I do not own Ben 10: Alien Force or anything remotely like it.
AUTHOR'S NOTE OF GLORY: So…I decided to add a prologue to the story since I thought it was needed…so sorry for the confusion! If this is your first time reading this story, then pay no attention to this and enjoy!
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It was the first day at the Mineralist Academy and, so far, none of the ships with its precious cargo has arrived yet. The quiet grounds will be bustling with new life and the dorms will be filled up with rambunctious students. But still, Vice Chancellor Zimmer the Tetramand felt uneasy already. Crammed in his small apartment, he walked around with quick and uneven paces. He looked this way and that and went over to his desk to look at the mess that was on it. Papers of random students streamed across the desk and even more so filled his floor. He picked up a sheet, looked at it, cringed, and set it down on the floor. A knock on the door made him jump as it broke his chance. With an unruly voice he said, "Come in."
His apartment door opened and in came the Dean of the Math Department Ossak. He was a Lizard, of course, and like all Lizards he was short with plain, rough skin and bulging eyes like a chameleons. His short tail stump wiggled minutely as he approached the Vice Chancellor.
Zimmer snarled and said, "What do you want?"
Ossak stepped up and bowed to him before saying, "Excuse me Superior, sir. I have here the latest teams from The Coordinator."
"About damn time to! That thing was due a month ago! And besides, why didn't he deliver it himself?"
Ossak simply replied, "He didn't want to."
Zimmer felt like punching Ossak in the face for having such a calm expression. But instead, he grabbed the files from Ossak and looked through them with keen interest.
"Did The Coordinator arrange the teams like the Chancellor and I ordered him too?"
"He did not say sir."
"I bet he didn't that lazy bastard," replied Zimmer who was still going through the files, "Only one way to find out though…"
After looking through the files, he finally found what he was looking for. On the corner of the file were several slashes of red tape. Surprised that The Coordinator actually listened to him, Zimmer opened the file and saw on the first page "Team Z."
Perhaps the expression on his face showed through for Ossak said, "Did he follow your instructions sir?"
Zimmer clucked his tongue and said, "He did that and more, he must have found much joy in finding these students out. Oh they are special alright…"
Setting the files down and putting the file with red stripes underneath one of his arms, he read out loud the first page.
"Team Z…blah blah blah…Students: Swampfire, Brainstorm, Goop, Jabberwock, Humongousaur, Jetray, Chromastone, Spidermonkey, Big Chill and Echo Echo.
"This will be true only if they make it through the Forest and Earth Trial though. Otherwise if their smaller groups don't make it to the flag they will drop out and the team will have to be reorganized."
Zimmer, who could not help but smile, waved a finger at Ossak and said, "Ah, but for this team, none of them will even make it through the Forest Trial."
Ossak sent a questioning look at Zimmer and said, "Why is that?"
"Because this team…is supposed to be the worst fighting team in the Academy. Listen…"
At this point Zimmer pulled out a sheet of paper and read out loud, "Name: Swampfire…yadda yadda yadda…suffers from drug problems…goes through periods of deep depressions and withdrawal…can't control fire..."
Zimmer pulled out another paper and said, "Name: Spider Monkey…recently released from an insane asylum…former pyromaniac…still shows somewhat of an unstable persona…etc etc…ditto…ditto…you get the idea…"
"Hmm…sounds like these two students can't control their own mind and desires…let alone their abilities. Are they…all like that?"
Zimmer shook his head and looked through the papers before coming out with another, "Name: Big Chill…recently went blind due to a disease…still has trouble coping with it and sometimes shows frustration because of it…"
Zimmer then saw a paper and looked surprised, he pulled it out and said, "Name: Carol Jabberwock…wants to be a writer…can't fly yet…has no combat experience nor displays ability to breathe fire."
"Carol Jabberwock eh?" said Ossak thoughtfully, "You know…I heard that name somewhere before…wasn't there a guy by the name of Lewis Jabberwock who was a cartographer? Had a thing for maps he did. He disappeared a long time ago though and many people think he is dead. But these students! If I may speak out of turn sir, but the Recruiters did a poor job selecting them."
Zimmer nodded his head and said, "Oh I don't disagree with you there. Whoever thought these students would be great fighters basically had a screw loose."
"What about these other students? Like this Jetray or Echo Echo?"
Zimmer smiled and said, "Now where would the fun be in that Ossak? It'll be spoiling the fun that will come out of these students. You want to be surprised don't you?"
Ossak stiffened and said "I detest suprises."
Zimmer stretched his four arms and said, "At least those students have something interesting about them…all these other students…" he said while motioning the floor and his desk, "seem boring."
Ossak said nothing, with a last look at the room he said, "Well, if you excuse me sir, I must be off and prepare myself for the student's arrival."
"Prepare yourself for the unexpected!" Zimmer cried out to Ossak, "And watch out for Team Z…or as The Coordinator likes to call it…Team Zero!"
Ossak nodded stiffly again and closed the door quietly. Shaking his head, Zimmer set the folders down on his desk and walked to his window. Looking out the clear paned glass window, he muttered, "Yes…we will prepare ourselves for the unexpected…"