Good day everyone, and welcome back to the Ultra 10 Chronicles! Fist, there are a few triggers in this chapter. Four counts of choice words, as well as descriptions of some blood and gore. The first one is in the paragraph after, "You are to be commended, the black-cloaked figured introduced itself..."
The second one is in the paragraph after, "An inhuman bloodlust welled up inside of Ben..." The third one is in the paragraph starting with, "Hey Ultra! Lucky Girl said, as she jogged up..." The fourth one is in the paragraph after, "You refused to be turned, and I couldn't risk..."
The paragraph with the gore is starts with, "Not different enough! Vlad shouted..." There is also some scary descriptions, so be careful of that. The first comes in the second fight between Vlad and Ultra 10, and the second comes in the next fight between Vlad and Ultra 10.
The soundtrack for this chapter is Poison, by Alice Cooper. You can watch it on youtube. Youtube watch?v=RViRl2vjEmc. This song I thought really conveyed the pain and struggle that Ben was suffering through while he was resisting the change.
Enjoy the chapter!
The Ultra 10 Chronicles: Volume 1: The Beginnings of Ultra 10
Chapter 16: In the Darkest Times
Downtown Bellwood
Ben raced through town until he came upon the park he had first met Vlad at. Just like the night before, it was dark and ominous, not unlike a graveyard the night before Halloween. Ben zoomed through the park, looking for any sign of Vlad. However, inside him, he could feel his hunger gnawing away at his resolve.
"Lukas?" He asked into his communicator. "Can you hear me?"
"I'm here, bro," came the reply over the communicator.
"I don't see any sign of Vlad here," Ben confirmed. "And I don't think that I can hold off on this hunger for too much longer."
"I've already contacted Lucky Girl," Lukas said. "She knows what's going on, and she should be headed your way. You just need to hold out until she gets there. Hopefully we'll have found this Dracula-guy by then."
Ben took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. He detransformed, preemptively letting the Omnitrix recharge so that it would be ready to go at a moment's notice. From out of the shadows, a silent figure moved. It was hidden well by the shadows, only being seen when it wished to be seen.
"You are to be commended," the black-cloaked figured introduced itself to Ultra 10. "Most of my children give into the hunger within a few hours. You are the most resilient one by far!" Ultra 10 spun around to face the demon.
"Vlad, just the piece of shit that I've been looking for!" Ben said angrily, partially as a result from the hunger.
"Yes, very often my children return to the place of their creation. I often use this to contact them again," Vlad said, stepping slightly into the light of the moon. Ben stepped forward, ready to beat the living daylights out of the creature.
"How do I stop the transformation?" He demanded. Out of the shadows two strong vampires blocked Ben's pathway to Vlad. Ben glanced down at his Omnitrix, it still in the red, not quite charged up.
"Oh my dear boy," Vlad, almost mockingly, said. "There's no stopping the transformation. Once bitten, it is only a matter of time until you taste of human blood, and come fully under my influence." Ben tried to step forward again, only to be shoved back by one of the vampires.
"Not so fast, my child," Vlad chided. "You have first to taste human blood." Vlad snapped his fingers, and two more vampires came out of the darkness, dragging a woman behind them. The woman had tears staining her cheeks, as she pled to be released.
"What is this?" Ultra demanded. "Let her go!"
"This," Vlad answered him. "Is my gift to you. A fresh supply of blood. It's quite good, human blood. Its pungent aroma is hard for any vampire to resist, much more an untransformed vampire." With that, one of the vampires dragging the woman grabbed the woman's arm, drawing a long line of blood down it. The woman screamed, partly out of pain, but mostly out of fear.
The smell of the blood just about made Ben give in. It was overwhelming. He forced himself to hold his ground, although he couldn't stop the shiver running down his spine. His mouth started to salivate, anticipating the blood.
"Oh, just give in!" Vlad said. "Give in, and the hunger pains will go away!"
"N-no!" Ultra 10 forced himself to say. "I won't!" Vlad sighed a disappointed sigh.
"Then you leave me no choice," he said sadly. "I will have to have my children destroy you." Finally Ben's Omnitrix beeped green. Relieved to have something else then the smell of blood to focus on, He activated it, and was engulfed in a green flash of light, much to the pain of the vampires surrounding him. They hissed their pain.
"Pyro!" Ben shouted. Instantly the heat and light of this alien caused the closest vampires to shrink away. But it didn't last long. Several more vampires were illuminated to be hiding in the darkest of corners. Seeing their covers blown, they advanced towards Ultra 10.
"If he will not submit," Vlad said. "Then I have no use for him. Kill him." With that, he vanished into a puff of smoke. There were around a dozen vampires now advancing towards Ultra. The woman was tossed aside into a tree, hitting her head hard. She slumped to the grass, not moving.
Ben formed a fire ball, and threw it at one of the vampires, it instantly being engulfed in flames. Seeing their new vulnerability, the other vampires took greater notice to Ben. He formed another fire ball, and threw it at a vampire, who dodged out of the way. From behind him, Ben was slammed into by another vampire.
"Ugh!" Ultra 10 grunted, as he stumbled forwards. The vampire he stumbled towards balled his fists together, and struck him, sending him backwards. As he stumbled back, two other vamps clawed at him, drawing hot magma from his back.
"Yeow!" Ultra 10 shouted. He shot a stream of fire at a vampire who had clawed him. The vampire tried to dissipate away into smoke, but was just a second too slow. The vapor he was transforming into caught fire like napalm, instantly bursting into a ball of burning gas.
"Boo-yeah!" Ben shouted. "Who's on fire!" Two other vamps charged him, baring fangs and claws. Thinking fast, Ultra encircled himself around with a wall of flame. The two unlucky vamps were caught in the flames, stumbling out towards their fellow vampires, their bodies ablaze.
An inhuman bloodlust welled up inside of Ben, he momentarily letting his hunger slip. With a rage he hadn't known before, he shot streams of flames out from either hand, burning holes through several vampires.
"That's right! Die, you sons-of-a-bitches!" Ben shouted, as he melted through several of them. The two remaining, decided that this wasn't worth the fight. They turned to run, seemingly even forgetting their disappearing trick.
"Not so fast!" Ben shouted, shooting a wall of flame in front of them, stopping them in their tracks. They turned around, fear in their eyes. Ben fired a stream of flame through one, burning a hole clean through his chest. He fell down dead, without a groan. The last one, a woman, fell to her knees.
"Please don't! I don't want to-" She was interrupted as a ball of flame engulfed her. She screamed as she flailed and took off running. She only made it a few feet before she fell to the ground, rolling around, trying to put out the flame. She continued to burn, her body turning black before he fire died out. Her burnt corpse crumbled into ash.
With the adrenaline slowly going away, Ultra 10 felt the rage boil down, as his intense hunger continued to eat away at him. His badge began to flash, and in an instant, he was human again. Panting, both from the strain and exertion, he sunk to his knees. His hunger was driving him mad. If he could think, he would have been shocked at his brutality and savagery. But he couldn't think, all he could focus on was the scent of blood that he could smell on every animal, all around the park.
'No, not animals, people. Bloody, tasty people,' he thought to himself. He had to get away from them all. He had to, to avoid biting them. Avoid draining them all of every last drop of tasty, delicious blood.
"Hey Ultra!" Lucky Girl said, as she jogged up. "What happened here, it looks like a fire?" Ben's head shot up, eyes wide and blood red. He couldn't take it, her blood was just too damn intoxicating.
Gwen's Point of View
Gwen made her way to the park Lukas had told her that Ultra 10 would be at. He had gone hunting for some new bad guy. She couldn't remember the name, but it was some Eastern-European name.
Apparently he was bitten by him, and developed vampire-like symptoms. Who knew what it could actually be. Just a short time ago, aliens and magic were both the things of fiction. Now? Well, vampires didn't seem that far off.
Gwen got to the park, and looked around. There were burn marks all over. She gazed about in the darkness. The Charm of Luck really helped to improver her eyesight at night, but it still wasn't easy to see. She saw the moonlight glimmer off of Ultra's suit, several yards away. She rushed forward to talk to him.
"Hey Ultra!" She greeted, waiving her free hand. In her other, she carried a grocery bag filled with a slab of raw pork. The thing stunk, but it was bloody, which is what Ultra 10 would need. As she got closer, she could see even more of the burn marks, all around in the grass.
"What happened here?" She asked. "It looks like a fire happened." At the sound of her voice, Ultra 10's head snapped up. He stared forward for a moment, almost like a soldier standing at attention.
"Hey Ultra, is everything alright?" She reached forward with her free hand to touch his shoulder. At the touch, he spun around, his wide eyes bloodshot, and his mouth drooling. His teeth were sharp, like a wolf's teeth, and he bared them with a hiss.
The sight startled Gwen, as she stumbled back, falling onto the scorched earth. The grocery bag of meat went with her, the bloody meat splattering onto the ground beside her. The sight of the blood seemed to agitate Ultra, he immediately closing the gap her trip had created. In the blink of an eye, his fangs hovered mere inches away from her face. His clawed hand was in her shoulder, digging into her flesh.
"H-Hey Ultra 10, i-it's me! L-Lucky Girl!" She pleaded, fear in her voice. She was only responded with a hiss, and his claws digging deeper into her shoulder. "L-look what I b-brought you!" She reached for the bloodied meat. He recoiled a bit at the smell, slapping it away with his free hand.
"I need human blood!" He hissed. "I need fresh blood!" He inched his fangs closer to Gwen's neck. He opened his mouth, ready to bite.
"You can resist this, Ultra! I know you can!" She pleaded. Ultra 10 retracted his face from her neck an inch or two. He started to shake. Then he slowly, and with hesitance, started to inch towards her neck again. On he shoulder, his claws finally started to draw blood.
"Don't take this personally," Lucky Girl mumbled. "Incendio!" Instantly she was engulfed in magic fire. Ultra 10 howled in pain, as he instantly recoiled from her. He stumbled back, as the fire started to engulf his hands. It seemed, that whatever turned people into these vampires, also made them incredibly flammable. Like they were made out of paper or something. Ben tried to put his hands out in the grass, eventually doing so. Immediately he turned to her and hissed, the burned flesh already starting to grow back.
Lucky Girl had taken the moment to roll backwards over her shoulder and stand up, ready for a fight. The fire that had momentarily engulfed her faded out, and she was left unharmed.
"You wanna fight? Let's fight!" She said, as Ultra 10 ran at her. She summoned a wall of magic to separate them. Ultra banged on the wall with inhuman strength. Each hit sent pain searing through Gwen's forehead. The cracks starting to show in her shield mirrored the streaks of pain spreading through her head.
"Sunlight!" Gwen shouted. Her shield disappeared, being replaced by a ball of light. Ultra 10 hissed, and shrunk back from it, crouching in the grass. Careful to keep an eye on him, she bent down and with her spare hand and picked up the still-bloody slab of pork, tossing it to him.
"Drink that," she said.
"I can't!" Ultra 10 hissed. "I can't stand the smell of it!"
"Tough!" She said. "Either you drink, or you melt like a popsicle in the sun. Your choice!" Ultra 10 hissed loudly his annoyance. Gwen put on a fake pouty face.
"Boo-hoo!" She mocked. "Drink up!" He grabbed for the bloodied meat and licked it. He quickly started to suck the blood from the meat. Slowly, the red drained from his eyes, they returning back to their natural green. His fingers began to look less and less claw-like and more human-like. Having sucked the slab clean, he dropped it into the grass.
"You can lower the light, now. I'm in control," Ultra 10 said.
"Are you sure?" Gwen asked. Ultra nodded.
"As gross as that blood was, it brought my hunger under control."
"If this is a trick," Lucky Girl said. "Then I will summon light so bright it will fry you in an instant the moment I realize." Ultra nodded.
"It's no trick, it's me." With that, Lucky Girl slowly dimmed her light, until she extinguished it. Ultra 10 slowly got to his feet. She watched him wearily. Seeing no signs of him going "primal" again, she rushed forward, giving him a hug.
"I was so scared!" She said. "I thought that I was going to have to kill you!"
"I thought so too," Ultra said. "I'm glad that you didn't." She drew away, a little embarrassed for hugging him.
"Ahem… So… What's our next plan of attack?" Gwen asked, eager to change the subject.
"Our plan of attack is the same. I need to track down this Vlad guy, and kill him. And," he looked at Lucky Girl intently. "I need to do this one on my own. I can't resist the smell of your blood. If you get cut fighting Vlad, I'm afraid that Vlad will win." Gwen looked upset at that.
"I understand," she finally relented. "I'll be staying back, playing backup. If Vlad wins, I'll be ready to take you out." Ultra 10 smiled and nodded.
"Alright, then. I'll let you know when I've found Vlad. I'm sure that Lukas will be able keep you up to date, so that you know what's going on. In the meantime…"
"I'm going to find a fresh source of blood for you. Hopefully the beef will be more fresh for you." She turned and took off. Ben reached for his communicator.
"Lukas, are you there?"
"Yeah, I'm here. Our communicators are on whenever your suit's activated, remember?" He said.
"Then you know what to do?" Ultra asked.
"Yeah. It's going to take a bit of time, but I should be able to patch Lucky Girl's bluetooth into the comms."
"Awesome," Ben replied. "Julie? Do you have anything on the surveillance that could tell me where our friend has ran off to?"
"I'm checking them now," she said. "But I got nothing. I'll keep a look out for him, but it does sound like he's rather interested in you. He may come looking for you."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Ben replied. "If he finds me, he'll come when I'm weakened from hunger, and he'll have another small army of vamps."
"The best advice I can give you is to comb through the city and see if you can't run into him. I'll keep an eye on the skies, but he hasn't shown up on any camera before yesterday."
"That's it!" Lukas snapped his fingers.
"What's it?" Ben asked. "Lukas, what are you talking about?"
"It's perfectly obvious, isn't it?" Lukas said.
"What? What's obvious?" Julie asked.
"We never saw him on the cameras? Because he's a vampire? They don't show up in mirrors!" Lukas explained. "And the cameras use mirrors!"
"So how do you expect to track him, then?" Julie asked.
"Well if he's actually making people members of the undead," Lukas started. "Then they would loose the ability to regulate their own body temperatures. And that means that they would be beings that were extremely cold."
"So they would show up as a negative on the heat-cameras…" Julie continued the thought.
"And if we locked onto one vamp's heat signature on the heat cam…" Ben continued.
"Then we could locate them all!" Lukas finished.
"Lukas, have I ever told you how brilliant you can be?" Julie asked. Ben swore that he could actually HEAR Lukas' blushing.
"Well, that's only the first part of the equation," Lukas diverted. "The second part is to find a vampire to analyze."
"Got one," Julie said.
"That fast?" Ben questioned.
"It's pretty easy when there's multiple of them. The odds of one of them making a mistake is pretty high." A few computer clicks sounded through the communicator. "Alright, I got his temperature signature. I'm downloading it into your headset. You'll be able to see anyone who is a vampire. Meanwhile, I'll keep scanning for Vlad." Ben's mask lit up with the nearest vampire that Julie had sent him. Ben activated the Omnitrix.
"Accelerate!" He shouted as he emerged from the green light. He zoomed off towards the vampire on his screen. Within moments, he had arrived, finding the creature stalking through an alley. In a flash, Ultra 10 loomed up to him, knocking him backwards into a brick wall. The vampire let out a scream of pain.
"Woah, easy there, Ben!" Julie said. "We don't want him to-"
"Where is he!" Ultra demanded from the vampire, cutting Julie off. "Where is Vlad?"
"Ugh!" The vampire grunted. "Do you think that I would tell you?"
"I think that I can convince you…"
"You'll do what?" The vampire laughed. "I'm already dead!"
"True," Ultra 10 said. "But you can still feel this." He drew back his fist and punched the vamp with speed only Accelerate could manage. He let out scream of pain, as Accelerate drew back his fist again.
"This is one of my weakest forms," Ultra 10 told the creature. "You don't want to know what my stronger forms can do. Now talk!"
"Alright, alright! I'll talk!" Accelerate dropped his fist, as the vampire spilled his guts.
"Vlad wants to raise an army, a vampire army! That is why he wants you so badly! He's willing to sacrifice any regular vampire just to get you to turn! With you, he'll be unstoppable, and his take over of the planet will be a piece of cake!"
"Where is he?" Ultra demanded.
"The cemetery! There's a crypt there, Vlad's set up in the crypt!" The vampire squealed.
"Thanks!" Ultra 10 said, as he punched the vampire in the face, knocking him unconscious. He stood up and zoomed towards the cemetery.
"Ultra, I'm not getting any readings at the cemetery, are you sure that you can trust that thing?" Julie said through his comm.
"He said that his base is in the crypt, so it wouldn't show up on the heat sensors. They could hide there without detection."
"And how do you know that there isn't a trap waiting for you?" Lukas asked.
"I don't," Ultra replied. "But if there is, I'm going to wreck it. Does Lucky Girl know of the cemetery yet?"
"Yeah, I just got off the line with her. She's also heading there." Lukas replied.
"Good, then let's finish this." Ben said as he arrived at Bellwood Cemetery. He came to a stop, and pressed his badge, transforming back into himself. He looked around the dark cemetery, looking for an entrance to the crypt.
"You're here sooner than I thought you'd be," a rough voice spoke from the darkness. Ultra spun around to face it.
"Disappointed?" He asked. From the darkness, the figure of Vlad Sclzensk, Lord Dracul emerged.
"No, my dear boy, not disappointed," Vlad said, a twisted smile in his face. "I'm thrilled!"
"Tell me how to stop the transformation!" Ultra demanded. "And I'll make your death painless!"
"I've already told you, my child. There is no stopping the transformation," Vlad answered.
"You lie!" Ben shouted. He was starting to feel the bloodlust well up inside him. It was as if simply being near Vlad was enough to wear away his humanity.
"I have no reason to deceive you. You see, I want to help you," Vlad said, coming closer.
"Why would a monster like you want to help me?" Ultra 10 demanded.
"I would never wish the curse of the hunger upon anyone," Vlad said, coming close enough to talk face to face with Ultra 10.
"Call me a skeptic, but I don't believe you," Ultra said.
"I don't blame you for that," Vlad chuckled. "As unfortunate as it is, I have to feed. It keeps me human…" He chuckled. "Well, more or less."
"A convient lie."
"You may think that, but ask yourself this, If I have been alive for hundreds of years, couldn't I have thousands of more children than I currently do?" Vlad asked. "When I do have to feed, I choose from the lost, the depressed. Those who have no life, and I give them new life."
"And what of your plans? You know, for world domination?" Ultra 10 asked. "How does that fit into your hippie-peace story?" Vlad got a confused look on his face.
"My… what?" Vlad asked. "I'm sorry, my child, I don't think that I know what you are saying."
"Don't play dumb with me!" Ben shouted, grabbing Vlad by the shirt. "Your little vampire minion told me everything about it! How you plan to raise a vampire army and take over the Earth!"
"I have been patient with you, and now I ask you to unhand me!" Vlad said, a slight edge in his voice. Reluctantly, almost against his will, Ben did as he was told. It almost seemed that he was forced to obey Vlad's command. "You must have talked to Jason. A maverick, that one. He refuses to limit who he bites, and so I've been hunting him. I'm sure that he thought to turn you against me."
"Oh yeah? He told me that you wanted to turn me. To control me."
"I do want to turn you, but not to control you," Vlad said. "I want to end your suffering. You see, your bite was an accident. You interrupted me while I was feeding, and I called my vampires to protect me."
"And our second interaction?"
"You refused to be turned, and I couldn't risk another wild card, biting whomever he wants." Vlad explained. "But I do want you to turn, to ease your suffering. To join me, in this new life." Vlad extended his hand to Ben. "I know it's not ideal, but we can make the best of it! What do you say?"
"I say that you can go to Hell!" Ben slapped away Vlad's hand, and activated the Omnitrix. Vlad sighed.
"I had hoped that you'd come willingly. But it seems that you can't be swayed." Vlad started to change into his true form, growing taller and more muscular. His pale, white skin almost glowed in the night, as his face contorted, appearing more animal than human. From his short stature of about five feet tall, he grew into a massive hulk of over eight feet tall. His long, muscled arms ended in sharp claws. And his teeth grew into fangs.
Although he had already seen it once before, the sight still shocked and amazed Ben into momentary inaction. Vlad, his bones finished their growing and readjusting, drew his massive paw back, and slapped him, sending Ultra flying through the air several feet, before crashing into a headstone.
"Ouch!" Ben moaned as he got onto his hands and knees. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Vlad's clawed foot come down for him. Acting quick, he rolled forward, dodging the stomp, which instead crumbled the headstone. But he didn't move fast enough, and was caught by Vlad's backhand.
"Ah!" Ben shouted, as he was shoved forward again, smashing into another headstone.
"I would have given you everything!" Vlad said, as he kicked Ben through the headstone. "I would have made you my equal! All you had to do was to have a taste! One small taste!" He reached down and picked Ben up, tossing him into the air. He landed with a thud.
"You offer me a life of murder!" Ben managed to gasp. "A life where I would kill my friends and family!" Vlad punched Ultra 10 in the face. He spat blood into the grass.
"What does that compare with a life or immortality? Of power?" Vlad raked his claws across Ultra's face, drawing a streak of blood across his eye. "You would be invincible, you could be all powerful!"
"I would be a monster!" Ben spat at Vlad. He shakily got onto his hands and knees. He looked up into Vlad's dead, black eyes. "I would be like you. Weak, alone. No friends, no family. Paranoid-"
"Shut up!" Vlad kicked his belly, sending Ben back onto the ground.
"That's what you are, isn't it? You are a weak, lonely creature."
"You're the weak one!" Vlad shouted, as he kicked Ben again. "And you are the one who is going to die tonight!" Ben reached for the Omnitrix, only to have his arm stomped on by Vlad.
"Let me tell you what's going to happen," Vlad's face came within inches of Ben's. "I am going to split you open like a melon, and then I'm going to bleed you dry, as I suck out every last ounce of blood from your body." Vlad flipped Ben onto his back, emphasizing the point.
"You are going to die before I am done feeding, but I'm going to make sure that until you do, you will feel more pain then you've ever felt in your life." Vlad slashed at Ultra's chest, drawing another long red streak down it. Vlad drew his claws to his mouth, savoring the drops of blood on it.
"You're wrong," Ultra grunted. "You will die, and I'm going to be the one to do it!" Vlad simply chuckled.
"Brave down to the last, I respect that," he said. "Good, because fear tastes awful." With that, Vlad opened his mouth, baring his long, sharp fangs. He started to lower down to Ben's throat, ready for the kill. Finally, Ben wiggled his arm free, and activated the Omnitrix.
"WildVine!" He shouted, as he emerged from the green flash. He reached up with his vine-like hands, and ripped Vlad off of him. He threw him across the cemetery, sending Vlad smashing through almost a dozen headstones. Ultra 10 took the chance to get up onto his feet… things, and get ready for Vlad to come back.
"What's the matter, Vlad? Were you hoping for a stake? All I got is a salad!" He taunted as Vlad got to his feet.
"I hate salad," he shot back, popping the bones in his neck. "I always preferred the shrimp! So are you ready, shrimp?" He started running at Ultra.
"Let's finish this!" Ben reached behind him, and grabbed the seed pods he had growing on his back. As Vlad got close, Ben threw the seedpods, they exploding into smoke.
"I can still smell you!" Vlad shouted, as he thrashed his way through the smoke.
"Of course, but I smell different than a human now, don't I?" Ultra retorted. "And now my scent is kind of everywhere."
"Not different enough!" Vlad shouted, as he clawed at WildVine. Ultra 10 dodged the claws, and formed one of his hands into a stake. Vlad clawed at Ultra 10 again, this time making contact. Rather than drawing blood, his fingers sank into WildVine's bark, pulling him towards Vlad. Ben used the momentum to sink the stake deep into Vlad's chest.
"Ugh!" Vlad groaned, looking down. The smoke was starting to clear away, revealing Ultra 10's stake imbedded into his body, right through the heart. Vlad, with recognition in his eyes, drew his face up to look at WildVine. Ben pressed the badge with his free hand, reverting back to his human form.
"Tag, you're it!" Ben said, as Vlad stumbled backwards. Ben's arm was covered in Vlad's black, rotten blood. Upon his detransformation, the Omnitrix turned a yellow color, something that Ben hadn't seen it do as of yet.
Vlad stumbled into a gravestone, his massive momentum crumbling through it. He grabbed at his chest, trying to fill the hole that was now where his heart had been. He sunk to his knees, and looked up at Ben.
"It would seem, that you win." Vlad fell back onto the ground, his body crumbling into dust. The Omnitrix beeped.
"NEW DNA SAMPLE ACQUIRED." The Omnitrix spoke in its disembodied, robotic voice. "DNA GENOME ENCODING COMPLETED, REPAIRING DAMAGED DNA." At that, the Omnitrix beeped again, and Ben felt his wrist begin to burn, as if it was on fire.
"Ouch! What the heck!" He exclaimed, more out of surprise than pain. However, that was quickly being contested, as the searing pain spread up from his wrist, soon engulfing his entire body. "Ah!" He gasped, as he too sunk onto the grass, the searing pain overwhelming. He wiggled around, as if trying to put out a fire. The pain didn't last long, and it quickly dissipated, leaving a fresh, new feeling behind.
"DNA REPARATION COMPLETED," the Omnitrix said, before resorting back into its red recharge mode. Ultra 10 just laid there on the grass for a few minutes, relieved that the burning pain was gone. A minute went by before he sat up. He instantly noticed how dark it was.
"Hey, my vision's back to normal!" He said out loud, out of shock. "And the hunger! It's gone!" He left to his feet. "Boo-yeah!" His communicator beeped on his headset.
"Ultra 10, is everything alright? What's going on?" Julie asked. "Lucky Girl is not too far away, if you need some blood?"
""Everything's perfect!" Ben almost shouted, joy evident in his voice. "I don't have the hunger anymore, or the bloodlust! Guys, I think that the Omnitrix cured me of the vampire bite!"
"That's awesome, dude!" Lukas joined in. "Because as cool as it sounds, having a vampire for a best friend is not too smart!"
"Don't have to tell me that, twice!" Ultra 10 concluded. He took a breath, remembering how beat up he had been from fighting Vlad. His ribs really hurt, and he was bleeding all over. "Ugh, I guess that I had better head to Julie's apartment so that she can bandage me up. Vlad was a tough fight."
"Sounds good," Julie said. "Lukas, you can probably sign off for the night, I'll take care of him."
"Good with me," Lukas replied. "It's late, and I'm beat. I'll let Lucky Girl know that you're back to normal. She'll want to head to Julie's too, I'm sure. Catch you tomorrow, Ultra 10." With that, he turned off his communicator. Ben looked down at his Omnitrix, seeing that it was still in the red.
"Looks like I'm catching a ride with Lucky Girl this time," Ben concluded, as he headed out of the cemetery. He only had to search for a few minutes before he found Lucky Girl, carrying a grocery bag full of raw beef.
"Hey, Lucky Girl!" Ben waived at her. She cautiously approached.
"Hey, your guy said that you're cured?" She asked.
"Yeah, the Omnitrix got a sample of Vlad's blood, and scanned it into the database. Then it repaired my DNA." Ultra 10 explained.
"So now you can change into a vampire at will?" She asked.
"Don't know yet, but I'm planning on not being a vampire for a very long time," Ultra 10 joked.
"So how do you feel?" She asked. "You look pretty beat up."
"I feel just about as bad as I look," he said. "I need to get to Julie's to have her bandage me up. But the DNA repair really drained the watch, no telling when it's going to be recharged. Mind if I catch a ride with you?" Lucky Girl smiled and dropped the bag of beef.
"Sure!" She called the Arcamada Book of Spells, and flipped to the teleportation page. Then she took Ultra 10's hand in her own, and chanted the magic words. In front of them, a portal opened, and they stepped through, arriving just out front of Julie's apartment.
"Ta-da!" She said, letting go of Ultra's hand, and spreading them out, to make a show of it. "Thanks for riding Lucky Airlines! Be sure to leave us a five-star review on yelp!"
"Thanks!" Ultra 10 said. "You coming inside?"
"It's pretty late, and I should probably get home to get ready for school tomorrow," she said. She looked uncomfortable at her next statement.
"I'm, uh…" She glomped him in a hug. "I'm really glad that he didn't kill you. Or you know… make you a vampire." She tightened the hug until Ultra groaned. Upon hearing him, she immediately released him.
"Sorry," she said, embarrassed.
"It's alright," Ultra said. "I'm really glad that those didn't happen either."
"Well, I'd better get going!" Lucky Girl said, a bit too quick for it to sound cheery. More like embarrassed. She waived goodbye, and ran off into the night. Ben made his way up to Julie's apartment. He rung the bell, and Julie quickly opened it.
"Oh my-" Julie stated when she saw him. "Come in! Lay down on the couch, I'm going to grab my first-aid kit!" She turned and took off down the hall, to go get her kit. Ben shut the door, and went to sit on her couch. He took off his mask, his suit folding up into itself. However, the cuts in the suit prevented it from closing all the way, and it kinda just ended up a chaotic mess. He placed it on the coffee table.
Julie came back into the room, carrying her first-aid kit. She pulled out the iodine, and started dripping it into his cuts down his chest and face.
"This Vlad really did a number on you, didn't he?" She asked.
"Yeah, he did," Ben confirmed. "Ouch!" He winced at the burn of the iodine.
"Sorry," Julie apologized. "It would be easier if you took off your shirt. I can work on your cuts better." Ben grunted his agreement, and slipped his shirt off of his head.
"That's my lucky shirt, too," he complained. "I guess that this one's done for." He leaned back onto the couch, as Julie continued to patch him up.
"I'm sorry about your shirt. Time to get a new one?"
"Nah, ouch! I've got several more like them. Ouch!" Ben reached for his side after Julie had bumped it.
"What's the matter?" Julie asked, and helped Ben turn over. "Owe, that looks painful!"
"What's it look like?" Ben asked.
"Well your ribs are defiantly bruised. You could have even cracked a rib," Julie said.
"What can you do about that?" Ben groaned.
"Not a whole lot. I've got some painkiller I'll give you. Other than that, take it easy for a few weeks, and try not to bend over too often. The ribs and bruising will take care of themselves."
"Thanks, Julie." Ben said. Julie nodded, as she finished bandaging up Ben's cuts.
"Be careful about the cut on your face. If you're not, it could scar. And that would be a dead give away to your identity. I don't know how well these suggestion potions work, but let's not try our luck." Ben nodded his acknowledgement. He looked at his wrist, and noticed that the watch was still in the red.
"Mind giving me a ride home?" He asked. "Watch is still red."
"No problem," Julie said. "Car's outside. I'll put this away, and meet you down there." Ben nodded, and made his way out to the car. It wasn't a long drive from Julie's apartment to his house, only about ten or so minutes. When they arrived a couple of houses down, Ben thanked Julie and got out of the car, making his way to his house and into his bedroom. He collapsed onto his bed and quickly passed out.
A/N:
That's where I'm going to cut it this time. What were your thoughts? What did you think about this Vlad/Dracula arc? What would you have done if you were in Ben's position? Would you believe Vlad, and take him up on his offer, or would you believe Jason, Vlad's "Wild Card"? Could Vlad have been telling the truth? There were hints that Vlad was influencing Ben's mind, but it could have just as easily been his "vampire side" talking. I'll let you decide which it was. I'll try to put up a poll on my profile so that you can answer without needing to leave a review. There'll be four choices, so choose wisely. (Although if you want to leave a review, please do! Tell me your thoughts!) What about the relationship between Lucky Girl and Ultra 10? Is there any romance there, or is it still platonic? Any other comments, questions, theories or excitement waiting to burst? Leave it in a review!
Thanks for reading, and have an awesome day!
Review Responses:
UchihaNaurto247: Ok to make sure my review makes sense, you gotta give some context over here. I've only watched OG Ben 10, Alien Force and Ultimate Alien and I don't remember seeing some vampire type of enemy there, except for Darkstar (whatever his name is) absorbing people's energy or something and draining them. I'm excited with the way things are going, this seems more like a problem right up in Gwen's area of expertise. Is this Vlad guy a match for every single one of Ben's aliens? (Well...the ones he's used so far...which isn't much) Oh I almost forgot. You can just call me Uchiha to keep things simple.
Thanks for the review, Uchiha! Lord Transyl is from Ben 10 Omniverse. To be short, and to not give too many spoilers in case you decide to watch it, here is who Lord Transyl is: Ghostfreak comes from a star-system that is classic monster themed. The aliens there include the Loboans, (Benwolf) the Transylians, (Frankenben and Dr. Viktor) the The Khufans, (Benmummy) and the Vladats, who are based off of vampires/Dracula. (Ben gets the transformation Whampire.) It is from the Vladat king, Lord Transyl, and Count Dracula that inspired Vlad Sclzensk, Lord Dracul.
Unfortunately, you are right, that Lord Dracul would be a great villain for Gwen. However, it is Ben that was bitten, and had to face off with Vlad. However, there are still a number of vampires out there, and Ben is kinda out of the action for a few weeks. Gwen will have her chance to face off against another vampire lord in the future, maybe even Vlad, as bad guys sometimes don't stay dead. As for if Vlad was a match for Ben's aliens, Vlad has all the weaknesses that vampires have, (vampire myths were created from encounters with Vlad in this AU.) and so Ben had only to expose the myths about vampires. The effects of his damaged DNA still echoed through his transformations, the same way that Ben is still Ben, even while transformed. He still had a bloodlust as Heatblast or Wildvine, though it was slightly dampened. His extra brutality was also effected by the bite.
However, Vlad wasn't a turned vampire, but a born dhampir, meaning that there are other, more powerful dhampirs out there, possibly even pureblooded Vladats. And they may prove to be more of a challenge to Ben and Gwen. And we have seen that Ben has acquired his first non-original alien. He will continue to collect, and unlock more as time goes on.