"So let me get this straight, you want me to break into some guy's house?" Cooper scoffed.
"It's not some guy. He's probably the smartest alien in several galaxies. And more specifically, we want you to gain access to his chambers, where he keeps all his research and inventions," Tetrax reproached.
"You still haven't told me who we're stealing from."
"Not important-" Tetrax started.
"Azmuth," Gwen answered quickly.
The ex-Plumber gave her a look but kept his mouth closed.
"Azmuth? Isn't that the guy who made Ben's watch? How do you expect me to break into that guy's house?!"
"As quickly and as discreet as possible," Gwen insisted.
"You're asking for a lot here…"
"Because I know you're the only one who can do this! Please, Cooper!" Gwen pleaded.
Cooper rubbed his chin in deep thought and said, "Lemme guess, this guy doesn't keep his shit on Earth?"
Gwen shook her head and glanced at him for his answer.
"I need to get some tools from my mom's house and I'll be ready," he said.
"I'll go with him," Lucy volunteered.
Gwen raised an eyebrow at the blonde.
"What? We're wanted. We need to stick together from here on out."
It was a short drive in silence with the only noise being Cooper showing his appreciation for bringing his car back to Bellwood. When they pulled into the driveway, it took Cooper a few moments to even step out of the car. Lucy could tell he was anxious about this whole thing.
"Tell me what you need and I'll go inside to grab it," she quipped.
"Nah. I need to do this plus I highly doubt you know what a magnetic RFID reader is."
Cooper felt nauseous the closer he came to the door. It was followed by extreme fear when he touched the door knob. He was sweating as he clutched the knob and twisted. Lucy had to push the door open because Cooper left it ajar. It was broad daylight so the house was filled with natural light. She saw dust and cobwebs collecting on the unused furniture. Cooper took slow exaggerated steps into the house. Lucy saw the man staring at a certain section of the carpeted floor.
"Hey, it's okay," Lucy comforted as she squeezed his shoulder.
Cooper licked his dry lips and continued further into the old home, passing the kitchen on the way and stopping at another door. Lucy assumed it was the door to the basement and wondered what kind of science experiments she'd find down there. She followed the blonde downstairs into the darkness, and Cooper flipped a switch at the bottom of the stairs. Lights whirled to life, and common household decor began shifting behind wall panels and being replaced with all types of things. Advanced chemistry sets sat atop desks, giant glass tubes filled with mysterious liquids and unknown specimens, parts to different devices scattered across a long desk of inventions.
Lucy was very impressed with the lab setup Cooper had in his own house. How was he able to hide it from his mom or did she know about his second life? She was like a kid in an amusement park that had to look at everything. While she was getting over her surprise, Cooper was already tinkering on something at the desk. The man went straight to work like he never left. Lucy had a feeling that drowning himself in work was a way that he coped with his mother's death. He was an artist painting a masterpiece with precise and deliberate hand movements, everything was calculated. Objects started to glow blue before starting to levitate; this was where the magic began. Parts were floating around his workspace connecting to each other, some were taken apart and others were built into entirely new things. Everything down to the tiniest screw had a job.
"Anything I can do to help?" Lucy inquired.
Cooper gave her an inquisitive look and went back to his work. Lucy knew that there was nothing she could possibly do to assist in the task at hand, nonetheless she wanted to appear useful.
"Yeah actually, you can answer a couple questions I have."
"I'll try my best."
"Did you mean all the things you said back in the forest, about wanting to die and your parents abandoning you then killing themselves?" Cooper asked.
"The parents shit? Yeah. The suicidal tendencies? I don't really know. I spent a lot of time in a place where I thought I could reinvent my convictions, and foolishly based them around an insurmountable ideal. When I saw that things couldn't be any worse my will was replaced with dread. I only experienced this sense of purposelessness once before, and it was when I met Vilgax. In fear of going down such a path again, I chose the only option I thought I had."
"Everyone seems to be trying to find their niche in life. When my mom died I joined the Plumbers; I thought I could be a hero with a tragic backstory. Imagine my surprise when I saw that everyone had a dead loved one they were seeking revenge for. I quit and went on the lam for a bit. My mind went to a dark place and I couldn't find my way out, things got even worse from there. I don't have any advice for you, but hearing a similar story to yours can be the greatest salvation; knowing that you're not alone and that there's a hand to hold when you're scared."
"So you're saying-"
"We can help pull each other out of that hole," Cooper finished with a smile.
Lucy glanced down at the floor and chuckled, "I'd like that".
"I'm done!" Coop prattled as he held up a silver card.
"You're telling me you put on this whole show and all you made was a keycard?" Lucy laughed.
"It's a bit more than that."
**PAGE BREAK**
Gwen was nervous leaving Earth again, something always happened when she was away from home. She glanced out the window to the waving friends below and the redhead put on a fake smile for them. Tetrax was adamant about leaving as soon as Cooper and Lucy came back. He speculated that they may run into some trouble on the way. As if that wasn't obvious enough, Gwen had already assumed they were being tracked. There was always the second option: a traitor, but she didn't want to think about that.
The ship blasted into the atmosphere leaving behind Gwen's second family. Tetrax had already decided on a planet to use as a safehouse; he had mentioned the name to Gwen earlier, he called it Euprosyne. The redhead looked back at the sleeping duo, well they have been through alot in the past 24 hours, she thought. Speaking of sleep the woman didn't know the last time she had a wink of it. Everything has been condensed into one solid shitshow. Sleep isn't even an option for the young heroine, even so the bags under her eyes were only getting worse.
"You should get some rest. It's going to be a bit of a ride," Tetrax pointed out.
"Is my tiredness that obvious?" Gwen jokes.
"Yeah it is," Hope nagged as she stood behind her. "And I'm not going to carry you when you inevitably pass out. Now get up. I'll take over."
Gwen hesitated for a moment.
"She's right. Get some rest because you might not be getting any later. We're fine up here; it's basically a straight flight to Galvan Prime from here," Tetrax agreed.
The redhead got up and winced, she grabbed her aching head and trudged to the back. She collapsed onto the squeaky bed and was out within 30 seconds. Hope watched her from the moment she got up until the second she fell asleep.
"You have feelings for her?" Tetrax asked awkwardly.
Hope turned her attention back to the empty space ahead of her.
"No," she replied sternly. At least not for that Tennyson, she thought. "I guess in a sisterly kind of way, yeah I do."
Ben shot awake in the cell bed; his sheets were slick with sweat. He was hot and cold at the same time like a winter fever. Ben pushed his hair out of his eyes and swung his legs over the side of the bed. The same nightmare has been plaguing his sleep for the past week; visions of him standing over Gwen's lifeless body and a spine-chilling voice telling him to change the future. Every night's dream got more vivid and sometimes he felt like he wouldn't wake up from them.
He leaned against the shower wall and let the cold water fall on his back. How would this lead to Gwen's death? Ben assumed that she would try to rescue him but his cousin had to be smarter than that. For the sake of both of them. He sucked his teeth as he slammed his hand against the tile wall. He couldn't even die in peace. The man got dressed for his trial; a fancy gray jumpsuit, then sat on his bed and waited for the guards.
He started to get slightly curious when they didn't show up at their usual time. Ben tapped on the steel bars and glanced up and down the hallway. A figure popped out of the shadows and scared the man half to death.
"Expecting someone?" Ruby asked.
"The guards?"
"This is a special day, Tennyson. We'll be your escorts for today, I would say you're a lucky man."
Ben noticed Blink standing behind the fiery redhead, the asian woman avoided eye contact with him. Ruby unlocked the cell and stood back for the man to step out.
"I would hope that I don't have to tell you not to try anything funny. I don't really give a shit, I'll fry you where you stand. I would much rather be reading a good book than escorting an idiot."
"That's odd. You're the first person not to call me a murderer," Ben replied as he walked down the hall.
"I hope I don't have to tell you that."
"Almost like you know I'm not a murderer," Ben snipped.
"You're funny," she chuckled. "Then why are you being tried as one."
"That's what I'm still trying to figure out."
Ben winced as his arm was twisted behind his back by Blink. Ruby smirked at her teammate's reaction. She knew what Ben was trying to do and it wasn't going to work for a second. Trying to create doubt this late in the game would take a miracle.
" ."
"Yeah I would advise you to stop talking, inmate. You don't want a broken arm the week of your death sentence, right?" Ruby taunted.
Ben was pushed forward by Blink and he was forced to follow Ruby into a room filled with official people in suits. He didn't recognize anyone in the room except the panel members; Ben expected Rick to show his face to gloat, but the commander was nowhere in sight. Ben took his seat at an empty table. A woman stepped into the courtroom and made her way over to Tennyson. Ben knew her as his lawyer, even though he only met with her once before. She looked extremely anxious sitting down and unpacking her briefcase. Ben chuckled to himself, they probably assigned him some random straight out of law school. He supposed it didn't matter who he got because his sentence was set in stone. Ben set his sights on the three judges sitting in the front of the room at a tall desk. He could see the strings on them from here. Ben took a wild guess and was going to assume that everyone in this room was against him.
"Don't think too much into this. The verdict was made before I even stepped into this room," Ben whispered to his lawyer.
She gave him a sad frown and looked back down at her papers. He was sad as well in a way. The man was never going to see his friends or family again. His mom will be left by herself in this world. He trusted Gwen to keep things in order after he was gone but he'll absolutely miss it all. Ben didn't necessarily want to die either, but things would be easier for everyone if he wasn't in the picture and in a sense he agreed with them.
The trial went by in a flash. He didn't try to defend himself and his lawyer tried her best. Ben noticed a few tears escape her eyes when the judges sentenced him to death. He gave her a hug and his thanks. He couldn't imagine the pressure on her to save Ben Tennyson. She was up against an entire legal group after all. Nothing happened that he didn't already expect. He did see a sign of regret on one of the judges faces. It made him happy to see their guilt. Good I hope you have nightmares about this, you corrupted bastard.
Ruby and Blink escorted the man back to his cell, it was a lot more quiet this time around. Rick passed the group in the hallway. Ben made eye contact with the older man and smiled deviously.
"You got what you want, right?" Ben called out as they passed each other.
The comment earned him a jab in the back from Blink. Ben was standing behind bars when Ruby finally decided to open her mouth.
"A transport ship is being readied to take you to Ender."
"What's that?" Ben asked curiously.
"Hell," she responded quickly.
Blink grabbed the girl's shoulder and they disappeared, leaving Ben to his thoughts. He wished that they would at least tell him the process from here, that's the least they could do. The man sat on his bed and opened his journal. When he got here, he asked the guard to bring him something to write on.
He's been scribbling down everything he's done while under contract with the Plumbers. It was a memoir with enough juice to drown the Plumbers in their sins. Ben asked the guard to come back after he left and take the notepad to any big media outlet. Did Rick really think he'd go down without a fight? This might not be enough ammo to bury the organization but this will be the bullet heard around the world. He closed his journal and placed it underneath the pillow. He was going to lay down and shut his eyes for a couple minutes when he heard a low knock on the cell bars. Ben opened one eye and glanced at the blonde standing awkwardly at the door.
"I didn't see you at the trial," Ben jibed at the silent girl.
"I had other administrative matters to attend to. This year will be my last with the Plumbers, it'll be an early retirement. I decided not to sign another contract." Carly explained slowly.
"Oh?" Ben asked as he sat up at the mention of such news. "And here I was thinking that Carly Jetson would spend her entire life with the Plumbers."
"Commander Rick offered me a spot on his team. I figure he'd want to keep me close after the recent events. But obviously I turned down the job."
"Obviously," Ben mocked.
"I'm done doing the Plumber's dirty work," Carly sighed. "And Ben for what it's worth-"
"You don't have to apologize to me," he interrupted.
"You're right. 1000 sorries couldn't make up for what I did. So it has to be something else."
Ben was confused on what she meant until the blonde leaned in closer to the bars.
"I intercepted a couple calls from ex-Plumber Tetrax Shard. It seems he'll be in the area of Ender, a nearby planet most likely, during the same time you'll be transported there. Do with that information as you will."
Ben sucked his teeth and cursed at his friends' persistence at rescuing him. He glanced at Carly and nodded his thanks before stepping back. The older woman gripped the bars tightly and looked down at the floor.
"You're one of the good guys, Ben, so please start acting like it," Carly sniffled.
He watched the blonde walk away, a pit formed in his stomach seeing her leave. There was something about her calling him a good guy after all the things she saw him do. He was the only one who gave up on "Ben 10", while people continued to believe in him. If he stopped now then where would that leave the rest of them? He was so caught up on erasing evil from this universe , not once stopping to think of what his title meant to others. Ben wasn't just a warrior, he was a symbol, role model, son, loved one, and friend.
By the time Gwen had woken up, they had already landed on Galvan Prime. She peeked out the window at the, once lush and green, barren land. Plumbers used the planet as a refueling point for their large cargo ships several months back and ripped the planet's beauty away from it. A place that held so many memories was dying. She cursed the Plumbers for being a cancer to everything they touch.
Gwen made her way onto the main deck, where she noticed Lucy and Cooper chatting and Tetrax dozing off in his pilot's seat. She scanned the room for Hope and saw a flash of silver hair pass by outside. The redhead opened the ajar door and slipped through without waking the sleeping mercenary.
"Hey," Gwen started as she stood beside the witch.
"Hey," Hope replied in a low voice.
The silence was killing Gwen.
"Seems like Lucy and Cooper are getting along," she laughed awkwardly.
"Yeah," Hope said absentmindedly.
Gwen tried to see what she was looking at. She wondered why Charmcaster was so concerned about the forest. What was once a beautiful sight was transformed into a monstrosity of pollution.
"They destroyed this place," Hope accused, her voice slick with venom. "They'll pay for that."
"And they will. Once we get Ben back on our side and out the Plumbers for the devils they are," Gwen assured.
The redhead noticed a small purple aura around the silver haired woman, but it was thick with negative emotions. She swore that she saw an orange flicker in the mix. Gwen placed a hand on Hope's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze.
"Getting angry here isn't going to help. Save that for when we're face to face with them."
Hope calmed down a bit but her fists were still clenched. Gwen didn't know what she knew. The witch knew everything went downhill for Ben when Azmuth died. If the little mentor was still alive then he'd be able to snap Ben out of this broken dream he had.
"Let's just get what we need and go," Hope snapped as she walked away from the younger woman.
It took the group an hour before they reached the technologically advanced city. Cooper was having a wet dream when he saw all the alien tech that ran through the place. A kid in a candy shop was what Lucy described him as. Gwen couldn't help but giggle at Coop's excitedness. Tetrax pointed to the tallest building in the area as their destination. Another 30 minutes of walking and they reached the front gates. Gwen's eyebrows raised, Tetrax wasn't kidding when he said the place went into lockdown, she told herself.
The building looked like it was wrapped in tinfoil; every single window and door was blocked by the metal shell besides the front door. A single blinking red light shined over the archway of the door. One look told the group it had a complex lock system. Cooper smiled deviously and rubbed his hands together as he took a step towards the door. An impressed whistle echoed from the blonde, he's never seen such a sophisticated door lock.
"Can you get in?" Hope nagged impatiently.
"Let me actually get to the damn thing before you start asking those questions," Coop snapped back.
He slung his tool-bag around and kneeled in front of the door. The man cocked his head to the side as he unscrewed the fuse box. The intricate wires inside were a whole new thing to him, but given a couple minutes and he'll know the ins and outs. Cooper has done things like this since he was a kid. He remembered his dad always let him watch him in the garage, back when his dad was still around. The scumbag took off when he was 8 years old. His mother's devastation was something that scarred his memory. He swore that he'll never grow up to be his dad; someone who didn't give up when things got hard.
The blonde's fingers went to work in the device, switching from tool to tool. His plan was quite simple; he wanted this device to recognize his keycard. A complicated task to perform out in the field. Cooper chuckled in the face of such a challenge. Ten minutes went by then 20; soon the clock was ticking towards half an hour. Cooper wiped the sweat off his brow and stood up from his kneeling position and stretched loudly. He waved his keycard in front of the scanner and a red beep denied his access. Coop sucked his teeth and tried again after a couple seconds; the light changed to green and the door slowly creaked open.
"Ladies first," Cooper said with a smirk.
Lucy hugged the man and laughed.
"You're the best," she chanted.
Charmcaster walked by with her nose up and her arms crossed.
"Hurry the hell up next time," the witch growled.
Gwen followed after with a smile.
"Thanks Coop."
"Good job, kid," Tetrax complimented with a nod.
Stepping into the building was a trip down memory lane for Gwen. She could recall the first time coming here with Grandpa Max. Ben was a rebellious little shit and Azmuth despised anything not Galvan, then over the years they became closer in their relationship. Now both of those things had disappeared from her life and she was still desperately grabbing onto one. As the group moved further into the building; everything started to light up like a Christmas tree. They didn't know what to expect, so they stayed on high alert. Cooper said he didn't know if there were any other defenses.
Things were moving along perfectly in the plan. She hoped to have the watch by the end of the day, but she knew how fate never chose her side. Azmuth's tower was a never ending labyrinth ascending upwards. Tetrax proposed that Azmuth's most important inventions were in his office at the top. Meanwhile Cooper ran around awestruck at the different contraptions littered along the walls. Lucy was becoming concerned that he was delaying them too much and he calmed down a little bit. Gwen smiled at that interaction, she was happy they were able to put aside their differences.
Charmcaster had a lot on her mind since arriving on the planet, while Gwen seemed happy with the memories shared here; all the witch felt was dull. She remembers back when Ben had accompanied her on the balcony many moons ago. Ben had asked her if she was with him on this and she wanted to tell him yes. God, she wanted to tell him yes so badly. But she hesitated, and another thought invaded her mind; that whatever they had going on could've turned into a destructive relationship. If she let him go down the dark path he was heading then it would've been no better than what she was trying to escape from with Hex. A controlling and manipulative relationship where one party benefits and the other suffers. She'd rather die than go through any of that again.
The group entered the only room on the top floor and memories shared flooding into everyone's mind, some bad and others good. It was eerie being in the final resting place of such an incredible lifeform, almost felt like they were in a movie. Hope slowly walked around the room looking at all the bookshelves and other decor items. She stopped at the wall on the far side of the room.
"This was where he had some type of secret room," she called out.
Coop jogged over to her and shifted his hands around the wall, searching for a button to reveal the treasures. It took him a couple moments before feeling a wall panel click and soon the entire wall was shifting sideways. A simple looking keypad displayed itself next to the large metal doors.
"Oh that's it? A ten digit keypad is the final boss?" Cooper whined. "I am slightly disappointed."
"Um hello we don't have a password," Hope snapped.
"We don't need one and normally we'd have to guess but I happened to bring along my password guesser for this exact situation," Cooper rebuked as he pulled out a small device.
He held up his invention to the keypad to establish a connection then the machine went to work.
"This baby can spit out a thousand guesses a second. This'll only take a couple minutes at most."
"I need to get me one of those," Tetrax applauded.
"Only one in the galaxy right now, well until I make the second one of course."
Cooper was spot on about it taking a couple minutes. The door was cracked within 2 minutes. Mechanical locks and components were shifting and unlocking, while Cooper bowed to his audience.
"Nerdy boy strikes again," Hope sassed.
"Call me what you want but all I ask is that you remember what I did," he soliloquized.
"Pfft, okay Shakespeare good job," Gwen mocked.
"Don't get too big a head," Lucy insisted as she rolled her eyes.
"Too late," Cooper and Hope said simultaneously.
The room was layered with dust and dim as they moved inside. The only light leaking from the adjacent office room. Cooper pulled a cobweb out of his hair and scanned the dark wall for a light switch.
"Smartest alien in the galaxy and didn't think to add a light swit-"
Cooper was interrupted by a high speed laser hitting his shoulder; the impact blasted him backwards into a wall of gadgets. Everything came crashing down on top of him.
"Cooper!" Lucy yelled as she rushed to his side.
Gwen, Tetrax, and Hope readied themselves for a fight. Light flooded the room suddenly and blinded the group for a second.
"That's for ragging on my security measures," a mysterious voice said.
Gwen's blood ran cold as she recognized the voice.
"As if I'd let a simple human break into my own house. You got in because I let you in."
Everyone was speechless at the sight before them. He was floating inside of a huge tube filled with clear liquid in the middle of the room. Several robot assistants were typing away at computers and monitoring screens around the small grey creature. Hope was the first to break the silence.
"Azmuth?"