Welcome to the latest chapter of the Ultra 10 Chronicles! You'll know the stuff by now, so here it is!
Triggers: A bit of swearing. The first time in the paragraph which begins with "I've been doing it by myself for years now..." The second in the paragraph which reads "Man you must be out of your..." The next two are in the same paragraph following the one which reads "We're the law, the officer said." The last one in the paragraph after the one which reads "Thompson! When are those PLUMMERs getting here?"
Soundtrack this chapter is "Paralizer"by Finger Eleven. I felt that it's feel was a good comparison for Kevin heading off to take care of the DUL. You can listen to it on youtube by going to /watch?v=3ejAMB3g_b8
Enjoy the chapter!
The Ultra 10 Chronicles: Volume 3: Storms Gathering
Chapter 69: Dealing With Delinquents
Bellwood's Commercial District, two days later
Several men in tactical gear patrolled through the streets in their SUV, looking for anything that could be out of order. Anything that would warrant their involvement. The man sitting closest to the passenger-side door spoke up.
"So, what are your thoughts on this Ultra character?" He asked, seemingly to make some small talk.
"I have no qualms with Ultra," the other character said, checking his gun again to make sure it was ready for a fight.
"But what do you think of him?" The first guy asked. "Like, think he's a problem for the business?"
"So long as the business stays on Ultra's good side, I don't see any reason they should fear him," the second character said. "And so long as we help Ultra keep the streets nice and quiet, I see no reason that our business should be disturbed. It's a win-win situation."
"You know that his high-minded morals wouldn't take too kindly, if he knew about the business," the first man said. "Its risky, playing with fire, you know?"
"Only children and fools get burned," The second said. "And the Nesmith family has never been burned. Don't you give me a reason to think you might change that."
"Where does the tech come from anyway?" The first man asked.
"Here. There. Some of it from space," the second said. "It really doesn't matter where, so long as it can be turned for a profit."
"Staging criminals, and then helping Ultra take them down," the first thug said. "Where is the profit in that?"
"The profit is in hiring out," the second said. "That Ultra fellow can't be everywhere all at once. So we capitalize on that. We sell security, you see. But if there's no danger…"
"Then there's no buyer," his companion finished. "You keep Ultra busy busting low-level criminals…"
"And then the good people of the city are more than happy to pay us to look out for them," The second said. "One crime can pay serious cash."
"What happens when you can't pay someone to rob a bank anymore?" The first guy asked. "What happens then, Carl?"
"There's a lot of people that are desperate in this city," Carl replied. "When the dough heads run out, then we've just got to ask a little harder. And sometimes give them a little incentive." The two drove in silence for a while before the first guy spoke up.
"I heard that some members of the DUL see Ultra like some kind of god," he said. "Call him Ultra Lord or something.
"Yeah?" Carl responded. "What are you getting at?"
"Just that they're a force to keep an eye on. If they get too fanatical, they could start cutting in on the business," he said. "People won't need the Nesmith family security if there's the free DUL doing as good of a job."
"You let me do the thinking," Carl said. "You just keep your head down, and don't get burned. I'll make sure that neither Ultra or these DUL chumps get in our profits." The other guy nodded his head.
"Heard there was a gig for tonight," the first guy said. "Anything I should know?"
"You remember what you said about the free alternative?" Carl asked. His companion nodded. "Well, the police are that free alternative, just as much as the DUL is. An' tonight's going to take them both out of the picture."
"How you gonna do that?"
"Easy, Frankie," Carl said. "Information is valuable as gold. This much I'll tell you, though. The police are less of a threat since that squid alien showed up, but they're getting organized again. We just set up a fight between them and the DUL. Ultra shows up and takes out the DUL, but not before the cops take a beating too. People can't trust 'em if they can't protect themselves."
"Two birds, one stone," Frankie said.
"Bingo," Carl replied. "Leaving us a monopoly."
Onboard The Guardian
"No," Ben muttered weakly, tossing and turning in his hospital bed. At his side, Gwen sat, studying the Arcamada Book of Spells. Off to the right, Julie walked through the door and into the room.
"He's been like this for two days now," Gwen said, closing her spell book. "Why won't he wake up?"
"I've tried just about all that I know," Julie said. "It's nothing wrong with his body. It's got to be inside his head."
"I keep looking for a spell that will help him," Gwen confessed. "But I've probably searched the book three times now, and still haven't found anything."
"There are limits as to what we can do," Julie reassured her. "Even you with your magic. I think this is a fight Ben has to fight on his own."
"Can't…" Ben muttered. "Can't stop him…" Both Gwen and Julie gave him a sympathetic look.
"What can we do?" Gwen asked.
"Let him know that you're here for him," Julie said. "Let him know that there's people out here that need him." Gwen nodded, thankful for the advice. She summoned the Arcamada Book of Spells again, flipping through the pages, again looking for a spell that could help.
In the hangar, Cooper and Kevin continued working on one of the Vilgaxian fighters, reassembling the circuitry. They had been working in an awkward silence, only really talking when they asked the other for a tool, or for help lifting up a part. Behind them, a door slid open, as Lucy walked in.
"Hey guys! Ellie and Maddie just finished with dinner," she said cheerily.
"Pass," Cooper said.
"Same," Kevin added. Lucy shrugged, turning around and heading back out of the hangar. The two men worked in silence for a few minutes.
"Ya think he's going to pull through?" Kevin finally broke the silence. Cooper shrugged.
"'Course, this is Ben we're talking about," Cooper said as nonchalantly as he could manage. "He's a tough guy, and he always pulls through. He just needs a break for a while. Why? You worried about him?"
"Of course not," Kevin defended. "Just curious is all; it makes no difference to me."
"Sounds to me like you actually care about the guy," Cooper pressed.
"Whatever, man, let's just keep working," Kevin diverted. Just then, Kevin's communicator went off, sounding a message.
"That's strange," Cooper noted. "Mine didn't go off."
"Probably a personal message," Kevin defended again. "I'd better take it." With that, he set down his computer spike and walked a distance from the ship. Taking his comm link out of his pocket, he pressed the answer button.
"What is it?" Kevin asked.
"Sorry, sir," the voice on the other line said. "I felt that I needed to call you as soon as I could."
"What is it?" Kevin asked again, an edge of annoyance in his voice.
"It's the DUL," the man said. "They're planning on a fight with the police. They're getting out of hand."
"What makes you think they'd even care about the cops?" Kevin countered. "The DUL takes care of the streets, the cops take care of the clean-up. They'd just be making more work for themselves."
"I think that's the point," the man said. "They want Ultra to be the only law on the streets. And they haven't forgotten about when the cops tried to arrest him."
"Alright, what are the details?" Kevin relented. "I'll see if I can't talk them down from a fight."
"It's happening tonight. Six o'clock, central police station. Is Ultra going to be there?"
"No, he's… busy at the moment," Kevin responded. "He's taking care of problems somewhere else."
Then you'd better come ready for a fight," the voice on the other line said. "If Ultra's not there, I don't know how many people you'll talk down from the fight."
"You leave that to me," Kevin replied. "But thanks for the heads up, Carl."
"I'm behind you all the way," Carl replied. "You just let me know what I can do, an' I'll do it." With that, Kevin ended the call. He turned to enter the hangar again, back to helping with the ship, but was surprised to see Cooper standing there.
"What's the DUL?" Cooper questioned. "And who's Carl? And how is he contacting you?"
"Don't worry about it," Kevin deflected a third time. "The DUL isn't anything to be worries about. Carl neither."
"That's not what it sounded like," Cooper said. "Sounded like you're going into a fight all alone, and it sounded like Carl had access to our supposedly secure comm links." Kevin sighed exasperatedly.
"Deputies of Ultra's Law," Kevin spilled the beans. "A bunch of gangs and other goons Ultra and I organized into a crime-fighting force. They bust the criminals, the police take them away. Gray Matter modded some radios to patch into our network, so they could contact Ben or I. Make it more efficient at solving crime. Give the people a sense of being able to fight themselves, you know?"
"And how does the whole "fighting the cops" work into all of that?" Cooper asked, using air quotes as he did so.
"It doesn't," Kevin replied curtly. "Which is why I've got to go prevent it from happening."
"I'd better come with you then," Cooper said. "From the sound of your call, there could be trouble regardless." But Kevin shook his head.
"No, this is a situation that Ben and I got ourselves into, and I'm going to get us out of it."
"Don't be like Ben," Cooper chided Kevin. "Trying to take on the whole world by himself. How long is it going to take you both to realize that you can't do it by yourself?"
"I've been "doing it" by myself for years now," Kevin replied, annoyance or hurt in his voice. "I survived that hellhole called the Null Void that the PLUMMERs tossed me into alone. I think I can take care of a few normal guys!" With that, he turned to leave.
"You're just as stubborn as Ben is," Cooper muttered under his breath. "And no one can convince you otherwise…"
Kevin made his way down the hallway of The Guardian towards the infirmary. If Ben was conscious, then he'd better know what's going on with his deputies. Turning a corner, he saw Lucy sitting on the floor, back up against the wall reading a book. Kevin stepped over her outstretched legs without saying anything. Noticing him, Lucy looked up from her book.
"Sorry!" She cheerily apologized. Kevin scoffed as he walked past. Closing her book, Lucy stood up, following after Kevin.
"You know, I just realized that I haven't officially met you yet!" She chirped. "I think I've met everyone else on the team, but I haven't met you yet."
"I'm not on the team," Kevin replied in a gruff tone.
"Well that's odd," Lucy replied without missing a beat. "You act like a part of the team, and you look like a hero…"
"Looks can be deceiving," Kevin replied. To that, Lucy laughed.
"I know, right?" She exclaimed with a giggle.
"What do you want?" Kevin asked.
"Well, I'm trying to get your name," Lucy reminded. "I've learned every one else's name, but not yours."
"You don't want to get to know me," Kevin said. "I tend to get into trouble."
"Oh, it's not that bad to tell someone your name. Here, I'll go first!" She hurried ahead of Kevin, spinning around to face him, sticking out her hand to shake Kevin's. "I'm Lucy Mann."
"I'm the queen of England," Kevin huffed as he brushed past her.
"Somehow, I seriously doubt that," Lucy replied humorously. "You're manners are sorely lacking to be the queen of England!" She continued to follow him down the hall. There was a moment of awkward silence.
"So?" Lucy intoned.
"What?!" Kevin replied, clearly irritated.
"Your name," Lucy said. "What is it?"
"It's Levin," Kevin said. "Now leave me alone."
"Levin-Now-Leave-Me-Alone," Lucy mocked. "What an odd name!"
"No! It's Levin! Just Levin!" Kevin corrected.
"Nice to meet you, Just Levin!" Lucy sing-songed. Kevin spun around to glare at the vexing girl.
"It's Kevin Levin! Get it? Not anything else, just Kevin Levin!" He glared annoyed at her.
"Got it," Lucy said, her cheery facade not wavering for a moment. "Nice to meet you, Kevin Levin!" Kevin rolled his eyes, turning around and proceeding down the hallway again.
"Now that wasn't that hard, was it?" Lucy continued.
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Kevin growled at her. "Like somewhere other than here?"
"Not really," Lucy said, pretending to be contemplative. "I've just kind of been hang around helping Julie with the odds and ends."
"Well, go do that!" Kevin waived her off. "And leave me alone." He turned into the infirmary, leaving Lucy in the hallway.
"Yep, he's definitely not the queen of England," Lucy mused. "He's way too brash." Inside the infirmary, Kevin made his way to Ben's bed, where he was currently sleeping.
"Hey, Ben," Kevin tested to see if he would respond. However, he didn't so much as stir. "I'm heading out to take care of your deputies, sounds like they're tryin' to pick a fight with the police. Just thought you oughta know, seeing as how they're your guys." He paused to see if Ben would wake up. Still, he didn't seem to take notice.
"You know what? This is stupid. Don't even know why I thought I should tell you, it's not like you're my dad or anything!" Kevin irritably said. "Catch ya later!" With that, Kevin stormed out of the infirmary. He spied a clock on the wall, seeing that it was already five thirty. He pulled out his comm link, calling Gwen.
"Hey Gwen, where are you?" Kevin spoke into the communicator. "I need a portal to the ground."
"I'm in the cafeteria," Gwen responded. "Need me to meet you somewhere?"
"No, I'm close by," Kevin replied. "Just get ready to cast the spell." With that, he made his way towards the cafeteria. Entering the room, he was annoyed to see Lucy was there as well.
"Where are ya going?" Lucy excitedly asked.
"To the surface," Kevin deadpanned.
"You're going to have to be a little more precise for my spell," Gwen said, studying her Arcamada Book of Spells. "A street name or a building or landmark or something."
"Central police station," Kevin answered. "Downtown Bellwood."
"That's been a rough part of town," Lucy butt in. "Police don't hardly patrol anywhere except right around their station."
"Like I said, I tend to get into trouble," Kevin deadpanned again, too annoyed to do anything else.
"Need a partner?" Lucy hopefully offered. "I've already got my suit!" She jumped up from the chair she'd been sitting on and spun around, her clothes morphing into a dark blue leotard and a matching mask.
"No," Kevin said flatly. "Not happening."
"Actually, she could probably use a break from the ship," Gwen said. "And her getting out might help blow off some pent up energy." Lucy excitedly nodded.
"You think I want to deal with her?" Kevin nearly shouted, exasperated. "I got enough problems to deal with!"
"Then you might need to find another way down," Gwen said, closing her spell book defiantly. It vanished in a puff of smoke. Kevin grimaced, glancing up at a clock hanging on the wall. It read five-forty-five. He groaned dejectedly.
"Fine, she can come, but she's going to have to stay away from me," He finally compromised. "And I don't want to hear a single word out of her mouth during any of it, got it?" For that last bit, he glared directly at Lucy, who smiled and nodded energetically.
"Here's your portal," Gwen said, as the mana swirled, opening up a hole in the air. Kevin sighed as he walked through, Lucy happily following him.
"This is going to be so much fun!" Lucy squealed.
"Stop talking!" Kevin growled as the two of them emerged on the other side of the portal in front of the police station. The building was in rough shape, with graffiti still sprayed all over the front of it.
"So, what are we doing here anyway?" Lucy asked. "You get a tip about some bad guys in the area or something?"
"There's going to be an attack on the station in a couple of minutes," Kevin relented. "I'm here to stop it, and you're here to stay out of my way."
"If that's why you brought me here, it probably would've been easier to leave me onboard The Guardian," Lucy joked. Kevin shot her a death glare. "Just a joke… I'll be serious from now on!" Kevin rolled his eyes before turning away and touching the concrete sidewalk, a shell of concrete flowing up his arm and covering him from head to toe. Distantly, he heard several cars driving towards them. It sounded like a caravan of vehicles.
"Go to the roof of the station," Kevin ordered her. "That way you'll be out of my way."
"But I wanted to help out!" Lucy pouted.
"I said GO!" Kevin shouted, to which Lucy got a pouting look on her face before turning into her mud form and jumping onto the wall, moving her way to the roof. From down the road, eight black SUVs drove up, stopping a little distance from the station. Six men got out of each car wearing full tactical gear.
"Hey, look! It's Sparks!" One of the men exclaimed upon spotting Kevin. "What're you doing here?"
"I'm here to tell y'all to go home," Kevin said.
"You can't be serious," another one said. "We haven't even done anything yet."
"You're not going to be doing anything either," Kevin countered. "You and the police are supposed to be on the same side."
"Tell them that!" A third member of the DUL spoke up. "They identified one of my men and arrested him. We're here to break him out." That caused Kevin to reassess his position.
"Look, I'll go inside and see if they will release him, alright?" Kevin offered. "Just… hold off with the guns."
"Man, you must be out of your damn mind if you think they're just going to let him go, just like that," the third guy replied. "They ain't gonna let him out without booking him."
"Just let me try," Kevin replied. Dropping his concrete shell, he turned and entered the station. Inside, he saw about a dozen policemen. He walked up to the one that looked to be in charge.
"Hey, I heard you snagged a guy the other day," Kevin started.
"What's it to you?" The officer replied aggressively.
"I know it's against your protocol or whatever, but I'm going to need you to release him," Kevin said.
"Why would I do that?" The officer scoffed. "He's the kid that graffitied the building. Cams caught him doing it about a month ago, and we finally arrested him."
"I need you to do it, because there's four dozen of his buddies out there, and they're ready to shoot the place up if they don't get him back," Kevin informed the cop.
"Is that a threat?" The officer growled, his hand resting on his holster. Kevin shook his head.
"Look, I'm not the best negotiator, but I'm all you have, and I'm trying to stop a shoot out from happening," Kevin replied. "And if I leave the building without him, then that's exactly what's going to happen."
"Then son, you're not leaving the building," the officer said. He pulled out his handcuffs, slapping them on Kevin's wrists. "Thompson, call the PLUMMERs for some support." The officer sitting at the booking table nodded, picking up the phone to make the call.
"You're making a serious mistake," Kevin said as the officer opened a cell to put him in. "People are going to get hurt! Maybe even die!"
"We're the law," the officer said. "And we don't make deals with criminals. Now shut up. The PLUMMERs will be here shortly." Kevin thought about absorbing the steel from the handcuffs, but decided against it. That'd only escalate the situation. Glancing outside the window, Kevin saw a blur of movement and saw the front of the building burst into flames.
"Oh shit!" One of the officers swore. "What the hell was that?" At the sound of a shotgun, the front door's handle was blown apart, a hole where it used to be. The DUL kicked the door in, another shotgun blast firing into the lobby. One of the cops dropped to the ground, blood dripping from his thigh.
"Find cover!" The officer who'd just locked Kevin inside the cell shouted. They scattered, taking cover behind the counter, around the corner leading into a hallway, anywhere that would offer them protection.
"Deputies of Ultra Lord!" One of the men shouted as they made their way into the building. "Give us our man back!"
"Yeah!" I knew they'd come!" The kid in the cell across of Kevin's shouted. He didn't look any older then about sixteen.
"Shut up!" Kevin hissed. "Stay down, unless you want to catch a spare bullet!" The guy nodded, reality seeming to hit him as he crouched down. Around the corner, several more guns went off as the DUL fired at the cops. The cops returned a few shots, but they were mostly pinned down, being out gunned and out maned.
"Thompson! When are those PLUMMERs getting here?" The ranking officer hissed. Upon not hearing a reply, he stole a glance over at the booking table, only to see Thompson on the ground, his shoulder shredded from a shotgun blast.
"Shit!" The officer swore, ducking behind the corner of the hallway agin as a bullet dug into the plaster.
"Enough of this," Kevin shouted, absorbing the steel from the handcuffs. As soon as the metal spread up his arms, he yanked his arms apart, the handcuffs snapping as if they were made of cheap plastic. As the metal spread over him, he stepped back, giving a hard kick to the cell door. His foot left a slight dent in the bars.
"Woah," the guy from the cell across from his exclaimed. "Can I do that?"
"Sorry, but I don't give away my tricks," Kevin said as he kicked again at the locked door. This time he left a bigger dent, the crunching of the metal grinding in his ears. He kicked it a third time, hearing a welded bolt break free from the welding. Still, the door refused to give in. Switching tactics, Kevin's hands elongated into two razor sharp blades which he used to start slashing at the lock to his cell. Finally, a gash opened up in the lock like a tin can. Kevin's bladed arms shrunk back into their normal form as he kicked one more time at the door. With a loud bang, the door burst open, clanging against the wall. Kevin stepped out of the cell, immediately making his way towards the shootout in the lobby. Coming closer, he saw the officer in charge crouching behind the corner of the hallway, his pistol drawn as he waited for a break in gunfire to fire back. The officer saw him out of the corner of his eye.
"Get back to your cell!" He hissed angrily. "There's bullets flying!" Behind him, Kevin saw one of the DUL men flanking around the booking table, getting enough of an angle on the officer to aim his gun.
"Look out!" Kevin shouted as he rushed forward to shield the officer. He felt the shotgun BB's deflect off of his back, ricocheting all around. The officer leaned around Kevin's side and fired his pistol, downing the man who'd just shot at them.
"I guess you can handle yourself," the officer said as he ducked behind Kevin's steel-clad figure again.
"I tried to warn you about this," Kevin replied.
"We'll deal with that later," the officer replied. "Right now, I need to get my men out of danger, at least until back up arrives."
"I can provide you some cover," Kevin offered. "But the more I stretch out, the thinner my shell is going to be."
"Noted," the officer replied. "Can you see how many of my men are still alive?" Kevin stuck his head around the corner of the wall. A bullet glanced off of his forehead, and another buried into the drywall near him.
"I don't see anyone from here," Kevin admitted.
"They might have gotten to the back door," the officer offered. "That's going to be our way out."
"Which way?" Kevin asked, again taken cover behind the wall. The officer pointed straight ahead.
"We cross the entrance from the lobby, and continue forward. There's a security door about twenty feet down and to the left," he instructed.
"Then we go together," Kevin said. "I'll be your body shield. But we've got to move quick." The officer nodded.
"On three. One… Two…" The officer counted. "Three!" Kevin emerged from their hiding spot, the officer sticking behind him.
"Hey, that's Sparks!" One of the DUL men shouted.
"Yeah, he's got that cop behind him!" Another shouted. "He's trying to protect him!" From behind him, the officer fired a shot with his gun, quickly hiding again behind Kevin as the two slowly made their way across the exposed section of hallway. He tried to fire again before taking a bullet in his hand.
"Agh!" The officer gasped, dropping his gun.
"Are you alright?" Kevin asked.
"Lost my gun," the officer said glancing down at the floor. It would be impossible to pick it up while staying behind Kevin. "But otherwise I'll be fine."
"Then let's go," Kevin reminded him. Finally they made it across the opening, back into the relative protection of two walls. The officer had maneuvered around Kevin, so that he was now in front of him, leaving the teen between him and the gunfight.
"Head to the exit, I'll keep them from coming this way," Kevin offered.
"Seems I may have been wrong about you," the officer said. "You're definitely on our side of the law."
"Now's not the time to get sentimental," Kevin responded. "Get to that exit." The officer nodded, sprinting down towards the door. Pressing on it, he exited the building. Ahead of Kevin, one of the DUL men cautiously poked his head into the hallway, ready to fire his gun at any surprise cops. Suddenly, he let out a shout of surprise as a glob of mud slammed into him, slamming him into the wall and sticking him to it. In the lobby, the remaining six DUL deputies spun around to see a girl in a dark blue mask and leotard standing in the entrance.
"Your turn!" She shouted as she fired a glob of purple-brown mud at another man, sticking him to the floor. Two of the men fired at her, their bullets splatting as they slammed into, and then through, her torso. They exited the other side, leaving small holes in their paths. But as soon as they'd exited, the holes started filling themselves up again.
"I'm the kind that fires first and asks questions latter too," Lucy quipped as she fired a blast of mud from each hand at two remaining deputies. One slammed into the booking table, the other into a wall. Both of them were too stuck to the surfaces. She reached out towards one of the remaining three men, her arm stretching and turning the purple-brown color of her mud form. Terrified, the man fired his shotgun at her, blasting off her mud arm.
"Ow!" Lucy shouted, stumbling back as her arm dropped to the floor and liquified. From behind, Kevin's arms grew into the blades, and he rushed forward, slicing the man's shotgun in half, spilling BB's and gunpowder on the floor. Quickly, he elbowed the man hard in the chest, sending him to the ground wheezing in pain. Digging his blades into the floor, Kevin used them as leverage to propel himself at the other two men.
He slammed feet first into one man, sending him crashing down. With his hands still as blades, he head-butted the second man, knocking him out cold. Finally, it was silent for a minute. Quickly, Kevin retracted his bladed arms back into normal arms and ran towards Lucy, who had fallen to her knees.
"Are you alright?" Kevin asked urgently.
"Yeah," Lucy replied. "That shot just took some of the fight out of me. I've just got to gather some of my mud back." As she spoke, her liquified arm slowly made its way towards her, merging into her legs. Her arm reformed out of her shoulder.
"What happened to the men outside?" Kevin asked.
"I got the drop on some of them," Lucy replied. "Literally, they're stuck to the sidewalk now." Outside, they heard several PLUMMER transport vans approach, though they weren't quite there yet.
"We've got to get out of here," Kevin said.
"Aren't the PLUMMERs on our side?" Lucy asked. "I mean, aren't they here for those deputy-something-or-other guys?"
"Yeah, we're not exactly cozy with them," Kevin replied. "Me least of all. Come on, there's a door leading out back." Lucy nodded, and the two ran into the back and out the back door.
"I told you I made a good sidekick," Lucy pressed.
"Not now," Kevin answered. "We've still got to get away from the PLUMMERs. And I don't think that the DUL is going to be too happy about this either." Lucy pointed to the top of the building across the small parking lot they were in.
"Let's get up there," she said, changing into her mudpuppy form and rushing towards it. She stretched out her legs as she ran, increasing her speed and height. Getting to the wall, she started climbing up it, the mud flowing up it as if dripping down it in reverse. Kevin followed her, morphing his arms into climbing axes to scale the brick. In a short while, they were both racing across the rooftops away from the station.
"Who were those guys anyway?" Lucy asked.
"A mess that I got Ultra dragged into," Kevin replied. "And I'm really starting to regret it about now."
"Okay…" Lucy intoned. "Details…"
"I thought they would work like a vigilante law enforcement," Kevin replied. "But they're still acting like criminals. They're just better organized now."
"So we've got to take them down now?" Lucy asked. "How are we going to do that?"
"We're not going to be doing that," Kevin replied. "I made this mess, and I'm going to deal with it."
"With the team," Lucy reminded him. "You got Ben into this mess, and now the team's going to take them down." The two teenagers stopped on a rooftop, now a good distance away from the police station.
"No, just me," Kevin said. "And like I said, I'm not a part of Team Ultra. So it's just me."
"Well I'm not a member either," Lucy said, winking as she changed into her human form again, still in her dark blue leotard. "So I can help you, right?"
"Not a chance," Kevin replied. "You've already gotten involved enough. You're going back to the Guardian."
"Oh, you're no fun!" Lucy pouted.
"This isn't a game," Kevin replied, annoyed. "It's not supposed to be fun. Besides, I've already got an idea how to take them down."
"Ooh, you've got to tell me!" Lucy squealed excitedly. Kevin rolled his eyes, turning away from her. Taking a few steps away he picked up his modified communicator, making a call on it.
"Carl, you there?" Kevin asked. "Carl Nesmith, you there?"
"Sparks! Thank goodness you're alright!" Carl responded. "I saw the fight from a block away!"
"What were you doing?" Kevin angrily replied. "Whatever, here's what's important. We've got to take down the DUL before they start any more fights like that."
"What's your plan, boss?" Carl asked.
"Meet me at Nichol Plaza office building on Sixth Street," Kevin replied.
A/N:
That's it for this chapter. It's a bit longer of one, the first in a while. Ben is seriously struggling with his alter's ego. Kevin no doubt is feeling partially responsible, as well as in debt to Ben for his help, and he's trying to clear up the situation with the Deputies of Ultra's Law by himself; Lucy just won't leave him alone. Yeah, I know that I keep switching between "Deputies of Ultra's Law" and "Deputies of Ultra Lord," that's on purpose. It's going to change again too. This reflects a developing savior/cult complex in the minds of these guys. What were your thoughts of Carl Nesmith's introduction, as a member of the DUL? He's going to have his own little arc, as he hasn't properly become Captain Nemesis yet, at least not the suited "hero" we see in the show. But a mob-like protection racket is precisely the "business" that he's involved in. In the show, he's a sleazy fraudulent hero, and he's not too much different in the U10C, just more mobster-like. Anyway, what were y'alls thoughts? Leave them in a review below! Thanks for reading, and have an awesome day!
Review Responses:
Eagle10000: I feel like the mind of Ben and Ultra 10 will ether combine or one will die for the better or worse; it will not be known 'till it happens. Will Ultra come on top, or Ben, or will they combine into Ultra Ben? I somewhat feel like the way I typed this, its like a prologue to a chapter or story.
Thanks for the review, Eagle10000! The entity within him is definitely not Ben, at least not Ben Tennyson the hero. And they're going to come to a head in the next upcoming arc. But until that happens, I guess we're going to have to see! Thanks for the review!