I'm gonna start this note by saying that I am SO sorry for how long this took! There are a number of reasons for it, but the biggest of those was that I just simply lost interest in Ben 10 for a while. It was still there, but sort of as a background interest, so I didn't have much motivation to work on this until recently. Anyway, I'm very happy to present the next chapter! The story should be wrapped up in the next chapter.
It had been a few hours since they had taken off, and they had all settled in for the fairly long flight. At first, Ben had thought it was going to be a nightmare thanks to the Osmosian, but thankfully, Gwen had told him to lay off the jokes after the first few. Since he had little else to do, didn't dare disobey his girlfriend, and wasn't the pilot for once, he dropped off, somehow sleeping heavily without any issues despite the uncomfortable position.
Gwen had brought along plenty of study material, both for school and for her magic, so she took it as a chance to review for the test she'd have to make up when she got back. Rook had busied himself with a book the Anodite had suggested, making sure to glance at the controls every few pages to be sure they were still on course.
Ben had decided he'd take a nap as well, mostly because the Necrofriggian had decided that's what it would spend the flight doing and that left him with little else to do considering the baby had made his chest its bed. He'd set the seat back at a slight angle so he could lay down and he eventually fell into a light sleep.
Rook finished reading the chapter in the book before he looked up at the controls. He smiled when he saw they were nearing their destination. Closing the book, he turned to relay the information to his partner, only to stop when he saw that the teenage hero had actually fallen asleep with a hand placed protectively over the sleeping alien. Rook couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight. "Gwendolyn," he called softly to the girl behind him. When she looked up from her book, he nodded his head towards Ben.
Gwen couldn't help the grin that spread across her face when she looked at her cousin. "Aw!" she cooed quietly, leaning her head into her hand. "Aunt Sandra has to see this." She snapped a picture and sent it to her aunt, but just as she went to put her phone away, something caused the ship to rock violently, startling the other occupants out of their slumber.
The moment Ben's mind registered that something was wrong, his arm automatically wrapped around the now terrified larva and pulled it closer to his chest. In response, it buried its head into his torso and clung to his shirt, whimpering fearfully. "Rook, what's going on?" he looked to his partner for an answer, concern evident on his face.
"I do not know," he replied, already examining the ship's instruments for information. "It looks like we have been hit, but-"
Before Rook could finish, the ship's holographic display popped up and began projecting an image. "Tennyson!" Attea's voice filled the cabin as her face appeared before them on the projection. "I thought that was you!" The princess-slash-general pulled away from the camera and straightened herself up, frowning at the group.
"Attea?!" he cried with surprise. The Incurseans were the last species he expected to see there. After all, Kylmyys isn't much of a prize to conquer. Plus, he wasn't even sure if they could use the planet due to its arctic temperatures.
"That's Attea?" Kevin cut in, sounding incredulous.
"She was a lot… smaller the last time we saw her," Gwen remarked, a tad confused herself. It had only been a year, but the Incursean princess looked like she had aged by several years in that time.
"Not all species age the same, primates!" she snapped in response. Suddenly, her frown deepened when she spied something she hadn't noticed before. She whipped around, baring her teeth at someone offscreen, and yelled, "I thought I told you to make sure none of those little bugs escaped!"
A sense of dread began to creep up Ben's spine when he heard what she said, and he drew the creature just a little bit closer. He really hoped she didn't mean what he thought she meant.
"We-We did, General Attea," the quivering voice of a terrified soldier could be heard off to the side.
"Then why's one sittin' in Tennyson's lap?!" she snarled, pointing to the screen as if the soldier could see.
And just like that, the blood in his veins froze and his heart sunk to the very pits of his stomach. They were capturing Necrofriggians, and his had probably been scooped up with others. Why else would just one of the flock come back to Earth? "Do you have the rest of them, Attea?" he asked sternly, expression hardened.
The general returned her gaze to the screen, a self-satisfied smirk replacing her frown. "Someone lend you a few brain cells, Tennyson? You're more observant than usual," she mocked, making the boy's frown deepen even more. "Tell ya what. You can keep that one if you and your friends high-tail it outta here and pretend you didn't see a thing."
"Do you really think that's going to work?" Kevin asked, clearly unimpressed by her attempt to shoo them off.
"No, but at least I can say I tried," she shrugged her shoulders. "I'll give you a few minutes to think it over. If you ain't gone by then, you're all space dust." The hologram cut out as she ended the transmission, leaving Ben to glower at the space where her face had been.
"That's cold, even for Incurseans," Kevin remarked lowly after a moment of silence. They had all come to the same conclusion: Attea currently held the rest of the flock, and it was likely she had even more Necofriggians imprisoned onboard. They didn't have any idea as to why, but that didn't make a difference, especially to Ben.
His panic and horror had settled very quickly into a quiet rage. He didn't know what she had planned for the other thirteen or any other Necrofriggians aboard her ship, but he wasn't going to wait to find out. He reluctantly removed his arm from around the larvae to dial up an alien on the Omnitrix. He didn't even look at the icon before he pressed down. The bright green light dimmed, leaving Big Chill in his place once again.
The Little Chill looked up at its parent, its already wide eyes growing bigger with shock. The larger Necrofriggian turned intangible, allowing the larva to pass through him so that it rested on the seat, before he stood up, returning to his normal solid state. He turned to face the infant, crouching down and reaching out to stroke one of its antennae. "Stay here, little one," he told it before unfurling his wings and taking off.
"Ben, wait!" Gwen called out, standing up to stop him. But it was too late. He had already phased through the hull of the ship, leaving the others behind. "Not good," she sighed, her gaze lingering on the spot where her cousin had phased through.
Inside the Incursean Super Destroyer, two soldiers stood at attention on either side of the entrance to one of the holding areas. Given how long they'd been standing around doing nothing but watching the empty hallway, it would make sense for their alertness to be dulled. And it had until Attea relayed a message to everyone aboard that Tennyson was currently in the area and would probably board the ship. After hearing that, they had perked right up, now anticipating a little action. No doubt everyone aboard was also on high alert now.
Unfortunately, the two were so fixated on the hall in front of them that they didn't expect an attack from underneath. Freezing air rushed up from directly underneath them, encasing them in a thick layer of ice before they could even cry out. Big Chill came up through the floor and wrapped his wings back around his body. He passed between the two frozen guards silently and phased through the door.
The holding area was large, a lot more so than the ones on the other Destroyers. Incurseans manned consoles that lined the walls, and in the center of the room was a massive tube with several more control panels attached at the bottom. Inside the containment tube were dozens of young Necrofriggians of varying sizes and ages, all fluttering about in the open space they were allowed.
So far, he hadn't been noticed. Every frog was glued to their console. The closest one was standing in front of the tube, back turned to him and his attention directly down at a pad of some sort. Remaining as quiet as possible, he floated forwards, planning to knock him out before he even knew he was there.
As he approached, the pitiful squeaks and whimpers from the infants quieted as they took notice of him. Once it dawned on them that help had arrived, they began chittering excitedly, much to the annoyance of the Incurseans. One in particular gritted his teeth and whirled around in his chair, yelling, "Hey, you wanna shut those-" He abruptly cut himself off and his eyes widened when he saw Big Chill. "Tennyson!"
The one closest to the tube spun on his heel to find his opponent, but he was met with a fist before he ever even saw the Necrofriggian. He hit the floor with a painful thud, and he didn't make a move to get back up.
It hadn't taken long for the others to abandon their stations and scramble for their weapons. At least three of them were now aiming their blasters at him with several others soon to follow once they were finished loading. The three opened fire, clearly not caring how close he was to the containment tube. They might need the little bugs, but surely Attea would forgive them if they brought her Ben Tennyson.
"No!" Acting quickly, Big Chill plunged his intangible claws into the floor. Ice crept from them, covering the floor until it was behind the tube, where a thick sheet of ice suddenly burst upwards, shielding him and the infants from harm.
With them out of harm's way, he set his sights on the soldiers. He flew around the side of the wall and shot toward the frogs. They began firing again only for each blast to go straight through their target. As he neared, he aimed for the small space between the soldiers, flexed his claws, and extended his arms. His claws made contact with the devices, easily sliding right through them. Ice quickly sprouted from where they'd been slashed until they were coated and useless. Before the frogs could react, he returned to his solid form, grabbed them by their heads, and slammed them together roughly.
Rather than letting them fall to the ground, he lifted them up and tossed them at a cluster of other soldiers, who'd just aimed their blasters at him. They only managed to lower their weapons before the unconscious Incurseans slammed into them, sending them all crashing down to the floor and sending their blasters skidding.
The distinct ribbit sound of a frog blaster attracted Big Chill's attention, and he dodged the energy blast in the nick of time. He aimed a glare at the soldier who had fired it, and the frog's fierce expression faltered, briefly morphing into one of fear. The Necrofriggian took a deep breath and sent a blast of frigid air the Incursean's way, freezing him solid.
"Don't move!" Big Chill followed the voice to find a single soldier standing beside the tube, his blaster aimed directly at it. "Wouldn't want one of these little bugs hurt, would you?" a nasty little smile spread across his froggy features.
A hiss escaped the Necrofriggian as he narrowed his eyes at the soldier, hands balling into fists. "Big mistake," he practically spat the words. He pressed one foot to the floor, and a line of ice began to beeline for the soldier at a pace so rapid that he couldn't react. Before he knew it, the ice had reached him and jutted upwards suddenly, knocking his blaster into the air. Cradling his hand, he returned his attention to Big Chill, only to find him gone. As the soldier scanned the room, a sense of dread gradually growing as he did so, the Necrofriggian suddenly rose from the floor behind him, swiping his intangible claws through him. With frost encasing his body, Big Chill grabbed the Incursean to pull him close. "Don't you ever threaten them again," his tone was as icy as his breath, and it chilled the soldier to his very core. With a grunt, he hurled the frog at the wall. He collided with it, causing the ice to shatter, and slumped down on the floor, groaning.
He took a moment to glance around the room to make sure everyone was dealt with before he went back over to the front of the containment tube. Once there, he paused to finally take a good look at them. There were maybe thirty of them locked up, and they ranged in age quite a bit. Thankfully, they all looked to be old enough to phase through the hull to escape. His expression twisted just slightly with confusion when he noticed none of his were actually there. They had to be elsewhere on the ship, but before he could look for them, he needed to set these ones free. Taking a breath, he blasted the front panel with his freezing breath, icing it over. Electricity overtook the device briefly before smoke rose from it. The tube hissed as the center split and opened up. The young Necrofriggians gladly flew through the opening, trilling and purring with delight.
The group flocked over to Big Chill, gradually gathering around him. "Go," he pointed towards the outer wall that would lead them directly to space. "Get away from here." The infants followed his order without question, and soon they had all phased out of the ship. Now, all he needed to do was find the rest of them.
Attea sat in her raised captain's chair with a very bored expression, her head resting in her hand and legs crossed. Truth be told, she wasn't very happy with this mission. It was as dull as they come. Snatch a few helpless bugs out of space and stick them in a containment unit they couldn't escape from. No fighting was necessary, which meant there was no fun to be had. She hated it, but Milleous insisted it would prove useful during their conquest of Earth. After all, having the infamous Ma Vreedle helping them would only further secure their victory and put them in her good graces.
All around her in the brig were soldiers at their workstations making sure things were running smoothly, and among them was Raff. The advisor was at the communications section of the main control unit, speaking into a frog-themed microphone. "Custody cell two, this is the head of the ship. Your hourly report is due." He lifted his finger off the button, waiting for a voice to come through his speaker, but it never came. "Hello? Custody cell two, do you read me?" Still, there was no response.
He sighed, replacing the radio where it belonged and mentally preparing to tell Attea the bad news. She had a short fuse as is but missions she considered boring tended to set her on edge even more.
Raff approached her and cleared his throat, gaining her attention. "General Attea, it appears we-" He stopped immediately when he saw her expression twitch with disapproval. As much as he wanted to roll his eyes, he stopped himself, knowing it would only land him in hotter water with her. "I mean, General Attea, Princess, Scion, and Teen Supreme of the deathless Incursean Empire."
"That's better," she grinned, shifting so that she was more attentive. "Go on."
"Well, it appears we've lost contact with custody cell two," he continued with a nervous waver in his voice.
Attea sighed heavily, but the curl in her lips showed that she was happier about this development than she should be. "I figured Tennyson would come aboard, but that was fast, even for him."
"Shall I send reinforcements to the other holding cell?"
"No," she held up her hand in a dismissive gesture, earning her a quizzical look from the advisor. She rose from her chair and pulled her blaster from its holster. "I'll deal with Tennyson."
I hope I did well enough with the fight scene. It was actually the part that held me up the most when making this. It was literally the last thing I worked on. I wrote the portion with Attea before it.
Also, I couldn't find any canon names for any of the Incursean technology or ships, but I did remember Milleous mentioning an armada of super destroyers in The Frogs of War Part 2. They never specify which ships that name refers to, so I just used it for the huge, bulky ships they use.
I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm also hoping that I can force myself to finish this out instead of leaving you guys on a cliffhanger for ages. Like I said in the first note, the next chapter should be last one that wraps this whole thing up. But until then, I wonder just what's gonna happen now that Ben - or should I say Big Chill - is on the prowl. All I'll say is that Attea might not want to deal with him after all.