Ben ran off quickly out of the spaceship, followed by his bodyguards. He had to hurry before his absence got noticed.
This time, Vilgax had been even more satisfied than before with his performance. Aside from the wacky cartoon series he inspired and downloading himself and Gwen into a video game, Ben had managed to stop a plan of massive mind control all over the planet.
While it was hard to figure out what the Mummy and the Yenaldooshi were up to, Ben was able to count on both of his teams to stop them (he was still amazed by the two aliens' skills to follow them on the shuttle undetected) to neutralize and stop Ghostfreak's plan from taking place.
He was shocked to see the ghost alien again, especially after the utter humiliation he gave him last time. He was lucky Ghostfreak hadn't mentioned a thing in front of Max and Gwen about the Bounty Hunters when the two were fighting off his goons, otherwise he'd have to figure out how to get them away without arousing suspicion or having to hire new bodyguards afterwards.
Ghostfreak tried to possess him again, but Ben had a surprise of his own to give: the Ectonurite hadn't expected Ben to dish out his own Ectonurite form from the Omnitrix again. With both of them on equal ground, the evil alien couldn't possess him anymore, or find a way to get inside the watch while he was transformed. Ben had so much fun going around and possessing his enemy's henchmen when they expected it the least.
He had to admit he found Ghostfreak's grey chains and cuffs pretty cool-looking, especially with the spooky effect it gave when he switched from host to host. He had a lot of fun taunting the ghost alien, mocking him from trying to take the watch like any other crook, criticizing him for relying on others entirely to do something he couldn't. The Ectonurite had chased him around the ship, harming his own henchmen and losing his temper at every turn.
Ben's last strike was when he kept calling him 'Ghostfreak' over and over, after showing him he knew how to use his powers better than him. The Ectonurite had declared he called himself Zs'Skayr, finally giving the boy his real identity, and a way to know since when he had been up to this.
That's when he tried to go after Gwen and Max to lure Ben out, but the young hero managed to follow him when he used an alien that, for the time being, he dubbed 'Benvicktor', after the scientist at Cape Canaveral that turned out to be an alien too. It was really creepy to see a Transylian in person, but also very exciting to turn into one. Though he had to wait for the watch to recharge before using his new form, it was a fun game of cat and mouse between the two of them.
He was basically toying around with horror movie monsters. Except, in an oddly thrilling and terrifying way, he was the monster they had to avoid. And like most monsters in horror movies, he was the one coming out victorious at the end when Zs'Skayr thought he'd won.
Back at the shuttle, Max somehow managed to convince the scientists in there to not say a word about the 'Anur Infestation' they've had. It seemed he knew a military man that was in there, a guy called Colonel Rozum. Their grandfather apparently worked for him, back when he was supposed to be the first man on the moon (how cool is that?!).
Vilgax was relieved to hear Ben hadn't been affected even once by the Corrodium, and thankful the boy had managed to go through all of this without fear. Most of all, he was content with now having the name of the criminal that dared targeting his son. He'd have to look through his files, search the tabs he kept about his probes to know how the Ectonurite came to hear about the Omnitrix.
Other than that, things have gone pretty normal for Ben in-between his encounters with the freaks. He went farming with Gwen and Max, went to a very boring concert where he fought a giant weather monster (he found himself enjoying the rainy weather more than usual), and he met up with his old baseball team from Bellwood, the Cannons.
Of course, that meant having to deal with the fact he wasn't accepted into it, but it irked him to know Cash and JT were part of the team, just because some of the players got chicken pox. He would've gladly taken part in the team if he wasn't busy on a summer road-trip, dealing with the revelation he was an alien kid from outer space and that he had the most powerful weapon in the universe attached to him.
Gwen had lectured him a bit about using his aliens to cheat at carnival games that day. The young hero had brushed it off, claiming he only used Grey Matter for one game only, despite all of his prizes. And he was honest, Sixsix and Kraab had been the ones helping him instead. He wondered if it was showing off to ask two grown men, Bounty Hunters with years of hunting skills and practice, to win at rigged festival games.
It was unusual, but the two men seemed pretty used to being around and do silly stuff with him from times to times. They worked for him, so of course they had to obey him and stuff, but it was kinda nice to know there were more people on this road-trip than just his grandfather and cousin.
He thought of his hometown, Bellwood. When he'd get home, he'd have to ask his parents, his... adoptive parents, about what they knew. From what he got, Max hadn't told them about the whole 'kidnapping his old archenemy's son and giving him out to them'. So, they must've at least known Max was involved in him being part of the Tennyson family.
He also wondered how much his aunt and uncle knew about this. When discussing it with his bodyguards (he felt more at ease tackling that subject with them than Max. Or Vilgax, his father would not enjoy talking about his... 'replacements'), they assumed that if Max didn't tell Carl and Sandra who Ben was, Gwen's parents probably didn't know a thing either, aside from him being adopted.
He was curious how his aunt Natalie and his uncle Frank would react to it. Aunt Natalie would probably freak out, then complain about how her husband's family always had something out of the ordinary and that she wasn't surprised about her nephew coming from another planet. Ben thought it'd be wise not to tell her about Gwen learning how to use magic either.
Uncle Frank would probably be shocked, then sigh it out as another one of the things Max did to make their relationship strained. He'd probably come over to their house, then use his lawyer skills to let Ben stay on Earth (Ben was curious to see how that would go, his uncle against a space tyran in court). Good thing Max decided to put behind him his Plumber career to live with his family instead, him leaving was the last thing they needed.
Ben thought about how Ken would react. Ken was his cousin, Gwen's older brother, and the coolest guy around. He was three years older, so he could do a lot of stuff Ben and Gwen couldn't, including taking part in a small band at school where he played bass guitar. Ken would probably find it freakish that Ben was an alien, then shrug it off and ask him if he could fly or had laser eyes.
It felt a bit cruel to know he had to choose between his space family and his Earth family. Maybe he could fix them, putting them together, he thought. But Vilgax didn't look ready to give up his grudge this soon, and Max himself was pretty hard to convince. With the history they've had, he had more chances skipping grades and get ahead of Gwen regarding school work than getting them to become... not enemies ('friends' was too unrealistic in their case).
Other than that, they recently stopped at St. Louis, in Missouri. Ben had sneaked off while Max and Gwen were at the park to meet up with Vilgax. He sometimes wondered how the king figured out how to get on planet without getting noticed, his spaceship was hard to miss. He guessed people mistook it for a weird airplane, and Vilgax had said on numerous occasions he knew how to draw the attention away from himself when visiting a planet.
He had to hurry up before they noticed he was absent. At least he got a good excuse this time, he wouldn't need to improvise. And since he earned Gwen and Max's trust back, they wouldn't question it. He got in the park and started looking for the two Tennysons.
People were walking their dogs, being carefree with their families, playing frisbee all together. Maybe when this was all over, Vilgax would come to a park with them too, Ben felt his father had a lot of to deal with now that he was back in his life. The Squid Monsters seemed like they would've liked to follow him for a walk, considering they could survive on land for a while. Ben thought a swim would suit them better instead, and may be more fun altogether.
"Max, it's been so long since the last time I saw you. I can't believe it's you, after all this time..."
Someone was talking to Max. Intrigued, Ben followed the source of the voice. He went further in the park and saw Gwen's kite on a tree. She must've gotten it stuck. Though the trail of water next to the tree was a bit worrying...
He kept going and was glad to see Gwen and... Max... in his Plumber suit? And who was he talking to?
Next to both humans was a green alien person he didn't recognize. That person looked reptilian with a long green tails and tentacles on the back of her head, looking different from Vilgax. The alien had stripes on its face and tentacles and wore a dark purple suit. Ben hoped this wasn't who he thought this person was.
Gwen turned to see her cousin arriving.
"Ben! There you are! You won't believe what just happened." she said.
"Uh, grandpa? Who's this... alien?" he asked.
"Ben, this is Xylene. She's a 'Honorary Plumbette' and one of my old coworkers. Xylene, meet my grandson, Ben." said Max.
The alien inspected Ben with her three pink eyes. "Hmm, you didn't say you had more than one grandchild. Not that we pay attention to family matters that much where I come from. Also, I'm more than just an old coworker."
Ben didn't realize he started gritting his teeth when she spoke. Something about her didn't feel right, but he couldn't know why.
"Is that... the Omnitrix? Where did he get it?!" Xylene said, her eyes widening as she looked at Ben's wrist. The boy covered his arm when she said that.
"It's a long story." said Gwen.
There was something wrong with this woman. Whether or not she turned out to be like Phil, Ben didn't like this at all.
He had to leave soon, his empire was awaiting his return. Even though he had kept Ben waiting longer this time, his schedule was still considerably tight. He still had a hard time believing he had to schedule his time with his own son, all because Max kept Ben away from him.
Vilgax had to prepare for departure and think about what to do once he'd be back to Vilgaxia. He'd have to start looking for data about this Zs'Skayr and how he came to learn about the Omnitrix. He might as well build an Ectonurite prison for what that wretched being had attempted to do to Ben.
He knew that there was only about a month left until Ben gave his choice. Either Ben would follow him...
Or he'd stay on this dirt planet, under Max Tennyson's influence.
How did the old man dare take everything away from him? He lied to Ben, got him more than once to rely on him, depend on him and listen to him solely to turn him away from his fate. Max hadn't even thought Ben would already know the truth by now. It seemed the old Plumber was lost in delusions, in the delusion that Ben would ever be happy with his Earth life the way it was.
He had listened to Ben for hours, complaining about missing occasions, constantly being compared to that girl who had started using magic. Though it had been toned down as of recently, Vilgax knew exactly what feeling this was. He knew what game Max had been playing at, and a millennia wouldn't be enough for him to 'forgive and forget', as humans said.
It seemed this planet had made it a decision to make Ben believe he was nothing more than a human weakling, incapable of fending for himself and an easy target. If Vilgax knew anything about the Earth and how Ben seemed to behave, Ben felt miserable there. At least until he found the Omnitrix.
It was to be expected that these humans would make a mistake in the long run, letting someone they treated as prisoner get power. And now that Ben had a taste of the Omnitrix's power, he was bound to look for more after being caged in all of his life into the mindset he wasn't special or that he was just an incompetent brat.
For the time being, Vilgax could only keep guiding Ben, show him the way to power and aiding his son in developing the talent he's been denied. Even if Ben was still a child, Vilgax had no other choice but to leave him there until Ben gave an answer.
Either Ben would leave with him or... he'd refuse and stay there.
It angered the ruler that Ben had something keeping him far from home. He needed time to fix what else those vermin had done to the poor boy to make him feel unfit, inept to be a prince. Ben was proving himself to be the only one he knew was capable of all of those feats, he had shown off all of his prowess, everything he was capable of as of now.
Ben didn't know it yet, but a life of triumph and glory was awaiting him, regardless of whether or not he wanted to go back to Vilgaxia. This planet didn't deserve him anyway. If anything, Ben gave the Earth a semblance of worth by cleansing it from all those criminals who had repeatedly attacked him and his 'family'.
And speaking of criminals, he had to be wary of that group Ben had talked about, the Forever Knights. He had heard of them before, a group of medieval-based soldiers in armor who wanted to take over the world using alien technology while getting rid of any alien life they could find. It sounded hypocritical to him, but considering they were led by Driscoll, a former Plumber, he wasn't surprised these humans disregarded their own principles.
The Plumbers were falling apart for trying to take on alien life while disregarding their own limits, they were foolish to believe they were enough to stop him from leaving, from surviving more than once, from reuniting with his son, from raising Ben into a strong and fearsome Omnitrix wielder.
He would have to check for Ben's room when going back to the castle, Ben wasn't quite a baby anymore. Give him something to feel home and forget whatever he had while on Earth.
He was hoping Ben would be comfortable with a different environment to live in after returning. His people would have to appreciate him, he was the lost heir to the throne. A child as adventurous as him was bound to find admiration coming from his subjects. Ben would also have to adjust to the Chimerans of his age when he'd reintegrate their society.
But he was confident his son would find a way to enjoy the peace and prosperity their home planet had, Vilgax himself had went through a similar path. Though he originally grew out of the calmness surrounding him on Murray, his many encounters with the Plumbers, Max Tennyson and the other nuisances he had to deal with made him doubt if there was any better place to settle down, rule and raise a family.
Especially since Idraxx herself had decided to return there in their adult years...
His eyes widened before he sighed as he saw a trail of liquid on the ground, coming from inside the ship towards the hatch. Before they knew it, the two small Squid Monsters who were trying to exit the ship were caught.
"You're not going anywhere. It is summer on Earth and times are hot and dry where we are, you wouldn't survive a mile after getting out." scolded Vilgax, holding both creatures by hand.
The squids cried with small high-pitched sounds, seemingly pleading him to let them out. He knew what they wanted, and he couldn't really blame them for it.
"I know, you two already miss Benjamin. I miss him too, but he'll be back to visit soon enough." said Vilgax, petting them. "If you go back to your aquariums, he'll be back before you know it."
Vilgax had barely spoken that a blue figure entered the Chimerian Hammer's open door at high speed. The king was startled to find XLR8 heaving before him.
"Ben?! What's happening, what's going on?" asked Vilgax, frowning.
"Something came up." said XLR8, his face bearing an uncharacteristically spiteful expression.
"So, Xylene, what brings you back to Earth after all these years?" asked Max.
"The Omnitrix, of course."
"You're interested in it like everyone else?" asked Gwen, worriedly remembering last time they met one of Max's Plumber partners.
"Now let's not get too hasty, Gwen." said Max. "Xylene, tell her that's not true."
"Why wouldn't I be interested in the Omnitrix? I'm the one who sent it to Earth." she said.
While Ben left for a walk through the forest, after promising not to make another forest fire, Xylene explained to them how she came to send the Omnitrix to Earth and how Vilgax failed to get it, his entire ship exploding in the process. Though much to her disappointment, the squid being had survived.
"Well, the good news is that Vilgax is no longer a problem. Thanks to Ben, who should be back by now, his tentacles are cooling with the rest of his leftovers in deep sea. Ben took care of him, for good."
"Yes, well I'm sure you're just being modest about your role in all that." she smirked, putting a green hand on his suit's chest.
Little did they know that Ben was already back, angrily observing from behind a tree.
Thanks to what he learned, he discovered he could switch through his aliens while transformed by using the Omnitrix symbol. This was helpful when he got Heatblast instead of Stinkfly at first, though he settled for XLR8 when he realized he didn't have much time with Xylene here.
And thanks to what he heard, he knew who this woman was.
This was the woman who had taken the Omnitrix to Earth. This was the one his father had been chasing. This was the person who injured Vilgax to the point he had to wait before they could finally meet.
This woman tried to kill Vilgax.
He heard about the Mechadroid sent after her that still hadn't returned. It needed an update now that Vilgax knew the Omnitrix wearer wasn't an enemy, otherwise it'd keep chasing after Ben. Good thing his father gave him what he needed, as well as warnings against her and her telekinetic abilities.
She'd know how to neutralize the Omnitrix and maybe even disable it, Ben had to be careful with her around. But the worst of all is that Max and Gwen welcomed her into the campsite. He couldn't get rid of her without getting suspicious.
He could always sneak into the Rustbucket and try to take the Null Void projector, but who knew how much about the watch this woman knew and what she could do? If she knew anything about the Omnitrix, she could find a way back to Earth by making her own portal or anything of the kind. And unlike Phil, she was an alien, meaning she had powers and could possibly stop him from trapping her in there.
It unnerved him to know he had to put up with the enemy and let her roam around freely after what she had done.
"So since Vilgax is taken care of, guess you don't need to stick around here anymore." he spat out, announcing himself as he came by the table.
The three others were startled when they noticed his presence, and it took some hesitation from Max before he could register what Ben said.
"Benjamin! That's hardly polite!" scolded Max.
Gwen rolled her eyes at Ben's remark, though she felt that for some reason, Ben was annoyed like he had been a few weeks ago. Was this because Max hadn't told them about Xylene? Sure, it was surprising to know he had been friends with aliens in the past, pretty close considering Xylene and Max seemed to have a thing.
She wished Ben wouldn't make a scene right now, they went over this already. Was Ben concerned about Max finding a date at his age? He did look uncomfortable when she told him he met their grandma at the same park they were a few hours before, while he had been taking a swim at Mississippi.
Gwen was a bit curious as to why Ben was using Ripjaws more and more recently, he seemed to have taken a liking to being a water alien.
"Sorry, didn't mean to sound rude." said Ben. 'I was just thinking it really hard, it wasn't supposed to come out of my mouth.'
"Where were you at all day? You've been ditching us a lot since Xylene arrived." said Max.
"I just took a walk earlier, and I ate dinner too fast, didn't want to be sick in front of our guest."
Thankfully, they hadn't noticed he was gritting his teeth at the last word.
"Well, at least you finished your meal this time. See, worms aren't all that bad when you get used to it."
With her cousin being over a dozen aliens, her grandfather dating an alien and their guest herself being an alien (if it turned out Xylene was their grandmother, it wouldn't surprise her), Gwen concluded she was definitely the most human member of the team. Even if she had been practicing magic as of recently, she was still the least weird member of their family (as far as she knew, nothing new).
"Hmm, these children inherited your good taste in cooking."
'Relatively.' thought both Ben and Gwen.
"What do you know? A chef like me knows how to make the tastiest dishes out of dirt." said Max, looking at Xylene.
"You still haven't lost your charm over the years." she said back.
Ben felt he was about to puke. Not just because of her coming in, but because of Max's behavior. He didn't have qualms about limits and leaving someone to burn when it came to Vilgax, and had encouraged what Xylene had done as well as glorifying Ben's lie. Ben still hated the idea that he killed Vilgax, even though it was just a cover. But it felt more like an accusation than a praise, and with how Max had been acting, it felt like an insult.
Max had been acting like an hypocrite ever since Xylene came and it was driving him crazy.
Meanwhile, the Uxorite took out a small grey cylinder with purple lines on it. It made a small sound, before she declared "A transportation will be on its way shortly."
"In the meantime, you'll be our guest. We'll use the time to... catch up." said Max. This earned a smile from Xylene, and another glare from Ben. "So, you guys don't mind cleaning up, do you?" he winked at his grandchildren before putting his arm on Xylene's back.
Both kids watched the adults leaving in the forest before speaking out.
"I. Don't. Like. Her."
"Really? I never would've guessed." teased Gwen with a smile.
"Remember what happened with Grandpa's old partner Phil?" asked Ben, clearly worn out. "I'd better do an undercover investigation, hero style."
Gwen rolled her eyes at Ben's antics, though he seemed less enthusiastic than expected. It felt like he was taking Xylene as a serious threat, and while he had a tangible argument, she doubted it was the case with how 'lovey-dovey' Max had been with the alien woman.
Then she realized Ben was dumping his chores on her again.
"These dishes aren't gonna wash themselves, you know!" she told him as he left, fiddling with the Omnitrix again. Then, she recalled having powers too as of lately. "Or will they?" she asked herself, picking her new spellbook out of her pocket.
"The youngsters..." said Xylene. "I never thought you'd turn out to be of the domestic type. Don't you miss your Plumbing days?"
"Well, we still get our fair share of excitement around here. 'Specially since you dropped that little present of yours on our laps." said Max, unaware they were being spied on.
"You haven't aged at all since I last saw you."
An Ectonurite was sending both adults a death glare through the night, flying right next to them unnoticed. He heard as they talked about their past memories, their last mission together...
Ben hated this. Max abandoned all of that world to raise a family. He may have been allowed to reenter the alien business because of what he did to Vilgax, but the rest wasn't supposed to matter, he had other things to do.
So why was this woman so important to him? Max was married, and even if they heard their grandma was gone, he wasn't supposed to flirt or have a relationship with an old alien friend. Especially since Ben and Gwen saw every bit of it.
Unless Max was already planning for them to shut up about it and never tell their parents...
"With Vilgax out of the picture for good, there's nothing keeping you here any longer. I could use your help out there." she pleaded.
Ghostfreak's eye widened. No, Max was gonna refuse. He wasn't coming back now. He was never coming back as a Plumber, it was over. He shouldn't even have to think about it, he had to refuse.
He just had to refuse.
Max hesitated. "Another tempting offer..."
Though neither of them heard it or realized it, Ghostfreak left with a spiteful throaty hiss, almost worthy of his DNA donor.
He just discovered how low the old man has fallen.
Gwen groaned as she was brushing the broken pieces together with a dustpan. Using magic to make dishes clean themselves was a bad idea when she still needed experience. She remembered it took Ben about a month to almost master Heatblast's fire blasts correctly, she too needed more experience before trying anything new.
She yelped as Ben stepped on the mess she was cleaning up.
"Ben!"
"Ah! Uh, sorry, Gwen." apologized Ben. "I didn't see you. Um, what happened here?"
"Don't ask." she said, annoyed. "So, what's up with Grandpa and Xylene?"
Ben frowned. "I was right about her, she's bad news."
"What do you mean?"
"She wants to take him back to space and leave us behind."
Gwen stopped, turning to her cousin with a confused look. "Ben, are you sure of what you're saying? Grandpa can't leave, he retired."
"She literally asked him to come with her and he's considering it! Never mind that he didn't answer yet, she wants him to be with her again and work with her because she wants him for herself!"
Gwen was taken aback at how angry Ben seemed. He looked tired, his eyes were worn out. It reminded her of how her Uncle Carl looked whenever they mentioned Max at family reunions, if Max wasn't present. Ben obviously didn't like Xylene, but...
Did Max really consider leave his life on Earth forever?
Her dad and uncle would never forgive him for disappearing after the summer ends. And... if he said yes now, was he going to bring them back to Bellwood tomorrow?!
"Hold on, Ben. If he didn't answer, maybe it's because he wants to say no but doesn't know how to? Maybe he's trying not to disappoint her or harm her feelings? You know how terrible Grandpa is with reveals." suggested Gwen.
Ben took her words into consideration. "Maybe. But I still can't believe this alien woman who thinks she knows everything about Grandpa would try to keep him away when she knows I can't be trusted with the watch on my own!"
Gwen raised a brow. "...what?"
"Look, even if I act like I don't care, I know I'm not the best choice for wearing the Omnitrix, and I thought Grandpa could help me out with his Plumber experience to be more responsible with it and..." he looked down, remembering the reason he even wanted to use the Omnitrix despite how freaked out he was at first, "...and make things better instead of making them worse. But if Grandpa is gone, I don't know how I can deal with these powers."
"I'm sure Grandpa would say no to her, but Xylene doesn't have anything to do with this."
"Yes, yes she does. She's the one who sent the Omnitrix to Earth, right before it went towards me when I found it. She should know she can't let someone like me have it without someone showing me how to use my powers, just like Tetrax told us." he clenched his fists, realizing Tetrax would've never trusted him with the watch if he knew his real identity. "And now, she has no problem with taking Grandpa from us and pretending to be 'Grandma Lizard'. She doesn't even think the universe is at stake, she doesn't care about anyone but herself!"
Losing his temper, he kicked into the pieces of broken plates on the ground.
"Ben! Ben, look..." Gwen calmly said, trying to help her cousin cool down. "We'll, we'll figure this out. Xylene has no idea you're a doofus, you're right." He seemed more at ease with her humor. "Grandpa will tell her about it and that he needs to stay with us and everything will be alright. You don't have to worry, remember that he's on our side, and it's your side too."
Ben gave her a sad look. "When you say that, I want to believe you so bad..."
She sadly smiled. Ben was more responsible than she gave him credit for, despite not knowing how to be responsible with his powers. But they'd figure this out eventually.
A gigantic drone interrupted them as it walked heavily on the ground with its metal claws. It deployed its tentacles at them, trying to catch them. Ben knew this was the Mechadroid that Vilgax sent after Xylene. It was still looking for the Omnitrix with its outdated data, and followed Xylene until she went to them.
Another problem she brought, even though this one was somewhat on Vilgax.
"Isn't that one of Vilgax's robot buddies?!" she asked as they ran to avoid the tentacles.
"Yep!" he said as he dragged her away from missile blasts. "Looks like even when he's gone, his toys are still there. It must be after the Omnitrix!"
When he made sure they were far enough, Ben ran up to the drone, dialing Four Arms. He transformed as soon as the missiles collided with him. Good thing Sixsix taught him Tetramands were strongly immune to fire, he had a good reason to go with the bruiser this time. And before anyone else knew it, he had things ready.
From under his shirt, he pulled a rectangular disk that looked like a mix between an old-school floppy disk and a computer circuit board. He rammed it into a hole in the robot's head, where he knew the drone would take it in. Then, he started punching.
The drone hadn't done anything to fight back or get the Omnitrix. Now that it had new information, it knew better than resist and oppose him. After all, it now recognized him as its second master. Four Arms used all of his strength and rage, and put it into his punches as he destroyed the willing drone bits by bits.
Through gritted teeth, he spoke low enough so that Gwen wouldn't hear him. "Trust me, this all hurts me more than it hurts you."
Gwen considered using a spell, but as soon as she found the right page, Max and Xylene came in. And as soon as they were in the picture, Four Arms was done destroying the robot that attacked them. While Max was prepared, his blaster out, and Xylene was flying with her eyes glowing, Four Arms had opened the machine in half with his bare hands, tearing it apart before the two adults.
Max and Xylene stared, a bit shocked at Ben's performance. Gwen was used to it ever since the Phil incident, even if that was still creeping her out, so she didn't make any remark about his newfound aggressiveness.
"Ben?" asked Max, unsure.
Four Arms turned around, an obvious look of annoyance on his face. "Hey Grandpa. Sorry about the mess, guess I got... a little carried away."
"Yeah... maybe just a little." said Max, observing the battle's remnants. He turned to Xylene. "Guess that Mechadroid was the same one that fell to Earth with you."
"Good thing Ben stopped it in time, eh?" said Gwen, nudging her cousin.
"Apparently, they develop the ability to amalgamate mechanical devices, in order to fulfill their programming, namely retrieve the Omnitrix." explained Xylene.
She looked at the destroyed robot, seeing its main bits were scattered everywhere on the dirt. She had to admit, this kid was more destructive than she thought. The way he rushed to get done with this before both she and Max came back almost felt familiar, as if Ben was trying to prove he didn't need anyone...
"You are sure you completely destroyed any part of the Mechadroid that could revive it, aren't you?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm sure." huffed Four Arms. "Give me a break."
"A Galvanic Mechamorph would've been more appropriate if you wanted to be truly helpful."
Four Arms rolled his four eyes. "Are you talking about Upgrade? Yeah well, you're not the boss of me."
"Come on now, Ben." lectured Max. "Xylene probably does know a thing or two about the Omnitrix. Maybe you should listen to her."
"You're taking her side?!" Four Arms angrily pointed at Xylene.
"You're being irrational." deadpanned the Uxorite.
"Well, if I'm such a mess-up, then why'd you send the watch to ME in the first place?" the Tetramand growled.
"I didn't send you the Omnitrix. You found the Omnitrix before it reached its intended recipient."
There was a silence as Four Arms was clenching his fists. He didn't know what was stopping him from tearing her down anymore.
"What?"
"The pod containing it veered slightly off its intended course." she explained.
There was something grim in Four Arms' expression, his arms were trembling. "I got the watch by mistake?"
"Of course." said Xylene in a matter-of-fact way. "You didn't believe that I would purposely send the most powerful device in the universe to a child, did you? I was sending it to Max."
"Guess it would make more sense, Grandpa being a Plumber and all." noted Gwen.
She didn't realize her input wasn't helping. Ben was in a bad mood, and he already hated Xylene. She noticed too late her cousin was back into his brooding state, and with the way things were going, it would only keep getting worse.
"Oh well, great! Just take it back! And you two can cruise around the universe, see if I care!"
Four Arms picked the destroyed remains from the ground and ran to the forest, stomping angrily.
"Ben!" Max called out. But Ben was already gone, and he probably wouldn't listen even now. "Gwen?"
"Um, Grandpa..." Gwen hesitated.
Either she went after Ben to reason with him, or she tried to get Max instead. On one hand, Ben seemed to appreciate her advice more lately, but from what he told her, this wasn't just a tantrum. He just felt left out because of Xylene, he didn't need anyone lecturing him. On the other hand, she couldn't tell Max about what Ben was mad about. It might disappoint Ben or make him regret talking to her.
If Ben needed help, it had to be from Max. But she couldn't spill the beans about what he told her (why were secrets becoming more and more frequent in their family?).
"Grandpa, I think he needs you on this one." said Gwen, unsure.
Max thought it over. If Ben was mad again, he may be thinking irrationally, like Xylene said. Though he could've just felt insulted by her remarks, this was going to be a problem.
Last time, Ben wouldn't talk to him or Gwen for days unless they were the ones engaging in a conversation. And even then, Ben didn't talk too much. He had to be reasoned with before the rest of summer vacation goes away.
"Did I say something wrong?" asked Xylene, interrupting his thoughts.
"It's... nothing, Xylene, Ben has just been in a bad mood this whole summer."
"I've noticed." she looked at the footprints the Tetramand left on the ground. "He almost reminds me of our old friend, the way he doesn't seem to like me."
"Don't say that." said Max. "Ben isn't anything like him."
"Raghr!" gnarled the alien, tossing the Mechadroid's pieces away in anger.
Sixsix and Kraab knew better than to interrupt him when he was mad at Max or anyone else, so they just stood by. Surprisingly, the boy wasn't taking his anger out on the drone, he just stood there with a resentful expression.
"Who does she think she is, trying to mess with my family and pretending everyone is okay with it? I wanna tear that lizardface apart, until she apologizes for everything she's done." he scoffed.
"That Uxorite holds no knowledge of-"
"Cut me some slack, Kraab! That old lizard hag deserves a lesson, doesn't matter if she knows who I am or not!" roared Four Arms.
He slammed the Omnitrix symbol on his shoulder, reverting back to himself.
"I don't care what it takes, I'm gonna find a way to make her shut up next time she tries to boss me around. Like Grandpa!"
Sixsix asked a question, which Kraab translated to "Is the old Plumber a cause of trouble again?"
"Yes." growled Ben. "Grandpa is back at being an hypocrite. Why am I still surprised, he's still lying to me! I'm giving him a chance to explain, but that doesn't mean he didn't do anything wrong. He's the one who took me away from my dad, he's the one she wants to give the Omnitrix to all while snobbing me, he's the one letting her make a fool out of me, he's still lying and it's making me lose my mind!"
He kicked a rock with his foot, losing his patience.
"I don't need him to be my guide or to show me around, my dad's been doing that for me ever since I knew Grandpa was just a liar! I hate that, I hate what he's doing, I hate what they're making me go through, I hate that he keeps lying, and I hate Xylene! I hate her, and I hate the Plumbers! All of them! I wish there weren't any Plumbers on this planet anymore, because all they've been doing is ruining everything over and over for all my life!"
Unbeknownst to him, the drone he had thrown behind a bush heard his every word as soon as it gathered itself fully. And with everything its new master had wished, it had found a new purpose, heading towards the campsite where it was looking for a new target.
"Now that we're on our own, I wanna show that lizard what I'm made of, and you're gonna help me."
Both Bounty Hunters prepared their weapons eagerly. That wasn't what Ben had in mind.
"No, I meant, helping me figure out Master Control."
"Oh." Both hunters set their equipment down in disappointment.
"First time I had it, I unlocked it randomly by twisting the dial around. I wanna prove to that stupid two-bit Plumber I don't need her or her advice to use this thing. So help me figure out the possible combinations for it."
Though this wasn't exactly what they expected, both men complied and took a look at the device, starting to turn the dial in different directions.
"I'm sorry, Max. I must admit these human offspring are a mystery to me." apologized Xylene while holding hands with the old man. "On my planet, once you hatch you're on your own. Well, soon you won't have to worry about them."
With some luck, maybe he'd say yes. She remembered his other ex-partner always made fun of them whenever they were on a dinner or just talking, asking them if he had to bring anything for the wedding. Then for a little while, it was just the two of them.
She missed Max a lot, though she definitely didn't expect the children who were with him. That orange-headed girl seemed to have some grasp on mana, if her old chats with Verdona were correct about the name of that power. Though the magic she saw was blue, that child could become a good Plumber if she ever got a better grasp on her powers.
The boy, Ben, was different though. He wasn't anything like Max, or like any human she met before. She had a hard time believing he was the one who defeated Vilgax, he didn't look like he could do anything of the sort.
At least she knew he and Max were family. They've had some mutual trust in each other despite the young human's behavior. She seemed to have disturbed it though, he might've felt threatened by her presence. Though she felt she didn't need to apologize for what she said about the Omnitrix.
He wasn't meant to have it, the only reason he could even use it was because he was related to Max, nothing more.
So if Max finally agreed, maybe they could be together again... They were sitting in front of each other, the night was still very much similar to the one they've had before saying goodbye to each other...
Sadly for her, a blinding white light illuminated the campsite, interrupting the night as the very intact Mechadroid landed right in front of them. It sent a metal claw at them, ready to take them down.
Xylene instinctively pushed Max away, before the metallic limb collided with her, sending her several meters away into the forest.
"Xylene!"
Elsewhere, Ben just realized his mistake as, once again, he was followed by his bodyguards. The drone just fixed itself, but rather than go back to Vilgax, it went straight for the campsite and now attacked Max and Xylene.
What was going on? Vilgax told him the disk he was given would only make the drone obedient, and even though Ben trusted him, he had checked using Grey Matter when he didn't understand how the device worked (his father's explanations were too elaborate for a 10 year old kid to understand). It wasn't supposed to attack people randomly.
Of course, these weren't random people, these were Plumbers who would've reduced it to bits had Ben not done it before. Maybe it thought they were keeping him prisoner, or that they were a threat to it. Which was correct, but could've been avoided if the drone had simply settled for returning to the Chimerian Hammer instead.
It didn't matter, he had to go and stop it.
Only if he wasn't timed out by Sixsix and Kraab's attempts to get Master Control for him. At some point, they started arguing over who should be doing it while trying to get results, messed with the watch and ended up fighting each other with their bare hands (well, more like pincer and armored hands, but it was beside the point) while Ben tested out a new alien.
The new guy he got kept him busy as he started gathering pieces of wood all around, building a skateboard at high speed and destroying it immediately afterwards. He didn't know what to call him yet, but it sure was a feisty alien.
They realized way too late the Mechadroid was leaving, after it absorbed Sixsix's blaster and took Kraab's pincer away, leaving the two hunters almost weaponless as it left to attack the campsite. And the trio arrived to find Gwen, sending blue energy blasts to the machine to no avail.
And to Ben's horror, the machine struck on her with a metal claw, sending her flying in their direction.
"Gwen!"
Sixsix ran and jumped to her, catching the girl mid-flight and bringing her to Ben.
"Gwen! Gwen, please, wake up! Are you okay?!" Ben panicked, shaking her as Sixsix and Kraab checked her injuries.
"She's merely knocked out, young master." said Kraab. "But the Mechadroid did injure the side of her head. She won't die but she'll need medical treatment quick before it gets worse."
Ben turned to the drone, angry at it for what it did. What was it doing?! This wasn't what Vilgax made them for, no. Vilgax wouldn't make a robot attack a defenseless person like this, especially when Ben told him more than once that Gwen could be useful to them.
That robot was causing more trouble than needed, he had to set things right with it. But to his surprise, he saw the Mechadroid tangle Max in its tentacles, shocking the old Plumber painfully as it bound itself to his suit.
"No, come back, now!" shouted Ben, unsure of who he was talking to.
But the drone couldn't hear him anymore, it fled far away from them, carrying the Plumber with it. Ben sighed as he realized he had to rescue the old man again. But before, he had other things to deal with.
"You two stay with her while I deal with the drone." ordered Ben. "They might see you without your equipment and you can't defend yourselves entirely. I'll get your weapons back to you, you take care of her."
Despite the danger it presented for their liege, both Bounty Hunters nodded, something told them Ben could deal with this without their help. They sneaked into the Rustbucket while Ben ran to Xylene.
The Uxorite looked dizzy as she tried to get up. She just reunited with Max, and Vilgax ruined it again. Why did it always have to be him? She blinked as she saw Ben glare at her.
"There you are. Your cousin is here, trying to stop that thing from..." she coughed. "Max! Where is he?!"
"Gwen is resting now, that drone hurt her badly." snarled Ben, hating how she was still focused on Max. "The Mechadroid left after merging with his suit, it took him away and I hate to say this, but I can't do this on my own without Gwen so help me or get out of my way!"
Xylene's eyes widened before she frowned. "I thought he would've trained you into being more careful with Vilgax's drones, but this doesn't matter." she said, angering him even further. "We have to look for Max immediately."
'Oh, so you care about any other being than yourself, lizard jerk?! Maybe you should think about Grandpa more, you'd understand he's giving up his entire family for you. Unless you Plumbers don't care about what family means...'
"Time is crucial. As we stand here, it's collecting more and more items, becoming stronger for its final battle with us. Where would the Mechadroid have access to the most mechanical items in this area?"
"If I remember my geography classes well (and I usually don't), St. Louis is famous for being the biggest river ports in the country. We need to go for the docks. But why is it gathering material when I have the Omnitrix right here?"
"Despite your cruel lack of experience, you still managed to destroy it last time, it knows it's not enough in its current state to defeat you." she said. With every minute that passed by, Ben was liking the idea of letting the drone loose on her more and more. But he needed her help. "That's why it took Max with it, it's setting a trap because it knows we'll come and rescue him."
She took her remote out again, projecting a map of the area with the town and sea around it.
"If we can get there quick, Max and I will be able to follow our talk, now-" she paused, seeing Ben was running away with a board in hand. "What are you doing?"
"I don't have time to hear you talk about your feelings for my grandpa while he's almost about to die, so come on!" he spat, gritting his teeth before riding on his hoverboard.
Decidedly, despite what Max said about their 'old friend', Ben was more like him than she thought.
Both alien and human-turning-alien kid stood behind a shipping container as they heard the Mechadroid absorb more and more weapons. It was using the nanotech in Max's Plumber suit to tear down the containers and absorb the nearby items, some of which included a tank.
Ben still had no idea what the drone was doing, but he wasn't going to let it harm Max before Ben got an answer. From the drone or from Max, it didn't matter at this point, the machine almost made him forget he was mad at the old man.
"I have an idea, but you must trust me. Your grandfather's life depends on it." said Xylene.
"I don't."
"Ugh, you're so stubborn it's infuriating." she said, using her telekinesis to drag Ben's arm to her. She forcefully twisted the dial and turned Ben into an alien.
The boy grunted as he felt his body change. When he opened his eyes, he had become a small green alien with a green tail, what felt like many tongues and a big appetite.
"A Perk Gourmand, eh?" said Ben, recognizing the alien he had decided to call Upchuck when Vilgax showed him the different species inside the Omnitrix. "Sorry, but I have other plans."
Upchuck hit the symbol on his wrist and reverted back into Ben.
"What are you doing?!"
"Doing things my way." His attitude was so familiar Xylene almost felt like leaving him be with his ego and spite.
Ben turned the still green dial on his wrist, instead choosing the aliens he had unlocked earlier. His body was changing and shrinking again, except his skin became hard red. He was smaller than Upchuck, but was faster, stronger and smarter. When the light faded, an imp-like alien was standing there instead.
"Hmm, a Planchaküle from Aul-Turrhen? Their knowledge of machinery might be of use, yes."
"It's Juryrigg for you!" said the alien, burning mad.
With high speed, Juryrigg rushed to the Mechadroid. It once again recognized him and did nothing to oppose him as he took it apart bits by bits, slowly but surely freeing an unconscious Max from the tentacles.
Soon enough, there was nothing left from the war machine but destroyed pieces, and he had made sure to leave Max's Plumber suit with it. He wasn't gonna need it any time soon.
Juryrigg carried the old man to Xylene, throwing him in her arms.
"Hey! What's with you and mishandling your relatives?" called out Xylene.
"I don't mishandle relatives. On the other hand, I hate hypocrites." said Juryrigg, gritting his devil teeth. "Now I'm gonna reprogram that thing to go away forever, where we'll never see it again."
Xylene sighed as she took Max with her, while Juryrigg had started regrouping the parts to recreate the drone. Her old lover looked peaceful when asleep, so innocent...
She used her powers to carry him, he had gained some weight since last time she took him away from danger after a battle. They really needed to stop meeting like this, and she needed to find another occasion to see him.
Away from work, away from Vilgax, and away from that kid who made it no secret he hated her.
Though for some reason she ignored, she felt some of his anger was directed at Max too.
Max sighed in relief when he saw his granddaughter move, making a small whine as she finally woke up.
"G...Grandpa?" Gwen asked, putting a hand on her head. She was startled when she felt a band on it. "What happened?"
"You were hurt by the Mechadroid. Ben said he used Grey Matter to heal you before he and Xylene came to battle."
"I hope they weren't fighting each other too much." she rolled her eyes, humoring Max. "Where's Xylene?"
"She's gone. There's a new DNA weapon out there and after seeing the damage the Omnitrix was involving, she preferred not to stall and go look for it right away."
"You didn't go with her?"
"It's a big galaxy out there, but right now you kids are my whole world."
Gwen smiled. Max wasn't leaving after all, Ben would be happy to hear it.
"What about Ben, is he okay?"
"He spent the whole night looking after you." he yawned. "I think he's still mad about what Xylene said. I don't know if I should let him be until it goes away or go and talk to him about it."
"He needs you, Grandpa. But to be honest, I don't know either. Maybe you have to go talk to him, or wait until he wants to talk." She paused. "Ben isn't the same ever since he found the watch, I can't confront him about this anymore."
Max nodded. "For the time being, we should get ready for our next stop. I'll get you head medication when we're good to go."
"I'll take the front seat!" claimed Gwen. Not gonna leave Ben a chance this time. Speaking of which... "Where's Ben?"
"He went on his own in the forest again. Maybe he still needs time to think about all of this."
Elsewhere, Ben wasn't alone. He was giving back their equipment to his protectors.
Juryrigg's genius had not only improved the Mechadroid, he also enhanced Kraab and Sixsix's weapons, to which both hunters were thankful.
Now the drone was connected to Kraab's metallic skull, sending it data to decipher. While the Omnitrix could do the same with Grey Matter or Upgrade, Ben felt both physically and emotionally worn out, he'd rather ask for help instead.
"So, what is it saying?" asked Ben.
"Hmm, it seems the Mechadroid was specifically targeting Plumbers. It wasn't seeking the Omnitrix anymore."
"Was this because of the disk I put inside?"
"No, young master. The update doesn't have anything of the sort affecting the drone's functioning. While the new commands it received preceded the attack, the data I'm seeing has nothing to do with it. It seems the diameter recalibrated itself on its own, around the time... you brought it with you away from the Plumbers."
"So it just decided to attack Grandpa and Xylene because...?"
Sixsix gurgled a supposition. "It's possible your argument with the Uxorite and her allying herself with Max Tennyson convinced it they were your enemies." translated Kraab.
Ben thought it over. It wasn't completely out of the question, he hated her. With how she's been humiliating him, insulting him and Vilgax, treating him as if he was just Max's domestic dog instead of his own person and that every single of his accomplishments revolved around Max...
He almost enjoyed seeing the drone wreck everything and try to destroy her.
"You know, I'm not mad at you, big fella." said Ben, looking at the drone who retracted its tentacles. "You tried to protect me or help me, but I don't need any of that for now. The bad guys who I fought recently aren't as bad as they look, I'm not in danger for now. But thanks to you, I finally got rid of that lizard. So, you did well."
The robot bowed after receiving its master's praise. While he was scrawny and small compared to its other master, he radiated the same pride, calculating mind and authority its creator gave. It was made to obey him, and saw no difference with the two of them.
"Go back to my father for now. We'll get your help when we need it someday, but you can go back to your other robot buddies now."
"Um, young master, wouldn't it be wiser to keep the Mechadroid nearby?" suggested Kraab.
"Don't sweat it, Kraab." shrugged Ben. "We're already strong enough on our own. We don't need help from it unless it's an emergency, the three of us are already enough to take care of anything." Both hunters nodded, unsure of since when Ben had that much faith in them. "Besides, it could attack Grandpa again, and I don't want him to get suspicious about my dad. He's still pretty secretive and I know I can't trust him."
The two men fully realized then that Xylene wasn't really the problem, she just brought it to light.
"I can't believe he even thought about abandoning us, that he thought about what she said. I thought he was honest when he said he abandoned his Plumber life, but no. He really was ready to come back to it any time, and be rid of us." he clenched his fists. "He's been acting like a hypocrite more than once this summer, and he kept lying all this time, no reason to let him know about what my father's doing. And a drone like this one, one I was supposed to destroy, is a dead ringer for trouble."
Ben frowned, taking a deep breath. Despite what he was trying to convince himself from the moment Vilgax had revealed Max's past, he understood that Max wasn't planning to keep his word as truthfully as he wanted him to be. He was tired of playing this little game, and it didn't make things easier that they weren't done.
"I'm not going to forgive him for what he did. He's done damage and I can't ever forget what happened. If he thinks he can just decide to go away when we need him the most..."
"...I might as well do him a favor and be the one disappearing from his life instead."
Vilgax abruptly shut down the footage his drone was currently projecting, he's seen and heard enough.
He was quite impressed by the new model of Mechadroid he had received in the morning. With the necessary blueprints, he could possibly mass-produce them, all thanks to Ben's new alien. However, that idea wasn't what occupied his mind at the moment.
No, what Vilgax The Conqueror was thinking of, was all the destruction he'd have to wreak upon this dirt planet for what he had witnessed. What did Ben even go through? How could anyone with dignity treat a child, his child, of the sort? It didn't even have to be a human, all Plumbers were scum that wrought pain to their family for years.
He grasped the exposed part of his face with a clawed hand. If he could just have Ben go with him immediately, they could worry about the Earth later. Now Vilgax was all ready to plan out an invasion, but he knew he had to trust Ben's decision.
He remained calm as he saw the Squid Monsters were roaming free again, still missing their new owner. It was understandable, his son hadn't visited them in a while, they were bound to feel lost until his next return. Luckily for them, they had an inner peace their other owner lacked in his current state.
He couldn't stop himself for wanting that old man impaled as a punishment for every word, every action, every gesture that in a way or another caused Ben pain. They both had already suffered enough because of Max, and while it strengthened the boy's trust in his father, Vilgax hated that Ben was learning to appreciate him solely through resentment and spite against the Earth, not out of curiosity for his origins or out of familiarity with the king.
Max was torturing Ben like he was torturing him, the old man was begging for trouble if he thought he could get away with it. Though for once, Vilgax was unsure if he would make Max regret his actions again.
Or if Ben would be the one to seek justice and make Max Tennyson pay.
This chappie was longer than usual, for the simple reason things are getting started.
In this chapter, Ben meets Xylene and hates her! :D
Since Gwen is pretty smart, she would've connected dots or helped stopping the drone easier from another perspective, hence why I put her on time out for the battling.
Ben also has another Teen Ben alien on his roster now, to help him "achieve his destiny".
Glad you guys could make it to this new chappie and I hope I'll get to the next chapter soon! ^_^/
Heato, out!