[ Max POV ]
We were halfway across the U.A. courtyard when I realized just how bad things had gotten.
The path to the parking area was a mess.
Vendor tents were torn apart, some blasted open by drones, others knocked down by people running in panic. Broken signs, spilled food, overturned tables. Smoke hung low in the air.
I stayed in front, blaster up.
Gwen was close to my side. The rest of the family followed behind us, moving fast, heads down.
A drone swooped low over Gwen and she reacted before I could shout.
Her hand flared pink, and she threw a blade of solid energy upward—
But before it hit, the drone exploded mid-air. Gone in a flash.
At the same time, I pulled the trigger at another drone.
It shattered in the air before my shot reached it.
Both times…I saw it.
A blur of blue. Fast. Too fast.
I turned my head, scanning.
And then I saw him.
A small, sleek figure skidded to a stop a few meters away. Blue skin, black and green markings..
A Kineceleran. My breath caught.
I knew that species instantly.
But no Kineceleran had been on Earth in years.
Then it clicked.
"…Ben ?" I said, unsure.
The creature straightened. A visor slid back, revealing a familiar face and a very familiar grin.
"Miss me, Grandpa ?"
I let out a short laugh, tension easing from my chest.
"Good timing, kid," I said. "Real good timing."
He glanced past me, checking the family. Making sure they were okay.
I saw his shoulders drop just a little as he exhaled, like he hadn't realized he was holding his breath until now.
Then his eyes hardened.
The chaos was still everywhere. Drones flying. Lasers firing. People are screaming.
Ben looked back at me.
"Get them out," he said. Simple. Serious. "I'll handle the rest."
I didn't argue. I nodded once.
"Alright," I said. "Don't do anything stupid."
He grinned wider.
"No promises."
And then he was gone.
One blink, and the blue blur vanished, ripping across the courtyard at impossible speed.
I turned back to my family.
"Keep moving," I said firmly. "Stay together."
Gwen hesitated, looking in the direction Ben had disappeared.
"…He'll be okay," she said, more to herself than anyone else.
"He will," I replied. "But right now, he needs us out of the way."
She nodded, reluctantly.
And we kept moving..
While my grandson ran straight back into the storm.
—--
[ Ben POV ]
I didn't even think. I just ran.
The world turned into lines and blur. Wind tore past my face. The ground barely felt real under my feet.
The drones were everywhere, buzzing, turning, firing red beams at anything that moved.
I hit the first one before it could even aim again.
My claws went through metal like it was soft.
One slice and the drone split apart mid-air.
I was already on the next one.
Then the next. Then the next.
I didn't stop. Didn't slow down.
Each drone tried to track me, but I was too fast. Their sensors turned. Their weapons charged.
Too late.
My claws tore through their bodies over and over, ripping open metal and wires like it was paper.
In seconds, the courtyard changed.
More silence.
I pushed even harder, forcing more speed out of my body even though my chest burned.
'Just finish it.'
I cut through the last drone so fast it didn't even fall in one piece. It burst into scraps that spun through the air like trash in a storm.
And then… it was over.
No more buzzing. No more shots.
Just broken metal falling and rolling across the ground.
I stopped near the center of the courtyard, breathing hard.
Even as XLR8, I felt it.
My lungs were on fire. My legs felt heavy.
The festival fights had already drained me. The switching. The stress. The constant pressure.
And now this.
I lowered my head for a second.
'I'm running on fumes…'
But I didn't let myself rest. Not yet.
Because leaving robot parts around was asking for trouble.
So I ran again.
I dashed across the courtyard in blue blurs, grabbing pieces of drones and tossing them into one spot.
Piece by piece, I built a pile. A big one.
Right in the middle of the main yard.
People who were running stopped and stared.
Some didn't understand what they were seeing.
Others looked around, confused, realizing the drones were gone.
Heroes who had been fighting moments ago turned their heads too.
They saw the pile forming.
And the ones who were quick in the head connected it.
"…He took them all out," someone whispered.
I kept moving until every last piece I could find was stacked there.
Finally, I stopped in front of the pile.
My chest rose and fell hard. My vision felt a little shaky.
But I had one more thing to do.
Green light flashed.
HEATBLAST.
Fire and rock covered my body. The heat around me rose instantly. I raised both hands toward the scrap pile.
And I lit it up.
A tornado of fire rose from the metal, spinning hard and bright.
Extremely hot.
But I kept it tight, controlled.
No flames flying away. No fire spreading to tents or people. Everything burned inside that one spinning column.
If I wasn't literally made of fire right now, I'd be sweating from the effort.
I pushed more heat into it anyway.
'Burn it all. Melt it. Make it useless.'
The tornado roared as metal glowed red.
And then I heard it.
The one I hated.
[ Power running low. Recharge mode activating in 15 seconds. ]
My stomach dropped.
"…No," I muttered.
I cut the tornado off immediately.
The fire vanished.
All that was left was a pool of melted metal, glowing like lava. Heat rolled off it so hard you could feel it from several steps away.
I bent forward, hands on my knees.
Breathing hard.
Then the green light flashed again as the form dropped.
I was back to normal.
Sweat poured down my face like I'd been thrown in water. My chest felt tight. My arms shook.
Then my eyes glow red
And the voice came again, colder than ever.
[ Energy depleted. Recharge mode initiated. ]
My body went heavy.
Like someone had turned off every switch at once. I tried to move.
Nothing.
My legs didn't listen, my arms didn't listen.
The world tilted.
And I fell sideways, hitting the ground hard.
I couldn't even catch myself.
I just lay there, frozen in my own body.
I heard footsteps. Shouts.
"HEY !"
"THAT KID !"
"MEDIC !"
"MOVE, MOVE !"
Heroes ran toward me.
And I saw phones too, people holding them up, recording everything with shaking hands.
The last thing I felt before the darkness started creeping in…
Was the heat from the melted metal behind me.
And the sound of someone calling my name.