"Why are we patrolling Undertown, again?"
Rook sighed, rubbing the temples of his head in annoyance. Max had requested for Ben and Rook to survey the streets of the aforementioned alien settlement directly below Bellwood, under the premises of suspicious gang-related activity. The Revonnahgander was always in the mood to crack down on crime, but it didn't seem his human partner shared his sentiment.
"I have told you three times already, Ben," Rook chided.
"Yeah, I forgot," Ben chuckled sheepishly. A group of Tetramand children waved all four of their appendages at the hero famed throughout the universe in myth and legend. Ben returned the gesture, and continued walking alongside Rook.
"Magister Tennyson has requested that we monitor Undertown since reports of suspicious activity have come in. I assume that Magister Tennyson is planning to use it as a deterrent to any would-be criminals," Rook said thoughtfully.
"Anyone with a brain knows that it's just Psyphon and his goons acting up, as usual," Ben stifled a yawn. "Let's just get this stupid patrol over with so I can take a well-deserved nap."
Rook rolled his eyes at his partner's arrogance. But the hard-nosed Plumber had to admit that Ben had mellowed out a great deal after he defeated Maltruant. He still had a cocky attitude in battle and he still jumped into fights on impulse, but he was more bearable to be around. The humanoid alien could hardly believe that this was the same Ben Tennyson he had met months prior who insisted he didn't need a partner.
Speaking of the defeat of Maltruant, a lot had changed since then. The situation in Bellwood had stabilized significantly, aside from the occasional team-ups of old foes of the Omnitrix wielder which were swiftly dispatched. The Plumbers had solidified their presence around Undertown, and there were outposts in various locations of the settlement to maximize efficiency and response times. Overall, crime had dropped by a large margin, and in its place, an era of peace was ushered in.
Rook was shaken from his thoughts when an explosion occurred a few blocks away. The boom resonated throughout all of Undertown, and chaos broke out. The alien inhabitants began to panic, running in separate directions.
"You calm down the crowd. I'll get to the scene," Ben said seriously. He placed his hand on the Omnitrix faceplate, and an interface with the faces of his aliens appeared. The sixteen-year-old searched through the display until he found the alien he was looking for.
"C'mon, XLR8!" Ben slammed down on the exposed core of the Omnitrix and was coated in a flash of green. When the light dissipated, the now-transformed human was not impressed.
"Water Hazard? This stupid watch couldn't give me the right alien even if it was on its deathbed!" the Orishan groaned. He ran off, leaving Rook to handle crowd control. As Water Hazard neared ground zero, an outbreak of violent flames came into vision. He lifted his palms toward the rapidly spreading fire, and water gushed out of them to extinguish the blaze.
From the limited information Water Hazard had to go off, he knew that some sort of explosive device went off in an alien vendor's shop, and the flames from the resulting explosion were what caused this fire. He had no idea who was the culprit, but he would soon find out.
After Water Hazard doused the last alien shop that was on fire, Rook arrived with his Proto-Tool equipped. Water Hazard reverted to his human form after making sure the threat was neutralized.
"The explosion happened in some alien shop here. I'm guessing it was a robbery. The crook who did this must have already run away-" Ben paused his report when he saw a shadow figure leaping from rooftop to rooftop.
"Did you just see that?" Rook asked. Ben nodded in affirmation, before activating the Omnitrix and slamming down on the core once more. In another green flash, he had transformed into Jetray who flew after the mystery figure.
Rook morphed his Proto-Tool into a grappling hook and used it to attach to a nearby building. He swung from building to building, where he got a glimpse of a silhouette a few meters ahead of him, with Jetray in hot pursuit. He could make out a humanlike body, with a mask obscuring their face and black clothing to obscure their identity.
"This is your last warning, whoever you are! You can make this easy for both of us by surrendering or I'll take you in with force," Jetray warned as he slowed down to get a better view of the person. He could make out a sack slung over their shoulder, with the sounds of Tayden's clinking against each other.
"Your time is up!" Jetray began to fire neuro-shocks at the person from his tail, and one of them connected with the person's boot. They fell off of the building to the ground, and Ben came to a landing next to the mysterious figure who was sprawled on the ground. The sack of Taydens was across the narrow alleyway they were in, and Ben assumed that they had dropped it when they fell off of the alleyway.
"So, who are you?"Jetray asked as he leaned forward to take the mask off. The person leaped up and kicked Jetray in the side, and the Aerophibian crashed into the wall of one of the two buildings enclosing the alleyway.
The thief then tried to grab the sack and make a run for it, but Rook's timely intervention with his Proto-Tool yanking the load away halted the disguised person's plans. The figure tried to run out of the alleyway the opposite way, but Ben who had now transformed into Spider-Monkey blocked her exit.
Spider-Monkey fired a web from his tail, webbing the figure to the wall, and the Omnitrix began to make a beeping noise before Ben was back in his human form. Rook stepped forward and unmasked the mystery figure, and his partner was beyond surprised.
"Elena?" Ben rubbed his eyes to make sure that it was actually her. He hadn't heard anything from her since her obsessive rampage, and he assumed she had decided to pursue a normal life. He placed his hand on the Omnitrix faceplate as a precaution if she turned violent again.
"It's been a while, Ben," Elena said before standing up and discarding her baggy clothing, revealing her signature black mini-dress with her straight black hair which flowed down to her upper back. She had an unreadable expression on her face which the Omnitrix wielder had decided to interpret as cautious.
"I had no idea you were familiar with her, Ben," Rook remarked in mild amusement, though he was still on guard.
"Yeah, we go back a while," Ben sighed, taking his hand off the Omnitrix. "Elena, why did you steal from an alien vendor?"
"I have my reasons," she said wryly. Ben sifted through his mind, trying to figure out why she would need to pull off a robbery. She wasn't obsessed with monetary gain like some of his rogue's gallery. Could it be the nanochips taking over her conscience? 'If she still had access to the Nanochips, she could just change forms right now and escape.'
"I'm not in the mood for your games, Elena, so we'll take you to Plumber HQ and let them deal with you," Ben said simply. "Rook put handcuffs on her wrists."
"Wait!" Elena said, showing the first bit of emotion she had displayed the entire time they talked. "Please don't send me there.."
"And why should we not?" Rook asked coldly. "You stole from a hard-working alien, you destroyed their business, and you tried to evade capture by intergalactic law enforcement. With those charges, you should be grateful we aren't sending you to Incarcecon."
"If you would let me explain myself, I'm sure we could come to an understanding," she said hurriedly, a hint of desperation evident from her tone.
"Alright. Let's hear what you have to say, Elena," Ben said, crossing his arms. He leaned against the wall while he wore a passive expression on his face. Rook morphed his Proto-Tool into a capture net, in case she decided to use the opportunity to make a break for it.
"After our encounter nearly a year ago where I impersonated your girlfriend, Julie, I began to sell alien technology on the black market to make some extra cash. Business started slowing down a few months ago, and I took out some loans to keep my illegal arms business afloat. The loan sharks came to collect a little while ago, and I've had to resort to thievery to pay off my debts, or else they would-"
"What kind of loan sharks scare you enough into robbing a vendor in broad daylight during rush hour?" Ben interjected. Elena opened her mouth to clarify what she was saying, but
"I think I know who she is talking about, Ben. Argit has opened a bank recently that he has called 'Argit Banking and Co.' From what I can understand, he has employed a fleet of Techadon robots as loan collectors," Rook explained matter-of-factly. Ben's eyes lit up with recognition.
"Small word, huh?" chuckled Ben,.before he glanced at Elena with an icy expression. "I'm not taking you to Plumber HQ, but don't think this means you can run free. You're coming with us, and if you get any smart ideas, I'll see to it that you have a one-way ticket to Null Void."
"Got it," Elena said, understanding that Ben wasn't one for empty threats. She had no idea how she was going to afford to pay the damage fees, but that could wait until she was a safe distance away from the irritated Tennyson teen. Ben turned around and walked out of the alleyway while cracking his knuckles. The former Nanochip Queen stood up and walked after him while looking at the ground, seemingly ashamed of herself for slipping up and allowing herself to be caught so easily.
"What is the plan, Ben?" the Revonnahgander asked. Ben looked back, a devious smile growing on his face. Rook knew that a look like that meant trouble. But that didn't mean the by-the-book Plumber was going to let up a chance for a little controlled chaos.
"We're going to pay our old friend Argit a visit!"
Thank you for reading the first chapter of Omniversal Exploits! I've always wondered what would happen after Ben stopped Maltruant in the last episode of Omniverse, but we never got that (Thanks a lot, Cartoon Network!), so this is something I've written to take its place. Not saying this is canon or anything, by the way.
Sorry for not updating on any of my previous stories, I've been pretty busy these past couple of months learning how to become a better writer and with some personal issues. I'll try to get the next chapter out around the beginning of June. You can expect monthly or bi-monthly updates to this new story. Please leave reviews, they help me better myself as a writer even further! (Elaborate on your reviews, I'm not really a fan of vague reviews that just say "It's good." or "It's garbage.")
See ya!
~TheCoolFanFictionGuy