HeroVerse
Chapter 8
"Negotiations"
Ben opened his eyes after he slept for what felt like days. In reality, it was a measly few hours. Wrapped around him was the nude form of his girlfriend, Ester. She was a human-alien hybrid of Kraaho descent. She had pink skin with purple tribal markings right below her eyes, on her shoulders curving to the spot between her breasts, tracing her waist line, and decorating her thighs. Her eyebrows were white tufts of hair that resembled horns. When she was younger, her hair had been short a short pixie cut that naturally pointed upwards. Now it was long and flowing down to her shoulder blades. This was Ben's safe place, in bed with her. Nothing could hurt him here. There was nothing to worry about. He pulled her in tighter and just stayed laying in bed for a few minutes longer. He stared up at the ceiling with so many thoughts running through his mind. What even was the world anymore? He was fighting villains from universes he couldn't even fathom, with abilities just as alien as the ones on his wrist, if not more so. Eon was up to something, but even now he couldn't figure out what. He was too powerful for Ben in his current state. He'd barely even been trying in their latest encounter.
Ben heard a giggle come from somewhere under his chin. He glanced down to see Ester looking up at him with her cute little violet eyes. She had a little smile on her face.
"And what are you laughing at?" Ben asked.
"You're adorable when you have your serious thinking face on." Ester smiled.
"It's not adorable." Ben tried to pout, but Ester saw through it with ease. Not that Ben was trying hard.
"What are you thinking about?" Ester asked. She sat up, using the blankets to cover her form. She wouldn't get anything out of Ben if he was distracted by…other things.
"Just…everything that's happened in the last few days." Ben replied. "Even with Kevin and Gwen's help, we still weren't able to take down Eon and his Legion of Doom."
"Hey, give Eon some credit." Ester said.
Ben raised an eyebrow.
"Oh come on, you have to recognize that he is probably just as dangerous as Vilgax, if not more." Ester said. "Do you really think you're going to just be able to take him down after a few battles? Even with Kevin, Gwen, and all those other heroes you've been working with?"
"I could if I used…" Ben looked down at his Omnitrix as he trailed off.
Ester shook her head, frustrated with where Ben's mind was at. "Ben, you told me about Alien X. And you told me why you don't like using him." Ester said with a soothing, reasonable voice. "You can't fault yourself for not using him. You have like a bajillion transformations in that watch. I'm sure there's something besides Alien X that could help."
"But with Alien X, it's only a snap away." Ben said.
"You're not God, Ben." Ester said, almost snapping.
"I mean to be fair, I haven't really checked for him in there." Ben said, as he began scrolling through his transformations.
Ester glared at him, narrowing her eyes.
"Hey, I'm kidding!" Ben said, raising his arms in surrender. He returned to the somber demeanor. "I just…I'm supposed to be the hero…and I don't want to mess up."
"Oh, trust me, you're a hero, Benjamin Tennyson." Ester said, giving him a very sultry look. "I guess I'll just have to remind you."
Ester leaned in, pressing her lips to Ben's. Ben lost himself in the kiss. The contact. The touch of the woman he loved. It reminded him that here, he was safe. Nothing could touch him here. He forgot about all of his problems for a little while as he fell back into bed with Ester.
Eon walked a little taller through the void of his pocket dimension. His brand new body was free of the aches and pains of a Chronian past their prime. He'd been searching Kim and Jake's universe for a certain individual he needed to supplement his plans. Today was the day he welcome that individual into his alliance. A swirling mass of energy manifested a few feet away from Eon. A portal to the previously mentioned universe. Two dark shapes appeared in the mass, their features becoming clearer as they stepped through.
The first was a mousey-man with blue skin and spikey hair on top of his head. He wore a dark blue lab coat and had dark circles under his wide eyes. Next to him was a beautiful woman with pale green skin and black hair with green highlights. Her eyes were also a striking emerald green. She wore a black and green body suit that parted to reveal her navel and exaggerated her chest. It hugged her hips in a way that some men might find very lovely. The look in her eyes though, showed she was not someone to be messed with.
"Welcome, Doctor Drakken, and Shego." Eon said. He held his arms behind his back and took note of the two. "The Huntsman has told me much about you, and that you might be familiar with one of my adversaries. Does the name Kim Possible ring any bells?"
"Oh I know Kim Possible!" Drakken began to rant. "She's only ruined every single plan I've ever put into motion!" He threw up his hands in frustration and began to rant.
Eon held a hand up, glowing with purple energy. The volume on Drakken's voice seemed to drop considerably, but he himself didn't seem to notice. Eon turned his attention back to Shego.
"From my observations of your timestream, it seems like you are the more capable of the pair." Eon continued. "I require both of your assistance in dealing with Kim Possible while also furthering my own plans."
"And why should we help you?" Shego rolled her eyes. She clearly didn't see Eon as any sort of threat or something to worry about.
"Simple, my dear." Eon nodded. "If you two assist me, I will assure that you two will gain total control over your universe's Earth. No one will oppose the two of you."
She gave a sly look towards Drakken, who was still on mute and ranting. "Maybe the old coot will finally chill out, and I can't help but savor the opportunity to finally destroy that ginger bitch."
"Then, do we have a deal?" Eon held out his hand to shake.
"Oh, we do, Purple Boy." Shego returned the handshake.
"Perfect, then I have your first assignment." Eon nodded.
Danny stood in front of a glass tube, which was currently fogged in order to prevent seeing the outside world from inside. It was a super tangible containment unit. Not even the most powerful ghosts would be able to phase through it. Which made it the perfect prison for Dark. Danny pressed a button on the console near the prison. The console let out a satisfied beep before defogging Dark's prison.
"Oh, so you've finally come to take a look in the mirror." Dark said. His body had healed his wounds from the Battle of Ledgerdomain. He stood facing Danny with his arms crossed behind his back.
"Does constantly reminding me that you're a future version of me get you off or something?" Danny said, annoyance prominent in his voice.
"Oh please, Daniel." Dark said. "I only speak the truth. What's so bad about me being your future? Your abilities become on par with the very gods themselves. You have an entire planet kneeling before you."
Danny pulled out a picture from his pocket. It was of him and his girlfriend, Sam Manson, in front of a statue in Paris. It depicted Danny holding up the globe, commemorating his heroics in saving the entire planet from a giant asteroid. "See this? Do these statues exist in your future?" Danny asked Dark as he held up the photo to the glass.
Dark smiled, showing his razor-sharp teeth. "As rubble."
That shook Danny. Whether or not Dark was telling the truth. Just the idea of all his accomplishments being invalidated because of Dark shook him to the core. But Danny refused to remain shaken. He shook the thought away, and looked at Dark in the eyes. "Where does Eon have Rex?"
"Now Daniel, we both know that I'm not just going to TELL you that." Dark said matter-of-factly.
"No, I'm not letting you out." Danny replied just as matter-of-factly.
"Oh please, I'm right where I want to be." Dark let out a laugh. "No Daniel, I'll answer your questions. All I ask is that you answer one in return once you're done."
Danny narrowed his eyes. "Fine. So, where does Eon have Rex?"
"In a pocket dimension outside of space and time." Dark said. "We're using it as our primary base of operations."
"And how would one get there?" Danny asked.
"No one can access it on their own except Eon." Dark said. "It's surrounded by condensed time. Not even a ghost would be able to phase through."
"Not even another time traveler?"
"Only if they knew where to look for it."
This was going nowhere. Dark was giving half-baked answers. He was giving information that was practically useless to Danny and the others. Time to switch gears.
"Okay…so WHY did Eon have Rex taken?" Danny asked, cocking his head.
"The Alpha Nanite wishes to absorb the boy's nanites." Dark replied. "Apparently they're exceptionally valuable and powerful."
That made enough sense, but if that was the case, it was probably too late.
"Would Eon be open to a hostage exchange?" Danny scratched his chin.
"Perhaps. He certainly didn't free me and recruit me into his little scheme for no reason, right?" Dark arched an eyebrow.
"Fine, how can we get into contact with Eon?" Danny asked his alter-ego.
"He has a connection with Ben Tennyson." Dark said. "If anyone can get his attention from across space and time, it's him."
"Fine, thanks." Danny said as he moved to fog the glass once more.
"Ah ah ah," Dark wagged a finger at his younger self. "I believe it's my turn to ask a question."
Danny groaned. "Okay, what?"
"You despise me and consider me just a skeleton in that deep closet of yours." Dark began. "You claim that you'll never turn into me."
"Get on with it or I'm leaving."
"All things considered, Daniel, who's to say you aren't already turning into me?" Dark grinned.
Kim ran across the rooftops of Bellwood as she chased an Asian girl wearing a cat ear-styled bow, cat paw-gloves, and a white and pink dress with pink fur on the ends. She carried a sack of stolen jewels over her shoulder. It was Evil Crook 101, stealing jewels in a big leather sack.
"You'll never catch Nyancy Chan!" The girl meowed back at Kim.
"NYANcy? Are you serious?" Kim let out an audible groan. "Ugh, and I thought my villains were cheesy." Kim pulled out her grapple from her belt and fired it towards Nyancy.
Nyancy Chan dodged the incoming grappling hook with appropriate feline grace. She let out an audible hiss and suddenly a tabby cat lunged at Kim from the corner of her vision.
"Where the hell-?!" Kim jumped forward, lunging into a roll right as the tabby lashed out with its claws, missing Kim by an inch. Kim rolled right back into stride, never once slowing down. Kim pressed a few buttons on her suit's wrist and it glowed to life. She aimed her fist at the fleeing Nyancy Chan and fired a low-power energy bolt. The blast struck home as Nyancy was momentarily knocked into the air, hitting the roof hard. Kim pressed another button on her suit, and fired another blast. This time, the blast became a rope of hard light energy that wrapped around Nyancy, completely immobilizing her. Nyancy growled and struggled against the bindings, but it was pointless. Kim stood over Nyancy with a triumphant look on her face. "I'm sure the Plumbers have your cell nice and warm for you, Nancy." Kim smiled.
"Grrrrr, it's Nyancy!" Nyancy Chan hissed up at Kim Possible.
"Yeah I'm not saying that." Kim rolled her eyes. She helped Nyancy up and went to meet up with the Plumbers.
They descended to the streets below, where two Plumbers were waiting with a transport truck. Kim passed Nyancy over with a nod to the Plumbers, who accepted custody of the cat-themed villain.
"Thank you, Miss Possible." One of the Plumbers said. They loaded her up and drove away, back towards the Plumber Base.
Kim took a walk down the street until she found herself at Mr. Smoothy's. "Just a Strawberry Banana Smoothie, please." The employee gave her a weird look, as if her smoothie wasn't enough of a bizarre combination of flavors. She paid using a Plumber Credit Card, and accepted the smoothie. Kim sat down and sipped at it thoughtfully.
A few days ago, she was just a secret agent fighting evil scientists and monkey ninjas. Now she was up against time travelling war lords and microscopic robots. Kim just wished she could find something familiar with to use as an anchor to reality.
"Hey kiddo, looking good." A taunting feminine voice said from behind Kim.
Hello, familiar. Kim turned around to see Shego leaning against the Mr. Smoothy building. "Shego!" Kim's suit immediately flared to life, blue energy collecting around her fists as she took a fighting stance, knocking over her smoothie in the process.
"Oh sweetheart, I appreciate that we cut the chit chat and go straight to the fun part." Shego let out a sultry laugh. She too took a fighting stance as her hands flared to life with green energy.
Kevin Levin strolled out of the bedroom of his apartment wearing nothing but loose-fitting sweats. His bare chest was scarred by years of fighting in the Null Void and defending the Earth. He was lured to the kitchen by the smell of freshly brewed coffee. If he was in an old cartoon, he probably would've floated towards the sweet aroma with hearts in his eyes. As he got closer to the kitchen, he could hear the crackling of bacon cooking on a pan. Kevin rounded the corner to see Gwendolyn wearing nothing but one of his old black t-shirts and a messy bun keeping her hair in order. Kevin enjoyed the view for a moment longer before hugging Gwendolyn from behind and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Gwendolyn giggled. "Good morning, my love."
"Morning." Kevin released the hug and poured himself a cup of coffee.
"How did you sleep?" Gwendolyn asked.
"Like a baby Vulpimancer." Kevin laughed and sipped at his happy juice. "You?"
Gwendolyn's cheerful demeanor faded. "I didn't. I was up all night."
Kevin took another sip of coffee before looking at her with concern. "Worried about Ben?"
"Yeah, I know the battle at Ledgerdomain is hitting him hard." Gwendolyn sighed. "He's beating himself up cause he didn't beat Eon right there and then, probably even more because we failed to retake the Alpha Rune."
"Ben'll be okay." Kevin said. "He's a tough guy, I should know. Just give him a day to bounce back and it'll be like it never happened. He'll go back to running that smart mouth of his."
"Honestly, I've been noticing it more and more lately. Before all this mess. He's been beating himself up more and more over any loss. He's gotten skinnier too." Gwendolyn mouth curved into a frown.
"Gwen, come on." Kevin held up his hands. "Ben's always been a shrimp who just HAS to win every time because he's got that watch."
"I know you guys have this macho brother relationship that makes it hard for you guys to just connect like normal people." Gwendolyn rubbed her forehead. "But he's my cousin, and we've bonded so much over the last eleven years. I'm worried about him. I'm worried he's gonna do something stupid."
Kevin gave Gwendolyn another big hug and then looked her in the eyes. "That's why we're here. We won't let him fall, Gwen. I promise." He gave her a peck on the lips. "Now make my breakfast woman." Kevin said cockily.
Gwendolyn gave him a sly look. Then with a flick of her wrist, she wrapped him up in mana and flung him across the apartment.
Ben sat up in bed. Ester had fallen back asleep, leaving him functionally alone. He just sat there for a moment, taking everything in. That's when the Omnitrix emitted a light chiming sound. Ben looked down at the watch. It's faceplate was blinking, and it repeated the same chime. Someone was calling. He held his arm up at eye level and pressed a button on the side. A hologram of Grandpa Max flickered to life, emitting a green glow in the dark room.
"Hey Grandpa Max. What's up?" Ben asked, hiding any insecurity from his voice.
Max was seventy-two years old but he didn't look a day over sixty. He was probably in the best shape of his life, and that was saying a lot. His gut had reduced quite a bit and his overall build was that of an older man who'd definitely been hitting the gym a bit. Gone was the weight of age, replaced was the muscle of a weathered soldier. His hair was still the same neat cut that receded slightly on the sides, but he was letting his beard grow out a bit.
"Hey kiddo, hope I'm not interrupting anything." Max said.
Ben looked behind him at the nude form of a sleeping Ester. "Nope, you have decent timing for once." He laughed.
Max let out a chuckle himself, but quickly returned to his business-like attitude. "Danny has been talking to Dark Phantom in an attempt to get out information. He said that Eon may be willing to agree to a hostage exchange. He also said that you should be able to get in touch with Eon if you wanted to. Apparently Eon's always got an eye on you."
Ben shivered. He did NOT like the thought of Eon watching him while he performed recent activities. "Oooookay, so I just say 'Hello Mister Eon, wanna trade?' or what?"
"Pretty much." Max nodded. "How fast can you get to Plumber HQ?"
"How fast can XLR8 run?" Ben shrugged.
Max put a hand to his beard. "I mean, technically XLR8 is capable of almost instantaneous movement so-"
Ben held up his free hand in surrender. "I'm kidding, Grandpa. I'll be down there in five minutes."
"Roger that. Love ya kiddo. Max out." Max's form blinked out, and the room was completely dark again.
Ben sighed. "No rest for the wicked." He stood up and quickly dressed himself. He threw on brown cargo pants, securing them with a belt that had an Omnitrix belt buckle. He pulled a white T-shirt with two grey triangles, also resembling the Omnitrix. Ben proceeded to the bathroom and proceeded to rinse his hands with water, rubbing his face and then his hair. He wanted to feel at least a little bit clean. He left the bathroom and walked over to Ester, placing a kiss on her forehead, and then he left his apartment.
Once activated, Ben activated the Omnitrix and slammed it down. His body was covered in black and blue razor sharp fur as he gained about a foot of height. Large feline ears grew on his head and fur grew to make his head look bigger than it was. Extra spikey fur grew on his arms and legs. A green, black, and white bodysuit that covered his chest, thighs, and upper arms formed over his fur.
"Fasttrack!" The feline speedster exclaimed. He sped off to the Plumber HQ, zipping through traffic, bobbing and weaving past people with cat-like reflexes. It only took a few minutes to arrive at Plumber HQ and descend to the main command room. Fasttrack skidded to a stop in front of Max, Jake, and Danny.
In a flash of green light, Ben returned to human form.
"Man, and I thought being a dragon was cool." Jake said. "You can change into all sorts of stuff, dog."
Ben scratched his head. "Eh, thanks Jake."
"Anyways, glad you could make it, Ben." Danny nodded. "Your grandpa brought you up to speed?"
"Is that supposed to be some sort of pun on my speed alien?" Ben crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow.
"Honestly, no. But now that you mentioned it, that's all I can think about." Danny let out a laugh.
"Okay Ben, do you think you could try to get into contact with Eon?" Max asked. "All our best men are on standby."
Ben nodded. "Because any encounter with him has ever ended well?" Ben turned to the most open area of the command room. "Alright, everyone hold your nuts."
Max had a pretty sizable Plumber blaster attached to his hip. His hand rested on it's holster, ready to make a move at a moment's notice. Jake's form exploded in blue mist and flames as he transformed into his Dragon state. A white ring of light washed over Danny, replacing him with his Phantom self.
"Alright, here goes." Ben took a deep breath. "Eon. Let's talk."
For a few moments, nothing happened. No dramatic gale as Eon appeared. No beam of light shooting down from the sky. Nothing. Ben figured this was probably a waste.
"Hello, Benjamin." A sinister voice came inches from Ben's face.
Ben turned and Eon was standing over him. Ben jumped back what felt like fifty feet. Several Plumber Agents, including Max readied their weapons. Flames began collecting at Jake's mouth and Danny's hands were glowing with ecto-energy. As Ben jumped back, he slammed down the Omnitrix.
Ben's eyes completely disappeared as his ears morphed into bat-like ears and overtook his face. His body bulked up a bit as his skin turned to sickly yellow color. Giant green eyes opened up and bulged out all over his body, including his shoulders, arms, hands, and back. Black pants with white stripes and green belts covered his legs.
"Eye Guy!" He bellowed. Eye Guy wasn't sure what universe that was supposed to sound intimidating.
"I'm insulted, Benjamin." Eon shook his head. "I come here upon your request, presumably to speak about our respective prisoners, and once I show up, you all arm yourselves."
Eon waved a hand, and the Plumbers' weapons disintegrated into ash. Max clenched his fist, letting out a growl. Jake's flames and Danny's ecto energy also seemed to waver in strength. Eye Guy blinked his many eyes but kept them all fixed on Eon.
"You could've just done a dramatic little entrance. We probably would've been less jumpy, lightbulb head." Eye Guy said, a slight lisp dragging his voice.
"I didn't care to waste energy on the flare and dramatics." Eon shrugged, hands crossed behind his back. He turned to face Eye Guy directly. "I'm willing to talk, Benjamin."
"Well, it's pretty simple." Eye Guy said. "Hand over Rex, and we might just consider returning Dark to you."
Eon let out a deep laugh. It echoed throughout the command room. "Come now, Benjamin. Do you expect me to just HAND you the EVO?" Eon waved a hand dismissively. "Honestly, you are much more reasonable than that."
"Then maybe we should elaborate." Jake growled. His voice was much rougher while in dragon form. Flames still licked at the edges of his draconic maw. "Give us back our friend, or I'm going to have some barbecued freakshow."
"Please." Eon shook his head. "This is my proposition, Benjamin. Tomorrow, you and your silly little group will bring Dark Phantom to Galvan Prime. There, I will bring you the EVO. We will exchange hostages. And then I shall leave. These terms are non-negotiable. Any attempt to rescue the EVO without returning the ghost, or if you refuse to meet me, will result in the complete extermination of Galvan Prime and it's people."
"Wait, you can't just-!" Eye Guy growled.
"I can. And I have." Eon glared at Ben. "I will see you Galvan Prime."
Eon's form blurred in a rush of purple light, and then he was gone.
"Well that didn't go as planned." Eye Guy sighed. "Sorry Grandpa."
"It's okay, Ben." Max nodded reassuringly. "At least now we know what Eon's next move is."
"Yeah, he's clearly after something on Galvan Prime." Eye Guy agreed.
"Umm, excuse me, anyone want to explain what Galvan Prime is?" Jake raised a clawed finger, attempting to draw the conversation to him.
"Galvan Prime is the homeworld of the Galvan, and the home to the creator of the Omnitrix, Azmuth." Max explained to Danny and Jake.
"Well if this Azmuth guy created something like Ben's watch, he must be pretty smart." Danny presumed. "Eon's goals are still pretty unknown to us, but he must be after some sort of technology or machine, maybe something else this Azmuth character created."
"We don't have enough information." Max shook his head. "But one thing is clear, we need to be on our A-game if we're going to meet Eon and his alliance on Galvan Prime. I'll notify the rest." Max turned to the computer and began typing away at the keys.
A flash of green light returned Ben to human form. "This isn't good. The Galvan are some of the most respected species in the galaxy. If something happens to them, the details won't matter, chaos will ensue across the galaxy. Maybe even further."
"Ben, we're ready for him this time. We know where he's gonna be, and that he probably has some ulterior motive for being there." Danny reassured him. "We'll just beef up security around the areas Eon's most likely to go poking around."
"And with luck, we can try to snag Rex and kick Eon's butt in the process." Jake slammed his draconic fist into an open palm.
"That'll be a tricky one." Ben scratched his chin. "Any wrong moves and the planet is doomed."
"Well I guess we'll just get a bit tricky ourselves." Danny smirked. "Come on, let's gather the others."
Kim cried out in pain as a green explosion sent her flying into the Mr. Smoothy building. She was cut, burned and bruised, and her hair was disheveled mess. Kim managed to bring herself to her knees, although the effort sent waves of pain throughout her body. Something was definitely broken.
Shego approached Kim ominously, bathed in green light. "Come on, Kimmy," Shego taunted. "Is that all you got? Government work got you out of shape?"
Kim groaned, wincing as she forced herself to stand. It had been awhile since she and Shego had thrown down. The emerald vixen had clearly increased her powers tremendously since they'd last fought. Kim's suit hummed to life, although weaker than usual. She'd need repairs, assuming she managed to make it out of this.
"How did you even get here, Shego?" Kim asked.
"Stupid questions, Kimmy," Shego wagged a finger. "I know you're helping other do-gooders fight against a guy named Eon."
Duh, Kim. The secret agent shook her head, and then charged at Shego. She gathered energy in her left leg and swung it straight at Shego's head. Shego reacted with unnatural speed, blocking the kick with her forearm, flowing with green energy. Shego grabbed Kim's leg with both hands, and began swinging her in violent circles. She sent Kim hurtling through the air once more, but much higher and out of control this time. Any landing she managed would be crippling from this height. Kim did her best to call up an energy shield using her suit, but nothing concrete would form.
"Oh, fu-" Kim began before she let out a big oof. Someone had caught her in mid air. She could feel the beat of large wings keeping them in the air. Kim looked up to see Jake angrily staring at Shego. "Jake? What are you doing here?"
"New mission." Jake explained. "I know I was told to pick you up, but I had no idea I'd be picking you up like THIS." It was hard to tell in his draconic face, but Kim could see a sly smirk forming.
"Sounds good, but we need to deal with THIS, first." Kim pointed at Shego, who looked only slightly confused at the seven foot tall dragon hovering in the air.
"Copy that, let's rock this bitch!" Jake swooped down to the ground, dropping Kim into a controlled roll as he charged at Shego.
"Come on, you overgrown gecko!" Shego growled as her fists charged with green energy. She rushed directly at the oncoming dragon, fists ready to swing.
Flames roared from Jake's maw, racing towards Shego. Shego's eyes widened but she managed to roll past the flames and land a backhand into Jake's snout. The force of impact sent Jake spiraling out of control and he hit the ground hard.
"Jake!" Kim growled and she fired a weak energy bolt from her fists.
Shego easily deflected the bolt, almost absentmindedly, but it was the opening Jake needed. He flew at Shego, grabbing her shoulders and began dragging her across the asphalt. The ground erupted into shards of stone as Jake pressed her harder against the ground. His jaws flamed to life and he unleashed another roar of flames. Shego coated her arms in energy and used them to ward off the flames. Jake growled but picked Shego back up and flung her through the window of Mr. Smoothy's.
Shego picked herself up, holding her dislocated arm in as comfortable of a position as possible. She looked to her left to see a boy in black and white and a giant dragonfly approaching as well. "Looks like this spot is getting a little too crowded for my tastes." Shego pulled out a small remote-like device and pressed a single button on it. A swirling purple portal opened up behind her and she retreated through.
Danny and Stinkfly, another of Ben's transformations, landed near Kim, helping her stand up. Jake swooped over to join them, resuming his human form.
"Kim, are you okay?" Stinkfly asked. "Who was that lady?"
"Yeah, and what the hell did she want?" Danny asked.
"That was Shego, an enemy from my neck of the woods." Kim explained. "It sounds like she's working with Eon. And if she is, then there's a good chance Dr. Drakken is too."
"Drakken?" Jake asked.
"Evil scientist hellbent on taking over the planet. He's simultaneously an idiot yet incredibly smart." Kim said. "If Eon has really recruited them, then he must need Drakken's brains."
"Coupled with the fact that Eon wants to meet us on one of the most technologically advanced planets in the solar system…" Stinkfly began.
"That can't spell anything but problems for us." Danny nodded, finishing Ben's thought.
"Eon wants to meet us where?" Kim asked, confused.
"We'll explain back at the base. Come on, Kevin, Gwendolyn, and my girlfriend, Ester, are already headed there." Stinkfly offered Kim a three-fingered hand to help her up on his back.
Kim took the invitation, and the four heroes sped back to base to prepare their next move.