"Ben, are you sure about this?"

I nodded. "Absolutely. I've already screwed myself over, there's no going back now."

Paradox sighed. "If you're sure… You have thirty seconds."

I nodded again. "Perfect. Guys! Fall back!" I shouted, running towards the others. Everyone was helping with this, Julie and Gwen included. Even though Alan and Kevin were designated to fight back, this was a critical step—if everyone wasn't fighting to keep them away, we would die, myself included.

"Fall back? Are you insane?!" Kevin shouted.

"Trust me on this one! We're done! Just… just give in." I fell to my knees against the asphalt, putting my hands behind my head.

Looking over, Cooper was watching me. In a moment, he copied my movements. Gwen followed, then Julie, Alan, and Kevin. Paradox tried to argue with the demeaning factor of getting on his knees, but he gave up and warped time and space around him to disappear.

This was only the beginning.

This was our surrender.

The alien troops didn't hesitate to overtake us. Like I suspected, they knocked each of us over onto our stomachs and immobilized us. I'd told them not to resist if they won. What I didn't tell them was my plan to surrender.

Gwen, Kevin, Cooper, Alan, and Julie would be taken in by the American soldiers for debriefing. They wanted to know anything I told them. And whatever they didn't get from them… they hoped they would get from me.

From one end of us to another, handcuffs were quickly put in place. Except for me… I received a high-tech stasis shield for my Omnitrix and a painful injection in my arm.

I took in a deep breath, watching my friends as they were carried off only moments before my vision faded completely, and I lost consciousness.

ooo

So this is where I cut in to tell you the next part is a dream. Or… a memory, more like it.

It's also my explanation as to what happened, so you'll understand better when Ben is explaining things to the council, and why he was imprisoned in the first place.

Off we go…

ooo

I was moving as fast as I possibly could, rushing around the small apartment I called home. I needed to gather everything important to me. Material objects didn't matter, but they did if you wanted to legally exist in this screwed up nation.

I needed everything—social security card, driver's license, birth certificate, etc. This is what legally made me Ben Tennyson. If… if I was going to make it out alive, I would need this in the end. I stuffed the important documents into my wallet, dragged my keys off the counter, and rushed out of the door.

I promised I would be back to help in a minute. I promised them the war would be over.

This is one of the worst enemies yet. They don't just want revenge… they want to see the destruction of our world. And unlike some crazy, power-hungry lunatic, their revenge is seemingly justified. Our government set up a discovery mission to their planet and unset the very fragile balance of their ecosystem.

Our spacecraft had life on it. No, not humans. Bacterium was able to latch itself onto the craft and made it into space. Even with their procedures and 'baking' techniques, we screwed up. Now… the fate of the world was at stake and only the Plumbers that we could gather in a very short amount of time could help us win the battle.

It all felt like déjà vu—the DNAlien Highbreed attack all over again… Unfortunately, the Highbreeds were still at peace with us, and these were nowhere near as novice as the Highbreeds. As daunting as it was to defeat the DNAliens… this will prove to be a tougher task that we have to complete ten thousand times faster.

If this isn't done today, win or lose, everyone is screwed.

ooo

"I'm back… Gwen! I'm back!"

Gwen quickly looked over her shoulder. "Oh, thank God. Kevin! Ben's back!"

"Get out here! We're dropping faster than flies!"

I nodded, quickly rushing out to Kevin's position. "Kev, I'm not helping out here."

The man Kevin was holding in the air by the neck began to squirm as Kevin just held him there, looking at me like I was insane. "Are you fucking crazy?! We're going to die out here and you're not going to help?!"

I sighed. "Listen to me. I… I'm going to help them."

Kevin instantly dropped the alien man. "You little fuck! You're going to ditch us and become a traitor?! I'll kill you!"

I quickly backed away and lifted my arms across my face. "No!" I yelled. "No! I'm… I'm just doing to deter them with unimportant truths…"

Kevin stopped just before latching his hands around my neck. "What are you saying, Tennyson?"

"I'm going to tell them what they want to hear, but nothing that will put you or anyone else in harm's way."

Now Kevin was extremely confused.

"J-Just let me do it! H-here…," I reached into my back pocket, shaking as I handed him my wallet and keys. "Please, keep these safe."

Gwen quickly ran over, shielding us. "What are you two doing?! You're going to get killed!"

"I-I don't know how this is going to turn out," I told them both.

"Ben, what are you thinking of doing?" Gwen asked, sincerely afraid of what I was thinking.

I sighed, my breath still shaky. "I-I'm going to become a traitor. G-guys, I'm not doing anything wrong. If I get caught… I'm going to get sent to prison… Probably for life, if not, the priority of death row."

Gwen grunted, trying to keep the shield around us. It grew harder to sustain as many attacks brutally crashed into the strange energy field.

"We're done! Our asses are fried. If… if I don't try something… We're all going to die," I gave up.

I caught a look on Gwen's face out of the corner of my eye. Gwen had given up as well. She knew it was over… she knew there was nothing else we could do, and false treachery was all we had left.

"I have to do it… It'll kill me inside if we don't make it out of this, and I did nothing to try and help."

"You're going to risk your life to save your mental state? You're a damn fool," Kevin growled, though he took the wallet and keys I gave him. That was proof enough to me that he knew I could do it. "Look kid. We'll get you out of there. I don't care what it takes, but if things go bad we're pulling your ass out. Don't worry."

Gwen looked up towards Kevin. We were both surprised by his sudden take on what I was about to do.

Kevin gripped my shoulders. "I promise I won't let you die in there."

I couldn't look away. Kevin shook me when I tried to look down, and I was forced to look back at him. I knew that look in his eyes. He knew it was over. He knew there was nothing left they could do for anyone. I looked over toward Gwen. She knew it was over, too.

I nodded slowly. "All right…. Okay… Okay. Let go. Kevin, let go."

Gwen sighed. "Hurry. I don't know how long I can hold this shield!"

I nodded to the both of them and ran for my life. I went as far as I could through enemy lines before being injured. One of the soldiers happened to graze my arm with a shot and had me off-guard. That's when I was instantly taken down.

The man yelled strange words at me in some unknown language, but I complied with his actions and got down onto the ground. At least four men (or what seemed like men) surrounded me, and two picked me up and dragged me off.

At least things were going according to plan. I could've done without the bullet hitting my arm, but whatever gets the job done…

I was carried up to a large ship, heckled at by passing warriors. One of them spit in my direction. I couldn't resist and fight back, as much as I wanted to kill them. If I fought back I would still be considered an enemy. If I complied, it could turn out one of two ways—I die, or they listen and let me 'help.'

The warriors threw me on the ground before their better and awaited their decision.

The leader spoke in a language I did not understand. It sounded as if no vowels were present in their alphabet—if they even had one—but no intelligible words were found, not even notions to what he wanted from me.

I carefully, and slowly, stood up, brushing myself off. "I want to make a deal," I told him, hoping he understood English.

"What would you have," the creature began, "that we could possibly want, human?"

"I have information. I know my government's weaknesses and how to take them down." Sadly, that was the truth… I rather our armed forces died than the entire planet, and anyone that survived was better than no one surviving. Let's hope the council sees it my way if I have to appeal my case…

"You? Help us?" he cackled. "What do you want in return, human?" He thought this was some kind of joke.

"All I ask is you leave as soon as this is over. You leave the planet it tact and stop killing civilians! Our government is at fault, not the general public."

If I thought he was laughing before… The man soon burst out into a fit of laughter, and his soldiers joined in. "You truly think this is about your government?"

I was afraid to look at the creature. I had no idea what their leader looked like, but that mystery was best saved if I was to be killed for looking directly at him. Strange planets bring strange customs and sometimes it's better not to ask what they are and avoid fatal mistakes at all costs.

"Our government funded, ran, and carried out the discovery mission to your planet. The general public has nothing to do with this! We had no say in what they did and how they did it. We're just sitting ducks! If you attack us you're no better than our government. Kill us civilians and you'll slowly lose connection with the planets around you. Everyone will be afraid to step foot near you, afraid you'll want to destroy our planet.

"How do you think our planet got so screwed up?! As soon as our government stepped in, aliens no longer existed. We relied on in-planet resources to keep us alive for the next million years, and guess what? We're running out. We banished aliens and now one-fourth of our population has gone mad, thinking they're seeing creatures that supposedly don't exist.

"We have people standing on street corners in Eastern Asian countries shouting about Armageddon with a sign hanging around them that reads, "This is the END!" We've got people in India telling us 2012 is still going to happen! We have telescopes the size of your ship to investigate these far-away planets to realize that once they're in our lives, the government is going to have to tear down each of our homes and brainwash us all to make it seem like it never happened.

"Truth is, if you guys didn't exist, we would probably be living in a world like the holocaust. All day. Every day. We can't live without you stupid aliens, but our government tries really hard to make it seem like we can." I laughed. "If you kill us civilians, you'd be no better than our government. But if you kill our government… you'd be doing us all one hell of a favor."

"…Leave us," he commanded the warriors in the room, and they quickly did so. "Strange human… You've won me over. Tell me what it is you know…"

ooo

They pulled back their soldiers and loaded their ships, listening to my every word.

"D.C. is a good place to start. There isn't much here in Bellwood."

"And this will guarantee our planet's safety?"

I nodded. "Both of ours. You can rebuild your planet and we can work on reforming our government."

The creature grumbled.

ooo

The fight dragged out through the night. They didn't seem to be needing sleep for quite some tine, their stamina being much better than mine, and my human instincts were telling me to get sleep.

I was failing to cooperate, my brain not functioning well enough to provide exact information.

"Tennyson! What are they likely to do? Answer me!"

I yawned. "They won't attack. They know they're outnumbered here." I yawned again.

The creature growled. "You've done us no good here. We can take our your forces easily. I'll keep up my end of the bargain and leave, but you made no mention to your wellbeing. I think you'll be happy to know I've called your little… Plumber society and told them about their traitor."

That's when I instantly woke up. My entire body was focused on what was about to happen next.

"You have two minutes to get off my ship. They'll meet you on the ground and carry you away to… wherever they decide," he laughed.

I looked at the man for the first time and was stunned by his appearance. The man almost looked human, with the exception of his clothing style and strange accent. I was shocked, but not surprised he would commit treachery against me. If he was human, it was common. If he wasn't… he was falling to our level.

I expected better from them…

ooo

I ran as fast as I could once I was back on the ground. I didn't want to get caught, but the alternative wasn't so good either.

They were going to take me to intergalactic prison and I was to be sentenced. They could kill me and I would have no say in any of it.

I slowed to a stop and fell back on the ground, crossing my legs. I gave up. There was nothing else I could do. The alternative was running for them for the rest of my life. After a while… I would run out of breath. I can't run forever, and with the chance I may get off with only a life sentence…

It's better than nothing.

Welcome to Intergalactic Jail, Tennyson…