Chapter 2: With the lower ones

Rook attempted his best not to panic.

He needed a plan to escape, find Ben, free all of these people and defeat their new enemy. But how could he proceed? He looked at his surroundings and made a recap of the events.

First, he was in a cave down Zs'Castle Zs'Skayr. Second, Scout and Rad were beside him, probably as distressed as him (though Rad appeared more annoyed than afraid). Third, everyone, including them, was lined up in straight lines, reminding him of the very first Plumber inspection he had. He would be amused of the fond memories he had if it wasn't for his current predicament. He and Scout had made a ruckus back then, when he was still a bit undisciplined. Like Ben.

Rook thought of his partner. Was Ben okay out there? Did he not find an escape yet, or was he already fighting Lord Transyl, as brash and irresponsible it could be? Ben could be reckless at times, but that meant he was eager to show how well he could control the power he received from the Omnitrix. Though the fact he hasn't seen or heard of Ben after the failed mission started to worry him.

After that Ben was shot with the Corruptura, he immediately blacked out. It seemed that he was awake, but Rook could see and hear him breathing slowly when it happened, as if Ben had fallen asleep like he often did in the Proto-Truk. If Ben was under control, why would he do that without being asked to? Unless he was pretending to fall asleep to mimic the idea of a "sleep-zombie" in the Earth movie they recently watched together (the one with the army of sleeping people taking over the world, in which case Rook hoped Ben's act got more believable. His partner was a good hero but a terrible actor without a good cover). Regardless of what that reaction was, Ben would obviously find a way to fight back and save the day as he always did.

He knew what the Corrupturas could do, as he was a victim of one as of right now, as well as the rest of the planet. But surely, Ben would be able to make it. He read the files the Plumbers had on the Omnitrix's basic functions and studied carefully his notes on it back when he was attending the Plumbers' Academy, especially the ability of avoiding any type of mind control, whether it originated from magic or technology, Azmuth has made sure of that.

The only thing that could seem to control or possess Ben whilst wearing the Omnitrix was his pile of video games inside his room (Rook made note to never stay beside him for too long, not that he feared falling under the game's influence, but Ben would often move too much on the couch and he could hurt someone. Yes, even when he was sitting quietly, the great Ben Tennyson was still able to throw around some punches).

A small smile appeared as he was reminded of the good times they've had together, yet he knew he needed to act out fast if he didn't want those moments to end this soon.

He carefully analyzed the place as far as his head could move in his current state. After that Ben was caught, they had to wait until the first Vladat armies came back to life before having to look for Hobble. Zs'Skayr wanted them to take a look at their new wardens before sending them on a hunt for their escort. They finally found Hobble hiding in plain sight in the Lovely Duck's cockpit, desperately trying to contact the Earth base to send help. He didn't count on the ship's crash to render Pyxi and the rest of the communications unavailable (Rad proved himself to be very terrifying upon learning this).

They've had to run after him, shoot him, jump on him, try to tie him up several dozen times before his tiredness caught up to him and he couldn't escape anymore. Both Rook and Scout couldn't tell if their sighs were because they felt ashamed of attacking Hobble and upset about compromising their own rescue, or being unable to catch an easy target when they were certified Plumbers and had less trouble catching petty thieves than a scaredy-cat like Hobble.

Come to think of it, where was the tiny slimy Plumber now? They've handed him to Dr. Viktor, who took him away for unknown reasons, then they got sent in here with the other Anur inhabitants. Sure, he may not have fallen under hypnosis and was a very sharp shooter, but he wasn't that brawny either. Could they make a soldier out of him in here? Even though he was a high-ranked Plumber, Rook wasn't sure Vladats had the same standards for their army as the Alpha Squad did for its members.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a sigh of relief escaped Rook as he saw his best friend walking in, but relief was replaced by confusion as soon as he saw Crüjo, Kuphulu and Dr. Viktor following, a grim look upon their faces. Why were they following Ben like that? Did he manage to throw another of Whampire's Corrupturas at them? But he was in human form and the Corrupturas broke when he timed out last time, so they shouldn't follow him like this. They didn't even look mad against Ben, just upset and looking down.

It was only as they got closer that Rook allowed himself to speak up.

"Ben! You are okay! Um, why do you have these threes on your back? Anyway, we need to- Ben?" Rook asked as he noticed that, unlike his usual cheerful self, Ben had a sour expression upon his face.

"Ben? Ben, is something the matter? What happened? What is going on?" he asked.

"Rook..." Ben said, hesitantly "I... I failed. I was too slow, I didn't react well I-" Ben looked as if he was about to break down to tears, but he was surprisingly standing straight, just terribly sad. "They got to me. I lost, Rook, I..."

"Calm down, Ben Dude. Take it slow. Breathe, then you can talk to me, do not strain yourself." said Rook in a reassuring voice. Ben gave his partner a sad smile, glad that Rook still had his back. He wished he didn't have to tell him just how awful the situation became.

"Ben. It is okay, take your time, there is nothing to be afraid of now." he said, visibly concerned.

"Rook, when... when I woke up, Zs'Skayr and his men took me away to his throne room. And the new guy was in there." Ben said, sweating a bit.

"Zs'Skayr, Lord Transyl, throne room. I got it."

"Then, Zs'Skayr tried to possess my body again."

"But it failed, did it not?" asked Rook in a playful attempt to cheer Ben up.

"Yeah, I think Azmuth learned from last time. I wonder why it took him the fourth Omnitrix to build to make it Ghost-Freak-Proof" he snorted a bit. "It really hurt me though, I felt him force his way inside my chest and get out, gives me chills."

"Well, Azmuth did not expect someone to be so stubborn to try the same trick more than once." Rook joked.

"You'd think that that horror movie monster would've learned, hehe." Ben said as he felt a bit better.

"He is as stubborn as a mole, as you would say back on Earth."

"It's 'as a mule', but you're making progress, I guess." Ben teased. He took on a more serious expression.

"Then Lord Transyl tried to hypnotize me again. He almost did, but he said I was strong enough to resist him."

"The Omnitrix is truly full of wonders." Rook smiled.

"Uh, Rook, he... I don't think he failed because of the Omnitrix. He blabbered as if he knew what he was talking about, he didn't even ask questions when I brought up the watch's mind control resistance. Zs'Skayr must've filled him in about it."

That startled Rook. This new enemy had the ability to control someone with the Omnitrix and unlike Zs'Skayr or Kevin, could hardly get hurt if he wanted the Omnitrix, as he didn't need to make contact with the watch to have Ben take it off by himself.

"His species can't control people with a strong will, and he said he was the only one who could control anyone regardless of who they were, even his own people. But he said I was the first person ever who refused his orders and that I was unique. I wish I got that compliment in another situation."

"So you actually fought him off just by staying determined to fight until the end? That is amazing, Ben! You really live up to your reputation! Beating a millennia-old tyran to his own game, you need to tell me more about it when we return to Earth." said an impressed Rook. Ben's expression suggested that he shouldn't have said that.

"Then, when he asked me to go in here, it didn't work because, the Omnitrix did its job and all, but his tiny bat thingy still had some influence on me, and I couldn't move. At all."

"So that is why you did not respond when he shot that Corruptura at you. It was fighting the watch's defenses and your body was in conflict whether to obey to you or to Lord Transyl."

"Yeah, well he made the choice easier. He fed that booger with fresh energy he stole."

"Where did he get it from? It cannot be from them, they are still alive. For now." he said. Ben guessed that he was talking about Zs'Skayr's henchmen, because it looked as if the Revonnahgander was painfully trying to raise his hand towards the three criminals. He would laugh at the subtle threat if it wasn't for the incident he needed to talk about.

"He called Dr. Viktor and..." Ben abruptly stopped.

Rook realized something must have went wrong at that point, because Ben was brooding again. He wished he could just give the poor human, whatever he went through up there.

"Rook, he asked Dr. Viktor to give him Hobble and..." Ben took in a deep breath. "He killed him."

"What?! Why would he do such a thing?!"

"He just bit him and sucked all of his energy. In front of me. I couldn't help him, I was just stuck in there, useless. I failed, Rook, I failed. I lost." Ben mourned.

Rook frowned at what Ben said. They were stuck on a planet with no help available at the moment, the connections to the Plumbers were cut off, he got rid of his own communication badge and so did Scout, their only remaining ally for the mission just died, and Ben had to witness all of this mess and put all the blame on himself.

The whole planet was against them, the odds were favoring Zs'Skayr in this situation, they were at their weakest and his best friend felt like giving up. Things could hardly get any worse.

As if to answer that thought, heavy footsteps could be heard from the dungeon's door. Two of the local citizens painfully pulled it open, revealing the largest Vladat he has ever seen. How did this one fit into the pod again? Rook didn't know. What he knew, however, was that he must've been a commander during the war against the Vladats. And by the looks of it, the vampire-like alien wasn't the least amused at his species's defeat. He kept passing in-between the ranks of Anur citizens, a scarily obvious hunger present in his eyes.

A sudden funny thought came into Ben's mind, making briefly dissipate the guilt he had felt earlier.

"Pssst, guys! Check it out!" he whispered to his team, earning Scout's attention in the process. "Looks like we found Hulka's fugly old relative in this gloomy mess!"

Both Plumbers silently questioned Ben's sudden change in humor, then started snickering under their breath. Ben was obviously nervous after everything that occurred in this terrible place, he needed comfort and now would be as good a time as any. He always knew how to make out-of-place jokes in the most disturbing situations, it felt nice to see him back in action. Plus, the old enormous Vladat monitoring them did look as grouchy and done with everything as Magister Hulka. Scout decided to give it a try.

"Um, Ben Tennyson?" Ben turned to Scout. "I've heard rumors that you attended the same Plumbers' Academy as we did to complete your formation, is it true that you received a medal from the Magister himself?"

"Yeah. He was pretty impressed by my performance back in there. I showed him what I could do and he admitted I was good enough for a prize." bragged Ben, as it was close to to the truth but definitely not the way it happened. He was back to his everyday mood. Now they could think for a plan.

"Okay, guys, I have an idea. Those weird things the Vladats make aren't indestructible, right?"

"Actually, they're weak to sunlight."

Ben turned his head to the speaker. Dr. Viktor.

"And you're helping us with this now?" asked Ben, raising a brow.

"Listen, Tennyson, I hate Vladats more than I hate you, and in case you haven't noticed, we're in the same boat as of right now." he answered angrily.

"Weird, I think we're nowhere near water for that." said Ben, mimicking Rook's idiom mistakes, prompting a small laugh from said Revonnahgander and collective groans from the monster trio, along with Scout's confused canine whimper.

"It's cool, 'cause I got a plan. These guys want us to fight for them, right? All we need to do is wait until they send us on the field and they'll force me to use my Omnitrix. My transformations are always bright, it could blind some of them, but most of all, my Corruptura will break and I'll free everyone from Zs'Skayr's plan by using Atomix's powers to create a big light above the town and save the day again!" he excitedly explained.

"And what if one of them tries to eat you before, huh?" cockily asked Kuphulu.

"Then the Omnitrix will trigger a feature that saves my life every time I'm about to die. And since Ghostfreak doesn't have any life energy to steal, the watch should logically turn me into him so I won't get my energy stolen." easily pointed out Ben. "I'll be able to possess a Vladat without getting noticed and order everyone under that Vladat's control to free the others. We'll be out in no time and if I can get us out of here fast enough, we can come up with a plan to actually get rid of Lord Transyl".

The trio of henchmen looked at each other. Maybe there was more to this kid than what Zs'Skayr had told them about "tough luck" and "holding back against the human child to show mercy". At least, his plan was more thought-out than most of the plans the former Ecto-lord had ordered them to carry. For now, they'd have to put their differences aside and listen to this human, no matter what they would do after overthrowing the Vladat king.

"Now we'll just have to wait until they want us to do something, distract them or feed them, ew by the way, then I can do something. Don't know how long it'll take but if I can wait for the ship to be fixed, I can wait to go hero." he said, finger gunning an obviously pissed Rad.

"Um, Ben?" asked Rook.

"Yeah?"

"It has come to my attention that you have been gesticulating and making signs with your hands since earlier when everyone else couldn't move without orders." Rook said, his body trembling from a lack of activity.

Ben's eyes widened as he realized he was indeed capable of moving instead of being as stiff as a statue like earlier. He took a few steps forward, almost got a meter far from his original placing and... that was about it, he couldn't run away. Walking back towards his friends as to not get noticed, he focused back on the Omnitrix.

'Okay, maybe I can pick an alien to save the prisoners then.'

He tried to touch the watch, only that his hand stopped before even touching it. Nope, didn't work the first time, still wouldn't work this time.

"If only I could move my bandages, maybe I could reach it." said Kuphulu, huffing his face bands like an emo.

"Hey, Tennyson." said Crüjo, "Doesn't that watch have, like, a voice command option or something to call your friends?"

"It does, but I don't have Master Control right now. Without Master Control, I can't control it vocally. Except to take the watch off my wrist, go back to my human form or make the Omnitrix explode. And I don't think you want to play fetch with my disembodied hand." said Ben, sticking his tongue out.

"Why would the Galvan that made the Omnitrix not let you use it fully?! Does he trust you or not?" questioned Kuphulu in a surprised manner. "At least, Lord Zs'Skayr told us how to use his machines when fueling the lab with the Alpha Rune."

"Zs'Skayr likes to do things by himself, of course he'd give you the simplest things to do. And Azmuth does trust me. He just won't let me use it until I'm an adult, and I'm only 16 for now."

"You still count as a child on your planet?" asked Viktor.

"You mean I don't in here?" asked Ben, raising a brow.

"On Anur Transyl and all other planets of the system (well, except for Anur Vladias), we're considered adults ever since we reach 10 and then we can get a job, marry, drive a vehicle, you name it."

Silence.

"Wait, 10?! You attacked me, Gwen and Grandpa Max six years ago because you thought we were all of age and knew how to defend ourselves?" he asked, his eye twitching from disbelief. "Dude, on Earth, we're considered adults at the very least at 15, and even then, only in a few countries! You were attacking kids and an old man that day, not highly-trained sumos!"

'Is that why Viktoria thought that she could flirt with me even though I was way older? No, she still looked too young, that was definitely puppy love back there."

"I wouldn't say he was old in our standards, but yes, I thought he was the one who taught you how to defeat Master Zs'Skayr. You're really still just a kid?"

"I know how to fight bad guys by myself just fine, thanks. Grandpa actually taught me to restrain myself, that's why Gwen was the one to put you inside a metallic body cast. I'm the one who made it but without her, I'd be beating your body down to a pulp. Why do you think I got a reputation to break stuff? I caused a planetary war once because of my clumsiness and Way Big's muscles. I mean, I did stop another as Rath, who has even less chill than Heatblast, but that's another story."

"Not only that, but the place Ben lives in will legally consider him as an adult when he's 21 years old, so by human standards, Ben is really just a child." explained Rook, receiving a glare from his partner.

"Hmm, yeah. Anyway, Azmuth said he will let me use Master Control when I'm 18. I don't feel like waiting another two years for that to happen, so just wait until we can figure this out." he said as he attempted to go hero again, to no avail.

'Part of me wishes Azmuth could hear us to help us, the other wants him not to because I don't want to wait three more years to use the Omnitrix the way I want'

He tried touching the dial over and over, all he did was looking like he was doing some elaborate kung-fu moves. Rook wanted to ask questions about it before receiving a powerful jab on the shoulder.

"OUCH! What was that for?!"

"Sorry," apologized Ben, "I thought I could get the watch to activate if I put the face-plate on a surface, and you were the closest thing to me."

"You couldn't have tried that on yourself?" Rook raised a frustrated brow.

Ben felt like an idiot when he tried several dozen times but all he did was slap his whole arm on his face without ever touching the damn watch. If it didn't trigger the Omnitrix's dial to open up, it did make the Halloween trio laugh at Ben's antics.

The whole scene was just so distracting and funny compared to the all horror they lived in the last few hours, they didn't even notice as the commander got near them and Ben flinched as the big guy suddenly got in front of him, silencing everyone that started enjoying the show.

"Why are you not taking stance like the others?" angrily hissed the Vladat.

"Sorry, but I'm doing different things from everyone else for a good reason. You would know if you knew who I was." smugly retorted Ben, before being seized by his collar.

"A mere human being, defying the all-mighty Chief Frey, last commander of the 10th squadron of Anur Vladias' fiercest army, 108,454 years prior to the Transylians' rebellion! Who do you think you are, you insolent little brat! I will..."

A purple light shone from Ben's Corruptura, and the commander suddenly stopped talking. He took a close look at Ben, before putting him down.

"My sincerest apologies to our Lord." he said, bowing before resuming his rounds and walking away.

Ben stayed several minutes speechless at whatever happened in front of him.

"Who?! What?! Wha?! What was that about?!" he shouted in confusion, suddenly gasping for air, even though he wasn't actually hurt.

"Calm down there, kid." said Viktor, before Ben gave him the most crazed look he saw in ages.

"One thing at a time, Tennyson, one thing at a time."

"What was that?! Why did he put leave me alone after almost sending me flying through the roof?!"

"Let me see your face closer, maybe that Corruptura did something that changed his mind." Viktor demanded. He was met with Ben's distrustful look.

"What?"

Ben just glared at the scientist, his hands crossed. No way he'd let this guy get near him. He's the one who caught him, he tried to murder him and his family several times, and he helped resurrect Lord Transyl. That he hates and doesn't want around at all. Okay, maybe that guy was just working for Zs'Skayr, but that didn't undo the damage he made, Ben already learned his lesson with Phil before, technically twice.

"Ugh, I swear I won't bite, I have many degrees in medicine, remember? I will know if you have any kind of special rash or skin disease that made Frey go away. Pretty sure it's your normal face that scared him though."

"A doctor, huh? And who gave you that doctorate?!" asked Ben, not calming down the least.

Okay, what was up with him? One second ago, he was being smooth, now he was just a plain wreck. Was he bipolar or just fooling around? His face had gotten so pale when he got caught...

"Your Earth schools, and a couple of other schools across the galaxy. Hmm, this is just like when you were still a ten year-old, you get defensive when you don't even know if you need to, why are you so-" he stopped. "Are you having a panic attack?"

Ben's behavior was suddenly more obvious to them now. The nervousness, the sudden mood swings, his emotions simply getting out of control. He tried to regain some composure after that claim. He shook his head in denial.

"I'm just, thinking this is a bad idea. I don't know if you can be trusted, you still work for Zs'Skayr, right?" It took Viktor some time to answer.

"While I still honor my Master's wishes and am still loyal to him, I know he ignores how much of a mistake he's making and I would do anything to stop him as of right now." he calmly responded. "Now, are you letting me examine you? Or would you like a lollipop after it's done?" he teased.

Ben rolled his eyes. Was this seriously the same guy that tried to kill him two days ago? Was he even there, chatting with his enemies? Was he even bothered by it? Why did it feel good to talk to them in a scary situation like this though? Did he mind receiving comfort from these guys? Would he talk about it? Heck no. He wasn't there for therapy, or a visit.

Taking in another loud breath, he begrudgingly accepted the Frankenstein creature's help.

"Hmph! Fine." he said, his muscles, to his dismay, able to make him walk over to Viktor.

"Teenagers." sneered Viktor.

As he observed the teen's face, he noticed something different about him. Upon closer inspection, Ben's Corruptura had different attributes from the rest of them: its wings were a bit bigger than other Corrupturas' and so were its horns. Tiny black tendrils coming out of it were blending into Ben's skin, a tiny purple jewel above its singular eye. Its slit pupil was a little larger than what he saw with the others. It wasn't the same Corruptura they were used to.

"This is... unexpected, to say the least." he admitted.

"Why's that? What's going on? Am I turning into a vampire or something?" Ben asked. He received a huff from Scout.

"Contrary to popular belief, Anur aliens are different from the creatures Earthlings see in movies. We're not resurrected dead people or people got bit by a monster and became like this." he explained.

"I know that, it's just that the last time I saw Zs'Skayr before he tried stealing Hedorium, he tried to use Corrodium to turn my entire planet into weird zombies. I had to fight a zombie cow because of his weird plans. Then I had to fight the gang he had back then at the NASA, you know, the one that got the Anur aliens available in my Omnitrix." he turned to Viktor. "You were there when that happened, remember? You were the one powering up the machine to destroy us all, me and my planet, before getting yourself stuck in the Null Void."

"Yes, but while I want to argue it was your fault I ended up in there, we have more important matters to take care of now. You're in trouble, Tennyson."

"Uhh, what does that mean?"

"Your Corruptura was perfectly identical to ours until it was boosted up. Thankfully, I kept up with Anur Transyl's history of slavery with Vladats, I know what we're dealing with. This one was tailored for Lord Transyl's own specific desires, it wouldn't just give orders to you. It would warn Lord Transyl if you were in danger and would immediately activate as a warning. If you're threatened, it'll glow and Lord Transyl will see through its eye. Right now it's inactive since Frey left you alone, but if you get in trouble again, he'll know where you are and how to find you."

"I don't understand, why would he do that? Does he care about his hostages?"

Ben felt that if everyone could move, they'd either throw death glares at him or simply maul him on the spot.

"No, it takes a lot of energy to make one like this and only the most powerful Vladats could make one. If he wants to keep you safe, it's probably as a prize or a sign of victory on his behalf."

Ben rolled his eyes again. "Wouldn't be the first time a maniac does this. At least I had Gwen and Kevin with me most of the time I got into a mess like this. No offense, guys, I just miss them a lot, you know?"

"None taken." said his fellow prisoners. He sighed.

"I got thrown off a space ship into space, a Dracula ripoff wants me as a trophy on his conquering shelf, the people of this planet are against me, I can't use the watch, and I have regrets. Nothing new in short. Still, thanks for staying with me through this hell of a ride (even though you can't leave either)."

They looked at him.

"Look, guys, I'm not saying we should be best friends forever, but maybe we can get along on taking Lord Transyl down. I know it's tough when I try to put you under arrest about ninety-percent of the time, but if we're stuck in this together, maybe we can get out of it together."

He waited. He didn't really expect an answer from the three criminals and it was fine, they had to to trust him but they didn't have to stop being his enemies.

"Rad?" he asked.

"This plan sucks." said the duck in a deadpan tone.

"It's our only plan for now, but we'll figure it out. Heroes always do."

"Ahem, Ben" said Rook, unsure if he should speak up. "There are a lot of fairy tales and real-life reports that counteract your point. Oh", he said as he saw Ben glaring at him, "you were just saying it like that."

"Is imprisonment making you miss out the obvious even more than usual, Rook?" Ben teased.

"Don't make me get down here." Rook teased back, looking down (literally) at his partner. "Scout, what do you say?"

"We don't have a lot of choices, I'll deal with these three later. Maybe some of their charges can be excused."

"You say that as if we could backstab you so quickly after getting free." sighed Kuphulu. "Our bodies won't be in top shape when we gain our control on them back. I honestly wouldn't complain to be thrown in a Plumbers' cell if I can finally rest a bit after this madness."

"Hey Tennyson." said Crüjo.

"Hm?"

The werewolf alien gave Ben what looked like a glare, before finally saying "I still think you're trouble, but if there's a chance in hell we win, I'll take it, even coming from you."

Ben smiled.

"You should really meet Kai, she would really love to tame you with that attitude."

The following growl clued Ben that he might have lost his chest had Crüjo been able to move and scratch it off his skin. He laughed. Maybe it wasn't so bad to have some company, regardless of where it came from. He felt more relaxed with people around to talk to, at least he wasn't bound, chained to a wall and gagged to be tortured by some sadistic army commander like Reiny's friends did to his cousin Ken and his Grandpa Max once.

He actually felt safe now. It wasn't a Dream Team, but they've had more chances to win if Zs'Skayr's own underlings on their side for the time being. Rook was at his side, as faithful and good advice of a partner as always. He wasn't alone and still had the watch. He could wait for something to happen, now wasn't the time to panic or stress out.

He could think about what Lord Transyl planned to do with him later. For now, he was more inclined to find something to eat. A growl reminded him that he hadn't eaten in, what, a day and a half? There was no sun to tell him and he spent more time having people on this planet criticize him and pelting him with rotten food than taking the time to eat, sleep or even have some alone time. A Vladat maid (he noticed how old-fashioned dead people brought back to existence could be) came in to serve them food plates. He wasn't sure it could count as food if it looked like purple mass with bugs and dirt on it, definitely felt like prison, but at least it looked like what Max made on their summer road-trip.

He thought back to Earth, where Grandpa Max was probably waiting for him to come back. He probably didn't know how the mission truly went and had no idea of how worse the situation has come to. But Ben knew he would make it back to his home planet, he lived worse. He grimaced when he saw he was the only one who was bothered by what they got served, but gulped down his stuff as he kept looking at the dungeons' door, just in case an escape plan could be made.

Unbeknownst to him and the others, a predatory shadow was observing them from the ceiling above. A smirk growing on his lips, Lord Transyl was eager to start playing with his new slave. He had never marked anyone this way before, as none of his opponents ever managed to make that good of a struggle and stay alive afterwards.

He took his finger to his chin, thinking of what to do with the human. The child was so fierce, yet it was obvious he dreaded their next encounter. Otherwise, he wouldn't have behaved so cowardly when facing the commander, it made no sense. Unless the child was afraid.

He chuckled at the idea that he could've so easily instilled fear of Vladats in a such defiant spirit. Especially since, as the boy himself and the Ectonurite claimed, Ben Tennyson had saved the universe numerous times from different threats. Who could've thought this world's hero was so fragile, he would ask his own enemies for help?

Nevertheless, he had proven to be able to achieve quite a feat, impressing the ruler at every occasion they've had to meet. It was a shame such a strong spirit has sided with the wrong side of things, the boy could've been praised and would've received the recognition of his value, something only Lord Transyl could still see in the boy's weakest moments.

He would enjoy very much breaking that spirit of his, bending it to his own will, impose dominance over the teen, to have him show only obedience towards his rightful master and to be submissive to anything the lord would take him through. Yes, it would be an enjoyable experience. It will take time, but he had all the time in the world to do so. Humans were mortals, not only were they easy to eliminate, they didn't live long. And Ben Tennyson would be no exception to that rule.

He was annoyed as the Ectonurite - that he still refused to call by his name - interrupted his musings.

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy observing the progress of my taking up of power on my new army and people?"

"It wasn't in my intention to bother you, Lord Transyl." apologized Zs'Skayr. "But there's a threat incoming. Fleets are heading towards our base."

"I thought you took care of ridding this planet from any contact with the outside world."

"I did, but that's the problem. We're not targeted by Plumbers or any kind of galactic police."

Lord Transyl sighed.

"Who are we dealing with then?" he asked in frustration.

"The Incurseans."


So in this chapter, Ben made truce with his enemies and we discover the aftermaths of the last chapter on his mental state. Now, what is he gonna do with the incoming invasion?

Phew! I had a lot of work with this one, hope you guys like it.

There's a Buffy reference in this chapter, as well as a math pun. Can you find them?

Thanks for reading this guys, it really means a lot to me, even if you don't like this kind of stuff (I'd ask why you'd still be reading, but to each their own choices).

Stay tuned for the next chapter, reviews are always welcome, and have a good (hero!) time!

Bye bye!