"I didn't mean to!" He insisted, flame engulfed hand reaching out tentatively towards the unconscious man. "Are you alright?" Molten lava trailed across skin made of stone, fire raging around his head like a halo.
His fingers almost touched the man until a wall of mana blocked the contact, causing the Pyronite to stumble back. He turned around as the barrier fell, seeing the three teenagers that weren't there seconds ago.
"Guy looks like Heatblast," one of them remarked, sporting the darkest of eyes, taller than the others. The boy next to him spoke then, fists balled up.
"I noticed," he replied, eyes narrowing just slightly. "They're both Pyronites."
The only girl glanced at them, one elegant eyebrow raised. "How do you even know that?"
The taller boy answered for his friend. "Doesn't matter," and the corners of his mouth pulled itself into a teasing smirk. "Want me to kick his butt?" He offered. "It'll be just like old times."
The other rolled his eyes, irises unimaginably green. "Thanks anyway," he replied, and Alan watched as he played with an strange watch on his wrist, being engulfed in a sudden flash of light.
A giant monster was left standing in the teen's place, large red wings spreading as it took to the sky. It screeched but the Pyronite couldn't make out the words, palms of his hands heating up as his anxiety increased.
It made to dive to him and he lost control, screaming something in defense as the large beam of fire flew at the monster. It dodged with incredibly speed, landing a few inches from his face.
He grabbed the monster's bony abdomen and switched their positions, receiving a strong kick to his stomach for the effort. Alan used the given momentum, propelling himself into the cornfields. The Pyronite shot up from the plants, higher into the midnight sky where he knew he was being followed, narrowly missing the winged alien.
"Watch it!" It screeched, but he wasn't paying attention, zooming higher into the clouds. He let the fire fueling his flight waver, sinking back down and aiming more balls of flame at his pursuer. He wasn't prepared for the retaliation, however, as a steady beam of green light came out of the alien's eyes. It hit him in the chest, pain effectively numbing his concentration, and Alan fell.
His powers kickstarted soon enough, and Alan started making up for lost distance, the monster gaining up. Knowing that he wasn't going to outdistance his pursuer, he aimed another fireball, having it once again dodged. Another laser beam came, this time the pain being too much to take, the ground feeling rough below him.
Jetray landed smoothly next to the groaning Pyronite, transforming back within seconds. "Had enough?" He questioned, watching the Heatblast look-alike with caution.
"Uh-huh," it mumbled, voice sounding male. He rose from the position, fiery hands rubbing his head in a way that seemed too human.
He wasted no time in the interrogation, a scowl plastered on his features. "There's an old guy that's been chasing you, probably wearing a Hawaiian shirt." He came to a stop directly in front of the Pyronite, arms crossed. "Where is he?"
The shrug was also out of character, male voice sounding adolescent. "I don't know what you're talking about," he answered, and Ben's fists clenched.
"My grandfather," he grit out, volume raising to a shout. "Where is he?" He was about to say more before he was alerted to the extra life forms in the area, a group of them dangerously close. Ben turned just in time to see the officers from moments before, flashlight beams blaring in his eyes.
"Freeze!" One of them shouted, tone loud and demand unnecessary. He took the lead, continuing on. "I should've known you couldn't have set all those fires by yourself. But now I've got you, Alan." His vision adjusted to the glare of the flashlight, being able to make out a smug grin.
Ben didn't like where this was going, studying the situation. An idea popped into his head and the omnitrix compensated, surges of green electricity temporarily blinding the officers. He grabbed the Pyronite's arm as he ran, diving into the large stalks of corn.
Not daring to leave his only lead to Max, Ben tugged them both to where Kevin's car was waiting. It took a while for the police to catch up, the large car providing a distraction as they made their escape.
They only stopped running when they reached the abandoned barn house a good distance away, feet thudding on the cold metal floor. The Pyronite cautiously removed his arm from Ben's grip, staring at the other's unscathed palm curiously.
"How come you're not burned?" He asked, glancing at the appendage, and Ben followed the line of sight. He didn't have a real answer for that so he ignored the question, eyes traveling over their shelter.
There was only a brief moment of silence until he spoke again, nervousness strung up in the given words. "Why'd you help me?"
Ben considered his response. He had already deduced that the alien truly didn't have anything to do with his grandfather's disappearance, and this was before they had made it here. "I don't know," he admitted. "You kind of remind me of myself."
"Yeah," the other agreed, not fully understanding. "I guess you're a monster, too."
Ben grinned, trying not to feel disgruntled at the alien's downtrodden tone. "Well, technically, I'm a whole bunch of monsters," he said, a bit of pride leaking into the admission. "That's the cool part."
"Nothing is cool about this," the Pyronite said, raising his hands to his face. A flicker of flame dropped from his fingers, falling onto the floor.
Ben raised his eyebrows. "No?" He asked, not looking for an answer. "The super-strength, the flying?"
"I hate flying."
Ben chuckled. "Yeah, well, you do kinda stink at it." The omnitrix beeped, completing it's scan of the Pyronite, and his eyebrows rose further at the information. "If you don't like it, then why do you take up that form instead of your human one?"
His fiery eyes widened. "How did you know about that?" Ben only smiled.
"Call it a guess." He looked quizzical, an expression strange to the alien face, but let the form drop. Under the alien was a boy around his age, looking too small in his white shirt.
Alan sat down on a nearby crate, taking his head in his hands. "I'm trying to get used to this," he answered. "It all just recently happened. And, well, sometimes I can't control it."
Ben leaned against the wall, position casual. "What's your story?"
There was only a moment of hesitation until he began, not meeting Ben's eyes as he spoke. "My mom was human," Alan told the hero, sincere. "And I thought I was, too, until I woke up one morning and my bed was on fire." He let himself pause. "My dad put it out, and then they explained it to me. He's a Plumber." Alan looked up at Ben, unsure. "They're-"
"Intergalactic police," he finished, still holding the reassuring grin. "Did your dad give you his badge?"
He looked even more miserable at the question. "Yeah, when he explained to me what it was," Alan replied, sighing. "But Sheriff Mason took it from me."
Ben reached his hand into his pocket, looking. "Yeah, well," he smirked, fingers closing around the item. "I kinda took it back."
He pulled out the badge, holding it for the hybrid to see before tossing it to him. Alan caught it, staring at the hourglass symbol with disbelieving eyes, and he finally meet Ben's smile with one of his own.
The two watched as the police car drove off, heading out into the vast cornfields. Kevin turned to the redhead, easy-going grin plastered on his face.
"That didn't go so bad, huh?" He asked, leaning back on the leather seat. "We lead them away from Ben, and all we got was this." He held up the thin slip of bright yellow paper, waving it in the air almost teasingly.
Gwen narrowed her eyes, tight lips pulling down in a stern frown. "Kevin," she scolded. "That's a four hundred dollar speeding ticket!"
He nodded, throwing it behind his shoulder. "I know," he agreed. "It's probably a personal record." Gwen looked at him from her position in the shotgun seat, feeling out of place in the different arrangement.
"Are we going to get Ben or not?" She asked, arms crossed. Kevin sighed, starting up the car, and they rode under the star-freckled skies.
