Gwen had returned to an unstable world with Bellwood as its epicenter. The resistance was falling apart under Gwen's nose, without a stable fighting force the odds of them beating the Plumbers were slim. A war was waged overnight between the two groups. Heroes were fighting on two fronts, against villains and Plumbers. The galactic organization had claimed that the uprising of vigilantes was unlawful and would be dealt with promptly. She had haphazardly chosen the role of leader out of respect for grandpa Max's decision; the woman didn't understand the complications that came with the job.
After the news of Ben Tennyson's betrayal of the Plumbers and the attack on a Plumber building orchestrated by "terrorists" became public, most people turned their back on a new legion of heroes out of fear for the Plumbers. Citizens from a multitude of worlds were distraught to hear of Ben Tennyson's trial and possible death sentence; they must have been holding onto the sliver of hope that he'd save them from this mess.
"We can't leave them to die!" Julie yelled at the redhead.
Everyone had returned to Bellwood, defeated and doubtful. Their hometown was in no better shape than they were. The group had relocated to Gwen's house. Lucy had woken up but refused to talk about what happened.
"Nobody is going to die," Gwen snapped. "We can't just run in without a plan. The future of our galaxy and countless lives are on the line. One wrong move and it's all over."
"Why can't we just storm the castle? We have enough firepower between the two of us to get Ben back," Charmcaster announced with an annoyed huff.
"We don't even know where Ben is! And even then the Plumbers have some heavy hitters on their side; we can't guarantee a win through brute strength."
"About that. I might know where they're taking Ben after the trial to wait out the time before his execution. There's a supermax prison called Ender in the next sector," Tetrax commented.
Gwen turned to the ex-plumber, "Where is it?" she asked.
"On a planet named Thanatos sitting at the end of this current galaxy. Basically a desolate floating rock."
"That's a lead," Hope quipped.
"Not many people return from that place. There aren't even living guards there, everything is artificial intelligence. The only way on-world is through a pod that's shot from the warden's ship orbiting the planet. A transport ship delivers them to the warden and prisoners enter their final part of processing before being sent to Ender. The defenses are impenetrable, if Ben ends up there then we won't be able to do anything."
"So we're gonna have to break him loose before he gets to the warden's ship," Manny suggested.
"Fat chance. Ben's transport ship will be top secret and on top of that he'll probably be surrounded by a fleet of ships," Tetrax explained.
"So the only chance we have is to spring him at the trial," Allen said willfully.
"That could work," Tetrax agreed.
Everyone seemed to nod in agreement.
"No. They'll be expecting us to show up at his trial because they know any other means would be most likely impossible. We have to break him out on the warden's ship before he's sent into the pod," Gwen interjected quickly. "What is the final processing on the warden's ship?"
"From what I heard it's a de-mutating process. They take your powers or abilities away through a machine; one negative side effect is memory loss, Ben could end up with no memory at the end of treatment."
"Wait, so they're gonna take away his Omnitrix?"
"Either they somehow deactivate it or take it away. I know that watch is very adamant about staying attached to that boy's wrist but so are the Plumbers when it comes to their job."
"What will they do with the watch afterwards?" Julie asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine."
Everyone in the room stayed quiet, they knew what would happen if the Omnitrix fell into the Plumber's hands. Gwen's head was spinning; there was so much to digest and no time to do so. She was torn between rescuing Ben and stepping up as leader of the resistance; the redhead couldn't abandon either of them in their time of need. Hera noticed the woman's internal torment and placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
"Go save your cousin. I'll take care of things here," Hera spoke.
"This isn't some measly task like picking up groceries. We're talking about bringing together and commanding hundreds of people. They only listened to me because of my relation to Ben and that only worked for most. How would you be able to coax them into fighting back as a team?"
"Back home I was a general for thousands of soldiers; I think I can handle grouping some mutants and aliens together," she quipped. "And for the record Ben had nothing to do with this. It was you who made them rise up in the first place, because you gave them something to believe in."
"We'll stay here with her," Manny stated firmly.
"Yeah the queen is going to need a royal guard if she plans to lead," Helen joked.
"Make sure to knock some sense into that cousin of yours," Allen chuckled.
Gwen smiled at the supporting words of her friends and gave Hera an agreeing nod. That left the redhead with Tetrax, Paradox, Hope, and Lucy.
"Okay, I guess we're gonna go rescue Ben."
Clapping and cheers erupted in the room. The mood certainly changed from earlier and maybe it was because they had a plan to solve things. Julie touched Gwen's hand and she glanced back at the black haired woman.
"Bring him back to us," she laughed with tears in her eyes.
Gwen hugged the asian girl tightly.
"I will."
According to the news Ben would be at an undisclosed location for a week until his trial on a nearby Plumber-controlled planet. Media outlets were aggressively trying to find out the planet, so they could witness the trial of the century. Plumbers stated Ben's trial was private for security reasons, including that the only people present would be immediate family. Gwen knew that was bullshit because Ben's poor mother had not gotten one call from them. She wasn't even able to visit her own son and now they were gonna kill him off without her even saying her goodbyes.
Tetrax suggested Lucy infiltrating Ben's transport ship so they could have an inside person let them onto the warden's ship when the time comes. Tetrax would pull a few favors to get the exact location of the planet and ship. Entering the warden's airspace with the transport ship nearby would draw suspicion. They needed to reach a secured destination a few days earlier. Tetrax pointed out a couple planets that could act as a safehouse and a place to regroup if things went south. The transfer of Ben Tennyson from one ship to another would draw both crews' attention, making it so a "non-hostile" ship could float by undetected. They would only have a small timeframe to board the enemy vessel and even less time to grab Ben and get out.
The next big question was the Omnitrix. If Ben loses that weapon on his wrist then the Plumbers gain a major foothold over them. Gwen had no backup plan besides praying that they get there before the de-mutation process.
"You know when I used to work with Azmuth, he would always mention that he was working on some type of upgrade for the watch," Tetrax commented. "He called it the ultimate version."
"What?! Why didn't he tell Ben about it?" Gwen shouted in shock.
"I don't know. He probably thought Tennyson wasn't worthy enough for it. And I guess he was right."
Gwen looked down at the floor with regret. All these events had made her forget about the death of the watch's creator. It felt so long ago that he died and she didn't ask Ben about it; he never spoke about it either. Another tragedy that pushed the young hero to the edge. Personally, she wasn't as close to Azmuth but Ben's connection to him was unique, almost like a father and son. When she came across his body on Galvan Prime, the only thought that came across her mind was Ben's pain.
"If we can get that watch then it wouldn't matter if his current Omntrix is destroyed."
"It's gonna be tricky gaining access to his things. The building went into total lockdown 24 hours after Azmuth's death."
"Cooper," Lucy groaned. "Cooper could help us."
"Did you forget that he tried to kill you?" Hope questioned.
"But he didn't. He hesitated on pulling the trigger."
"Listen Lucy, I don't think Cooper will make a good addition to the team at the moment," Gwen spoke softly.
"He's in a shiity place right now! We both are, if I'm gonna be honest, but leaving him to his demons would only make things worse."
"Maybe the boy's vast knowledge and control of technology could help us get the watch," Tetrax commented.
"Give me a day, Gwen. I'll bring him back."
"And if he doesn't cooperate?"
The blonde glanced at the ground for a moment before looking up with a new conviction, "then I'll kill him myself."
Gwen and Tetrax shared a look before the redhead nodded in agreement.
"You're taking Hope with you."
Charmcaster threw her arms up, "You serious right now?", she barked.
"Dead serious. If you're gonna be a part of this team then you're gonna have to act like it."
"Thanks Gwen," Lucy replied.
"Don't make me regret it," she snarked and turned towards the group. "So everyone knows their roles, right? Terax and I will figure the rest of the plan for those of us going after Ben. Hera, I'm trusting you to rally the troops because I have a feeling that this war is unavoidable. Let's do this."
Charmcaster had only driven a number of times in her life but every time felt extremely awkward for her. It didn't mean that she thought about flying around on a broomstick. Hex had taught her the old world way of doing things, and driving lessons weren't on the to-do list. Gwen had lent them her sedan to make things easier. Allen and Manny gave them a few locations that they thought Cooper would hide out. The silence was killing Hope but she didn't exactly want to make conversation with the blonde.
"You're giving us a lot of trouble, girly," Hope finally spoke up.
"Well when someone needs help, I tend to help them."
"That's rich coming from you."
"I know I made mistakes in the past-"
"Mistakes? I think it was more than some mistakes."
"I was in a bad place! Okay? And I'm sorry! But how could you sit there and give me that shit when you've been fighting Ben and Gwen for years!" Lucy shouted.
"The difference is that I was never his friend from the start so he had no reason to trust me. But you, on the other hand, were family to him and you backstabbed him. Betrayal is the worst when you don't expect it."
"Fuck you. I didn't ask for this ethics class," Lucy berated and turned to the window.
"I know what it feels like to be betrayed and to betray. I've been on both sides of the line. What I'm trying to say is that Ben and Gwen still trust you after all you did and don't ever trade that for anything."
Hope and Lucy checked every spot on Manny's list and came up empty-handed. They were currently searching his apartment for any clues. The sorceress was about to give up until Lucy came out of the bedroom with a black lacy bra swinging around her finger. Hope raised an eyebrow at the clothing item and glanced at a smirking Lucy.
"It seems that Cooper isn't as innocent as he seems," she laughed as she tossed the bra over. "Can you track down the girl this belongs to?"
Hope jumped back in disgust and let the bra land on the floor. She picked it up with hesitation, before closing her eyes to concentrate. A faint trace was attached to the item. She wasn't as good at tracking as Gwen was. She was able to pick up a location after a few minutes.
"I got her," Hope said with certainty.
They dashed out of the apartment and entered the car again, Hope took off down the busy street narrowly dodging cars. It was a bit of a drive before they pulled up to a Victorian style mansion. Hope parked on the street so as not to arouse suspicion, and they walked up the long driveway. Lucy stopped a couple inches from the large oak doors and gave the knocker a few taps. Charmcaster grew agitated when no one answered the door after five minutes. The silver haired woman's hand started to glow purple and she whispered an incantation. Lucy was shocked to see the doors creak open slowly.
"I was sure you were gonna blow it off the hinges."
"We're trying to be discreet, no?"
The duo walked into the dark foyer and checked their surroundings. A dark haired lady was standing at the top of the stairs with a futuristic weapon pointed at them. She was pretty despite the deep frown on her face.
"We're sorry for coming in unannounced. But we have a few questions for you," Lucy called out.
"I don't have anything to tell you. Get out of my house."
"Where's blondey? We know he's in here!" Hope yelled harshly as she scanned the house.
"We just wanna know where Cooper is. Do you happen to know where he is?" Lucy pleaded.
"I wish I knew what you were talking about. Now get the fuck OUT of my house," Elena snapped as she aimed at the pair.
"You really want to lie to us right now? We checked all his usual spots, it would make sense he would hide out in his little play-thing's house!" Hope bluffed.
It was true that they checked everywhere for him but they had no proof that he came here. Charmcaster could only hope this woman fell for the bait. This could always end in senseless violence but she planned to de-escalate it before that happened.
"What did you say to me, bitch?" Elena growled. "How dare you come into my house and accuse me of some bullshit?"
Elena looked noticeably angry at the witch's comments and it only made the feeling worse when she saw her smirking. The scientist gripped the laser weapon's handle tightly and took aim at Charmcaster. It hummed violently as light flashed from the side of the metallic silver barrel.
"Stop," a voice called from behind Elena.
The woman relaxed when a hand squeezed her shoulder. She glanced back to Cooper's vibrant smile and shocking electric eyes.
"But Coop-"
"It's okay, baby," Cooper whispered and planted a quick kiss on her lips.
The blonde turned to the duo in the foyer with a slight frown.
"You here to take me in? Because I'll go, just leave Elena alone."
"It's your lucky day," Hope remarked.
"We're not here to arrest you or anything. We need your help," Lucy interjected.
"That's funny. The last time someone burst through doors asking for my help, someone really special to me ended up dead."
Silence filled the house in an instant. Hope and Elena looked at the floor, knowing it wasn't their place to say anything. Lucy took a determined step forward to face Cooper's demons. No more guilt. No more regret.
"It wasn't my place to ask you to kill me. I was being selfish to think I could die a deserving death in hopes that it would wash me of all my sins. But our sins are ours to hold; one of mine being the death of your mother and I sincerely apologize. I will forever remember that I'm responsible for that event, but for you to be crushed by my sin isn't your burden to shoulder. You can choose whether or not to forgive me, but make that decision moving forward not sulking in the past."
Cooper was silent for a couple moments and Elena put a supporting arm around his waist. She smiled at him lovingly and coaxed him to make the right decision. The darkness that loomed over his memory of his mother was starting to fade. Her face became clearer by the second and tears escaped the blonde's eyes. Vengeance was a venomous snake that twisted itself around his body and completely restricted his better judgement; the venom dripping off the fangs of the beast was enough to entrap a conquest of revenge in his heart. Now it had loosened its grip on him and allowed for his escape right into his smiling mother's arms. The vision of her felt so real like she never left; instead of scaly skin, now he felt the warm embrace of his mom. 'I love you, baby boy' echoed from his mother's lips and he'll forever remember those words.
"What do you need help with?" Cooper said firmly.
Lucy and Hope looked at each other before glancing back at the man in shock. He stepped away from Elena and started down the stairs slowly.
"On one condition, Elena doesn't get involved."