From under the low-hanging hood of his Rooter-based disguise, Rook strolled through the crowds of aliens that were gathered around the various tents and stands that were propped up beside one another. The Revonnahgander assumed a loose yet defensive stance, untrusting of the various species that he slid past.
Distrustful towards the ones who could have taken his partner.
The young Magister's hand shakily curled into a fist, threatening to crush itself in a fit of tranquil fury.
The feline-like man slowly breathed in and out some, attempting to quell the fire that burned deep in his soul.
He was angry.
Perhaps at Ben, for allowing himself to get kidnapped.
Perhaps at the universe, for whatever reason he could conjure.
Or, most likely, perhaps he was infuriated with himself and his inability to defend his partner.
As the self-proclaimed protector of the Omnitrix, it was his sworn duty to do just that; counter any forces that threatened to destroy both the device and the device's wielder. And he'd succeeded in doing so many times over.
With Gwendolyn and Kevin gone and with the rest of the Alien Force disbanded, Rook had to admit that he was doing his job surprisingly well for a by-the-book rookie. Within the first month or so of their partnership, Rook managed to save Ben a little over ten times each week.
Ben would never admit it, but Rook could tell that he was grateful.
The two boys had each other's backs. They knew they could rely on each other. And once Ben's ego died down and he began to see Rook as an equal, his record of life-saving began to catch up to the Revonnahgander's own.
Which was why it was unthinkable to think that they lost the battle against the mercenaries that were sent after them.
After a year of rescuing Ben from the clutches of their hundreds of enemies, Rook was sad to say that he had grown cocky over their supposed invincibility.
They were the heroes. They always won.
Whether it be against a rogue Chronosapien, a power-hungry Chimeran, a bratty Incursian, or a disillusioned Galvan, they always made it out alive and Ben would just save the day through the power of the Omnitrix.
Not this time.
This time, they were all taken by surprise. This time, they were overwhelmed and conquered. This time, Ben's Omnitrix actually failed them and their ire just wasn't enough-
Rook winced at the ache in his knuckles and the sizeable dent in the wall that most certainly was not there before.
The Revonnahgander blinked and brought his gaze down to his hand, which was bent awkwardly and twitching.
Oh.
He did that.
Ouch.
In an attempt to force his fingers back into their regular placement, the Revonnahgander flexed his extremeties, wincing at the small crackles that came from his knuckles.
Biting his lip, he glanced back up and looked ahead.
That was when he met the visor of Sevenseven.
The Magister's eyes widened in shock as he jumped back, avoiding the titanium foot that was launched at him. Narrowing his eyes, he grabbed the limb and swung it hard over his shoulder.
"Where is the Rust Bucket?" he asked with a roar. He looked into the crater that he dug with Sevenseven's face as he asked again, more forcefully, "Where is Ben?!"
When he received no response, the Revonnahgander opted to swing his fists blindly at the armored Sotoraggian beneath him, bashing the agent's head into the ground. With each jab at the Sotoraggian, the armor began to crack more and more.
Rook only backed down once he heard Sevenseven's screeches for mercy, at least, in his native tongue.
"'Have mercy'?" he echoed incredulously, seething. He grabbed the bounty hunter by the front of his armor. "You attacked my team, kidnapped our leader, and stole our ship!"
Still making grotesque sounds, the Sotoraggian squirmed and begged.
Rook never felt such unadulterated anger before. He pulled back his fist once more, but was interrupted by the beeps that came from his Plumber's Badge.
It was a distress signal from Kevin.
Growling, the Revonnahgander began to take calming breaths.
"You are coming with me." he ordered.
Kevin panted as he was squeezed to death by a Techadon robot for the second time in his life. The gloved hand was tightening quickly, causing his current armor to begin to chip away.
The Osmosian quickly shifted his hands into a large hammers and shifted. This caused the nanomechanical tech of the bot to relent just enough to give him leg room. The Osmosian's legs began to dangle and he kicked hard. As the soles of his foot made contact with the cool surface of the automaton, the Osmosian began to vibrate and was promptly dropped to the floor.
He scrambled to his feet once more and felt his breath hitch in his throat as he made his way to the ship, ignoring Argit's moans of indignation.
Suddenly, he felt something prod at the back of his neck.
The Osmosian groaned as he began to sway from side to side, the pins of the porcupine-like alien protruding from the part of his armor that was shed away.
Faintly, he could hear the conman's footsteps approaching him, but he could do nothing to retaliate against the fist that collided with his stomach.
"Kevin, Kevin, Kevin," the con tutted, looming over the Osmosian as he took a knee. He could no longer stand. He couldn't even lift his head up high enough to meet the con's eyes. "Did you really think that you could outsmart me?"
The Osmosian growled softly.
"Can it, roadkill."
Then came the onslaught of attacks that, though coming from a physically inferior being like Argit, somehow managed to incapicate him.
The assistance of the Argitstix Security androids probably played a part in it.
As his head hung low, Argit scoffed.
"Pathetic. Take him away."
The Osmosian braced himself for the sudden lunge of one of the Techadon bots, but nothing came.
Everything was spinning. He felt hazy.
He vaguely felt furry arms wrap around his waist, but he paid it no mind.
Even as the Revonnahgander spoke incomprehensible words to him about a new lead.