Road to Independence

June 20, 2010

Days passed since Pam's arrival and his date with Tora. When Beatriz was finally free, Ben invited her to the park. While the picnic lunch was delightful, the date took an exciting turn when Ben mentioned his time playing college soccer. A figurative fire lit her eyes. After correcting Ben with the international name of Football, she passionately challenged him to a one-on-one game. Lucky for them, Ben keeps a spare ball in the trunk.

Since it was just between them, they would take turns as a striker versus a goalie with each point. The first five rounds went off without a hitch, but it soon got more intense between them. Beatriz asked Ben if they could have super-powered matches. While hesitant, Ben eventually caved into the emerald beauty's request. However, this came with new rules and a new setup. Like before (think Rocket League), neither could use their hands, but they didn't need to hold back in terms of strength and speed within reason. Moving to a more secluded area of the city's park, Ben got to work creating the new field with Diamondhead and a new ball. After ensuring no civilians or cameras were around, they both powered up. Beatriz lit up as Fire.

Needless to say, the sounds of loud impacts and their smack talk drew people's attention. Soon, there were a few spectators. The game wasn't a competition, but it felt like one now. Neither of the two was going to lose without a fight. The first to fifty goals won the game. Beatriz and Ben dashed across the field, shooting and blocking shots one after the other. Half an hour later, the two were soaked in sweat, and Ben was tiredly pumping his arms up in victory. It was a close game, but Ben earned his soccer scholarship. Once they got cleaned up, Ben drove Beatriz to her hotel and walked her to the room. When Beatriz and Ben said their goodbyes, she was much more proactive and hands-on in her appreciation than Tora. Another enjoyable date comes to a close.

Later

When Ben's not at the Gym or out in the city, there is never a dull moment at the shop. It made him smile whenever one of his newest recipes gained another fan. Experimenting with acai and lychee paid off. More tropical fruit flavors were a bit of a summer day hit. Regarding his recent roommate, things have been progressing. The two would have a movie night every other day, alternating pics. With a small smile, Harley was more open to talking with Ben about her experiences. Her growing list of friends was a major contributor. Silence is a Petri dish for abuse. It's where it thrives, and it needs to be broken.

As for Pam, she often came by once Harley finished her shift. They haven't caused any trouble, so Ben paid no mind to their excursions. Some days, the three of them would go out for Mexican food. Unfortunately, there was a night that both came back drunk out of their minds as Ben came down to see the shop a mess. Both were passed out on the floor, and cans of whipped cream and tree sap were littered around. It didn't help that his plant grabbed him as a self-defense mechanism for Pam, leaving him again hanging. One transformation later, he was free and out of range. Suffice it to say, they were closed for a few hours for clean-up. The next morning was filled with sighs, apologies, and admissions of self-defense. Apparently, someone received several bruises for trying to get fresh with them. Pam mentions a new breed of plant she was experimenting with to calm the nerves with little side effects, leading to last night. No surprise, it needs work. Thankfully, Ivy's plants cleaned up most of the mess.

June 25, 2010

Eventually, the fashion show arrived. Beatriz and Tora offered to invite Harley, but she declined, saying that it wasn't a venue she was comfortable with. Before the show, Ben greeted the girls backstage, and they introduced him to their friend Mari McCabe. Apparently, she also took part in heroics; however, he never got a chance to hear the details when the directors asked him to leave backstage for show preparations.

The audience was bustling as they chatted away. Camera flashes lit the room. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. When trying to reach his reserved seat, Ben met Oliver and Felicity, a nice couple two seats down. They were nice but a little antsy. It might have been the crowds. So far, the event went off without a hitch. The host introduced their sponsors and exclusive guests, and Ben was surprised to hear that Oliver owned his own company, Queen Industries. Many lovely ladies strut down the walkways as the show progressed, looking fabulous. When it was Beatriz's turn to strut down the runway, she cheekily blew a kiss and winked in Ben's direction. Unfortunately, the crowd believed it was for Oliver, much to Felicity's chagrin. As the show progressed, every model didn't lose their flair. Each outfit was as stylish, if not more. Overall, the night was a success. When the three returned home, they brought up an interesting offer.

Bethany Beach

July 4, 13:50 EDT

Soft waves washed over the warm sand, and the cool ocean breeze diffused the scent of cooked meat from the nearby grill.

Beatriz laid against her beach chair with a meat kebab, relaxing under the Summer sun. "It's great that you came with us, Ben. Not to mention helping out with the food."

Tora nodded as she applied sunscreen. "Especially since this is our last stop in the States before we head back to Europe."

Ben sipped from his iced tea in his chair. "You allowed me to spend the holiday weekend with you girls and have a beach barbecue. How could I refuse?" A frown briefly appeared. "It's too bad Harley decided not to come with us."

Beatriz raised her glasses to look at him. "You said she wanted to spend her weekend vacation in Gotham, right?"

"Yup." He stood back up to turn the beef over. "From what I heard, Gotham isn't what I would call a Summer destination, but she knows the place better than I do."

Finished prepping her skin, Tora got up to make herself a plate. "I swear. Some of them are psychotic. Did you hear? Some ice villain attacked a public park there earlier today?"

"Seriously? What a Dick." Ben sighed. "What does a person gain from that?"

"To inflate his ego?" Tora guessed. "I don't know. Thankfully, Batman and the kid were there to stop him."

Beatriz raised a brow. "That one happened in Gotham? On the way here, I heard about someone freezing over Pearl Harbor."

"Not even Hawaii is safe." Ben crossed his arm. "How many villains are Ice-themed anyways?"

Tora groaned. "At least four. I swear. If any more show up, people will start thinking I'm the bad guy when we show up."

"Nope," he snarked. "You're too cute to be a villain."

Tora giggled while Beatriz grew a sly grin. "What does that make me?"

Ben smiled as well. "You would be the type of villain I would humor being trapped by."

"I don't know," added Tora. "You can be surprised what the two of us can do."

"A wolf in sheep's clothing?" he described the Ice Princess. "Clever girl." Ben finished placing all the cooked meat on a platter and lit the flame. "Anyways, that's enough of hero talk. It's time for us to have some fun."

"What do you have in mind?" the emerald heroine asked.

With a smirk, Ben snapped his fingers as he was engulfed by the familiar green light. When the light faded, they immediately felt the temperature increase. In Ben's place was an alien with a body composed of bright yellow magma and dark red or brown rocks. His feet have a slight oval-like design with only two toes and one back toe. "Who's ready for Fireworks?"

Realizing Ben's new form, Beatriz ignited her body's flames and walked up to him. She danced her fingers across his stone chest. "You didn't tell us you had an alien similar to Moi."

Tora allowed her ice to counter the radiating heat.

Heatblast shrugged. "You didn't ask."

Fire rested her head on his shoulder. "So what can you tell us about tall, dark, and fiery?"

"This alien is a Pyronite, though, I called myself Heatblast. They live on a planet-like star, and as you can tell, their specialty is Fire."

"Amazing." Tora walked up to him, more comfortable than before. "Do you have any aliens with cryo-powers?"

Heatblast nodded. "I have a few I found so far, but do you want to know something weird."

Fire tilted her head. "What?"

"When Pyronites get sick, their abilities flip, and they control ice."

Both girls started laughing. "Shut up. You can't be serious."

Ben joined in. "It's true. You can be surprised how illness can affect aliens."

Composing herself, Fire walked to the water's edge. "What are we waiting for? Let's see how good you are."

Heatblast followed her, with Tora close behind. "Ladies first?"

Fire shook her head. "Newbies first."

He smiled. "If you say so." Charging his fists, Heatblast sent out a coordinated array of fireballs. Some that were more charged than others exploded in a cluster of embers. He continued trying to make an appealing show before finishing it off with his signature in the sky.

Heatblast!

The girls applauded in approval. Fire smirked. "Not bad. I can see that you've had practice with this one. However, I think your output was a little off. The dot of the exclamation point is still there."

Ben waved it off. "I've been using Heatblast for years. I'm sure that it'll burn out soon."

Washington D.C.

Cadmus

10 Min Later

Dubbilex stood before the maintenance computer, typing away at console commands. 'All I have to do now is overload one of the fuel lines, and hopefully, assistance will arrive.' Suddenly, a large explosion was heard that rocked the facility a bit. He reached for his comm. "Security, report. What happened?"

"I don't know how, but one of the rooftop generators exploded. We couldn't cut the fuel lines time, and the fire is still spreading. Emergency services have been called to assist."

Dubbilex nodded. 'This will work. No suspicion will be placed on me as well.' "Thankfully, the lower levels are still locked and separate from the above-ground structure. Proceed with evacuation procedures."

Washington D.C.

Outside Cadmus

5 Minutes Later

Many people were running out of the building as first responders arrived.

A man in a white lab coat burst through the fire exit, coughing a lot. "Where the hell did this fire come from?!"

The next to come out is a coughing blonde woman. "Thank god, I'm out of that hell hole."

The man turned his attention to her. "Janet! What the hell were you thinking? How many times have I told you that this-" He made a mocking flick of the wrist. "-isn't putting out a cigarette."

Her brows furrowed. "It wasn't me. I flick it to the playground next door like decent people."

Bethany Beach

July 4th; 14:00 EDT

Once Fire had done her routine, they agreed that Fire did it better. Who knew that her elegance and spontaneity also applied to pyrotechnics? Tora did a bit of her own demonstration by making a few ice sculptures. Ben had to admit that they were very impressive. It was a shame that they would soon melt. Still feeling the heat, the three of them hopped into the ocean.

Just as Ben tried to surf with Tora's ice board, the sun decided to take a mid-day break, causing the hero to dip. When he resurfaced, he looked at the sky with interest. "Did it just get dark all of a sudden? I know Daylight Savings time is a thing, but this is ridiculous."

Lighting a hand, Beatriz guided them back to shore. Checking her phone, she frowned. "It's only 4:30."

Tora nodded. "Something's happening to the sun."

"Hold on, let me check the news." He held up the Omnitrix as the interface projected. "Azmuth, do you have any idea what's going on?"

The Omnitrix icon at the top left blinked as it replied, "It seems that we have a rogue magic user. I'll relay the news report to you three."

The Omnitrix started broadcasting live news in the area. "Attention. A Justice League-level threat has been identified. A villain named Wotan somehow blocked out the sun for unknown reasons. We are advised to stay away from the East Coast and indoors until the situation has been dealt with. Please stay safe until then."

"Crap..." muttered Ben.

"Is it that bad?" asked Beatriz. "I can't think of any issues because night came early."

Tora answered her friend. "Normally, it shouldn't. However, we're dealing with that wizard guy. Who knows what he's up to?"

Ben nodded. "In my experience, nothing good happens when someone tries to block out the sun permanently."

"What happened last time?" asked Tora.

"The alien I was fighting was trying to mind control the entire planet and mutate them into shadow monsters."

The girls whistled in shock. "That's worse than what I thought it would be."

"Yeah," Ben nodded. "And I don't feel like finding out what this Wotan is up to the hard way." In a flash, Heatblast was back. "Let's fly."

While Beatriz became Fire, Tora waved her hand. "Uh, I can't fly, remember."

Before her friend could reply, Heatblast laughed while Fire and Ice looked at him quizzically. "Let me show you a trick I learned."

Omnitrix DNA Entry:

Name: Heatblast

Species: Pyronite

Home World: Pyros

Powers and Abilities:

Pyronites can generate flames from their bodies in many forms. They can form fire into any shape or make them explosive if they choose to. When infant Pyronites have a temper tantrum, their firepower becomes greatly magnified. Pyronites can channel flames through other surfaces (such as large rocks) to generate jet propulsion, allowing them to 'surf' through the air. Pyronites are fireproof, heat resistant, and invulnerable to magma. They are also cold-resistant and ice-proof. Pyronites are not limited to simply creating fire; because their bodies are naturally heat convective, they can absorb heat, effectively allowing them to put out fires. Despite their water weakness, Pyronites can swim and use their powers while submerged, but with very low intensity. When infected with an Earth cold virus, Pyronites gain cryokinetic abilities while losing their pyrokinesis. In this state, they can fire ice beams and an ice ball that freezes everything it touches.

#

A/N: Special thanks to Jebest4781, Charles, vividlearner744, and Seana!

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