Out of the darkness came a long and painful groan. Anastasia Shishkin regained her consciousness and sat up. That was an unexpected turn of exactly happened there? Finally the raven haired woman noticed that something was missing from her basement. Where was the even, calm breathing of her little Nicole? She concluded that her guest must have taken her to keep a souvenir.
Despicable!
That's what you get for being an accommodating and considerate host. Her visitor stole the key ingredient for her main course! Such horrible manners! She should talk with that young woman's parents, one of those days. Maybe some of the guests she dined with knew her number? Oh well, what did she have those robots for? Sure they were misused as waiters. But they would do a fine and dandy job getting rid of the thief and getting back her property! Poor little Nicole must be feeling so alone and scared without a leash around her pretty little neck. She must be so hungry without the good food she fed her. Now where was that damn alarm-button?
...
Anastasia pushed the alarm-button downstairs. During that time Fourarms reached the top of the stairs, while still holding onto Nicole. She kept slipping off her shoulder. The girl was so tiny and light, it was bizarre how anyone could get a decent meal out of her. The alien stepped into the walk-in fridge.
She could hear the cooler working overtime and yet there was another sound. The sound of metal feet on stone floor coming from the kitchen. Fourarms prepared for battle. She stored Nicole under one of her four arms and grabbed the large carcass of the swine with her upper arms like a bat. Let's see, she thought, how well the waiter-drones were prepared to face her. Though, she added, it was going to be difficult to maneuver in this small room. Especially, considering her size.
The door opened with a loud bang and Fourarms started to evade laser-fire left and right. One of the blasts burned a hole through her thick black hair and the unpleasant smell filled the cold air.
It seems that even someone as conservative as Chadwick managed to keep up with the time when it mattered. She dodged one ninja-star and another laser-blast which were both directed at her. Finally, she grasped the carcass she still held in her hand and beat one of them over the head with it. The combined strength of her and the mass of the pig shattered the drones head. Its metallic body fell to the ground with a clang, wailing. Fourarms made a disappointed sound. They just didn't make them like they used to.
By the time the pig and bot landed on the ground the second butler-bot had turned its arm into a deadly, but light-weighted sword. As the sword slid down towards her she jumped back, just in time to evade it, hitting the meat-shelf behind her. The sword got stuck in the swine's corpse and the drone had visible trouble getting out his sword-arm. It struggled against the dead meat holding it in place. Before the bot could get it out and raise its sword again Fourarms put her hands on the robots head and ripped it off in one wift motion.
She kicked open the door, jumping from the cold into the warmth of the kitchen where she was greeted by unfriendly laser-fire. Fourarms dove behind the kitchen counter, escaping the laser-beams shot into her direction by a hair.
This whole place was not made for combat and her maneuverability was limited. She had to get out and into open space, without injuring her protegee. It seemed however, that those pesky drones never stopped shooting.
The kitchen counters cold steel pressed into her back and she had an idea. Well, more like an instinct.
If they weren't stopping she had to force them to stop, with raw and brutal violence, the best kind of violence. Evading another blast she ripped out the stainless steel counter and threw it against the robots, who were crushed under the weight. Once again, she reached for the door and ripped it out of its hinges. She threw it against another bot and watched the wood splitter and break as the drone was pushed against the wall by the force.
Pans and pots shattered, china broke and only the bots which were still online, through some sort of miracle, kept firing.
She covered behind the outside-wall as soon as she was able to get fresh air into her lungs. The bots behind her kept firing without pause. Laser-blasts were ricocheting off the door-frame, creating little burn-marks on the iron.
Finally she sank back against the red-brickwall and took a deep breath. Then she discovered Rook sitting on the other side of the wall staring at her. The tall, red woman shrugged her shoulders at her partner and gestured towards Nicole, "Hey. At least we got what we came here for.".
Rook wanted to reply, but it was in that moment that an explosion hit the wall. They scrammed and hid inside a dark alleyway but they were discovered by the butler-bots. The Restaurant-kitchen was in shambles and now had a nice big, new window- thanks to explosive home-improvement. More robots walked out of the smoke, lasers set to kill and still fixated on their primary target. They were just too persistent, and far too loud, alerting the people living around this part of town.
Fourarms groaned, "Just why are there so many? Seriously?".
She took the lid of a trash-bin which stood close to them and used it as a discus. It separated a head from its robotic body, which fell over, fizzling and smoking. The big red alien glared at Nicole who was still stuck under her arm. "I need to change, Rook. Hold Nicole." she demanded, turning towards her partner who was busy giving her cover fire.
Rook frowned at her and then sighed, "Is this necessary, Ben? Just set her down here." he gestured towards the ground with one hand. "I have requested back-up which should be here any minute. We just have to hold out until then."
It was obvious that Ben wanted to protest, but instead she laid down Nicole. With a hit on the Omnitrix-symbol on her chest she changed from Fourarms to Diamondhead in another green flash of light. She looked quite pleased and then realized that she wore the same leotard, "I have to change my outfit.".
"Ben, if you would please find the time to help me out. The drones are advancing at a speed which is quite alarming.", Rook yelled as he evaded a close hit.
Diamondhead rolled her eyes, "Yes, yes. I'm coming."
The large rock alien jumped in front of Rook and slammed her fists on the ground. Crystalline rock broke through the pavement impaling the rest of the butler-bots one by one. They were still twitching and smoking as Ben transformed back.
She sighed, then turned towards Rook- before she realized something and asked with shock in her voice: "You called for back-up?".
Rook glanced at her, "I thought it was necessary-"
"No, no!" she interrupted him, stepping back into the alley, "You asked for back-up? I am not okay with this. Call them back right now! Call them and tell them that we do not need back-up!".
Rook shook his head, "I have called them twenty minutes ago. They should be already in Undertown. Besides, even if I were to call them back-" he looked around. Windows had been opened, lights were lit inside houses and curious onlookers were watching from the sidelines. Ben's chest felt tight, she ran her hands through her short hair, "No- nobody can see me like that!". Oh no, there was nowhere to hide. Nothing which could obscure her or make her disappear.
She hid, pressing her body against the wall, panicking, "Rook, they cannot see me like this!".
The blaring of sirens filled the air, signaling that the Plumbers had arrived. "Listen Ben you can not hide yourself forever in your room. You have to face them someday. Besides," he laid a hand on her shoulder, "I am here to help you through this."
"You're here to help me?" she sounded angry as she called him out on it. She shook her head, "How can you say that? That sounds like- like you want to decide for me what I should do?". Rook took Nicole in his arms and looked over his shoulder at Ben. He looked sad.
"The truth will come out sooner or later. But you are right- I can not force you to do anything."
He walked out into the crowd which had amassed over time. They tried to catch glances at what happened. Some poked into the remains of off-lined bots before being shooed away by annoyed Plumbers who tried to keep the crowd away from the crime scene. It was quite a sight to see Ben and Rook, with the missing girl in his arm, emerging from the crowd. The Plumber trying to hold back the crowd let in Rook but was confused at the brunette behind him, who was wearing the same watch Ben wore. Rook didn't say anything about it and the brown-haired girl was silent for a while, unable to speak. After a while she sighed and held up her watch, "I'm Ben Tennyson.".
An alien standing close to Ben caught her words and spread them. A murmur wentthrough the crowd, with Ben feeling uneasy as hundreds of eyes stared at her back. She did not dare to turn around. one of them hit her in the back, she was so surprised she fell over before turning around, facing Bubble Helmet. A sight she had not wanted to see tonight.
"You're Ben?" he shoved a claw in her face. That guy never heard of personal space. "So you can transform right? Then proof you're Ben." All the aliens stared at her, waiting for her to transform.
The brunette scowled at him and spat at the alien, "I don't need to proof anything to anyone, Fishbowlhead.". She slapped the claw away from her face. "Besides," she continued to mock him, "why would I even need to transform for such a small fish? I could beat you with both hands tied behind my back. Withour changing into any of my aliens!".
The mob hollered with the human Plumber behind her looking quite uneasy from Ben to Bubble Helmet and then to Rook begging for help with his eyes.
"Ben," Rook laid a hand on her shoulder, "do not let yourself be provoked by him. Come now, Lt. Steel requests to see you." She shook off the hand, but turned towards Rook anyways and wanted to follow him.
"Yeah," she heard Bubble Helmet call after her, "Go, follow your boyfriend.".
It was then that she turned around and kicked the glass-helmet hard. This caused the caterpillar like extraterrestrial to stumble back in surprise. The crowd dispersed around them creating a small round arena. Meanwhile the Plumber started to run towards the other Plumbers to alarm them.
"Ben!" Rook yelled after the brunette, while trying to hold her back, which was futile. The young woman had already gotten to evade the blows. Around them the rabble continued hollering and yelling to spur them on.
Just what had gotten into her?
She grinned as she evaded another hit, "That's all? Come on, I'm getting bored!" she yelled over the screams of the crowd, though she already broke into sweat.
A Kineceleran in the crowd stood up in front and tried to film all of it. Though she came a little late and wasn't able to film the start of the fight, she had to try to get through the mob first.
Finally the Plumbers tried to break up the crowd with little success. The aliens ignored them and even though Rook tried to push through, he couldn't take even one step forward. He heard Ben laughing and another angry stomp. He was able to hear her mocking voice through the jeering mob.
Ben was just one second too slow. She didn't react in time as Bubble Helmet turned around and swept her off her feet with his tail. As she hit the ground with her back a groan escaped her. The rabble howled and booed at the horrible performance. The brunette made a back roll before the tail could hit her again. She turned back to her fighting stance, fists up and ready to punch. "Didn't hurt at all." she lied, playing it off as a lucky strike.
There was no way she was going to lose against one of Psyphon's cronies! Before he could turn around she jumped on his back. Bubble Helmet tried shaking her off. She was able to still hold on until Bubble Helmet let himself fall backwards, burying Ben underneath him.
The brunette yelled out as hot pain shot up through her body. But there was something else, below the pain. This feeling was the same she felt down, in the basement.
It was a flashback, a strange one, for some reason she once again had the disgusting smell back in her nose. There was that smell and that pain and this strange energy flowing through her again.
It was such a foreign feeling, to be so full and filled up with pure energy. There were similarities to Feedback, but the energy felt different. A strange and new kind of electricity.
For a moment all there was, was pure energy, electricity flowing through her and there was so much of it, filling her up.
It was as if she could to anything, through the pain and the heaviness on her chest, she brought her hands up against Bubble Helmet's back and pushed. A wave of energy was released which threw the alien off of her and the whole crowd with him. Those closer were pushed further while those in the back just had to take a few steps back. The brunette lifted herself up from the ground, though a little shaky on her legs. "See", she grinned, though she was pretty sure she was bleeding out of her nose "told you I could beat you.".
Ben stumbled through the crowd which dispersed around her. They escaped into bars and clubs and other establishments around this part of town. The brunette tried to keep herself upright. She felt fine, great even. Energized, you could say. Though her steps were a little heavy and her feet not that easy to lift. Did Rook say something to her? Oh- oh well. It was a hard night for her- she was so tired. She'd just lay down, here. On this nice comfortable looking pavement. The world became dark.
...
Ben woke up on a medical-cot in the med-bay. Abover her Driba flew on his little hover-disk. His expression was tense and he gritted his teeth at her. Her hand reached up to her torso, she had been bandaged up and- where was her shirt?
"Two broken rips!" Driba exclaimed, "I can't believe how you even thought that you were going to come out on top!".
"Well, I sort of did." she replied, still searching for her shirt before she found it hanging over a chair. She got up and went towards it. Her chest still hurt a little. Just walk it off, Ben, she said to herself.
"And what do you think you're doing?" Driba asked her, appearing in front of her.
"Getting my clothes." she stepped around him and picked up her shirt pulling it over her head. Her body was still sore and sung the song of pain.
Once again she could hear Driba's angry voice, "I order you to take three days of bed-rest."
The brunette ignored the Galvan, "I don't need bed-rest.". Besides, she'd already been on vacation!
A hand wandered to her grumbling stomach. Dude, she was hungry. At least she did not need to hide herself anymore. I wonder what the news would say tomorrow: 'Ben's big coming out'? That sounded kind of tacky. Driba yelled after her but she continued to ignore him. Bed-rest, a hero didn't need bed-rest. There was also still Hera somewhere out there. She could finally go and find her, with Nicole being home and all. Though- what happened yesterday- that was kind of weird. She made her way to the cafeteria and tried to find something which looked like it lacked a weird aftertaste. The brunette recalled as she looked at her meal why she never went to the HQ to eat. Though she hadn't had a decent meal in days, so she just dug in. But afterward she was still hungry. Oh well, it wasn't like she couldn't go for seconds. Or a third round. Five burgers later and two servings of what she hoped were fries, she was back in her room trying to get some sleep. This wasn't bed-rest- just catching some sleep before going back- with Rook- and then getting back to being a boy. Like everything this was just some strange dream- no, she corrected herself- a nightmare.
...
She woke up. Someone was knocking on her door and the voice of her grandfather demanded, she'd open up. The brunette unlocked the door ready to hear her Grandfather ordering her to take another three days off. But she was surprised to instead see that Gwen and Hex were standing in front of her. Grandfather Max was behind them, his arms crossed in front of his chest.
"What's this?" she demanded to know, frowning at Hex, "I'm not letting that guy in. Why did you even let that guy on the base? Are you crazy?".
Hex tried to appear as non-threatening as possible, holding up his hands "I and Gwen are just here to help you.".
"It's fine Ben." the other man continued, sounding concerned. "Hex and Gwen believe that they can give you the help you need to keep yourself together.".
Ben looked confused, eyes darting from Hex to Gwen and to Grandpa Max and back to Hex again, "What?". They looked uncomfortable uncomfortable, until Max decided that it was best to leave Ben alone with Gwen and Hex. This left Ben alone with the two magic-users. Ben looked after Max before Gwen just grabbed her arm and dragged her back into her room.
The brunette pulled away her arm from Gwen and jumped back only to collide with Hex. Then she escaped to the opposite end of the room, before holding up her Omnitrix and activating it, hand hovering inches above it, ready to push down.
"What's going on? Why are you two here?" she asked with bared teeth. Her eyes squinted together, focusing on Hex.
Gwen held back Hex with one hand and gestured him to be silent, "Ben, we saw what happened in Undertown.".
"Wait- someone recorded that?" she blinked trying to remember anything from that night before. The distance to the Omnitrix's dial widened slightly.
"Yes." the red-haired cousin tried to keep a calm voice, answering her. "But as I was watching the video and describing to Professor Hex the symptoms he deducted that you have power-incontinence."
Ben felt her head heating up; "What?".
"Ben, we- how can I describe this-" Hex finally spoke up. "You're in layman's terms a 'mana-sponge'."he continued explaining.
"I don't know if this has anything to do with your heritage or because of your device or for any other reason. But you have to learn to control those powers or they will become stronger and threaten you and everyone around you.".
She pulled back the Omnitrix, but remained at her current place, backed against the wall, eying the door and ready to run at a moments notice. Her eyes wandered to Gwen, ignoring Hex for the moment, "How? Verdona said only you have the spark.".
"I have a theory. I think it's because- the spark is carried on the X-chromosome. As you were turned into a woman Hera doubled your X-chromosome and-. Your magic-side 'came out'." the red-haired witch theorized.
"Oh great-" Ben snarled, "I've got magic-powers now?"
Hex looked from Gwen to Ben, "Are you saying Ben is a- Ben is a woman now?"
"I am here!" Ben answered before Gwen could say anything, annoyed at being ignored, "And yes-". Ben looked down at her shoes, arms crossed in front of her chest. She looked like a young child who was scolded by its parents and didn't get desert. Hex gestured towards Gwen to come with him outside and Gwen told Ben before they were gone that they'd be back and that she shouldn't leave. Where the hell was she going to go?
...
"You wanted to speak to me Professor Hex?".
The older male looked a little bashful, "I've seen those kind of outbursts before in my niece, Hope."
Gwen frowned, putting her hands on her hips. "I've never observed Charmcaster having any power-incontinence issues.".
Hex sighed, "How do I explain this- you're a woman Gwen. I think you might have had those problems too, or maybe not. Not all are the same.".
"What are you saying?".
"I know that for someone from this universe it might sound strange but Ben is experiencing a form of magical premenstrual symptom.".
She groaned, rubbing her forehead "And why Ben?".
Hex shrugged, he was no medical expert, "I just guess that it's best when you go and talk to her and I return to Friedkin University.".
The red-haired witch laughed up, "You can't let me deal with Ben all alone! I am not a full master-wizard yet! There's a lot you still have to teach me. I have never dealt with that before!".
He patted her shoulder, "It will be better for Ben to have someone h- she knows help her during this time. You should also ask her about- oh well, I guess you'll figure it out.".
With those words he turned around and walked away leaving a dumbfounded Gwen standing alone in the hallway, completely lost.