Some people might be wondering why I had 'Highschool 10' as part of this fanfics if it was only a one-shot. Part of it was because Ben DxD was the inspiration for it, along with a loyal fan. But the other part is more embarrassing.
I had Writer's Block.
I knew what A and B and C were going to be, but I couldn't think of what to do for D and E and so on. But now that I've finally finished chapter 12, I'll move Highschool 10 to its own story and replace it with this. Apologies if I accidently delete anyone's review for Highschool 10.
Enjoy.
Chapter 12: Meet the Bens
Ben hated having to get up. His bed was so nice and warm, and his pillow was so soft. He nuzzled it as he had good dreams of home and his friends. As everyone cheered his name after he knocked Vilgax down for the final time, he wrapped his legs around his pillow.
Wait. Since has his pillow been as tall as he was?
"Good morning Bri." Rias giggled as he finally opened his eyes. It took him a bit to realise that the comforting pillow he was snuggling against was actually breasts. As he looked upwards, he gazed deeply into Rias' blue-green eyes. They stayed like that for a few seconds until Ben's brain finally kicked into gear. He shrieked as he jumped away from her, falling out of bed and slamming into the wall. As he lay there groaning, Rias got up and helped pull him to his feet. "Now I get why you're so nervous around other girls. You 'like' them, don't you?"
Ben was surprised he hadn't burst into flame he was blushing so much. Issei should never find out about this. "No. Yes. Maybe." He mumbled. "He shook his head rapidly to clear it. "Look, can we just forget about this? Issei said he found a store I'd like and he was going to take me today." He rushed around, gathering his clothes from the wardrobe and cupboards, with Rias smirking at him the whole time.
"I see." She said. "So you like guys and girls."
"Shut up!"
(**/*\**)
"Do I really need to wear this stupid blindfold?" Bri asked Issei as he pulled her along behind him. "What if we get separated or something? A hot girl being unable to see isn't a good combo."
"Don't worry Bri." Issei replied. "We're almost there." If he had been looking back, he might've noticed the rest of the club sneakily following them, wearing simple and poor disguises. "Trust me, I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it."
Bri laughed. "I'd better Issei. I won't be happy if you dragged me all the way out here just to see a strip club or something." As they rounded the corner, Issei stopped in disbelief.
It was gone! The store he wanted to show Bri had vanished. Now another store had taken its place. An adult store of all things. She was going to kill him.
"Why have we stopped?" Bri asked. "Are we there yet?" He panicked, trying to think of some way to stall her or misdirect her elsewhere. This wasn't helped by the fact she was teasing the knot on the blindfold. Before he could try to stop her, the store flickered and became wavy. The black walls turned white, with green and pink awnings on the front. The windows became clear, showing off seats inside. And a massive man dressed as a smoothie cup sprouted from the highest point. He heard Bri gasp as she finally got it off.
"Uh." Issei said. "Tada. I hope you like it."
He grabbed his head as Bri squealed, before crushing him in a massive hug. "Like it? I love it, Issei. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" She gave him a kiss on the lips before squeezing him again. She put him down long enough to lead him inside. She was practically bouncing with excitement as she looked at the menu, almost drooling. She must be addicted to the stuff. She walked up to the counter and started ringing the bell. "I'll have one chocolate and carrot, one pork-flavour, a mango and blueberry with extra Echinacea, one radish-flavour, and a peanut-butter seaweed smoothie. Stat." She shouted out before looking at Issei. "What'll you have?"
"Uh…" Issei didn't know what to say. Half of the stuff she ordered didn't even sound edible. He quickly looked at the menu to try and find something normal. "I'll have a chocolate smoothie." He decided.
"Wimp." Bri mocked him as someone stepped out from the back. Issei was shocked to see he was a four-armed, green-skinned man with orange hair and moustache. He was dressed in a brown coat and top-hat, with two stars on the front.
"Grrrreetings!" He trilled as he rushed to the counter with several smoothies on trays. "And welcome, to Professor Blarney T. Hokestar's Mr. Smoothy's!" Bri seemed to freeze up as she heard his voice before pulling her hood up. She then shook her head and put it back down. "You are my first customers of the day. So many of you don't seem to appreciate the effort a working man puts into a good smoothie."
"Maybe you just need some advertising." Issei offered as he took his smoothie. "Like a mascot, or an actor. Maybe some endorsement."
"Oh I've got those, young master. DEEFUS!" He yelled into the back rooms, Issei sniggering at the name. "Get in here. We have customers!"
"Deefus?" Bri seemed frightened by this. Maybe the guy was tougher than his name sounded. Issei couldn't think of many monsters that could scare Bri. As a man stepped out of the back, Bri quickly put her hood back on.
The man was tall and muscular, like a body-builder or a hot actor. He wore a sleeveless green shirt and silver armour that showed off his well-defined muscles, with green pants and black boots. On his left arm was a gauntlet with two claws, and noticeably had several Omnitrix symbols all over it. He used his other hand to rub his messy brown hair, and his green eyes lit-up when he spotted Bri.
"Hey, babe." He said as he walked closer to her. "Name's Deefus Veeblepister. I'm an intergalactic actor that made Ben 10 a household name. Pretty sweet aye?"
"Uh…swell." Bri said, hugging herself to try and hide the size of her boobs. "That…must be a great gig."
"Yeah, it was. But you know, I don't think I do the real Ben 10 justice. That guy's all action and stuff. He'd run into a dangerous zone without stopping for anything. And we're pretty tight. If you want, I could get you his autograph."
"That sounds…uh…You know, I think I'll just be fine with a smoothie." She grabbed her drinks and quickly walked to a nearby table.
"Ok then, babe. You know where to find me when you change your mind." Issei followed her and watched as she started inhaling her smoothie. Now he got why she had panicked.
"So." He said. "That guy was supposed to be you?" Bri took another slurp while looking around, before deeming it safe to talk.
"Yeah. Guess a boyish girl wasn't quite 'heroic' enough for the producers." She slurped some more of her smoothies, blushing like mad under her hood.
"So what do you think of being made into a celebrity, even if they got your gender wrong?"
"Shocked, truthfully. It didn't really help that everyone kept thinking of him as the real Ben 10."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, I know." She laughed. "That day was weird." The bell tingled as more people entered, but they ignored it. "An Aracnachimp by the name of Simian…"
"Wait." Issei interrupted. "What's an Aracnachimp?"
"Spidermonkey. Anyway, he got the show to Earth and had Deefus sign Antarctica so that some guy would buy the planet."
"Wait. You mean the whole fucking planet?"
"Yeah. And you won't believe this, but the buyer was the show's biggest fan. Some extra-dimensional nerd by the name of 'Collectimus'. Luckily, I managed to trade the Earth for one of my old t-shirts from when I was a kid."
"Lucky. What did you do to the Simian asshole?"
"Well, Simian was playing a sidekick role for the show. So Collectimus decided to 'collect' him too. I'm sure he'll talk his way out. Eventually." They started laughing until Hokestar started shouting.
"SOLID! Get the other smoothie-maker. We've got a lot of customers." Issei and Bri looked around to see the rest of the club at the counter. They must've followed them, Issei thought to himself while Bri grinded her teeth.
"Hey there you two." Rias greeted them. "What a coincidence. I had no idea we were heading to the same store."
"Hello, Mr. Smoothy's speaking." Hokestar answered the phone. "No, this is not 'Big Al's Busty Beauties. I'm afraid they've moved for the moment. No, I don't know when they'll be back. Well there's got to be another store that can suit your needs. By the way, would you be interested in a smoothie?" He grumbled as the person hung-up on him. Bri looked at Issei with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
"Ok yes, I found this place when I went to Al's." He admitted. They all started giggling until a small, rocky alien came flying out of the back of the store. He groaned as a taller alien walked through. This new guy looked… well, evil. He had white skin and red eyes, with a tall fin/spike on his head. His hands had claws with a spike on the outside. He wore a body covering black-and-red outfit with more spikes on. Behind him were more aliens, including what looked like a large chicken.
"Aw man." Bri moaned. "Psyphon."
"Well now." Psyphon hissed. "This world should be easy pickings. And no heroes to worry about."
"Guess again, monster." Rias said as everyone got ready to fight. "You're not getting away."
Psyphon smiled. "How cute. A cheerleader and her little friends. You are no match for…" He was interrupted by Bri smashing right in the jaw. Before he could react, she pounded him again and hit him with a blast of fire. He groaned as he climbed out of the rubble he crashed through, before looking at his allies. "Well, what are you waiting for? A written invitation? Get them!"
The other aliens started swarming out into the room, causing the club members to start moving to avoid getting surrounded. Issei charged his Gear and punched a stitched-together alien with a head on his stomach. Rias was fighting the chicken alien, while Yuuto and Koneko were dealing with a boar-alien and a guy in a bubble helmet, respectively. Akeno fired a bolt of lightning at a purple eel-alien, who ducked under it. The blast went flying into the back room and struck something. Everyone stopped fighting as the entire place shook.
"Uh oh." Solid said in a deep voice, looking at something smoking.
Bri gasped. "The dimension-traveller." She whispered.
Then they all got thrown around as the entire place started quaking like mad.
(**/*\**)
Everyone started screaming as they were thrown around the room, crashing into the walls and each other. Outside, Issei saw that they were moving through a multi-coloured vortex.
"Bri!" He yelled. "What do we do?!"
"Stop the machine!" She yelled back. "It's in the back!" He nodded, waiting to get thrown through the opening. As he flew in, he spotted a large machine that looked like an engine block. It had a small hole in the side and scorch marks all over. He planted his feet against the wall, and pushed himself towards the machine. He yelled as he bared his claws, stabbing the machine right through.
"Yes!" He yelled, as everything stopped moving so much. He did it. Bri was going to be pleased with him.
"Hey uh… kid?" Solid said as he flew in. "We kinda needed that in one piece."
Issei looked at it for a moment before his brain finally started working. "Ah shit." Everything started crashing and they all fell down with a 'thump'. As he stumbled back into the main room, he saw that Psyphon and his group were getting away. Rias and the others were slowly picking themselves off the floor and chairs, all of them covered in smoothies. He noted in excitement that Bri currently had her face pressed against Asia's privates. He mentally took a picture as they got themselves untangled.
"Is it over?" Deefus asked as he crawled out from under a table.
"Uh. Not yet." Bri groaned as she dusted herself off, noticing her drink was all over her. "Hokestar. How soon can you fix the Dimension-traveller?"
"I don't know." Hokestar replied.
"We might've had better luck girly, if your boyfriend hadn't totalled it with his claws.
"Issei!" She glared at him. "You were supposed to stop the machine, not smash it!"
"Well, we've stopped haven't we?" He gave a nervous chuckle as she got right in his face. She sighed.
"C'mon. Let's see which dimension we've landed in. Hopefully, there'll be someone that can fix the machine for us." As they all exited the store, they started looking around. This place looked so weird. All the buildings were taller than back home, and seemed to have blue features. On one wall was a sign for a brown-haired kid holding onto some bling advertising something. And everything was in English. Bri was probably the only person who could read anything. "I recognise this place." Bri said after a while. "We're in Dimension 23."
Without warning, a large blue ball nearly crashed into them, before reverting into a kid. It was the same one on the poster. Now that Issei got a better look at him, he seemed so familiar. He wore a blue suit-like outfit, with gold rings and a large necklace. On his left wrist was a large gold and blue watch, with a blue Omnitrix symbol on it. As he stared at Bri, Issei finally recognised him.
"So that's what Bri would look like as a guy." He thought to himself. He didn't actually look too bad. But he did seem a little girly to him. Must just be how skinny the kid was. The kid smiled at Bri and started saying something to her.
He wondered what they were talking about.
(**/*\**)
"Well hey there, beautiful." Ben 23 said to Ben. "Name's Ben 23. Biggest and richest hero on the planet. And you, are the luckiest girl around."
"Oh god, I'm getting hit on by myself." Ben thought to himself in horror. But a very small part of him was too busy laughing to care. Was he really this bad at pick-up lines when he was 15? He could've sworn he had better lines than that. "And who are these fine ladies?" Ben 23 continued. "Some friends of yours? That's ok, there's enough hero for everyone."
"Hello." Rias introduced herself. "My name is Rias Gremory. It's a pleasure to meet you?"
"Nice to meet you Ms Gremory. You know, you ladies have got some fine figures." Ben didn't even wonder how both groups could understand each other. It was probably some Devil power.
"Now that introductions are out of the way, why don't we all ditch those two guys and come on back to my penthouse. I've got all the best gear there." He put his hand around Ben's waist and gave his ass a pinch. This would be hilarious if it wasn't so creepy. Well, it was still hilarious.
"Hey!" Issei said, understanding now that he was close enough to hear. "Don't treat Bri like that, jerk."
"Oh. You gonna be a hater, pal? You wanna go up against this bad boy? Bring it chump." Issei growled, and both got closer and ready for a fight.
"Stop this! Both of you!" Ben placed himself between the two, pushing them away before things got ugly. "And Issei. We've got bigger things to worry about than my counterpart's actions."
"But he's objectifying you."
"Let me handle it." His glare brooked no arguments. Issei muttered while shuffling away from them.
"Yeah, that's right." Ben 23 mocked him. "You know you can't beat me. So, babe. What's your name?"
Ben couldn't hold back any longer. That line was the perfect set-up. He smiled as he bent down, watching Ben 23's eyes follow his breasts as they bounced. He waited till they had his full attention before showing off the Omnitrix. "The name's Bri Tennyson. Wielder of the Omnitrix, and saviour of the galaxy." Ben 23 stared at him in horror, his jaw dropping lower and lower and his face turning pale.
His scream was heard all over Bellwood.
(**/*\**)
"And behold, the proudest moment of my life." Ben said sarcastically as he carried his counterpart on his back. "Getting hit on by myself." Gwen and Kevin were to never, ever learn about this.
"No offence Bri," Issei said. "But your counterpart's kind of a jerk."
Ben laughed. "None taken. That's what happens when you're one of the richest 13-year-olds in the world and the most famous to boot." They reached Ben 23's tower in short order, Ben remembering it from last time he was here.
"Holy shit." Issei gaped. "This is all his? This is how you live?"
"Not me. I'm still living with my parents. I don't make any money off being a hero, and I've had some bad luck with letting my ego get the better of me. Ben 23, though, he… hasn't really learnt about the downside of fame."
"What do you suppose makes him act so differently than you?" Ben snorted.
"Probably not having boobs, for starters." As everyone laughed, he sighed. "But seriously, it's Grandpa Max. He died not long after Ben found the Omnitrix. He didn't really have anyone to teach him how to use it properly, or that not all aliens are bad. According to this dimension's Azmuth, he got all this stuff to try and fill that gap."
"Wow. I… I know this might seem offensive, but I can't believe that something so small could make such a difference."
"Again, not offended. But sometimes a small thing is all it takes for things to be different." They had entered the elevator during the conversation, and were entering the main rooms of Ben's tower.
"How did you know what the passwords are?" Asia asked. "Have you been here before?"
"Probably because they're both the same person." Koneko answered.
"That, and his names aren't all that imaginative. Mr. Monkey for Spidermonkey, Dog-Nabbit for Wildmutt, Speedyquick for XLR8. Wasn't that hard to guess his passwords." As Ben put 23 on the ground, he noticed that they were both covered in smoothies. As he looked at the others, he saw that they were all covered. "Ok then. We'll all need a change of clothes and a shower, if possible. Look around for bathrooms. I'll take Ben with me and tidy him up."
"You sure that's a wise move?" Yuuto asked. "I know he's you, but you're still a boy and a girl."
Ben smirked at him. "Do you really think he's going to want to flirt with me again, after finding out who I am?" No one said anything, so he went off in a random direction looking for a bathroom. Everyone shouted as they found floor-plans. Sheesh. This place has 4 bathrooms? Who needs so many? He went into the main bedroom, making sure to lock the door after him. He could just tell that Rias would love to tease his other-self if he let her. He carefully pulled off Ben's stained clothes and threw them into a nearby clothes-bin. From the look of the place, neither Ben had been really keen on cleaning up. Leaving his other-self on the bed in his underwear, Ben quickly took a very warm and soothing shower. He grumbled a bit as he wrapped a couple of towels around his chest and waist. Hopefully, Ben 23 had a dressing gown or something. As he left the bathroom, he noticed that Ben was looking at the roof as he lay down.
"I can't believe I hit on my female self." He moaned, covering his eyes with his hands.
"Tell me about it." Ben agreed. "But once you get past how creepy that was, it was pretty hilarious. And those pick-up lines! I mean… wow. Just… wow." 23 turned to glare at him, but became as white as a sheet.
"Oh man! COVER YOURSELF UP ALREADY! I'M GOING BLIND HERE!"
Ben looked down at himself. Sure, he was baring a quite a bit of skin, but it wasn't that bad. "I'd love to, but these towels of yours only cover so much."
"There's a dressing gown in the closet." 23 said, looking away and covering his eyes with his hands. "Now for the love of sanity, put it on!" Ben sighed, before opening the closet and looking at the selection. Half a dozen dressing gowns? This is bizarre. He quickly grabbed the biggest one and wrapped it around himself. Ben 23 quickly looked back at him and shuddered as Ben dropped the towels inside the gown.
"Ok, so I'm dressed. Now can we talk? I need your help." 23 ignored him, using a bed sheet to cover himself once he noticed he was in his underwear. "Oh come on. You're really going for that?" Turned out that 23 was going for the silent treatment. "That's just so… childish."
"Yeah, well…Your…butt is big!" Ben 23 tried to insult him.
"No arguments there." Ben said deadpan. "I notice everytime I sit down."
Ben 23 acted stroppy for a bit longer before finally looking him in the eye. "Who are you, really?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I wasn't passed out the whole time, you know. I woke up while you were carrying me. And while I couldn't understand anything you guys were saying, I definitely heard you say my alien names. And you knew where my tower was. But I'd definitely remember if I ever met you before."
Ben sighed. He knew this was coming. It would be just his luck. Ah, what the hell. Might as well come clean to him. "Alright. I'll tell you who I really am. But you have to promise to never tell the others. Ok?" After Ben 23 nodded, Ben sighed with relief. It felt good to finally be able to talk to someone about this. "I'm actually Ben 10. We met ages ago, and I helped you get to know Azmuth."
Ben 23 was slack-jawed as he looked Ben up and down again. "I can assure you, this whole gender-change thing was not my idea." Ben continued. "Apparently, the others are going to be involved in something big. Big enough that the 'gods' of their dimension recruited me to help. Of course, they also were the ones that made me like this, so I'm not too sure I trust them." He took a deep breath. It was almost exhausting, talking about all the weird stuff. "Anyway, we need your help right now to track Psyphon and his gang."
"Who?" Of course. He probably never fought him before. After all, by the time Ben got here, 23 hadn't even met Azmuth yet.
"Right then. Have you ever fought Vilgax?"
Ben 23 paled slightly before covering it up with a cough. "Oh, you uh, mean the squid-head dude? Yeah. I-I-I took him down no sweat. Gave him the old 'one, two'. Kinda smashed Mount Rushmore though. But he won't be bothering me again."
Kevin was right. His left eye still twitches when he tells a lie. He gave what he hoped was a comforting smile. "He broke Rushmore with your face, didn't he?"
"Yes. And the street. And part of a city." 23 seemed so downcast as he told the truth.
"Happened to me too. There's no shame in admitting it. Vilgax is one of the toughest enemies I've ever had. I rated him more dangerous than a god-like dimensional conqueror that had mind powers. And yeah, I got used as a hammer a few times."
"What does Vilgax have to do with Psyphon?" 23 gasped. "Do I have to fight him again? I don't think I can take that kind of pain again."
"Easy, easy." Ben consoled him. "I just mentioned him because when I was 15, he decided to use intergalactic law against me."
"Huh?"
"There's this big law that says that if a planet is being attacked, both sides can send a champion to fight in their stead. So instead of wasting billions of lives, the fight can just be between two guys."
"So, if Vilgax won, he'd just win Earth like that?"
"And do whatever he wants. At least until someone challenges him again. Anyway, the point was that he had a sidekick/lackey named Psyphon. After we chased Vilgax back to his planet, Psyphon became a small-time crime boss. Since you haven't fought Vilgax again, that makes things so much easier. Now we don't have to worry about grabbing the wrong guy."
"You're right. And it's not like Vilgax chooses now of all times to show up with his lackey." Ben almost groaned. He jinxed them. He bet dollars to smoothies that Vilgax was going to show up right now.
(**/*\**)
Psyphon couldn't believe it. They were actually in another dimension. But still, just his luck to find another dimension with a Ben Tennyson in it. And those humans. He growled as he smacked the map table he was looking at. And as there was no Undertown, aliens like them stood out far more than before, and the humans don't even use intergalactic currency.
"How am I to run a crime group when the locals don't even have the right MONEY?" His gang looked at each other, before Liam started to answer.
"Bkaw! We could try local…"
"That was rhetorical, Liam." Psyphon interrupted. It was times like this that he wished he could work with Vilgax again. Things were so much easier when he gave the orders. "Gaining millions in Earth dollars means nothing when they're not on the intergalactic trading boards." But an idea came to him, as he smiled a toothy grin. "Bubble Helmet." He said as he pointed to the slug in the suit. "Those comic books you like so much. What happens when two of the same people meet up and work together?"
"Uh… They beat up the other guys?"
"Indeed. And as there's two of me, and only one of Tennyson, things might just go our way."
(**/*\**)
"Lord Vilgax." Psyphon 23 said as he bowed before his master. "We have just received a transmission on our encrypted channels."
"Is it about 'persuading' Azmuth to work for me?" Vilgax asked in his gravelly voice.
"No, my lord."
"And like that, you've lost me."
"It is about Ben Tennyson." He waited to see if Vilgax would start shouting threats and anatomically impossible things Tennyson could do to himself, but he merely waved him on. "A contact has asked to work with us in defeating Tennyson once and for all, saying that the time is right. What makes it so strange though, is that apparently I sent that message. From Earth."
Vilgax chuckled. "An alternate version of you. Perhaps, we should grace you with our presence."
Psyphon 23 nodded before pointing at one of the robots piloting the ship. "Captain. Plot a course for Earth. Today, Tennyson will die. And our lord will conquer the universe."
(**/*\**)
"Wonder what's taking them so long?" Issei asked as they stood in the living room, all decked in towels and dressing gowns. They were spending way too long just getting clean. Maybe…
"Don't think like that, Issei you sicko." He told himself off. "They're the same person, just different genders. It's like making out with your sibling."
"You're wondering if they're making out, aren't you?" Rias asked coyly. Issei nearly jumped as she sneaked up on him. What, did Devils have mind-reading powers too? "You've got that worried look on your face. Relax. She can handle herself." At that point, Ben 23 and Bri finally came out of the bedroom. Ben had on what had to be another one of his suits, while Bri had a dressing gown that only came up to mid-thigh.
"About time you showed up." Issei said to her. "I was getting worried."
"What for?" Bri seemed confused. "It's like we're brother and sister over here. No need to worry."
"Alright then." Ben shouted to everyone, now that Issei's worries were put to rest. "Now, there's no alien community on Earth, so Psyphon and his gang should stick out like a sore thumb. Someone out there has got to have seen them."
"In the meantime," Ben 23 interrupted. "I'll have my assistants get you all new clothes."
"What? No. We need to get out there and look for him."
"And you want to do that in just a dressing gown and towels?" Ben hated to admit, but 23 had a point. They were hardly ready to fight anything, and Rias and Akeno were about to blow their towels open.
"Fine." He groaned. "But we need practical clothing. Nothing weird, nothing with streamers. Just the kind of thing that normal people wear."
(**/*\**)
"And apparently, no-one listened to me." Bri finally said as everyone showed off their new looks. Everyone was dressed up in bodysuits, like Henshin characters. Rias had on a bright red that bared a bit of cleavage, while Akeno's was black with long sleeves. Asia wore a dark green with crosses decorating the arms and legs, Koneko had a pure white one, while Kiba wore a silver-and-gold combo. As for Bri, she was still having her clothes made. She yelped in pain as she got pricked by another pin. "And why do we need stylists? Can't we just pick something out from a clothing store?"
"Bri, Bri." Ben 23 said, shaking his head. "It's about style, about presentation. You don't want to get rescued by someone in just jeans and a t-shirt, would you?"
"Considering they'd be spending time saving you instead of trying on fashion, I wouldn't really care." She yelped again as the cold measuring tape was placed against a private area, before the stylist girl finally left with her measurements. "And latex? What's with that? I've never worn latex in my life."
"Don't worry. You're not wearing latex. I think my brain would die if I ever saw you in latex." He gave a shudder as Bri peeked round the side of the modesty screen to glare at him. But she pulled back behind it when Issei tried to have a peek. Not long afterwards, the girl showed up again carrying a box. She quickly went to work, getting Bri changed in record time. Strangely, the outfit looked rather… frilly from where he was standing. And Bri was 'hemming and hawing' like something was bothering her. When the girl stepped out, Bri finally had a look at herself.
"Is this some kind of joke?!" She yelled as she stepped into view. She was now wearing the girliest thing Issei had ever seen. It was bright pink, with little tassels and bows all over, and a large skirt that billowed out farther than her hips. It clashed horribly with her angry expression. Ben was chuckling as he quickly took a picture of her.
"Consider it payback for that prank flirting you did." He laughed. He then gave a yelp as Bri quickly jumped on him, showing that she was wearing shorts underneath. They wrestled for a bit, but Bri won in the end. She held Ben in the crook of one arm and was giving him a noogie in revenge.
"Ok, you've had your fun. Now get me some normal clothes. I refuse to wear this 'thing'." Bri said as Ben yelled in pain.
"Never. I haven't had my full revenge." Ben yelled.
"Alright then. I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice." She flipped him round so that she had easy reach to his feet, before pulling off a shoe and the sock. Ben seemed to realise what was happening.
"No. No, no. Don't do it. Don't do it! This is crossing the line!" Bri ignored him, instead tickling his foot. He yelled, squealed and struggled, but Bri didn't let up. "Ok, ok! You win! I SAID YOU WIN!" Bri promptly let him go, where he rubbed his head in annoyance. "Chloe, get my cousin some normal clothes." He ordered the girl. She nodded before rushing off again to who-knows-where. Bri walked back behind the screen and Issei watched her shadow as she took off the dress. He imagined what it would look like if he was in there with her. It eventually ended with lots of pain. The girl came back, and Bri came out in real clothes. She wore a very short green skirt over a pair of black pants, with a long-sleeved black shirt that covered her midriff. Over the shirt she wore a short green jacket that just covered her chest, and she had a green newsboy cap on her head. It actually looked really good on her. All she needed now was some long hair and she'd be almost a perfect match for B.B (pronounced B2) from Program Curse: Rarouche of the Rebellion.
"This… actually is pretty good." Bri said, sounding surprised. "It's comfortable, modest, and it's not going to get in the way during a fight." She gave a short twirl, looking at herself in a mirror. In the reflection, she finally noticed that Issei was wearing one of Ben's suits. She gave a snort. "I see you didn't bother giving Issei a uniform too."
"Your boyfriend creeps me out." Ben replied. Bri sighed, not even bothering to correct him. "But if you really want me to put him in a skin-tight suit so you can *shudder* stare at him all day, I'll get someone to do it."
"No time. We've waited long enough on this costume stuff. We need to get out there and look for Psyphon. Who knows what he's up to?"
"Don't sweat it." Ben brushed her worries off. "You said this guy was a secretary or something, right? He'll be a pushover."
"You really think Vilgax would've hired him if he was a complete pushover?" Issei noted that Ben shuddered when Bri mentioned Vilgax. He was pretty sure she mentioned him already. An alarm started blaring in the background while Ben rushed off, leaving the rest of them confused.
"Got some suspicious activity over by City Square." Ben told them as he came back. "Cameras spotted a dude with a big shark fin on his head."
"Psyphon." That sounded a lot like the guy from the store. Now they had him.
"Alright then team. Ben 23's Mighty Hero Group, Go!"
Bri groaned at the lame name.
(**/*\**)
Everyone was going about their business in peace when the team landed. They had arrived in a showy gold-and-blue spaceship, all ornate and gaudy. But everyone loved it. If it arrived, then Ben 23 was on-board. As the bay doors opened, cameras flashed while people cheered. The men cheered even louder when the girls stepped off in their skin-tight outfits. Rias and Akeno flaunted their figures, even blowing kisses out to the crowd. Asia and Ben however, tried to stick to the back and hope everyone ignored them. Asia had better luck at that. Even in plain clothing, Ben still stuck out quite a bit. Besides, Issei made sure to stand in front of her. Everyone went wild as they spotted him, only to realise he wasn't Ben 23. But they went wild again as the real 23 stepped into view, waving at his adoring crowd. Ben sighed.
"Ok then, while 23 is signing autographs and stuff, we'll need to spread out. He could be anywhere in the Centre by now. Yuuto, you and Akeno go look northward. Issei and Asia, you two go east. Koneko, when he's finished you'll team up with 23 and go south. Try not to hurt him too much. Rias, that leaves you and me. We'll take the west-side. If you spot the aliens from Mr Smoothy's, use your commlink to contact the rest of us."
"You think they'll be too much for us?" Issei asked.
"All I'm sure about is that 23 might've possibly jinxed us. And if you see a guy with a squid for a head, don't engage him. Vilgax will eat you guys for breakfast. Move out."
"Yes ma'am." They all replied, before splitting up. Akeno floated down the street, giving everyone a great view of her ass, while Yuuto used his speed to seemingly teleport from building to building. Issei and Asia, lacking any kind of super-travel, ran down Central East. Koneko grabbed Ben 23 by the ear, pulling him away from his adoring crowd. Ben quickly grew Big Chill wings, before following Rias through the air. She seemed troubled by something.
"Hey Bri. Can we talk?" She asked.
"Ok, but keep an eye out while you do it." Ben didn't think Psyphon's plans were any real threat, but he was certainly tough to fight. He wasn't sure if their first fight had been all down to Ultimate Spidermonkey's strength.
"I just want to apologise for leaving you in Arrivederci's clutches. You're a valued team-member, and I just abandoned you."
"Huh? Oh, it's alright. Asia told me how he nearly killed Issei by himself. You were just worried that everyone would get hurt trying to save me. I mean, they didn't, but you had a pretty good reason."
"You're not upset?"
"Nah. You see, my Grandpa had me leave Earth to the Incurseans because he didn't want me to die. I would've kept fighting them, but I didn't want to hurt him. And I managed to come back later and kick their asses of my homeworld, so it all worked out in the end." Ben wiped some tears away. They had been so close. He actually had his arm around Emperor Milleous' neck. If it wasn't for those Waybads, they'd have stopped the Incursean Invasion then, instead of a month down the line. Thinking about Grandpa Max made him homesick. "I just wished this big threat I'm needed to fight would just hurry up already so we can kick it's ass and I can go home."
"I've been asking my brother and other lords, but none of them can think of a single threat that would require someone from another dimension. I mean, the Fallen Angels have definitely been up to something sneaky, while there's a few evil dragons around. Those guys would be strong enough to require your help. But until we deal with them, we just don't know."
"I swear, if those gods keep changing my mission I'm going to go Alien X on them and show them what a god can really do."
"I'd pay to see… There!" Rias cried out, pointing at an alleyway. "I saw that chicken-guy just down there."
"Liam." Ben smiled. "This'll be a piece of cake." The flapped down to the alleyway, Ben turning intangible to sneak ahead. Unlike every other time, it felt almost as if he was flying through tar, or treacle, or some other sticky stuff.
Must be because Big Chill's powers are weakened. He thought as he exited through the wall. He needed to be careful if he was going intangible. Hopefully, Psyphon will just assume he's an alternate version of himself. He quickly spotted Liam running further ahead. That stopped when Rias blasted the ground in front of him with her power.
"That's far enough." She commanded. "Surrender or I'll start blasting you." Liam merely grabbed his blaster and started shooting at them. Devil or not, neither of them were bulletproof. While Rias was too busy to retaliate, Ben turned invisible and grabbed Liam from behind, before throwing him into the wall. Rias destroyed his blaster while Ben threw him to the ground and got him into a hold. "You had your chance. Now you will suffer."
"No, he won't." Ben growled. "We don't kill prisoners." Rias hesitated, before nodding and stepping away. "Now talk, birdbrain. Where's Psyphon?"
"Bkaw. I don't know. He said he went on an errand."
"Not good enough." Ben pulled on the hold until Liam started chirping. "Psyphon doesn't just go to the local supermarket for an errand."
"Well actually, he does. Does his own shopping too."
This actually stopped Ben's train of thought. "Wait, what? That…that doesn't make any sense. He's a crime boss that threatens all of Undertown. How the hell does he go out and…"
That was all he got to say. He was so busy being confused, that he loosened his hold slightly. It was more than enough for Liam to break free. He slammed his elbow in Ben's head, before grabbing Rias by the arm and throwing her into the wall. As they laid there groaning, he quickly started running again.
"After him." Ben gritted out, his steps slightly wobbly. He and Rias got moving again, but they couldn't catch up. And as he had ran out into the open, Rias couldn't use her magic without hurting someone. Ben was trying to come up with a plan as they passed a bird-feeder.
Wait. Bird-Feeder. Birdseed. Ben suddenly remembered the first day he met Rook, in Mr Baumann's supermarket. If he was a cartoon character, a light bulb would be flashing over his head.
"I've got an idea. Keep following him. I'll catch up once I've gotten something." He rushed back to the feeder, leaving Rias to give chase.
Hopefully they won't lose him.
(**/*\**)
Rias hoped Bri knew what she was doing. Sure, this was her enemy, but he managed to break out easily after confusing her. Still, it wasn't like she did any better. Her back still ached from getting thrown into the wall. And she could easily keep track of 'Liam' the chicken. Without his blaster, he was reduced to trying tricky manoeuvers to shake her off. Rias gritted her teeth as she narrowly avoided splattering against a building. Where the hell is Bri?
"Oh Liam." She called out, hovering just in front of him. In her hands she held handfuls of birdseed. "I've got something for you."
Surprisingly, Liam actually stopped running. He turned his head sideways and made little clucking sounds. Then he walked closer to Bri and started eating the seed from her hands like a bird. Bri was gritting her teeth in pain, before growing two extra arms and pounding him into the wall. As he flopped to the ground, she dropped the seeds, and blood dripped until she healed it over. She then wrapped Liam up tightly with bandages so he couldn't escape again.
"I can't believe that worked." Rias said in awe. To think that he would fall for such a stupid trick.
"Are you kidding? He'd ignore everything else if there was birdseed around. It's like an addiction." She booted him roughly awake. "Ok Liam. Let's try this again. Where is Psyphon." She grew a Diamondhead blade to get the point across.
"Ok, ok. Bkaw. I'll talk. Psyphon went off to receive his counterpart for this dimension. They were planning on teaming up to kill Ben Tennyson here, and take over Earth."
"Where were they going to meet?" Bri asked. But that question was answered by an explosion thundering from the east. Where Bri sent Issei and Asia. "Aw man." Bri moaned, before tying Liam to a lamppost. "Of all the teams he had to come across it had to be Issei's. Let's go."
Rias thought that was a little rude. Issei was a lot stronger now. But then again, he did seem to just charge in. If Psyphon was considered a threat, then two of them would be some real danger. "Asia here. Me and Issei are in trouble." Asia called over the commlink. "We found Psyphon, but there's two of them. And they're giving Issei a pounding."
"Understood." Bri called back. "Asia, don't reveal yourself until you have no choice. Psyphon will target you if they see you."
"Right. Please hurry."
"Well." Rias said as they took to the air. "At least things…"
"Don't. Say it." Bri growled. "Things always get worse."
(**/*\**)
Dammit. Dammit, dammit. He was the one that sent them east. It's his fault if they get too badly injured. He knew that they had a 25% chance of coming across Psyphon, but that was before he found out he was doing a team-up with his counterpart. As they got nearer, the others came into view. Ben 23 was rolling along as Cannonbolt – Sorry, Rollaway – and Yuuto was moving almost as fast as XLR8. Not much farther, Issei was dodging explosive blasts as he tried not to fall into a burning pile of rubble.
"Why don't you use your Omnitrix, Tennyson?" Psyphon taunted him as he fired off another blast. As Issei jumped away again, he was blindsided by the other Psyphon. This guy was inverted colours, being a black alien with white armour. It actually made him look slightly scarier than normal.
"Yes, Tennyson. Use your Hero Watch." Psyphon 23 said as he stomped on Issei. Issei replied by punching right into a building. From the number of holes there were, Issei had been doing pretty well. As the Psyphons closed in again, they had to dodge as Akeno fired off a powerful bolt at them. The club surrounded Issei, giving Asia a chance to move in and heal him.
"Thanks guys." Issei groaned. "I thought you were never gonna show. Wish I knew what the hell they were saying."
"They think you're Ben 23." Ben replied. "But I always thought that the translators used whatever language the recipient spoke in, instead of just English."
"What? They think that… That's just…" He glared as Ben 23. "You planned this, didn't you?"
"It was an honest mistake." 23 replied, but Ben wasn't sure he was being truthful. "Now, enough talking. Let's kick some butt. And hope the cameras show up in time to catch this."
By now the Psyphons had stumbled back from whatever rubble they had jumped behind. They were now looking at the group with surprise. "You said there was only one hero." 23 growled.
"Bah." Psyphon replied. "These are a bunch of cheerleaders. Besides, we still outnumber them." The rest of Psyphon's gang ran out of alleyways and down the road, until they were all surrounding the Club.
"Ok." Issei said. "Anyone got a plan?"
"Here's your plan. Charge!" Ben 23 cried out as he rolled at the closest bunch of enemies. Rias started frying their blasters while Akeno and Koneko distracted them with constant attacks. Issei quickly rushed Asia to safety, while Ben decided to deal with the Psyphons. Now was a good time to use the Omnitrix. He changed into XLR8, and landed some solid blows on them before one activated a personal shield. Ben felt like he ran into a solid titanium wall.
"Well that's just great." Psyphon 23 said. "You managed to bring over another Tennyson."
"Well, this is why I prefer following Vilgax's orders. It's so much easier to deal with." Ben had a quick look around to see how the others were doing. As expected, the crooks weren't doing so well against Ben 23, who seemed to abandon the remaining crooks to try and break through the shield. Koneko was wrapping a couple up in a car, Yuuto was using his speed to pummel them unconscious, and Akeno was… masturbating to their pain.
"Akeno stop that!" He yelled. "You're going to be on live TV." Akeno pouted, but she removed her hand from her privates. Rias was mainly focused on disarming them or removing their cover. Ben changed into Shocksquatch to try and short-circuit the barrier. It didn't take long for it to fall, but the Psyphons were ready for them. One threw down a device that started pulling the lot of them close together, until they were squished together. As they pulled out blasters, Issei blindsided them with a strong punch. He then grabbed the device and smashed it with his claws. "Good work." Ben shouted, before the lot of them cornered the Psyphons. They tried to get up, but Rias fired a blast to dissuade them.
"It's over, Psy-whatever-your-name-is." Ben 23 gloated. "You've lost."
A series of small earthquakes thundered as more burning cars rained down upon them. Rias and Akeno focused on blasting them, while Ben and 23 got whatever ones they missed. As the smoke started clearing, they finally got a good look at the new combatant.
It was a massive green-skinned alien, with blue veins all over his body. A black bodysuit cover his skin, while massive armoured boots covered his legs. His arms were bared, showing that several black cylinders extended from them. Most notably, he appeared to have a squid for a face.
"On the contrary, Tennyson." He said in a gravelly voice. "The fight's barely started."
Ben 23 was already clutching his face in pain, while Ben 10 gave a loud gulp.
"Oh, this is gonna hurt." He said.
And Vilgax charged in to fight.
(**/*\**)
When Bri mentioned Vilgax, she made it very clear that he was one of her most dangerous opponents, if not the greatest of threats. Issei thought that maybe she was exaggerating. How could one guy with a squid head be the most dangerous guy in a galaxy? Now he knew why.
Vilgax was unstoppable.
Koneko rushed in to strike him head-on, but he proved to be even stronger than her. He grabbed her with both hands and smashed her into the ground. Yuuto used his speed to try and blindside him, but Vilgax raised his arm at the right height, and smacked him back down the street. Akeno fired bolt after bolt, but they didn't even faze him. And while she was occupied with him, one of the Psyphons blasted her out of the sky. Vilgax then used a car to bash her down the street. While this was all going on, Bri was slapping some sense back into Ben.
"Snap out of it, doofus!" She shouted, jumping out of Vilgax's way. "We can beat him."
"No, not Mount Rushmore." Ben whimpered. "Not in the face, not in the face."
"Hey, I got smashed into Rushmore too, but you don't hear me whining about it! Now get moving, or I'll tell all your fans that you were crying like a baby." Ben seemed to snap out of his daze at that."
"Don't you dare, blackmailer. I'll show you." He tapped his watch, flicking through forms until he found the one he wanted. In a flash of blue light, he suddenly grew as tall as a skyscraper. He looked exactly like Way big, only male and with bluer skin. "It's pounding time!" he shouted, bearing down on Vilgax. Even the warlord stopped as Ben's foot was about to smash him. But he merely set his feet deeper into the ground as the rods sunk into his skin. His arms seemed to grow bigger and spikier as he stopped Ben in his tracks. He then punched Ben in the shin hard enough that a loud cracking noise echoed down the street. Ben yelled in pain as he toppled over, changing back into normal. Vilgax stood over his prone form, and readied himself to smash the hero to paste.
"Boosted Gear! Explosion!" Issei yelled as he fired off his beam attack. Vilgax was thrown through several buildings by the sheer power of the blast, causing the rubble to collapse on top of him. Score one for him. Yuuto, having been fully healed by Asia, moved in to pull the hero back to her. Bri was now what she called 'Ultimate Swampfire', made out of what looked like a tree wrapped around blue gel-things.
"Thanks for that Issei." She said to him, patting him on the back. "Now, everyone get ready. Vilgax will be climbing out of that in no time."
"Oh, come on." Issei moaned as Koneko sent a Psyphon flying in the background. "That was a direct hit. There's no way he's getting back up from that." Bri wasn't listening though. She was too busy pushing him out of the way of a giant stone pillar that had been thrown at him. Vilgax jumped high overhead, with shoulder cannons blasting at everyone. Bri merely got behind cover and fire a long stream of blue-ish fire at him. As he landed half blinded, she then threw a handful of jelly from her arm at him. The explosion disorientated him, leaving him vulnerable.
"Now Rias!" She shouted, before getting attacked from behind by Psyphon 23. Rias had been using the time to charge up a blast of magic, so that when they had an opening she could take it. Everyone watched as the large red, pulsating ball of magic slammed into Vilgax, billowing smoke everywhere. During that time, Akeno started frying Psyphon 23 while he was distracted by Vilgax's defeat. With him unconscious, and Psyphon 10 wrapped up by Ben 23, it looked like they had won.
Until Vilgax ran out of the smoke and gave Rias a powerful punch.
"You've got to be kidding me." Issei whined as everyone started moving. What was it going to take to beat this guy? He had to come up with a plan, or something. Koneko and Yuuto were getting thrown around like chew-toys. Guess it was time for the Balance Breaker. "Hey Ben." He yelled, getting Ben and Bri's attention. "Keep him busy. I've got a plan." Bri looked at him, before nodding as she understood. She grabbed Ben by the arm and pulled him closer to Vilgax.
"Hey, squid-face!" She yelled. "I'm gonna kick your ass. As…" She started changing as she ran, becoming a tall, white-skinned alien. "Atomix!"
"Whoa." Ben whispered. "What can that alien do?"
"Allow me to show you. Haa-mee-na, haa-mee-na, haa-mee-na! Fissile Missile!" Her hand glowing with energy, she flew through the air to give Vilgax the punch of his life. But Vilgax charged up his arm again, giving him greater strength to withstand the blow. As the two punches connected, a wave of force blasted out from them. As everyone was buffeted by the force, A Psyphon squealed as Bri slammed into him, leaving a Psyphon-shaped imprint in the road. "Ow." Bri groaned. "He's a lot tougher than I remember." She changed back to normal, panting like crazy. "Please tell me you're ready."
Issei smirked. "Oh, I'm more than ready. Balance Breaker! Scale Mail!" He yelled as red armor covered him, now giving him the appearance of a dragon. At last, they should finally be able to do some damage to this guy. Issei charged for the hole that Vilgax had made when the punch threw him away, with Akeno not too far behind. Ben 23 was busy getting Koneko and Yuuto to Asia, after the pounding they had suffered. Issei was ready for anything!
Anything, it seemed, except for Vilgax rushing out of the hole, grabbing him by his head-tail, and swinging him around to smack Akeno halfway down the street. He then slammed Issei into the ground like a pendulum, smashing him on one side before lifting high overhead and smashing him down on the other side.
"Looks like I'm going to plant myself a dumbass tree, hero." Vilgax cackled before throwing him into a car. Ben charged in as Four-arms, but Vilgax easily managed to match him blow-for-blow. Then he boosted his strength, allowing him to pummel Ben into the dirt. He was raising his fist for the finishing blow when Issei ambushed him from the side. Using his increased strength and speed, he returned the favor from those blows before. But no matter how much he punched, Vilgax just wouldn't go down.
What was it going to take to beat this guy?
(**/*\**)
Ben panted as he watched Issei try to hurt Vilgax. This was unbelievable. He knew that Vilgax had always been his greatest enemy. Hell, he had been more worried about him than Diagon the dimensional god-like conqueror. But he really thought that with the others around they might be able to beat him. But instead, almost everyone was down. Asia was busy healing Rias, Akeno, Yuuto and Koneko all at the same time. Ben 23 was down for the count. And Issei wasn't going to last forever. He remembered him saying that he could only use Scale Mail for a few seconds. His time is running out, and here he is running on empty.
"Come on, Omnitrix." He groaned. "Give me something to work with. Something new." The Omnitrix started glowing, showing a hologram of a scaled warrior alien. Ben shrugged. It wasn't like things could get any worse.
He pressed down on the button.
(**/*\**)
"You don't have much longer." Ddraig warned Issei. He knew he was right. If he timed out while this close to Vilgax, he was dead meat. But everyone else was either too injured or too exhausted. He saw Asia from the corner of his eye panting as she healed their friends. But he had to keep going. If he could hold out for just a bit longer, then the others could get back up and finish this guy off. He groaned as Vilgax slammed him into the ground again.
It was going to take a miracle.
Vilgax stumbled as a bright green blast knocked him away from Issei. Then he grunted as a sexy girl in green, scaly armor started punching away at his legs, knocking him over. With him occupied, the girl rushed back to Issei and pulled him out of the rubble he was trapped in.
"Thanks for that." He said. "That was…" He stopped as he realised who it was. The girl's armour looked exactly like his Scale Mail, but a bright green, and tight enough to show off her curves. Black spikes jutted out from her arms and legs, while she looked at him with red eyes. Her body was decorated with white gems, as opposed to the green he had. Finally, the familiar symbol of the Omnitrix was placed on her chest, just above her boobs. "The fuck?! That is so bullshit!" Seriously, everything he did, Bri could do it even better than him. He knew she meant well, but it just wasn't fair."
"Look." Bri replied. "We beat Vilgax first, and then you can bitch about on the way home. Deal?" Issei sighed. She was right. He should put his ego aside just for this fight. He nodded, before both of them turned to face Vilgax. They dodged as he slammed his fists down on where they had been standing. Then they moved in together.
Against just Issei, Vilgax managed to survive everything he got hit with. Against two, however, things were very different. Everytime he swung to attack one of them, the other would attack him from behind, leaving a deep cut on his body. And still it wasn't enough. But Issei and Bri noticed how he was slowing down after all the abuse they gave him.
"You're almost out of time." Ddraig informed Issei. "If one explosion couldn't stop him, then perhaps two can do the trick. But you need to boost your power again to be sure."
"But I can't wait that long." Issei replied. "We don't have 10 seconds left."
"You don't need to wait, you moron." Ddraig yelled back. "When you're using Scale Mail, you can boost your power at any time."
"And you're telling me this now? This would've been great to know earlier." But he didn't have time to keep arguing. The Mail might deactivate at any second. "Bri! Boost your power and blast him!"
"On it." Bri shouted back. Her gems started glowing brighter and brighter, while her form seemed to flicker slightly. She suddenly charged in, slamming into Vilgax's legs again. Every punch she made caused an echoing crack as his bones fractured. Vilgax yelled in pain as he fell over. Guess her boost was speed, instead of strength. Oh well. This should still work.
"EXPLOSION!" Their armor yelled, as a red orb appeared in Issei's hands and a green one formed in Bri's. Vilgax could only watch as both blasts smashed into him, shattering any surviving windows and fracturing the street for miles. As the blast faded away into smoke, Issei's Mail vanished. He stood there panting from using up all that energy, while Bri stumbled over to him. They started laughing, from stress or surprise he wasn't quite sure. But they stopped as Vilgax's silhouette stumbled out of the smoke. Oh COME ON! What was it going to take to stop this guy?! He took another step, and then another.
And they watched as Vilgax toppled out of the smoke, his body bleeding from dozens of places and his armour shattered. Ben 23 woke up, shook all the rubble off his body, and gave Vilgax a single, weakened punch.
"Ha-ha! Woo!" He yelled weakly as he turned back to normal. "Still the greatest! Ben 23 has saved the day! Who's your…" By now, he had been wobbling dangerously, only to fall into Bri's arms. "…Hero?" Just before he passed out, he looked up at his saviour, paying close attention to the Omnitrix symbol. "I think I need some brain bleach." He said, before fainting away.
"Oh dear." Asia whimpered as she stumbled over to them, the rest of the group not far behind. "Is he hurt? Is he going to be ok?"
"He just got beaten up by the toughest villain I know. He'll be fine once he's slept it off."
"Well now, Bri." Rias said, looking her up and down. "Scale Mail is a good look for you. But how do you have your own?"
"Yeah, that's what I want to know." Issei yelled. "This is totally unfair. She doesn't even have a Sacred Gear."
"I think that… Well, I'm not completely certain, but I'm pretty sure that on the first day, the Omnitrix beeped. Do you remember?"
"Yeah. I just figured it was telling the time or something. But it wasn't was it? You never really explained why it beeps sometimes."
"That's what it does when it sample alien DNA. So I got Fallen Angel DNA from Yuuma, and Devil and Dragon DNA from you Issei."
"That's actually pretty cool. Completely unfair, but cool."
"Don't worry, Issei. I'll stick to my skills unless we need a helping hand. You and your ego will be perfectly safe." Everyone would've started laughing, but they were all too worn out or injured.
Just a regular day for them, really.
(**/*\**)
Ben 10 groaned as he flopped down on the couch in Ben 23's penthouse. Even with Swampfire's healing, everything still ached like mad. Right now, Asia was having a well-deserved rest, while everyone else was patching up anything that she hadn't had enough energy to heal. Ben 23 was currently sleeping off his whole-body ache, and Psyphon and his gang were currently waiting in a special cell Azmuth had prepared for them.
Yes, just Psyphon and his gang. While they had been rounding them up and loading them into a car, Psyphon 23 had somehow grabbed Vilgax 23, and gotten back aboard their spaceship. All that effort, and the Plumbers weren't even able to arrest him. It made everything ache even more.
"So, this 'Azmuth' guy." Issei said as he wandered over, his bare chest covered in bandages. "He's the one that made the Omnitrix, right?"
"Well, if you want to get technical, this Azmuth made the Hero Watch. But yeah."
"So a dimension traveller wouldn't be too hard for him, right?"
"Oh yeah. He helped fix it the last time I was here."
"What happened that time?"
"Hokestar got us stuck here, and Azmuth agreed to help after I got Ben to stop attacking every alien he saw. It turned out that we were pretty much hitting the gas while standing on the brake at the same time."
"Wow. No wonder it didn't work."
"I know." They were interrupted by a gagging sound. As everyone looked around, they spotted Ben 23 over by the doorway, looking very ill.
"Gross!" He whined. "My counterpart's flirting with her boyfriend. Make them stop!" Bri and Issei nearly face-palmed from his behaviour.
"Just how old are you again?" Issei asked.
"15. But I know, he acts like a kid." Bri sighed while Ben kept whining in the background. "Let's just see if there's anything on TV while we wait for Azmuth to be ready." A Bri turned the massive TV on, it showed a news report about a live interview with the 'Ben 10' actor. But the report said they were speaking the 'real' Ben 10.
"Yeah, so when I'm out there kicking bad guys, saving the day and all that, I usually find myself needing a good drink at the end of the day to cool off and unwind." Deefus looked even taller, standing a head higher than the reporter lady. "That's why I always chose to drink at Mr Smoothy's. With a variety of flavours, it'll cater to any cravings I have. And the owner was offering a special, just for the good citizens of Dimension 23." In the background, Solid Plug was waving around a banner with Deefus' face on it. Issei turned to look at how Bri was taking it. Apparently, she was too shocked to do anything but stare at this 'train-wreck'.
She sighed, her head flopping as it rested on the couch. "Let's just go home."
No one argued with her.
(**/*\**)
"Hey there Azmuth." Ben 10 called out as he entered the back area with the traveller. It was better than sitting out there and watching Deefus atomise his reputation by being a sell-out. He knew it was his job, but he could've advertised himself as 'the actor that played Ben 10 on the popular series' or something. "Please tell me you're getting somewhere."
"It's taking a while, no thanks to your friend, Ben 10." He didn't even look as Ben turned blue with shock. "Ben 23 told me the whole story. Honestly, I can't believe they would mess with the Omnitrix like that. According to my scanners, it's been grafted into your body. Well, more so than usual. We'd have to cut your arm off if we ever want to remove it."
"Thanks, but I'll take having it grafted. If I'm going to look like an idiot, I at least want something out of it." Azmuth stopped listening, welding down one last wire.
"There." He said. "Good as new. Hopefully, this 'Hokestar' will keep it completely safe. Now, as soon as the store is sold out, we can get everyone back home to their own dimensions. And you have a choice."
"Me?"
"Yes, you. You can either return home, where my counterpart can try to turn you back to normal, or you can stay with your friends and help stop their menace. But whatever choice you make, it'll most likely be final. There's no way to communicate between such massive dimensions." Ben had a deep long thought about it. Right now, he'd love nothing better than to go home. He doubted Azmuth could really make him male again without a lot of pain, but he could at least make him look less slutty. Plus, who knows what's going on back home. The Plumbers could be neck-deep in bad guys, barely holding onto the planet.
But his friends. They might need him. He didn't think their gods would pull him over if it wasn't serious.
"My friends need me." He answered. "Professor Paradox said that this was important, and he's never steered me wrong. If things were really bad back home, I'm sure he would grab me and bring me back."
Azmuth smiled at him. "And that is why I trust you, Tennyson. Or at least, I trust you more than 23. His heart is in the right place, but his ego keeps getting in the way."
"Hey, do me a favour, would you? Try and get him to stop freezing up against Vilgax. If things go like they did back home, he's going to be fighting him plenty of times."
"I promise." Ben smiled as he and Azmuth shook on it. Satisfied that Ben 23 was in good hands, he stepped back into the main store to see that the last customers were leaving. Psyphon and his gang were covered in water, balloons, and face markers, making them look ridiculous. And the club were all having a laugh as Rassei started electrocuting the lot of them. Ben joined in by using Water Hazard's power to start blasting the crooks right in the mouths, causing everyone to start laughing even louder.
"Hey." Issei said. "We good to go?" Ben didn't say anything as he watched Azmuth leave the store. Azmuth gave him one last look, winking as he left.
"Yeah." Ben finally replied. "We're good to go." And with that, Hokestar got the machine working, and the room shook a little as they travelled through dimensions.
Ben might not be going home anytime soon, but at least he was with friends.
There we go. Finally finished. As I said before, this took a lot of thinking.
And for anyone complaining about Bri having Scale Mail, don't worry. She won't have all of Issei's powers. She'll have the powers of Scale Mail, such as increased strength, speed and toughness. Plus she can boost her speed even more. But because she's not an Evil Piece, she can't use Illegal Move Trident, or the Juggernaut Drive (This is because juggernaut Drive requires a powerful creatures or Heavenly Dragons inside). Likewise, only Issei can use Cardinal Crimson Promotion or Super Gigantic Balance Breaker. Bri has Atomix and Way Big, Issei has Promotion and Breaker. It all balances out.
From today on, my schedule is going to change a bit. I've got a lot of things going on right now (University, work, games to catch up on) along with several other stories I want to start doing. So while I can't promise it, I'll try to release a chapter once every fortnight at the minimum. If there are delays, I am really sorry.
And yes, Program Curse is meant to be Code Geass. And B.B is meant to be C.C (C2). I liked her modest outfit from the show. And I chose to call her B.B to fit with the theme naming, and to stand for Boobs and Butts. DxD is that kind of world. Besides, Geass likes to emphasise C.C's ass almost all the time.
Have a nice time.
Edit: I didn't actually read the Wiki on Devils, so I didn't realise that Devils understand any spoken language, or can be understood. My bad. So I've changed the conversation to remove the translations.