Chapter 59

(Before Ace arrived)

Ace is currently in his mansion doing paperwork for his company. He was also going through the notes Izu made for him on how to operate the company.

"Ace-sama, I have something that might interest you."

"What is it, Ark?"

"Your friends, the X-Men, seem to be going to California."

"Did you find out why?"

"From my calculations. It is highly likely the professor has found a new mutant and is trying to recruit the person."

"I see. It seems to be the same as usual for them. Why did you tell me about this?"

"From the information I have gathered. From my calculation, it is highly likely that the Brotherhood is also in the same location as well."

"What! Is that true!?"

"It is very much likely."

"Then I need to get there, but how? California is too far away."

 "I suggest using the Denliner."

"Right! That is also a way! I have to go, Ark! Tell Izu for me!"

"Please be safe."

Ace patiently waited in front of a door, anticipating the alignment of the hour, minute, and second hands. As soon as the conditions were met, he pushed open the door and stepped into the enigmatic realm beyond. A boundless desert of shimmering sands lay before him, and soon, the Denliner arrived. With determination, he leaped aboard.

"Yo, Ace! We heard what was happening! We are finally going to kick some butt!"

"No, Momotaros. I'm the one who is going to be fighting."

"Eh! No way! It is very boring here, and we can only freely go out using your body! Come on! Please! Let me fight, Ace!" Momotaros shakes Ace's body back and forth while begging him.

"Stop it! Don't worry. I have something working on so that all of you can freely move."

"Really!? Yes! I'm waiting, so you better not forget!"

"Yes-Yes. I won't forget it because you keep buzzing in my head every few minutes."

Naomi comes in with a fresh cup of coffee. "Hai~ here is your coffee."

"Thank you, Naomi-chan."

"The pleasure is mine!"

The Denliner arrives in California, and Ace disembarks the train. He opens a door and finds he has entered a coffee shop.

The girl behind the counter asked for his order. "What is your order, sir?"

"Oh, nothing, just using the bathroom."

As Ace hurriedly exited the bustling coffee shop, he set out on a mission to locate the elusive X-Men. Following an hour of relentless searching, he was jolted by the sound of panicked screams and a stampede of people fleeing from the nearby mall. Reacting swiftly, he approached a woman in close proximity and urgently inquired about the cause of the commotion.

"Hey, what is everyone running from?"

"There are mutants fighting in the cafeteria. You better run before you get caught up."

"Thanks for the warning."

He ran toward the commotion and saw thunder clouds in the sky. "That must be Storm."

As he raced toward the spot where the lightning had struck, he came upon a chaotic battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood. It was clear that the X-Men were struggling. Just then, he spotted Pietro about to snatch Jubilee and sprang into action to rescue her. Suddenly, Ace whipped out a tuning fork with a golden oni face on its base - the legendary Henshin Onsa Onkaku!

He tapped the fork against his hand, and it emitted a resounding clang. Placing the base of the fork against his forehead, a fearsome oni's face materialized on Ace's skin. Suddenly, his entire body became engulfed in brilliant purple flames, yet he remained unscathed. His body begins to morph, and with a swift movement of his right hand, the flames dissipate, revealing his astonishing transformation into Kamen Rider Hibiki!

(Present)

The X-Men saw Ace come to help them, and they felt relieved.

'Ace, he came! It is nice to see he is okay.' thought Rogue.

They did not want to expose his relationship to the X-Men yet. So they had to act like they did not know him.

"Kamen Rider, thank you for your help. It is very much appreciated." said Storm

"No problem, lady. Can't have exactly ignore their evil deeds. I'll handle this guy. You take care of her."

Storm agreed and took Jubilee away to safety. Pietro looks even more pissed at Ace.

"You're going to regret interfering with us, Rider."

"Are you going to keep yapping, or are we going to fight already." Ace lazily swung his Ongekibou Rekkas, which only made Pietro madder.

Pietro moves at supersonic speed and runs around in a circle surrounding Ace. "Think you can keep up with me, Rider!"

Pietro lands a powerful punch on Ace and quickly retreats, circling around him once more. He keeps repeating this tactic, causing Ace to stagger with each blow.

"Hahaha! What's wrong, Rider? Didn't you say you were going to stop me? Or is all you can do is bark!"

Ace refuses to be discouraged by Pietro's taunting and carefully studies his opponent's every move, patiently waiting for the perfect moment to unleash his own strike. "My eyes are getting used to him."

Pietro is about to hit Ace again, but he dodges his fist and uses the Ongekibou Rekka to hit him in the stomach and head. This surprised Pietro. "What! How did you hit me!?"

"You may be fast, but it wouldn't matter as long as I can react faster!"

Ace lands blow after blow on Pietro, and each hit sending shockwaves through his body. With a lightning-fast double strike using the Ongekibou Rekka, he sends Pietro flying and crashing to the ground.

Pietro gets up and spits a mouthful of blood. "You bastard!"

He darts around Ace, his movements are unpredictable as he launches another attack. To everyone's amazement, Ace catches his fist, leaving Pietro utterly astonished.

"You don't learn, huh? I'm already used to your speed! Kigenjutsu Onibi! (Demon Art Technique: Demon Fire!)"

Ace's mouthpiece bursts open, unleashing a torrent of vibrant purple flames. The searing blaze engulfs Pietro, sending him into a frenzy as he desperately tries to extinguish the intense fire. With a swift, powerful kick, Ace sends Pietro hurtling away, the flames dissipating as he falls into unconsciousness.

"Pietro! You're going to pay for that!" Avalanche sent out an earthquake toward Ace.

"Oh, I can do that too! Hah!" He also slammed his Ongekibou Rekkas to the ground, sending an earthquake. The two earthquakes clashed and canceled each other out.

"Impossible!" Suddenly, he got blasted by ice. He forgot he was still fighting Iceman.

"You did not forget me, did ya?"

"Grr~ Get out of my way!"

Ace was about to assist Iceman when suddenly Blob blocked his path. "You're dealing with me now, tough guy," Blob snarled. 

"Ooo, I'm shaking in my boots. You could use a diet, buddy," Ace smirked. "You shouldn't mess with me. I'm going to flatten you like a pancake!" threatened Blob. 

"Go ahead and try, balloon boy," Ace taunted. 

Enraged, Blob lunged at Ace, but Ace executed a lightning-fast backflip to evade his grasp. His Ongekibou Rekkas surged with power, setting the top of the drumsticks ablaze as he unleashed fireballs at Blob.

"Kiboujutsu Rekkadan! (Demon Club Technique: Raging Fire Bullet!)"

The fireballs struck Blob, but to his surprise, they did little to no damage as he let out a hearty chuckle.

"Hahaha! Is that all you've got? It's going to take a lot more than that to stop Blob the unmovable!"

"Don't worry, I have more tricks up my sleeve."

Rogue, desperate to save Ace, rushed to where Pietro lay unconscious and made a bold move by absorbing his powers. Just as she was about to step in and help Ace, Toad made a surprise recovery and intercepted her.

"Hey-hey, where do you think you're going."

"Get out of my way, bug breath!"

"Aw~ how about you have some fun with little old me first."

Rogue, no longer wanting to waste any more seconds, runs to Toad, but he jumps high in the air and hits Rogue in the chest with his tongue like a whip. Rogue tumbled to the ground and felt slimy liquid on her body, and it disgusted her.

"Ugh~ gross."

"It's not that bad, Rogue. A little bit of mucus won't hurt nobody. Hahaha"

"I'm going to teach you a lesson you won't forget!"

Rogue spins her in a circle, aiming at Toad. She created a tornado, and it sucked up Toad sending him flying into the air.

"Hey! It was just a joke!"

"Let's see you make a joke out of this!"

In a daring move, Rogue halts the tornado, allowing Toad to plummet toward the earth in a panicked free fall. But just in the nick of time, Rogue races to the scene and delivers a powerful dropkick, sending Toad soaring through the air and leaving him unconscious.

"That's done. Need to help Ace."

The Iceman soared above Avalanche on ice bridges, launching icy projectiles at his opponent. Avalanche retaliated by unleashing seismic waves, shattering Iceman's bridges. 

"Woah~! Ugh!" Iceman plummeted, prompting Avalanche to send stone pillars hurtling toward him. In a desperate move, Iceman hastily erected a protective wall of ice to fend off the imminent attack.

"Is that all you got!?"

"You need to chill!"

He shoots out more ice, but Avalanche easily breaks it, stopping his attack. "How predictable."

He is about to finish Iceman off when he is suddenly struck by lightning, knocking him out. Storm returned after putting Jubilee at a safe distance.

"I had everything under control."

"That did not look like from where I was standing. You still need more training, Bobby."

"Hmph"

Ace found himself locked in a fierce battle with the Blob. Despite his best efforts, Ace struggled to make a dent in Blob's seemingly impenetrable body. Rogue arrived to join the fight.

"Hello, Rider. Need a hand?"

"Yeah, his body is a problem."

"Got any ideas?"

"I have, but I need him flat on his back."

"I could do that."

Rogue runs around Blob, and a tornado gradually forms.

"What is this!? Who ordered a tornado!?"

Blob was high up in the air until the tornado dissipated and he dropped to the ground with a loud crash.

"Ugh~"

"Nice! Leave the rest to me!"

Ace leaps onto Blob and swiftly fastens the Ongekiko Kaentsuzumi to Blob's body. Suddenly, a large taiko drum materializes on Blob's chest, adorned with Hibiki's symbol, ready for action!

"Wh-What is happening!?" said Blob, not liking what was going to happen next.

"Ongekida Kaenrenda no Kata! (Sound Attack Stroke: the Flame Barrage Style!)"

Ace unleashed a rapid barrage of 30 drum beats with his Rekka, sending the Sound of Purification resonating through Blob's body. Though Blob seemed invincible on the outside, his insides quaked under the relentless assault of sound waves. With one final thunderous beat, Ace raised his Rekkas high and struck the drum with all his might. A deafening explosion rocked the air, and when the smoke cleared, Blob lay unconscious and defeated while Ace stood triumphantly atop his fallen foe.

Ace walks up to Rogue to thank her. "Thanks for the help, Rogue."

"We are the ones who need to thank you. Without you, things might have gone differently."

"Then I guess we're even."

"Haha, not even close. Let me treat you next time."

"Is that a date?"

"Maybe~"

"Well, I'll look forward to it."

Rogue blushed, and Storm, Bobby, and Jubilee came. 

"Thank you for your help, Rider. Thanks to you, young Jubilee is safe."

"Don't mention it, Storm. Just doing the right thing."

"Um, thanks for saving me, by the way. I guess they are wrong based on what they said in the news," said Jubilee.

"Thank you. Let's just say some people are after me. Don't worry; I'll be dealing with them soon enough."

A suffocating aura suddenly enveloped them. Wanda was slowly walking towards them, accompanied by Kitty, who was bound by Wanda's powers and looked to be in pain and struggling.

"I see you beat my brother and his friends. Let's make a trade. I'll release her, and you can let us go. How does that sound?"

***

I hope you can leave a review for this story and donate power stones; thank you!

If you want to see advanced chapters and support me, Go to my P@tr3on.

p@tr3on.com/Najicablitz