CHAPTER 3: Hard Truths
It is not true. It can't be true. There's no way that it is true.
And yet somehow… Naomasa simply couldn't prove that it wasn't.
-"Tsukauchi."
It was a crazy story. Too crazy. Nobody would come up with this out of nowhere. And what would someone gain from getting the police to believe this?
-"Tsukauchi!"
But… What if it was all true? What would that entail to the world? The consequences of the public finding out this information would be disastrous, not counting the amount of media outlets wanting proof of everything the teenager said. Naomasa himself wanted some of that proof right now. Maybe he was just overthinking it all and-
-"TSUKAUCHI!"
The detective was snapped out of his trance when a hand touched his shoulder. He remembered where he was, behind the one-way glass in the observation room to the interrogation room where Ben currently sat.
The hand that touched him was All Might's, but he wasn't the large buff man from earlier. Instead, he was in his skinny form, a very much shorter man with sharp angular figures, long limbs and neck and absent eyebrows, with his hero outfit hanging loose on his body.
The skinny hero in front of him asked: -"What were you thinking about?"
The detective only stared at the hero, not focusing on the man due to his mind going 1000 miles per hour.
All Might saw that look and asked with a tone of fear in his voice -"You're… You're not actually thinking that that whole story is real, are you?"
Naomasa paused for a second before answering: -"I… I don't know. I just know that my quirk has never failed me before, so he's either telling the truth or somehow convinced himself that is the truth. And it's not possible that he has a quirk that can counter mine since you saw him transform into a big red guy earlier."
-"A big red guy that he says it's one of his many… alien… transformations!" The hero exclaimed. -"Come on Tsukauchi, you can't possibly believe that insane story!"
The detective looked through the window in the room, staring at Ben, the supposed quirkless boy from another universe who has a watch that can turn himself into alien creatures. He was going to get to the bottom of this: -"His DNA test should be done already, I'll go get it, then we'll see the truth. And I already got his fingerprints and a picture of him, so if he's registered anywhere, we'll know. Can you stay in the room and keep an eye on him while I grab it?"
All Might looked unsure. -"I don't have much time left today in my other form."
-"It should only take a few minutes." he said as he walked towards the door.
-"Well alright then, no problem."
-"Thanks.". And with that, he left to get the tests.
Naomasa walked through the station, thinking about this whole situation Ben had just told them. He had Ben give his fingerprints and a lock of hair before he started telling his insane tale. Could it really be the truth? Other universes? Aliens? It was just too much for his mind. Luckly, his thought process was interrupted when he arrived at the desk of the officer he gave that task to.
-"Sansa, did you get the results from the lab?"
Sansa was a lean man with large yellow eyes, but instead of a human head, his head was that of a ginger tabby cat. He was wearing a pale blue button-up shirt with a golden bell at his neck.
-"Yes sir! They're right here." He handled out a paper. -"But the fingerprints gave no result."
Naomasa looked at him with curiosity -"What do you mean?"
Sansa sat on his desk -"I tried searching on our database for someone who has those fingerprints, but no match came up. I tried doing the same thing with the DNA, but got the same result. Nothing on the ordinary quirk registry. as well"
This was concerning for the detective. No matches? For the entirety of the Japanese Police Force database? -"Well… he did say he is from the United States. Luckly, I sent a photo of Ben to my friend there." he thought.
But Sansa wasn't done. -"But the weirdest thing is when I tried searching for that boy whose picture you gave me. The only recorded place where he was spotted came from a traffic camera today, near that gas station that blew up. Nothing before that."
The detective thought for a moment. It was all adding up to the story Ben told. He was about to read the lab results when his phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was his friend from America calling him.
-"Hello, Luther?"
The man on the other side of the line was Luther Anderson, detective of the New York Police Department. He was a tall man, of african-american descent in his late 40s. He sported a low-maintenance closely cropped hairstyle, and was wearing a white button-up shirt with a dark blue tie. His beard was cropped close to the chin and showed a few gray hairs.
He spoke with a concerned voice. -"Yeah, it's me. Calling to tell that that teenager you're looking for, Ben Tennyson or whatever, is not someone registered on our database. I found Bens and I found Tennysons, but none matching the photo you sent me."
Tsukauchi was most definitively worried now. -"So… what you're saying is-"
-"That this guy is either a ghost or he's not from here."
There was a pause in the conversation, as the japanese detective could not think of another thing to say. Luther noticed this and with a lower voice asked: -"Naomasa, who is this guy?"
-"That's what I want to know… hold on." The detective then looked at the paper on his hand, searching for the answer. And when he got it, he widened his eyes, his breath caught in his throat and his heart started beating faster.
Luther could still hear him through the phone. -"Naomasa, are you okay?" Sansa also looked worried for the detective.
He slowed his breathing and thought for a moment. -"I'm… I'm okay. Look, Luther, thanks for the help, but I'm gonna need to call you back later okay."
-"Wait but-" He didn't even finish his sentence before Tsukauchi hung up. -"Thank you as well, Sansa." He then turned around and walked fast to the interrogation room.
-Meanwhile-
-Interrogation Room-
Now he just had to wait, hoping for the best outcome. He told them everything he could, and even gave them his hair and fingerprints for them to see that he wasn't registered anywhere. They would either believe him, or throw him in an asylum. Probably the second option. Though, if they did believe him, it would be a step in the right direction. But Ben really didn't want to become famous in two separate Earths now, and he could only tell them necessary information without breaching the Plumber's protocol, so no 'most powerful weapon in the universe' or 'greatest hero of the galaxy' thing.
The door to the room opened and the hero came back, leaned on the wall and watched Ben from the corner of the room… again. When he saw that the detective wasn't coming in, he asked.
-"Where's detective Tsukauchi?"
-"He's just grabbing your results." the large man responded. But then Ben saw he looked thoughtful, before saying: -"But while he's out, I'd like to ask you a few things myself."
All Might then stood at the other side of the table, in front of Ben, but didn't sit on the chair that was there. Probably because he was too big for it anyway.
-"Um… sure. What'd you wanna know?"
-"What came over you to fight those guys back there? If what you said is true, you didn't even hesitate."
Ben was surprised. He was actually trying to believe him! Or at least about something he said. -"Well, isn't that just what a hero does? I told you guys, I'm a hero back in my world, and I don't change who I am just because I'm not there."
All Might really didn't know if Ben was speaking the truth or this is just part of the game he was setting up for… something.
And Ben could see that, that doubt on the hero.
-"Look… I know this must be very confusing for you. Imagine how it is for me! In one moment, I'm fighting on an underground base of one of my nemesis, and in the next, I'm in an alleyway on an alternate version of Japan! And to make matters worse, I almost got arrested by a wood guy just because I was trying to help some people!"
-"I'm sorry for how Kamui Woods treated you, and I'm also sorry for not believing in you. But you have to realize what kind of predicament we're in. A seemingly American teenager pops up near an explosion in Japan, uses his quirk to get away from a known hero and tells us that he's from another universe with aliens."
Ben looks at the pro-hero with a look of understanding. It really was a very confusing situation. It was the same thing on Rex's earth.
The large hero kept talking -"Until we can prove who exactly you are, I'm sorry young man, but I don't believe you."
-"Well, I do."
Both men in the room looked towards the voice, which was from detective Tsukauchi at the door, looking right at Ben. His eyes were like spears, cutting through the teen as if he just discovered the fountain of youth.
-"Wha- What are you talking about Tsukauchi?"
Saying nothing, the detective simply raised his hand while holding the paper. -"These are your quirk test results made from your hair."
-"And what do they say?" asked All Might.
-"..."
-"Tsukauch-"
-"He's quirkless."
While Ben could not really understand what was going on, and still didn't know what a quirk was, All Might simply took a step back.
-"Tsukauchi… that's not possible, I saw him willingly transform into a big red guy with four arms."
-"I know All Might… but the test says that he indeed is quirkless… he doesn't have powers."
-"Naomasa-"
But before All Might could say more, the detective interrupted him and was taking slow steps closer to Ben, - "Furthermore… he's not registered anywhere. Neither here or in the U.S.. And the only camera footage we have of him is from today. And he doesn't know about the hero licenses, even though it was the U.S. that came up with hero registration in the first place. It's as if he just popped into existence."
The pro hero could see where Naomasa was going with this, but he simply could not believe it. -"Naomasa! Are you really going to belie-"
-"All Might, do you trust me?"
All Might took a step back at the question. Naomasa wasn't even looking at him when he asked -"W-What?"
-"I asked if you trust me." he asked again, but this time looking All Might in the eye.
-"Of course I do detective, but-"
-"Then stay put." Tsukauchi then turned to the very confused young man in the room. -"Ben, can you do something for me?"
Ben really didn't know how to respond, but something is better than nothing right? -"Humm… sure?"
-"Then I want you to turn into… an alien. A different one."
All Might was DEFINITELY against this action, -"NAOMASA, WHAT-"
-"Just trust me on this! But stay put should he attack." He turned back to Ben and asked again -"Can you do that for us right now?"
-"I… I can. But… I don't want to fight anyone." The teen answered.
-"That's alright, just transforming is fine."
-"Okay." Ben then stood up and started fiddling with his watch. All Might put his fists up just in case and Naomasa put a hand on his gun on instinct. After finding the right alien, he pressed down and the Omnitrix's signature green light filled the room.
When it died down, Ben was nowhere to be seen. The two adults had their eyes widened and were almost starting to panic at the thought that the teenager might have escaped. But those thoughts were silenced when they heard a high pitched voice call out to them from beneath the table.
-"Hey! Down here!"
They both leaned their heads to see what was on the ground and with the most confused faces, saw what they assumed was Ben, but in the form of a gray-skinned, frog-like, bipedal alien that was only four inches tall, with large green eyes and rectangular pupils. He is wearing a green jumpsuit with black suit collar, belt and fingerless gloves.
-"Ben? Is that really you?" Naomasa asked.
-"Yup!" Ben jumped on the chair, then on the table -"This is another one of my alien forms. I call this one Gray Matter! Though the species is actually called Galvan." He then turned and pointed at his back. -"And see? Here's the Omnitrix's symbol."
-"Oh my God… OH MY GOD!" was the only thing both of the adults could think of right now.
Neither of them could actually believe it. The whole story was true! This could have repercussions never seen before if it got out.
-"So it's true… alternate universes… aliens… it's all true."
-"Then… we have a big problem in our hands, Naomasa."
How would the heroes react? How would the rest of the country react? And what about the rest of the world? Would Ben go back or is he stuck? How would someone even start planning to build a multiversal portal? And what if villains find out? Some many questions needed to be addressed.
-"More than you know, but one step at a time" He looked at Grey Matter -"Can you turn back now Ben?"
-"Oh, sure thing." And with a flash of green light, Ben was back in his human form. -"So… you guys believe me now?"
Reluctantly, they both nodded their heads -"Yes Ben… we do."
The teenager threw up his arms in celebration -"FINALLY! So what happens now?"
That was the million dollar question, wasn't it. What should they do in this situation? Their minds were going a million miles per hour trying to figure out how to deal with this.
-"Alright, let's take baby steps. Ben, do you have a way to get back to your own… universe?"
-"Hmm… Unfortunately no. I uh…" Ben rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed to admit it -"I actually tried to call a friend of mine who can teleport between universes while I was here."
Both adults looked at him like he was spouting crazy things again -"B-But I took your phone."
-"Oh, the Omnitrix has a built-in communicator and I tried calling him through it, though he doesn't always answer. And it looks like this is another case of those." said Ben groaning.
-"Okay, one crazy thing at a time. Also, how are you so calm about this?"
-"Well… I've been in this situation already. More than once. So I know it's probably only a matter of time before my friends and family find a way to rescue me. Or for me to find another portal. Maybe you guys have something that could help."
Naomasa shook his head, -"Sorry, but our technology is not on that level yet, and I don't even know if it'll ever reach that."
-"Oh… then I guess I just have to wait."
All Might then entered the conversation with an important question -"Do you have a place to stay young man?"
Tsukauchi interrupted Ben's answer, -"He can stay with me for the time being."
-"Wha- There's no need, seriously." said Ben, a little embarrassed by the thought of giving the detective trouble at home.
-"You're in an unfamiliar place, with no one that even knows you exist. No identity, no money, not even some spare clothes. You can stay in with me, I have a spare room anyway."
All Might did not like the idea that much, so he whispered to his friend -"Are you sure about this? What if it's still somehow a lie and he attacks you in your sleep?"
Naomasa whispered back, -"My quirk has never failed before, so I'm willing to take the risk. But don't worry, if anything does happen, I'll be sure to call you as fast as possible."
The hero simply grunted, but agreed nonetheless.
Ben then clapped his hands, bringing the attention to him, -"Welp, I won't be staying much in your house anyway, I'll probably just be exploring the city, patrolling the streets, being a hero, you know all that."
The detective spared a glance of concern to All Might -"Actually, you can't do that. Being a hero here requires you to earn a Hero License from the government. Using your quir- I mean your power without it, would make you an illegal vigilante in the eyes of the public… and the police. Also you're too young to get an official one anyway."
Ben finally understood the situation at hand, -"I get it. You must have a lot of people with powers if you have a whole system designed just to make sure the right people are being heroes. But…" Ben looked straight at the hero and detective, and spoke with passion in his voice: -"I'll still be a hero. This might not be my earth, but it's still earth… sorta of. And this is final, I won't just lay back and do nothing when I can help people."
This… was certainly a nice surprise for both of them. The kid had an iron resolve. And All Might did not need a lie detection quirk to know that Ben was speaking the truth, from his heart. But it was illegal for him to do that. So, he offered something close to it.
-"What if, instead of trying to be a vigilante on your own, you became a student on U.A.?"
This confused Ben a little, -"What's U.A.?"
-"It's an academy that teaches the best hero education in Japan. And it's actually a great idea!" exclaimed Naomasa -"There, you learn how to be a hero, how to better use your quirk, and depending on how long you stay here, eventually get to do heroics on your internships. Maybe even get a provisional hero license if you pass the test."
-"It also functions as a regular high school!" exclaimed All Might, with a sense of pride.
-"You'll just have to sit back for some time and learn some stuff like any other teenager would."
-"Sit back… while being a teenager?" At those words, Ben recalled what Gwen had said to him just a few hours ago. -'You can relax more. You can actually be a teenager now.'He made a promise that he would at least think about it. And this was the perfect opportunity for that.
-"So… what's it gonna be, young man?"
-"Alright… I'll enter this school. Heck, maybe I'll even learn how to be a better hero by the end."
-"THAT'S THE SPIRIT YOUNG TENNYSON! HAHAHA!"said All Might with a booming shout and laugh.
-"Okay, we'll take care of the paperwork and talk with the principal."
But before this could go on, a question popped into Ben's mind -"Wait, why are you so willing to help someone you have never met before and you don't fully trust?"
Instead of Naomasa, it was All Might who answered his question: -"Well, isn't that what heroes do? No matter where you're from, you need help, and that's reason enough for me."
Ben really was glad he came across that hero now. Who'd guess what would happen if he had run into some big villain or something. He finally allowed himself to relax and drop on the chair.
Naomasa noticed this and smiled, -"Since I can guess you must feel pretty tired now, we'll talk more tomorrow. But we have to start as early as possible to get you used to this world, especially to get you to U.A., since the entrance exam was about three days ago."
-"So, wait, how will I get in then?"
-"We can have you as an exchange student from the U.S., then you wouldn't have to memorize too much information about Japan to pass as a person born in this world."
-"And since All Might is going to be a teacher there this coming year, he'll keep an eye out so you don't get in trouble."
-"Okay… and what about the Omnitrix?"
-"We'll figure something out tomorrow. You probably haven't eaten anything for a few hours right?"
As if on cue, Ben's stomach growled loudly, making the detective and the hero chuckle a little, and making the teen uncomfortable.
-"I guess that answers my question. Come on, we'll get your phone and then go to my house, I got no more work left today anyway and it's already dark."
-"Dark already?! Oh man! How long have we been here?!" Ben then rushed towards the door to look for a window outside.
Naomasa went to the door to go after the boy, but before he stepped through, he turned and spoke to All Might -"Toshinori."
The hero frowned when hearing the tone of his friend. This was serious.
-"I want you to make sure he doesn't get in any trouble while in U.A.. But most importantly, nobody can know who he truly is."
All Might should have known that the detective would ask him that, but he understood it was necessary. And he also wanted to keep a lookout for the boy, since he still didn't trust him completely, so he nodded to him, -"Don't worry Tsukauchi, I'll update you every day and help you talk with the principal to get him in."
The detective gave a grateful smile to his friend, nodded and went to exit the room -"Thanks, I'll talk with you more tomorrow."
The hero was left alone in the room, with much to think about, but there was only one thing in his mind right now: -'Great… now I have to take care of TWO teenagers.'
-Detective Tsukauchi's Apartment-
The tension during the trip to Naomasa's place was very high, since they hadn't talked during the whole thing. Luckly they arrived shortly at an apartment building.
Ben really wasn't comfortable sleeping in the detective's place and causing him trouble, but even he had to realize that he didn't have that many options of where to go at the moment, -'More like no options but alright.'
Tsukauchi opened the door, allowing both of them to go in, -"So, you can stay at my sister's room. She's out of the country for the moment, so it won't be an issue." He picked up his phone -"You probably haven't eaten anything the whole day so I'll just order some food."
Before he could do that though, Ben stepped in -"Wait! I-I know I should have said that in the car, but… are you sure it's okay for me to stay here? I don't want to cause you any trouble and I don't even know WHEN my friends will be able to rescue me."
-"Ben, I understand your concerns, but you're a 16 years old kid in a different country and world entirely, who has, by your own words, a very powerful weapon at your hands. You wouldn't be safe AND in secret anywhere else. Besides, I'm a police officer who works very closely with heroes, I'm just doing my job." said Tsukauchi with a smile.
And Ben responded with another one. He was more than thankful that the detective was the one to learn the truth. Who knows what would have happened if a big bad guy had bumped into him.
-"Now…" said the detective while giving Ben some casual clothes, "...you go and get yourself accustomed to the room while I order food. And take a bath."
Ben widened his eyes and sniffed his jacket. -'Wow, I really am smelling bad.' He instantly thanked the man and went searching for the bathroom.
-An Hour Later-
The food had arrived and Ben and Naomasa were sitting at the table, eating without saying much. It was still awkward for the hero.
-"So, you said that room was your sister's right?" Ben said while pointing at the room he was staying in.
The detective replied after taking a sip of his drink -"Yeah, but she doesn't live with me anymore, she moved out after finishing university."
-"Oh cool, what did she study?"
-"Heroics."
-"Was she also training to be a hero?"
-"No, she studied more to make her own paper on the subject of vigilantism." Naomasa stopped eating -"That was actually one of the reasons I'm agreeing to do this."
Ben looked up to see him with a more serious face -"What do you mean?"
-"I don't like vigilantes Ben. In my opinion, they're trying to do a kind personal justice that hurts society more than it helps. But after reading my sister's thesis about the subject, and having a personal experience about it on my own, I realized that I was being to... strict on that. If you are who you say you are, than I can't put that label on you and simply brand you a criminal, becau-"
-"-because in my world, there are no hero laws." the teen finished his sentence.
The detective smiled -"Exactly. But you're on our world now, and I need to unsure you won't brake any laws while in here. Ok?"
Ben cleaned his plate and gave the man a thumbs up -"Sounds good to me."
They both understood each other points of view -"Alright, you can go to bed, don't worry I'll clean everything. You must be tired already."
-"Thank you very much. I appreciate the meal as well." with that, he left.
The teenage hero was laying on the bed. tired. It was a very stressful day. Even harder to believe that it all happened in just one day. -'I just hope everyone back home is okay. They must be looking for ways to get me back.'
He picked up his phone, opening it and looking at photos he took with Gwen, Max and Kevin. -'I trust them and I know that they'll find me, even if it takes some time.'
After putting the phone down, he turned to the side and closed his eyes to get a very needed night of sleep. And the last thought that passed through his head was…
-'I just hope I'll be okay here.'
CHAPTER 4: Into a New Life
Darkness.
The void between universes was really dark. And cold.
But familiar blue and white lights appeared, swirling around.
In the middle of it, was our teenage hero, floating aimlessly, opening his eyes. For a moment he thought he was in deep space, but it felt more like he was falling in an endless abyss, surrounded by blue energy. Very familiar blue energy.
-'Am I… going back home?' thought Ben. But this didn't feel real, it felt like… like a memory.
He looked down and saw a great light approaching, almost like he was reaching his destination.
But then he felt it again, the feeling he got right before passing out inside the vortex, Like his body was disintegrating and being put together again, atom by atom. It hurts, but not as much as when he experienced it before.
He knew he was going to pass out again, but right before that, there was a shape inside the light at the end. No, two shapes. But not just any shape…
-'Those look like… people.'
And just like that, his body jerked fast to the side and he let out a tiny scream.
-Ben's New Bedroom-
Turns out, he had fallen from his bed in the middle of a dream. The sun was shining through the window, hitting the teenager, who became very annoyed at being woken up by this, especially after falling head first into the ground. Groaning loudly, he opened his eyes and shielded them from the light with his hands.
Noticing that this wasn't his bedroom, he shot up the bed, thinking that someone had kidnaped him or something, but as soon as he remembered the events from the last day, Ben calmed down.
-'So… yesterday wasn't a dream huh?' thought Ben. He didn't know if that was a good sign though. At least he didn't hallucinate, even if he wished that was the case. -'But… the dream I had just now… what was it?'
He was about to question it, but his stomach growled in hunger -"It's too early to think about this."
The teen hero changed into his usual outfit, since it was the only one he had at the moment and got out of the bedroom to talk with the only other person in the house…
Which currently, was loudly talking on the phone and fastly typing at a laptop.
-"No no! Luther, I need you to keep quiet about this. It's a very delicate operation and if you say anything to your superior, the entire thing could collapse. Can you just trust me on this?"
The detective was clearly not in the mood for small talk, so as soon as he saw Ben enter the living room, he just mouthed that 'There's food in the fridge'.
Understanding he was busy, Ben just nodded and went to get it for himself, even if he didn't feel comfortable with this arrangement just yet.
He could still hear the detective talking on the phone, -"I know I know, but you already own me one from that deal with the Skycrawler, come on."
There was a pause before Luther responded: -"Fine! But if someone starts going around asking me too many questions about this boy, I can't promise anything! But I will warn you at least."
-"Got it. Thank you again, I'll call you later." With that, he hung up. Tired already and it wasn't even 1pm. Naomasa then went to the kitchen to eat… and have a serious talk with Ben.
-"Hey, good morning kid."
-"Hey. So I hmm… I wanted to thank you again for letting me stay here for the time being."
-"It's no problem, you would have gotten into more trouble if I just let you out there by yourself."
The hero ate some bread with butter while talking, -"So… how does this whole hero school deal work?"
-"Well I already called All Might today. It was the first thing I did actually, after seeing that you were still in that room."
Ben picked up what he meant, -"You thought it was all a dream as well right?" he responded with a nervous smirk.
Naomasa just let out a chuckle in response at the irony that they both hoped for the same thing, -"Yeah, I just had to check, haha." He then continued talking about the school while drinking his coffee: -"All Might said that he would talk with the principal and explain the whole situation as soon as he arrived at U.A."
Right then and there, Naomasa's phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was the very same number 1 hero calling him, -"Hi All Might, I just told Ben about your meeting with the principal."
-"Well…" The hero sounded uncertain about something -"...that's what I wanted to talk about with you. The principal didn't really believe much of the story I told, mostly because I was also not very sure about it when saying it to him."
Both adults agreed that they would give minimal detail about Ben to others until they could get a full cover story and documents for him. The story for now was that Ben was an exchange student from a small town in the United States that always wanted to study in Japan and All Might knew him from his days of heroism there, so after winning some money in the lottery he rent the detective's spare room to live until he got his bearing in the country.
The story was faulty, but since both the entrance exam and the recommendation exam had already passed, they needed to talk with the principal as fast as possible before class started.
This worried the detective greatly -"So then did he say he wasn't going to let Ben in?"
-"Not… exactly. He wants to talk with Ben personally. Today."
-'Oh no…' This was not good at all. If a police officer got caught lying about something this big by the principal, there would be consequences.
-"We didn't even tell the kid the cover story we made for him, having Ben talk to him today is not gonna go well. We'll find anothe-"
-"I'll talk to him, no problem." interrupted the teenager with a stern face.
Naomasa looked at him as if he just said that he was going to jump off a cliff, which wasn't a bad description since this WAS a big leap of faith. -"Ben, if I figured out that you were lying about where you came from, the principal definitively can too." He wasn't about to mention that his quirk was detecting lies, but he didn't want to take the risk of Ben slipping some important information.
-"Then I'll tell him the truth. If you guys were able to believe me and still help, then he will too."
-"Me and All Might knowing about you are different. You basically stumbled into him and he called me."
-"You said that All Might was going to be a teacher at this school right? Even then, having the principal know about me in case someone from outside questions my presence there is good to help keep my secret. And since All Might's still a hero, I'm assuming that he won't spend all of his time just teaching students. Also… I don't like to lie to anyone, especially those who are helping me like this."
All Might heard Ben and whispered through the phone, -"He's right, my limit is only three hours now and I'll be spending most of that teaching the students… and my eventual successor as well."
The detective really was in a tough situation, but he could see their points very well and they were right. -"Alright." he relented with a sigh, -"But instead of telling everything there, you can say the truth to him All Might, while we get ready to go. Ben can prove the truth in person by transforming."
-"Okay, Naomasa. I'll see you here."
They both hung up. This was going to be a stressful day.
He turned to Ben -"Are you really okay with telling him the truth?"
The teenager, as if it was common sense, answered sincerely: -"I've had this kind of experience before and it never goes well for the people who don't know what's going on." He then looked down at the Omnitrix, reflecting on the choices that led him here. "I have a lot of enemies because of this watch, if there's even the smallest chance of one of them finding me before my friends do, I want the principal to be prepared for anything. I'll be at his school after all."
Naomasa could only look at the boy with a face that told he was… sorry for him, -'For someone who's only 16 years old to be this afraid of- No, not afraid, prepared. He must have fought a lot of villains already and with no school to teach him how.' He looked at Ben's Omnitrix, -'That watch feels more like a burden than a blessing.'
-"Alright, I understand Ben. Let's finish here and get ready to go out."
-Outside of U.A. High-
The car trip felt like a short one, except for when they had to go up a small hill to reach the school, but this is because Ben wasn't paying much attention to the way there because Naomasa was trying to drill into his brain information about this different world.
And Ben was very confused about most of it.
-"So… how many people in the world have superpowers, I mean quirks, again?"
-"About 80%. Though most of them are older than 20 years old. Your generation barely has quirkless people."
-"Quirkless…" Ben repeated the word, it sounded somewhat… wrong in his mind, -"How did the people come about with this term?"
-"Well, while this is the official title, not everyone uses the term. Some time ago, a woman gave birth to a baby with power. She was discriminated against, but claimed that her son's powers were simply a "quirk" of his nature. Unfortunately an anti-meta group that existed at the time killed the woman. When her son grew up, he became against this control system put in place to better manage the powers, claiming that the government seized and misrepresented his mother's words to restrict the use of Quirks, believing that free use of Quirks is a basic human right. He gained movement, even wrote a book about it, calling the term Meta-Abilities instead of Quirks and wanted people to be free to use them however and whenever they want. And as you can guess…"
-"That would create chaos in society." Ben finished his sentence, thinking what would happen if really that many people were simply going wild with their powers.
-"Exactly. Luckly, most people who accepted that ideology don't exist anymore after the arrest of the leader of the movement. Now, quirks are seen as normal, but there are still a lot of laws restricting their public and even private use."
Naomasa noticed they were arriving at the school -"And that is why, if you want to become a hero, you'll have to enlist in this school." he then pointed forward.
Ben followed his gaze and had his jaw hit the floor, the school was simply giant! It looked more like an office building than anything, but the sheer size of the school grounds was what surprised him the most.
The detective parked the car near the entrance. They both got out, with Ben still being impressed that such a big school for superheroes could even exist, especially after getting a look from the inside of the large entrance gate that had the letters "U.A." at the front. The place was bigger than he thought.
Naomasa was clearly amused at Ben's reaction to all of it -"Hehe, yeah, that was my face as well."
The teen noticed that he zoned out for a second and snapped out of it, -"The main question in my mind right now is how much budget does this whole thing get?"
-"Oh trust me… Not even I know."
Now that… that got Ben excited and more determined to study here for a while.
When they walked towards the principal's office, Naomasa would keep explaining more things about hero society as a whole, but Ben kept his attention towards the many buildings he could see outside and rooms inside the large main building. Classes hadn't started yet, so no students were roaming the halls, making it easier for the teen hero to see everything.
While the Plumbers Academy was WAY bigger than this, the reasons for it were different. This school just had a different feeling, it was like… it was calling to Ben itself.
They stopped for a moment because Naomasa seemed lost. -"Damn, I think we took a wrong turn, there are some many corridors and it has been some time since I came here."
-"Better call All Might?" suggested Ben.
-"Yeah, let me tell him where we are so he can tell us the way to the principal's office."
A new voice came from behind the two, -"Well, well, well, if it isn't my favorite police officer.."
Naomasa reconized that voice, but for Ben it was new... and very seducing.
When they both turned around, they saw a tall, curvaceous woman with sky blue eyes, framed by a set of rather long eyelashes. She had long thick spiky dark purple hair, which was made up of layers of varying lengths. She also had a small beauty mark below her left eye, as well as red-painted nails.
Her costume was very similar to one of a traditional dominatrix. She wore a breastless, black leather leotard—similar in style to a corset—over a thin, skin-tight, white bodysuit, which accentuated her voluptuous figure. The center strip of her leotard was embellished with red gemstone-like accessories in a vertical pattern, extending from her collar to her midriff. She also wore translucent, black, thigh-high garter stockings, which were attached to a burgundy utility belt decorated with gold studs around her hips, a matching pentagonal buckle in its center, and black knee-boots. She had a small red mask outlining her eyes, and a handcuff on each wrist.
Ben was absolutely stunned seeing that woman, especially in school grounds! -'What kind of school is this?! Do they have beauty classes or...'
Naomasa simply smiled at Ben's reaction, most teenagers would make the same face when meeting her after all, -"Midnight, nice seeing you here. Preparing for classes to start?"
The hero now known as Midnight responded with a small laugh -"You too, detective Tsukauchi. Yes, some teachers have already been called to prepare their scheduals and lessons." She then looked at Ben with interest -"And who's this young soul I see? Some illegitimate child of yours?"
-"WHAT?! No! We don't even look alike." defended Ben.
The detective could only sigh at the interaction, Midnight always seems to like to mess with people first, -"I believe introductions are in order. Ben, this is Midnight, a teacher here at U.A, and also known as the R-Rated Hero..."
-'Put R-Rated in that! It doesn't even look like she's wearing anything!' screamed Ben in his mind, trying not to get flustered.
-"Midnight, this is Ben Tennyson, a exchange student from the U.S. possibly coming in next semester here."
-"Nice to meet you Miss Midnight." He raised his hand to shake hers.
-"What a gentleman, nice to meet you too Mr. Tennyson." she said, teasing him a little.
-"He's staying on the same apartment building as me, so I decided to give him a ride here to see the school and talk with the principal." Naomasa explained, -"but it seems that we're lost." he rubbed the back of his head.
-"I can help you with that, the principal's office is on the next floor. You just take those stairs, turn right, go to the hallway next to the conference room and then left. You should see his big doors."
-"Thank you Midnight, hope to catch you again some day."
-"Me too detective." she offered him a friendly smile -"Oh, and I hope you get in, young man. U.A. High is open for all, no matter the country." She responded giving a nice smile. -"I can't stay long, I have my own schedule to plan, just came in to greet you but I do hope I see you in my class next semester." she gave him a seducive smile.
-"I uh... hope so too... Miss Midnight." Ben really felt flustered and... kind of uncomfortable at the moment. A woman like her trying to seduce him? He tried to get any unwanted thoughts out of his mind.
-"Goodbye to you too then." said Midnight, leaving.
-"Goodbye Midnight." responded Naomasa.
-"Yeah uh... good-goodbye you." said a flustered Ben.
Naomasa noticed Ben's confused face -"You'll get used to it kid, she does that to everyone, it's her thing. Just don't fall in love with her or something"
-"Oh? Yeah totally, of course, I was just... surprised you know." answered a sweating Ben.
-"Ha, sure." with that, they went their way.
-Outside the Principal's Office-
The number 1 pro-hero might be the strongest person in the country, if not the world, but even HE was susceptible to feeling anxiety and stress at times, he just didn't show it much. If young Tennyson couldn't get into U.A, he would most likely turn to vigilantism. The hero recognized the conviction in his voice when he told him and Tsukauchi that he would still be a hero, no matter in whose universe.
The constant pacing back and forth at the door, waiting for them to arrive, was stopped when All Might noticed his friend and the possible new student just turning around the corner.
They also noticed him, and that instead of his usual hero outfit, he was wearing a yellow business suit with black stripes and a white undershirt with blue tie.
The pro-hero was so relieved -"Thank Goodness, I was about to call you."
-"We had a run in with Midnight." Naomasa responded.
-"And asked for directions since you got lost." remarked Ben.
-"And you got lost in the appearance." rebutted the detective, smirking.
-"No, I didn't!"
-"Ok, not important right now. I already told what I know about you Ben to the principal, he's just waiting for us inside, I had to catch some air."
-"Alright." said Ben.
-"Thanks again for this All Might." Naomasa then took the lead alongside Ben in front of the door. -"Let's go in."
As soon as all three entered the office, with All Might closing the door behind them, the tension could be cut with a knife, but only because the principal's chair was facing to the window, making them not see him just yet. Only when All Might talked they realized he was there in the first place.
-"Sir, they're here."
-"Thank you All Might." said the principal, who Ben noticed had a thin calm voice. -"It's a pleasure to talk with you again Detective Tsukauchi."
-"With you as well Principal Nezu."
-"So…" the chair turned, so that he was speaking directly to the teenager, -"... you must be this Benjamin Tennyson, correct?"
Whatever Ben expected the principal of the most prestigious hero school in the country to look like, that image got shattered as soon as he saw the man. Or should he say, the mouse, or bear, or… dog? Ben didn't exactly know what to make of him, he appeared to be a combination of all three.
He had the head of a mouse with circular black eyes, a large scar over the right one, relatively rectangular-shaped ears with pale pink insides slanting outwards from the top of his head, and an elongated muzzle with a small round nose. His fur was white and he had large, dog-like paws with pink pads and a thin tail like that of a cat.
Once the man jumped on the table, Ben could see the rest of him clearly. He sported a white dress shirt, a dark red tie around his neck, a black double-breasted waistcoat and matching dress pants and wore orange lace-up sneakers with incredibly thick soles which seem to be quite large on him.
The only face the teenager could make was confusion and surprise. All Might noticed he wasn't answering Nezu's question, -"Are you okay young Tennyson?"
Snapping out of his trance, Ben answered with some hesitation, -"Huh? Yeah, yeah, I was just… not expecting him to be so… small."
The principal raised his eyebrow, -"Do you have a problem with my appearance?"
Ben rubbed the back of his head at the mistake he made -"Oh no, sorry sir." he then answered with a smile: -"You actually just remind me of someone from my universe funny enough."
-"From your universe… That's exactly why I called you here today. I do not believe this story All Might told me, even if it is backed up by the trustful word of the detective." he gestured to Naomasa.
-"I understand. It's a very hard story to believe, but trust me, it is all true. What can I do to prove it to you?"
The principal took a pause, seemingly in deep thought, before saying something that none of them expected.
-"I want you to surprise me."
That… what?
-'How do you prove something like that to someone who lives in a world of superpowers?' thought Ben.
-"Uhmm… What do you mean sir?"
-"Exactly what I said All Might. Surprise me." he said again with a slight smile.
Ben put a hand on his chin in deep thought, looking around the room to try to think of something. That was, until he realized he could do something that would surprise even the other two adults there.
He approached the principal's desk, -"I think I know how, but I need you to trust me on this one. Just some temporary trust."
Nezu made a pause, but then gave Ben a smile, -"Alright, just this once."
-"Thank you sir." he then touched his watch.
-"Ben, what exactly are you doing?" Naomasa questioned.
-"Don't worry detective, you're gonna be surprised as well." Ben then directed his voice to the watch: -"Omnitrix, re-activate scan mode."
To the initial surprise of two adults in the room, the Omnitrix responded in a mechanized copy of Ben's voice, -"SCAN MODE ACTIVATED. SCANNING FOR NEAREST UNKNOWN DNA."
It took about a minute for the Omnitrix's usual display to pop up again. -"SCAN COMPLETED, NEW DNA ADDED TO EXISTING DATABASE. CURRENT PLACEMENT ON PLAYLIST 5."
-"You can deactivate the scan mode now." Ben did not waste time before bringing up the watch's holographic interface, searching for the new head display in playlist 5, selecting it and slapping the device. The Omnitrix's usual green light filled the room, making all residents cover their eyes, but when it died out, instead of an unknown alien creature, standing on Ben's place was an exact clone of Principal Nezu, except he didn't have the scar, was using a variation of green, black and white for his suit and had the Omnitrix symbol on his chest instead of a tie.
If it was possible for eyes to jump out of their sockets, all the eyes in the room would already have done that due to how wide they were. They knew about turning into aliens, but being able to duplicate someone's DNA, and quirk in its entirety on the spot like that, was entirely new information.
All of them were obviously on edge, thinking that maybe had stole Nezu's quirk or body, but they calmed down once he talked normally -"H-How… How have you done this? Not many people are able to impress me. I watched the camera footage from yesterday, this is the third form I see you turn into."
-"Yuperss!" Answered Ben in a high pitched voice with excitement -"Wow, I feel so smart right now! Like I know even the most intricate details of human anatomy, hahaha!"
-"This is indeed very impressive Mr. Tennyson." Nezu responded, still amused at seeing himself like that.
-"Please…" said Ben, in a courteous manner, -"... Mr. Tennyson is my father, call me B- actually…" he stopped himself before giving it some thought, -"In this form, call me Hobbie-J."
They were a bit confused, -"Why Hobbie-J?" asked Tsukauchi.
-"I have knowledge both from this world and my own now, though anything from this world is still very limited. I also have access to memories I had forgotten, and Hobbie-J is the name of the smartest rat from my world a few years ago, though I am unsure who holds the status as of this moment. I saw a documentary about it on TV, but I wasn't paying much attention at the time."
But this only served to worry Nezu more about accepting him. Sure, the boy had great potential, but could he actually be from where he claimed and become a true hero? These questions were running into the principal's mind, but the only way to answer them was to ask the cause of all in the first place.
-"Benjamin…" Nezu started, -"...while I am impressed at your abilities, I want to know from you. Why do you want to enter my school?"
The teen hero saw how serious this question sounded. Making sure to pass the right impression, he slapped the symbol on his chest, turning back to Ben to give his honest answer. -"I don't know for how long I'll be here, and there's a good chance it'll take way longer than I want to. But this does not mean I stop being a hero. I want to help people here like I do in my home and be the best hero I can be, your school is just the place that can teach me that. And also… I promised to my cousin that I'd try to live like a normal teenager for a while, and since the only way to be a legal hero here on this Earth is to have one of these licenses, then that's what I'll work towards. Then there's also the fact that I don't want to fight any heroes or cops by trying to do good in vigilantism." he rubbed the back of his head a little when saying this last phrase.
Even though he had just witnessed an incredible display of power versatility, this was what truly shook the principal. He had talked with such conviction in his voice that he could even feel remorse for the alleged promise the boy had made to his cousin. It reminded him of when the teacher and hero Midnight had convinced him to allow Eraser Head to also be a teacher at the school.
The detective was on the same boat, but instead of Eraser Head, he was remembering when he himself was applying for the Police Academy. But Ben's idea of heroism reminded him more of what he read in his sister's paper for university years ago about the topic.
And while All Might had a knee-jerk reaction to Ben transforming into the principal, because it reminded him of an old nemesis that had similar power, he too became more relaxed and inspired by Tennyson's reason to become a hero at this school. He also thought he looked a lot like his own protégé.
Nezu thought again about this whole situation. The number 1 hero and a trustworthy detective at the police force were both vouching for this boy to enter his school in a crazy story. There must be some good reason for this. And he couldn't sense any malice or lies from Ben since he entered.
-"Hmmm… after careful consideration, I'll allow Mr. Tennyson to enter my school, under the conditions that he does not partake in acts of heroism or use his watch at all outside of school grounds, and that both of you will be responsible for him inside and outside here. He also must respect the school rules, whether that is aligned with his personal beliefs or not. Are we clear?" he said, looking at all three of them with stern eyes.
Ben really couldn't believe it, he just entered a school of heroes from another universe! -"YES! Very clear sir, I won't cause any problems for you."
For some reason, that did not seem true in Naomasa's mind, -"Don't worry Nezu, we'll be keeping an eye on him all the time."
-"You can count on us sir!"
-'This is shaping up to be an interesting year.' thought the principal. -"Well then…" he stood up and raised his hand towards Ben while smiling, -"...Welcome to U.A. High, Ben Tennyson."
The teenager simply smiled back and shook the principal's hand. He couldn't wait until he told Kevin, Gwen and Grandpa Max about this.