In Bellwood High's Music Room, Jen stood with her brother as he strummed his guitar and her band mates, Simone on the drums and Casey sitting at the piano and said animal lover cracker her knuckles as she rested her hands on the keys as the other members of the Omni-Team stood by their side and Jen smiled as she turned to her brother and hugged him.
"Hey," Justin said as he grabbed his bass guitar and kissed Jen on the cheek.
"Oh, you," Jen smiled, blushing heavily as Ben smiled.
"So, what did you want us here for?" Julie asked as Jen looked to her possible future sister-in-law.
"Well, today, I was thinking that Ben and I were going to try to sing a duet this time?" Jen asked.
"Say what?" Simone asked as Ben shrugged.
"She kind of heard me singing in the shower last night," Ben said. "And she found a song that I had written for a duet one time."
"He's good at the guitar too," Jen said. "He used to play for my shows at school a lot when we were kids."
"You didn't win every talent show you know. You retired from it after the second one."
"Yeah, I know," Jen said. "But my love for music never faded."
"But why did you have to bring them? Especially Kevin?" Ben asked. "He's going to rip my head off."
"He's a good friend. I don't think he'll give you too big of a hard time," Jen said.
"Fine. I guess it couldn't hurt," Ben said as he kissed Julie and got up onto the stage with Jen as she grabbed her guitar.
"A one, two, three, four!" Simone said as she clacked her drumsticks together before beating the drums rhythmically and Jen started strumming her guitar as Casey gently played her piano and Justin strummed his bass guitar as Ben and Jen turned to each other, microphone stands opposite each other.
Ben took his turn singing first.
Ben:
"I walk in on Friday nights
Same old bar, same burned out lights
Same people and all the same faces
So why in the hell does it feel like a different place?"
Jen sighed as she started singing opposite him.
Jen:
"Meet my friends for a girl's night out
Seems like there ain't much to talk about
Same drinks that we're all raising
But all of the toast just don't feel the same"
And then the twins started singing together, making beautiful music.
Ben and Jen:
"We used to be the life of the party
We used to be the ones that they wished they were
But now it's like they don't know how to act
Maybe they're like me and they want us back
It's like there's always an empty space
Those memories that nobody can erase
Of how bright we burned
Well now it hurts, but it's true
When they think of me, they think of you."
Meanwhile, the others by them were all clapping their hands and Kevin just nodded his head with a nod as Ben smiled to his sister.
Ben:
"They keep asking how I am
But they're really asking "Where you been?"
Ben and Jen:
"I can read between all of the lines
It ain't just us missing all of the times!
We were the life of the party
We used to be the ones that they wished they were
But now it's like they don't know how to act
Maybe they're like me and they want us back
It's like there's always an empty space
Those memories that nobody can erase
Of how bright we burned
Well now it hurts, but it's true
When they think of me, they think of you."
Ben:
"Ain't it funny how a flame like that"
Jen:
(Oh, they think of you!)
Ben:
"It can burn when it's in the past?"
Ben and Jen:
We were the life of the party
We used to be the ones that they wished they were
But now it's like they don't know how to act
Maybe they're like me and they want us back
It's like there's always an empty space
Those memories that nobody can erase
Of how bright we burned
Well now it hurts, but it's true
When they think of me, they think of you!"
The assembled party applauded for the band as they dispersed and put their instruments away as the twins smiled and hugged deeply.
"Good job," Ben said as Jen jabbed him.
"Likewise, bro."
"Wow," Julie said, kissing Ben's cheek. "You didn't tell me you were that good."
"It's not really a professional thing like my sis here, but I've got a good voice, I think," Ben chuckled as Kevin smiled and looked upon him.
"Well, well. Looks like I can lord this over you forever."
"Don't push your luck, Kevin. It's already our fault your stuck like you are."
"Hey," Ally said as she folded up a group of tickets. "So my coach just got the six of us tickets to a concert by one Songstress tonight as a reward for winning my fight Thursday."
"That's her stage name, right?" Becky asked, standing up as the team smiled.
"Of course. Adele, Sia, all of them are just stage names. She's the hottest new act on the charts recently and she's only 18," Gwen said. "Though she's not your forte, Ally. I thought you were a rockhead."
"I am, but I'm just curious. No sense letting these go to waste," Ben said.
"I think we should go," Jen said, smiling. "I'm curious to see how talented this girl rose to the top in just three months."
"It does seem pretty strange, I admit," Ally said as she smiled. "But that just means we should go investigate the concert. Sounds like a Plumber mission, huh?"
"You know it," Ben said as Simone and Casey stood by.
"So what do you want us to do?" Simone said.
"Wait for our cue. We'll call you if we need you at all," Jen promised.
"I hope you don't need us," Casey said.
Friday arrived and the Omni-Team walked into the Bellwood Arena with Kevin sporting his I.D. mask to appear human as they shuffled through the crowds and Jen smiled as they stood in line at the concessions stands as they smiled.
"We haven't been to a concert in a while," Ben said. "Since the Shag Carpeting concert at Royal Woods?"
"I talked to Luna yesterday," Jen said, rubbing her arm. "She was a little bit envious of this kid rising so quickly through the charts. It was just borderline supernatural."
"Either way, Grandpa Max issued these to us for the concert," Gwen said as she handed each and every one of the team a pair of ear buds that they put into their ears.
"What are these for, sis?" Becky asked, prepping herself up.
"They're for blocking out any potential hidden signals in the sounds. These events have happened in the world many times before with other supervillains, so he wanted to be prepared for this."
"Don't be so uptight," Kevin said with a smile. "This is a concert. Lay back and have some fun."
"It may be a concert, but we're also on Plumbers' business," Ally said, punching her fists together. "Keep your eyes and your ears peeled."
"Gotcha," Ben said as they finally got to the conocessions stand.
Meanwhile, backstage, a young girl was sitting in the corner, putting on her plush and finishing off her makeup and smiled slyly as she blew a kiss to the mirror.
"Not bad, Songstress," she smiled. "Not bad at all."
She had slightly tanned white skin with pink lipstick and bright blonde hair in a high ponytail with a pink and purple streak going through the center. She was wearing a bright chrome-colored miniskirt that sparkled like silver along with her pink boots and purple gloves as she smiled.
"Now we're gonna give them a show they'll never forget."
"Songstress!" the stage manager told her. "You're on in five."
"Oh, I'm ready, honey," Songstress smiled as she grabbed a bottle of water and tossed it back and forth to herself as she gulped down the water and gave out a beautiful warm up note to herself, satisfied, her green eyes flashing pink. "I am so ready."
The gang took their seats in the front row as the twins looked behind them to see a ton of fans holding up signs and cheering for their idol, tons of teenage girls cheering loudly.
"Okay, let's see what this girl's all about," Ben said as Kevin laid back and placed his hands behind his head.
"Don't get too deep into your job, Benji," Kevin said. "Just enjoy the music."
"Okay," Gwen said as she then pressed the button on her earbud as the others did as well, the lights all going out in the stadium as a large sillouhette showed up on the wide screen on the stage, eliciting a massive cheers and applause through the crowd and Becky looked on at her teammates and turned to the others.
"Hello, Bellwood!" Songstress voice said as her silhouette moved. "Do you want to hear some music!"
"YEAH!" the crowd, except for our heroes stood up and applauded.
"Then let's make some noise!" the voice shouted as the lights instantly turned on and Songstress stood there in uniform and the crowd went wild as the band behind her instantly started playing their music as Songstress tossed the mic in midair and belted out into a beautiful melody.
"I can read your mind
And I know your story
I can see what you're going through, yeah
It's an uphill climb
And I'm feeling sorry
But I know it will come to you, yeah
Don't surrender
Cause you can win
In this thing called love
When you want it the most
There's no easy way out
When you're ready to go
And your heart's left in doubt
Don't give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that's the way it is
When you question me
For a simple answer
I don't know what to say, no
But it's plain to see
If you stick together
You're gonna find the way, yeah
So don't surrender
Cause you can win
In this thing called love
When you want it the most
There's no easy way out
When you're ready to go
And your heart's left in doubt
Don't give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that's the way it is
That's the way it is
When life is empty
With no tomorrow
And loneliness starts to call (loneliness starts to call)
Baby don't worry
Forget your sorrow
Cause love's gonna conquer it all, all
When you want it the most
There's no easy way out
When you're ready to go
And your heart's left in doubt
Don't give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
(And that's the way it is
There's no easy way out
When you're ready to go
And your hearts left to doubt)
Don't give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that's the way it is
That's the way it is
That's the way it is
Don't give up on your faith
Love comes to those who believe it
And that's the way it is!"
As Songstress was belting out the tune, the Omi-Team listened to the music and nodded their heads... only to notice everyone around them cheering wildly, only they noticed their eyes seemed to be glazed over, as if they were in a trance.
"Hey, sis? You notice something about the crowd?" Ben asked.
"Now that you mention it, yeah," Jen said. "Something seems... off."
"It's like they're being hypnotized by the music," Gwen said. "Good thing I brought those headphones with us, huh?"
"I think we should do some investigating," Ben and Jen said as they left their seats and went to the arena's halls and then nodded to each other as they closed their eyes and focused.
"Nanomech," Ben said.
"Frostblight," Jen said as they both transformed into said aliens and zipped off, unseen, flying towards the backstage area as Songstress was performing her next song, "How Will I Know."
They looked around and managed to spot the makeup area backstage and then Nanomech nodded as he saw a little journal.
"Ah-hah!"
"What?" Frostblight asked.
"I spotted Songstress' diary! Let's look through it."
Frostblight ran through and flipped through the pages as both of their eyes looked down at the printed words.
"World domination through the power of music, huh?" Frostblight said as she smiled. "Why does that sound so familiar?"
"It doesn't even look like Songstress is even human," Nanomech said. "She's a Zepplian. Apparently, there are different kinds of them that partain to a different style of music."
"Then after the show, we need to make a plan to combat her," Frostblight said as they closed the diary and nodded, flying off.
After the show, the twins nodded and looked down, shuffling their feet outside of the arena and the Omni-Team listened intently.
"So what are we gonna do about this? Her power over the fans gets stronger the more people cheer for her," Becky said, leaning against the wall.
"What's the best weapon you can use against music?" Jen asked, smirking.
"Um... earplugs?" Kevin chuckled.
"No!" Ben said. "Music! I think our best bet is to use Songstress' own strengths against her."
"So Rockstar and Rockette are our best bets," Ally said, thinking. "But I don't think you two can do this alone. You could use some help."
"And we know just who we need to help," Jen said. "My band."
"Justin, Simone and Casey?" Ben asked. "Sure, why not? Two aliens can't play enough instruments to perform a song that well."
"It's worth a try," Kevin said as Ben and Jen got on their phones.
"Songstress is going to have an encore performance next week at the Bellwood High football field," Ben said. "That's when we need to take her out with our counter song."
"And I think we need some help with deciding what it should be," Jen said, putting a hand to her chin.
"Music-based mind control, eh bra?" Luna Loud said as she was resting in her luxury hotel room on her laptop as she smiled while strumming her guitar while on the widescreen on the headquarters' computer. "I've dealt with that a few times before. very common among musically-powered beings."
"Rockette and Rockstar don't have that," Ben said to the rockstar superheroine.
"They probably do. You just haven't used it yet to know," Luna said with a smile, strumming her guitar rhythmically.
"Okay," Jen said. "But you control lightning, not music."
"Yeah, well, when you've been in the superhero business as long as I have, you tend to learn a few things."
"Okay," Ally said. "We think our best bet to counter Songstress is music of our own. And we're using Rockette and Rockstar's rock specialty to try to overpower hers."
"Then I suggest you combine your country and rock expertise to do it," Luna said as she clacked a few keys on her laptop and sent a sheet of music and lyrics to their printer. "This little ditty is called Gonna Know We Were Here. Sam and I wrote it a few weeks ago to perform, but I think you deserve it more than we do, especially for right now."
"Glad to have you as a friend, Luna," Gwen said as Luna clicked her tongue and flashed her the gun signs.
"You guys are great friends too," Luna said. "Gotta run. Sam and I have a show tonight."
"Tell us how it went!" Ben said as Luna signed off and Jen whipped out her phone.
"I'll send the others a text message right now. We'll see if we can get this song done in about five days."
"Do you think you two can do this without the help of Luna?" Kevin asked.
"I think we can do it better," Jen smiled.
"Oh yeah?" Gwen asked, raising an eye.
"What's the difference between you and her?" Becky asked.
"I'm not wearing paperclips in my ears," Jen said as everyone around her laughed.
"So let me get this straight," Simone said in the band room after the school day's classes with the group gathered inside. "You want our help to bring Songstress down?"
"An alien with power over music?" Casey asked, crossing her arms. "What good can we do to beat her?"
"We don't have any powers," Justin said as Jen smiled.
"You don't need them," Jen said. "Music can be powerful in itself. We each have an alien form that can enhance music into a powerful force."
"In fact, they're the same species as Songstress herself," Ben said. "Only, they specialize in rock music and she specializes in pop music."
"Still, we're only human," Simone said. "Are you sure you need us?"
"Yeah," Gwen said. "The four of us don't know how to play music, you guys do. And we can't have a band without backup players."
"Right, we'll help," Casey said as she cracked her knuckles. "So what do we do?"
Ben and Jen handed out the songsheets for the song they were going to play against Songstress.
"This is the song we're going to use. We only have five days to practice, so let's get it on," Jen said with a smile as she cleared her throat and gripped her guitar.
"You think they can do it, Ally?" Becky whispered.
"We're gonna find out soon," Ally said.
Five days later, Songstress smiled as she stepped out onto the stage that was set up on the high school football field, smirking to herself as she prepped her powerful voice and turned to the band.
"Time to give these guys a show they'll never forget," she said to herself as the band started playing and the sly popstar alien smirked to herself and started singing into the mic, scatting.
"Oh, yeah, yeah
Hey, shoo, do, do, do, do, do
Yeah
Do, do, do, oh
Do, do, do, do, do, do, da (babe)
Do, do, do, da (hey, yeah, yeah)
Do, do, do, do, do, do, da
Do, do, do (shoo, do, do, do, do, do, do)
Do, do, do, do, do, do, da
Do, do, do, da (baby, baby, baby, baby, baby)
Do, do, do, do, do, do, da
We were as one, babe
For a moment in time
And it seemed everlasting
That you would always be mine
Now you wanna be free
So I'm letting you fly
'Cause I know in my heart, babe
Our love will never die, no
You'll always be a part of me
I'm part of you indefinitely
Boy, don't you know you can't escape me?
Ooh, darling, 'cause you'll always be my baby
And we'll linger on
Time can't erase a feeling this strong (no, no, no, no)
No way, you're never gonna shake me
Ooh, darling, 'cause you'll always be my baby
Do, do, do (yeah)
Do, do, do, do, do, do, da
Do, do, do, da (do, do, do, do, do, do)
Do, do, do, do, do, do, da (yes, you will)
I ain't gonna cry, no
And I won't beg you to stay
If you're determined to leave, boy
I will not stand in your way
But inevitably
You'll be back again
'Cause you know in your heart, babe
Our love will never end, no, no
You'll always be a part of me
I'm part of you indefinitely
Boy, don't you know you can't escape me (no)
Ooh, darling 'cause you'll always be my baby
And we'll linger on
Time can't erase a feeling this strong (yeah, no)
No way, you're never gonna shake me
Ooh, darling, 'cause you'll always be my baby
I know that you'll be back, boy
When your days and your nights get a little bit colder, oh
I know that you'll be right back, baby
Oh, baby, believe me it's only a matter of time, time
You'll always be a part of me
I'm part of you indefinitely
Boy, don't you know you can't escape me (yeah)
Ooh, darling, 'cause you'll always be my baby
And we'll linger on (and we will linger on and on)
Time can't erase a feeling this strong
No way, you're never gonna shake me
Ooh, darling, 'cause you'll always be my baby
You'll always be a part of me
I'm part of you indefinitely
Boy, don't you know you can't escape me
Ooh, darling 'cause you'll always be my baby (never, no, no)
And we'll linger on (you and I will always be)
Time can't erase a feeling this strong
No way, you're never gonna shake me (you and I)
Ooh, darling, 'cause you'll always be my baby (you and I)
You and I will always be (do, do, ah)
(Do, do, do, do, do, do, da)
No way, you're never gonna shake me (do, do, da)
No way, you're never gonna shake me (do, do, do, do, do, do, da)
You and I will always be (do, do, da)
(Do, do, do, do, do, do, da)
(Do, do, do, da) no matter what you do"
Little did she know, Ben, Jen, Gwen, Becky, Kevin and Ally looked on at Songstress' concert below them as they stood on the hill above them. saw the audience entranced by her infectious melody and Jen's band ran up and panted as Verdona walked in.
"So, how good's your music game?" Jen asked everyone besides her brother and they all shrugged. "Guess it's up to us then."
"What did you have in mind?" Casey asked, crossing her arms as Ben nodded.
"There's only one effective weapon we can use against music," Ben said. "Music of our own."
"Oh?" Cole asked, smirking as Jen nodded.
"Think you guys can do effective rock music?" Jen asked.
"Yeah," Logan said as he gripped his bass. "What exactly did you have in mind, Jenny?"
That was when they heard the massive amount of applause and cheers from the hypnotized crowd below them and the team nodded to each other.
"Songstress' music is powerful," Ben said. "The only effective alien form we have against her is my Rockstar and Jen's Rockette."
"Sounds good to me," Simone said as she spun her drumstick. "So what song exactly did you have in mind?"
"Well," Jen asked. "I think tonight, Songstress is going to know we were here."
"Let's do it," Justin said, raising an eyebrow as he gripped his guitar and Verdona waved her hands around and chanted a few words as a large stage showing Rockette and Rockstar's names instantly appeared before them on the hill as Songstress noticed this and smirked devilishly.
A few minutes later, everyone had set up their instruments and hooked them up to the amps as Casey sat at her keyboard and Simone twirled her drumsticks and Logan and Justin stood by as the others went behind the stage and set up everything else behind it as if they were roadies.
Ben and Jen then climbed on top of the stage and prepped themselves.
"You ready, bro?" Jen asked as she popped the core of her Omnitrix.
"Yeah," Ben said. "I'm just not as used to performing this way as you are, sis."
"You're just as good as performing as I am. You're great at the guitar and you've got a good voice. We're the only ones who can stop Songstress."
"Okay," Ben said as he popped the core of his Omnitrix.
"Let's kickstart some hearts," Jen nodded as they both pressed the cores down and instantly transformed into their Zepplian forms and caught the guitars in hand.
"Rockette!/Rockstar!"
"Let's do this," Rockette said as Ally put her earplugs in and turned up the amps.
"What about us?" Becky asked.
"Get down there and take out Songstress' goons," Rockstar ordered.
Everyone in the crowd at Songstress concert suddenly heard electric guitar music blare through, as Songstress was cut off in the middle of her entrancing melody and looked up to see the stage on the hill with two other Zepplians above them, smiling down as the backup band played in the background and Simone slammed on her drums, performing a massive solo as they smirked down on her.
"The Omni-Twins? Here?" Songstress asked in shock as Rockette took the mic and began to sing, taking off her guitar and handing it to Justin, who took it with a smile.
Rockette:
"You got the gas, I got the matches
We gonna turn this town to ashes
Cause they ain't never seen nothing like us
Ain't heard loud till we turn it up
I got the wild, you got the crazy
You know that's why I love ya baby
Cause your motor runs just as fast as mine
Pedal to the metal, keep your throttle down all night
And we only get one life!"
At this point, Simone tossed a stick in the air and caught it before slamming down super hard on her drums and the stage lit up as tons of fireworks blasted up into the sky, pyrotechnics going up as Songstress looked shocked as Lucky Girl, Huntress, Matter Girl and Kevin ran through and started battling her backup band as Songstress sang hard into her mic as a massive aura appeared of her and slammed down on the stage, just as Rockette and Rockstar nodded and tuned their guitars to generated a pink and green shield.
Both:
"Ain't scared to ride this train
Make a few marks, leave a few stains
Might slam just a little too hard
Might take it just a little too far
Might burn out like a firework
Like a shooting star across the sky
And we may not be around in twenty years
But they sure gonna we were here!
They sure gonna know we were here!"
"Hello Bellwood!" Rockstar shouted as one by one, the audience reverted, much to Songstress' horror as she felt her power start to steadily decline from the twin's powers.
"Sorry, Songstress," Rockette smiled. "This encore is going to burn out!"
Rockstar:
"Well, people talk girl
You know damn well
When they got a good tale to tell
Let's give 'em something they ain't never seen
A little Rated-R redneck dream
Let's blaze a trail through the dirty South
Give 'em something they can talk about
A little story that they won't forget
Long after we ride off into the sunset, baby
Cause we ain't dead yet, baby!"
As they sang, they generated a massive aura, which appeared over the stage and formed into a massive dragon that roared intently.
Both:
"Ain't scared to ride this train
Make a few marks, leave a few stains
Might slam just a little too hard
Might take it just a little too far
Might burn out like a firework
Like a shooting star across the sky
And we may not be around in twenty years
But they sure gonna we were here!"
Rockette:
"We only get one chance around
This runaway roller coast train
And it ain't slowing down"
Both:
"So baby, they're gonna remember our names!"
The dragon slammed down on the stage, sending Songstress back into the wall as the crowd started jamming out and shouting out and singing along as Songstress looked up to the four heroes looming over her, smirking as Lucky Girl spun her Plumber's badge on her finger with a smirk.
"I'm going to jail now, aren't I?"
"For brainwashing the entire town of Bellwood with your music?" Huntress said. "Yeah, pretty much."
"But man, you can sing good," Matter Girl admitted as they looked up and saw the twins rocking out in their Zepplian forms, Jen shouting out and playing a wicked guitar solo on her guitar as she stuck her tongue out and he chuckled.
"She's enjoying this a little too much."
"Maybe Rockette's just influencing her brain."
Both:
"Ain't scared to ride this train
Make a few marks, leave a few stains
Might slam just a little too hard
Might take it just a little too far
Might burn out like a firework
Like a shooting star across the sky
And we may not be around in twenty years
But they sure gonna we were here!"
The band finished performing with a flourish and the crowd erupted in cheers and applause, much louder than when Songstress performed as she looked on and bowed her head.
"I'll get my revenge on you, Omni-Team. One day."
"Thank you very much, goodnight!" Rockstar said into the mic as the fireworks erupted from both stages, illuminating the sky.
Next time on Ben and Jen 10:
Fool's Gold