Author's Note: I own nothing. Sorry this is taking so long I've been having some serious computer troubles.
3 A Bit Of Fun
Their weekend at the lodge was a resounding success. Though the rest of the Plumbers returned to Bellwood after the party ended Rook and Jen remained behind. Jen got the chance to introduce Rook to snowboarding, which he was alright at, he seemed to prefer skiing though, claiming it was easier to control. By far Jen's favorite part of the weekend was when she introduced him to the concept of a snowball fight.
She dove behind a bank of snow as a very well formed snowball sailed over her shoulder. She was giggling too loudly to be stealthy as she gathered a few handfuls of snow and formed a retaliatory snowball. She waited for a moment, dove out the opposite side of the bank and lobbed the ball of slush at Rook. It took him by surprise, smacking him in the face. He let out a startled squeak and Jen dissolved into giggles again, unable to stand and avoid his barrage. She raised both hands in surrender laughing.
"Alright I give! I give!" Rook stopped chucking snowballs at her and came over to her instead.
"I did not think that defeating you would be that easy." He teased and Jen flipped him off, though the effect was somewhat lessened due to her lime green knitted gloves. Rook snorted and held out a hand to help her up. She took it and grinned getting her footing before shoving Rook into the snowbank she had recently hidden behind. He squawked in surprise, hooking his foot around Jen's ankle and tripped her into the snow right next to him. She laughed loudly into the snow and after a moment Rook joined her. They both sat up, pulling each other to their feet and staying there this time. They were still laughing as they made their way inside the lodge. That night they decided to spend some time in the pool and hot tub that the resort boasted. It was empty when Rook came in, wearing the swim trunks Jen had bought for him. They had been in his bag along with winter wear and a pair of quite comfortable pajamas that Rook was quite fond of. They were forest green, she'd asked him his favorite color before the fiasco on Galvan. He suspected she'd been planning his birthday since the dinner he had gone to at her parent's house.
Forest green though wasn't quite the shade of green he'd meant. His favorite shade of green was the toxic emerald shade that resided in Jen's eyes. He dove into the pool to distract himself from that thought. He had begun thinking more and more about his partner over the last few months, ever since almost losing her to a malfunctioning, damaged Omnitrix curtsey of Dr. Psychobos. He lapped the pool while thinking about his partner. She was something of a conundrum. She had unimaginable power at her fingertips but all she really wanted was to have fun with her friends, even if her version of fun was a good fight. That wasn't always the case though, sometimes they did what 'normal' teenagers did and played video games. He'd even managed to lure her into a few rounds of virtual chess only to discover that she was lousy at the game which amused him to no end considering her prowess in strategy on a battlefield.
He blinked as he came up for air. Standing on the edge of the pool was his partner wearing a toxic green bikini. He shook his head to get the water out of his ears and eyes. He had never seen his partner in anything but her usual outfit, though she'd taken to switching out her green jacket for a sage hoddie more often as winter came on full force. He had to admit his partner was fit, her muscles toned from years of fighting. There were other marks of her years of fighting on her skin too. There were two quite prominent scars on her torso, one running down her side and flicking in towards her belly button. The other scar was a semicircle that rested almost perfectly above her belly button.
"Hello." Rook said a bit lamely but Jen grinned at him, sitting down on the edge of the pool.
"Hey there. Thought cats weren't supposed to like water." Rook gently splashed some water at her.
"I am catlike." She grinned and hopped all the way into the pool.
They made their way back to Bellwood on Monday, having had quite a bit of fun on their relaxing weekend away. They had relaxed quite a bit during their two days away, they didn't even mind being put on a light duty job, tracking several missing Zoo tigers. They found them, and the woman who had kidnapped them in a warehouse on the edge of Bellwood. They also managed to trip right into a trap and were now dangling over a cat bed full of kittens, tied up with ribbons. Jen couldn't reach the Omnitrix but with a bit of wiggling she'd managed to retrieve the dagger she kept strapped to her calf, now she was just waiting for the opportune moment to use it. To stall for time she asked Rook a question.
"Who is she again?" She asked referring to the woman in what looked like an off the shelf cat costume, the hem of the shirt was rimmed in purple fur, she had legwarmers and cuffs in the same purple and a bell around her neck. Rook wiggled slightly.
"Nyancy chan. She controls cats, according to her file." Jen frowned slightly.
"Isn't that just a little bit gimmicky, even for us?" Jen asked as Nyancy continued her monologue, seemingly unaware that her captive audience wasn't paying her any attention.
"On the contrary I find her quite compelling." Rook joked, or at least Jen hoped he was joking, because if he wasn't she was definitely going to have to question what her partners type was. Jen flicked her knife forward slicking through the ribbons holding them. They both landed on their feet to the shock of their captor.
"Cry havoc and unleash the cats of war!" She cried out, opening the pen the tigers had been in. They had a moment as the cats began their advance.
"Kittys or the lady, you pick Rook." Jen offered slipping her dagger back into its sheath. Rook took it on himself to go after Nyancy, leaving Jen to deal with the tigers, which she did easily, flipping the Omnitrix to Upchuck and swallowing them before quickly spitting them back out. She didn't want them to get hurt after all, just break the control Nyancy had over them. A control that seemed to extend to catlike aliens, though Rook shook her off quickly enough when ordered to go after Jen. It made Jen smile, even though she was still Upchuck but something was wrong.
It wasn't an entirely unfamiliar feeling. She had felt something similar when the Arachnichimps had nearly gone extinct due to an infestation of Xenocites. It felt like a whole world had just vanished. She collapsed and Rook rushed to her as she transformed back. The feeling vanished with her transformation but the feeling of dread remained.
"We need to go on a road trip." She stated as Rook pulled her back to her feet. He was beyond confused as she raced back to the Prototruck. She pulled out her communicator and called up Grandpa Max. "Hey Grandpa, Rook and I are heading off planet for a bit."
"You wanna tell me why?" Her grandfather's question was light, like this sort of thing happened all the time.
"Somethings wrong, I'll let you know what it is as soon as I figure it out, but I trust my gut. Or well Upchuck's in this case." Max sighed.
"Alright, just let me know when you get back and call for backup if you need it." Jen nodded.
"Love you Grandpa." She hung up and sat behind the wheel, Rook taking up her regular seat.
"Do you often rush off into the galaxy on a feeling?" Rook asked. Jen shrugged as they left the atmosphere.
"I mean when you put it like that it sounds bad. But…" She paused finding the correct wording. "Sort of yes. I haven't been wrong about it yet." She said, going on to explain what had happened with the Arachnichimps. Rook nodded slightly as Jen set in their course for the Peptos system, home of the Gourmands.
A young figure raced through the halls of a mostly dark citadel. It hadn't been properly lit in some time. It was causing quite a bit of worry to the people of Vilgaxia, their leader had been obsessing for some time on one thing and one thing only, the acquisition of the Omnitrix and the young human who wielded it. That was why this young being was running through the halls. They caught their breath at the doors to an expansive throne room. They took a deep breath and straightened their uniform before knocking on the large doors.
"Enter." The order was a growled one. The young being entered the room, it had been a while since anyone had laid eyes on Vilgax. He was sitting in his still partially destroyed throne. In front of him played out the holo recording of his last fight with the Omnitrix wielder. The young Chimera Sui Generis bowed to his Emperor.
"My lord Vilgax, you asked to be informed if the Omnitrix left Plumber space." Vilgax's bright red eyes flitted from the recorded battle to the young being.
"She has left Plumber space?" He questioned quietly, the query almost inaudible over the recording. The young being bowed.
"She has, she appears to be heading straight for a contested area. Currently it is under siege by the Incursion Empire." The young being pulled a holo viewer from a pocket on his uniform. It showed a moving map connected to his computers which had been quite boring over the last few months. Jennifer Tennyson didn't tend to stray out of Plumber space. "The Plumbers are as yet unaware of the Incursion presence in that system. But she is not being accompanied, it is just the single ship." Vilgax smiled and stood.
"Thank you. Prepare the drones I will leave at once. My hour of triumph draws near."