6Sorry about the wait, but here is a nice long chapter
Ben flopped down on his bed and huffed. So much for that working out for him, although with a plan like that, how could it not fail? Did he really expect Otto to let him leave, just like that? He had been in this place for as long as he could remember. Yeah everyone was pretty nice here, but they weren't friends. Well, at least not in the way they described their friendships out side of the compound.
Jackson would talk about him and the boys growing up out west out on a ranch. Ben almost felt like he was there with the way he talked about it. Everything had a story to be told with it, from jumping off of rusty old hay bale machines into the nearby creak or trying to shoot their BB guns from the rafters of the barn through a missing panel in a downstairs window.
Max would recount stories of him and his friends going out and taking epic nights out on the town. He could practically smell the corn dogs and cotton candy of Coney Island and hear the sounds of the carnival games. He could imagine the feel of the rollercoaster shaking as screaming passengers wized by. It was almost as if his seat on the ferris wheel had stopped right at the top and he could catch a beautiful view of the twinkling lights city's night time skyline. He could practically feel the cold ice of Rockefeller Center's ice rink beneath his feet, the warm from a fresh cup of hot coco. It was like he was remembering the crispness of the November air as it wisped by like the giant inflatable balloons overhead.
The way Max and some of the others described the city, it was like a friend in of itself. She had her own personality, her own story to tell. The city felt real to him, even though he had never seen it. But could Otto ever let that happen? No!
Benjamin rolled over, pulling out his gaming handheld out of its hiding place and fired it up. Soon, he was absorbed in the fast pace racing game Flint had picked up for him. Ben had to modify his game, going behind Otto's back to up the difficulty. With his reaction time, expert was like a beginner class. It was worth the risk of his getting his game and console confiscated though. Ben heard a knock on his door and stuffed his handheld beneath his pillow.
"Come in." Ben said, flipping one of his books open to a random page.
Ben had honestly been expecting Flint or Otto, not Max. But there the electrically charged man was.
"Hey kid. What'cha reading?" Max asked with a skeptical tone to his voice.
Ben quickly glanced at the page had had open and found Max's source of skepticism. His book was upside down. This definitely looked suspicious. Ben couldn't afford for Max to find his handheld. It was one of the only trinkets that he had of the outside world.
"Just been practicing reading upside down." Ben lied.
Max eyed him carefully. "Uh huh, I'm sure."
Ben rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, I propel upside down on my webs all the time. What if I'm in a position where I can't stick to the wall upright and I have to be upside down to read something."
His heart raced as he wondered it Max had bought the bait. Hopefully that seemed like a reasonable explanation for Max. Even if it wasn't, Ben hoped that Max wouldn't immediately suspect that he was hiding a gaming console under his pillow.
"You have an electronic device under your pillow, don't you? I can feel the electric current it's putting off. What did you do, swipe one of Otto's tablets?" Max asked in a half joking matter.
Reluctantly, Ben pulled his handheld from under his pillow. "No, it's this."
Max look pleasantly surprised as he grabbed the console from the boy. His eyes grew wide the second after he pressed the start button.
"Geeze kid, this game seems tough. How can you even play it?"
"Even after modding it, it's still a bit too easy for me" Ben replied.
"Are you serious?" Max asked will still trying to keep up with the other racers.
There was a slight smile on Max's lips. It seemed as though this had impressed him. "Where'd you get it and how did you mod it?"
Ben fiddled with his fingers. He couldn't tell Max about where he got the game or else Flint could get in trouble.
"I can't say. Please don't tell anyone about this, especially Otto."
Max was quiet for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I don't know kid..."
Ben had to think quick. He needed to come up with something to ensure that Max didn't rat him out.
Ben sighed. "Alright, I'll talk. I've got guys on the outside, some real grade A suppliers. I give them government secrets that are just actually dead ends in exchange for the latest game consoles and games."
Max burst out into laughter. "Where do you come up with your crazy stories kid? Don't tell me, it doesn't matter. I don't care. I won't tell, but the longer you wait to tell Otto, the worse it will be for you."
"That's if he finds out about it though." Ben countered.
Max rolled his eyes. "Just try to keep it hidden better in the future, alright."
Ben smiled. "Alright. Thanks for not telling."
"No big deal." Max said rustling Ben's hair. "Now, I have to go get ready for a date."
With Max out the door, Ben quickly hid his handheld in its hiding place. Ben's heart was still racing from that encounter. He wondered if Max was going to tell the others or not. Ben hoped that he had convinced him against it.
As Max walked down the hallway and into his room, locking the door behind him. He switched on his wireless speakers and began broadcasting one of his music playlists before pressing a small button on his gauntlet.
"The test was a success." Max said into his gauntlet.
"Whoa partner, now back it up. What happened now?" Jackson asked.
Max flipped through his shirts in his closet as he recounted the story. "Went into the kid's room to check on him after his little spat with Doc and found his handheld Flint got him. He wouldn't tell me and asked me not to tell the others. I said he better tell you soon or else he was going to be in some hot water and it was just going to get worse as time went on."
Otto's voice rang out on the com. "Well, he passed his first test in loyalty, in not revealing his sources. Let's see if this inspires better ingenuity."
Ben back flipped over one of Otto's tentacles in just the nick of time and countered it with a web to the scientist's face. Unfortunately, his shot was blocked by a quick tentacle and Ben saw Otto smirk. The second before Ben was to touch the ground, his body was flung against a wall by one of Jackson's blasts.
"Now come on son, you already beat two of us." Jackson gestured his head towards a panting Quinton and a knocked out Alexander.
Ben's body ached with exhaustion. And it wasn't just them, but also a small army of Mysterio bots; one of which's arm was laying in front of Ben's face still sizzling and cracking with bursts of electricity. His arm screamed out in protest as he grabbed the arm and chucked it at Jackon's head with all of his might. Much to the boy's dismay, it was slow enough for Jackson to be able to blast it way. It clattered on the other side of the room by Quentin who lightly kicked at it with a look of disgust on his face.
"Stupid bots, always so breakable."
"Maybe it's time you started thinking about quality over quantity." Ben joked as he dodged another barrage of attacks.
Otto's robotic arms were forcing the bug to keep to the air or risk getting sliced to ribbons.
"Maybe it's about time you shut your trap and end this son." Jackson shouted as he propelled himself in the air.
The young boy had hardly any time to react to the debut of the Shocker's new powers, from his upgraded suit, before the older man's fist collided with his face. The second Ben felt bone on cheek, he heard the quick hum of the gauntlet. Ben was sent flying through several robots landing in another pile of machinery. Shocker stepped toward him, like a killing machine, raising his gauntlet. Every muscle in Ben's body ached and spasmed as he tried to force himself to move out of the way of the incoming blast. Alas, the boy was too slow as his ankle was hit, causing the kid to spin in the air.
Ben lay there, dazed and confused. His head was swimming as the ground trembled beneath Otto's tentacles. Jackson raised his gauntlet at him, humming growing was no way Ben was getting out of this situation without losing. Jackson deactivated his weapon and lowered it. Ben wasn't good enough. Any second now, Otto would pull his final hit at the last second to signal that Ben had been defeated. Knowing that, Ben could fell the adrenaline start to fade as he started to relax. And then, Ben's spider sense went off.
Jackson was waiting on Otto to finally call the fight. Clearly the boy had learned any lesson that needed to be taught. The kid looked like he was going to pass out at any second. Sure Jackson favored the "tough throw the kid off the deep end and hope he doesn't sink love", but there was a fine line in discipline and just plain abuse. Jackson powered down his gauntlet to show his point to the scientist.
Otto's tentacles shot straight for the kid. Much to Jackson's surprise the kid was back in the fight like nothing had even happened. In a motion so quick and fluid, the kid had leapfrogged up into the air, into a back flip, while shooting a web at Otto's face There was a fire burning in his eyes that Jackson had never seen before. The determination to win bored so deep within the kid's being that he looked like a whole different person. Another tentacle shot at Ben and bounced off the tentacle towards the wall. Ben's feet barely touched the wall before he started running perpendicular to the ground before his eyes grew wide. It was a sight seeing the kid plant face first into the wall and topple to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
The kid looked shell shocked. His mouth hung agape as his eyes darted across his body. Ben's every muscle was trembling.
"Come on Otto, kid's had enough! Even Jackson can see that." Quentin yelled.
"Ah yes, very well. I supposed we should call this training session over. Ben, you're excused for your lessons for the evening." Otto said. The scientist's voice sounded cold with a hint of satisfaction. With a slight smirk, the scientist left the room.
