[ Max Tennyson POV ]
The stadium was loud.
I stood with my family in the stands, my eyes never leaving the arena. Ben was down there, on his side, shoulders tight, trying to look calm. I knew that look. He was tired. Pushing himself.
Then…
The sky screamed.
Something huge fell from above and smashed into the arena floor.
My blood turned cold.
As the dust cleared and the machine stood up, my heart sank.
I knew that shape.
That metal.
"…Vilgaxian tech," I muttered.
The worst kind.
This wasn't random.
"We need to leave," I said fast, turning to my family. "Now."
Gwen looked at me, scared and confused.
"What ? Grandpa, why ? What is that thing ?!"
I opened my mouth to answer…
And froze.
A shadow moved to my right.
"DOWN !" I shouted.
I grabbed Gwen and pulled her to the ground.
A red laser shot past us and hit the seats behind where she had been standing. The stone melted on impact, leaving a smoking hole. The heat washed over us.
People screamed.
My heart pounded, but my mind stayed clear.
A drone hovered closer, its weapon charging again.
I stood up.
Another laser fired.
I stepped aside just in time and reached into my pocket, pulling out my phone. My thumb pressed a small button on the side.
The phone unfolded and shifted in my hand, metal sliding into place.
In a second, it was no longer a phone. It was a silver Plumber blaster.
I aimed and pulled the trigger.
A blue beam shot out and hit the drone straight through. The machine sparked once, then dropped lifelessly to the ground.
I didn't look back.
"GO !" I shouted. "MOVE ! NOW !"
My family stared at me in shock.
They nodded and started running toward the exit with the crowd.
All except Ben's parents.
"We can't leave him !" his mother said, panic in her voice. "We have to get to Ben !"
I turned back toward the arena. I saw him.
Ben was fused with the robot now, his body turned into living metal, locked into the machine while Todoroki's ice held its legs in place.
He was fighting it from the inside.
I looked back at my family.
"He'll be okay," I said firmly. "But you won't be if you stay here. He need you safe."
They hesitated. Then nodded.
And we ran back towards the exit.
—-
The moment we reached the outside of the stadium, I knew things were worse than they looked inside.
People were running in every direction. Screaming. Falling. Holding onto each other.
The sky was cut by red and green laser fire as the drones flew low, fast, hunting.
Heroes were everywhere, doing their best, but the drones were small, quick, and ruthless. For every one that fell, another took its place.
I raised my blaster again and shot.
One drone exploded mid-air.
Shot again.
Another went down in sparks.
"Keep moving !" I yelled, walking backward as I fired, keeping myself between the machines and my family. "Get to the cars !"
They ran.
I didn't stop firing.
This was Vilgax's style.
Pressure. Fear.
I turned, aimed, and destroyed another drone.
But..I felt it.
That instinct you only get when it's already too late. I spun around.
Another drone hovered above the parking area.
Its weapons were already charged.
Pointed straight at my family. Too far.
I couldn't reach them in time.
My grip tightened.
Then…
A sharp sound cut through the air.
Not a laser.
Something else.
A glowing pink blade tore across the space between us and sliced clean through the drone. The machine split in half and detonated before it even hit the ground.
For a second, my mind went blank.
Then I looked.
Gwen stood there. Hands raised.
Both glowing bright pink with solid energy shaped around them.
Her face wasn't scared.
It was focused.
I felt something old stir in my chest.
"…Of course," I murmured.
I smiled.
A real one. The kind I hadn't worn in years.
"Nice work, Gwen," I said loudly. "Clean hit."
She looked at me, surprised, then proud.
"I-I didn't even think," she said. "I just… did it."
"That's usually how it starts," I replied.
Another drone buzzed overhead.
I raised my blaster again.
"Stay sharp," I told her. "This isn't over."
She nodded.
Her hands lit up brighter, energy forming again around her fingers.
"Got it," she said.