Welcome ultras to the next chapter of The Ultra 10 Chronicles! It's crazy to think that this makes it fifty chapters long so far! I'd like to say a quick thank you to all you readers who have read, followed, favorited and reviewed all along the way! It is your reviews and feedback which keeps me motivated to keep writing, so thank you!

Now, the elephant in the room... I missed my upload last week. I ended up getting really sick for several days, during which I missed both the Monday and Thursday upload schedule. Sorry about that, but I just didn't feel well enough to upload a chapter, or even to write. But I'm back, and hoping that that doesn't happen again for a really long time, if ever. So there's that.

Trigger warning: There is one trigger warning this chapter, a scene of torture. It isn't graphic, nor is it really violent, but it is still torture. So if you'd like to not read that, skip the paragraph which starts with, "So I thought to myself that we've got to find a way..." as well as the next fifteen paragraphs, down to the page break. Other than that, there's no other trigger warnings that apply.

The soundtrack for this chapter is "You Can't Take Me (I'm Free)" from "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" by Bryan Adams. I thought that it was reflective of both Josie Thompson's position, as well as Sam's feeling to head back to Bellwood. You can listen to it on youtube by going to /watch?v=EEzJ1_qEExs

Enjoy the chapter!

The Ultra 10 Chronicles: Volume 2: A Hero Earth Needs

Chapter 50: Back to Bellwood

In New Orleans, several days later

Sam knew what he had to do. He had to go back to Bellwood. He had to do something about Vilgax returning. And he wasn't sure how CharmCaster was going to take it. That was the part that was scaring him. But perhaps she'd come with him.

"What are you doing?" CharmCaster asked him when she entered their hangout. Sam had been in the middle of packing his belongings.

"I'm packing," Sam replied. He was already hating how this exchange was taking place.

"Well that's obvious," CharmCaster retorted. "But why? Where are you going?"

"I'm headed back home," Sam said. "I can do more good there."

"Like we haven't been doing that here?" CharmCaster asked, offense in her voice. "I know that I don't always take down the creeps the way you do, but we're doing good together as a team!" Sam sighed.

"It's not like that," he said as he looked up from his duffel bag. "I have friends who need me… other friends. This Vilgax dude that blew up New York the other day… He's bad news. He is going to want revenge on my friends…"

"Ultra 10," CharmCaster huffed. "What makes him so special?"

"Look, when I left Bellwood, I was running from my old life," Sam responded. "And I think that it's time that I started confronting it." The teenage witch still looked offended at Sam leaving.

"You could come too, you know," Sam offered. "I'm sure that the team would welcome you." Suddenly, their roles changed, with the teenage witch now being the one that looked like she were trapped between two hard decisions.

"I… I can't," the girl stuttered. "I just can't leave my uncle."

"But you hate living with him," Sam protested. "This would be a chance to leave him out of your life. To start new again."

"He's the only family I have," CharmCaster stuttered. "If I leave, then I won't have any family at all." She shook her head. "No, I can't just leave him."

"Then I guess that this is goodbye," Sam told her. "Hopefully we cross paths again." The two embraced, before Sam stepped back and opened up his suit. CharmCaster watched the NanoMech technology unfold and stretch over his body, encasing him in a metallic-lookin suit. He was still holding his duffel bag in his hand, though. The back of his suit rippled, somewhat like a bird ruffling its feathers. When it was done, a pair of rockets had formed on his back.

On cue, the rockets fired off, sending Sam into the air, and away from CharmCaster. She watched him grow smaller and smaller until he disappeared from view.

Ellie's Cabin, outside Bellwood, two days later

Maddi sat at the computer monitoring their surveillance grid when she saw something that caught her attention.

"Guys, come check this out," she called out to her friends. Ben was the first one to come over, being followed by Cooper and Gwen.

"What's up?" Ben asked her.

"There has been some movement that's been going on all day today," Maddi explained. "A lot of people heading down to the old fishing docks."

"So?" Ben questioned. "Why do we care?"

"There's nothing down there," Maddi answered. "No alive businesses, no stores, no homes. There's no reason people would be headed there. That is when I saw this." She rewound the video feed until she paused it on a scene.

"Right there," Maddi pointed at the screen. There was someone or something covered in a metallic suit.

"It looks like a reflection off of something," Julie said.

"Off of what?" Cooper asked rhetorically. "I'll see if I can sharpen the image." Maddi moved her chair to the side to let Cooper access the computer. He started messing around with the controls, until the image started to sharpen by degrees. Finally, it was clear enough to make out smaller details.

"That looks like a person," Julie said. "Except that they're covered in some sort of armor."

"Not just any armor," Cooper agreed. "That looks like my NanoMech armor. An older rendition, but defiantly nothing that the government has."

"A new PLUMMER armor?" Maddi asked.

"No, I don't think so," Gwen spoke up. "We'd see more agents wearing it then. I think it could be Sam's armor."

"Do you think he could be in town again?" Julie asked.

"That, or someone found his armor," Cooper concluded dryly. "We don't know if he took it with him when he left, or if he left it around here somewhere. But Sam seemed like he wasn't going to be coming back."

"He can change his mind," Ben reminded his team. "I felt like he did when Lukas died. I didn't ever want to be Ultra 10 again. But I came back. Sam could too."

"I guess that we had better send someone to check it out," Cooper said.

"I can go," Gwen offered. Julie shook her head.

"No, you're still recovering from New York," she said.

"Well Ben can't go, Vilgax will trace his Omnitrix," Gwen protested.

"So we're both out of the mission," Ben said. "That leaves Cooper or Ellie." The group looked at the two candidates.

"I can go," Ellie offered. "Cooper's still trying to work on our defense grid here in case the PLUMMERs find us. I'll go."

"I guess that it's decided then," Ben said.

"Be careful though," Cooper cautioned her. "We don't know for sure if that is actually Sam. It could be some crazy person in his suit. Even if it is Sam, we still do not know what made him come back." Ben nodded.

"Sam was closer to Lukas than even I was. His death can really mess with your mind."

"You guys are seriously paranoid," Ellie replied with a chuckle. "I'll keep my distance until I can verify that it's him. Then I'll approach him with caution." She took her suit out of her pocket. Stepping out of the cabin, she opened up the box, being encased with her NanoMech suit. In another moment, she had taken off, using her suit's jetpack.

She soared over the city heading towards the shoreline. As soon as she got close, she landed, taking off her suit, and slipping it back into her pocket.

"I don't see anything out of place yet," Ellie assessed. "No sign of Sam, or really anything."

"Keep us on the heads up," Ben spoke through the communicator.

"It may take some time, but I'll be sure to radio in." With that, Ellie ended the communication, watching the communicator transform back into its bracelet mode. The girl walked around for a while, trying to look like just a normal pedestrian. In the distance, she heard the sound of a PLUMMER vehicle rumbling through the streets, no doubt a couple of agents on patrol through the city. Across the street, a door to a warehouse opened up, with someone gesturing to her.

"You! Get inside! Quickly!" The man standing in the doorway called out to her. Confused, she jogged across the street.

"What's going on?" She asked confused.

"There's an ambush planned," the man told her. "Get inside, and I'll explain." Ellie walked past him and into the warehouse, which was dark with all of the lights out. The man closed the door behind her before walking past her.

"You said there's an ambush planned?" Ellie asked the man, who was now crouching in the darkness.

"Yes," he replied in a hushed tone. "On the PLUMMERs. Now quiet…" Outside, the sound of the PLUMMER vehicle approached, almost directly outside the warehouse. Almost spontaneously, the man flicked on the lights to the warehouse, illuminating the entire building. In a moment, Ellie saw that there were almost a dozen men and women in the warehouse with her. Most of them were armed with what looked like pistols, though they looked somewhat futuristic. Like a laser gun or something. As soon as the light was flicked on, they all moved towards the bay door on the side of the warehouse. One of them pressed a button on the wall, which opened the bay door.

"Go! Go! Go!" One of them shouted as they ran out of the new opening onto the street. The PLUMMER van screeched to a stop, with the side doors opening, and several agents jumping out. Each of these agents carried a much larger carbine, and they started firing at the group, who scattered to find shelter among old boxes and dumpsters and burnt out cars.

In front of the van, several more people ran out of the supposedly abandoned buildings, and started firing on the PLUMMER agents from behind. Within a minute, the agents laid on the ground unmoving, though they weren't bleeding. Like a surgeon in a hospital, the insurgents acted with speed and precision to disarm the agents, tie them up, and take over the vehicle. Ellie walked out from her watching spot in the warehouse towards the scene.

"Are they dead?" She asked someone who looked to be in charge. The large man with white hair turned around to talk to her.

"No, they're just incapacitated," the man told her. "They're just people trying to do their job. It's not their fault that they're in the crossfire. We're trying not to kill anyone."

"So who are you guys anyway?" Ellie asked.

"My name is Max," the older man told Ellie. "And if we want to continue this conversation, then I'd suggest that we head back to our safe-house. More PLUMMERs are going to be here soon responding to the beacon those guys activated." Max shoved a thumb at the unconscious agents, still tied up and left in the middle of the road. By now, they had been stripped of their weapons and gear, and their transport van was being driven into one of the warehouses. In just a little while more, the only evidence of the ambush would be the four agents tied up and left in the street.

Ellie nodded her understanding, and followed Max into one of the warehouses. He led her back towards the far wall, where he shoved some boxes filled with rubbish aside. Behind the boxes was a hole cut in the wall, which led into the next building over. As they traveled, Max explained to Ellie.

"I used to be a PLUMMER agent myself," Max started. "I joined up years ago, when I was just a new recruit. Over the years, I was promoted again and again until I was one of the highest-ranked agents in the organization. But even all those years ago, the organization was overseen by an agent who went by the name Alpha. I doubt that anyone alive knows his actual name, not that it would make any difference.

"Anyway, I didn't trust Alpha, neither did a number of my friends within the organization. So we decided to form another organization to oversee Alpha and try to keep him in check."

"And that is what you guys are doing?" Ellie asked.

"Yes, but no," Max answered. "You see, a little while ago Ultra 10 was arrested on Alpha's orders because Alpha saw him as a threat."

"How is he a threat?" Ellie asked.

"He's not," Max replied. "At least, he's not if you're trying to protect the Earth, something that Alpha is supposed to be trying to do. We suspected that Alpha could be in league with Vilgax, or at least trying to cut a deal with him. This would be the reason that Ultra 10 would be a threat to Alpha. So we had to take action. My partner and I broke him out of PLUMMER custody, which got us arrested as well. Overwatch broke us out, and now we're trying to undermine both the PLUMMERs' control, as well as Vilgax's control over the Earth. The ambush you got caught in the middle of-"

"Would be a supply grab," Ellie filled in the gaps. "To build up enough firepower to resist the PLUMMERs."

"No quite," Max responded. "In the rush of getting out, we left behind possibly the best computer hacker I've ever known. We're going to try to use those agents' badges to sneak back in, and rescue her."

"Well, where do I sign up at?" Ellie asked.

"We could use a super-powered person to help us," Max replied. Ellie narrowed her eyes.

"Who says I'm super-powered?" She asked suspiciously.

"I guess that it's more of a super technology than a super power," Max corrected. "We saw you when you landed. We think that you're a member of Team Ultra." Ellie was a bit taken back at Max's quick assessment. Max chuckled. "We wouldn't just dump this on any random person walking the streets. We knew that you could be trusted already."

"Fine, you got me," Ellie responded. "The name's Steel Girl."

"Were you there to help take down Alex Animal?" Max asked her. Ellie shook her head.

"That was my predecessor," Ellie answered. "Before I took on the mantle." Max nodded.

"Well whoever you are, and however long you've been with Team Ultra, we're still glad to have your help. Unfortunately, we need it badly," Max concluded before opening up a final door into their safe-house. "Welcome to home base."

PLUMMER Headquarters

Josie sat in her prison, surrounded by the darkness. All was silent except for the sound of her own breath. Every muscle in her body hurt profusely as a result from Alpha's "experiments" over the last few days. She now sported more than a few burns and scorch marks all over her arms and legs. And they all ached.

Out of the silence, she heard the door to the prison open, along with the blinding lights come on, showering her in painful, white light that she struggled to blink through. She heard several sets of feet enter the detention area, walking towards her cell. With a couple of blinks, her eyes adjusted enough to see her visitors.

"Glad to see that you're still here," Alpha greeted her menacingly. "Still such a shame that you're on that side of the bars, rather than on my side."

"Are you sufficiently bored to come torture me again?" Josie asked.

"Not quite," Alpha responded. From behind him, Bree Albright stepped out. "You see, there were several members of your "Overwatch" organization that didn't commit treason. They came forward to tell me some surprising news." Alpha looked over at Bree.

"They said that Agent 18 here was also a member of your little club. And that she went ahead with the plan to break Max out of here," Alpha said. "But she's been very helpful in giving us the names of everyone that escaped… Or tried to escape." Alpha returned his gaze to Josie.

"So I thought to myself that we've got to find a way to show that she is actually loyal to me, rather than a mole," Alpha paused on that thought long enough to make both Josie and Bree uncomfortable. "And what better way to prove her true allegiance, then by having her be in charge of your interrogation? Under Agent 01's supervision, of course." With that, he turned his attention to Bree.

"I want you to make her feel the pain," he told her. "Oh, and also any information you can get from her. But mostly, make sure she understands what it means to betray me." Bree nodded. With that, Alpha turned to Agent 01. "Make sure that there's no funny business. I want to know everything that goes on between those two," Alpha commanded his first-in-command.

"Yes, sir," Clyde responded. With that, Alpha turned back to Bree.

"If I even suspect that you could be betraying me, then you'll find yourself in poor Josie's position," he threatened her. "But if you serve me well, there's a promotion in store for you." Bree nodded.

"I'll be back later to see her handiwork," Alpha told Josie. "Until then, ta ta!" He turned and walked out of the detention area, closing the door behind him. However, the lights stayed on, allowing Josie, Bree and Clyde all to see each other.

"I can't believe that you'd betray Overwatch like this," Josie told Bree. "Wes trusted you."

"He should be more careful who he puts his trust in," Bree replied callously. "As should you. They left you without so much as a glance behind them."

"I was already captured," Josie responded. "Coming back for me would have only put them in greater risk."

"Yes, well, I guess that Max was just more important than you," Bree replied, walking over to the table against the far wall and picking up one of Alpha's Ripper Beams. "Or maybe he was just more important to Wes than you." She walked back to Josie's cell.

"Bree, I know you," Josie spoke with a pleading tone. "Take down Clyde over there, and we can escape together!"

"You don't get it, do you," Bree replied. "I've got a promotion ahead of me." With that, she powered on the Ripper Beam, and aimed it at Josie's left leg, and pulled the trigger. Josie screamed out in pain as she felt the energized particle rip into her flesh, cauterizing the small wound it left in her thigh. Bree curled her lip up in a sadistic show of pleasure as she fired again. Josie cried out in pain again as she writhed against her restraints. This continued on for almost an hour, Bree changing the energizer gage up and down with each shot. Each one was closer to the kill zone, but never quite enough energy to be lethal.

"Bree!" Josie begged in agony. "Stop, please!" Her only reply was another pull of the trigger, leaving Josie again screaming in pain.

"That's enough for today," Clyde finally spoke up. Bree reluctantly lowered the gun from Josie.

"Saved by the bell," she said. Josie gasped, savoring the momentary relief from the burning pain. Bree walked back over to the table, powering down the Ripper Beam before she set it down, and started walking towards the exit. Clyde exited the room first, leaving Bree in the room alone with Josie for a brief moment.

"Please," Josie begged. "You don't have to be sadistic like Alpha," Josie begged through her sobbing. Bree stopped, standing still only a few feet from the door.

"I'll be back tomorrow," she said. She turned off the lights, leaving Josie in complete darkness as she closed the door behind her. Josie started sobbing again, both fearful and dreading what would happen the next time she got to see the light.

Alpha's office

"How did she do?" Alpha asked Agent 01.

"She outperformed your order," Clyde responded. "I had to cut the session short before Josie Thompson lost consciousness."

"And her demeanor?" Alpha prodded.

"She seemed to have no problem with the torture," Clyde said. "If anything, she might have enjoyed it."

"Then she enjoyed watching one of Max's allies suffer," Alpha concluded. "Tomorrow you'll let her torture Josie without your supervision. But we'll watch from the cameras."

"You said that they're off," Clyde asked, confused.

"You know that I wouldn't let such an obvious security risk to remain," Alpha chided confidently. "However, I don't have to worry about the board's oversight anymore."

"Then they're dead?" Clyde asked.

"Some of them, yes," Alpha replied. "But only the ones who would stand in my way of protecting the planet. Most of them are willing to play nicely… with some encouragement, of course."

"If you don't mind me asking, sir," Clyde petitioned his boss. "What are your plans to protect the planet? You know that the Galactic PLUMMERs wouldn't approve of how you're handling things. As soon as Vilgax is gone, the Magistratas would strip you of your rank."

"Unfortunately, that's why we are going to have to break league with the Galactic PLUMMERs," Alpha said. "When we hand Ultra 10 over to Vilgax, I have his word that he'll depart from the planet, leaving it under our exclusive protection. I'm drawing up papers of alliance with him, which will keep the Galactic PLUMMERs, as well as Vilgax, from attacking us again."

"It's a risky plan," Clyde said. "If there's even one thing that goes wrong…"

"Which is why I need people that I can trust," Alpha cut him off. "You are my number one guy. But I'll need others too. People like Bree and Phil. Together, we can protect our species from any threat." Alpha's communicator signaled that someone was trying to contact him.

"You'll have to excuse me," Alpha said. "I need to take this call."

"Of course," Clyde said. He excused himself from the room. Alpha immediately answered the call.

"Lord Vilgax demands to know why you haven't given him Ultra 10 yet," the android spoke through the communicator.

"Kindly inform our lord that I have my forces spread out searching for the delinquent," Alpha replied. "But the planet is large, and it is taking some time."

"Supreme Lord Vilgax is not one you want t o push your luck with," the android responded. "You promised him Ultra 10, and he expects you to deliver."

"I have every intention of complying," Alpha almost pleaded. "The moment we have Ultra 10 in custody, I will signal our Lord's ship to transfer him, and his watch."

"See that you do so," the android threatened. "If you want to avoid Vilgax the Conqueror's wrath." At that, the communication ended.

Later that night

Sam made his way through the darkened streets. He knew the city well, but his progress was still slow due to the constant PLUMMER and Vilgaxian drone patrols throughout the city. He wasn't quite sure why the PLUMMER agents seemed to be working alongside the drones, but he wasn't about to try to find out. He just tried to stay away from both of them.

Finally, he came upon the house that he'd been trying to get to. Walking up the driveway, he approached the garage. The place looked different, like it was somehow dead. It was strange to think of a house as "alive" or "dead," but that was the feel that he got from it. There were no lights on, and it looked like it'd been abandoned for some time. Not that the whole city didn't look like it'd been abandoned to the pit of hell, it did. But most houses still looked like someone still lived inside. Like they were trying to clean it up, and keep it looking presentable.

But not this one. It just looked… dead. Maybe that was intentional, though. Less to be suspicious about. Shrugging off the feeling of unease, Sam made his way to the garage door and knocked on it. After waiting a while, he knocked again, harder this time. Still, there was no reply or response of any kind.

"This would be so much easier if there were cell service," Sam muttered to himself. "I could just text Julie or Cooper to let me in." He stepped into the bushes that were under the kitchen window, trying to hide himself from street view as best as he could.

Reaching into his pocket, he opened up his suit, allowing the NanoMech to unfold and stretch over him. After suiting up, he walked back over to the garage door, jutting out his palm, powering up his wrist cannon. With one fire, he blew the lock off of the door, which should have set off a dozen or more sensors and traps, if the house had any power. As it was, the door just casually swung open without a lock to keep it closed.

"Uh… Hello?" Sam asked, pocking his head into the garage. This defiantly was Cooper's garage. He recognized the row of workbenches and computers that lined the far wall, as well as tools and gadgets that still populated the entire room. Yet, there was no one there. And it didn't look like anyone had been there for some time. Still, it didn't look like anyone had ransacked the garage or anything, everything looked untouched.

"I guess that I'll just have to stay here for a bit," Sam mumbled to himself. "Hope that they come back for supplies or tools in the next day or two." With that in mind, he entered the room, closing the door as best as he could behind him. He eventually propped a chair against the door to keep it closed, thanks to his entry. Finding a somewhat comfortable corner, Sam curled up and drifted off to sleep.

A/N:

And that's that for the chapter! What did you guys think? Is CharmCaster going to follow Sam to Bellwood? If so, when? And is she going to be a villain, like in the show, or more of an anti-villain, like we saw in New Orleans? (Remember, she already met, and has a grudge against Lucky Girl, and both Lucky Girl and Ben have crossed paths with Hex, whom CharmCaster left Sam for.) What are your thoughts about Ellie rubbing elbows with Grandpa Max, or the whole situation with Josie, Alpha, Clyde and Bree? Is Bree starting to actually side with Alpha, or is she just a really good actor? And any ideas when/how Sam is finally going to rejoin the team? Leave your thoughts in a review, and don't forget to favorite and follow while you're at it!

Thanks for reading, and have an awesome day!

Review Responses:

yraj2004: Yeah, it was. You could make it like, in the end, with Ben subdued, Alpha tries to double cross Vilgax and make a play for the Omnitrix, only to be killed by the Davy Jones from outer space.

A good idea, though I'm glad that, if the what is given away, the how still remains secret. Not a bad ending for Alpha, but I've just got a different ending in plan for him. One where he's even more bold, if not a little... heroic? Perhaps not, but we'll see when it happens.

Ushindi: Awesome chapter! Taylor made a great sacrifice to give Max and his team a chance. Hopefully Josie will be okay, Alpha will be clueless to see Bree as a traitor, so she has a good chance on getting good information. Vilgax will most likely be annoyed and irritated thinking that Alpha doesn't have what it takes to capture Ultra 10, he might break off the deal.

Thanks for the review, I'm so glad that you enjoyed the chapter! Do you remember those pesky few agents that were part of overwatch, but didn't want to break Max out? Well, they had a big bowl of beans they were carrying over uneven ground. One little stumble and... well, you know what happened. Spilled beans everywhere. Alpha knows about Bree, and now he's testing her for loyalty.

As for Vilgax, he's not the most patient of squids. He wants what he wants, and he wants it now. He's only working with Alpha so long as he gets what he wants. If he get's too annoyed with Alpha, you're right. He'll break his deal as easily as a twig whenever someone in a cartoon is trying to sneak around quietly. (Yeah, that's a really lame atempt at humor... I'm a little tired...) Thanks for the review!