Author's Note: This fic is a series but here on FFN I'm just posting it all as one story. Part 1 is called Mutability.

This is a bit of a self-indulgent fic. I've never seen a story where Rook got the Omnitrix and I couldn't get the idea out of my head so I ended up pumping out 55K words in two weeks. Story has been edited since then and I hope you enjoy.

In this, the aliens Rook starts off with aren't the same ones as Ben's original ten aliens. I made a tumblr post explaining my choices. I recommend you read it since some of the aliens are ones we don't necessarily see in the series. None of them are fan made aliens but some of them are ones the creators made and never included in the show so you may not recognize them.

FFN doesn't like links so you can either go to Ao3 and click the hyperlink on there or search around my sideblog on tumblr /entityupdates. The short version is that the aliens are a dolphin, Archfiend, Antigravitesla, Terrorsaur, Four Arms, Juryrigg, XLR8, Bloxx, Kringl the Summoner, and Wildvine.

Also note that this is happening on the same canonical timeline so Rook is a couple years older than when Ben got the Omnitrix.


It was getting dark but it wasn't late. The work day was far from over. No, it was just the brief break when Revonnah's sun went down and the young ones went inside while waiting for the next sun to swing around back into the sky. This was the time the muroids came out and Revonnah's men had to be most alert. But today, Rook Blonko wasn't with his father. Nor was he with his mother, sisters, and brother inside.

Rook Da had caught him tinkering with the energy converters of a harvester and the wires of a radio. The need for Blonko's hands on the field warded off any scolding or lecturing for a few hours but when darkness had fallen and the rest of the family had gone inside, there was nothing stopping the elder Revonnahgander from tearing into the boy.

Da wasn't mean, per se. When he was a bit more clear headed, Blonko would say he was a good father without question. But he didn't understand. He didn't understand Blonko's boredom sticking to traditional Revonnah Kai forms. He didn't understand why Blonko's hands were more inclined to hold weapons than harvesting sticks. He didn't understand Blonko's need to reach for the stars.

And so here Blonko was. Far from the edge of the farmland. Far enough that he didn't have to listen to Da's crushing words.

He'd have to go back eventually. And Da would probably scold him for going off on his own, even though Blonko had lost his bi'nthak a long time ago. It'd probably distract Da from what they'd been fighting about in the first place so there was that, at least, but Blonko wasn't quite ready to face him yet. He was so… so… He didn't know. He couldn't find the words, not right now.

With a long sigh, he settled down on a large, smooth stone and looked up at the sky. The vast, star-filled sky. Right now, at the height of the gap between the suns, the sky looked so deeply black that Blonko couldn't think of a single thing to compare it to. And the stars, oh the stars, there were too many to count. And they were stunning. So tiny, so mysterious. So peculiar, so mystifying. Why didn't anyone else here see the beauty in it?

They knew life lay beyond. They'd contacted it before. By the suns, some villages even traded off-world. The universe was so broad and filled with things a Revonnahgander's mind couldn't hope to dream of and yet, they had no interest in exploring it. No, they shunned the idea of it. Blonko couldn't understand why.

He supposed he was lucky that his father was as loving as he was to tolerate Blonko's wandering heart. He was strict but he knew other families had it worse. Still, it hurt to keep his mouth shut about his curiosities and private efforts to learn about anything outside of traditional Revonnhan life.

Reaching a single hand up, Blonko spread his fingers and pretended he was placing his palm on the surface of that inky blanket covering his world. The contrast between the bluish fur of his fingers and the black of space and all those brilliant specks in it… Blonko didn't know if it was beautiful or humbling. It made him feel small like this, all alone with nothing but the view of space. He had no idea what was out there and probably never would.

He saw a flash of light flicker between his fingers.

Putting his hand down, he watched the streak fly by. A shooting star, his father would say. Space debris burning up in Revonnah's atmosphere, Magister Wat-Sen would say. Something he wanted to know more about, Blonko would say. He watched it with sharp, interested eyes, waiting for it to leave like it always did.

He was not expecting it to double back.

It surprised him so much he fell off the rock he was seated on. He yelped and his back hit the mud, tearing his eyes from the shooting star for a moment. When he sat up, he saw something smoking in the distance. He stuck a foot out to climb down the hill and check it out but he hesitated. And it wasn't because he could hear his father's words ringing in his ears, warning him not to get near anything from space. It definitely wasn't that.

He was already at the edge of his village's land. It wasn't like he wasn't allowed on another village's territory but it felt wrong. And dangerous. He knew the muroids that loitered around his family's fields. What if the muroids there were different? Or, what if the villagers there mistook him for a muroid? It was dark so it wasn't impossible.

He hesitated but curiosity eventually won out and he slipped off his spot at the top of the hill and began making his way down. Briefly, he missed his bi'nthak. It was so much easier to climb around like this when he had a tail for balance. At least his adult claws were well on their way to growing in so he wasn't completely out of his element. Still, it took longer than he would've liked. By the time his feet hit flat ground, light was peeking up from over the horizon. The sun wasn't quite ready to come up but it was enough to tell Blonko to hurry up.

There was a crater, Blonko realised. Or maybe not quite a crater but at least some kind of skid mark in the earth when the space debris made contact. He couldn't quite see what it was despite how much closer he'd gotten. There was still a lot of smoke coming off it. Or maybe that was just dust that object kicked up when it landed. Did stuff from space smoke? There was no air in space for fire to eat, Blonko knew that much, so he didn't think so.

His lack of knowledge should have been a warning to stay back. This planet's Plumber lived in his village, he could've gone to him. But Blonko's curiosity got the better of him and he slunk into the crater to get a better look at what lay within.

"Anyone there?" he called out softly. When he heard no response, he felt a bit silly and continued creeping forward to find… an orb? It was some kind of metal chunk. Space garbage, maybe? A broken piece of a ship? Perhaps part of a satellite? He put a hand on it, feeling the smooth surface. He could probably use this for something. And if not, at the very least it was interesting.

Upon his touch, the orb reacted and began peeling open. Blonko jerked his hand back but the deed was done and something flew out of the orb, quickly attaching itself to his arm. He didn't scream but Blonko sure wanted to. Waving his arm wildly, Blonko knocked himself over, falling over awkwardly. The thing on his wrist slammed into the ground and a green flash enveloped him.

"Archfiend!"

Blonko wasn't totally sure who said that. It felt like he did but that gravelly voice didn't sound like his. And… was everything smaller all of a sudden? And where was the crater? He couldn't see it anymore but he could've sworn he'd been inside of it a moment ago. He put a hand down to push himself up but he felt the soil crumble beneath his grip. And when he looked down to see what was wrong, he was met with the sight of four, fat purple fingers.

This time, he really did scream. And fall over. Which surprisingly didn't hurt but he was in too much shock to worry about that part. That wasn't his hand! What happened to his hand?! His hand was blue! And black. And it had fur! Not this… why was it hairless? And so big? It looked so wrong.

His eyes traveled up his arm and he noticed the big chunk of metal wrapped around his forearm. His forearm that was way thicker than it should be. Slightly panicking, he scrambled out of the crater in hope of finding something he could see his reflection in. He was pretty sure there was some kind of lake between his village and the nearest village in this direction.

He was slow, slower than he should be, but Blonko withheld from looking at his feet or just down in general. He didn't want to see whatever awaited him. Maybe this was all a bad dream or some odd concoction of his imagination. Maybe it would go away when he saw his reflection. He was probably still a Revonnahgander, fur and all, like he'd always been. Right?

Wrong. Dead wrong.

He was horrifying. Mulberry skin the color of dried blood, dull fangs double the size of a Revonnahgander's fingers, purple eyes more empty and hollow than a muroid's, armor designed to block hits from maces and swords, a hood to hide a pair of sharp horns- He looked nothing like himself.

He was too big. Twice his height, several times wider. His sturdy legs lacked all of the flexibility he normally had and left no room for any kind of agility. His gut matched his broad shoulders and heavy gait but on someone who was normally so slender, it looked so bizarre. No one here carried any extra weight, let alone this much. And his scars. With no fur to hide them, they were clear to see. Were scars normally purple? That didn't sound right. This creature was clearly built for battle. Were these scars an accident or its own doing?

It looked savage at best. Mean. Frightening. The kind of thing Blonko had only heard in stories. He couldn't believe this was his reflection he was looking at. He looked hideous. He looked like a monster. He looked like an alien.

Yet… He could still see himself.

It was his eyes. As tiny and beady as they were, no matter the color, he could see fear in them. It was strange to think it was his own fear present on someone else's face but he couldn't deny it. This was himself he was looking at.

He was lucky to snap out of his panic when he did or he wouldn't have noticed the smoldering dirt behind him.

Blonko jumped away from the pond and scooted back just as the fire leaped into the air. It startled him, like many things today had, but somewhere deep in his mind he recognized that this fire was his. He'd made it somehow, without any tools or anything. That didn't mean he knew how to put it out though.

"Please stop," he pleaded as the fire began to spread. He tried waving his hands at it but the act failed to make any change, not that he really expected it to. Eyeing the water behind him, he used his massive hands to scoop up a handful and throw it on the hungry flames but even water failed to do much.

Again, Blonko was panicking. He was still this big, erm, thing and now there was a fire. One that he started and didn't know how to put out. And he wasn't even on his own farm. If he did damage to another village's land… Well, his village would have to pay for it. He wasn't really sure how and he didn't want to find out. He just needed to stop this fire from spreading and fast.

In the distance, he heard voices. He narrowed his eyes, trying to spot how many figures there were. He decided it didn't really matter and called out to them. "Hey! I need help! Please, there is a fire. Come quickly!"

"We are coming!" a voice that Blonko didn't recognize but sounded distinctly Revonnahgander yelled back. Some of the weight lifted off his chest and Blonko let his face relax a bit. One problem was on its way to being fixed. Everything was still horrible but hopefully it would soon be less horrible.

He heard footsteps and saw dust in the air. They were kicking dirt on the fire. That was smart. He should've thought of that when the water didn't work. It probably would have worked with his big feet. Wait. Big feet… Brallada, the villagers were clearing a path in the fire. They were going to be able to see him soon. They'd recognize him as the one who started the fire but they wouldn't be able to recognize him as one of them. And most of the men in this village had trained under Master Kundo as well. They could really hurt him, if any of them had their tools that is.

"Do not come closer!" Blonko yelled out as the fire began thinning. He could see the shadows of the nearing Revonnahganders. He knew his words would have little effect but he couldn't think of much else to do. He could start another fire, he supposed, and make a run for it but he didn't want to cause any more damage than he already had. And even if he did, he had no idea how to start a fire anyway.

"Do not fear," a deep voice, though not as deep as his own in this hulkish form, rumbled. "We will be close soon. You will not be trapped for much longer."

"I am not trapped," Blonko responded weakly as he watched the flames die down even further, still raging but with a soon to be clear path to the lake. There was no way this would be pretty. Squeezing his eyes shut, he waited for the others to come upon him.

"Alien!" someone shrieked and Blonko heard rapid footsteps and the noise of weapons being drawn. He opened one eye like a scared child peeking out from his covers just in time to see the sharp end of a harvesting tool flying towards his face. Reflexively, he tried going for the traditional block that Master Kundo had taught him but he was too slow and the weapon ended up striking one of the gauntlets around his wrist.

It was a bad angle but this form was stronger than Blonko thought. He knocked from the Revonnahgander's hand, sending it sailing. For a split second, their eyes locked and equal surprise was exchanged between them. Then, the man dropped down to his hands and launched his feet into the air for a powerful kick to Blonko's face. A pair of booted feet hit him square in the chin but had little effect. He tried retaliating with a kick of his own but he ran into the same problem as before. His legs were too short and he wasn't near fast enough to execute the quick, precise moves of Revonnah Kai.

The Revonnahgander returned to his feet and began landing blows in quick succession on Blonko's exposed upper arms. They didn't really hurt but they stung and Blonko wanted them to stop. "Please, I do not want to fight you."

"Then leave us alone, creature," the man responded as another pair of Revonnahganders approached, both wielding weapons of their own. Spinning them, the three of them took a combative stance.

They wouldn't listen, Blonko realized. And he couldn't use his usual fighting techniques. Curse this form. What was he supposed to do then? He couldn't convince them he was one of them and he couldn't fight… He slapped away a spear that came at him reflexively. Pure instinct, no form. Like the fire around them. Maybe he could fight.

"I am sorry." He didn't want to fight. He really didn't. But he was just so tired of this. And scared, if he was ready to admit that. He was confused and he just wanted to be left alone right now. So he fought. With an almost childish shove, Blonko pushed the nearest Revonnahgander away from him and into another. When the third aimed a weapon at his head, he grabbed it, crushing it in his palm, and threw a punch.

It sent the man flying. He landed far out of the fire's range. His back hit the ground hard but he was pushing himself up not long after so he was probably fine. By the suns, Blonko hoped he was okay.

The other two Revonnahganders were running towards him again and Blonko could feel the heat of fire leaping to his hands. Scared at what that meant he was going to do, he took a step back and let himself fall into the lake. A coward's way out, maybe, but right now Blonko was okay with that. There was no honor in burning someone, especially an ally. Even if that ally didn't know who he was.

He sank like a brick. The water distorted his sight and it was too dark to see what was happening above the surface but he hoped they turned their attention back to the fire. He didn't think he could swim in this form, let alone fight in the water. When his feet hit the bottom and he saw no one coming after him, he figured they were focused on the fire.

This form probably had some pretty big lungs. He could probably hold his breath down here for a little longer than he normally could but Blonko couldn't stay down here forever. He tried walking along the bottom of the lake, trying to reach the edge while still getting far enough away from the villagers above. He made it a few steps before he could feel his lungs straining. Just as he started to wonder if he'd be able to make it, he heard some kind of beeping. There was a flash and suddenly he was floating.

He kicked until his head broke the surface. He inhaled deeply, taking in a big gasp of air. He flailed his arms and legs, trying to get a sense of his body. Then he saw his hand. His blue and black, five fingered, furred hand. He was himself again. Not out of danger yet but himself and that was more than enough.

The realization calmed him enough to regain self-awareness and an idea of where all his limbs were. After that, it was much easier to swim back to shore. When he pulled himself out of the water, his clothes were drenched and he was breathing hard but he could feel the ground beneath his own fingers. A grin crept onto his face. A bit foolish, maybe, but everything just felt right. Blonko was himself again. That big, horrifying body was gone as soon as it had arrived.

He looked up, glancing in the direction he came from, to see if the fire was still there. It still was, burning bright. Proof that he hadn't imagined it all. And this metal thing, it was still on his wrist. That was alarming but he was still reeling from everything and couldn't find himself to care.

On the horizon, he could see the sun beginning to rise. Break was over. It was time to head back to the farm to continue his work. He should apologize to Father. He could barely remember what they were arguing about anymore. Whatever it was, it wasn't worth it. The device on his wrist pinged and Blonko began pulling himself to his feet. A breeze blew by, bringing the scent of smoke towards him. He should probably go help with the fire, he realized. Now that he was a Revonnahgander again, he'd be alright. And it was his fault the fire started anyway.

"You, boy," a Revonnahgander called when he saw Blonko approaching. "You are not from our village. What are you doing here?"

"I saw something strange and came down the terrace to see what it was," Blonko responded and began kicking the earth onto the loose embers by his feet. A few farmers were shoveling water on the shrinking but still strong fire but it seemed earth and sand was more effective. "Please, let me help."

"What is that on your wrist?" another Revonnahgander asked, looking up from his own kicking. "Metal?"

"Yes." Blonko looked down at the contraption and frowned. Should he lie? Probably not. "I am not sure what it is. I saw it when I came down and it attached itself to me. I cannot seem to get it off."

The Revonnahgander didn't seem to have much to say about that and merely grunted in response. He didn't seem to be the friendly type but the other seemed a bit more conversational. "Did you see what started this fire?"

"I- No. I did not."

"It was a creature," the Revonnahgander told him and Blonko felt something twist in his stomach. "Tell Master Kundo when you return. And that alien that spends time near the village. That is your village, correct?"

"Correct," Blonko replied. He paused, silently calculating. He chose his words carefully. "You are certain that a creature caused this fire? I was unaware that creatures were capable of doing so without the proper tools."

"I have heard rumors that some alien life forms have great powers," the Revonnahgander replied. He was an older farmer, fur rough after seeing many seasons of sunlight and hands calloused after many years wielding a harvesting tool. "I never did believe them until I saw this creature with my own eyes."

Blonko wanted to ask more about the rumors the farmer had heard but before he could, a warning cut through the air. "Aliens! They have come back!"

Blonko looked down at his own hands, half expecting to find four fingers again instead of five but his hands looked normal. Then he heard something above and looked up to see a trio of metal disks flying through the air, circling the dying remains of the fire and the farmers that surrounded them.

"Drones," Blonko realized aloud. He'd never seen any himself, of course, but he'd heard about them. Where, he wasn't really sure. Probably Wat-Senn's stories or the tales he sometimes heard on his radio on the rare occasion he got an offplanet signal. He was pretty sure these ones were scouts, implying there was someone else nearby. Maybe someone who knew about this thing on his wrist.

"Take a weapon," the Revonnahgander Blonko had been talking to barked and tossed the younger farmer a harvesting stick. It's design was a bit different from the ones he was used to but a stick was a stick and Blonko knew what to do with it. Spreading his feet into a sturdy, powerful stance, he jabbed the weapon upward like a spear. He managed to clip one of the drones that floated near but it didn't seem to do much damage. Actually, it just seemed to annoy them. The drones buzzed angrily and a port opened up on their heads. Thin metal limbs sprouted from their seams and suddenly they were raining laser blasts down on the farmers' heads.

The villagers cried out in alarm and scattered, fleeing from the drones as they continued to shoot. A few brought back, using their tools to deflect the blasts. One of the drones started chasing a couple of them, leaving Blonko alone with the other two. He looked around, hoping he had at least one ally, but it seemed everyone really had left him. He didn't know how he felt about that.

Another blast came his way and Blonko rolled over to dodge it, landing neatly in a crouch. He tried jabbing his weapon at the drones again but these things were smart. They flew ever so slightly higher so they were out of his range. Blonko could have thrown his weapon if he wanted to but there were two of them so he'd be defenseless to the second if he sacrificed his harvesting tool on the first. He'd just have to play defensive until he thought of something.

More blasts came his way. Blonko spun his weapon in his hands, deflecting them all just like Master Kundo had taught him to ward off throwing stones. He wondered if his teacher had ever encountered anything like this. This skill was too good against lasers to be a coincidence. Unfortunately, it only worked for blocking shots from one direction and the drones knew that and began circling him.

Shifting his weight constantly, he managed to alternate between blocking shots from either side but his muscles began to tire after a while and his movements became less precise. A shot from the right scorched the earth scarily close to his left foot and Blonko realized he might not win this fight if he couldn't attack.

Sensing he was weakening, one of the drones drifted a bit lower and used one of its limbs to lash out. Blonko batted it away with a hand but didn't see the second one going after the thing on his wrist until he heard metal meet metal. He swatted that away as well before the realization struck him.

"Do you want this?" he asked, coming to a sudden stop. He pawed at the device. "I don't want it, you can have it."

The drones paused, whirring, as if they understood. Blonko fumbled with the device, trying to get it off, but his fingers found no latches or seams and his hand kept slipping off. He glanced at the drones nervously before he started poking at the green buttons at the top of it. Maybe one of them would do something. This thing probably had an eject button, right?

The drones were starting to get impatient. Blonko didn't know if they were functioning on their own or if someone was controlling them but either way, he didn't want them to get angry and attack again. Furiously, he kept pawing at the device hoping it would do something. And do something it did.

The round bit at the top suddenly popped open and an image formed on it. Blonko blinked at it for a moment before recognizing it. It was the silhouette of that creature he'd turned into earlier! So this device was responsible for that, he knew that now at least. Was that all this device did or were there m- No. He didn't want to know. He'd turned back last time but there was no saying if that would happen again. Besides, these things wanted it and he was ready to give it to them.

But he didn't know how to get the device off and these drones were attacking peaceful villagers. That alien he had turned into seemed pretty powerful. Did these things want to use this device as a weapon? That sounded likely. It wasn't really his business, he supposed, but the device was on his wrist and he'd already used it once so…

Blonko's eyes flickered between the drones and the device once more before he twisted the dial, another form taking the place of the previous one. This one was longer, slimmer. More appealing, in Blonko's eyes, but it lacked legs. It's tail looked pretty strong though. Taking a gamble, he darted for the water and took a massive leap before his hand came down on the dial.

The light enveloped him once again and he tried to keep himself more mentally in tune with his body this time. He felt his limbs and fur melt away, replaced with fins and rubbery skin. His legs fused into a powerful tail, his arms shrank into stubby fins, and his face stretched into a snout lined with razor sharp teeth. His nose momentarily vanished before reappearing atop his head beside some kind of spike on his back. All in all, it was all a very strange sensation.

The transformation was complete before he hit the water.

"Tidetail Wave!"

He heard a voice that he knew was his own but he couldn't understand. It came out as a series of clicks that sounded nothing like words but somehow made sense. Actually, they did more than make sense. Once he was in the water, the clicks became more than just noise. Somehow, a whole map of the lake was painted in his mind just from hearing the noise emitted from his… beak? Snout? Mouth? Something. Whatever it was, he could ponder it later. The drones were coming after him.

They fired into the water but Blonko dodged them with ease. He kicked his tail and shot through the water faster than a harvesting machine through the fields. He twisted and turned, weaving around the energy blasts, before instinctively swimming to the surface and shooting out of the water. Leaping into the air, he slammed into one of the drones and knocked it into the water.

The drone didn't seem to have any trouble being in the water but Blonko knew this was his domain. The drone continued firing its lasers but none of them came anywhere close to hitting the speedy creature.

This alien was different from the last one, Blonko could sense it deep down. Both were intelligent but this one was different. This creature's mind was sharp where the other's was dull yet the other felt more… Well, sentient may not be the right word but this new form felt more animalistic. Wild, feral, primal. Not mindless or unintelligent or anything like that and it wasn't necessarily worse. His thoughts were just more feelings than words and the knowledge on how to do things was coming to him a lot easier. He wasn't even always sure what he was doing until he was doing it.

Right now, he was swimming in a wide circle around the drone, kicking up sand with his tail in the process. He didn't understand why until he sensed the drone's confusion. It tried going after him only to be halted by the ring around him. Blonko felt a smirk sneak up on his face as he broke his pattern and slammed his head into the drone, knocking it into the bottom of the lake. He waited for it to get up but it didn't so he turned his attention to the one still above the surface.

Sticking his upper fin and blow hole out of the water, he exhaled and shot a jet of water at the other drone before diving back down. He could sense it looking for him but he still didn't know how to beat it. He could always try jumping out of the water and body slamming it again but he knew the drone would be expecting it and wouldn't be dumb enough to let him get away with it a second time. And he'd be an easier target out of the water anyway. He didn't really want to risk that. Blonko didn't think the drones would fall for the same tricks twice but what else could he do?

With a surprisingly unthreatening battlecry, Blonko launched himself out of the water again. The drone turned to fire at him but he flipped in the air, the shot barely grazing his fin, and spiked his tail down on the drone from above. It shot straight down but the water broke its fall. It would take more than one hit to take this one down.

It fired as Blonko fell back into the water and a few shots landed this time. They hurt a lot more than Blonko thought they would if he still had that fire creature's thick hide but they hurt less than he expected overall. He twisted so he fell into the water nose first. He tried to hit the drone again in the process but that would be too easy. It dodged and continued its fire. Back in the water, Blonko regained his agility and managed to wave around the blasts this time.

He tried the trick with the sand again but the drone didn't let him. Spinning as fast as it could, it let out a flurry of blasts in all directions, forcing Blonko to retreat. He clicked in annoyance, the storm of sand now blocking his view. A mental map of the lake flooded his mind once again and he managed to pinpoint the drone before another noise distracted him. It was that beeping again only this time he knew what it meant. Swimming to the edge as quickly as he could, he was a Revonnahgander again by the time he touched dry land.

He didn't waste time pondering it though. The map of the lake was still fresh in his mind. Hurrying over to where the discarded weapons lay, he gathered them up as quickly as he could and furiously threw them into the lake like spears to the spot where he knew the drone awaited. There weren't many and he still couldn't see his target but he had a good aim. When he ran out, he watched the water uneasily, waiting for the muck to clear. When it did, he saw that two of the weapons had landed, pinning the defeated drone to the bed of the lake. Blonko allowed himself a smile of satisfaction at the results of his marksmanship.

In the distance, he heard shouting from the nearby village and Blonko knew he should be returning to his own. It was well past sunrise and Blonko was soaked and coming down from a spike of adrenaline and fear. All he wanted to do was get into some dry clothes and ask his father to get this thing off his wrist.