It does not feel like it's been a week. I don't know how, but the days have felt longer. I wrote like 3 papers, saw the new Black Panther, went to a convention, saw the new Pokemon spoilers and freaked out over Bleach all in one week.
Jesus.
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
Alright, some explanations are due. So, let me sum this up for you.
My name is Ben Tennyson. It started when an alien device called the Omnitrix latched onto me. And for the last 5 years, I've been the protector of Earth. I'm pretty sure you know the rest.
I fought Vilgax, fought both Vilgax AND Kevin at the same time, trapped them in the Null Void, fought Ghostfreak after he escaped, foiled whatever plan he had, nearly blew up the Omnitrix, got it fixed, and chucked Vilgax into space, fought against Malware, lost a transformation, and took a sabbatical.
So maybe "5 years" isn't an exact window, but I still had it on and contributed here and there. Of course, I JUST got more involved, thanks to these guys called the Highbreed wanting to wipe the planet out.
But...how did I get into THIS dimension, you may ask?
It started a few hours ago...
"So, where exactly did your Grandpa want us to walk to?" Kevin asked.
"He said something about an old shop in town. Dunno why, though," Gwen said, reading the text again.
"Maybe it's a big 'surprise' party for us taking down the Highbreed last week," Ben said.
"You seriously think the universe is gonna throw a party just cuz you scrambled some DNA?" Kevin snickered.
"Hey, I'm an optimist," Ben shrugged, "Besides, we deserve all the recognition for that."
"If you say so," Gwen rolled her eyes.
15 year old Ben Tennyson. Outside, he was a normal kid. He wore a black shirt, blue jeans, and a green jacket with white sleeves and the number 10 on it, as well as black and white Converse-style sneakers. When others saw him, they assumed he was simply another high school student. Not exactly someone that you'd think was an extraterrestrial hero. Last week, this unassuming kid rescued the entire planet from impending annihilation.
He was accompanied by his cousin Gwen and his now-reformed enemy, Kevin Levin. Gwen was dressed simply in a white blouse under a dark blue sweater, black stockings under a matching miniskirt, and black shoes. Kevin wore a black t-shirt over a gray long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and black combat shoes.
"Well, some recognition would be nice, I guess," Kevin admitted with a shrug, "Not expecting a celebration but still."
"Ben does have a point- we didn't just work our butts off to expose the DNAliens on Earth to not even get one single mention in the Extranet," Gwen said, "But, then again, maybe it'll keep our egos in check."
"Well, let's not keep everyone waiting," Ben said, leading the way to the old shop they were supposed to be headed to. If he had to guess, the place was probably a cover for the entrance to a Plumber base.
The trio entered the shop, which was still pretty empty, save for Max who was happily dusting off a counter.
"Heya, kiddos!" Max smiled, "Well, what do ya think?"
"What do we think?" Ben asked. "Pretty weird base cover, don't you think?"
"If you were a normal guy, just walking in here, would you look at this place and go, 'yep, this is the perfect spot for a secret Men In Black organization to hide their stuff?'" Kevin asked.
"Ok, fair enough," Ben conceded.
"Come on, lemme show you the base," Max said, motioning the kids over to another room. Max opened the door to reveal a bathroom.
"No one would also think to look in there for a portal as well," Gwen cringed.
"This is one of those moments where I feel like you guys should change the name," Kevin sighed, "I feel like sometimes you're too committed to the whole 'Plumber' joke."
"Worked out so far for us," Max said, "Not a single accidental security breach."
"Well, here goes..." Ben walked over and looked around for something that looked out of place. Ben noticed a strange dangling lever above him that didn't look like it really served a purpose in the bathroom.
"Hm...what happens if I pull..." he began, before his body was engulfed in a sudden burst of green energy and he vanished from the upper level. Ben reformed on a large white and green platform that looked like it came off of a Star Trek set, multiple different circular pads arrayed about the platforms as receivers for the teleporter above.
"Ah, teleporter. Not used to those," Ben shivered.
Soon enough, there were three more whirring sounds as Max, Gwen, and Kevin all reformed on one of the receiver pads.
"How do you get used to that?" Kevin asked Max.
"It's just one of those things that gets less unsettling the more it happens. Trust me, I felt the same way about these things," Max answered, shaking his head before stepping off the platform to show the trio the base's interior.
"After the whole Highbreed situation, the Plumbers decided it was best to keep a closer eye on things here, especially now considering Bellwood was kind of the epicenter of an invasion," Max explained.
"Kinda my fault too," Ben said, a small smirk on his face, "It's not my fault people think they can steal the Omnitrix."
Gwen rolled her eyes at that, while Max chuckled a bit to himself.
"Well, fair enough there. Now then," The veteran Plumber said as he put in his access code for the door to the rest of the base.
"How long did it take the Plumbers to build this thing?" Kevin asked.
"And where are all the base staff?" Gwen asked.
"All of them are in the process of being assigned to Bellwood. Come next week, this place is gonna be bustling with activity," Max said, "It'll definitely make your job a lot easier."
The doors hissed and slid open once Max finished putting in the code, letting the trio see the massive central hub of the base. It was a large, open area with walkways branching out above and elevator shafts stretching far above and down below to all the levels of the place. A massive monitor hung on the far-most wall as a means to observe surveillance footage and receive incoming communications.
"Niiiiiice!" Kevin said, impressed with all the tech in the place, "Gotta admit, the Plumbers tech is always great."
"You probably know the prices of everything here, don't you?" Gwen asked.
"Absolutely," Kevin nodded, "This whole room is worth at least a thousand tadens."
[Universe 41808 Taden conversion rate: 1 Taden = 10,000 USD]
"State of the art communications and security, a science division a few levels down for research and testing, training rooms, armory, plasma reactor, this place has it all," Max said with a smirk.
"Wow, Grandpa!" Ben said, a bit awestruck, "You're going all out."
"Of course. Wouldn't want another secret invasion like that happening again, now would we?"
"True, honestly. After the Highbreed, I can't really imagine a bigger threat," Ben said, rubbing the back of his head.
The universe just loved to prove Ben wrong. Max's eyes drifted over to a beeping monitor- the words "DANGER" onscreen made Max run over to the screen to see what was happening.
"What in blazes?" Max asked, as he typed something into the computer.
"That doesn't sound good," Gwen frowned.
"Give me a minute," Max said as he continued working on the computer. The screen above kept the flashing "DANGER" alert, though it was minimized to the top of the screen.
A map of Bellwood and the surrounding area appeared on the screen, accompanied by a massive flashing light appearing on it.
"The computer's meant to automatically track any big signs of unidentified energy, like the Highbreed Weather Towers or their cloaking field for instance and we just got a BIG hit," Max said, a little concerned.
"Where did it manifest?" Gwen asked.
"Just outside of Bellwood. In Los Soledad," Max frowned.
"Think it's another 'Hugo' situation?" Ben asked.
"I am not turning into an old man again, damn it," Kevin frowned, "No offense, Max."
"None taken. I think," Max shrugged, "But according to these readings, whatever's out there is…I don't even really know what to compare it to. Far too powerful to be a Jumpgate."
"Maybe someone's not too happy about the changes in management for Augstaka, and they're trying to finish what the Highbreed started," Ben frowned, How about we go take a look?"
"Agreed," Kevin answered, bracing himself for any "traditionalist" Highbreed.
"We'll need to borrow one of the Plumber vehicles. Things might turn nasty," Max stated. "Has driving a tank ever crossed your mind, Kevin?
Kevin's face brightened, "Absolutely."
"Don't enable him," Gwen groaned.
Kevin was in heaven right now- driving already gave him a rush but driving a tank down the empty desert? This was more than just a rush.
Ben had gotten used to Kevin's driving in a car. A tank was another thing entirely. Of course, he wasn't going to say anything because arguing with Kevin about his driving would be like talking to a brick wall. Especially when he was enjoying himself.
"I'm gonna develop motion sickness, thanks to you," Gwen groaned, a bit sick.
"Oh, he's driving just fine," Max comforted her.
"So you're saying you'd be ok with him driving the Rust Bucket?" Ben said.
"What? No. This was MADE for off-roading," Max frowned.
"Words cannot describe how utterly AWESOME this is!" Kevin grinned.
When the four of them arrived, Los Soledad was exactly how they left it a week ago. The abandoned military base was, honestly, a nice place for a secret hideout. Well, before they had a hi-tech Plumber base in the area now. Row upon row of dilapidated military buildings lined the inside of the base.
"So, I see the base, but where's the threat?" Kevin asked, looking around with the tank's sensors. "I'm not picking up anything, and these tanks can detect any form of life."
"He's not wrong," Gwen said, her eyes glowing pink, "I'm not picking up anything either."
"Think it was their teleporter? Brought something in or sent someone else out?" Ben suggested.
"Maybe. But I've never heard of a smaller teleporter that needed THAT much power. Jumpgates make sense, you're bringing through whole armies and fleets. But for a single person?" Max added in, "Scan for any traces left behind."
"Gotcha," Kevin nodded.
And then it appeared out of nearly thin air. Whatever this thing was just floated above the tank, staring down at the abandoned Los Soledad.
"What is that?" Ben asked, his eyes wide in shock when he saw it appear.
"I don't know," Max said, looking at the strange being before him.
"He's trouble! Check it out!" Kevin said, pointing at his body. Ben's eyes shrank in fear.
"Are those-?" Gwen asked.
Before anyone could confirm, the entity turned to look at them, green eyes staring back at them through the holographic screen of the outside.
"Oh, shit..." Kevin muttered to himself.
"Dunno what it is, but..." Ben's hand clasped around his Omnitrix, "He's gonna have to try harder than Vilgax ever did to get my Omnitrix."
"I think that's his plan," Kevin said as the monitor showed the entity, whatever it was, levitate slightly off the ground and float towards the tank, its eerie green eyes narrowed.
It moved its arm to the side and shifted it into a massive, jet-black sickle with spots of white flickering on it. Like someone had taken a chunk of space and all the stars it held and turned it into a weapon.
"I can take him, probably," Ben said, climbing out of the tank, "Hey, space case! What's up with the watch collection there?"
"My intentions are none of your concern, Tennyson," the entity said as it continued to float towards him, "You should be more concerned about what will happen if you do not hand over the Omnitrix."
"Yeah, yeah," Ben rolled his eyes. His hands moved down to the Omnitrix, as he activated it, a hologram of a swamp-like creature appeared.
"It's Hero Time!" Ben shouted.
When he slapped down the faceplate of the Omnitrix, vines began to crawl up and over Ben's entire body, turning it into what looked like a condensed collection of plant matter. Red, flower-like growths emerged from his shoulders like spikes as red and yellow, flame-like petals emerged from the sides of his head.
"Bogburn!" Ben yelled, his voice now deeper and a bit nasally.
"So. You still do that," the entity muttered to itself.
Bogburn's hands lit up, as he began tossing fire balls at the entity. Right as they reached it, mere inches from the entity's body, the fireballs just froze in place.
Black ripples emanated out from the front of them, like the air in front of the alien had turned to disturbed water. The alien then motioned its head to the side and sent both projectiles far to the right and behind it.
"Okay," Ben said, blinking a few times, "That's new."
"What the heck did it-?" Max asked.
"Well, little flames won't be enough. Hey, Max. Wanna test the cannons on these things?" Kevin grinned.
The entity raised its hand, green energy gathering in its palm before it fired a scorching energy blast. Ben managed to dodge out of the way in time, but this thing wasn't done.
It started to rapidly fire off bolts of green energy like a machine gun, barely giving Ben time or room to dodge. But, even if one of the bolts hit, Bogburn's unique body regenerated the damage, knitting the wounded plant matter back together.
"Nice try, cosmic nutcase! I almost felt that. Bogburn is nearly unbeatable!" Ben smiled.
"Let's put that 'nearly' bit to the test," said the alien.
A tremendous green energy blast smashed into it from the side just as it was about to try something, sending it tumbling into one of the wrecked buildings. As soon as the shot exited the Plumber tank's barrel, it began to smoke.
"If only I could have one of those," Kevin sighed, knowing it'd be impractical to have a cannon like that on his car, "But, it's nice to know our 'new friend' isn't immune to a tank shot."
"Kevin, as much as I know you'd LOVE to play with one of these, we should go out and help Ben," Gwen frowned.
Kevin groaned.
"Fine," Kevin popped out of the hatch, and touched the metal of the tank, "Guess I can see how blast resistant this thing is."
Black metal surged over Kevin's entire body, turning into shining armor. The void-like entity lifted the debris off of itself with telekinesis, tossing boards and broken glass off of it and floating back to a standing position.
Bogburn ran over to it, and began suffocating it with more flames. The flames touched the entity, but did not hurt it. It ominously walked through the fires and flames, over to Ben.
"Gotta slow him down!" Ben began throwing seeds at the cosmic horror. The seeds hit the ground, and formed into nonspecific plants that quickly wrapped around the being's body.
"Child's play, Tennyson," the divine figure scoffed, corroding the tendrils away.
Bogburn started to heat-up another fireball, keeping his attention on him. Kevin was rushing in from behind the entity, his hand morphing into a spiked mace-like weapon and he swung. He hit something which made a loud ringing sound. He had been stopped by those same black ripples in the air like the fireballs from earlier.
"Hm. First Schnee, now Levin..." the entity muttered to itself.
Two pink balls of concentrated mana hit the being in the back, his focus was lost on Kevin, as he dropped the boy on the ground. The alien turned around, to see Gwen with her hands surrounded by mana.
"And now you," the entity finished.
It raised his hands and began firing rapid green bolts at Gwen. At first, Gwen simply brought up a mana barrier to protect herself, but these bolts were strong. Two hits were able to crack it and the third was able to break it entirely. Barriers weren't going to be much help.
Gwen quickly rushed around the blasts, as she threw her hand out- a pink whip struck the entity, knocking it back a little.
She's stronger than most Gwens I've encountered...I will give her that, the cosmic divinity thought.
"So, any ideas on what this thing is?" Gwen asked after she regrouped with Ben and Kevin.
"Dunno the specifics. Packs a punch unlike anything we've ever seen," Kevin said. "I mean, check out those Omnitrixes. He's wearing those as trophies."
"Did he tell you his name, at least?" Gwen asked.
"I'm calling him the Watch Collector to his face...and way worse things in my head," Ben frowned.
The newly dubbed Watch Collector lifted his hands, ripping chunks of rock out of the ground, circling him like meteors around a planet. He waved his hands and sent six of those rocks flying out towards Ben and Gwen as projectiles, six more chunks ripping themselves out the ground and easily replacing the gaps.
Gwen fired off blasts of mana to shatter the rocks before they reached her and Ben and Ben started to wonder. Maybe Bogburn wasn't the best option for this fight. Maybe a change was in order.
Ben slapped down the watch- his size began to increase, as the vines on his body were replaced with rough and tough scales.
A reptilian tail slammed into the ground as the brown scales settled in over Ben's body.
"Benzilla!" Ben roared in a deeper, and somewhat gravelly, voice.
"Still think that's a bad name!" Kevin shouted out from across the battlefield.
"It's a good name and you know it!" Ben frowned, as he punched his way through the improvised meteorites. The Watch Collector quietly gazed upon the sight of the Vaxasaurian.
"So, fate repeats itself again. Maybe this one won't struggle," the being chuckled at the notion as it warped away.
The rocks remained and continued flinging themselves at Ben, seemingly of their own accord. The entity reappeared and formed its hand into a clamp-like shape, grabbing a hold of Ben's tail and sending a powerful electric shock through it.
Ben jittered and jolted as he tried to power through the pain.
"Ben!" Max yelled, as he fired up the tank again- another powerful shot flew through the air, striking the entity in the chest.
The entity flew back, stopping and righting itself mid-air. It raised a hand and fired an energy blast at the tank. Gwen panicked and threw up a barrier around the tank. It wouldn't hold but it would protect. Sure enough, the blast shattered the mana barrier but the tank, thankfully, was unharmed.
Max took a deep breath. "What on Earth is this thing?!"
The Watch Collector looked at Ben, shaking off the pain. "I don't know what you are, or why you're collecting all these Omnitrixes, but I can bet that I'm gonna be the Ben to break the record!"
"Funny. You have the confidence of someone who has a lot longer to live," the Watch Collector said, "It's a shame your passion for this battle will be your undoing." The Watch Collector's hands melded into two long blades of pure void-stuff.
"Hey, no fair, he ripped me off!" Kevin yelled.
"Levin. As always, your moxie never ceases to amuse me," the Watch Collector commented, "Pity about that."
"Yeah, and what's so sad about determination?" Kevin asked.
The Watch Collector suddenly teleported behind Kevin. "Because. That's always your downfall."
SLASH. Kevin's arm hit the ground.
Gwen and Ben stared in shock and horror as Kevin's arm hit the ground. Kevin tried all he could not to scream in pain, but failed, falling to his knees in pain.
"KEVIN!" Gwen yelled, running over to help him.
Ben quietly turned back to the Watch Collector. "That was a mistake," Ben said, his tone even lower than usual. Ben charged on all fours, towards the being. Bored, the Watch Collector simply teleported Ben away, and the hero suddenly found himself charging into the tank, flipping it over.
Max was tossed about inside the tank, the vehicle flipping over four times. Ben froze when he realized what just happened. "NO!" he shouted. He wanted to go and check, see if Max was alright. The Watch Collector wasn't about to have that as he held out his hand, telekinetically grabbing Ben and slamming him into the ground hard enough to form a crate beneath him.
"How interesting...this will be the second time I remove an Omnitrix while you are Vaxasaurian. A mildly amusing concept," it said.
"As...funny as it is..." Ben grunted. "You still forgot to check one thing."
"Humor me. What would that be?"
"You forgot to check out how my cousin would react to all this," Ben said with a snarky grin. The Watch Collector turned around to see Gwen, her body slowly turning pink.
"YOU!" She yelled, with a voice that could make even the strongest men flinch.
"Oh," the Watch Collector said, green eyes wide as a massive pink energy wave slammed into its chest.
The blast sent it flying back, before it managed to stop itself with the smallest use of its power. Just as the entity righted itself, another energy wave hit. And another. And another. It was just a constant barrage of hate-fueled mana being hurled his way and it hurt like hell.
Ben groaned, as he reverted back to human. He rubbed his head, before looking over to the tank. "Grandpa!" Ben yelled, scrambling to get out of the crater to help Max out of the wreck.
The Watch Collector saw that- he tried to race over to Ben and stop him but Gwen was having none of it. Gwen yelled, her body slowly transforming into another form that sported dark purple skin and hair that seemed to be made of pure mana.
"Anodite," the entity growled. It started to weigh its options, either contend with an angry energy being that had abilities many would simply call magic or it could simply return later, find this Ben when he was alone and strike then.
After some careful deliberation, it opted for the latter, ripping open a void-like gateway and racing through. Magic was always a troublesome factor.
Kevin grunted in pain, though he was keeping it restrained a little. "Wow...you scared him away," Kevin frowned. Gwen immediately turned back to Kevin and gasped.
"Right, right! Your arm!" Gwen said. She flew over, and picked up his arm.
"I promise, this won't hurt a bit. It'll be like popping a bone back into the socket," Gwen tried to reassure the Osmosian.
"You say that like it won't hurt," Kevin frowned, as Ben and Max walked over. Max had a few bruises on his body, but nothing as bad as Kevin's injury.
"You ok, Grandpa?" Ben asked.
"I'm alright," Max said, "More shocked that the tank could take a hit from a Vaxasaurian."
"That's how you KNOW it's quality material right there," Kevin joked to distract himself from what he figured was an inevitable surge of pain.
Ben didn't say anything but with the Watch Collector gone, he was able to think this over. All those Omnitrixes, the Collector's trophies.
"We need to go after him," Ben finally said.
"What?" Kevin asked, wincing as Gwen reattached his arm, "Ben, there's no way you can take that dude, let alone chase him. You saw what he did to us."
"Hate to admit it, but Kevin has a point," Max agreed, "If he could take down the three of you at once, what's to stop him from doing it again? The only reason he left was Gwen and I doubt he'll let that happen again."
"But you saw what he was wearing. We all know there's only one genuine Omnitrix in THIS universe," Ben added, "so how'd he get all of them?"
"Obviously multiversal travel," Gwen said.
"Exactly. That's why I need to get something capable of traveling between universes," Ben said, "Kevin, know any guys who might have that?"
"I do, but we aren't on good terms, exactly," Kevin answered.
"I might know two people who could make one but, it would be risky." Max said.
"What do you mean?" Ben asked.
"Bellwood base hired them on as tech support- they're Galvans. Problem is, they're only geniuses by human standards. Not Galvan standards."
"I'll take the risk," Ben resolved, "I've done it before, plenty of times. Landed on my feet each time, right?"
"I suppose," Max said, "but you said it yourself. How did he get all those Omnitrixes? We all know you'd never give it up willingly. I'm just..."
"Worried. I know. All the more reason to find him, though," Ben said, determined.
Kevin huffed, as his arm was reattached. "How's that feeling?" Gwen asked.
"A bit weird," Kevin admitted, moving his arm around a bit, "Might need to get used to it again."
"So, where can we find these Galvan?" Ben asked.
When Ben heard the word "Galvan," he imagined a royal (if not a little self-absorbed) clan of intelligent aliens who were trusted allies of the Plumbers. So he had big expectations for these two Galvan.
Those were immediately thrown out the door within seconds of meeting them.
"I'm telling you," one of the Galvan said, not taking his eyes off of a computer screen, working on code, "You keep mixing up the conduit and the receiver. THAT'S why it keeps backfiring."
"An' I'm telling you," the second Galvan said in a southern accent, adjusting his hat as he finished adjusting some bolts with a wrench, "It's not the conduit and receiver that's the problem."
"Ok, so then what is?"
"I'm still lookin' for that."
"Uh-huh, right."
Ben blinked, "Are you sure these can build a multiversal transporter? I think it'd be easier if Paradox was here."
"That dude's a wild card. Plus, I don't think he owns a cell phone," Kevin said.
"It's weird that he isn't showing up," Ben admitted, "You'd think this would be his time to shine."
"Maybe he's busy?" Gwen suggested, not really believing it herself.
"Doing what? Hopping around the multiverse WITHOUT bumping into Mr. Collector?" Kevin asked.
"Maybe? You know how he is."
Max spoke up, breaking up the argument between the two Galvan, "Blukic, Driba."
"What?! We're busy!" Driba insisted.
"Doesn't look like it to me," Kevin said, "Mainly because you've been having the dumbest back and forth ever."
"Listen, deal with…whatever this is later. We have bigger problems. Can you two construct something that jumps between parallel universes?" Max asked.
Blukic whistled in surprise, "Tall order. Are we allowed to know why or is this some secret black-ops project?"
"Not a black-ops operation, but it is complicated. Let's call him a 'person of interest.' With the snap of his fingers, he can travel across realities."
"Next you'll say he was made of space and stars," Driba joked.
The quartet shared a look. Driba blinked, as he put two and two together.
"Are you telling me you had a run in with a Celestialsapien?" Driba asked.
"A what?" Ben asked.
"A Celestialsapien! Hello!? Lawmakers of the universe?" Driba said.
"They're omnipotent, cosmic entities beyond all reach. Consider yourself lucky to even be alive after your encounter." Blukic said.
"Noted," Ben gulped.
"And he was wearing- Things just went from ten to twenty on the 'end of the world' scale didn't they?" Kevin asked.
"He was wearing what?" Blukic asked.
"Not important right now. Jumping between universes. Can you build it?" Max asked.
"Hmmm, it would be a challenge," Driba admitted. "But not undoable. But if you want to go after a CELESTIALSAPIEN for some insane reason, we will need a recognizable energy signature to track."
"And a walking mass of stars doesn't have that?" Gwen asked.
"Celestialsapiens are rare. Some people don't even think they exist. If they do emit energy, we might not even have equipment capable of handling it," Blukic added.
"Scan the Los Soledad area. You should find some residual traces there," Gwen recommended.
"Or on my arm. Cuz he kinda cut that off," Kevin said, "I got better, don't worry."
"I'm just going to believe you had a VERY powerful dermal regenerator on hand and leave that disturbing line of questions for later," Driba said.
"Regenerators aren't powerful enough for a full-'" Blukic began.
"I know! But do YOU wanna ask about that?"
"Point taken," the Galvan said as he walked off to grab a scanner from his array of tools. He brought it back and powered it on, "Alright, hold out your arm. If he removed it, there should be weak traces at least. Scanner should be able to handle 'em."
Kevin held out his arm, "Here you go."
Blukic began scanning, the device clicking like a Geiger counter the closer it got to where his arm was severed. The Galvan's eyes widened as he saw how much power even the traces of Celestialsapien energy had. "Well, it'll be hard to miss readin's like this, at least."
"So, can you do it?" Ben asked. "Just asking cuz it's kinda urgent."
"Didn't I say?" Driba asked, "I said it's a challenge but not undoable. I know it's urgent but this can't be rushed. The energy scan will cut the work time but you're still asking us to break down the barriers of reality. And don't bring up the Null Void, that took years of research before it was ever a viable option."
"Whatever. Just give us an estimated time, alright?" Ben asked.
"At most? Give us three weeks? Without the energy readings, probably woulda taken longer," Blukic said.
"Personally I'd say four, so we'll go three to four weeks on it," Driba added.
"THREE WEEKS?" Ben asked. "Come on, that's too long! It's urgent!"
"Well, if time is that important..." Blukic stroked his chin. "Think we could modify one of the Null Void Projectors?"
"That would be feasible," Driba stated as concepts began to form in his mind, "Include an energy tracker and alter the rift generator..."
"Oh, thank God," Ben sighed, "All right, let's get started!" We don't have all day!" Ben turned to face Max, Gwen, and Kevin as the two Galvan dashed away.
"I know we just worked as a team to take down an invasion, but...I think this is something I need to go alone," Ben said.
"You wanna go after a god ALONE?" Gwen asked.
"Some of your ideas have been reckless, Ben, this one's probably the worst," Kevin added.
"I know, I know but…technically I won't be alone," Ben countered.
"Well… you may have a point there, I suppose. The multiverse is filled and varied. There's a good chance you may find some other Omnitrix users out there, some with even more powers than you. Maybe you can find someone stronger than him," Gwen started to agree.
"You saw how he tore through you guys. I almost got Grandpa Max seriously injured because of him," Ben explained, "It works out, keeps you all out of harm's way."
Kevin was upset, but Ben was partially correct. The entity made it a point to injure them just as much as Ben did. It was almost as if, while pursuing the watch, it didn't just want to seize the item and run. It aimed to inflict harm. Kevin couldn't help but sigh.
"But," Gwen began, her tone more serious now, "what if you don't come back?"
Ben's expression darkened even more. "All the more reason to get him now."
After a few hours, the alterations were finished. On the outside, it appeared to be a standard Null Void projector, with the addition of a GPS-like screen in the back. It beeped like a metal detector. While it looked impressive, Blukic and Driba had made the Galvan equivalent of a duct-taped together contraption.
"And there you have it," Driba said, presenting the device, "Cross-dimensional tracking attuned to the Celestialsapien energy and an environmental scanner just in case the dimension you go to ends up being a little hostile."
"Alright, thanks." Ben said, taking the scanner. He looked back at Max, Kevin and Gwen. All of them had some worried looks on their faces.
"I'll be back," Ben said as he looked at the tracking screen on the back, finding a dimension. No sign of the Collector there, from what he could tell, but it'd be stupid to go against a universal law-maker on his own. He'd need some help. "I promise," he walked over and hugged Max and Gwen, giving Kevin a handshake.
"Stay safe, dweeb," Gwen smiled.
"I will," Ben smiled. He then turned and took aim at an empty space in the base and pulled the trigger. Instead of the projector's usual red beam, it fired a stream of blue energy that swirled in place before opening a bright portal. With one last look at those close to him, Ben then leapt through, the portal closing behind him.
Ben groaned, as he started to come to, a bright light shone over his head.
"Augh...bad flight in," he grumbled.
"I'd say less flying and more plain falling," an unknown, but disturbingly familiar voice corrected, "You're lucky you fell close to the memorial."
The extra-dimensional guest's eyes slowly opened as he came to the realization.
"Wait. I know that voice..." Ben opened his eyes to see Albedo, looking over his body as if he was just an ordinary doctor.
"Good. You're awake. We have some questions-" the Galvan duplicate began.
"Albedo!" Ben yelled, as he shot up. "Of course you'd be working with the Watch Collector."
Albedo boredly blinked, "Excuse me?"
"So, what is this? Another trick to get the Omnitrix so you can become a Galvan again?" Ben accused, ready to go hero at a moment's notice, but he wanted to hear Albedo's usual villain monologue first.
"I can already do that. Hmm...head trauma perhaps?" Albedo pondered.
"Wait, what?" Ben "What are you talking about?"
"Trying to figure out what YOU are talking about. Maybe mistaken identity would make the most sense I suppose." Albedo said, "Whatever the Albedo you know is like...I'm nothing like him."
"Huh? Oh, right. Alternate universe." Ben said.
"Ah, so it is the alternate universe theory. It was either that or some kind of temporal scenario," Albedo said.
"Right…"
"You know, I thought he was joking when he said this guy looked like him." Kevin said, walking over to get a better look, "This is just weird."
"Kevin?" the other Ben said, his eyes taking note of the device on his wrist, "Wait...why do you have-?"
"Antitrix," Kevin answered, "Not the Omnitrix."
Ben blinked. "Man, I really AM in a bizarro universe." Ben muttered, rubbing his head, "What, did I stumble upon the universe where EVERYONE has an Omnitrix?"
"No, this is the universe where your girlfriend kicks the asses of monsters with a scythe that's also a gun," Kevin said.
"Julie has a scythe?" Ben asked.
Albedo and Kevin shared a look.
"Excuse us for a moment," Kevin said, as he motioned for Albedo to follow him.
"Ben without Ruby? That raises some flags," Kevin said.
"It is entirely possible that this Ben has simply not met her yet," Albedo hypothesized.
"I mean, yeah, infinite possibilities and all that," Kevin admitted, "But it just feels..."
"Strange, I know. You've said as much," Albedo said.
"Well, we gotta tell him."
"Perhaps it would be best for him to see that, instead of hearing it from us. Maybe ease him into it with another difference."
"You mean ASIDE from the Antitrix and you being a good guy?" Kevin tapped the device to emphasize the point.
"Well, yes but...I see your point."
"Where are we, exactly?" Ben interrupted as he looked around the room.
"Bellwood's Plumber base," Albedo explained, walking over, "Hidden under your grandfather's diner."
"A diner? Well, that would make more sense than a Plumbing shop," Ben said.
"A Plumber shop? Are you kidding me? That's way too obvious of a hiding spot," Kevin commented.
"Let's focus on how you got here." Albedo said.
"That might be a story for when everyone is here," Ben said, scratching the back of his head. The door opened, as Ben, Ruby and Ceres walked in.
Ben stared at his duplicate, "Man, I seriously thought that varsity jacket was cool."
"It is cool!" The alternate Ben frowned.
"Well, this is gonna get confusing," Ruby frowned, "How do we identify which Ben we wanna speak to?"
"We could just use Ben's middle name for varsity boy," Ceres suggested, "It'd make things easier."
"Really? So we're calling me 'Kirby' the entire time?" the alternate Ben said.
"I dunno. Kirby's a cute name!" Ruby said, "I'm sure your Ruby would say the same thing."
Kirby stared through Ruby like she was glass.
"Uh. Yeah, I...don't know you. Or the muscular horned lady, either," Kirby said, "Okay, my explanation can wait- where AM I?"
Ben hummed in thought for a moment. "Ok, lemme answer your question with another," he began, "Ever heard of Huntsmen? Grimm? Dust?"
Kirby shook his head, "Uh, sorry. Those terms are wildly unfamiliar to me."
"How about we discuss this over dinner?" Ben asked.
Kirby stared up at the moon.
"So, you're telling me that an actual God broke the moon," Kirby repeated, still dumbstruck at the idea.
Kylie nodded, having taken charge of the explanation. "I know, right? It's crazy," Kylie said, "We didn't believe it either, at first."
"So, if I have this correct...huntsmen are basically Plumbers, but for monsters," Kirby said.
"Yep," Ruby added in, "And those monsters can look like anything from giant wolves to ghosts."
"And you said they see emotions?" Kirby asked, just to confirm it.
"Negative emotions. Anger, sadness, they're drawn to it."
Kirby squinted. "I'm thankful my memory is good because this is going to stick with me for a LOOOOONG time."
"And there ends our story," Ben replied as he brought out some platters of food. "Everything from the time we were 10 to the present. So, what's your story?"
"Yeah, how'd you even get here?" Yang asked, "You use Clockwork or something?"
Kirby took a deep breath, "I know this is gonna be a shock, but I came here in pursuit of a powerful alien."
"Your version of Vilgax?" Ben guessed.
"I wish. Vilgax doesn't hold a candle to this guy. I don't know his actual name, so all I got is the name I gave him. The Watch Collector. According to Blukic and Driba. I'm lucky to be alive from fighting him. Only won the fight because Gwen scared him off, going full Anodite."
Silence.
"Seriously? Gwen's not an Anodite in this world?" Kirby asked, "This place just gets weirder and weirder."
"So, the Watch Collector," Ceres said, "I'm scared to ask why he's called that."
"When we fought, he was wearing a bunch of Omnitrixes on his body. Like they were trophies," Kirby went on, "And he was crazy powerful too .I almost thought I was gonna die."
"He was just wearing them? Not using them?" Ruby inquired, her gaze fixed on Ben. When Kirby stated that, he instinctively looked down to his wrist.
"Yeah. Ten of them. And he showed up outside of Bellwood," Kirby said, "Me, Kevin, Gwen, and Grandpa Max...we managed to land some hits on him, even a tank shot, but he just got back up."
Ben shivered. "What the hell kind of alien was this guy?" Ben asked.
"Blukic and Driba called him a Celestialsapien." Kirby said.
Silence.
"You fought a Celestialsapien and LIVED?" Albedo yelled.
"Yeah, that was their reaction too," Kirby said, "Had no idea what he was at first. Then we learned he was basically a god. The universe's law-maker."
"We know what it is! Ben can turn into one!" Ruby said.
"...wait, what?" Kirby asked.
"I call him Alien X," Ben explained, "My most powerful and unbound transformation as of right now. Alien X had to be locked because...well, he's...unique."
Ruby pulled out a necklace from underneath her cloak, "It's true."
Where did this necklace come from, and what importance does it have? Let's turn back the clock.
Ruby wasn't sure what this whole meeting was about- they had a clear idea of what was going to happen tomorrow. Leave for Beacon, investigate the affairs of any suspicious crimes, and see what Zs'skayr was planning. Basically, just investigating Servantis' claims.
What was so important it required a pretty late meeting?
From the looks on the Zeta Squad's faces, it looked...a bit more serious than Ruby had once thought.
"Why'd you call us down here?" Weiss sounded a bit tired. She always valued sleep.
"Sorry, sorry." Ben apologized. "We've just been debating something for the past few hours."
Blake raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"
"It is a bit of a complicated situation." Blonko added. "While there was a simple answer, we had to run through logistics and stuff like that."
"Plus, Ceres had to make the thing." Kylie added.
"Hey, it took only an hour." Ceres huffed. "You could've gone with Kevin to get the boxes."
"Yeah, but it was a really, really LONG hour." Kylie pouted. "I know we were chilling, but we're so burnt out. You know I thrive off connections…"
"Can we just show them already?" Kevin yawned. "Weiss and I are in that same tired boat."
"Right, right." Ben set four boxes on the table- they were flat and small. Ruby squinted a bit. Looked like they were jewelry boxes, the types that hid pretty necklaces.
"Go on, open them." Ben encouraged the girls. The female quartet gave each other the same 'IDK' look, and went over to grab the boxes.
"You really didn't have to go this far, guys." Blake chuckled.
"We are devoted to craft." Blonko said. "We have to go that extra step to show we care."
"If you say so," Ruby smirked, opening the box...she got a weird look on her face as she saw the gift. Ruby held up the present- it was a small, white key that had the symbol of the Omnitrix on it.
"I don't really know what this is?" Ruby joked.
"What's this even for?" Yang asked. "Did you get us helicopters? PLEASE tell me you got us helicopters."
Ben gave Yang a look, "Why helicopters?"
Yang shrugged. "You're rich, so..."
Ben shook his head. "No, these are for the Omnitrix."
"To lock you out?" Blake asked.
"No, I'm way more trustworthy than that," Ben responded, "The people closest to me have a key like this. See?"
Ruby looked around- Ceres, Rook, Kylie and Kevin all held up an identical key. Ruby knew it had to be important if they had one. "Gwen has one too. So does Verdona. And…" Kylie took a deep breath, "Max did too."
"So...what's it for, then?" Weiss asked.
"In case of...well, drastic measures," Ben still had a serious expression on his face, "They're to unlock 'the nuclear option'."
"Which is?"
"My most powerful form," Ben answered, "I call him...Alien X."
Most powerful.
Those words stuck to Ruby's brain like fly on flypaper.
"How powerful is this...Alien X?" the red-hooded reaper dared to ask.
"He's a Celestialsapien." Ceres explained.
"Celestialsapien…" Ruby hummed- where had she heard that name before?
"He was one of those aliens Vilgax listed way back when," Ben mentioned.
"Wait, you seriously remember that?" Kevin asked, a bit taken aback.
"Well, yeah. Eidetic memory," Ben tapped his noggin, "I'm like a human tape recorder. No way I'd forget something that clear."
"Yeah, now that I remember, he said it could...destroy a galaxy, right?" Ruby asked.
"That, and much, much more," Ceres added, "They're beings of infinite power, the makers of laws that govern reality, all that fun stuff. They're Gods, Ruby."
"So...Ben can go full God mode?" Yang asked, "Why doesn't he just use that form all the time?"
"That is why we brought you here. To explain why these keys exist in the first place," Blonko said.
"About a year ago, there was a big terrorist threat," Ceres said, "Typical aliens with pipe dreams of taking over Earth cuz 'Level 3 beat Level 1' planets or something. They weren't tough, it was mostly just ham and bluffing carrying them...but, we didn't know about their secret weapon."
"They were carrying an Egarthomore Nuclear Weapon," Kevin went on, "Pretty dangerous thing."
"Well, yeah, I mean," Weiss said. "It has nuclear in the name."
"You should be more worried about the Egarthomore part," Ben said, "They're a long extinct alien race, and that's probably because their own stupidity blew them up. Their entire race was killed during the test of the thing."
"Damn," Yang said.
"Yeah, for all their smarts, those poor hamster looking aliens weren't the brightest."
Ruby blinked. 'Nuclear weapon built by alien hamsters' wasn't what she was expecting tonight.
Or ever.
"Basically, imagine the strongest nuclear weapon that Earth has, right?" Kevin added as Ruby took a moment to ponder.
"Isn't that the Tsar Bomba?" The young huntress brought up as Ben simply gave a nod. Though Ruby's expression began to darken as she was already starting to realize where this was heading.
"Imagine how strong that is and it's not even a blip on an Egathomore Nuclear bomb. If that thing went off it was basically the end of the world in a little less than a few seconds," Kevin explained
"So. I decided to try and use the one alien I knew could either redirect or completely negate such intense amounts of power, and that was Alien-X," Ben continued though it was clear that something about using such a power had done a little more than just shake him up.
Something happened when he used it.
"It's complicated," Ben stated, "but I was trapped in there for what seemed like days. I had to observe some intense stuff in order to figure out HOW I was going to save the day. And I wasn't at ease with my divinity. It felt off. To maintain such a balance in one's life. I know I can't save everyone, but...if that's the only way I can save anyone..."
Ben frowned, before shaking his head, "But, that's Plan X. Two of you give me the keys, and I become Alien X and stop whatever threat that's beyond our power."
"Plan X, huh?" Yang gave a chuckle before starting to ruffle Ben's hair a little bit, "Look at you being all leader-like now. Things really have changed, haven't they!" She joked as the rest of the girls looked to their keys and then back to Ben.
"We'll do our best to keep these safe," Ruby grinned as she slowly leaned in to hug him, hoping such a plan would never need to come to fruition.
But who would have guessed that perhaps even Plan X was needing an update?
"Albedo's right about you being lucky, Kirby." Ceres said, "There was less than even .00000000001% you came out of that battle alive."
"I don't think you're helping. I mean, we didn't get out of it unscathed. Kevin lost his arm," Kirby started before Kevin almost choked on his drink.
"What?!" Kevin shouted.
"I mean...you got better. Gwen reattached it with her magic. That's what triggered her to start blasting the guy, seeing your arm hit the ground. Really shouldn't mess with her boyfriend if anyone's got future plans."
"Gwen and I are dating in that world?" Kevin inquired.
"What sort of universe am I in?" Kirby wondered.
"The very best!" Min smiled, "Because I'm here."
"And...who are you?" Kirby questioned.
"Min. Chaos Demon, Kevin's girlfriend, unintentionally summoned to this planet by Gwen."
"Gwen conjured up a DEMON?" Kirby's eyes went wide in shock.
"By accident," Min emphasized.
"She STILL summoned a demon!"
"Let's get back to the rogue Alien X," Ben said, "You came here to chase it down, right? How'd you do that?"
"With this thing!" Kirby proudly held up the device and Ceres gasped.
"Oh, sweet Jesus, give me that!" Ceres yelled, insulted by the craftsmanship alone, "This is actually fucking dangerous. This thing could have exploded and, if not regulated properly, taken a whole universe with it. Who made this irresponsible tech?!"
"Um, two Galvans."
"My people made THAT?" Albedo said, a little insulted.
"They're geniuses...only by human standards," Kirby admitted.
"We fired those guys in our universe," Ceres said, "God, I'm insulted on behalf of those who have to breathe the same air as them."
"Funny, the Plumbers just assigned them to Bellwood," Kirby added, "Plus they made that in a few hours. Might've been my bad since I told them I needed that ASAP. They said it'd take a few weeks."
"Even if they took a full year, there's still so many kinks they'd need to sort out." Albedo said. "This is inferior. Ceres, if we do chase down this Celestialsapien, should we collaborate and overhaul the device?"
"Definitely," Ceres said as she continued looking over every single flaw the device had.
"Wait, you guys really wanna help?" Kirby asked.
"Hell yeah we do!" Yang said. "No rogue Celestialsapien is just gonna go around stealing Omnitrixes without consequences!"
"What's one more super-powerful being to fight, right?" Ruby smirked.
"Listen," Ben said, "We've taken a lot of risks in our day. We know our way around a tough situation. This rogue Celestialsapien is gonna be a piece of cake."
"Not only is he gonna have to deal with two Bens, he's also gonna have to deal with all of us. Team RWBY, Zeta Squad, Albedo and Neo. We've got this," Ruby smirked.
"You guys just keep throwing names at me, who's-" Kirby began before Ben cut him off.
"Let's just eat. I'm sure Kirby's all tired out from the traveling he did." Ben said.
"What? No, I literally just ended up here. I took a step through a portal, and...fell for a good 10 minutes before I landed here."
"Huh. Point still stands though. We can figure out how to deal with the Watch Collector after."
"Let's focus on something else right now," Kylie said. "So, Kirby. What aliens have you got on your Omnitrix right now?"
"I'm not sure if you'll know them...but, I got Bogburn, Surround Sound, Benzilla, Slipstream, Frostbite, Glowstone, Calculacean, Webstrike, Ooze and Attractattack." Kirby listed off.
"Those names...are awful." Kylie said. "Benzilla? Seriously?"
"I mean...what would you name the giant dinosa-" Kirby started.
"Humungousaur," Ben and Ruby said together.
"Ok, yeah that name's way better."
"Your dimension sounds a bit more...complex," Ceres said, "I can't believe you don't know a majority of us."
"I honestly kept a small team of people," Kirby said, "Just me, Kevin and Gwen. We'd occasionally meet up with other allies, but, even then...it'd be brief meetings."
"Allies like who?" Ruby asked.
"Alan, Helen, Manny, Pierce...Cooper...I'm just gonna stop right now because you guys probably have no idea who they are, do you?" Kirby said.
"Yeahhhh," Ben admitted.
Kirby sighed. "Figures."
Ceres opened the door to Max's old place. "You can stay here for now. It may be a bit dusty though."
Kirby looked over the place, a little confused at the dust, but maybe their Max hadn't been here in a while. Plumber business probably, but he'd have to ask about it later. "Thanks," Kirby said as he walked in.
"You must be tired after that fall and the battle, so...I should probably let you rest. Uh...good night," Even though that was Ben, it was weird to think that it wasn't HER Ben. Ceres walked out of the room, as Kirby went to the bedroom.
Kirby flopped down on the bed, and sighed a bit. "This is all too weird..." Kirby said to himself, "It's like I'm in a dream world..."
Kirby looked over to Max's nightstand...laid out were his medals. Kirby looked at them and hummed, "Huh. Grandpa never goes anywhere without these..." Kirby suddenly got a bad feeling. Kirby looked over to the closet. He slowly opened the door to see Max's Plumber suit, still hanging up.
...that was enough evidence to make Kirby's heart break a little bit.
"I really am in a weird dimension," Kirby shivered.
Please leave a review! Next week is when things start to heat up.
And it better be more than one fucking word, I actually hate people that just say "awesome" and give no feedback. You know who you are.