[OPEN]

[alienheroes]

Who: Ben Tennyson and YOU
Where: All over LA
When: Today (March 21st), late afternoon to evening
What: A new resident of Los Angeles decides to get more acquainted with his surroundings - and starts working to get involved in the superhero community.
Warnings: Some violence/child being threatened

Settling into their new home took the Tennysons a lot longer than expected - and Ben ended up so busy as a result that he apparently completely missed out on a chance to punch cyborgs. It doesn't occur to him that that may be for the best.

Of course, the moment he's got some free time, he sets about getting more familiar with the area - as far as he's concerned, living in a huge city like this is a dream come true, especially considering all the inevitable opportunities for crime-fighting.

Late Afternoon

[1]After school, Ben is inexorably drawn to comic book stores and arcades, where he is apparently determined to use all his allowance at once. He will chat with anyone who's interested, though he's only likely to actually approach someone if they happen to catch his eye in some way, either through an unusual appearance or if he suspects they're up to something illegal (though he may give them a by if the illegal activity in question is something he considers 'deserved' or just).

If he finds he can't stop a crime as a human (or if he just really wants to get back at someone because he's eleven), he may duck around a corner to transform.

Evening

[2]He's expected to be home before eight, but he's willing to cut it a little close - after all, evening and night are prime criminal-punching times. He's going to be sticking to the shadows as much as possible now, transforming at a moment's notice if necessary.

[3]He may get bored at some point, in which case he'll probably spend some time just flying around as Heatblast, actively seeking out trouble (more actively than he already was, that is).

Whether he's a human or an alien at the moment, Ben will be DELIGHTED to talk to any superheroes he may encounter, and will go to great lengths to do so.

[OOC: If you have a specific scenario in mind, contact me; if not, then just list the number of your preferred situation in the subject line!]

Comments

[alienheroes]

Wow, this guy is really excited about this superhero who he totally is not. Too bad Ben has never heard of this Mysticalman guy.

"Uh... yeah. I bet he's really great?" Magic can be pretty cool, even if it's not really Ben's thing. Speaking of which - "Hey, didja hear about those aliens that were showing up last summer?"

[sufferist]

Wait, what.

He's so totally bewildered for a moment that he almost doesn't catch it in time. The fire is gone and now there is...a human child? His red eyes widen and then narrow, a snarl between his fangs as he lashes out at the fleeing child, catching up with his psionic tendrils.

He leaps around, cutting Ben off.

"You're human," he says.

[alienheroes]

Ooooh man. This is so bad, this is so so bad, Ben may have been in a worse situation before but he sure can't remember it right now. Stupid watch, why did it always have to turn him back at the worst possible moment?!

He staggers back with a yelp, nearly losing his balance and falling backward (fortunately, he's not quite at the edge of the roof). He really really is not liking the look on this guy's face.

"Uh... surprise?" Oh no why did he say that.

[sufferist]

Discarding the blade from the end of the staff, he uses the blunted end to try to smack Ben down to the ground. Child or not - the difference doesn't make it through to him. He has questions now, and he wants them answered.

"Is this your true form?" he asks.

[alienheroes]

Ben raises his arms, trying to defend against the attack, but ends up getting knocked down anyway.

He scrambles backward as best he can, mind working frantically for an escape. "M-maybe, maybe not! Why would I tell you?!" His gaze flickers briefly to the watch on his wrist - still red, of course it is, there's pretty much no way it could be recharged already. Great.

[sufferist]

Signless's gaze follows him to his watch - and he notes the same symbol he had seen on the chest of that fire creature. He jumps to some conclusions. He makes a grab for Ben's wrists with his blood aura, scowling, intending to bind the child's movements.

"That device. What is it?" He's clearly not in the practice of playing games.

[scribes]

Di wondered just how easy it was for people to travel to planets. When she had first awoken from her stasis she had already been on a ship. It seemed safe to assume that it would be more difficult on Alternia, so who knew what the Sufferists had to do to get her out of there.

Yet it still made her wonder, what about Earth and other worlds? Earth seemed surprisingly receptive of other lifeforms.

Perhaps it was something she could ask Ben, but for now she focused on the game. She watched Ben hit her character and step back. Her eyes fell to the controls one more and she began to test first the movement, and then the other buttons. She picked on it quickly enough--one made the same punching motion, the other a lower jab like the one Ben had done, and the third a kick.

"I think...I got it."

[alienheroes]

"Hey! Let me go-" Once again, it doesn't take him long to realize he can't get out of this. Great.

"I don't know!" Technically the truth; he has no idea where the watch came from or what it is. "And even if I did, I sure wouldn't tell you!"

[alienheroes]

"Alright, cool!" Ben grins, gripping the joystick. "Wanna go for real now?"

It's not often that he gets to show someone else how to do something; it's usually the other way around, and most of the stuff that he can teach other people about is either secret, or he has trouble finding someone who's actually interested, so this is kind of a nice change.

[scribes]

Well, now or never. If there was more to learn she'd figure it out as they went, now that she had the basics. She similarly gripped her joystick more firmly and smiled.

"Ready!"

[sufferist]

He stares at him, his eyes cold and piercing.

"Would you prefer to die here?"

[superball]

"I did!" Thank you, random conspiracy theorist websites! "Didn't some of them show up again recently? I wonder what they came to Earth for!"

Well, he sure sounds excited. Aliens might not be His Thing (that being magical creatures), but it doesn't mean he doesn't find them cool. What kind of guy wouldn't read news about an alien that seems to be entirely made of fire, really.

[alienheroes]

Any immediate response Ben may have had dies in his throat. He can't go alien, he can't run away, and nobody even knows he's here - heck, he made sure that nobody knew he was there. He's trapped and he knows it. This is not how he had pictured tonight going.

"...all I know is that it's from space, it's on my wrist, and I can use it to turn into an alien." He doesn't mention that there are actually six aliens available on there; he's kind of in the habit of trying not to show his hand all at once. Even if that doesn't do him much good at the moment.

He feels like this is going in a pretty familiar direction, though. "Look, I don't know what you want with me-" Because you never bothered to tell me, "-but I can tell you there's no point in trying to take the watch. Trust me, people have tried." So many people have tried. He could swear he spent half the summer fighting people who were trying.

[alienheroes]

Now this is something that Ben has plenty of experience talking about.

"I've heard they don't really stick around long enough to talk, so who knows?" Ben grins; he seems awfully pleased with the exploits of these aliens, and with Eusine's excitement about them. "They seem to want to help, though."

[sufferist]

"What's stopping me from taking it?" he asks, coming closer. A pool of the blood rises up to form something like an arm, ended in a set of blade like claws. "There are defensive measures?"

[alienheroes]

"Yes," he snaps, glancing briefly at the claws then continuing to talk, more rapidly now. "It does this energy burst thing if anyone tries to grab it and I don't want them to, I've seen it happen! And it's stuck on anyway, so even if you could touch it, it's not gonna come off!"

[superball]

"Alien heroes, fighting for justice on a foreign world..." he muses. That's definitely something he can relate to. Well, except for the alien bit, of course. Los Angeles isn't exactly a foreign world, only a foreign city in a foreign country.

Though Eusine could argue America is awfully alien; have you even seen the bread here? Dear god.

"How grand would it be, if they teamed up with local superheroes!" Like the Mysticalman. That would be especially grand. "What star-forged wisdom, what mind-boggling technology they might share with us Earth-dwellers!"

[sufferist]

He stops coming closer at that, instead letting the claw construct size things up for him. The claws move closer to the boy's wrist, their points just barely touching the watch's surface.

[alienheroes]

Ben stifles a smirk and rubs absently at his left wrist. More like who knows what they've already shared with us. He doesn't think about that for long though because did someone mention superhero team-ups.

"That would be awesome!" He's put a fair amount of thought into this. Probably more than fair. "I bet they're looking for allies, too, being new here and everything." They would probably join a team if they weren't so limited by time. And by being eleven.

[alienheroes]

Ben flinches away from the claws; as they come into contact with the watch, the face flashes briefly, giving a warning hum and a brief, largely harmless snap of electricity.

[superball]

"Exactly! It would only make sense for them to want to learn more about our culture, and what better way than by joining forces with Earth's warriors of justice!" Theory's nice, but nothing like getting your hands dirty. Metaphorically. Literally getting your hands dirty sucks, especially when you're wearing white gloves.

[alienheroes]

"...Right! Yeah, they could totally learn like that!" Every so often Ben almost forgets that pretending to be aliens is more than just turning into a different species and punching things. He's supposed to be new here.

Of course, he is new to this particular city, and who knows, maybe there are some facets of superhero culture or something that he's unfamiliar with...

"Hey, speaking of which, d'you happen to know any of the heroes around here? Like- you mentioned that Mysticalman guy, have you actually talked to him?" Might as well start testing the waters here, figure out how easy it is to get in contact.

[sufferist]

Concerns dismissed, he's just going to try to tear the watch off with those claws, Ben's warnings be damned. First he's going to try to break the watch's strap instead of his arm, but he doesn't seem all that fussed.

[alienheroes]

The imminent threat of damage draws a stronger response; energy crackles around the surface of the watch for a moment, then releases in an explosion of electricity and force, trying to push the claws away.

Ben yelps at the sting of the energy against his skin as much as at the way the strap pulls at the flesh underneath it, but he hopes that maybe the defense response will be enough to deter his attacker.

[superball]

There's a glint in his eyes here, as if he were in on some sort of hilarious jokes only he understands. Oh, he does so enjoy talking about this person who is absolutely not himself.

"I've seen him quite a few times, yes!" He brings one hand to his face, tapping a finger against his chin in a theatrical display of contemplation. "You know, I've heard he often patrols this very same district, shortly after the sun sets..."

He's not saying Ben should stay up past his bedtime to check out his cool superhero self but he's totally saying Ben should stay up past his bedtime to check out his cool superhero self. The neighbourhood isn't terribly dangerous at night, so it's not like he'd risk getting hurt, right? And who knows, maybe it'd inspire the kid to become a DARING CHAMPION OF JUSTICE himself!