"Oh, that's what we called my friend group." Ben said. "We took on some big threats back then and they were kinda super dangerous." Ben took notice of the bandages on the kids. "And looks like Stain banged you up pretty good."
"Yeah," Ochako said, looking at Iida's arm. "I still can't believe you went after him!"
"I'm just thankful Midoryia rushed in, or…" Iida shook his head. "No, no. I shouldn't ponder that."
"To be honest, I've heard a lot about you kids, ever since that USJ incident. I'm happy to see this next gen of heroes rising up right now. It makes me and every active pro right now feel like we're inspiring people." Ben said. "I know the job we do isn't always 'save the day' or the Hollywood glamor we're used to. But, I just wanted to say. Keep up the good work. I know the laws here a bit more tight, but I honestly believe you did the right thing. The streets are honestly safer without that Stain guy on it."
Ben smiled again. "Well, I have to take my leave- need to visit one of my sidekicks. Take as much time as you need, Uraraka."
"R-right!" Ochako nodded.
"But, after this." Ben said. "When you get back to the office and rest up a bit, we need to talk about something." Ochako felt her stomach drop- and Ben noticed. "Oh, shit- no, you're not in trouble! Sorry! I know it came off that way, but-! We just need to talk."
Ochako nodded. "R-right! Okay!"
Ben wiped some sweat off his brow. "Yeah. See you back at the office."
Ben took his leave, as the room was left in confusion.
"I'm starting to see why you took his internship." Todoroki said. "You two are too much alike."
Ochako relaxed for a while after leaving the hospital and returning to the Chiyoda office, having a shower and a power nap. Her body didn't feel heavy or sleep deprived at all, which suggested that the adrenaline from the Nomu battle was still rushing through her veins.
However, the entire time from leaving the hospital to now, Ben's request had been on her mind. What on Earth did he want to talk with her about? Ochako decided it was best not to keep him waiting after her nap.
Ochako knocked on the door, and it opened.
"Please come in." Ben said, his voice solemn. The door closed behind her as she observed Ben was looking a little more serious than normal.
"So, what's up?" Ochako inquired.
"We're having this talk a little earlier than I expected." Ben stated as he took a long breath. He returned his gaze to Ochako after looking down at the Omnitrix. "So I'm in a bit of a pickle right now. I haven't really announced this to the public, and I really don't plan on it...but, here goes."
Ochako held her breath as Ben took the photo from his desk and examined it.
"...my wife is expecting." Ben revealed the photo- it was his and Ruby's wedding picture.
Silence.
"What?"
Ben averted his gaze. "My wife, Ruby. She's pregnant. Almost six months in."
Ochako blinked. "O-okay! Uh, congrats?" She didn't see what this had to do with her.
"It came completely out of nowhere; we didn't even know about it until a month ago. We're super excited, but here's the catch." Ben returned his gaze to Ochako. "I'm considering taking a few years off to raise my child."
Ochako gave a nod. "Of course, that's the most important thing to you right now."
"But, if people understand I'm not going to be active for a long time, crime will surely pick up. Uraraka, I've made a lot of enemies. Both on and off the planet." Ben stated. "And I need someone to pick up my slack. I'd ask the other guy, but he's more crazy busy than me-"
Ochako's pupils widened. "Wait, do you mean-?"
"Yeah." Ben cracked a grin. "I believe you should be my successor."
Silence. Ochako stumbled back into a chair, and put her hand to her head.
"Yeah, I know, kind of random, but I see a lot of myself and my wife in you." Ben explained. "I didn't want to jump the gun, so I decided to see how you'd work for a while, and you exceeded my expectations."
Ochako still looked shell shocked.
"Do you need a glass of water, or-"
"No, just..wow." Ochako said, slowly gaining back a track of thought. "That kinda just rocked everything for me."
"I know, I know." Ben said. "But seriously- you're the best person for the job, as far as I'm concerned."
"So, am I gonna take your Omnitrix, or-" Ochako asked. "I think it's too small for me."
"What?" Ben held his wrist defensively. "No! I'm not gonna take this thing off. I'm more gonna make my own with my smarter aliens and then pass it off to you."
Ochako blinked. "Y-you can do that!?"
"Yeah, I've done that a couple of times." Ben stated.
"Okay, that answers that question but why me?" Ochako has been asking for this for a long time.
Ben inhaled deeply. "It started from the Sports Festival." Ben began. "I saw the way you were fighting- highly adaptive. Sure to have been a one hit KO if that humanoid chiwawa didn't blow it all up. You kind of reminded me of my wife back in the day - someone who wasn't fighting to show off, but with a purpose."
Ochako was flattered to hear that.
"Plus, that teamwork with Alan against that Nomu?" Ben continued. "You played it smart, waited to exploit a weakness. Used your powers fantastically. That's what I need for a successor. Someone who's quick to the draw."
"I see." Ochako nodded. "I'm flattered to be picked for this, but I don't…"
"I realize this is a lot for you to take in, kid." Ben exhaled with another sigh. "If you want to take some time to think about it-"
"I'll do it."
"Wow, that was quick." Ben said. "Any reason why?"
"Yeah. My parents."
"Go on."
"I know this is gonna sound selfish, but above all else, one of the main reasons I became a hero is to earn money in order to give them a comfortable life." Ochako said. "I know that sounds bad, but they've done so much to raise me, and they always looked so tired…and I wanna return the favor back. Being a hero like you may be my only shot at giving them that life as soon as possible."
Ben nodded. "I get it, I get it- repaying them for their endless love and kindness. Nothing to be embarrassed about. But what's the other reason?"
"The other reason?" Ochako repeated. "Well, this one is also gonna sound weird."
"Believe me, I know weird." Ben chuckled.
"When I was pretty little, I went out for the day with my parents—it was one of those rare occasions when both of them could take me out. I'm not sure where we were headed, but on the way, we witnessed an extraordinary sight of a pro hero in action." Ochako explained. "There was a massive audience cheering them on and everything. However, my attention was directed to the spectators rather than the hero claiming triumph. More especially, to the crowd's grins and cheers. They were so honest and supportive. The Pro Hero loved it. From then on, I believed it was only natural for a hero to assist people in need, and that a modest act may provide a lot of joy to someone else... and that's the kind of hero I want to be."
"A symbol of joy." Ben nodded.
"Y-yeah, I guess." Ochako blushed. "I just want to help anyone, anybody- even if I have to fight tooth and nail for it."
Ben grinned. "Then I'm glad we're on the same page." Ben stood up. "Come with me."
Ochako followed Ben out of his office and down the corridor, where there was nothing but a wall. Ben approached the wall and pushed his hand on it. As the floor suddenly lighted up, green lines began to spread over it, and a green square formed around them. Ochako nearly leaped as the floor began to collapse.
"Yet another reason I adore this office: I can conceal secret passageways in plain sight." The Omnitrix user said with a grin.
Ochako and Ben soon arrived at a secret level- a cluttered lab of sorts. It reminded her of the support lab from UA. The girl took note of a few things- a sports car, a motorcycle, and a weird furnace looking thing in the back of the room.
"This way." Ben said, turning on a light. Ochako followed Ben again, to a table in the back of the room. Ben looked down at a sphere on the workbench.
"Alright." Ben said. "Here's the rules. You get 10 aliens, handpicked by me. They're some of my classics, mixed in with some supporting aliens. You don't get Master Control until you graduate UA. And most importantly. One thing I want you to do especially with the Omnitrix- never compare yourself to others."
"Huh?" Ochako said.
"Years ago, a villain asked me some hard hitting questions- why don't I do more with my powers? Why limit myself? Why not be someone more like Superman?" Ben said. "And here's the thing. I can't be. I can't devote all my time to saving lives and stopping crime- I can't end wars or anything of the sort. If I extend my power too much, I fail. And that's not the point of the watch- it's not a tool for conquest or power. It's a tool of understanding, and how unique we truly are in this universe." Ben held up his own watch."
"You're not trying to be Ben Tennyson, you hear me? You're Uraraka Ochako, forever and always- unless you discover stuff about yourself. Then you're that name from then on. I dunno. I had a point with this."
Ochako nodded. "I got the idea."
"Good."
Ben stepped away, leaving Ochako to approach the sphere.
Ochako walked forward.
The sphere opened.
A pink glow suddenly illuminated itself from the darkness- it was beckoning for Ochako to put her hand forward.
And she did.
Given how you're adaptable, I don't imagine it'll take long for you to get comfortable. Ben said, a few days prior.
Ochako stood atop a building, eyeing the city below. The sound of sirens began to blare in a nearby corner of the city.
Like I said, I put some classics in there- some aliens I had when I was your age. We'll start with a basic one.
Ochako looked at the device again- her Omnitrix resembled a digital wristwatch. Its faceplate was square instead of round and has a white, pink, and black color scheme- it worked well with her costume. The faceplate was black with two pink stripes forming an outline for the hourglass. Ochako put her finger to the Omnitrix- a holographic interface popped up. A holographic circle was shown, with the top half having alien faces. Ochako tilted her fingers to the left, as she reached the icon of the alien.
He was my first transformation…and it feels right that'll be yours as well.
Ochako moved her fingers up, as she selected the form- the faceplate rolled back, and revealed the core of the Omnitrix. Ochako slammed it down-
Heat. It was rushing through Ochako's body, and changing it- Ochako imagined it'd be painful to have her skeleton change so drastically, but she was dead wrong. Her feet became more 'camel like', with two toes. Rocks began to grow around her body, and the heat rose once more- soon, her body had become engulfed in flames, but it didn't even hurt, nor did she feel it. Ochako was the fire.
Ochako, now Heatblast, looked down at the sirens. "Okay." She said, taking a deep breath. Her voice was so deep and husky. "Let's hope this goes well."
You won't nail the flying thing right away, but let me show you a trick I taught Alan.
Ochako pounded her hands into the ground underneath her, skillfully carving off a chunk of concrete for herself. As Ochako hauled herself up, she set fire to the concrete. She swayed a little, but quickly regained her footing. Ochako smiled, knowing she had things covered. Ochako soared away, following the sirens.
It's hero time. Ochako thought, as she flew through the streets.
Ochako followed the police sirens to the scene of the crime, an ongoing hostage situation nearby some jewelry store. There were two robbers. One of them, a bored looking man with no hair, had multiple glowing tendrils coming out of his fingers that were wrapped around some people, while the other one, a man with a very skeletal appearance, looked absolutely windstruck and had a 'glasgow smile'. The police quickly formed a barricade in front of them, and pulled out their weapons.
The windstruck man laughed. "Come on, fire. I bet I can catch all those bullets-"
"No. You can't." The bald man said, as he lifted up some of the hostages and put them in front of them- he was using them as human shields.
"Here's the deal!" The bald man yelled. "You let us go, and we'll let them go. Sounds good?"
Ochako heavily disagreed- her response to the deal? She quickly descended upon the man, and smashed into the man with her chunk of flying concrete. The man immediately lost focus on his energy whips, and tumbled backwards. The attack was so sudden and so violent, but it was effective.
The hostages quickly rushed off, and the police lowered their weapons. They recognized the fire alien as Ben, but the mistaken identity was excusable. Ochako gave them a thumbs up without turning around, before the whipman stood up again. Ochako was honestly surprised- that attack could've incapcitated any normal man.
"So, hero of heroes came to take us on." The baldie frowned. "Right." The man unleashed his whips again, and began to lash out at Ochako violently. Ochako jumped back with a burst of flames, as the whips took some chunks out of concrete. Ochako landed back on the ground, and grinned.
So, you got a Pyronite? Alan asked her, while she was training her powers. Lemme show you a neat trick I can do. Ben taught me the basics a while back too, y'know.
Ochako placed both hands on the ground and ignited her feet. "Special Move- Blast Off!" Ochako yelled, before rocketing forward and doing a powerful blazing kick into the man's stomach- the attack was hard enough to leave two red burns on his stomach. Ochako landed on the ground, before looking at the windstruck man.
"F-forget this, man! I didn't count on 10,000 being here!" The windstruck man yelled.
Really? Ochako thought. Ben's office was literally a few blocks away- how would you NOT expect that?!
The windstruck man zipped away- Ochako wasn't about to let him escape unpunished. She slapped the Omnitrix down, and morphed into a better form to keep up with him. Ochako felt her body morph once more. Ochako lifted her arm, and her skin went blue, while her hands morphed into black claws. She began sprinting as a helmet appeared on her head. Her legs sprang up into the air, and wheels sprouted from the soles of her feet-
Ochako zipped through traffic, keeping an eye on the skeletal wannabe villain. He was fast, yes, but also very, very sloppy. The man would almost trip as he ran. The guy was clearly frightened, but Ochako couldn't care less. She sped up and grabbed her villain.
"Hey. Nice speed. But lemme show you some REAL speed." Ochako lowered her mask, and rushed around the city while holding them. The man was in tears, and he kind of deserved it. Especially after holding others hostage.
Ochako dropped him at the feet of the police, saluted them and rushed off.
"Did Ben 10,000 look more feminine to you?" One of the officers said.
Ochako grinned behind her mask- that felt incredible. Most of all, it felt fantastic. Maybe, just maybe, the next time her friends rushed off into the heat of battle.
She could join them, rather than being on the sidelines.
Ochako was doing pretty great with the watch- it helped to have some extra help from the others. Especially when training.
Today's 'warmup' was tag. Sounded basic, but when you have aliens involved, it gets pretty crazy. Helen declared that everyone BUT Ochako was it, so that was plenty stressful. Thank God Ben gave her XLR8.
Ochako looked behind her to notice the two sidekicks catching up to her. Helen was obviously in the lead, but Alan was close behind. Poor Pierce was probably left in the dust by those two before they could even think up a plan. But this was mostly a speed game so, no real plan needed unless Pierce was gonna try and cut her off. But she could worry about him later. Helen was the immediate problem as she was very quickly catching up to Ben's successor.
Ochako needed to make a hard switch right now, and she needed a diversion.
"Let's see you touch THIS!" Ochako yelled, as her body started to vibrate. Soon, it looked like there were three XLR8s running ahead of Helen.
"What the-?" Helen asked.
"Helen...can you not do that?" Alan asked.
"O-of course I can! I just...need some time to focus!" Helen stammered a bit.
"Uh-huh, right."
"Alan. Shut up..."
The three XLR8s raced on ahead, quickly multiplying into six.
Okay- I'm at a safe advantage now. Ochako thought. Now I just figure out how to lose them...
"Ok, ok...how about I make this a little easier then?" Alan smirked as he summoned up two fireballs in his hands. He reared his arms back as far as possibly before throwing them. Surprisingly, with the boost of flames, they were able to fly ahead of Ochako and impact the ground, making a wall of fire.
"Can you not burn down the whole place?!" Helen asked.
"Like this is any worse than the time you and Manny forgot to muzzle a Loboan and half of us ended up deaf for three weeks."
Ochako looked behind her and cursed. Dang- they're using a slipstream to try and catch up! Ochako frowned. "Let's throw caution to the wind and hope this works..."
Ochako slapped down her Omnitrix, and morphed into the only other alien for the job...Big Chill.
Helen smirked when she saw the flash. Big Chill was nowhere near fast enough to outrun her. This was an easy catch for her!
Ochako looked at Helen and Alan, speeding at her.
"You think this is to get away from you, isn't it? Well, bad news." Ochako said, as she turned intangible and phased into the ground. "I call this technique 'cheating'." She grinned, as the ground froze over.
"Aaaand there's that trademark 'Omnitrix-'" Helen was about to say before the ice caught up to her and she began slipping all over it.
"Omnitrix-user sass is what you wanted to say, right?" Alan finished for her.
"SUUUUUUURE!" Helen yelled, as she spun away.
Ochako poked her head out of the ground. Alan noticed her head poking out, and he smirked.
"You know I can melt ice, right?" Alan asked. "Smart move, but there's some holes..."
"Oh, I know." Ochako said, diving back underground. "But that means I can do this." Ice suddenly exploded from out of the ground.
"Oh, hell!" Alan called out before going full Pyronite. The flames around his hands grew in intensity before he held them out to form a flaming barrier. The ice shards from the explosion impacted and melted when they hit the shield.
Alan was doused in water, quickly extinguishing his flames. Ochako had gotten good with these forms...hard to believe she'd gotten used to these things so quickly. She just got the watch a few days ago!
Ochako poked her head out of the ground. "Now...where's Pierce?"
"Sup?" Pierce said, making Ochako spin around to see him behind her, armed with a massive quill-turned-staff.
Ochako dove back underground, and popped back up behind him. Ochako dodged a quick attack from his spear, and tapped his hand.
"You're it," She grinned, as his hands started to become coated in snow.
"I thought we were all it," Pierce said.
"Yeah- but that just takes the fun out of the game." Ochako said.
"She's right!" Helen called back, trying to steady herself on the ice.
"So, new game." Ochako said, happy to have turned the table. She hopped out of the ground, and transformed into Chromastone. "Dodge laser. It's like dodgeball, but you dodge lasers."
"...is that even safe?" Helen asked.
"Probably." Ochako said.
"I mean...safe for me, at least," Alan said, "Pyronite's pretty durable."
"Yeah, so its safe for one out of 3 sidekicks here," Pierce shot back.
"Good enough for me." Ochako said, charging up a ball of energy. "Now, dodge this!" She quickly tossed the ball, and it exploded before the sidekicks' eyes, blinding them.
"Ochako!" Helen called out, "Little more warning next time, please!"
"That's the idea." Ochako said, firing a few weak lasers. She hit all of her targets with ease.
"Ok, that is cheating," Pierce said, slowly regaining his sight.
"Hey, if these two can use their speed powers like that, then so can I!" Ochako insisted.
"Different circumstances!" Hellen defended.
Ochako rolled her singular eye. "Unless you have a different idea for a fair, all encompassing game?"
"I might," Alan smirked.
"What is it?" Hellen asked.
"Easy. Basketball. No powers though."
"...alright, I can manage." Ochako said, despite never even having an experience with basketball. How hard could it be?
There was one small thing that Ochako didn't know that did tip the scales a bit.
Alan was a pro at the sport, practicing for pretty much all his childhood.
This was going to be a slaughterfest.
Ben walked into his gym area, and looked to the basketball court. Ochako was clearly struggling to dribble the ball with only four of her fingers. Since her powers relied on the pads of her finger tips, she didn't have much 'control', mainly due to the fear of causing the ball to float.
"Ya know," Alan said, still on guard, "I forgot you had to use all five fingers to use your Qurik. So, uh...yeah, that's my bad."
"You had to have known. You just HAD to have known!" Ochako yelled. "I'm sorry for freezing you!"
"Knowing him, he forgot in the heat of the moment," Helen smirked.
"You've been talking with Yang again, haven't you?" Alan took his eyes off Ochako to address the pun.
"Maaaaybe. But hey, puns work. As you just demonstrated."
Ochako had to take advantage of the distraction. She quickly threw the ball at the net, but it bounced off the rim. Ben easily caught it.
"Nice shot." Ben commented.
"Oh thank god, salvation," Ochako groaned.
"It wasn't that bad, was it?" Alan asked.
Pierce, Helen, and especially Ochako gave him deadpan stares that spoke louder than any actual answer could.
"So, how about this?" Ben said, throwing the ball up and spinning it on his finger. "You kids know the game 'keep away', right? Let's do a variant of that. Knock the spinning ball out of my hand. Abilities allowed."
Ochako raised an eyebrow. I feel like this is easier said than done.
"Well...ok?" Helen said, a bit unsure. She decided to try first, speeding at Ben to simply swat the ball away from him.
Ben tossed the ball up, and transformed. Goop took his place, and he dropped to the ground. Helen immediately slipped on his body, and went spiraling out of control.
"Oh not again!" Helen yelled before tripping and falling flat on her face. Pierce and Ochako winced in pain a little when she impacted, before Alan stepped up next. He fired a blast of flame to propel himself forward, hoping to exploit the few short seconds where Ben was distracted.
Ben melded his body around Alan's body, and whacked him to the ground with a simple goopy wallop. He reverted back to human, and caught the ball on his finger.
"Come on. I wasn't even trying there." Ben joked.
Pierce took out two quills and had them grow to the size of lances before he looked to Ochako. He didn't say a word, but the Omnitrix's successor got ready.
"Oh, two for one this time? Ok," Ben said, totally unphased.
Ochako had to think. Ben's going to throw the ball up again, and he's going to transform. Using that big meteor gal is too much of an indicator of my plan.
Ochako moved the selection screen to her only other option. She slammed down on the watch and, in a flash of pink, she became a humanoid mollusk-like alien. She took aim with her hands and let water-pressure build up before Pierce threw his quill-spears at Ben, intentionally making sure to miss.
Ben threw the basketball up again, and transformed again. This time, he took the form of some quadrupedal lizard looking alien, and opened his maw.
"Oh, crap-" Ochako said, as it inhaled.
A massive cloud of mist was fired at the duo as the lizard alien exhaled, freezing both sidekick and successor in place. Ochako couldn't use her water at all now, knowing it would more than likely freeze as soon as it left her palms.
Ben reverted back to human, and held up his finger to catch the ball.
...except it didn't come down. Ben looked up, to see the ball, floating around in a bubble. Ochako smirked, as Pierce looked up as well.
"When did you...slip that out?" Pierce asked.
"In the middle of my hosing." Ochako said, as the bubble floated down to the ground, and popped. It dribbled on the floor a few times, before rolling to Ochako's feet.
I couldn't do that as Water Hazard. Ben thought, as he watched the ball.
"Nicely done," Ben smirked, hiding his surprise a bit.
"T-thanks." Ochako said, shivering. "Now please...unfreeze us..."
"Right...sorry," Ben said with a nervous chuckle, before turning to Swampfire and thawing them out with a quick heatwave.
"I hope you don't mind, but we made another version of your costume." Ben said, as he led the unfrozen Ochako into a support lab. "Used tech that was similar to your main costume, for your quirk- just made it a bit more obscure so people can't tell its you."
Ochako looked at the costume- a white armored jumpsuit, along with a pink scarf and a white helmet. There were some equipment on wrists and waist, and it had the vibes of her own hero costume. The only difference was that it resembled the hourglass symbol on her new Omnitrix.
"Woah." Ochako said, picking it up. "I really gotta thank whoever made this."
Ben chuckled. "Funny you say that…" Ben turned to see someone else coming into the lab- he could always tell who it was, thanks to that signature rose scent she had on her.
"So, you're Ochako." A woman's voice said. "Hope you enjoy my handiwork!" Ochako took in the woman's appearance- silver eyes, fair complexion, and long graduating black-into-red hair and her signature red cloak.
Ochako's eyes lit up. "A-ah! I didn't know that you made this."
"Hey, no need to be so nervous." The older Ruby grinned. "It's nice to meet you, finally!"
Ochako nodded- she'd heard a lot of great things about Red Rose, the Huntress Hero. A lot of totally sort of spoiler-y things the author writing this couldn't mention since this runs semi-parallel to the events of her other work.
It may be lazy, but hey, spoilers.
"I'm not shocked you were able to do this." Ben said, as Ruby pecked him on the cheek. "Even with the nausea, dizziness and appetite."
"Hey, it helps me distract myself from that." Ruby said, before turning to Ochako. "Anyways Sorry I didn't meet you earlier. I was kinda busy building an extra suit we had lying around. The suit's pretty hard to break as well, but that doesn't mean it's invincible. It should last you the 5 minute recharge time."
"Oh, right." Ochako nodded. Ben had told her that the Omnitrix had a limit of how long it could keep her as an alien, similar to how he did when he was younger. When the Omnitrix timed out, it went into Recharge Mode. It took around 5 minutes to recharge, though it may take more time if tampered with.
"With your quirk, you can have some time to stall, but sometimes, it won't be enough." Ben said.
"Now! Quick question. Have you ever fired a weapon before?"
"N-no, actually." Ochako said, before Ruby grabbed her hand.
"No time like the present! Come on!" Ruby said, dragging the girl away.
Ochako would be lying if she said she wasn't excited to see the new suit, wondering what kind of crazy gadgets she'd gotten from Ruby's mad genius.
"Now...before we hand over the new suit...gotta be a bit serious for a minute," Ben started, "Remember how I said that there were other candidates I was thinking about?"
"Yeah. I never really gave them a second thought...why bring them up now?" Ochako asked.
"Well, since I'm using tech from potential tools they'd have..." Ruby said. "You have a right to know who was gonna get it."
"Was...there anyone I know?"
"...a few, actually," Ben admitted.
"When we were weighing out people, we searched all across the world. America, Japan, Africa, Europe...a lot of promising characters there. But, Toshinori mentioned a lot of shining stars at UA." Ben said. "Well, that, and he mentioned one potential candidate from Shiketsu...I forget her name."
"Her last name was...Kurokami or something. Stars and Stripes said some good things too, I think." Ruby said, looking at her gauntlet. "But, yeah. All Might snuck us into the sports festival without anyone noticing."
"So...the Sports Festival was less seeing what I was made of...and more of a general recruitment thing," Ochako summarized.
"Yep. Among the others from U.A were Kirishima himself, Mei..."
"Kirishima and Mei..." Ochako repeated. She couldn't really see Kirishima as a successor. He was so devoted to following Crimson Riot's path, so he would pass down Ben's request out of respect.
Mei...Mei was a 'mixed' bag. She had the brains, but her manic energy was a bit too much. Would a woman who barely got a full 8 hours of sleep be a good Omnitrix wielder? Heck, what sort of crazy mods would she make to the watch?
Ochako shivered when she thought that.
"You guys never considered Bakugou, did you?" Ochako asked, nervously.
"Never. That kid had enough." Ben frowned. "He's also just...intense."
"You're being very kind with that term." Ochako said.
"I know! My wording was a bit more accurate and a lot less kind," Ruby interjected.
"Maybe don't say that one." Ben said. "That Shinso and Momo were close. I respected Hitoshi's drive, but...we didn't get a good idea of how he would fight."
"The fact that we didn't go with Momo surprised someone we know," Ruby admitted.
"Momo with the Omnitrix..." Ochako thought. Honestly, she could see it...
"But...with that out of the way," Ben said, turning to Ruby and nodding, "I think it's time we brightened the mood a bit."
"Be glad I designed your costume." Ruby said. "Ben's designing skills are awful."
"My first costume wasn't that bad..." Ben showed a photo of it to Ochako. The image depicted a young Ben, about 10 years old. He was dressed in a somewhat greenish blue suit that went all the way down to his waist, white tights, and gloves of the same color as the suit, but lighter in tone. He also had a lighter blue triangular plate on his breast. His eyes were shielded by visors that match the color of his costume, as was his chin. He wore antennae that resembled headphones of the same hue. His hair was also exposed.
Ochako blinked.
"...this sucks, actually." She said.
"No offense," Ruby shrugged.
"I thought it looked good," Ben countered.
"Hopefully this one speaks more to your liking." Ruby said, holding up the costume. "I was able to quickly sew together a new one made of woven steel mesh consisting of unstable molecules, so it's sort of a 'one size fits all' deal."
Ruby held up her gauntlets. "These bad girls will both massage your points, and allow you to fire off rounded bullets that can easily pierce skin...if need be."
"Oh...they're not lasers?" Ochako asked, almost a little disappointed.
"Didn't want you to rely on them too much. Plus, you can use your Quirk in conjunction with them," Ruby explained.
"Zero gravity bullets that travel endlessly means you can ricochet off of stuff without losing any speed. And great power." Ruby grinned.
"Without losing any speed," Ochako repeated, and imagined herself firing off a shot that she had touched with her quirk at a horde of villains. That one shot took down every single imaginary villain, letting Ochako stand atop the defeated army like an action hero.
"Well, assuming it won't get stuck in something." Ben said. "All real-world things may be conceived of as billions of trillions of tiny linked springs. These springs do not deform or break easily in hard objects. Metal, glass, and crystal are examples of hard things. When they bounce, they do not lose power. It's a great advantage to have...and something you need to train."
"Just like all the other forms," Ochako nods, "Mind if I test it out?"
"Sure. Just wear these." Ben handed Ochako some goggles.
Ben's successor nodded and put the goggles on, taking the goggles and slipping them over her wrists.
"Do you have a shooting range here?"
"Yeah." Ben and Ruby began to walk towards a door, and opened it. Ochako stepped through into a room with a low ceiling but long width. Ochako could tell that, based off the bullet holes, this shooting range was mostly used by Ruby or anyone else in their agency that used firearms or projectile weapons. After all, Gang Orca's sidekicks used cement guns.
Ochako looked at her gauntlets, and tapped a button on the side. They began to slowly spin, picking up speed with each rotation.
"It can get up to 2000 RPM." Ben said. "We might amp it up when you get older."
"2000...as the base?" Ochako asked, a bit shocked. She took aim at one of the targets at the far end of the range and readied herself for the recoil. She took a deep breath and then tapped the "fire" button.
The rounded bullet flew from out of the gauntlet, and hit the outside the target. Ochako flinched when it fired.
"...yikes." Ochako said, as the gauntlets whirred to a stop.
"You'll get better with aiming," Ruby promised, "Letting you use the range whenever you need it. Though, anyone not in the know will have to see 'Spanner' coming in here."
"Right, right...secret identity, but to be honest...definitely thought there'd be more...kickback, I guess?" Ochako said.
"I'm a mad genius when it comes to weaponry so I know exactly how to counter the recoil issue."
Ochako looked down at the weapons again, before firing them up. "Okay...so, what's my method for aiming?"
Ruby walked over. "Use your dominant eye to aim. Unless you're someone like Snipe, it's hard to aim with both eyes." Ruby brought up Ochako's arm. "Now, you see those two 'bumps' on the gauntlet parts that aren't spinning? Those are your 'sights'. Align your eye with those two sights. We'll start you off by aiming with a center hold aim..."
Ochako followed Ruby's instructions carefully. The weapon's expert was so kind and clearly knew what she was doing.
The new Omnitrix user lined up the sights of her gauntlet with her field of view, closing one eye just to get a better visual.
"Ok...I think I got it?" Ochako said, a bit unsure.
"Well, let's find out if you did." Ruby said. "Fire it at the bullseye."
Ochako took aim with her gauntlet, and lowered her fingers down to fire it- the rounded bullet easily pierced the bullseye.
Ochako beamed when she saw the bullet go right through the target's middle.
"And look at that, you do," Ruby smirked.
"You still need some practice, though. Hitting bullseyes all the time isn't gonna always be a thing. Plus, you still have to learn trickshots and everything-" Ben said. "Oh what the hell. THAT WAS AWESOME."
Ochako beamed and decided to try again. She lined up a shot, following Ruby's advice and letting the mechanisms spin up, before taking another shot.
This one was a bit off, but it hit close to the bullseye. Ochako was pretty satisfied with this.
"Can we set up some cans or something?" Ochako asked.
"Wanna try out the Zero-G part?" Ruby asked.
"How do I do that?" Ochako asked.
"Well, you'll have to physically reload the bullet yourself." Ruby said.
"'How many can I carry with me?"
"Ten for each gauntlet. Small number of shots, but the zero-g compatibility covers for that," Ruby nodded.
"So, hypothetically...I could shoot one of these things and it will just travel forever?" Ochako said, holding the bullet.
"Assuming it doesn't hit anything." Ben said. "But it's incredibly useful."
"And if you touch them before hand, they became a bit easier to reload. Also made sure to give trackers for each shot so you can find 'em after the chaos," Ruby added.
"Or find whoever I lodged the bullet into." Ochako joked.
"That too. I wish I added trackers in my bullets a LONG time ago." Ruby said, setting up some cans. "There's also 'arcing' your shots. Hypothetically, you could fire them in arc and have them orbit around..."
"Ok...what's your advice for that?" Ochako asked as she loaded up the next shot.
"Well, my sister punches the air to arc her shots...but you have to release it like halfway through." Ruby said.
"Halfway through the shot...ok..." Ochako took a breath before trying it out. She punched forward with the gauntlet and fired...too soon, making the bullet go wide.
The bullet instead hit a nearby wall. Ben walked over to the bullet hole, and raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Weird...it's still spinning." Ben said, poking it with a pen. Ochako released her hold on it, and it dropped out of the wall and onto the ground.
"Ok. Let's try again, work on your timing," Ruby said. Ben made his way back behind the counter as Ochako loaded up another shot and took a breath. She threw a punch at the air and this time, fired too late, having the shot not arc far enough.
Ochako frowned. "You're right- this is hard."
"It took Yang ages to learn how to do it. Don't worry." Ruby said.
"I...still find that a bit hard to believe, but I'll take your word for it," Ochako looked over the gauntlets, still happy with how things turned out.
"We're just happy to revamp your costume a bit. I always found it a bit wonky." Ruby sighed.
"And if you ever need another upgrade, like how All Might went through two other suits over his career, you can always come back," Ben smirked.
"I mean it's kind of assumed. How any different suit designs did you go through before settling on this one again?" Ruby asked with a smirk of her own.
Ruby hummed. "Well, I changed my costume every like...few years or so? I dunno. Maybe like 3 years of wearing the same thing before I got bored of it."
"Yeah, same." Ben said. "I'd change every two or three years. So...this is, what, my 11th costume?"
"Give or take." Ruby shrugged.
"I-i'll try not to come back that often," Ochako rubbed the back of her head nervously.
"Don't worry." Ben laughed. "You'll be fine! I don't see you changing your outfit THAT drastically. Like...Ruby? She went through a LOT of outfits. All were pretty pricey..."
"Hey, you're the one who insisted on that ONE corset. You know the one." Ruby smirked.
"W-well, uh...It was cute." Ben said, looking away. Ochako looked at Ruby, confused.
"Boob window." Ruby grinned.
"Ahhhhh." Ochako said.
"Wha-you weren't supposed to say!" Ben said, absolutely betrayed.
"And leave her with that burning question? I don't think so," Ruby chuckled.
Ochako rolled her eyes. "I wasn't even gonna question it."
"It was gonna stick with you though." Ruby laughed.
Soon enough, Ochako's internship ended- Ben was generous enough to lend one of his chauffeurs to bring Ochako back to Musutafu. Ben helped her pack the two suitcases back into the trunk- one held her usual hero outfit, the other with the 'vigilante' outfit.
"Are you sure about the whole vigilante thing?" Ochako asked. "I could get in serious trouble if I get caught." She wasn't wrong- due to the hero regulations and Quirk restriction laws in Japan, people were not allowed to perform heroic duties out on their own and vigilantism is therefore illegal. Laws intensified after someone interfered with a hero's work, and nearly got the hero killed.
"Hence why your aliens are kinda gender ambiguous and the suit as well." Ben said, closing the trunk. "Unless someone sees you transform, they'll either think you're some Kamen Rider-wannabe vigilante, or me in alien form. You'd have to look hard to see the difference."
"Right, right." Ochako nodded.
"You'll do fine, kid." Ruby said, joining Ben. "I believe in you as much as he does."
"I can't tell anybody, right?" Ochako asked.
"I didn't say that." Ben said. "I said 'you can't tell anybody at first'. Someone's gonna put two and two together, especially if you start popping up in Musutafu after YOU just got done with your internship. I'd tell a few select people you trust. Like that fingerbreaker kid."
Ochako blushed. "I'll…consider it."
"And one more thing, too." Ruby said, walking forward. She took Ochako's hand, and clamped it tight.
"I know you're going to be in some risky circumstances, and it's going to seem like it's all up to you at times." Ruby said. "Well, forget that noise. It's NEVER just you. When I was your age, Ben and I needed support, especially after we were viciously beaten by some criminals. I hope you NEVER have to face yourself. Keep this near and dear to your heart, Uraraka Ochako – It's not how many times you've been rejected, how many times you've fallen down, or how many times you've been beaten up; it's how many times you've stood up, been brave, and kept going."
Ruby let go, and smiled. Ochako smiled back.
"Thank you." Ochako nodded.
"If you need anything, we're just a call away." Ben said. "Especially if you need some tips with aliens, life or if you just wanna chat. I'm always up for that."
"Gotcha!" Ochako said, turning towards the car door. "Hey, Ben!"
"Yeah?"
Ochako flashed Ben a great big thumbs up.
"I'll make you proud."
Ben smiled back. "I know you will, kid." He nodded. Ochako waved one more time, and hopped into the car. Ben and Ruby waved her off, as the car started to head back home.
"You were right to choose her, hun." Ruby said, as they watched the car round a corner. "She's got my infectious optimism, your spirit…and her own destiny to grab ahold of."
"Makes you wonder if our kid will be like that." Ben said, looking down at Ruby. "...we did a good job, making sure people had a future like this, right?"
Ruby nodded. "Then let's hope she can do the same for the next generation."
Ben beamed. "I know she will."
Ochako looked through the tinted windows, and then back at her new Omnitrix. So many secrets, so much power…it was hers now, and she was ready to carry on the legacy of her mentor.
Ochako looked forward to everything that would come her way.
…
…
…
…
But it's scary how fast things can change in the course of a few years.