HeroVerse

Chapter 9

"Road Trip to Galvan Prime"

"Welcome aboard, the Rustbucket IV!" Max held out his arms in a grand fashion as he revealed the massive spaceship to the team. The Rustbucket IV was a large starship meant to act as a mobile Plumber's Base. It was very rectangular and taller than it was wide. It must've been twenty or thirty stories tall. Max had gathered the team in the desert just outside of Bellwood. It was the only place they could even park a giant ship like this.

Jake let out an impressed whistle. He was a long way from pixies and unicorns. "Sick ride, gramps? What's the mileage on this baby?"

Max let out an amused laugh. "Well, it could take us to Mars and back on less fuel than a car needs to drive five miles."

Even Ben was impressed. It was probably the most advanced ship he's been on in years. "Dorms, training room, gym, cafeteria, rec rooms, greenhouses, this thing's got it all." Ben said, looking over the specs of the ship.
"It's crazy how something this big can even fly, let alone so efficiently." Danny said.

"To be fair, this ship is currently one of a kind, they're extremely expensive to build, even for the Plumbers." Max explained. "The crew has already boarded, just waiting on you guys."

"I think everyone is here except for Kevin and Gwendolyn." Kim noted.

"Knowing Kevin, he's calibrating his car for space travel." Ben rolled his eyes.

"We're going to an alien planet, what could he possibly need his car for?" Kim asked.

Ester let out a laugh. She was wearing her normal attire, a purple fur coat to protect her from the "cold" of Earth. For a fur coat, it did wonders for her, and Ben was always keen to make note. "You'll learn pretty quickly that Kevin is obsessed with that car. Not to mention it's part-arsenal."

"Oooh, well I can't wait to see THAT too." Jake said with a smirk on his face.

"Oy vey," Kim touched her forehead with an exasperated look on her face.

A roaring engine could be heard from down the street as Kevin sped into view. He skidded onto the dirt, with a slightly annoyed look on his face. Kevin wasn't one to go off-roading, even on a mild dirt road. He pulled up to the ship, preparing to pull into the loading bay of the Rustbucket IV.

"You couldn't have parked closer to the street, Max?" Kevin held up a hand in exasperation.

"Pretty sure that breaks a few laws, and that's before the fact its an alien ship." Max shrugged.

"Kevin, just pull in." Gwendolyn said, clearly over his childish attitude towards dirt on his car.

Kevin groaned but did as he was told, pulling his sports car carefully into the ship.

"Alright, everyone else, on the ship!" Max ordered, motioning for everyone to come aboard.

The ship roared and the Earth around it rumbled as the engines burst to life. The ship rose slowly but surely until it'd finally gained enough momentum and was soon cruising steadily to the great beyond. It didn't take long for the Earth to become a distant blue marble in the distance.

"So what more can you tell us about Galvan Prime?" Kim asked. She, as well as the others, were all seated in comfy chairs in the bridge.

"I'll answer that." Ben said with a confident smile.

"Oh this should be good." Kevin said, chuckling.

Ben activated the Omnitrix, turning the dial twice, and then slammed it down. Green light flooded the bridge as he transformed. His body shrunk down to about six inches as his eyes bulged, taking up most of his head. He grew gills on his neck and gained large, dexterous hands.

"Grey Matter!" He cried in a small voice.

The rest of the team looked down at Ben in mild confusion.

"THAT'S a Galvan?" Danny asked.

"Dog, all those badass aliens on that watch and then you got this thing? What's even the point?" Jake let out a laugh.

Grey Matter put his hands on his hips. "Hey! I'll have you know that Galvan like Grey Matter are super intelligent! Which can mean much more than brute strength or the silly ability to shoot fire out of your hands!"

"Okay, come on guys." Kim said. "Give Ben a chance. He's just trying to educate us a bit."

"THANK you, Kimberly." Grey Matter said, exasperated.

"Okay, don't call me that." Kim responded.

Grey Matter shrugged, and then hopped up onto his chair so he could be at least a bit more level with the rest of them. "The Galvan race on average, are the smartest race in this galaxy. Despite their size, they've used this intelligence to maintain relative peace in the galaxy, even the universe."

Grey Matter turned and pointed to the Omnitrix symbol on his back. "It was their smartest, Azmuth, who created the Omnitrix, like three times over. And he's created even more powerful inventions, like a reality-bending swords."

"So Eon choosing to meet on Galvan Prime is definitely no mere coincidence." Danny nodded.

"Exactly. I calculate that there are at least half a million devices on that planet that Eon may find useful." Grey Matter scratched his chin and nodded thoughtfully. "Including, but not limited to, the reality-bending sword, Ascalon."

"Whatever he's after, we can't let him get to it." Gwendolyn said. "Once we arrive, we should coordinate with Azmuth to protect the most at-risk devices."

"From what I remember, Azmuth keeps them all in one vault." Kevin chimed in.

"So we dispatch a team to guard that vault, while another meets Eon for the hostage exchange." Ester clarified.

"Yo, we're not actually just going to pass off an incredibly powerful evil ghost to a time terrorist, are we?" Jake asked.

"Of course, not." Max said. "This isn't the first time that the Galvans have dealt with a time walker. I'm pretty sure they have some sort of countermeasure for one showing up on their planet. If we work with them, we should be able to pin down Eon once and for all."

"He's not gonna survive another round." Grey Matter said.

"Sounding pretty bloodthirsty for such a smart little guy." Kevin laughed. Gwendolyn delivered a hard elbow into his side. "Ow!"

Grey Matter disappeared in a flash of green light, quickly replaced by Ben. "I just don't feel like having Eon succeed at whatever he's planning."

"And he won't." Ester said soothingly. She placed a hand on Ben's arm.

"By the way, Ben," Jake held up a hand. "I've been wanting to test my powers against yours. Down to throw down?"

Ben smiled a toothy grin. "I'm game. Danny?"

"Only if Kevin hops in." Danny nodded.

"I don't mind. I've been meaning to find an excuse to kick Tennyson's ass." Kevin grinned, standing up.

"Really boys?" Kim raised an eyebrow.

"Might as well let them. Better they get their energy out in a somewhat productive way rather than driving us all crazy in here." Ester said, smiling.

"Take it to the gym, boys." Gwendolyn scolded. "Kim, Ester, and I will watch you all from the observation deck."

The heroes made their way to the training gym, where various equipment could be called up for training. But for their purposes, the bare court would do just fine.

"Alright Jake, you and me first." Ben said as he made way to one side of the courtroom. "Then Danny and Kevin. Then the winners of both matches."

"Sounds good to me." Jake grinned. "Dragon Up!" Jake's body erupted into flames and blue mist as he expanded into his draconic form. As the flames and mist dissipated, lightning crackled across his dragon body and he let out a mighty roar that shook the room.

"Sheesh, show off." Ben laughed. He activated the Omnitrix and slammed it back down. A green flash blinded everyone momentarily. Ben's body grew with rippling muscle that was quickly covered by orange fur. One large black claw erupted from both of his hands. Faded black stripes formed all over his body. Black pants with green and white accents formed around his legs. The Omnitrix symbol flashed where a belt buckle would be.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATH!" The tiger-like alien roared. "Let me tell you something Jake Long, American Dragon and guardian of all magical creatures! Rath is going to kick your ass up and down this court, and then turn you into a pair of boots!"

"You can try." Jake grinned before charging Rath.

Rath roared as he charged at Jake. The two clashed in the middle of the court, their collision causing a noticeable shockwave. They gripped each other's hands, fighting for dominance. Rath headbutted Jake, causing him to lose his grip. Rath grabbed Jake's forearms and swung him across the court into the wall. Jake gasped as he hit the wall hard, but he came down running, then flying. Jake spun and smacked Rath with his tail, sending him tumbling across the court. Rath dug his giant claws into the court to slow himself. Rath jumped across the court and landed a deadly right hook into Jake's jaw. Jake spun but managed to stay standing. He unleashed a roar of flames that forced Rath to retreat. Rath rolled, flanking Jake and charged in from the side while Jake was still breathing fire forward. Jake looked out the corner of his eye and swung his tail, cutting off the flames. Rath jumped, nimbly dodging the tail swipe. A flash of the Omnitrix changed Rath into a new form.

"You like dragons, eh?" A beastly voice growled. "Well try Pyrogon on for size!" Pyrogon was a draconic alien easily twice Jake's size, standing on four legs. He had a swamp green body with black and green armor on his legs, chest, and head. Large bat-like wings made for an intimidating silhouette. The Omnitrix symbol was placed over his left breastplate.

"You can turn into a dragon?!" Jake cried out, stunned.

"Sort of," Pyrogon growled. "In my universe, we have a race of dragon-like aliens. I met one a few years back and they're practically the real deal."

Pyrogon roared and unleashed a blast of fire-like energy from his maw. Jake was hit head on and was dragged across the ground from the blast. Jake managed to squirm his way out from under the blast, flying past it and rushing Pyrogon. Jake slashed at Pyrogon's hide with his claws, but they slashed harmlessly against Pyrogon's thick hide. Pyrogon grabbed Jake with one of his fore-limbs, and slammed him hard into the ground. Jake let out a groan, before a burst of flame and mist reverted him to human form.

"Good try, but I win." A flash of green light reverted Pyrogon to Ben.

"Never seen you use that one, Tennyson." Kevin whistled.

"I was waiting for a good opportunity." Ben shrugged. "Maybe if we fought some rogue dragon or something." Ben said.

"Nerd." Kevin rolled his eyes.

Ben walked over to Jake, kneeling down next to him. "You okay, buddy?" He offered his hand to Jake.

Jake groaned, but accepted Ben's help. "Yeah I'm okay. It's been awhile since I've been hit by something so hard. Kinda cool that you can become a dragon too."

"Yeah I've never really used that one in front of everyone, only in private practice." Ben smiled. "It was a real gamble if I'd be able to use him right against you."

"Alright Kevin, we're up." Danny smirked.

"You sure about this, ghost boy?" Kevin crossed his arms. "Not too late to back out."

"Please, there's no way you can take me on with our powersets." Danny taunted.

"We'll see. Let's reset the arena." Kevin pressed some buttons on a control panel and any damage caused by the previous fight seemed to disappear.

"Alright, make way!" Kevin shooed Ben and Jake off the court.

"This should be good." Ben scoffed.

Danny took a battle ready stance. "I'm Goin' Ghost!" He cried as a white ring of light flowed over him. His clothes were quickly replaced with the iconic black and white jumpsuit. His hair went from still and black to flowing and white. His sea blue eyes transformed into glowing green eyes.

"Not bad, but check this out!" Kevin pulled material out of his toolbelt. In his left hand he held a glob of Methanosian moss. In his right hand, he held a chunk of Talpaedan armor. He gripped both DNA samples tight as his body began to change. His left arm became covered in moss and vines, while his hand ignited into a smoldering form. Red and yellow leaves sprouted where his head and neck connected as his face gained a much darker pigment. His right arm bulked up and morphed, covering itself in yellow armor. His hand transformed into sharp claws, that when held together, resembled a drill.

Danny whistled. "Not gonna lie, that's pretty cool."

"Show me what you got, ghost boy!" Kevin growled, his voice augmented slightly by his mutation.

"Don't mind if I do!" Danny's hands erupted in green flames. He threw his hands forward, launching a wave of ecto flames at Kevin.

Kevin slammed his Methanosian fist into the ground, causing thick, durable roots to erupt from the ground. The flames washed over the roots but they didn't seem to catch fire very easily. The roots and flames blocked Kevin from Danny's view, and the Osmosian was sure to use that to his advantage. Danny felt a rumbling and suddenly looked down to see the ground under him shaking and cracking. Kevin burst out of the floor, grabbing Danny by the neck with his left arm. Kevin swiped at Danny with his Talpaedan arm, whirring the drill to life as he did. Danny focused and became intangible, freeing himself from Kevin's grip and avoiding the drill attack. Danny fired back with an ecto blast that caused Kevin to stumble. Kevin lobbed a ball of flames at Danny, who countered it with a blast of ice.

"You can't beat what you can't touch!" Danny taunted, flying just out of reach of Kevin's reach.

"Heh, bet." Kevin reached into his tool belt and pulled out a scrap of an Ectonurite's second skin. Kevin gripped it hard as he absorbed the DNA. His legs morphed into a single ghostly tail and black and white-striped tentacles burst out of his chest. Kevin flew up at Danny, wrapping the tentacles around his body.

"I've seen enough porn…" Jake began but stopped when he caught a glare from Kim from the observation deck.

Danny squirmed in the tentacles' grip, even going intangible, but the tentacles were phase-proof. Kevin punched Danny hard with his Talpaedan arm, unleashing the force of the built-in piston and sent Danny crashing into the floor.

"And that's game." Kevin smirked as he floated back to the ground. His body had already begun to revert. "Sorry kid, but I've got a bit of experience fighting ghouls and ghosts."

Danny wiped his face with his arm. "Gah, I demand a rematch."

"Sorry, you really think I'd risk an opportunity to kick Tennyson's ass again?" Kevin laughed.

"We both know that's not how that fight EVER goes." Ben crossed his arms.

"Alright then, let's go Tennyson!" Kevin said, a slight snarl in his voice.

"Ready when you are, Levin." Ben had already begun to reach for the Omnitrix.

An explosion rocked the ship, causing it to shift out of balance. The room began to spin and the heroes slipped, and fell with their backs to the wall. A chorus of pained grunts cried out as they all landed. It took a few moments, but the ship managed to right itself.

Ben activated the comm on his Omnitrix. "Grandpa Max, what the hell!?"

Max's voice came over the ship's intercom system. "All Plumbers, battle stations! We have an Incursean War Ship hot on our tail!"

"Incurseans!?" Kevin said, clearly alarmed.

"Uhh, what's an Incursean?" Danny asked, nursing a large bump on the back of his head.

"Frog aliens bent on conquering as many planets as they can." Kevin explained. "They're a sore pain in our collective ass."

Ben made his way to a nearby computer panel in the wall. After clicking a few keys, a large holographic monitor displayed the scene outside for the group. Several Incursean fighters swarmed around a much larger mothership. They were moving into attack formation as they closed in on the Rustbucket IV.

"Looks like its Hero Time!" Ben smirked. "Haven't had a good space battle in awhile."

Ben sped out of the room, heading for the nearest airlock.

"Oh no way am I missing out on this!" Danny followed after the Omnitrix-clad hero.

"Uhh, yeah I can't breathe in space." Jake shrugged.

"Yeah I don't have a sample of anything that can, either." Kevin growled. "Come on Jake, you and I will grab the girls and help where we can in here."

Kevin and Jake made their way towards the observation room. When they got there, only Ester and Kim were present.

"Where the hell is Gwendolyn!?" Kevin growled.

"Said something about going outside to kick some frog ass?" Kim shrugged.

"Oh great." Kevin groaned. "Fine, whatever. You two, come with us. We'll make our way back to the bridge and see what Max needs us for."

Ben, Gwendolyn, and Danny stood in the airlock as it sealed behind them. A ring of white light washed over Danny, once again changing his attire into that of a white and black jumpsuit. Gwendolyn's form became pure pink energy and changed shape until she was in her Lucky Girl attire. A faint aura of mana formed around her as well as she began floating off of the ground.

"Are you two ready?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, haven't fought in space since I was a kid." Danny grinned.

"Listen up boys, there's a lot of those ships," Lucky Girl began. "But as Ben and I have seen before, they're pretty cheaply made. Aim for one of the engines or stabilizing wings, should send them out of control and destroy them, or make them useless at the very least."

"Sounds good." Danny nodded. "Ben, you'd better get your game face on."

"Already on it." Ben activated the Omnitrix. He began cycling through the alien icons, looking for just the right fit. He flashed a big grin as he stopped scrolling. "Alright, it's Hero Time!" Ben slammed down the Omnitrix, filling the airlock with green light.

Ben's skin turned red as his fingers merged into three and elongated to twice their length. He grew twin yellow horns on top of his head, with twin yellow whiskers emerging from the center of his face. His eyes became large and bulbous, with hints of green in an otherwise black abyss. Yellow flaps of skin connected from his wrists to his waist. A long, prehensile tail emerged, connecting two more flaps from his inner thigh to just before the end of his tail.

"Jetray!" The manta ray alien cried out. "Alright, let's do this."

Lucky Girl pressed a button on the wall, opening the air lock to the void of outer space. The three heroes flew out of the opening and headed into battle.

Lucky Girl bobbed and weaved through a wave of laser fire. Her hands flamed to life with mana as she fired multiple beams at the oncoming Incursean ships. Most of the ships attempted to dodge the blasts but were hopelessly outmaneuvered. The mana blasts made clean cuts in their wings or destroyed their engines, causing them to spiral out of control into the deep vastness of space. She encased another ship in a mana construct, and then flung it into another ship, causing both to explode. Many other ships scrambled to avoid the explosion.

"Try this on for size, frog boys." Lucky Girl began chanting, causing a magic circle to form under her and form a solid platform. The magic circle was adorned with many runes that seemed to shift and form as she spoke. "Cete Custos Oceanum!" Lucky Girl retreated from the magic circle as it glowed even brighter. It then swirled as the circle became a portal. The peaceful call of a whale could be heard as a massive creature emerged.

It did in fact resemble a whale, but where fins should've been, long tendrils covered in suckers were instead. Instead of baleen, several rows of serrated teeth lined the beast's maw instead. It had four eyes, two regular whale eyes, and a second pair above it that were literally lit with blue flames. It had two six large muscular arms, each with six clawed fingers. It's tail split into countless tendrils. It glowed with a faint pink aura, a side effect of being summoned.

"Go, Poseitune! I offer these fools as a tribute!" Lucky Girl thrust her hand forth, lacing her words with pure will.

Poseitune, an abomination of the depths, let out a mighty roar. They say that in space, no one can hear you scream. But Poseitune didn't get that memo. And Lucky Girl swore she could hear the terrified screams of Incursean soldiers. Poseitune moved incredibly fast for a creature it's size, about half the size of the Rustbucket IV. It destroyed ships effortlessly and efficiently, but with a wild tenacity. It grabbed several ships in it's tendrils and crushed them like paper.

Danny froze a ship's engine right as Lucky Girl summoned the demon known as Poseitune. "What the shit!?" He'd seen some ugly behemoths in his day, but this one took the cake. Nevertheless, it seemed to be on their side. Danny turned his attention back to the oncoming Incursean fighters. He concentrated ecto-energy in his right hand, focusing on shaping it. In a few moments, he held a sword made entirely of green energy. Several ships fired on Danny, but he called up a shield of ecto-energy with his free hand. The blasts deflected off his shield and hit a couple of passing ships. Danny then sliced the wings off of the firing ships, causing them to spiral and explode.

"Sheesh, these Incursean guys ain't much to look at, are they?" Danny scoffed. They were going down like flies. Danny fired a blast from his left hand that hit a stray ship head on, causing an explosion that totaled the ship. Danny dropped the sword, causing it to disappear within a second. His hands became charged with green electricity. He fired a bolt of lightning into the void above him. Thunder clapped in the void as the lightning began creating clouds. A large thunderstorm formed above the Incursean armada. Ecto-lightning struck various ships, causing them to explode. The lightning ravaged the Incurseans. Danny then turned his attention to the Incursean War Ship and took a deep breath. Danny then let out a roar, coating his voice with ectoplasm. Waves of vocalized ecto-energy roared through deep space, completely obliterating the smaller ships and set off several small explosions on the War Ship. The War Ship was noticeably pushed back and put off balance from the Ghostly Wail, groaning as it was moved against its will.

"Perfect!" Jetray smiled. Danny's Ghostly Wail had breached the hull of the Incursean War Ship. Jetray spun out of the way of enemy fire and countered with a neuroshock blast that cut off the fighter's power, leaving it dead in the water. Jetray streaked by by the few ships that remained. His cousin and Danny could handle the ships. Jetray wanted to talk to the boss. Jetray entered the war ship through one of the holes created by the explosions. He was almost immediately greeted by a squad of Incursean warriors, equipped with silver blasters.

"Woah woah guys, can't we talk about this?" Jetray held up his hands in surrender.

One of the Incurseans let out a croak and they all began firing. Jetray flew and clung to the ceiling. "Guess not." Jetray slapped the Omnitrix on his shoulder, and transformed.

"Goooooooooooop!" The slime alien rushed forward, wrapping himself around several Incurseans, squeezing until they passed out. Goop released the unconscious frog men, and then extended several tendrils to confiscate the remaining Incureans' guns. Goop absorbed the guns, melting them with his acidic insides. "I suggest you run now." He said in a very high, squeaky voice.

The Incurseans responded reasonably. They all let out terrified screams, threw their arms up in the air, and ran in a panic.

"Sheesh, that's getting too easy." Goop flashed, and was quickly replaced by, "XLR8!" The Kinecelaran sped down the hallway. He'd fought the Incurseans on way too many occasions, and had since memorized their ship layouts. So he knew just where to go in order to find the throne room.

To XLR8's surprise, the door opened up almost immediately upon his arrival to the throne room. Incursean soliders were lined up along the walkway, all aiming blasters at him. Sitting on the throne was a much fatter Incursean, the tyrannical madman known as Emperor Milleous.

A silver skinned alien with an exposed brain took a step forward. "Behold Emperor Milleous, light of the Incursean empire, destroyer of galaxies, keeper of the conquest ray, all beings tremble-"

"Save it, Raff," XLR8 sped up to Raff and Milleous, disregarding the Incursean soldiers. "Alright Milleous, what's the deal?" He demanded of the war lord.

"Why Ben Tennyson, what a pleasure," Milleous croaked. "You just so happen to be flying through Incursean space. And Incursean law declares that whatever exists within our borders, belongs to us." He held out his hands in a very matter of fact fashion.

XLR8 damn near facepalmed. "You and I BOTH know how this ends, Milleous." XLR8 slapped the Omnitrix on his chest.

"Gravattack!" The planetoid alien cried. He was easily twice the size of Milleous, mostly made up of his rocky head and arms. Gravattack pinned Milleous down with his thumb. "Let me make this perfectly clear, frog man. Let us pass through peacefully, or I'll create a black hole large enough to consume this entire sector."

Milleous laughed in Gravattack's face. "Please Tennyson, we both know you don't have the stomach for something like that."

Without blinking, Gravattack raised his free hand. A gravity field formed around his open hand. "Try me."

Milleous stared at Gravattack, seemingly unphased.

"Well, let's give you a taste." Gravattack clenched his fist, and the ship shook violently and several explosions rocked the interior. "That was about a quarter of your ship. One more of those and your ship will be as good as dead in the water."

Milleous still stared back at the Gallilean.

Gravattack began clenching his fist again, but much slower this time. The groan of crushing metal could be heard in the distance.

"Please, sire!" Raff pleaded of the Emperor.

Milleous shot a glance at Raff, then back to Gravattack. "Very well, boy."

Gravattack let up on the pressure, both on Milleous and the ship. "Go home, Milleous." Gravattack stood up straight and began walking out the room.

"It doesn't matter anyways," Milleous shrugged. "Our job here is done."

Gravattack stopped. Then he whirled around and pulled Milleous towards him from across the room. Gravattack could hear the buzzing of blasters being primed, but he didn't care.

"Job?" Gravattack growled. "What job!?"

Milleous shrugged. "I was paid a very handsome amount to stall you and your friends, Tennyson."

Milleous was taking jobs now? Didn't sound like him. Gravattack slammed Milleous into the ground. Blasters were fired, but Gravattack stopped the blasts in midair and redirected them back to the blasters, causing them all to explode. "Who hired you!?" Gravattack roared.

Milleous cowered. "I-I don't k-know. Raff did all the negotiations and networking. I just told my men where to go!"

Gravattack turned his attention to Raff, who was attempting to sneak away unnoticed. Gravattack pulled him from across the room and pinned him right next to Milleous. "WHO HIRED YOU!?"

Raff stuttered. "I d-didn't get his n-name. But he w-wore a b-black coat and a h-helmet with p-purple lights."

In a rage, Gravattack threw Raff and Milleous across the room. Eon had hired, or more likely, threatened the Incurseans in order to get them to stall his team. "Only warning. Turn your SHIT around, and go home. Or I will personally tear apart every single Incursean armada in this galaxy!" Gravattack formed himself into a sphere, and floated at high speeds back down the halls and towards the same hole he'd come out.

Eon knew the Incurseans would be a nuisance. He knew they'd stall them just long enough before they could arrive on Galvan. The only question was, what was so important on Galvan Prime that a time traveler needed to buy time?