AN: I'm covering a small mistake I made today. A few chapters back, I accidentally used the name Technorg when I meant to say Vulkanus. Just thought I'd clear that up so no one ends up confused or yelling at me. Enjoy
Chapter 6
The Huntsmaster winced painfully as his board came to a stop right in front of the Huntsclan's headquarters. Growling as his feet stomped onto the ground, he turned his board back into a staff and pinned in the pass code into a hidden security box, opening the base's hidden door and marching straight towards the control room.
"Sir, how did the mission go? Where are the others?" One man asked as he passed him. The Huntsmaster simply ignored him, giving the suddenly shocked man the answers to all of his questions, and almost blew the door to the control room of its hinges in his rage-driven haste to enter.
"Call the Elites." He demanded furiously, not even giving the man at the computers time to get over his surprised jump. "I need every one of them with the most dangerous equipment they can carry immediately."
"Y-yes master." The man stuttered as he whipped himself back around to face the computers and activated the communication system. When the master got like that, you did what he said before he's finished talking or you're screwed.
...
Light reflected blindingly off of the Rust Bucket from the car park while the salty air filled the lungs of the tired young heroes. Seeing as they weren't able to make it there before, Max decided to take advantage of the people leaving the beach to go there himself. While he was wrestling with his fridge looking for enough food for the group, the teens took Ben and Gwen to relax on the sand. Though some relaxed more than others.
"Woo Hoo! I haven't been able to do this all summer." Gwen cheered, launching a ball into the air. When Kim suggested a game of volleyball, Gwen was quick to agree. "It feels so good to be doing normal stuff for once."
"I know how you feel." Kim grinned, flipping back before sending the ball back over the net. "The hero thing is fun, but relaxing and having fun with your friends is what makes life worth living."
"Do you get to act normal often?" Gwen asked curiously, diving to the ground and narrowly stopping the ball from meeting the ground. "Or does the team go looking for trouble like Ben?"
"Oh, we don't go looking for trouble, it finds us just fine." Kim laughed, spiking the ball. Gwen wasn't to stop it from hitting the ground. "But we do have at least one or two people monitoring the planet at a time. Just in case one of us has trouble on our non-team related missions or if trouble's occurring in a place that isn't equipped to handle it. We always make sure everyone has time to relax and be themselves though. Roxas is the only one who ever gave up free time for work and even he's learnt how to have fun and refuses to go back to the slave driving he used to put himself through."
"Roxas was like Ben? Always demanding to be the hero?" Gwen asked as the ball was served, sparing a glance at the blond in question. "He doesn't seem like the thrill seeking/hogging type."
"He's not. It was personal issues. Don't worry about that now, you'll fully understand when you get there." Kim shook her head before smirking. "Besides, it's me you should be focusing on. Flip spike!" Jumping into the air, she flipped as the ball approached, bringing her fist around and slamming it into the ball as it reached her. The resulting speed of the ball's return towards Gwen proved far too great for the younger redhead.
"Whoa, what a move! You gotta teach me that." Gwen cried excitedly, clasping her hands up at her chest.
"Sure." Kim smiled, ducking under the net. Leaving the ball where it landed, she instructed Gwen on the basics and got her twisting her body properly.
"Shark fin soup? That always was a tasty meal." Max commented, rubbing his belly at the thought of it. "But I can't bring myself to eat it anymore. Not with the way people attack the sharks to get them."
"Yeah, this world is pretty cruel with some animals." Roxas nodded, looking a little disgusted. "But destiny Island's different. They won't just cut the fins off and leave the shark to drown, they give them a much less painful death. Plus, they actually find other things to make out of the rest of the shark and they only kill them at all when they're old, sick or becoming a huge problem. Now octopus, they'll hunt them down all day. The islanders love them, particularly the eyes."
"Oh yeah, they're the best part in my opinion. I'm sure I have some around here we can cook up." Max said excitedly, heading for the RV's door.
"NO WAY!" Jumping a foot in the air, both Roxas and Max turned around to see a very green faced Danny standing behind them, looking ready to puke yet still giving them a defiant glare. "I am not eating the eyes of anything. Or any of these maggots, dung beetles or crickets. Don't bother cooking, I'll just go out for pizza." With that white rings appeared around and spread across his body before the ghost boy of Amity Park took off into the sky as fast as he could.
"Hmm, all well, he has no idea what he's missing." Max shrugged as he watched the black dot disappear. Roxas could only chuckle at his side.
While the others talked and played, Ben stood away from the group, staring hesitantly at the sea. He really wanted to join his older self in the waves, but after their last confrontation he was nervous. He still felt as if he'd let himself down. After all, it was one thing to have someone else yell at you, but to have yourself angry and disappointed in you was another matter entirely.
Either I'm the biggest hypocrite I know, or I really change when I get older. He thought, taking another hesitant step towards the water. He gulped as a wave pushed Benjamin back towards him a bit and almost lost his nerve. Grr, toughen up Ben! If you can't face yourself, then who can you face? Biting his lip, he took in a deep breath and forced himself into the water and though his steps became more hesitant as he continued on his way, he didn't stop until he was only a foot away from Benjamin.
"I apologised to Kim. And I'm sorry for letting you down." Ben sighed, dropping his head. Opening his eyes, Benjamin stared at his younger self, leaving him squirming for a moment, before placing a hand on his shoulder.
"A true hero understands that even true heroes aren't perfect. Sometimes we make mistakes and the bad guy gets away. But when that happens, they're always beating themselves up and it's their friends' job to be supportive." Benjamin said softly, gently bringing Ben's eyes up to his when his younger self still refused to look at him. "A true hero is kind and understanding as well as courageous. Don't attack those who have allied themselves with you for any reason. They are to be just as respected as you are by them. Never take anyone for granted or one day when you really need them, and I assure you that you will, they may not come. That includes Gwen and Grampa too."
"Wow, I'd never have said a speech like that. I must really change." Ben muttered, staring into Benjamin's eyes as if he was trying to find something. "You're so different from me. I've never thought of half of that before. Gwen and I always go at it when one of us messes up and that's basically what I did with Kim, but you were completely outraged. I don't see anything of me in you and I don't see our thirty year old self in you either. How did I become you? Not to say it's a bad thing."
"You matured." Benjamin answered, giving him an amused grin. "Right now, you see being a hero as a way of getting a thrill and making yourself important. But as time goes on, you'll find that the thrill is almost completely replaced with the desire to help others and the world won't be all about you. And your compassion for others will grow, especially for Gwen, once your ego deflates and that above all else is something you must hold on to. Remember, above all else it's our compassion, not our powers that separates us from the people we fight. It's that part of you that must always stay at the forefront."
"So basically, I just stop thinking about what's best for me? And then I'll grow until I become like you?" Ben asked, getting a nod. "When will this all start?"
"You've come to me after seeing how wrong your actions were and you've come to me humbly. I'd say you've already started." Benjamin chuckled, messing up Ben's hair. "Humility is a lesson we all must learn before we can become true heroes. By admitting that what you did was wrong, you've taken a step towards that title."
"I get it. They're all just as great and important as me, right? It's an honour just to say that I blend in with them." Ben asked with a small smiling, getting a proud smile from Benjamin in return.
"Couldn't have said it better myself. But after all the serious stuff is said and done, a little fun can never hurt." Benjamin added slyly, finally letting Ben see that not all of his mischievous nature was gone. "How about a little water war?" Bringing up the Omnitrix, he brought up the hologram form he wanted before a frown crossed his face. "Actually, let me see your Omnitrix for a second."
"Huh? Why?" Ben asked confusedly, but still raised his arm for the older shape shifter to see. Not answering him, he activated the controls and fiddled with them until he found the form he was looking for.
"There we are... and here's the code. Let's give it a shot." Activating his own again, he twisted the controls back and forth until a familiar form appeared for the first time in hologram and slapped it down.
"Ripjaws!" When the green flash ended, an older version of Ben's original aquatic form was in Benjamin's place. In addition to looking older, his body was now completely coloured in shades of grey with green fins and flippers, as opposed to the black and white that had decorated his younger form, and the scales on the front of his torso looked more like body armour. "Are you coming?" He asked, showing off his teeth as he smirked at Ben. Mimicking the look as best as a human face can, Ben brought his Omnitrix back up and in a flash of green, the younger Ripjaws was beside his big brother. The pair let out a soft cackle before submerging and shooting straight towards the shore. Skimming along faster than a dolphin, they reached the desired point and burst above the surface. Before Kim and Gwen could even turn towards them, they thrust their tails through the surface of the water and struck the redheads with a flood, thoroughly drenching them.
"BEN!" Gwen shouted at the cackling fish men, pushing her hair out of her irritated eyes while Kim spat water out of her mouth. "I am so going to get you for that!"
"You'll have to catch me first." The boys said simultaneously, laughing as they shot away from the shoreline.
"Let's get them!" Kim shouted excitedly before charging at the sea with a battle cry. Her hands already glowing with magic, Gwen followed her lead with a cry of her own, leaving Roxas and Max to laugh at the four.
"Well, at least all the tension between the Bens is gone." Max commented happily as the girls tried unsuccessfully to grab the boys. "Though I think Gwen might be a little disappointed with the outcome of this."
"I'll say, the girls will never catch the fish." Roxas nodded. Shaking his head, he raised his own hands as they started to glow. "Maybe I'll help them slow d- huh?" The second he said slow, the magic gathering in his hands flashed out across the area almost too quickly for anyone to see and when it settled, everyone on the beach was moving in slow motion. "Um, did I just cast a spell?" Roxas asked, scratching his head. "A time manipulating spell. Who knew I could do that? Well, might as well take advantage of it while it lasts." Shrugging off the surprise, he grinned playfully as he raised his hand again. "Light!" The blast of light this time turned into nine columns and struck the water just in front of the Ripjaws duo. The resulting blow occurred just as the time speed restored itself and the slowly widening eyes of the fish men opened to the size of dinner plates in an instant as the explosion caused a large and powerful wave that thrust them screaming towards the shoreline. However, Roxas smiled sheepishly as he noticed that he'd place too much power into his shot. The wave not only got the boys, but continued on to the girls. When it finally lost its momentum, all four of them were lying on the sand, fountains of water coming from their mouths. Roxas smiled innocently as four sets of irritated eyes land on him. "Um, hehe, a bit much?"
"Ya think?" Four annoyed voiced snapped back.
...
Beyond the visible reach of the heroes, over the ocean, floated a lone man. He was sitting with his legs crossed as his eyes focused on the group with a wooden staff with the top shaped like a dragon head with an open mouth in one hand and an old and ominous looking book in his lap. Looking at his body, you'd think he was a zombie.
"So, he must be the one with the power I sensed." He muttered, focusing on the light magic wielder backing away from the irritated youths. "Even able to mess with the workings of time, if only within a set range of himself. I must obtain the secrets that this boy possesses. They may give me the power to rule this world."
...
"Who knew that so much Taedenite had made it to this backwater planet?" Vulkanus smirked, blowing more and more concrete into oblivion and revealing more beautiful, bluish green crystals. "Soon I'll have enough to power my new weapon and get revenge on Tennyson and his friends by eradicating this world."
"So you're a mouthy one are ya?" Vulkanus jumped as the sly voice made it to his ears and looked up just in time to see a large, red fist before it slugged him in the face. Completely unprepared, the blow flung him right off his feet with a bellow, spinning until he collided with the ground. "And what do ya know, he's all show."
The American Dragon flew a few circles around the fallen alien, laughing merrily, as Vulkanus pulled himself back to his feet. However, when Vulkanus tried to lash out at him he was quick to straighten his flight path, landing just beyond his opponent's reach.
"You know, I was expecting a lot more tolerance of my blows from someone so big and bulky." Jake said, looking unimpressed.
"Oh yeah?" Vulkanus shouted, leaving Jake yawning at the lousy comeback. "You just caught me at a bad moment. I'm way too much for a scrawny reptile like you."
"Oh really?" Jake said lowly, his body tensing in his irritation. "You think you have what it takes to take on the Am Drag? Then let's see it cue ball."
"Why bother? You won't even get past my minions." Vulkanus smirked, waving his hand. Instantly, around twenty midgets charged at the young hero, their alien pickaxes alight with their electrical current as they were raised above their owners' heads.
Snarling, Jake whipped his tail forward and struck the first to reach him in the gut, sending him barrelling away before dropping onto all fours to dodge another two and retaliating with a burst of fire, burning them black as they fell to the ground. Seeing another five quickly coming in to replace their fallen comrades, Jake spread his wings and took to the air, grunting loudly as one pickaxe cut a line straight through the scales on his foot, blood dripping from it to the pavement.
"Hey, I'm calling unfair play!" The cry heralded a red and white form's plummet towards the ground. Just as he was about to smack into the ground, Rai pulled an immediate halt and flipped himself upright before spinning so fast that his body looked like a red and white blur.
"Wudai star wind!" A split second later, his spinning form created a tornado, sucking in all of the still active minions. One by one, the intense wind flung them careening into the sky, all of them being released in the same direction. Jake waited just below their flight path and shot flames as they flew by, aiming for their weapons. With each one is shot was perfectly accurate, resulting in the weapons blowing up and the minions left useless.
"And that's the last of them." Rai grinned triumphantly as the wind died down, pulling himself to a halt. It went away almost immediately as blood struck his cheek and a sharp gasp from above met his ears. "Jake, are you ok?" He asked worriedly as the young dragon lowered himself to Raimundo's side.
"They cut right through my scales and it's not the most shallow wound I've ever gotten either." Jake hissed, favouring his right foot as blood continued to fall from it. "You gotta give those toys of theirs some credit. Very few things can cut through dragon scales. But I'll be ok."
"Not for long." Both boys looked up to the growling face of Vulkanus. "No one defeats Vulkanus. I'm going to have you begging for mercy."
"You mean like Ben and Gwen did?" Rai asked, his smirk growing when Vulkanus flinched. "Our files say that they've beaten you more than once."
"And we're just as strong as them." Jake added, raising his claws. "Wanna see for yourself?"
Shaking himself out of his stupor, Vulkanus opened his mouth to speak, but before he could even utter a single word, a foot came out of nowhere and smashed into his chest, the force behind it causing the metal armour to cave in on itself as Vulkanus flew back with a scream towards a brick wall. However, before he could hit it, a navy blue blur past him a second before a pair of clasped hands struck his back, resulting in the armour caving in again as Vulkanus' flight path was altered to straight up into the sky.
"No taunts, no flashy entrances, and to top it off he stole our thunder. Where's his sense of flare?" Raimundo asked with mock exasperation as he watched the orange topped rocket take off.
"Hello, this is Gohan? Mr warrior race?" Jake responded amusedly. "He doesn't care for the fancy stuff. He thrives on brainless brute force."
"Don't let him hear you say that." Rai chuckled as an orange, black and blue blur crashed into the ground with a thunderous bang and creating a decently large crater.
Gohan landed softly just at the crater's edge as Vulkanus pulled himself haphazardly to his feet, a smirk crossing his face as metal plates fell from Vulkanus' suit and oil tube and short circuiting wires flopped out from every part.
"I don't recommend moving." Gohan taunted, getting an enraged growl in return. "If just one of those electrical sparks comes into contact with the leaking fuel, you'll go up like a bomb."
Vulkanus' face changed abruptly from angry to terrified as his body froze in place, his eyes transfixed on what remained of his left fist where oil was leaking only a centimetre away from sparks being released from his wrist.
"This just makes it all too easy." Rai smirked, cracking his knuckles as he jumped into the crater.
"Yeah, for me to blow you up." Vulkanus retorted. With that he jumped out of the suit, surprising all three boys, and kicked it from behind, rebounding away as it fell towards Raimundo. "See you in hell." He sneered as he ran for the hills.
"Wind!" Working on instinct, Rai threw his hands up and blew the malfunctioning suit into the sky before it could do any damage. It didn't prevent the explosion, but it did prevent any injuries, especially when Jake took off into the air and deflected the few pieces of debris that fell towards the civilian stragglers.
Meanwhile Gohan took off faster than the human eye could see and clotheslined the cackling Vulkanus, leaving him to smack into the ground with a choked gasp.
"Going somewhere pipsqueak?" Gohan smirked, leaning down and grabbing him by the arm. "Not without a police escort."
"Oh man, this is the most amusing thing I've ever seen." Rai laughed, his hands wrapped around his gut as he and Jake approached them, Jake turning back into his human form along the way. "This guy is even smaller than Omi and yet he has an even bigger head than him! He even has that 'I'm the toughest person you'll ever meet' attitude too."
Gohan just chuckled and grabbed Vulkanus' other arm, properly constraining him while Jake sat down and took off his shoe and bloodstained sock, inspecting the wound as the sound of approach police cars got steadily louder.
...
Back at Valour's Light, the dark smile grew steadily bigger on Albedo's face as more and more red marks appeared on a world map he'd brought up, each one representing a defence base he'd managed to hack into. There were so many already up there that it was almost impossible to see the continents they were marking.
"Almost...almost, there! The last one, Hahaha!" He cackled as the final red dot appeared. "This satellite and every military defence system on the planet is under my control. I guess I'll no longer be in need of this disguise." He stated, deactivating his little holographic device and returning to actual colouring. Shutting down the map, he activated the communication systems and sent a quick message out to space. When he got the confirmation, he waited just long enough to see the ships hastily approaching Earth on the scanners before redirecting his focus to the other systems he'd hacked before: every communication frequency on the planet.
...
"Why did we all come to this one again?" Rai asked, looking thoroughly bored leaning on a police car next to a patched up Jake while Gohan dealt with the statements and whatnot with the cops. "He was a weakling."
"To get it done quick so we all could be there when we find the one who made Kim, Danny and Roxas disappear." Jake answered absentmindedly. His eyes were focused into a frown as he watched a pair of cops at a nearby car. They'd been mumbling something about being nothing but a pickup crew a few seconds ago, but it was the fact that they'd just gone still and pale that caught his attention. Something big must have just happened. Jake thought worriedly, biting his lip. Sure enough, a second later one of them turned to the cop in charge.
"Mitch, there's a transmission on the radio from a guy who just said we're all about to die." He shouted, causing everyone in the area to snap their heads in his direction, each face either turning pale, shocked or frowning at the news. Not a second later, cops were turning their car radios on and up to maximum volume for all to hear.
"Listen well all of you pathetic humans! My name is Albedo. I am from the great race known as the Galvan, though the form I am currently stuck in thanks to my Omnitrix is one I'm sure is more familiar to you."
"Omnitrix? But there's only one of them and Ben has it." Gohan cried, turning to Rai and Jake for an explanation only for them to respond with a confused shrug. Wanting an answer, Gohan grabbed the others and flew off as fast as he could, ignoring their startled yelps. It only took him a few seconds to find a TV and what he saw made him stop in shock. On the screen, with what was clearly the bridge of Valour's Light in the background, was a guy who looked almost exactly like Ben. Except this guy had white hair, red eyes, a red jacket with black stripes where Ben's was white and the look on his face was more sinister than Ben could ever pull off.
"I have already infiltrated the Valour Guardians after destroying four of them and left another two useless to anyone, and used it to hack in and take full control of every defence system on your primitive world. Now you have a choice: surrender and prepare for a life of slavery or die at the hands of the mighty Vilgax! Conqueror of ten worlds."
It was at that moment that screams of pure terror simultaneously filled the air, forcing Gohan to throw his hands over his sensitive ears, dropping Jake and Raimundo in the process and forcing them to fly on their own power. For at that moment, the sky became filled with giant ships, flickers of light being the only warning of their arrival. All of them looked armed to the teeth and completely impenetrable.
"Decide humans. You have but minutes." With an evil laugh, Albedo disappeared from the screen and let everyone in a blind panic. As the number of ships in the sky only continued to grow, only one thought passed through Gohan's head.
This is going to be a looooonnnngggg day.