Chapter 142: Trial By Fire: Part 1

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Ben 10 Or Any Of The Characters

Disclaimer: I Don't Own The Rights To Nathan Black Or Any Associated Characters, The Rights Go To annihalator2015

Author's Note:

* Hello and welcome to Chapter One Hundred and Forty Two.

* All I will say is that it's in this chapter in which things begin to take off. I guess that I will also say that if I hadn't mentioned it yet, we are getting pretty close to the end of this Volume.

* That's pretty much all I have. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

Earth-Prime

Friday, February 1st, 2019

The Forever Knights' Main Headquarters

Enoch

Smith had come to get me the following morning just as I had asked him to. We took the elevator down to the Special Projects Labs to check on Subject 20PY. As we walked to the chamber that the subject was kept in, I spoke to Smith.

"Are you sure that he's nearing the end?"

Smith nodded.

"Positive, Sir."

"Okay, if you say so. Then, we should extract his DNA before he expires."

"How are we going to do that?"

I looked at him with annoyance.

"The same way that we extracted DNA from the last nineteen subjects. We'll..."

The sound of guttural screaming coming from the chamber cut me off. I came to a complete stop as the screaming continued, accompanied by another set of screaming.

"What is that?" Smith asked.

I ignored his question and began walking forward again, albeit slowly. Eventually, the door to the chamber was blown off of its hinges, hitting the wall across the hall.

What could have done that? Those doors were built like tanks!

I continued to walk forward and noticed someone slumped against the door that now leaned on the opposite wall. No, not someone. A body. The body was smoking and there was a sizeable hole in the chest area, where the smoke was coming from. It was like he had been cooked through. As I noticed this, someone speaking in a panicked state from inside the chamber caught my attention.

"P...Please! Don't do this! We can..."

The person's voice was cut off by some kind of inhuman shriek, followed by a scream of pain from the other scientist within the chamber. The man flew out of the chamber, pushed by a beam of some kind of fiery energy and slammed into the door along with the other body. Just like the other body, this scientist's body had a hole in it. He had been burned through, as well. And just then, a figure began to emerge from the chamber, causing me to begin walking backward. The figure was completely on fire.

When he turned to look at me, I noticed violent yellow glowing spots where his eyes, nose and mouth should have been. As he noticed me, he let out another inhuman shriek and attacked. I don't know how, but somehow I managed to dodge the attack. The sleeve of my suit coat still got singed, but I was alive. Once the figure realized that he had missed me, he turned and begin sprinting down the hall. He extended his arms ahead of himself and fired beams of fire from his palms, melting through the wall ahead of him. After that, he was gone. Once he was gone, I heard footsteps behind me.

"Sir, are you okay?!" Smith asked as he grabbed my burnt sleeve.

I yanked away from his grip and looked at him with annoyance.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine!"

I put to my hand to my chin.

"It would seem that Subject 20PY has escaped from his confines. Hopefully Wayne will now see that there is no market for making biological weapons."

"What do we do about him?"

I looked back up at him.

"Nothing. We do absolutely nothing. He runs amok in the city and causes enough trouble for Tennyson to come after him. Oh, this is just terrific!"

"But..." Smith tried to protest, but I cut him off.

"Come along, Smith." I said as I walked past him. "There is more work to be done."

I walked ahead alone for a few seconds, before I heard Smith hurry to catch up with me.

Ben

That Morning

The Tennyson House

That morning we all slept in, as per us having the day off of school. When I woke up, I felt slightly better than I had been feeling recently. But only slightly better. Gwen's arm was still draped over my chest, holding me close to her. I slowly and carefully got out of her grip, trying not to wake her, but it didn't do me very good. As I sat up on the edge of the bed, I felt Gwen begin to move behind me, as she let out a yawn.

"Good morning. How's your leg?"

I shrugged.

"It feels alright. It's been a day and a half since it happened. If the wound had gotten infected, I think I would have known by now."

"You should still go to the doctor like my father told you to."

"Nah. With the healing factor that the Omnitrix gives me, there's no need."

"You should still..."

"Gwen, I appreciate that you're worried about me, but trust me, I'll be fine."

"But..."

I sighed and stood up from the bed, determined not to allow this to turn into an argument.

"I'm gonna go eat breakfast."

I walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, just in time to see Dad getting up from the kitchen table.

"I have to go to work, buddy." He said as patted my shoulder on his way out of the kitchen. "See you tonight."

"See you, Dad."

I walked further into the kitchen to make myself breakfast.

Sometime Later

I sat at the table, making my way through a plate of waffles. I looked up as Gwen walked into the kitchen.

"Please, if this is about me refusing to go the hospital, just..."

She interrupted me as she reached my spot at the table.

"Has nothing to do with that. Here, look at this."

She held out her phone in front of my face and there was a video—a news report, apparently—playing on it. I read the headline:

Flaming Man terrorizing Downtown Bellwood

I watched footage of a few police officers shooting at a flaming figure, which didn't seem to be doing anything. A second or two later, they ran to cover as the figure threw a fireball at their car, blowing it up. Then, the figure turned, so that it was looking right at me and shot a beam of fire at the camera. Then static. Nothing but static. I dropped my fork, which had a piece of syrup-covered waffle on it, which landed on the tile floor.

I hope that the cameraman got away safely. Yet, I feel like that's unlikely.

I got up from the table to clean up the mess that I had just made.

"Ben?"

"I'll go check it out after I'm done eating breakfast."

I walked over to the paper towel roll that sat on the counter and pulled a couple off of it. I walked to the kitchen faucet and ran the paper towel under water, than squeezed the excess water out of it. Gwen said nothing as I walked back to my chair and bent down to pick up my fork. I put it on the table and began to use the paper towel to scrub the syrup off of the floor.

Once it was clean, I got up and threw the paper towel in the trash, along with the piece of waffle. I returned to the table and picked up my fork and took it to the sink to wash it and my hands. Once I had done that, I returned to the table. I continued eating.

Sometime Later

I had finished eating and returned to our bedroom to get my costume on. Gwen came in and shut the door behind her.

"I'll stay here and make sure that Albedo and Sunny stay here, too. You can handle this by yourself this time. I know you'll want to."

I nodded.

"But just know that this is a onetime thing. Soon enough, you won't be out there alone anymore, whether you like it or not."

I nodded again and put my mask on. She walked up to me and gently put her hand on my cheek. I slightly turned my head to look at her and I saw the worry in her green eyes.

"Please be careful!"

She retracted her hand but I gently grabbed it, which still surprised her. I put her hand back on my cheek and just held it there for a few more seconds. I nodded at her again in silence, before leaving the room. My silence may have scared her, but I was scared myself. What was I so scared about? I had faced many enemies in the past, so why was I scared this time? This was unlike anything I had ever faced. This was a man made entirely of fire and brimstone. And he seemed to be very angry.

Sometime Later

Downtown Bellwood

Using my wrist gauntlets, I swung through the streets of Downtown Bellwood. And as I did this, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I swung up onto a rooftop and stopped there. I pulled out my phone and when I looked at it, saw that there was an unknown number calling. And yet, I answered it anyway. Before I could even speak, the person on the other end spoke.

"I know what you're doing kid and you should stop now!"

I recognized that voice.

"Director Steel?"

He didn't acknowledge me.

"I told you last summer that the Forever Knights are not to be messed with! You need to back off right now before you get yourself hurt!"

Just hearing from him caught me off guard. But hearing what he had to say made my temper flare.

"Director Steel, if you actually gave a fuck about the situation with them, you would be handling it!"

"Kid, don't you dare hang up on me!"

I did anyway. I put my phone back into my pocket and turned my attention back to the situation at hand. I approached the edge of the roof and looked down at the streets below. There were flames, wreckage, all signs of chaos.

Just follow the trail of destruction, a voice tickled the back of my neck.

"Yeah, no shit." I replied.

I descended from the rooftop, ran down the block, turned the corner onto the next street and there he was. In all his flaming glory, the figure on fire was across the street from me, levitating off of the ground. I came to a stop just a few feet from him.

"Alright buddy, why don't you just calm down and we'll talk this..."

He turned his head to look at me, violent glowing yellow eyes staring into mine and for some reason, that's when it clicked for me.

Inside the cell was a black teenager, maybe our age, who was restrained to a metal slab. There were also cords or tubes or something connected to his left arm. But that wasn't the disturbing part. The boy was constantly mutating. Every few seconds, he would change from looking human, to looking like Heatblast while his muscle structure would slightly increase.

And a few seconds after that, he would revert back to his human self, while losing the slight increase of muscle. And during these mutations, he would grit his teeth and tightly shut his eyes, as he let out very audible grunts of pain. Agony was more like it, actually.

After my brief flashback ended, I spoke to the figure.

"Wait, I know you! Your name is Alan Albright, isn't it?"

The figure suddenly went completely still and that made me nervous. Eventually he spoke and in an enraged tone.

"No, no, no, no, no!"

He sent a beam of fire my way and I was lucky to get out of the way with only a slightly singed jacket.

"Thanks to what I've become, I can never go back to being that guy!"

He leaped from the sidewalk and his lower half transformed into a stream of fire, as he flew up and away from me. He may have been done talking, but I still had much to say. I fired my grappling hook and took off in pursuit of Alan, if that's who this was, anyway. I caught up with him and eventually began swinging alongside him.

"Alright hotshot, why don't you just cool down a little? It's not the end of the world for you! I can..."

"No, I know what you really are!"

"Alan, I want to try and help you!"

"Go away!"

His lower end burst with fire, sending him ahead of me at an astonishing speed. I grappled forward and struggled to catch up with him. Eventually I did catch up and I began to speak to him again.

"Alan, please! I think I can help you! You have options!"

He was silent.

"I know some people who might be able to help you! You don't have to live like..."

"No! I won't let you take me back to the doctors!"

The doctors? Oh, right! The Forever Knights did this to him!

"Alan, I promise that I don't mean you any harm. Just calm down and let me..."

He stopped in midair and turned to look at me, all within a couple seconds.

"Leave me alone!"

He formed a fireball with his hands and threw it at me. But instead of hitting me anywhere on my body, it hit my grapple line and completely destroyed it, sending me down to the streets. I had to act fast and fired my other grappling hook and once it attached itself to something, used both my hands in an attempt to slow my fall. Once I reached the ground, I turned and watched Alan fly away.

Poor kid. The bonding process—forcing the alien DNA into his body, that is—must have cost him his sanity.

I looked down at the Omnitrix.

The kid can't control his powers, but I can. Maybe it's time to fight fire with fire.

Minutes Later

I flew through the air using Heatblast's powers, finally catching up with Alan.

"Alan, please stop! If you don't cool down a little, people could get hurt because of you!"

He turned slightly to see me.

"You again?! I told you to leave me alone!"

How does he know that it's me? Is it really that obvious?

He threw another fireball at me, only this time it had no effect on me.

"Ha! Nice try buddy! I happen to be made of fire and brimstone, just like you!"

He didn't stop tossing fireballs my way, though. Even when they still didn't do anything. He finally ceased fire, let out a grunt of anger and began flying away from me again. And so the chase continued.

I need to subdue him for long enough to get through to him. Sorry bud, but this might hurt.

I quickened by pace and caught up with him in no time. But instead of flying alongside him, I slammed right into him.

"Oof!" he let out a grunt as I hit him.

I sent us down toward the streets and we slammed into the asphalt below. I got off of him and he was unmoving, seeming dazed.

"Alan, I want you to listen to me! I know your situation seems bleak, but it doesn't always have to be this way! I know people who could help you! If you calm down long enough for me to contact them, we can get you a solution!"

He looked up at me and at first, I thought he was going to give in and calm down. But then I saw his eyes began to glow yellow again. He was pissed. I could tell just from seeing those eyes of his glow. He lifted his hand and shot a beam of fire at me, nailing me right in the chest and sending me backward into a car, setting off its alarm.

"Fuck you and fuck your solution!" he said as he got up, throwing another fireball at me. "Did you honestly think that I would just give in and trust you! You'll just take me back to the fucking assholes who did this to me!"

"No, I won't! Alan, I want to..."

"Shut the fuck up!" he roared as he fired beams of fire at me from both of his palms.

After I was hit again, I got up and looked behind me. The middle of the car had been melted, but lucky for me, it hadn't gone up in flames. I turned my attention back to Alan, who was now levitating just slightly above the street.

"So, it's a fight you want from me, huh? Well you got it!"

He lifted both of his arms and flames began to swirl around his entire body.

What's he gonna do? Is he gonna cause some sort of fiery explosion? If he does that... No! Innocent people could be harmed!

"Alan, you have to stop this! You could harm innocent people! And you're scaring them! You need to..."

"I don't care!"

Well, I do, I thought.

I let out a sigh as I began to form as big of a fireball as I could. I then threw it at him and he made no attempt to dodge it. When it hit him, it knocked him from the air and back down to the street.

Well, that was easy. To be fair, he's inexperienced with his powers, so he probably doesn't know how to absorb flames yet.

I walked over to him to where he was collapsed on the street.

"Are we done now? Alan, I was being serious. I don't want to hurt you, I just want to help you. I..."

He quickly looked up and lifted his hand, but this time I dodged his beam of fire which instead nailed the building behind me. It didn't cause any major damage, it just left a black spot on the wall. I looked back at him as he began to levitate again.

"Alan, you are putting the civilians in..."

I stopped now that it had finally hit me.

No amount of talking will get through to him. He's too far gone. So, the only option left is to defeat him before he can cause more trouble. He's inexperienced with his powers, so he can't absorb fire yet. So, therefore, I should be able to get him to repeatedly attack me and he'll eventually tire himself out. That's how I'll beat him.

He turned around and shot forward, toward an apartment building. He surprised me when he burned a hole through the wall and entered the building.

Damn it, there are civilians in there! That's even more dangerous than being out here! I have to stop him!

I used Heatblast's powers to resume flying as well, following Alan into the apartment building. Once I got in there, I quit flying.

"Alright Alan, I'm through going easy on..."

I was cut off when I was hit by a fireball, this time actually sending me through a wall and into an apartment. An occupied apartment. I landed against a coffee table, with three people around me and they all seemed too stunned to speak.

"Get out." I urged them. "Vacate the building, it's not safe here. Get as many other people as possible to leave if you can."

I waited until they got outside before getting back up and leaving the room myself. As soon as Alan noticed me again, he began to shoot beams of fire at me once more. I unfortunately decided to dodge them, so that they hit the interior walls of the building instead.

"Watch it, Sparky! Or you'll bring the whole place down on us!"

"Just shut up and fucking die already!"

He alternated between throwing fireballs at me and shooting beams of fire at me, all of which I absorbed with my body. After a few minutes of this, I felt a familiar lightheaded feeling.

Where have I felt this feeling before?

That's when I finally remembered.

Oh, this isn't the last time that I've been inside a building while in the form of Heatblast! Ben Tennyson, you fucking idio...

I let out a shrill scream as my form changed.

Minutes Later

That day that Animo trapped me in an apartment building, I tried to use my powers to thaw myself out. I didn't succeed and ended up burning down the building as I switched to some other form of Heatblast. Some sort of thing made entirely out of fire. I thought that I had come up with enough experience to pull this off.

Well, I was right and wrong. I didn't burn down the whole building, but now the entire floor was on fire. Alan vacated once it happened and so I followed him back outside. There was a crowd of people waiting for us and to my surprise, Alan didn't attack. As he just remained static, levitating above the ground, I looked down at my hands made entirely out of fire.

Well, at least I didn't burn down the building this time, I thought.

I turned to look at the building and I then realized how wrong I had been. I hadn't set just that one floor ablaze. The whole building was burning, not just one floor.

"Fuck. This is bad." I whispered to myself.

Author's Note:

* And that's it for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed.

* What do you all think is going to happen? I'm really interested in any theories on how things will play out.

* I'm going to go though, so have a Bwen-tastic day and bye.

Next Chapter: S.E.C.T. apprehends Alan after he threatens to hurt a citizen of Bellwood. Ben and Director Steel have an argument. Later on, Ben makes a terrible mistake that will only lead to more problems.