Ben 10 Omniverse fanfiction

10 + 1 Primed

Chapter 2

The Time: the worst of times

The Place: Primus

In the center of the Primus main facility, Eon stood before a large tree. Its leaves were black as night, and its wood was a hideous blue hue. Reaching up, he pulled off another purple acorn. He closed his eyes and sighed as he enveloped the acorn in his power. Off to the side in her prison, Eunice did her best not to retch at how undeniably creepy it looked over all.

"The one flaw in this plan is that I have to do this one at a time," Eon griped. After a moment, he stopped and held up the acorn; it looked like it had been coated in a plastic resin. "But thanks to the life force of Primus, time is on my side for once."

"Ben will stop you!" Eunice said angrily, "You'll see!"

Eon turned to give Eunice a patronizing smile. "I wouldn't put too much faith in that boy. After all, he's the reason you're stuck here."

"What?"

Pocketing the acorn, Eon strode over to Eunice. "When the Anihilaarg began to break apart the universe to its barest components, Ben transformed into his celestasapian form- Alien X. And yet, he waited until it was beyond saving to do anything. In that void, he created a new universe, just like the one before…you excluded."

Eunice went cold. "No…"

"Had it not been for me, you would've been destroyed with the rest of the old universe," Eon went on to say, "There's no one who remembers you…and Ben has already banished you from his memory."

Eunice began to shake. "You're…you're lying!" She said, "Ben would never do that!"

"You give him too much credit," Eon replied smoothly, "I can assure you, your precious hero has a truly stunning dark side." When Eunice refused to respond, Eon reached out to stroke her face. "Don't worry, in time you'll learn to appreciate my company. We already have so much in common. I also have no universe to return to…just as you do."

Eunice's idea of a retort was to bite down on Eon's hand. Hard.

"Eyarg!" Eon cried. With his eyes shut in pain, he didn't notice Eunice's body briefly flashing green.

Eunice let go, and Eon took his hand away. Upon inspection, he saw that there was a deep imprint of teeth on it. Gritting his own teeth in anger, he struck Eunice across the jaw.

"I may need you alive to keep this planet's defense under control," The chronian growled venomously, "But I have no reason to keep you comfortable! I suggest you consider your next move carefully, or…"

A distant explosion was then heard, shaking the room and causing some rocks to fall from the ceiling.

"Now what?" Eon hissed, and teleported away.

Eunice narrowed her eyes. A flicker of purple energy appeared on her right manacle before going out. The clamp, originally a silver-colored alloy, suddenly began to turn to a rusty brown. With some effort, Eunice tore her hand out of the clamp, and quickly used her free hand to open the rest of the manacles. Once free, she ran towards the computers.

I have to reactivate the Voliticus Biopsis and set them to defense mode, Eunice thought, and began to type in commands. That should give me some time to find Ben and…

"You! "

Eunice whirled about to see Eon glaring at her, his face (As best she could tell with his helmet's visor) was a mix of anger and confusion. Eunice brought up her arms in defense when something unexpected happened. Her hands began to emit purple sparks again, this time faster than the flicker from before! Eunice let out a terrified shriek as the sparks seemed to eat away at her body. Eon watched, stunned, as Eunice vanished in a fantastic display of light. But once she was gone, Eon snapped out of his stupor and gritted his teeth.

Very clever, Timewalker… He thought, furious, and teleported.

After undoing the mutations of the prehistoric people and animals (That three-armed woman looked kinda dumpy with normal DNA), Paradox sent Ben and Rook to another time period, this time the Middle Ages. They appeared in some sort of moor. It was night time, with clouds passing by a full moon.

"I hope the professor positioned us closer to the next plant this time," Rook commented, turning on his Proto-tool's flashlight. "Turn into Wildmutt and see if you can get a scent."

"Right, right." Ben said irritably, activating the Omnitrix's selection. As he went through the list of possible aliens, Rook noticed his features tighten.

"Are you still worried about this…Eunice?" The Plumber asked.

Ben gave Rook and annoyed look, then sighed and softened. "Yeah, I am. While we're here, she's stuck on Primus with Eon. What if he hurts her?"

"I cannot say, but what intrigues me is why this bothers you so much," Rook replied, "I understand your concern, but I have a…" Rook paused as he tried to think of an appropriate Earth metaphor to use. "…An organ feeling that there is something more to anxiety."

"Gut feeling," Ben commented automatically, "And…yeah. You're right. There is something more."

"Who is she, exactly? And how is she connected to Primus?"

"She's the caretaker of Primus, selected by Azmuth himself…with some recommendation from yours truly," Ben let his arms fall limply to his sides as Rook looked on expectantly. "I know you don't believe me when I say that I fixed the universe with Alien X, but…when I found out that Primus didn't come back, I was horrified. Worse, no one knew that the planet, and everything, everyone on it, had even existed. When I asked about Eunice, Azmuth just looked at me like I was crazy." Ben rubbed his eyes. "Not only was she gone, but no one remembered she even been. No one…except me."

Rook understood. For all of his…less virtuous traits, Ben Tennyson had a true love of life and a desire to do good in the world. The knowledge that he had failed to accomplish that and such a scale would be soul crushing. And worse yet, the fact that no one knew isolated him on a grand scale…no one to comfort him.

But Rook would give it his best try. Putting a comforting hand on Ben's shoulder, he said, "I am sure we will rescue her now. After all, you believed Feedback was lost forever, but regained him in your final battle with Malware. This is the same, or similar enough," Feeling that he was on a roll, Rook said confidently, "You are Ben Tennyson, hero of the universe. Saving the life of a friend should a simple matter, should it not?"

Ben moved his hand away from his face to smile at Rook. "Thanks, partner. Sorry you had to see that. You're right, we can do this. Gimme a moment to transform, and-"

"There she is!"

"Get the witch!"

Ben and Rook looked. Across the way, they could trio of men on horseback, chasing after a smaller figure. Due to the mist that hung in the air, they couldn't make out who it was properly.

"This looks like a job for Astrodactyl!" Ben declared, and slammed the dial down.

"Ben, wait!" Rook cautioned as the Omnitrix-wielder transformed, "We do not know what is going on. For all we know, this could be part of…history." Rook sighed as Astrodactyl took off into the air.

Astrodactyl soared across the moor, preparing to kick butt and take names…or just kick butt, anyway. While he knew from his experiences with Hex and Charmcaster that magic existed, he also knew from his history classes that most 'witches' persecuted were just helpless scapegoats who were just in the wrong time and wrong place. He rocketed up to get a better look at the pursuit in progress. While the riders seemed to be your average Medieval thugs, there was something…else…about their quarry. Rather than a dress, she wore a skin-tight white body suit with black stripes. Her blonde hair seemed a bit too clean for someone living in the Middle Ages. As she looked back at her pursuers, he could just barely see that she had green eyes.

"Eunice!" Astrodactyl cried in shock.

Hearing Astrodactyl's voice, Eunice briefly forgot to watch her step and tripped over a root.

"We've got her now!" The lead horseman yelled, waving his axe.

"No, what you've got is trouble!"

Astrodactyl landed between Eunice and riders with a soft thud (Remember, moors). The horses, at the sight of this strange new creature, stopped suddenly, almost throwing their riders off.

"Wha- what is that thing?!" A second rider asked, stunned.

"It's a demon!" The third cried in alarm, "The witch must have summoned it!"

Eunice, meanwhile, had recovered enough to see what was going on. She gasped at the sight of the pterodactyl-like alien, but calmed down when she saw the Omnitrix on its shoulder.

"Ben?" She asked, amazed.

Astrodactyl gave Eunice a wink. "In the scales, baby!" Turning back to the wannabe witch-hunters, he asked, "You guys wanna see what else I've got in the scales?"

The leader, though shivering, did his best to sound tough. "We're not afraid of you, or your dark mistress, beast!"

"That a fact?"

Astrodactyl let his two energy whips come out. He then slashed at the ground just before the horses' hooves. Naturally, said beasts of burden wisely chose to bug out, taking their not-quite-masters with them. Once they were long gone, Astrodactyl reverted back to Ben.

"Losers," He turned to help Eunice up. "Eunice, are you all right?"

Eunice threw her arms around him and whispered, "Never felt better."

Ben returned her hug, and then the two separated, but still in each other arms. The light of the full moon shone on them, giving their forms a sublime silver lining.

"What's going on? How did you get here?" Ben asked.

"Well, I…" Eunice began when a bright light appeared.

"Ben!" Rook cried, jogging up to the pair. "Ben, what is going on?"

Ben grinned. "A lucky break, to start with. Rook, meet Eunice, the girl I was telling you about. Eunice, this is Rook, my new partner."

"It is a pleasure though an unexpected one." Rook said, holding out his hand.

Eunice took it and they shook. "Same here," To Ben she asked quietly, "What happened to Gwen and Kevin?"

Rook frowned slightly. Why did everyone he meet ask about Gwen and Kevin?

Ben shrugged. "They went to college. Well, Gwen did. Kevin followed 'cause Gwen's got him on a leash."

In the present day, Kevin stopped eating and frowned.

Gwen looked up from her book. "What? Don't like your sandwich?"

Kevin shook his head. "Nah, it's just, I feel like I should hit Ben next time I see him."

Gwen shrugged. "Everyone feels like sometimes."

In the Middle Ages, the time-displaced trio had found a private place in the woods and started a campfire. Once they had gotten settled down, Eunice began to exposit the circumstances of how she appeared in the current era…as best she knew, at least. They all sat on dry rocks as she spoke.

"Eon had me imprisoned in Primus' main facility after he displaced the planet," She explained, "But he got careless, and I was able to copy his abilities."

"Copy his powers?" Rook asked.

Eunice nodded. "I'm a Unitrix, a carrier of human DNA. I can also duplicate another being's abilities through physical contact. Once Eon got close enough for me to touch him, I was able to use his powers to break out of my manacles."

"And then you came here." Ben guessed.

"Not on purpose," Eunice admitted, "I've never copied energy-based powers before, and Eon's almost overwhelmed me," She grimaced. "It felt awful….like there was a second mind trying to supplant mine."

"I hear that." Ben agreed, nodding sympathetically. He recalled the times when his alien modes had started to influence him, even outside of the transformations. Ghostfreak wanted to take total possession of Ben's body, while Big Chill forced him to make a nest and have offspring.

Of the two, Ben felt the Ghostfreak incident to be a bit less disturbing.

"But you are unaffected now?" Rook hoped.

"Yes, once the mimicry effect wore off." Eunice replied.

"So you appeared here and met the brainless horsemen?" Ben asked.

"From what I understand, the nearest village has been having problems with monsters, or something," Eunice answered, "When I teleported out of Primus, I appeared there. The locals thought I was a witch and that killing me would-" She made finger quotes. "-'Put an end to the vile beasts'. I was able to escape by copying a horse's speed, but when it wore off those men caught up with me."

"I bet the monsters people saw were more mutants," Ben commented, and explained to Eunice, "Eon's planting these weird trees that drip stuff that mutates people and animals. Though I dunno how that helps him become ruler of the universe."

"I'm afraid his plan isn't random mutation," Eunice said solemnly, "It's something far worse."

"If you have uncovered any useful information during your imprisonment, please tell us." Rook requested.

Eunice stared into the fire for a moment, gathering her thoughts. Then she said, "When Eon came to Primus, the first thing he did, after taking control of it, was use the Condon Stream- Where the Omnitrix's DNA is kept- to enhance himself. He spliced his body with chronosapian DNA; now he can accelerate the aging process of anything by touch."

Ben and Rook exchanged worried looks. That didn't sound good.

"The second thing he did was create a method of duplication," Eunice continued. She looked Ben worriedly. "Those trees are actually organic clone pods. Eon's plan is leave one in each time period, that way there'll always be a him to rule."

Ben's skin went pale, and Rook became as still as stone. They both remembered the humanoid being inside the giant eggplant.

"Eon through the ages…" Ben murmured, and swallowed.

"He's using Primus to create those pods," Eunice said, and stood up. "And as the planet's caretaker, it's my duty to stop him- even if no one remembers." She added quietly, looking to the side.

Ben stood up and took Eunice's hand. "I remember, and there's no way you're doing this alone. Break time's over, Rook. Let's get to work!"

Rook nodded, smiling at Ben's determination. It was good to hear that confidence in the human's voice again. Standing, he made a quick check on his Proto-tool while Ben activated his Omnitrix. One flash later…

"Awww, man!" Spidermonkey groaned, "Now this thing stops working right."

"What were you planning to do?" Eunice asked.

As Spidermonkey began to scratch himself, Rook said, "We were able to find the last clone pod by scent. We need to wait until Ben transforms into Wildmutt before we can get on with the search."

Eunice looked around and smiled. "Actually, I don' think that'll be necessary."

The Unitrix-human strode purposely away. Confused, Spidermonkey and Rook followed. To their shock, there had been a wolf watching them. And Eunice was walking up towards it!

"Miss Eunice, wait! What are you doing?" Rook cried out. He was about to run to her aid when Spidermonkey held him back.

"It's cool, man," Spidermonkey assured, "Eunice is great with animals."

While walking right up to a wolf in the wild was believed to be an act of stupidity, Eunice was safe because of her unique way with animals. Rather than snarl at the approaching girl, the wolf simply glared, remaining tense. It relaxed slightly as Eunice gently stroked its fur. After a moment, her parts of her body turned green, and she walked away from the wolf. Raising her head, she sniffed the air a few times before pointing in one direction.

"That way." She told the boys.

"Are you certain of that?" Rook asked.

"Trust me," Eunice said, "When you've spent enough time with someone, you know what they smell like."

Thankfully, it took less than ten minutes for the three to follow the trail towards a cave. Near the entrance, they saw some horses tied to a tree. Unlike the ones used by Eunice's chasers, these horses seemed better groomed, with actual saddles. At this time, Spidermonkey turned back into Ben.

"Looks like someone got here before us," Ben noted, "Let's hope they watch where they step."

Rook turned on his Proto-tool's flashlight, and the trio went into the darkness.

As they went deeper down, Ben asked, "Are you sure this is the right way, Eunice?"

Eunice nodded. "I'm sure. Eon's scent gets stronger the further down we go and- Uh oh," Eunice stopped. "My enhancement just wore off."

"I do not see how that is a problem," Rook said, "There is only one path to follow."

Ben slapped his forehead. "Great job, Rook," He said sarcastically, "We'll probably end up in a maze now."

"How would that be my fault?" Rook asked earnestly. He honestly didn't understand why Ben got upset every time he tried to be optimistic.

The trio came upon a chamber in the cave. There was no clone plant, but there were three tunnels to choose from.

"See?! You see?!" Ben demanded irritably, waving at the tunnels.

Rook rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You may have a point…"

Eunice put her hand on Ben's shoulder. "Why don't you turn into Wildmutt and see if you can pick up the trail?"

"Just hope the Omnitrix gives it to me this time." Ben said, and opened the Omnitrix's selection. He raised his hand to push down on the dial, but before he could the sound of fighting reached his ears. "Hey, what's that?"

The three of them looked around. From one of the tunnels they could hear the sound of metal clashing, men yelling, and some sort of beasts roaring.

"I believe it is coming this way." Rook said, pointing at the tunnel closest to him.

They went down the path, and after following a winding road for a bit, came upon a massive cavern. In it, men in armor were fighting what looked like things that seemed like crosses between frogs and scorpions. Lying on the ground were several burning torches, providing illumination.

"Do not give up, men!" One knight with a blond beard yelled, "Strike at these foul demons and end their terror, once and for all!"

Ben couldn't believe the voice he heard. "Sir George…?"

It was indeed Sir George, founder of the Forever Knights. However, it seemed like the warrior had not yet prepared his order yet. The claymore the knight wielded was not the Ascalon Sword Azmuth had created, but an ordinary blade you'd get from any blacksmith. However, even without the alien blade to aid him, Sir George was doing a remarkable job against the 'scorprog', managing to stab it in the eyes. However, his fellow knights did not seem to be doing as well, and Sir George went to their aid.

Watching from the ledge where the entrance was above, Eunice said, "We need to help those men!"

"I agree," Rook said, "Without proper equipment, they will not prevail."

"Don't worry, I've got your proper equipment right here. If those things are mutants, a quick blast of the DNA Repairer should fix this," Ben replied, and spoke into the Omnitrix. "Omnitrix, initiate DNA Repair Wave for immediate area."

"Insufficient power," The Omnitrix beeped, "Please wait until recharge is complete."

"What?!" Ben quickly glanced at his allies before glaring back at the Omnitrix. "But I only transformed twice here!"

"Ben, the transformation function and DNA Repair function now have separate power sources," Eunice explained, "When was the last time you used the DNA Repairer?"

"Uh…about several million years ago?" Ben said awkwardly.

"From our perspective, the DNA Repair feature was used to de-mutate a radius of ten hundred kilometers less than an hour ago." Rook explained.

Ben sighed, "Okay, so we're doing this the old-fashioned way; With lots of butt-kicking!" He began to turn the dial. "And Humongosaur is just the guy to dish it out!"

There was a flash, and both Eunice and Rook stared at the transformed Ben.

"I don't think Humongosaur is that furry" Eunice commented.

"Huh?" Rath looked at his hands in confusion. This gave way to (What else?) anger. "Whatever! Lemme tell ya somethin', Eunice, you may be cute, but you better copy Rath's powers now, 'cause he ain't waitin' to dish out as much butt-kicking this cave can handle!"

Amused by Rath's ranting, Eunice put her hand on Rath's back and glowed green for a moment. Once she was done, she removed her hand and nodded at Rath.

"Right, let's do this! RAAH!" Rath bellowed, and dove into the fray. Eunice jumped after him, while Rook used the grapple from his Proto-tool to lower himself.

Sir George was having a difficult time. Though he had successfully killed one of the beasts, he had a feeling that one had just been an infant compared to the others. Their skin was much harder, and their scorpion-like tails lashed out at him and his fellow knights wildly. Then the one he was currently fighting did something unexpected; it spat at him! The glob of green goo struck the tip of George's blade, causing it to melt away. Shocked, but undaunted, George prepared to stab the acid-coated steel into the scorprog when something landed on the monster. George stopped his attack in shock at the sight of some kind of muscular cat pounding away on the beast.

"Lemme tell ya somethin', frog-like scorpion, or, scorpion-like frog!" Rath yelled, hammering his fist into the scorprog's back. "Rath is gonna beat you like it's nobody's business! Rath eats guys like you for breakfast, or he would if they sold scorpion-frogs in the supermarket!"

George was not entirely sure what to make of this. For a moment, he didn't know if fortune had smiled or frowned on him. Then, he heard a young light grunting and saw, out of the corner of his eye, a young lass in strange garb saving one of his fellows by uppercutting a beast. There came a strange noise, and George turned to see a man in blue firing what looked like arrows of light from an abnormal crossbow.

"Sir George," another knight cried out, "What is happening?"

"I know not for certain," George admitted as he and his knights regrouped, "But clearly these strangers are also against the beasts."

"But are they with us?" The second knight asked worriedly, watching the way Rath continued to pound and bellow.

"If they are not, then more's the pity…" George murmured, readying his broken sword. "Charge! But be warned! Their spit can destroy steel!"

The knights, gaining a second wind, threw themselves at the scorprogs. Because the knights were still suspicious of their new help, they ignored any scorprog that the heroes from the future were dealing with and instead tried to double-team other ones. While one knight fended off the stinger tail, his partner would go in for the kill...although this was easier said than done, as they still had to watch out for the scorprog's acidic spit and frontal claws.

Rath, meanwhile, had successfully beaten one scorprog into unconsciousness and moved on to the next one. Jumping from the back of the beaten one, Rath would have landed on the second's back had its tail not intercepted him. The result was Rath clinging to the swinging limb like the heavy end of a cat o'nine tails in the wind.

"Lemme tell ya somethin', other mutant scorpion-frog, when you stop swinging Rath around like the heavy end of a cat o'nine tails in the wind, he will destroy you!" Rath yelled, punching the tail. "Rath will rip off this tail and make you eat it! You don't scare Rath, Rath is…" the Omnitrix on his chest began to flash green, and a few flashes later he went from Rath to Ben. "…In biiig trouble. Whoa!"

Ben lost his grip on the scorprog tail, and hit the ground with a thud. Looking up, he saw the scorprog lurching towards him, snapping its claws. Crying out, Ben rolled out of the way to avoid getting a pincer in the chest. Unfortunately, the mutant kept coming. Ben's hand to went his Omnitrix- He didn't care what alien he got, anything would be useful. Before he could transform, though, the scorprog screeched in pain- George was jamming his broken sword into one of the mutant's joints!

"Run, boy!" George yelled, just barely avoiding a smack from the tail.

Ben wisely took the point and put some distance between him and the scorprog- only to find himself about to run headlong into another scorprog!

"Where the heck did you come from?!" Ben cried, and was about to hit the Omnitrix's button when he saw mutants after that crawl out from the shadows. "Uh oh. Guys!" he called out loudly and turned into NRG. "We've got company!"

Rook was about to inquire as to what Ben meant when he heard a gurgle from behind. He whirled around just in time to blast a Scorprog about to cut him in two. "Either there are more mutants than we anticipated, or we have sorely underestimated the rate of mutation caused by Eon's pod!"

"What?" NRG asked as he began to blast scorprog's with blasts from his visor. "You mean while we squash these bugs, the plant will just make more? That blows!" One scorprog began to claw at his arm, but NRG backhanded it.

("They're speaking in strange tongues, my lord…" One knight murmured.)

"You have to go, then!" Eunice yelled, swinging a scorprog by the tail. "Go and destroy the pod!"

"But what you guys?" NRG yelled as that same scorprog clawed uselessly at his leg. "I can't leave you here on your own!"

"We can hold out for a bit!" Eunice responded, letting her scorprog fly into a wall. "Go now!"

While Ben didn't like the idea of leaving his friends to fend for themselves, he saw the point. Even if the DNA Repair Function energized, setting it off now would be pointless if they couldn't find the pod plant in time. Like Rook said, they had no idea how long it took for an animal to mutant. By the time they located and destroyed the plant, another swarm of scorprogs could appear and attack them, and they not last long enough for a second recharge.

"Okay, I get it. I'll go. But first…" NRG opened the hatch on his armor, and out flew his fiery true form. "Everyone, hit the deck!"

"But we're in a cave!" Rook responded while Sir George's knight's nodded.

"I mean, get down!" NRG unleashed a wave of heat that roasted several scorprogs.

Sir George watched the power with wide, unbelieving eyes. Glancing at his broken sword, he wondered what it would be like to hold such power at his fingertips.

With that done, he re-entered his armor and hit the Omnitrix on his chest. Once the flash subsided, WIldmutt began to sniff at the ground intently, before pawing off. Clawing its way back up the ledge, he left the cavern through the tunnel. However, the moment Wildmutt was gone more scorprogs showed up, and the ones NRG blasted began to recover.

Getting up, George clutched the hilt of his sword. Now more than anything, he really wanted a better weapon.

Snarling and growling, Wildmutt tore his way through the caves, pausing to mark his path. Because vulpimancers had no eyesight and 'saw' through their incredible sense of smell, Wildmutt had to use a more…personal means of making a trail. After Ben destroyed the pod plant, he would need to get back to the others as quickly as possible, and the last thing he wanted was to get lost. Of course, the caves weren't that much of a maze, but a little caution never hurt.

Eventually, Wildmutt came upon a room where Eon's scent was overwhelming. Wildmutt shuddered. The force of the Eon-stink was worse than it was in the prehistoric! And most of it seemed to be gathering onto a single spot on the ground. Suppressing a powerful vomit reflex, Wildmutt reached and tapped the Omnitrix on his left shoulder. In a green flash, Wildmutt turned into Clockwork. Now that he actually had eyes, Clockwork saw that unlike the prehistory clone pod, the current one's juices had no river to trickle down into. Instead, they just settled into a puddle…a very thick puddle.

"Okay, that is seriously gross," Clockwork groaned, and powered up his time beam. "Time for a little housekeeping!"

One blast of hyper accelerated aging in concentrated laser form later, the plant was a miserable pile of dust. The Omnitrix flashed, and Clockwork reverted to Ben.

That's done. Now I've got to get back to the others, Ben thought, I hope they're alright…

Just then the Omnitrix began to beep. "DNA Repair function update: Battery charge complete. Orders?"

The DNA Repairer was ready? That was the best news Ben had had all day, besides the fact that Eunice had managed to escape Eon.

Ben had orders, all right. "Initiate DNA Repair wave!" He yelled into the watch as he ran back, "Maximum power!"

The Omnitrix began to glow, and then that glow exploded into a ever-expanding sphere of light that seeped through the rock.

Meanwhile, the ones that stayed behind to fight the scorprogs were in dire straits. More and more mutants had appeared, and it wasn't long before Eunice, Rook, and the knights found themselves cornered. It didn't help that the scorprogs had adopted the tactic of using their acid spit to keep the more dangerous fighters (IE Eunice and George) at bay. Eunice's Unitrix power had run out, and she couldn't get close enough to touch and copy the scorprog's physical power. The last time she tried almost resulted in her getting pierced by a stringer.

Ben…where are you? Eunice wondered, getting behind Rook.

Just as the scorprog's prepared to launch a combined strike, a wave of green energy appeared, flowing throughout the cave. After it passed over the scorprogs, the mutants began to shrink in size. Their bodies altered as their corrected DNA reasserted itself, and in short time reverted to their unmutated state. Oddly enough, that state happened to be ants.

Seeing that the danger had passed (Though he knew not how), Sir George sighed and lowered what was left of his sword. Now all that remained was deciding what to do with the two outsiders. He turned to them, preparing to speak, but his question died in his mouth when he saw that Rook and Eunice were gone.

"Where did those two get to?" George asked, his voice echoing in the now silent cavern.

Ben was busy running down the cave corridors. While he couldn't smell the…markers…Wildmutt had used, he could see the stains on the wall. As he moved his legs, his hand kept twisting the Omnitrix's dial. He hoped could get XLR8 and zip back to the others. Even though he knew the threat of the mutants had passed, there was still Sir George and his knights. Now that they no longer had a common enemy, who knew what the man would do with his friends?

Then Professor Paradox appeared. "Good work, Ben. You might want to slow down a bit, though."

"Paradox!" Ben stopped, and began to fidget. "I need to get to Eunice and Rook, we got separated and-"

Then Eunice and Rook appeared, accompanied by…Paradox.

"You would not believe how worried Ben was for you, dear," The second Paradox was saying to Eunice, "It was all, 'When can I save Eunice? I want to save Eunice.' A bit aggravating, really- Whoops!"

The two Paradoxes stared at each other.

"I guess I should take that as my cue to leave," The first Paradox said, "Where are they, again?"

"Just follow the path, then go left twice, take the second right, then the middle," The second Paradox directed, "Be careful not to step into anything messy."

"Thank you," The first Paradox replied, "Well, T.T.F.N!"

Paradox walked off, leaving Ben alone with Eunice, Rook, and Paradox.

"That was…slightly disorienting." Rook commented, watching Paradox go.

"You'll get used to it," Paradox assured before holding his mechanical hand over Eunice. As it clicked and beeped, he said, "Ben, Eunice and Rook have already filled me in on the situation. Luckily, by scanning Miss Eunice I can find out where Eon is hiding Primus."

"Which means we can take him down!" Ben declared, punching his other palm.

"Not yet we can't," Paradox stated.

"C'mon, you're the time expert," Ben protested, "I'm sure you can figure out a way around Eon's forcefield, or whatever he's using."

"Actually, I have, but that's not the problem right now." Paradox replied.

Eunice said, "We still have to deal with the clone pods Eon left in other points in time."

Ben looked confused. "Won't they just vanish after we beat Eon? That's usually how it works."

"Only under certain circumstances, actually," Paradox said, "However, Eunice is correct. We need to clean up history before going to Primus. Luckily, I think we can lessen our workload a bit. Eunice, do you know how many pods Eon created before you escaped?"

"Four." Eunice answered, and asked Ben and Rook, "How many did you eliminate before finding me?"

"Two," The Revonnahgander replied, crossing his arms in thought. "So, we need to remove the other two from the time stream before confronting Eon. However, I wonder if Eon will allow us to do so. What would happen if he becomes aware of our actions?"

"If we play our cards right, hopefully Eon won't notice until it's too late," Paradox said simply. With a wave of his protostetic hand, a time portal appeared. "Off you go to the next era, then, but a word of advice. You might want to be more discreet about your identities, especially you, Ben."

That reminded Ben. He asked Paradox, "Speaking of our identities, I met Sir George here. That's not going to cause a problem, is it?"

"I wouldn't worry about it," Paradox assured, "George's memories aren't that good. He'll find you familiar, given the situation you'll meet in, won't press the subject."

Though Ben had a feeling that Paradox wasn't telling him everything, he decided not to push the subject. With one last look at the time walker, he followed Rook and Eunice through the portal.

Of course, what Paradox purposely left out was that witnessing the powers and abilities of Ben and his allies would have a profound impact on Sir George, as well as his future order, the Forever Knights. The battle against the mutants would only intensify the fear of unworldly beings so prominent in the Middle Ages…

…But that was a story for another day.