Another collaboration between Redbat132 and myself. :)
Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. Rise Of The Guardians belongs to Dreamworks. Lea, Hope the Pooka, and Nightlight belong to Redbat132. I only own Rachel, Sasha, Angel, Alice, Joy, and Daniel. :)
An Easter Unlike Any Other
Chapter 1
"I can't wait to show everyone what I earned in Easter. They're never going to believe it," Lea said to her childhood friend, who was sitting on her shoulder.
Nightlight turned his head in slight confusion; something Lea caught.
"I mean, this story dimension of Ben Tennyson, the Grant Mansion, and possibly the whole Omniverse has never seen me transform into a female Easter Bunny," Lea explained. "And you'd think with all the trips of being here that I'd already shared this news with them sooner. With Easter around the corner in this universe, it will be the perfect opportunity to tell them."
She walked up to the Grant Mansion where all her friends lived, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves. While she wanted to tell them all her secret, she hoped that no one would think differently of her. She also hoped the little ones wouldn't get scared as she knew little ones could get a little intimidated by the Easter Bunny. "If I get any little ones that start crying, I'll immediately change back and reassure them that it's okay," she said aloud, making Nightlight look at her. "I mean no offense to Bunny, but I'm worried the kids may get a bit scared. I've seen it happen and I don't want to paint Bunny in a bad light."
Nightlight gently patted her shoulder to reassure her and she smiled at him, knowing he was telling her it was going to be okay. "You're right. I'm overthinking this," she said.
Just as she was about to knock on the door, it opened and she saw Rachel there and she looked worried. "Lea, come inside, quickly!" She said urgently, grabbing the girl's arm and pulling her inside the house.
Lea noted that something was wrong with how some of the aliens came running into the living room, all looking worried. "What happened?" She asked.
"Do you have Khyber's coordinates?" She heard Whampire ask Snare-Oh.
"Calling them up right now," the mummy alien said.
Wildmutt whimpered worriedly and Rachel nodded. "I know, boy. I'm worried too," she said. "I only hope Ben can hold on long enough for us to get him out of Khyber's grasp."
"But why did he kidnap Uncle Ben?" Alice asked worriedly.
"From what we heard, Khyber is angry because he failed in a hunt and he blames Ben for his loyal dog, Zed, leaving him," Ghostfreak said. "And he wants a thrilling hunt, one he believes Ben can give him."
The little boy standing beside Whampire looked worried. "Uncle Whampire, is Uncle Ben going to be okay?" He asked.
The Vladat picked up the little boy. "Don't worry, kiddo," he said soothingly. "Your uncle Ben's a tough cookie. He'll be alright."
Lea could hear that Whampire was worried too and saw it in his and Sasha's faces as they looked at each other and the others tried to think of a way to stop Khyber. The blonde-haired teen made up her mind.
Whampire heard glass break and looked up in time to see Lea go through a portal that was starting to vanish. "Lea!" He called out worriedly, running up to the portal, but it disappeared.
"Where did she go?" Frankenstrike asked.
Wildmutt began growling softly and Rachel's eyes widened. "Oh, no," she said. "Wildmutt says he saw Lea get a determined look on her face as we were trying to think of a way to stop Khyber."
"And from the sounds of it, she used a snowglobe," Snare-Oh said before everyone put two-and-two together.
Rachel took charge. "Snare-Oh, lock onto those coordinates. Whampire, get Alien X. Frankenstrike, have sick bay ready. Wildmutt, put the mansion on Level 2 lockdown. The rest of you be ready in case we need backup," she said.
They all scrambled to get ready for battle as Rachel glanced at where the portal had been. "Be careful, Lea," she said softly as she hoped whatever Lea had in mind worked.
Meanwhile on Khyber's ship...
"We got to do something, Nightlight," Lea said to her friend, running close until hiding from getting spotted. "If what I read from Katherine's book series is true, then this Khyber creep is a professional mercenary and some great huntsman in the galaxy…allegedly. Not to mention one of the top five or so crazy villains Ben faces."
Nightlight shrugged in agreement, evening his hand in a 'so-so' way involving Khyber. He then gave her a quizzed look, as if asking Lea, 'What's your plan? Call for backup?'.
"I'm not sure. Even if we do call for help, they might not reach us in time," Lea reasoned, as she suddenly got an idea when looking at her green charm piece from her bracelet. "…But maybe we can stall long enough to get Ben out and have the others show up to stop Khyber."
Catching on, he nodded, though looking a bit worried. The idea was risky, but if it saved Ben, then he hoped it would work.
Soon, Lea got into position and focused on her childhood beliefs from the crystal bracelet. It turned green and transformed Lea into Hope the Pooka.
"Khyber wants a thrilling hunt to challenge him? He's got one," Lea/Hope said with determination, ready to make a move.
Ben struggled in his bonds, but couldn't get lose. "Khyber, you do realize this is pointless, right?" He asked. "You weren't too subtle with kidnapping me."
"If you think your friends will save you, I'm afraid they won't find you," the hunter smirked at him.
"They will," the hero said bravely. "They'll find a way to stop you. They always triumph."
"Not this time," Khyber said.
Suddenly, Ben saw something pop out of the ground behind Khyber with the hole disappearing instantly. A familiar figure, at that.
"What the…Bunny?" Ben questioned, thinking one of the Guardians of Childhood showed up.
Khyber found the question odd, but turned around. To both his and Ben's surprise, there was a large golden-furred rabbit right behind the hunter. The body type showed that she was female and anthropomorphic. Kind of like an amazon warrioress.
"Oi! Khyber the Huntsman! How dare ya waste your time with some amateur prey that's not worth your while!" The female rabbit exclaimed in an Australian accent, pointing at the hunter. "Why don't you try hunting someone even better that's extremely rare across the universe?"
Ben normally would have taken offense at being called amateur, but he wisely kept quiet.
"Who are you? What kind of creature are you?" Khyber questioned, not sounding scared but more curious.
"One of a kind, mate. The names Hope. Hope the Pooka," she answered, thumbing herself with a smirk. "Bet you nor anyone else never hunted someone like me before. How about I give ya a real challenge in exchange for Ben Tennyson's freedom? Surely, taking me down will put a hunter like you on top for everyone to see who the real greatest huntsman of the galaxy is."
That tickled the hunter's ego. "I hope your words are not just talk," he said, bringing out his blades.
Hope smirked. "Try to keep up," she said before hopping away fast and he gave chase, getting caught up in the hunt.
Ben was about to figure a way out when he saw something that gave him pause and he looked to see a very familiar figure beside him.
"Nightlight? What are you doing here?" He asked, being mindful of his voice so Khyber couldn't hear him; despite the hunter busy with his battle/hunt.
Nightlight held up a small Crystal Shifter and pointed to the bonds, giving the hero the idea that this was a rescue. Ben then looked at the giant rabbit girl closely, noticing some familiar features. He saw a small blonde curl in the top front of her face, autumn-colored eyes, and crystal accessories on her left wrist plus neck. But the biggest clue in front of him, although moving around fast, were the little charms around her ankles. Charms that symbolized the Guardians of Childhood handmade by one person.
"Nightlight…is that Lea, but as a female Easter Bunny?" The Omnitrix Wielder questioned the toy, hoping he was right.
The toy nodded and while Ben admired Lea's bravery, he was also worried.
"You need to get me out of here. She won't last for long with Khyber," the Omnitrix Wielder responded seriously.
Suddenly, a loud whistle echoed and Ben knew it was now or never, feeling the bonds become looser thanks to Nightlight.
"OW, OW, OOOOWWWW!" Hope yelled in pain, covering her ears from that piercing whistle sound. As she had sensitive ears, a noise like that really hurt.
With his opponent distracted, Khyber made his move, getting closer to the rabbit.
"I must admit…You have proven to be an excellent fighter," he admitted, very impressed while walking to the defeated opponent. "Just when I thought I lost my edge, you have proven me wrong."
"Yeah, well…I aim to please," Hope remarked, trying to get back up until feeling a hard pinch around her left shoulder that knocked her out.
Khyber smiled successfully when using the Hephaestan Neuro Grip on Hope before bending down at her unconscious body. "Just for that, I will let you live as my new rare hunting pet, but first…you will need a special collar."
He got up, grabbed Hope by the fur coat, and dragged her to get the Nemetrix collar in putting it around the female rabbit's neck.
Ben felt the last bonds come loose and he jumped up, slapping his Omnitrix to become Chromastone, putting Nightlight on his shoulder. "Hold on, Nightlight," he said before aiming his hand at the hallway where Khyber was coming up, dragging Hope behind him.
The hunter paused in shock at seeing Ben free. "How did you escape?!" He asked.
Chromastone smirked. "How do you think?" He asked before firing a beam at the hunter, knocking him back. Quickly, the hero grabbed onto Hope and fired again at Khyber, frying some of his armor just as the other Plumbers showed up, having gotten a call about Khyber.
"Where is the one that called in?" One Plumber asked.
"She's with me," Ben said, having already sent Hope to the mansion via transport beams. "She's really brave. Stood her ground long enough to help."
The Plumbers were surprised, but went to take Khyber in, to which Ben and Nightlight headed back to the Mansion, hoping Lea was okay.
Back at the Grant Mansion in Frankenstrike's lab, the scientist was checking the rabbit for injuries. "No injuries, thankfully," he said. "I'm actually impressed she held her own against Khyber."
"I'm glad," said Alien X with a nod.
Hope began to wake up and she saw Ben with Snare-Oh, Alien X, and Whampire. She went to move, but wasn't able to, looking to see there was a corruptura on her forehead.
"Uh…What's happening?" Hope questioned, growing concern when being on top of an examination table plus couldn't move.
"Sorry, but we need to make sure you're not a threat," Ben said, looking serious.
"Threat?! Ben, I literally saved your life from being a meat-trophy of that Khyber weirdo!" Hope reasoned, nearly losing the Australian accent from her shock while struggling free from the corruptura's control. "Besides, you know me! All of you know me, in fact! I'm-"
"Save it," he said, just managing to hide a grin. "We'll get our answers out of you." He turned to the others. "Shall we begin?"
The three aliens, already knowing Hope was Lea thanks to Whampire and Alien X already knowing and Ben telling Snare-Oh, gave mischievous grins. "Let the interrogation begin," the Vladat said.
Hope tensed up in worry, but then felt fingers wiggling into her sides and underarms, which made her laugh. "AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!" She laughed out.
"Look at that," Alien X chuckled.
Snare-Oh tickled Hope's ears, making her squeal at that and squeal again when he tickled her feet. "Wow, she's really ticklish," he said.
"It would seem so," Whampire said.
A moment later, they felt something wrap around them and turned to find the potted plants in the lab were growing like crazy and Ben, who had been tickling Lea's neck, was wrapped up in the plants and he tried to escape, but was stuck. Snare-Oh ended up in a similar predicament while Whampire and Alien X dodged to avoid the instantly-growing plants.
Feeling the tickle torture stop, Hope focused on catching her breath before she looked to see Alien X was helping Ben get free of the plants and Whampire was doing the same for Snare-Oh. She looked around, stunned to see that her laughter had made the plants grow like crazy.
"Okay, I had no idea I could that," Hope admitted, now feeling the corruptura being removed from her forehead, courtesy of Whampire. "I thought that only happens at the Warren. Sorry."
"No worries...Lea," Alien X said, smiling.
She looked surprised before sighing a little. "So…how long have you figured out it was me?" Hope/Lea asked. "And was restraining and tickling me necessary?"
Ben smiled. "I figured it out when Nightlight was trying to free me back on Khyber's ship and I noticed how you looked familiar despite being a rabbit," he said.
"Alien X and I figured it out as soon as Ben sent you back here after dealing with Khyber," Whampire said.
"And Ben told me," Snare-Oh said.
Sighing, Hope facepalmed before calming to change back into Lea Thompson in a green aura from her crystal bracelet. "I wanted to tell you guys for so long. I just didn't know the right moment."
"We don't blame you for being a little hesitant to tell us," Alien X said. "It is a rather big secret."
"Since when did you learn how to transform into a giant rabbit?" Ben questioned, seriously amazed.
"It's a long story," Lea admitted sheepishly, now seeing Nightlight being handed to her by Alien X before she told them everything.
After hearing the story, Ben had his mouth opened in shock when processing it. "Hang on…So, you're telling me that you became a giant rabbit girl by touching a radioactive egg?!"
"Not radioactive. Just magic," Lea responded, chuckling at the hero's reaction. "And FYI, I did not speak an Australian accent naturally when first being Hope. I had to practice my accent imitation by listening to Bunnymund."
"Really?" Ben asked. "I thought that would have been like the first thing you could do when you first transformed."
"Easy for you to say, Ben. Whenever becoming a different alien, you're already speaking in a different accent like it's nothing," Lea pointed out. "Katherine even told me the time you spoke complete Spanish as a Tiger alien in a wrestler outfit that one time."
The hero shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said before giving the blonde-haired teen a side hug. "Still, thanks for saving me, Lea."
"It was nothing, really. I may not be as courageous and fearless as you, but I do take a stand when seeing the people that I care about be in danger," Lea reasoned, although looking unsure. "Of course…you probably would have escaped on your own without me. I know how you get about others taking credit on your work or prefer doing things by yourself."
Ben shook his head. "Lea, you were really brave to go against Khyber. And using your Pooka form to shock him was a stroke of genius. You're really smart and have more courage than I do sometimes."
Lea turned her head on the Omnitrix wielder in surprise. "Really? You honestly think I'm all that? Even if I'm a total klutz on first meets or battling deadly creatures?"
"Yes, I honestly do," he said. "And you give better first impressions than I do. Most everyone sees me as arrogant, save for my family and friends."
"If it helps…I never saw you arrogant," Lea reasoned, placing a caring hand on Ben's shoulder. "The adventures we went through together have proved it. I usually wish I was more confident as you on the simplest things. Public speaking, performing in front of people, speaking while looking at people in the eye without shying away, you name it. How do you manage to handle all that without fearing you'll mess up or embarrass yourself?"
Ben chuckled. "It's not easy," he admitted. "But my family has helped a lot along with me remembering that at the end of the day, it's not about the glory, but about the knowledge that I helped save lives and a lot of people are resting at home because I did what I had to do, even if I mess up sometimes."
"I guess that makes sense. Even so, you or anyone else can have the spotlight of attention in hero work," Lea responded, putting her hands up. "I'm not ready in being world famous or brave enough to handle large crowds. Not yet, at least. For now, I'm just glad you saved my life as much as I did the same for you."
The three aliens smiled. "That's our Lea," Snare-Oh said, pulling her into a hug as Whampire, Alien X, and Ben joined in, making the blonde teen feel better and happy that all was well again.
Continue on for part 2. :)
And please leave Redbat132 and myself a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418
