"I'm going back to Bellwood." Ben declared and stood up, leaving the living room. Determination filled her heart. Gwen quickly hung up her cellphone and ran after Ben, overhauling her and stepping in front of her cousin.

"Ben, listen, you can't go after Rook." she stated standing in the entrance to the library, cutting off the brunette from the exit.

Ben laughed and massaged her brow, "Gwen, get out of my way.".

Of course Gwen was just as concerned as Ben was but they had to be logical about this. "Listen I am sure that Rook is fine." she tried to argue, not moving an inch.

"And how do you know?" Ben snapped at her cousin, taking one step closer, "How do you know he's fine? I have to safe him!".

A loud bang behind Gwen signaled to Ben that his cousin had sealed off the door. The expression on Ben's face changed from determination to shock. Gwen tried once again to calm down Ben, but she was crudely rejected by her cousin. The tone Ben used now was very cold and distant and yet, calm and collected. It sent shivers down Gwen's spine.

"You're going to listen Gwen. My best friend just got kidnapped and I am not going to sit back! You think I need a friggin' badge to save someone? I am a hero, when someone is in need I'll be there! Especially when it's my best friend!".

Gwen frowned, but shook her head. The red-haired witch still refused to let Ben through. Hopefully Ben would have some common-sense and just stop trying. There was a weight on her shoulders as Ben laid her hands on her shoulders and she looked up to Ben who gave her an apologetic smile "It's okay. I understand, Gwen.".

She sounded so sincere and warm. Gwen couldn't help but smile back. What came then wasn't something she had been prepared to receive from her cousin of all people. It was just- happening so quickly. The brunette leaned her head backwards and then crashed forwards against the red-head's brow, knocking her out via a well-placed head-butt against her cranium.
With the witch unconscious the seal couldn't hold up and broke down. Ben decided to move Gwen to the side so nobody would step on her and transformed into XLR8. The car wouldn't be fast enough. Running was the fastest option.

...

Meanwhile Magister Tennyson received an urgent call, from his daughter-in-law. His brow furrowed as he picked up the phone, knowing that it had to be very important. She wouldn't call him under normal circumstances. He tried to calm down the woman at the other end of the line. Finally she was more serene and slowed down, not stumbling over her own words anymore. "What exactly happened, Sandra?" Max Tennyson asked into the phone, listening to what Ben's mother had to say.
The older man stood up, eyes widening in shock, "Attea, left? Have you seen where she went?".

For a while Sandra was silent, then she said no.

The Magister restrained himself, thinking, "It's fine. I'm calling S.E.C.T. and mobilize the Plumbers. Just stay home and relax, Sandra.". He hung up but before he was even able to tip in the first digit of Lt. Steel's number he was once again interrupted by his phone. It was his granddaughter, this time, Gwen. As he put the phone to his ear he could hear her groaning in pain: "Are you okay Gwen?" he inquired, sounding concerned. There was silence on the other end of the line, as if she needed to contemplate the question.

"No, I'm fine Grandpa. Ben took off and went back to Bellwood. She's probably already in Undertown." the witch informed him.

The older man sighed. "Stay where you are, Gwen. I take care of it." he ensured her.

...

At the same time, but in a completely different place Rook tried to get air into his lungs. He was wet, cold and coughed up water as he lay on the ground of the dirty basement where his captors had dragged him. The room was spinning and turning as he was set back up in a vertical position and tied to a post, arms behind his back. After several minutes of slapping him around the face, which caused his cheeks to burn like hot coal the reptile sat down on her heels and repeated her question. Where was Attea?
The Revonnahgander groaned and once again shook his head, "I do not know where Attea is.".

Polema hissed, "Bullshit! How stupid do you think I am? I know exactly who your little friend is.".

His eyes widened as he saw her taking out his phone and showing him a picture of Rook with Kevin, Gwen and Ben. A long black claw tapped the screen, on the brunette boy, "Don't tell me lies, cat. Someone like you wouldn't have a clue where the Plumbers keep her? As if."

The lack of air had made him dizzy; "It is in the files.".

"Oh please, that was two days ago. All that info is probably already useless. However; I don't think that you guys had the time to relocate so quickly. How long did it took for you people to figure out someone stole all those files? One day? How far could you have gotten her away from me?" she dropped the phone on the ground and smashed it with her boot.

Yes, Rook knew he could buy a new one, but it was still a loss. The reptile knelt down next to him and slowly drew a sharp nail down his cheek, along the black markings of his cheek, digging just a little deeper. Just enough-
They were interrupted by someone knocking on the door upstairs. Polema walked up the steps, but was held up before she could reach the top, by Raff who begged her not to open the door.
"My queen, it might not be the best idea to answer to door by yourself. There's still a high price on your head." he argued, offering to answer himself.

Someone once again knocked at the door and she sighed, "Get them in and then close the door."

Raff nodded and Polema walked downstairs again getting busy with gagging the Revonnahgander. The Sylonnoid opened the door and took a surprised step back. Into the little shed walked a woman, in a furry white coat. What kind of animal did she kill to get that one?
Anastasia wrinkled her nose as she looked around and held a scented handkerchief up to her face while gesturing the extra-terrestrial behind her to follow, before turning around, facing the android.

"Is that Raff?" she asked the alien in the skeletal armor. Khyber took a look towards the Sylonnoid and affirmed her question.
The black haired woman squinted at the alien, keeping the hanky pressed to her lower face."Where's that- um- 'queen'- of yours?" she asked Raff who had trouble understanding her with the muffling effect of her muckender and the thick Russian accent.

"Excuse me?" he asked, turning slowly towards the door but was stopped by the Panuncian-mutt growling and snapping at his knees, who got petted for it by his master.

The Russian woman took off her hankie screwing up her nose at the disgusting smell, "Polema? I am not an idiot- I got Khyber with me- but you guys? Abducting a Plumber in the middle of the day- in a busy street? You guys want to be caught!". That woman's antics were theatrical, her speech underlined by great gestures. And Raff didn't like the condescending tone the woman used to talk to him.

Behind her Khyber decided to speak up again, "I don't have all day, Shishkin.".

She waved him off, "You get paid by hour, you have no right to complain, anyways- " she turned back towards the Sylonnoid, "I have some information that would be very interesting for you and your mistress."

"Queen." Raff corrected her. Mistress may have been correct but there was always some underlying implication in that word, which he did not like. She sighed, and put back her scented handkerchief, mumbling something in Russian into it. "I am not sure-" Raff started, but was interrupted by a voice behind him.

The reptile leaned against a post next to the staircase. "No Raff, it's fine. What info do you have, human? Talk!" she commanded and the Russian laughed.

"Excuse me?" she blinked at her and then threw glance at Khyber who sighed, "How about a please? And besides, what makes you think I'll give out information so freely? I want that military-grade scrambler in your ship for it." In a fluid motion she went right past Raff and stepped in front of the taller reptile.

Raff gaped at her, "How do you know that we have a-"

"Probably because you got here without a horde of Plumbers showing up? Oh and by the way, my name is Anastasia Shishkin." she put away her handkerchief and presented her hand to the reptile, for a handshake, who just gave the woman a glare in return. The Russian bared her bleached teeth in an attempt to smile and then put her hand away, "Not one for shaking hands? Why does nobody want to shake hands with me? Is it me or-?". With a grand gesture she exhaled and put back her smile.

The reptile closed her vertical eyelids, her eyes appearing milky and then opened them again, not sure if that human was wrong in the garret. "You- are aware that I could kill you right here?" she asked, raising a non-existent eyebrow.

The Russian laughed up, waving her hand. "Polema, right?- I am very hard to kill, it would just be a waste of time to try-and it wouldn't be very smart." she added motioning behind her, towards her current bodyguard. Shishkin blinked as Polema flicked out her forked tongue at her. Was that just a rude gesture or a biological necessity? The Russian had no idea how those aliens worked.

In a sudden motion, the reptile took a step back as she was hit with the smell of disease. Polema took another try just to be sure that the nauseating stench, covered by faint traces of alcohol, truly came from the Russian and frowned deeply in disgust as her suspicion was affirmed.
"What kind of info is it?" Polema asked putting some distance between them.

"Well, I think you have a daughter-Athena?- anyways, wherever you thought she was she isn't there anymore. But I know somebody who knows somebody who knows where she is! All you have to do is to come with me and- well- the scrambler. But what do you have to lose?"

Raff squinted at the lady in white who had spread out her arms, still wearing that smile on her face looking like she was waiting for- something. He stepped back to the side of his queen, whispering to her under his breath, "Can we really trust them?".

"We can risk it I guess."she whispered back and increased the volume of her voice, "I, however, only give you the scrambler when I think the info is good enough."

Anastasia frowned and chewed her bottom lip but ultimately was willing to make the deal. Then she pulled out two black hooded sweatshirts from the depths of that monstrous overcoat of hers and gave them to Raff and Polema who looked first at them and then at Anastasia, not sure what they should do. "Oh, just a precaution. We're going 'upstairs', to Bellwood, I don't want to raise unwanted attention.", Anastasia put together her hands and then blinked at them. "You're supposed to wear it." she added with half-closed eyes, looking really smug with that lazy smile on her lips.
Didn't those aliens know what hoodies were?

Khyber scowled at his beast which started to growl, a grin spreading over his lips, "She's coming.".

Anastasia looked back to the huntsman a little confused, "What? Who's coming?"

"Tennyson." Khyber stated, petting his Panuncian beast, who seemed a little antsy, growling at the door.

She sighed and looked to the sky, "Ugh, that brat? I guess- when she's coming here- will we even be able to make an exit?"

"I can keep her busy for a while." Khyber offered, "For the right price.". Not that he needed the money as a motivation to fight Ben. But the Russian didn't need to know that tidbit of information.

"Two hours." she offered.

He shook his head, "Four." the Russian seemed peeved but really couldn't afford to haggle around. "Fine. Four hours worth of pay, I don't think I'll need you again, anyways!". The Russian turned towards the other two aliens, "When you're ready, my car is waiting outside."

...

Wildmutt cut corners and ran through shortcuts sniffing the air and the ground. It was unmistakeably Rook's smell she had been trailing. But still there were two more tracks. Scents she could not categorize. One of those was familiar and she felt as if she should know who it was. But it just didn't cross her mind who it could be. A car was driving by, but the trail did not lead to them. She continued running and then stopped. There was that other smell, of course, Khyber and his Panuncian. And it seemed as if they had been awaiting her arrival, standing outside the shack. Between her and Rook was an obstacle she had to beat.

Wildmutt could hear a high pitched whistle and the Panuncian changed its form.
She tried to jump backwards but was quickly hit by Buglizards tail, getting pushed to the side and against the wall of another shed. Once again the Vulpimancer stood up, shaking her head and growled at the Buglizard who charged at her full speed ahead.
This time Wildmutt managed to jump to the side and pounced at the larger predators back, forcing her own sharp teeth through the thick skin, drawing blood. As the Buglizard rolled onto its back in retaliation and squashed the annoying alien, the Vulpimancer howled in pain.

A flash of green light flared up as the Buglizard rolled off of her and Ben groaned in pain. With shaking arms Ben activated her Omnitrix again and transformed into Fourarms.

"Hey, Khyber. I bet you got no Predator to fight me!" she yelled at the huntsman, ignoring the pulsing pain in her ribcage.

Khyber was unimpressed by the red aliens persistence. "The once I have are more than sufficient." he stated and whistled again.

Fourarms was able to knock a tooth out of Buglizards mouth as he descended upon her, spitting bloody salvia on the ground and howling in pain. It retreated a few steps and started spraying its yellow fog over the red alien who quickly took a few steps backs, trying to get some fresh air and a way to see clearly. There was something coming through the smoke, too fast for her to react quickly enough. The strong tail of the creature once again met with her midsection and she crashed through another shed, bringing it down on top of her. Fourarms was forced to take on Ben's form. She tried to get up and cringed in pain. It was traveling from her midsection up to her upper arm.
She pressed a hand to one of her rips and whimpered as she realized that it was broken.
And because that wasn't bad enough, a large rusty nail had forced its way through her upper arm, sticking out grotesquely, as it went in on one side and came out of the other. The brunette tried to stand up again, grinning, as if a little pain was going to finish her of.

Through the pain she once again activated her Omnitrix, hovering over the dial, "Where's Rook, Khyber?".

The huntsman raised an eyebrow, "Do you really think that I have to resort to such cheap tricks to hunt you down?".

To her surprise the hunter sounded almost offended. As if he had never resorted to such cheap tricks before. She glared down and wondered why she suddenly had two Omnitrices. Her sight was all wobbly and another shrill whistle-sound filled the air. Ben screamed in pain as the Panuncian bit deep into her leg.

"F-" she sunk down to one knee.

Great now she was truly bleeding everywhere! If only- her omnitrix was still activated, just a few more inches and- she keeled over as Khyber rammed his boot into her stomach causing her to see stars. Ben was turned on her back. She groaned as she felt the rusty nail moving inside her arm, turning with her. It was a sickening feeling.
She gasped for air as a weight settled on top of her and pinned her down. A sharp pain seared through her other, still good, arm as Khyber put his boot on it and pressed down until she could hear a loud, nauseating crack. It was impossible for the brunette not to scream.

"Fuck you!" she yelled, enraged, "If I get up I'll give you a reason to wipe that grin of your face!".

Khyber seemed unimpressed, "Big words for you, Tennyson. But now that I have a clearer look at you let me see-"

She tried to lift the arm which had not been broken, but Khyber had that one pinned too. The cold steel of a metal knife met her throat, pressing down a little but not enough to draw blood. There was something about that glare that the huntsman gave her, that was deeply unsettling and which disturbed her greatly.
The knife traveled to the hem of her shirt and she shuddered as it sunk underneath the cloth. It was then that she suddenly realized that there was nobody going to save her. The first time she had Rook, this time she was the one supposed to safe Rook and she'd failed spectacularly!
Between groans of pain, coming from herself she could suddenly hear the sound of her shirt ripping and stared down as Khyber just shredded it, right through the middle. What was happening? This wasn't in the script!

"Get off of me!" she shouted, eyes widening as he just kept on ripping her t-shirt off, in little shreds, piece for piece.

Ben felt humiliated as Khyber forced her head deeper into the dirt, despite her protests and just continued until the brunette was half-naked and shaking her head in disbelieve, unable to comprehend the situation. The huntsman shook his head too, but for another reason.

"I am disappointed. I really was looking forward to our fight today- but you seem less enthusiastic-" she felt the cold metal on her skin, underneath the center front gore, "maybe I should give you a reason to fight harder?"

"Don't even think about it." she furrowed her brows at him, not daring to show him how scared she actually was.

Khyber put on that smug grin and leaned down to reply, the knife still burning on her bare skin, but the hunter suddenly jerked up as he heard the loud sirens of the Plumbers. Of course, he knew it! It was just a while until they came and they weren't that far away. The weight lifted from her body and Ben breathed in, shaking all over as she stood up. From the pain, she told herself, it was all from the pain, not fear. She wasn't scared.

"Maybe next time Tennyson you put up more of a fight.", Khyber whistled for his pet and made his escape.

Where he went Ben did not see. Any other day Ben would have ran after them, but- she looked at her other arm which hung limp by her side, broken and useless. Everything hurt and walking was a challenge as she shuffled towards the shed. Her brown pants had turned red. The door was still open and she could hear sounds from downstairs. She took one step and then another, the sirens drawing closer. A misstep and she stumbled down the rest of the stairs, screaming as she landed on her already broken arm.
At least she thought bitterly, she was leaving a long trail of blood for everyone who wanted to follow her. Shaking and jittery she reached Rook and managed with great difficulty to get him free.
She really wanted to say something but her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth. Rook wanted to reply with another smile but instead his eyes widened as he saw the state his ex-partner was in.

"Ben- "he stated, unsure if he should touch her, "what happened?".

The brunette opened her mouth. Everything was on fire. At least Rook looked fine, was fine. She gave him a weak smile and decided to lay down for a while. Just a while.

….

By the time they were inside the car Polema had forgotten all about the feline extra-terrestrial. Opposite her was the Russian with that copy-pasted smile on her face, giving her a look which was oddly unsettling. As if the lower part of her face was strangely disconnect from the upper part of it.
Raff decided to break the silence by asking a question which had been on his mind for a while now. "Where exactly are we going?"

"The opera." Anastasia stated.

Raff frowned looking at his and the queens clothes, "I don't think we're dressed for that occasion.".

The Russian laid her head a little queer and fixated him, "You won't be needing formal clothes today."

She held up a wine-bottle, smiling again, "Who wants a glass of wine?". Raff watched in astonishment as one full bottle quickly disappeared into nothing.

…

No, he did not like that, not one bit. Chadwick squinted at the aliens sitting in the same room as him and crossed his arms before facing the unmoving tar baby clued to the wall. "I'm not working together with aliens!" he declared, regretting the fact that he did not bring his long sword.

Psyphon also started to complain, "And I refuse to work with fascists!".

This caused his neighbor, Fistrick to laugh up. "Really, bro?"the thug crossed his arms "That's coming from you?".

The cyborg frowned at the tattooed crook before they were interrupted by a white haired woman, "I'm not even sure why I'm here, I am-"

"-the ruler of the ledgerdomain,-blablabla- we heard it all before." Rojo finished for her, rolling her eyes.

Charmcaster glared at her, "Why are you even here? I was told people of actual merit would come here. Not lowly thugs!"

The red-haired biker snapped at her;"I'm not lowly. Besides, I've done more in my life than you in yours!".

Then Dr. Animo said something, another one threw in something which could be taken as offensive and by the time Anastasia opened the door the situation had escalated and she was nearly hit by a magical energy beam. At least she thought it was one, she never really got the difference between them. Daisy sat in the back and was snacking on a pack of chips, betting with Sunder on who would go down first. She was betting on Chadwick and he on Charmcaster.

A little embarassed the Russian turned towards the Reptile, "I am so sorry. Under normal circumstances this wouldn't happen.".

"Maybe next time" Red chimed in, "You shouldn't leave the alien-hating asshole with the aliens?"

Anastasia ignored that comment and continued, "Just give me a moment and I shall bring order to this little chaos.".

Raff who stood behind his queen was impressed that despite the current alcohol content the Russian kept a steady walk and a steady voice. Then he retreated back into the foyer. Laserbeams were usually bad for his health and they burned.

As she was finally on the stage, dodging quite a few blasts, she coughed and demanded attention. Which was ignored. What a surprise! After several moments the reptile walked briskly up front and shoot down the chandelier which finally got them some attention.

"Listen!" Polema screamed over the silence, "I came here because I was promised something. And I bet all of you were too!"

After a moment of reluctance the fighting stopped and Anastasia seized the moment, speaking up before the queen could say anything else. In an overly dramatic fashion she took a step forward.

"Friends!" she spread out her hands and put back her wide smile, "it's so nice to see all of you here and I am sure some of you already know each other! For those who don't know me I am Anastasia Shishkin.". With a wide gesture she motioned towards her companion, introducing her, "This is Polema. She's new here. I am sure that we all will work wonderfully together."
It was an awkward moment as she stopped mid-sentence with an empty look in her face.
"Hm?" she looked around oddly confused, until she seemed to remember something, "Promises- you all were promised something!". The other villains were unsure if that was an act or if she truly was so mindless.
"We all want something don't we? And we all have one common enemy. I am sure that you all had trouble with the Plumbers at some point in your life.", she waited and saw a few of them nod. She spread her arms; "But if we could work together, as a team, we might accomplish something great!".

Wait a minute, the villains suddenly realized something and Polema started to scowl. "Work- together?" she asked the woman in white who blinked in confusion.

She affirmed her question and the villains all took a look at each other, unsure how to react to that proposition.

"I know, some of you don't like each other very much-" her gaze felt upon Chadwick who looked darkly up to her, "but think for a minute, people! You really think that you can do such a huge plan alone? If we were to team-up, bundle our resources and align ourselves the Plumbers could become history! Just use your brains!". Silence filled the room, and Anastasia wet her lips.
"If you don't like it you can leave!" she declared and Chadwick bit his lower lip as he felt eyes upon him.

But he stayed. Yes, it was against his doctrine and he hated aliens with a passion, but there were bigger troubles brewing at the horizon. They could tear each other apart when the Plumbers were gone. Should that happen he was even going to be the first man to fire! Besides, his eyes drifted towards the wall, there was Hera-

A hand shot up and all eyes turned towards Dr. Animo. "I have no objections against working together. But, what" he pointed to the black lump of tar at the wall, which took it all up "is that?".

"Oh." the Russian sounded surprised, "That's Hera. She isn't at home during the moment. She said she had something to do. More players or something."

Dr. Animo thought that was very odd but did not inquire any further. As she clapped her hands together Polema besides her jumped up, "I am really hungry- Hey! Who wants something to eat?"

...

Kevin knew the look the blonde woman directed at him too well as his phone started ringing. "I have to take that call, Holly. It's from Ben.", the blonde rolled her eyes and just dug into her burger without further comment.
It seemed to be a casual talk until Kevin's eyes started to widen and he stood up from the table in a sudden move. Before he left he threw a five dollar bill on the diner's table, turning around to walk to his car.

"Hey, Kev! ", quickly the blonde threw her own five dollar bill on the table, next to Kevin's, and followed him, "Where are you going?"

Kevin sighed, as he opened his car's door, "Ben is in the hospital. It looks really bad: blood-poisoning, a broken rip and a broken arm. I have to get to her. Do you want to come with me?"

Holly blinked at him and then frowned, chewing her lower lip. Thinking about whether or not she should come with him.

She shook her head and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek, through the rolled down window, "You know I can't. But remember that when you need me you just need to call me. We're the same kind we need to stick together."

With those words he drove off towards the setting sun, the blonde watching after him until the silhouette of his car disappeared on the horizon.

...

The Vladat was still stuck in his little coffin, weakened horribly by the sun. Yet, he was able to hear a soft voice whispering to him, through the glass and the metal, echoing in his head.
Whatever was out there knocked on his glass and seemed to move the casket around.
To his surprise the heat suddenly increased greatly. The Vladat was unable to determine how long he was stuck in here, or how long he had traveled.
Lord Transyl was cooking alive and unable to escape from his cage. Whatever or whoever was out there had planned on killing him, he concluded. If only he at least knew who it was, but the glass window was blackened and he wasn't able to see anything.
Lord Transyl pressed himself against the back of the coffin as the casket started to shake until he heard a faint click and a cracking.
Who was bashing against the glass wall?
He shielded his eyes as the glass exploded, violently. Covered in glass-shards he cautiously peeked outside. He could see the last sunbeams disappearing behind the green pastures.
He was not on Anur Transyl anymore, but what really mattered was his hunger which needed to be stilled.