Chapter 3: Hero Needs A Villain

"Well we call Vought, get some pics, our numbers are probably gonna-" Maeve was cut off as a large log hit them. The wood shattered upon impact and did minimal damage but distracted them from the large body of orange fur that tackled them.

The two supes were then forced to the ground as Wildmutt pushed his paws down on their chests.

But despite their position both were able to slowly push the alien off of them.

Nearby Black Noir was silently running towards the beast from behind getting ready to literally stab him in the back.

Wildmutt was able to see this thanks to his radar/sonar like senses. So just as Noir jumped at him he front flipped forward while still holding onto the two supes.

He quickly threw Maeve at Noir then began running into the woods. But not before adjusting his grip so he had a hold of A-Train's leg and was dragging him, resulting in the speedster hitting multiple tree's, bushes, rocks, branches and the earth.

Eventually though he could sense the other two catching up. "Let (hit) me (hit) the (hit) fuck (hit) go!" A-Train managed to shout, only pausing when his face hit some force of nature.

But Wildmutt did just that and let hit him go, after tossing him to the side and jumping into the tree's again.

It seems that neither Maeve or Noir really cared for him otherwise they would've went to check on him. But they just kept on chasing the alien.

Wildmutt knew he only had a limited amount of time before they caught up with him. If he fought he'd likely lose since it was three against one.

If he kept running the Omnitrix will eventually time out, or he'll be caught. He needed to lose them and fast!

Luckily he had a chance, he was able to sense in the distance a rock formation. Smiling Wildmutt double timed it and just as Maeve and Noir were within sight he jumped off it. And when the two Vought employees got there they saw nothing.

"The fuck." Maeve said in both confusion and frustration. "Where did that orange shit go?" She asked, Noir who was busy scanning for tracks.

Before it was easy to track, do to the beast's size and weight it left impressions on the earth. When it swung on the tree's leaves fell, branches were bent and the trunks would have some type of claw mark.

Now nothing. There were some small caves like entrances, but those we only big enough for small children and even smaller animals.

No way a large orange dog thing would fit there, plus there were no signs it dug underground.

It just vanished.

As Maeve and Noir were contemplating their next move A-Train zoomed next to them. "I'm back and pissed off. Where's that son of a bitch!?" He spoke.

"Wait here. Maybe he'll wanna use you again as a chew toy." Maeve responded, earning a small, almost inaudible, snort of amusement from the Kevlar supe.

"You lost it!"

"We didn't lose shit!" Maeve shot back. "It was here, then it was gone." She explained.

"So you lost it." A-Train replied, thinking it was the same thing.

"Maybe we wouldn't have lost it if you fucking knew what you were doing." Maeve suggested, reminding him of his less than stellar performance in the fight.

As the two were getting In each other's face, Noir stepped in. He put himself between the two and wordlessly conveyed that this wasn't the time nor place. They then decided to go back to Vought and report.

About 10 minutes after the left a figure emerged from the small rock caves. After noticing the small caves, Ben changed to his human form and dove in.

Positioning himself so that anyone on top wouldn't notice him unless they stepped down.

The 10 year old was just fortunate they were looking for something much larger than him and that they didn't think to just jump down.

"Who were those guys?" Ben spoke for the first time since his transformation. However he didn't dwell on that for long as he started refocusing his efforts on finding his family.

Luckily the Omnitrix was charged up and he was aiming for XLR8 again. "Maybe I'll try something else, maybe then I'll get what I want." Ben thought aloud, he then slammed the dial on a different alien.

"Well at least it's not Ripjaws." Stinkfly commented before flapping his wings. "And I'm airborne." He added, allowing himself to focus on the positives of his mistransformation for once.

The bug like alien then took off in the hopeful direction of civilization.

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Vought Tower:-

"So that's what happened?" Homelander asked, for final confirmation.

"Yes." Maeve answered, with no emotion.

"You were sent to investigate some satellite crash, but then a big orange dog thing, with no eyes, ears or nose popped out." The caped hero spoke as he began recapping the events.

"And was able to beat all three of you. Then just disappeared without a trace." He finished.

Homelander waited for a response but only received silence. The blonde supe then chuckled in amusement, much to everyone's confusion. "Gentlemen...and lady, we've just been given an opportunity." He says.

"What's our biggest threat?" Homelander asks. "I mean physical threat, what kind of people do we fight off that can actually hurt us?"

The other five members looked at each other not knowing what to answer. "Robbers." Homelander began to list off.

"Purse snatchers and whatever fucking pile of shit they assign us." He adds with annoyance as he looks out the window and out to the city.

"I mean sure that's well and good." He continues with a slight change in attitude.

"But we need need bigger challenges, we need a villain. Because the only thing better than a hero, is a hero beating a villain." He tells them.

"Like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader." The Deep says, contributing for the first time.

"Exactly like that." Homelander agree's while pointing to the aquatic supe. Earning a proud smile from Deep. "And this could be it, or at least more so than usual."

"What are you saying?" Maeve asked.

"I'm saying we restage the whole thing." Homelander clarifies. "Instead of you looking like fools, you look like victims."

"You wanna show the fucking world that we can be hurt?" Maeve asked.