looked down at the wrist he raised, staring at the Omnitrix on its surface. He couldn't believe it. This little watch had the power to ust let him become an innumerable amount of basically alien species and it was as easy as just a slap on the wrist?

He was too stunned by it to say anything else. The information he had just been told was just too much for him

i understand that you will need time to take in this information and i suggest yo- ozpin says before being cut off by ben "can i be a hero" pardon me what asked ozpin "this watch can it can it give me the power to help people to fight grimm and actually help people."

Ben looked directly into Ozpin's eyes. His expression was serious, there was something about that look in his eyes that told Ozpin that Ben was being serious. He wanted to be a hero, to help people and to fight against the Grimm

There was a burning determination in his eyes, a clear sign of how badly he wanted it.

Ozpin took a moment to answer, a small smile creeping across his face as he realized that Ben was serious about this. There was a long moment of silence between them before Ozpin spoke

"It can." He said simply. Ozpin knew that Ben had the potential to be a hero, to be someone who could actually make a difference.

then im in ben said with eyes that told ozpin that this boy was willing to do anything to make a difference in this world and that put a smile on ozpins face.

Ozpin smiled, it was clear that Ben had the right mindset for this sort of thing. He was determined and passionate, and that would be a valuable asset to Beacon Academy's future huntsmen.

Ozpin extended out a hand to Ben for him to shake.

"Welcome to Beacon Academy, Ben Tennyson."

Chapter Text

A young faunus boy was running through an empty sewer, his feet splashing and kicking up water as he ran through the sewer. Behind him he could here the splashing of the two men following him, their robes getting soaked as they too ran. The boy didn't look back, instead focusing on getting away from the dangerous men.

The boy never slowed down he couldnt risk it, his feet splashing water every time he took a step. he could feel the sewer water soaking her feet, but he didn't slow down.

Behind him there was the sound of more splashing water, as the two men followed close behind. They were obviously desperate to catch up to the boy, and they didn't seem as concerned about the water they were running through

The boy's lungs burned as he ran, his legs felt like they were going to give out at any moment. But he continued running. He could hear the men chasing him, their harsh breathing and the splashing footsteps of their boots in the water echoing.

The young boy's mind raced as he ran, his thoughts focused solely on getting away from the two men.

the boy was decently hefty pretty well built for a boy his age he had stripes covering his body his, faunus trait.

The boy let out a cry of pain as a sort of taser line hit him, his muscles tensing up instantly. It felt like his entire body was on fire, and he collapsed to the ground. His body spasmed, the pain was excruciating. He groaned, unable to move as he tried to push himself back up.

"the heathen has been incapacitated" the robed men said as one of them stepped on the boys back "it is time to begin the purification one of them says as he pulls out a sword" ready to stab the boy in the back.

The young boy could barely move, his body was still shaking from the electric shocks. He was scared, he could hear the two men talking. His heart raced as he heard one of them speak.

Purification? Was he going to die here? The young boy struggled to try and move his body, desperate to get away from the two men. But with his muscles all tensed up he couldn't even try to stand up.

as the boy was about to be stabbed a dust bullet hit the robed figure in the head sending him stumbling back

as the figures looked forward towards where the bullet came from they saw a man with red hair wearing a black longsleeved high collared blazer that was unbottoned exposing a red shirt with a black line running parallel to his collar under it, he also wielded a red katanna.

"A heathen of the white fang" one of the figures said venom clear in their voice. "Your kind is not welcome here heathen." said the other one as they both pulled out their swords and threw off their robes to reveal that they wore a suit of knightly armor with an infinity symbol on the belt around their waist.

"you people and your religion, you all sicken me"the red haired man said as he pulled his katanna up into a fighting position.

he rushes at the knights and stabs one of them through his armor before the other one attempts to stab him which he blocks.

as he blocked the knight which he stabbed attempted to kick him but he blocked it with his leg and kicked the man away before slamming his knee into the stomach of the one whos sword he was currently blocking causing him to stumble back allowing adam to slice his head off in one blow.

the other jumped at him but adam dodged out of the way and impaled the man on his sword while he was coming down.

the knight dropped his weapon and dropped to the floor dead as adam wiped the blood off his weapon.

he then looked towards the faunus child and knelt down next to him.

"are you okay?" the red haired man asked softly as he placed his hand on the boys body checking for any injuries. the man seemed concerned and he seemed soft so much so that the boy wouldve thought he was an innocent soul if he hadnt just killed two people without a second thought directly infront of him.

im fine the boy says as he begins to get up.

good the man says as he stands up and begins walking away.

"oh wow i didnt peg you as that type of guy adam" said a man who was leaning on a wall and had watched the whole thing.

"i do not care about what you believed of me to be mister winters" said adam as he walked past winters.

"hmph so where are we going next"

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Rex wakes up in his new teams dorm room he wasnt used to sleeping in the same room a people so he didnt exactly sleep the best.

as he got up to look around he saw the rest of his teammates asleep except for ben rex wasnt used to the whole being on a team to be honest it made sense he had just met them last night and they talked for like ten minutes before falling asleep.

"yo ben what are you doing up?" rex asks groggily as he sit up on his bed with a slight migraine that lasted a whole of 5 seconds, rex wasnt a morning person by any means.

"nothing much" ben said as he got off the couch and moved towards the door "just gotta help Ozpin finish setting up the initiation before the new students get here." ben leaned on the door "i stayed back to tell you guys to not get into trouble while I'm gone but since your awake and you seem responsible pass on the message to the others for me okay."

"yeah got it" rex said as ben left the room the light that hit his eyes when the door opened was kind of disorienting but he adjusted before the door closed.

rex got up to go do his morning routine ya know the usual brush his teeth, take a bath all that stuff.

beacon was a lot more comfortable than he had been used, to providence didnt really care about the comfort of its agents so it wasnt hard to see why beacon was better than his usual living arrangement.

since no one was up yet rex just sat down on the couch and started searching his scroll for anything interesting to pass the time.

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Max was never one to enjoy waking up early it was quite annoying if you asked him but his uncle being the person that he was made sure max could adjust to waking up early so beyond the initial annoyance he wasnt really affected by it when steel practically jerked him awake.

"come on max are you really gonna sleep in on the first day of your dream school" steel said with an unseen to max mischievous look in his eye, could this have been revenge for max not giving steel a say on if they should join beacon or not? the world would never know.

"oh my god are you gonna be like this the whole time?" max asked the ultralink in his chest who really seemed to just be doing this to annoy him

"What, were you expecting me to be all quiet and cooperative?" Steel asked, the mischief evident in his voice. "Where's the fun in that?"

Max was about to make a remark back at Steel, but his attention was quickly drawn to his teammate, Rex. He noticed the Puzzled expression on his face and raised an eyebrow.

"What's up with you?" Max asked, slightly amused.

so do you like always talk to yourself or rex asked because he couldnt hear steel nor did he know of steels existence

Max let out a sheepish chuckle at Rex's question. He realized that his conversations with Steel must seem strange to anyone who couldn't hear the ultralink.

"Sort of," Max replied, trying to figure out how to explain the whole steel thing in as short a way as possible, but before he could steel cut him off and did it for him.

"I am N'Baro Aksteel X377, just call me steel and i am a level 19 techno organic life form capable of absorbing turbo energy to ensure my host does not destroy himself" steel explained as he escaped fom maxs chest with a slight arrogance in his voice

rex's eyes widened in surprise as he saw the techno-organic life form emerge from Max's chest. It took him a moment to process what he was seeing, and when Steel had finished his explanation, Rex was left dumbfounded.

"Oh thats actually kinda cool ive heard of ultralink but its my first time actually seeing one rex said as he grabbed steel and examined him which actually threw steel through a loop, this kid wasnt supposed to understand any of that but apparently he knew what steel was.

"hold up you know what he is" max asked rex a bit confused as to how he knew this.

Rex looked up from his examination of Steel and nodded in response to Max's question.

"Yeah, Providence isnt very good at keeping secrets from me so i know a lot of things. hold up did ironwood not tell you anything about him? i wouldve thought since hes your uncle he wouldve at least given you a bit of info."

Max raised an eyebrow at Rex's response. It seemed like Providence, whoever that was, had some loose lips when it came to information. As for Ironwood, Max wasn't sure what he had or hadn't been told about Steel.

"To be honest, I don't think He told me much of anything ," Max said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Why, is there something I should know?"

i dunno

"That's reassuring," Max said sarcastically, not particularly happy with the fact that no one he could get answers from seemed to have the answers. He looked down at Steel, who was still in Rex's grip, and was starting to look quite uncomfortable.

"Hey, dude, you good?" Max asked, half-jokingly.

yeah yeah just reevaluating my entire existence here steel said as he stared up into the cieling while rex continued examining him in truth steel had no idea what he was all he knew was his purpose and his name that was it he couldnt remember anything before waking up but he wanted to he wanted to know who he was.

Steel's head snapped towards Rex, curious and a bit surprised by the unexpected compliment.

"Really?" Steel asked, a hint of arrogance in his voice. "I mean it makes sense of course i am quite awesome it only makes sense that id be so much better than everything.Hell i should be number one what's so special about that tacky old watch anyway?"

Max chuckled slightly at Steel's arrogance. He had to admit, it was kind of endearing if a bit annoying .

"oh look what you did you went and stroked his ego." max said with a smirk "yeah yeah steel we get it your better than that (admittedly cool looking) watch."

Steel preened under the praise, clearly enjoying the attention he was getting. "Damn right I am." he said with a smirk. "I'm the greatest piece of tech in the universe and don't you forget it."

if you cant make smoothies then i call balony playfully said randy who seemed to have been awake the entire time

Steel glanced over at Randy, his digital eyes narrowing in annoyance. "Oh yeah smart guy? I could easily make a smoothie far better than anything you could make without even trying."

is that a challenge

Steel's arrogance flared up at Randy's challenge. "You bet it is. I could make a smoothie that would blow your tiny little mind."

oh yeah?

yeah.

oh yeah?

yeah.

"shouldnt we like break them up before they do something stupid" max asks slightly worried*

nah just leave em be besides i doubt they would do anything too stupid

alright then i challenge you to a smoothie making competition.

Steel's digital eyes gleamed with excitement at the challenge. "You're on. I'll make a smoothie so good it'll make you question your entire existence."

"well ill make a smoothie so good you remember your existence." randy replied as both of them rushed out the door before max or rex could stop them

"uhm does steel know how to use a blender" rex asked before max answered "considering that he can only remember like a day of his existence i doubt it" rex and max both raced after steel and randy before they did something stupid.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The forest was quiet, the only sound the crinkle and crunch of dry leaves under Ben's feet as he walked. The trees stood tall, their branches spread out like a forest canopy and casting a dense and cool shadow on the ground below.

The sun shone through the leaves, casting beautiful rays of light in the darkened forest. The sunlight speckled the ground, looking like stars falling through the leaves. It was a peaceful and tranquil scene.

Ben continued to look around, his eyes searching the area. He pushed through the thick leaves of the trees, looking around closely at all the surroundings. He was clearly looking for something, but he didn't seem to be worried about being spotted.

before long he found what he was looking for or should i say they found him as ben was surrounded on all sides by nevermores goliaths and death stalkers.

Ben's eyes widened in shock as more and more Grimm surrounded him on all sides. The Nevermores hissed and squawked as they encircled him, ready to attack him. The Goliaths stomped around him in a circle, their legs shaking the ground with every step. The Death Stalkers stalked along the edges, snapping their pincers and waiting for the right moment to attack.

"Oh wow theres a lot more of you than i thought there would be." bens shocked expression turned into a smirk "looks like i might get to have some fun after all." ben said as he slammed down hard on his omnitrix engulfing the entire forest in a green light

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Ben emerged from the forest, the black liquid was still evaporating off of his body. He was unharmed, but the forest around him was a mess. Trees were knocked down, some even completely destroyed. The ground was covered in scratch marks and claw markings from the battle.

he was currently in his diamond head form which boasted a big bulky body entirely made of crystal with crystals jettisoning out of his back.

As Ben approached Ozpin, the Headmaster just looked at him with a calm expression. It was clear that he had been waiting for this, expecting it even. As Ben came to a stop in front of him, Ozpin spoke, his voice casual and curious.

"How many?" He repeated, waiting to see what Ben's response would be.

Ozpin's eyes widened slightly, surprised by the number. He was expecting a high number, but thirty three was higher than even he had assumed. He looked at Ben, clearly unnerved.

"Thirty-three?" He said, repeating the number. "Impossible that many grimm should not have made it past our security."ozpin said as if speaking a fact because it was a fact the only way that many grimm wouldve been able to get into the emerald forest without taking any lives wouldve been if someone purposefully let them in and made sure no one died.

Ozpin was silent for a moment, thinking. Who could've done this? Someone who had enough power and knowledge to gather together that many Grimm and sneak them past all Beacon's sensors was someone to be wary of.

Ozpin continued to think, his mind racing through possibilities. He looked up at Ben, his expression serious as he spoke.

"Ben i do believe you have some loose ends to tie up." ozpin said as he looked ben dead in the eyes "because it is very likely that this was done by the forever knights."

"oh come on will those guys ever quit at this point theyre more nuisances than actual threats." ben said frustration very much evident in his voice he had dealt with the forever knights way too many times and every time he thought that they were put down for good they kept coming back with some bigger more dangerous plot or weapon that would wipe the "Heathens" off the face of remnant only to lose to a teenager again it was getting kind of annoying now.

Ozpin couldn't help but chuckle at Ben's frustration. It was obvious that the young boy was fed up with the Forever Knights and their constant attempts to "Purify" Remnant and its inhabitants.

"I understand your frustration Ben." He said seriousness returning to his voice. "But i do hope you realize that they very clearly have some sort of plan, they wouldnt have done all that work for no reason, so since you have encountred them more times than anyone tell me, what is it do you believe that they are planning."

well if i were to guess theyre trying to bring their little war with the white fang onto our doorstep, theyre trying to to get the white fang to destroy beacon and if that were to happen the faunus would not only be treated even worse than they are now but they would also lose one of the few places in remnant that treats humans and faunus equal.

*Ozpin nodded in agreement, taking in Ben's words. It made sense, the Forever Knights were kind of intelligent when it came to making plans and this this was definitely something they would think of too bad for them then that theyre plan had already failed.

"so then do i hunt them down and stop them again." ben asks very clearly annoyed and just wanting to get this over with as fast as possible"it wont take too long, i can get it done before tommorrows initiation." ben added

Ozpin could sense the annoyance in Ben's voice and he understood it completely, this would likely be the hundredth time the Forever Knights had tried this and it was only getting more and more annoying.

But Ozpin knew that the situation needed to be taken care of as soon as possible and Ben was the only one who could do it in the time frame they had.

"That would be best, yes." He said, agreeing with Ben. "I'll keep an eye on Beacon security while you take care of the Knights."

"great ill be back please call me if anything important comes up." said ben as he slammed down on the omnitrix dial.

Ozpin nodded in response to Ben's request. He understood that Ben was in a hurry to take care of the Knights and that he couldn't waste any time.

"I'll keep you updated if a situation comes up." He said, already preparing to keep a watchful eye on the security cameras.

ben transformed into a humanoid, moth-like creature, with four wings and two antennae-like wing folds the form has a black body with blue patching on his slender chest, and running along his legs and arms, the latter reaching up to the back of his neck. He has cyan patches that resemble ice chunks on his legs and arms. Thick black lines border the back end of each wing, which also contain three cyan patches of their own. "BIGCHILL" ben called out its name something that was pretty normal for him as he flew away quickly beginning his hunt for the forever knights.

Somewhere in the shadows a figure was watching, his eyes fixed on the sight of Ben in his Big Chill form. he was watching the entire conversation unable to hear anything but he had an idea. they knew what the forever knights plan was but they had no idea that the white fang also knew and they had their own plan.

"adam the boy is gone phase one can begin" said the man as he talked into his scroll

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------When max and rex finally found Steel and Randy, they caught sight of the two competing in a rather comical attempt to make a smoothie. Steel, having absolutely no idea how to use the blender, managed to create a chaotic mess of fruit, ice, and various other ingredients, resulting in a mixture that looked more like a science experiment gone wrong than a smoothie.

Meanwhile, Randy was working meticulously, combining fruits and ingredients in a way that actually resembled a proper smoothie.too bad all the ingredients combined were going to get them killed with ingredients such as, jalapeños,chocolate, cheese etc.

Max chuckled at the scene unfolding before him. Steel was making a complete mess, and Randy's concoction looked more like poison than a smoothie. Both of them were clearly clueless, and their attempts to create a decent beverage were anything but.

"I don't think either of them has any idea what they're doing," Max said to Rex, shaking his head in amusement.

Rex couldn't help but chuckle as well, watching in silent amusement as Steel and Randy continued their chaotic concoction. "Yeah, i should probably stop them, but im kind of entertained."

Rex couldn't help but chuckle as well, watching in silent amusement as Steel and Randy continued their chaotic concoction. "Yeah, i should probably stop them, but im kind of entertained."

Max and Rex stared in awe and horror at the two concoctions laid before them. Steel's mixture was nothing short of a disaster, a nightmarish blend of expired milk, chunks of apple and ungodly amounts of sugar. Randy's concoction at least looked somewhat normal, but knowing what he put in it made it a hard pass.

"we need someone to judge them youd be biased towards your own and i dont have a mouth" steel said as he looked towards max and rex "max would be biased to you so that leaves" randy didnt finish as he and steel both looked towards rex

Both Steel and Randy turned their gaze to Rex, who looked a bit taken aback by the sudden attention. Rex let out the quickest refusal of the century , realizing that they wanted him to be the unfortunate soul tasked with judging the two disastrous concoctions.

"NO NO NO uhuh not happening."

Max chuckled at Rex's reluctance to become the judge. "C'mon, it can't be that bad. Just taste them and give us your honest opinion. "

alright then i wanna see you taste one

Max took a step back, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Hey now, dont you know that my life is something i value, besides i just ate uhhh sugar before this so my sense of taste would be off ." he said but it was pretty easy to see throug the horrible excuse.

Steel chuckled at Max's excuse. "Oh, come on, don't be a coward. Just take a sip, it won't kill you."

you could not be more wrong max whispered under his breath

Rex chuckled, enjoying the banter between Max and Steel. "Yeah, Max, what are you afraid of? A little expired milk and sugar won't hurt you." He said, teasing Max.

Everyone in the room fell silent as they heard an unknown sound, all of their attention immediately directed towards the source. Max, Steel, and Randy exchanged confused looks, wondering what the unexpected noise was while rex quickly prepared himself for a fight.

as the room went silent the door opened as a man in knightly armored entered the room but before he truly had the time to proccess the fact that people were in there the man in the knightly armor stumbled back in surprise as he was suddenly ambushed by all four of them. He had clearly not expected to find the room occupied, and was caught off guard by their unexpected attack.

The room fell silent once more as the man in the armor lay unconscious on the ground. Max, Rex, and Randy exchanged looks of confusion and concern, unsure of what to make of the situation.

"What the hell was that all about?" Rex asked, looking down at the unconscious man.

oh my god randy gasped as he saw the mans armor

Max and Rex both turned to Randy, curious about what he had seen that was so surprising.

"What is it, Randy? You recognize the armor or something?" Max asked.

Once the man was knocked unconscious, Max felt Steel reentering his chest. Meanwhile, Randy donned his mask back onto his head. There was a moment of silence as they all stood there, catching their breath and wondering who this stranger was and why they tried to break in.

"oh my god guys' randy said as he had taken a second but he finally recognized the armor.

Max and Rex turned to Randy, their curiosity piqued by his sudden outburst. "What? What is it? Do you know who that is?" Max asked, looking at the unconscious man in the knightly armor.

"that guy is one of the forever knights and where theres one-" randy didnt get to finish as he was cut off by a laser blast grazing his cheek but luckily he had dodged it. The sudden attack caught them off guard, and they quickly turned their attention to the source of the blast. Standing there, a few meters away, was another man in identical armor to the first one.

"theres always more" randy finished as another forever knight ran in front of them and then another and then another and as they started appearing like moths to a flame. Max, Rex, and Randy found themselves dodging the barrage of laser blasts fired by the newly arrived Forever Knights. They quickly realized that they were outnumbered, as more and more Forever Knights poured into the room.

Max and Randy couldn't help but be awed by the sight of Rex's nanite-enhanced fists in action. They watched in admiration as he effortlessly smashed through the Forever Knights, making light work of them one by one.

Steel, having the mind of a scientist, was not focused on the spectacular display of Rex's nanite-enhanced fists. Instead, he was carefully studying them, analyzing their composition and internal structure.

Max was ready to join the fight, charging forward alongside Randy, but he was stopped by Steel, who held him back. "Whoa whoa, slow down a second!" Steel said, noticing Max's eagerness to jump into the fray.

Max paused and looked at Steel, a hint of frustration on his face. "What? We're outnumbered here, and we need all the help we can get!" he said, gesturing at the swarm of Forever Knights.

well you cant go rushing in there without fire power can you

Max sighed and nodded in agreement with Steel's point. "I guess you're right, but what are we supposed to do then? We can't just sit here and let Rex take on all of these guys alone."he said almost forgetting about randy who was doing his fair share against the frankly endless swarms of knights.

no but if you wait a minute i can get you some fire power

Max glanced at Randy and Rex battling the Forever Knights, then back at Steel. He let out a slight sigh but nodded in agreement. "Alright, fine. I trust you. Do what you need to do."

Max was caught off guard as he was suddenly choked from behind by a man in a white mask. He hadn't seen the masked man approach, and the unexpected attack left him gasping for breath, his airway gradually being cut off.

Max acted quickly, retaliating against the masked man by delivering a swift elbow strike to his stomach. He then used the momentum to throw him over his shoulder, sending the masked man crashing to the floor.

Max quickly took note of the man's white fang mask as he attempted to rise to his feet. He recognized the symbol and knew that the mysterious man was associated with the White Fang organization.

Max turned his attention to the red-haired man standing behind him, brandishing a katana with a determined look in his eyes. The sight of the katana and the man's intense expression left Max wary and on edge.

"steel please tell me youve got that firepower of yours." max asked backing up

Steel's voice came in through Max's earpiece, assuring him, "Just give me five seconds, I'm working on it." Max felt some relief knowing that help was on the way, but in the meantime, he had to deal with the katana-wielding man.

As the countdown reached "5," the katana-wielding man sprinted towards Max with incredible quickness and agility. Max braced himself, preparing to defend against the incoming attack with whatever he had at his disposal.

Max narrowly evaded the katana-wielding man's attack, dodging out of the way at the last possible second. As he regained his footing, he heard Steel's countdown continuing, "Four."

Max grabbed a nearby trashcan lid, using it to block the katana-wielding man's next onslaught of attacks. As he did so, he heard Steel's voice, continue counting down, "Three."

The red-haired man swiftly kicked at Max's leg, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. But just as quickly, Max raised the trashcan lid to block the incoming slice at his neck."2"

The man delivered a powerful roundhouse kick, knocking the trashcan lid out of Max's hand. As he was left momentarily defenseless, Steel's countdown reached '1.'

The katana-wielding man took advantage of Max's defenseless state, lunging forward with the sword in a stabbing motion aimed at Max's neck. At the same time, Steel's voice came through the earpiece, shouting, "NOW!"

As Max shouted "GO TURBO," a blue energy shockwave engulfed him, sending a powerful pulse outwards that sent the man stumbling back. In an instant, Max's sleek suit transformed into a bulkier and more hefty design.

Max was impressed by the transformation of his suit and couldn't help but exclaim, "Woah, this is awesome!" He then instinctively began banging his fist against his chest, testing the durability of his new suit.

Steel's voice rang through Max's head, providing an introduction to the new form Max had just assumed. "Max, may I introduce you to Turbo Strength Mode. This mode is designed to enhance your physical strength significantly."

Max's eyes widened with understanding as he listened to Steel's explanation. "Turbo Strength Mode, huh? Sounds pretty cool. Let's see what it can do!"

The katana-wielding man leaped at Max, swinging his blade, but Max effortlessly blocked the attack with his colossal fist, now significantly enlarged thanks to Turbo Strength Mode.

Max grabbed the man with his enhanced strength and hurled him towards a nearby wall, smashing through it like paper. The sheer force of the throw was kind of insane the way he tossed the guy you wouldve thought max had actual canons for arms.

Max looked down at his hands, a mixture of awe and befuddlement on his face. The sheer power he had just demonstrated was unlike anything he had experienced before. He flexed his fingers, feeling the muscles in his new, bulky arm and with the force he felt when he threw a punch max was absolutely schmeckledorfed.

Max's moment of awe was interrupted as the katana-wielding assailant, who he had momentarily forgotten about, kicked him in the back. The sudden blow caused Max to stumble forward, his bulky form struggling to regain its balance.

Max had to admit grudgingly that his opponent was quite persistent, even blocking his kick with the blade of his katana. Max huffed in frustration, his bulky form struggling against the lithe and agile swordsman.

The swordsman lunged at Max, swinging his katana at his feet. But Max, with his enhanced agility, leapt into the air, evading the attack and retaliating with a swift kick to the swordsman's face. The force of the impact sent the man flying backwards, crashing into a wall.

As Max was engaged in battle, Rex and Randy had successfully eliminated the remaining Forever Knights. They glanced over at Max, watching him continue his fight with the red-haired man.

"we should probably help him." rex says as randy finishes tying up the last of the forever knights "yeah that would probably be the best ide-" randy gets cut off by a kick to the ribs sending him into the wall

"we should probably help him." rex says as randy finishes tying up the last of the forever knights

"Yeah, we probably sho—" Randy was cut off as a powerful kick sent him flying into the wall. He crumpled to the ground, groaning in pain.

Randy looked up and spotted another man in a unique suit of armor. It was red as well as sleeker and more metallic than the typical Forever Knight attire, lending the man a more ninja-like appearance. However, the Forever Knight symbol on his waist and the fact that he seemed to be working with the forever knights made randy see that this wasnt just an ordinary ninja—this was a Forever Ninja.

Rex rushed toward the Forever Ninja, preparing to deliver a punch. But as he moved forward, a large, unseen figure intervened, grabbing his arms and chucking him across the room forcefully. The impact sent Rex crashing into a wall, cracking the structure with the sheer force of the collision.

Randy, dazed and in pain, propped himself up against the cracked wall where he landed, trying to catch his breath. He winced as he moved, feeling the pain from the blow. His eyes darted towards Rex, hoping he was alright.

Just as Randy looked over towards Rex, the Forever Ninja struck, delivering a powerful blow that landed across Randy's jaw. The force of the hit sent Randy stumbling back into the wall, his head spinning from the impact. He struggled to keep himself standing, momentarily dazed from the unexpected attack.

Rex was still struggling to regain his bearings when he suddenly felt an immense weight crushing down on him. It wasnt the most force he had been stomped on with before but it still hurt alot considering he was still tired, and it took a moment for his foggy mind to process that a massive foot had just landed right on top of him.

As Rex looked up, his vision gradually clearing, he was greeted by the sight of a man in a distinctly different—and much bulkier—suit of armor. This suit bore a familiar Forever Knight emblem, but it was adorned with a cape and head spikes that gave the man a royal, almost fearsome appearance.

Rex, still lying beneath the bulky man's towering figure, managed to gather his wits and quipped. "Alright, let me see if I have this right. Those guys are the Forever Knights, and judging by your royal flair, I'm guessing you're the Forever King. Am I on the mark here?"

The Forever King, impressed by Rex's quick wit, looked down at him with a mixture of acknowledgment and authority. "Intelligent, eh? The Forever Knights could use someone with your smarts. Join my faction, boy, and help me make humanity great again."

Rex stared up at the towering form of the Forever King, his face filled with a hint of defiance. Then, with a somewhat cheeky response, he retorted, "I need an adult!"

The Forever King chuckled and retorted, "I am an adult!"

Rex, still lying on the ground, couldn't help but respond with a touch of sass. "No, I meant a responsible adult."

The Forever King's eyes narrowed further with each word, displeased by the mockery. "How dare you mock me in such a manner!"

Rex, not backing down, retorted with a smirk. "Well, how would you like me to mock you, then? I take requests."

The Forever King's patience wore thin, and his eyes narrowed even further. his visor began glowing, and before Rex had a chance to react, a powerful beam of energy erupted from it, crashing into his back with intense force. The impact sent Rex sprawling, his body being pushed deeper into the ground every second.

Max rushed to Rex's side, wanting to help his friend, but the red-haired man swiftly tripped him up, preventing him from reaching his destination. Max found himself stuck in a cycle - every time he tried to rise, the man would fire dust rounds at the back of his head, pushing him back down again. Each impact held enough force to stagger him but not inflict significant damage.

Randy, still reeling from the impact, was abruptly lifted off the ground by the Forever Ninja. However, his attention remained firmly fixed on Rex and Max, too preoccupied with their situation to notice his own predicament.

The Forever Ninja, seizing the opportunity, pulled an energy blade from its sheath, readying itself to strike Randy. Sensing the imminent danger, Randy's awareness snapped back to his own precarious situation. He instinctively braced himself, trying to find a way to defend against the incoming attack.

Randy quickly reacted, deftly using his indestructible scarf to parry the energy blade. The fabric, resilient to damage, effectively blocked the attack and protected him from harm, preventing the blade from making contact with his body.

Randy, finding himself in a brief reprieve, swiftly searched through his pockets, his hand rummaging through his belongings in a hurried yet focused manner. He seemed to be searching for something specific, his fingers moving with purpose, seeking out whatever item he hoped to find.

Sensing the moment of vulnerability, the Forever Ninja lunged forward, intent on exploiting the opening to strike at Randy's neck. But just as the attack seemed imminent, Randy's search bore fruit. In his hands, he discovered a set of small, smooth spheres, the item he had been fervently searching for in his pockets.

In a desperate move, Randy swiftly extended his leg, forcefully kicking the Forever Ninja away just before the energy blade connected. The swift movement avoided the imminent strike, pushing the Ninja back and creating a valuable moment of respite.

Seizing the window of opportunity, Randy hurled the small spheres onto the ground with all his might. "SMOKE BOMB!" he yelled as the balls exploded, releasing a dense cloud of red smoke that filled the room. The noxious vapors quickly spread, engulfing the area in a thick, malodorous haze, obscuring vision and creating a disoriented environment.

As the smoke gradually dissipated, the scene revealed that Randy, Max, and Rex had vanished. There was no sign of them in the room, as if they had magically disappeared into thin air.

TO BE CONTINUED

Chapter Text

----------------------------------------------------------5 years ago-------------------------------------------------------

ben sat back quietly in the rust bucket he wasnt dumb he knew this had to happen he knew they were just doing this to keep him safe but that doesnt mean he had to like it.

"come on grandpa i can protect myself i dont need beacon to protect me i mean ive got a watch that can turn me into ten super cool alien dudes if i cant protect myself how can beacon do it." ben asked trying to convince his grandpa to just keep the roadtrip going as normal but to no avail.

"First of all theyre not aliens, theyre species from another dimension that have power more dangerous than anyone could imagine, and second ozpin is the only one on this entire planet who can actually teach you how to control these powers of yours so you dont kill someone on accident and he can only do that with the resources at beacon so we need to be there, im sorry ben but this trip is gonna have to be postponed." granpa max told him from the drivers seat, max wasnt a harsh old man by any means but that didnt mean he could be tough when the safety of his loved ones was on the line"i hope you understand."

"Yeah yeah i get it." ben answered frustratedly he didnt want to go but he also couldnt deny that this was necessary especially if he wanted to help people.

ben looked away from max and looked to see that gwen wasnt listening to the conversation. instead she was being taught something by ozpin who was sitting right next to her pointing at pages in the book she was reading seemingly instructing her but ben still didnt really care much for the whole gwen being here situation so he just turned his attention to the road and hoping to see something interesting.

minutes passed like hours every second felt like an eternity ben continued staring at the road boredom kicking in and more powerful than ever the rust bucket didnt have wifi so he couldnt use his scroll and there was nothing for him to do other that he wouldnt just stop doing because it was boring so instead of sitting and wasting away doing nothing he started messing with the omnitrix he pulled it up and started turning the dial just for shits and giggles.

but before ben can do anything stupid an explosion goes off in building near them. The sudden explosion startled everyone in the vehicle. It was so loud and unexpected that it caused a jump from everyone. Max immediately slammed on the brakes, causing the car to screech to a stop. Even Ozpin, who had been deeply concentrating on his conversation with Gwen, sat up straight in his seat and looked out the window

"what the hell was that." ben asked as if anyone could answer him while he looked out the window. everyone was too caught off guard by the explosion. Max had stopped the R.V and was looking around at the source of the explosion, and Ozpin and Gwen were both sitting up straight looking out the window. For a moment, no one said anything. Everyone was just looking around, trying to figure out what had happened and what was going on

Max started the rust bucket again and began driving, causing Ben to object immediately

"What are you doing? You're not seriously going to just ignore that right?" He asked, looking at Max with a mixture of surprise and alarm. Ben couldn't believe that Max was actually ignoring the explosion

Max kept driving, his focus fixed on the road ahead. He didn't answer Ben's question right away, and instead continued driving for a few moments before speaking.

"We don't know what that was or what's going on. It's not our job to interfere." Max said in a firm tone, his expression remaining stoic as he kept driving.

uh i think the fuck it is

Max was clearly taken aback by Ben's reaction, and his expression hardened slightly. There was a moment of tense silence between them as he kept driving

"What do you suggest we do? That could have been anything. For all we know, that explosion was just a construction accident. Or are you planning to go running in there and cause more trouble?"

Max let out a sigh, clearly frustrated with Ben's stubbornness. He knew that Ben had a point, but he was still worried about his safety

"And there's also a pretty high chance that you'll end up getting hurt if you go in there trying to help. I get that you want to be a hero but you cant stop every crime, you cant put every bad guy behind bars, you cant save everyone. "

no but i can save the people infront of me i can save the people i can help the people i know cant help themselves isnt that the point of being a hero

Max clenched his jaw as Ben spoke, clearly starting to get frustrated. He knew that Ben wanted to help people, and he knew that Ben had the ability to do it, but he was still worried about him

"yes but your not a hero, your a child, a child who is not trained, a child who has no idea what hes getting into, a child who is being too reckless. I know that you want to help people, but you can't help anyone if your dead."

yeah well guess what I'm the child with the most powerful object in all off remnant strapped to his wrist, I'm the child who wants to make a difference and has the power to do it, I'm the child who wont stop until I get yes for an answer. grandpa you always thought me to be responsible, you always said that helping people feels almost as good as helping yourself, remember when you told me those stories of your time as a huntsman how you would throw yourself into danger and think about the consequences later, you always told me that you never thought twice about helping people because you had the power to do it, you told me that since you had the power it was your responsibility to help those who cant help themselves. so please grandpa i have the power so let me have the responsibility.

Max was quiet for a long moment, his expression stern and his mind conflicted

After a long moment of silence, Max let out a long, heavy, tired sigh. He didn't want to say yes, he didn't want to send his grandson into a dangerous situation like this. But he also knew that Ben would never listen if he said no, and he had to recognize that Ben was right. He had the power to help people, and if he had the power to help people, then he had the responsibility to do so.

"god dammit, fine" Max said in a defeated tone

YES

Max watched as Ben slammed down on the omnitrix. In a flash, he turned into Big Chill and quickly flew out of the RV towards the sound of the explosion. Max couldn't help but feel a mix of concern and pride as he watched his grandson disappear into the air.

"kids gonna be the death of me" *Max muttered to himself *

ben quickly spotted the source of the explosion. He saw a fire inside the local vale museum of arts, and quickly began flying towards it

As Big Chill approached the museum, he could see the fire in all its fury. The flames were already starting to spread, and the heat was intense. Big Chill could also see that there were people inside, who were struggling to escape the flames and smoke in the building

As Big Chill breathed out his freezing breath, the fire was quickly enveloped in a cold, freezing blast. The flames grew smaller and smaller until they were completely encased in ice, and the heat was immediately replaced with a cold chill

The people who were still inside the building were immediately able to escape once the flames were gone. They stumbled out from the building, coughing and gasping for air as they fled the fire. They looked around, their eyes widening as they saw Big Chill, they were understandably terrified considering this thing was either a new type of grimm or a whole lot of lsd doing work but either way they didnt stick around to find out.

With the people out of the burning lab and the fire extinguished, Big Chill had a moment to observe the aftermath of the explosion. The lab was still standing but most of the windows had been blown out, and there was still a lot of smoke coming from various points inside the building

Big Chill was just about to go back into the lab and freeze the remaining fires, when he felt a little tug on his wing. He turned around, his icy blue eyes looking down at the little girl who had tugged on him.

Thank you

Big Chill looked down at the little girl, his expression softening just a little. He'd never really thought about the being thanked part of being a hero he just cared about the helping people part but ben realized that, Yeah, it feels good.

He knelt down so that he was closer to the little girl's height and spoke in a deep, but surprisingly gentle, voice "You're welcome"

The little girl looked up at Big Chill with eyes full of wonder and a wide smile on her face. She hadn't expected to see someone like him come to save them from the fire, and she was genuinely grateful for his help

"What's your name" She asked curiously, tilting her head slightly as she looked up at him

uhh ben paused before looking back towards the massive pillars of ice that now replaced fire."Chill,Big Chill.

The little girl's eyes widened at Big Chill's response. The pillars of ice that replaced the fire were now visible, and they were truly impressive. The little girl couldn't help but be amazed by Big Chill's powers

"Big Chill... that's a cool name! And your powers are so cool too!"

The little girl immediately ran into her parents' arms, who embraced her tightly and started thanking Big Chill profusely. They were clearly relieved and grateful that he had saved their daughter from the fire

"Thank you so much" The girl's mother said, her voice trembling slightly as if she was trying to hold back tears

The father looked at Big Chill with a mixture of both gratitude and skepticism. He took a moment to compose himself before speaking

"There was someone inside the museum who caused the fire. They're still in there somewhere." He said, his voice strained and worried

dont worry ill deal with it

The parents nod, clearly relieved that Big Chill was willing to go back into the lab and handle whoever was responsible for the fire. They start to lead their daughter away, calling out over their shoulders as they go

"Be careful!"

Big Chill flew through the museum, extinguishing any remaining fires and looking for any sign of whoever had caused the accident. The building was a mess, with broken glass and charred debris everywhere. The only illumination came from the dim glow of his own body and the faint light trickling in through the shattered windows

As he made his way deeper into the building, he could hear faint noise coming from somewhere up ahead. It sounded like someone was moving around, and the noise was getting louder as Big Chill got closer

As Big Chill neared the source of the noise, a massive toad-like grimm suddenly burst through the wall. It plowed into Big Chill and slammed him into the wall, its massive body pinning his against the shattered wall. The impact was brutal and disorienting, and Big Chil was thrown off-balance for a moment

As Big Chill struggled to regain his footing, a voice suddenly spoke up. It came from the top of the frog grimm, where a figure was sitting. The tone was mocking and filled with curiosity.

"My my, what have I stumbled upon? Is this a new species of grimm perhaps?"

Big Chil looked up at the figure speaking to him. He was still struggling against the frog grimm, and he was finding it hard to focus on the new threat with the grimm's weight pinning him against the wall

*As Big Chill looked at the man, he noticed several things about him. The man was wearing a black sleeveless shirt and cargo pants, and there was a noticeable green tinge on his skin which revealed that he was a faunus. He also wore red tinted glasses, and he seemed to be studying Big Chill with undisguised interest *

The man, spoke again, and Big Chill could hear the excitement in his voice. It was clear from his tone that he was thrilled by the prospect of studying a new and unusual grimm

"Now that I know that a creature like you exists, I simply must study you! And then, the world will finally recognize the genius of Doctor Animo!"

Big Chill managed to break free from the grimm's grasp, phasing through its limbs and leaving them frozen. The grimm roared in frustration as it shook its head, breaking away the ice from its face

Animo watched in astonishment as Big Chill broke free from the grimm and phased through its limbs. He couldn't believe his eyes

"That should not be biologically possible..." He muttered, his eyes wide with disbelief "What are you?"

"Listen, I don't know who you are, or why you're messing around with grimm, but this is where you get off," Big Chill said, his voice carrying an eerie, calm authority as he hovered just out of Animo's reach. "You wanna study something? Study how you don't mess with people who are trying to save lives."

Animo looked up at Big Chill with a mixture of rage and disbelief. He was not used to being told what to do, especially by someone he had just discovered

"You don't understand," He spat out "I'm a genius, Doctor Animo! My research will change the world, and I won't let you or anyone else stand in the way of my progress."

With a dramatic flourish, Animo snapped his fingers, and the massive toad-like grimm—still struggling to shake off the ice—lunged at Big Chill with renewed aggression. The grimm's mouth opened wide, revealing rows of sharp, jagged teeth, and it attempted to swallow Big Chill whole.

Big Chill's instincts kicked in before he even had time to think. As the grimm lunged, he phased through its body, passing through the beast as a mist of cold vapor and ice. As he did, he released another blast of freezing air, targeting the grimm's innards this time, effectively freezing the inside of its massive mouth. The creature howled in pain, its entire face frozen in place.

Animo watched with a calculated curiosity as Big Chill expertly immobilized the massive grimm. He muttered aloud, rubbing his chin with an exaggerated air of fascination.

"You're certainly a tricky one," He said, clearly impressed "Freezing the grimm mid-movement? Fascinating. I've studied creatures from all over Remnant, but I've never encountered anything quite like you. And that ability of yours to phase through solid objects... If I could replicate that..."

Ben's patience was wearing thin. He had already extinguished the fire, rescued the civilians, and frozen the grimm. Yet Animo still didn't seem to grasp the situation. He wasn't here to fight with with some scientist who got kicked out of the looney bin; he was here to end this and prevent any further damage.

"You talk a lot for someone who's about to lose," Big Chill said, his tone icy and firm. "You won't get your hands on me or this grimm, and when I'm finished here, you'll be in cuffs. So why don't you just shut up and give it a break?"

Animo kept rambling to himself, oblivious to Ben's growing frustration. He was too absorbed in his own curiosity and excitement, ignoring Ben's threats and warnings."What a fascinating specimen..." he muttered, his voice brimming with intrigue. "Just think of what I could discover from such a creature... If only I could keep it alive long enough..."

As Animo continued his monologue, the immobilized grimm, having broken free from the ice, lunged at Big Chill again. Though still weakened from the earlier battle, it now fought with renewed intensity.

"Alright, that's enough," Ben growled, his voice colder than the surrounding air. With a swift motion, he phased through the grimm once more, freezing the creature from the inside out as it charged at him. The beast's entire body stiffened, its movements grinding to a halt as its internal organs solidified from the blast of cold. It collapsed to the ground, its massive form encased in a thick layer of ice.

Ben hovered in the air, watching as the grimm crumpled into a frozen heap. He turned to face Doctor Animo, who was observing the scene with a mix of awe and frustration. It was clear that the man had underestimated Big Chill's power, and now he stared at the frozen grimm as if it were an unsolvable puzzle.

Animo broke the silence, his voice dripping with both interest and condescension as he regarded Big Chill.

"I see you're intelligent as well," he said, his tone laced with arrogance. "However, your spatial awareness needs some work."

Just as Animo continued his critique, Big Chill was suddenly hit from behind by a surge of electric dust, knocking him out cold. The electricity surged through him, momentarily stunning him and leaving him vulnerable.

"You were quite reckless, Animo. Such a scene was unnecessary," said a woman as she stepped out of the shadows, folding a whip around her arm. She wore a gray, sleeveless top with white trim and cutouts on the back and front, paired with white pants that peeked out from under gray low-heeled thigh boots featuring large thigh cutouts and light gray diamond detailing around the knees.

Animo turned to the woman, his initial surprise quickly morphing into annoyance as he recognized her.

"What are you doing here?" he snapped, clearly displeased by her presence. "This is my research, and I don't need your meddling."

He rolled his eyes, exasperated by her interference."I had everything under control," he shot back. "And I didn't want you drawing attention to what I'm doing here."

He then looks down at Big Chill's unconscious body, a hint of greed in his eyes.

"Now that he's unconscious, I can finally get my hands on him. I wonder how much I can learn from his body..."

Animo watched in confusion as the Omnitrix symbol on Big Chill's chest began to glow red, and a bright flash of light filled the room. When the light cleared, Big Chill was gone, and in his place layed a child that looked to be no older than ten years old.

"What the-?" Animo said, his eyes wide with bewilderment

The woman looked equally surprised, her eyes flitting from Ben to Animo and back again as she tried to make sense of what had just happened.

it was... a human?

And as they were contemplating this new information they heard the sounds of police sirens blaring as the two looked outside to see five police cars pull up outside the museum, meaning that they had to quickly pick the kid up and rush off with him

----------------------------------------------------------The future ------------------------------------------------------

Salem meandered through her castle, her movements aimless and without apparent purpose. She aimlessly navigated through the dimly lit corridors, her eyes glazed over as if lost in thought.

A voice echoed from the shadows, dripping with condescension as it addressed Salem. "My, my," the voice began. "Is the queen of all grimm bored?" Unperturbed, Salem showed no sign of surprise, already aware of the presence lurking in the shadows. The voice continued, mocking humanity's emotional nature. "Your lowly species and its infantile emotional capacity never cease to make me wish I wiped had you all out all those millennia ago.".

Salem, her eyes narrowing, addressed the shadowed figure. "What is the purpose of you being here, Makino?" she inquired, her tone tinged with curiosity and if you listen closely a slight hint of annoyance.

The figure, revealed as Makino, stepped out of the darkness, unveiling an imposing presence. His armored form dwarfed Salem making her look puny in comparison , his voice exuding a sense of superiority. "Is that how you speak to a being who could crush you with a mere thought?" he asked, his words layered with authority and arrogance.

Salem remained unfazed by Makino's display of power, her voice steady as she spoke. "No," she replied firmly. "That is how I speak to a man who has made a deal which he must honor." Her tone was authoritative, showing no sign of fear or submission. "As I asked before, what are you doing here?"

Makino revealed the purpose of his visit, his words carrying a hint of reluctance as he revealed the reason for his presence. "An Ultralink has awakened," he began. "I am not aware of which one, but I can confirm that it awakened somewhere in eastern Vale. Normally, I would not share this information with you, but due to circumstances beyond your understanding, I am unable to retrieve it."

Salem, her patience wearing thin, inquired with a hint of irritation in her voice. "So what would you have me do about that?" she asked, her tone conveying her lack of tolerance for Makino's bullshit.

Figure it out.

Makino, smirking in satisfaction, continued to pace around Salem, his hands casually behind his back. "After all, it would just be a shame if this Ultralink's new host ended up in the hands of Ozpin, wouldn't it?" he said, his voice tinged with smugness. As expected, Salem reacted with anger, her fist connecting with the wall, creating a sizeable hole as she stared down in seething hatred.

Salem, seething with anger and clearly dissatisfied with the situation, reluctantly agreed. "Fine," she hissed through gritted teeth

Makino's condescending remark, "good girl," echoed through the room. He disappeared in a burst of purple mist, leaving Salem seething with anger and frustration.

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Max let out another sigh as he watched the spot where Ben had flown out of the RV. He knew that he should feel proud of his grandson. Ben was doing his damn best to do the right thing and being willing to put himself in danger to help other people. That was something to be proud of. But he just couldn't shake the feeling of concern that lingered in the back of his mind. Max knew that Ben was fine, he was more than capable of handling himself, but that wasn't why he was worried, or atleast it wasn't the only reason.

As Max stared out the window, his thoughts began to wander. He was worried about more than just Ben's safety. He was concerned about his mental health and the effect that the omnitrix was having on him

Max knew that the omnitrix was a powerful device, and that it came with a lot of responsibility. and there's the word, responsibility the very thing that he is afraid of throwing onto ben. ozpin didn't seem to get it ben himself didn't seem to get it. they say that with great power comes great responsibility but they never mention the fact that too much responsibility breaks people, you need great power to survive great responsibility, and ben doesn't have that power.

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Ben groaned as he slowly came to consciousness, his head feeling groggy and disoriented. As his vision cleared, he realized that he was strapped to a cold, metal table, his arms and legs secured with thick leather straps. He tugged against the restraints, but they held fast, leaving him effectively immobilized.

Ben stopped struggling against the straps and looked around the room, his eyes landing on Animo. The man was standing in the corner of the room, a sly smile on his face as he spoke.

"Those straps are specially designed to hold even the strongest of grimm," Animo continued "You won't be breaking out of them anytime soon, so why don't you just relax and stop struggling? You're not going anywhere, kid."

Ben tried to remain calm as he observed his surroundings. The room was filled with various scientific equipment and devices, all in a state of disarray as if Animo had been in a hurry to get him restrained.

"What the hell do you want from me, old man?" Ben asked, his voice steady Which was strange cause you would think hed be afraid but no he wasnt .

what i want oh you see thats quite simple you see i want to study you

Ben raised an eyebrow at Animo's response, a mix of anger and curiosity crossing his face. He struggled against the straps holding him down.

"You want to study me?" He repeated "What are you, some kind of mad scientist or something?"

"i prefer the term misunderstood mind"

Ben rolled his eyes at Animo's response. He couldn't believe this guy actually thought of himself as a misunderstood genius.

"Sounds like something a mad scientist would say," Ben muttered "So what, you're going to stick me with needles and poke me with stuff? Sounds pretty mad scientist-y to me."

no no no im not going to stick anything in you. im going to make you become that magnificent creature once more and then im going to dissect you.

Ben's eyes widened in horror at Animo's words. Dissect him? That was a new low, even for a mad scientist.

"You're nuts if you think I'm just going to let you do that," Ben snapped "I'd rather die than let you cut me open and poke around my insides."

why are you even doing this ben ask

Animo shrugged innocently, as if it should be obvious.

"Curiosity, my young friend," He said, walking over to the table where Ben was strapped down "You see, I have dedicated my life to expanding the boundaries of knowledge. And you, my dear boy, present an intriguing mystery that I simply cannot pass up.”

Animo had been in the middle of preparing to make the first incision on Ben when he was suddenly caught off guard as Ben slammed the Omnitrix against the table.

"What the-" He exclaimed, taken by surprise

As the light from the Omnitrix faded, Animo's expression turned from surprise to one of fascination as he saw that Ben had transformed into a new alien

as ben ripped through the restraints he pushed animo aside as he ot up and cracked his knuckles... all four of them

Animo quickly composed himself and began to circle around Ben, studying him closely. He was clearly intrigued by the new form Ben had taken on.

"Quite an interesting transformation," He mused, a hint of curiosity in his voice "Four arms... I could certainly make use of that."

Ben lunged towards Animo, intending to punch him hard, but before he could make contact, a scaly fist came out of nowhere and sent him flying backwards.

Ben landed hard on the floor, winded but still in the new alien form. He looked up to see who had intervened, and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw a reen haired dragon standing on its hind legs in front of Animo, its arm extended and still in the same position as when it had punched him.

TO BE CONTINUED

Chapter Text

when ben had woken up this morning he had expected alot of things

-He had expected to start his training with the omnitrix

-He had expected to have to be scavenging his bag for food to avoid having to eat whatever monstrosity grandpa max made for food

-And he had expected to get this vacation rolling.

-etc

and you know something, ben was pretty sure that fighting a short green haired dragon wasn't on that list.

Ben slowly sat up, rubbing his head as he tried to get his bearings. The events of the last few minutes were a bit of a blur, but he remembered clearly what had just happened.

"What the hell," He muttered, his eyes darting from the dragon to Animo, who had taken a few steps back, clearly intimidated by the smirking.

The dragon turned its attention to Ben, its emerald green eyes narrowing as it studied him, its scaly arms crossed in front of its chest.

As Ben looked more closely at the dragon, he couldn't help but notice the golden amulet hanging around its neck. It was an ancient-looking piece of jewelry with intricate designs engraved on it. It seemed to be quite old and valuable, but what was its purpose?

The dragon was faster than Ben had anticipated, and its punch landed hard on his jaw, sending his head snapping back. Ben stumbled slightly, but he quickly regained his footing and retaliated, grabbing the dragon and headbutting it.

The dragon reeled back, clearly caught off guard by the counterattack. It let out a growl of annoyance and retaliated, launching a series of swiping attacks at Ben with its clawed hands.

As the dragon launched its series of attacks, Ben tried to dodge them but found himself unable to avoid all of them as a few hit their marks, leaving a few scratches on his body. But he didn't let that stop him. He retaliated with a kick to the dragon's face, sending it stumbling back.

Seeing an opportunity, Ben grabbed the necklace around the dragon's neck and used it as leverage as he punched the dragon with all his strength. The force of the impact was magnified by the necklace, causing the dragon to stagger backwards even more.

Ben tried to sieze the opportunity and went for a two-armed punch but the dragon ducked out of the way and took advantage of ben's momentum to suplex him straight into the ground.

The impact shook the ground, and the force of the suplex sent Ben sprawling onto his back, the air knocked out of him. The dragon then jumped high up into the air to bring down its elbow in a diving elbow drop that was meant for bens neck however unfortunately for it ben had four arms, two of which he used to grab it's arm and redirect it toward the floor which it got stuck in, and the other two he used to push of the ground and palm the dragons headback before slamming it into the floor.

As Ben slammed the dragon's head into the floor, he felt a sudden blow from the dragon's tail, which swiped his feet out from under him. Ben went toppling to the floor, landing on his back hard.

The dragon quickly took advantage of his momentary vulnerability and pounced on top of him, pinning him to the ground with its body weight.

As the dragon pinned him to the ground, Ben's eyes widened in realization. The dragon's mouth was glowing bright orange, and it was clear that it was charging up an attack.

Ben frantically tried to push the dragon off, but its feet were practically rooted to the ground and had him completely pinned down.

"Oh crap," He muttered, bracing himself for the worst.

The dragon unleashed a burst of flames that enveloped the entire room in an intense orange glow. The heat was unbearable, and a wave of searing hot air washed over Ben, making it impossible to breathe.

He tried to shield himself from the flames, but his arms were pinned as well, and he could feel the heat starting to burn his skin.

Animo stood a safe distance away, watching with a sadistic grin on his face as the dragon's flames engulfed the room. He was clearly satisfied with the spectacle, confident that Bens current form was no match for the dragon's power.

Animo continued watching intently, his notebook in hand as he diligently wrote down notes on the fight. He was elated at the amount of data he was gathering, and he couldn't help but feel a shiver of excitement.

"Fascinating," He muttered, his eyes fixed on the battle. "These two creatures are unlike anything I've ever seen before. I must observe them further."

Sienna Khan sat in a room, her impatience growing with each passing moment. She had been waiting for Animo to return from his lab for what felt like hours, and she was starting to get tired of it.

She had no idea what possessed her to recruit the mad scientist onto the the white fang in the first place. the man was incredibly immoral even by sienna's standards and he constantly insisted that he didn't need them, not to mention the multiple times she had to inform him that faunus experimentation was off limits. She drummed her fingers on the armrest of her chair, trying to distract herself from her growing irritation.

Sienna's eyes widened in surprise as Animo appeared in the doorway, a satisfied grin on his face.

"Animo," She greeted him, her voice betraying a hint of irritation. "You've kept me waiting for quite some time. I assume your field research has met with some success?"

"Ah so you are more intelligent than you look. yes my research is a smashing success and with what I have witnessed these two capable of i genuinely believe that project of mine will be far more advanced than i had initially anticipated.

Sienna narrowed her eyes at Animo's words, her interest piqued. She was a little offended by his backhanded compliment but decided to ignore it for now."

"Alright then Animo. Tell me more about this 'project' of yours." She said, leaning forward in her chair.

"what did i not already inform you of the project." he asked genuinely confused to which she explained

"no you just told me you had an ingenious plan and then ran off cackling like a... you."

Animo had to pause for a moment, realizing his mistake. He hadn't explained his project in detail to her yet, had he? He felt a little embarrassed at the realization.

"Oh, right." He said, clearing his throat awkwardly. "I suppose you are correct. I didn't exactly explain my project to you in much detail, did I?"

"So the project i was working on. due to both these beings being able to shift from a human form to a beastial form my project once it is finished will allow me to replicate that process on any living being into anything else including those humans you hate so much."

"You can... turn humans into Faunus?" She said, her voice betraying a hint of disbelief. "Is that really possible?"

Sienna was quiet for a while, musing over what Animo said. Of course, she liked the idea of changing humans to become Faunus, but on second thought, this also brings a number of questions and concerns.

".and. what would that involve? would it be painful? any side effects, any risks?"

most likely yes.

Sienna's smile grew slightly at Animo's answer. She liked the sound of that. The idea of humans suffering, just as the Faunus had suffered for years, was deeply satisfying to her.

"And... how long will this project take to complete?"

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The fight continued, the dragon and Ben going back and forth, each taking their turns trading blows and dodging attacks. The room was a mess - walls were cracked, furniture was broken, and the place was covered in scorch marks from the dragon's, well, dragon breath

well planning on giving up yet big guy cause i can go all day

The dragon let out a guttural growl in response to Ben's taunts. It lunged forward again, its claws extended and its mouth glowing once more as it prepared to unleash another wave of scalding hot flames.

Ben ducked under the dragon's attack and swiftly seized it around the waist. With surprising strength, he lifted the dragon up into the air and slammed it back onto the ground with a powerful body slam.

The dragon let out a deafening screech as it hit the floor, the impact sending shockwaves through the room. It lie there, stunned and dazed from the force of the slam.

Ben seized the dragon's tail and began to mercilessly slam it into the ground, repeatedly beating it with brutal force.

The dragon writhed and squirmed under his grasp, letting out pained roars and screeches each time it was slammed into the ground.

As Ben continued to slam the dragon into the ground, it was clear that it was starting to get desperate. It wriggled its body around, struggling and writhing trying to break free. In a last-ditch effort, it let out a burst of flames from its mouth, directed straight at Ben.

As the flames came rushing towards him, Ben had to act fast. He let go of the dragon's tail and quickly leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the searing hot inferno.

As Ben dodged the flames, he was caught off guard when the dragon's tail abruptly tripped him, causing him to lose his footing and crash onto the floor once more.

Ben quickly pushed himself off the floor, using the necklace around the dragon's neck as leverage to strangle it from behind. The dragon writhed and struggled, clawing at Ben's arms desperately trying to break free.

As Ben continued to strangle the dragon, the necklace around its neck began to creak and groan under the strain. With a sharp snap, the necklace finally broke, the chain separating into two pieces and falling to the ground.

With the necklace broken, the dragon suddenly stopped struggling, and it was completely enwrapped in flames. The fire was intense and blinding, forcing Ben to shield his eyes from the heat and brightness.

When the flames subsided, Ben was left utterly bewildered. The dragon had completely vanished, leaving behind only a small green-haired boy in its place. He stared at the mysterious boy, stunned and (understandably) confused.

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Max, Gwen, and Ozpin were checking through the museum, scouring the building for any signs of Ben. They moved swiftly through the gallery, their eyes scanning their surroundings for any clues or indications of his whereabouts. the police had arrived on the scene before them but ozpin got the officers to clear out , not wanting any disturbance

Max's frustration was evident as he slammed his fists against the ground in anger. He had known that letting Ben go off on his own was risky, and it had turned out as badly as he had feared.

"The second we find him im finding a way to get that watch off his wrist."

Gwen nodded in agreement with Max's words. The situation was quickly spiraling out of control, and they needed to find Ben before he got himself into anymore trouble.

Ozpin, on the other hand, remained silent, his expression serious as he continued to look around the museum."I doubt your going to be able to do that." he says his eyes still scanning the building for something.

Max and Gwen startled at Ozpin's voice. They had been so focused on trying to find ben that they completely forgot about him.

Max immediately turned to face Ozpin, a mixture of surprise and irritation on his face. He crossed his arms and gave ozpin a murderous glare.

"you don't talk to me your part of the reason ben is even in danger, if you hadn't told him about this he wouldn't have come here in the first place, he wouldnt feel obligated to help in your little quest, he's just a kid he should be in the rv playing videogames not going out to fight some psychopath, you planted delusions of grandeur into his head and look what happened because of it, and all because you wanted ben to fight your war for you."

Ozpin's expression remained composed, almost as if he had been expecting Max's outburst, his eyes continued exploring the building trying to figure something out.

"i understand your concerns however, you are wrong, all i did was tell ben the truth, ben would've kept the omnitrix either way and he would still be targeted by vilgax. don't you think it's better to inform him of the danger he is in rather than leave him in the dark. and besides he wouldve figured out the truth eventually and he would've willingly joined "my little war" anyway because even though i haven't spent very much time with him i know he would do anything to help people. so yes i doubt your going to be capable of getting the omnitrix off him, because he wouldn't throw away a chance to be a hero." ozpin rebuts finally looking at max

Max gritted his teeth as he listened to Ozpin's response. He knew deep down that what Ozpin was saying was true, but it still frustrated him to no end. Ben was only a kid, and he was caught in the middle of a war he never should have been a part of.

He let out a long sigh, knowing that he couldn't argue with Ozpin's reasoning, but still not entirely convinced.

"Fine ," Max muttered. "but don't believe for even a second that I won't try to change his mind every chance I get."

"I don't doubt that you will," Ozpin replies. "however, Ben is his own person. he will do whatever he believes is right regardless of the consequences so I bid you good luck with your attempt."

As Max continued looking for Ben, Ozpin made his way over to a specific corner in the museum where multiple displays were located.

He stood in front of the displays, studying them intently, his expression serious and contemplative.

"say max how fast do you think the police got here." ozpin asks

Max turned to face Ozpin, a confused expression crossing his face. He was puzzled by the sudden question, not sure what Ozpin was getting at.

"Uh...they couldn't have arrived long after ben did. Why?" he responded.

exactly and as the frozen grimm body suggests there was a struggle

Max's eyes widened as he realized what Ozpin was implying.

"And whoever took ben couldn't have left because the police would've been swarming the building by then." he finished for ozpin

"meaning they would've had to have a way in and out of the museum without going outside, a secret passage." ozpin said

now then max would you mind ozpin asks gesturing to the wall behind him

Max was puzzled by Ozpin's gesture, but reluctantly approached the wall. He wasn't sure what Ozpin was planning, but he trusted his judgement, and didn't want to start an argument in the middle of a crisis.

He stepped forward and began to push against the wall.

With Max's aura, the wall started to slowly move, opening up to reveal a hidden passageway behind it.

"Well, I'll be damned." Max muttered in surprise as the passageway came into view.

"So we just follow the passageway, right?" he asked, gesturing towards the open tunnel.

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The green-haired boy stirred, his eyes flickering open as he regaining consciousness. He groaned slightly, his head feeling like it was being split in two. He slowly lifted his head, trying to get a sense of his surroundings.

Looking around, he realized he was in some sort of ventilation shaft. The space was small and cramped, and there was hardly any light.

"hey you awake." asked ben

The green-haired boy looked up at Ben in confusion. He was clearly disoriented and didn't know what was happening.

"Yeah, I'm awake," he replied, his voice a bit shaky. He looked around the small space, taking in his surroundings. "Where are we and who are you?" he asked.

names ben and ive got a couple questions.

The green-haired boy looked at Ben, his expression cautious. He was clearly confused and still trying to make sense of the situation he had woken up in.

"Okay, Ben," he said, his voice steady. "Ask away."

who are you and how did you turn into that dragon thing

The green-haired boy's eyes widened in surprise at Ben's question. How had he known about his transformation?

"How...how do you know about that?" he asked, his voice filled with confusion and fear.

answer the question.

The green-haired boy sighed, realizing he had no choice but to answer Ben's question.

My name is jake and im.. im a dragon, you know big scaly fire breathing monster.

and how exactly did that happen ben asks

Jake hesitated for a moment, clearly uncomfortable with the question. He took a deep breath before responding.

"It's...it's a long story. And it's not exactly something Im allowed to talk about," he explained

if i don't get an explanation im just gonna assume you're one of Animo's, so please, prove my assumption wrong ben says threateningly holding his hand over his omnitrix ready to beat the answers out of him if he has to.

Jake could sense Ben's threatening tone, and he knew that he had to tread carefully. He didn't want to make Ben angry, especially considering that to know about his dragon form and drag him here he would have had to beat him and since he wasn't exactly at his strongest he didn't want a hole punched through him.

"Okay, okay," Jake said, holding up his hands in defeat. "I'll explain, just hear me out, okay?"

sigh i come from a place called the ever after its like another dimension parallel to this one where anything you can imagine exists, dragons, unicorns you name it the ever after's got it.we dragons we exist to protect living creatures, i was born as one but you know not with all the scales and claws dragons can't become our dragon forms till were seventeen something about maturity or something. im not supposed to be able to become a dragon yet im like 11 but a month ago me and my family came to remnant and ever since then ive been changing when I get angry and when im in dragon form i can't control it my parents gave me a necklace that was supposed to keep me from ramping but last thing i remember some green guy shot me in the neck and then I woke up here.

Ben listened intently to Jake's story, his expression growing serious as he learned about the ever after and the dragons that protect the inhabitants of that dimension.

"So...that necklace that your family gave you, would this happen to be it?" Ben asked as he pulled out the necklace that jake was wearing in dragon form it's chain still broken.

"yeah that'd be it." jake confirms "you know for a regular human you don't seem too shocked about the existence of mythical creatures in another dimension."

Ben chuckled slightly at Jake's observation.

"Would you believe me if I said thats not the weirdest thing ive heard all week " he said, a hint of a smirk on his face. "but anyway you said that guy shot you in the neck with something right."

Jake nodded, not sure where this was going.

"Yeah, he shot me with some sort of dart or needle thing," he said, reaching up to feel the spot where the needle had gone in.

show me your neck.

Jake hesitated for a moment, but eventually shrugged and tilted his head, exposing the side of his neck where the needle had pierced his skin.

ben slammed down on his Omnitrix becoming Big chill.

Jake was confused and alarmed to see Ben transform into this strange creature. He had no idea what was happening.

"What the hell is that!?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise, he wasn't afraid of course he had seen much bigger and much scarier but still the sight of who he thought was a regular human turning into a creature he had never seen before, yeah that gave him a bit of a shock.

Jake's eyes widened in shock as Ben's hand phased through his neck, he let out a small yelp of surprise at the sudden intrusion.

"Agh!! What the hell!? Why are yo-?" he gets cut off as ben takes his hand out of his neck showing jake a chip that was inside" if i was a betting man id say this is what he was using to control you." ben says his voice raspy in this form.

control me? what are you talking about. jake asks

Ben holds up the chip, gesturing to it with his other hand.

"This," he said. "This is some sort of implant, it was attached to your spine, looks like when he shot you he inserted it through your neck. he probably used it to control that dragon form of yours while the necklace kept you from breaking free."

wait i was being controlled jake asks.

Ben nods.

"oh yeah you don't remember okay then let me explain what happened, from the beginning.*

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a figure's eyes flicker open as he regains consciousness, the water around him gently moving with his slight movements. He floated on the surface, seemingly unperturbed by his surroundings.

The figure's gaze slowly drifts upwards, taking in the sight of the dark, cavernous ceiling above him. The water ripples as he moves, creating small waves that reflect the faint light emanating from somewhere in the darkness.

The figure remains stationary for a few moments, silently taking in his surroundings. He makes no attempt to rise from the water, seemingly content to simply float there, his face devoid of any emotions.

conqueror! says a voice from the shadows

The figure in the water stirred slightly at the sound of the voice, his head turning towards the shadows from whence it came. He didn't make any attempt to speak though, instead waiting silently for the voice to speak again.

you have finally awoken says the figure.

The figure in the water tilts his head slightly, studying the darkness intently, trying to get a sense of who, or what, the voice belonged to. He continued to float silently, neither confirming nor denying the statement in the darkness.

the figure walks up to the pool revealing a man with long, flowing black hair, a gaunt face with high cheekbones and sharp features, and deep-set, piercing eyes. He wears an elaborate, high-collared outfit combining aristocratic and futuristic design, predominantly dark with intricate designs and metallic accents. The man's right hand was quite distinctive, mechanized and covered with metallic armor,

why are you here asks the man.

The figure floated silently in the water for a moment before finally responding in a voice as cold and empty as his expression.

"It does not matter why I am here. It only matters that I am."

salems hound has failed says the man.

The figure's lip curled ever so slightly , but the smirk was gone just as quickly as it appeared. He remained silent, his face expressionless as he thought for a moment. "failure is dissapointing, but not unexpected." the figure said

The man didn't seem pleased with the figure's response, his eyes narrowing slightly. He crossed his arms, studying the figure intently, as if trying to read his thoughts.

your lack of faith in us is disturbing the man says.

The figure shrugged, the movement barely causing a ripple in the water. He seemed unfazed by the man's accusation, his cold gaze fixed on him.

"faith is not given it is earned," he replied, his voice as emotionless as his expression.

why is it that you were so deadset on sending the hound to hunt down a child? asks the man

The figure took a moment to respond before finally speaking, his voice low and cool.

"That is no concern of yours, if you are truly that interested you will find out eventually they but for now you do not need to know."

The man frowned at this response, clearly not pleased with the lack of information. He clenched his mechanized hand into a fist, the metal creaking slightly under the pressure."your attitude is getting on my nerves vilgax."

"i do not care if i upset you." the figure now known as vilgax says before stepping out of the pool of water revealing a humanoid creature with an octopus-like face, tentacles, pale green skin, yellowish spots, red eyes, and a black and red-brownish armored suit he wears gloves and has green sacs on his head, connected to his mouth via a respirator. "because you do not have the power to make me care, van kleiss."

Van Kleiss glares at Vilgax with anger and annoyance, his mechanized hand clenched into a tight fist.

"You are treading on thin ice, Vilgax" he says, his voice low and sharp. "Do not forget who you are speaking to."

i have not forgotten, im speaking to the man who couldn't lay a finger on me if he tried, im speaking to the man who has been failing to accomplish his goals for millennia, don't forget you are a replaceable failure who could never achieve anything in life, now get out of my way.

*Vilgax stops for a moment to look at van kleiss, his eyes cold and emotionless."*do not interfere in my affairs or you will understand why i am a conqueror."

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Ben and Jake crawl through the narrow ventilation shaft, their movements slowed by the cramped space. They keep moving forward, hoping to find an exit to the ventilation system soon.

After crawling for a few minutes, they reach a point where the shaft forks off into two directions. Both ways look pretty much the same.

"so should we flip a coin or" ben asks

Jake looks at the two branches for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, that's probably the best option. Heads or tails?" he said, pulling out a Lien coin and holding it up.

-Heads-

Ben looks around, surprised by the sudden voice. He glances at Jake, wondering if he heard it too but Jake seems to be paying no attention. Ben decides to ignore it for now, figuring it was just his imagination or something.

"Alright then, let's go with heads," Ben says with a shrug, as jake flips the coin.

The coin flips in the air and lands in Jake's palm, landing on heads. Ben smiles.

"Looks like we're going this way then," he says, gesturing towards the left tunnel.

The two of them begin to crawl down the left tunnel, the space around them tight and cramped with not much room to move around. They keep going for a few more minutes, the only sounds being their breaths and the sound of them crawling against the metal surface of the ventilation shaft.

Both Ben and Jake flinch at the sudden clanging sound. The noise is loud and jarring, echoing through the metallic tunnels.

"What was that?" Ben whispers, stopping for a moment to listen in the dark.

i don't know but stopping probably isnt a good idea

Ben nods in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right," he says, continuing to crawl forward, his pace slightly faster now as he tries to put some distance between them and the source of the noise.

suddenly the floor of the ventilation shaft gets ripped off and ben and jake land on the floor below

Ben coughs and groans as he lands on his stomach, the impact knocking the wind out of him. He quickly pushes himself up on his hands and knees, looking around to get his bearings.

"Ugh...what the...?" he mutters, glancing down at the ruined floor of the ventilation shaft they just fell through.

what you should be asking is who. says the voice of dr animo

*Both Ben and Jake freeze at the sound of Dr. Animo's voice. Their eyes widen in shock as they look up to see the scientist towering above them, flanked by a pair of goons. Well i say a pair, but there were like a hundred of them all surrounding ben and jake *

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Dr. Animo says, a sly smile spreading across his face. "Looks like a couple of little lab rats trying to escape. did you really think id be stupid enough to leave my lab while two labrats run around unchained without a reason i knew you would escape and I knew you would use the ventilation system to do it so i blocked off that other path and waited here. but i must say your little escape took longer than expected. "

Ben's eyes dart around, taking in the sight of the sheer number of goons surrounding them. He clenches his jaw in frustration, mentally cursing the fact that they fell right into animo's trap.

Amino chuckled, clearly amused by Ben's questions. He walked forward a few steps until he was directly in front of them.

"My dear boy, it's really quite simple.my whole life i have been intelligent smarter than the people around me but i always enjoyed the company of animals over people animals didn't discriminate against me, animals are quite simple creatures which is why one day i had a wonderful idea why should humans be the top species when animals are so much better, i dedicated myself to manipulating the dna of animals my colleagues called me mad they wanted to put moral restrictions on my genius i did not have enough funds to keep up my experiments. These 'people' as you call them, are funding my research, and allowing me to work on my creations without any pesky moral restrictions. They give me the resources and freedom I desire, and in exchange, I provide them with my..." he grins "valuable assets. . "

Amino chuckled again, his smile turning into a sneer.

"But I don't want to cure cancer i want to turn people into dinosaurs.

your going to have to excuse animo here, he has a one track mind. said sienna khan walking up behind animo

Ben's eyes widened in surprise as the woman appeared out of nowhere. He studied her for a moment, taking in her demeanor and the way she carried herself. She exuded a certain kind of authority, someone who was clearly used to giving orders and having them obeyed.

i am sienna khan leader of the white fang and you two are going to follow us to your new place of residence and your going to do it obediently like the good little human children you are.

*Jake and Ben exchange a quick glance, they were not on board with this plan and they both came to a quick understanding.

hey animo what time is it. ben asks

Amino looks at his watch, confused at the sudden question.

"it's...it's 5:17, why do you ask?"

"wrong." ben said slamming down on his omnitrix releasing a bright green light throughout the room and as the light faded jake was in his dragon form and ben was in a completely new form. " IT'S HERO TIME."

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Max and Ozpin moved through the dark tunnels, their footsteps silent against the cold metal floor. They continued deeper into the labyrinthine passages, their eyes constantly scanning the shadows for any sign of danger.

How do those white fang punks make their way around this place. Ozpin sighs, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"They likely have the labyrinth memorized by now, it's their lair after all."

yeah but still, must be an absolute nightmare for anyone new. max says slightly jokingly.

suddenly ozpin speaks"we will find him max i promise, so theres no need to worry."

Max takes a deep breath, the worry etched across his face.

"I wouldn't have had to worry if you hadn't gotten involved in bens life."

ozpin just takes it as starting another argument would be counterproductive "max, do you know why it is that ben wants to become a hero so badly?"

Max frowns, taken a bit off guard by the sudden question. He looks at the ground for a moment before looking back at ozpin. He knew the answer, but expressing it out loud would just bring up more painful memories.

"yeah... I do, but why do you ask?"

because when i asked him if he wanted to join my cause he told me that he would do it if it meant that he could be a hero when he said that i saw a look in his eyes a look of determination but i also believe i saw a slight bit of pleading and I don't know why it was there.

Max lets out a weary sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly as he spoke.

"On the day ben was born, his parents, they disappeared they just left ben with me and never came back, ever since then bens always been trying to be the best at everything hes always been trying to be the perfect person, i tried to teach him why being imperfect was a good thing by telling him some of my stories from my time as a hunter but he kept asking for more stories and eventually he started to act just like how i described myself he started wanting to be a hero to help people. i don't know why he acts this way he always just ignores the question whenever i ask."

...i see

as silence stretched on so did the search and eventually max had to lean on the wall to keep going, as Max leaned against the wall, his weight triggered the hidden mechanism, causing the wall to suddenly slide open. Max flinched in surprise as the wall gave way, revealing a narrow passageway leading deeper into the labyrinth.

"well now we have to follow it" ozpin says jokingly

Max rolls his eyes, letting out a slight chuckle. He couldn't help but appreciate the small attempt at humor.

"Haha. very funny" Max mumbled sarcastically as they started walking down the new tunnel.

they walked through the tunnel until they reached a door that had a combination lock on it

They both stopped in front of the door, eyeing the combination lock with mild annoyance. Max put his hands on his hips, a frown on his face.

"Ugh, of course, we find another door and it's got a bloody combination lock. do we just start guessing numbers or what?"

to which ozpin responds by blasting the lock off with a bolt of magic "you know sometimes i forget your a wizard" says max

Ozpin lets out a huff of laughter as the lock was blasted off, the smoking pieces falling to the ground.

"And sometimes i forget your a huntsman. we all have specialties."

as the two walk through the door they find themselves in a white and red hallway.

Max pauses for a moment, taking in their surroundings

the hallway is pristine compared to the dark cramped tunnels they had been moving through before. The white walls are spotless and free of any blemishes, lit by an array of bright red lights that are embedded in the ceiling.

"ominous."

Max nods in agreement, a feeling of unease creeping up his spine.

"Yeah, this place definitely doesn't give off friendly vibes."

He squints down the hallway, wondering where it leads.

"becaussse friendly iss not a word you could usse to dessscribe usss" says a voice from behind the two

Max and Ozpin whirl around, both ready for a fight. Their eyes scan the hallway behind them, and immediately spot the owner of the voice, it was a man who had purple hair, a human upper body covered in scales, and a snake like lower body that was covered in the same scales.

"and who the hell are you supposed to be. "asks max while looking at the half human half snake man

The snake man tilts his head slightly, regarding the two of them with cold, unwavering eyes. He lets out a low, hissing laugh as he speaks.

"My name is david klimo, or, as many of my white fang brethren call me, bio-constrictor."

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Most of the White Fang soldiers instinctively flinched back, their eyes widening in fear. They weren't briefed on the fact that these kids could transform nor were they being paid enough to fight a dragon. But one person in the group seemed less intimidated than the rest. It was sienna khan - the leader of the White Fang - and she stared at the new form with interest.

"Let me tell you something legion of goons, you think your the doom of me, well Rath is the doom of you." yelled ben in his new form that resembled a big tiger standing on two legs with big spikes coming out of his knuckles.

"Take him down hard."

As the soldiers hesitated for a moment, Sienna's command snapped them back to attention. The White Fang soldiers sprang into action, charging at the transformed Jake and Ben.

Jake's rage unleashed as he tore through the onslaught of White Fang soldiers. His size and strength were too much for them to handle, and he was easily tearing through them one by one in a feral frenzy.

Sienna watched the carnage for a moment, her expression neutral as her soldiers were being torn through in the blink of an eye. She tapped her foot, thinking about what her next move would be.

suddenly she was cut off from her thinking when ben had ripped through her guys and made his way infront of her" listen here leader lady, rath is gonna hit you so hard youll meet st peter."

Sienna stood her ground, unfazed by Ben's bluster. She had seen creatures far more intimidating than a tiger boy wannabe hero. She tilted her head a bit, a smirk curling on her lips as she spoke.

"Oh boy, am I shaking in my boots." She replies sarcastically, crossing her arms.

Ben punches at her but sienna evades the punch easily, moving to the side and letting Ben's fist smash into the floor instead. The impact caused the tiles to crack and shatter under the force of his blow.

Sienna kicks at Ben but he takes the blow, unfazed by her attack. Ben attempts to grab her leg and smash her into the floor but she deftly kicks him in the head, using the force to push herself off and land on her feet. Ben stumbles back slightly, stunned for a moment by the swift attack.

Sienna pulls out her whip, its end adorned with three triangular heads that she usees to lash out at him. He dodges the first attack, grabbing her whip and pulling her towards him. But she uses the momentum to her advantage, kicking off the ground and flipping over him. When she's midair, she twists her whip around, wrapping it tightly around Ben's neck.

With a quick, forceful motion, Ben whipped his head around, pulling on the whip still wrapped around his neck. The sudden movement caused Sienna to be yanked towards him and slammed into the nearby wall, her body impacting against the solid surface with a hard thud.

Ben then slammed his fist straight into sienna's stomach. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of her, and she doubled over in pain.

Just as Ben attempted to kick sienna, she jerked the whip with all her might, tugging at it and catching him off balance. Caught off guard, Ben stumbled and fell to the ground.

As Ben tried to get back on his feet, Sienna pressed a button on her whip, causing one of the three heads to release a powerful electric shock. The electricity coursed through the whip and into Ben's body, causing him to convulse and collapse back to the ground.

Sienna took the opportunity to kick at Ben while he was still reeling from the electric shock. Her foot connected with his body, sending him sprawling across the floor.

Ben lay on the ground, groaning in pain. His body was still twitching from the electric shock, and he was struggling to catch his breath.

As sienna readied another kick, ben suddenly heard a voice. -don't dodge.-The words echoed in his head. Startled, his eyes flicked around, trying to find the source of the voice. The voice seemed to only be heard by him.

Instead of dodging, ben stayed put, allowing sienna's kick to land. He reached out and grabbed her leg, yanking it back and slamming her into the floor. Sienna yelled out in pain as she was thrown down with a hard impact.

With a powerful jump, ben leaped into the air and slammed his elbow down on sienna. The blow connected, smashing into her with full force.

The impact sent sienna sprawling, a dazed look on her face. She lay on the ground for a moment, trying to catch her breath and recover from the hard blow.

Meanwhile, Jake was still wreacking havoc amongst the White Fang soldiers, tossing them around like rag dolls. He seemed unstoppable, cutting through them with ease and leaving a trail of unconscious bodies in his wake.

Jake was about to deal with the next wave of White Fang soldiers when he was suddenly rushed by a large wolf-like monster with three eyes. The creature was significantly larger and more intimidating than jakes dragon form but the feral beast that he now was did not care.

Jake swung his tail at the wolf-like beast, connecting with a loud thump. The force of the impact sent the creature sprawling, crashing to the floor. It let out a loud howl of pain, its massive body trembling from the blow.

Amido spoke up as he watches the fight, his arms crossed and a curious expression on his face.

"Impressive, indeed."

He nodded, clearly intrigued by the battle unfolding in front of him.

Amido chuckled, his finger pressed down on a button that released a horde of mutated beasts. The creatures charged forward, the sounds of their snarls and growls echoing through the area.

"But not enough." He repeated, a smirk on his face as the monsters approached.

Jake bared his fangs at the horde of mutated beasts, a snarl escaping his lips. He didn't blink an eye as he charged straight at them, his eyes filled with a feral rage and a hunger for slaughter.

Jake struck out with his claws, impaling one mutant beast and then hurling it towards another. In a swift motion, he swung his tail, snatching a mutant parakeet out of the air and using it as a makeshift bat to swat several more mutants away from him, creating space between him and his attackers.

Jake's throat rumbled as he built up fire, and then he unleashed a massive breath of flames, raining down on the swarm of mutants. The blaze engulfed the creatures, melting and scorching any unfortunate enough to get caught in its way.

Without hesitating, Jake charged through the fire, his eyes locked onto an elephant Grimm. He slammed his fists into the beast, adding it to the donut club as it now had a hole going straight through it.

Jake's roar echoed through the area, a sound of primal power that sent a shiver down spines. It was the roar of a force of nature.

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Max and Ozpin were engaged in their own fierce battle against the massive bio-constrictor, when they suddenly heard Jake's deafening roar. The sound echoed through the area, catching their attention amidst the chaos of their fight.

Max dodged a swipe from the bio-constrictor, ducking low and retaliating with a swift punch to the beast's face. He then spoke up, his voice slightly breathless but still full of energy.

"Willing to bet a thousand lien that's where Ben is."

Max kneed the bio-constrictor in the stomach, causing the tall creature to buckle slightly. He then grabbed the monster's head and slammed it into the nearby wall with incredible force, causing the wall to crack from the impact.

Ozpin stood back, arms folded and an amused smile on his lips as he regarded the scene before him. He glanced at Max, responding with a relaxed tone.

"Even if I had money on me, I wouldn't take that bet."

Max launched a final punch, connecting with the snake-like creature and sending it sprawling to the ground. The bio-constrictor let out a low hiss as it hit the floor, its body going limp after the powerful strike.

Max and Ozpin wasted no time as they made their way towards the source of Jake's roar. They sprinted through the halls and corridors, their footsteps echoing in the empty space as they navigated the building towards the sound.

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Ben ducked out of the way of Sienna's whip. He then lunged forward, a calculated attack aimed at catching his opponent off guard. Sienna, however, was quick on her feet and dodged out of the way just in time. Ben followed up by performing a backflip, using the movement to launch debris into the air, momentarily blocking Sienna's vision. With a swift swipe, he then flung the debris at her, intending to catch her off guard once more.

Sienna reacted quickly, using her weaponized whip to shield herself. She whipped the whip infront of her in a fast circular motion, fast enough that the whip acted much like a shield world and deflected the debris that Ben had sent her way.

Ben lunged forward with a flying kick aimed at Sienna's head, but she smoothly dodged the attack, avoiding the blow with ease. As he landed once more, he spoke up, his voice filled aggression.

"Let me tell you something tall lady. Rath doesn't like terrorists."

Sienna evaded Rath's attack, her movements agile and quick. As Rath attempted another strike, she swiftly countered with her whip, the lash striking him. She then spoke, her tone defiant and filled with conviction.

"That word again. Terrorists. That's what humans call us, but we prefer the term "avengers."

Ben continued his attack, attempting to land a hit on Sienna, but she dodged his strikes with ease. As they danced around each other, Ben spoke.

"You attack humans for no real reason. You destroy all the things humans hold dear, and I'm pretty sure you take some twisted pleasure in it," he said.

Sienna dodged out of the way of Rath's attacks, her movements almost fluid in their grace. As she evaded, she spoke, her words carrying a cold, hard edge to them.

"One country's freedom fighter is another country's terrorist. So what if humans die? They have treated our Faunus brethren like scum for years. They deserve some suffering."

"That doesn't mean you have to hurt everyone who is human," he said. "Not all humans hate Faunus, and not all humans treat them like dirt. There are good people out there, both human and Faunus. It's not fair to lump everyone together just because of a few bad apples."

Sienna's words hung in the air, harsh and bitter in their delivery. Her voice was like a whip crack as she spoke, her eyes filled with anger and conviction.

"Except it's not just the apples, the whole damn tree is rotten. Haven't you noticed, all you humans do is kill and outcast anything you don't understand, and those you view as different, they get enslaved, burned at the stake, treated like shit. That is how it has been throughout all of human history, that is how you have been acting since the birth of humanity, and when the root is rotten so is the rest of the tree."

ben counter argued. so what, do you really believe your better than them when you're acting like this, your acting just like the humans you hate, Hurting people who have done nothing wrong, killing humans indiscriminately even if they were friends with faunus, violence only breeds violence, the only thing that your going to get out of this crusade of yours is more people who hate faunus, more people who treat others like dirt, more people you hate.

Ben's words echoed through the room, his counter argument hitting Sienna hard. Her face twisted in anger, but there was a flicker of something else there too - doubt. Ben's point rang true, and it was clear that his words had struck a nerve.

"You don't understand, do you? Do you think humans would just give up on their hatred of us because we were peaceful? News flash, we tried that already. It didn't work. Just because you live in this fairytale world where all your problems can be solved with peace doesn't mean everyone else does. Sometimes people have to get their hands dirty to get what they want."

Sienna's response was laced with a mixture of rage and frustration, her voice trembling as she spoke with a passion that could only come from deep-seated conviction. Ben could see in her eyes that she truly believed in what she was saying.

-She's right you know.- said the mysterious voice once again, and just like the last two times ben seemed to be the only one who heard it.

Ben continued his argument, his voice resolute as he spoke. He could still hear the mysterious voice in the back of his mind, but his focus was firmly on Sienna.

"Let me tell you something, tall lady. Rath doesn't care how much you try, try again. cause If you want to hurt people, then Rath will hurt you."

Jake was still busy wreaking havoc amongst the horde of Animo's mutants. The mutants lay scattered on the ground around him, unmoving and defeated.

Jake stumbled as animo fired a chip that dug into his skin, the sudden influx of electricity coursing through his body. His eyes widened in surprise, the unexpected attack catching him off guard. He tried to stay conscious, fighting against the wave of dizziness that threatened to overwhelm him.

Jake's mind raced as he struggled to regain control of his body and fight off the effects of the chip. Despite the dizziness that threatened to pull him under, he managed to remain standing, his gaze locking onto Animo. The chip, though designed to control him, had inadvertently quieted the feral rage of his dragon form, bringing him back into a state of relative clarity.he looked at Animo, his eyes narrowing.

Animo raised an eyebrow in response to Jake's angry glare. The mad scientist smirked, reveling in the chaos and disorder he had caused. He took a step backwards, casually leaning against one of his machines as he spoke, his voice dripping with smugness.

"Oh dear, seems I've made the feral little lizard angry, haven't I?"

A manic gleam appeared in Animo's eyes as he prepared to test out his newest creation. With a wicked smile, he stabbed himself with a needle and transformed into a towering white gorilla, his head still maintaining its original appearance.

Animo's massive gorilla arm swiped at Jake, grabbing him effortlessly and flinging him across the room. Jake managed to catch himself, landing in a roll before quickly regaining his footing and charging straight back at the transformed scientist.

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Max and Ozpin moved quickly through the halls of the building, their paths through the building littered with the unconscious bodies of White Fang members. The two swiftly navigated the halls, their gazes constantly scanning their surroundings, prepared for any surprise attacks.

*Max and Ozpin came to a halt in front of a large double door labeled as the storage room. The signs on the door were clear, and the two knew that there was a pretty good chance that if ben wasn't in here then they were walking into danger.

As Max and Ozpin opened the doors, their eyes immediately took in the strange sight before them. An army of unconscious White Fang members lay strewn about the room, while in the center of the commotion, a dragon was locked in combat with a hulking white gorilla creature with a human head . On the opposite side of the room, a lady was engaged in a battle with a massive bipedal tiger.

"Maybe we should come back later" max says as he's about to shut the door but Ozpin stopped him. Following Ozpin's pointing finger, Max's gaze fell on the Omnitrix attached to the tiger creature's chest. A realization dawned upon him.

"Is that... Ben?" Max asked.

Ozpin swiftly raised his hand, his magic taking shape and forming a bubble around everyone in the room. Each person, both friend and foe, was encased in their own individual bubble, separated from one another by a shimmering barrier.

Ben looked around in shock, his eyes wide as he took in the strange sight of everyone trapped in bubbles.

"What the hell?" Ben's gaze eventually landed on Ozpin and Max, recognition instantly dawning in his eyes.

"Ozpin? Grandpa Max?" he exclaimed, surprise and relief evident in his voice.

Jake's voice rang from inside his own bubble, his question directed at Ben. As he hovered within his enclosure, he asked about the identity of Ozpin and Max.

"You know these guys?"

"you can talk?"

"uhm"

"Ben what the hell is going on." Before Ben could respond to Max's question, Sienna and the White Fang abruptly vanished from the scene, including Animo. The sudden disappearance left the room eerily silent, except for the sounds of the two kids trapped in the bubbles.

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Both Ben and Jake sat in the confined space of the Rust Bucket, transformed back into their human forms. They had just finished recounting the events that had unfolded at the White Fang headquarters.

"It sounds like you two had quite the experience," max said in a playful tone but concern was visible on his face.

Ozpin chuckled softly, his voice tinged with a hint of humor.

"In all my time on this planet, I have never heard of a place called the Ever After," he said. Then, playing along, he added, "Perhaps I really do need to get out more."

"Hell yeah you do old man," Jake piped up teasing the person he still didn't know "i got years on you gramps, maybe if you pay attention you could learn a few things" this got a chuckle out of ozpin.

Max brought the Rust Bucket to a halt in front of an ordinary apartment building. Following the directions given by Jake, he had arrived at the correct destination.

"We're here," Max announced, shutting off the engine and looking at Jake.

Jake stood up from his seat, his backpack slung over his shoulder. As he prepared to leave, a mix of emotions flitted across his face. With a bittersweet smile, he turned to Ben and Max.

"Alright, I guess this is goodbye," he began, his voice tinged with a hint of sadness. "Hopefully, it's not forever, though. I had a lot of fun."

Ben also stood up, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. He extended his hand towards Jake.

"Yeah, man, I had a lot of fun too," Ben agreed. With a firm grip, he shook Jake's hand. "I'll see you soon, buddy."

Just as Jake stepped off the RV, he paused and glanced back, a smirk playing on his lips. Looking directly at Ben, he added a final comment.

"Oh, and Ben," Jake said. "If you ever need help, just give me a call. I literally have nothing better to do."

Ben smirked back at Jake, his tone lighthearted.

"Hmph, that implies I'll need help," he quipped, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

Jake let out one last farewell as he backed away from the RV.

"See ya around, Tennyson," he called out with a wave.

Jake turned away from the RV, jogging back towards the entrance of the apartment building.

As the Rust Bucket's doors slid shut, Ben settled back into his seat. A satisfied smile remained on his face as he leaned his head back, reflecting on the recent events and the unusual new friend he had made.

Max glanced back at Ben from the driver's seat, a warm smile on his face. Seeing the content expression on his grandson's face, Max didn't feel the need to bring up the subject of the Omnitrix at the moment. He was genuinely pleased to see that Ben had found a friend

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Sienna Khan entered a room bathed in a warm orange hue, the walls adorned with a multitude of triangular symbols. The atmosphere in the room was tense, charged with an almost tangible energy.

Sienna approached the desk, her footsteps silent on the cold floors. The chair behind the desk was facing away from her, its occupant concealed by shadows.

"You called?" she spoke into the room, her voice echoing softly against the barren walls.

"I am told that your base of operations was compromised is this true?" asks the voice in the chair

Sienna stood before the mysterious figure in the chair, her expression guarded but respectful.

"Yes it was compromised," she confirmed, her voice steady and controlled. "but I don't see why it concerns you."

"Because the police could find evidence that connects you to my company." says the voice his voice raising

Sienna's eyes narrowed as the hidden figure in the chair spoke, his tone rising with suppressed anger. She couldn't see his face, but she could sense the tension in his voice.

"We have taken all necessary precautions to cover our tracks," she responded, her own voice firm and unwavering. "Besides even if there were any evidence you could just use that teleportation technology of yours to go get it ."

"teleportation? i have no such technology"

Sienna raised an eyebrow in surprise, her curiosity piqued by the denial from the figure in the chair.

"No such technology?" she echoed, her voice laced with mild skepticism. "But me and all the members of my white fang were teleported out of our base before we got ca`ught, if you didn't get us out of there then who did?"

i don't know what your talking about but we have no such technology i didn't even know about your base falling until after it happened.

Sienna felt a pang of confusion upon hearing this. If he wasn't the one who did it, then who teleported them out of the base?

"What .The.Fuck"

-----------------------------------------------------------Later --------------------------------------------------------------

Ben lay awake in bed, his head propped up by his elbow as he stared into the darkness of the rustbucket. His thoughts were a swirling mixture of reflections on the day's events but mostly on what sienna had said.

Ben's heart skipped a beat as the ever-present voice spoke once again, addressing his thoughts directly.

-She was right, you know,- the voice echoed through his mind, the words like a whisper in the quiet darkness.

Ben sat up in bed, his frustration and curiosity getting the better of him. He spoke out loud, addressing the voice that seemed to inhabit his thoughts.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Who are you, and why can I hear you?"

Ben's eyes narrowed as the voice responded, a hint of irritation tinting its tone. He sat up straighter, his annoyance growing.

"Hmph, so you finally acknowledge me, what's the occasion " the voice echoed, a note of mockery in its words.

Ben's response was sharp and direct, his frustration mounting.

"Kinda hard not to when you won't shut up," he muttered, his voice tinged with irritation. He clenched his fists, feeling like he was slowly going insane from the constant presence of the voice in his mind.

Ben's voice took on a commanding edge, his patience thinning by the moment. He demanded in a firm tone.

"Show yourself, you damn creep," he commanded, his eyes darting around the darkened rustbucket.

Ben's eyes widened in surprise as a figure materialized in front of him, its appearance an exact copy of his own. As he lay staring at the eerie twin, his mind raced to try and comprehend what was happening.

Ben's voice was a mixture of shock and disbelief as he took in the sight of his doppelganger.

"What the hell," he managed to get out, his words barely above a whisper. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was hallucinating or dreaming.

The doppelganger spoke up, its tone slightly mocking.

"You're doing one of those two," it repeated, its face mirroring Ben's expression of disbelief.

Ben shifted his gaze back to the doppelganger, his mind still trying to wrap around the situation. With a mixture of annoyance and curiosity, he demanded,

"Who...who are you?"

The doppelganger's words cut through the silence, its voice filled with a mixture of familiarity and accusation. As it revealed its nature, Ben felt a strange shiver run down his spine.

"I am you," the doppelganger continued, its voice echoing Ben's own voice in a mocking tone. "Every withheld insult, every bit of unacknowledged anger, I am everything that you would never admit you are."

The doppelganger's words cut like a knife, its voice filled with a cold, blunt honesty that stabbed straight through Ben's heart.

"You are a disappointment, a failure," it stated, its expression mirroring the harshness of its words.

Ben tried to refute the doppelganger's words, but there was no denying the weight of truth behind them. His heart twinged, the pain of his own failures and shortcomings becoming increasingly sharp.

"But you already know that, don't you?" the doppelganger continued, its voice devoid of sympathy. "You have twenty-two good reasons to hate yourself, and guess what?" its lips curled into a twisted grin. "I'm the twenty-third."

Chapter Text

the trio of teen's had landed in one big dog pile after they got their assess handed to them they were all in pain and sore all over and rex could swear he had a broken rib, but a couple broken ribs were to be expected after experiencing what it's like to be inside of a hydraulic press.[

Max had, luckily, reverted to his base form and thank god for that otherwise the rex would have a couple other broken ribs.

there was a relatively long silence where the three teen's simply lay there in a pile of limbs, broken bones and one concussion.

Rex was the one to break the silence "Well, that was humiliating" he said while pushing max off of him with a little shove.

"You're telling me." Max said it was pretty easy to tell he was annoyed but whether it was because of the loss or steel not shutting up was yet to be determined.

Rex, who was trying to soothe his battered body and ego spoke up. "We got our asses beat by a bunch of wannabe knights and we didn't even get to fight back. This is by far my lowest point."

max and randy nodded in agreement as the three continued to lay on the floor as they caught their breaths

"sigh, we gotta get back out there who knows what those guys could be doing out there right now." max said getting off his ass and stretching.

"probably killing each other." randy said before sitting up which probably wasn't the best idea as he now had a headache.

"what do you mean "killing each other." " rex asked randy kinda confused why the people who kicked their asses would be trying to kill each other

"didn't you notice? the guy who fought max was a member of the white fang."

"... oh crap, they brought their war right to our doorstep and i didn't even realize" rex said frustrated with himself for not realizing this sooner

"but why here, there has to be some reason why they're here right" asked max

"i don't know, speaking of which where the heck is ben? i swear he couldn't have gone far" rex complained questioning the absence of the only guy on this team who is just as experienced as him

"ok we have to come up with a plan before anything we can't win a fight with them if we don't have a plan." rex says

"So, who has a plan they would like to share with the class." rex asks "really, nobody , that sucks"

"I mean you did introduce yourself as the most experienced person here last night so if you don't have a plan why would we" randy says

"i don't know, i just, guess im used to knowing people smarter than me."

" let's just scope the building see what we find out and go from there, that isn't gonna be too hard, right."

Max, ever the voice of reason, asked a sensible question. "And what do we do if they see us?""

Without missing a beat, Rex replied, "Jump 'em. They won't see us coming."

"okay then i don't have a better plan let's do it " max said

"I guess it's settled then. "Ex replied

"Alright first ever team mission, lets do this." Randy said with so much excitement rex could practically feel the streamers on his skin. Wait no those were actual streamers, where the hell did he get streamers from?

The three guys all got back to their feet, a bit sore and broken but still up and functional.

They began the task of scouting through the School, sticking to the shadows and making sure to stay out of sight from the Knights and White Fang, which was surprisingly easy. They then realized that there weren't any and that the building was surprisingly undamaged considering that a war was being raged in here.

"Uhh guys where are all the bad guys." rex asked leaving the shadows seeing no one.

"Maybe they were scared of us and ran off." randy voices, he knew that wasn't true but hey a guy can dream can't he.

"shhh, i feel something" rex says his eyes glowing blue with lines crawling up to his eyes.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean max?" asks as he watches rex walk, it was kinda creepy if max was being honest, like he was on auto pilot.

"just follow me." rex says gesturing for them to follow as he begins running down the hall.

randy and max look at each other before shrugging and rushing after him

"Dude, is he possessed or something? What the hell is going on with him?" Randy whispers to Max kinda concerned.

"Why are you asking me? I'm just as lost as you are" max replied

"I don't know i just kinda thought you would be an expert on possession considering-" randy didn't finish he just pointed to the spot where steel was on max's chest.

"Excuse you, i don't possess people, don't compare me to a ghost" steel says from inside max's chest very obviously very offended.

the two continue chasing rex through the halls never letting him leave their sight

"Steel, buddy, calm down. This is not the time to get upset." Max whispered, while trying to keep up with their sprinting(current) leader.

"I have a right to be offended you know," Steel mumbled quietly from his spot in Max's chest.

As they ran down the hall, Max muttered quietly, "If only I could fly, we would catch up to him faster." steel seemed to shut up after he said that, weird

Max and Randy, following close behind, stop when they notice that Rex has halted in his tracks they are confused for a second until they look past him to see a whole squad of forever knights laid out on the floor with a hooded man standing in the middle of all of them, seemingly the one who took them all out.

"guys" rex says seeming to have snapped out of his trance "that guy, he's an evo."

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ozpin was in quite the predicament right now as the bull head carrying all the new students to beacon had landed and my god, things could not get any worse, because since the new students were here he couldn't risk the war breaking out of the building and hurting a student, nor could he risk letting any of the students see what was going on inside the building, so he used his magic to create a field around the main building to keep anyone from getting in or out, unfortunately this also included the three teenagers who were stuck inside the building without backup. Well they were gonna have to deal with worse odds eventually they might as well start now, was ozpin hyperventilating at the thought, probably, but you would never know considering how good he is at hiding it.

"ozpin, they will be ok, trust these kids, they will make it out of this alive." Glynda goodwitch says placing her hand on ozpins shoulder.

"i know glynda, i know i just can't help it, these kids are in mortal danger with no help on the way and where am i? in my chair unable to do a thing about it."

"ozpin, don't do this you are trying your best."

"yes well my best isnt good enough"

"Your starting to sound like ben" glynda says worriedly

"i-" ozpin stops at that his face contorting into a thoughtful expression "your right glynda, i am, it's just i can't bear the thought-"

"Of them being hurt." glynda asks

"No i can't bear the thought of them becoming like ben." and with that an awkward silence fell over the room, the weight of ozpins words hitting them both like a freight train " Well no point in dwelling on the things we cannot change, look alive glynda, we have some students to greet"

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Big Chill glides above the city of Vale, his eyes scanning around him in search of two particular buildings.

He soars, and beneath him, the city teems with life. People throng the cobblestone streets, shops are open, and vendors hawk their wares as the sounds of the city fill the air: horses' hooves clopping on the cobblestones, citizens talking and laughing, and the occasional roar of a Bullhead flying overhead.

Big Chill had grown accustomed to these sounds, having spent a great deal of time patrolling the city and looking for trouble. As a matter of fact, the sounds of the city had become almost like background noise to him at this point.

Big Chill had finally spotted the buildings he was searching for, and he silently swooped down into the alleyway in between them, careful to touch down on the ground before proceeding further into the dimly lit space.

Big Chill continued to walk deeper into the alleyway, reaching a spot that appeared to be a dead end. However, instead of stopping, he walked through the wall that was supposedly blocking his way, revealing a hidden path beyond it.

Big Chill entered the room, his glowing eyes glancing around. The room was dimly lit, with several tall quartz spires running across its length, and a great golden chandelier hung from the ceiling.

Big Chill was no stranger to this place, and he had come here often enough that even the sight of it failed to surprise him anymore.

Ben heard the woman's voice speak up from behind him and turned to see Sienna Khan standing there, clearly having waited for him.

"I figured you would come looking for me, " Sienna said, without ben turning to face her "You seem to have a habit of showing up where you're not wanted."

"You're quite the insane person you know that sienna, i didn't intervene in your little war with the forever knights but you should have known better than to send your men to beacon. because guess what now im involved and this little war of yours is over."

"what makes you think I sent my men?" Sienna asks to which Ben answered "I've seen your men posted up outside of Beacon Hiding. You know you're quite an intelligent person and if I could figure out that they were leading you there then you definitely realized it, so I have to ask, why do what you're doing? Why play into their plans? "

Sienna smirks, her expression almost amused by his words.

"You're a sharp one, aren't you?" She says, her tone laced with mockery "But you're missing the point."

She begins to circle around him, like a predator circling its prey.

"The Forever Knights are quite an interresting group arent they they believe themselves righteous yet slaughter my kind by the hundreds they say they fight for the good of humanity but they kill any human that gets in their way."

"They are hypocrites and savages. They say they fight for a better future, yet they leave nothing but destruction in their wake." The woman snorts, a cold, mirthless sound.

"Sounds like some folks I know," Ben adds, his glare cutting daggers at Sienna.

"Here's the thing with that, you see unlike them we actually have a motive." sienna says, "were just giving back what humans give us, an eye for an eye if you will. we simply strive for equality and if a few humans die in order to reach that equality well, they can't say they weren't warned."

I understand that you have a reason; but surely you understand that I need a reason not to snap your arms off, so stop playing hard to get and tell me why you are playing into their hands.

Sienna, looking right into Ben's eyes as she spoke, seemed composed.

"You think I wanted to do this? You think I wanted to play into their hands?" She said, her tone laced with a hint of bitterness "You assume too much. i was asked to do this by a very powerful person."

"And you just did what this person asked you to?"

Sienna's expression darkened as Ben questioned her.

"Don't act as if i had a choice. When someone of that kind of power asks you for something, you don't dare refuse them." She said, in a cold and firm tone "You do as they say, or you suffer the consequences. I may be many things, but i am not suicidal."

"Oh and who exactly was it that could make the fearsome sienna khan fear for her life?"

Sienna's face grew darker as Ben pressed her for more information. Clearly, this was a subject she didn't want to discuss.

"That is not your concern," She said, her voice firm as she tried to dismiss the question "Let's just say they're a powerful individual with connections, influence, and resources. The kind that make it dangerous to cross them."

"So am i correct in assuming I won't get anything out of you."
The question brought a smile onto Sienna's lips, the edges curving upwards in a form of amusement.
She spoke, her tone near mocking. "I'll give you credit, you are not as stupid as most of the huntsmen I've dealt with."

Im gonna go deal with your men and by the time i get back here you better be prepared to give me answers." he said flying away through the roof which caused it to freeze over

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"What the Hell is an evo" max asks looking at the man in front of them, max knew he didn't get out much but he didn't think that he would miss some all new classification of human (or atleast that's what he assumed the term evo was)

"to cut a long story short they're humans that turned into monsters." rex explains

"oh ive fought one of those before ." randy said surprising rex

the hooded man looks directly at them before zeroing in on max's chest

"Uh, guys am I imagining things or is that dude watching me like im food?" Max asked Rex and Randy, backing away slightly at the man's gaze.

"dont make any sudden moves" randy says slowly inching towards the man

"Hes not a t.rex!" rex and max yell at him

"Oh no, do listen to your friend, don't move, it'll make my job all the easier." the man says with a twisted grin as he moves closer to them.

"Hey slow your roll there pal." rex says creating his Smack hands blocking the man off

the man chuckles looking at the smack hands amused."hmpph i like you." the man says before knocking the smack hands aside and jumping at rex

rex slides back and knees him while he's airborne.

the man lands flat on his ass which was surprising to the trio since they had kinda expected the man to be a little umm... stronger.

the man chuckles, his body slowly cracking and contorting before a giant spider emerges, its body breaking free from the confines of the man's flesh.

Max, Randy and Rex just stood there, their eyes wide and mouths open , in complete disgust at the sight they just witnessed.

"What the hell?" Randy managed to say , voicing the words that the other two were too disgusted to say . They stood there for a moment, trying to comprehend what the fuck just happened.

the spider jumped at him but rex blocked it off with his smack hands but it jumped over it and fired a web at rex

The spider quickly leapt towards Rex, attempting to attack him, but Rex managed to block the attack with his Smack Hands. But it dodged the Smack Hands and fired a web at Rex instead.

As the spider's web was about to hit him, Rex quickly swapped out his Smack Hands for his Big Fat Sword. With a swift swing, he cut through the web, barelyly avoiding being caught in the web.

take him down." rex commands as him randy and max rushed towards the spider monster ready to fight

rex strikes down at the monster with his sword but it blocks with two of its arms spitting a web at him. before max jumped at the creature however it punched him in the stomach with one of its arms knocking him back and slapping randy in the face.

As Max, Randy and Rex prepared to charge back at the creature, They both got interrupted by an out of nowhere attack . Randy was kicked away by an unseen person, while Rex got blasted out of the way. They stumbled and fell, dazed and disoriented from the surprise attack.

they both got back up to see who attacked them, randy saw the red haired sword wielder that fought max, and rex got up to see the forever king that had almost flattened him like a pancake, however there was something different about the two they looked different.

the red haired man wore a red and black armor with his previously short horns having become large and curvy with red stripes covering it.

the forever king was much smaller and much less bulky with golden lines running through his suit and a much more knightly looking helmet.

"randy these guys are evo's too." rex yells at randy before getting his shit rocked by a punch to the jaw.

"What?" randy says before dodging a sword thrust from the redhead "woah woah slow your roll there fire crotch, im trying to ask a question here."

rex kicks away the forever king, pushing himself off the floor he kicks at the man in the armor

The Red Haired Warrior dodged Randy's kick, but he failed to anticipate the counterattack. Randy blocked the man's slash with his scarf and continued with a swift kick to the man's legs, throwing him off-balance. Seizing the opportunity, Randy threw his scarf, wrapping it around the warrior's body and tossing him away.

Max continued to dodge the spider's attacks, avoiding each blow. Seeing an opening, he delivered a powerful punch to the spider's face, hoping to stagger it or at least catch it off guard.

The spider's body began to crack and splinter, revealing a large gorilla beneath its exoskeleton. Max watched as the creature transformed before his eyes. "ah fuck."

As the gorilla lunged at him, Max shouted "Go Turbo!" and activated his strength mode.

Max threw a powerful punch at the gorilla's face, but the creature was no pushover. It tanked the attack and landed a strong blow to Max's stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Max quickly reacted to the creature's attempt to crush him by grabbing its arms and hurled it across the room with tremendous strength.

Randy dodged the Red Head's attacks and countered, unsheathing his sword and clashing it with the warrior's blade. Sparks flew as the two swords clashed, the sound of metal meeting metal ringing through the air.

Rex evaded the onslaught of attacks from the Forever King. Seeing an opening, Rex countered with a swift kick from his Punk Busters, aiming to stagger the Forever King and give himself an advantage.

As Rex delivered the kick with his Punk Busters, the Forever King quickly raised his shield, blocking the attack and reducing the force behind it. The kick still managed to push the king backwards into the wall, but the impact was not as powerful as Rex had hoped.

Rex wasn't about to let the Forever King get off scot-free. Seeing his opportunity, he kicked the shield out of the way and continued his onslaught, stomping on the king and driving him further into the wall. As Rex continued to pin the Forever King against the wall. "What do you want?" rex demanded.

"You don't seem like the rampaging type of Evo," he said, clarifying his question. "So what exactly is it that you want? cause im pretty sure you and carrot top over there are supposed to be trying to kill each other"

The Forever King chuckled, which quickly escalated into a fit of laughter. suddenly the red head also started laughing and so did the gorilla max was currently in an armlock with.

"what the fuck." all three of the teen's mutter.

"so your the holder of my omega." says a voice coming from the mouth of the forever king that definitely wasn't his.

"i must say you are a bit, younger than i imagined." the man says to rex before looking over to the other two and smirking. "oh and you've made yourself some friends, some.. very special friends."

the man pushed rex's foot away with frightening physical strength.

"What the hell are you saying " rex asked while struggling to keep his leg on the man

"hmph all this time spent searching and here you all are all in one place ripe for the pickings." the man says before he could finish speaking, Rex switched to Smack Hands mode and forcefully bashed the man into a wall, interrupting his monologue.

"i see someone is quite eager for their turn, but unfortunately, you aren't the one I'm here for" forever king says as he disappeared from behind rex's massive fist

Max stumbled backward after the gorilla shoved him, but he regained his footing and countered with a kick to its side. Not stopping there, Max followed up with a quick punch to the gorilla's stomach, and face before he lands a headbutt.

while max was dealing with the gorilla, the Forever King dropped from the top rope and grabbed him pulling him . The unexpected move caught Max off guard, leaving him vulnerable, the gorilla seized the opportunity to land a punch to Max's face, sending him flying across the room.

The Forever King tightly kept hold of Max, preventing him from moving while the gorilla punched him in the chest. Max's turbo armor absorbed the impact of the powerful blow, grimacing from the pain.

"so you are the one who the ultralink has bonded with." says the forever king while the gorilla keeps smashing at max's chest.

"yo steel you know these guys?" asked max in a pained voice for obvious reasons

" amnesia remember i have no clue... also is it just me or have i not spoken much this series."

" ok uhh guys the Ultralink says he doesn't know you so if you could maybe lay off the beating for a second so we could maybe talk this out like calm reasonable OW." they didn't seem to be in the mood for much talking

"max i figured a way to get us out of this mess, say those magic words of yours."

GO TURBO

the blue implosion blasted out again, pushing away max's assailants while transforming into a new winged turbo mode.

"Okay I'm calling it, this is my favorite." max says checking out his new what he assumed was a flight mode.

meanwhile randy was not having a good time dodging every attack that the red head threw at him

As Randy blocked the slashing attack from the redheaded, Rex came out of nowhere and sent gingernut flying into a nearby wall with a powerful bitch slap from his Smack Hands.

"okay let's fix you shall we." rex says as he puts his hand on the man's face before glowing blue lines began covering the redhead's face

"uh thanks for the help and all but max is currently getting jumped why didn't you go help him."

" because max is... uhhh.... you..uhhh.. looked like you needed help."

" just tell me im weaker i already know what you were gonna say no need to chicken out."

"what noo.. i just.. should probably focus on this guy." rex says as the redhead returns to his normal state

"Whoa you cured that guy just by touching him, wish i knew how to do that last one of these guys i fought i had to break his watch."

this got rex to give him a look

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as ozpin steps behind the curtains of the stage he lets his shoulders drop and allows a sigh to flow from his lips.

"ozpin are you sure your alright, you seemed... out of it during your speech." glynda says a concerned look on her face.

"is there any wonder why" ozpin says looking up exhausted "im sorry it's just... i can't seem to shake off the worry, those three, they're just children they shouldn't have to experience a situation like this so early, because even if they make it out without any physical scars what's to say there won't be mental ones, what's to say they will leave this affair the same way they entered. im scared glynda, scared of ruining another childs life to fulfill a prophecy that may not even be true."

"you have not ruined anyone's life, you couldn't have predicted anything that happened. You need to trust me when i say they're going to survive this, and they are going to leave the same way they went in." glynda assures ozpin

"How can you be so sure?" ozpin asked, his gaze fixed on the floor.

Glynda looked into Ozpin's eyes. "For the same reason you chose me to join you" she replied. "I may not know for sure, but i have faith, you should too." With those words, she turned away and disappeared behind the stage curtains once more.

A sudden movement caught Ozpin's eye as a head popped out of the floor, causing him to startle slightly. "Ben, what are you doing down there?" he asked kind of amused

Ben fully emerged from the floor, returning to his normal form. "I don't want the new students to see me yet." He explained

"so umm mind telling me why there's a magic force field around the dorms or should I just assume you forgot to call me."

"your teammates are in danger. i was forced to cast a barrier to keep the fighting in and the students out."

"well thank god i made it here on time then. drop the field, im going in."

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Max dodged the Forever King's attack and retaliated with a punch to the face. Without wasting a second, he then evaded a punch from the gorilla by using the wings on his back to propel himself forward and deliver a powerful blast to the gorilla's face with the rocket propulsion.

Max attempted to seize the Forever King's arm and throw him, but the unexpected kick to his gut thwarted his attempt, causing him to stumble backward in pain.

Max was still reeling from the kick to his gut when the gorilla delivered a strong punch to his face

Randy's scarf snaked out and seized the gorilla's arm, pulling it back into the path of Rex's Smack Hands which sent a punch straight into its spine. Max capitalized on the opportunity and rocketed towards the gorilla, executing a powerful rocket-propelled roundhouse kick directly to its jaw.

After the gorilla went down the three boys rushed at the the forever king, with Randy delivering a kick to the Forever King's face, flipping over him and driving his sword into his back and not pulling it out. Right after, Rex used the Punk Busters to kick the King in the side, disrupting his balance. Max, in the meantime, took flight and grabbed ahold of the King's head, proceeding to slam it into the ground and continuing to run him across it.

Max hurled the Forever King into the air and switched to his Turbo Strength mode, using the sword lodged in the King's back as leverage to hold him in place. Meanwhile, Randy snatched Rex with his scarf and spun him around, building up momentum before releasing him.

At the precise moment, Rex created his Smack Hands, and with the King still in the air, Max placed him directly in line with Rex's trajectory. The force of Rex's punch collided with the King's body, sending tremors through the whole building and ultimately shattering the Smack Hands in the process.

As the unconscious man fell to the ground, Rex approached him and placed his hand on his face, as he had done earlier with the red-headed warrior. The slender blue lines appeared again, tracing over the man's features, as Rex focused his energy and began curing him.

Max switched back to his base form, while Randy approached, looking equally weary from the exhausting ordeal.

"so you can cure these guys?" max asks as he watched the Forever King revert back to his bulky, cured form.

"it's a bit more complicated than that but, yeah, I can cure them." rex affirmed

Suddenly, as Rex made his way towards the gorilla, a new figure emerged from the floor. just as Rex conjured up his BfS and prepared to strike, Randy intervened, grabbing rex's bfs with his scarf. "Stop, that's ben." randy said trying his best to not start fanboying again.

"so you're telling me that thing is Ben and not another Evo? are we looking at the same thing?" rex questions as he gestures towards bigchill feeling like he's the only person in the room with common sense.

"i have no idea what an evo is but im pretty sure im not one of them." ben says as he transformed back into human form.

WHAT the whtdsftacobudi. rex was currently losing his shit and his mind raced with questions he was too shocked to voice how did he do that is this actually ben am i going insane why am i the only one freaking out about this WHAT THE FUCK.

Ben glanced down at the unconscious gorilla, noticing that he was standing on his body. "Looks like you guys are doing pretty well," Ben remarked, a hint of surprise in his voice. "You're holding your own better than I expected. So, where's the rest of em" ben asked expectantly

"there is no rest of em that guy right there was the last one max says while rex continued to lose his shit."

"are. are you sure ben asked"

"yes sir that was the last guy mr tennyson sir" randy responded failing to hide his fanboying ben swore he could see stars in his eyes.

"are you absolutely sure, did you check every-" Max interjected, cutting Ben off before he could finish his question. "We're absolutely sure," Max reassured him. "We are absolutely sure that that was the last of em"

"oh so, you did all of this by yourselves."

"yep"

"i didn't do anything to help you, you all fought, by yourselves, without me, i didn't help."

"yes sir mr tennyson sir you didn't have to do anything, we all fought by ourselves without your help"

well that's just incredible, i think you guys earned yourself some free food, so just uhh go ahead and carry rex, hell probably be done loading by the time you get there. ill stay behind and round all these guys up

The boys nodded in acknowledgment and slowly made their way out of bens sight , leaving Ben momentarily alone. As they departed, Ben's smile fell as a voice familiar only to him made itself known.

-you here that ben, you didn't do anything, you couldn't help, they did it all by themselves. Without you. you were useless.-

that word. useless, it bounced around in bens head. useless he was useless

As he was lost in thought, he didn't notice the villains around him disappearing in bursts of bright purple light, one by one even the one he was standing on.

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Salem, the mistress of darkness, sat regally on her throne within the confines of her castle, awaiting any news from van kleiss.

As a red portal materialized before her, Salem's expression remained stoic as she observed the visage of Van Kleiss through the rip in space. She waited for him to speak, silently anticipating his report.

"hello queen of darkness have you been enjoying your day. cause that would make one of us. i couldn't fill out that request, so it looks like you can keep that i.o.u." van kleiss says.

Salem's demeanor remained calm and composed, but a flicker of disappointment crossed her features at Van Kleiss' words. "So let me understand this, i got those knights and faunus to go to beacon, and got them angry enough for you to turn them into evo's, and you still failed."

"don't talk to me like that salem , you came to me and asked me to do what makino had asked YOU to do, i did not ow you any favors we didn't make any deal i simply did this out of the kindness of my heart, so do not speak to me as if ive never done anything for you. and besides i learned something just as important. "

"fine what is it that you have learned "

"i know where four of the five are located."

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ruby had simply been watching on the sidelines as the teams were being formed, she was really excited, of course she was she was going to be the leader of her own team, that is a very large ego boost especially since she was younger than pretty much everyone else in beacon

Ruby's excitement was suddenly interrupted by the sound of her older sister, Yang's voice. Yang approached with a playful smile on her face, ruffling Ruby's hair affectionately. "Hey, Rubes, don't let that new position go to your head. Remember, I'm still your big sis, and I still outrank you," Yang teased.

"If you outrank Ruby, does that make you our leader then?" Blake asked curiously. "cause I wouldn't have a problem with that."

"hey i kinda like that idea." yang says before Weiss joined in on the conversation, interjecting with her own opinion on the matter. "Hey, hold on a second," she protested. "Don't go changing things around. If it were based on importance, I'd be the one in charge because I'm clearly the most important out of all of us."

Yang chuckled at Weiss's comment, reassuring her with a smile. "Relax, Ice Queen," she said with a playful tone. "It was just a joke. Im not actually trying to be leader. rubes here has that title and she's keeping it. ain't that right rubes."

Ruby nodded in agreement with Yang, a confident smile on her face. "That's right!" she confirmed. "I'm the leader, and that won't change,"

Jaune and his team approached Ruby, Yang, and Blake, with Jaune speaking up. "Wow, I wish I had your confidence, Ruby," he said, his voice tinged with mild envy.

Nora greeted everyone with her usual energetic enthusiasm, perching herself on Ren's shoulders as she spoke. "Hey, everyone! I know I'm fabulous!"

Pyrrha was the only one in the group who remained silent, her attention focused on her scroll. She was scrolling through it frantically,

"Congrats on being leader, Vomit Boy," yang said, a smirk on her face.

"oh no, that nickname is gonna stick isnt it."

Ozpin's voice cut through the chatter, and all eyes turned towards the stage as he spoke. "And now, I am pleased to announce the final team of the night," he began. "This team is made up of some very special students who broke expectations and entered Beacon earlier than usual."

Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss immediately halted their conversation and snapped their attention to the stage as soon as Ozpin's words registered in their minds.

"huh looks like your not that special rubes " yang teased

"may i introduce you to team brrm otherwise pronounced as team brim"

Ozpin proceeded to introduce the team one by one, starting with the first member. "Maxwell McGath," he announced as max walked on stage .

"He doesn't look that special." yang says unimpressed

"Randy Cunningham,"

The mention of Randy's name caught Pyrrha's attention, and she turned her head abruptly in shock, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Rex Salazar."

Ozpin lowered the anticipation for the last team member. "And lastly, there is one more person on this team who is not particularly special, he is kind of well known so you might've heard of him" he said, preparing to reveal the final name.

"The final member and leader of team BRRM is…"

"Ben Tennyson,"

AAAnd cue chaos

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man Torchwick sat on a table in a vacant warehouse, taking in the sight of a sizeable collection of Dust that he had acquired the previous night. A self-satisfied smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as he surveyed his latest plunder, the room otherwise empty and silent.

"you seem quite pleased with yourself roman says a female voice." Torchwick's smile faded as the woman's voice echoed through the warehouse "and to what do i owe the pleasure, Ms fall." roman asked looking up at her shadowed shilouette.

"your partner failed to do her damn job and now the client is mad." cinder said as emerald and mercury walked up behind her with mercury flipping torchwick the bird.

"Is that so? well maybe if you told us why this job was so important in the first place then maybe she would have a reason to try harder, you ever think about that." roman says kinda condescendingly.

"As I've said before," Cinder responded, irritated at Roman's questioning. "You will know what you need to know when you need to know it." Her tone left no room for further discussion or debate.

"Yeah, well, it would be a hell of a lot more helpful if you'd just tell me now," he stated before shifting his focus to his scroll searching through his scrollchat. "But go ahead, keep your little secrets. I'll find out eventually, whether you want me to or not."

...

Cinder broke the brief silence, addressing Roman with a question. "So, what's the current progress? Are they there yet?"

"What, you in a rush? Because even if you were, it's not like they could move any faster." Roman retorted, his tone slightly mocking.

"You didn't answer the question."

Roman looked up from his scroll, finally providing an answer to Cinder's question. "Yeah, they're in," he confirmed, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. "The infiltration of Beacon Academy was successful."

Chapter Text

The next morning, Team BRRM woke up in their new dorms within Beacon Academy. The room was small and modest, furnished with two sets of bunk bede, desks, and a single window. The early morning sunlight filtered through the window, casting a warm glow across the room.

Ben was already wide awake, sitting on his bed and scrolling through his scroll. Unlike his teammates, he had woken up hours ago, having a habit of naturally waking early.

Rex groaned as he rolled out of bed, still half-asleep. Ben couldn't help but tease him a little"you wake up really late for someone who's worked with providence for like five years."

-no you just wake up too early, go back to sleep- aaand there's the voice ben can't seem to get out of his head.

"late? nah. don't you know time is relative, to you i woke up late but to me i woke up right on time. besides, i checked, its like an hour before class actually starts. rex rebuts rubbing his sleepy eyes

"Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that,"

After a brief period of silence, Rex sat fully upright, having successfully woken up. He then realized that he and Ben were currently the only members of their team who were awake.

"So, what's your story, Ben?" he asked , wanting to know more about his teammate's past. "i doubt you were just born with tech like that on your arm, where'd you get it."

Ben offered two options to Rex with a smirk on his face. "You want the long version, or the version that won't take hours to explain?"

. "Just give me the short version," rex said, signaling his preference for a more concise summary.

5 years ago I found a watch in a cave wall that lets me turn into ten different alien species. ever since then Ive been using it to help people, kinda like a superhero but without the stupid costumes

"huh that's kinda cool i got my powers 5 years ago too. Funny thing is, I don't really remember how I got my powers, or anything before that, but I know it was five years ago when it happened,"

"So, what you have like amnesia or something?"

"Yeah, they've been trying to figure out who I was before my memory loss, but no luck so far,"

"I guess we both got weird powers from some random stuff, huh?" Ben chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

Rex nodded in agreement, a small grin on his face. "Yeah, you could say that."

After a brief moment of silence, Rex looked at his teammate with a smirk. "So, you've been a superhero for five years, huh? I bet you have some crazy stories."

Ben chuckled. "Yeah, plenty. But most of them are like, top secret, classified, and all that. Besides, you wouldn't believe half of it."

Rex raised an eyebrow, intrigued by Ben's words. "Oh yeah? Try me." he said, crossing his arms.

Ben leaned back against the wall. "Alright, here's one for ya. Ever fought an evil clown trying to suck the joy out of people?"

"An evil clown? Seriously? Sounds like something straight out of a kids cartoon. But hey, ive fought a guy who was just straight up a cactus, so I dont have any room to judge,"

"hey would you look at that, looks like im not the only teenager with a rogues gallery. "

"Yeah, but mine's way weirder than yours. I mean, fighting an evil clown? That's so cheesy."

Ben rolled his eyes. "Hey, you try fighting something you couldn't even imagine on a normal friday night. See how that goes."

"hey how'd you even end up in providence in the first place" ben asked

Rex looked down, thinking for a moment before answering. "Well...its a long story, I didn't have any memories or a place to go so providence took me in and I've been working for them ever since. I owe them a lot. they're the closest thing I have to a family."

Ben's expression softened as Rex spoke. He could sense the weight of his words, . "I'm sorry, man. Must be tough not knowing who you are or where you came from. but if it's any consilation i would like to think of everyone on this team as family, i don't know if that makes you feel any better but I just think it would help you to know that your not alone."

Rex looked up at Ben, a small smile forming on his face. "Thanks, man. It's nice to know I've got some people looking out for me."

He leaned back on his bed, stretching his arms. "Still sucks not knowing anything about my past, but it's nice that I've at least got a present and future to care about"

"Hey, who knows?" Ben said, trying to keep the mood light and optimistic. "Maybe one day you'll get a hint about your past, or even get your memories back. You never know what could happen."

Rex smiled at the idea. "Wishful thinking"

"oh by the way you mind peeping through that door for me" ben asks

" Sure, but why exactly do you want me to do that?"

"Just trying to make sure i don't get jumped by an army of fans when I go outside." Ben replied.

Rex laughed at Ben's statement, shaking his head. "An army of fans? This Is why im never becoming famous, man would i not wanna be in your shoes."

Ben chuckled and rolled his eyes at Rex's comment. "Yeah, being famous is overrated. Trust me, it's not all it's cracked up to be. There's always the paparazzi, fans stalking you 24/7, and don't even get me started on the autographs."

He got up and slowly opened the door, peeking outside to see if there were any fans or paparazzi waiting to pounce on Ben.

"Woah!" Rex exclaimed as he struggled to keep the door closed against the onslaught of fans trying to push their way in.

rex took up a broom stick and began sticking it out there poking people who got too close in a manner very similar to what ozpin did to the same crowd last night" back, back you animals."

ben had somehow managed to get his uniform on in that short time before stepping on the window" hey rex, race you to breakfast" he said before jumping out the window

Rex's eyes widened in surprise as he watched Ben jump out the window. "What in the-"

"Hey, no fair, you cheated!" he shouted after Ben as the latter made his escape through the window.

Rex quickly slammed the door closed and pulled on his own uniform before jumping out the window after Ben.

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molly sat in her living room sipping a cup of tea as she gave her brother the death stare while he simply sat there, quietly enjoying the tea.

"molly i can explain" ironwood said in a calm voice as he continued sipping his tea

molly raised a single eyebrow "oh? I would love to hear it, please explain to me why you decided to send my son off to beacon without telling me, explain to me why you didn't tell me that you were planning to bond my child with the same machine that got my husband killed, did you know max was part of the prophecy? cause from where im standing, it kinda sounds like you knew for a pretty long time and never told me."

i knew you would react like this, listen molly i had been planning on telling you, but i had hoped we would be wrong about max, i hoped he wasn't one of them so I didn't tell you.

Molly sat there for a couple seconds before closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath, she stayed like that for a couple seconds before finally speaking "you should have told me... the moment the idea popped into your head you should have told me, I deserved to know, he's my son and I deserve to know..."

i know and I agree that i should have told you, but I do hope you understand that if there was even a smidgen of a chance that he wasn't one of the five i would'nt have said anything, i wouldnt have sent him anywhere and he would've kept living a normal life, but... when he started generating turbo energy, i knew i could deny it no longer.

Molly nodded slowly "yeah, I understand that... I do, doesn't really change how I feel though.." Molly took a sip of her tea quietly staring off into space "do you think this was the right choice? sending him to beacon I mean..."

"... you already know how i feel about the subject, so tell me. do you think it was a good decision"

Molly stayed quiet for a couple moments before responding "...part of me wants to say no, hell I really want to say no because there's a chance he could end up dead..." Molly sat there quiet for a couple more moments "...and the other part of me is saying yes... because despite all my parental instincts, i know he won't die, not under Ozpin's protection... part of me is saying yes because.. i don't think he would have been happy here, I don't think he would've been happy if he went to a regular school."

Molly looked back down at her tea, letting out another sigh "max was always a special kid. even before the whole, bonding thing .." she muttered " he was always different from the other kids, he would talk to himself, even if the people standing next to him thought it was weird, he would start speaking spanish sometimes for no reason he would just do the most random things for no reason and alot of people made fun of him for being so different but he didn't care anytime someone asked him why he doesn't act his age he would always say "why should i do what I don't wanna do when Im perfect as me."..." molly looked down into her cup before speaking " i just want him to make friends with people just as different as he is."

Molly looked up at her brother silently, her eyes full of grief as a couple more seconds of silence passed before she spoke again "this is all so... so complicated..."

"i know what you mean, and I know how he acts which is why I believe, he will be happy cause ive seen the team he is on, they are just as weird and different as he is maybe even weirder"

Molly chuckled softly, a small smile forming on her face "yeah, I guess your right... maybe this was the better option, but I still worry about him, I'm his mother, worrying comes naturally..."

Molly leaned back in her chair, letting out another sigh, it was clear she was stressed out but trying her best to hide it, her brother knew better though, he could see the stress on her face, he knew she was holding back so much, but he also knew if he brought it up she would just change the subject

so, how do you like the new neighborhood. are you moving in alrigh

Molly shrugged, the look of stress on her face started to disappear as she spoke "it's nice, I haven't made any friends yet but at this point I don't think I expect to make any, it feels.. weird living by myself. I miss having someone else in the house, but other than that the house is pretty nice, its just weird being alone in a 2 bedroom house."

yeah i get it, sometimes i wake up in the middle of the night and just think about everything that went wrong in my life.

Molly nodded as she stood up and walked over to him, she sat down on the couch next to him giving him a nudge "you need to stop moping, it's not healthy ya'know, brooding doesn't do you any good"

"im not brooding just expressing my feelings."

Molly rolled her eyes letting out a light chuckle "same thing and you know it, you've been wallowing in your depression for way too long, you need to start doing something productive, take up a new hobby or something, meet someone."

"i have hobbies"

"Really. like what? and don't say brooding

"i protect atlas from all that may threaten it"

Molly rolled her eyes once again "no, we are not counting your job as a hobby, i mean like an actual hobby, like cooking or dancing, something not work related."

"i play poker, does that count"

Molly thought for a second tilting her head to the side as she spoke "poker... nah you've always been good at that kinda stuff i doubt it'd be fun if your always winning" Molly then got an idea "come on, were gonna go find you some hobbies."

Molly rolled her eyes "no, you are coming with me, it's been a long time since you, and I have spent time with each other." Molly said as she grabbed his hand "now come on, we are going. "

Molly pulled him up out of his chair and started walking down the hallway "let's go." She said not letting go of his hand while her face held a stern expression, showing that she was serious and wasn't going to take a "no" for an answer

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Pyrrha walked through the halls of Beacon ,it was currently lunch time so she was walking to the cafeteria however she wasn't fully paying attention as her thoughts were distracting her causing her to accidentally bump into someone, eliciting an instinctive "sorry" from the redhead.

*She then looks at who she bumped into and notices that it's randy "randy where have you been ive been searching all over for you. when did you get into beacon how did you get into beacon why didn't you tell me?" pyrrha barraged him with questions as she shook him excessively

please. stop. shaking. me

pyrrha immediately stopped shaking him, instead opting to grab him by the shoulders. she looked at him with a stern yet concerned expression.

"How did you get in here? why didn't you tell me? do you know how worried I was when you didn't pick up your phone?"

pyrrha sighed in relief but then quickly returned to her look of annoyance. she gave randy a light flick on the forehead as retribution for keeping her in the dark.

"I was worried about you, you dolt. you can't just keep that sort of thing a secret from me. i was worried about you all day yesterday."

she then pulled randy into a tight hug. despite the fact that she was annoyed at him for keeping his early entry into beacon a secret she was still ecstatic that her best friend was attending the same school as her.

"your gonna have to tell me everything you here me. i wanna know every detail of how you managed to make it here."

hug. too tight. need. air

pyrrha immediately released her tight grip on randy and took a step back still looking down at him with a stern gaze for a few seconds before it softened into a happy smile and she ruffled his hair

"Sorry, just a little over excited you could say"

she then grabs randy's hand and starts pulling him down the halls.

"C'mon let's go back to my dorm room so you can tell me everything" she said in an over the top dramatic voice

pyrrha drags randy down to her dorm room, her stride is quick and filled with excitement at the fact her best friend was here. she practically shoved him into her room before closing the door behind them.

"now tell me everything and don't spare any details." she said as she took a seat on her bed, patting the area next to her for randy to sit as well.

randy paused for a moment, he knew he couldn't tell pyrrha about the mask or any of the prophecy stuff, ozpin had made that point very clear , but he also didn't want to lie to pyrrha, she was his best friend, they always told each other everything so he didn't want to lie to her.

"its not really all that interesting. i was just in the right place at the right time, ozpin saw what i could do and scouted me to go to beacon." randy said making sure to omit the details, he didn't lie.

"your lucky, and a complete idiot. you should've told me you were coming here, i wouldn't have been worried for so long. you know how worried i get."

Pyrrha let out an annoyed humph as she stared at him, her expression still somewhat stern, but the look of annoyance was slowly being replaced with a look of relief and happiness.

"You're still an idiot...but I'm glad I'm gonna be your here. I swear if you keep anymore secrets from me I'm gonna start tying you to me so you can't run off, got that? now that weve got that out of the way, what's it like being on a team with ben tennyson, this is like a dream come true for you isnt it "

its awesome, he's just as cool in real life as he is in my imagination. i even got to see him as bigchill and it was so much cooler than I ever thought it would be

Pyrrha chuckled seeing how excited he was about this. Seeing Randy excited like this made her happy, seeing her friends happy made her happy. She smiled and gently patted his head.

"i see that celebrity crush of yours hasn't gone away."

"oh come on its ben tennyson can you blame me."

"Oh not at all I can't blame you at all." Pyrrha responds with a slight chuckle while simultaneously ruffling his hair to tease him

"But it's adorable so I'm gonna tease you about it"

anyway enough about me, let's talk about your team, make any new friends

She smiles happily as she begins to talk about her team and the friends she's made among them.

"Yeah, I've met some pretty good friends here. My team members are all really nice."

"There's Jaune," she says, with a dreamy tone in her voice that quickly goes away once she notices herself "he's the team leader, but he's a complete fool but he's still nice and he means well"

randy notices her tone and immediately starts teasing her "oh so then you're really close with this jaune guy huh."

She quickly shakes her head in denial, looking away as her face reddens

"W-what!?! I mean he is my teammate and all s-so i guess you could say we're pretty close."

"mhm i bet you are"

pyrrha's face becomes more visibly red as she looks at him with a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance as her hands shoot outward to grab him by the wrists and starts to shake him again, like earlier.

"i swear to god if you tell anyone about this I will end you right here and now"

"Why. do. you. autoresort. to shaking me."

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jaune wasn't exactly the loner type, he liked talking to people, a lot of people would say he talks too much, but right now he didn't feel like talking to anyone, he didn't know why, maybe it was the presence of an actual superhero in the school making him feel like even more of a clown for thinking he could achieve his dream or maybe it was the fact that he was in the presence of so many people far superior to him in skill. whatever it was it really had jaune out of it, which is why he was eating his lunch on the roof, away from everyone else .

he looked out at the horizon simply looking back on his life and all his decisions. could he really be a hero? was faking his way here really the right decision? did he steal away someone else's shot at getting into beacon? does he actually want to be here? he was confused right now to say the least.

"sigh, why am i thinking so much about this, im already here what's the point of thinking back, why... why am i so..." he didn't finish that sentence, he didn't want to. he simply layed on his back, looking up at the sky, mind blank.

"yo you good dude."

jaune looked over to see the person who was speaking. "rex right? how long have you been standing there?"

"eh ive been here a while, i just didn't feel like talking."

"sigh, weird day huh, all the talkative types are learning how to shut up. are you a talkative type? eh whatever it doesn't matter."

"you uhh, you wanna talk about it? even though I don't know you that doesn't stop me from lending an ear. you look like someone who needs to get a lot off his chest." rex said finishing the donut he was eating as he looked down at jaune

mmmm how tempting that offer was, to just get it all off his chest, to put those words out there in the open, that he was a fraud, he didn't make it into beacon because he deserved it, he made it here because he lied, because he was too big of a failure to accept that he's not good enough for this school. But he couldn't say that, he couldn't say any of that, if he spoke up about it he could get kicked out, and that, that was worst case scenario. "nah im good thanks."

"well, if you ever need it im all ears." rex says as he looks back at the horizon "you know not a lot of people are actually content with themselves as they are, they always try to be different, always try to change who they are. ive seen it a lot, people who strived to achieve that goal that dream that basically defined who they were for their entire life, and once they achieve that goal, they change, they become different people. sometimes because it was just because life changed them, shook the very foundation that made them themselves, but sometimes, it was because they felt they had to, because they thought changing your life meant you had to change who you are. people are always trying to change and, there aren't a lot of people who are actually content with themselves."

"are you one of them?" jaune asked "one of those people who are content with themselves."

that actually got rex to stop to think for a second. "no... no im not."

silence

"that was weird. im not really the type of guy to get all deep and introspective like that. kinda weird not gonna lie. maybe it's something in the air." rex says just kinda pushing past the mood shift as if nothing happened.

"alright then, see you around dude." rex says as he gets up and begins leaving "remember if you ever need to get something off your chest im always all ears." he said as he left leaving the door open and swinging.

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ben spent most of his lunchtime far away from anyone else inside the Ampitheater which was kept locked so that no students could get in to destroy the place, but ben being ben, got in without any issue.

right now he was just sitting on the stage, not eating, not thinking just looking at the ground, because, in all honesty he really didn't wanna start using his brain right now, thinking would just remind him of how much of a failure he is.

-wow, your more depressing than usual. so you really are capable of dropping those false pretenses- there's that voice again, just as annoying as ever.

"quit being annoying twenty-three, you aren't doing anything other than being annoying." ben speaks. glaring at the miscolored mirage.

-you know, i do often wonder, when will you acknowledge that you have a problem-

"im fine but since I know you aren't gonna get off my ass about it go ahead, explain to me what my problem is"

"just as you have been told numerous times before, your too perfect for your own good" ben immediately turns around hands instinctively moving to hover over the omnitrix as the voice of vilgax rang out behind him just as recognizable as ever.

"tell me ben." a shadow passes over vilgax "how many times has your commitment to being the perfect hero costed you your happiness." as the shadow passed, the figure of vilgax dissapeared with gwen taking up the space he once occupied "how many times has this mindset of yours lead to you being actually happy? how many hours a day do you spend thinking about anything other than being perfect?" gwens body then morphed into the frame of ozpin as he stared down at the wielder of the omnitrix. "cause I have counted and any answer you give me other than zero for both of them is a lie."

" shut up, im not trying to hear this from you of all people, the guy who is consistently reminding me how much i suck. you know you just might be the least consistently person ive ever met. one second you want me to forgive myself the next you tell me that im useless, what's with that?"

-the mind is a real rollercoaster sometimes you know that- the voice says changing back into a miscolored copy of ben. -your decisions just keep changing and changing over and over never sticking to one goal for too long, imagine it like a Feris wheel- suddenly ben finds himself strapped into a ferris wheel with the voice next to him

-its predictable every move it's going to make is already set in stone and even a small child could understand how it moves- the ferris wheel starts up spinning, keeping the same speed the whole way through.

-but then one thing breaks, one important piece of the whole machine, broken, and what happens next is anyones guess- the ferris wheel starts spinning at rapid speeds causing ben to throw up his lunch. -the wheel could spin faster it could stop it could fall apart . its unpredictable when it's broken- the ferris wheel begins falling apart piece by piece, ben tries to stick to the sides but he falls off the edge.

-so tell me ben when did that piece break- ben finally hits the ground, as he looks up he sees... his parents, walking away, ignoring his cries, and leaving him in the hands of grandpa max. -was it always broken?- as the voice asked the background changed once again to a school yard where ben sees himself, but five years younger sitting on a bench curled up into a ball as all the other kids avoid him. -was it cracking from early childhood, or did one specific life changing event shatter it-

"STOP" ben yells before the voice could change the background " i don't want to see it again." ben says as a couple of tears managed to make it past his eye lids. "Please don't make me see it again." ben pleads in a voice very faint holding back tears.

the background broke apart, the environment returning to the Ampitheater.

-despite being trapped in this mind of yours for five years that emotional fragility of yours never cease to amaze me. fine ill give you a break, for now, but trust me when I say, i am going to fix you, and i don't care if I have to break you to do it- the voice slips right back into the confines of bens mind.

ben looks down at his omnitrix, it was evident he was crying but he simply wiped away the tears and wore that same forced smile that he always does.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ruby had thought today would be a great day, it was Afterall her first real day on a team like this and it was especially her first day leading a team like this, no the initiation test didn't count, well at least that's what she thought. however Weiss was kind of ruining the day for her, because maybe Weiss was right, maybe her being picked as leader was a mistake.

ruby walked herself through the halls of beacon making her way to her dorm.

as she walked she began to think to herself "...maybe she was right I'm not cut out for this maybe I am just some dumb kid...no I can't think like that I at least gotta try to keep a positive attitude"

she was snapped out of her thoughts as she bumped into something causing her to fall back a bit "ow!"

"oh hey you good"

"yeah I'm ok" she said as she stood back up, not looking up at the person she had bumped into

"I should really pay more attention to where I'm going, sorry for bumping into you" she apologized before looking up and seeing that the person she bumped into, was ben tennyson

she gasped in surprise and immediately began fangirling "oh my god, your, ben ten!" she squealed

Ben gave a big grin as he spoke "yep that's me, you a fan?"

"a fan?, a FAN?!, i've been a fan of you for years!" she exclaimed not believing that she was actually meeting her childhood hero in person" ive bought all of your merchandise, ive seen all your fights, i know all your aliens, I CREATED YOUR FAN CLUB!"

Ben chuckled as he listened to Ruby's enthusiasm

"Whoa, that's some serious dedication right there," he chuckled. "I'm flattered, really. I never realized I had such hardcore fans."

Ruby's heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice, it sounded exactly how she remembered it from all those videos of his fights that she somehow managed to get her hands on.

"i really can't believe I'm meeting you in person right now" she said trying to control her excitement "I'm sorry I'm probably annoying you with my fangirling"

Ben chuckled again, genuinely amused by Ruby's enthusiasm.

"Nah, you're not annoying at all," he reassured her. "It's actually refreshing to meet someone who's as passionate about this stuff as you are. You know, most people look at me like I'm some kind of alien freak or something."

Ruby crossed her arms and pouted, her eyebrows furrowing in irritation. "Those people are stupid," she stated firmly. "You're like, the coolest person ever. You save people and fight evil and stuff?"

"Thanks, I appreciate it," he said. "But you're giving me way too much credit. I'm just doing what I can to help people and make a difference, you know? And yeah, fighting evil is kinda part of the job description."

A smile spread across Ruby's face as she continued to gush about Ben. "Yeah well... you're still totally cool! Like, seriously, you're my hero! You've always been a huge inspiration to me," she gushed.

Ben's expression softened as he looked at Ruby, clearly touched by her words

"Wow, That's a pretty high honor," he said genuinely. "im glad I could change your life ms?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I totally forgot to introduce myself" she blurted out, her heart fluttering.

"I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose"

Ben grinned at her excitement

"It's nice to meet you, Ruby," he said, holding out his hand to shake hers. "I'm Ben, but I guess you already knew that"

Ruby enthusiastically shook his hand, her heart racing at the feeling of his touch.

"Yeah, I kinda did know that already," she laughed awkwardly, her voice slightly nervous from the sheer joy of meeting her hero. "But it's still pretty surreal to meet you in person"

Ben looked down at his Omnitrix, surprised by the sudden blinking. He then looked back up at Ruby.

Ruby's face fell slightly, feeling a pang of disappointment at the thought of him leaving so soon. "Wait, you're leaving already? But I have so many more things I want to ask you!"

then i guess I'll have a lot of stuff to answer when we meet again " ben says before running off to the place he was supposed to be.

Ruby watched as he dashed away, her heart fluttered she was excited and couldn't wait for their next meeting. "I guess we will..." she whispered to herself, her mind already racing with questions for next time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

rex max randy and ben sat in ozpins office waiting for an explanation as to why they were here. ozpin had called them all here for some reason that they didn't know yet.

"so as you probably all realized, your team is not a normal one, this team was created for the sole purpose of keeping you four together to defeat the circle. but that isn't the only reason. all four of you possess power that most huntsmen could never hope to approach. you also have knowledge and information that only a selected few in all remnant do. now i am not someone who sells out children for military purposes, i would never turn any of you into soldiers. however the government needs help from you four."

as ozpin says this he clicks his cane on the ground causing a massive hologram to appear on the screen.

"a week ago the atlesian military discovered a deactive ultralink in lower mantle." ozpin says as a big yellow ultralink with four legs appeared on screen " they tried to contain the ultralink in one of their containment facilities, but it kept generating electromagnetic waves which caused various power stations to start overloading. now for the reason you all are here. im asking you to help the atlesian government transport this ultralink to a location that is safe and uncompromised."

"okay but why would they need help transporting it. if its deactive then why are they asking us for help." max asked the question that was on everyone's minds.

"rex do you remember when you fought those two cloaked people, tyrian callows and biowulf."

"Yeah but how are they involved in this?"

"well there was found camera footage of those two stealing files and information from providence headquarters, one of those files detailing the ultralink, it's containment measures and every possible location in remnant that the ultralink can be contained in. which is why you four have to go as you are some of the only people in remnant who know about ultralinks, and you four are more powerful than almost anyone else who knows about the secret."

"i know this is quite a lot to ask of you considering half of you aren't even trained yet.however I also know that all of you have power and potential that far surpasses most huntsmen. but since I don't want to push any of you into something you don't want to do i will give you a choice. you can either stay here in the safe confines and comfort of your school. or you could go out there and potentially get hurt. its your choice to choose."

the four looked at each other for a solid second

"eh this is nowhere near my first mission you don't gotta worry about me." ben and rex say in sync which was a complete accident.

"classes were getting boring anyway." randy says

"Randy's right, school was always overrated." that one was said by max

ozpin simply chuckled at this "alrght then since you all consent to going on this mission, i will see you in, however long the transportation takes."

"awesome this is officially..." randy begins

" Team BRRM's first mission"

Chapter Text

-5 years ago-

a young child looking to be around eleven years old sat on a bed in an empty white room the only sound being silence. Why was he here? he didn't know. where was he? he didn't know that either. Who was he? yet another question without an answer.    

the boy had awoken inside this room with no memories of who he was or where he came from.  

the boy started bouncing a ball against the walls of the room, what else was there to do? 

suddenly he heard the door click open and as he looked over to see the person he saw that he person was a tall, muscular man with graying hair and a white overcoat covering a gray undercoat. the man came in with a plate of food in his gloved hands. 

"who are you? where am i?" the boy asked, rather calmly for the situation he was currently in. 

" my name is james ironwood. and from what I could gather, your name is rex salazar. you are in providence main headquarters." ironwood answers in a rather soft voice  

"why am i here." rex asked  

"you are here because we found that you are an evo. an evo is a  human fully infested with active nanites. do you remember what nanites are, does your memory go back that far? "  

rex simply shakes his head 

"when can i go home?" rex asked the middle-aged man  

"we don't know. we don't even know if you have a home." ironwood says bluntly, not wanting to lie to a child    

"oh i see." rex says as he looks up at the roof "where is my family?" he asks 

" we don't know that either." 

"oh." he says looking down "well can i leave the room."  

"Soon. we just have to make sure that you can't hurt anyone or get hurt on accident."

"then can you stay with me?" rex asked  

ironwood was on the verge of saying no before reminding himself that this kid is alone and probably afraid. "alright." 

-PRESENT- 

rex sat up in his seat in the bullhead ben to the left of him and max to the right of him with randy having managed to get shotgun. 

rex continued fiddling with a loose thread on his jacket not really having much else to do.

eventually the bullhead reached the location that they needed to be at. the main base of operations for providence. rex was already used to it by this point, he had seen it from the outside enough to know where every nut and bolt was at this point which is what made hearing the others ooo's and aaa's kinda endearing.

"so this is where you've been living for five years? gotta say im kinda jealous." ben says which gives rex the biggest ego boost ever. if the guy who can turn into aliens is jealous of you, you know your cool.   

as the ship lands the boys file off into the building which was now opened after rex scanned his face. as they walk through the halls they see providence agents in their black and white uniforms simply going about their day blissfully unaware of what was about to go down.

"so these guys are providence agents." max notes after one of them bumped into him and max could tell the agent was glaring at him through her mask. "weird people." he mumbled to himself however he didn't really have much room to judge.  

as the teen's made their way to  through the building they eventually found themselves at ironwoods main office. as rex knocked on the door it opened to reveal ironwood and three other people two of which rex had known, winter and bobo, he had no clue who the other girl was but he had to admit she was cute. 

" oh hey uncle ironwood, your part of providence?" max asks  

"UNCLE!!?" everyone else in the room was shocked by this reveal 

"dude why did you never tell us about this?" randy yells shaking him viciously 

"ok putting that reveal on the backburner for now, why are you guys here." he says gesturing to the three others in the room.

"you didn't think they'd send a bunch of kids on a mission like this without backup did you." bobo says 

"did that monkey just talk?" max and randy asked in unison, they didn't yell, they had heard weirder this week, but it was still weird.  

"guys meet bobo, my best friend."  rex introduces 

"nice to meet ya." the talking chimp says, enjoying their reactions while twirling his guns 

"yeah hi." ben says not fazed much, he's seen much weirder than a talking monkey, this was nothing.   

"and this is winter." rex introduces the white haired woman. he then gestures towards the other girl in the room "and this is... who are you?" he asked 

"hello my name is penny polendina." the ginger girl introduces herself with a friendly wave

"hi." the boys say 

"so then where's the ultralink?" steel asks popping out of max's chest  this startled the other three in the room however they were already told about what the teen's could do. 

ironwood picks up a metal container and slams it on the table before the metal casing then pulls up revealing the ultralink on ice. 

-5 years ago-

rex walked through the completely nature filled room that ironwood had been showing him around it had trees, lakes, grass and anything else you could find in nature.  

"what is this place?" kid rex asks, looking around, amazed that they could make and maintain an entire ecosystem in a room, in a big dark building.  

"this is what we call the petting zoo. its a place where all types of animals and plants turned evo can thrive and survive without hurting anyone." ironwood explains as he picks up a big flower with teeth and multiple barbed tongues and hands it to the eleven year old. "see this flower. notice how this flower is  completely different from everything else around it? that is why it's an evo, because every thing about it is different from the way it should be." ironwood finished     

"So what your saying is it's not normal." rex asked 

"correct." ironwood answers  

"well why can't it be normal." 

" we have already tried everything. they can't be fixed. there is no cure."  

rex simply looked down at the flower in his hands before covering it with both hands. there is no  cure, it can't be fixed, itll never be normal. all these thoughts bubbled through rexs head as his eyes began to glow a bright blue before blue lines began crawling through rex's body as well as through the body of the plant grim before suddenly a bright light flared through the palm of his hands and after taking his hands off the evo it was now just a regular sunflower. 

" how did you do that." ironwood asked rex, astounded by the fact that  rex was not only the first non rampaging evo, he was also capable of curing evo's, something no scientists in remnant believed was possible.  

"i don't know i just wanted him to be normal i guess." rex explained not really understanding why it's so crazy.  

"rex. what you just did, it shouldn't be possible. we've been trying to cure them for the entire past month and nothing has worked." ironwood explained    

"well maybe you just weren't trying hard enough." rex says  

ironwood kneels down in front of rex before putting his hand on his shoulder 

" rex, i think you may have a gift, a gift to cure evo's. listen to me when I say that you have incredible potential, you may just be the one who will end up saving the world."   

-PRESENT- 

"Yo this kinda feels weird doesn't it." max whispers to rex" i mean like.. why is this going so smooth so far you know? it just kinda feels like we should have our guard up a little more." he explains. it wasn't an abnormal feeling by any means as they couldn't have went through all these security measures for nothing to happen, it wasn't just that, he could feel the helmsman's eyes on him constantly, the gaze felt familiar which was what made it weirder.   

they had gotten aboard their new transport, a submarine that was fully cloaked using atlesian tech.  so it was pretty much impossible for them to be noticed or attacked. 

"yeah, Im getting that feeling too, but there's no real reason to get all anxious over it, i mean if someone did attack us while we were down here, one of two things would happen. either the guys who attack us get pummeled into the ground. or they drag us deeper into the ocean where we die an excruciatingly long and miserable death. those are the only two ways this could go down so I don't see why you're fretting on the inevitable." rex explains   

"oh, wow your just a beacon of reassurance arent you. sigh, were all gonna die." max sums up nice and kindly.  

"nah. don't worry. were not dying till you get your own episode." 

"What?" 

"nothing. im just gonna go grab something to drink ill be back." rex says as he gets up out of his seat and leaves the room. 

despite this being a stealth submarine it was not small since it was also designed with the facilities needed for living just in case travel lasted weeks. 

as he made his way into the kitchen area he found penny sifting through the fridge. 

"hey what you looking for." rex asks leaning next to the fridge.  

"oh hello, your monkey friend asked me for a drink." penny explains as she pulls a rootbear out of the fridge. 

"you should've just let bobo get his own drink, it's not like anythings stopping him." 

" i was told that people are much more prepared for all situations when they relax more, so I am helping him relax." penny explains   

"let me guess, bobo told you that."

"yes."

"listen penny, bobo isn't really someone you should be listening to, he just wants to keep laying around and doing nothing, you dont have to get him anything." rex explains as he takes the root bear out of her hands.  

"well i did tell him i would do it, i dont want to go back on my word." penny says  

"then let me give it to him, i was gonna talk to him either way." rex says  

"oh, well then thank you... i never learned your name." penny says  

"Rex, Salazar." he says holding out his hand for her to shake 

"penny polendina." she reintroduces shaking his hand  

"you already told me your name."

"oh, yes." 

the two walk for a while 

"so... you always do everything people tell you to do?" Rex asked as they were walking

"well, only if they are being polite about it." penny responds

"why not just say no, you dont have to do stuff just because people say it nicely, not everyone is always gonna ask for stuff nicely."

"if someone makes an ask of me and is not rude then it only seems right to do them the favor."

"well some people try to take advantage of being polite you know, they figure that if they just ask nicely they'll get anything they want. you can't always trust what people say, some people are nice to your face only because they want something out of you. sometimes the people who are dicks to you are the ones you can trust the most."

"that seems very contradictory, why would someone be reliable if they are rude to you." penny asks. 

"trust me there's a good reason for that, most of the time people who aren't afraid to call you out on your bullshit are the ones who will usually be the more honest people. especially when they're not afraid to just call you out to your face instead of just talking behind your back. those types of people might come off as dicks, but atleast thats their honest opinion of you, someone treating you nicely to your face could be going behind your back to hurt you."

"well, why not just... assume the best of people, you don't have to be negative, just wait for people to prove themselves." penny tries to suggest

you can't go in the world assuming everyone you meet is gonna be a saint, you're gonna run into people who will go out of their way to just screw with you just for the fun of it, you have to be prepared for all scenarios, just assume everyone you meet could be out to screw you over, it may sound pessimistic but it pays off."

"so basically what your saying is... never give anyone the benefit of the doubt?" penny clarifies

"Listen penny, I'm not saying you should never give any body the benefit of the doubt, all I'm saying is you shouldn't trust anybody just because their nice to you, you can if you want, but just know there are people out their that will take advantage of you, and will lie to you to get what they want, just to screw you over. you might be a good person, but that doesn't mean everybody is."

"well... but i don't want to think that way, i don't to think that everyone is bad and no one is good." penny explains.

"exactly, just assume the worst right off the bat. that way, if you're right, you were already prepared. and if you're wrong, you'll only be pleasantly surprised.

Penny ponders that thought for a second. there is some logic behind that

"I guess i understand."

"so... if you assume everyone is untrustworthy, how do you make friends?" penny asks

a slightly uncomfortable question

"simple, you wait until you know you can trust them." rex explains 

silence passes as they continue walking 

"so.. you haven't had much human interaction have you?" rex asks 

"What do you mean?"  

"i mean like.. you don't seem like you were created with human interaction in mind." he elaborates.   

"create- how did you-" 

"Know you were an android? my semblance lets me talk to machines, i could hear the computers in your head the moment I saw you." 

"... your semblance allows you to talk to machines?" penny says looking at him bewildered 

"wait a minute. you can hear the computers in my head? like the ones in my processor." penny questions sounding slightly startled

"can you... hear my thoughts?"

"well.. not exactly, i mean I can hear your thinking, but your thoughts are just a bunch of binary code right now, so I couldn't understand them even if I tried. it's like hearing a conversation, but everyone's speaking a foreign language."

"ah"

...

"what did you mean, by not created with human interaction in mind." she asks curiously

"well you just seem very... robotic, I mean you do everything you're told to do without question, you're just a little too... perfect, you're too nice, there's not much of a hint of sarcasm in you. your behavior just screams not built with human interaction."

"perfect? but isnt being perfect a good thing?"  

"sure, perfect can be a good thing. It's just that human people aren't perfect. we all have flaws that we can't really avoid, no one's just gonna be good at everything or just gonna do everything perfectly all the time. no one can have zero flaws its not possible . cause it's not normal, it's not human. and im sorry to say this but, your not normal, because your too perfect."

a long moment of silence.

slowly, penny's cheerful expression falters and she seems lost in thought.

" I'm not... normal"

she says it quietly. almost as if to herself

Penny had to think on that one for a second. she never really thought of herself as perfect.

she just figured she was how she was supposed to be.

but then rex brings up her behavior, and the way she acted. she had always been told that she should do what she's told, always be respectful, be polite, never talk back.

and she had never thought to question any of it.

and she certainly never thought to question why she didn't have any flaws.

rex saw her smile fall and he felt bad for saying what he did. 

"if it makes you feel any better im not normal either."

"you aren't?"

she looks up at him seeming curious

"nah I'm an evo, im guessing you know what those are?" 

"yes i know what they are, but how is it that you are so human looking?"  

"oh well that's actually a long story. you see."

-5 years ago- 

rex put his hand on a mechanical wall inside of the providence training room willing it to fall back into the floor. he would then do the same thing to the rest of the walls as he touched them.

 after a while the training session had ended as ironwood made his way into the room.

"you did good son." ironwood said as he ruffled the kids hair before giving him a soda. 

the two sat down on the floor in the training room. 

"so, your semblance how exactly does it work?" ironwood asked   

"i can talk to machines, its kind of like...  how you ask me to do all this stuff. i can hear them, they talk to me."     

"what are they saying?" ironwood asked  

"i don't know, they're talking in some weird other language i can't understand."

ironwood simply nods his head 

Rex looks down at the soda in his hand before taking a sip of it.

"Ironwood?" He called out.

Ironwood takes a sip of his coffee before replying.

"Yes Rex?"

ironwood took another sip of his soda before turning to face rex.

"hit me son."

Rex leaned forward, placing the empty soda bottle on the floor before speaking.

"I... had this dream the other night... it was so real, I still can't get it out of my head."

Rex placed one of his hands over his face as he spoke, his voice was quite somber.

"It was like... I was lost in the woods in the middle of nowhere and I was being hunted by.. this guy, he had long hair and a weird metal hand.."

He looked at his own hands, looking them over for a moment before continuing.

"He was hunting me down, and I was running for my life... I felt so scared. It was like I had never felt before.. and then..."

rex stood up before standing kinda far away as he put his soda on the ground before then extending his arm out as it slowly transformed into a giant orange sword. 

"how did you-"

" i don't know. i just woke up and saw my arm like this."  rex interrupted before turning his bfs back to his regular human hand. "and ever since then it's like I can control it. change it back at will." he explained 

"and you can do that... anytime you want?" he asked, wanting to make sure he was actually hearing the kid right.

Rex nodded his head in confirmation.

"Yeah... anytime I want. It's weird, I don't know how I can do it, but I just can."

He said, looking down at his own arm, wondering if he could ever explain what was happening to himself.

ironwood just sat there for a moment, deep in thought.

"have you... tried to do it to other parts of your body?" he said, curious to see what else the kid could do with his new found power.

"uhh i can try"

He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breathe as he focused on the feeling in his body, trying to make something happen.

As Rex continued to concentrate on trying to manipulate his body, nothing was happening like he expected. He opened his eyes to look down at his body, a sense of disappointment washing over him.

"Ugh... I don't understand it, why can't I...?" He said, sounding frusterated. Why wasn't it working, he could create a sword so why couldn't he create anything else? 

"okay, try to  think back to your dream. think back to how you felt because of that dream."  ironwood attempted to guide him but since he didn't fully know what was going on with the kid he just guessed that this would work based off his experience with semblances. 

Rex thought to himself for a moment before letting out a sigh and closing his eyes again, trying to focus on recalling the dream in his head. He let himself feel the same fear and helplessness he felt in the nightmare as he thought about the man with the giant metal arm trying to hurt him.

as rex opened his eyes he saw that he had managed to change his hands into big metal fists.

"Awesome."

- PRESENT-

penny was enjoying herself.

she was sitting on a counter and hanging off of it like a normal person would, swinging her feet back and forth, or at least that was what rex said was normal.

she found that despite his rather negative mindset, Rex was very funny in a dry and sarcastic sort of way and had made her laugh quite a few times

Rex had to admit to himself that he was actually enjoying talking to penny, it seemed to be a nice change of pace, talking to someone who was so blissfully innocent. and as he talked to her he couldn't help but think that she was kinda cute but he would never admit it.

"so... what are the other people who work with you like" she asked curiously

while laughing penny suddenly loses her balance and slides of the countertop.

a bit startled she tries to grab onto something to keep her balance.

she ends up clinging onto rex's shoulders for support

Rex was startled as well as she stumbled off the countertop, she leaned on his shoulders for support, he grabbed onto her waist and steadied her. for a few moments the pair just looked at each other awkwardly in that position, until rex cleared his throat.

"you ok there?"

she took a deep breath and relaxed, her grip on his shoulders loosened a bit as the initial shock faded out.

"yes, i'm fine. thank you!" she exclaims as she straightened herself up but didn't let go of him quite yet.

Rex still had his hands around her waist, he chuckled at her awkward position and helped straighten her back up, but they were still a bit too close for comfort.

"yeah, next time don't move around on the counter like that, it was only a matter of time until you fell." he said with a smirk.

"i know, i just wanted to sit like people do." she said with a pout.

they were still uncomfortably close. but penny didn't really register it to be honest.

she was still thinking about the things he had said earlier, he had called her.. not normal, saying that she wasn't human.

so many times she had tried so hard to be normal, and here this random boy she had just met had figured it all out in less than an hour.

-elsewhere- 

max walked through the sub looking for steel. steel had said that he wanted to have a look at the ultralink, it was understandable, steel lost all his memories it only makes sense that he would be curious about his own kind.    

he finds steel staring into the container holding the other ultralink.

"what do you think they're like." 

"What?" max questions not understanding what steel means 

"the other Ultralink's what do you think they were like?" steel clarifies 

"how would i know you're the only Ultralink I've ever met. and besides why does it matter what they were like?"   

" it matters, it matters because, because what if I'm nothing like them, what if i don't know who i was before I went to sleep, what if I'm not who I'm supposed to be?" steel asks     

"Where is this all coming from? you never said any of this before today, why are you thinking this stuff today?"  

"i don't know i just, gahhh i can't get it out of my head, maybe its cause of the other ultralink right infront of me, i honestly don't know, all i know is that, i don't know who i am, and I don't know if ill ever know." steel answers 

"well who are you know?" max asks  

steel turns around surprised by that comment while having a face of confusion and annoyance. "what do you mean who am i now? I'm who I am, steel."

exactly, so why do you want that to change. does it matter who you were or who you were supposed to be? you're Steel now, that's what matters." Max replies

steel paused for a moment, taking a long hard look down at the floor.

and with a quiet and frustrated voice, he answers. "yes, yes it does matter. yes it does."

"why?" max questions.

"because it just does." steel responds harshly.

they're conversation was interupted when someone else entered the room 

it was agent katherine ryan the sub's helmsman and one of the few people in providence who actually knew what an ultralink was, or at least that's what his uncle told him, in all reality he didn't trust this woman. she just felt too, familiar, but he knows he's never met this woman before. 

"hey captain what are you doing in here, shouldn't you be steering the sub?" steel asks but she simply ignores him and walks past him to get a good look at the ultralink.    

"we've never met have we?" max questions, watching the woman pass by him and steel in a rude manner.

she simply looks back at him and flashes him a smirk before pressing a button on her scroll causing the whole sub to shake

"woah what's going on?" Max questioned, nearly losing his footing while trying to stay standing.

she kicks him to the ground and shows him her scroll 

"PAYBACK" is what is a few written in the scroll in all caps  

her body shatters like glass. where once was the figure of the ships helmsman now stood the same dual haired girl who tried to kill max on the day he unlocked turbo energy. 

she showed a devilish smirk before lifting her parasol above her head ejecting a blade out as she prepares to stab at max. 

-elsewhere-

ironwood felt the ship shaking as machines broke around him. he attempted to get out of the room he was in but the door wasn't opening so he punched through the door but before he could a large amount of pipes and submarine pieces began to fall on him.

thankfully winter was close enough to catch the debrisusing her glyph allowing ironwood to rip through the door to get out. 

"schnee, what the hell is happening?"   ironwood asks 

" i don't know sir but when the ship started shaking there was an explosion close to me." 

"so what you're telling me is that someone planted explosives on board?" 

" highly likely sir." winter says 

"damn it." there was an inside man on the ship, why didn't he plan for this god damn it.

"schnee, i need you to find every hole on this vessel and use your semblance to block all waterflow, we cannot allow-" he was cut off mid sentence by a fireball blasting him accross the hall.

ironwood looked up to see that he was attacked by a giant monster made up of flames and rocks. 

as winter prepared to fight ironwood signaled against it telling her to just focus on stopping water flow.

as winter raced away towards another side of the submarine the fire elemental was about to throw a fireball at her but ironwood shot it in the face causing it to miss her. 

"you humans piss me off." the fire beast growled out  

He shoots at the creature again. "the feeling's mutual." 

-elsewhere- 

randy and ben fought against the powerful currents pulling them out of the submarine

Randy tries to find a handhold or something sturdy that could he could latch on to, but his hands only found the slippery smooth surfaces as he could barely manage to stay put against the powerful tide of the water trying to drag him through.

"RANDY!"

Hearing Ben's yell, Randy looked down and saw that he was pointing at his scarf, with a hand outstretched towards him. Randy quickly got the hint and threw the ends of his scarf towards Ben's stretched out arms.

Ben slammed his omnitrix, and he transformed into Diamondhead. 

Diamondhead lodged himself into the hole, using his body to seal it up while his grip on Randy's scarf kept him from being dragged out. The water tried to force its way past Diamondhead and into the hole, but he stood firm like rock against the strong current.

With that, Ben slammed down his omnitrix again, transforming this time into Echo Echo. Using his new powers, he created 3 copies of himself, one of which used his body to keep the hole plugged from the inside . Two more clones darted outside of the plug, swimming around the exterior of the submarine.

The two clone Echo Echoes that swam outside quickly found themselves under attack by a creature. The creature was made entirely of water with a glowing red gem on its forehead, its translucent form moving like a living current as it lashed out at the clones with its liquid arms.

As the water elemental rushed at the two echo echoes, Ben quickly split them both into two more clones and had them release a ballistic scream. The four clones emitted a high-pitched, ultrasonic cry, and the water elemental was momentarily stunned by the force of the sound waves. It flailed helplessly for a few moments, disoriented by the intense noise.

With the water elemental stunned, the four echo echoes took advantage of the distraction and charged towards another part of the ship. Their goal was to find and plug any other holes that had been breached by the water so that the rest of the submersible wouldn't fill up and sink to the depths of the water.

As the echo echoes were making a beeline for the other parts of the submersible, one of them was suddenly stopped mid-movement by a forceful attack from the water elemental. The creature slammed the echo echo into the side of the submersible with a powerful blow, causing a sizeable dent in the metal hull.

The water elemental, having temporarily incapacitated one of the echo echoes, turned its attention to the remaining three clones. It used its control over the water to manipulate the currents around them, effectively trapping them in place and preventing them from moving further.

With the three remaining echo echoes restrained by the water elemental, the creature increased the water pressure around them. The force of the water grew stronger as it began to bear down upon the three clones, crushing them gradually with immense force.

As the three echo echoes were being crushed by the increasing water pressure, they gathered whatever strength they had left and released a massive wall of soundwaves. The powerful sonic wave pushed against the water elemental, creating a shockwave that sent the creature reeling backward for a moment.

With the other clones creating a distraction, the echo echo that had been slammed into the side of the submersible channeled its energy again and unleashed another ballistic scream. The sonic wave slammed into the water elemental once more, knocking it further away from the submersible and giving the clones some breathing room.

Taking advantage of the momentary respite, the clones used their sonic scream once more to propel themselves backward through the water. The powerful sound waves generated by their voices pushed against the water

The clones, having used their sonic screams to navigate the waters, found themselves at another breached area of the submersible. This time, however, they discovered that the hole had already been plugged by Winter's glyphs, effectively doing their job for them.

With the water elemental charging back towards the clones, Ben quickly slammed the omnitrix, transforming into Big Chill. As he transformed, he immediately fired a blast of freeze breath at the water monster, catching it off guard and freezing it solid.

Ben, now in his Big Chill form, grabbed the icy water creature and took off into the air. He swiftly flew it out of the water, aiming towards the nearest landmass. Once he reached the land, he hurled the frozen monster onto the shore with a powerful throw.

Upon reaching the shore himself, Big Chill gently landed and approached the frozen water monster. He then reached out with his hands, using his intangibility on the creature's icy body and pushing it deeper into the ground. With the water monster now firmly embedded in the solid soil, it was trapped and unable to escape.

-meanwhile: inside- 

The lights flickered and the hallway was shaking violently, Rex and penny were stumbling through the hallway to try and figure out what happened

the two tried their best to make it through the hallway without eating a faceful of floor, but the constant shaking just made it difficult

"what's going on?" penny yelled through the chaos

"I don't know!"
Rex shouted, he grabbed onto Penny and kept her close as they tried their best not to fall over

"We gotta get to ironwood he'll know what happened!"

penny nodded in agreement, trying to keep her balance in the shaking ship. she held onto rex's arm for stability as they weaved through the tilting halls

"what could have done this?!"

suddenly rex was blasted back by a strong gust of wind "Crap!"

Rex slid across the hallway and slammed into the wall, causing him to let out a pained grunt as he sat up from the impact

the force of the wind made penny stagger backwards as well. she was able to keep her footing though, and turned around to check on rex.

seeing that he was okay she looked back towards the direction that he had gotten hit from and saw a large humanoid made up of what looked to be tornadoes with a large glowing red gem on it's head.

"What the hell is that thing?..." rex's voice chimed as he got back up 

the air being didn't say anything just looked at them for a second before finally speaking "where is the Ultralink? Tell me and you two may just make it out of here alive."

"you break into our ship, threaten us attack me and now you think you can just ask for the most important thing weve got on us?" Rex said in an annoyed tone, "go to hell." rex says as he turns his hands into slam hands

penny got her floating array out preparing for a fight. she looked at Rex. this person had broken into the ship, they most likely were dangerous and she did not like the look they had in their eye.

she also didnt particularly like how they had just thrown rex across the room.

going for a slam-down attack rex's attack had no effect causing him to stumble forward, the air being used this opportunity to grab rex by the waist and lift him up off the ground so that they were at eye level

Rex struggled against its grip, but it was too strong and had him in a tight grip, the creature held him close to its face inspecting him

"you are... different." the air monster said which confused rex.

penny quickly grew angry, her mechanical eyes scanning the monster before finding the gem on its head deducing that that was it's weak spot. 

she gathered her floating array before firing it at the gem sendingthe tornado man flying knocking him out

penny let out a deep sigh and then made sure that both her and rex were both okay.

"are you alright?" she asked with concern. she knew he had gotten thrown off the floor pretty hard

rex grunted as he sat back up and stretched out his limbs, the hit he had taken was a strong one, he could feel the soreness from it but it was nothing too serious.

"Would you believe me if I said ive had better days." he jokes, reassuring her

penny let out a small sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxed a bit, and she let her weapons fall back into her backpack.

suddenly the two felt the entire submarine begin rising.

"Oh boy.... this can't be good"

Rex and penny rush over to a nearby observation window at the end of the hallway to see what exactly was waiting for them outside

they looked to see that the entire sub had been lifted out of the water and was currently in the hands of some red and white giant that was still getting bigger. 

"Jesus what is that thing?" rex said staring in disbelief at the size of the creature, the submarine was already a pretty big ship but the creature made it look incredibly small

and as if the creature heard him, the moment it stopped growing it yelled it's name for the world to know." 

Waybig

Chapter Text

What the hell happened? Why is he flat on his ass? Where the hell is he? All valid questions that max genuinely couldn't give you an answer to. He was currently laying on his back in some city like area except replace the people with giant vines wrapping around every building and even ingrained itself into the roads, the place was very clearly abandoned and it gave off this weird feeling that someone or something was watching him.

As he got up he looked around the area trying to figure out where the hell he had landed while also hoping to figure out how he got here, last thing he remembers he was fighting mystery girl when all of a sudden something yelled really loudly, and the entire sub getting flung but that's about it.

He looked back to see that the girl who was attacking him was right there with him, she was laying on her back unconscious just like he had been.

Max wasn't the type of person to care about appearances but he would be lying if he said he didn't find the mute kinda attractive.

"So I wasn't the only one huh."

"What the- steel? Your awake?"

"Uhh Yeah, falls like that don't exactly hurt for us ultralinks you know" steel says as he pops out of Max's chest

"Well do you remember how we got here?or where here is?" The teen asked

"I remember when we got here, how is a whole different story."

"What do you mean?" Max asked once again

"What I mean is that our sub got sent flying and then it broke apart in the air and now everyone is scattered," steel explained

"Okay so we know nothing."

"Not a thing"

"Sigh, let's at least figure a way out of here first before we start trying to figure out how we got here."

"Well what are we gonna do with her?" Steel asked pointing his triangular hand at the mute girl "we can't just leave her here."

"Don't worry we won't" max said as he looked back at the dual haired girl, he could already tell this was gonna be a long day.

....

Neo's eyes fluttered open as she felt a cool breeze blow against it, her whole body felt sore in the same way it would if someone slammed into the concrete, except much, much harder In this situation.

She opened her eyes fully to see what was going on and to her shock she looked around to find the that she was tied down with chains, laying on a large sheet of scrap metal that was being pulled by the person she was supposed to kill.

She began thrashing against the chain that was holding her down trying to free one of her hands.

"That's not gonna work, just letting you know from now, you're not breaking out of that" max says as he continues dragging her on the sheet of metal

She simply glares at him before looking for her weapon.

"I took that umbrella of yours too, your not getting out of those chains" he says calmly

She glares down at her chains for a moment before continuing to thrash about wildly in the hope that it would do something.

Max simply watched her squirm and turned his head back around trying to figure out where they were and if there was any way out of here.

He was finding nothing, not a single landmark or thing other than buildings in sight.

"So what's the plan here max, how are you gonna get out of this one." Steel asked from inside Max's chest.

"Well I'm gonna find the rest of the team and then we're all gonna regroup and then... We'll figure out what comes after that " max said not fully having a plan

"We're screwed." Steel states knowing it to be a matter of fact

"We're not screwed were just kinda lost, we'll get out of here. Besides what's the likelihood that something we can't beat is following us right now"

"I mean I don't know about the can't beat part but we are being followed."

As steel says this max turns around to see a giant 12 foot tall bipedal rhino casting a shadow over him, it had one horn on the front of it's head and one horn on the back, it had no eyes and it's arms were long lanky and fleshy.

"Why didn't you tell me we were being followed?!!" Max yells at steel

"Eh, I was gonna but then it just kinda slipped my mind."  Steel says

Max didn't have much time to get pissed at steel as he had to dodge a strike from the creatures lanky arm that hit the ground like a whip.

Neo watched max dodge the creatures slams and couldn't help but almost laugh, unfortunately she wasn't blessed with the vocal cords to do that so she just watched, very amused.

"LET'S GO TURBO" there's that blue implosion again as max changes form right before her very eyes "STRENGTH" max said as the energy settled and he emerged in his strength mode.

Max jumped over the creature's blow grabbing it's arm and flipping it over slamming it into the ground, before the creature could get back up max kept his grip on it's arm and slammed it into the ground right next to him and then he did this again and again and again until the creature was no longer a threat.

Neo scowled as the turbo teen singlehandedly defeated that creature before max grabbed the chain and continued dragging her to wherever the hell they were going.

However unbeknownst to them, they were being watched.

-later-

Max dropped the chain and just sat down on one of the vines somewhere in this strange place, he still had no idea where they were and now he was on high alert because of the rhino attack. It was now night time and he had gone back to his base form to save his energy.

He could feel the mutes hateful eyes still on him, seemingly trying to light his head on fire with her mind.

"That's not gonna work you know" max said as he turned to her knowing that she probably doesn't have that ability. " my head is fireproof" max joked

And that's supposed to stop me why the mute girl used her semblance to conjure those words in front of max.

"Oh so you can talk now huh? Mind telling me why you're after the ultralink?"

Yeah no

"Hmph thought so, well then guess I'm just gonna have to get the info out of you some other way" max said as he leaned his back on the wall.

Neo then looked thoughtfully down towards the chain that was holding her in place.

Why did you drag me with you

"Huh what do you mean"

I'm a threat to your life. As long as I'm alive your in danger because I will get out of these chains.

"Yeah I know"

Then why bring me with you? You could've just left me wherever I was and something probably would've killed me in my sleep. Im a threat as long as I'm alive and something tells me you knew that so why didn't you leave me to die?

"Simple I'm not gonna let you die if I can help, maybe you would do that to me but I'm not that kinda guy."

So what you just woke up and decided to be some kind of hero? Neo would've scoffed at the idea but, there was some part of her that kinda liked him for this.

What happens when I get out of this and kill you? Are you gonna hate yourself for letting me stay alive? Or are you gonna blame that stupid personality of yours?

"Neither, because this is just who I am and I'm not gonna change how I feel based on what you do. I made sure you didn't die because I know that people can change, I know that people can get better and do good things even when they believe otherwise, I kinda hope that goes for you too."

Neo just stared at him for a long second before looking at herself going into a deep thought

Kindness is blindness
even though that's what the words in front of her say neo isn't looking at max like he's an idiot who's doomed himself for thinking like that, in fact she had a smile and a faint blush on her face, which might just be the reason why the words blocked Max's view of her face.

"Being blind isn't always a bad thing" max said as he looked at her with hopeful eyes "sometimes blind people can see things in others that no one else can 

Believe whatever you want I'm going to sleep
Neo layed her head back on the metal closing her eyes and turning her face away from him, but she wasn't fully asleep she was still thinking about what he said and she couldn't help the blush that had remained on her cheeks.

After neo seemingly fell asleep steel popped out of Max's chest to give his host a look.

"What's with the look" max asked quietly trying not to wake up the "sleeping" girl

"Oh you know nothing really I just, happened to notice that you and your lady friend were getting along pretty well there."

"Oh my fucking gods no steel I don't have feelings for her, she tried to kill me for gods sake" max said his voice still a whisper.

"Your heart rate would say otherwise."

"Steel, go to sleep"

"Oh please I don't need sleep I'm perfectly fine the way I am right now so tell me more about this relationship that you two have"

"Did you really get out here just to tease me?"

"Kinda"

"...Go back to sleep"

" no but really though, would it really be a bad thing. i mean i may not fully understand human emotion but id say ive gathered enough knowledge to tell you that acknowledging how you feel is the best way to get the feelings off your head"

" okay okay fine ill listen to your suggestion in the future but for now. back to sleep with you    

...

In the morning max went right back to dragging the sheet of metal trying to find his friends and if he was lucky the other ultralink

Neo just watched him pulling her along, she just layed there not trying to break free, she was too busy staring into the back of his head because she had a few unasked questions.

"What?" once again max could feel her eyes on him and he had to admit, he didn't hate it.

"Why are you the way you are?"

Huh

"You know, why were you trying to steal the ultralink? why were you trying to kill me the first time we met?"

You seriously think I would tell you of all people?

"No, I don't, but I know that people don't just wake up and decide to commit crimes everyone has their own good reasons and a lot of the time that reason is trauma, I know I'm probably not the person who you would wanna talk to about this but I can help and I want to help.

I don't want your help the words said, they were partway right, she didn't want or need his help, but even then she was still thinking about it

"Well can I at least know your name?"

Not a chance

"Oh come on, you know my name, I think it's only fair I get to know yours."

That's not how things work. Your not entitled to know my name.

"Okay mystery girl you don't have to be so  difficult, I'm just asking for your name."

The two stayed silent after that with a silence settling between the two.

Max knew this girl probably didn't want to change and he understands that she doesn't trust him, but even still he couldnt help but want to help her despite the fact that she tried to kill him

Neo could hear the screes and graaws of all different types of monster's, she knew that they weren't alone, but still it felt weird to be alone with some other guy that she barely knew anything about even when they both knew she was probably gonna kill him, emphasis on the probably because by this point neo had started to notice a shift in her feelings towards max went from feeling nothing to being deeply fascinated by him and some other feeling she didn't know.

As they continued their little trip hours passed by very slowly so max and neo had much time to talk, neo didn't disclose any actual information of course he just talked and she just listened

so you're lost

"im not lost i just, don't know where we are"  

Pretty sure that's the same thing 

"Well since you're feeling so snarky why don't you lead the way"

No, i don't feel like it 

max sighs, he knows that he's lost but he's still trying even if there's a chance he doesn't find the rest of his team.

  as if being lost wasn't bad enough max now had to worry about a swarm of giant flying bugs attacking him and the mute

"Oh come on" max picked up the sheet of metal and ran with it away from the army of swarmers

He weaved between buildings jumping through windows and slipping through rooms to evade them and he did this all with neo in hand.

He pretty quickly ran into a dead end but that didn't do much to stop him

"GO TURBO STRENGTH" he used his now massive body as a battering ram to rush through the wall and jump to another building

It was quickly becoming apparent to max that he could not out run these bugs in strength mode so he switched

"GO TURBO FLIGHT" he flew away from the horde that was still quickly gaining on him, he couldn't fly at top speed with neo in his hands so he quickly came up with an idea

He landed on a building and stuck the piece of metal neo was stuck to into the ground, he then flew towards the bugs and once he was inside the horde of them

"GO TURBO STRENGTH" the implosion caused by Max's transformation destroyed most of the bugs and the ones that didn't die followed max as he fell in his strength mode.

He quickly slammed into the floor undamaged but slightly staggered as the horde of bugs followed him, this didn't do much to phase him however as he slammed his fist into every single bug that made it's way to him.

It was easy, like popping a zit, all it took was one punch and every single one of the bugs got squashed by his punches.

After all of the bugs had been dealt with max reverted to his turbo base mode and flopped to the floor, he had expended a lot of energy due to the multiple transformations in under a minute and the the fact that he hadn't eaten or drank anything since he got here two days ago add that to the multiple hours of nonstop walking and you get a kid who cant fight anymore.

He stared into the sky with tired eyes knowing that he would need to get up and go get the dual haired girl

"Hey max buddy"

"Yeah steel?"

"Want me to give you the give you the good news first or the bad news?"

"Just do both"

"Okay so, good news is you beat all of the bugs... Bad news is were surrounded on all sides"

Max looked around to see that there was indeed a number of people surrounding max with weapons pointed at him.

"Great" max said sarcastically as the people pull him up and begin walking with him.

His body was too tired to obey his commands for it to move so they freely pulled him along with no resistance. Within the corner of his eye max could see the mute girl also being dragged by what looked to be the same people before passing out from exhaustion.

-later-
M

ax woke up to find himself in chains with locks on them, he pushed and pushed against the chains but they wouldn't budge even against Max's strength.

"You can keep trying but that won't do anything" said a large humanoid being made of wind as it entered the room.

"Huh you look familiar, any relation to a tall rock guy" max said as he blinked a couple of times trying to get the tiredness out of his eyes.

"Ah yes, you did meet earth elementor didn't you, yes you could say I bare some relation to him."

"Earth elementor huh, I guess that would make you wind elementor huh, where's fires and water could they not make it to the function" max joked

"They aren't here right now"

"Oh my god there's actually a fire and water elementor, you guys have all the four fucking elements, where's the avatar when you need him"

"Here's what's going to happen, your going to give me that ultralink you're bonded with or I'll be forced to rip him out of you"

"Yeah like that's gonna happen, go ahead and try cause your gonna fail, you wanna know why you're gonna fail? Because I'm a hero of legend It's foretold that I'm gonna save the world from some super powerful super evil force, and that force ain't gonna be you pal, I'm sorry to say it but it's true, I've got plot armor, deal with it blowhard."

The air elementor raised his fist ready to pound max into the dirt but an arm stops him.

"Why did you interrupt me thief." The elementor asked as he looked back at the mute girl who stopped him from punching max

She holds up a sign reading "the partner is calling you"

"That bastard doesn't know when to stop giving me orders does he, I'll come back for you" the elementor said as he pointed at max

"I'm sure you will windbag, I'm sure you will" max mocked the air elementor as he left the room looking back at max with disdain

Now that the two were in the room alone max looked straight at neo before speaking

"So guess you're gonna kill me now huh" Max asked as he watched the mute twirl her still closed parasol.

The mute simply nodded affirming his statement, but she was contemplating something she was thinking on if she really wanted to kill him and she was finding it pretty hard to decide

"You don't really look like you wanna do that tho"

She shakes her head which also affirms his statement.

"Why is that? Why don't you wanna kill me anymore?" max asked not understanding where the switch up happened as he was pretty sure she would've still killed him back before he passed out so what changed?

She formed a sign in her hands and raised it up to show him

You saved, me again, when those bugs came, I was weighing you down, you could've died because of me, but yet you still saved me.

"Uh yeah because like I said before and as I will continue to say till the day I die, that's just who I am, and I won't change who I am even if it gets me killed"

You are still stupid... But, thanks, for saving me... I don't know many people who would've done that for me neo's sign said as she hid behind it to hide The blush on her face

"No need to thank me, I just did what I thought was right that's not worthy of a thank you" max said as he lowered his head

"Before you kill me can I at least know your name?" Max asked waiting for his death

As neo put her hush to Max's neck a memory came to the forefront of her mind

You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. I don't care if it's part of some job or a necessity in keeping us alive if anyone tells you to do something that you don't want to do don't do it.

And with that neo had made up her mind and lowered her bladed parasol to cut through the chains that bound him

"What the?"

Neo then grabbed his arm and ran out of the room with him, she ran through the halls of whatever military building they were in and she hid behind every corner she could whenever she saw someone coming.

She eventually found her Way into the ventilation shaft allowing her and max the chance to breathe

"Ok would you like to explain what the hell is going on, i thought you were supposed to kill me." Max said confusedly

I don't want to kill you so  I won't neo said showing him her scroll

"But won't that piss off your employer, like majorly" max asked

Yeah but I can always figure something out  she said beginning to regret this decision

The two teens after fully catching their breath begin crawling through the vents to find a way out of the building neo crawled in front which caused max to unintentionally get a view of the entire damn bakery but he held restraint, Steel on the other hand.

"Oh my god will you shut up" max said in a
Whisper hoping that only steel could hear him "what, no, I I'm not thinking that" he continued to whisper with an embarrassed blush on his face

Neo simply looked back at the teen and since no one told her that max was hosting an ultralink l she just kinda thought max was talking to herself, she didn't know whether to find it weird, or kinda cute.

After they reach a dead end neo moves out of the way and gestures for him to bust a hole in the wall to allow them out.

"Yeah yeah I'll do it just give me a minute to get my shit together" he says the blush not leaving his face

I see you ate the eye candy she teased giving him this look that he half didn't understand and half fully misunderstood as something dirty, god damnit why was he so horny today.

Neo just stared at him for a second trying to determine exactly how she felt about him.

"Okay uhh I need a little extra time to recharge the old batteries you know so we're probably just gonna have to wait here for a bit until I'm fully charged is that okay with you."

Neo simply nodded, she didn't like the fact that they were stopping but it's not like either of them had a choice so she just sucked it up and let him charge

...

"So what happened while I was out" max asked breaking the uncomfortable silence

You got captured I fought one of your teammates it was a whole thing really

"Wait, one of my teammates, what do you mean you fought one of my teammates?"

I mean it the way I said it I fought one of your teammates and I'm not going into extra detail just wait till the next episode you'll get it then

"WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!!!? AND WHERE DID YOU GET JUICE FROM?"

Neo simply shrugged her shoulders to answer both questions while she sipped on a juice box that seemed to have materialized out of thin fucking air.

"Sigh, anyway moving on from that do you know where that teammate is"

No clue, he got away from us and we haven't been able to find him.

"Well that's just perfect, well at least now I know they're here. Sigh what even was your guys's plan anyway why were you attacking us, I mean I get that you came for the ultralink but what did you want it for."

Our employer told us that we needed to collect the ultralink and give it to some guy who's kind of important I guess she never told me why I needed to give it to him just that I did and I also needed to capture you.

"Wait capture? If you were supposed to capture me then why were you trying to kill me?"

Honestly? The orders are constantly bouncing back and forth, my employer told me that I was supposed to kill you, but the client sent us a message and said he wanted you alive, I kinda don't know if I'm supposed to kill you or not

"Ah, that sounds inconvenient"

Your telling me

"So like, am I ever gonna get your name?"

We'll see

After a few more seconds Max's turbo energy reserves were fully recharged

"GO TURBO STRENGTH"

The wall got smashed off with it only really taking one good punch.

The two rushed out of the newly created hole at top speed

As they landed on the ground they found themselves surrounded on all sides by the four elementors.

"The partner suspected that you would betray us" air elementor said

"You've got some serious explaining to do girlie" the earth elementor growled eager to just attack them already

"Okay we're surrounded on all sides, sigh, I said it before and I'll say it again, the avatar would come in real handy right about now"

Neo stood back to back with max ready to take the ones on the left while max took the ones on the right.

"Your going to die traitor" air elementor said however despite the fact that neo had just betrayed them he got the distinct feeling the creature wasn't talking about her, what made it worse was the fact that the creature was glaring directly at max while saying this.

Suddenly the two groups rushed at each other with max rushing at air elementor and earth elementor and neo taking on water elementor and fire elementor.

Max dodged a punch from earth elementor before socking the monster in their face and as he was about to punch again he got blasted away by a powerful gust from the air elementor which caused max to slam into a wall, he dodged out of the way before the elementor could cave his head in with it's punch.

"Max the gem on his head, that's his weak spot don't hit him anywhere else it won't do anything"

Max took steels advice and rushed at the creature before punching it in the crystal sending it flying.

Neo dodged fire ball after fireball and water blast after water blast, these two elementors must not have been marksmen as their aim was garbage even allow her to shoot at the crystals on the top of their heads which caused them to stagger back then allowing neo to kick earth elementor into water elementor causing them both to fall

Max was not having any luck on his side as earth elementor slammed his face into the floor before then attempting to crush him with his feet.
Max kicked the earth elementor up into the air before pushing himself up dodging air elementor's attacks and grabbing earth elementor before slamming him into the ground. He weaved a blast of wind from air elementor before rushing at him, the windbeast easily dodged this pathetic attempt at an attack and blasted max to the ground.

"All that power and this is how you use it? You are not worthy of being bonded with an ultralink" the wind creature said pushing it's wind against max even harder

Neo dodged an attack from the water elementor, she blocked the occasional blast of water with her parasol making sure that nothing touched her.

As the fire elementor seemingly snuck up on her he grabbed her from behind squeezing the life out of her before the image shatters revealing that it was just an illusion and the real neo was directly behind him and shot off a round of electric dust into the back of the fire creatures head.

The water elementor rushed at her and attempted to wrap around her using the fact that it was made of water to it's advantage and encircling her

The mute simply just smirked as water elementor circled Her, it took a second for the water being to understand why she was smirking but then quickly realized and reconstituted himself into one body but it was still too late as he was electrocuted by a round of dust let loose by neo who was behind him.

"GO TURBO FLIGHT" max said as he flew himself away from air elementor but the living tornado follows him, max rushes straight at the elementor faster than it can react and rushing right through its stomach that was made out of air, max then flew round and round and around the creature In a bunch of different directions and each direction was the direct opposite direction of the way the winds on elementors body were moving causing the winds to cancel each other out and unraveling air elementor.

Max then landed glad that he had managed to deal with the being but when he turned to look at neo he saw her being grabbed by the throat by some guy who was all red and all black without a face on

"Okay I have no idea who you are but I can't let you treat her like that" max said as he rushed at the person but beforeax could do anything the man grabbed him by the throat and dangled him just above the ground.

"You are quite powerful, do you work for the before."

"Who the fuck is the before, the names max and I have no idea who the before is but I'm pretty sure I'm not associated with them" max said as he tried to break free of the man's grip

"Are you sure? You smell just like the before"

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means you are lying to me"the man yells at them and throws the wo onto the ground. "I'm gonna show you what happens when you lie to me" the man says as he cracks his knuckles.

Before he could do anything he got slammed in the chest by a rock sending him flying backwards

Max and neo looked up to see rex and penny riding up to them in what max could only describe as an orange hover bike.

As rex reached them he held out his hand to max and said

"Get on"

To be continued