I glared up at the night sky as I sat on the roof of the Rustbucket. The last week on the road trip had been eventful. First, Aoi decided it would be funny to trap me as Greymatter for a while leading me to get captured by an alien obsessed freak who almost sold me to the Forever Knights. On the plus side of that, I managed to snag some expensive looking alien tech for me to study and potentially use against Vilgax. A couple of days after that, we encountered a man with a strange psychic connection with insects of all types. Dealing with him was surprisingly easy, considering I didn't have a cold like Ben originally did. Just burned all of his little pests into ash and trapped him inside the building he was living in as it collapsed. Could I have done something different? Yes. Did I care? No. It meant one less Negative Ten down the line, at least Max didn't know what I had done. Didn't need that guilt trip.
To top things off, Gwen had been keeping an eye on me since the encounter with Hex. She ended up destroying the Charms of Bezel, but Hex's words about me knowing more about magic than I let on made her suspicious of me. I wasn't about to try and alter her memory, not sure it would even work for a half Anodite anyways. Because of this, I had to limit what I could do to just using the alien forms whenever trouble happens, but at the very least it gave me more experience with my other forms. I hadn't used my Yautja form yet, but I wasn't complaining. Better to save it for my first encounter with Vilgax. The Master I could handle. His overconfidence always leads to his plans failing. Vilgax was another thing entirely.
Where the Conquerors were powerful, they were all overconfident in their abilities. Vilgax has proven to always be confident enough to never underestimate his enemies. The Plumbers, Ben after his first defeat to the kid, The Galactic Enforcers. The list of countless enemies he made over the years. He never underestimated any of them. He won't underestimate me, especially if Master has told him of me specifically.
I blinked as I spotted something falling towards the Rustbucket. "What the hell? Nothing is supposed to happen today. What?" I pulled up my left wrist out of habit to check my PipBoy for radio signals and remembered I only had the Omnitrix in this form. "Dammit." I glanced down at the RV before jumping off and switching to my base form, PipBoy, BoS Courier duster and First Recon beret included before checking for radio signals. I heard a garbled transmission and looked up at the sky at the falling object as I put out a radio signal for landing coordinates. I transitioned back to my child form with the Omnitrix and dove to the side as a vessel crashed in my former position. "Grandpa! Gwen!" I rushed to the ship and dialed up my white Tetramand form, named Atlas. I moved to the door of the ship and ignored the pain of the superheated metal as I struggled to get the door open.
"What's going on," shouted Max as he and Gwen shot out of the RV and I growled and cupped my hands over my mouth.
"Anyone in there, back away from the door!" I enhanced my natural strength in this form with my magic making my body glow as I kicked in the door. Laser fire knocked me off of my feet and away from the vessel. I growled as I spotted an armored squadron come out of the vessel. I spotted two occupied stasis pods labeled in an alien language as 'prisoners', Aoi translating for me. "Ah, great. Fucking military!" I slammed my hand on the ground, causing a shockwave that knocked a few soldiers off of their feet before I threw a boulder I pulled from the ground at the soldiers, knocking a few out. I charged forward with a growl and tripped some of them up subtly using their shadows before clotheslining them to the ground. I picked up one of their rifles and shot up the rest of the soldiers as I kept one struggling under my foot.
The soldier under me grunted and questioned me in his language. I pulled him up and growled at him, as Aoi translated for his words. "Why are you attacking us, Chalk-Skin," he shouted at me.
"You fired at me, asshole! I only retaliated!"
"You damaged our ship!"
"I thought someone might be injured in here!" I knocked his pistol away from me before punching him out after he tried shooting me. "Dick." I moved inside the ship and looked at the pods and paused as I spotted a figure I wasn't meant to meet for years and she was older than she should've been at this point. Princess Attea of the Incursean Empire. "What the hell…?" I looked at the other pod and saw a young Sotoraggian girl also different in age, closer to my own judging by the size. "This is an Alpha Variant. The changes should be minimal. What's going on?"
Shaking my head, I opened both pods and caught them before carrying them off the ship before I noticed something. One of the soldiers had activated a detonator and a quick look around the ship showed the power core of the ship was starting to overload. "Fucking hell…" I carried the girls off before asking Aoi to unlock something to contain the blast if her systems were back up.
"I've got something. Looks like that power core is emitting a lot of radiation. A Prypiatosian-B would be able to contain the energy spillage while your magic could hopefully contain the explosive blast. Just keep the magic level to a minimum and we'll be fine."
'Get it unlocked and lock it afterwards, I'll play it off as a protective system built into the Omnitrix. And if I damage my magic because of the radiation, it's on you,' I thought to her. I slammed on the dial after getting the two former captives to the Rustbucket and transformed into the armored radiation alien. I held out my hand as the core went critical and made it look like I absorbed the entire blast, keeping it from spreading too far as the ship and its crew were wiped out in the blast. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the two start to stir as Max and Gwen rushed out of the RV to check on them, and me, respectively.
"Ben," exclaimed Max. I shouted in exertion as the feeling of radiation entering my body conflicted with my magic, meaning the blast threatened them. I shouted out and forced an evolution of the being using a combination of my Power of Life and Progress. My energy appearance now resembled that of a winged angel as I shot from the armor, and I absorbed not only the radiation, but the explosion itself, bringing in more energy and growing slightly in size before all of the explosive energy was gone. I groaned and moved back to the armor before reverting back to normal and collapsing.
My body can handle a lot. Nuclear explosions, being hit with a fucking fire hydrant, don't ask, bullets, grenades, swords, a fucking black hole, again, don't ask. But all of that was physical. Metaphysical damage, like forcing an evolution without the entity body being ready for it, does a lot more I need to recover from, especially when said body disrupts restorative magic. After absorbing the amount of radiation I just had, my body was still hot, my magic was locked away to protect itself from the radiation.
I was out for about two days, all across the board. Not just this world but any other world I was in as well. When I woke up, I groaned and sat up in the bed I was set in. With our 'guests' on board, finding a place to stay was nearly impossible. We could say we're going to a convention, but with only one old man and four kids, that's gonna look suspicious regardless of appearances. I looked around and spotted Max and Gwen talking with the two from the ship. "You're a princess," asked Gwen.
"That's right," said Attea. "Princess Attea of the gl… glo…"
"Glorious," I sang softly as I hopped off the bed. "And I won't give in, I won't give in till I'm victorious… Great now I'll never be able to get the song out of my head," I muttered as an old habit kicked in. "I thought I kicked that..."
"Phoenix," exclaimed Gwen before she ran over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck before pulling away with an exclamation as my skin was still slightly hot.
"I'm still burning. Don't get too close…"
"How are you feeling," asked Max.
"Ever had a ghost pepper? It's sort of like I bathed in them. I feel like my entire body is on fire." The Sotoraggian looked at me and spoke in her language. Aoi translated and the Omnitrix played the audio back for Max and Gwen.
"That's because of the amount of rads you just soaked in. Prypiatosian or no, after you changed back, radiation lingers when it's not fully absorbed," she said.
"Oh great. Guess I can kiss kids off the table in the future." 'Not that they were ever an option for me naturally…'
"Stay still." She walked over to me and pulled out a bottle from a slot in her armor. She shook it before spraying it over me. And like that, the rads were gone. It was like an exfoliating Radaway, flushing me of radiation from the outside in rather than the inside out. I shook my head and collapsed to the floor, numb. "It will pass."
"It better or I'll find a way to burn you." I growled softly as Gwen grinned before digging for a marker. "Don't you dare!"
"You can't burn me," she said with a smile. "I'm your cousin. And I'm not going to pass up this opportunity."
"Grandpa?"
"Gwen," said Max. "That's enough."
"Can someone prop me up, please. I feel like Wesley after being nearly dead."
"Who's Wesley," asked Gwen.
"Have you ever seen The Princess Bride?" She shook her head and I sighed. "No sense for the classics." Max propped me up in the booth we used to eat and made sure to make my head didn't lull. "Ok. Since I evidently missed them, can we start with introductions?"
"Ben," said Max. "This is Princess Attea of the Incursean Empire." He waved to the frog-girl who gave me a smug grin. "And the girl next to her is a Sotoraggian, from what Attea told us. She's like that bounty hunter who came after you a few weeks ago."
"You mean Six-Six?" Eight-Eight looked up at me before speaking to me in her language. Max looked at me after she finished.
"The Omnitrix translation function must be on the fritz at the moment. I couldn't understand what she said."
"She said that's her older brother," said Attea. "The non-mutated one."
"Non-mutated," asked Gwen.
"Sotoraggians tend to be mostly bipedal in stature with two arms in the bio-armor. But there are a few of the race who willingly underwent forced mutations to become stronger. It wound up messing with their minds as well as their bodies." Eight-Eight spoke up and Attea looked at her before turning to us. "Her brother Seven-Seven is one of the mutated ones. His appearance and mind have been altered because of it. Her name is Eight-Eight, by the way?"
"What," I asked. "Are they like codenames, or is that the best way to translate their names into this language?" Eight-Eight spoke up again.
"The latter."
"Shame I can't understand her myself anymore. Stupid watch doesn't work as advertised."
"I resent that," shouted Aoi in my mind.
"Did it even come with instructions," asked Gwen. "It feels like you've just been winging it this whole time."
"Some of the forms come with instincts on how to use their natural physiology. Likewise, it's like there's a little voice in the back of my mind that can tell me how best to navigate this thing. A little annoying voice." I remained passive as Aoi shouted at me in my mind.
"What is that thing," asked Attea. "Om-something."
"Omnitrix. Galvan technology, from what the form can tell me. It seems to have genetic information stored into it and can download it to my physical body to alter its composition to whichever species I choose using the interface for a brief period of time, more than likely so I don't lose myself to the new DNA."
"So you can become an Incursean with this thing?" She took my limp arm and started messing with it.
"Hey, leave it alone!" I shouted out in annoyance as my form shifted to an older version of the Incursean race after Aoi scanned her and transformed me. I had the full bodysuit Bullfrag wore but with slight differences in that it was detailed with silver lines and had various pouches lining the chest. My skin remained the same but silver spots lined the back of my hand and more than likely my face as well. I didn't have a mirror, but I could already tell my eyes still had their usual silver sheen to them. I glared at the princess as she grinned and hopped onto my shoulders.
"Now, my subject! Mush!"
"Get off!"
"Oh," chuckled Gwen. "This is priceless." I noticed her hold up her phone to record the incident and shot my tongue out on instinct to swat it out of her hand. "Ew!"
"No video! Brat I said get off!" I reached behind me and threw her off. She flipped in the air and landed on her feet before glaring.
"Hey," she exclaimed. I groaned and sat down.
"At least the transformation dealt with the paralysis." Eight-Eight spoke up and I looked at Attea expectantly.
"She says the alteration of DNA might have dealt with the aftereffects of the solvent. My species is resistant to certain paralytics."
"Handy," said Max.
"Now if only it could carry over to my base form," I muttered. I looked outside and frowned. First, I encounter Attea and Eight-Eight before I'm supposed to and now something felt off. The Master must've been pulling strings and altering the events of this Universe, no doubt to make things more difficult for me. More chaos meant more problems for me to deal with. Great. This was supposed to be an Alpha Variant. Minimal changes to the original events. He's trying to expose the Origin Point, the point closest to the Prime World where the original events played out. Alpha Variants had the smallest changes, a step to the left instead of the right, ultimately leading to the same outcome as the Prime. But it was obvious the Freaks, more than likely the Master, was changing more than that. Making it difficult for me to predict anything that could happen. Which meant my own alterations would just add to the ultimate changes happening as well.
I reverted back to my base form and looked at the Omnitrix. "I wonder…"
"Wonder what, Phoenix," asked Gwen.
"I wonder if I can augment my normal body with this thing."
"Omnitrix functions do not allow personal modifications. User should not pursue otherwise," said Aoi from the interface.
"Guess that answers that…" I looked at the two. "Don't suppose you have a means of contacting your homes?"
"No," said Attea. "Those mercs nabbed me from my mother's transport." Eight-Eight turned to me and started speaking. "And she says her communicator was damaged when they took her."
"Who were those mercenaries," asked Gwen.
"Couldn't tell ya. I've never left my mother's ship till now." Eight-Eight shook her head, suggesting she didn't know either.
"Whoever they were…" I started as I looked at where the rifle I had taken had been placed. "They were kitted out like nothing else. Sotoraggian subsonic pulse rifle. Ammo printed at high speeds in the frame, armor shredding projectiles, modified with energy power source of unknown origin for maximum efficiency. No heat sink so it's prone to overheating from constant usage. That it's designed for shredding through armor, normal personnel wouldn't stand a chance against, I'd say they were prepping for something big."
"How do you know this," asked Max. I paused, ready for an explanation, before Attea spoke up.
"Us Incurseans are very knowledgeable when it comes to war," she said. "From the best weapons to the greatest tactics. It's in our blood."
'Thank you species propaganda for giving me an out,' I thought to myself as I reverted back. "Well, maybe I can cook something up as my Galvan form to contact your people." I turned to the watch and saw it glow yellow.
"Warning," said Aoi. "Unsafe energy levels detected. Omnitrix systems put into shutdown to initiate proper repairs. Estimated shutoff time, 2 Earth days."
"Well that's just perfect." I sighed. Eight-Eight turned to me and spoke.
"She says she has something to help us blend in," said Attea as Eight-Eight opened a slot on her back and pulled out a couple of masks.
"No offense," said Gwen. "But those masks aren't exactly what we call blending in."
"They're hologram projectors," I said. "Otherwise they wouldn't serve a proper purpose."
"I… guess that makes more sense."
"But they probably need to be programmed to look like humans. I doubt many races have been here before. Actually, scratch that. After our run in with Kevin, that's false. The Omnitrix said it was… Osmosian right?" I made it look like I was thinking, like I wasn't exactly sure.
"Wow. You actually got that right, Doofus." I growled softly before looking at her.
"Which leads me to asking this. Just how long have aliens been coming to this dustbowl of a planet? I mean, for all we know we've got some alien DNA somewhere in our history." I internally smirked as Max sweated slightly.
"Why don't you check," said Eight-Eight through the watch's translation interface. "If the Galvan's were capable of creating something to alter the DNA of the user, it should be able to scan the base DNA of the user as well."
"Why didn't I think of that?" 'Other than the obvious point I already know the genetic composition of this body in particular.'
"Because you're an idiot," asked Gwen with a smirk.
"Sorry, did you say something? I don't speak Dweeb." Attea chuckled as Eight-Eight shook her head. "Forgive us. We're cousins, we bicker."
"At least that's something we have in common," said the Omnitrix for Eight-Eight.
"I wouldn't know," said Attea. "Dad's worried just me would plan to overthrow his reign. One runt was enough for him, so mom never had more than just me. And he killed all of my aunts and uncles on his side of the family to take the throne."
"Being a single child can be lonely sometimes, right," I asked, turning to her.
"I don't get lonely!" she huffed and turned away.
"Your eyes say otherwise." She gave me a look before turning away.
"We should be leaving soon," said Max as he glanced down the road. "Most likely someone will investigate that explosion."
"Who? We're in the middle of bumfuck nowhere!"
"Watch your language, Ben." I grumbled slightly at the scolding tone I rarely ever hear.
"I thought your name was Phoenix," said Eight-Eight.
"That's the name he prefers to go by. His original name is Benjamin Kirby Tennyson. Phoenix is his nickname."
"Why go by that name?"
'Because I have some obvious identity issues spawned from living for thousands of years,' I thought before turning to her fully. "When I was about, what 3 or 4?" I turned to Max.
"4," he said, solemnly.
"I was stuck in a house fire. Officially I was dead from smoke inhalation but was resuscitated. When my mom told me about it when I could fully remember the details, I had been in the middle of reading a book on Greek Mythology, a concept of religion from one of our world's various cultures, and read about a firebird called a phoenix who bursts into flames at the end of its life and is reborn from its ashes. Since then, I told people to call me Phoenix."
"Because you died in a fire," asked Eight-Eight.
"Technically, yes. Figured it would fit. Especially given I'm not like most people." I waved at my eyes and hair and saw the Sotoraggian pause as she looked into my eyes. 'Oh, right. Forgot to turn that off.'
"Phoenix," said Max. "I think you can stop hypnotizing her." I blinked and looked away.
"Sorry. You'd be surprised how often I forget about that."
"About what," asked Attea as Eight-Eight shook her head and looked away from me.
"My eyes seem to hypnotize people if they gaze at them long enough. Normally, I try to control it so it doesn't do that, but the last few minutes have been more than a bit distracting. I know Gwen's fallen victim to it a number of times."
"Shut up," she said. "I have not!"
"That's enough," said Max. "Buckle up, everyone. We're leaving soon."
"Shotgun," I called.
"No fair," exclaimed Gwen.
"Where," asked Attea.
"It's a term meaning the passenger seat beside the driver here on Earth," I said.
"I-I knew that!" She scoffed before turning away, blushing slightly.
"Gwen," said Max. "Make sure the blinds in the back are completely closed. No need to draw too much attention."
"Got it, Grandpa," she said. I turned to the two alien girls.
"You two should stay in the back with Gwen until we know if those masks have a human setting," I said. "People aren't used to seeing beings of other species on our planet. You'll be labeled a monster and people will run. Trust me I know."
"People have been running from him every time he transforms. I'm surprised they don't do it normally."
"It's the hair. People are drawn to me. You, on the other hand, could scare Bloodhound's race if they could see." She glared at me before huffing and going to close the blinds. I sat down and looked out the window.
"You two have been more argumentative with each other recently," observed Max as we got our seatbelts on.
"Hex said something to her. I get the feeling she doesn't trust me anymore because of it."
"What could have done that?" I shrugged. Of course I did know. My agreement with Hex to help his brother, save Hope's Realm. I made an oath. I intend to keep it. But Gwen and Max could not know I already knew about magic. I knew it would only be a matter of time before they were given a hint about my true origins and I would need to come clean to at least them soon enough. But for now, I needed to keep them at arm's length. Unlike some worlds, I didn't really see this place as a home. This was a job. Just another job. The first of two as a full Verser, but a job, nonetheless. If it lasted longer than I had planned, then we would have a change of heart. It's happened before. Midgar, Empire City, and most recently the Shirai Ryu, were all prime examples.
"Don't know, Grandpa." I sighed before looking into out at the landscape. I turned to Eight-Eight. "Hey. Why can't the Omnitrix translate you sometimes?" Attea looked at me
"The Sotoraggian language is more guttural than most languages spoken by other races. Because of this most translators, including the universal translator that's most likely in that thing, can't register it properly." I thought for a moment before snapping as an idea came to mind.
"Then I'll just learn Sotoraggian." I looked Eight-Eight in the visor. "And see if you can start learning a language from here."
"I think verbal languages would be a bit difficult."
"Not verbal." I grinned and held up my hand. "Sign language. Several people on Earth grow up deaf. As such we developed an unspoken language to help them talk with people. And I learned how to do it last year. I can teach you that, and I can learn how to understand Sotoraggian outside of the translator and or if I turn into a Sotoraggian myself." I walked over to her. "So, we got a deal?" Eight-Eight nodded before taking my hand. I caught her as an explosion rocked the Rustbucket and forced Max to swerve, trying to regain control. "What now?!"
I looked outside and did a double take as I saw something that really shouldn't have been part of this Omniverse. That they exist in one Multiverse was bad enough. A mobile cylindrical metal casing with an eye stalk and two other protrusions lower down the body, domed ridges lining up and down the casing as its eye stalk whirred back and forth over the Rustbucket. "YOU WILL SURRENDER THE OMNITRIX," shouted the automated voice of the alien in front of me. "OR YOU WILL BE DESTROYED!" One of the deadliest and least empathic races in this reality. A Dalek.