"I gotta say Rook, you handled yourself well out there." Ben spoke before taking a bite of his burger. After the whole Kraaho ordeal, he and Rook decided to take a little break to enjoy their meals before they got any colder. They couldn't exactly wait for their orders but the manager did the duo a solid and held onto their meals until they came back from crime fighting.
In exchange, Ben had to take a photo with her son. He would've done that anyway had she asked, regardless of the favor, but whatever.
"I trained in martial arts long before I became a Plumber." Rook explained after gulping down his food, feeling honored by Ben's compliments. "I even invented some maneuvers with a fellow student of mine in the academy."
"Look at you." Ben chuckled after he finished his smoothie. "Aren't you hotshot underneath that fur."
"Hotshot?" Rook questioned, tilting his head slightly to the side.
"You're impressive is what I'm saying." Ben clarified. "You might even have a little bit of flare to you."
"I see." Rook commented uneasily, not sure how to take that. "Well, I'm glad you see worth and potential in me."
Ben was about to say more before his Omnitrix began ringing. He pressed a button and Grandpa Max, that chubby, lovable, old sod appeared on a hologram above the symbol. "Hey grandpa!"
"Maggister Tennyson." Rook said respectively, feeling slightly odd at hearing the maggister addressed so casually, even if it was a family member.
"Good to see ya, boys!" The jolly man stated back. "Just wanted to congratulate you and let you know your new ride is on its way to you."
"New ride?" Ben asked with a low amount of excitement in his tone. Ben was missing riding around in Kevin's car. It was extremely convenient when he wasn't busy doing maintenance or something.
"Oh yes. Can't have you doing your duties solely on foot." Max's grin grew wider that conveyed mischief brewing. "And Ben, you'll never guess who's coming over to deliver the goods."
"Really now?" Ben rhetorically asked. He had no clue but he wasn't going to let dear, old Grandpa know that. He would know soon enough anyhow as an old truck wildly drove up to the curb and parked sideways directly in front of them. It was an old, rusty, somewhat beat up truck with Max's logo that said "Max's Plumbing!" on it.
Ben didn't think much of it at first. Ben had no doubt it was some secret ship or something knowing Grandpa and the Plumbers sent it. What he found incredibly surprising was when the car door opened to reveal Lucy Mann, his Lenopann cousin by marriage. Her hair had grown out over the years and her outfit was reminiscent of her old one, a black shirt with a star in the center and a red skirt. Her purple eyes were still lit up with that same twinkle of mirth and mischief that dated back from her childhood.
"Heya cousin Ben!" Shouted Lucy from the driver seat. "Guess who your new squad member is!?"
"Oh my god." Ben whispered, shock consuming him until he turned back to his watch. "Grandpa!?"
"Surprise!" Max shouted. "The other maggisters and I figured we'd stick to the rule of three with you. We were on the fence about it but considering Lucy's credentials - "
"Credentials?" Ben repeated skeptically.
"We figured she'd be good for you to have around." Max finished. "And since you too haven't seen each other in a while, I had them keep it on the down low for you."
Ben would've rolled his eyes had this shocking news been his central focus. "I, uh," he turned back to the truck to see Lucy's nearly face splitting smile and wave at him. He awkwardly waved back, "alright, well this is good I guess. She can help me show Rook the ropes... maybe." He uttered the last word under his breath.
His grandpa's smile grew. "That's the spirit, Ben. I'll talk to you later."
"Yeah, later Grandpa." Ben said before he hung up. He turned back to witness Lucy rush up and pick him up in a great big bear hug. "Oof! Ugh, happy to see you too." He croaked. She was incredibly strong for her size.
"Aww!" Lucy gushed before plopping Ben back down on his seat and turning to his partner. "And you must be Rook!"
"I - Indeed!" Rook confirmed with a hint of nervousness and surprise in his tone. This young woman was quite high spirited and seemed just as questionable as Been but Rook figured if she was anything like her cousin, she was someone worthy of respect. Plus, she was the very first Lenopann to ever become a Plumber. He quickly regained his composure and saluted. "It's an honor to meet you. I've heard good things about though I had no idea you would be joining our "Hero Team", as Ben puts it."
"Me neither for the most part until they gave me my badge after I finished my exams. I was super duper excited when I got the news!" Lucy spoke swiftly and excitedly. "I mean, I haven't seen Ben since we were twelve and then there's you, a new guy! I have so many sights to show you!"
Rook momentarily glanced towards and uneasy Ben. His mentor shrugged and Rook responded with, "I look forward to it."
"Yeah." Ben said uneasily. Rook was already in the process of adjusting to earth and alien culture but with Lucy around, Ben knew his lessons would become harder to teach. And then there's Lucy herself, the excitable, mischievous puppy dog with a near infinite amount of tricks up her sleeve, or rather, in her mud. "This will definitely be interesting."
"Totally! I can't wait dish out some justice!" Lucy cheered, fist pumping into the air. She wanted to go on adventured alongside Ben and Gwen ever since Ben did his thing at the wedding and the craving for the excitement only grew after the small stuff they did when they were eleven. Her expression then turned into an oddly more cool one and she grinned at the pair. "So, do you gentlemen like my automobile?"
"Your auto, I mean, car?" Ben asked skeptically.
"Well, I was driving it, hehehe *snrk*!" Lucy always made that snorting sound whenever she laughed. Ben had to admit, it was kind of adorable. Rook found it odd but figured it was a Lenopann thing. "Come on, take a look at our Proto - Truk."
Ben stood up to get a closer gander of yet another Proto - product and Rook followed him, rather eager to see the ride for himself. Ben walked around the ride, giving it the nice once over before he look into the driver's seat. It was a rather disappointing sight to behold at first but Ben suspected there was more than meets the eye. "So, thing has a shape change mode, right?"
"Sharp as ever, Ben!" Lucy stated. If Kevin or childhood Gwen said that then he'd call them a smart ass on the spot.
"All Plumber issued vehicles should have a space craft mode even when in the guise of the local planet's vehicles." Rook explained before turning to Lucy. "May I? He asked with a certain child like enthusiasm that Ben took note of.
'Another gear head, huh?' The young hero mused.
Lucy nodded. "Oh yeah, show Ben the goods."
Ben snorted. "The goods, eh?"
"Indeed." Rook opened the dashboard, revealing a more high tech layout underneath, and pushed a few more buttons. In a matter of seconds, the old truck was now a high tech ship. "Behold the goods, Ben."
"One word." Ben spoke plainly as a smile wormed it's way onto his face, "Nice."
"Mrs. Mann, do you mind if I take a look inside the hood?" Rook asked asked moved over to the front of the spacecraft.
Lucy nodded though her smile left in favor of a light scowl and she folded her arms. "Only if you promise never to call me Mrs. Mann ever again."
"Uh, of course, thank you and apologies." Rook said nervously as he popped the hood and his eyes widened. "Oh my! Ben, do you see what I see?"
"I do." The young man answered simply. "Alien car parts."
"Indeed but they're quite the impressive alien car parts!" Rook said joyously. Ben figured he'd go techno - nerd crazy seeing whatever was inside. He wasn't much of a car guy himself and pretty much went with the rule of "as long as it works and floats" .
"Yep! I got a Detrovite NAV system, Gravitor boosters, Quilten nano ship transformers, and even tech hand crafted by some of the best Galven gear heads themselves as you can see by my engines!" Lucy explained. As previously stated, Ben wasn't much of a car guy, alien or not, so he assumed, based on Rooks growing smile, that these were some quality parts. He wondered what Kevin would say about all this.
Once they started getting deeper into the car conversation, Ben pretty much tuned them out and then wondered where all of this was heading. The team just disassembled last night and here he was already, an alien cousin, albeit who didn't know magic or was biologically related, and an alien guy, granted he was mentoring this one and Rook had yet to try to kill him. A part of him jokingly wondered if these two would get together too.
XXXXX
"Wow, did you guys repaint the place?" Lucy asked as she pulled the Proto - Truck up by Ben's home. Rook and Lucy were given their own living quarters at the Plumber base but Lucy wanted to drive her cousin home. Bond a little with a treasured family member.
"Yeah, well, technically just me. Shape shifting has other uses than just butt kicking." Ben answered, remembering the last time he accidentally destroyed a part of the home. His dad was pissed but his mom saw it as a good opportunity for a nice little remodel. Of course, Ben had no choice but to do most of the work.
"Right!? Especially when it comes to a little mischief, huh?" Lucy burst into a small giggle fit, thinking of all the pranks they could pull thanks to their powers while Ben felt a shiver run up his spine. A premonition no doubt.
"Yeeaah." Ben said slowly as they got out of the truck. He figured Lucy would wanna stop by to say hello to his parents who would no doubt be eager themselves to see her after so long. As soon as they got near the door, it swung open with Ben's mom rushing up to give her niece a big hug with his dad joining in with some restraint since Sandra was already smothering the girl in a big, warm bear hug. "Figures that would happen."
"Oh, little Lucy! It's so good to see you!" Sandra gushed as she and her husband released her. Had Lucy not been a Lenopann then she would be gasping for air that left her lungs and Ben would be praising karma.
Carl chuckled and shook his head, "Can't really call her little anymore can we?"
Sandra nodded in agreement, "Ben, Lucy, dinner's ready so you two come right own in. Oh, I can't wait to here about what you've been doing, sweetie." Sandra said as she led the family inside.
They didn't know it but they were being watched and the figure clad in an armor of bone and metal where only his pale green face was visible, was feeling particularly eager to make his move from a safe distance away and camouflaged in a tree. Soon, soon. "Psychobos, I'll have you're target soon. It's nightfall and no doubt nearly time for their resting period. Once the Lenopann leaves and the target slumbers, I'll strike."
"A-a-about time!" The irritating voice rang through the bounty hunter's communicator. The hunter prepared himself for a another small pride filled rant. "In the t-t-time that took for you t-t-to do mere surveillance, I could've c-c-captured five B-Bens!"
"Doubtful." Khyber retorted before he muted his communicator. Such an annoying client to work for. Had he been hunting any other prey for this scientist then he would have quit a long time ago and got himself a new set of carapace boots, but his love of these hunts kept him going. This client had the benefit of assigning him worthy quarry for interesting compensation which was both monetary and... practical.
One of those practical compensations would come in handy tonight. If Ben died then the hunt would be over and the greatest prey of the universe would be claimed. If Ben survived however, then that would mean Ben was somehow stronger than he thought and the great hunt would continue with greater challenges. A win - win outcome in truth.
XXXXX
Ben tossed and turned in his sheets, loudly snoring as his dreams of Sumo Slammers and cheerleaders played in his mind. A nice bit relaxation after the day's neighborhood watching. He was so deep within his slumber that he barely heard his window open and almost went back to sleep. His eyes didn't fully open until he heard a soft thud on his room's floor. On reflex, he swiftly rolled off his bed and onto his feet.
A dog like creature pounced upon oh his bed with its claws and fangs bared, primed to tear into his flesh like they did his sheets. Had he not rolled out of the way then he would've been in bloody shreds.
"It's too late for this shit!" Ben growled as he used his Omnitrix to turn into, "Stinkfly!" This Stinkyfly looked mostly like his original Stinkfly except for the symbol being moved to his chest.
The dog alien growled and pounced again only to receive a thick coat of mucus to the face and be caught midair by its paws. Ben Went out the window with the dog in his claws before tossing it out on the front lawn. He noticed the spiked red collar with the odd hourglass like symbol on it and commented, "Judging from that collar, I say you've got an owner."
Ben then stopped as he swore he heard a very faint whistle sound go off. His attention went back to the dog, or rather, the red light that enveloped the dog. The light faded to reveal that the dog was now a giant white lizard with a mostly white, slender body, red spikes and claws, four eyes, and maw filled with large serrated teeth. It hissed at him, giving him a better view of all those teeth.
Ben unleashed a volley of mucus at the beast only to see it release a yellow and green fog from its mouth that made his mucus dissipate into nothing. Ben cursed under his breath and dodged another lunge only to be struck by the prehensile tail as it quickly rotated its body midair, making him crash onto the ground. "Gah, alright then!"
Ben hit the symbol and transformed into Wildmutt, bigger than his previous incarnations, being slightly bigger than a car, and featuring three dark orange stripes on the top of his head, and roared. The lizard beast leaped at Ben and found itself caught midair again, slammed into the ground, and feel fangs dig into its windpipe while being violently shook against the pavement. The lizard struggled and flailed, releasing a cloud of that gas as it did so. It greatly irritated Ben's sensitive nostrils, making him toss the beast, who would now be dubbed Buglizard, away and into a car hard enough to completely flatten the front half.
"Ah, a carnivorous beast with no natural predator but hardly a threat to the batch we have." The hunter chuckled before releasing a whistling sound.
A sound that Ben clearly heard and made him recoil in slight pain. The lizard beast flipped itself back up and changed into some sort of large rhino beetle like monster covered in a tough grayish purple carapace on four spike legs that prodded into the ground. It charged at Ben, aiming to crush him to paste or return the favor of rag dolling him in its maw. Ben managed to get his wits about him and jumped over the beast's head, getting nicked on the left leg in the process, landed on its back.
Ben's claws lightly dug into the shell, not deep enough to reach muscle, and barely held on as it thrashed and squirmed to get him off. He growled as this would get him no where and released his grip to reach for his Omnitrix as he landed to turn into, "Four Arms! Come at me, beetle boy!" He said with a 'come hither" gesture with two of his hands. The Tetramand transformation's only difference form the original was his shirt was now green where the white used to be and his Omnitrix symbol was now on the center of a belt buckle.
The giant beetle beast, who Ben would now fondly call Crabdozer, charged forward and Ben latched on to his head. Ben's feet dug into the street as the force initially pushed him back and, using all of his strength, he flipped Crabdozer overhead. It landed with a loud, ground shattering boom and Ben pressed the advantage by jumping up on its exposed underside to unleash a series of blows. "Damn it, I'm not into beating animals so whoever you, come on out already!" He roared as his blows further embedded the beast into the streets.
"Hmm." The hunter hummed as he pulled out a sniper. "Sorry old friend, I was too careless." The hunter mentally scolded himself for being too invested in seeing the device in use and discarding the number rule: hunters use ALL of their advantages. That was why they struck at this time was it not? They've wasted time in playing with their prey, underestimating him, and now the prey knew of their existence, a great deal of what what they were capable of. But at least that meant the game would prove far more interesting and they too had more knowledge of their prey.
Ben heard a small bang and immediately jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a sniper bolt aimed at his head. "Woah!"
"Such reflexes." The hunter praised before he whistled through his neck holes.
Crabdozer transformed, despite the intense pain, into some form of worm creature and burrowed away while Ben kept his focus out for the sniper. He dodged the sniper out of instinct in truth, learning to be wary of unknown gunshots do to his career. If he could just get a hint of where the bolt came from...
"Ben!" Came the cry of his mother from the front door, "Are you okay, hun!?"
"Mom, get back inside and get down! There's a snip - argh!" Ben screamed as he was thrown back by the dog's new form emerging from the ground. He got a clear view of it now. It was orange and red on the topside, tan on the underside. It had spikes going down its back, rows of vestigial legs on the sides, six red eyes, and, most noticeably, a large beak that helped it burrow in the earth. Slamworm would be a good name for it. "Just get back inside! I got this!"
"Okay! Just so you know, we called the Plumbers!" She told him as she casually walked back in.
The hunter, meanwhile, loaded another bolt and took a peak with his binoculars when he noticed something approaching Ben's location. He sighed. "Ah, so we've ran out of time then." He said somberly and whistled to call back his pet. They'd have to wait for another opportunity.
Slamworm heard its master's call and immediately flipped backwards into the earth, tunneling away from its adversary. Ben walked over to the hole and sighed, reverting back to his usual self. He looked around and saw the neighborhood emerge from their homes to see what happened. "Don't worry everyone! Someone was just trying to kill me with a shape shifting blue dog and a laser sniper! Return to your beds and snooze! Nothing out of the ordinary here!"
Most of the people reluctantly followed Ben's instructions while a few stuck around to take last minute pictures. As Plumber trucks arrived, Ben figured he would get no more sleep that night and begrudgingly readied himself for some questioning while rubbing his slightly sore leg.
XXXXX
"So let me get this straight: a blue alien dog attacked you at night and had the ability to transform into other aliens to fight you. And there was a sniper?"' Asked Blukic who stood alongside Driba. It was early in the morning and Max had gathered Ben's team, Blukic and Driba, and his fellow maggister Patelliday in the headquarter's briefing room to inquire on the attack from last night.
"Yes, Blukic, do you need me to draw a diagram?" Ben asked sarcastically, rather grumpy from his lack of sleep. Judging from the way Blukic expectantly looked at him, he figured his sarcasm didn't register and turned to his Grandpa. "Whenever I was something else, I heard this very faint whistle sound, barely audible. When I was Wildmutt, I heard the sound clearly and I think it made the dog transform."
"Aw, it's kinda like the dog version of you." Lucy cooed before giggling at the thought of a green shape shifting dog.
"Yeah, except more focused on taking lives rather than saving them." Ben groused, slumping in his seat.
Lucy hummed and put a hand on her chin. "True. It probably also follows directions and has a better diet too." She cheekily added.
Ben narrowed his eyes at that little jab. "Oi."
"Point is," Max spoke, getting the conversation back on track, "we've got a shape shifting dog led by an unknown marksman most likely after Ben."
"Not to mention they struck at one of Ben's more vulnerable moments. We are not dealing with a small time criminal." Rook added. Unlike most of the people in this room, Rook was heavily troubled once he heard the news. It was understandable since he's dealt with these type of situations the least, even Blukic and Driba had in depth knowledge about the troubles Ben went through and how he came out, but it was also the fact that this assailant was very new, as there were no files on them, and literally had an animal with abilities akin to Ben's.
Ben let out an explosive sigh and rose from his seat. "Guess that means we gotta strike back before that guy does. Question is though, where do we look?"
"Or who to look for." Patelliday spoke up. "You might be able to scruff somethin' up in Undertown but you shouldn't count on it. Big universe after all." He put a little emphasis on the word "might". For all they knew, this attacker worked alone or was hired by a dictator currently in another galaxy. Ben does have a civilization or two that literally hates his guts so long distance hits were plausible.
As the Plumber crew formulated ideas on possible leads, a scientist and a hunter worked out there issues of performance.
"I find your inc-c-competence most unsettling, K-K-Khyber." Came the voice of a small, blue Cerebral Crustacean on a screen who sneered down at the hunter. He was a rather unimpressive figure, even sporting a naturally large claw and a smaller claw barely the size of a small stick. "I expected you to be b-b-back with the watch or even the entire b-b-boy by now." Rather than disappointment, his tone of voice conveyed a smug mirth as if he barely expected Khyber to succeed at all.
Maintaining his professional demeanor, Khyber replied, "I underestimated him. A mistake I won't make twice."
Psychobos chuckled and narrowed his eyes. "Nor will I, great hunter, and I use the term loosely. You see, I have arranged for assistance since I doubt you'll be able to accomplish this t-t-task alone anymore."
Khyber's eyes widened and his composure began to sink in that moment. "You did what?" He almost mumbled, shocked at the news given to him.
"You heard me." Psychobos displayed an image on the monitor. It was a skeletal, pointy headed being. "His name is Psyphon and he once served under Vilgax himself as he fought against your very target. He has also amassed a group of thugs and scum who can assist in our endeavors."
"With all do respect, I need none of this." Khyber hissed, insulted at the very idea of sharing a quarry with some former lackey and his neanderthal goons. This was HIS hunt after all. Ben was now HIS prey.
"That's a shame, because I do." Psychobos casually told him, not at all concerned about Khyber's quickly rising frustrations. "I gave you a c-c-chance in respect of our long p-partnership despite my better judgement. However, your arrogance has led to incompetence and now my c-c-calculations say your c-chances are even slimmer. Too slim to be left on your own."
"Your calculations are worth less than my dog's dung." Khyber growled, fists clenching as he felt his anger rise.
Psychobos ignored him, considering his little comment worthless and short sighted, and continued. "You are to meet with Psyphon later today to formulate a plan to bring me the Omnitrix. Try not to fail at this, greatest hunter in all of the universe." The doctor's voice carried a nearly palpable sarcasm in that last part of his sentence and he immediately cut off the communication with his hired help.
Khyber almost seemed to release steam from his holes with all the fury now welled up inside of him. He turned to his dog, who lounged on the floor and licked at it wounds, and growled out, "When all is said and done, old friend, you will feed on what little brains that walking joke of a doctor has. And rest assured, we will be the ones to take the head of the mighty Ben Tennyson."
XXXXX
AN: Another Chapter! Hope my fellow Americanos had a wonderful Thanksgiving and even if you're not American, I hope you have something to be proud and thankful for in your life.
By the way, the "harem" is set. No need for suggestions as of now. I got plans.
Random tidbit of the day: wouldn't have been awesome if Ben 10 went the Samurai Jack route of maturity and grew up alongside its fan base and kept the heart of what made Ben 10 so cool in the first place? I think so. I certainly think we can all agree it would've better than the 2016 remake route they chose.
