Author's Note: I own nothing.

14 A Sacrifice

Everything had gone so wrong so quickly. Not moments after the press had cleared off the emergency signal blared. Jen raced through the street as people began to run panicked looking for friends or family. She selected JetRay and took off like a shot blasting at the Incursion ships entering the atmosphere. There were a lot of them, too many for her to handle on her own. She was glad when she spotted the Proto-Truck circling the outside of the ring of Incursion ships. Jen dove straight down and just like she'd guessed her partner spotted her as she dropped and swooped the Proto-Truck around catching her as she went. What she wasn't expecting was for him to then turn the truck and head the other way.

"Um Rook." She pulled herself up onto her chair from where she'd crashed into the truck. "The fight is the other way."

"Magister Tennyson has given strict orders that you are to be returned to base. For your own safety." Jen glared as Rook kicked in the thrusters to get them away from the remaining Incursion ships.

"Bullshit! I'm not some little girl who needs protecting!"

"I am well aware that you are not a little girl, nor do you need protecting." Rook stated expertly dodging the ship trying to track them. Jen nodded.

"Great we're on the same page, now turn the ship around and let's fight."

"No." Jen glared at her partner as he set off a gas bomb blinding the ship following them and zipped them forwards into one of the entrances to the Bellwood base. The whole place was on lockdown. Apparently the planetary shield was crumbling fast and the Incursions would be fully through the atmosphere in less than an hour. But Jen had another immediate problem on her hands.

"What do you mean I'm being confined to base!" She was shouting but she didn't care. Magister Patelliday held his ground though which was impressive against a pissed off Omnitrix wielder.

"I'm gonna be frank with you Miss Tennyson. You're not a Plumber, as you have stated multiple times. This is not your war."

"Fucking bullshit! This is my planet!" This was true on multiple levels. She had of course been born and raised on the planet but she also technically owned the planet since winning the Conquerors Challenge Vilgax had set to her almost a year and a half ago. But Rook was ushered away from the brewing fight by another of the Plumbers. He quickstepped over to Magister Tennyson and frowned.

"Why is Jen being kept out of the fight?" Rook wasn't stupid enough to believe that the Plumbers were keeping her out of this fight because she didn't technically hold a real rank with them. She was a Specialist but in all technicality Specialists were just that, experts in one field or another. Jen's field just so happened to be hitting things. Max glanced behind Rook to make sure Jen wasn't following him.

"We believe that the Incursions may be targeting her specifically. There's any number of reasons they would be doing that, the Omnitrix, the fact that she technically owns the planet, but we think Attea and her father are angry about not getting to take over Earth a few years back when SevenSeven kidnapped Attea." Rook raised an eyebrow. Max shook his head. "Long story, and the reason the solar system only has eight planets instead of nine. But if they get to her they have one of the most valuable bargaining chips in the universe." Rook didn't like it, at all. But as a Plumber he had no choice but to follow orders.

Jen was beyond angry as she was escorted to her room. She wasn't a child to be put under house arrest so that she didn't interfere. She flipped off the Plumbers guarding her door and slammed it in their faces. There was no way she was sitting this out. Resources were limited as it was, she sort of wished Pierce hadn't taken her advice about his vacation but at least he wouldn't be caught up in this mess. She pulled out her phone and texted her parents, aunt and uncle.

'Use the necklaces. I'll come get you when it's safe.' She tossed her phone onto her bed and cracked her knuckles before spinning the dial on the Omnitrix. It was a simple matter for Nanomech to slip out of her room and into the Proto-Truck. She frowned as Rook stepped up to the open gangplank with Max.

"I still do not think leaving her behind is a good idea." Jen smiled to herself. At least someone was on her side. Sitting in the back of the truck, unnoticed by Rook due to the battle Jen smiled slightly then frowned as the truck jerked. They'd taken a major hit, something Rook was quick to inform Max of. Jen slipped out of her seat as Rook aimed the damaged truck for the Incursion Flagship.

"Great idea partner. Floor it!" Rook looked startled but smiled.

"I should have known you would stow away." Jen laughed.

"I'm never one to miss a good fight. Aim there, that should be close enough to the bridge." She strapped herself in as Max cried out, incredulous that she had completely flouted orders again. That did not go well, crashing into the ship completely trashed the Proto-Truck. They had no chance to contact the other Plumber ships as they worked their way to the bridge. They got to the bridge just in time to take out the Incursions about to shoot Max down. But the Omnitrix chose the most inopportune time to time out. She got snagged by Emperor Milleous and he threated to kill her if they didn't stand down immediately.

"Don't you dare!" She practically snarled at her grandfather over the intercom. Max shook his head.

"I won't lose you again. Plumbers stand down." Jen swore loudly and colorfully as she and Rook were put in cuffs. Hers were a bit more complicated. Where Rook's were a simple set of energy cuffs, Jen's were solid, keeping her hands shoulder width apart and keeping the Omnitrix fully covered. Milleous grinned croaking in triumph.

"Take these two to the brig, she'll still be useful." As they were escorted off the bridge something occurred to Jen. She was a useful hostage but Rook was not. As much as she liked him to the Incursions he was just another Plumber. They would not hesitate to kill him. The thought of that made her do something stupid. Faking a stumble she shoved one of the guards into the wall, hard, using her cuffs to knock his gun out of his hands. Taking this as his cue Rook attacked his guards as well but as the sounds of others approaching them grew loud he was stunned when Jen kicked a panel on the wall and slammed her shoulder into his torso sending him staggering into the escape pod. He tried to leap back out of it but she was too quick, slamming her hand into the panel again, shutting the doors and beginning the jettisoning of the pod. As he watched in horror she slammed the bar of her cuffs into the panel as sparks flew. They wouldn't be able to call the pod back. It separated even as the Incursions reached her and slammed her to the floor of the ship. There was a gleam of triumph in her eyes as the pod decoupled and fell towards the planet below. Rook lost sight of her as one of the Incursions raised the butt of his gun to slam it into her face.