Author's Note: Please, read the author's note before you read the chapter.
Hello, everyone. Here I am with another chapter. However, before you read along, there's a question I'd like to ask. You can respond after you read.
As you know, I am starting a DC/Cartoon Network crossover series with Robin/Ben 10 to start us off. However, a comment made me think that maybe I could have done better. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy this. It's just that the comment said I should have started either with a younger Robin or an older Ben 10. Obviously, I couldn't use a younger Robin, but the other option gave me the idea of what would happen if I used Ben 10: Alien Force instead of the original series. What do you think? If so, then I'll restart the DC/Cartoon Network series with Robin/Alien Force to start it off with. Either way is fine by me.
In the meantime, I present to you the rest of the first episode events of the original series. Hope you enjoy it and I'd really appreciate your answer to my question. Any and all comments are welcome.
"And you say this watch just jumped up and clamped onto your wrist?" Max asked Ben who was still in his transformed state.
"Hey. This time, it wasn't my fault." Ben said. "I swear."
"I believe you, Ben." Max said.
"I wouldn't believe it myself unless I saw it with my own eyes." Dick said.
"Think he's going to be a monster forever?" Gwen asked.
"He's not a monster. He's an alien." Max said earning a confused look from everyone. "I mean, look at him. What else could he be?"
"It does track." Dick said. "This watch did come from outer space after all."
"I don't want to be fire guy forever." Ben said. "How am I supposed to play little league this fall if I charcoal the ball every time I catch a pop fly?"
"Don't worry, Ben. We'll figure this out." Max assured just before a loud beep sounded off.
The loud beep came from the strange symbol on Ben's chest. It was blinking red until it flashed a bright red light. When it dimmed, Ben's fiery form had vanished, and in his place, Ben was back into his normal 10-year-old self.
"Oh, sweet! I'm me again!" Ben cheered. He looked at the watch in his hand, which had a red symbol instead of green now. He gripped it and tried to get it off with no avail. "I still can't get this thing off."
"Looks like whatever this watch is, it has a time limit." Dick said.
"Better not fool with it anymore until we know exactly what we're dealing with." Max said. "I'll check out that crash site. You guys stay here until I get back."
"I'll go too." Dick said. "I'm pretty good at investigating."
Dick guided Max to where the crashed spaceship was. The two of them knelt down toward it to investigate it further.
"I don't like this one bit." Max said.
"You ever see anything like this?" Dick asked.
"Uh, not me." Max said. "Back before I retired, I was a plumber. You?"
"Well, I spent about half of my life living with my foster dad in Gotham." Dick said.
"Gotham, huh?" Max asked. "Did you ever see Batman?"
Dick stopped for a second before answering. "Uh, yeah. I've seen him once or twice. Pretty hard to read, if you ask me." He looked down and noticed something imprinted in the dirt. "Max, look. Footprints."
"What?" Max asked looking at the same place Dick was. He gasped seeing that he was right. A pair of footprints lead from the wide-open door of the spaceship and away from the crash. "Were those there before?"
"Not that I remember." Dick said. "But I do know that door wasn't open all the way when I left it."
"The kids!" Max gasped realizing his grandchildren may be in trouble.
"If I can figure out how this thing works, maybe I can help people." Ben said trying to fiddle with the alien watch. "I mean, really help them. Not just, you know, make things worse."
"Keep defying Grandpa all you want." Gwen said. "I'm just curious about the new guy."
"Who? Dick?" Ben asked. "Why? He seems all right."
"Didn't it strike you as strange that he happened to pack a set of fire-extinguishing bombs in his suitcase?" Gwen asked looking at the case that Dick left behind. "I mean, look at it. It seems to be a bit state of the art."
"Maybe he likes his privacy." Ben said. "I know I wouldn't want a snobby dweeb like you poking around my things."
"Like I would want to go anywhere near anything of yours." Gwen retorted.
All of a sudden, the ring on the watch popped up showing another black image on the green screen.
"Hey. I think I figured it out." Ben said as he turned the ring. With each turn, it showed different black shapes. "Should I try it again? Just once?"
"I wouldn't." Gwen said.
"No duh, you wouldn't." Ben said before slamming his hand on the face dial.
In a green flash, Ben transformed again. This time, he changed into a large, orange-furred, dog-like beast without any eyes and gills on the sides of his neck. The watch symbol was wrapped around his arm.
Gwen went closer to observe Ben in his giant dog form. "Ew! This thing's even uglier than you are normally. Wow, put a flea collar on this mutt. And no eyes? What good is this one? It can't even see."
That gave Gwen an idea. With a mischievous smile, she snuck behind Ben and readied to swing her stick at him. However, the gills on the sides of Ben's neck sensed her and he jumped out of the way just in time.
After recovering from her missed swing, Gwen looked back at Ben. "Okay. So maybe it's not a total loser."
Ben smiled smugly before a green ball of light shot out of the forest and exploded at his face. Several more were thrown out and made him stagger back. Gwen looked at where it came from and Koriand'r flew out of the forest and hovered in the air with the green light surrounding her hands.
"Not another problem!" Gwen cried out. "Hey, I don't know what kind of alien you are, but you had better go away before…"
Koriand'r interrupted Gwen by crying out in her alien language before flying back down towards Ben. Thankfully, he managed to jump over her and grab her leg when she passed by. Unfortunately, Koriand'r quickly broke out by kicking him square in the jaw.
Koriand'r was about to attack again, but she was stopped by a rock thrown at her head. She turned and saw Dick rushing at her. She growled and threw a punch when he approached, but he ducked and slid under her fist reaching for his suitcase. He unlocked it quickly before opening it up and pulled out a small, metal stick which he then extended into a metal staff.
While Dick and Koriand'r fought, Grandpa Max headed over to Ben and Gwen, but he gasped seeing Ben's new form.
"Did he mess with the watch again?" Max asked.
"I tried to warn him." Gwen said. "Then, that lady over there just attacked us."
Everyone looked back at the fight between Dick and Koriand'r. The alien girl got the advantage when he caught his staff and used it to throw him aside. He rolled on the dirt before returning to his feet. That's when Koriand'r used his own staff to latch onto him and squeeze.
Ben decided to jump forward to confront Koriand'r, but as soon as he landed on the ground, the watch symbol blinked red and made a beeping sound. After that, after a flash of red light, Ben changed back into human form surprising Koriand'r who then turned to Dick and say something in an alien language.
"Lady, I'd give you a witty comeback," Dick said, "But I'm worried we might have a little communication problem."
Koriand'r groaned. She then locked her lips onto Dick's paralyzing him and catching him by surprise. The Tennyson family was surprised too.
"Okay. Didn't see that coming." Ben commented.
Koriand'r separated their lips and finally spoke in English. "Now, can we talk?"
Dick was still surprised by the kiss, but he shook it off after hearing her speak. "Wait. You speak English?"
"I can now." Koriand'r said. "Now, if I let you go, will you please stop attacking me?"
"Attacking you? You were attacking us?" Ben asked.
"Well, I didn't know you were originally human." Koriand'r said. "When I saw a vulpimancer facing a little girl, I acted on impulse. Now, can we call a truce?"
"Fine." Dick said. "Just let me down."
Koriand'r complied and let Dick go. She then lowered herself on the ground and took a good look at the watch. She sighed in disappointment.
"Well, this is just perfect. Billions of life forms on this planet alone, and the Omnitrix ends up on the wrist of a child."
"The what-now?" Ben asked. "You mean this watch?"
"That 'watch' as you call it is the Omnitrix, the most powerful device in the known galaxy." Koriand'r said. "It rewrites DNA on a genetic scale transforming its wielder into any alien species for a limited time."
"Yeah, we figured that much out already." Dick said. "What we don't know is who you are."
"Right. My apologies. I am Koriand'r of the planet Tamaran. My mentor and I were assigned with protecting the Omnitrix when we were suddenly ambushed. My mentor entrusted the safety of the Omnitrix to me before telling me to come down to Earth. She said I would find someone who could help, but we were separated before she could tell me who it was. I took an escape pod and shot down to your planet, but when I crashed, I lost consciousness. When I came to, I find that the Omnitrix was already claimed by a kid."
"Hey. It ain't my fault it latched itself onto me." Ben said.
"Do you know how to get it off?" Max asked.
"Unfortunately, no." Koriand'r said. "I was only supposed to keep it out of the wrong hands."
"Well, that answers most of our questions." Dick said. "But why did you kiss me?"
"My people have the ability to learn different languages through lip contact. Otherwise, we'd never talk."
"What? Your mentor didn't know English?"
"Well, she did, but she was fluent in Tamaranian, so it didn't seem necessary."
"All right." Max said to ease the tension. "Look, this has been a crazy day. The question now is, what now?"
"Well, normally, I'd report this to my superiors," Koriand'r said, "But my communication devices were destroyed in the crash, so I'm going to have to decide for myself. For now, let's just keep our heads down."
"If you say so." Max said.
All of a sudden, a static noise came from a nearby radio. A man's panicking voice was heard coming from it.
"Mayday! Mayday! Somebody help us! We're under attack by some sort of… I know you're not going to believe me, but… robot!"
"A robot?" Dick asked.
"It must have come from the ones who ambushed me and my mentor." Koriand'r said. "They must have followed the Omnitrix to this forest and sent one of their drones to retrieve it."
"You mean, they're here for this?" Ben asked looking at the Omnitrix. "We've got to help them."
"Didn't you hear what I said about keeping our heads down?" Koriand'r asked.
"But they're looking for the watch. Those people are in trouble because of me."
"Ben's right." Dick said. "Look, Kori, I know you're trying to keep the watch out of the wrong hands, but if we just leave things be, that robot will destroy everything in its path going after Ben. We've got to destroy it now before it hurts anyone else."
"But what if he fails?" Koriand'r asked. "The Omnitrix is powerful, but right now, it's severely limited. If the drone bests him, it will pry it out of his cold, dead wrist."
"Then we can help." Dick said. "Ben's watch. My skills. Your powers. Together, we can save everyone."
Koriand'r looked over at Ben and his pleaded eyes and sighed. "Well, if you're doing this, the least I can do is help."
"Okay. I can get the watch turning Ben into super aliens and Kori having flight, strength, and energy throwing abilities," Gwen said, "But how are you going to help, Dick? I know you've got that agility, but you are going to face a giant robot."
Robin sighed before making a huge decision. He approached his open suitcase and pulled something out. "I think you'll find that I'm no stranger to the insanely dangerous."
The Tennyson family had on surprised expressions as they finally saw what Dick pulled out. It was a red-and-green outfit with black boots, green gloves a yellow belt, and a black-and-yellow cape. Along the red pectoral area, there was a black circle with a yellow R on it. Dick also pulled out a black-and-white domino mask which he put on.
"No way!" Ben gasped. "You're Robin!"
"I'm risking a lot telling you all this. Don't let me down." Dick said before getting into the Rust Bucket to change.
After Dick put his costume on, he and the others ran deep into the forest until they found the robot. It stormed into a campsite full of RVs and blasted lasers out of its mechanical hands.
"Looks like it's hero time." Ben said before pressing the dial on the Omnitrix. "Let's see…"
"Let me choose." Koriand'r said before Ben showed the watch to her. She turned the ring to see the shadows. "Let's see… An ectonurite? No. Not against something that big. A lepidopteran? Not strong enough. Oh, wait. A petrosapien. That could work."
"All right. Here it goes." Ben said before slamming on the facedial.
The Omnitrix flashed green and changed Ben's body. All his flesh had been replaced with bright-blue diamonds His large body was outfitted with a black-and-white outfit with the Omnitrix symbol on his pectoral area.
"So what can this guy do?" Gwen asked.
"Petrosapiens can alter their crystal body and use them as weapons." Koriand'r said. "I figured it was the best way to pierce through that robot's body."
"That's pretty cool." Ben said.
"All right." Dick said. "Me, Kori, and Ben will draw the robot's attention. Max, Gwen, you two get the people to safety."
Everyone nodded at the plan and went on separate teams. While Max and Gwen focused on the campers and park rangers, Ben, Robin, and Koriand'r ran up to the robot to confront it.
"Leave them alone, tin can!" Ben shouted. "You want somebody to pick on? Try me!"
The robot turned and scanned Ben until it detected the Omnitrix symbol. It immediately sent a blast that sent him flying to an empty RV. Koriand'r flew toward the robot and shot several punches making it turn its head and step back. The robot stopped her by raising its hand and slamming it down sending her to the ground.
The robot looked on further down and saw Robin sprinting up its leg and firing birdarangs at it that exploded on impact. It swung its hand to swat at him, but instead, he jumped up and grabbed it bringing him up. The hand tossed him overhead where he threw other exploding birdarangs right at its face. He fell down, but thankfully, Koriand'r recovered, flew on up, and grabbed his arms to stop him from hitting the ground.
After setting Robin down, Koriand'r fired several energy bolts from her hands which landed right at the robot's face.
"Nothing's working!" she exclaimed.
"What do we do?" Ben asked walking up to them.
A glimpse of light caught Robin's attention, and an idea flashed in his head. "Ben! Create a reflective surface to redirect the lasers!"
Ben looked at his diamond arms and understood the meaning. He stepped up in front of the robot to taunt him. "Come on! Burn one in here!" He pointed at his chest.
The robot fired his laser at Ben who stuck his hands up to block the blast. He was pushed back a few feet, but he kept his hands in place letting the light reflect.
"What comes around goes around." Ben said. "Let's see how you like it, you techno freak!"
Ben managed to reposition his hands to reflect the blast which he then used to slice the robot across its chest. Once the laser hit, the entire upper part of the robot's body exploded in a raging fire. The rest of it blew up once it dropped on the ground.
Gwen and Max cheered while the rest of the campers were astonished. Meanwhile, Robin and Koriand'r guided Ben into the woods where he can change back in peace.
Up in the far reaches of Earths' orbit, a large, red ship was damaged, but it was being repaired by a cluster of robot drones. Inside the ship, an octopus-headed alien was inside of a tank full of yellow liquid connected with medical tubes.
The alien's minion approached him with dreadful news. "Dreadful news, Lord Vilgax. The mechadroid was destroyed. It appears that someone has claimed the Omnitrix."
The alien called Vilgax growled in anger. "Unbelievable! The puny Earth being that is keeping the Omnitrix from me will soon hang on my trophy wall!"
"It isn't just him." The minion said. "Before it was destroyed, the mechadroid sent us visuals on the ones who destroyed it. It is unclear of the human who destroyed it since he was in petrosapien form, but it appears that he was accompanied by another Earthling and a Tamaranean. We can only assume that the latter is part of the Omnitrix transport team."
"If these three insects think they can stop my plans," Vilgax sneered, "They will regret the moment I acknowledged their existence."
The next morning, Dick and Koriand'r helped Max and Gwen pack up all their stuff.
"So you're really going to tag along on our cross-country trip?" Max asked the people outside of his family.
"I was tasked with protecting the Omnitrix." Koriand'r said. "Until it is removed from Ben Tennyson's wrist, it's my duty to at least protect him."
"Figured I'd help too." Dick said. "I already called my old man about it, and he wanted me to keep an eye on the situation."
"I still can't believe you're Robin." Gwen said. "I have, like, a million questions."
"I'm sure you do," Dick said, "But I'll answer them at our next rest stop. We'll work out the living arrangements there."
"So you're names are Dick… and Robin?" Koriand'r asked.
"Sort of. Robin's my superhero name. It's basically a code name."
"Oh, I see." Koriand'r said putting on a curious look. "By any chance, could I have a 'superhero' name too? It is intriguing."
"I don't see why not." Dick said. "What would you like to be called?"
Starfire thought for a moment. "Well, my name is Koriand'r. Translated to English, it means… Starfire."
"I like it. Starfire, it is." Dick said making Koriand'r blush. He then looked around. "Hey. Where is Ben?"
"I haven't seen him since breakfast." Gwen said.
All of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, Ben returned in another alien form. Along with his black-and-white outfit, he was a skinny, blue creature with black stripes along his long tails, black claws, and black balls for feet which he used to come over a intense speed. He had a blue visor on which was removed revealing his black mouth and black lines over his green eyes.
"Ben?" Max asked.
"Yep." Ben replied. "Check this out." After putting his visor back on, he moved a great speed putting the rest of the supplies in the RV.
Koriand'r gave him a judgmental glare. "I'm pretty sure the Omnitrix isn't meant for packing things. I seriously regret telling you what all the other aliens do."
"Oh, it's fine." Ben said before his Omnitrix symbol beeped. He flashed back into his original form and brushed himself off. "I think this is going to be the best summer ever."
"Where's you go anyway?" Dick asked.
"Just had to take care of a couple of things before our vacation really got rolling." Ben said thinking about how he used his super-fast alien form to leave his bullies hanging by their underwear.
Without a doubt, this was going to be a summer that none of them would ever forget.