A/N This is my first Ben 10 fan fiction. It is set during Omniverse, but I have changed some things. Tell me what you think...
Chapter 1: Some Days
It had been a long, tiring day of trying to keep the twisted world together. It was becoming a routine-a sad, sick cycle of having to stop some psycho from robbing a bank, setting off a bomb, or even abducting people. Usually Ben would have been basking in his victory, but today was different. It was rare that any casualties would occur during an open fight, but it did happen. And it had been happening too often for the teen.
He sat down at the picnic table and leaned against his hand, looking off despondently. He always felt guilty when an innocent person got stuck in the crossfire, especially when it was all because of a petty thug. The teenage boy wiped a few strands of brown hair out of his face as he let out a weary sigh.
"Ben?" The boy was jarred out of his thoughts by the voice. He quickly turned and recognized the tall figure of his partner, a cat-like being with sleek, light blue fur dressed in blue and black armor. The alien was looking down at him through his yellow-orange eyes, his characteristic unsure frown on his face. Ben smiled slightly when he saw the two Mr. Smoothie cups in the alien's hands.
"Thanks, Rook," he said as graciously as he could. The blue Plumber nodded and set a cup in front of him. Then sitting down opposite to Ben, he sipped his own drink.
Ben regarded his cup for a moment, a smoothie—his all-time favorite beverage. But the interest was lost immediately, and the young crime-fighter continued his stare off into the distance, thinking. Tonight wasn't a night for smoothies. He knew Rook was just trying to be nice, but Ben would have rather gone straight home after… everything that had happened.
Lately, the gangs and criminals were getting better. More organized; even to the point of making allies with each other. They were already slowly gaining control of the poorer parts of Undertown, the lower city. Ben felt horrible for those poor citizens who had settled far away from home only to soon fall under the domain of a crime-lord. The thought made him nauseous. He wanted to stop it. He couldn't help feeling guilty, as if it was his fault for letting things get so out of hand. How much more could he have done that he didn't? Maybe it was his fault.
"Ben, are you alright?" asked Rook, who was now starting to feel uncomfortable at his friend's uncharacteristic silence. It was always horrible when an innocent citizen was killed, but it wasn't like Ben to be silently pondering over it. Ben would usually be doing one of two things at the end of the day: explaining how awesome he was for stopping a crime or ranting about how twisted and sick the low-lives were. But Ben did neither as he slowly turned to face his companion, taking in a deep breath.
"I don't know," he answered somewhat awkwardly in a tone and volume that was clearly quieter than his usual. "The bad guys are getting bolder with all these attacks. I feel as though something's going to happen sooner than later… something really devastating. Something we will never be ready for."
Rook remained silent and folded his arms on the table.
Ben reluctantly sipped his drink, watching as the cold sugary liquid went up the straw, although he could hardly taste it.
"We weren't ready for this," he ended in an even softer voice—almost a whisper. He stared at the Ravonnahgander and waited for him to reply.
"Indeed," Rook finally answered with a hint of sadness in his voice. He looked down at the table as the gentle summer breeze softly blew through the fur on his face. He was worried. Things like this were happening more often. And though how small they seemed to be, they were traumatic in their own way. Ben might have had more experience than Rook, but who could ever get used to murder? The question was starting to chill him. Some people could get used to it. The real question was if you were willing to get used to it.
The evening sunlight warmed the back of his head; it reminded him of that calm peaceful time after a thunderstorm, only there was nothing peaceful about it. This felt more like the inconvenience of the weather not raining during a funeral. It just wasn't right.
Neither figure said any more, and Rook let his thoughts take over, allowing himself to remember the event earlier that day.
A small convenient-store was being robbed by three or more low-lives. The day had been uneventful so far, so Ben and Rook had rushed to scene to help. Usually this was an easy job for the two Plumbers, especially when they had police backup. But things started to take a turn for the worse when one loathsome thief stumbled through the entrance holding a gun to his hostage, the store cashier.
"Don't move or I'll shoot her!" the frantic robber screamed out. His hand was shaking nervously. He seemed to have been the chosen distraction. The teenage girl yelped helplessly with the black masked man behind her, keeping a cold grip on her arm. The line of police officers aimed at him, Ben and Rook in front.
Ben slowly moved closer to them, his hand hovering over his Omnitrix ready to change his shape. "I don't think you really want to do this", he said slowly and calmly. He confidently made his way till he was only a few feet away from the two figures. The robber anxiously backed up until his back was pressed against the glass of the entrance door. He shakily pointed the gun at Ben then quickly back at the girl. He knew what Ben could turn into and his small pistol wasn't going to help.
"Your friends put you up to this, right? Let's talk about it," Ben negotiated in a soft creepy voice, never breaking eye contact. The frightened expression of the robber became more noticeable. His eyes widened every time Ben lowered his hand towards the Omnitrix, and he couldn't keep his lips from trembling. Ben mentally smirked, he was enjoying this.
At this point, Rook aimed his proto-tool at the man's hand. At the right moment he could shoot the gun out of his hand.
"Your buddies are probably escaping with the money right now. You're just a distraction. They don't think you matter," Ben stated with a shrug.
The unsettled robber pulled his hostage closer, using her as a human shield to hide behind. "I will shoot her," he yelped desperately, digging the barrel of the gun deeper into the girl's blonde hair. He hadn't asked for this! They said it would be an easy way to get some cash! Where were they?
Ben didn't back off. Panting heavily, the thief turned his head to look back in the store in desperation. Had his accomplices betrayed him?
This was just what Rook needed to take advantage of the situation. Without hesitation, he fired a stun-laser at the low-life's hand. There was a sharp clink of metal against concrete as the pistol fell on the ground, the wailing black-mask nursing his stinging hand above it.
It seemed like the police now had the upper hand. Ben was just about swoop in and help the blonde girl away, more than happy to be the dashingly handsome and slightly overly enthusiastic hero…but nothing could stop what came next.
Before anyone could do anything, another gunshot was heard from behind. Rook felt a jolt of panic spike through him as the girl who had not had time to move suddenly dropped to the ground like a stone, a hole in the middle of her forehead. The robber behind her also stumbled to the ground, blood gushing from his neck. One bullet had gone through both.
Everyone stared in shock, some not even understanding what had just happened. It had happened so fast.
Rook was the first to recover. Shifting his proto-tool into a scanner, he quickly traced the bullet to the three-story building behind the line of police vehicles. "Up there!" he yelled, his voice shattering the silence. He could see the sunlight reflecting on the black sniper rifle above.
Ben snapped out of the shock, and in a flash of green light, instantly turned into one of his aliens, a tall black and dark blue hooded insect-like creature.
"Big Chill!" he yelled in a raspy voice as he spread out his large wings. The Necrofriggian took off at high speed to the top of the building where the sniper was positioned.
Medical assistance arrived as soon as he left. The flashing lights and high-pitched sirens only added to the growing chaos. A crowd was already beginning to form.
A paramedic jumped out of one of the ambulances and rushed over to the fallen girl and man. Rook followed close behind.
The girl was obviously dead, a pool of blood surrounding her head and matting her blonde hair. Rook felt a twist in his stomach as he remembered her blank expression, her brown eyes staring upward as a thick blob of blood trickled down her forehead. The noon-time sun was beaming down on the sight mercilessly, scorching the pale, clammy face. She hadn't even been the target. Rook forced his eyes away then turned to the man a few feet away.
The medic had already knelt down next to him examining the wound. The robber blubbered out something incomprehensible as blood filled his mouth and poured down his cheeks, soaking into the fabric of the black mask. Rook was sickened by the sight. In a few seconds he would be dead too, drowned in his own blood. Someone had not wanted him talking and they had been willing to kill anyone to ensure no one could find out what they had to hide.
As he watched his partner's saddened expression, Ben remembered his experience as well.
He had flown up to the roof of the building before the sniper could get away. He spotted the figure leaning towards the edge of the roof, ready to jump. Slung over its shoulder was a strap securing the sniper rifle to its back. Ben could tell by the oddly shaped body that the murderer was an alien.
"So, you think you'll get away with killing two people in front of a crowd of police?" Ben hissed, the voice of his alien form coldly soft. "You have to be one of the stupidest bad guys I have ever fought." A black eyeless mask hid whatever expression possessed the face of the silent sniper. Making no verbal reply to Ben's sneer, it simply pulled the gun off its back and fired. Ben dodged the bullet as the alien dropped the gun and leapt across to the next building with surprising agility. "Oh no you don't," Big Chill spat. He zoomed after the alien keeping level with it.
Noticing Ben following, the alien pulled a smaller gun (obviously alien-tech) out from the belt around its waist. It twisted its upper body completely around and began firing short yellow lasers at the large blue-black form.
What-the-heck?! Ben thought as he phased through the beams of hard-light. Creepy!
The alien came to another edge, twisted back around and flipped over to get to the next roof. Ben felt a tingle of jealousy. His competitive side was starting to take control.
"Let's play Freeze tag, Flippy!" he yelled out. With that, Big Chill flew higher until he was above the alien then he dove down as fast as he could. He spread out his wings to catch the air right before hitting the roof and blasted his rival with his icy breath as it tried to flip over to another roof.
The air around his opponent's legs literally froze. They were instantly coated in a layer of ice as the alien crashed onto the top of the building. It toppled over, sliding across the roof before coming to a final stop in a twisted unnatural ball attached to an ice-cube.
Ben landed in front of the mess. A green glow emanated from him as he morphed back to his normal human form.
"So, who are you and why did you kill your buddy?" Ben asked, barely suppressing the urge to beat the sniper to a pulp. The alien lifted its head up from its tangled limbs. Its hand was still grasping the small gun.
Darn it! Ben thought to himself. He had thought Mr. Flexible had dropped the gun during the fall. He took a step back and brought his hand up to the Omnitrix. "Don't even try it, Dude. I'm in a really bad mood."
The alien just stared at him through its ominous mask before suddenly throwing its head back violently and screaming out in a language that sent a shiver through the teen hero. Before Ben could stop it the alien brought the gun up to its head and fired.
Whoever else was involved had gotten away during the commotion. The police were left with three bodies and a lot of questions from the news reporters who crowded around the crime scene.
"I wish we had stopped them," Ben broke the silence.
Rook nodded sadly at his partner's simple desire. "Something is definitely going on," Ben continued not ever caring about stating the obvious. "The thing that happened today was more than a robbery. Someone killed that guy so he wouldn't talk and then killed himself so he wouldn't." Ben sucked through the straw of his drink and stared down at the table intensely.
"We will just have to wait for the results from the autopsies. We will probably get at least some clues on where to start searching for answers," Rook said, "the identities of the criminals, at least."
Ben crossed his arms. That could take forever, and if he knew Grandpa Max, it would be a while before any real action took place, especially with the press demanding answers. Sure, there were the forensic investigators and detectives and what not, but they had witnessed the murders… and the murderer was an alien… something else had to be going on, something the Plumbers wouldn't be able to handle alone, let alone the normal police force. An idea suddenly popped into his head, an idea that made him want to smile with impish glee.
"Or we could perform our own investigations. Who knows, might be quicker," Ben said coldly, the edges of his mouth curled up ever-so-slightly. First, he had to get his non-agreeable partner in on it.
"What do you mean?" Rook asked, giving his partner a suspicious glare as the unsure frown formed spontaneously. Ben shrugged as a mischievous smirk appeared on his face.
"Going down to Undertown and actually looking around. We could do some investigating around the Black Hole and other places without anyone getting in our way," Ben said, Rook caught the tint of excitement in his voice.
"That would be breaking protocol," he said sternly. "We were told to wait for authorization on any researching related to this case. And we do not even have a clue about who is working with whom. That sniper seemed to be some sort of fanatic." Ben's impish smirk morphed into a long playful grin. Rook huffed and rolled his eyes at his partner. Why did he even bother?
"Come on, Partner. We don't have to tell anyone, no one will even know about it," Ben said, beaming at the thought. "You know it would be fun." Rook kept his solemn expression.
"It would be extremely unwise. What would we do if we really got into trouble? Who knows what we might stumble upon without backup?!" Rook said, but he felt a small feeling of anticipation nagging him from the back of his head. Maybe, it might be a little fun, he admitted to himself.
Ben leaned back in his chair and groaned.
"Why do you have to be so… Plumber-y?" he moaned. Rook crossed his arms and sighed. The normal Ben was back.
The latter drained the last of his seemingly tasteless smoothie and threw the empty cup at the garbage can a few feet away. Rook watched as it flew through the air, hit the side of the can, and bounce off. Ben cringed in embarrassment.
"Why do you have to be so immature?" Rook retorted. He took his cup and threw it into the garbage can. The cup landed with a plump—a perfect shot. Rook smirked ever-so slightly at Ben's dumbfounded face.
"Oh yeah, right, I'm the immature one," the teen laughed.
Rook smiled. He walked over, picked up Ben's cup and dropped it into the garbage. Then he turned back to Ben who was starting to get up from his seat.
"What if we asked Magister Tennyson first? I am almost certain that he would grant permission if we requested," he said. Ben face palmed. Why couldn't Rook just lighten up a bit? The guy was so uptight and weird!
"Really, Rook?" he deadpanned. "Come on. You know grandpa is gonna take too long. He always does! Don't you want to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible? Don't you want to stop the bad-guys before they do something like this again?!" He stared directly at his partner with narrowed eyes as confident grin replaced his face.
Rook stared back, his expression straightening into a frown once again.
"I…" he began. Ben just continued to stare him down. He wasn't just going to give up to a guy who thought he was so cool because he wore his armor everywhere. Besides, Rook took his job as a Plumber extremely serious. Ben knew what he wanted; he wanted justice for all "bad-doers".
The blue furred alien finally dropped his gaze. "Fine," he gave in with a sigh. Perhaps it will lighten the mood a bit, he thought to himself.
"Yesss!" Ben exclaimed through his toothy smile, pulling his fist down in victory. It was almost too good to be true; Rook was actually agreeing to do something fun!
"As long as I take point and you do not go off and get killed," Rook interjected immediately. Ben frowned. Too good to be true. "And you do not cause any trouble; meaning no unnecessary transformations…" Blah, blah, blah. Ben waved his hand.
"Yeah, Yeah, okay, Plumber boy, I don't need you to mother me to death," he said sarcastically. Rook raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something. The sudden buzzing sound of Ben's phone cut him off.
Ben flipped out the phone. "Speaking of which," he said before Rook could ask. He looked down at the phone for a moment and frowned. "Mom and Dad wanna make sure I'm okay. They saw the News report and are kinda worried... I better go check on them," he sighed, rolling his eyes. Rook didn't see why.
"Do you need a ride?" he asked, shrugging off the questions he had about the English language.
"No, I'll just use Jetray or Big Chill," Ben answered motioning towards his Omnitrix. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, partner." He gave Rook a wily smile and blinked.
"What time?" Rook asked a little reluctantly. Ben shrugged.
"After patrol?"
Rook nodded uncomfortably. He wasn't completely at ease with the plan, but maybe it was for the best. Cases like this often took too long to crack, and they were stressful. It might be good to see what they could find while having a little fun.
Ben turned to walk away. Then he stopped. "Oh yeah, Rook?" he said turning back.
"Yes?" his partner answered.
"We need to be careful now wherever we go. I don't think this incident will go over well for aliens," Ben said in a serious tone, "No matter who they are. There are a lot of nut jobs out there, alien and human."
Rook nodded. He wasn't a stranger to either. He waved goodbye to his friend as Ben slammed down on the Omnitrix. In a green flash, Ben morphed into a black and blue reptilian-like alien with a long striped tail of the same colors, a Kineceleran.
"XLR8? Really?" Ben grumbled in his alien's high-pitched voice. "I wanted Jetray, stupid Omnitrix!" Rook smiled and let out a sigh, slightly shaking his head. XLR8 gave him an exaggerated huff before speeding away down the street.