Ben10 & Digimon Tamers
Heroes and Humanity
Part 2: Humanity and Heroes
The Beginning - Chapter 01
Originally Written: Thursday, May 21, 2015 119AM to 400AM
Song: One Ok Rock – The Beginning
A/N: Welcome to Part 2 of "Heroes and Humanity" a.k.a "Humanity and Heroes". This story takes place after the entirety of Ben10: Alien Force and Ben10: Ultimate Alien, and even shifts quite a bit into Ben 10: Omniverse. Please take note of the shift in genres. Ultimate Alien and Omniverse are quite dark. Much darker than Digimon Tamers, as I said before. Especially once you figure out the implications of all going on there. Very nightmare fuel-ish.
I had an entire rant here, before I realized my reasonings for not ending this story with Part 1's epilogue could be summed up in a sentence or two: Too much of Omniverse's characterizations and plotlines don't make sense to me, even when compared to UAF, which does some really questionable stuff by itself. I wanted to make it make some sense for myself. It's too much for me to work with, actually, so the only thing I'm full-force focused on is working with Albedo.
So, I hope you enjoy reading this part, as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you haven't done so, please read Part 1 first. This story won't make much sense otherwise.
…..
The first time he ran, he promptly fell into a pit of black, Albedo remembered with a grimace. Wind rushed by him as he had fallen, speaking to him in a voice he couldn't quite put a face to.
"It is not your time. Do not give up."
He shut his eyes tightly as he grabbed hold of something warm from within him, at least that's what he liked to think. Then again, he was re-experiencing this darned dream again. He opened his eyes, looking face to face with the many forms Ben Tennyson's Omnitrix granted him.
"If just for a few more days could the human body forgo sleep…" He murmured, white bangs obscuring his deep red eyes.
He looked out the corner of his eyes, to the right. It always started this way, as though it were some video game created by someone with a complete lack of morals. A virtual reality specifically made to induce mental instability. He moved to his knees, in the corner of the diner. Which one would throw the first punch this night?
His heart pounded in his chest, aching to free itself of the situation as badly as he himself wanted. His clammy hands barely got any grip on the tiled floor, waiting for momentum to take over and make sure he landed flat on his face so Humungosaur or Fourarms could use the opportunity to test the reliability of a human as a punching bag.
"An improvement," Albedo noted as Swampfire raised his arms. The last few times Ghostfreak had kicked off the festivities. That had gone on as well as the time the Negrofriggian had caught him in ice breath before he could move. He raised a knee. Somehow, within what he was sure was a dream, that the experience had left him in the hospital ward suffering from a cold and random bout of hypothermia.
A chill ran through him, as he wondered what condition a Methanosian's flames would leave him in upon waking. He shot off in a sharp sprint, legs pumping. Flames shot behind him, as he fumbled with the handle of the diner door. Sweat pooled on his brow and ran down his face as he sped down the street, countless aliens charging after him.
He reached out an arm, grabbing a light pole and using it to help him turn down an abandoned street. 'Three 'wake ups' and count back from ten." Albedo murmured, stomach flip flopping as he ran.
"Speedster." He stopped short, swung a leg, and somehow caught XLR8 in the face with the heel of his right foot.
"Wait..." He lowered his leg and grabbed the Kineceleran's arm and swung just hard enough to move himself out the way. The Tetramand, Four Arms, crashed down from a high leap on XLR8.
Albedo promptly turned and continued running, passing empty cars and houses on the dark deserted streets of this odd version of Bellwood. Blood rushed in his ears, nearly silencing his own labored breathing and thoughts. 'No Celestialsapiens...No Celestialsapiens.' He ducked a little too late. The Necrofriggian phased through the ground, picking Albedo up by his shoulders.
He shut his eyes tightly, "Wake up..." He whispered. "You know this isn't real."
The Necrofriggian's cold breath washed over him as though death itself came for him. He shivered in its cold grasp. He opened his eyes. Red met green. He glanced down for a moment. From this height, the few cars on the street resembled large ants. He looked off to the side, where the familiar red and white To'Kustar sat on a building, watching in amusement with it's forearms resting on its thighs.
"Hm...I lasted longer than I usually do." He noted with an air of finality. He looked back at the Necrofriggian, "Are you dropping me this time?"
The alien laughed a ghastly laugh. Something that reminded Albedo more of Vilgax, than Tennyson. Then it let go. Though futile to reach out to an alien who could become intangible at will, Albedo did so anyway. A scream died in his throat as he tumbled down to the pavement. His wide eyes locked onto his uncovered wrist, as his jacket billowed on his person like a ripped parachute.
He closed his eyes, tears he would not dare acknowledge floating up from his face. The wind whispered to him.
"It is not your time. Do not give up."
…..
"Always making a spectacle."
Albedo stared up at the stark white ceiling of his cell. He ignored the plumber goading him. They always did. He crossed his hands over his heart, and tried his damndest to focus on slowing down his breathing. He rolled over on his side.
"Breakfast, sweetheart." The male guard spoke with disgust, "Or are you too good to eat human food too?" The guard slid a plate into his cell. Albedo didn't move until he heard the guard's footsteps fade down the hall.
He couldn't place where the comfort of sitting in the very corner of any room came from. He just knew that, for him, at this moment, as he crawled over to the corner of his cell, that things would be alright there. He ran his hands over his face, and rested his folded arms on his raised knees.
He looked at the cell across from him. He froze, his limbs unable to move even if he willed them to. His arms rested heavily, like thick lead pipes on his knees. He narrowed his red eyes at the heavyset Necrofriggian sitting across from him.
The alien waved at him casually, flashing the slightest bit of a smile that a necrofriggian was even capable of flashing.
'There is nothing restraining his powers in that cell.' Albedo examined the alien's surroundings. His heart sped up in his chest.
The alien held out his hand. Then counted down from five slowly. Albedo watched cautiously. When they reached zero, just a moment later, the energy bars holding him in his cell disappeared as the lights in the sector, it looked like, shut off. The necrofriggian floated over to him, phasing through his own cell bars. Albedo looked up at him.
"Come on," The necrofriggian spoke, "it'll be really inconvenient if back up power kicks on and we're still here."
Albedo tilted his head, "Fridge…?" His voice came out in a whisper. He racked his brain for memories.
The alien nervously pressed a hand to the back of his head. Then he turned around and glided off. Albedo shook his head, grabbed his jacket off the bed, and followed, somehow ignoring every fiber of his being telling him to run the other way. 'It's Fridge. Stop shaking,' he scolded himself, deftly moving past confused plumbers and rowdy prisoners.
He followed Fridge to the elevators. Fridge handed him an ID Mask before winking at him. Then he put a small bag sitting next to him on his shoulder. When full power returned, two plumber guards silently entered the elevator, watching confused guards bum around as though they lost all their brain cells.
Albedo looked at Fridge from the corner of his eye. When Fridge looked at him, he quickly looked away.
"Oh. Camera." Fridge murmured. The alien looked up and Albedo would have palmed his face if he was just a bit more awake.
Albedo jumped in his skin. He pressed a finger to his ear. He felt the ear bud in his ear. 'The ID masks are hooked up to communicators.'
Something concerning jamming signals ran through his head, but he was not awake enough to think of why that thought would be there. His thoughts, however, quickly shifted back to the acknowledgment of a necrofriggian standing right next to his sorry backside, and if he recognized the voice right a vaxasaurian was whispering in his ear like a gossiping school girl.
"-Need to get to the top of the elevator."
Albedo blinked as keyboard keys clicked in his ears. Heavy foreboding breathing also filled his hearing. He looked up at the ceiling of the elevator. "This is Hugh's work." The elevator had been stopped remotely. Fridge phased through the ceiling.
"Good morning, Albedo." Hugh spoke softly through the communicator.
Albedo scoffed as Fridge removed the emergence hatch and reached an arm through the ceiling. Albedo shut his eyes and pointed his head downward as he lifted his arm.
"I will throw you into a black hole if you drop me." He spat, imagining he was directing incompetent Galvan minions.
Fridge chuckled.
"T-their security is down for another five minutes." Hugh said. "Take the vent in f-front on your left. It will lead you outside."
Albedo nodded, oddly pleased with how Fridge moved ahead to remove the grate.
"Feel like Batman yet?"
Albedo blinked as he entered the vent and replaced the grate. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the increased darkness. "I don't even know who that is, Swamps." He murmured, glaring at the dust.
"You know, in most places, traveling through vents isn't possible?" Swamps continued, a stuffy voice trying to impress Albedo-didn't-know-who because it surely wasn't impressing him. "But the smaller higher ranked plumbers move around quicker through the vents than running across large expanses of room. So, vents. Probably why you should move it before you run into one of them."
Usually around this point, he'd wish he was sleeping so he could better ignore the trio. This time however, he was content to have anything to black out the last vestiges of dream plaguing his mind.
"Swamps, g-go." Hugh demanded.
"Right-o."
"Don't l-leave anything."
Silence filled Albedo's end of the communicator. Albedo clenched his fists against the steel. Fridge phased through the vent leading to the outside. He removed it, and held out an arm to Albedo. As he looked at the orange sky, a chill went through him.
"I won't drop you." Fridge spoke, "I promise."
Albedo held out his arm. He ignored the frailty in wrapping his arms around Fridge's neck, as the male replaced the vent grate. Below them, a tall, yet bulky male full of muscle and another heavy set average height male with a good sized gut on him looked at him and Fridge. Fridge landed and set Albedo on the asphalt.
"I cannot believe we did that." Fridge murmured, "We're all going to jail."
"I can't believe that worked." Swamps laughed, "They should start bulking up graveyard shifts. He folded his arms over his gut.
Hugh, the tall muscular male adjusted his glasses, "W-we'll make our way to Undertown, where we can better stay out of Plumber's view."
The quartet ran off just as sirens at the Plumber HQ started blaring. Albedo zipped up his red jacket, as a cool breeze caressed him, whispering in his ear.
