Everything was going so fast.

Ignoring everything leading to Scout abandoning his post on Anur Transyl and coming to Earth, the whole day so far had been hectic. The beach trip was relaxing, sure, but now Scout and his new squad had their hands full with about a dozen new faces, most of them having Ben's face. Wrangling all of them out of the base to get an explanation was one thing but now they were somewhere else entirely and that somewhere may be the future? Scout was very unclear on that. Some older human that sort of looked like Ben– truth be told, Scout wasn't all that great at distinguishing humans yet– had just funneled them all through a portal and set them loose in some Plumber base while he did… Scout wasn't even quite sure what he was doing.

Prime seemed to know what was going on, and that kept a few of the Bens and the two extra Rooks calm. The others seemed a tad bewildered but were rolling with the punches well. Scout's squadmates, on the other hand, were totally out of their depth. Not long ago, they'd transported themselves halfway across the galaxy. That'd been reality shattering but they'd handled it. And now they were in the future? It wasn't all that farfetched, Scout supposed, but it was still something he'd need some time to wrap his head around and that may not be time they had.

"So. We're in the future?" Gwen iterated, glancing between the various Bens, for what felt like the dozenth time.

"Yup," 23 answered, popping the 'p.' He sounded dreadfully bored. Scout couldn't fathom it.

"You get used to it," Prime said a bit more kindly. "Honestly, I'm a bit surprised you guys haven't met a Ben 10,000 already. Or, uh, a Rook 10,000. Wait, have you?"

Ben, the Ben Scout knew, whipped around to gape at Rook. "Have you met a future me? Or a future you?"

"No," Rook told him and Scout couldn't tell if he was annoyed or amused. "I have zero experience with time travel."

"That's really weird, mate," Mad responded and Scout suddenly noticed all the various dimension-hoppers were looking at them. Well, most of them at least. A few were starting to wander off. Part of Scout was tempted to join him but he knew he'd get more information here than by trying to figure things out for himself.

"Yeah, even I've done some time travel stuff," Reboot spoke up. "You sure you haven't seen a future you at some point?"

"I am quite sure," Rook told him dryly.

Albedo cleared his throat. "Actually…"

Rook turned abruptly. "You have met a future me?"

"Well, no. Not exactly. You should ask Azmuth if you want the full story," Albedo told him. "I believe this Rook 10,000, as you call him, has visited us before though."

Scout was immensely curious about that but by the time he got his thoughts together, the group had already begun drifting. Albedo and Malware were looking at Argit's Argitrix, the Bens were off doing whatever Bens did, and Rook was getting pulled aside by the other Rooks. Scout was tempted to join them but he knew he'd be out of place. Scout went wherever Rook went but a Scout in the middle of a gathering of Rooks might be a bit out of place.

Instead, he sought answers.

"Hey, Argit," Scout started, approaching his friends and the rodent alien.

Argit immediately flinched back. "I ain't doing anything, cop!"

Scout couldn't do anything but stare at him in confusion. Albedo, to his relief, chose that moment to speak up. "In what world is Scout a cop?"

"Hello? He's a Plumber?"

"Technically, so are we," Malware piped up, earning a jaw-drop from Argit. Scout didn't correct him. Malware and Albedo could only be considered Plumbers on technicality but then again, the same went for Scout and Rook. "Are we not in your world?"

"You two are some of Prime's biggest baddies. Nearly a constant through the multiverse," Argit told them, sounding simultaneously disappointed and starry-eyed. He shook himself, forcing Albedo and Malware to back up out of fear of getting pricked. "Can't believe you two are red-spots."

Scout didn't really know how to feel about that but he didn't really want to seek out a Ben. "Well, we're on the same side and I wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

Scout tried not to play with his claws. He didn't really expect Argit to be so receptive. Then again, he didn't really know the Argit from his home dimension. How could he expect to know anything about this one? "We got interrupted before Prime could tell us what was going on. And that future Ben said something about Vilgax? And some kind of Paradox?"

"10K."

"What?"

"Ben 10K is future Ben," Argit explained. "Vilgax is-"

"We know who Vilgax is."

"-Vilgax is at the center of a lot of the Ben-on-Ben violence in the multiverse. And Paradox," Argit told him. "There's this evil Ben called Eon, yeah? Looks nothing like him though. Anyway, he's like the worst of Bens. Actual bad dude. Most of the villain Bens are still a guy you could get a smoothie with at the end of the day, you know? Not this guy. Honestly not sure what his intentions are."

So far, Scout was following. Or, the best he could at least. Lots of names being thrown around right now. Lots of the same names, actually.

"Eon… Well, awhile ago he promised Vilgax an army of corrupt Bens. I think that's kind of what Vilgax is interested in the Omnitrix for? Not sure, never really tangled with Vilgax in my dimension." Argit scratched behind one of his ears lazily. "Anyway, I wasn't really there for the whole Eon and his Bens versus Paradox and his Bens but tldr, Prime won and Vilgax got pretty pissed."

"Who's Paradox?" Malware piped up. "Still unclear on that."

"Honestly, not super sure," Argit answered with a shrug. "Some time traveler. Only one guy too, as far as I know. Prime seems to trust him. He's usually sort of a guide during these existential battles. Only, he's captured now."

"What's Vilgax doing exactly?"

"Oh, right," Argit said as if he thought he was finished talking. "When the whole army of Bens thing didn't work out, Vilgax settled for the next best thing: an army of Vilgaxes. He's been hopping around different dimensions snagging them up so Prime, 10K, and Paradox decided to do the same with Bens. Even if we're not exactly on the same page heroics-wise, none of us really want to get taken out by a bazillion Vilgaxes."

Scout nodded slowly, trying to wrap his head around what Argit just told him. It was pretty hard for him to comprehend the scope of it all. Even the Anur System seemed pretty big to him. Hell, it was pretty big. He'd learned that as a pup, when his pack began teaching him about the neighboring planets. The universe was just bigger. He knew that the moment he passed the Anur border and he'd been fully prepared to immerse himself in the life that awaited beyond. But now, Scout was facing something even bigger. An infinite number of universes was…

He must've had some look on his face because Argit said just about the last thing he was expecting. "You don't have to be here, you know."

Scout started. "What?"

"None of you do," Argit continued, waving a paw loosely at Albedo and Malware. "We're recruiting Bens. Omnitrix bearers. You guys don't have to be here if you don't want to."

Scout's tail curled. "If Rook's here, I'm here too."

"Us as well," Albedo piped up. "Though there are a bit too many people to keep track of. Maybe we should split up into smaller groups."

"That's not a bad idea," a new voice said and Scout whipped around to see 10K standing behind him. He tried his hardest not to stumble back. "We'll sort that out later though. Everyone gather around! We finally caught Vilgax's bounty hunters hounding the Bens looking for Rook 10."

A tingling feeling spread through Scout's fur as the words left 10K's mouth. There was someone hunting Omnitrix-bearers in his home dimension? That was a scary thought. How long had they been there? Had they been hunting Rook? How close had they gotten? Had they encountered them already? The Vilgax native to their dimension already had henchmen and bounty hunters. What if their Vilgax was already affiliated with this interdimensional citadel?

"Who was it?" Rook– not Scout's Rook, it took him a moment to realize it was Rook Prime– asked as the Omnitrix-bearers and their allies gathered closer. There were a few new faces Scout didn't recognize but he tried not to let himself get distracted. "The Sotoraggians? Khyber? Vreedles?"

"See for yourself," 10K said, holding up a pair of egg-like devices. It wasn't hard for Scout to piece together that they were some kind of egg-shaped holding devices. The future had some pretty advanced shrinking tech, apparently. Being as close as he was, Scout was in the perfect position to get a good look at them. "It was a Tetramand and an Uxorite."

"Luna Lobo! Let them out!" Scout cried out upon seeing the figures through the transparent lids of the containment spheres. His claws lashed forward on instinct, trying to snatch them away, but 10K was faster, pulling his hands back and out of Scout's range. The desperation bubbling up from Scout's belly was too much for him to give up though. "That's Bahrvad and Xylene!"

"Wait, Xylene?" Prime murmured, sounding thoughtful. Scout barely heard him.

"Those are not Vilgax's henchmen," Rook explained a bit more calmly. A lot more calmly, actually. Scout would be a bit embarrassed by his reaction if he weren't so focused on retrieving the containment spheres. "Those are our teachers. They were tasked with protecting the Omnitrix. They were the ones that hid Scout and me in the Anur System when our Vilgax was freed from the Null Void. We thought they went missing."

"Wait, the big red guy and the green lady?" Mad spoke up. "They're friends of yours? They were chasing us all over your dimension for weeks."

Scout snatched forward again, catching 10K off-guard this time, and managed to get the eggs into his paws. Swiping a claw over what he assumed was the locking mechanism, Scout tore the devices open and his mentors were thrown into the room in a surge of white energy. "Xylene! Bahrvad!"

"Scout!" Bahrvad sounded surprised to see him. And disoriented, but that made sense. Being shrunken and re-enlarged couldn't have been easy. He was on guard in a heartbeat though. "Get behind me! These are Vilgax's goons! He's got some sort of cloning tech."

"Clones?" one of the Bens echoed. Scout wasn't sure which one. "Haven't heard that one."

"Shockingly, never been cloned," Prime said, sounding amused. "Unless you count Albedo."

"What?" Albedo clambered up onto Malware's shoulder so he could get a better look at the room. He shook his head, deciding to ignore Prime's comment. "Xylene, Bahrvad, these people are not with Vilgax. I know this sounds crazy but they are a collection of Omnitrix-bearers from different dimensions set on defeating their Vilgaxes."

"That does sound crazy," Xylene responded, voice hard and dry, "but I guess I'm looking at the evidence of it right now. Who are all these people anyway? I see a couple of Blonko's but I'd expect a few more if this was every Omnitrix-bearer."

"Apparently, I'm an abnormality," Rook spoke up levelly. "Normally, the person who finds the Omnitrix is-"

Rook was interrupted by an angry growl erupting from 10K's throat. The man threw his hands up before burrowing his face in them. He was frustrated. Scout would be able to tell that blind and deaf. "We wasted so much time."

"What?"

"While the other Bens got Rook, Paradox and I went after the Tetramand and Uxorite," 10K explained, not quite looking up. "We got ambushed by Vilgaxes. That's how Paradox got captured. I thought getting these two was a win that'd help us get him back but we just wasted all our time in Rook 10's dimension on a wild goose chase that ended with Paradox getting captured."

"We can get this Paradox fellow back, surely," Albedo spoke up, sounding a bit bewildered. Or maybe he was just uncomfortable. It was hard to tell with Albedo. He wasn't usually the comforting type anyway. "If you have the power to travel between-"

"No, you don't get it." 10K finally looked up from his hands. "Paradox was our main source of interdimensional travel. Time travel too. And now Vilgax has him. That means-"

As if on cue, a boom sounded outside. Unease ripped through the room. They all knew what that was.

"Okay, okay. Geez." 10K pinched his brow. "I got- Gwen. My Gwen. Pass out as many Null Void encapsulators as you can."

"They work like Pokéballs," a man that looked like an older version of Kevin jumped in. "You can just throw them at them but they work better if you beat the shit out of them first."

"Right." 10K didn't even scold him for saying something like that in front of a group of kids. Scout didn't know if that was the type of relationship they had but he was so used to humans censoring each other that the fact 10K wasn't was telling. "Um, Albedo suggested teams. I- I'll take Kai, Malware, and Tetrax. Big hitters."

"I've got Reboot, Nega, Bad, and Zarro," Prime piped up. "I'll keep an eye on them."

Those Null Void eggs floated into the room surrounded by the glow of telekinetic mana as the future Gwen reentered. "Other Gwens, you're with me."

"Scout, you and your Ben and Kevin are with me," Rook Prime said, making Scout jolt at his name. He'd prefer to be with his own Rook but there was some comfort in being with a Rook, and two of his friends from his home dimension to boot.

"Rook 10, Mad, Argit, both 23s," the future Kevin called, "you're with 'ol 11K."

"I'll stay here with Eunice, Ship, Albedo, and Zed," No watch spoke up, only to be quickly countered by Albedo.

"No, Ship can provide air support. We noncombatants can still help. We'll be overhead."

"Alright." 10K didn't argue. In fact, he was already dialing up his Omnitrix. "Everyone out!"

And with that, all the Omnitrix bearers transformed and smashed through the window, launching themself into the city below.

Free fall.

Rook didn't find himself in it much. It was thrilling though. He'd been hesitant when the other Omnitrix-bearers threw themselves out the something-dozenth story of 10K's tower but he understood it now. Something about having the Omnitrix in hand, knowing he could transform out of his vulnerable body in a heartbeat, as he plummeted toward the cement sent excitement coursing through his body.

Normally, Rook hesitated when he had to transform. He thought his aliens through. Did he need power? Was Four Arms going to hit hard enough or did he need to immobilize them with Terrorsaur? Did he need speed? Could XLR8 run laps around them or did he need Snare-Oh to trip them up? Was he fighting multiple opponents? Would Kringl's summons be able to keep the crowd distracted while he took on the big bad or did he need Slapback's power split between every foe? Not now though. Now, the transformation came on instinct.

He needed power. More power than Terroraur or Four Arms could provide. This was the fight of his life and he knew exactly who to pick.

"Pumpkin King!"

Rook made sure to take a quick note of who transformed into who. 23 was Nighty Knight, his version of Pesky Dust. Rook 23 was Hypnolick, Big Chill's predator. Argit was- well, he was firing his quills and then he was Canonbolt. 11K… Well, Rook hadn't known 11K could transform but he turned into some sort of amalgamation of Omnitrix aliens, one that looked plenty strong too. They were a solid unit. The 23s could hypnotize their foes and Argit and 11K could knock them down.

None of them came anywhere close to Pumpkin King's size. He hadn't transformed into him since that first time but now, he could feel that deep power coursing through him again as he grew from his usual human-sized Pumpkin Head into the towering monster that was Pumpkin Head. Earthy energy spread through his body, setting each and every vine ablaze as they expanded. Fire surged inside him, lighting his skull right up. Soon, he was even taller than the tower he'd leaped out of.

To his surprise, so was Mad.

The name Plantapocolypse came to mind, thought Rook wasn't certain he'd ever heard it. The alien seemed similar to Pumpkin King, only with a far friendlier face. He started as a tiny potted stalk but he quickly began growing, using viney limbs to tear chunks of the tower off as they fell, forcing bite after bite into its tiny mouth until it wasn't so tiny anymore. The little plant swelled, tendrils and leaves growing long and thick. By the time Pumpkin Head's feet and Plantapocolypse's pot hit the ground, they were roughly the same size. Except, Plantapocolypse was still growing. Still consuming.

There were ships in the sky, rippling into existence around them. No, they weren't just appearing. Something was bringing them here. The mothership! Pumpkin King could see it. It was hard to miss, being bigger than the rest. The new coming ships were spawning near it. At his size, Pumpkin King could probably ground it but he wasn't sure if that would solve the problem. He was too far anyway. He spotted 10K and Prime flying toward it, their teammates close behind, and figured they had it handled. Pumpkin King could still do plenty of damage from here.

With an outstretched hand, Pumpkin King smacked a ship clean out of the air and into the city below. Another squad could fight the Vilgaxes that crawled out of it. With his other hand, he snatched another and tossed it in Mad's direction. Plantapocolypse sucked it down greedily, chewing with a sick glee as his body continued to grow. Pumpkin King took a few steps away. If Plantapocolypse kept growing, he didn't really need Rook in his space.

Pumpkin King took out a few more ships this way before the Vilgaxes seemed to decide he was too much of a problem to leave unchecked and took it upon themselves to take him down. A few tried scaling his feet. He shook those ones off easily, or stepped on them if he noticed them before they got too close, but a few of them weren't so unlucky. Those ones could fly.

About a dozen Vilgaxes swarmed him. One fired red beams from his eyes, forcing Pumpkin King to block it with an arm. He grunted in pain as the lasers scored deep marks in his arm. With his other, he swatted out, forcing the Vilgax's attack to cease, but another just took his place, this one with ice breath. His arm burned where it had been hit but now it burned in an entirely different way. Hot and cold weren't a good combination. Pumpkin King decided to respond with a roar of fire, a massive stream jetting from his mouth and charring a whole wave of Vilgax's around him.

Hypnolick– Rook 23– hovered around him, hypnotizing a couple stragglers. 11K beat them down pretty quickly, sealing them away in those Null Void capsules, sometimes even multiple in one egg. That couldn't have been comfortable. They were steamrolling through them though. For awhile at least. They had to timeout eventually.

Argit didn't. He had Master Control. Mad didn't either. Plantapocolypse must've been one of those aliens that couldn't timeout under certain conditions. Rook, 23, and Rook 23 could though and the three of them were soon thrown back into their Revonnahgander and human forms respectively. Three weak, fleshy bodies in a sea of Vilgaxes.

"Timeouts over here!" 11K called loudly. "Get us some cover!"

A lot of Bens were time out about now but not all of them were. Those who weren't switched to the defensive. None of them timed out heroes were just going to sit idly though. They couldn't, even if they wanted to. There were just too many Vilgaxes to avoid them.

Plantapocolypse shifted his lower vines, creating a canopy of cover but it wasn't airtight. A few Vilgaxes got through. Rook 23 threw himself at them readily, protecting 23 without a second thought. Rook, shockingly, found himself doing the same.

Rook 23 was fierce. He was wild. He screamed and he clawed and he bit. Rook didn't. He wasn't like that. He was a farm boy, born and raised, and he was a Plumber, honed and trained. That wasn't his nature. There was still something about him that didn't feel typically Revonnahgander though. As he weaved under a swing from a nearby Vilgax, he realized it was that he wasn't afraid.

The Vilgax before him didn't have laser eyes. He didn't have ice breath. He couldn't fly. He was strong, enhanced like most Vilgaxes were, but he wasn't… He wasn't unique. He was just the run-of-the-mill Vilgax. Like Rook's. That really put things in perspective.

Rook had fought Vilgax before. Before today, that is. He'd been beaten by him before, badly too. Enough that it uprooted his entire life. He'd only defeated him once and it was with a trick. Since then, Vilgax was always the bar that Rook could never reach. The heat sent him back to his time on his ship, suffering as he awaited his fate at Vilgax's hand. Anytime he fought a Tetramand or Apoplexian, he was afraid he'd be beaten into the ground like Vilgax had so long ago. When Ben and the Plumbers came to him for help, Rook had been afraid. He'd been afraid he couldn't beat him. He hadn't before. The Omnitrix was strong and so was Rook but even together they weren't enough. Vilgax would always be there in the distance. Looming. Waiting for the day he found Rook in his claws again.

The multiverse was full of Vilgaxes. Vilgaxes who were much more powerful than the one Rook knew. They'd done terrible things to the universe and to the Omnitrix-bearer. The Omnitrix-bearer fought him again and again and Vilgax just. Kept. Hurting. Him.

Rook's Vilgax had never done that. And now, after punching down dozens of Vilgaxes far more powerful, he seemed tiny. This Vilgax before him, whether he be the one Rook had fought all those years ago or one he'd never seen before that just happened to look remarkably similar, was tiny. He was nothing. Rook, on the other hand, was something. Maybe even everything.

He was a universal constant. He was an Omnitrix-bearer. He was meant to be and the existence of an Omnitrix in every dimension confirmed it. He wasn't another copy though, not like Vilgax. He was Rook Blonko. Rook 10. The only Rook Blonko with an Omnitrix. That made him pretty unique, didn't it? The only thing that made his Vilgax unique was that he was, well, his.

Rook's Omnitrix lit up, the dial glowing green, but Rook didn't bother touching it. Building up power in his strong Revonnahgander legs, lean and muscular from a childhood leaping through the mountains and teenhood training with the best Plumbers the universe had to offer, Rook launched himself upward and boxed the Vilgax he was fighting clean in the head. He didn't wait to see if he was knocked out. It didn't matter. 23 had a capsule to put him in and Rook didn't need the satisfaction of seeing him defeated. He just needed to get back out there and keep putting the beat down on these Vilgaxes.

"Terrorsaur!"

Once, Terrorsaur made him nervous. The alien was savage. It scared the people he loved. He couldn't control it. But now, riding the calm he'd felt when he'd defeated a Vilgax with his own bare hands, Rook felt in complete control. Psychic power radiated from him, power Terrorsaur definitely didn't have before. His hallucinations swept the minds of the Vilgaxes. He locked them in their minds and knocked the rest to the ground with the sheer force of his mind. He didn't even need to use his wings and claws to take them down.

It was so… easy.

No, it wasn't easy. He was fighting hard. The others too. But he'd fought hard against Vilgax and lost. He'd been hopelessly outmatched back then, even with Shar, Wat-Senn, and Tetrax at his side. He'd grown since then but that wasn't why he was doing so well in this battle today.

A Vilgax slammed into him, tackling him to the concrete. As they fell, Terrorsaur craned his neck around, all eight eyes meeting this Vilgax's, and he tore his mind apart. Reaching deep inside, he pulled everything he could find out as hard and fast as he could. The Vilgax was defeated before they hit the ground.

Terrorsaur threw the Vilgax off him into another one as he pondered what he'd seen. Vilgax was just some guy. He was just someone that fought the Omnitrix-bearer in every dimension. He was ambitious but nothing that would make him stand out in a crowd. Learning of the Omnitrix sparked even more ambition into him, ambition intense enough to make him grow dangerous. But that was all Vilgax had. He had ambition and it wasn't even his own.

The Omnitrix timed out again and Rook was too far from Plantapocolypse to take cover again. That was okay. Rook wasn't afraid. He was confident, maybe to the point he was overconfident. He took a few hits, hits harder than he would've liked. He didn't have Proto-Armor like Rook Prime did. But Proto-Armor was a part of Rook Prime. The Omnitrix was part of Rook 10. Even if it wasn't activated, it changed him in ways these Vilgaxes couldn't compare to.

A sonic blast knocked a Vilgax away right before he body slammed him. Rook turned to see Scout nearing him. His own team wasn't far behind, about the same distance Rook was from his own team. Scout was grinning. "Don't get cocky there."

"I know." Rook wanted to tell Scout what he'd learned. That Vilgax, their Vilgax, was nothing. That he was nothing to be afraid of. But Scout was right. Now wasn't the time to get caught up in the realization. Vilgax was still plenty strong and there were hundreds of them here. He couldn't afford to get reckless. "Diamondhead or Archfiend?"

"You already did fire and it's not like Tetrax is here," Scout pointed out, making his choice. Rook transformed and the two went back to back, sonic blasts and peranite shards ripping apart the Vilgax's around them. So close to his friend though, Rook could tell Scout was getting tired. That made him realize he was running out of steam too. The spirit was strong but muscles tired. They couldn't keep this up forever.

To his luck, a glance upward to shoot a Vilgax out of the sky gave him a glimpse of 10K and Prime leaving the mothership, a figure he didn't recognize in tow. Diamondhead grinned. "Scout, give them a howl. Let them know it's over."

"I can't howl that loud. You know that. We're covering a whole city."

Diamondhead's grin didn't falter. Angling a fist toward the sky, he shot a shard of peranite at nothing. "My crystals reverberate sound."

Scout didn't miss a beat. He knew exactly what to do in an instant. Just before the shard reached its peak, his muzzle split open and he let out a howl, letting it echo deep in his chest and erupt out of him for the world to hear. It struck the crystal, sending soundwaves over the battlefield. Prime and 10K, both in forms Rook didn't recognize, descended upon that spot, holding a man that could only be Paradox between them.

"This has gone on long enough!" Paradox announced, voice carrying surprisingly far. The fighting around him stopped. "Vilgaxes, each Omnitrix-Bearer issues a Conqueror's Challenge for their home dimension."

"What's a Conqueror's Challenge?" 23 asked, wandering to Rook and Scout's side.

"It is a protocol for interplanetary wars," Rook explained, returning to his Revonnahgander form. His Omnitrix still had plenty of charge left but he didn't need to be a Petrosapien right now. "It is a trial by combat between the greatest warrior of the attacking race and the planet under attack. In this case, I believe Paradox is attempting to establish each of our home dimensions as safe from attack through one on one battles."

"There are way more Vilgaxes here than Bens though," 23 pointed out, any of that usual immaturity from his voice long gone. "What about their dimensions?"

"There's probably a reason they're here and their Bens aren't," 11K pointed out, drifting over. He too had returned to his human form. 23 didn't respond, sealing his lips with an expression Rook couldn't read on his face.

"We accept," a Vilgax said, one indistinguishable from the rest. 10K nodded and dialed up a new alien into his Omnitrix.

"Warp!"

"You guys should probably help out," 11K pointed out but 23 shook his head.

"Only Bens with Master Control can turn into Warp. He's too powerful for a new Omnitrix user to control."

"I can turn into Warp," Rook said before he realized the words had formed in his mouth. A new Omnitrix bearer couldn't turn into Warp? Rook had unlocked Warp in his second wave of aliens though. Had Azmuth just trusted him? He doubted it. Azmuth didn't decide these things. This was something else. Something grander. Something to think about later. Dialing up the alien, Rook joined the others. "Warp!"

Argit, having Master Control unlocked, transformed into Warp as well. The two teleported high into the sky, somehow suspending themselves beside 10K. They made eye contact, something unspoken spreading between them, and teleported. No, they warped.

Rook had teleported before. He'd teleported to Earth. He'd teleported short distances at the Academy training with Xylene. This was the first time he'd truly warped though. It was like he and the other Warps were on the same brain wave. A single thought was shared between them and their power bled together, twisting and molding the world around them to their will. It was bizarre and profoundly difficult yet it felt as easy as breathing. Maybe this was why 23 had said Warp was too much for a new Omnitrix-bearer. Rook was always nervous using Warp's power. He felt dangerous. This was his first glimpse as to why though.

The world spiraled around them, the bodies around them rippling and pinwheeling as the city was drained of its color and something new began pouring in. Bodies moved, reshuffling and rearranging. Reality distorted on every level. Time and space flipped itself inside out. And then it just snapped, like a rubber band snapping back into place. Only, they weren't in Bellwood anymore. They were on Khoros. An abandoned Khoros.

Rook wanted to look around for Bahrvad. The Tetramand never spoke of his home planet, save that time he told him how he joined the Plumbers. He wanted to see the look on his mentor's face when he learned of the future fate of his homeworld. That was unimportant right now though. Completely and utterly unimportant. The part that mattered was that there was a Ben and a Vilgax in each and every gladiator ring in the late Red Wind empire and that Vilgaxes filled the stadiums around them.

Scout was on the sidelines. So were the rest of their friends from their home dimension. Warp– Rook– didn't need to look to know that. He'd put them there. Not consciously but he had. Even if he hadn't, he knew they would be there. Scout, Albedo, Malware, Ship, Tetrax, Ben, Gwen, Kevin, and Eunice were what made him love being an Omnitrix-bearer. More importantly, they made him love being alive. He loved them and they loved him. They would always stand at his side and when they couldn't, they would be pillars for him to lean on.

Vilgax stood before him but Rook didn't recognize him. It was his Vilgax, he knew. This was the Vilgax he'd fought the day his village discovered he was alien. The sight of him didn't fill him with fear though, not like he expected it to all those years at the Academy and hiding on Anur Transyl. It wasn't surprising though, not after the revelation during the battle moments ago. The Vilgax he knew was nothing. Rook wasn't.

"Conqueror's Challenge?" Vilgax hummed, his face twisted into something sinister. "Oh how I wish I'd declared that when I first went to your measly farm planet. Puny as it may be, all that amber ogia would've made my plan come to fruition much easier."

Paradox's voice echoed through the colosseum, declaring that the challenge had begun, but Warp didn't hear him. Swinging his scythes toward Vilgax, he knew it was time to bury all that old trauma. Rook had already fought this battle and fear had lost. Vilgax was no one to revere or be afraid of. After today, Rook would never hold him on that pedestal again. He was something. Vilgax was nothing.