Sorry this took so long to get out, but here it is at nearly 11:00 at night! Once again a speacial thanks to my sister. Incase you could't guess I do not own Ben 10. If I did it would have about 72% more Reinrassic. With that said Ben discovers another side effect to his transformation. A slight change of mind has been added to his change of body.
"What is the Highbreed home-world?"
"Augstaka."
"How many members are there on the great council?"
"Seven."
"What is the title of our leader?"
"Highbreed Supreme."
"Differences socially and physically between Impares and Infirms?"
"Infirms are more submissive, and are better able to carry children. Infirms are identified best by having only seven eyes, and are spoken of using feminine pronouns. Impares are more dominate, and more successful when impregnating. They have eight eyes, and male pronouns," Ben managed to answer in one breath. He folded his arms proudly when the Infirm quizzing him clapped enthusiastically. He'd been living with Reiny for three months now. He felt like he'd learned a lot about Highbreeds, but Reiny always had more for him to learn. Ben snickered inwardly at the nickname he'd come up with for his friend. The Highbreed had been shocked and appalled by the term. His family, on the other hand, found it to be hilarious! Reiny had then taken Ben aside to explain that the name was very rude, and Ben promised to never use nick names again. Not out loud at least.
"Ben-Ben are you even listening anymore?" Ben was snapped out of the memory by Frustra's question.
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that." Frustra rolled her eyes - something Ben had found to be much harder that it looked.
"I said you are doing really well with basic information, but your speech is lacking, and I doubt you have been keeping up with your reading work."
"Ughhhh, but reading is sssoooooo boooorrrriiiinnnng!"
"Ben-Ben, you might find reading tiresome, but it is an essential skill to learn. We simply do not have time to teach you everything phonetically." The Highbreed that scolded Ben was one of Reiny's siblings who often came to see Ben in their spare time. Usually they were pretty nice, but none of them could seem to understand Ben-Ben's distaste for learning.
"Well, how come you sound like you're speaking english, but your letters look all weird?" Ben retorted almost accusingly.
"We have been over this Ben-Ben," another Infirm who'd been leaning on on the entryway to the main room replied, "The letters are in Atasian, but the sounds have been changed to the universal tongue for simplification. Very few species speak entirely in their native tongues unless they are unable to pronounce the universal one."
"If Highbreeds are so much better than other species, why speak a universal tongue?" Ben argued just as Reinrassic entered the room.
"We are using it because you are using it." Reinrassic stated simply, "I approached you using the universal tongue, and since you can barely speak that I soon realized there was no possible way that you could speak Atasian."
"In other words Ben-Ben, we have been speaking in a lesser, more simple tongue, to accommodate you," Frustra explained, receiving chirp-like giggles from the other two Infirms in the room.
"Well now I just feel dumb." Ben pouted.
""You should feel dumb," Reinrassic added, spurring the other three into full on laughter. "That is why we learn, Ben-Ben Tennyson. 'To know oneself, and one's enemies: that is all the knowledge needed to achieve victory in anything.' This, while not necessarily true, is an excellent philosophy." Ben sensed a disturbance in the force as Reiny continued, "I plan not only to end your butchering of your current language, but I will also have you learn every major language, starting with Atasian."
"Nnnnnnoooooooooo..." Ben moaned as he slid from his chair to the floor.
"Ben-Ben," Reinrassic scolded while trying to contain his laughter (his siblings were not as successful in the endeavor), "Stop being so dramatic. It is unsightly. Besides, once you learn some new languages as well as a few other studies you will not feel dumb anymore." Ben gave an indignant huff, but before he could whine further Reinrassic motioned for him to follow.
…
"So you're inviting me to a party?" Ben asked excitedly.
"Technically speaking, yes." Reinrassic found the way Ben-Ben's eyes lit up to be very charming, "Thus far, only some of my family have met you; however, others have heard of you by word of mouth. This event will allow them a chance to get to know you, but" he looked down at Ben-Ben from a respectful distance, "I will not have you make a complete mockery of yourself."
"What do I gotta do?" Ben asked, slightly offended, and very suspicious. Reiny merely widened the eyes on his right half - a motion that was about the same as raising an eyebrow. Ben sighed, "What do I have to do in order to not 'make a complete mockery' of myself?" Reiny seemed satisfied with the fix in speech.
"You, Ben-Ben, are going to learn to dance." Reinrassic made a mental note to inform Ben-Ben that a look of disgust when confronted with a new lesson was extremely rude, and unbecoming on a face so pure, so elegant. From his crystal eyes to his - focus dammit! "Do you have something against dancing?"
"If I have to learn how to dance, that probably means this is one of those parties where adults stand around with drinks talking about nothing the whole time, silently judging one another."
"Perhaps," Reinrassic laughed, "but you are an adult." Ben-Ben began pouting again after hearing that.
"How are we supposed to dance without touching anyway?"
"I will explain as we go," Reinrassic replied before leading Ben-Ben to one side of the room. "First off is how to approach a dance partner." He moved to face Ben-Ben from about four feet away. "Someone will always be the initiator of the dance, but you must decide immediately whether or not you wish to dance with them."
"Why?"
"If you linger on your decision before choosing to dance with them it will be taken as an offense, but if you pause before refusing to dance they will assume that you are playing coy."
"That makes no sense."
"It will make more sense as you further assimilate. Now, they will approach you like this," Reinrassic gracefully gave Ben a sweeping bow, "If they lean lower than this," he bent a bit lower, "they are mocking you. Do not accept a dance with them or you will be a laughing stock. If they do not bow far enough," he rose up some, "then they are underestimating you, and should also be refused lest you look desperate."
The training seemed to go on forever. I mean really? Is everything either an insult or a flirt for Highbreeds? Ben had to memorize the angle of acceptability for invitation bows, and how to accept or deny them without flirting with or insulting the other party. By the end of it he was certain Reiny's back was really sore, and they hadn't even gotten to the actual dancing part yet.
"Can we PLEASE be done now? Why is this even so important?"
"Dancing is the closest two non-mated Highbreeds will ever get to one another."
"Oh…" Ben knew how important contact was for Highbreeds. They never even touch their children. "Then that means I can get closer to Reiny?" Ben leaned towards Reiny, but he moved away. A deep blue-purple blush crept over Reiny's neck and shoulders.
"As you are such a pure Highbreed many others will want to dance with you, but only Impares will approach you. So learning to dance with them will be most important."
"You mean learning to dance with you?" Ben teased. Rieny blushed even harder as he attempted to keep his composer. He had survived the last three months, and was not going to give into Ben-Ben's charms now. Ben-Ben really wasn't knowledgeable enough yet for the advanced world of courtship. He was making it very hard not to try, though.
Before Reinrassic could reply, a small beeping came from his communication screen. Never in his life had Reinrassic ever been so relieved to be interrupted.
"What is it?" Ben-Ben asked trying to see over Reiny's shoulder even though he couldn't read the words.
"It is a distress signal from one of my stations. Something has happened there, and I will need to head over to investigate."
"So cool! Can I come?"
"Absolutely not," Reinrassic replied, "You will not leave this room, understood?"
Ben-Ben promised. Oh, if only Reiny could see Ben's fingers crossed and recognize the look that could only mean Ben Tennyson had a plan.
…
The moment his ship came near the station Reinrassic knew something was up, and if the damage to the station was anything to go by, it was something big, too. After his ship docked he motioned for his DNAliens to stay behind him. If this was an attack by a person and not a creature he could not have them mudding any evidence.
Slowly, he walked through the dim, mangled hallways. The main power had gone out, leaving them with eerie red emergency lighting.
"No sign of the crew thus far, but it was definitely a large creature," Reinrassic thought as he stepped over a puddle of pale pink ooze.
Before he could even see it coming, an alien crashed through the wall just behind Reinrassic. The vile thing got a hold of five DNAliens, munching on one, and constricting the other four with its powerful tentacles.
"Fire!" The DNAliens began shooting at the alien on his command. Their laser guns blasted hunks of rancid pink and grey flesh off the creature. Reinrassic stepped back to assess the situation. The creature wouldn't get very far as long as it was focusing on the DNAliens, but it was healing as fast as they were tearing it apart. He side-stepped right before a particularly large piece of flesh splattered on the wall just behind where he had been standing. He watched, plotting, as the chunk pulsed as if it was still attached to the rest of its body before dissolving into a pink ooze.
He looked back at the creature as it swung its heavy body in an attempt to crush the DNAliens swarming it. At this rate, they would not beat it before it killed all of his DNAliens. He needed to get the thing to expose its underside so that they could shoot its vitals.
For the second time today, something snuck up on him. His eyes widened in surprise as claw darts came flying from his right and pierced the creature. His head whipped around in time to see Ben-Ben running towards the alien while shooting more darts at its face. One of them hit the beast in the eye. It reared up it pain long enough for the DNAliens to get a few good shots at its vitals. They dissolved without regenerating. The now bleeding creature quickly regained its composure, however, and charged Ben-Ben.
They were running towards each other at full speed, but at the last second Ben lept over the alien, only to get caught by strong tentacles as the beast charged on. The tentacle was constricting him tighter and tighter like a boa while the alien began crashing through another wall. Ben mentally prepared for impact as he felt the crack of a rib breaking.
Reinrassic jumped over the alien, sliced the tentacle holding Ben-Ben, and rolled off the alien with Ben-Ben in tow before they both became macabre wall ornaments.
"That was awesome!" Ben exclaimed as he unwrapped the now limp appendage from around himself.
"What do you think you are doing here?!" Reinrassic yelled at him.
"I'm helping!"
"Helping? Helping?! How does nearly getting yourself killed qualify as helping?!" neither realized that Reinrassic had hoisted Ben up and was now holding his shoulders tight enough to leave bruises. "You will go back to the ship and wai-"
"No! I'm not just gonna sit around! I've fought plenty of aliens before, and the only time I lost was against Vilgax. If you don't think I can handle myself then you've got another thing coming." Ben stared Reiny down. Of course Reinrassic was taken aback by the change in the normally casual Highbreed. Even more so when he finally noticed he was engaging Ben-Ben in physical contact. Quickly letting Ben-Ben go he stepped back. Just from the look in Ben-Ben's eyes he could tell that he was not going to win this argument.
"This must have been how my father felt when I demanded I was ready to go on my first mission." Reinrassic gave a defeated sigh. "Very well, but stay sharp, stick close to me, and if anything to dangerous happens you are to head back to the ship." Ben pumped a fist in the air before running after the alien monster. Reinrassic was quick to follow with the DNAliens.
"Where'd it go?"
The next room over, while damaged like the rest of the ship had been, was entirely empty. Reinrassic had a bad feeling about the silence that hung like a weight in his gut. Even the DNAliens chittered uneasily as Ben-Ben neared the middle of the room. Reinrassic decided he officially hated surprises as the creature burst up through the floor, sending Ben-Ben flying. The alien charged Reinrassic's DNAliens as he rounded it, dodging its tentacles while looking for Ben-Ben.
Meanwhile, Ben had been flung straight to the ceiling, and had gotten tangled in the exposed wires. "If I could just…" Ben struggled with the wires, still unsure of how to use his claws for cutting as Reiny had.
"Ben-Ben!" Reinrassic called out when he spotted the younger Highbreed dangling from the ceiling. The call drew the alien monster's attention to Reinrassic, and, dropping the mangled corpse of a DNAlien, it rushed at him. Reinrassic made as if to dodge, but suddenly stopped. He braced for impact just before getting slammed into the wall behind him by the bloody, enraged creature.
"No!" Ben roared before finally getting free from the wires. He extended his wings, and glided down onto the monster's back. Ben dug his feet into the thrashing beast as it tried to free its head from the thicker wall. He steadied himself before finding a soft-spot he could only hope was the back of the skull. He drew a hand back, and held on with the other before digging his claws into the beast with as much force as he could. The alien beneath him screeched in agony and went stiff. Ben tensed the muscles in his hand, shooting his claw darts deep into the beast. He could feel it shudder beneath him when the darts crunched something deeper in the alien monster.
"Reiny…" Ben felt his rage leave him to be replaced by extreme concern for his best friend. Removing his hand with a sickening schlorp, he lept off the now still creature and attempted to frantically dig through the rubble around the alien's head. Just when he felt like it was hopeless, the side of the beast began to rip open from the inside. Ben stepped back as a dripping, bloody Reinrassic III tore through the side of the corpse.
"Reiny! Thank god you're okay!" Ben exclaimed as he glomped his friend. Reinrassic let out a startled squawk before shoving Ben-Ben off him.
"I have been coated in filth! How dare you attempt contact with me in such a state!" Reinrassic was enraged that Ben-Ben's chest was now dripping with slime and blood. Had he no respect for his own body?! Ben, meanwhile, had completely forgotten himself.
"Oh, so you don't care that I'm touching you as long as you're clean then?" with that he lunged at Reiny, who dodged Ben-Ben with his constant and, as he would say, 'totally subconscious' grace.
"C-cease this now!" Reinrassic attempted to order, but it only thrilled Ben that he had gotten the Impare to stumble over his words. Soon he was lunging out at Reinrassic, who in turn dodged. Then Reinrassic began swiping at Ben-Ben. Ben seemed to just doge the swats without giving it much thought. The two Impares moved gracefully around one another. So close, yet just out of reach. Despite that Ben felt happier than he had since his transformation. Like walking on air, or being made of light.
"If the two of you have finished your dance lesson we should get that vile gunk off you" The Highbreeds froze, and turned towards the interruption. Frustra stood with the DNAliens near the large hole in the wall. Suddenly remembering himself, Ben flushed even deeper than Reinrassic had. Though, sneaking a glance at the older Highbreed, maybe Reiny was still winning.
"Wait," a thought suddenly crossed Ben's mind, "that was dancing?"
"What? You did not- *gasp* Were the two of you flirting?" Frustra teased, wiggling her eyes at the two.
"N-no! Absolutely no- we were, that was-" Reinrassic began rambling like an embarrassed school girl. Ben stood silently smiling to himself. Maybe this party would be kind of fun. As long as Reiny was there at least. Ben laughed at how cute- FUNNY, at how funny Reiny was being.
He went to walk around Frustra when his foot hit something. He looked down at the dismembered DNAlien, and his heart fell to his stomach. He didn't feel sick because body parts littered the hall, blood already crusting on black metal. Instead, he was utterly disgusted with himself. These DNAliens had just died for them, and he'd thought nothing of it. Glancing around, he quickly realized that no one did. Not even the other DNAliens. They just chittered placidly off to the side as Reinrassic and Frustra talked. This was wrong. He was the hero, it was his job to look out for everybody. He couldn't just stop caring he-
"Ben-Ben?" Reinrassic interrupted Ben's panic with a sudden look of concern.
"I'm… fine."
"Come on guys. Let us leave here." Frustra and Reinrassic led Ben back to the ship. The small happy moment was gone. All Ben could think was,
"What's happening to me? Whatever I'm becoming, it's not gonna happen. I am Ben Kirby Tennyson, I am a human. I am a hero."
The next chapter is going to skip ahead a few years. The one after that will to. If you have any requests for moment you want to see in Ben's new life before his return to earth in chapter 6ish please tell me. Thanks!
