Plumber's Charm
A Ben 10 Fanfic
By Adam Leigh
-(X)-
Chapter 2 – Devil's Deal
July 8th, 2010
The Null Void
-(X)-
Time did strange things in the Null Void, the extra-dimensional prison universe. Sometimes it moved normally, others it would move so fast that a lifetime on the outside could pass in the blink of an eye inside, and sometimes you could live whole years in the swirling storm of meteors and debris while only an hour passed on Earth. It wouldn't be so bad if all the Null Void changed pace at the same time, but it didn't. There were pockets of fast and slow moving time and if you weren't careful, a quick stroll could end up taking millennia.
Fortunately, you could predict where time would be moving normally. Close to the pillars, where the portals opened to the normal world, time typically moved at the same rate as the outside. The prisons were there, for those extra special criminals who warranted not just banishment to the Null Void but imprisonment while there. Most of the settlements were there as well, at least those that weren't inherently nomadic.
And, if you happened to be one of those 'lucky' few who were simply tossed into the Null Void without telling the Null Guardians you had been sent, you learned to stick around the portals too, because it was the only way you were going to escape.
Which meant it tended to get crowded.
"Buzz off, damn it," said Charmcaster, the silver haired sorceress. She was talking to an older man – which made it even creepier that he kept hanging around her – wearing a silver and black, slightly tattered Plumbers jumpsuit, and gray hair.
"We had a deal," said the former Plumber named Phil.
"And I'll uphold my part," Charmcaster said. She rolled her eyes and made a shooing motion with her hand. "As soon as I get through I'll open a portal for you. Now go to your position and watch my back!"
"It'll be easier for both of us if I just come with you," said Phil.
"It'll be easier for you to stab me in the back," snapped Charmcaster. "It'll be hard enough keeping the portal open for one person in this mana-dampened universe, two is impossible."
"You're worried about me stabbing you in the back?" asked Phil, incredulously. "What about you? I'm the one who has to trust you to hold the door open until I get through."
"Yeah, you do. But, what reason do you have to believe that I won't?"
"Oh, I don't know," Phil shrugged dramatically. "How about the fact that you were sent to the NULL VOID?"
"By that logic I should be even more worried about you!" said Charmcaster.
"I can't get out without you. I have no reason to betray you!"
"But you would if you did."
"That is neither here nor there," Phil made a cutting motion with his hand. "I only care about getting back to Earth and getting my hands on Max Tennyson."
"And I only care about getting my revenge on Gwen Tennyson."
The two criminals looked at each other steadily.
"Right," said Phil.
"Right," Charmcaster nodded her head. She turned to look back at the area where the portals opened.
"So, we're good, then," said Phil, experimentally.
"Good," said Charmcaster curtly.
"Good," repeated Phil.
They both stared into the swirling storm that was the nearest 'Pillar' of the Null Void, the place where the barrier between the two universes was the weakest. They had no idea how long it would be until a new prisoner would be brought into the Void, but Phil knew at the rate they were gaining inmates it would happen about once a week.
"How long you been in here anyway?" asked Charmcaster.
"Six years," said Phil. "Two in the prison, four out here."
"I didn't know you Plumbers threw your own kind in here."
"We don't," Phil said angrily. "Max's grandson just decided to put me in here and then left me to rot. He wasn't even a Plumber himself. He had no authority to do it."
"I think things may have changed since then," said Chamcaster. "He certainly wears the badge now."
"The Omnitrix doesn't count," said Phil. "Damn Galvans, I don't know where they get off giving such a thing to a kid."
"Whatever," shrugged Charmcaster. "It's still better than where I come from."
"What do you mean?" asked Phil. "Where do you come from?"
"Ledgerdomain," said Charmcaster. "It's not in your universe, or this one."
"What's so terrible about Ledgerdomain?"
Charmcaster shook her head. "We're all taught to 'respect the mana' and 'cherish the mana' and never to 'disrupt anyone or anything's mana.' It's all garbage. Our whole species is mana sensitive and yet it's forbidden to actually use it. Only the followers Archamada think for themselves, and we're punished for it." She grit her teeth. "Severely."
"Punished? Wouldn't that 'affect your mana'?"
"They're all hypocrites," Charmcaster spat. "They preached love and respect for all of mana's creatures but once some big enemy shows up they can't beg for our help fast enough." She kicked around some stones at her feet and pushed one off the edge of the moderate sized rock they were standing on. "Then once it's all over, we're back to being hated. Only difference was, last time an enemy arose, he was so powerful nearly all of us were wiped out. So those that remained fled, left Ledgerdomain and came here. Well, not here, Earth." She looked at Phil angrily. "So you can see, even dealing with you lousy Plumbers is better than home."
"Sorry," said Phil. "I mean, for your people."
"It's ancient history," said Charmcaster. "I don't think about it anymore. I was never a citizen of Ledgerdomain, just a follower of Archamada. And that doesn't mean anything anymore 'cause they're all dead."
She looked away again and Phil looked down. He was surprised to hear just a young girl with a tragic story. It made his life seem easy, even considered the six years spent in this nightmare. He could sympathize with her anger, though. All he was trying to do is make a living and, of all people, his old partner and his grandson decided to banish him without trial. That wasn't justice. Hypocrisy wasn't limited to Ledgerdomain in his opinion.
"Look," said Charmcaster.
Phil looked up and saw a number of Void Guardians start circling the path between the Pillar and the prison. Something had got them excited.
"It's probably a new prisoner," said Phil. "Get ready."
"You don't have to tell me," said Charmcaster. She raised her hands and her fingertips started to glow. Phil could hear her quietly chanting so he backed off and raised his guns.
A moment later the swirling purple and white storm of a portal opened near the center of the Pillar and the Null Guardians started squawking as they circled. Phil raised his guns and aimed them at the nearest Guardians.
A flash of light came from the portal and a small space ship flew into the Null Void bearing the markings of a Plumber transport. The portal began to shrink behind it.
"Now!" Phil said.
"METRION!" yelled Charmcaster as her eyes glowed purple. The light form her hands arced out and stuck the portal's rim. The purple energy quickly swept around the edge of the portal and formed a vise-like brace around the swirl of energy, wedging it open.
The Null Guardians immediately turned towards Charmcaster and flew closer. Phil jumped higher onto the rock they were on and began firing at the Null Guardians. With each shot he knocked back a Guardian which ended up floating through the Void, dazed. Phil hadn't had success modifying his guns to kill Null Guardians, but he could definitely throw them for a loop, for a short while anyway.
"Go!" yelled Phil as he fired rapidly. "Get through and then get me out of here!"
Charmcaster didn't spare the time to reply. She carefully pushed herself off from the rock she was standing on towards the portal. She had to continue chanting and using all of her concentration just to keep the portal open and it was getting harder by the minute. She spent weeks building up her mana reserves using the piddling amounts of energy she had access to in this universe and if she screwed up now she probably wouldn't be able to take another shot at it for months.
Phil kept up his defense but he could see the meters on his guns start to fill. He could draw energy from the Null Void itself, he learned, but his guns couldn't fire forever or they would overheat and melt. Condensing the Void energy into superheated plasma had its side effects and with the scarcity of materials in the Void, he considered himself lucky enough that he had managed to make the guns.
"Hurry!" yelled Phil, all too aware that the Null Guardians he had shot earlier would start to come around soon and reinforcements from the prison were doubtlessly on their way.
Charmcaster continued her slow pace towards the portal but she could now see it slowly getting smaller again. Her spell simply wasn't strong enough to hold it open very long. She had moments at best.
Betting on her one chance to make it out, Charmcaster banished her spell that was wedging the portal open and put her remaining mana into flinging her self as fast as possible towards the narrowing opening. A purple explosion ignited behind her and shot her towards the rapidly shrinking portal. Just two or three seconds and she'd be home free.
A second passed. It would be tight, Charmcaster realized, but as she stretched her hands out in front of her, she believed it would make it.
Then tendrils wrapped themselves around her legs and grabbed her. Charmcaster screamed in surprise and anger as she felt the swarm of Null Guardians dive on her. The tendrils flung out quickly and tried to grab at many places on her body. She kicked her legs and flung her arms around to keep them at bay but all they needed to do was delay her for a second to win.
The portal snapped shut with a quiet 'puff' and vanished in a flash. Charmcaster closed her eyes in futility as the Null Guardians dragged her away.
-(X)-
July 9th, 2010
Bellwood, CA
Ben woke with a start and looked around quickly. He couldn't remember going to sleep last night, and vaguely remembered something alarming happening. Typically when that combination of feelings occurred it meant he'd been attacked and he'd have to start looking for ways of getting out of his handcuffs or shackles, or breaking out of a jail.
Instead, though, all saw around him was his room, just as it should be. He looked down at his clothes and noted he was still dressed, sans jacket, which probably wasn't a good sign even if he was at home. Either he passed out or fell asleep somewhere else and had been carried.
Jumping out of bed, Ben checked his appearance quickly in the mirror. He ran his hand though his hair to flatten out the slightly fussed appearance, and then headed for the door. He opened it and had to grab the doorframe to keep from running head first into the girl on the other side.
"Ack, Ben!" squawked Gwen as she took a step back.
"Sorry, Gwen," said Ben. "I was just... wait. What are you doing here? Isn't it early?"
"Grandpa Max wanted us all here for breakfast," said Gwen. "I was just coming to make sure you were awake." She looked at him briefly. "What, did you sleep in your clothes?"
Ben bit his lip and looked around uneasily. "I'm not entirely sure. Were you here last night?"
"Briefly," said Gwen. He raised an eyebrow. "Long enough to see your act with Kai."
"Kai?" asked Ben. That triggered a memory in him, and it wasn't nearly as old as he expected. "Kai Green. She... she was here last night, wasn't she?" He started to pale. Some of last night was starting to come back to him, and the more he remembered, the less he wanted to.
"She's still here," said Gwen. "She slept in the guest room."
"I ... did something stupid last night, didn't I?" asked Ben. It was times like this that he actually hated the Omnitrix... or Ultimatrix. Whichever.
"It depends. Did you want to see Julie ever again?"
Ben groaned and put his hand to his forehead. "Bad?"
"Nuclear, I'd say," said Gwen. She shrugged. "But I've seen worse, too. Do you have an explanation prepared?"
"I don't even know what happened!" Ben looked at the Ultimatrix on his wrist and experimentally turned the dial. It flitted through several of his alien forms. He stopped when it showed Benwolf. "I swear that wasn't even an option until last week."
"Julie explained... well, no. She didn't explain. She sort of ranted indiscriminately when Kevin and I were taking her home about you not being able to turn into anyone but Benwolf recently." Gwen put her hands on her hips. "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"
"I thought it was a thing!" Ben gestured towards his wrist. "You know, an Ultimatrix thing. It does something wacky on almost a weekly basis. Eventually it stops, or I figure out why it was doing it."
"How's that plan working out for you?"
"Not great." Ben sighed again and hunched.
Gwen patted him on the back. "Come on, let's have some breakfast and talk about it, then later we can figure out what to do about your two beaus."
"Two? I thought Kai wasn't interested in me?"
"She doesn't seem to mind Benwolf," said Gwen. She made a face suddenly like she was holding back a cough. "Uh, anyway, what does it matter what Kai thinks about you? You like Julie, right?"
"Right," said Ben with a firm nod. He would admit – only to himself - to a little... ambiguity as to exactly how he felt about Julie, but he was absolutely no two-timer. Julie certainly had stuck with him through enough battles to deserve better than that.
The two walked down the hall towards the stairs and started to descend.
"What are they doing here, anyway?" asked Ben. "Wes and Kai."
"Grandpa said they had some business in the area and stopped by to visit. It has something to do with the Painted Rock oil drilling controversy."
"The what?" asked Ben.
"Don't you watch the news?" asked Gwen.
"I make the news, Gwen," said Ben. "Why would I need to watch it?" He grinned.
"Well, you could watch the coverage about the Painted Rock controversy, for instance. And then have any idea what's going on with Grandpa's old friends." Gwen gave him a smug look.
Ben stared at her like she was an alien... which she was, but not like that.
"The Arlea Company acquired oil drilling rights to the Carrizo Plain and they decided to use them to look for oil," explained Gwen. "The Yokuts people filed an injunction, which became a class action lawsuit when all the Native American tribes in California sued for the right to protect significant archeological sites from corporate interests. It's supposed to go to the Supreme Court soon."
"Why are Wes and Kai here, though?" asked Ben. "Didn't they live in New Mexico?"
"Wes is apparently a significant figure among the Navajo, he's representing their interests in the press."
"So, it's a touchy-feely eco-greeny thing that involves all Indians in the area," summarized Ben.
Gwen's mouth hung open. "Do you try to be offensive, or is that, like, a natural state for you?"
"It takes practice," said Ben.
"Well, tone it down. I imagine both Wes and Kai might be offended if you called them 'Indians'," said Gwen.
"I know. You know I can be professional."
"Maybe," said Gwen. Then she muttered, "You weren't very professional last night though."
"What did I do?" asked Ben, loudly.
They walked into the kitchen at that moment and Grandpa Max looked up from the stove. "Good morning, Ben! Feeling any better?"
"Better than what?" asked Ben, unsettled.
"Never mind," said Max.
"Good morning, Ben," came a quiet voice. Ben turned to see Kai and her father Wes at the table drinking coffee. Kai had a kind smile on her face and a slight blush but otherwise seemed very reserved, barely moving in her seat as she regarded Ben.
"Good morning," said Ben, more tiredly than he intended. "How is... everyone, this morning?"
Kevin appeared from the direction of the living room and slapped Ben hard on the shoulder. "Just waiting for the fun to begin," he said. He was grinning widely. It was very unnerving. He headed towards the table and sat down next to Wes.
"Juice?" asked Gwen as she headed to the fridge.
"Sure," said Ben. He sat down next to Kevin and across from Kai. The latter turned her head slightly to the side when he did, making Ben feel even worse. "What fun?"
Max emptied his skillet onto a large serving platter and brought it over to the table. "Wes and I have been talking and it sounds like there might be trouble that you kids can help us on."
Ben silently thanked the heavens for providing a distraction from the events of last night. "What's the problem?"
"A number of our oldest, sacred ceremony grounds have been disturbed," explained Wes. "Stones upturned, art destroyed, and the grounds torn up. Lots of digging."
"We thought it was kids coming onto the reservation," continued Kai. "Playing pranks and that sort of thing. Then we found an entire hogan overturned. Pulled straight up out of the ground and turned on its side with much of the surrounding clay with it." She shook her head. "No kids did that."
"That's when I started searching for another answer," said Wes. He reached into his vest and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He flattened it on the table beside the platter of eggs. "Then I found this."
Ben, Gwen, and Kevin leaned in and looked at the paper. It looked like a rubbing of something. It was circular, about a foot and a half in diameter, with a series of 'V' shaped lines coming from opposing sides and crossing in the middle where a six pointed star was. Ben noticed it bore some resemblance to the symbol on the Ultimatrix.
"What is it?" asked Gwen.
"It's a landing impression," said Wes. "Cartesian."
"What does geometry have to do with it?" asked Kevin. Ben looked at him. "What? I went to school. Sorta."
"The Cartesians were a species of very strange but brilliant aliens who lived on the opposite end of the galaxy from here," said Wes. "They were largely mythical until about four hundred years ago when it was discovered that they were the progenitor race for about a dozen different alien worlds in the northwest quadrant of the galaxy."
"So, no longer a legend then?" asked Gwen.
"Unfortunately, no," said Max. "Nobody has seen a true Cartesian in centuries, but the descendant species all began adopting cultural traditions derived from Cartesian archeology and myth. They all have their own take on their ancestors, but this," Max pointed to the circle. "This is pretty common. It's like a crest and it adorned much of architecture on the presumed Cartesian homeworld."
"If it's on a small personal transport craft like what probably landed in New Mexico, it limits the possibilities to three," said Wes. "Galvan, Thermian, or Chamatronian."
"Galvan?" asked Ben. "Azmuth's people are descendants of these Cartesians?"
"It's believed to be the case," said Max. "Though a ring this size probably wouldn't belong to a Galvan, unless it was a whole army of them."
"Doesn't make sense they'd be defiling cultural markers either," said Gwen. "Well, I guess, unless it was Albedo. We haven't seen him since Vilgax."
"The problem is we don't really know why they're being attacked," said Kai, getting back into the conversation. "Whoever or whatever it is that is doing this is slowly moving West, which is why we're here now. We tracked it across New Mexico and into Arizona and suspect it's coming here."
"Which is why you're part of the Painted Rock lawsuit," Gwen said, putting it together. "You think that's the next target."
"It's not the only reason," said Kai, sounding a little irritated. "But yes, given the path, its age and size, Painted Rock is highly likely to be one of its next targets."
"I still don't get why this guy is trashing old landmarks," said Kevin, rubbing his chin. "It doesn't make sense. What's the angle? Revenge? Is he looking for something? Does he just hate Native Americans? How do we know whatever it is hasn't found what he's looking for?"
Wes shrugged. "I admit my knowledge of alien affairs is a little out of date, but I can't imagine why a Thermian or a Galvan would have a grievance with us."
"Well, I could think of a few bad eggs among those people," said Max, gruffly. "But most are in the Null Void or otherwise... indisposed."
Max and Wes shared a guilty look for a second that Ben nearly missed. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"Anyway, so if we know where he's heading, we just need to stake out the place and wait for him to arrive, right?" Kevin folded his arms. "Piece of cake."
"Not quite," said Kai. "There's a protest going on around Painted Rock as a result of the media frenzy. Round the clock there are people there now and news crews."
"Well, it's not like we have to keep things secret much," said Ben. "Everyone knows there are aliens and that I'm one of the good guys."
"Except it's supposed to be a surprise that we're waiting for the guy," said Kevin. "If the press is all over you there's no way we'll get the drop on the alien."
"Okay, so low key," said Ben. "I can do low key."
"It means disguise," said Gwen. "Right?"
"We think it's the best way," said Max. "Either as a protester or as a cameraman with the media."
"Protester seems fine," said Ben. "I can get all dressed up like a Sequoian."
Gwen put her hand to her head and sighed loudly.
"Sequoyah was a person, not a tribe," said Kai kindly. "He was Cherokee."
"Unless you mean a redwood tree," said Gwen. "I'm sure we can work with that."
Kevin patted Ben on the back again. "Let's see about getting you a camera."
Ben slumped in his chair. He couldn't catch a break this week. "All right."
-(X)-
The Null Void
Charmcaster tried her best to comb her hair with just her fingers while she sat in her cell in a Null Void prison. Those Guardians really did a number on her and she was only now starting to feel normal again after being tossed in over an hour ago. Her hair was all knots and her fingers weren't cutting it. She muttered a simple spell under her breath but nothing happened.
"Stupid mana dampeners," she cursed.
"Yeah, it's going to take more than that to get out of here," said Phil, sitting opposite her within the cell. They had been tossed in together after the fight, which was surprising to Phil, who would have expected co-conspirators to be separated. But a quick glance around the other prison cells reminded him that the population in Null Void had spiked over the last two years. They might not have had two cells available.
"I'm not trying to escape," said Charmcaster. "I'm just trying to fix my damn hair!"
Phil shook his head and leaned back against the stone wall. There were two bunks hanging from the walls on opposite sides of the room. He was sitting on one, Charmcaster the other. He'd been stripped of his guns and most of the tech he'd acquired since coming to the Null Void.
"I spent two years in here before escaping," said Phil. "And I'd been on the other side of these bars plenty of times before that. This place isn't easy to bust out of."
"We wouldn't HAVE to bust out of here if you'd kept those Guardians out of my... out of my hair like you were supposed to!" yelled Charmcaster.
"Oh, don't go blaming this on me, little miss witch," said Phil. "I did my part as best I could, but they sent a damn phalanx of those little buggers at us. Nobody could have kept up. You should have been quicker."
"I worked as fast as I could!"
"Clearly not fast enough!"
Charmcaster folded her arms and turned away from Phil. Phil did likewise and they sat alone in silence for several minutes. Eventually Charmcaster idly began trying to pull the knots out of her hair again.
"How long until you can build up enough mana to cast real spells again?" asked Phil, trying to sound disinterested.
"Who knows," said Charmcaster. "It'd be nice if they throw an Anodite in here, though."
"Wouldn't count on it," said Phil. "They can traverse the Null Void on their own, even the mana dampeners don't have much of an effect. It'd serve no purpose."
"Hrm," grumbled Charmcaster. She stopped with her hair and looked over her shoulder at Phil. "How do you guys keep Anodites contained?"
"Temporarily? Really expensive mana dampeners and null nets." Phil leaned back on the bunk and put his hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling. "But the energy requirements are astronomical. We turn them over to Anodite prisons in most cases." Phil smiled slightly. "At least the ones that we don't seduce."
"Ew." Charmcaster made a face. "I don't need to hear your fantasies, Plumber."
"Oh, that wasn't me," said Phil. He turned his head towards Charmcaster. "How do you think your little nemesis ended up part-Anodite anyway?"
"The grandfather?" asked Charmcaster. "Really?"
"He wasn't always that way. He used to be quite dashing. At least, according to most people." Phil shook his head. "I have my vices, but making kissy-face with squids is not one of them. Max on the other hand..."
"Interesting," said Charmcaster. She pondered that thought for a few moments. "But, irrelevant now. The granddaughter is what interests me."
Phil raised an eyebrow. "And here you just said 'Ew' to making kissy-face with aliens."
"Not. In. That. Way." Charmcaster glared at Phil then looked away again.
"Still, neither of us is going to be doing much of anything until we get out of here," said Phil. "There is no parole board, in case you're wondering. Reform is not really a concept the Plumbers have taken strongly to."
"I'm not waiting around to serve out my time," Charmcaster said flippantly. "I just need to form a good plan."
"Perhaps I could help there."
Charmcaster jumped at the sudden new voice and Phil didn't react much cooler. They both stood to see a man standing by the bars of their cell in a long white labcoat. He was human, as far as they could tell, with short black hair, probably in his early forties. He was checking a pocket watch as they saw him.
"Who the hell are you?" asked Charmcaster.
"Professor Paradox," said the man. He closed the watch and pushed it into a pocket. He pulled out a paper bag from another pocket and held it between the bars to the prisoners. "Gumball?"
"N-no," said Phil. "Where did you come from?"
"That's a very long story," said Paradox. "Much longer than you have days remaining in your lives."
"Summarize for us," said Charmcaster. She eyed the stranger wearily. Smug humans were becoming a trend in her life.
"Very well," said Paradox. "I'm an immortal time walker who goes around looking for things to do to stave off the endless boredom. Mostly I fix broken things." The man hesitated and looked up and to the side. "Hmm, that could actually be the premise to a good TV show."
"Broken things?" asked Phil.
"Yes, indeed," nodded Paradox. He put the bag of gumballs back in his coat. "Missteps in the timeline, people out of the universe they're supposed to be in, divergent realities getting mixed up or inadvertently created, putting right what once went wrong. That sort of thing."
"You... you're here for me?" asked Charmcaster. Her look went from one of skepticism to that of worry.
"Yes, dear," said Paradox. "But not for the reason you presume. Fate is a tricky marble. It's hard to say where it going to roll just by looking at the path it's on. Rest assured; this universe is your home now. I won't be taking you back to Ledgerdomain anytime soon."
"Then... what?" asked Phil. "Here to bust us out of jail?"
"If that is what you want," said Paradox. He casually opened the door to the cell as if it had never been locked. "But I actually had much more grandiose intentions for you."
"I don't care for other people's 'intentions'," said Charmcaster.
"Even those of your uncle?" asked Paradox.
Charmcaster paused, unsure of how to respond to that.
"If it involves me getting out of the Null Void, then I'm on board for whatever you want," said Phil. "Just drop me off on Earth when we're done and we have a deal."
Paradox stepped into the cell and looked sternly at Phil. "Be careful what you say," he said. "I have the tendency to hold people to their word."
Phil swallowed but didn't retreat. "I want out of here. I've wanted it for six years. I'll murder my own mother if it means I can escape this hell."
"Very well," said Paradox. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Though I doubt I'll need to take you up on your offer of matricide." Before Phil could respond he turned to Charmcaster. "How about you, my dear?"
"What was that about my Uncle?" she asked.
"Merely an example," said Paradox. "You were hardly older than seven when Hex took you from Ledgerdomain, surely you knew why."
"I would have died," said Charmcaster. "Adwaita had already killed most of us, and the normals would have finished the job."
"Hmm, yes, 'the normals' indeed," said Paradox. "But why save you, over your cousins or even Hex's own sister?"
"I had cousins?" asked Charmcaster. She was seriously confused, caught between knowledge of a life she'd left behind years ago and the inherent skepticism she regarded this strange man.
"Of course you did," said Paradox. "But that's neither here nor there. The point is Hex saved you because you had the talent, more so than any of your relatives. More so than Hex himself."
"So, I'm good at magic. Uncle is too." Charmcaster crossed her arms. "That twit Tennyson is apparently even better."
"Gwen has her Anodite heritage to fall upon, but when it comes to arcane magic she's not as good as you," said Paradox. "Which is why you were taken away from Ledgerdomain to here where he could train you the way he wanted you to be trained. Ultimately, it was indeed for your own good, but you couldn't have known that at the time." He stepped back and held the lapels of his labcoat. "Sometimes you just have to trust in the plans of someone older and wiser than you."
Charmcaster frowned. The man was so casual, so calm, that it was hard to doubt the things he said. He treated this knowledge like it was so commonplace that Charmcaster had to be a fool not to already know it, and yet, how many people knew anything about Ledgerdomain in this universe? Or knew of her upbringing with Uncle Hex?
"What do you want?" asked Charmcaster. "And what's in it for me."
"Freedom is in it for you," said Paradox. "I can't honestly offer you more than what you already have."
"I can get out of here on my own eventually," said Charmcaster. "I don't need you for that."
"You can get out of this cell, perhaps," said Paradox. "But I didn't say I'd free you from the Null Void. I said 'freedom.'"
"What does that mean?" asked Charmcaster.
"It's different for every person," said Paradox.
"Will you please answer a damn question straight for once?" yelled Charmcaster.
Paradox smirked. "You have no idea how difficult that is."
Charmcaster shook with fury.
"Very well," said Paradox. "You are bound, knowingly or unknowingly by forces beyond your control. Some of it is magic, some of it is the unyielding shackles of fate. By the end of our journey, you will be free from these chains and you will be welcome to decide your own destiny. Whether that is here, in this cell, out there in the world, or back in Ledgerdomain. You will be truly and completely free from all bonds save one: those with which we bind ourselves." He put a finger to his head and tapped once.
The young magic user closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. She considered the stranger's offer and wondered exactly what mess this would lead to, and whether she could trust the man at all. On the other hand, she considered her solitary condition were she to decline and the effort it would take to build up her magic again. At least the stranger seemed to be implying they were leaving the Null Void. Once there she could regain her magic and make short work of this Paradox if necessary.
Yes, she could just as easily screw over this Paradox fellow if she needed to.
"Okay, time lord," said Charmcaster. "I'm in."
"Time walker," corrected Paradox.
"Whatever." Charmcaster shrugged, then tugged on her hair again. "Can you at least—"
Paradox held out a hair brush.
"THANK you," said Charmcaster as she snatched the brush and began using it.
"So, who's the target," said Phil. He put his hands on his hips.
"Target?" asked Paradox.
"I'm assuming you want us to deal with someone," said Phil. "I'm sure you could have found much more favorable allies if you weren't looking for folks who... blur the line a bit."
"A clever deduction," said Paradox. "But, to the contrary, what I need help with is something only a Plumber and a spellcaster can accomplish. There are no substitutes."
"Lucky you we happened to be in the same place," said Phil.
"Yes," said Paradox suspiciously. "Luck."
"So, what's the deal?"
"I need you to help me stop someone from carrying out their plans," said Paradox.
"See? I told you there was a target," said Phil to Charmcaster.
"Who?" asked Charmcaster.
"Me," said Paradox. And with a nod, the three of them vanished.
-(X)-
July 11th, 1869
Lincoln, Nebraska
Mariana Tennyson ducked behind a shed and winced as much of the roof the structure was blown off by her enemy's shots. She swung her arm quickly around the side and fired off six shots from her plasma gun. The bold green bolts flew through the air by the scaled man on the other side of the field simply shrugged them off.
Mariana retreated back behind cover and swallowed hard. "Okay, plasma's no longer working."
A green and black disk hanging from the side of Mariana's belt flashed twice. "I'm coming around from the east, Mari. I'll try the phased compression cannon."
"Still plasma, Artie," said Mari. She looked around for more cover, since she was sure the alien was going to obliterate the shed soon. She spied a short fence leading to a stone embankment by the road.
"Different kind of plasma," replied Artie over the badge. "Worked on that goop alien last fall."
"And this is hardly the same alien."
"You just let me know when you have a better idea, chief," Artie said before signing off. Mari crouched and placed a foot against the shed to launch from. She peeked around the edge and nearly got her hair burned off. She launched immediately after the attack ended, sprinting as fast as she could.
"You Plumbers are such good target practice," laughed the alien as it aimed at Mari.
"Hey, you're not so bad yourself!" Artie, a tall, broad shouldered man in a gray and black modified army suit with heavy padding on the chest and arms stepped out from grove of trees towards the east of the alien. He was carrying a very large gun that looked as though it would crush a smaller man. The barrel of the gun began to glow white.
"What's this toy?" asked the scaled alien as he turned halfway towards Artie.
The barrel suddenly flashed yellow and the cannon fired. The beam of light was huge, at least half a foot in diameter, and surged forth instantaneously striking the alien in the chest and flinging him far into the air.
When the beam ceased the alien fell from the sky trailing a cloud of black smoke against the evening sky, finally landing in small pond one residence over.
Artie looked, opened mouthed, at the result and then smiled down at his cannon. His smile faded when he saw the large crack leading down the barrel.
"Are you nuts!" yelled Mari as she ran towards Artie. "Standing out in the open like that? What if it didn't work? He would have turned you into a pile of ash!"
"Gotta take chances if you want to win big, chief," said Artie with a smile. He tossed the cannon to the ground. With the damage on the barrel it wouldn't be useful again for quite a while. "Your brother taught me that."
"My brother is TEN," said Mari. "He does not have the experience to be giving you - a plumber - advice on how to do your job!"
Artie shrugged. "And I'm sure your plan of running out in the open and getting shot by Brozz was a stroke of genius. If I didn't do what I did, you'd have been long gone."
Mari shook her head and began marching towards where Brozz fell. "I swear, when we get back to Altair VI you are going to spend six weeks in the Pyronite Endurance Chamber."
Artie sighed as he followed his chief. "Do we have to go so soon?" he asked. "I feel like we only come back home to chase renegades and for you to do your concubine thing with General Grant."
"President Grant," said Mari. "And I'm not his concubine. He's supporting the Plumbers Readiness Act and I need to discuss the details with him from time to time. He promises to have a base set up in every state."
"Doesn't explain why you dress like a..." Artie hesitated and then uneasily continued. "Harlot."
Mari snapped a glare at him briefly but kept walking. "The President wants to keep knowledge of the Plumbers secret, so we need to create a cover story for our meetings."
"I'm sure there are better ones," said Artie. He sighed. "Something more respectable. Appropriate for someone of your... authority."
"I don't care," said Mari. "If people think I'm a harlot, that's fine. It doesn't affect what we do."
"I care," muttered Artie under his breath.
The two came up to the pond and saw Brozz floating face down in the pond. Artie pulled up on his boots and went to the edge of the water. "I'll get him out."
"Don't waste your time," said Mari. "He doesn't need to breathe air, we can leave him like that for a little while. Get the transport so we can pack him up for shipping."
"No need, Tennyson."
Mari and Artie looked up to see a series of silver and black ships descending in the area and a passenger platform descending to them. The platform had five plumbers on it in addition to Commodore Ion.
"Sir," nodded Mari as the platform landed. She moved to salute but Ion waved her off.
"No need for that," he said and did that strange thing with his mouth that Mari assumed was a smile. He stepped down from the platform and leaned on his silver cane. "We'll clean up the mess."
"I didn't know you were in the air," said Mari. "I would have let you had some of the fun."
"We caught him moving through Vega," said Ion. He pointed with his cane at Brozz. "Gathered up everyone I could and made a bee line to Earth. It seems he still beat us here. It's a good thing you were in the area."
"I was having my bi-annual visit with Grant," said Mari. "Just a coincidence."
"Which seem to always work out in your favor," said Ion.
"Mine, sir?" asked Mari.
"Humanity," clarified Ion. He stepped past Mari and stood at the edge of the pond to regard Brozz. "I first stepped foot on this world forty years ago and was stunned to watch a human best a Chamatronian."
"My grandfather," said Mari.
"That's right," nodded Ion. "And now, years later, I'm still impressed by what you've managed to do with only level 2 tech."
"If you'd authorize an upgrade—" started Mari.
"You know that decision doesn't rest with me," he said, a little angrily. "Believe me, I trust you Tennysons to the ends of the galaxy. But I'm not in charge of the Plumber's council. At least, not yet."
"Our 'level 2 tech' didn't even stun him," said Artie. He pointed a thumb at Brozz. "He's getting stronger, and you're not getting any better at keeping him jailed."
"Arthur!" snapped Mari.
"It's alright, Tennyson," said Ion. He looked at Artie briefly. "You're right. He is getting stronger, and it's exactly because of that we've had trouble keeping him suspended. The Galvans, however, are working on a solution right now that might be better suited to his sort of ability."
"Why does he keep coming here?" asked Artie. "What is this? Three times already?"
Ion pointed toward Mari. "Her grandfather, I'm afraid." Ion sighed and shifted his weight away from his bad leg. "Brozz here holds a pretty big grudge against Wilbur Tennyson and humanity in general. He feels he was humiliated by being captured here and wishes no more than to destroy your planet and everyone on it. Just for spite."
"That's awful," said Artie.
"That's why we're trying to keep him contained," said Ion. "And why I'm sympathetic to your anger. I wish we could do more. Until we can, however, his return will always be a possibility. The Galvans are the smartest in the galaxy, descended from the Cartesians. If there's a solution, they'll think of it."
"Brozz is descended from the Cartesians too," said Mari. She watched as the Plumbers in Ion's escort used suspended force guns to lift Brozz out of the pond and towards their prison ship. "He acts like a brute, but I would be surprised if he hasn't got a brain in there."
Ion shook his head. "I wouldn't be so charitable. He's a beast. A vaguely civilized beast." He turned to Mari and reached out a hand. "Again, I'm sorry. We'll try to do better this time."
Mari hesitantly shook his hand. "You don't have to apologize, sir. We all owe you for our existence anyway."
Ion smiled once more. "That's not how it works in the Plumbers and you know it. You hang around your General friend too much."
"President," corrected Mari.
"Of course," said Ion. He turned and headed back to the platform. A few moments later it started to lift and the ships in the sky began to ascend. Mari and Artie watched for a moment then headed back to where they had landed their transport.
Not too far away, from the roof of a nearby house, Paradox, Charmcaster, and Phil watched on.
"Nope," said Paradox. "We're too early."
They vanished without another word.
-(X)-
