Hey, Ultras! Welcome to the next chapter in The Ultra 10 Chronicles! This is a very exciting chapter, in my opinion, and it was a ton of fun to write! There are a lot of reveals/teasers this chapter, not so much to do with the plot as with characters in-universe. So pay attention to names, and hopefully you'll be able to pick them out!
Just a reminder, the poll as to whether or not Ben's mother, Sandra dies or lives ends this Saturday. So if you want to voice your opinion and affect how the story progresses, vote in my profile, or leave your opinion in a review! I'll be counting them both to determine whether or not she dies or lives.
Trigger warnings this chapter: There are a number of instances of choice language. The first case is in the paragraph following the one which reads, "My generator is offline..." The second instance is in the paragraph which reads, "Blue 2, Blue 5! On my six!" The last case is in the paragraph following the one which reads, "ZIPP! A laser blast broke through..." There is one case of death in the chapter, however it's not graphic. It's in the paragraph which reads, "My generator is offline..."
There is a soundtrack for this chapter. It is "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi. I thought it really complimented the desperate feeling of the PLUMMERs defense against Vilgax's attack. Although they are outgunned, outsmarted taken completely by surprise, they still are determined to drive off Vilgax, or die trying. You can listen to it on Youtube. Go to youtube dot com/watch?v=yV_0FJWfZ40
Enjoy the chapter!
The Ultra 10 Chronicles: Volume 2: A Hero Earth Needs
Chapter 42: Fighting Back
PLUMMER Command
"Agent 36!" Agent 01 shouted. "It's time to deploy your detachment!"
"Yes, sir!" The agent shouted back. Immediately, he slipped on his flight helmet, automatically activating his comm linkup with the rest of his squad.
"Alright, listen up men," the agent shouted. "We've been given the green light, and I want you all out there shooting down drones within the minute! So run your pre-flight tests, and sound in!" Agent 36 ran through the hangar towards his assigned stall. Pressing a button on his wrist gauntlet, his helmet vacuum-sealed to his suit, and his life-support systems coming online.
He ran towards his glider and got into the cockpit, buckling himself in, and connecting his suit's sensors with the glider's.
"Sound-off! Squad Leader, signing in!" Agent 36 announced.
"Red Wing, signing in!"
Red One, signing in!"
"Blue Wing, signing in!"
"Red Two, signing in!" The sound-off continued until every member of his squad had checked in. Agent 36 started his booster engine, which shot him out of the hanger, and into the air above Bellwood.
"Blue Squad, your mission is to clear a drop zone for reinforcements from Rushmore!" Agent 36 commanded. "Red Squad, you're on my six! We're going to provide air support for the artillery."
"Are we even in contact with Rushmore?" One of his squad mates questioned.
"We will be soon enough," Agent 36 shut him up. They continued their glide towards Vilgax's ship.
"Blue Squad, break off!" Agent 36 shouted. He received acknowledgement, and watched the gliders to his left veer away. "Red Squad, fall into formation behind me! Focus your fire on the turrets and cannons. Let's find a weak point in his defenses!" He saw the gliders fall into formation behind him. His booster engine fired, sending him soaring even higher into the sky. Red squadron followed suit, gliding at close to the altitude of Vilgax's ship.
"The flagship is putting out a lot of heat, make sure to adjust for the artificial lift," Red 2 cautioned his squad.
"Morningstar! We've been noticed!" Red 4 shouted, as a spray of laser fire was shot their way.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Agent 36 commanded. "Execute Beta Tango! Get in close and hit 'em hard! Stay with your wing mate!" The gliders scattered, swerving to avoid the laser fire.
"Computer, focus energy on the forward energy shield. Give it all you got!" Jack Morningstar heard the computer switch power from the engine to the shield generator.
"I'm hit!" He heard the distressed cry from one of his squad mates.
"What's your situation?" Jack asked. He swerved through another volley of laser blasts, cruising ever so closer towards Vilgax's ship.
"My generator is offline, but otherwise I should be-" The agent's voice was cut off as his glider caught another laser directly into the cockpit, bursting into flames. The engine exploded, sending flaming bits of metal and plastic in every direction.
"Damnit!" Jack cursed. He angled his glider away from the burning mess that was now free falling from the sky. "Get in low below the hull, the turrets are designed to fire primarily above the ship!" His squadron followed his example, gliding down just below the ship. The visor of his helmet zeroed in on several of the laser cannons that came into range of his weapons. Several more reticules lit up on his visor as different cannons and turrets were selected by his squad, each squad member selecting their own targets.
Jack squeezed his trigger, a shower of laser blasts spraying from his weapon systems. Most of them landed, exploding his cannon. Streams of lasers were unleashed by his teammates. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a hatch open up, with dozens of drones flying out. These drones appeared to have jetpacks, rocketing towards the agents.
"Look alive!" Agent 36 shouted as he finished his first pass. "We've got bandits on your right!" Several lasers pelted his glider, his energy shields deflecting them all. However his systems monitor showed the integrity of his shields dropping into the seventy percents. He fired off a round of laser fire, and pulled back, falling behind his wing mates, giving him a chance to recharge his shields.
"New formation! Whisky Foxtrot! Their laser fire is low-calibre!" Jack shouted.
"Morningstar, we need to focus on the ships cannons!" Red 5 cautioned.
"We'll be shot up by those drones if we don't deal with them immediately! Just stay below the hull, and watch your six! Keep your wing mate close!" The gliders in front of him pulled back to recharge their shields, while he and the glider beside him, Red 5, surged forward, spraying their laser cannons at the mass of drones.
Blue Squadron
"Lay it into them!" Agent 28 shouted. "Give those drones all you've got!" He fired another spray of laser fire, shredding several drones who had taken position and fired at his squad mates. His engine kicked in, just in time to keep him from flying between the buildings. The extra boost of speed sent him flying back into the skies, which he used to flip around, and prepare for another pass.
"Blue Wing, my block is clear of drones," Blue 5 shouted.
"Mine too," Blue 2 shouted.
"Circle back around and help your wing men," Agent 28 commanded. "The sooner we clear the drop zone, the faster we can assist Red Squad in taking out some of the defenses! If our artillery can get out of the fire zone, they'll make quick work of those heavy cannons!"
"We've got bandits!" Blue 6 shouted. Agent 28 finished his pass, and veered towards the direction that his squad mate had warned them. Sure enough, there were a swarm of airborne drones bee-lining their way towards his squad.
"Blue 2, Blue 5! On my six! Protect your squad mates from those guys until they've finished their pass," Agent 28 commanded. "And fire all you've got at those drones! Give 'em hell!" Agent 28 shouted this as he spun his glider around, spraying laser blasts at the drones in front of him. His fancy flying kept him from colliding with several drones as they flew past him. However, he now had to worry about being fired on from both directions.
"Computer, focus power on the engine," he commanded his glider, which immediately did as he commanded it. The excess energy gave him a burst of speed, rocketing him out of the first wave of airborne drones. Clearing the dogfight a ways, he flipped his glider around, and headed back into the fray.
"ZIPP!" A laser blast broke through his weakened shield, burning a hole through his right wing. The stress of flying at such a high speed began to shred his wing, sending him into a tailspin.
"Bastard!" Agent 28 shouted, as he tried to regain control of his ship. He had several systems start to blare at him, as they lost power and shut off. "I'm out of this fight, boys!" He shouted into his comm link before he pressed on the buckle that was holding him into the tiny aircraft. He was ejected immediately, being rocketed into the sky while his glider simply fell apart into a dozen or more pieces.
His life-support kicked into overdrive, pressurizing his suit and supplying him Oxygen mixed with a stimulant. Something that would help him focus in the moment. He fumbled with his parachute activator, the cord feeling like it was jammed.
"Blue Wing, activate your parachute!" Blue 1 shouted through his comm link. "Activate it now!"
"It's jammed!" Agent 28 shouted, yanking on the cord again. He glanced down, seeing the buildings quickly approaching him.
"Wes!" Blue 1 shouted through the communicator in his helmet. Agent 28 whispered a prayer, and yanked as hard as he could on the ejector cord. The jam gave out, and the parachute expanded above his head, immediately slowing his fall. Another second or two, and he would have been too far gone to survive the landing. However, as it was, he tucked and rolled as he hit the pavement, his suit taking the brunt of the landing. He lied there on the ground, his body numb from the landing.
"Vitals scan," Wes ordered his suit.
"ALL VITAL ORGANS UNDAMAGED," the disembodied voice said. "SHOCK IMPACT DAMAGE TO FEET AND KNEES, INJECTING STIMULANT NOW." Wes felt the cool liquid being injected into his legs, immediately numbing the pain in his legs enough for him to stand up again.
"I'm alright, boys," Wes said through his communicator. "But I'm on foot now! Keep to the plan!"
"Glad you're alright, boss," Blue 1 spoke through her communicator.
"You were secretly wanting a promotion, weren't you?" Wes joked as he unbuckled his flight suit from his PLUMMER uniform.
"And have to be in charge of this lot?" Blue 1 joked back. "Not a chance, boss!" Wes chuckled as he drew a small canister from his belt. Pressing a button on it, it unfolded into an energy gun, which was little more than an energy pistol.
"Well it looks like you're interviewing for the position this time," he said. "Just let me know how well it goes!"
"You'll be the first to know," Blue 1 responded. Wes started jogging through the streets, looking for any drones he could take down from where he was at on the ground.
Late afternoon, Julie's apartment
Cooper sat down in a chair, his eyes returning to their natural color. He more like collapsed into the chair, hanging his arms off of the arm rests and barely able to talk from the exhaustion.
"Is… is it done?" Ellie asked. Cooper nodded, still to exhausted to speak. Maddisen was still stretched out on the table, also exhausted from the ordeal. Tears of pain stained her cheeks and the pillow underneath her head. At the moment, she too was too exhausted to do much more than simply lie there, trying to regain her breath.
"How do you feel, Maddi?" Julie asked timidly. She got no response other than Maddisen's panting as she struggled to regain her breath. Outside, what sounded like thunder boomed. The only thing is that it wasn't raining.
There was hardly a cloud in the sky, not that they could see it if they looked. Instead, all that covered the entire skyline was Vilgax's hammer ship. A fierce battle had been taking place outside, both in the skies and on the ground. No doubt, the "thunder" they heard was yet another explosion, either from the PLUMMER's going down in flames, or a Vilgaxian drone going nuclear and exploding.
"I'll go grab you something to eat," Julie said, standing up and making her way towards her fridge. "At least it will help you regain your energy. You too, Cooper."
"We've got to move," Cooper gasped out in between his breaths. Despite the several minutes he'd been resting, he still was trying to fully regain his breath. "It's not safe to stay here for too long. Especially if those drones recognize any of us."
"Where do you suggest we go?" Julie asked.
"I need access to my garage, even if we aren't staying there. It's got the tools I need for the NESS, as well as the nano-mech," Cooper said.
"My folks have a cabin they always use for fishing trips, hunting trips and family reunions and stuff," Ellie spoke up. "It's a little ways outside of Bellwood, up in the forrest. If we could bring the tools and supplies you need, it would probably hide us well enough away from Vilgax's forces."
"I could probably make that work," he said. "Does it have power?"
"It's on a generator," Ellie said. "So yeah, so long as you don't run out of diesel."
"Then I suggest that we load up my car with the tools," Julie said. "It only seats four, so you two are probably going to be walking after we get it loaded up."
"What about me?" Maddi asked, the first words she'd spoken since the operation.
"You're coming along with us, obviously," Cooper said. "Even if I have to carry you piggy-back style the entire way to the cabin!"
"As thankful as we are for that," Julie said. "My car seats four. So if we've got the back packed with the tools, you can still fit up front with me." Maddi nodded, grateful for her friends' consideration.
"I hate to cut the planning session short," Cooper cut in. "But every minute we delay, our chances of getting found out increases."
"Then out to my car," Julie said. "Cooper, can you help with Maddi?"
"No, I want to try to walk," Maddi said.
"Are you sure?" Julie asked.
"It's still taking its time to adjust to your nervous system," Cooper cautioned. "I don't think that you should try walking for a day or so…"
"No, I'm going to walk to the car!" Maddi said stubbornly. She sat up slowly, a painful expression on her face. Ellie came to her side as she slipped her feet off of the side of the table, her feet lightly touching the floor.
"Agh!" Maddi gasped in pain.
"Are you okay?" Ellie exclaimed, putting her hands on Maddi's shoulder. Maddi raised her hand in a "don't touch me" gesture, getting Ellie to take a step back.
"I… I just need to try it by myself," Maddi said. Ellie nodded and dropped her hands to her sides. Maddi took a deep breath, holding it in as she set her feet on the ground again, one at a time. She got a pained expression on her face as she put some pressure on her feet. She inched forward off of the table, putting even more pressure on her legs. Sweat beaded up on her forehead as she bit down on her lip.
"I can't!" She finally gasped out, sitting back onto the table. "I-I just can't!"
"You did good," Cooper congratulated her, surprising everyone but himself. "You can move your feet, which is the important part. You'll walk again in time, but you at least can move them."
"Thanks, Cooper," Maddi said, as she leaned on her arms for a moment.
"I guess that I'm going to need some help getting to the car," Maddi finally admitted, looking over to Cooper. "Do you mind giving me a lift?" Cooper smiled.
"Not at all," he said, as he picked her up, bridal style, and started walking towards the door.
"I'll get that," Ellie said, running ahead of them and opening up the door. Once outside, Julie started her car and Cooper placed Maddi in the passenger seat. A few minutes later, Julie pulled into Cooper's house, parking in front of the garage.
"What things do you think you'll need?" Julie asked, as Cooper opened the garage door.
"All of it would be useful," Cooper said. "But for the time being, grab my computer and screen, those totes over there, the second drawer against the wall, full of nano-mech, and my welder against the far wall. The rest we will have to grab when we need it." Julie and Ellie both helped Cooper get his materials and load them into the back of Julie's small car. Just as they were about done, all of the lights shut off.
"Woah, what was that?" Julie asked. Cooper went over to the breaker box and reset the breakers, but nothing changed.
"Power's out," Cooper concluded. "It even looks like the street lamps are out as well."
"What could have caused that?" Ellie asked.
"Probably the battle going on," Cooper concluded. "Someone could have hit a transformer, or simply cut off the power to a part of the town. Either way, it looks like it's getting worse." They finished shoving the items into Julie's car.
"Give me your phone, I'll put the address into the map in your phone," Julie gave Ellie her phone.
"Oh, I didn't think about this problem," Ellie said, handing the phone back to Julie. "There's no service, and the satellites are all blocked."
"Old-fashioned way it is then, "Julie said. "Tell me how to get there."
Moments before, in the skies above Bellwood
Agent 88 shot down another drone, the flaming mass of twisted metal falling down towards the ground. Her engine booster fired off, giving her a boost of speed, which she used to rocket herself back up into the sky. Her visor targeted another drone which was unmarked by anyone still flying in her squad. Out of twelve wings, she had lost four, including Blue Wing, her superior.
"I've got a few on my tail! I can't shake them!" Blue 5 shouted.
"Blue 5, I've got them!" Agent 88 shouted as she dropped her target, and swung over onto the tail of her squad mate, lining up on the two drones that were firing on him. With a squeeze of her trigger, she released a shower of laser blasts, which exploded the one on the left.
"One down, I'm lining up the other one," she said as the drone popped into her sights. She squeezed the trigger again, and glanced the side of the drone, sending it spiraling down towards the city below.
"Thanks, Blue 1," Blue 5 sighed in relief. "Sorry I panicked."
"It happens to all of us," Agent 88 responded. "Just watch your wing mates's tails, and they'll cover yours." She started tipping her wings up, soaring back up into the sky, when she caught a glimpse of the drone she'd just shot down. It was heading directly towards a chained off block.
"That drone is plummeting towards the power transformer!" Blue 1 gasped, and she tipped her glider down, shooting towards the drone. If she was fast enough, she could fire her tether, and yank the drone out of its collision course. However, it was just a bit too far, and it slammed into the transfer station. Agent 88 yanked up on her wings, and her booster engine fired, giving her enough speed to swerve out of the way of the electrical explosion.
Gritting her teeth, she swerved in between several buildings before she flew into a section of town with lower buildings, giving her enough room to get back up into the sky.
"Blue Wing, this is Blue 1," Agent 88 spoke into her communicator. "One of the drones just took out a power transformer, and lights are going to go out any second. I tried to stop it, but I was unable to."
"Thanks for the heads up," Wes Green replied over his communicator. "I'll try to relay it back with command, but no guarantees. How's the situation up there?"
"We're holding our ground," Agent 88 responded. "But that's about all. If we can't refuel and resupply soon, then we're going to be grounded too, and be forced to give up the ground we've gotten."
"Keep at it until reinforcements arrive, or you have to bail," Wes said. "We're going to give command all the time we can muster."
"Copy that," Blue 1 repeated.
PLUMMER Command
"What's the status on the uplink?" Agent 01 demanded.
"Ninety seconds until connection is established and we're ready to broadcast," Agent B62 responded.
"What other signals have we been able to pick up from the other Command posts?" Agent 01 demanded.
"Nothing from London, Kiev, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, New Delhi or Beijing," Agent B62 reported. "Lima is broadcasting, as well as Lagos and Sydney. All three of them are having similar reports of invasion, and are calling for aid."
"What about from Rushmore?" Agent 01 asked.
"Nothing from Rushmore," came the agent's response.
"So it's planet-wide," Agent 01 sighed. "Well there goes that sliver of hope. What's the uplink progress?"
"It'll be completed in three… two… one! We are linked up with the satellites," Agent B62 announced.
"Send out a distress signal to the Galactic PLUMMERs, and the Galactic Enforcers. Tell them that Vilgax has invaded, and that we need their aid," Agent 01 said.
"Sending it now," the communications specialist said.
"Now send a signal out to each of the PLUMMER command posts. We need to establish a communications network around Vilgax's ships." The agent typed away furiously at his console. "And patch me through to our hanger command." In a moment, his display signified that he was connected.
"Agent, send a cargo to Rushmore. If we can't request fighters from them, we're going to have to show up and explain it as we take them," Agent 01 instructed.
"I can't just send a cargo ship out unprotected," the hanger commander said. "It's too large that it'll be shot down before it clears Vilgax's ship cannons!"
"I'm redirecting the artillery to provide you cover as you take off," Agent 01 said. "It'll be a small window, but if we don't take it, then our glider squadron won't be able to stand a chance against a prolonged engagement."
"I'll start the engines immediately, let me know when the window opens up!" The hanger commander replied, the channel cutting off.
"Where are my agents?" Agent 01 muttered in frustration. "I need them suited up and ready for ground deployment!"
On the streets of Bellwood
Max saw the familiar sight of the PLUMMER transport van pull up beside him.
"Sarah, the transport has returned," he called out to his current partner, who was several paces away from him. Hearing him, she turned and jogged back, picking up the pace once she saw the transport. The side door of the van slid open, and Max saw several PLUMMER agents already inside. He let Sarah get in first, and closed the door behind him as the van started to pull away.
"Phil, it's good to see you again," Max said to the driver.
"I told you I'd come back," Phil responded, glancing back at his old partner.
"And I knew you would," he said. "I'm just glad that I was still around to see see that you actually came through!" He glanced around the small van at the other PLUMMERs inside.
"Wes, what are you doing in here?" He asked his old Navajo friend.
"I got shot down fairly early in the fight," Wes responded. "I was lucky to be ejected out of my glider, but I've been on foot ever since, until Phil picked me up."
"Well, I'm glad you're okay, my friend," Max said. Wes reached behind him, pulling two canisters off of the wall, and holding them out to Max and Sarah, who took them thankfully.
"Canister blasters?" Max questioned, pressing the button and watching the cans transform into the guns. "Now we're talking!"
"Command is calling us back," Phil announced from the driver's seat. "The rest of the stranded PLUMMERs are going to have to wait until later to be picked up."
"I guess let's head back to command," Max said, taking charge as the highest ranked PLUMMER onboard. The drive back to PLUMMER Headquarters was hazardous, much of the road being destroyed by drones that had landed, or blown up, or other chaos that had filled the city. More than once, Phil had to stop the vehicle, and the agents get out to shoot a drone, or clear the road for them to get through. However, eventually, they made it back to base. Phil sped through the deployment tunnel, screeching to a stop. The agents quickly piled out of the van, just as Agent 01 approached.
"Agent 10, it's good to see you alive," he said, as Max saluted. The other agents quickly did the same, prompting Agent 01 to dismiss their salute. "I know you just got back from the field, and I'm sorry to ask so much of your team, but I need you to suit up in some exoskeletons and get back out there. Our glider squadron is all the manpower we have out there right now, and they aren't going to hold too much longer."
"We'll get suited up, and get right out there," Max said, saluting once again.
"It's true what they say about you," Agent 01 said. "You really are the model PLUMMER agent. Dismissed!" Agent 01 headed back to his command console.
"I don't know how you continue to do it, Max," Phil said stepping out of the driver's seat. "Constantly go out on assignment without sleep or rest…" Max chuckled at the compliment.
"It has certainly put a few gray hairs on my head, but if somebody needs to do it, I might as well volunteer," Max said. "Though I'd better get suited up." With that, he turned and followed a dozen or so other agents to the armory to get suited up and ready for deployment.
"Agent 01!" Agent B62 shouted to his superior. "I've just got a reply from the Galactic Enforcers!" Agent 01 ran to the communications console, looking over the agent's shoulder.
"What did they say?" He commanded.
"They said that they received our broadcast, and are sending a carrier, and two battleships to our aid!" The agent was having a hard time containing his excitement. "They've already begun calculating the teleport rings, and should reach Earth space within the next four days!"
"Why must everything be done by a razor's edge?" Agent 01 asked rhetorically. "We are going to have to hold off Vilgax for that long, so long as we can get our munitions from Rushmore. Anything from the Galactic PLUMMERs?"
"The broadcast is still unanswered," Agent B62 replied. "They may have received it, and not sent a response yet, or the transmission could have been intercepted."
"Let us pray that they received it," Agent 01 said. "And that they send aid as well. With any luck, we might be able to drive off Vilgax!"
Onboard Vilgax's flagship, the Spirit-Breaker
"My Lord," the android addressed his owner and lordship. "Our scanners have picked up a transmission that has escaped earlier detection."
"How is that possible!?" Vilgax demanded.
"It appears that the Earth PLUMMERs have connected their communications array directly into their satellite system. The frequency is completely different than what we had earlier scrambled. Much older, our scanners didn't pick it up until it repeated itself multiple times," the android said.
"I don't want excuses! Scramble the transmission!" Vilgax demanded with a slam of his fist onto his throne. The android nodded and set about to complete his task.
"What is the progress of the siege?" Vilgax demanded.
"The drones are proving to be quite effective, even though they are easily taken offline. Their reassembly protocol is just starting to collect scraps from decommissioned drones, and reassembling them to fill the depleted ranks," a second android rattled off. "The deployment ships all across the globe are experiencing some amount of resistance, though none so stiff as the resistance over the current settlement."
"I want the Omnitrix wielder found!" Vilgax demanded. "And anyone else that gets in my way will be destroyed!"
Late that night
"I'm still not too sure about this," Gwen said as she crouched in the bushes from a drone that was marching past the entrance to the park. "I still think that we need to leave the city, and hunker down in the countryside."
"The countryside is too open," Ben countered back. He stood up, the drone having had marched away several minutes ago, and faded into the night sky. "It may be better for a day or so, but as soon as those drones start scouring the countryside, we'll be sitting ducks." The two of them carefully crept deeper into the forested park. Finding a thicket of trees, Ben raised the Omnitrix, about ready to activate it.
"Wait, Ben," Gwen cautioned. "What if the drones can sense the Omnitrix?"
"Then wouldn't they have found us already?" Ben asked.
"Not if they can't sense it if it's currently turned off, or on standby or something like that," Gwen reasoned. "Then they'd only be able to sense it when its activated."
"But there's just as good of a chance that they can't sense it at all," Ben argued back. "We have no evidence one way or the other."
"Why did Vilgax attack Bellwood?" Gwen questioned. "Even the first time he showed up, he threw us off his trail, and went after Julie. He knew who she was, and that she was part of our team. There has to be some way he figured out that information…" Ben had to agree that she made a very good point, however, they still had to make or find some kind of shelter.
"Well, what about your spells?" Ben asked. "Is there some way you can use your magic to cloak us from those drones?"
"There could be something similar to the suggestion potion I made us," Gwen wondered out loud. "It might take me a while, but I'm sure I can find something that could work." With that, she called forth the Arcamada Book of Spells, and sat down on a rock, searching through the old book.
"A ha!" Gwen said after some time searching. "Found something!" She skimmed over the page again, double checking the wording before casting the spell. "Verum est occultatum locus," Gwen whispered. A purple mist flowed out of Gwen's mouth, multiplying as it spread around the thicket of trees like a thick fog. Finally, after it had filled a sizable area, the mist seamed to sink into the ground, vanishing.
"What the heck was that?" Ben asked, more than a little creeped out by the sight.
"It is a concealing spell," Gwen explained. This whole area is now hidden from the outside world. Sensors, scanners, even people looking at it wouldn't see anything outside of a normal thicket of trees and bushes."
"And you're sure that it worked?" Ben asked. Gwen shrugged.
"Yeah it worked, or I'm pretty sure it did. At least, I felt the mana in the area shift," she said. "But we won't know for sure until we get someone walking by who doesn't notice us."
"I guess that we're going to need to trust in your magic," Ben relented. "But I've got two things on my mind right now. First of all, we need to get us some food. And second, we've got to get us somewhere to sleep."
"I can probably use my magic to control some of the plants around here to make us a shelter," Gwen said. "That way we don't have to test the efficiency of the concealing spell just yet."
"Which leaves me to find us some food," Ben said. "And if I get far enough away from our spot here, I can use the Omnitrix without leading his drones right to us. Guess I'll see you later when I find us some food!" With that, Ben jogged off out of the thicket, and into the park.
"Kvistr," Gwen said, stretching out her hand to several trees. A purple energy glowed around them, as they moved and began constructing a simple roof over the shared space between them.
Ben made it out of the park without being noticed, and continued down an alleyway towards the nearest grocery store. Finally deciding that he was far enough away from the park, he raised his left wrist and activated the Omnitrix.
"Accelerate!" Ben shouted as he emerged from the explosion of green light. Speeding off, Ben quickly came upon the grocery store, which had sustained quite a bit of damage from the air battle which was still taking place above Bellwood. From the looks of it, one of the drones had crashed through the roof of the building, the flaming impact blowing out several of the windows. Since then, the building had been all but abandoned, the front doors still left wide open after the power outage.
"I'd hate to steal," Ben said to himself. "But there's no one running the checkout lane…" Ben looked around for a bit, not really seeing any other options. "I guess that I'll just take a little bit of the damaged food." In a flash, he ran inside, and started loading up on the smashed and damaged food surrounding where the destroyed drone had landed.
A/N:
What did you think of the chapter? We haven't had too many scenes told from the point of view of the PLUMMERs, and as such, we haven't much explored their agency, or their agents. So I hope you enjoyed a pretty good look into their agency, how they are organized, and some of the agents therein! Also, the Galactic Enforcers are going to be making an appearance soon, and we'll get to see some space battles as they show up to help defend Earth! Any guesses if the Galactic PLUMMERs are going to be able to show up in time to help? Is the combined forces of the Earth PLUMMERs and the Galactic Enforcers (and hopefully the Galactic PLUMMERs) going to be enough to send Vilgax running? If so, how long? What were your thoughts of Team Ultra getting split up, and going underground?
There were A LOT of teasers this chapter, and I hope you caught them all! Not a huge focus on Ben and Gwen this chapter, sorry about that, but there was just a whole lot happening around them! This next chapter is going to focus a little more on Ben and Gwen, but still have a lot focusing on Vilgax's invasion, and Earth's defense. Leave a review with your thoughts, and don't forget to leave a favorite and a follow while you're at it! Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
Review Responses:
uchihaNaruto247: I don't blame Maddi for reacting the way she did... I forgot about the poll regarding if Sandra gets to live or not. That's really difficult, because if she dies, it'd bring changes to the story, especially Ben; he might kill Alex on sight the next time they encounter each other, and lead a much darker path. But if she lives, I don't know how she's going to continue, her husband is not even himself. There's a chance that she's going to need a lot of assistant just for basic needs, Ben won't be around all the time, etc. My main point is that I want her to live, but I don't know if it's the best for the story. If she doesn't slow it down, then I'm perfectly fine with letting her live.
Thanks for the review, Uchiha, and for expressing your opinion on the poll! Yes, that's kind of the outcome I was hoping for. Both options have their benefits and downsides! So it's going to alter Ben's temperament whichever way it ends up going.
yraj2004: Let Sandra live, or Ben might go supernova as HeatBlast.
Thanks for your opinion! That is certainly a possibility if she dies. If she does in fact die, Ben's going to have a lot of pent up anger, and he's going to have to release it somehow. However, if she doesn't die, then, like Uchiha said above, it's going to be difficult for him to take care of her or for she take care of him, and for him to keep his identity hidden.
Amanny: Awesome chapter! Sorry for not noticing chapter 10. Vilgax is a powerful enemy, so for the PLUMMERs to take him down won't be easy at all. Vilgax might go and find Ben, cause he definitely wants the Omnitrix and to have Ben be killed by his hand. Poor Maddi, I feel so sorry for her situation. As for her, to continue to be Steel Girl depends on how much pain she can tolerate; if she can't handle it, she might as well support the team at what she's good at.
1. So will Ben meet Azmuth?
2. Will Team Ultra 10 meet Kevin? Will Kevin start off as a villain like in the OG?
3. Will Ben and Gwen meet their future selves? If so will you change the reason why Ben 10,000 is so rough?
Thanks for the review, Amanny! You don't owe me a single review on any of my work, however I am really grateful for each and every review I do get! So thank you for your interest in the U10 Chronicles, and for the reviews you (and others) leave me! Yeah, Vilgax is pulling no punches here, and he is basically trying to hold the entire planet hostage in exchange for Ben and the Omnitrix. And as you've read in this chapter, as well as in chapter 41, the PLUMMERs are pretty unprepared for a confrontation of this size. As for Maddi, you are spot on. If she dons the suit again, it's going to be difficult for her to do too much. However, she's definitely not done with the team, and she's going to have to find something that will work. Either in the suit or out of it. Now to answer your questions.
1. Will Ben meet Azmuth in the Ultra 10 Chronicles? Yes, eventually. In the original plot I planned, no, Azmuth never showed up. However, that never quite sat right with me, and I've been coming up with the circumstances surrounding his debut into the Chronicles. I originally planned the U10C to be only one volume, which I eventually split into 3. However, I am working on some ideas for possibly two more volumes, for a total of five, and Azmuth is going to have a definite support character role in Volumes 4 and 5, if not Volume 3 as well. It's going to be still a while down the line, but Ben definitely will meet Azmuth.
2. Will the Team meet Kevin? Will he start as a villain like in the OG? Yes, Team Ultra will meet Kevin, and has actually already had their first battle with him in Volume 1 Chapter 26: A Look Alike. However, that was Kevin11, not necessarily Kevin as we see him in Alien Force. Kevin's not done with the chronicles, and is actually going to be coming back fairly soon. He's going to become one of the main characters in Volume 3.
3. Will Ben and Gwen meet their future selves? If so, will the reason Ben 10,000 is so rough be different? Hmm, how to answer this and not spoil too much of the story... Ben and Gwen will meet future versions of themselves. Will their future versions be the versions we see in the Ben 10,000 episode? No, not really. Ben is already a different kid then we see in the TV series, so naturally their future selves would be different too. However, the differences will be more than just different circumstances. I hope that doesn't spoil you too much...