A story that occurred to me after watching the Ben 10 Alien Force episode "Above And Beyond", which inspired this story.

I only own Brian. All other characters belong to their respective owners.

Even A Plumber's Kid Needs A Break

Alan Albright was practicing hard at Plumber's Academy. He wanted to please his teachers and show them that he was a hard worker.

Also, live up to any expectations people had in knowing that he was Brian Albright's kid.

His dad was a great Plumber, but was gone a lot on missions, although he did try to stay home more often and he was proud that his son was in the Academy, having declared that he'd be a terrific Plumber someday.

Alan sure hoped that would happen. He wanted to make his dad proud. He hit the targets again, not missing one. "Yes!" he said. "I did it! Finally!"

He didn't know he was being watched until suddenly the computers mad sounds like they had been turned off. The sound made Alan stiffen. Was something happening? He turned to leave, but then felt cold water rain down on him in a waterfall. He fell down, coughing and sputtered a bit, but then felt a shock run through him that hurt.

"Aaaah!" he cried out in pain before passing out, only seeing a fuzzy glimpse of his captor before his eyes closed completely.

A tall figure stepped out from the shadows and picked up Alan, walking away with the boy before the computers came back on.

Alan opened his eyes as he rubbed his head. What had happened? He remembered something shocking him before he blacked out. He got up from the bed he was in and looked around. Seeing unfamiliar surroundings, he quickly turned to his Pyronite half, looking around to find out where he was.

"Is this a training base or part of the training base?" he asked aloud. He remembered when Max had tested him and the others to see if they were eligible for Plumber Academy. Was this another test?

He found what looked to be a tricked-out training room and carefully moved through it. He heard a whooshing sound and quickly turned, his hands ready to fire his fireballs which he quickly did so in the direction the whooshing sound came from. He heard it connect and something hit the ground.

Then he heard a chuckle. "Good shot," a voice said. "But a little too quick."

"Who's there?!" asked Alan and the thought of something. "Ben? Is that you again?"

"No."

Alan looked around. That voice was too deep to be Ben's voice, even in alien form. He had his hands ready to fire again when someone grabbed him, making him yelp as he struggled hard. "Let go of me! Leave me alone!" he said.

"Calm down, Alan."

That one sentence made the half-alien freeze. This guy knew his name? That was it.

Alan let out a scream, not caring if anyone heard and turned up his fire rapidly, knocking his captor back. Alan took off, running for his life. His captor got up with a smile. "Soon, Alan, you won't be able to run," he said. "I wonder how long that will be."

Alan just ran, running up to doors to see if they were opened. One opened for him and he ran inside, stopping to catch his breath as he leaned against the door.

He then grabbed his Plumber's badge. "Alan calling Helen. Do you copy?" he asked.

There was no answer, making Alan realize something was no doubt scrambling the signal. That made him more fearful. Whoever this guy was, he couldn't take him on alone. That would be both stupid and foolish.

"Okay, think," said Alan to himself. "Maybe I can trick him."

Quickly using what was around him and thankful that his dad had taught him about being resourceful, Alan made up a trap and hoped that he'd be able to escape, but it would be split-second, so he couldn't miss.

He heard his captor come and open the door and Alan waited, but the alien seemed to sense there was a trap, because he suddenly turned and reached for the boy who was hiding behind the door. With a yelp, Alan took off, running as he was chased by the being that looked a bit like Ben's alien, Diamondhead.

But soon, Alan began to tire as he was still tired from all his training. He tried to turn into his alien form, but failed and hit the floor hard, groaning as he tried to stand, but was too weak to.

The alien that had been chasing him came up to him with another chuckle. "You lasted a bit longer than I expected," he said to the boy, who flinched and looked up at him.

"Who are you? Why did you kidnap me?" he asked.

"The name's Tetrax, and I didn't kidnap you," said the Petrosapien. "I brought you here for a reason."

"Why?" asked Alan.

Tetrax looked at him. "You've been overtraining and that's not good for you," he said.

Alan knew that was true, but he had to keep up the expectations people had. "I have to keep training, to prove I'm as good as my dad," he said.

Tetrax gently shook his head. "Training until your body can't take it anymore isn't going to prove anything except that you're not taking it seriously," he said.

"What?!" said Alan. "I take it seriously! I train all the time."

"That's the thing. You're training, but what about the other parts of being a good Plumber agent?"

Alan tried to say something to that, but the truth of Tetrax's words sunk in pretty hard, hard enough to make him go quiet and look down in shame. Tetrax noticed how down the boy was and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Alan, I have no doubt you'll make a fine Plumber as your father is someday, but you can't get too caught up in training and all. You have to take breaks and focus on the other stuff too," he said.

Alan realized Tetrax was right. "Did…you talk to my dad?" he asked, since what the alien had said sounded like something his dad would say.

The Petrosapien nodded. "He was worried and asked that I talk to you."

Now, Alan really felt foolish, something Tetrax noticed and decided to make the boy feel better. He scooped him up and held him under his arm.

"Hey!" Alan protested as Tetrax carried him in one arm. "Put me down!"

But Tetrax cuffed the boy to some chains that hung overhead in the prison hold of his ship. He had it installed in case he was dealing with criminals, but he now had the perfect idea to cheer Alan up.

"Uh, Tetrax, what are you doing?" asked Alan, confused.

The Petrosapien smiled. "Something I do to some human friends of mine when they need cheering up," he said and reached his hands forward, his fingers wiggling into the half-alien's stomach.

"Hey! Ahahahahahaha!" Alan laughed. "Cut it out! That tickles!"

"I can see that," said the bounty hunter, amused as he continued to tickle the boy, now tickling his sides and ribs, making Alan burst into louder laughter. Then Tetrax began tickling the boy's underarms and neck, and Alan lost it, laughing harder than he had before.

"AHAHAHAHAHA! STOP!" he begged.

Tetrax did stop and released him, catching him with a chuckle. "You need some rest now," he said, amused.

"Which is your fault," said Alan, not really meaning it, which the Petrosapien knew.

Tetrax only chuckled again and brought the boy to the front of the ship where they both sat down and watched the stars whiz past as Tetrax brought Alan back to Plumber Headquarters.

Alan realized that Tetrax had been right about not training so hard and he worked on his other studies very hard, hoping that someday, he'd be a great Plumber, just like his dad.

And remember to take breaks now and then.

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GoldGuardian2418