New year, new fanfic! Hey all, I'm really excited to finally begin posting the direct follow up to Changing of the Guard. This will be primarily a work focusing on Ben adjusting to his post-Vilgax success while he protects Aja and Krel from many of the dangers you'll know if you've watched 3Below! It's going to be shorter than Changing of the Guard (hoping for less than 15 chapters), but that's because the plan is to have it run more-or-less concurrently with another fic focusing on the Trollhunters side of Arcadia, leading into a nice, big team-up.
I do want to warn you, if you're new here: while I try to make all my fics as standalone as possible, this one does come with a "required reading" warning - if you haven't read Changing of the Guard, a lot about these first few chapters is probably gonna be kinda crazy. I'll answer any questions if you have them, but this is a direct follow-up, and I have to write it assuming you know most of what's going on. If you want maximum understanding, please consider reading the whole series (you can find it on my profile page)! If you're reading the Fanfiction version, I should also warn you upfront that this is a multicrossover, and contains elements from several other fandoms, like Marvel and Voltron. I wish I could give you all the tags AO3 gives you, but this archaic site limits me so.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Abigail Brand, Director of S.W.O.R.D., walks up to a figure in uniform, staring out the transparisteel viewing deck of Excalibur – the spacebound headquarters of the agency she commands.
The figure in question is a recent addition to the space station's roster: Admiral Ellen Sanda, newly appointed by the World Security Council to consult on Project ATLAS – an initiative immediately derived from the capture of the alien vessel known as the Chimeran Hammer, which should eventually lead to Earth fielding a small but formidable number of space-worthy warships. Admiral Sanda herself has been handpicked to helm the fleet's theoretical flagship – something of an amusing notion, she thinks, given construction on the superstructure has scarcely begun and the most optimistic projections put its completion at an estimated three years in the future, and more realistically, five to seven years.
Still, she supposes, it's the thought that counts. Between the Chitauri invasion of New York and Vilgax's failed attempt at tearing the Omnitrix from Ben's wrist, Earth needs the reassurance that such a fleet would bring. Fury may prefer to rely on espionage, spec-ops strike teams, and straight-up superheroes, but in her less-than-humble opinion, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers alone are just not gonna cut it if some alien warlord and their whole damn navy up and decides Earth is ripe for the taking.
Vilgax brought a single (if formidable) warship; what happens if Thanos decides to do away with sneaky wormhole plans and brings the full might of the Black Order to the solar system?
"Enjoying the view, Admiral?" –Abigail asks, leaning on her cane.
Admiral Sanda scoffs. "Getting used to it, more like." –she confesses, giving half a step away from the viewport. "I'm no Moon landing truther, but it's one thing to see the images NASA shows you of space and another thing entirely to witness the vastness of the cosmos for yourself."
"Y'know, ironically, some of those Moon landing conspiracy theorists are a little closer to the truth than most rational individuals would believe." –Abigail shrugs. "None of the Apollo 11 mission was faked, of course, but the SSR did have to tightly control where they were meant to land, lest they stumble on the handful of concealed, derelict alien structures that dot Luna's surface."
To her credit, Admiral Sanda barely pales a little. "And there it is: the price of accepting this posting. I'll add it to the list of things I wish I didn't need to know." –she grouses. "A list I'm sure will only get longer and longer."
Abigail chuckles. "That's the job, Admiral."
The door to the viewing deck slides open, and Hala limps in. The rogue Kree Accuser is stone-faced, as usual, but Abigail can tell that she's doing her best to conceal her skepticism and mistrust for the WSC appointee; anyone else might mistake it for jealousy, as Admiral Sanda will effectively be replacing Hala's position after Vilgax smashed through the former Kree blockade whenever Project ATLAS finally delivers, but Abigail knows better; Hala doesn't care for such petty rivalries, she just wants the Earth to have the best defenders possible, and Hala doubts that a former US Navy Admiral, no matter how respected or decorated, has what it takes to protect the planet on such a different stage.
Admiral Sanda hasn't met Hala yet, but she's been briefed on her presence and former role on behalf of the Kree Empire. Still, her eyes widen a bit – Hala must be the first alien she's ever seen in person. "You're the Kree Accuser, correct?" –she prompts.
Hala narrows her eyes, but nods. "For the time being, yes. I've not heard from the homeworld regarding my many breaches of protocol in defense of your planet, so I remain Hala the Accuser."
"This is Admiral Ellen Sanda." –Abigail introduces, though Hala's obviously aware. "I just had her brought up from the Garrison so she can get a little bit acquainted with the more secretive side of our organization."
"Yes, most humans tend to be a bit surprised when they find out there's a secret superweapon floating over their heads." –Hala reposes. She gives a rare, sardonic smile. "We've been accused of building a 'Death Star' several times."
Admiral Sanda stares blankly at the Kree. "Y'know, from Star Wars?" –Abigail offers.
"Ah. Apologies, I never saw those films." –Sanda says, somewhat at a loss.
Abigail winces. "I wouldn't admit that out loud in this station if I were you. You're liable to get abducted for a marathon, rank and protocol be damned."
The Admiral's visage turns harsh. "I'll assume that's a joke; this place is supposed to be Earth's first line of defense, not a science fiction club."
"Oh, it was a joke, of course." –Abigail clarifies, firmly gripping her cane. "But the spirit of it is close to the real heart of S.W.O.R.D.; we're not a nation's military, or a poorly overseen international spy agency – we're explorers, first and foremost, and every single one of us is here because of our love for the cosmos, and our desire to show its many, many inhabitants that humanity is worthy of joining galactic society." –she states. "That our art, our sciences, and inventions – and yes, even our silly sci-fi movies – make us unique, and a valuable addition to the galactic stage."
"Perhaps." –Sanda says, unconvinced. "But this inspiring notion of yours will be entirely irrelevant if we don't do our part in keeping the planet safe."
"On that, we agree." –Hala says, giving Abigail a pointed look.
Abigail resists the urge to sigh – what else could she expect from a pair of career military women, human or otherwise? – nodding along instead. "There's certainly room for both lines of thinking in S.W.O.R.D." –she allows, leaving no room for further argument. Abigail gestures out of the room with her cane. "Shall we get on with the tour, then?"
Much like its mythical namesake, Excalibur is roughly shaped like a sword; the domed command bridge is situated where a pommel would be, with various living quarters and hangar bays below it making up the 'hilt', followed by the crossguard-like stabilizers and thrusters, leading to the most powerful weapon in humanity's arsenal – a nearly half a mile long particle cannon capable of accelerating charged ions to a fraction of the speed of light, delivering an equivalent payload in excess of 70 megatons of TNT, half again as powerful as the biggest nuclear weapon ever fielded on Earth, and fully capable of destroying or disabling modern alien warships – even dreadnoughts and battleships.
If this thing hit New York, the destruction would spread as far as New Jersey.
Fortunately, Excalibur's BFG is pointed strictly away from the planet. A number of safeguards keep the space station from ever aiming anywhere within 15° of Earth's circumference, to the point that Excalibur will self-destruct on the spot if it's somehow still forced into such a firing arc. Many in S.W.O.R.D. and the World Security Council argued against such safeguards – and perhaps they were somewhat proven right recently, given Excalibur could do nothing against Vilgax's warship once it blitzed through the Kree blockade – but Abigail wouldn't budge an inch. She considers it an essential precaution – it's already bad enough that there are still thousands of active nuclear warheads all over the world over twenty years after the end of the Cold War; there's no need to add this particular loaded gun into the mix.
Admiral Sanda seems to agree, to her credit. She examines the station's schematics, and asks rather astute questions about its defensive capabilities – automated point defense turrets and manned gun emplacements meant for smaller spacecraft, complemented by a small but growing flight of Ares-class starfighters, the pilots for which are still in training planetside at the Garrison. They go over the station's duty rosters, and the Admiral asks to be given a comprehensive report on the capabilities of the Kree soldiers who volunteered to stay at Excalibur under Hala's command.
Hala is describing Kree weapons and armor when the call comes, marked IMMEDIATE – just below 'Earth is about to be destroyed' urgency. The bridge's comms team puts the message on their holoprojector, and none other than Carol Danvers appears, looking no older than the first time Abigail met her.
"Captain Marvel." –Abigail acknowledges, somewhat surprised – Carol spends most of her time away from Sol, and only really returns to her home planet to catch up with her family, never letting anyone know she's coming and going. She's about to introduce her to Admiral Sanda when the cosmic heroine cuts her off.
"No time to stand in ceremony, Abigail." –Carol says. "You have a ship incoming, arriving sometime in the next fifteen to thirty minutes."
Abigail nods, narrowing her eyes. She snaps her fingers twice, and the bridge crew immediately starts checking their deep space telemetry and implementing the appropriate procedures to ready the station for any potential combat. "Give me the details."
"A little over an hour ago, there was a successful coup d'état in the Nova member planet Akiridion-V – completely blindsided both the Nova Corps and the ruling family, House Tarron. Nova Corpsmen planetside report that the Akiridion King and Queen were killed at the palace, but their two young children and a loyal commander were able to escape the Akiridion homeworld. The usurpers were unable to plot their warp vectors, so they aren't in pursuit, but they managed to damage the spacecraft enough that you should expect a crash-landing." –Carol reports.
Admiral Sanda frowns. "If the usurpers weren't able to track them, how do you know they're coming here?"
"The Nova Corps have partial control over their portion of the galaxy's Warp Network." –Abigail supplies. "They can't open new Warp Nodes or close existing ones, but they can track most traffic and optimize warp vectors for the Nova fleet. Gives them a huge edge in space combat."
"Look at you, sharing privileged government information all willy-nilly." –Carol snorts, amused. "I approve."
Abigail shrugs. "Like you said, no time to mess around." –she drawls. "Can you get me access to those warp vectors?"
Carol nods, tapping a few times on her vambrace computer. "It's done. Nova Prime can be mad at me all she wants – those kids need help, and they're gonna get it while we can give it."
Hala frowns. "Why would Nova Prime be enraged by your actions?"
"General Val Morando, the driving force behind the coup, has threatened to turn the might of the Akiridion fleets against the Nova Corps if any Nova officials bring aid to the fleeing Royals. Considering we're gonna need those fleets, sooner or later, Nova Prime put out a general order for the Corps to stay out of this 'internal matter'." –Carol says, face full of disgust. "I'm not technically part of the Nova Corps, but I have enough pull with them that there isn't really a difference – not in Irani Rael's eyes, and certainly not in Morando's. I can't take him out, and I can't protect the kids." –she explains.
The navigation officer sends her the data, which projects the FTL path that the Akiridion spacecraft is taking, which will deliver them on their doorstep in less than twenty minutes. Abigail puts on a grim scowl; it's not nearly enough time to set up a 'welcoming party' to take in the damaged craft safely, or even to intercept and rescue them with a boarding party – without a precise exit point, and detailed telemetry on their ship's flight path out of warp, it's much too risky an operation.
Ironically, the safest way for everyone involved to handle this situation is to just...let them crash-land in a safe location; their vessel is really just a very fancy escape pod, and according to its specs, it's definitely rated to (relatively) comfortably survive the fall through Earth's atmosphere and smack dab into its surface.
They just need to ensure they land in the right place.
"Scramble two fighters and send them to circle the predicted exit point." –Abigail orders. "Make sure their tractor beams are primed."
"Got a plan already?" –Carol asks, raising an eyebrow. "Tractor beams won't be able to stop a ship going that fast."
"No, they won't." –she acknowledges. "But they only need to slow it down. I'm sure you've heard that the Omnitrix was recently picked up by a human teen?"
Abigail notes that Admiral Sanda shifts uncomfortably beside her – probably one of a growing list of people who are, to put it mildly, not very happy that she's allowed Ben to keep the Omnitrix for good. Carol snorts. "Yeah, Max told me. His grandkid, right? Small universe."
"He's good, Carol." –Abigail reassures her. "Hard to imagine anyone else could wield it better. Other than Max, maybe."
Carol hums. "If you say so." –she says, skeptical. "Thinking of putting him on babysitting duty?"
Abigail snorts. "Let's just say he has experience with interstellar bounty hunters and crazy alien warlords..."
Considering they're fighting a mad scientist riding and controlling a huge, mutated lizard, Arcadia's mall is holding up surprisingly well.
"Tremble before the mutated marvels of Doctor Aloysius J. Animo!" –the gray haired, oddly green-ish skinned old man yells, commanding his mount to smash a nearby display of the mall's layout with its spiked tail.
"You really couldn't think of a better place to take over than the mall?" –Diamondhead grumbles, the sound of shifting crystal filling the place as he squares up with the supervillain. "They're already kinda dying out, y'know?"
The distraction is working – he glances at the shoe store behind Animo and spots Julie leading a couple of terrified workers to safety. "Indeed they are, my shape-shifting foe." –Animo acknowledges. "This place is now a bounty of second-hand equipment and emptied out real estate! A perfect location to set up a base of operations from which my mutant minions may take over the world!"
The giant horned lizard – at least, that's what Ben thinks it was before the mutation – pounces on him, so he shifts to XLR8 and easily sidesteps the attack and the tail swing that follows it. "You're not real big on future-proofing your evil plans, huh?" –he asks, sarcastically. "Think you'll have your death ray up and running before S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers get here?"
Animo shakes his head, seemingly disappointed. "Tsk, tsk. Nothing so crass as a death ray, child. No, I will build a powerful signal amplifier that will project my mutation wave across the entire globe! Picture, hordes of ants the size of St. Bernards marching on every nation's capital! The shadow of a massive hawk passing over the countryside, evoking the mythical Roc! A four-hundred foot tall marine iguana, ravaging the Japanese shoreline!"
XLR8 becomes Four Arms. "You got something against Japan, Doc, or are you just trying to get sued by the Toho Company?" –he teases, grabbing a nearby stand – one of those aromatherapy ones no one ever stops by – and launching it at the giant lizard and its rider.
Animo jumps off his mount in time to avoid the hit, which sends the mutant lizard stumbling back. It hisses at him, and Animo's weird, Loki-like headgear pulses green – a command, Ben thinks, for the beast to attack. The reptile nearly closes its eyes, and a pressurized stream of steaming, crimson fluid shoots at him from its tear ducts, which he barely manages to jump out of the way of.
With a green flash, he swaps back to Diamondhead. "Did you just have your mutant lizard shoot blood at me?" –he balks.
"A macabre projectile, is it not?" –Animo preens. "A horned lizard's last line of defense – you'll be happy to know, hero, that my mutation has safely turned this last-ditch effort into a main avenue of attack!"
The reptile blasts him again, so he shapes an angular crystal barrier that diverts the streams to either side of him. "I guess it's cool, I just... this can't be sanitary, right?" –Diamondhead shakes his head. He forms a series of sharpened tips from his fingers, and shoots them near Animo – not intending to kill him, of course, just trying to separate him from the ultimately innocent animal.
Animo dives out of the way, so he turns back into XLR8 and tackles him before he can fully get back up, sending the elderly man careening into a nearby pond. He feels a little bit bad about it – the good doctor looks no younger than sixty – but whatever turned his skin that sickly yellow-green must've given him some extra durability, because Animo recovers rather quickly and commands his lizard to pounce. Ben sheds the Kineceleran form and turns into Goop, morphing themself into a make-shift harness around the beast's forelegs and torso, heedless of the deadly spines that cover most of its body, willing the small gravity engine that keeps them coherent to pull back and restrain the reptile.
Animo dusts himself off. "Fascinating...just how many alien forms do you carry within you, Tennyson?" –he muses, extending a sort of needle looking apparatus from his arm brace. "And would you be willing to part with a few?"
Goop succeeds in pulling the horned lizard onto its back, detaching part of their body to keep the monster immobilized, then swapping back to XLR8 and running behind the mad scientist in the blink of an eye. He becomes Diamondhead, shifting his hands to resemble LEGO ones and encircling Animo's arms and torso, fusing the gap between the two and detaching the makeshift restraint device from his arms.
Diamondhead kicks him down to the ground as gently as he can manage, and prepares to pry the mutation device away from Animo when half a dozen local police officers burst into the scene, led by Detective Scott. "Arcadia police, everybody on the ground!" –he barks out.
"Officer." –Diamondhead drawls, not at all concerned. Probably says something interesting about him that, barely a few weeks into having the Omnitrix, he's already completely lost any fear or respect for guns and authority. "Caught the bad guy for you already."
Detective Scott, raises an eyebrow, glancing down at the struggling scientist. "Nice job." –he says, sarcastically, levelling the handgun at his chest. "Turn yourself in, and we'll be able to hold everyone responsible for the damages to the mall accountable."
The Petrosapien superhero crosses his arms. "Not really how this works, sir." –he says, mildly amused.
"This ain't New York, kid." –the man warns. "We don't have a bizarre mandate to tolerate vigilantes."
"I take it you were ready and able to take down Doctor Animo all on your own, then?" –Diamondhead asks, sarcastically.
The detective huffs. "If we weren't, that's our problem to solve." –he says.
"Sorry, officer. Not about to stand by while I've got these powers and you've got guys like this one to deal with." –Diamondhead shrugs. He morphs into XLR8 with a flash, and collects every gun before any of the policemen can react, leaving the weapons all bound by a zip tie through the trigger and hanging just out of reach from a nearby light fixture. "Cut me some slack, alright? I just saved you guys a literal bloodbath." –he says, gesturing at the still steaming pool of lizard blood.
Detective Scott stares at his forcibly emptied hands in disbelief and sighs. "Do you even realize how much paperwork you've just given us?" –he asks, shoulders slumping down. "Look – I get it kid, you're trying to do a noble thing here, but...well, it's still very illegal."
"I think it worked out alright when we took Vilgax down – I'm sure we'll figure day to day crime out." –XLR8 says. The Kineceleran morph spots Julie hiding out overhead, on the roof of the mall, so he gives the officers a mock salute. "Same deal next crime?"
He doesn't wait for a response, instead grabbing Animo and fleeing the scene, joining Julie atop the building. Julie stares at the bound supervillain. "You're not leaving him with the cops?" –she wonders.
"Nah. They don't have the facilities." –XLR8 mutters.
"They also don't have anywhere to keep a giant, mutated lizard." –Julie points out.
He shrugs. "The mutation wears off if you're not in range, right Animo?"
The mad scientist grumbles. "...my device does require proximity to sustain the transformation." –he admits. "A design flaw I could've corrected...!"
"...if it weren't for us meddling kids, right?" –XLR8 says. Animo doesn't look like he appreciates the pop culture reference.
Julie hums. "Still, I feel bad about leaving the poor little guy behind."
"I mean, unless we keep him as a pet..."
"Horned lizards do not make good pets, young man." –Animo says, sternly. "They have very strict dietary requirements and do not thrive in captivity."
XLR8 snorts. "See? Better to leave the poor guy alone, doctor's orders. Plus, you already have Ship."
The Mechamorph in question pops their semi-liquid head out of her artificial shoulder. "Thanks for the advice, old man." –Julie says, sardonically.
The elderly man huffs. "I am nothing if not dedicated to my craft."
"Considering your 'craft' also involves subjecting innocent animals to forcible mutations that render them into half-feral, dinosaur-sized monsters, you're definitely still going to super-jail." –Julie drawls.
Animo grumbles, struggling against his bonds. Ben morphs into Diamondhead, forming a thin blade from his index finger to carefully slice Animo's machine off his body, but the Omnitrix beeps, interrupting him once again. He frowns – he doesn't time out anymore, of course, thanks to Azmuth giving him Master Control – but the reason for the beeping soon reveals itself to be an incoming call from Abigail Brand, Director of S.W.O.R.D., her image projected from the watch's faceplate.
"Sorry to cut into your office hours, Ben." –she says, raising an eyebrow as she glances at the beaten supervillain. "But we've got a situation that needs your attention."
Ben sheds the Petrosapien form, back to human. He crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't even know this thing doubled as a phone." –he admits, shaking the Omnitrix a bit to see if the Director's image shifts at all. It doesn't. "What's up?"
"There's an Akiridion starship entering the atmosphere as we speak. It'll land in the southern outskirts of Arcadia; you have approximately three minutes to make sure it doesn't kill anyone."
"More of your secret alien fellows, Benjamin? I'll be sure to add their gene sequences to my collection...when I break out of these infernal bonds!" –Animo rants, struggling to free himself.
Ben snorts. "It's almost sweet of you to assume I'll save them no matter what, for you to be able to steal their DNA." –he says, sarcastically. Ben turns to Abigail. "Shoot me the location."
Julie jogs up to him. "She already sent it to me." –his girlfriend pipes up, projecting a holographic map of the region from the back of her cybernetic hand.
"Tell Gwen and Kevin to meet us there." –Ben asks her, then turns back to S.W.O.R.D.'s leader. "Who are these guys? More bounty hunters?"
"Refugees, actually. Survivors of a coup that got their parents killed." –Abigail clarifies, uncharacteristically somber. "So, y'know...exercise caution, and all that. We'll be along shortly to help however we can, but you get first contact."
The call ends and her image vanishes, just as Animo makes the play he's apparently been planning to make while they talked; he blasts the transformation beam from his helmet antennae, and hits a passing grackle that swiftly becomes a pterodactyl-sized abomination, obediently sweeping in and grabbing the mad scientist. Animo cackles as he speeds away, carried by the avian monster's talons. "'Same deal next crime' indeed, Tennyson!" –he jeers.
Ben's pretty sure Animo doesn't realize his clever wordplay literally means he'd get beaten again. If he's to join his rogues' gallery, Animo's at least an entertaining villain, he supposes.
He rolls his eyes, popping the dial on the Omnitrix – he doesn't need to anymore, but he finds the action reassuring, in some way. He finds his desired transformation, and slams down his hand on the glowing faceplate, feeling the watch's limitless energy flow through him and transform him into the Kryptonian form he obtained during the Vilgax crisis.
"Power Girl!" –she shouts, striking a pose.
Julie tilts her head. "Interesting pick. Are you gonna chase him down?"
Power Girl shrugs. "I could, but...Animo's pretty harmless. Besides..." –she says, nodding at the sky, where a light that decidedly does not belong in the morning sky is steadily growing larger and brighter. "...think our guests are already here."
Hoping this won't be an issue, but since it has been in the past: there is a detailed explanation for why Ben's Kryptonian form is female (in short, the DNA source is Supergirl, I wanted to do this universe's version of Power Girl unique, and the rules in both canon and my own take of the Omnitrix allowed it) back in Changing of the Guard. If it's something you don't agree with, feel free to have your own opinion, but please don't come to me trying to argue me out of it or berate me for not doing it the way you would. This is my final word on the matter! I'll ignore/block you if you can't follow these simple rules!
I'm going to try a back and forth approach with this fic, where we alternate between Ben and Aja's viewpoints; I can't promise it'll be a perfect 1:1 ratio, but I'll try my best to keep it that way. Also, I'm very tired, so no trivia for now. Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to comment/review, or if tumblr's more your speed, leave me an ask over there (darthkvznblogs)!
Until next time!