Horizon 10: Child of the Genius and The Hero

by Zombiedestroyer99

Set years after Omniverse, Ben kills Vilgax in one final battle, though at the cost of everyone he holds dear. He tries to end himself, but instead goes through a portal to a different dimension, where the Faro Plague ravages the world. Due to bad circumstances, Ben gets Elisabet Sobeck Pregnant. Now having a child, Both Ben and Elisabet must protect their child no matter the cost.

5. Chapter 3:Shocking Revelations: Part 2

Authors Note: Good to see everyone has enjoyed the second chapter. Now we get into some more juicy stuff! This is the second part of the two parter. This chapter will coincide with chapter 2, looking at what Elisabet was doing at this time, during Ben's battle with the bots, all the way up until the news reports outing Ben and Elisabet respectively. I just want to say, you thought Ben had it bad? with the shit he had to deal with. If you thought Ben's luck was bad, just you wait to see what Elisabet has to go through. Almost all her allies have turned against her, because her secret was revealed to the Alphas and Joint Chiefs by a certain… someone who she has had issues with for a long time, we all know who it is, come on you know, don't you?

Let's hop into chapter 3 of Horizon 10!

As a disclaimer, I do not own any of these properties or the characters associated with them. They are owned by Cartoon Network and Guerilla Games respectively. The only characters I credit for are any OC's that I made.

Zero Dawn Facility, Near Bryce Utah, December 20th 2064

Elisabet's Perspective

I was walking the halls of the zero dawn facility, having left the doctor's office around an hour ago. I have been walking since then, trying to clear my head, as I had just received big news that I was not expecting, and I was not sure how to deal with it. The words of the doctor started to play over and over in my head, those two horrific words

''Your Pregnant''

''I can' believe it, I just can't'' I said in disbelief. It is so nuts that this has happened, that I thought I was dreaming. I cannot believe I am actually pregnant. Usually this would be any women's greatest dream, having a child of their own. For me if this was months ago, I would be ecstatic and jumping up in excitement, as I have always wanted a family of my own but I never had time for a love life. Now however, I was not excited at all but horrified. I could not bring a child into this world for several reasons, as one it was ending. The second is that all Zero Dawn members, from Gammas to the Alphas, had to go through sterilization. This was as Elysium, the bunker that would house zero dawn members and their families after Zero Day would only have supplies to last that number of people for one hundred years. If the population grew instead of shrinking, food would run out quickly and everyone would be dead within thirty years. All of us are supposed to be sterilized in the next week, but now this has happened. What was I going to do? This was so very bad. My first thought was the obvious answer, but I could barley stomach even saying it

''A-A-Aborti- No!, I can't do that , I can't!'' I shouted in grief, nearly crying. I would never be able to go through with that. Since I was a child, my mother told me to always use my talents for the betterment of others, and to cherish life. That is what I have done my whole life, helping charities when I was in high school, working at FAS during the great die off, becoming the chief engineer in only two years, and helping repair the dying climate. Then I left when Ted started to switch to military weaponry, in which I opened my own robotics company Miriam Technologies, winning nobel prizes for our great work. Of course Ted leveled law suits against me and my company for competing with FAS green robotics divison, but I persevered until Ted called me in about the glitch that started the Faro Plague. She was pissed that life on earth would be destroyed, all she had worked for to help people wasted. But Zero Dawn would be her finest creation, that will bring back life from nothing and allow civilization to continue. I bought my thoughts back to the current situation. I could not abort the baby, as I love life too much and could never end another life, especially the one of my unborn child. Adoption wasn't an option as that would take years to find a family, and there was no time for that as the world was ending in 15 months. This meant really only having one, ''option'', and it really wasn't an option at all.

''I'll have to keep the baby'' I muttered to myself. I could not even believe the words leaving my mouth, but what choice did I really have? I was not ending my child's life, nor could I give them up for adoption. But this makes me wonder, how can I convince the Alphas without looking like a hypocrite? I figured the best way to do this was to just tell them the truth about what happened and hope they understand what happened. Most of the Alpha's were nice people, except for maybe Travis, who wasn't really cold hearted person, just a major ass. I already knew who the first Alpha I was going to tell, the only one who knew what happened and pretty much my best friend.

''Time to go see Margo'' I said to myself. I was about to head off, but that is when I felt the need to vomit

''But first, better run to the bathroom!'' I screamed, running to look for the nearest bathroom.

Margo's Room, a few minutes later

I was now in front of Margo's room, ready to knock. I went up to the door and knocked and a few seconds later, The door opened revealing Margo, and when she saw me she got excited.

''Liz, good to see you! How are you feeling, did your doctor's appointment go well?'' she asked me. I looked at her, smiling at her bubbly personality. I looked at her and asked if we could speak inside.

''Let's talk inside, it is important'' I told her. She noticed the tone of my voice, and the worried look on my face, and that's when she got serious. She stepped aside to let me in, and then looked around before closing the door. We both went and sat down. I looked up and I saw Margo's worried look. She put her hand on my shoulder, looking me in the eyes concerned.

''Liz, What is it. Your alright right! Nothing bad happened at the appointment right?'' She asked me, looking like she was going to panic. I took her hand to relax her.

'' Look it's not bad, per say, but not that good'' I told her. She looked even more nervous now. She started to shake a little. I rubbed her hand, trying to calm her down. She was very jittery, obviously waiting on an answer.

''Well do not leave me in suspense Liz, tell me what it is, you keep me waiting any longer I'm going to have a panic attack'' She told me. I stopped, took a deep breath to relax myself, and looked at her dead in the eye

''I'm pregnant Margo'' I told her. Her face went from suspense to down right shocked, her jaw dropping farther than I ever thought it could. She just stood there, frozen in shock. I started to wave my hand in front of her face, trying to snap her out of it.

''Margo?, Are you ok?'' I asked her. She then blinked, and slowly her face morphed into one of happiness, and she had the biggest smile on her face ever. I was caught off guard as she released the biggest squeal of excitement that I have ever heard.

''EEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHH!'' she screeched. It was so loud I had ringing in my ears from all of squealing. I barley had time to collect myself before I was suddenly wrapped up by Margo's arms, and being pulled into a tight hug. She was jumping up and down while having me in a hug. I took my arms and grabbed her shoulders to calm her down.

''Margo, relax I am glad your excited but you are going a little too strong on me'' I told her. She looked at me, calmed down, and let go.

''Sorry about that I was excited. You are going to be a mother, this is something you have always wanted. You are finally going to have a family of your own.'' She said to me. I am glad she was happy for me and not mad that I had broken protocol. I looked at her, thankful for the support but I was also sad as I didn't know what to do. She saw my distress and asked me what was wrong.

''Hey what's wrong Liz, aren't you excited? Your finally going to have a child of your own, I thought you would be jumping for joy?'' She asked me. I looked at her, knowing I would have to explain the situation to her.

''I would excited if this were any other situation, but I can't be excited by this because of what we promised to do as protocol for working on Zero Dawn. Remember we all promised to undergo sterilization in order to not have any children, as the population in Elysium cannot be sustained if it grows instead of lowers. Now though, I am stuck in this situation I never expected to be in, and I don't know what to do'' I told her. She had a look of realization on her face, suddenly remembering what we all signed up for. She frowned and walked up and put her hand on my shoulder.

''Oh Liz, I am so sorry, I totally forgot about the forced sterilization we would have to go through. This really complicates things, like what are you going to do now? I am assuming you are going to have an abortion'' she asked me. I cringed slightly at that, knowing how much I hated that word. She saw my look, and had an instant look of regret on her face. I looked at her reassuringly with a smile, letting her know I was not mad or upset with her. But I did tell her what I was going to do, which I know would shock her to her core.

''I'm going to…. keep the baby'' I told her. Her face suddenly changed, showing so many emotions at once. She showed confusion, shock, and worry all at the same time. She took a bit to her composure, however when she did she started laying into me, talking to me as if I have gone mad.

''ELISABET! ARE YOU CRAZY! You do realize that is impossible right!? There is no way that our fellow Alphas will agree with this, let alone the Joint Chiefs. They have already dislike you due to making Zero Dawn instead of finding another way of stopping the bots, with this they will eat you alive!'' she screamed at me. I know she didn't mean too, but that did hurt my feelings a bit. I know other than Genral Herres, the Joint Chiefs didn't accept my plan for Zero Dawn, both due to the morality of it by sending innocent civilians to die, in their eyes, for nothing. They also do not want to accept extinction in general, which I understand but as I told them several times over the last month, there was nothing that could be done. Automatic resistance was futile, they replicate too fast for conventional weaponry to kill them all, and nuking them would mean radiating the planet and doing the bot's jobs for them. That has not stopped them from talking to Ted fFaro about creating a weapon that could destroy all the Bots, with him obviously agreeing as he wants to fix this mess and look like the hero again in the publics really urked me, as while I understand what me and General Herres are doing is very immoral, it is the only way for life to keep on going, even if we cannot preserve what we have now, though instead of that they would rather follow the man who caused this mess in the first place! I looked at Margo and told her my plan.

'' I know that Margo but look I have a plan, I am going to explain what happened to both our fellow Alphas and the Joint Chiefs. They will have to understand this wasn't my fault, and this was all due to one freak accident. We even have the videos as proof remember? With that they will surely understand, and hopefully They will understand why I cannot get rid of this baby. If I can get the other Alphas on my side, and with General Herres potentially also, the other Joint Chiefs should back down '' I told her. She looked at me and smiles.

''That makes a lot of sense actually, no wonder you are so smart Liz. You should already know I have your back no matter what ,as you are my best friend'' she told me. I smiled at that and hugged her. She returned the embrace warmingly.

''Though I ask for one promise'' She asks.

''What is it?'' wondering what it was.

''I want to be the child's godmother!'' she says, very excited. I was shocked by that but then smiled at that and hugged her again, happy she asked that.

''Of course, I would never consider asking anyone else'' I told her. I was so happy that she not only had my back but also wanted to be the godmother of my baby. I then stopped hugging her, ready to put my plan into action

''I want to put my plan into action now you want to come'' I asked her. She smiled, nodding. We started to leave to head to head towards Gaia Prime, where the other Alphas would be currently hard at work. While walking, Margo asked me a question, about something I had completely forgotten about.

''Hey Liz, before we get there, I have a question'' She told me. I turned to look at her, curious

''Sure what is it'' I asked. What she said next made shake to my core.

''Have you found any leads on the father, that Ben guy'' she asked me. I stopped in my tracks. I had put that thought behind me, as I had no idea what I could even do about that. Margo and I could not even find his DNA in the database, and we don't even know what his facial features look like. Without any lead, I doubt I'll ever find him and this baby will never know their father. There is also the fact he may know the truth about Project Zero Dawn, which I think is unlikely considering everything, but with how sensitive this operation is any leak could spell the doom for us all and the permanent extinction of all life on earth. I sighed and looked at her

''Margo I don't know what to do about that, I have been looking for weeks to find him, and have had no luck at all. It was already bad enough due to the risk of Zero Dawn being leaked, but now I am pregnant and this baby might not get too know their father. I do not know what I am going to do, but I will have to prepare for the possibility I will be a single mother'' I told her. She looked at me sad, but nodded her head. We continued to walk down the hallway to the Zero Dawn Staging Room. When we reach the outside of the doors, I take a deep breath and with Margo's hand on my soldier for reassurance, I take the first step through.

When I enter, I see everyone working hard at their respective stations. I see Samina Ebadji, the Alpha of Apollo ,working on adding more collection of human knowledge to the appears to be about ancient Rome. I then see Alpha member Patrick Brochard-Kein, the Alpha of Gaia Subfunction ELEUTHIA, where he seems to be working on the prototype for the cradles to be used to hold the embryos all around the world.I even see Travis Tate, a famous hacker that was wanted for 18 months, and the ALPHA on the HADES subfunction, which will be used to reverse the terraforming process in case GAIA is unsuccessful in creating a habitable environment once the faro bots are shut down. I smiled at seeing them hard at work. Margo and I walked up to Samina. I noticed something was wrong as soon as she looked at me. When she saw me, her face went from smiling at her grand work to getting a cold hard look. I was wondering what that was all about. I decided to ask her how her work on APOLLO was coming along.

''Hey Samina. How is the work on APOLLO coming along?'' I asked, as I was very curious on how this subfunction was coming along, as It was major for the future humans to rebuild modern civilization back to the point it currently was at, and hopefully without repeating our mistakes. Samina still looked very upset and looked back down at her work

''Fine'' is all she says to me, kind of snippy. I was worried about what was going. I had to find out, as I was worried I did something to make her upset.

''Samina, what is wrong?'' I asked her. I put my hand on her shoulder, but as soon as my hand made contact with her shoulder, she roughly grabbed me by the wrist and threw my hand off of her shoulder. I was shocked by this and so was Margo. Samina only looked at me with a sneer and said something that surprised me

''Here we all are working hard, even Tate, and you are wasting time by acting like a little school girl to have ''fun'' she said to me in a mocking voice. I was shocked by this.

''Now if you are done with wasting my time Sobeck, I have work to get done'' she says snidely, as she walks away to another station to do her work. I was shocked by how she acted, and as I turned towards Margo, she seemed to be just as shocked and confused.

''What was that about?'' I asked Margo.

''No Idea Liz, Samina is usually nice to everyone unless someone made her mad. You didn't do anything to upset her lately have you'' she asked me. I thought for a moment, thinking if there was anything at all that I could have done recently to enrage my colleague and friend lately. I couldn't remember anything.

''No I do not, though she did snap about me having fun? What the hell is that about?'' I asked Margo. Margo did not have an answer.

''Wish I could tell you, but I haven't got a clue. What fun could you be having?, I mean you have been working hard these past few weeks'' she told me. I was just shocked by this, and decided to head over to Patrick to see if he had an answer. When I approached Patrick, he looked up from his work and with the same look Samina gave me, cold and no signs of the friendship we have had. This was really worrying me, what had I done?

''Oh It's you, Dr. Sobeck, What do you want?'' he asked me rudely. I wanted to get to the bottom of what is going on, so I just straight up confronted him

''Patrick, what is going on with Samina? And with you also?, why are you guys being so cold to me, what did I do to you?'' I asked him. He looked at me, his face morphing into one of anger.

''You dare ask me that!? You know why, while we are working our bones to dust with this project, our so called ''chief''' is have fun flandering around! I had a lot of respect for you, Dr Sobeck and this idea to save the world, but now I see you are nothing but a two bit whore! You are no better than Faro, you let others do the work while you take the glory, well screw you!'' He shouted at me. I was shocked and extremely hurt by this. I started to even cry a little, which is when Margo stepped in furious. She pointed a finger right at Patrick and got in his face.

''Don't you dare call Liz a whore , you old fuck! I don't know how you got this info about Liz and what happened, but you don't even know the full story of what happened, Liz came to me and told me what happened! She even showed me the proof of what actually happened, none of which was even her fault in the first place! Now you better walk away, if you even open your mouth to insult me, or god help you, insult Liz again and make her cry more, I have my foot ready to kick you in your old wrinkled ball sack, AND KICK THEM SO HARD THEY WILL TRAVEL TO YOUR THROAT WHERE YOU WILL FUCKING CHOKE ON THEM, NOW FUCKING MARCH!'' She yelled at him. I just stopped crying in stunned silence as Margo yelled at him. All Patrick could do was raise a finger, stutter with a shocked and angry look on his face, before walking away stupefied. She turns to me, and immediately pulls me in for a hug, which I return.

''Thank you, I'm surprised you did that, you normally don't lose your cool like that'' I told her. She pulls away and looks at me with a huge smile.

''I know, but you're my best friend Liz, and you also have given u a chance to save the world, also given us a chance to save us and our families lives, we should all be grateful'' She told me. I smiled at that, glad that despite everything wrong going on right now, I have my best friend by my side. That did not stop me wondering about everything, like why and how Patrick apparently knew about me sleeping with someone,

''How do think Patrick knows about what happened, do you think Samina knows also?'' I asked Margo. Margo frowned and nodded

''More than likely ,sadly. As for why they know, I have no clue but we better get to the bottom of this quick before these rumors get worse'' Margo told me. I immediately agreed with her, we needed to figure out who started these rumors and why. Was it the same person who caused all this in the first place? It had to be. The person who caused this clearly hated me enough to cause this and ruin my reputation with my colleagues. Before I could even think further, Margo and I heard a laugh behind us. We turned and saw it was Travis Tate. He stopped laughing and came up to us, wiping tears out of his eyes.

''Ma-man Shen, I didn't know you had it in you, You sent old Dr. Pat flying by threatening his balls with a good kick, my respect for you has gone way up, FIST BUMP!'' He said, holding his fist up. Margo and I stood there awkwardly for a moment, before Margo awkwardly lifted up her hand in the form of a fist and bumped Travis's. They lowered their fists, with Travis still having a smile on his face. He then turned to me, and smiled

''Hey Liz, lookin good. So may I ask, who is the lucky man? I always thought you had a thing for me'' he said, laughing. I rolled my eyes at this. Margo was even a bit annoyed by this. Travis just smiled at this and asked a question that shocked us both.

''So, when did you find out you were pregnant?'' He asked. For the second time being in this room, I was caught off guard by this. He knew I was pregnant also?! This got me really worried, how did he know? Did Patrick and Samina know? How could they have found out? When I had only known for a couple of hours. I was worried I was being spied on, even at this very moment. Margo was shocked and immediately jumped to my defense. She got in Travis's face and yelled at him.

''Don't you even start, Tate! Or would you like a kick where the sun don't shine, just like I offered Patrick! It was not even Liz's fault. She was drugged by someone and wound up sleeping with a stranger!'' she yelled at him. I was shocked and so was Travis. Travis put his hands up in defense,telling Margo to relax

''WOAH! Shen relax, I was not starting anything I was just asking. Though wait, say that again? Your saying Liz was drugged?'' he asked. I could only nod, with Margo backing me up.

''Yes'' she says to , a look of sympathy appeared on his face, directed right at me. This was very weird, as it was VERY rare to see any look of genuine sympathy or anything that wouldn't know annoy or piss you off.

''Man, I am sorry Liz you don't deserve that. In all seriousness, Your one tough,smart chick with the looks and attitude to match. Whoever did this to you must have big balls. I wasn't judging you before, but now especially I have your back. You didn't deserve this, and I'll help you find the guy who did this,give them a nice punch to the face for you'' Travis told me , with a wide grin on his face. I couldn't help but laugh and smile at this. As much as Travis can be a pain sometimes, He truly is a good person on the inside.

''Thanks Travis, I really appreciate it, seems like I could use all the allies I can get.I do have one question though, How did you and the others know what happened and about me being pregnant? I only just found out about the pregnancy an hour ago, and I haven't told anyone other than Margo about what happened'' I told him. He looked shocked then a bit uncomfortable, which I didn't like one bit.

''Liz…. I am not sure how to tell you guys this, but….. ITS ALL OVER THE NEWS!'' he yelled. Upon hearing that, my blood ran cold and I felt like I was going to faint. Margo and I seemed to be on the same page, because we both shouted

''WHAT!'' in Travis's face. He covered his ears in pain from the yelling.

''OWWW! Jeez ladies, I know your shocked but save the yells for someone else, ever here the phrase don't shoot the messenger'' He said back, rubbing his ears. We blushed a bit, and rubbed our heads in embarrassment.

''Sorry about that'' I said, very embarrassed.

''Yeah, sorry'' Margo told him, also embarrassed.

''It's fine. I understand you lovely ladies are just shook by this news, if you want I could comfort you'' he said, trying to sound classy. We looked and each other and just even had a laugh also. When we stopped laughing, I started to get serious again. So the public knows about my pregnancy now, and with this I doubt they will like that. I am a respected scientist amongst my colleagues and the public, and just like my fellow Alphas, I doubt their happy about this. I decided to ask Travis.

''What's the public's reaction about all this?'' I asked him. Travis looked at me with a neutral expression on his face.

''Its divided Liz, some don't care and have your back no matter what, others are netural, but a lot are against you, asking for your removal from Zero Dawn, saying how you are not responsible enough to continue to head the project. I am sorry Liz, I am not sure how we can fix this'' Travis told me. I was a bit saddened at this. I never did anything for the glory, but it saddens me to know my reputation has been put into the toilet because of whoever did this.

''I'll admit, I am a bit saddened by this but I am not going to let that stop me. I know now someone is spying on me, almost certainly it is the same guy who caused this situation. Well I am going to find them and put an end to this and make them reveal the truth one way or another, whose with me?'' I asked. I know I already knew the answer but I didn't want to drag them any further into this than they already were. They looked at each other and smiled.

''Liz, you're my best friend, I'm with you till the end'' she told me. That made me smile, knowing I could always count on her to have my back. I then turned to Travis

''Travis, are you sure you still want to be apart of this, if it all goes wrong you will be dragged down with us'' I told him, warning him of the consequences should we fail. He just laughed and smiled.

''Liz, only a month ago, I was still a fugitive on the run from the law, and then you came and gave me a good purpose. Sure I can be an asshole, but I do thank you for this opportunity to do something nice for once. While I don't believe in all that biblical bullshit my mom does, if there is a god at least maybe I can avoid hell by doing something good like Zero Daw, and helping you also. My reputation is already fucked. I say bring it on, you're the captin of this ship. If you go down the ship, we,as your loyal friends and members, will sink with you'' He told me. I was shocked, as I have never heard him speak so passionately before in my life. I was glad for these two having my back no matter what. I was considering telling Samina,Patrick and the other Alphas the truth, but it seems by the way things are they won't even listen to me, and probably won't here out Margo or Travis. I was still coming up with my game plan, when through the doors a member agent in Black appeared. He was either FBI or a member of the secret service. I wondered what he was here for. He saw me and came over. He got straight to business as he pulled out his FBI bage and held it out, it having the name ''Alex Johnson'' on it.

''Dr Elisabet Sobeck, I am agent Johnson of the FBI and I have been assigned to escort you via VTOL to the Pentagon. They want to discuss your…Um… ''situation''. We must leave at once.'' He told me. I was shocked by this, not expecting this but I didn't argue. I started to make my way out when Margo and Travis ran up

''We are coming with her'' Margo said.

''Fuck yeah we are'' Travis added. Agent Johnson didn't look to impressed by them.

''They only requested Dr. Sobeck, no one else'' He said coldly. Margo and Travis wouldn't take no for an answer.

''Screw that, Liz is my best friend and knowing the joint chiefs they aren't going to give her the chance to tell her side of the story, which is what I know and Travis knows Liz is an upstanding woman also, so let us come'' she said.

''Yeah Agent man, Liz deserves a fair chance to defend herself. She is pretty much going on trial, so she deserves a defense'' he said. My heart warmed at this, glad I had these two watching out for me. The agent was silent for a moment, until he spoke

'' Fine Ms. Shen, Mr. Tate you may come but no funny business, especially you Tate'' Johnson threatened, knowing Travis messed with the FBI and government officials in the just responded in his usual way

''Aye Aye captain'' he said, giving a mock salute. This annoyed Johnson but he chose to ignore it and started to lead us out the door, when we had another interruption, though this time an unwelcome one.

''Wait, we are coming also'' We heard someone yell. We turned and saw Samina and Patrick.

''Wait why do you want to come?'' I asked, hoping they had changed their minds about the rumors. When I saw their faces though, I could tell that was not the case.

''Don't even Sobeck, Samina and I are not here to help you, like these two young fools are'' Patrick said, pointing to Margo and Travis. Margo was getting pissed again, while Travis was just pissed

''Fool? I wouldn't be calling me a fool old timer, when unlike you I actually got the facts of what is going on instead of blindly accusing like 99% of the people on this fucking ball do, and you call me young, foolish,hot headed and arrogant. Well guess your all that, well except the young part'' which he laughed at, causing Margo to also laugh, and I had to try very hard to stifle my laughter. Patrick was so red in the face at that comment and looked like he wanted to murder Travis. Samina stepped in before things could get any worse.

''Stop it Patrick, we are not here to fight, we are here to come along'' Samina said, in a very rude tone.

''Why do you want to come along I asked?'' I asked, though knowing it can't be good.

''Patrick and I are going there to prove your guilt and have the joint chiefs remove you from the project all together'' She told me. I was shocked, but before I can speak up, Margo and Travis jump too it

''Absolutely not! You guys have caused enough trouble, we are going so Liz can give her side of the story, the TRUTH! The joint chiefs are already going to be against her, you have known don't need you there to make everything worse for Liz than they already are'' Margo shouted at her.

''Yeah, you and the old man should stay out of this'' Travis told her. She only smiled at that.

''Oh Travis didn't you say it was like Elisabet was on trial, well if you're the defense, Patrick and I are the prosecution''She told Travis smugly. The next thing she said realy pissed all three of us off

''Also, If…. No I should say, WHEN we win, we are going to request that Shen and Tate are removed from Zero Dawn as well, for compromising the project and it's intergrity. We were all shocked and mad by this, but before we could continue to argue, Johnson stopped u.

''Save thr arguing for later, you two can come but just shut up until we get there, now move out!'' he yelled. We could only be silent as those two smiled smugly, as we silently walked outside to the VTOL to head to the Pentagon, where I am hoping everything can be ok.

Pentagon, in front of the joint chiefs, few hours later

The trip on the VTOL really had my nerves going, wondering what would happen to me, Margo, and Travis. I wish now wish I hadn't dragged them into this, and even told them they can back out now if they want to, but they refused, saying they are sticking by my side. They say, whether we win or lose, at least we did it together.

We had to wait a bit before being allowed to enter as the joint chiefs had to get ready for the meeting. We are now being lead into the room now, where we see all eight members of the Joint Chiefs standing at attention at their table. However I saw one person there that shouldn't be there and a person who I really do not like

''Ted?! What are you doing here?'' I asked/demanded. What was he doing at a meeting for this? This doesn't concern him.

''Oh Elisabet, you weren't informed. I have been invited here to watch you ''trial'' and see the verdict. Usually something like this would not be allowed, but an exception was made as this decision will affect me. You see, if you are found guilty…. I shall be the new chief Alpha of Project Zero Dawn'' he said. My blood ran cold, as I could only stand there shocked in horror. Margo and Travis had a similar horrified expression, heck even Samina and Patrick had shocked expressions on their face. As much as they distrust me now, I know they do not like Ted any better. I immediately objected to this.

''You can't be serious! Him the chief Alpha! Why him, he is a business man, not scientist. All he is good for is having his employees do all the work, while takes the credit and pockets the money, trust me I should can't le-'' that was when I was cut off by one of the Joint chiefs, a man in his 50's named Brian Smith. He, like most of the Joint chiefs of staff didn't like me, though he seemed to take it a step further than most. He hated Zero Dawn and practically saw Ted as a hero. He slammed his fist on the table in anger

''That is enough out of you Ms. Sobeck. You aren't making the decisions here. You are on trial here for breaking the sterilization rule of Alphas that YOU helped put into place, and for wasting time by instead of working, you decide to go and sleep around. I knew I shouldn't have trusted you. You are nothing but some grade A bitch who would rather sell her body out to anybody with a dick. With Ted here, he will take Zero Dawn in a better direction, or better yet, completely fucking dismantle it into non existence! We can then finally focus on making weapons on countering the swarm and saving the people of the 21st century, where once again Ted Faro will be the hero, and you will be lost into irrelevancy'' He shouted. That just pissed me off even more.

''We already told you, both me and General Herres'' I said, pointing the the chairman himself, who nodded in agreement, as I turned back to Smith to continue.

''We told you that there was no way to crack the codes, that they replicate faster than they can be destroyed and that they will consume all the biomass on earth, even humans and leave the earth s lifeless toxic rock, with no hope of life to ever return. Zero Dawn at least gives us a chance to bring life back, even if we are not around for it to happen. I know you don't like the plan general and having the populace die in a futile effort based on a lie is hard , trust me I know. But this is more important than any invidual people or country, or even humans. This is about the continuation of all life on earth in general.I just want you to understand that, and the fact you dare say you will prop up Ted Faro to replace me, when he is the one who has caused all of this in the first place due to wanting the perfect war machine. He couldn't just accept having decent machines or creating green robotics that help people. He just had to make war platform that couldn't be controlled. Sure you say its more efficient than nukes or soldiers as people don't have to die in combat, but how many people died in the combine wars due to fighting between Faro Machines? This is ridiculous that you would even suggest he has any good intentions in him. He is nothing but a greedy business man, who just cares about keeping his wealth, even if others get hurt'' I said, finishing my long ranch. When I was done, I could see the look of anger on both Smith and Faro's faces, obviously not liking that I insulted him.

''Shut it, Liz. Keep acting tough, but for once the shoe is on the other foot. I am already enjoying the fact that your reputation is in the mud, both with your fellow Alphas and the public, and the ULTIMATE cherry on top will be stripping away Zero Dawn piece by piece, while I make better machines to combat the rogue smarm, and save the world as I did years ago!'' he shouted at me, which shocked me. Smith and all the other joint chiefs started to clap at this, well except one. The only one who I could seem to count on here, the Chairman,General Aaron Herres. He looked dead serious and not impressed. He immediately got up to shut this down. He turned to Faro

''That is enough, Faro, and also that is enough out of all of you also. We are here to determine the truth of what has happened and see if Dr. Sobeck is guilty, until then as is with all cases, she is innocent and we shall all act in a dignified manner of men of our stature. We are the highest generals of the U.S. Military, we should act like it, GOT IT!'' He yelled at them. This caused them all to be silent and most sat down, except for Faro and Smith, who both tried to still argue with him

''General Herres, please you can't be serious, you see the proof in front of you, ARE YOU BLIND!'' he yells as General Herres. I was shocked by this, as I know Ted thinks he is the best person in the world, but even he NEVER had the guts to yell at a government official, especially the highest ranked senior officer in the United States.

''Yeah Herres, it should be pretty clear here, she is pregnant, she must have willingly slept with someone. We should just find her guilty now, remove her from the project, and since she knows the truth of the plague, we can't have her telling the truth. We should lock her up, I'll even do it myself'' Smith says smiling, as he starts to walk towards me, a twisted smirk on his face. I was nervous as he approached. Margo and Travis immediately jumped in front of me, ready to fight him if necessary. It didn't come to that, as General Herres shouted out

''SMITH, STOP RIGHT THEIR OR ELSE!'' Herres threatened. Smith turned and we all looked. We saw Herres standing there, with his suit partially open, revealing something underneath. What we saw he was wearing underneath shocked us. It was a set of high fiber weaved kinect armor, which was used by human soldiers and mercenaries to enchance their perofmances manyfold. He was standing there , eyes stone cold on Smith. Smith looked shocked and angered at this.

''Step away from Dr. Sobeck or else I will have to take….unpleasant action against you, in addition you will be dishonorably discharged and tried in contempt of this case for judging Elsiabets personal character, and for threatening physical action/harm against her, SO SIT YOUR ASS DOWN NOW SOLDEIR BEFORE I MAKE YOU, AND AS FOR YOU FARO, REMEMBER YOUR MONEY IS NO GOOD HERE, AND YOU DARE QUESTION MY BETTER JUDGEMNT? SEE TO IT YOUR REMEMBR WHO ARE SPEAKING TOO. IT WAS ONLY OUT OF THE GOOD GRACES OF ELSIABET THAT I ALLOWED YOU TO EVEN KEEP RUNNI G YOU COMAPANY.I WANTED TO JUST HIJACK IT AND TAKE ALL THE ASSETS, BUT ELSIABET TALKED ME OUT OF IT, SO YOU SHOULD BE ON YOUR KNEES,KISSING HER FEET AND THANKING HER FOR BEING THE REASON YOU EVEN HAVE YOUR COMPANY STILL IN THE FIRST PLACE, SO SIT YOUR RICH ASS DOWN AND SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE I MAKE YOU!'' he shouted at them. We were all shocked, never hearing the usually calm general lose it like that. I was relieved, and so were Margo and Travis. Smith and Faro both looked fucking pissed.

''Yes, General Herres'' Ted said, going to sit down in a chair in the corner.

''Ye-s, S-ir'' Smith said, grinding his teeth in anger. I was relieved that the situation was over and now we could get down to the actual business. With all the chiefs sat down, we could begin. Herres was smiling at me and just got straight to the point.

''Look Elisabet, I am just going to get to the point. Do you have any solid proof of your innocence, if so we can have this done right now'' he said. I smiled at that and stepped forward , as she had the tapes that showed everything.

''Yes right here Generals, these holo tapes show exactly what has happened to Liz and how she is innocent in all this'' she said, as she handed the copies of the tapes to them all. They all looked at them, shrugged and curious and started to play them. I could see as the tapes went along, their faces shifted to one of horror, even Smiths, and everyone could hear what was going on, including Samina and Patrick, who seemed to have a little bit of remorse on their faces. When it was all said and done, they were all just sitting in awkward silence, until General Herres spoke up

''Uhm…. Well that was hard to watch. I am so sorry this has happened to you Dr. Sobeck, but now that we know what really happened, my vote is you are free to go, anyone else?'' he asked. The other joint chiefs raised their hands and the last one was Smith, who after a minute, just sighed and raised his hand. Genral Herres smiled

''Well that settles it. Dr. Elsiabet Hope Sobeck, you have been found innocent of all charges by the U.S. Robot Command and are free to continue your work on Zero Dawn as is with no more interruptions. Meanwhile, We shall have an investigation on who has done this and will even find the other man who was drugged, if we can find them'' He told me. I was happy this was solved and Margo came and hugged me, while Travis patted my back. But sadly, this moment couldn't remain happy as of course as always, anything good Faro has to ruin.

''Wait General, there is another issue we still have to discuss'' he said. We all looked over and Herres, annoyed, asked

''What is it, Faro?'' He asked, having it up to here with Faro and his bullshit. That is when Ted just smiled cruelly at me and it made my blood run cold with what he said next

''What about the issue of the child. Isn't the standard for Zero Dawn sterilization for all PZD members? Shouldn't she have to terminate her pregnancy, I mean those are the rules'' He said. I was nervous upon hearing this. That is when Smith got up also

''Yeah, look I apologize to Dr. Sobeck about accusing her, but Faro is right, this child has to be temrianted, which is what you were going to do, right Doctor?'' he asked , I was nervous, but knew I had to be honest.

''I am act..ually decid..inng on…..keeping it'' I whispered. He seemed shocked, but asked again

''I am sorry, I couldn't hear you, you said what?'' he asked. I was annoyed at this point and yelled out for all to hear.

''I AM KEEPING THE BABY!'' I screamed. This had gaps all around the room from everyone except Margo,Travis, Faro and Smith. After the initial shock was over, there was uproar

''Unacceptable!'' One General shouted.

''This is against Protocol!'' another shouted.

''She should be forced to terminate! First we have to deal with this Alien shapeshifter and now we have to deal with our best scientist breaking protocol'' Another said. That one part surprised me, alien shapeshifter? What was that about, some codename or something for a mercenary? The uproar didn't stop, even Samina and Patrick were back against me

''Really Liz, you are going to break protocol like this. I was ready to say sorry after hearing what happened, but you are going to break a protocol you have had us all agree too? I can't believe this, this can't be allowed. Liz you must give up this child, one way or another'' She threatened me. I was nervous now.

''Yeah, either willingly or by force, you will get rid of that child'' Patrick said. I was nervous, but that is when Margo and Travis got in front of me, putting themselves between me and them.

''Woah! Stop right there, you are not touching her, unless you want to fight us'' Margo shouted.

''Get out of the way you two!'' Patrick shouted. Travis didn't take to kindly to this

''Just try it old ma, you know you have been getting on my nerves today. I have have been wanting a shot at you for hours'' He threatened him.

''Bring it you criminal punk'' Patrick responded.

''Lets go Bitch '' Samina said.

''Bring it on, Cunt'' Margo responded in kind. I couldn't believe what was going on in front of me and when I turned around, it wasn't any better. Herres seemed to be arguing witht the rest of the chiefs and Faro about this.

''Look, it is not that big of a deal. She should be able to keep the child'' Herres said in my defense. This pissed everyone off, especially Smith and Faro

''General Herres, it is a big deal, this is a breach of protocol, why are you defending her? She should be removed immediately. She may not have been lying about HOW the pregnancy happened, but she is breaking the protocol of Zero Dawn, meaning she should be removed from it'' Smith said, very angry. Faro nodded, agreeing with him.

''Smith, since when do you care about Zero Dawn protocol? You want to abolish the whole project in order to build weapons to try and stop the inevitable, which will do WAY MORE HARM than Elisabet keeping a baby. Plus Zero Dawn members are allowed to bring two family members to stay with them in their bunker for the rest of their lives. Elisabet has no friends outside of Zero Dawn, and no family. Her mother passed away a few years ago. With this, I do not think allowing her to keep the child is a bad thing, as the child can be her one person, a second if we find the father'' Herres told them. This did not impress anyone, instead it just pissed them off. Ted and Smith were really mad out of anyone. I was horrified when I saw Smith remove his uniform, revealing kinetic armor underneath. The other generals did the same. All Faro could do was smile evilly at this. General Herres was shocked and confused

''What are you doing? I DEMAND TO KNOW THE MEANING OF THIS!'' he shouted at them. Smith just smiled at this

''You clearly have a biased against Sobeck, and will side against her regardless of better judgement. We are taking over now. She will be made to get rid of that baby, and you will be removed as Chairman. I am sorry Herres, but this is the right thing to do'' Smith said. Herres only stood up calmly, and after a minute, shocked Smith and Faro when he removed his uniform, standing defiant despite the odds

''No matter the odds, I will fight for what's right. Bring it on, all of you! COME ON, LET'S SEE WHAT ALL YOU FUCKERS GOT! I'LL MAKE SURE YOUR ALL COURT MARSHALLED ONCE I BEAT YOUR ASSES!'' he shouted at them. All of them got up ready to fight. I was surrounded on all sides by people who wanted to capture me and exterminate mybaby. Smith,Faro, and the other Genrals jumped down and proceeded to walk towards me. General Herres jumped down and got in a defensive stance right in front of me. I was even more shocked when Travis pulled out two kinect energy pistols

''Back off! Back off now! Travis shouted, as he took aim. This caused Samina and Patrick to back off a bit and even stunned the Generals a bit. Travis handed one to Margo, who gladly accepted it, and she turned to stand side by side with General Herres, while Travis held off Samina and Patrick. We were surrounded, and outnumbered. I was worried what was going to happen. Were we going to die. I started to cry a bit, Zero Dawn ,the planet, MY BABY! THEY WERE GOING TO BE TOSSED AWAY LIKE GARBAGE! I started praying for a miracle, anything thing at all to get us out of this. I thought it was over, when it seemed my miracle was answered. We heard a clang from the vents above, and we all looked up wondering what that was, as it got louder and closer. We finally got an answer when it started coming down. I looked to be green acid, and it was coming down on the floor.

''What the- '' I asked myself before I saw it taking shape! When I saw it come down, It was humanioid pile of walking acid! It had green eyes and two arms and legs, like a human and it had what appeared to be a tiny UFO hovering over its head. It also had an hourglass symbol on its chest, a badge of some sort. I couldn't even believe my eyes I was so shocked. What was this….thing? is it evil. Everyone else was just as shocked, until I heard a gasp from one of the generals. It was Smith, who smiled

''Ahh, so it is you, the alien shapeshifting boy. What are you doing here?'' he asked. I suddenly remembered from before, what he said about alien shapeshifting. Was this an alien? If so, this is amazing, though by shapeshifting what did he mean? Can it change its mass or something? I got my answer as I saw the creature hit the badge on it's chest, and it turned into a young man, a guy in his early to mid twenties. He had brown hair, was about 5'10 to 6'0 I'd say, had the greenest eyes I have ever seen. He had a a blue jacket, with a red stripe, black jeans, and Black and White sneakers. He also had a weird looking watch. Who was this guy? But one thing I could tell, he was pissed? I wonder why. What he said next shocked me

''Step away from that woman and my unborn kid, or suffer the consequences'' he said.

I was shocked, now knowing who this is

''Ben Tennyson?'' I questioned out loud.

Ben's POV:

I had raced over to the Pentagon as fast as I could, I ran from that Doctor's office and immediately went Jetray and flew here as fast as I could as soon as I saw Elsiabet Sobeck was apparently going to be on trial for some reason, and I was worried it had something to do with her pregnancy. So when I got here, I snuck in as Goop and travelled through the vents, and was looking when I heard all the commotion going on in here. When I landed and saw Dr. Sobeck and some others being cornered by some guys, some of whom had weapons and advanced armor. Everyone was shocked by my presence and they seemed to know who I was, based on the reports given in to them more than even asked what I was doing here, some old guy, probably a general. I ignored him and just changed back into human, which shocked everyone. I said to step away from Dr. Sobeck and my unborn child or they would suffer some consequences. I already lost enough family, I was not going to lose my own child. After saying that, Elsiabet gasped and said

''Ben Tennyson?'' she asked me. I was shocked she knew my name.

''Yeah, but how do you know my- '' I was going to ask but she beat me to it

''Video Recording of the incident'' she said. I face palmed at that, of course there would be cameras in a place like that.

''Well that clears that up, sorry I split but.. you know'' I said, apologizing. She waved it off

''No problem, you were probably freaked out and didn't know what to do'' she said to me. I was relieved at that. I thought she would be pissed at me. That is when that old dude interrupted again

''Wait, this freak is that guy you slept with in the video and the father of that kid your carrying?'' he asked. I was annoyed by this

''Yeah, I am so what? And who you calling freak pal?'' I asked him, getting more pissed off than I should.

''Watch it boy, don't talk to me like that. I am a member of the Joint Chiefs, I deserve some fucking respect! I don't know why you came, we are terminating your kid anyway'' he said. I was shocked and pissed by this

''Wait what! The hell you are! What gives you the right! ''I asked him. He just laughed

''The right! The right I have boy is the fact that the project that Dr. Sobeck herself started, Zero Dawn , the project that will stop the swarm, requires a lot of work and she evens said no one to have children so they can focus on the project fully as we are on a time limit. Now that she is pregnant, she has broken that rule and it must be rectified!'' he shouted. This pissed me off. An accident happens, and they expect her to terminate a life all because of a stupid rule about time on a project?! I heard Elisabet treasures all life, and even saved the world, and cause she was so busy she never had the chance to have one of her own ,and now she has been given the chance to have one, and they want to take it away? Not happening, no if I have anything to say about it.

''Really, over some stupid rule! She has too loose her one shot at a family due to some stupid rule?! Well, guess what pal not happening now that I am here!'' I shouted. He and the others just stood there for a moment, before bursting out into laughter at him and his General buddies, and I even saw TED FARO here! I was even more pissed now. I am pissed as I remember he was the one who caused all this! I know this because when I had that one moment of clarity from the drugs, I was able to clearly see his face! Now that he was here, and obviously trying ti make Elsiabet suffer , that pissed me off even more. These guys and Faro are fucked!

''Kid , whata are you going to do, huh? You are clearly outnumbered. You should just surrender now'' The old dude says. I just smile at that. I raise my had to the Omntirix and this makes him curious and on guard.

''Sorry General, but your wrong. YOUR OUTNUMBERED AND OUTMATCHED ! IT'S HERO TIME!'' I shouted, slamming down the core. A bright light filled the room,a s my body felt the familiar sensation of transforming. I grew taller, my eyes merged into one, my body became hard as rock and pink crystals grew out of my body. My transformation finished, I was

''CHROMASTONE!'' I shouted. They were shocked, and I acted fast jumping int the fray Faro ran as I jumped in front of them, knocking two of the generals out immedialey. Two used their armor to punch me, but I didn't even feel it due to Chromatone's invulnerabliliy and knocked them out also. Four down, three to lead guy and the two others pulled back. I mocked them

''What's the matter, scared'' I said. The lead general was just pissed off.

''AS if freak, take this! He shouted. He shot kinetic blasts at me, which I just laughed at as I absorbed the blasts. The look on everyone's faces was priceless!

''I believe these are yours?'' I said, as I separated the energy to both arms and shot them at the other two generals, which caused them to be knocked out. All that was left was the lead general, who was now freaking out. He fired rapidly at me, though I just let them bounce off me as I approached. Once I was in front of him, I picked him up, and with one punch disabled and cracked his armor. The guy was shocked, and nervously asked me

''Wh-o ar-e y-ou?'' he asked me scared. I just told him

''I'm Ben 10!'' I shouted. I then punched him and with a groan he was knocked out. I smiled at my work and turned and saw the shocked looks on everyone else, including Elsiabet. I tapped the Omnitrix symbol on my chest and changed back. They were still shocked,so I walked up to Elsiabet and asked her

''Are you ok?'' I asked softly. She broke out of her stupor and smiled

''Yeah I am fine, thanks'' she says. This was a bit awkward, until the others came up. Another lady came up to me

''Thank you, you really saved us, I am Margo, Liz's best friend and your kids new godmother'' she said. I was surprised by that, but oddly I liked her already. A guy came up

Dude, that was awesome. Names Travis, I work on Zero Dawn also. I so owe you one! How do you do that, change into those, aliens are they?'' He asked me. This guy was a bit more excitable but he seemed cool. I turned and saw another person I recognized from the news, General Aaron Herres. He came up and shook my hand

''Thank you. You really saved our asses there. Though I am grateful, Travis is right, how did you do that?'' he asked me. I was about to answer, when I saw Faro trying to sneak away. I shouted

''HEY! Don't even run Faro, we have some business!'' I shouted. He turned and said

''What do you want? What could we have to talk about?!'' he yelled, very snarky. I wasn't in the mood, and I did a surprising move. I grabbed Elisabet's hand, which shocked her. I held her hand tightly but in a comforting way

Wow, she has soft hands, really soft. They are so smooth and-FOCUS Ben, you have a real issue here'' I thought in my head, trying to keep my head on straight. I walked and bought Elsiabet up with me. Hand in hand, we were in front of Faro and we death stared each other. I took my free hand and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and looked him dead in the face, nose to nose.

''Oh Trust me Faro, we have plenty to discuss'' I said. This will be fun

The end

Well there is chapter 3. Sorry it is late but the college semester is ending and finals are coming up, but luckily winter break will be upon me shortly. The next chapter is planned already and will be posted sooner, I promise. Though tell me what you guys think of this chapter. What is next for Ben and Elisabet? What will happen to Ted Faro? What about Patrick and Samina? All these questions will be answered next time on Horizon 10

Also, you probably wonder about the hostility of some of the Alphas. We do not have much in game based on their personalities, but based on what we know, they respected Elisabet, so imagine if that respectful image of her was tarnished. I feel Margo and her would be best friends cause they both used to work at FAS and Margo could see Liz as a mentor figure , and as for Travis as much of a douche as he can be, we see he can have a heart, as seen with the recording seen in game of her saying goodbye before she dies. So I think he could have her side, especially since he doesn't seem like the judging type considering his past.

Well that's all for now, see you next time!