Chapter 2 More Worries
Ben and Gwen arrived back to his house and down to the basement. He strapped the controlled Koneko in a chair like he was ready to integrate her. Though it wasn't his intention, he didn't want her to slip away before he could help her. The sight of her strapped to a chair, and the Xenocyte stuck to her, he was still trying to process what was going on, he was lost in thought until Gwen snapped him out of it.
"I might have an idea on how to get this off of her." Gwen said.
"I'm game." Ben said.
"I could try to use my magic and tear it off of her." She offered.
"Sounds good to me." Ben said. All he could do was try.
Gwen concentrated and her eyes began to glow pink and her energy extended from her arms a took a hold of the alienated Koneko and began to pull. She was unconscious at the time, but as soon as Gwen began to pull, she started screaming in pain, that sounded familiar to Ben.
"Wait, stop!" He yelled. Gwen pulled herself back. "She was screaming, like that thing is part of her being." He said.
"We have to find something that could rip it off." She said. Koneko laughed with a distorted tone.
"What are you laughing at?" Ben asked.
"My host is a part of me now, I haven't just taken control of her, I am her now, we all are." She sounded scary.
"In any case, I'm still gonna find a way to get you off of her, so I'll ask you, what are you planning?" Ben said. Koneko gave a psychotic smile.
"Like I will tell you anything of our plans for this planet." She said.
"Then tell me this, if you're on my friend then that means you were with her's, now tell me." Ben demanded, he needed to at least get some information out of this freak. She tilted her head.
"You mean the princess of the underworld? Gremory? Ask her yourself when she putting a Xenocyte on your head." She said. At this point Ben was angry. He had no idea of these things taking control and already it's gotten out of hand. He wanted to knock the Xenocyte out of her, but he would hurt Koneko worse. He clenched his teeth and punched the steel wall unleashing the power of his chest piece hard enough for the vibrations to come back. The shockwave was sent throughout the room making Koneko scream from the sound as it echoed. The sound stopped and Koneko was breathing heavy.
"You don't like that huh? How about another one!" Ben yelled.
"Ben?" Koneko yelled. Ben stopped when he heard her real voice.
"Koneko? Is that really you?"
"Ben, you have to run, it's too late, were being controlled by these things, I try to fight it, but it's become a part of me." She said. Ben put a hand in her exposed cheek. His omnitrix started to blink before she tried to take a bite out of it making him quickly retract arm.
DNA alteration detected. The watch said.
"Did it ever do that?" Gwen asked.
"No, this is a new one for me." Ben said.
"DNA repairs are now available" The omnitrix spoke again. Ben looked at Gwen. She nodded to him before he began to reach.
"What are you doing? Don't touch me!" Koneko screamed before Ben placed his hand on her deformed forehead before a bright light shined engulfing both of them.
After a moment, the light died. Ben was holding a Xenocyte before throwing it to the ground and stomping on it several times to be sure it was dead. Koneko was still, limp on the chair passed out. Ben untied her and caught her before she slipped and fell off.
"Hey, Koneko?" Ben tried to wake her. She opened her eyes just a bit to see his face before giving a gentle smile before passing out from fatigue. Ben picked her up and carried her to his room. He tucked her in and stood by her side for a moment before leaving.
"Is everyone under the influence of the DNAliens?" Ben asked himself, but from what that monster said, his stomach started to churn.
He left the room and met up with Gwen. Whatever they were gonna do, they needed more information. A takeover of Earth was an obvious, but where? How?
"What are you planning to do?" Gwen asked. He wanted to wait for Koneko to wake up, but there was one thing that was bothering him.
"We need to find Kevin, ask him how he got mixed up with all of this, and get him to take us to where those drums of Xenocytes are." Ben said. Gwen nodded before turning into the computer. Ben was typing on the computer for the same signature as before but there was no sign. Ben sighed in defeat as there was no place in Bellwood that he could think of the Kevin would be hiding since this was the first time seeing him here.
"Wait, if Kevin was at the warehouse for only a second, I can possibly track his energy." Gwen said.
"Your not part bloodhound are ya?" Ben asked. Gwen rolled her eyes.
"Powers remember?" She said. She crossed her legs and meditated in mid air with her eyes closed for a minute. "Got him." She said.
"You're a wizard Gwen." Ben said impressed.
"He's leaving town and fast, we won't be able to catch him without XLR8." She said.
"I can't everyone of these guys are new to me, I can't even find Red or Stinkfly." He said as he scrolled through the omnitrix until he found a particular one with wings. He then ran outside, and with confusion Gwen followed.
Ben stood outside and slammed his dial. As the DNA began pumping through his body, he began to morph. His eyes turned bright green as his head turned into a box shape with horns. His feet turned into two long picks and he grew wings, turning into a red alien ready for aerial action.
"Jetray!" The alien announced. "Hop on." He said to Gwen before she climbed on his back. He took off in a flash and made it to the city at a record speed. He hovered around with Gwen a bit shaken from the acceleration and saw a mustang looking vehicle speeding down the road and away from the city. Jetray shot himself right in front of the vehicle and stood in the middle of the road.
The driver realized the creature and punched the brake before losing control for a moment until it came to a stop. The door opened when Kevin himself stepped out with a ticked look. Jetray turned back into Ben after Gwen hopped off. Kev glanced at Gwen for a moment and looked away.
"Where do you think your going? The party just started." Ben said.
"It was going fine until those things scammed me, and you showed up." Kevin said.
"That is unfortunate, for you I mean, but I'm here with questions." Ben said.
"Not interested Tennyson, I need to find the ones that brought me into this problem." Kevin said.
"Well you and I both have an interest in this situation, how did you get mixed up with the DNAliens?" Ben asked.
"No idea, one moment I'm a delivery driver trying to make some cash, the next, my clients turn into mutation experiment gone wrong." Kevin said.
"You didn't think about the fact that you were with Koneko?" Ben asked amazed.
"I've been trying my hardest to forget you Tennyson, how should I know how to keep track of your groupies." He said.
"Enough, if you were with Koneko, you have to know where Rias and the others are, what about Grandpa Max, you have to tell me!" Ben said. He was more desperate than angry, and Kevin recognized it.
"I never saw them, sorry but you got the wrong guy." He answered.
"Ben wait, I think he's telling the truth." Gwen said.
"Thank you." Kevin felt touched a bit.
"Damn it!" Ben yelled. Kevin was his only lead.
"But I think I can track those things if Kevin was with them." She said. She felt Kevin's chest and concentrated. Kevin looked away trying not to think about it too much.
"I got it, it's in the next town." She said.
"Fine, let's get going." Ben said, he was about to slap his watch until Kevin stopped.
"Oh no, I'm not letting you have the fun, I just got cheated, so I'm going with you." Kevin said.
"It's not like I can carry both of you on my back." Ben thought out loud.
"Uh hello?" Kevin pointed at his car.
"Okay, but I call shotgun." Ben said.
The three were in the car, but Ben was in the back with his arms crossed. The road became a desert wasteland, definitely in the middle of nowhere.
"What happened to shotgun?" Ben pouted.
"Hey, lady gets shotgun and you shut up." Kevin said. Gwen was trying to meditate beyond the two fighting.
"Up there, in the next town." She said.
Kevin parked his car to the side and the three got out. The sky became cloudy and it started to pour drenching them.
"Anything, is Grandpa Max here?" Ben asked.
"Something is here, but it's getting fuzzy, not sure where exactly." Gwen said. It was then an old couple stepped up to them somehow not minding the rain.
"Odd to see young folk like you around here." The old man said.
"Were looking for someone, have you seen somebody about your age looking around here?" Ben asked. The two smiled before the lady spoke.
"We did have someone stop by, but he was getting to noisy." The lady said. "So we had to take care of him." The old man said. Ben and Gwen looked at Kevin.
"Hey, my clients are mostly anonymous." Kevin said trying to defend himself before they turned back to the couple.
"I'm afraid to ask, but what do you mean by 'take care of him'?" Ben asked. Lightning struck sending a flash in the sky. During the flash, the couple changed for a split second, the image of DNAliens got their attention before the two began to attack. Kevin used his car and turned into metal. He ran up to the old man and punched him right in the face, while the lady grabbed Ben.
"I don't typically fight old ladies." Ben said before kicking his feet up and pushed away before Gwen punched her out with a magic fist.
"Thanks." Ben said. After Kevin finished off the other alien they looked around.
Ben was walked near a barn before his omnitrix started blink like crazy. He called over Gwen and Kevin to follow him in the Barn. They took a peak to see hundreds of eggs with the same look as the DNAliens.
"This doesn't look so good, and the smell." Ben said.
"These eggs, do you think they hatch those Xenocytes, like the one that was on Koneko?" Gwen asked.
"There isn't any other explanation I can think of." Ben said. "Wait, if they are producing these by the mass…" Ben spoke.
"They're trying to make an army." Gwen said.
"That's not good." Kevin said.
"No its not… Ben lookout!" Gwen yelled. He turned around to see some of the eggs hatching. Xenocytes slowly crawled out as more began to crack.
"Now that's not good." Ben said. "Get ready." Ben said as he scrolled through his omnitrix before one jumped on his face to morph him. He panicked as it covered his face. He slapped his watch.
DNA went through his body as it began to change into a hard crystal with an amazing amount of energy was sent through his body leaving only one eye.
"Chromastone!" He yelled after throwing the Xenocyte and stomping on the ground. "Get back!" He yelled before sending a massive blast of energy destroying the creepy crawlies. However, more began to break from their shells and crawl to an attack. Chromastone was doing his best to get rid of all of them, but they just kept coming non stop.
"Ben!" Gwen said. She pointed up to the beams up top. Chromastone raised his hand and sent a and energy blast to the beam before the ceiling crumbled down. Crushing everything under it. The three ran out of the barn as the inside crumbled before collapsing.
"Wasn't really well built." Kevin said.
"Come on, we know what they're planning." Ben said.
"Okay, so, how do we stop it?" Kevin asked.
"I don't see why your concerned, we took out the ones that scammed you." Ben said, not exactly trusting Kevin.
"Hey, don't blame me, I was dragged into this, and even if I run, who knows what their gonna try to pull on me." Kevin said. Ben still didn't trust him.
"Whatever, we need to go back home and check on Koneko." Ben said. Kevin was reluctant to give them a ride home after Ben's attitude.
"Please Kevin? Ben is just worried." Gwen asked. Kevin looked away.
"Fine, but I'm out of town and getting as far away as I can from that guy." Kevin said. Ben sighed as they climbed back into the car and drove to Bellwood.
They made it back and Kevin was dropping Ben and Gwen off when he yawned loudly feeling tired.
"Do you have a place to stay?" Gwen asked.
"No, I live on the road." Kevin answered.
"Ben's not gonna like this but come inside, I'm sure you want to change his mind." Gwen said reading Kevin like a book.
"I don't care what Tennyson thinks of me okay, I did what I did so that I could survive, it's just…" Kevin said.
"I'm sure Ben is willing to talk after he calms down, he always does." Gwen said. Kevin sighed and got out of his car.
Ben went into the room Koneko was in he saw her sitting up awake but still in a daze. He was so happy to see her okay that he wanted to pounce and give her a hug, but now wasn't the time.
"Koneko?" Ben asked. She turned and saw Ben with a look of amazement. Like she couldn't believe that he was standing right in front of her. Instead of keeping herself composed, she pounced onto Ben like the cat she was and nuzzled before her voice was breaking.
"Ben! I never thought I'd see you again." She whimpered.
"For a moment me neither, but I'm here now, and I'm glad you're okay." The two took a minute to calm down.
"Okay, I need to know where Rias and the others are, i've seen what those things are and what they can do, I just need to know that they're safe." Ben said. Koneko shook there head.
"Last time I saw them, we were attacked by those creepy alien things, and the next thing I know, my actions weren't my own, and that I was helping the enemy, like a nightmare that I couldn't wake up from." She explained. Even she didn't know how the rest of his friends were. He was back to being worried sick.
"Koneko, I need you to take me to hell." Ben said.
"I thought you were gonna follow through with your retirement. I'm not sure when this struggle will end." She said.
"It's too late for that. Ben said holding her hand with the omnitrix on his wrist. "Besides, Grandpa Max has gone missing, and if Rias and the others are in trouble, that is more than enough reason to go hero again." He explained. Koneko smiled.
"Okay, just give me a moment, I still feel dizzy." She said. Ben nodded before going to the kitchen to find her some sweets to give her a boost in her mood.
He entered before seeing Kevin eating a bag of chips before stopping after being caught red handed.
"How did you even find that?" Ben asked.
"Your secret stash, you showed it to me remember?" He said. Ben did, but that was a long time ago.
"Better yet, what are you doing here?" Ben said.
"Guess the chilling part isn't over." Kevin said under his breath. "Since I've had the pleasure of running into you again, I'd like to think that I should tie up a loose end." Kevin said.
"In what way?" Ben asked suspiciously as he secretly reached for his omnitrix.
"Make amends." I know I did some pretty messed up stuff, but I only did it to make sure I don't go hungry out in the streets." He said.
"Yeah, then you stole my power and tried to kill me, thanks." Ben snapped.
"Yeah, I know. The power, and the anger. I could never let it go, but now I can. Which is why I'm asking to please let me help." Kevin said. Ben wasn't so sure though, but Kevin does seem to look less of a common street thug.
"When you took my omnitrix you put many people in danger, I'm not sure how I can trust you again." He said, but something felt off in his chest. "Fine, but I'm keeping an eye on you." He said before leaving with a chocolate bar. Kevin took a deep breath after that when Gwen came in.
"See? Not so bad." She said.
"He doesn't trust me Gwen, to be honest I don't blame him." Kevin said.
"Oh, so you do have a soft spot." She said said.
"Leave it, just let me know what are next move is." Kevin said before leaving to go to bed.
Ben just stood over Koneko as she fell asleep as the lack of sleep overcame her. She looked pained, like she was having a nightmare of some sort.
"As much as I want to go to hell, it's best that we rest for the time being." Ben said to himself as the exhaustion of today overcame him. Missing the feeling, he crawled in bed with Koneko and snuggled up to her trying to relieve the terror in her subconscious mind. He looked up at the moon, hoping that everyone was at least safe as he closed his eyes for a restless sleep.