"I say, screw going over to Susan's house and go directly to the source! We should go find DeeDee and squeeze the information out of her!" RD ranted and raved, like he's been doing since they found the note. And Ben thought Dexter could go on and on before he got split in two!
"She's just gonna tell us to follow the clues, RD. She's playing a game," Ben countered, oh-so-helpfully pointing out the obvious.
"Ohhh just let me at her, she'll get talking!" the tiny red-headed scientist threatened. How so much straight-up aggression could fit into such a small person, Ben could not comprehend.
"Why are you so eager to get the blueprints back, anyway? I thought you didn't want to change back, I mean, you're the one that blew up the RSS after all."
"I don't, Ben! You think I like being stuck with that annoying whimp with his constant 'empathy' and 'compassion' and... 'politeness'?" he practically spat the word out like an offended spitting-cobra "It's the principal! She took my shit! Who even does that?" he continued, defensively crossing his arms over his chest as if the turn-out of this whole escipade depended on how aggressively he could do that.
"Uhm... I'm pretty sure you would. You are the rude version of Dexter, after all, and even normal Dex was known to just take things every now-and-again if he needed it for an invention," Ben said, as if he were sudenly and spontaniously appointed DeeDee's lawyer after she was suddenly and spontainiously put on trail.
"First; I may only be an alter-ego, but I am still Dexter, and I do not apprechiate being talked about like I'm not here, especially while you're talking directly to me. And, secondly," RD made a show of sticking out his middle-fingers in the universal gesture of 'go fuck yourself' thereby proving that he can be even more petulant than previously throrised.
Ben sighed/groaned and rolled his eyes, a.k.a. the universal gesture for 'done with your shit'. "What's the plan, anyway? You forgot to tell me inbetween all the threats and complaints."
...Did I forget to mention that they were on their way to Mandark's? I have a feeling that minor detail might have slipped away somewhere along the line. Oops?
Moving swiftly forward, it was decided that Ben and RD would go look for the second clue minus a somwehat unhappy polite alter-ego because if an extremely nice Dexter would raise suspicion, two Dexters would probaly do that even more so.
"What else? Carefully look for anything that stands out until I completely lose the capacity to give a damn; then we wreck the place."
Standing in the middle of the street on his way to the Astronominovs' house, at this specific point in space-time, the wielder of the Omnitrix tought now might be a good time to ask himself what exactly he expected to get in response. "How predictable of you," he muttered under an exhale of breath.
"...Ex-cuse me?" RD sputtered, his voice cracking on the last syllable.
"See? I knew you'd act all offended!" Ben teased, devilishly.
"Oh, and Mr. Forever-Polite isn't?"
"Well I didn't expect him to manipulate you into coming after me when I went to look for the blueprints."
"I went because I wanted to, not because he said so!"
"You said he dragged you along," Ben like, sort-of quoted, a shit-eating grin plastered to his face.
"He did! But I still-! ...I mean... it was still my- I don't have to explain shit to you!" RD very cleverly retorted. Obviously he has mastered the usage of witty replies. You're sharp as a razor, buddy-boy. Quick as a whip (I mean, technically he did reply almost instantaniously...). Ben started chuckling at the red-head as he continued to try and find something else to point the spot-light on; but just eventually deteriorated into a fulstered and sputtering mess.
Seeing no way out anyway, RD prompted to shove Ben in the shoulder with a little more force than needed before storming on ahead.
"Knew you were gonna do that, too!" Ben hollered after him good-naturedly, and jogged to catch up.
'Why do I like that dick-head again?' RD angerly and mentally grumbled.
-The Opposite Effect-
"I still think we should just ask Mandark if he knows anything."
"Oh, c'mon Ben, live a little,"
"Uhm? Hello? Weilder of the Omnitrix? Saviour of the universe, and probably others? I'm pretty sure I've lived more than anyone else."
"Wow, rude. Even I know how much a person has 'lived' is subjective. For shame, Benjamin. For shame," RD replied monotonusly, typing away on one of Mandark's computers, tounge sticking out the side of his mouth as a side-effect of focusing on not leaving a trail of destruction for once. "I. Can't. Find. Shit," he grumbled.
"Well... what exactly are you looking for on there? Maybe that's the problem?" Ben suggested, hopefully.
"I hacked the system and downloaded a program to scan surveilance at a hyper-sped-up rate for any traces of DeeDee in or around Susan's house and lab as far back as six months ago (seeing as Susan apparentlydoesn't keep record any farther back) and I'm also speed-reading his digital journal because of course he'd mention anything significant there. As it turns out, he mentions her so much that finding anything relevant is next to impossible, the infatuated fool."
"Maybe DeeDee gave the clue to Mandark himself. Then she wouldn't need to come anywhere near his place," Ben speculated.
"Hence, reading his journal."
"Yeah, but I get the feeling that there's more to the clue she gave than looking through a bunch of files on a computer. The whole 'Old foes are sometimes allies' part and all," Ben murmered the last part because he'd suddenly developed a mild itch on the back of his head and deemed it important enough to scratch.
"I'm pretty sure there's nothing to it. Mandark and I are old enemies and we've occasionally worked together. Point blank. End of the show. I am quite secure in the thought that DeeDee does not have the capcity to design complex clues with deeper meanings." RD (quite long-windedly) scoffed.
Ben heaved an exasperated sigh. "Whatever you say, Dex,".
Several moments passed with them just going about their business. That is, until RD decided it was time to break it. "Well Benjamin, the time has finally arrived," he stated.
"What are you taliking about?" he asked. Horribly confused at this sudden statement, he looked over to the monitor the scientist was currently working on to notice it was currnetly a very angry shade of red and displayed the very alarming sentice ACTIVATE SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE? In large bold lettering. Before RD could give the command to start, however, Ben took it upon himself to pull the aggressive little gnome's hands off the keyboard with almost inhuman speed. "Maybe not go that extreme?"
RD looked back at him with a highly exagerated 'what the fuck' expression and challenged him with: "And what are you gonna do about it, Mr. Superhero? Go alien and kick my ass?"
"No, but I can always go Spider-monkey, web you to a wall and leave you there for a few hours."
And so the stare-off started. Weilder of the Omnitrix and teenaged super-hero versus rude alter-ego boy(or rather also teenaged)-genius. Both sincere in their respective threats and stubborne as donkeys. Unstoppable force against immovable object. One had to cave, but neither would do so anytime soon. Their glares were mutually severe and unbliking, aimed directly into one-another's eyes, squaring off like a pair of animals sizing each other up.
Now, were in the world, throughout all these events, was Mandark (you may or may not be asking)? Well, you see, he's been standing in the room's doorway for quite a while now, silently observing this exchange of aggressive hand-holding and intense glaring, feeling a little awkward, confused and as if he's just quite rudely interrupted something he should not have. He really wanted to leave -truly, he did- but he could not stop himself from being enraptured by the sheer degree of intensifying intensity. He honest to god thought their eyes would catch fire at some point from extreme heat exposure. It was a contest that warrented sweat on the brow and excessive nail-biting in anticipation of how it would conclude. A competition to rival all competitions.
Mandark checked his watch. 'I've been standing here for fifteen minutes and neither of them have moved the slightest bit. They haven't even blinked!' He looked up at them again. 'Exactly how long have they been standing like that before my arrival?'
No-one really knows, Mandark. No-one.
About another minute passed before it was decided that this was getting a little ridiculus, and Mandark -starting to get a little annoyed now- spoke up and made his presence known. "What are you doing in my laboratory?" he demanded indignantly, with that nasal voice of his.
Ben was startled, but did not release RD's hands as he half-way snapped his neck with how quick he turned his head towards Mandark. RD, in his usual fasion, whipped out a "None of your goddamn bees-wax, Susan!" like an old-west gunslinger, completely disregarding that it probably is (depending on your social standings).
"Then get out!" Mandark demanded, raising to his hackles. Honestly, these idiotscome on to his turf and act like they own the place. The nerve of them, I swear.
"We're looking for a something DeeDee might have left here for us," Ben said, completely overlooking the poisonous looks being shot his way from both scientists and plowing on into explaination.
"Ah, my dearest DeeDee! Tragically she hasn't been here in months at the very least, so I don't see how she could have left you anything in my lab," he emphasised. "Please leave."
"When was the last time she spoke to you? Maybe she... told you something? That might be helpful?" Ben tried, going on a hunch PD had mentioned to him earlier.
"Last week she came up to me, said 'have some cookies!' louder than necissary and shoved a bag of fortune cookies into my arms," Mandark swooned. "The fortunes within them were quite odd, however..." his face pulled into a puzzled frown.
"You're probably just too fucking dense for it to make sense," RD grumbled, feeling the need to add his two cents. "What were on them, then," he demanded instead of asking. Mandark glared at him.
"Nothing I'm telling to you!" he retorted.
"Listen asshole-" RD started to threaten before Ben clamped a hand over his mouth. "What about me? Would you tell me?" he questioned.
"Why should I?"
"Because... I stopped Dexter from activating the self-destruct?"
"You still aided him in breaking into my lab! He was reading my journal!" expressed Mandark, gesturing to the monitor behind them.
"I'll still blow the place up, fucking try me!" RD intimated, finally freeing himself of the hold he was in by licking Ben's hand (old classic right there).
"I'd like to see you try, Dexter!" Mandark fumed quite loudly, hands balling into shaking fists at his sides.
This was obviously escalating onto something unneeded, and Ben -kind of caught between the two scientists but also pushed to the sidelines- was trying very hard to to find a solition. But really, it was sort of like watching two giraffes fight it out. Oddly mesmerizing, even if you do feel like something should be done to stop it just because of how bloody bizzare it looks. The quote-on-quote 'saviour of the universe' would like to say that he reacted appropreately when RD moved to give the command and Mandark tackled him to the ground, thereby starting physical fight -but in reality it took him a few seconds before he caught up with what was happening. Luckily they were rolling around on the ground more than throwing fists.
"Oh c'mon guys!" he lamented, before dailing the Omnitrix and turing into Spider-monkey. From there it was just a matter of somehow separating them long enough to web them down to any available flat surface.
"Unleash me, you ape!" Mandark raged, trying and failing to wiggle himself out of his postion on the wall, about a metere above the ground.
"Ben get your ass over here so I can kick it!" I'm sure you can guess who that was.
"I'll let you go, on the condition that you tell me what was on those fortunes," Spider-monkey bargained in that very shrill voice of his.
"Fine! But then you leave, and you take that pompus lummox with you!"
"You got a deal," Ben almost finger-gunned at him.
"The fortunes were basically puzzle pieces that form a map. I put them together but I couldn't make sense of it. I threw it away but I'm sure you already found the digital copy in my journal," the Astronominov boy explained, exasperated.
Spider-monkey turned to Rude!Dexter, still stuck to the floor by layers and layers of webs.
"Yeah I found it, I just thought it was a piss poor excuse for an attempt at abstract art," he grumbled in reply, eternally salty.
"Did you make a copy?" The freaky-ass blue spider-ape practically croaked out because that voice of his is cracky as fuck.
"No, I thought I'd respect Susie's privacy just this once. I copied the entire damn journal, who do you think I am?"
-The Opposite Effect-
"You two are finally back! And... is hewrapped in webbing?" PD questioned as the two-man aggregation that is Ben and RD returned to the lab from their short but eventful misadventure.
"Yup," Was all Ben replied.
"Did you get the file?" RD very helpfully supplemented further.
"I did! I deleted the journal itself -let's not lower ourself to that level, shall we?- but I kept the map and, low-and-behold! I almot instantly recognised it!" PD excitedly informed.
"You deleted the journal?" RD stressed.
"That doesn't matter, he figured out the clue," Ben stressed further.
"Oh big deal, so did I, he just deleted years' worth of blackmailmaterial!"
"You figured it out but didn't tell me?" Ben pouted, a little dishearted.
"You would have insisted on leaving before I had time to activate the self-destruct! Screw you for not letting me, by the way."
Ben shook it off. "What was the clue, PD?"
"A map leading from the laboratory enterance to DeeDee's room. I assume she wants us to go talk to her, and not search it though, so it might be a good idea to leave my rude alter-ego in his current predicament."