AUTHOR'S NOTE: Apologies for any errors in legal matters in this chapter – my knowledge of the legal system is a little sketchy and mostly derived from shows like "Criminal Minds," "Law and Order," and the like. In all fairness, though, Plumber law and alien law probably play pretty fast and loose with the niceties of the US legal system…
If Ben thought that being confined to a regeneration tank in the medical center was going to get him out of being cornered and questioned by Slizzick, he was sorely mistaken. The alien lawyer had settled in comfortably in his new role as "resident thorn in the side" at Plumber Headquarters, and even the Omnitrix bearer wasn't going to escape him on his quest for justice… or at least making it as difficult as possible for the Plumbers to pin anything on his client.
Ben was half-dozing in the regen-tank, the broadcast screen the medics had set up for him barely holding his attention, when a glittering blue form stepped in to block his view. His head jerked up, and he blearily tried to focus on the transparent alien… and the hulking yellow bulk of one of his bodyguards.
"Who…" he began, still trying to force himself awake.
"You're Benjamin Kirby Tennyson?" Slizzick asked, cocking his head to one side. The flickering waves of light atop his head faded to deep purple as he spoke.
"Last time I checked," Ben replied. "Why?"
Slizzick's glowing eyes brightened, and a smile that wouldn't have looked out of place on Vilgax crossed his lips. "Excellent. You're just the one I wanted to talk to." He pulled a chair over and sat down, opening his briefcase. "This won't take long. Make yourself comfortable, Lor."
The bodyguard, a female Gimlinopithecus, moved to stand directly behind Slizzick's chair, folding her arms over her chest and offering Ben a glower that plainly dared him to try anything in her presence. Not that he really could in his state…
"Hey, dude, if you didn't notice I'm kind of hospitalized here," Ben informed him. "Can't this wait until I'm, ya know, not missing a limb?"
"Justice and law wait for no one," Slizzick replied.
Yeah right, like you really care about justice, Ben thought irritably. You just want whatever dirty info it takes to exo… exno… get your client off so you can collect a fat paycheck. For once his brain managed to beat his mouth to the punch and decide it wouldn't be a good idea to say that out loud – though the fact that he was on some combination of powerful painkillers probably helped slow his mouth down some.
"So what's with the hired muscle?" Ben demanded. "You that scared of me or something?"
"Who says I'm frightened of you?" Slizzick replied coolly. "They're simply a precaution, to ensure I can do my job unmolested."
Despite his exhaustion and the fogginess in his brain, Ben managed a smirk. "Yeah… I think you're just afraid to confront me without backup."
Slizzick returned the smirk. "Believe me, Tennyson, I don't precisely need bodyguards. They're a precaution, yes, but I believe I could hold my own against you if it came to that." He turned to the golden-furred primate. "Leave us, Lor. Wait outside for now. I'll call you if I need you."
Lore nodded, fired another glare at Ben, and turned to leave.
"Now if we're done with the childish threats, we can proceed. Do you mind if I record this conversation?"
"Do I have a choice?"
Slizzick grinned again but didn't answer. "I would like you to state your full name and your rank for the record, please."
Ben's antennae twitched at that. Something smelled rotten about this… it almost felt like a trap. But the request was fairly harmless, right? "Benjamin Kirby Tennyson… but everyone calls me Ben. I only get called Benjamin when someone's angry with me. Rank… uh… Plumber, Omnitrix-wielder, and hero."
The crystalline alien nodded. "Are those last two titles official Plumber titles?"
"Um… no, but…"
"Let the record show that Mr. Tennyson has no special designation beyond rank-and-file Plumber," Slizzick spoke into his briefcase, which must have contained a recording gadget of some kind. "Can you explain to me why you were selected to wield the Omnitrix? A powerful device like that couldn't be entrusted to any ordinary Plumber, I'm sure."
"What's this got to do with anything?" Ben demanded.
"I'm merely trying to establish your credibility as a witness or as evidence to present to the court," Slizzick replied. "Answer the question, please."
He sighed, ice crystals clouding his breathing mask for a moment. Everyone connected to the Plumbers knew this story already – saying it out loud just made it seem really silly in his mind.
"I found it on a camping trip," he said at last. "It stuck to my wrist and refused to come off. But Grandpa Max trusted me with it, and since he's a pretty famous Plumber…"
"Nepotism, then." Slizzick pulled a stylus from a chest pocket of his suit and wrote something down.
"Hey! It's not nepotism! I've done a lot of good things with the Omnitrix! I've saved the universe a few times, a bunch of smaller planets and cities, stopped a bunch of really nasty villains from taking over…"
"And yet you just admitted that you were allowed possession of the Omnitrix chiefly because of your relation to Max Tennyson," Slizzick noted dryly.
"Uh… strike that from the record?" That was a legal term, right?
"I believe only a judge has the power to do that," the attorney replied. "Hmmm… I think that's enough with the personal questions. Let's move on to the reason I came here – your interactions with Doctor Lake." He tapped at something inside his briefcase – he must have some kind of computer system in there. Or the briefcase WAS just a fancy computer system.
"What is your relationship with the defendant?" asked Slizzick
"This is a hospital, not a courtroom."
"Answer the question."
"She's a doctor, I've been her patient once or twice," Ben replied. "And she's looked after my daughter a couple times. That's it."
Slizzick nodded. "Have you had any contact with her since her arrest?"
"No… I wasn't even allowed to be there when they interrogated her. Kevin and I watched, though, and I wanted to slap her every time she lied to Grandpa Max's face…"
"Memo to myself: question Kevin Levin once through with Ben Tennyson," Slizzick murmured, and Ben wanted to kick himself. So much for his brain being ahead of his mouth for once…
"What kind of alien are you anyhow?" asked Ben, wondering if derailing the conversation might throw him off a little and win him some respite. "I've never seen one like you before. If you're in the Omnitrix, I've never seen it."
"We're a rare race," Slizzick replied, not looking up from the computer. "Appelatian, to answer your question."
"Uh… Appa-what? You don't LOOK like Rath." That was an understatement – the short, thin, transparent alien couldn't look less like the perpetually-enraged tiger-man.
"Not Appoplexian, Appelatian," he replied coolly. "Though I've taken enough of them as clients over the years. We're not a race of uncouth gladiators – we prefer to settle our differences not through war or duels or physical violence, but by the courts. There's a certain nobility to triumphing over a foe using only your knowledge of law as your weapon."
"An entire race of lawyers… great," Ben groaned.
"Not all of us," Slizzick replied. "Just the vast majority. But we're getting off the subject." He looked back up at Ben, reaching up to adjust his glasses. "Have you been assigned to the investigation of Lake's alleged connection to the trafficking case?"
"Not 'alleged,' she's definitely the leader," Ben retorted. "And no… I was assigned to look for her henchmen, but I guess I'm on leave from that due to… well, this." He rapped the wall of the tank. "Are we done now?"
"Hmm… so you admit to not being assigned to the investigation?"
"Uh… not in those words, no."
"I see… then you and Mr. Levin's search of Dr. Lake's office a few hours ago was done without permission from your superiors, and without any sort of warrant or consent."
Ben's heart jolted in its chest. Dammit! "That's impossible… I've been stuck in this tank all night!"
Slizzick had no eyebrows, but something about the way his light-hair twisted indicated a sardonic expression anyhow. "You're only wasting both our time by lying, you know."
"Honest! How could I have broken into her office when I've been stuck in here?" He thumped the side of the tank again. "I'm not Houdini, I can't just waltz out of here whenever I feel like it."
Slizzick just looked him up and down, as if wondering just how stupid the young Plumber thought he was. Then he turned the briefcase around to reveal a screen in its lid… a screen playing a video that showed two young human men rifling through desk drawers in a darkened office.
"Oh great," Ben groaned. Here he thought he'd had a genius idea…
"Kevin, we've got to search the doctor's office again."
"Are you nuts, Ben? We've got us a lawyer an' his goons breathin' down our necks – you want to give him more ammo to shoot the case against Lake down?"
"Look, there's got to be something big in there that everyone's missed. A message, a document, even a picture. We've got to find it before Slizzick does and tries to suppress it or use it against us."
"Max an' Rook have gone over that office five times. What are we gonna find that they didn't?"
"You never know… maybe it just needs a pair of fresh eyes. Or a lot of fresh eyes. Eye-Guy might work…"
"Whoa, Ben, you're talkin' as if you'd be doing the searching. You're kinda tied up at the moment."
"Maybe not as much as you think… I've got a plan…"
He shook his head, dispelling the memory on the off chance that this Slizzick fellow was some kind of telepath. "That can't be me. I've been in here all night."
Slizzick shut the briefcase. "True enough. That tank doesn't look to have been breached at all. Still… you have alien forms capable of phasing through solid material. Including the alien form you're currently in right now."
He looked down at his Necrofriggian body. "Yeah, but I swear I've been in here all night. Ask the medics – they've been in here to check on me every half-hour on the half-hour. I couldn't sleep because of it."
"Point," Slizzick replied, "but that is hardly your only form. And you've proven imaginative with the Omnitrix before. What was to stop you from, say, shifting to a form capable of making duplicates of yourself, then letting said duplicate assume your human form in order to do your dirty work?"
Ben winced. How had Slizzick guessed what he'd done so quickly? And why did using Echo Echo's cloning abilities for anything other than battle always seem to backfire on him? At least the first time it had just meant Julie not speaking to him for a few days… this time it just might cost them keeping Doctor Lake in custody.
"The video does not indicate that you found anything in your search, though I could be wrong," Slizzick noted, his voice dripping with satisfaction. "Still… it's evidence that the Plumbers have thoroughly bungled this entire investigation. I think this is cause enough for charges against my client to be dropped, or at the very least for her to be released until a formal trial can be arranged."
Ben growled and punched the wall of the tank, earning a glower from the nearest Galvan medic. "If I wasn't stuck in here I'd whack that grin off your face so fast-"
"Temper, temper, Tennyson," Slizzick chided, standing and tucking the briefcase under one arm. "I would hesitate before doing anything else rash – you wouldn't want to sully the reputation of the Plumbers any more than you already have."
"Just shut up," Ben snapped, his remaining wing quivering with anger. "We're just trying to stop a bunch of goons from exploiting innocent aliens for their own profit! And you're interfering with that!"
Slizzick shrugged. "That's up for the courts to decide." He turned to go, then paused and glanced back over his shoulder. "And in case you're wondering – no, I don't plan on staying here and harassing the Plumbers forever. Once I've finished up with Dr. Lake's case, I have other clients to see to. Though given your… reputation, Mr. Tennyson, I assume we'll be meeting again very soon." And he walked out.
Ben resisted the urge to flash a rude gesture at the departing lawyer, and settled for just muttering a few choice words to himself as he leaned his head against the glass. Blast it… had he just managed to screw up the investigation for everyone? Was Doctor Lake going to walk free thanks to his stupidity?
Slizzick's bodyguards were silent and intimidating for the most part, trailing after the attorney and shooting death glares at anyone who so much as glanced in his direction. And despite some posturing from Manny and Kevin, no one dared mess with them. Seeing as their employer came from an entire planet of lawyers, it was judged best to leave them to their own devices… not to mention that both Gimlinopithecuses and Conductoids were powerful aliens that most Plumbers knew better than to cross if they could help it.
But there was one being in the Plumber base who not only messed with the bodyguards on a regular basis, but got away with it too. Though being young and cute probably had something to do with it.
"Ain't you just a little doll!" one of the burly yeti-like aliens cooed, ruffling the soft down atop Aurora's head. "I should take you home with me when we're done here."
Aurora squeaked and fluttered her wings in response. "Not a doll! And not leaving my abru!" But she reached up and grabbed onto the creature's leg anyhow.
The Conductiod chuckled, her tail switching back and forth in amusement. "Never took you to be one to have a soft spot for kids, Yukon."
"Hey, I got a young one'a my own back home," the Gimlinopithecus – Yukon – replied. "Maybe a bug-baby ain't as cute as my son is, but I'm biased that way… an' she's still plenty adorable."
Aurora patted at Yukon's knee. "You're soft."
"Hehe… this ain't a pettin' zoo, kid, but you can touch." He grinned at his comrade. "Never thought the bugs could be this cute, eh Decei?"
The Conductoid– Decei – shrugged. "I've seen Necrofriggian hatchlings up close quite a bit. I'm immune to the cute."
"Liar!" Yukon laughed and patted Aurora's back lightly. "I see that look on your face. The power of cute compels ya!"
"Fine, fine, she's adorable," Decei laughed. She held a hand out to the hatchling, and Aurora grasped it and carefully inspected the plugs at the end of her fingers. "Curious thing, aren't you?"
Aurora touched the end of one of the plugs… and screeched in shock as a burst of electricity passed through her. It was a gentle surge, not enough to do damage, but it startled her nonetheless. And to her embarrassment it made the thin layer of fur covering her body stand on end, giving her the look of a plush doll.
Yukon belted out a deep laugh. "Just when I thought she couldn't get cuter!"
"Sorry, little one!" Decei fussed over her, smoothing her fur down and checking her hands for burns. "Are you okay?"
Aurora shuddered from head to foot, then gave herself a brief once-over to ensure she hadn't taken any hurt and that her fur was set to rights. "I'm okay… that felt funny."
"I'm sure it did." Decei patted her head, then straightened up. "We'd better go find the boss and take over the shift for Thales and Lor. Give them a break for awhile."
Yukon nodded and nudged Aurora along. "Go find your abru or whoever's takin' care of you, all right? We gotta get back to work."
Aurora nodded, and she trotted away as the two bodyguards walked off, talking between themselves. She didn't understand why everyone was so intimidated by these aliens. Sure, they were big and could look scary when they wanted to, but she knew they were big softies underneath the tough fronts. Most adults were if you were small and cute enough, she'd discovered.
Though maybe Glace's the exception, she thought as she phased through the door to the classroom. The older Necrofriggian seemed entirely immune to any and all efforts to "cute" her way out of an especially tough lesson. They were smart, yes, and seemed genuinely interested in teaching Aurora, but their lessons were often too dull to interest her.
Grandpa Max had told her to do her best for Glace, and that they meant well and just wanted her to know as much as possible about her heritage and abilities. She didn't see why she had to learn half the stuff Glace taught, but for the sake of her abru's abru's abru, she'd do her best to make Glace proud of her. And maybe if she proved how smart and dedicated she was, they'd finally ease up a little.
The classroom was empty, so she sat down in the nearest chair to wait for them. She knew Glace wasn't terribly impressed by her liking for clothes – which seemed kind of strange to her when they wore a uniform beneath their wings – so as a minor act of rebellion she'd insisted on putting on what she considered her nicest outfit for today's lesson. Gran'mah had tried to protest, insisting that her Elsa dress was meant as a Halloween costume and wasn't appropriate for "school," but Aurora had inherited her abru's stubbornness as well as his bold streak and wouldn't be budged.
The minutes ticked by, and she occupied herself by trying her best to sing songs from Frozen and My Little Pony as she waited. She still didn't understand some of the words and her voice was much raspier than Elsa's or Anna's or Twilight Sparkle's, but she figured enthusiasm had to count for something. Besides, she had a liking for music – which made it a crime in her mind that Necrofriggians didn't have music of their own. Unless Glace hadn't gotten to that part of their lessons yet…
Where was Glace anyhow? She cut off in the middle of the "This Day Aria" and glanced up at the clock. Almost half an hour after lessons were supposed to start – they'd never been this late before. What was keeping them?
A little knot of anxiety formed in her innards. She wasn't especially fond of the older Necrofriggian, but they were still one of her kind, and she wished no harm on them. Had something happened to them?
She tried to push her worry aside and kept singing. Whatever was wrong, there wasn't anything she could do about it. She'd just keep waiting until they showed up or Grandpa Max came to fetch her, whichever came first.
"This day is going to be perfect," she sang softly. "The kind of day of which I've dreamed since I was small-"
The door to the classroom slid open while she was occupied with her song, and she didn't realize that the intruder wasn't her teacher until a thick bag was yanked over her head. The last note morphed into a shriek as she swatted at her attacker, but either they had multiple arms or there was more than one of them, for a blanket was wrapped tightly around her, trapping her arms and wings against her body.
"Stars, that was easy," a low, deep voice grunted. "Here I thought Necros were hard to catch."
"Just don't be stupid with this one," a higher voice replied – this one sweet and almost childlike, but with a sinister undertone that made her shiver. "We don't need our cover blown by an escapee."
"Wasn't my fault the squid-girl almost got away," the first grumbled as he hefted the squirming Aurora over one shoulder like a sack of produce. "Let's get outta here. Boss ain't gonna keep a lid on security for long."
Aurora struggled to calm down, resisting the urge to kick and thrash uselessly. She was bound too tightly to hope to break free, and there was nothing stopping her captors from just grabbing her again right away. If she was going to escape, she had to do it the Necrofriggian way. Focus… shift… phase…
She couldn't do it. She strained and struggled to adjust her body and slip free of her bonds, but no matter how she tried she couldn't do it. Panic squeezed her insides, and she squealed in desperation.
Something sharp poked her in the side. "Another sound out of you and you'll live just long enough to regret it, insect," the childish voice whispered.
She swallowed her sob of fear and tried again, recalling everything Glace had ever taught her about going ethereal. What was happening to her? Was it the dress? Glace had warned her that clothes would make it hard for her to shift quickly in an emergency… had their warnings proven right? But if so, shouldn't she just be able to phase out of the dress itself?
Finally she couldn't hold it in anymore – she began to keen in utter terror. Had she managed to think through the panic she would have realized this was probably the smartest thing she could have done – noise could possibly attract rescue, and her captors wanted her alive and wouldn't follow through on threats of violence – but at the moment she was too overcome with fright to think straight.
"Gah… shut 'er up before she attracts attention!" the deep voice hissed.
"Why is it always me that has to solve our problems?" the childish voice replied. "There, there, little one… it's going to be okay. Just relax and… sleep."
A fine powder drifted into the bag, and before Aurora could stop herself she breathed in a mouthful of it. Instantly blackness overwhelmed her, and she went limp in her captor's grip.
It had been a long and frustrating couple of days for Max Tennyson, and he was more than ready to call it quits. Dr. Lake's lawyer had proven to be both tenacious and utterly ruthless in his methods, and seemed prepared to pick the Plumbers apart like a wild Anubian Baskurr and gnaw their bones clean in his quest for a not-guilty verdict. And he seemed to spot corruption and conspiracy in every corner of the Base, until even Blukic and Driba were suspect in his eyes. Pointing out that those two weren't bright enough to find a Mr. Smoothy without help, let alone plan any kind of conspiracy, didn't help matters.
He wondered if Slizzick's mission wasn't to uncover as much wrongdoing as he could, real or simply perceived, and use it as some kind of leverage to get the Plumbers to drop charges against Doctor Lake. If that was the case, Max refused to give in to his tactics. He liked Lake and wanted to believe she was innocent, but he didn't want to risk letting her go until they were absolutely sure she wasn't a suspect.
Finally he'd allowed Magister Patelliday to take over in his stead and went to go pick Aurora up from her lessons. At least Patelliday was used to dealing with the intricacies of Plumber and intergalactic law, and despite his deceptively simple manner could possibly outmaneuver Slizzick at his own game.
He opened the door to the classroom… and felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. Aurora and Glace were nowhere to be seen. Neither was Azmuth, but he'd expected that – the First Thinker had been busy today and hadn't been able to observe the class as usual. For the two Necrofriggians to be gone, though… that was worrisome.
Maybe Glace is taking her out for a flight, he thought, though almost instantly he dismissed that possibility. Glace was a stickler for protocol, and would have let him know if he intended to take her outside the base. Something must have happened…
A glimmer on the floor caught his attention – a couple of silvery-blue specks. He bent down and carefully scraped them up in his hands. Two sequins, one broken in half… sequins that just might have come off a child's princess costume…
He grabbed his radio and thumbed it on, forcing a tremor out of his voice as he barked the order. "Lock down the base. Repeat, lock down the base! All Plumbers sweep the base. Find Plumber Glace and Aurora right now!"