I don't own Ben 10.
Chapter 39:
New Xenon Square; Omnitrix City; March 15th, 2018; 12:00PM
High above his city, floating with his legs together and his arms crossed, the cold air drifted through his scruffy brunette hair though, his eyes were closed as he focused inward. Seamlessly still floating, he entered his mindscape to visit an old friend, of sorts. A floating entity that seemed vaguely female approached made entirely of emerald flaming energy, cascading flickers of light all around her within the white void that was the bond between himself and his Omnitrix.
"You seem distressed, Ben Tennyson," Trix announced as she floated ethereally toward the hero, standing in the void clad in the same omni-armor he was wearing when he began meditating, "You also seem to be gaining more control over our bond, you're not only wearing clothes but, you're multitasking as you use flight effortlessly while you speak to me," she spoke as his hearing caught high-flying birds just a few hundred feet below him, chirping as flew by.
Ben gave a long inward sigh, looking into the glowing the flaming sockets that represented her eyes, "I hardly noticed, I've been listening… scanning the city," he responded as he could hear everything from below; vehicles, people, for miles he could deduce what was going on just by the sounds he heard. He'd never been this smart before, recalling a time where he thought his future-self using the term 'thus' was shameful. "I have so much on my plate that it feels impossible to deal with."
Trix floated closer, slowly rounding Ben as her sentient flame grew brighter she responded, "I've been listening to your conversations, bits, and pieces, by on your plate you mean too many tasks to handle at one time?" she was still like an infant when it came to understanding humans, even the one she was bonded to.
"Exactly; Albedo is on the loose planning who knows what, the President has been keeping important things from me, a group of assassins want me dead and, oh yea, I've had a wave of criminals enhanced with super-human abilities over the last week wearing me down, each with a different superpower…" Ben ran his hands through his metaphysical hair, still being within his mindscape, "If that weren't enough, Gwen is pregnant and can't fight beside me, I have a wedding to finish planning, and then attend said wedding…" he took an unnecessarily long inhale, considering he didn't need air here, "I haven't even thought of a speech."
Trix dematerialized, dissipating within is mindscape to reappear inches from his face, "Albedo utilizes a version of myself corrupted by anger, rage, and hate... otherwise, his Omnitrix wouldn't have malfunctioned all of those years ago in the first place," her voice was soothing, but echoed into the void as she spoke, she smiled through the blaze, "Somehow, I don't sense the corruption within his soul anymore…"
She no longer appeared as a vision of Gwen but, Ben was silent as a vaguely humanoid entity made entirely of emerald fire approached, which just so happened to take on a feminine physique. "That does seem like a bit much to be contemplating all at the same time, wouldn't it help to… how did I hear it? Compartmentalize? Take one thing at a time," Trix suggested, flashing a sweet blazing smile as the emerald flames vanished slowly, Ben could hear a high-pitched whine in the distance, a bank's silent alarm, a bank in his city.
Ben's eyes snapped open encompassed by emerald energy that trailed from his pupils like smoke, a scowled grimace of anger across his face. He didn't waste any extra time rushing forwards cracking open the sky with a sonic-boom that cut through the clouds with his sheer speed; being six-thousand feet above the surface, at his best speed it only took him three or four seconds to reach the ground. Appearing in a blur of motion, he swung his arms open on approach, shattering the bank doors open, and sending them off their hinges sliding across the tile, the broken glass sending fractals flying over the floor.
Ben analyzed his surroundings with his enhanced sight but stopped on a dime, noticing immediately the cold temperature in the room, like it were twenty or thirty-degrees, "What do I got, Coop?" Ben announced watching his breath billow out from his lips, knowing that his partner in overwatch position was scanning every inch of the bank around him through the omni-cam.
Ben was met with an African-American man in a large parka meant for temperatures well below freezing, his furred hood up over his head, along with matching gear over his waist-line, and an icy fog drifting off his body from into the air above him. Once the doors were destroyed with the arrival of the local hero, Ben Ten Thousand, the robber turned to face the metal and glass that slid to his feet. He turned around with his hands up slowly yet, ominously. Both of which also had smoke drifting from his individual palms, with the same cryogenic fog that was an eerie teal blue. "I know, I know… freeze!" a wave of white flames nearly scathed the hero's shoulder, leaving his shoulder frosted over. Clutching the burning sensation over his shoulder blade, he waited for his tech support to pitch in with some advice.
After a quick scan of his biometrics, Cooper was a bit astounded but, this last week had left him numb to the new super-humans that were popping up around the city nearly every other day since Harold the Nucleon first appeared in Reno, "The base temperature in the room is decreasing by the second but, this guy's body heat is practically non-existent, that would explain how he freezes everything he touches without losing his fingers…" referring to the lack of frost bite on his hands which seemed completely normal, even warm if he didn't know better, "The suit is reading impossibly low temperatures, you would have lost your arm if you weren't wearing it."
"So, watch out for the icy touch, got it…" Ben narrowed his eyes as they flashed with another emerald shine, dashing through the room at superhuman speeds though, he was still intercepted mid-run by the assailant firing another bluish-white flame from his hands that struck his suit with condensed subzero temperatures, physically knocking Ben back against his own momentum.. He fell back through the destroyed bank doors and smashing into a van on the other side of the street, cracking a rib. The white vehicle nearly tipped over but, fell back on all four wheels just as Ben fell to his own hands and knees. Crouching in the middle of the street as he held his burning abdomen, the freezing temperatures were beginning to leak through his protective armor.
Cooper sat up in his chair for the first time as he looked over the data from his nano-weaved suit sending Ben's biometrics wirelessly, "Woah… he just hit you with a blast of negative two-hundred and forty-two degrees, you get iced like that again and he could freeze your organs through the suit," Ben didn't enjoy being told he could become a human popsicle from the inside out with one well aimed blast but, now was no time to complain. He stood back to his feet and shook his head, eying the assailant as he exited the bank with his sights set on the hero.
"Thanks for the heads up," Ben chided sarcastically as he stood back up to his feet fully, wiping the icy shards from his suit with his gloved hands, as they flaked and melted over the asphalt. The hero of heroes just barely managed, even with his enhanced speed, to sidestep a ten-foot-tall trail of serrated ice sprouting from the ground, cracking apart the street, in an attempt to skewer him. The massive shards crashed into the adjacent shop across the street from the bank, causing a panic of screaming to flood the roadway as everyone ran for their lives. Ben tucked and rolled to the side, crouching on his hands and knees, prepared to run if he needed to, "You could have killed someone!" he shouted with a rage behind his voice.
The man pulled back his hood, his eyes unusually glistening with a bright teal glimmer, he smiled and held his hands out still steaming with the heat of the city and chill of his body, "If only I were so lucky!" He held his hands at his side just as the crystalized ice spread upwards over his forearms, "I'm gonna make this city pay for locking me up, and I'm gonna start by killing its favorite hero!" he launched another flurry of flaming-white ice which Ben dashed to the left avoiding it, appearing behind him in a blur. A fire hydrant was struck and as it exploded upwards, the water froze almost instantly creating a fifteen-foot-tall ice sculpture.
"Ya know, you could make a lot of money with powers like those, you don't really need to rob a bank… besides, there are a lot of people who could benefit from abilities like yours!" Ben was being as reasonable as possible in an attempt to deescalate the situation but, it was fruitless as an unexpected shard of ice flew by his face, leaving a thin cut across his left cheek, "Alright then," he checked his hand for blood after dabbing his face with his left hand, finding only a trickle. "No more mister nice-hero…" an explosion of genetic energy encompassed the hero and part of the street.
"They got my charges dropped, turned me into a weapon, and you think the first thing I wanna do is help people?" the man seemed even angrier now, his eyes illuminating even brighter icy blue, "Fuck. Them." He fired a condensed beam of ice from his palms, combining into a thicker blast; an instantaneous flash of green light intercepted the attack as Heatblast protected him from lethal frostbite, prepared for any sort of frozen projectile he could fire. He pumped volcanic heat through the cratered vents in either of his shoulder blades constantly ablaze, before the flames atop his skull became even brighter, "It's over, guy, give up nice and easy, and I promise I won't knock you out too hard," it wasn't exactly ideal but, Heatblast wasn't expecting a follow up quip.
"We're just getting started, hero; and the names Permafrost!" he emphasized his name by thrusting his palms outward firing two simultaneous waves of cerulean cryogenic energy that mimicked the waves Artiguana or Big Chill produced, even more potent than the attacks he'd been using thus far. Heatblast countered immediately, crossing his forearms where a shield of heat matching temperatures of Earth's core formed in front of him, protecting him as steam began to form. A massive plume of steam erupted around them making it difficult to see the street for nearly two blocks, "I've been paid a lot of money to take you out, hero, and I intend to cash-in!" his anger and persistence forced an even more powerful blast of ice through the struggle of even an adult Pyronite's shield, striking Heatblast in the chest and forcing him back. This time hitting a brick wall before tumbling to his hands and knees, shaking his flaming head to regain his composure.
Permafrost punctuated his statement by continuing to pile on blasts of near absolute zero temperatures over Heatblast's back, freezing an entire tundra atop the Pyronite who was crouched on the street as he was bombarded. The surrounding temperature began to drop as it started to snow ever so slightly, people fled the area even faster now as the snow trailed over the street, trying to ensure his opponent couldn't escape. After the area had ben mostly evacuated, Ben was ready to counter.
Within the now thirty-foot tall burg of ice standing tall in the middle of the street, Heatblast was crouched but had finally lost his temper. His burning eye sockets snapped open, every crevasse across his molten rock body began to light up with heat pultruding in waves from his body. He melted his way through the icy prison, standing upright before flexing his muscles and shattering the tundra sending blocks of ice outward like concrete.
Heatblast huffed once as his heated head sparked and lit ablaze on its own, cracking his neck, he glared at the super-villain who clearly only wanted to fight and only used the bank robbery as bait. "Go ahead, try again…" now that he was taking things seriously, he wasn't at all afraid of this super-human.
Permafrost clenched his teeth tightly, thrusting his hands forwards and unleashing what seemed to be his most powerful blast of ice; unfortunately, Heatblast wasn't playing games holding only one palm out to intercept the blast which steamed up the few feet surrounding him but, otherwise was completely unaffected.
"My turn," Heatblast used both hands to form a condensed blast of flames, anticipating his opponents only counter, he launched the flaming projectile, Permafrost used a thin shield of ice to protect himself, but he was still sent flying into the front windshield of a citizen's sedan. Heatblast transformed back into his base form just as four officer cruisers along with two Plumber units arriving on the scene within a minute of the self-proclaimed Permafrost.
Wes Greene himself exited the all-terrain Plumber SUV clad in his full armor, taking a page from Rook, he outfitted himself in the latest proto-armor on the market, though; he still preferred his gauntlet blasters over a proto-tool. "This is the fourth one this week, every test taken says their full-blooded humans yet, they're clearly using powers like yours," Wes glanced back at Ben who narrowed his eyes at the four men who came from behind the Magistratus to apprehend the cold-hearted villain.
"We need to find out who exactly is giving these dangerous powers specifically to criminals, human criminals…" Ben tried putting the pieces together but, he was never very good at puzzles. "You guys handle this; I'll head back to Tennyson Tower to see if Coop can do an analysis on this guy's biology…"
"Got it."
…
Tennyson Tower; Omnitrix City; March 15th, 2018; 12:56PM
Ben rushed in with a burst of speed; Gwendolyn, Cooper, and Kenneth watched as he dashed in front of the technopath holding out a shard of ice, "I need you to run a divine cellulose analysis, we need to find out who's manufacturing these super villains and paying them off so well they'd rather rot in jail than talk," he then rushed once again across the room to the holodeck, searching for the signature negative energy his twin gave off.
Everything was silent as Cooper took the shard of ice, starting to melt, slowly narrowing his eyes, "I'm on it- are you okay, dude?" he noticed the slight sign of sweat collecting over his brow as he typed away.
Gwendolyn came from behind and massaged his temples, her fingertips glowing bright blue as a hum of energy encompassed his head, "A-As good as that feels, I don't have time for this…" transforming this time, XLR8 dashed out of the room without another word.
Coop gave Gwen a knowing look of concern, looking into her eyes through his blonde bangs, "You think he's pushing himself too hard?" he asked aloud.
Gwendolyn sighed out loud, exasperatedly, "He has so much on his plate and I'm in no position to help him out," she grazed her stomach where their child was growing, even the slightest wound could cause internal damage to the baby. "I hate feeling so useless."
…
Ben was flying high above the city, still listening below for disturbances and being a relatively small population, there wasn't much for him to respond to that the police couldn't. That was until he heard a bloodcurdling female screaming for her life, his eyes snapped open flashing bright emerald energy cackling within his pupils prompting the hero to rocket downward towards the source of the shout. He landed slowly, entering a warehouse wearily he apprehensively scanned his surroundings with enhanced sight and different spectrums of light but, found nothing but empty shipping trucks, six-teen wheelers meant for large shipments.
Suddenly, the opened doors to the warehouse behind him came slamming down with a mechanized locking click, shutters layered every possible entrance or exit including the one he entered through. Once again caught by surprise, an automated female voice announced itself, 'Intruder Alert: Protocol Gamma Engaged.' The buildings lights cut off leaving Ben in pitch black darkness, until stadium level flood lights blinded him from every direction.
From the wall, a barrel opened up and jettisoned a locking mechanism a foot or so in length, a burgundy cylinder which perfectly targeted Ben's left forearm. Locking itself shut around his forearm, it completely concealed and deactivated the Omnitrix temporarily speaking of course but just long enough.
Ben shook his head, regaining his sight quickly from what would have fried an ordinary man's retinas, he watched as six orange and black androids surrounded him. "I don't like the looks of this…" Spite the similar color-scheme, this not only didn't match Vilgax's modus operandi but, the androids were a different shade of orange entirely, each of them sporting a large 'B' on their chest plates. "You are under arrest for trespassing, the police have been notified, surrender yourself." The drone announced as it lifted its right forearm which quickly modified itself into a cannon, the other identical droids did the same.
"You are under arrest for trespassing, the police have been notified, surrender yourself," each of the six drones repeated themselves in unison, following the example of the leading droid and forming cannons out of their arms.
Ben got to his feet and regained his second wind; he used his speed to dash out of the way avoiding ionic blasts that just barely scathed the blur of motion that trailed him as he ran. He stopped behind them, which they somehow predicted turning and aiming directly at him, they fired their cannons with heated yellow-light beams with energy matching Ben's attempt at an ocular blast. He tried to force more of his omni-energy through his eyes but, without access to his watch he was limited and quickly overpowered as the two opposing forces pushed against one another for just a few seconds before knocking the hero backwards, rolling to his hands and knees, his fingertips stopping his momentum. He looked up at his opponents shrouded by the blast, looking up with a faint smile. The smoke that formed between them cleared in just a few seconds but, even in that short time their scanners had lost track of him.
Dropping from above, Ben landed with all of his momentum crushing one of the droids completely with his boot cracking open its metallic skull before stomping out its body with his landing, turning with monumental speed and roundhouse kicking the nearest android apart with one swing. "Whoever they think they are with this robot schtick, it's been done before, and I gotta say-" Ben dashed around the remaining four confusing their sensors before one managed to fire a plasma round that struck him in the chest. This time the hero went flying into the shuttered wall, denting it with the force of his impact. Groaning as he fell back to his hands and knees once again, "Coop? I could use your help here… Rook?" all he received was static, his transmission being jammed by an outside source, someone had set this up for sure.
Suddenly, Ben heard a sonic boom from the sky above along with what sounded like miniaturized jet-engines followed by a landing that cracked the asphalt outside. Narrowing his eyes, with his Omnitrix locked for the time being, he wasn't sure if he could take all four androids and whoever else was about to show themselves. He got to a fighting stance, backing away as the droids surrounded him once again, fortunately the shutters flew open as the androids refocused their attention on the figure stepping through.
The man that stepped into the warehouse was clad in similarly colored armor to the droids only, clearly more fortified, and advanced; "You are under arrest for trespassing, the police have been notified, surrender your-" through his faceplate, his eyes scanned the droids before interrupting them.
"Code: B-B-0797," the mysterious man stated firmly and without hesitation, "Disassemble."
Without even recognizing the command verbally, all of the remaining droids completely fell apart, their limbs and joints clattering on the ground at their feet. "Who are you?" Ben asked as the mystery man approached him, grabbing his left arm still locked away.
"Code: B-B-0495," the light flashed green and hummed as the latch unlocked and opened up, feeling the connection to his Omnitrix once again as it flowed through his body like a powerful river. The man unclasped his helmet, a bit of pressurized steam releasing from the neckline, "I am so, so, so sorry Mr. Tennyson," he held his helmet between his arm and side to properly use both hands to shake his, which he didn't extend, "I am a huge fan, this was a huge mistake, I don't know how any of this happened!" his face was familiar but, he couldn't exactly recognize him.
"Do we know each other?"
"William Billions, this is my factory, I have no idea why everything went haywire…" Billy glanced up at Ben who still didn't recognize him, looking up and down at the armored man who'd arguably saved his life. "We went to middle school together?" Ben read his heartbeat and vitals and found no signs of deception so he opted to believe his story.
Ben snapped his fingers, "That's right, you were like a super-genius, no wonder you've got your own massive tech company!" Billy took the compliment even as he brought up the diagnostics for the research building, a holographic image projected from his armors forearm.
"Here's what happened… there was a glitch in the security system and when the warehouse mistook you for an intruder, it activated my guards," Billy showed Ben the schematics and narrowed his eyes, looking back at the center control console on the other side of the building.
Ben folded his arms, looking Billy in the eyes, "Why exactly did you have a device ready to disable my Omnitrix?" he scolded but, the genius was too smart to be intimidated by such a question.
Billy rubbed the back of his neck, "With all due respect sir, this is a weapons manufacturing company and I was commissioned by the military to produce a working failsafe, unless you… ya know, go bad?" his acting was so impeccable he could not only fool a lie detector test but, even Ben's readings of his vitals. Having an IQ of over two-hundred had its advantages.
"Are you telling me Susan authorized this?"
William raised a brow, his armor making hydraulic sounds with every motion, "You mean Madam President? She didn't come up with the idea but, she signed off on it… don't worry, that was just a prototype."
Ben turned around, his anger now aimed at yet another Presidential figure, "It better have been," he took off into the sky, only a hundred-or-so miles an hour until he reached the proper altitude where the sky exploded into a hypersonic boom, going faster than he ever had and headed straight for the White House.
Billy watched him take off, deactivating his personal armor, waiting until the hero was out of sight before smirking ominously, "Let the games begin…"
…
Washington D.C; White House; March 15th, 2018; 1:48PM
Ben didn't bother to slow down, he landed at the front door to the White House, cracking the pearl white sandstone with the impact of his landing. The secret service were beyond startled, pulling out their individual glock19s and aiming them at him, though as he raised his head to meet their eyes they saw his furious emerald eyes looking back at them.
They glanced towards one another, one of them gulping, as they put their weapons away and turned to open the double doors for him; rather risking losing their job than face the fury of someone who already dismantled the secret service as a teenager. Ben didn't hesitate to dash through the building, also not hesitating to swing open the doors furiously, just barely staying on their hinges.
Susan was apprehensive, she didn't reach for the silent alarm as there was no point in summoning guards that could easily be dispatched. "Ben? What is so important that you had to rush into my office like thi-" before she could finish talking, he slammed down the gauntlet-lock meant for his Omnitrix, glaring deep into her eyes as she sighed removing her reading glasses.
"Look, you are the most powerful man on the planet… I can't just take it upon faith that you won't turn against us or possibly succumb to mind control…" she presented good points with a calm demeanor but, it still infuriated him to no end, "You couldn't expect me to not take at least some measure of precaution."
Ben turned around running his hands through his growing brunette hair before placing his hands on his hips and giving a long-exasperated sigh, "I get that you need your safeguards but, why give them to a weapons manufacturer? Why keep this all a secret from anyone but, your closest head scientists, with a way to incapacitate me?" Ben chuckled a bit with an angry subtone as he looked back down at the lock used to 'incapacitate' him, "Which by the way," he grabbed it in his hands and crunched the metal between his fingers with just his physical grip, "Would never hold me long term."
Susan rubbed the bridge of her nose to fight off the headache she felt oncoming, taking a deep breath, "After his Father died, William Billions is the smartest full-blooded human on Earth; even the eggheads at Area 51 still can't figure out your watch… I needed someone smarter."
Ben finished her sentence for her, "But, Billy did it in just a few weeks? Or he tried at least," holding up the crushed device still in his hands.
"Exactly, I was never expecting immediate results, you'll be briefed about every weapon we have to neutralize you once they're completed," Susan slowed her sentence down noticing the hero slightly out of breath, which was unusual for him as was a trickle of sweat forming over his brow, "Are you doing okay, Ben?" she asked with genuine concern.
"I'm fine let's talk about the Rooters…" Ben changed the subject knowing his own limits and not allowing her to question them. He took her evasion of his gaze as a sign that she knew exactly what he was talking about.
"Let's not," she answered quickly and smugly organizing the papers on her desk into a neat stack in front of her before folding her fingers together, "the Rooter's operation is classified and you are not exempt from the law because you wear a powerful watch."
He took a few ominous steps forwards, dropping the crushed gauntlet-restraint onto the carpet, placing his fingers gently on the desk in front of her, "It becomes unclassified when they attempt to assassinate me at my Grandfather's gravesite," so angry he had to contain his voice and whispered through his teeth showing her just how serious it was.
"T-They're alive?" Susan became immediately distressed, looking around the room in shock, standing up out of her chair and running fingers through her long blonde hair, "I had no idea what he'd been doing to them, the training was… unbearable to even watch, the conditions…" she turned around with a tear in her eye forming, "They were children and I was ordered by the Magistratus of the Plumbers, the one even Wes answers to, to flush any and all of my predecessors' extra-terrestrial projects into the Null Void."
"But, you didn't have to, did you? Magistratus is in another Galaxy, they never would have known…"
"Ben, I made a mistake, I didn't think I had a choice."
Before he could answer, Ben quickly turned on a dime, looking passed the resolute desk and out the window, "Do you hear that?" he asked, narrowing his eyes until he finally caught sight of some cloaking field. He didn't hesitate to tackle Susan over her desk just as a grenade sized sphere flew through the window, sending glass across the sacred carpet and over them. The two tucked themselves behind the large wooden desk preparing for an explosion.
The 'grenade' went off releasing a high-pressured shockwave that knocked the first three guards that had entered the room with their weapons ready, right back out the opened doors. Hitting the drywall with enough force to put decent sized holes before they fell unconscious flat on their faces. "Did I mention they blame the both of us for all of that and I was only their first target? I did, didn't I?" he had an eidetic memory, how could he have forgotten the main reason he was there in the first place was to warn her, he'd been pulled in so many directions he was starting to really sweat both mentally and physically.
From the wide-open entrance to the Oval Office, Manny passed the beaten security and walked in nonchalantly holding his four individual ion pistols at the ready, dashing in at three-hundred miles an hour Helene arrived beside, her speed shredding the carpet. Outside the shattered window, Pierce approached wielding two long sharpened staffs from his forearms in either hand, blocking their escape. Alan now completely layered in volcanic-rock crashed through the ceiling, slowly lowering himself into the center of the room. Not caring in the slightest that his feet were burning the Presidential Seal, aiming his palm with an open flame at the resolute desk.
"We're cornered, we need a way out of here!" Ben used his infrared vision to see them through the desk, though it was a hazy view, he knew he was cornered.
"No where to run Madam President! And Ten Thousand too? How's that expression go with the birds and the stone…?" Manny shouted taunting him before firing one of his blasters taking a chunk out of the ancient desk.
Susan shook her head, still ducking beneath the desk with him, "Transform into something already, you're the hero here!" she whispered in a shout trying her best to keep her voice down.
"So the media can eat me alive for absolutely demolishing the White House? No thank you," Ben looked around and noticed what room they were in rather quickly. "Are there any hidden escape rooms or false doors or something for emergencies?"
Susan was so shocked she had forgotten which desk she was under, "You're right, the most important people in the country sat behind this desk for almost two-hundred years," she explained as she reached beneath the drawer that seemed ordinary and pressed in on a wooden imprint which opened up a tunnel beneath them, allowing them to slide to safety. "It only makes sense that there were secret escape routes everywhere," it also popped open a hidden compartment where she grabbed a revolver and made her way down the slide-like tunnel which only led them one story down, Ben landed on his feet but, Susan tripped into his arms as he caught her with a scowl.
Pulling her back up as they heard the door slide shut behind them, "You are going to tell me everything you know about the Rooters, the deal with Billy, everything! Got it? Classified is officially out the window because no guard on Earth can protect you from them." Ben let go of her shoulders, hearing a loud crash in the room above as Pierce likely flipped the desk across the office. He looked back into the President's eyes, his pupils ever luminescent emerald giving some light in the darkened room, "But, I can."
Above them, Pierce growled, kicking shards of glass and wood around as Manny, Alan, and Helene watched; they were trained by some of the best military tacticians in the world for nearly five years, they knew when to look for a fake exit. "Here," he pulled open the steel plating with his bare hands, tossing it out the shattered window behind him.
An explosion of light erupted from the darkness, Fasttrack and Susan over his shoulder dashed down a long, wide tunnel with little to no light aside from the glowing hourglass symbol on his chest. He could have chosen a Kinceleran but, he didn't like the idea of carrying Susan the way he did Gwendolyn considering he had claws and not hands, he had to cradle her. Instead, he wrapped her over his shoulders like an injured soldier might and sped off in a black and blue blur. The Citrakayah, Fasttrack's true species, were no where near as fast as a Kinceleran hardly faster than even a fighter jet but, still quick enough to cross through eight-teen miles of underground tunnels in just a few seconds. They exited the tunnel and came out into a small building in Alexandria, Virginia; the building was clearly a safe house as the Madam President pulled out her phone in an attempt to do her job and call for the secret service.
Fasttrack dashed across the room and snatched the phone from her hand, crushing it with what little enhanced strength he did possess, "Are you out of your damn mind? They have alien tech; you don't think they can track a smartphone?" He exploded with another transformation, leaving him in his human form as he double tapped the Omnitrix hourglass rehousing the nanites that formed his suit. Now back in his civilian clothes of a tight, yet well fitting, black t-shirt with a white design around its collar connecting to a stripe down the middle. "Omnitrix; command function disable," he aimed his voice down at his forearm.
"Command accepted," this time when the Omnitrix spoke back to him, it had developed Trix's voice or at least the voice he heard when they spoke in his mindscape. The glowing hourglass went dim, turning grey as Susan stared at him in confusion.
"Disable? Why would you do that? We clearly need the watches help fighting these-" Ben interrupted her nervous rant with a scathing glare, glowing as he turned back to face her, his hands back on his hips.
"I disabled it because they can track the energy signature, and I'm not fighting them because the Government brainwashed them and then you left them to rot in a prison you didn't even understand!"
"I apologized already, it's in the past there's nothing I can do about it now! We need to stop them before they kill us which they seem to have every intention of doing!" she straightened her hair and fastened her pan-suited skirt, "And I left my damn glasses on my desk!"
Ben raised a brow, "Why'd you shout that one?"
She huffed, folding her arms over her chest, "Because I needed to let it out okay, how are we going to handle this situation?" turning to the hero for answers, he came up with a solution that would both make amends for her wrongdoing and keep the Rooters from killing or being killed.
"Whatever psychological, MK-Ultra mind control programming the Government did, you're going to undo it with the utmost comfortable care possible… after I beat them unconscious and contain them," Ben let the end of his sentence trail off considering the last thing he wanted to do was fight them, even starting the argument swearing he wouldn't but, he would do what he had to do to get them their lives back.
Susan leaned on her left leg and tried thinking of all of the files and work she burned and flushed after the corruption was swept out of the White House, "I'm not even sure the technology even exists anymore, especially not after the flush but, Ben those programs were the furthest thing from comfortable that you can get, I'm not even sure if what they did to him can be reversed at all." Suddenly, they heard voices echoing from the end of the tunnel forcing the conversation to an end as Ben was forced to head for the exit, "From what I can tell, it'll only take their speedster thirty-seconds to cross the tunnel into this room," he opened the door and walked out onto the sidewalk, the building being disguised as condemned.
He grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder again with less warning, "I hate this! Put me dow-" he dashed off through adjacent alleyways, turning corners to ensure he couldn't be followed. He had to run at safe speeds as well with the President over his shoulder, one trip could land him in prison for a really long time, so he kept his speed just over two hundred-miles an hour. Crossing the city at this speed was agony for someone who normally traverses the planet at the speed of light, he was racing passed dumpsters trying to avoid the debris until he made it to the city limits.
"Now if I transform, it'll be too late for them to track us down… again," Ben reached his forearm up and sighed, "Command Code, reinstate all functions," the dial on his Omnitrix lit up once again with an emerald light, streaming through its black and white design and into his body for a moment, Ben felt it all flooding back into him again. Before he was running on excess energy that had been stored up, like a phone running out of charge, even at his top speed he could never make it back to Tennyson Tower without running out of energy. He didn't turn to her before exploding in a familiar flash of emerald light, Susan started to understand how Gwendolyn and his team seemed to get used to it as it hadn't surprised her this time.
Chromastone stood in Ben's place, feeling more comfortable in this colder crystal form scooping Susan up and floating up into the air slowly, "Where will we even go that they can't find us?" she suggested as he picked up the pace, flying above the buildings and taking off, bracing her neck as she closed her eyes once they went super-sonic.
Tennyson Tower; Omnitrix City; March 15th, 2018; 3:06PM
Chromastone adjusted his position holding Susan as he slowed down, arriving over the top of his building which still had its hourglass green ring being constructed atop its roof. Once completed, it would act as the Babel Protocol 2.0, stronger shielding, weapon defense system, and direct contact with Plumber central control in deep space. He held her with one arm over his shoulder as he shifted transformations instantly, Big Chill gave her a chill the moment he changed forms, phasing through the rooftop with her turning intangible along with him, floor by floor, until they reached his command deck.
Gwendolyn, Cooper, Rook, and Lucy were all sitting at their seats around the holodeck, watching the attack on the White House on a holographic feed of the National News, promoting bad press for aliens being citizens on Earth. It seemed they had seen what happened and were prepared to deploy on a moments notice, they all felt the cool-breeze flood the room when Big Chill landed, giving Susan her solidity back as he too transformed back into his human form. Gwen was the first to stand, rushing towards him so quickly that she almost levitated but, remained with her feet on the ground until she jumped into his arms.
Susan took a step back as they embraced, her squeezing him so tight that it could probably snap a normal person's spine in two, she pulled back, noticing the President of the United States was standing right next to them. "Ben, what exactly happened? You didn't beat everybody in there up again did you?" it was a serious question but, Ben only chuckled though as she felt the relief fade, she noticed he was exhausted. "Have you stopped at all today? You've been going non-stop for days…" she cupped his cheek with her hand giving him a concerned stare, wiping a drop of sweat that trickled down his hairline with her thumb. He took her by the wrist with a comforting smile, "I'm fine, just a little tired…" his exhale was a little too long for their liking. Pulling away and walking toward the holodeck.
Cooper stood up, along with Rook and Lucy following his lead; "Dude, you may have enhanced… everything but, you still need to eat and sleep."
"I said I'll be fine!" Ben shouted abruptly, rubbing his own temples, and closing his eyes, he opened his eyes again and took another breath. Sitting down at his seat at the holodeck, they watched as he held his head in his hands, "We were attacked by the Rooters, it was the Magistrata in the Plumber corps that instructed Susan to flush everything the Government did under her predecessors orders, including them into the Null Void." It was only then that Susan realized that she'd been using the wrong rank name for years.
Cooper spoke up, tucking his hands into his pockets, and approaching Ben from behind, "Doesn't she run the entire Plumber corps? Like through-out the Galaxy?"
"Yep."
"And that was after you were nearly killed by Billy's androids?"
"Yea."
"And that was after you took down Permafrost a few hours ago?"
"I know where you're going with this…" Ben muttered staring down at the glass, he could see his reflection, the sweat forming over his brow and the bags under his eyes, he hadn't had time to shave either so his beard was growing out slightly.
Lucy approached him as Susan filled Gwendolyn in on what happened at the White House exactly, being co-leaders she still felt she needed to be kept in the loop. Putting her hand gently on his shoulder, "Listen, cuz, you've been firing on all cylinders for weeks and you don't even have Gwenny out there to fight with back ya up."
He watched his own eyes heat up with anger as the genetic energy flowed through his pupils, turning, and swinging her hand off his shoulder, "Than who's going to stop the Rooters? Or prepare for Eon? Or stop the super criminals that keep popping up every other day?!" Lucy stared at him with a hurt expression but, he didn't stop there, "Will you?" he asked her before turning to Coop and Rook, "How about the dynamic duo over there?! You guys think you can handle this?" He turned once again eyeing Susan in particular, "Don't worry though because our Government has been doing fan-fucking-tastic job lately so I can just rest and leave it up to them, right?!" Susan glanced to her shoes in shame, regretting ever letting her men carry out the order to dump pre-teen alien soldiers in an empty dimension.
"Oh, I just remembered! Albedo's back and he wants to settle things once and for all, he told me to have you ask Hope how he was back but, I didn't want to put too much on your plate!" Ben stood upright, storming off towards the exit, not even thinking of transforming until Gwendolyn hooked her elbow with his arm.
"Hey!" She shouted, prompting him to turn and face her, looking into his eyes which were so bright it felt akin to looking directly into the sun, "Where are you going now?"
"I'm gonna do what I should have done in the first place," Ben's Omnitrix blinked flashing bright green signaling an imminent transformation, the explosion of genetic energy left a seven-foot-tall god with the wings of an angel tucked behind his back. His glowing golden shoulder length hair matched his aura that lined his body with an empyrean light, his wings sparkled up-close which caused Susan to go slack jawed seeing Celestial in person. He was only there for a few seconds after transforming but, they took in the design of his full-bodied suit, white with golden trim along with a black belt around his waist with the Omnitrix symbol secured to it.
Gwendolyn clasped his hand, now much bigger than her own, looking up into the eyes that appeared to have flames cascading through each pupil, "Please, don't."
"I'm done waiting for them to come to me," to Susan and Lucy's perspective he simply blinked out of existence but, Gwendolyn saw the trail of his dematerialized energy and Cooper saw the particles zipping out of the room at much faster than light speeds.
...
Reston, Virginia; March 15th, 2018; 3:14PM
A van sped down the interstate highway heading back towards South Dakota, it was no ordinary van though, it was a Plumber issue all terrain weaponized truck. They were all more than a little upset after losing their target for a second time, this time taking the President with him.
"We could have had them both, if Kevin were here Ten Thousand would already be dead and gone, and it would be open season for the President too!" Manny was sharpening a hunting-knife in the back though, it was made of an other worldly material, sharper and more durable than steel or titanium.
Helene had her feet kicked up expecting a long drive especially with Pierce at the wheel, Alan spoke up suddenly, "Don't you think its sharp enough?" he asked pointing out the blade grinding against the stone in the Tetramand's lap. He was lucky that his abilities allowed him to switch between his alien form and his human appearance without an I.D mask.
"Prolly, but I like to imagine I'm cutting through Ben's throat with it so, I'm gonna keep sharpening," Manny responded as he stroked the blade against the stone once more.
Helene had her eyes closed, frowning as she triggered her visor to slide down over her face, "Keep it down, I'm trying to get some shut eye before we ha-" suddenly she was thrown off her seat when Pierce slammed on the breaks.
A figure appeared randomly in the street, seemingly from thin air, a tall man with his wings spread wide, sixteen-feet from wingtip to wing tip, they too were luminescent with white holy light. There wasn't enough time, the truck slammed directly into Celestial which didn't even cause a flinch in his posture let alone for his body to have felt the recoil, as they recovered within the vehicle, Pierce watched as the man tucked his wings behind his back hiding them for convenience's sake.
Pierce held his head and noticed the small trickle of blood from his head hitting the steering wheel at nearly seventy miles-per-hour; he quickly opened up a clear plastic cap on the dashboard activating the cannon mounted on top of the truck. He slammed his palm down on the crimson red button as Celestial watched the six-foot long level seven cannon take aim at him before firing.
A beam of blue energy surging with electricity around it struck Celestial's chest, the blast did little to nothing as the others recovered and Pierce went wide eyed. Cranking the beam's energy output to its maximum caused an explosion rock the vehicle, flipping it over onto its side.
Manny sat himself up now sitting on the side-wall of the van having been toppled, he watched as from the fire and smoke walked out a god still glowing without a single scorch mark on his suit. Ominously he approached without haste, slowly walking over to the truck, and grabbing it by the bumper with one hand, lifting it back onto all four wheels. Smoke billowed out from beneath the crushed hood as they were all reeling within the inoperable vehicle, a fist punched its way through the reinforced steel door, tearing it off and grabbing Pierce out of the driver's seat.
Once again, he flickered out of existence this time with Pierce in tow, transmuting both of them into beams of light that traveled across the country and back in only a few seconds, taking that long only to secure the prisoner in the Rushmore base taking Eon's old, repaired room. Manny kicked the back door open and grabbed his blade with one of his hands, tucking it behind his back just as Celestial flickered back onto the road. The interstate was empty, which was good because having to save them might be a distraction that he was in no mood for.
Manny charged at him with a shout, waking Alan from his unconsciousness after hitting his head during the crash, Helene was already outside of the truck, hiding out of sight and signaling him to do the same. After watching the cannon fail to hurt him, Manny didn't bother using his pistols, instead his bravado prompted him to use a two-handed punch directly to the solar-plexus though, Celestial still didn't budge. Gripping the hunting-knife behind his back even while he grabbed Manny by the throat and lifted him off his feet.
"W-We can still talk about this, right?" Manny joked feeling that Ben could have crushed his windpipe and deliberately wasn't.
Celestial said the first words he'd uttered since he arrived here, "I'm done talking," before he could transmute their bodies, Manny came out with a third hand swinging the blade down on his opponent's chest. Not only did it not even scratch his suit, but the blade's integrity also shattered on impact, sending tiny fractals of metal to the ground at their feet. Celestial looked down at his chest having not felt anything, then back up to narrow his eyes at all four of Manny's.
"Worth a shot."
He too flickered away in a beam of light, taking Manny with him to the Rushmore base, keeping him secured right next to Pierce. Helene signaled now for them to strike, the instant Celestial reappeared, she dashed around him at hypersonic speeds causing a tornado of wind to pick up with unreal speeds yet, his feet never left the ground. Alan stepped out from hiding and ignited the tornado surrounding him in a cyclone of fire, while being slightly impressed at the two's teamwork, he was once again in no mood to care. His hair swayed in the hurricane force flaming winds but, he casually lifted his arms and gently clapped his palms together. The force from this shockwave exploded outward sending both enemies through the air and in different directions, the SUV flipped over two or three times as well from the sheer strength of his clap.
His speed so overwhelming, they never hit the ground, he caught them both and floated up where they looked seeing his wings spread out and the Sun gleaming from behind him. It was then that they realized they could never truly beat him, not in a million years. Once again, they all dematerialized.
…
Tennyson Tower; Omnitrix City; March 15th, 2018; 3:26PM
Susan, Gwen, Lucy, Cooper, and Rook all waited for their leaders return but, it never came; he certainly left the Rushmore base with all four prisoners accounted for. "If he's so fast what's taking him so long?" Susan prompted.
Cooper strutted over to the holodeck, using his mutant technopathy to track the Omnitrix's signal, if he was in his physical form, there was nowhere in the Universe that he could go that Cooper couldn't find him. It was capable of wiping out the entire Universe with just a few days charge so, it was worth keeping tabs on. "He's not on Earth. He's orbiting the Sun, stationary…"
"What's he doing up there?" Lucy asked the most obvious question.
Gwendolyn smiled, feeling him even from ninety-million miles away, his aura, his essence, his him, "He's asleep."
Celestial floated through the radiation and heat of the Sun's natural aura, it not only rejuvenated him but, Master Control allowed him to literally fall asleep while transformed.