A/N: Ok, we're getting back to Aggregor now. He'll be the main focus until the arc is done, which'll only be a couple of chapters.
Also, side note for anyone reviewing cause the review section is starting to look like a sandbox nowadays. I would ask you to not deep dive into how Ultimate Alien's canon played out unless it relates to a chapter that I've posted. I would prefer to keep the reviews more focused on the story progressing here instead of one that already progressed all the way. Take that to Private Messaging - that's what it's there for. I know most people aren't doing it, but I figured I'd bring it up anyway. Thank you, and on with the story.
"I can't believe you're drinking that," Kevin said with a grimace.
"Not my fault your taste isn't refined enough," Ben said, taking a sip from his smoothie.
"I can't believe you're drinking a... a..."
"Lamb and sardine smoothie?" Ben finished.
"Yes. That," Gwen said with a disgusted face. "It's gross, even by your standards."
"Not to mention it's baby food more than it is a smoothie," Kevin said.
Ben frowned before taking a sip of his smoothie and smacking his lips.
"You know, come to think of it, I thought it reminded me of something," he said, making both Gwen and Kevin laugh. "What?"
"You're eating baby food," Kevin said with a grin.
"You want a bottle with that?" Gwen teased with a grin, making the three of them laugh.
"Hey, say whatever you want, but you kiss these baby food lips," Ben shot back with a smirk.
"Not until those teeth have some care with a toothbrush first," Gwen said, putting a finger on his chest with a smirk on her face.
"While you work on your toddler breath, I'm going to get me a smoothie. You wanna come with?" Kevin asked Gwen.
"Uh uh. I know exactly what you're doing," she said, shifting her finger over to him. "I'm not going to come just so you can laugh at the cashier again."
"Oh come on. You can't tell me how he reacted to seeing the two of you making out wasn't funny," Kevin said, getting to his feet with an amused smile.
"He dropped smoothie all over the counter. And after he cleaned it up to take our orders, he dropped our money three times cause he was so nervous, and stammered every five words he spoke," Gwen said flatly.
"I know," Kevin said with a grin. "Coming?"
"No. Just get me a blueberry," Gwen said, handing him two dollars before waving him off.
"Nice. Way to ruin my fun. I hope you get mobbed by Tennyson's groupies while I'm gone," Kevin said as he walked towards the stand.
"I'm shaking in terror," Gwen said flatly as he walked off.
Almost as if they were waiting for Kevin to walk away, there were several shrieks of excitement from behind them that caused to Gwen to grimace and Ben to sigh in exasperation.
"Should I..." Ben trailed, his hand hovering above the Ultimatrix as the girls were followed by several reporters with flashing cameras.
"Let me," Gwen said before creating a mana barrier that prevented anyone from advancing any further. "Finish your smoothie."
"You're such a sweetheart," Ben said, moving in for a kiss. But she stopped him with a hand on his chest.
"Nice try. You're still not kissing me until you brush your teeth," Gwen said with a wry smile.
"Will gum be good enough? I have that," Ben suggested.
"Not unless it's that really good spearmint gum. And I know you hate it," Gwen said, making Ben grimace.
"Toothbrush solution it is," he said, making Gwen smile innocently.
"Couldn't you go a little longer without attracting attention, Tennyson?" Kevin questioned as he approached them and passed a smoothie to Gwen.
"Heh. I wish," Ben said as his watch started beeping at the same time Gwen and Kevin's Plumber's Badges did. "Well, at least we have an excuse to get going now."
"Tennyson here. What's happened?" Gwen asked the moment they all answered.
"We could all use your help here, Miss Tennyson. We ran into Aggregor," the Plumber said, instantly catching Ben's attention. "We've asked your grandfather to come in to help consult as well."
"He's back on Earth?" Ben asked.
"He never had the chance to leave. We've received orders to watch Earth space travel ever since Aggregor was confirmed to have kidnapped multiple aliens from other galaxies," the Plumber told him.
"Where is he now?" Ben asked.
"No one knows. The Plumbers were pursuing his ship, and he shot all other Plumber ships down before they got a chance to try and board. His hyperdrive's useless, so he wouldn't be able to go anywhere very fast even if he somehow got past the blockade," the Plumber said.
"Wherever he is, we need to find him. We'll head your way now," Kevin said as the three of them disabled the call at the same time. "Something tells me we're not getting a wink of sleep tonight."
"I have an uneasy feeling you're right," Ben said.
"Anything?" Max asked.
"Plenty. I could sense the missing aliens were here," Gwen said, her eyes glowing a bright pink.
"He stayed to call his ship in order to move the aliens, so he never would've gotten the chance to go back for him," Kevin said, frowning slightly.
"We set a trap for him," the Plumber captain said.
"Cloaked ships?" Kevin guessed.
"Yeah. He didn't suspect a thing," the captain said.
"And he was ready anyway," Kevin said.
"I can make this easier to figure out if you'd like," Ben offered.
"Nah. Just give me a few minutes," Kevin said, and Ben held out a hand to give him the floor.
"His ship fired at you guys from above..." Kevin trailed, moving from place to place. "Radiation scorching on the debris... more than likely high powered tachyon cannons."
"And where the sand shining is where the transmat beam was used to teleport him up to his ship," he finished before turning around to the others. Everyone looked equal parts surprised and impressed. "What?"
"I've never seen anyone take apart a crime scene like that. You've certainly got a future in law enforcement," Max said with a smile before a small smirk crossed his face. "On one side or another..."
"Uh, thanks," Kevin said, rubbing the back of his head.
"We need to figure out where Aggregor's ship went. You said you shot his hyperdrive out?" Ben asked, looking to the Plumber captain.
"Yeah," he said.
"Then it'll definitely be leaking. We can track it," Kevin said.
"Rust Bucket 2.0 it is," Ben said before raising his Ultimatrix. The moment he did, it started emitting a transmitter beacon that eventually brought the starship right above them.
"When did you install that?" Max questioned, looking at his grandson with slight surprise.
"Had some free time with Brainstorm," Ben said with a shrug as the ship started to land. Then he looked towards the Plumber captain. "We can take it from here. Make sure your men get the help they need."
"Will do," the Plumber captain said with a nod.
Kevin's theory was proven correct once they were aboard the starship, and there was a trail for them to follow.
"Shouldn't take us too long to get there. At the rate his ship's leaking, he has to stop for repairs at some point," Kevin said.
"Then you can spare a couple of minutes to talk to me private, right?" Gwen asked, causing Kevin to give her a side glance.
"Tennyson, take over. Try not to crash," he said as Ben took the co-pilot's wheel.
"I'll do my best to oblige you," Ben said before looking to Gwen questioningly. She only raised a finger signaling she would tell him later before heading to the storage bay with Kevin.
"Isn't Ben the one you normally have these heart to hearts with?" Kevin asked, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Not when you're the one I need to talk to. The way you're working this case... it looks like you're seriously giving this one your all," Gwen said.
"That a bad thing?" Kevin asked.
"You haven't cracked a joke since Mister Smoothy's. Every second you were at the ambush site, you were combing each spot for clues. I just want to know why you're taking this one so seriously," Gwen said, crossing her arms.
"Aggregor is an Osmosian - like me. Maybe I just feel responsible," Kevin admitted.
"You shouldn't. Same powers or not, you made your choices and he made his. And you made better ones," Gwen said.
"It's not that easy," Kevin said, shaking his head in the negative.
"Maybe it isn't. But I do know that you don't have to hold yourself responsible for the choices he made. You're a better person than he is. You had a bad point in your life, but you made the decision to try and turn it around for yourself," Gwen told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"You don't have to waste time worrying about me. I'll be fine," Kevin said.
"Bold of you to assume that I think it's a waste of time. I'll always be looking after you," Gwen told him.
"Thanks," Kevin said with a genuine smile. Then he glanced back at the cockpit. "We should probably get back."
"I was just about to come looking for you kids," Max said as they approached.
"We're approaching Aggregor's ship. I'll set it down a good distance away so he doesn't see us coming," Ben said, hitting the buttons to activate the ship's cloaking.
They approached on foot, and Ben made sure to keep his human body on to prevent his glowing head from lighting up their position like a beacon.
"Through that clearing," he said, leading the way while crouched.
"We should have the element of surprise on them," Max said in a whisper.
"That'll just..." He cut himself off when over a dozen pairs of eyes started to light up in the darkness. "Oh, wonderful."
"Ambush! Hit em hard!" Max exclaimed before firing his blaster in the clearing, nailing one of Aggregor's minions in the head.
"Kevin!" Ben exclaimed, causing the Osmosian to turn in his direction. In Ben's hand was a chunk of Taydenite that he passed to the Osmosian, who caught it easily.
"Thanks Tennyson!" Kevin exclaimed, catching the Taydenite and absorbing it in a split second before it disappeared in a flash of green light.
Raising his hands, the lasers that Aggregor's henchmen fired at Kevin bounced off no problem before he punched several of them down to the ground. One of them even had his shots reflect off of Kevin's skin and hit another in the chest.
Holding out both of her hands while flying around the minions, Gwen attached several tendrils to as many minions as possible before sending a wave of energized mana through them that fried them severely.
Ben dove in between two henchmen and swept them off their feet with one 360 low kick and grabbed them with tendrils them before they hit the ground. Then he tossed their bodies into another group of minions that were knocked to the floor the moment they were hit.
Kevin immediately knocked them back up in in the air with a ground pound, and any minions still kicking were picked off in midair by Max and Gwen.
"They were waiting for us!" Ben exclaimed, raising a glass barrier to block a hail of laser fire headed his way.
"They're only stalling so Aggregor can finish his repairs," Max said as he clubbed a minion down to the ground with his pistol.
"Not on my watch. Hold the line. I'll be back," Ben said before turning into XLR8 and speeding towards the ship. Then he transformed back into his Anodite form while inside. "Aggregor!"
Moving to the bridge, Ben noticed that the place was completely empty. And a quick check of any mana signatures revealed he was nowhere on board.
"Where is..." Ben stumbled slightly when an engine in the back of the ship blew up. "Son of a..."
Gwen, Kevin, and Max were approaching the ship before it completely went up in flames, causing an explosion powerful enough to take out a good fifty meters around it. None of them were hurt thanks to Gwen's quick shield.
"Did he..." Max trailed, looking at the ship worriedly.
"Nope. There he is," Kevin said with a point, gesturing towards a green shield in the distance. In a flash of green light, Ben was next to them immediately.
"He knew he wouldn't be able to get away without a trace, so he set a trap," Ben said sourly.
"That only begs that question - where is Aggregor?" Max questioned.
"We'd better find out in a hurry," Kevin said.
"Well, this is convenient," Ben said as Colonel Rozum and Max shook hands.
"Believe me, son - convenience isn't the right word. Ever since you kids helped us with our alien problem, the Air Force ended up assigning me to deal with all of the weird stuff," Colonel Rozum said.
"Weird stuff?" Kevin asked as the Colonel walked to a suitcase.
"Aliens. Monsters. UFOs. My new case has all three. And a time machine," he said, causing all of the teenagers to exchange looks. "Back in the 50s, the US government made a failed attempt to build one."
"In Los Soledad," Gwen supplied.
"That's classified information," Rozum said sternly.
"Eh. We know a lot of stuff we're not supposed to," Kevin said with a shrug.
"Do you know that three hours ago, someone set off the old security system?" Rozum said, going through a stack of papers. "We sent troops to investigate, but they were kept away by these."
"Aggregor's minions," Ben said once he showed them the picture. "The real question is what his plans are with the facility."
"Nothing good, that's for sure. Besides, Los Soledad was given a red seal ever since the time machine accident. If my men can't retake that base, my orders are to destroy it," Rozum said, closing the suitcase. And the moment he looked, Professor Paradox came into his sight.
"That would be a major error," he said before looking to the side thoughtfully. "Or is that a 'colonel' error? I'm not very good with rank."
"How'd you get in here?! Where's my..." Rozum stopped when he saw his gun was missing.
"I took it from you before I arrived," Paradox said, holding the item with two fingers. He looked as if he was afraid the weapon would infect him. "Disgusting things."
"It's alright, Colonel Rozum," Ben interjected before things got any worse. "This is Professor Paradox - a time traveler."
"But he only helps us out when the situation is bad," Gwen noted, darting her gaze to the man in question.
"Indeed I do. Aggregor intends to use an entropy pump - the power source of my old time portal. Which was not, by the way, a 'failed experiment,'" Paradox said succinctly. "He intends to use it for his own purposes, which lean towards the nefarious."
"All the more reason to bomb the place," Rozum brought up.
"If you start dropping bombs on an active entropy pump, the results would be disastrous," Paradox said.
"Let me guess. Tearing a hole in the fabric of time disastrous," Ben said flatly.
"No. More like, 'Destroying reality in the distance of several lightyears' disastrous," Paradox corrected.
"Why not just travel back in time and stop it?" Gwen questioned.
"Time traveling weakens the fabric of space. The reality in Los Soledad is already paper thin as it is," Paradox said.
"So you can't go there yourself," Max said.
"No. But I supposed that's where you four come in," Paradox said, turning to face them.
"Alright Ben. You and your team can give it a try, but if you fail, I've still got my orders," Rozum said.
"I'm sure they'd change their minds about dropping those bombs if they found out what would happen to the place," Gwen pointed out.
"That is if they would listen at all," Paradox said, waving at them cheerfully before disappearing in a flash of light.
"Your friends are strange," Rozum said.
"Better strange than normal. Cause only the strange are truly exceptional," Ben told him with a smirk.
"What's the place looking like?" Kevin asked after the Rust Bucket scanned each presence in the base. The Ultimatrix then brought up a map of Los Soledad, each scanned signature appearing as a green dot.
"They're all over the place. We need to get to Aggregor fast before he finishes whatever it is he's trying to do," he said.
"Most of them are concentrated in this area here," Max said, pointing to a spot down the middle.
"And the time portal is located way over here, which is where Aggregor will be. There's still plenty of intact technology there," Gwen said, pointing another spot.
"We need to get to him fast, and this way has the least resistance while offering a direct path to the portal. The problem is that they'll pincer around in these directions and get in our way," Kevin said, tracing his finger along each individual path.
"Then you three will fight your way down the middle. While their backs are turned, I'll hit em from the back. If we hit them hard and fast, we should be able to take em all out quickly," Ben said.
"Then let's do it," Kevin said before Ben made the map disappear. Gwen created steps for Kevin and Max to ascend up, and immediately started the battle with a powerful Turbo spell that pulled in over a dozen of Aggregor's minions.
Ben took his position on top of the side wall, waiting until each of the minions had fully focused their attention on the others. With a quick dial of the Ultimatrix, he transformed into Lodestar. Then he slammed the dial again.
"Ultimate Lodestar!" he exclaimed.
This alien had been drastically different from its regular transformation. For one, this ultimate alien's body was entirely made out of some sort of dark gold metal. His hands were actual hands instead of pincers, but his feet were clawed like an animal's and his the tips of his fingers were sharpened to precise points.
His body shape resembled a buff human while clothed in a way that was similar to his human form, but his weight was practically nonexistent. The Ultimatrix symbol rested on his shoulder.
"Time to see what this alien is capable of," Ultimate Lodestar thought before raising a hand.
Every single one of Aggregor's minions were pulled towards the magnetic vortex Ben created, and bunched them all in a single pile. And with little more than a thought, the metal on each of their bodies molded to each other like they were melted down together.
"So being able to sense metal and having more control over it seems to be part of the deal," Ultimate Lodestar thought as he floated over to the others.
"This is a new one," Gwen said, eyeing his new transformation with raised brows.
"He's certainly got some kick to him," Ultimate Lodestar said before looking at the building that contained the entropy pump. "Now it's just a straight shot to Aggregor from here."
Though their group had barely managed to take a few steps before four figures teleported in front of them. Each of the aliens Aggregor captured.
"There's no way Aggregor willingly let them get out," Max said, tightening his hold on his blaster.
P'andor fired a radiation blast at Ben, who heard a loud ping as the shot deflected off his chest.
"Laser deflection built into my skin? Hell yes," Ben said before throwing out a wave of magnetic energy that kept everyone except Galapagus on the floor.
Though the alien in question immediately started blowing wind at everyone, nearly sending them flying if Gwen hadn't raised a shield with one hand while catching Kevin and Max with the other.
Ben suddenly shifted his weight so the metal his body was made of became extremely heavy. And it was just as easy for him to move like usual while Gallapagus' wind wasn't really affecting him.
"Those headbands!" Max exclaimed. "Get them off!"
"Not a problem," Ultimate Lodestar said before holding out a hand and closing it. Immediately, the metal ends on Gallapagus' headband folded inward, impaling and breaking the gem in the center.
"Where... where am I?" Gallapagus said in a confused tone before being teleported away.
"Looks like Aggregor has a leash on all of the aliens," Kevin said as Gwen set him down.
"Then let's snap that leash," Gwen said before tossing a mana disc at Bivalvan, nailing him in the forehead and breaking his headband.
Ben made the armor on P'andor and Andreas extremely heavy so they wouldn't be able to move. That made it extremely easy for Max to snipe the headbands off.
"That takes care of that," Kevin said as Ben transformed back into his Anodite form.
Approaching the building Aggregor was stationed in, Ben ripped off the door with his tendrils before stepping inside while seeing that Aggregor had his back turned to them.
"Give it up Aggregor. Now," Ben said, his fists lighting up with mana.
"I had intended to take the aliens back to Osmos after taking what was mine back. But you forced me to improvise," Aggregor said, putting his hands on the conduits positioned on both sides of him.
"You mean you don't even know what this is going to do?!" Gwen exclaimed.
"That entropy pump's going to blow in a few moments. You could wind up wiping out all reality lightyears from here!" Max shouted, tightening his hold on his pistol.
"In a few moments, I won't care," Aggregor said with an unaffected shrug. "I'll be ready to absorb the powers of all of these aliens - all other consequences are secondary."
"Kevin!" Gwen exclaimed before throwing a tendril at Aggregor that wrapped around his neck. But before Kevin could help her pull, Aggregor cut it off with a swing from his weapon. He didn't hesitate in reaching his hands towards the entropy pump, absorbing its energy.
"You can't do that!" Kevin yelled. "You know what it'll do to you!"
"What? Because I'm an Osmosian?!" Aggregor said, his tone dripping with disdain. "Because absorbing energy causes insanity?"
"Yes, you idiot!" Kevin snapped. "I tried to absorb the entire power of the Omnitrix when I was eleven! It did nothing but turn me into a maddened freakazoid, obsessing over revenge!"
"Lies! Told by the powerful to control the weak!" Aggregor exclaimed.
"Now's not the time for this Kevin..." Ben trailed, but his friend didn't seem to hear him.
"It's not a lie! If you do this, you are going to go crazy! And it's hard to find your way back from that! I know that, cause I dealt with it for years!" Kevin yelled back. "You're making a-"
Kevin was cut off by Aggregor firing a red laser into Kevin's chest, cutting him off from further speech. And by the time anyone else had moved, the Osmosian placed his hands on the metal conduits to activate the machine.
Ben was nearby when the entropy pump went up, but he was forced to resort to flight to avoid being flung through the air like a ragdoll. And from the looks of things, the reality of their world was already starting to be torn apart from the result.
"So there's no reason to hold back," he thought before creating an energized mana orb and flinging it at the entropy pump. But the wind was strong enough to send it going in the opposite direction, nearly hitting Gwen in the process.
"Watch out!" she exclaimed.
"Sorry! Guess I have to get over there myself," Ben said before flying forward.
He punched Aggregor aside before turning into Upgrade and forcing the pump to shut itself off.
"You did know there was an off switch, right?" Kevin asked.
"Didn't want to waste time looking for it," Ben said.
"The aliens are gone," Gwen said, her tone stricken. And when Ben looked over at the stasis pods, he could see that she was exactly right.
"No..." Ben trailed, stunned by the fact that he had still failed. "Where could they have..."
A clawed hand grabbed the entropy pump from the back, and Ben stepped back as the full form of Aggregor came into view. And it wasn't the same as before.
"That's because my plan succeeded," he said, his voice loud and distorted. "The aliens are all in me!"
Ben looked at Aggregor's form in shock for a moment before his fists tightened, his expression giving way to rage. And the moment Gwen saw it, she knew exactly what was about to happen.
A/N: For any alien that I introduce that isn't part of canon, I'll give a small little bio on the bottom. Like so.
Name: Ultimate Lodestar
Description: An evolved version of the alien species Biosorvortian. His body is made completely out of an unknown alien metal. Though unlike his devolved counterpart, his body type is more humanlike. A black shirt and pants that resemble Ben's outfit are what make up his clothing.
Abilities:
Complete Detection And Control Of Metal - Ultimate Lodestar's manipulation over metal is much superior to his regular counterpart, being able to adjust the form of metal without sending out any kind of field that can be intercepted or negated. He can also sense any trace of metal over great distances, and manipulate it to his purposes.
Body Adjustment - Since his body is made of metal, Ultimate Lodestar can adjust his appearance and weight at will. He can shift his body into any shape that he chooses in an instant. He is even able to turn his body into a type of liquid metal, which allows him to move around and slide across surfaces similar to Goop.
Immunity to radiation, corrosion, and heat - All forms of radiation, heat, and acid will have no effect on Ultimate Lodestar due to the durable of the metal he is made out of. Most lasers will also be reflected off of his body.
Flight - Lodestar can make his body nearly weightless and use his magnetic abilities in order to lift himself off the ground, simulating a crude, but effective method of flight.
Invulnerability - Ultimate Lodestar's metal body is resistant against most forms of damage, making him nigh indestructible.
Weakness: Extreme Cold - Ultimate Lodestar can still be frozen in place, which will leave him immobile until he is able to break to free.