Tink, tink.

That's what I hear when it's time for dinner. A glowing green stick lands in from the ceiling, made of ectoplasmic energy and proteins, or something…

The other prisoners were allowed time out of their cells. I, according to them, was a high-risk prisoner. I was barely allowed to breathe without someone turning around and pointing a gun through the barrier.

They knew it was impenetrable. They couldn't get in… and I couldn't get out.

I broke the glowing stick into pieces, placing one into my mouth. It was chewy and sticky, like gum. My throat was almost unwilling to swallow it.

The guards were always gone from sun up until sun down. I felt a slight bit of freedom around then, but it was only limited by the cold, metal walls of my cell.

I sighed and tossed the rest of my… dinner under the cheap cot and looked around. This was a cold place for hard criminals. I didn't deserve the punishment I received. I had a probably cause for my crime.

But I was caught. I told Gwen and Kevin to stay out of sight in case I was caught. I wanted to protect them because it was a high-risk situation. It only takes a slight infringement and a hidden wire to send the intergalactic police after you.

I looked at the very device that betrayed me. Covered in a blue, seamless energy stasis shield, the Omnitrix was concealed. I had the Omnitrix for a total of eleven years, now. Only ten and foolish when I'd first received it, fifteen when I'd mastered it…

Now twenty-one and I'm still a damned fool. Grandpa Max was right. My stubbornness would get me in a mess of trouble. Look where it's gotten me.

I looked around the room once more. There were cameras all over this room. I couldn't move without them catching it on record. Thank God there weren't any microphones…

"This blows," I sighed, closing my eyes. "And it's not some 25-to-life. It's just life. Life in an alien prison for a logical crime. I do have to say it was worth it…"

"Was it really worth it, Ben?" a soft, sweet voice asked.

ooo

Word Count: 369

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