Chapter 15: Perplexing Strategy
"Yes!"
In the family stands, Grandpa Max threw up a fist in triumph as Upgrade's mechanical body was the first to emerge from the last tunnel of the race. He smiled ear-to-ear as his grandson awkwardly waved a hand, still transformed, looking around him. Cameras flashed and videos streamed the race live, and everyone watching, in the stadium or anywhere else, had their eyes on the new hot topic.
"Hmph." Tetrax snorted, not even moving from his position, sitting down with his arms folded.
"Oh come on, lighten up Tetrax. We both know that Ben would be behaving differently if this were a real combat situation." Max still couldn't change the Petrosapian's heart.
"First, he chose a poor form for the job. Second, he got distracted and lost sight of the primary objective. Third, he had to rely on someone else to win. I pray to whatever god watches over this planet that you are right Max." Tetrax pointed out Ben's flaws, blunt as always. His gaze was still locked onto Ben, watching him as he moved aside to make room for the rest of the racers.
"I will concede, however, that he proved his adaptability is as sharp as ever. Even if he somehow still hasn't figured out why he mistransforms sometimes, or hasn't fixed his child-like attitude which gets the better of him, he made what he got work." Tetrax begrudgingly admitted.
"And there it is. Was it that hard?" Max gave the fighter a pat on the shoulder.
"It at least proves that the qualities that made Azmuth entrust the Omnitrix to him still remain, and are as strong as ever. The fact that Ben can only grow from here on out is honestly terrifying. With his natural ability to create a fighting style for each of the species he transforms into, alongside his adaptability and tenacity, he could become a hero the likes of which has never been seen." Tetrax then watched as Ben accepted a water bottle from some of the helpers managing a refreshments desk for the exhausted students. Ben fumbled while unscrewing the bottle and attempted to drink. Still transformed. And Galvanic Mechamorphs can't even absorb moisture. The water washed over his face and fell to the ground. "Of course, he still has a long way to go."
"He's 11, almost 12 Tetrax. I know he has innate responsibilities due to who he is, but give him time. No Plumber was ever trained in a year, or ten for that matter." Max turned his attention back down to the field as runners poured out of the tunnel, many falling over from their mad dash to qualify for the second event.
"What do you think of the other contestants?" Max tried to strike up the conversation again.
"Weak. But it is as you said. They are young, without proper training or real world experience. They rely solely on their human 'quirks' and gut instincts." Tetrax started to point out several students individually.
"The exploding one." Tetrax pointed out Bakugo. "As an ex-mercenary myself, I can tell you he's a warrior. A solid ability, decent intuition and drive. More than what I can say for the others in the race. But his attitude needs an overhaul. Your society wants heroes, not warriors. He also seems to have issues controlling his emotions. His instincts, as I said, are solid for not having professional training. But the moment he gets angry, he loses all semblance of form and gets sloppy and predictable."
Then he pointed at Todoroki. "I have a bias against this child, as I have fought many species with ice-based abilities. And won easily. This child is far too confident in his own fighting capabilities for what he really brings to the table. He expects to win in the first moments of battle. As the exploding child kept up with him, he grew irritable but made no moves to widen the gap. When he was overtaken, he didn't fight back. He needs to get out of whatever mental cage he's in if he wants to grow."
"But those two are easy to label. That one." Tetrax finally motioned towards Midoriya. "Is a wildcard. His mannerisms are completely different from how he acts. He acts weak but is willing to use daring strategies that no one else would even think of doing. Everyone used their natural abilities, except this one. Does he not think his quirk is useful in a race? Is he so skilled that it was not needed? Does he lack control so he does not use it for his own sake? Many questions still remain, but there still are two more events. He will be entertaining to watch at least."
In the regular seats, another adult figure was watching Midoriya, although with much more favoritism than the Petrosapian. One who was stationed there to protect his identity.
'Well done Young Midoriya!' All Might thought while clapping his hands in his skeleton form. 'An exceptional performance, a top 3 finish!'
Truth be told, All Might was worried about Midoriya's mindset on heroism. Too many of Japan's hero hopefuls in the modern age have the wrong idea of what it really means to be a hero. Modern media coverage of heroic actions as well as the implementation of hero rankings and salaries depending on said rankings have altered what the youth perceived as heroism. All that seems to matter now are numbers: where one places in the rankings, how many arrests made yearly or how many one shoves beneath them as they rise. The Sports Festival magnifies this, forcing the students to fight one another in a fierce competition. Although, in Midoriya's case, the Festival has forced him to shed his nervous outer layer, and reveal what All Might was searching for.
'An unprecedented move like that may have secured him first in any other year, but this year is different.' All Might shifted his gaze to look at Young Tennyson, in his strange new form. Every form he took was strange in some regard, but this one was a step above. This one was especially dangerous.
'Powerloader will not be happy.' The UA robots were state-of-the-art, and not just in their design, weaponry and construction. They had digital defense that was far above average. It would not do UA any good if their go-to method of testing applicants and students were to be compromised and maim an unsuspecting student. Nezu personally checked every robot to make sure they were up to code, in both physical condition and any anti-hacking protocols Powerloader gave them. But this was new. Young Tennyson did not 'hack' the robot in the first obstacle in any traditional way. Rather, it seemed as if he enveloped the zero-pointer, and became the machine. Technological powers such as that had never been seen before, and therefore no countermeasures existed. Any and all digital defenses Powerloader may have put into the zero-pointers were rendered useless in the face of such a unique power. He wouldn't be the only one frightened by this new form of Young Tennyson. Who knew what else this form could do? Bypass bank security, military documents, government secrets... the potential damage this form could cause in the digital age is catastrophic.
No. All Might shook his head and slapped his forehead. Young Tennyson was not villainous, not in the slightest. His dear friend, Detective Tsukauchi, as well as Nezu himself vouched for him. He showed vast amounts of potential, regardless of his unknown past. A past that he, Tsukauchi and now Aizawa were working on figuring out. At the end of the day, quirks did not determine character. His successor was evidence of that.
'You are unrecognizable from when I first met you years ago, Young Midoirya.' All Might then saw the boy tremble and wipe away tears threatening to run down his cheeks. 'Although, the sooner you grow out of being a crybaby, the better.'
"What did I tell you? The potential of this year's hero students is through the roof!" All Might was startled out of his thoughts by an excited voice from behind him, in the next row up. A bunch of boys in uniforms were in deep discussion. They must be the fourth UA course, the department of management. Students that delved deep into economics, sales and publicity in order to join the other side of the hero industry. Rather than being heroes themselves, or building their gear, these were the ones that would run their agencies, win sponsorships and deal with finances.
"No one doubted you Kanbei, we just told you that the green haired one surpassed our expectations." Another boy responded, as he fixed his glasses.
"Yes, I believe his name is Midoriya. A top 3 finish in such stylish fashion is sure to garner attention. A never-give-up attitude and quick thinking only add to his appeal. But I can't help but notice one crippling issue." The third boy with blushing cheeks raised a finger sternly. "He decided not to use his quirk during the event, which therefore makes his future hard to read and sell. No doubt the hero agencies watching also noticed this, which makes him less desirable. Without demonstrating a quirk and one's proficiency with it, their fighting style and potential areas of expertise are harder to identify. Is he suited for rescue or anti-villainism? What type of role will he play in a combat or rescue situation? Does he have any potential synergies with existing professional heroes? Agencies look for certain qualities in their interns, and Midoriya's refusal to show his hand may be detrimental to his potential options after the Festival."
"That is true. Well spoken Kagami." Kanbei admitted.
"At least he shows some control over his emotions. He remained calm and collected, even when behind. Surely that is something in his favor. Unlike that blonde, Bakugo was his name?" The third boy interrupted. "Cursing, yelling, demeaning fellow heroes, he would be a PR nightmare. The only thing he has going for him is his quirk, which admittedly, is powerful. His usage of it shows his dedication, but we will have to see if his fighting potential is worth his attitude."
'Ah.' While nothing the boys said were lies, All Might felt a twinge of both annoyance and guilt. Annoyance in how Young Midoriya was already being doubted because of the modern hero culture. Guilt in that he probably would have stood out more if he could use his quirk. 'Maybe if I were a better teacher, he would be in a better position right now.'
"But enough about future prospects!" Kanbei leaned towards his friends eagerly. "Let's talk about the gold mine in the room: Tennyson Benjamin!"
'Oh?' All Might shifted his head ever so slightly to listen in better.
"Oh yes, that one is someone to invest in without second thought." Kagami immediately responded.
"Who would have thought that someone like him even existed? Actually, it might be for the best that no one knows about him. You all know what sells: the new, the unexplained, things that are unique, one-of-a-kind! Tennyson has all of that, and a first place finish!"
"It also helps that there has been a noticeable shift in hero popularity lately favoring those with mutation-based quirks. Hawks, Mirko and Ryukyu have all broken into the top 10 ranks and are massively popular. A major part of their appeal are their mutation quirks."
"But we also must consider other factors. Mainly his nationality. No foreign hero has ever made it into the top 100 in Japan. It just doesn't happen."
"Are we comparing boring old farts who migrate to Japan to leech off of the high hero salaries when they are past their prime, to Tennyson? He's only a student, with unique powers and limitless potential! Didn't you hear Present Mic? He said Tennyson can assume many different forms. Imagine what else he can do!"
'It is good to know that the management kids were the same as they were when I attended UA.' All Might gently laughed to himself as the trio behind him argued and squabbled good-naturally among themselves.
There was, however, someone present at the stadium who was not happy. He was someone there not for entertainment, nor to cheer, or even to scout. He was there on a mission. And he was a hero of renown. He was Endeavor.
He was a large man, even though his quirk did not involve anything about physical strength. His physique, one which nearly rivaled All Might in his prime, was a result of his never-ending quest to become stronger. To surpass the one who could not be surpassed. As his body grew stronger, his power over his quirk, Hellflame, did as well. However, despite his best efforts, Endeavor stagnated at second, where he remained for years. This plateau created a sense of desperation within the man, and he began to delve into questionable subjects behind the scenes. One of those things was the study of quirks and how it tied with genetics; more specifically in how they were passed down to children. If he could not surpass All Might, his lineage would. In pursuit of that knowledge, Endeavor became knowledgeable of all types of quirks. He thought he had seen it all.
Then the unthinkable happened. During UA's entrance exam, a student had achieved an astounding 172 points, within spitting distance of All Might's score. Someone, in the same year as his creation, was also chasing the number one spot and had the score to prove it. He vividly remembered his rage, how his mood fouled for weeks after receiving that news. It only worsened when he couldn't find out anything about the damn kid! UA was tight-lipped about the whole thing, and refused to tell him anything more. But being the number 2 hero has its perks, and his network of informants eventually revealed to him what he had spent the better part of a month piecing together. The anomaly was an American student, and went by the name of Benjamin Tennyson. This Tennyson soon proved to be beyond anything he could have imagined.
Papers started to pile on his desk, reports on who this Tennyson was and what he and his quirk were capable of. Each report was more unbelievable than the last. A red giant with four arms and strength rivaling that of All Might. Some speed-based form that outpaced every hero and modern vehicle by a considerable margin. An orange dog-creature whose senses were so sharp even full invisibility was ineffective against it. At the USJ, confidential footage was snuck, illegally, to him showing an aquatic deep sea creature with powerful jaws and claws. Few quirks could surpass or even match these forms individually, yet all of them were linked to a single pre-teen boy. It made Endeavor furious. How, in his years of quirk research to find the best compatible partner to make his legacy, had he missed a power like this?
Assuming this was a result of generations of quirk marriages, he started uncovering family records. To his shock, he found only an American family with no history of heroics. The only remotely heroic thing about the family was the boy's grandfather, who had a record of service in the United States air force. That couldn't be right, so Endeavor decided that he would just have to meet the family face-to-face. The mother and father were working back in the USA, out of reach. Endeavor couldn't meet with the parents, they were too far. Leaving Japan was out of the question, as he had never done so before, excluding specific missions regarding international villains, and that would attract too much attention. The only option left was to find Maxwell Tennyson, the grandfather who was in the air force and current guardian of Ben Tennyson. If he could not get through to the grandfather, then he would move onto the child himself. Crossing his arms, Endeavor leaned back, his face set in stone, masking the turmoil within. He only needed to wait for the lunch break period. Then, he could make his move.
Center Stage-
"Whew!"
Ben wiped his brow with a large, flat hand, flicking off non-existent sweat from his brow. It was then that he finally noticed that he was still transformed, still in his Galvanic Mechamorph form.
'Wow, was that whole race less than 10 minutes?' Ben thought, but really he already knew the answer. Many battles revealed to him that time seemed to flow differently when fighting, or in a strenuous situation. While the race seemed like an eternity, with its 3 seperate obstacles, it was a race at the end of the day. The whole point of a race was to finish it as fast as possible. Remove the standard quirk restriction that was placed on most competitions, and it was shocking how fast even high schoolers could finish a race. Choosing not to reveal his time limit, Ben decided to just transform back. His hand tapped the Omnitrix module, and in a flash of green returned back to human form.
'Feels good to have blood and guts again!' Ben ignored the chattering crowd all around him, pointing and talking about his transformation, to pat his body down. Upgrade's nanite-composition always made Ben feel a little strange, but after dozens of battles as the mechamorph, he had gotten used to it. Mostly. Busy with his check-up, Ben was unaware of rapidly approaching footsteps of a recovered support course student.
"Omph!" Ben was caught unaware as another body crashed into him, the UA blue with pink crowding his vision as the person put her hands on his arms and spun him around. Rigid with shock, Ben could see the excited face of Hatsume Mei centimeters from his own. With her goggles off, Ben could see her eyes had a unique cross-shape in her pupils. Her quirk perhaps? Something ocular based? That line of thought was quickly abandoned as the girl began shaking him.
"Wow, wow! What was that green light thingy? Was that your quirk? Can you transform into your techno-form at will? What else can you assimilate? Does the type of metal or composition affect what you can possess? What is it like when you possess stuff?" A barrage of questions left Ben dazed. When he started a response Hastume just started another question. She began shaking him back and forth, her excitement starting to leak from her body. Then her eyes found the Omnitrix, and widened even further and her excitement rose even higher, if that was even possible.
"What... what is that? Some sort of support device? Does that regulate your transformation? It's so strange! I've never seen a watch like that, much less one that supports a quirk. Who made it? Can I touch it? I'm gonna touch it." She started to reach her hand out, causing Ben to fly into action.
"No, don't!" Ben flung his arm away, but Hatsume was undeterred. Ben was a little shorter than Hatsume, so he couldn't just raise his arm, he had to extend it behind him. As Hatsume reached closer and closer, Ben lost his balance and fell backwards. His breath was knocked out of him as Hatsume landed on top of him, her eyes still glued to the Omnitrix. Ben stretched his arm as far back as he could, but Hatsume was as tall as he was, and she was in a better position. He remembered what happened the last time someone touched the watch when he didn't want them too. The defensive energy blast the Omnitrix emitted sent Vilgax flying and dented a building. Hatsume was no alien warlord conqueror, so Ben did not know if she could survive it. As her fingers were about to graze the faceplate, Ben shut his eyes, bracing for the inevitable.
Then the weight on him was lifted. Opening his eyes, Ben saw that Hastume was being raised by her uniform's collar by a callused, scared arm. His unknown savior was a strange looking man, with a strange sense of fashion. The most apparent style choice was foregoing a shirt, leaving his torso exposed. Small scars and burn marks dotted his pale skin, showing time spent working inside a lab. His head was encased in a personalized helmet, looking like the claw of an excavator with his hair bristling out the back. Slim pants and boots covered his lower body. He wore massive gloves with large fingertips and a black mesh sticking out above his wrists.
"Hastume, remember our deal? I'd let you participate as well as overlook your dozens of safety violations if you behaved yourself. That includes what happens outside of the sanctioned events." The man's voice radiated tiredness, as if he had dealt with this girl's craziness for years.
"But Powerloader-sensei! I can't just not when something as groundbreaking as that watch is right in front of me! Just look, look!" Hatsume frantically gestured towards Ben, who was pushing himself up off the ground.
"And that is why we have requisition forms so that we don't have to literally throw ourselves on top of others. You know, like civilized people? I can't believe I'm telling you this." The hero shook his head, muttering under his breath. Swinging Hatsume so that he could be in the middle of the two students, Powerloader dropped his gaze to look at Ben. It was dark in the helmet, but Ben could see the small, but bright glow of his eye. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah. She just surprised me, that's all." Ben dusted off his palms on the pants of his uniform.
"Hmm. So, you're the famous Tennyson eh? Heard a lot about you from my colleagues." Ben saw a familiar gleam in the hero's eye, not too dissimilar to the one Hatsume had, just more controlled. "Name's Powerloader. I teach the support course. That's some transformation you pulled off back there. I'll have you know that in the multiple decades I've worked on UA's robotics, I've never seen a quirk interact with them like you did."