"Are you sure you're still ok?" Ruby asked Ben.
"Yeah." Ben nodded. "I've been opening up. I went to therapy, finally started eating again, and I'm surrounded by friends right now...so I'm ok."
Ruby stared back at the giant projection of Max's smiling face. "Just checking."
The Bellwood Base had arranged a nice little memoriam for Max, given his extensive work for the group. Ben could pick out dozens of people; kings from other planets, people his grandfather had taught, people who'd been inspired by him...
It gave him a weird feeling just being there, but he ignored it.
Servantis walked over to the podium and cleared his throat. "What can you say about Maxwell Paul Tennyson? He was a good man, who sacrificed his life to save all of us from an invasion. All of us owe our lives to this man alone."
Everyone somberly nodded. Ruby held Ben's hand a little bit tighter.
"He dedicated his life to helping others, putting their lives before his. Even before his time in the Plumbers, Maxwell was a town 'hero' in his own right," Servantis went on. "Helping out at soup kitchens, serving in the Air Force, and fathering three children with his wife, Magister Verdona."
"Under the Plumbers, he accomplished so much, being a leader to thousands upon thousands of cadets, being a key figure in the establishment in the stable connection between the Hunter community, and countless victories in seemingly unwinnable battles," Servantis went on. "It was an honor to serve under his wing."
"Even now, his legacy is survived by Magister Verdona, their children, Carl, Frank, and Mary, his grandaughter Gwen and his grandson," Servantis paused, as if he was incapable of saying Ben's name. "...Benjamin Tennyson."
Ben had to stifle a chuckle. Seeing the old guy lose his composure at a time like this wasn't appropriate whatsoever, but considering Servantis's hatred of him, Ben considered it a little funny.
What wasn't funny was the quick glance Servantis gave at him, right before his face relaxed. Ben felt uncomfortable seeing the guy so calm; Servantis was always in a foul mood, always scowling, always serious about something...but this? This raised a few red flags for Ben.
"Maxwell's relationship with his grandson was by far one of the strongest relationships I've ever seen." Servantis smiled calmly. "Never have I seen such a touching connection between the two. You can see Max's spirit and will in Ben's own personality."
Ben was caught off guard. Was Servantis complimenting him? He was actually kind of flattered, but at the same time felt he should be insulted.
The rest of the service went as planned. Ben and the others watched other diplomats from other planets speak about how Max saved their people numerous times. Ben loved hearing the praises about his grandpa...and yet, that comment Servantis made stuck with him.
The after party was nice and quiet. People were talking about their fond memories of Max, or just catching up. The rest of the team was interacting with others, learning new things about the magister or just joining in on the story telling.
Ben and Ruby had either lived through them or heard them a thousand times. They knew every name and face in the room. They knew how many times Max had saved them, guided them on a better path, and helped them when they were in need.
"Should we leave soon?" Ruby asked quietly.
"Yeah," Ben said, looking around. "I'm sure they won't mind. I'm still kinda coping, to be honest. It just feels weird being here, you know? I...I don't know what to do."
"In my opinion? Carry on."
Ben and Ruby looked up to see an unexpected guest sitting at their table; an older Galvan neither of them had ever seen before. He wore a green tunic with black sleeves and a black stripe running down his chest and abdomen, with a black belt around his waist. His eyes were squinted, and he had tendrils growing out of his lower jaw, while two longer ones grew out of his upper jaw, giving him the appearance of having a beard.
"In life and now in death, he wouldn't want us to focus on him. He wouldn't want us to focus on the sadness of his untimely demise, but instead focus on the happiness in our lives. He would want us to appreciate each other and our future," the Galvan said, looking out into the crowd. "Just look at how many old friends he's brought together."
"Uh, yeah," Ruby agreed. "Thank you."
Ben was at a loss for words; he'd never seen this guy before in his life, nor had Max ever mentioned him. He was a total stranger and a bit of a funeral crasher...and yet, Ben felt there was something familiar about him...
"Did you know my grandpa?" Ben asked curiously.
"I knew bits here and there. He was a good man," The Galvan turned to face Ben and Ruby. "And you two certainly reflect his values."
Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you-"
"Hey, Tennyson. Rose."
The two turned their heads to see Kevin standing behind them. "Servantis wants to see us for some reason."
"Uh, alright," Ben said. "Sorry sir, but we have to g-" Ben turned back to face the Galvan, only to see no one standing on the table.
"...weird." Ruby frowned. "Come on, don't wanna upset the crabapple." She walked away with Kevin, but Ben lingered for a second. That old Galvan was...
Probably just some weirdo. Granted he was wise, but what else was there to being a weirdo? Ben shrugged as he walked away.
"Have a seat, Tennyson." Servantis said, pulling out a chair. "The rest of you must stand. While this only concerns Tennyson, I feel you too should hear this."
"I still don't understand why we're talking with the high council," Ben grumbled as he sat down.
"Like I said earlier today," Servantis restated, "your grandpa was a good man. It is...a shame that Max had to hide the truth," he went on. Ben perked up. Truth? A few people murmured, and Ben and Ruby shared a concerned and confused glance.
"While searching through Max's computer for the cataloging purposes," Servantis said, "I found an old folder of footage. What I'm about to show you may be shocking or explicit..."
Servantis snapped his fingers, and a video popped up onscreen. It was footage of some warehouse in the middle of the night; a few guards were walking around before a blur suddenly smashed a bunch of them against a wall, sans one. There was a bright flash, and the remaining hench man was snatched up by a giant hand.
The next video began. A small series of humanoids cornered an alien, and screamed at him until his head exploded. A few people gasped, and Ben felt sick.
Then, the final video began. The quality looked like it had been shot from a phone. It showed a humanoid tiger-like alien beating the living hell out of a basic, run of the mill criminal, making him beg for mercy before he just straight up snapped his back...and then he turned in the direction of the camera. It stopped there. The council were really starting to talk now, and Ben was utterly lost.
"T-that wasn't..."
"Dude," Kevin said. "Do you really think we believe that was you?"
"...kinda?"
"Wow, you have no faith in us," Ceres drawled as she scanned the room. People were staring in Ben's direction.
"And there you have it," Servantis said with a grimace. "All this time, our beloved Max Tennyson was hiding his grandson's true colors; Ben Tennyson is nothing but a sociopath posing as a hero. Disappointing, really."
Ben glared daggers at Servantis, who just gave him a sly smile.
"That isn't me," Ben said, standing up.
"Oh, really?" Servantis smirked. He pressed a button on his remote and pulled up footage of a more recent event; Ghostfreak thrashing the warehouse. Ben watched in horror as he saw what Zs'skayr did. "Is that not you, Benjamin?"
Ben didn't answer.
"Well?" Servantis said, impatient.
"Now, Servantis," one of the higher ups interjected. "I'm sure there's a viable explanation for all of this. You're making some baseless claims right now."
Ben's eyes lit up. "Huh?"
"Tennyson's proven time and time again that he is responsible. For you to treat him like this, especially after the death of Max Tennyson..." Another one cut in, disappointment evident in their tone.
"Most of this footage seems doctored as well," the magistrate said. "Care to explain?"
Servantis froze, for words. His eyes darted back to the others, who were giving him a look of 'ooooooh, you're in trouble~'
"O-of course," Servantis said, standing tall. "The reason is-" His eyes suddenly lit up- the four higher ups immediately tensed and fell to the ground, unconscious. "Oh, dear," Servantis drawled with a sly grin. "Look at what you did, Tennyson."
"You son of a bitch!" Ben yelled as he slapped down the Omnitrix. Feedback flew at Servantis, who quickly evaded the attack. He pulled out his weapon and fired it. A red laser beam shot out of his gun, and Ben prepared to absorb it; instead, a bullet hit his chest, and he stumbled back in shock and pain.
"Tsk tsk," Servantis condescended. "Did you forget Feedback can't absorb non-energy attacks, Ben?" His eyes lit up. "Or were you just seeing things?"
Ben grit his teeth just as a yellow glyph lit up underneath him. He turned to see Weiss, using her powers to charge Ben up.
"Well? Go on," Weiss said, furrowing her brow. "I can't keep this up forever."
Ben grinned, and shot lightning out of his plugs. Servantis quickly weaved to the side and Ben followed him, shooting electricity around the room.
"He's getting away!" Ruby cried as she whipped out her weapon. She, Ceres, and Blake rushed to block the door, but Servantis' eyes lit up; in an instant, the three of them found their minds falling into a pit of darkness, their bodies collapsing on the ground. Servantis jumped over them and raced down the hall.
"HEY!" Ben yelled as Ruby weakly stood up, shaking off that brief headache.
"That dick..." she hissed as she took off after Servantis. Ben followed suit, the others helping Blake and Ceres up.
Servantis was good at running away, mainly because he cleared a good section of floor before Ben and Ruby decided to use their powers to boost their run speed; Ben launched a powerful punch, and Ruby swung her scythe...only for them to pass through Servantis.
"Another illusion," Ben snarled.
"That's this guy's freaking power?" Ruby asked as she jumped on the floor.
"Yeah," Ben answered. "I've only seen it in action a few times; basic stuff, like quick illusions or sensations. Nothing too serious."
"So, where did he go then?"
Ben's antennae perked up, whirling around a bit.
"...what are you doing?"
"Trying to sense his badge frequency. The Rooters have a specific comm link that no one else has," Ben explained.
"You look dumb doing that."
"I know." Ben quickly picked up on the signal and he ran in the other direction; Ruby followed him, and pretty soon, the rest of the group caught up with her.
"Let's kill him!" Ceres crowed. Ben kicked down a door, ready for blood-
And froze as he saw Servantis, standing there with a bunch of armed men.
"He incapitated the higher ups and attacked me!" Servantis cried out, spinning his lie. "He and his little friends have shown their true colors!"
"...how gullible do you think we are?" one of the armed men asked.
"Ben's cool," another one chimed in.
"Yeah, and Ceres makes me question my sexuality!" one of the females in the groups said with no shame whatsoever. Ceres winked and shot finger guns at the woman, making her squeal and nearly faint. Ceres merely smirked.
"...fuck it," Servantis said darkly, his eyes lighting up; the armed men were all knocked out within seconds...before they stood back up and fired at the group. Weiss quickly summoned a giant glyph in front of them, creating a giant ice wall as a shield.
"What the hell did he just do?!" Kylie exclaimed.
"I think he just took over their minds." Kevin grimaced as he had Doppler transform his legs into Rush's. "And if you ask me, I say we get out here before he takes over this entire base."
"Good idea," Ben agreed as he changed forms to Bloxx. "I'll handle the defense. You guys stick to offense."
"On it." Kevin grinned as he jumped up; he kicked through the ice wall with his powerful legs, laser and bullet fire flying through the air. Ceres threw a few less 'severe' fire blasts, and Kylie cloaked the group in a thick purple haze.
"This way!" Rook ordered, guiding the group through the escape way, Ben shielding them with his giant body.
"As you can clearly see," Servantis explained, replaying the footage of the Zeta Squadron attacking him, "I tried to defend myself, but Tennyson and his friends attacked me first." A wave of murmurs spread through the meeting. "Effective immediately," he declared, cutting through the voices, "Ben Tennyson is to be branded a criminal. And that goes with anyone caught associating with him."
"Can we have a reason why all of this is even happening?" a higher ranked plumber asked.
"The reason doesn't matter. He attacked me and is resisting arrest," Servantis snapped back. "Now go, bring me every camera in Bellwood. Setup a discreet stakeout in front of his house. Just bring him into me as soon as possible."
A few plumbers gave each other suspicious looks, but dispersed quietly all the same. Servantis grinned as he went back to his office.
He sat behind his desk, alone. He was used to not being disturbed while working. He should've been out on the field, but he was content to wait for now. Servantis had fooled the base into thinking Tennyson was a viable threat...and he was, at least in his eyes.
Servantis' fear was quite simple; he feared the boy had too much power. There were too many terrifying aliens out there. A Prypiatosian-B could radiate an entire state. A Cerebrocrustacean could invade and manipulate memories. An Aerophibian could fly across entire galaxies using a single breath, a feat no ship could accomplish without using up at least a billion photons.
But the one that scared him the most? The dreaded Celestialsapien. The Celestialsapiens could warp reality on a universal scale, meaning Ben was technically omnipotent. He could be invincible just by using this form all the time, shaping the world into whatever the hell he wanted...or even make Servantis disappear for standing up to him.
Ben was a terrifying character, and still slowly maturing. What if he took on a darker path when he got older? What if he had a bad day and that's when he decided to just...snap?
"Penny for your thoughts?"
Servantis looked up to see Albedo standing in front of him. How he got here didn't matter, nor did he care. "Can I help you?" Servantis asked patronizingly.
"Yes you can," Albedo snapped. "Why is my image being used to discredit Tennyson?"
"To even the odds for her grace," Servantis said indifferently, moving some papers around on his desk. "Tennyson has too many allies, and space contact w-"
"I'll repeat myself," Albedo said, cutting off Servantis. "Why is my image being used to discredit Tennyson, you hypocrite?"
"Beg pardon?" Servantis asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I possess the same powers as Tennyson," Albedo argued. "And yet you do not fear me."
"Of course not," Servantis drawled. "You're responsible with your powers, you have better control, you-"
"Have no excuse to treat me any differently," Albedo spat. "He does nothing but good, despite limiting himself to this planet."
"Why should I be scared of you, exactly?" he scoffed.
Albedo slammed his hands on Servantis' desk. "The Galvans are 10 times scarier than most of you humans. We have tampered in God's domain not once, not twice, but three times, and with great success. We have discovered dimensions unknown to man, and you use one of those dimensions to dispose of your trash. We made your armor, and we know how to destroy it in a single blow. We created the Omnitrix, and I perfected the creation with my own design. Humans are simple and violent, but us Galvans? We are an intelligent collective that could take down your planet in a day if we so desired. So, I'll ask you this: what is your real reason for hating Ben Tennyson?"
Servantis did not answer.
"...do you hate him because he stole Max's attention away from you?"
Servantis did not answer again, but Albedo already had his answer. "You make me sick," he said disgustedly, vanishing into thin air.
Servantis sat in his office, alone, trying to justify himself.
Ben peered out from the subway stairs. No one was coming, thankfully, and hopefully it'd stay that way.
"So, how long are we gonna have to stay here?" Ben asked Ceres.
"At least until this whole thing blows over," she sighed. "Knowing Servantis, he's scanning all the cameras in the city to see if he can spot us."
"He's annoyingly thorough like that," Kevin grumbled.
"We can't even go back to our hotel," Yang pointed out. "He'll just try capturing one of us to create a hostage situation."
"Yeah, that sounds like old Servantis." Kylie grimaced as she observed the empty subway station.
"I don't get it," Ruby chimed in. "Why does Servantis hate you so much?"
"From what I've seen, you use the Omnitrix pretty seriously," Blake added. "You never seem to use it outside of missions, anyway."
"Does he think you're gonna destroy the universe somehow?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's not that," Ben sighed. "It's because of my age."
"...I don't follow," Yang said blankly. Which made sense, since she was so used to her society encouraging kids (from a young age) handling a weapon, a superpower, and a pseudo regenerative ability in the form of spiritual energy so they could fight monsters.
"Servantis thinks Ben's 'irresponsible'," Ceres explained, rolling her eyes. "Something about 'a device as extraordinary as the Omnitrix was never meant to be wielded by an unpredictable and immature child.' Just saying that made me feel gross."
"I'm only one of those things," Ben pouted. "And being unpredictable is a part of my charm."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "Nevertheless, from what I've seen, Ben's responsible with his powers. He's renowned across the entire galaxy for his heroics. Why does Servantis only see the worst?"
"...probably 'cause of me," Kevin sighed heavily, looking at his wrist. "He thinks because of this thing on my wrist, Ben's dangerous. Especially because I acted as a violent antihero when I first started out."
"Oh, right, the AntiTrix," Yang said quietly.
"To be fair, it was more of a 'me' problem than a 'Ben' problem," Kevin admitted.
"And I'm guessing some guilt tripping for Vilgax?" Ruby mused.
"You fuckin' know it," Ben huffed. "Funny how he forgets to mention Vilgax's lackey, a known criminal, tortured Kevin."
"People see and hear what they want to," Blake sighed.
"Given my experience with news on this planet, that is a very true, very sad statement," Rook said tiredly.
"Gossiping, are we?" Without a second thought, the group drew their weapons. Servantis slowly walked down the stairs, Swift and Leander following behind him.
"Servantis," Ceres snarled.
"Oh, please, drop the formalities. We know what you really want to call me," Servantis said cooly.
"Alright, then. Bitch."
He frowned. "I don't know what I expected."
"It really shows, doesn't it?" Ben chirped, grinning.
"True, true," Servantis chuckled. "But then again..." He snapped his fingers, and numerous armed Plumbers popped out of the tunnels and aimed their weapons at them. "You should've seen this coming. Resistance is futile."
"So is saying 'resistance is futile!'" Ben shot back as he slapped down the Omnitrix. Big Chill easily took his place.
"SEIZE THEM!" Servantis yelled.
"Geez, rolling out the cliche lines today," Kevin quipped, slapping down his AntiTrix and transforming into Blink 182. His eye stalks extended as they fired out a flurry of lasers, scattering the carefully assembled squadrons.
From then on, it was a messy, blurry battle; Ruby made some deep cuts with her scythe, Weiss threw out a slew of thrusts with her rapier, Blake's blade cracked through armor with ease, Yang's fists smashed into peoples faces, Ceres's flames caused severe burns, Rook's arsenal of weaponry blew threw their enemies, and Ben's chilling form caused some serious frostbite on unsuspecting victims.
The normal strike squadron was out of play in a matter of seconds.
"Well, that was disappointing," Ben sighed as he looked over at Servantis. "Now it's just 9 on 3. So, what'll it b-" Ben's eyes suddenly locked onto Swift's hand. She held what looked like a syringe, a glowing red liquid inside of it. Actually, she had two of them. She handed one to Servantis.
"Uh, whatcha got there?" Ruby gasped.
"A little pick me up." Swift grinned as she jammed the needle into her arm. Instantly, her form began to change; her skin became a vivid red as she sprouted yellow horns. Her eyes became pure red, and a tail sprouted out of her tailbone. Everyone cringed as they could hear the cracking of her bones and her screams as she mutated.
"What the actual fuck are you doing to yourself!?" Ceres yelled, voice unhinged.
"Giving ourselves an advantage," Servantis crowed as Swift caught her breath. "If Tennyson can transform, so can we."
"So, because I use a device responsibly," Ben countered, "you can use a dangerous drug to take me down?"
Servantis glared at him. Without a word, without a second thought, he jammed the needle into his arm and powered through the intense pain. A scar appeared right down the center of his face, and his head split open like a flower, revealing his brain for all to see. Weiss nearly fainted from the sight, but Kylie caught her before she could hit the ground.
"Yes," Servantis said sibilantly, his face putting itself back together. "We most certainly can." Swift's eyes suddenly lit up as she fired a barrage of lasers from her eyes and tail. The group split up, sans Ben, who just phased through the lasers with his intangibility. Servantis frowned as he walked away.
"HEY!" Ben yelled. "GET BACK HERE!" He flew after Servantis, briefly freezing Swift's right side and Leander's left side.
Swift thawed herself quickly, using her laser blasts to remove the ice off of her and attack once more, while the ice just seemed to melt off of Leander without a second thought. He didn't do much else besides watch the shoot out. Kylie threw out a quick smoke grenade, blinding the area in a purple fog. Her hazing ability was coming especially in handy today.
"She is having far too much fun with that Aerophibian DNA," Rook growled as he swapped to his weapon to his shield mode.
"Yeah, lucky bastards get optic and tail blasts." Ceres frowned in thought. "And they're fast, too. He chose some good samples for his lackeys."
"You're telling me," Kevin said as he unleashed a powerful optic blast that clashed with Swift's own. The two lasers collided and exploded in a flash of red light, blowing everyone back. Smoke filled the air as Swift walked away, satisfied with her victory.
BANG. Swift reacted to the gunshot quick enough; she boosted herself into the air and produced her patagia, soaring through the air. Ruby and Ceres rushed out of the smoke, throwing fireballs and shooting bullets at her. Swift dodged the blasts with ease, which visibly annoyed both girls.
Swift grinned, before her eyes caught a glimpse of something. The ice queen and the blonde brawler...what were they doing? Weiss's blade was stuck in the ground, and ice was spreading everywhere. Yang's fist lit up and she slammed her fist down at the epicenter of the ice, causing it to evaporate immediately and create a thick fog.
Swift hovered in the air, determined to find the group, but Ruby made the first move; she burst from out of the smoke and slashed at Swift, but to no avail-
"CHECKMATE!"
Blake and Weiss jumped past Ruby, who landed on the ground. Weiss fired off a few ice crystals as Blake threw her ribbon at Swift. The agent was able to avoid the projectiles but not the ribbon. Weiss propelled herself off a glyph and swiped her blade at Swift, slashing her right in her arm. She yelled as the three fell to the ground.
Blake quickly retracted her ribbon, and Ceres and Yang stepped up.
Well, more like Yang stepped up. She didn't waste a second, punching at Swift and releasing fiery shotgun blasts. To her shock, Leander jumped in front of them and tanked it all, not even reacting. Yang huffed and blew a single strand of hair out of her eyesight; she then launched herself at Leader, who simply caught her fist and threw her into a building.
"MISS XIAO LONG!" Rook yelled as he came out of the subway.
"Ah, don't worry about her," Kylie said, patting Rook on the back. "She can take it."
"How can that be?" he asked, concerned.
"With each hit she gets stronger, and she uses that energy to fight back!" Ruby chimed in. "That's what makes her special."
Yang slowly got back on her feet, hair burning a brilliant white as she clenched her fists. Sensing victory, Leander threw a punch, but Yang caught it in her own hand, the ground cracking beneath her. With her eyes literally red with rage, she smashed her knuckles into Leander's stupid helmet, knocking him back into a building.
"Leander!" Swift yelled, just as Ceres and Kevin overwhelmed her with their firepower. Swift quickly dodged and she looked around.
Ceres smirked. "What, afraid the future generation is kicking your ass?"
Swift grit her teeth. "HOPE!" she cried out, and suddenly she was enveloped in pink light. "I'll be seeing you around," She said with a grin. And in a flash, she was gone.
Everyone blinked.
"Um," Rook said. "What just happened?"
Ben chased Servantis to another train platform. He tried freezing him a few times, but they all turned out to be were mental clones. Ben had no idea which one was real, but he knew for a fact Servantis would be down here.
"Alright, you bastard," Ben hissed, cloaking himself. "I know you're here. Show yourself."
And Servantis did. He stepped out from a pillar, and Ben immediately threw a hefty ice spear at him. However, the spear passed right through him and shattered on the ground. Ben growled as the clone disappeared.
"You lack concentration, Tennyson," Servantis taunted as he appeared from behind. Ben turned to punch him, but Servantis caught the fist. Ben immediately phased through it, and then through him, but to his shock, it was another illusion.
"Your overconfidence will destroy us all," Servantis mocked as a few clones assembled around him. Ben hissed as the howl of a fiercely cold wind filled the room. Ice spread from underneath his feet, and icicles shot out of the ground, spearing the Servantis clones in the chest, but again the ice passed right through him.
The real Servantis jumped down from the ceiling and produced a taser from his armor. He jabbed it into Ben's neck, who fell to the ground screaming in pain. The Omnitrix beeped, and Ben's form changed to the more durable Fourarms.
Fourarms grabbed Servantis off of his back and threw him at a wall. The bastard slammed against the wall with a mighty THUD and fell to the ground. And yet he stood up and observed Ben's form. "A Tetramand," he scoffed, amused. "So that's the form you're going to use against me, huh?"
"And lemme guess," Ben snapped, cracking his neck. "You're gonna continue to mess with my brain, just like you did with those Plumbers."
"Not exactly," Servantis said, walking around the room. "I didn't gain the ability to manipulate minds. It would've been easier to convince people that you were a threat. Instead..." Servantis walked behind a pillar, but didn't reappear around the other side. Ben paused and rubbed his eyes. Did he teleport or something?
"Rather," Servantis's voice popped up from behind Ben, "I control the truth." He turned around and punched someone in the face. The person screamed as they fell back. Ben walked over...to see Ruby clutching her face, sobbing loudly.
"Ruby!" Ben gasped as he ran to her side. "Oh my god, oh my god, I'm so sorry! I thought..."
Ruby lowered her hands to reveal black void like eyes and a distorted jaw. She screeched and lunged at him, snapping her jaw like a savage animal. Ben yelled as he threw Ruby off of him, and suddenly, the world around him changed.
Ben recognized the place; it was the upper level of Max's diner. A few casual customers were there, eating and chatting amongst themselves. None of them seemed to notice Ben standing there, in an alien form no less.
"You told everyone you were just a kid," Servantis taunted. Ben turned around to see him sitting at a booth in the back.
"Just a naive little brat who had the most powerful device in the world." His voice came from across the restaurant. Ben whipped his head around to see another Servantis standing up and walking over to him.
"T-this isn't real," Ben told himself.
"I don't think you know what's real anymore, Tennyson!" Servantis screamed. He and his duplicate grabbed ahold Ben, tearing off his clothes and flesh like a ribbon... "You are just a scared little kid in an overgrown costume, playing hero because he told himself too!"
The two walked away, and Ben weakly stood up; he caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of a mirror. He looked like he did at 10 years old, right down to the outfit and features. But something else caught his attention; Ben was now standing in the forest where the Omnitrix had landed. Servantis was nowhere to be seen, which scared him even more.
"Do you really think fate chose you to be the true user of the Omnitrix?" Servantis's voice boomed from the sky. Ben looked up to see a series of meteorites flying towards the Earth. He tried to run, but his legs just wouldn't let him; the meteorites crashed down to the Earth, shaking the ground with each hit.
Ben panted as he started to hear something coming up behind him. Ben turned to see a tall figure approaching him, with lanky limbs and...a burning head-
Oh no.
The Heatblast monster screeched, throwing fireballs everywhere. Ben quickly dodged them, his legs finally allowing him to run again. He ran through the forest as the monster chased after him, and Ben could see he wasn't alone. More of his aliens joined in hunting down Ben, and each one looked even more monstrous from the last.
A bat like Echo Echo and a "Rodan" looking Astrodactyl tried to grab him, but he quickly shoved the two forms off of him. A porcupine-like Diamondhead and spider-like Eatle tried to ram Ben into a pile of dirt, but again he dodged them with ease. The next one was strange even by his standards; a horrifying fusion between Upgrade and Water Hazard stormed after him. It looked like Upgrade had taken on a more "Venom"-like persona, and the way he screeched sent shivers down Ben's spine. Ben quickly climbed up a tree as the fusion shot pure acid from its hands, barely missing him.
Ben took a few seconds to catch his breath; this was truly his worst nightmare. What the hell did Servantis mean by "I control the truth"? Ben thought, None of this has to do with a truth of any sorts. But Ben wouldn't get an answer.
Because the tree he was resting on opened its single pink pupil. Ben gasped as the tree started to grab at him. He backed away as the tree started to lose more of its plant-like qualities and transform into a Kaiju sized Ghostfreak, with the snarling faces of all of Ben's aliens trapped underneath its skin.
"YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE IDIOT IF YOU CALL YOURSELF A HERO! YOU RUIN LIVES AND TERRIFY EVERYONE!" Servantis shouted.
The monstrous Heatblast jumped down, its flames devolving into a dangerous blue color. It winded its fist back and struck Ben in the chest, sending him flying through the air and into the cosmos. Ben screamed, but no one could hear him.
"YOU COULD'VE HELPED VILGAX. YOU COULD'VE LEFT KEVIN ALONE," Servantis yelled as the galaxy around Ben started to attack him. "YOU DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD, TENNYSON!"
And Ben landed on the ground with a thud.
"Maybe if you were a better hero," Servantis snarled, "Maxwell Tennyson would still be alive." Ben sat up, surveying the area. The moon overhead illuminated the tombstones around him. All of them had the same name on it: Max Tennyson.
A hand shot up from all of the graves, as thousands and thousands of zombie Max's tore themselves out of the ground. Ben screamed as he ran into the night, the undead army chasing after him. Ben didn't want to look back; he wasn't sure if it was because he was scared, or if he wanted to be free of this hell, …or if he was just too scared to see how Servantis made Max look.
The ground underneath Ben gave out, and he fell into a sea of black. The sky above him was red, the moon shattered into pieces. Ben fell into a lake and watched as the lights faded-
And watched in silent horror as the face of a woman suddenly appeared in front of him. It was that same woman that appeared from out of that necklace when he was 10...and she looked more horrifying than ever before. She glared at Ben, her mouth unhinging so she could scream. Ben closed his eyes, and suddenly-
He was on the ground, back where Servantis had started with him. Ben weakly got up to his knees, body quivering. Servantis just stared at him curiously...
The boy was mutating. He was a mishmash of alien parts that were all struggling and screaming to gain coherency. Servantis remembered reading a file on Kevin going through the same thing.
"Seems I was correct after all," Servantis said smugly. "Get you all riled up and you lose control of your aliens. Such a device should not be in the hands of a child."
"You...BASTARD-" Ben screamed, but he didn't get a chance to finish. A train rammed into him, and Servantis watched with a blank expression.
"All according to plan," he said to himself, walking away.
