Before anything else, I own nothing but the original characters, and content therein related to them. Ben 10 is owned by Cartoon Network, and any mentioned creator's work belongs to them, and them alone.
BEN 10: COSMIC KRITICALITY.
PROLOGUE
In the year 2010, Vilgax came to Earth… The year was 2018… The Terran War of Independence has reached it's final day… Humanity has fallen… Above, the stars are doing out, as reality itself is beginning to fold inwards on itself from a force beyond reality… But below Vilgax's drones and Earth's defenders fight on, for there is nothing to do but fight.
Gunfire and the crackling of lasers filled the small fortified concrete corridor, as several soldiers in tattered and dirty uniforms, missing pieces of gear here and there, scrambled past the hastily made sandbag wall before them. As the last man jumped clear over the wall, all guns behind the barrier were ready to be trained on the enemy that had followed them into the killing zone. Insect-like drones of human stature rounded the last corner and began to fill the hallway in 4 staggered columns, creating overlapping laser fire.
"OPEN FIRE!" With the order, the soldiers began shooting once more, stemming the flow of drones into their last strong point before The Breach.
"SIR, I HAVE THE LAST PART, AND ORDERS TO DELIVER IT THE PROFESSOR PERSONALLY FROM GENERAL HAMMOND!" A blood covered soldier, no older than 17 said, as he got to a knee, and faced the officer beside him, slinging his rifle to pull out the box containing the salvation of not only his world, but all worlds.
"GO, PRIVATE, WE'LL HOLD THEM HERE!" The CO shouted, as he shoved the young soldier deeper down the hall, before he took a fatal laser blast, which severed his arm from his body and lit his torso on fire.
The soldier had tossed his helmet aside, and took off sprinting past the rear guard defenders of The Breach. "MAKE WAY! MAKE WAY!" He shouted ahead. The soldiers in the hallway pressed against the wall to let him pass, before reforming their ranks as laser fire filled the intersection before them.
The sole private reached his final destination, and the two door guards unlocked the electromagnetically sealed room, just in time for the private to jump through the gap they'd created in the heavy metal door, before closing it once more, and then destroying the controles to the passageway, sealing it. Looking towards the corner, the two men took out their sidearms, knowing they'd be unable to so much as dent the drones with the 9mm rounds. "A good day to die." The man left of the door said, before the one on the right nodded. "As good a day as any."
The private on the other side of the door took a moment to catch his breath, as he heard two gunshots through the metal. Picking up his pace again, he didn't look back to check if the drones had started cutting through the door. He rounded the last corner, and was met by friendly faces, and a massive circle made of stone.
"Professor Hank." The boy said, handing the box in his hands to the 85 year old man before him wearing safety goggles. "General Hammond didn't make it… And…" The Private turned to the gray haired man in tan plumber armor. "Oh god… Colonel Tennyson, I'm so sorry, Gwen, she… The drones caught us at the gate, they were here before we could make it in time…" The soldier trailed off. Max Tennyson only looked at the entrance to the room in shock. "Laser blast… Clean… Clean to the back, blew through her like… Like tissue paper." The private slumped against the nearest wall as his adrenaline response started to wear off. " I tried to get her down here… There was so much blood." The private said, as he remembered dragging the girl into the mountain complex, cradling her in his arms, before she held a bloodied hand to his face. "Why? Why wasn't it me!?" He asked loudly to no one in particular, as he grabbed his short blond hair, and curled into a ball.
Max ran a hand over his mouth, and started to pace around the room, not only grieving in silence at the loss of his granddaughter, but also in fear that their hail mary had all but died with her.
The Professor took the object out of the box. It was a single black and green cylinder only about 25mm in diameter, and about 10mm in height. "It's alright my boy, take a moment to breathe… Doctor, will this suffice?" The professor said, turning to his colleague. Doctor Animo looked up from his table and stopped working on a large olive drab device under a chemical hood.
"It's perfect. The last piece of the original DNA matrix… I hope the boys at Groom Lake won't mind." The sickly green skinned man said, as the Professor handed him the device. The Doctor went back under his chemical hood, and beggan installation of the matrix into the device.
"For them to mind they would need to live, Animo." The hooded elder of 130 years among them said, before stepping out of his dark corner a single candle illuminating his face.
"Mr. Hex." The Private said with a small wave.
Mr. Hex nodded at the boy. "If what you say is true, our young mage and Anodite Gwendolyn has passed… All is lost." Mr. Hex said, looking at the giant stone circle before them all.
"Not quite!" Dr. Animo said, as he came out from under the chemical hood with his device.
"We needed an Anodite to pass through the veil, Doctor… And My Granddaughter was the last one with the spark…" Max said, growing tense as the good doctor smiled.
"As I said, not quite. I didn't spend the past decade working on this thing to not account for variables that could lead to the death of our sole ticket to saving reality." Dr. Animo said, as he turned to the private, and slid the device onto his arm, the fingerless mechanical gauntlet reaching his elbow. There was a snickt, of metal shooting upwards from the underside of the arm, and a 6 inch needle protruded from Dr. Animo's wrist. "I simply need a sample of her DNA." Without hurting the boy, Dr. Animo used the needle to swab a single drop of blood off of his face.
"Anodites don't have DNA you fool." Mr. Hex said.
"TRUE! However, even as an energy being they contain self replicating information within their physical makeup. That "spark" Max loves to preach about, it follows the same principles of genetic code, but instead of chains of chemical amino acids, they contain much smaller chains of wavicles. Subatomic particles, behaving like waves, or the other way around, contained within the existing genetic makeup of a flesh and blood being." Dr. Animo said, as the needle retracted into the gauntlet. He started to type into the forearm mounted keypad.
"You speak of mana." Mr. Hex said.
"And converting a living being into raw mana, as we so desperately need." Dr. Animo said, before the digital display showed a coloured picture of a male human.
"Gwendolyn's DNA would be chock full of mana, which…" The Professor said trailing off.
"Which can be replicated within human DNA." Dr. Animo said with a grin, as the digitally displayed image on the gauntlet changed with some more typing, to that of an male Anodite. "50 years of genetic research and I thought zombies would be my greatest discovery!" The good doctor shouted, before the security door around the corner started to make noise.
The private got to his feet, and unslung his rifle, before taking a knee and peeking the corridor to check the entrance. A gout of fire had breached through one of the corners. "They're cutting through the door!" He shouted.
"Then we must hurry." The Professor said, as he stepped to the computerized controls of the circle of stone in the center of the room.
"Who's going to go through the circle?" Mr. Hex asked, as Dr. Animo took off the gauntlet, the matrix still awaiting activation.
"I need to stay behind to destroy the portal." Professor Hank said.
"As much as I know I should… I won't leave my planet undefended… Even if it means dying here." Max said, raising his rifle to fire above the soldier in front of him.
"It's been hypothesized by Professor Hank that Mr. Hex and I would likely still be wanted men…" Dr. Animo said to Max. "You're the only one of us who has a chance of completing the mission." The Dr said somberly, placing a hand on Max's shoulder. Max lowered his aim, and looked at the man kneeling in front of him.
"No I'm not." Max said, as he took a USB drive out of his pocket. "PRIVATE, ATTENTION!" He said loudly.
"SIR?!" The private asked, before pulling away from the corner to stand in front of his superior officer.
"I never got your name, son." Max said.
"PFC Mille. Killion, I, Mille." The boy said, looking at Colonel Max.
"How old are you?" Max asked, "And how long have you been fighting in this war, son?"
"17, and… Since I was 12 sir… Took my brother's place in the ranks after the Battle of Appalachia. Assigned to Operation Final Flight 7 months ago." Killion said.
Max looked at his feet, as Killion glanced between Dr. Animo, holding the gauntlet, Mr. Hex gazing at him, and Professor Hank taking off his goggles then loosening his tie.
"Son, do you understand what Final Flight's mission is?" Max asked, looking back up at the boy.
"To secure our future, all futures, by changing the present in other worlds… Sir." Killion said, hesitating for a moment. "Not that I really understand the exact details, sir."
"How would you like to be the first man from our world to travel through The Breach?" Max asked, putting his hand on Killion's shoulder. "To save the world, every world?"
"Sir… I'm just a… I'm just meat for the grinder, sir. Another body between Vilgax and our salvation." Killion said. "I'm expendable… I can pull a trigger, but I'm not some hero."
"Not to me…" Max said, before ripping off the velcro PFC rank that Killion wore on his body armor, before taking his own rank of Colonel off, and pressing it to Killion's chest. "As the sole remaining senior officer of the United States Space Corps, under the authority of the acting president, if there still remains one, I hereby field commission and field promote you to the rank of Colonel, effective immediately… Son… I'm too old to be doing this anymore. If we are going to save everything, our best chance lies with you, and that kind of responsibility deserves that kind of rank." Max handed the USB drive to Killion, and the young soldier looked at it for a moment. "That little stick contains everything anyone would need to know once they get through that Breach… And before you go. You'll need this." Max said, stepping out of the way, as Dr. Animo stepped forward, and slipped the gauntlet onto Killion's left arm, strapping it in place.
"Just press the "call" button and it'll change you into an Anodite… Hopefully." The doctor muttered his final word, as he pulled out his sidearm.
Killion hesitated for a moment, before looking at the nokia number pad that was attached to the inside of his forearm now, and pressed the "call" button, before there was a green flash from the display, and he suddenly felt a lot warmer… Looking down at the back of his fingerless gloved right hand, he saw that the skin of his hand had begun to decay, then burn away as a glowing dark purple energy took it's place. Leaning against the nearest console he looked at his reflection in the black glass, as his skin, hair, even his blue eyes, burned away being replaced by purple energy of varying shades of purple and pink.
"This is… So weird." Killion said. "But it feels… Good." He muttered, before standing back up unsupported.
"It worked." Max said almost breathlessly.
"He should now contain sufficient quantities of mana to pass through The Breach unharmed." Mr. Hex said.
"Then we don't have much time to waste." Max said.
"I ask for your rifle Killion… You shouldn't need it anymore." Professor Hank said. Killion nodded a few times before he strode over to the professor and handed him the M4. "Right… Preparing for temporal breach in 3… 2… 1…" There was a crackle of electric energy as the professor slammed a power switch on the consol, and the giant stone in the center of the room glowed, before a swirling blue vortex opened within the center.
Killion gave one final look to Max, and everyone else in the room, before he took a deep breath, though moved no air without lungs, and stood in front of the vortex. "It's just one small step…" Killion said, before he crossed the threshold, and was gone from the room.
After a moment, Professor Hank turned off the portal, and stepped back from the computer. He filled the console with bullet holes, before shooting the stone circle sending cracks all up and down it's surface, rendering it irreparable. After his work was done, Hank stood beside his colleagues, and they raised their weapons, or in Mr. Hex's case, his hands, which glowed a menacing red.
"Gentlemen… It was an honor…" Max said, a single tear rolling down his eye as the door around the corner could be heard falling to the floor.
AN. So I got to polishing off the first chapter in another story. This story's a little bit less constrained than my first one since the concept of a multiverse exists in Ben 10. In the same vein, I'll be posting prologues of other stories here soon to see if any gain traction. The first real chapter of this and the prologues of a few others should be live tomorrow before I need to pack for My grandfather's service. And to anyone who's remotely concerned about my mental wellbeing, having lost several family members in the past two years, I channel my emotions best when I can turn them into something, be that hard work, or creative outlets. This right here is my therapy.