A/N: Thank you all for the continued support despite my terrible ass schedule in updating stuff. I wasn't feeling up for updating this all that much. I mostly just wanted a break, and writing something else got me in a better frame of mind to update. I felt an excitement writing that I hadn't really felt in a long time writing this. I still like the story and the direction I'm taking it - it just kind of feels like I'm going through the motions rather than writing it for fun at this point.
If you like Lies of P, I'd appreciate if you checked it out. It's called "How To Feel." But enough about a story that's not this. Forward we march.
Carl and Sandra looked at Ben in concern, who currently had a deep frown on his face as he picked through his food. It never got easier seeing their son the way he was now. There was a gaunt look in his eyes that didn't belong on a kid his age. Then again, no one as old as Pierce should've been killed like he had been.
"How are you holding up?" Sandra asked in a sympathetic tone.
"Equal parts sad and angry. Work usually distracts me from it all," Ben said, shifting a piece of chicken back and forth.
"Yeah, but I think a lack of downtime would end up hurting you more," Carl told him.
"Can't argue with that. But it's either working or being stuck with these thoughts," Ben said before the doorbell rang. "I got it."
Sandra moved to open her mouth, but Ben was already up and heading towards the door. He ran a hand down his face before opening the door to reveal Julie. She had a sympathetic expression on her face that made him grimace.
"Is it that obvious?" Ben asked.
"Even if I hadn't heard, yeah. You don't look well. Is it a bad time?" Julie asked in a concerned tone.
"We were in the middle of lunch," Ben said flatly.
"Oh, then..."
"Wait. Sorry. I'm being an asshole. Come in. I can barely keep anything down in the first place," Ben said, causing Julie to grow more concerned as he ushered her inside. If she knew Ben, it was that there were very few instances where he wouldn't eat. "There something you needed?"
"No. I wanted to show you something, and hopefully it'll cheer you up," Julie offered.
"Is it something good?" Ben asked, putting a hand in his pocket.
"It's some proof that everyone isn't out to use technology to do something wrong," Julie said with a smile.
"You've got my attention now. Give me a second," Ben said before walking into the dining room. Carl poked his head out of the kitchen before he even made it halfway.
"Go ahead. You can barely eat anything, and you could use some cheering up," Carl said, and Ben nodded while shooting his dad a small smile.
"Alright, no interruptions then. We..." Before Ben could continue, he was interrupted by Ship bounding up to him while looking up at him imploringly.
"Ship?" the Mechamorph asked.
"You can come as long as you're good," Ben told him. Ship nodded rapidly, and the Anodite shot him a smile before opening the door and letting him bound of the door. "Little rascal. We're taking my car. Been a while since I've been out for a drive."
"Your pet's a cutie," Julie said with a smile.
"He absolutely is," Ben said with a wide grin.
"How long have you had him?" Julie asked.
"Couple of years now. Definitely not something I ever regretted," Ben said with a smile as they approached the car.
"I can drive if you want," Julie offered.
"Believe it or not, driving is actually kind of therapeutic for me," Ben said as he sat in the driver's seat. A small smile crept up on his face as he started the engine up and ran a hand across the dashboard. "Hello beautiful. Glad to hear you're doing well."
"You've been influenced by Kevin too much," Julie said with a grin, opening the door for Ship to get in.
"To be fair, I have nowhere near as much devotion to my car as Kevin does his," Ben said with a wider smile, resting a hand on the steering wheel as Julie got in. "So where am I headed?"
"You know that office building they built downtown?" Julie asked.
"The really tall one that looks too big for someone to be just doing taxes or something? Yeah. Hard to miss," Ben said.
"Perfect. Just head over there," Julie said.
"Going. So what exactly is going on here?" Ben asked as he started driving off.
"I think it's better to show you. After all, there's been talk about getting you an invite to The Flame Keepers Circle as well," Julie said.
"I'm sorry. The Flame Keepers Circle?" Ben asked.
"You'll learn more when we get there," Julie told him, and he nodded with a small frown on his face. Already, he was beginning to be a little skeptical about this whole thing.
Though his thought process was cut off when he saw a police siren cut on from behind him. He could only groan while Ship stared at the disturbance.
"Seriously? I'm following the speed limit," Ben said.
"The problem totally isn't that you have the most recognizable car in existence," Julie said with a wry smirk.
"Which means this better be something important, or I'm going to lose my mind," Ben said as the police officer approached his window.
"Ben Tennyson," the officer said with a respectful nod, tipping his cap. He looked in the back seat and raised an eyebrow at Ship, who only growled at him.
"He's not the biggest fan of strangers. Anyway, what seems to be the problem officer?" Ben asked.
"Nothing concerning your driving. As for the safety of your freedom, that's another matter," the officer said, causing Ben and Julie to raise their eyebrows.
"Meaning?" Ben questioned.
"Every officer in Bellwood, and I assume in other cities as well has been told to be on alert for Ben Tennyson and keep an eye on him," the officer said.
"By who?" Ben asked, narrowing his eyes.
"They said the orders came from their Director. You haven't broken the law, have you?" the officer asked, sounding dubious even as he asked.
"Of course I haven't," Ben said before a realization hit him. "This is about the Knights."
"Pardon?" the officer asked.
"There was an agreement between the Plumbers and the government to not imprison anyone on native to Earth off planet. But then they broke intergalactic law and it was decided that the agreement was null and void. And now they're upset I'm not listening to them," Ben said with a frown.
"If I am to take you at your word, an actual law was broken on their end and are trying to keep tabs on you because you voided an agreement," the officer said with a frown.
"Essentially, yes," Ben told him.
"Well, I wasn't going to follow that order unless you had actually broken a law, and now I have even more reason not to," the officer said.
"You weren't? Isn't that risky for you?" Ben asked. "And beyond that, you believe me with no evidence to back me up?"
"To answer your questions, it probably is a little risky. But then I think about the fact that none of us would even be here if it wasn't for you and your team, and then I know that it's worth it," the officer told him. Then he smiled as he tapped a camera pinned to his vest. "Besides, that kind of confession is sure to roll heads, don't you think?"
"It will," Ben said with a smile. "Thank you."
"No problem. And to answer your second question, I'd be more inclined to believe it if you were just some strong kid with more power than he really knows what to do with. But given how you prefer privacy more than anything, I'm not very inclined to believe you'd do anything to jeopardize that, much less break the law," the officer explained to him. "You have have a good day now."
Then he walked back to his cruiser.
"That's just what I needed," Ben said, leaning back in his seat. "Another pain in my ass."
"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard from our government," Julie said with a frown.
"I'm not worried though," Ben said as he removed the car out of park and started driving again.
"You're not?" Julie asked.
"I haven't broken a single law while they have broken an intergalactic one. Trust me when I say that people are not going to be on their side of this argument. No, I'm more concerned about this Circle you talked about," Ben said, making Julie smile.
"Ben Tennyson. What an honor it is to have a celebrity of your stature visiting our meager offices," the man in the suit said once the elevator opened.
"That's a sentence I've heard variations of too many times..." Ben trailed as he walked in.
"Ben, this is Conduit Edwards," Julie introduced with a smile. The man held out a hand, and Ben took it.
"Conduit?" the Anodite asked.
"A title I have the honor of holding," Edwards said before gesturing for them to follow him. "I have to ask - is your pet well trained?"
"He definitely is. He won't do anything unless he's threatened or I tell him to do it," Ben assured him.
"Excellent. I just wanted to be sure," Edwards said.
"So... what is it exactly that you guys do here? I mean, I know you guys are called Flame Keepers, but something tells me you don't dance around a bonfire to keep it lit," Ben said in a dry tone.
"No, not at all," Edwards said with a chuckle. "The flame is just a symbol of knowledge, which is our priority."
"The Circle thinks that thousands of years ago, mankind was visited by benevolent aliens, who gave us the beginnings of technology," Julie told him.
"That's... not entirely out of the realm of possibility," Ben said with a thoughtful look. In a way, it was a bit more plausible than man discovering fire and then going from there.
"Ship," the small Mechamorph said in a tone of agreement.
"Glad to see you agree," Edwards said before stopping in a room. "Tell me, out of your adventures, have you ever heard of the legend of Dagon?"
"Can't say I have. Is he important?" Ben asked.
"Without a doubt. He is the one who will bring the technology needed to save mankind from war, famine, disease... to make the world a utopia," Edwards said.
"You mean alien tech," Ben said with a frown.
"Essentially, yes. No technology on Earth could do what Dagon hopes to achieve," Edwards said making Ben frown.
"You do realize it's illegal to bring technology that's more advanced than the planet's, right?" he told him.
"Illegal?" Edwards said with a raised brow.
"Yeah. That law is enforced thoroughly. Might be a good idea to find a different faith," Ben said, causing Julie to turn to him.
"But Ben, if this could help people..."
"Tons of the alien tech that exists out there could help Earth. There's plenty. But there's a reason it's made illegal. Because even the most well-meaning technology is dangerous," Ben told him.
"People can be taught how to control these things," Edwards told him.
"And it would still be dangerous if it isn't perfected. Take a level five energy core for example. If it malfunctions, it disintegrates everything within a thirty-meter radius. It happens within seconds and would be a health hazard if it were installed somewhere," Ben explained.
"That problem would be fixed should the Dagon comes here," Edwards said.
"Yeah. Sure it would. Feel free to believe whatever you want, but keep any off-world technology out of here," Ben told him firmly.
"Their efforts to improve the world have been using modern technology thus far," the Ultimatrix told him.
"That's good. I would ask for you to keep it that way," Ben told Edwards with a nod.
"Are you against this whole thing because it's illegal?" Julie asked.
"No. I'm against it because it's dangerous. If he does exist, and he does this the right way by teaching inventors how to invent and control that kind of technology themselves with the resources on the planet, then I'll happily agree that he's what this planet needs. But my sense of optimism has been mostly killed, so I'm thinking it's going to be the alternate option," Ben said before looking at Edwards and giving him a small nod. "I love the idea and I do like the work you are doing. But that kind of technology isn't safe. Please mind the kinds of things you gather."
"I understand," Edwards said. The smile was gone from his face and his expression was a bit more subdued, which made Ben feel a little bad. But he would still do his job if push came to shove.
"You're sure I can't change your mind?" Julie asked as they were leaving the building.
"Chances are they want me for recruitment, bringing in tech, or both. I can't stand the public life as it is, and I'm not breaking the law for a bunch of people who have good intentions. I wish them well, but I'd rather not get involved," Ben said.
"Well, at least you didn't laugh," Julie said with a sigh. "This trip hadn't gone anything like I expected..."
"I appreciate the attempt of trying to cheer me up. But their belief is way too chancey for my tastes. Plus, I'm usually busy with Plumber work," Ben told her.
"Busy right now?" Gwen asked through the mana link just as Julie started talking.
"Well, we could go somewhere else?" Julie asked.
"One second," Ben said, raising an index finger at Julie before aiming a thought at Gwen saying, "Just finished checking out an office of some kind. Might be a risk for alien technology to start running through, but hopefully not."
"I repeat - you never follow your own advice when it comes to relaxing, do you?" Gwen said in an exasperated tone.
"Well, it was supposed to be a casual visit. Something Julie showed me just ended up that way. Anyway, what is it?" Ben asked.
"I was wondering if you wanted to spend some time together. My parents have been doing a bit much worrying after Pierce. I need a break. You said Julie was with you?" Gwen asked.
"Yeah," Ben told her.
"We could do something together," Gwen said.
"Because that isn't going to be awkward at all," Ben told her.
"Well, if you really want to be friends again, the both of you are going to have to get used to it sooner or later," Gwen said.
"Yeah, I know. Sure. We can see how it goes," Ben said.
"Be there in a flash," Gwen said.
Ben looked back to Julie, who was looking at him strangely. "That was Gwen."
"You can just... talk to her?" Julie asked.
"Perks of being an Anodite. Um... this is going to be a bit awkward..."
"What is?" Julie asked as Gwen appeared in a flash of light that caused the girl to jump in surprise.
"Sorry. Um... I could use a break from my parents, so... could we all hang out?" the Anodite asked.
Julie was silent and just stared while Gwen looked a bit sheepish. Ben sighed. This wasn't just awkward. This was painfully awkward.
"Look..."
"Sure. We could find something to do," Julie said before Ben could continue.
If Gwen was surprised, she didn't show it. Ben however, hadn't been able to stop himself from showing his surprise. Then he quickly recovered and smoothed his expression out to one more friendly.
"Awesome! Any ideas, Jules?" Ben said in a tone that was too enthusiastic to be fully genuine.
"Well, if you don't mind a bit of pointing and staring, the summer festival started a week back," Julie offered.
"It's already here?" Ben said, scratching the back of his head. "Man, I really lose track of time sometimes."
"Sometimes I forget too," Julie told him. Ben gave her a long look like he didn't believe that statement, but he only shrugged and instead to let a smile take over his features.
"If there are no fried desserts, I will consider this a wasted venture," the male Anodite said. Both girls looked at each other for a second before Gwen rolled her eyes, and Julie smirked. "Don't give me that."
"I didn't say anything," Julie said, raising her hands in surrender. She was unable to wipe the look of amusement from her face though.
Seeing Ben at the fair was an affair that was simultaneously eye rolling and sweet. She was well aware of his moments of immaturity and impulsivity. Not to mention his moments of solemn seriousness. There was none of that on display now. But there was a sweet feeling she got from seeing him unburdened and happy and...
She glanced and the smile he was giving Gwen. Damn, this was hard.
"I doubt she's going to want to get on a ride after eating," she said with a roll of the eyes. Julie blinked. Were they talking about her?
"I've seen her scarf down an entire burger before a game and keep her lunch," Ben said, waving a hand dismissively. Julie finally managed to unstick the roof of her tongue.
"There's a big difference between moving around on the field and being dropped at high speeds hundreds of feet in the air," she told him. It didn't have as much sass as she would've liked it to, but at least she managed something.
"Ship," the Mechamorph hummed, who was resting on Ben's shoulders like a scarf.
"You're supposed to be on my side," he told his pet.
"I like him," Julie said with a smile.
"Only cause he agrees with you," Ben said before sighing. "So rides first?"
"Chances are it'll make me get rid of what food I still have left in my stomach, so why not," Julie agreed with a shrug.
Julie had expected for them to be mobbed at some point, but not only was it later than she was expecting, but it also wasn't as overwhelming as it usually was. They'd been able to get on one ride before people swarmed him. Due to the less crazy reception, Ben seemed more willing to talk with people and sign stuff. It was kind of weird.
"Surprised?" Julie looked over to her left to see Gwen walking up to her with an amused look on her face.
"That he's actually engaging with his fan base? Yeah. He normally avoids them like the plague," Julie said.
"But he prefers engaging with them compared to disguising himself. He's gotten on good terms with a couple of people like that," Gwen told her.
"I would have never imagined that," Julie said, looking away from the smile she was giving Ben.
"You're going to have to get used to this eventually," Gwen said without glancing away from her cousin.
"I'm working on it," Julie said defensively before sighing. "Sorry. I'm just not good at this."
"I'd expect I'd be pretty crap at it myself if the shoe was on the other foot. But I'd like to think I'd eventually suck it up if I knew he was happy," Gwen said.
"Well at least you're doing a good job of that. He's sung your praises plenty," Julie told her.
"He tends to do that," Gwen said with a roll of the eyes.
"Like you don't," Julie said, rolling her own eyes.
"Yeah, but compare him to me, and you'd swear I'm downplaying how amazing he actually is," Gwen said.
"Point proven," Julie said with a shake of the head. "You're each other's biggest fan. That much is clear."
"There are numerous people with tons of Ben 10 merch that would likely disagree with you," Gwen said. "I mean, they'd be wrong, but still."
Julie chuckled before the amusement left as quickly as it arrived, replaced by a far more reserved look.
"I wish things could go back to the way they used to be," the tennis player said.
"That ship has sailed. I'm afraid you'll have to stick with being friends with two Anodites who are more famous than they want to be," Gwen said with a grin.
"What, with me? After turning my back on Ben?" Julie questioned with a scoff. "Not likely."
"If grandma can be on good terms with him after blasting his body to ash, you can too," Gwen told her.
"Your grandma did what?" Julie questioned in surprise.
"Most Anodites have a different idea of what constitutes freedom instead of mutilation. Still, he got over it and forgave her. He'll do the same with you. He likes the fact that you're one of the few people to treat him like he's just an idiot who goes to high school and eats like a glutton. Doesn't mean you won't have to work for that trust back," Gwen told her.
"I'm not running away. Not this time," Julie told her with a determined look.
"That's the spirit," Gwen said, giving her two pats on the shoulder with a smile.
"Thanks Gwen," Julie said with a hesitant smile.
"No problem," Gwen said with a nod.
"And... kiss each other."
Both girls turned around to see Ben with a smarmy smirk on his face that, which earned him two punches on the arm. "Ow! Now that just wasn't even necessary."
"You deserve it for making the same unfunny joke twice in a row," Gwen told him with a roll of the eyes.
"And I still think it's hilarious," Ben told her.
"And I still see your sense of humor is still ranging from middle schooler to freshman," Julie told him.
"Only makes it easier for me to enjoy myself," Ben said before looking between both girls. "Sorry I took so long. Hadn't planned on being held back that long."
"It's fine. It gave us time to have a bit of a girl talk," Julie said with a smile in Gwen's direction.
"Scratch that - Now I am glad I took so long," Ben said with a shudder. He made a sound of indignation when both girls drug him towards a specific ride.
But he was rather glad things seemed to be going well.
"So?" the man under a hood asked.
"He said no," Edwards told him.
"Doesn't surprise me. Tennyson's become the most jaded Anodite in existence. I wouldn't expect him to agree to help a bunch of superstitious hacks," the hooded man said with a shake of the head. "Thankfully, we don't really need help. It would've just made things a bit easier."
"It is not mere superstition if it is fact. The Dagon will return. And we are all examples of his power," an Esoterica told him.
"I've got his ear. You've had nothing but ghost stories for centuries," the hooded man said, putting a fist on his hip. Then he sighed. "Still, I suppose your help is better than none. At least the Dagon has the strength to make competent slaves."
"Are you on our way to releasing our lord?" the second Esoterica said, ignoring the slight against him.
"When I can find his damn heart, I'll gladly let you know. Say what you want about the Forever Knights and their competence in battle. They know how to hide something and keep it hidden, and that is more troublesome than any Knight they have aside from George with Ascalon in hand," the hooded man said in a frustrated tone. "Still, since I can't find it, I think I can successfully wrangle the others to try instead."
"Ben Tennyson?" the Esoterica questioned.
"Whether he knows it or not, he'll go looking. And chances are that Old George will go looking as well. But he disappeared without even telling his Knights where he was going," the hooded man explained, opening and closing a fist imbued with black energy. "I need you and a few Esoterica to make yourselves useful and make a loud enough noise so Tennyson will come running. Then I need to you leave behind the Forever Knight squire. That should be sufficient enough to break the Plumbers' inability to find the rest of the Knights. The weaker they are, the better."
"And what will become of that?" Edwards asked.
"With any luck, we'll know exactly where Dagon's heart is located. And with it, his return. It might take a while, but good things come to those who wait. Speaking of which, I think a certain Tekanite has been waiting long enough," the hooded man said before snapping his fingers and opening a portal behind him. "Make yourselves useful and have everything done by the time I get back."
Then he was gone.
"That was pretty fun," Ben said, tapping his steering wheel in a rhythm as he drove.
"How much fun can rollercoasters be when you've gone diving from death defying heights as Jetray?" Gwen questioned.
"By fun, I mean it was fun watching people shit themselves when they went down that giant drop," Ben said.
"Sounds about right," Gwen said.
"Less so when you were the one right next to him," Julie said with a wrinkled nose.
"Yeah, that's just unfortunate luck. You're lucky I'm not Kevin - I doubt he'd let you in the car unless you sprayed off somewhere," Ben said.
"He's not that bad," Gwen said.
"No, but he'd defintiely at least grab a car freshener," Ben said.
"That sounds more right," Gwen agreed with a nod.
"If all else fails, you have freaky voodoo teleportation powers to get me home," Julie said.
"Voodoo magic is actually a thing Julie, and believe me. Nothing about it is simple or helpful," Gwen said.
"Do I want to know?" Julie asked.
"Not unless you want nightmares for a week," Gwen said.
"I'll pass," Julie waved away.
"Thanks for today Jules. I needed it," Ben said in a grateful tone.
"Same," Gwen added.
"I won't disagree with that. Besides, it was more than worth it to see this little cutie," Julie cooed at Ship, who leaned into her touch.
"You aren't trying to take him from me, are you? Because this will mean war if so," Ben said, looking at her in the rear view mirror.
"And it is war I am willing to wage," Julie told him.
"How about instead of war, you could let Julie look after him whenever you're busy?" Gwen interjected.
"I'd have to run it by my mom, but I'd love that. Would you?" Julie asked, her voice becoming somewhat hesitant on the last two words.
"If I say yes, you have to eventually give him back," Ben warned her.
"You drive a hard bargain Tennyson, but deal," Julie said with a grin.
"Ship!" the Mechamorph exclaimed in an excited tone.
"I can't wait either little guy," Julie said with a wide smile.
They arrived at Julie's house, and both Tennyson gave the girl a hug goodbye before she walked in her house. She was a bit surprised to see her scooter already there, but she supposed Ben was really good with those powers of his.
"Better?" Gwen asked.
"Extremely. You?" Ben asked.
"Very. Especially since things with Julie seemed to go well," Gwen said.
"I was kind of afraid it'd go far worse," Ben admitted.
"You're always afraid of the worst case scenario. When it comes to things outside of work, you can always do a little more hoping," Gwen told him.
"Easier said than done. Now let's..." There was a strange noise that hit both of their ears, and both Anodites looked out of Ben's car to see that they were completely surrounded. "Well, ass kicking wasn't my first thought, but I wouldn't mind a little of that."
"Then I'm sure these guys will happily oblige," Ben said as they both teleported out of the car.
Ben threw a mana disc at one of the Esoterica, but all of them immediately disappeared where they stood.
"Ok, that's new..." Ben trailed before one of the disappearing Esoterica punched him in the face out of thin air.
"This doesn't look like regular teleporting," Gwen said as each of the Esoterica around them disappeared. Then she barely moved her head out of the way of a kick, grabbing the foot of the Esoterica with her hand and throwing him on the ground hard.
Every form of regular teleportation was instant. You disappeared - then instantly reappeared somewhere else. But these guys were able to delay returning and only make certain body parts reappear. That wasn't normal whatsoever.
"Then I suppose we ought to find out where they're going," Ben said before leaping over one of the Esoterica that tried to tackle him before tracking his mana signature. When he threw a mana disc, and the Esoterica disappeared, he couldn't feel his signature anywhere nearby.
"Don't feel them anywhere nearby," Ben said before using one of his tendrils to grab an Esoterica. "Invonin."
The Esoterica in his grasp was put to sleep, and he moved onto the next one. At least Aurra was right about being able to her being able to teach them a few things.
Gwen frowned before teleporting in the air, putting a mana bubble around them when each Esoterica was in attendance. Then, summoning several different mana tendrils out of the ground, she had her suspicion confirmed when not even one of the Esoterica disappeared. They all dodged them but didn't teleport.
"Looks like mana..." Gwen cut herself off when one of the Esoterica jumped at her with a foot in front of him, but she quickly stopped that by wrapping one of her tendrils around his throat. "Nice try."
"Mana keeps them in place. Got it," Ben finished before transforming into Fasttrack and catching each of the Esoterica in a whirlwind before transforming into Big Chill and freezing them in place.
"Well, looks we've got some new challengers trying to kill us," Gwen said before frowning. "Which is why I have to question why on Earth they would send fighters who have an obvious disadvantage against mana."
"Maybe even they don't know about it?" Ben offered before looking at the Esoterica he put to sleep. "Well, they can't escape out of this bubble you've made. Let's see if they're at least human."
"I swear, if it's an alternate dimension version of you, I'm going to scream," Gwen said as she removed the Esoterica's mask.
Thankfully, it wasn't. But it was very much a familiar face.
"It's that Forever Knight squire that was with that Forever Knight group trying to hunt that dragon," Gwen said after a few moments of thinking.
"That was a long time ago. What do you think he's doing playing dressup with these guys? He wasn't much of a fighter then, and if the Knights had ways to move around like that, they would," Ben said.
"Which makes me think that this is some kind of third party," Gwen said before putting a hand in front of the Squire's face. "Rennervate."
The squire's eyes fluttered opened, and the first thing he saw was Ben and Gwen kneeling in front of him with a serious expression on his face.
"Oh, hello. Been a while," the squire said with a hesitant smile.
"Yes, it has. But unfortunately, we're not here to chat. You see the outfit you're wearing?" Ben asked, and the squire looked down.
"Doesn't look familiar," the squire said.
"Are you aware that you suddenly have some unique teleportation powers that are only suppressed by mana?" Gwen questioned, which made the squire blink rapidly several times.
"What?" the squire questioned.
"I think you heard her the first time. I have no idea if you or the Knights like playing dressup for something other than Dungeons and Dragons, but those kinds of abilities aren't normal," Ben said, grabbing ahold of the squire's shirt. "Now tell me - did you or did you not attack me on behalf of the Knights?"
"No. I'm only a squire. What place do I have out in the food over more qualified warriors?" the squire said.
"Why indeed," Gwen said before tilting her head at him. "The Knights ought to know about this, don't you think?"
"But you..."
"I don't have any personal problems with you. Driscoll only, and we've got him. Go," Gwen said, jerking her head to the side. The squire shot her an expression of relief before he ran off.
"We're tracking him, aren't we?" Ben said once the squire was out of sight.
"Yup. Chances are that they haven't told him anything in order to keep up appearances, so he probably doesn't even suspect anything. Once we get these guys into custody, we can focus on the Knights. He's likely to report to at least one of the other leaders, or with any luck, all of them," Gwen said.
"Verdona's better at the permanent mana prisons than us. Let's get her help with this and then get moving," Gwen said before teleporting each of them away.
"You are saying you are compromised?" Patrick questioned with a frown.
"Yes sir. I had woken up to find that Ben Tennyson was in front of me, questioning why I had attacked. I had no recollection of the event, and that I also had powers that weren't natural," the squire said, who was kneeling in front of the leaders.
"You're saying you have been compromised by some alien scum?!" Enoch exclaimed, but Patrick was more concerned about a different part of his story.
"Hold that thought Enoch," Patrick said before fixing the squire with a serious stare. "Exactly how did you get away?"
"Gwen Tennyson let me go. She said her-" the squire immediately silenced himself upon seeing the furious and slightly fearful expression on Patrick's face.
"All of you, pack up as much as you can. Ben Tennyson is-"
Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a small item being dropped in the room through some kind of portal. A Knight frowned and uneasily approached the device before it exploded into a plume of green gas, immediately filling through room around them with whatever what inside of it. Most of the Knights around them had helmets on, but each of the Forever Knight leaders aside from Enoch breathed in the gas.
"Well, it must be our lucky day. Each of the Forever Knight leaders all in one place," Gutrot said as he teleported into the room with each of his teammates next to him.
"If you've got a brain in those helmets of yours, you'll come quietly," Helen told the still conscious Knights.
"What have you done?" Patrick said through his coughing before immediately falling unconscious. The squire only had time to look stricken before following the older man into a deep sleep. Gwen wasted no time in surrounding him in an small sphere of mana to prevent whatever possessed him from taking control and help him escape.
"We will never allow you to get away with this. Knights! Fire!" one of the Knights exclaimed before shooting at Ben, who blocked it with one hand.
Helen used her super speed to move Manny out of the line of fire while Ben and Gwen tossed a mana disc that bounced between many of the Knights and knocked them down to the ground. Aurra followed up each knockdown with a knockout spell to the each of them. By the time she turned around, Helen and Manny had already knocked out the last three.
"Looks like our job is done here. The rest of the Plumbers will be here soon. Helen, Gwen - you two will be able get the Knights together the fastest. Everyone else, get any alien tech out of here. The more we find, the more we can build a case against these guys," Ben said, causing everyone to nod. He looked towards Kevin and the both of them started heading towards the back room.
"Sleeping gas idea went off mostly without a hitch," Ben said.
"As I am given full knowledge of your aliens and access to a general idea of your battle strategies, then of course it did," the Ultimatrix said.
"Your watch is coming up with our battle strategies now. What a time to be a Plumber," Kevin said with a shake of the head.
"The future is now, old man," both Ben and the Ultimatrix said. The former of which had a small smile on his face.
"And that's just plain creepy," Kevin said, giving his friend a dubious look.
"You've dealt with worse," Ben said as he pushed open a door that was at the end of the hall. Both him and Kevin gaped at what they saw.
Scrawled all over the walls was a whole bunch of different equations. Ben could only groan.
"Calculus? Even when I'm working, I can't escape this stupid subject," he said.
"Well, now's about the time to prove whether or not you've been paying attention," Kevin said.
"I am, but I'm not working it out with my own brain," Ben said before turning into Brainstorm. "This, however, should make deciphering things quite a bit easier."
Brainstorm looked at each calculation on the wall before grabbing a piece of chalk with his pincers and writing his answer on the wall.
"Alright, what is that?" Kevin asked.
"It makes mention of some kind of shrine appearing - says it'll appear in about three hours from now. Assuming whoever's math wrote this was at all sound," Brainstorm told him as he turned back into his Anodite form.
"Shrine? What shrine?" Kevin questioned.
"That's the thing. I don't know," Ben said.
"I bet one of the Knights knows," Kevin said before moving to walk away, but Ben put a hand on his arm.
"Not yet. Whatever this is, it's not very important to us right now. Let's wrap up here before we try and figure out what it is. Still got three hours left until whatever this is becomes relevant," Ben said.
Kevin looked a bit skeptical before he nodded, and they walked out of the room. Immediately after, Conduit Edwards appeared in the room alongside a hooded figure.
"This here," the hooded figure said, his voice low. "You got anyone who can read this crap?"
"We do. What of our agent here?" Edwards asked.
"We don't need him anymore. Because of Tennyson, the Knights will no longer be an issue. And if that old codger George is already there, then all the better," the hooded figure said, raising a hand glowing with black energy. Then he cut the section of the wall that had the answer before teleporting away.