5 years ago, we lost someone very important. His name was Monty Oum. He was the creator, director, writer, animator, and a voice actor of RWBY. On January 22nd, 2015, Monty was hospitalized following a severe allergic reaction during a routine medical procedure, rendering him comatose. Monty was unable to awaken from the coma, and he passed away on February 1st, 2015, at the age of 33. ...it's funny, honestly A few years ago, I saw this post on Tumblr, about the Monty Oum project. It was basically...the idea of starting something new, just for you. For a while, I thought "I could never participate in this." And...here I am. I have my own crew, a modest fanbase, and...probably the best years of my life, working on this thing. Rest in peace, Monyreak Oum.
Thank you for reading Season 3. I'll be doing a Q&A session on my Spacebattles fourm, so if you want to ask me some questions, I'll happily answer. We'll see you in the Summer.
Ben shot up in a cold sweat; the last thing he remembered was Servantis' evil smile and a train smashing into him. Was that fake too? Or had he been he lulled into a false sense of hope?
...where was he, actually? That was Ben's third and utmost important question. He was lying in a soft bed, inside what appeared to be a log cabin...and with a raccoon looking carefully at him from a nearby chair.
"Um, hi?" Ben said, confused. The animal's nose twitched before it hopped down from the chair and scurried out the door. Ben blinked and wondered if he was still dreaming.
Or, even worse, in one of Servantis' illusions. Everything he went through felt real. The monsters, the screams, the sensations...each image was seared into his mind, vivid and realistic. It was like a nightmare he couldn't forget.
"Ben?"
His eyes darted to the door. He saw Ruby standing in the doorway, wearing cut-off jean shorts and a red raglan T-shirt. A cute corgi was nestled in her arms.
"Hold on," Ben said shakily, putting out a hand.
"Eh?"
"I-I know this sounds stupid, but I need to know you're really Ruby," Ben said. "Say something only Ruby would-"
"You slept with a teddy bear named Freddy until the sixth grade."
"Furry Freddy had his own bed! It just happened to be next to mine!" Ben paused. "Yeah, ok, you're real."
"What happened to you, dude?" Ruby asked as she walked over. She set the corgi on the bed, the animal immediately jumping into Ben's lap. He gave her an odd look. "Felt you needed a support animal," she explained.
"Why's that?"
"Well, when we found you, you...well, you were...mutating," Ruby said, wincing.
"What?"
"It was weird. You were constantly changing forms, not in like the 'jumping' kind of way, but in the 'I can't control my powers' kind of way. It was scary. When we tried to approach you, you kept shrinking in on yourself… what happened?"
Ben took a deep breath and... unloaded everything that happened. All his emotions, all his anger, all of his pain...how Servantis weaponized everything he loved and how weak and powerless he felt in those moments...
"Sometimes," Ben admitted, "I just don't feel worthy of the Omnitrix, you know? I know I'm just a kid, but I feel like I'm not living up to my potential with this thing...What kind of a 'hero' am I?"
Ruby sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm genuinely horrified you had to go through that, Ben. Honestly, I...don't really know what to say. We've all lost something, and I've seen what loss can do to people. But if we gave up every time we lost something or someone, then we'd never be able to move forward."
"I guess you're right," Ben said, rubbing the corgi's head.
The two of them sat in silence for a few seconds.
Emphasis on seconds.
"RUBY! THE RACCOONS ARE IN MY ROOM AGAIN!" Weiss shrieked from down the hall.
"FEND FOR YOURSELF! I'M BUSY!" Ruby yelled back.
"Oh, yeah, I've been wondering...where am I?" Ben asked.
"Oh, just my house. Dr. Lloyd gave Ceres a lot teleporters just in case something happened, and she secretly put one on you- that's how you survived the train, by the way, it activated at the last second. We used a bunch more to teleport to Oregon- the teleporters are basically a one-way ticket, since Ceres and Dr. Lloyd haven't figured out how to make teleportation two-way yet. Anyway, Dad's gone for the weekend, so we decided to set up base here. Servantis doesn't have records on my dad...I think." Ruby paused. "Suddenly I'm worried this was a bad idea."
"Uh huh...and what's with all the raccoons?" Ben raised an eyebrow.
Ruby shrugged. "They were always here and my dad just kinda said 'eh, they're cool'. They're like pets to us."
The dog in Ben's lap briefly stopped panting.
"Oops, sorry Zwei. You're still number one in my heart," Ruby gushed, petting her dog's head.
"Fair enough." Ben shrugged and hopped out of bed, Zwei in his arms.
Ruby's childhood home was a wooden cabin, a ten minute walk away from a dirt road, which itself was a half hour drive from the nearest town. Power generated by solar panels and a discrete Dust fuelled machine, water stored in large barrels, probably filtered with some Huntsman device, and chilled or heated by another. A pair of antenna, one attached to the house, and another lumped in with the already mentioned electronics, made up the bulk of the outside communication.
Still, despite it lacking everything Ben could consider necessary for it to be habitable, it was…cosy, warm even. The house simply emitted this energy of safety.
Ben felt at ease, like the weight of the universe, the Omnitrix, Grimm, the planet, were all secondary.
Especially with everything Servantis had put him through recently.
He took a deep breath, taking in the scent of the forest, pine needles, and rotting leaves in the wind. It reminded him of a campground; all that was missing was the oily smell of an old RV, woodsmoke, and s'mores. A faint scratching noise came and went, which he really hoped wasn't the raccoons.
A petal danced by his face, a faded red, and drew his gaze to a clearing beside the cabin. Through the trees he could see another building, some barn or garage; he could almost imagine a younger Yang working on her bike.
A raised, square portion of cut stone rested on the riverbank. It had a large emblem engraved on it, and Ben recognized it from many of Ruby's belongings: a brilliant rose-like design, coupled with an inscription:
Summer Rose
Thus Kindly I Scatter
Ben blinked. He didn't know she was this close to home.
"Hi, Mrs Rose," he began. "I'm Ben, a friend of Ruby's." It always felt weird talking to a gravestone, but Grandpa had always taught him to be respectful. Ruby herself had spoken very briefly of her mother over the years; it had always been a sore spot.
"Nice place. It reminds me of all the campgrounds my grandpa used to take me," he complimented. "I met Ruby like that. My grandpa picked me up for summer break, and I half expected my cousin in the back of the RV… except no, it was her. Wildest summer of my life."
A bark shook him from his thoughts, and he turned to see Zwei chasing a raccoon through the yard.
"Zwei! Zwei!" Ruby's voice called through the forest, and her red cloak emerged from the trees. She found the dog first, scooping it up in her arms, and then spotted Ben nearby. "Oh, hey..."
"Hey." He put on a light, lopsided smirk, mainly at the squirming pet, but it couldn't hurt to put Ruby at ease. "She's got a nice place here. Very peaceful."
She smiled softly. "Yeah, she picked it specifically. I…I remember there being something here before, commemorating their marriage. She loved this spot, took me here a lot."
"So, should I call her Mrs. Rose-Xiao-Long?"
"Uhh, no, she'd probably just tell you to call her 'Summer', or… 'Mom'."
The two shared a laugh.
"This is hers." She rubbed her cape through her fingers. "It's… I admit, I haven't really taken good care of it. But I wear it 'cause it's like she's always here, protecting me."
And so they sat a while, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. The water flowing, the leaves rustling, the distinct aroma of meat cooking. Zwei fidgeted in Ruby's arms. "Alright, someone's hungry."
Ben's stomach, as subtle as it ever was, rumbled. Ruby swore she saw the water ripple.
"Not the only one," he sheepishly admitted.
Calm, safe…home. Across the stream, a rose petal danced in the wind, shimmering in the summer light.
Lunch was quiet, Ben noted. He figured it was because they were still trying to figure out what to do next.
"He controls the Plumbers," Ceres pointed out grimly. "He controls the truth of what's really going on."
"Knowing him, he's already planned out an entire sob story and more proof about how we're 'dangerous'," Ruby added, heavily rolling her eyes.
"Mind if I butt in real quick?" Kylie asked.
"Floor's all yours," Ceres said, gesturing idly at her.
"What I can't figure out is, how did Servantis fake that footage of Ben? Y'know, the beatdowns and such?" Kylie asked. "Like, he obviously didn't do it. Ben doesn't really fly off the handle like that."
"Hey, " Ben pouted.
"I meant that in a good way, you dingus," Kylie said, whacking his hand with her spoon.
Someone cleared his throat. "I feel I can answer that question." Everybody turned to the door to see Albedo, standing in the doorway.
"Oh, hey, it's the centrist dude," Kevin said casually.
"Albedo?" Ben stood up from his seat.
"Yeah, that's his name," Kevin said, going back to his sirloin steak and potatoes.
"What are you doing here?" Yang said, on edge. "How did you find us?"
"And are you really gonna fight us at a time like this?" Weiss said, swatting away some raccoons.
"This was the first place you would hide at," Albedo explained. "I managed to convince Servantis that 'there's no way they are dumb enough to go there' and he bought it. You're welcome, by the way. Also, I brought a guest." Albedo pointed at the table to reveal a Galvan, standing between all the dishes, like he'd been there this whole time. Ben and Ruby thought he was familiar-
"Hey, you're that guy from Grandpa Max's memorial service!" Ruby gasped.
"How can he help, exactly?" Ben said, frowning. "He just gave us some generic wisdom that I don't even remember."
The Galvan chuckled. "Is that how the wielder of my device really talks? I expected something more...valiant."
Everybody stared at the Galvan incredulously.
"Wait, your device?" Blake repeated.
"Yes, my device. For someone with two sets of ears, you don't seem to listen carefully," the Galvan chided.
"Wait, so, you're telling me that-" Ruby sputtered.
"Yes, I am Azmuth, the creator of the Omnitrix," Azmuth told her. "The greatest mind in three galaxies."
"Arguably five," Albedo added.
"Yes, but I'd like to remain humble," Azmuth brushed off the comment. Azmuth walked over to Ben and extended his arm. Ben awkwardly lifted his hand and lightly shook the Galvan's tiny hand. "My apologies for not meeting with you sooner, Ben Tennyson. I was preoccupied with a certain event transpiring on the moon of Galvan Prime."
"What happened there?" Ceres asked curiously.
"A long story, but I can confirm it has a happy ending," Azmuth said quickly.
"I...I don't know what to say," Ben said, starstruck.
"What, when you pictured the creator of the Omnitrix, did you imagine some omnipotent alien that packed the wonders and horrors of the cosmos into one tiny device?" the Galvan asked.
"...maybe."
"Quite the imagination, then," Azmuth chuckled.
"So, what are you even doing here?" Rook asked.
"I brought my master here to help you all," Albedo responded. "I feel responsible for what's happened."
Kevin raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm the one responsible for most of the footage Servantis used," Albedo admitted. "My vigilance has caused your downfall, and the guilt is a heavy weight."
"Wait, why are you telling us all this?" Rook asked, confused.
"Yeah, I thought you were, like, perpetually neutral," Kevin said, brow furrowing.
"Just because low resolution thinkers believe that centrism means you're in the middle on every topic, doesn't mean I won't take a stand on polarizing issues," Albedo began. "Opposing figures never speak directly against each others axioms or data, but rather talk at orthogonal angles to one another. They utilize rhetoric to circumscribe the relevance of a data point and expand the envelope of debate to include areas where the opponent's position is weak or does not apply. The centrist position isn't an argument, it's just a metaxical locale that serves mostly as a meeting place."
"...I see," Ben said, pretending to get that entire blurb of text.
"As expected of my student," Azmuth said, smiling fondly.
"Anyways, I must attend to other matters at hand," Albedo said quickly, heading towards the door.
"Hey, Albedo," Ben called.
He paused and turned around. "Yes?"
"...thank you," Ben said sincerely.
Albedo nodded, and walked out the door.
"So, about Servantis...what do we do?" Blake asked, getting back to the matter at hand.
"Quite the flawed mind on that one," Azmuth said, rubbing his chin. "One of the most important changes that can happen in your life is understanding that you are not a 'victim' of a chaotic universe that puts these 'desires' on you, but that, in reality, you are the locus of all you see and that you can transform the world into whatever you want it to be. His need to be validated by others has tarnished this idea from ever coming through."
"So, he's essentially projecting his flaws and pain onto Ben," Kylie said.
"Essentially, yes." Azmuth nodded. "His efforts pushed him too far."
Ben smiled. "And I think I might have an idea on how we can weaponize that pride of his."
Picture yourself as a Plumber for a few minutes. You've just found out the most powerful person on your base has gone rogue following the death of his grandfather, the leader of said base, and now another superior officer is telling you to continuously scan the city for this guy.
Said superior officer has hated the kid since he first joined, but adored the grandfather ever since he joined the Plumbers. Many a times you recall seeing the superior officer chew out the kid and his team for minor infractions, and honestly, you don't get it. Yes, this is the space army, but he's still just a kid-
Suddenly, the alarms go off. The kid's been spotted in one of the underground cargo transports, with all his other friends. Superior officer barks for you to go capture him. You and your crew suit up, but to be honest, you're not sure why you're even doing this.
The kid isn't too bad. He's kind of a goof, a bit of a flirt around that girl with the silver eyes that's been around recently, but still, you cannot think of any reason why this kid would go rogue.
You hop out of your transport, and aim your weapon at this kid and his team. They carefully eye all of you, and turn to one and other. They all look pretty upset to have to fight you too.
There's two quick flashes; one green, one red. The red flash suddenly charges through the crowd, shoving others out of the way and knocking over your transports. You think it's a Tetramand, but it looks off- purple skin, unkempt hair, and six arms. It looks almost alien for an alien.
The green flash disappears in a blur of blue, and before you know it, it's chaos; blue flames, ice crystals, energy bullets and actual bullets fly across the battlefield, and you duck and cover. Your fellow soldiers are taken out in a few seconds, and you're cowering in fear. It doesn't even feel like a warzone. It almost feels like pest control.
And then, it's over. You open your eyes to see a Kineceleran standing right before you. It's the kid, and he looks sad and guilty to have done all of this.
"Hey, you," he says, and you flinch. You notice he softens his tone. "Where's Servantis?"
"H-he's in his office," you sputter.
"That's all I needed to hear," And then he speeds off. The others are gone as well, and you're left in the wreck.
You start to wonder if you were lied to. You're a man against fire, presented with two options; (A) possible punishment for not fighting against the threat, vs. (b) forgetting the whole thing happened and continuing your service to the Plumbers. Under his command.
You wish that you hadn't been lied to by that recruiter.
"You know, you guys are kind of insane, coming back here," Ari huffed. "Especially when Servantis's personality is 'paranoia on crack'."
"Well, is Lev doing his part?" Ceres asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course, I'm just praising you," Ari said cheekily.
She grinned. "I thought you would."
The plan was simple; divide and conquer. Ben would take on Servantis, and Ruby and Ceres would lead a small squad to clear the paths and keep the chaos to a minimum.
"So far so good," Kevin reported as they turned the corner...only to see someone in the way.
Leander was standing in the corridor, arms crossed and eyes locked onto the quartet's line of sight. Kevin and Yang grimaced as they reached for their weapons. But Ceres noticed there was something off about the operative's calm stance. Sure, he was always calm and collected, but today he radiated a particular threatening energy.
"Well, if it isn't Proctor's tin soldier," Kevin taunted, cracking his knuckles.
"Let's see how cheese grater face likes getting his mask punched in!" Yang grinned, and the two ran at Leander.
Ceres was about to follow suit when her communicator buzzed. She grabbed it and noticed there was an alert about their surroundings. Ari peered over her shoulder.
"What's up? Update from the team?" She asked, but Ceres didn't respond.
"Guys! Hold on! There's-!" Ceres called out, but it was too late. Leander shot out a powerful orange blast from his faceplate at the two, and Kevin immediately jumped in front of Yang and transformed.
Kevin tanked and absorbed the blast, converting it into his own form of rainbow energy. "Jeez, that was hot," Kevin said, feeling his chest. "What the hell...was..." He looked up to see that Leander's mask had melted, and his face was finally visible...and it wasn't pretty.
He had nothing going for him; no eye color, no hair, no distinct facial features. Just bright, orange skin...and a black skeleton appearing under his skin like an x-ray.
"Cool?" Yang said hesitantly.
"Not cool," Ceres groused as she handed Yang something. "Put it on your chest. It'll protect you."
"From what?" Yang asked, looking down at the strange emblem.
"Radiation," Ari said ever so casually.
"...ah." Yang quickly placed it on her chest. A light field covered her body, shielding her from any possible radiation. "So, what's up with buckethead?"
"Drug gave him some Prypiatosian DNA. They're some of the most hazardous aliens in the cosmos," Ceres explained. "Whenever Ben uses his sample, we have to stay away or at least wear these things."
"So, what now?"
"Easy," Kevin said, his hands lighting up. "Dish out what he threw out!" He sent out a powerful blast of energy that hit Leander square in the face, but the man did not even budge or flinch...or react, period.
Leander fired back another blast, which Kevin absorbed. He fired back the blast, which Leander absorbed. And that went back and forth for too damn long, if you ask anyone present.
"Boooo!" Yang yelled, totally bored. "Somebody punch someone!"
Even Leander found this tedious. So, the second he absorbed Kevin's latest blow, he did something new. He knelt down and created a pin in the ground. Everyone froze.
"Um," Kevin said, turning back towards Ceres. "Since he's Mr. Nuclear now, what's the chance his bomb ability got a massive buff?"
"100%," Ceres answered, horrified.
Leander gave them all a blank stare, as he dared not move his finger from the pin. Kevin inched forward, and Leander pulled up in the pin ever so slightly. Everyone gasped, and Kevin stepped back.
"So, now what?" Ari said, scared.
"I...I don't know," Ceres said quietly, actually lost for words.
"I could...I could absorb the bomb," Kevin suggested, looking for an idea. "I could rush up and the second he pulls that pin, I'll absorb the entire blow-"
"Are you crazy?!" Yang yelled. "That could kill you!"
"And judging by how fast that thing could blow up," Ceres said, eyes wide, "it's likely you'd be dead before you even got there." For the first time in a very long time, Ceres was at a loss of ideas. Should Leander remove that pin, everyone in the base, everyone in Bellwood...they'd be dead.
Well, except for Ben. That kid could survive falling back into the atmosphere as Cannonbolt, surely he could-
Wait.
Ceres walked up so she was in front of Kevin, giving Leander a sinister smile. The trio behind her nearly lost it, and Leander slowly lifted the pin up another inch.
"Well? Pull it," Ceres jeered. "Your funeral."
Leander paused and looked up. Ceres couldn't read his reaction, but she could tell he was confused.
"I'll repeat. Your funeral," Ceres said, sneering. "There's a good chance you'll survive that blast thanks to your new durable form. Congrats on that. We'll certainly die since we're so close to the bomb, and so will everyone at this base and town. Oh, and the leader you swore to protect. You win there. You'll probably get arrested by the Plumbers afterwards, most likely get a lifetime in prison. So? Pull it."
Leander shrugged and went to pull it again.
"If you want to die painfully, that is."
Leander paused once more.
"You know who would survive the blast? Ben Tennyson," Ceres enunciated. "And here's some advice- don't get that kid angry. He would kill you before the Plumbers even got here. You saw how he reacted when his grandpa died. How's he gonna react when he sees his parents, his friends, and his whole town all gone, all because you decided to pull that pin? Those lackeys Roman had were lucky because they just got some stuff shoved into them, but you?"
Leander visibly trembled.
"I can't imagine what torture he'd put you through. So, what do you value more; living a longer life, or meeting your end within the next few seconds?" Ceres finished.
"...I WANNA LIVE, DAMN IT!" Leander yelled, making the pin disappear.
Ruby knew the second she saw that smug bitch's face near the communication's room, something was about to go down.
"Back already?" Swift sneered. "I expected you to stay in your hole for at least a while longer."
"I wouldn't say that," Ruby said, distracted. She eyed the door that led into the communication hub- she needed to get in there for the plan to work.
"I'm surprised you got through all of the special staff I ordered to stop you brats," Swift continued.
"Special?" Weiss scoffed. "What made them so special?"
"They were mostly filler," Rook said unashamedly. "Most of them took one hit and either went down or just retreated."
"Yeah, deal a better hand next time, mantabitch," Kylie spat.
"Oh, I know," Swift said, smirking. She leapt up in the air, revealing her patagia. "I was hoping that would make you feel superior. Let's see how you handle a pro!" She released a flurry of lasers from her tail, making the group on the ground scattered. Kylie jumped to the side and fired bullets from her pistol. Swift dodged them with ease, swooping at the girl-
"Hyah!" Weiss plunged her rapier into the ground, and spikes of ice erupted. Swift evaded the attack before it could touch her, and turned turned her attention towards the defenseless heiress. She darted towards her, and Weiss didn't even bat an eye. Swift thought such resolve was pointless...until Ruby's blunt weapon clubbed her in the face. Swift was sent flying into a wall, and was then promptly trapped underneath Rook's Proto-net.
"You were saying?" Rook taunted smugly.
Swift's eyes suddenly lit up; she unleashed a powerful concussive blast that hit Ruby dead in the chest. She managed to block most of the blast with her aura, but she was still sent flying back into a wall. Swift freed herself and flew back into the air.
"Oh, so it's gonna be like that?!" Ruby huffed, brushing herself off.
"Awwww, little brat upset that a grown woman has more power?~" Swift jeered.
"...Kylie?"
"Yeah?"
"Hold my fucking weapon." Ruby palmed her Crescent Rose into Kylie's arms, and started to jump up and down in place.
"I have questions about this," Rook stated flatly.
"Trust me," Ruby said. "This bitch is asking for it." She was still hopping in place.
Swift watched Ruby carefully, before bursting out laughing. "What is this? Some kind of temper tantrum?"
Ruby just kept hopping.
"I don't even know what you expect to accomplish?" Swift taunted. "Did you really think-"
Ruby disappeared in a flash of red-
And delivered an axe kick that sent Swift falling towards the ground. The good guys' jaws simultaneously dropped as Ruby landed on the floor, facing a dazed Swift.
"Thanks for wrecking the place." Ruby grinned. "Really helps with what's coming up next!" She used her Semblance to dash through the room, causing all the debris, all the scattered dust, just about everything that wasn't strapped to the ground to follow her through the tornado she had just created. Ruby transformed into a burst of rose petals that barely missed Swift; the bitch was slammed against the wall, stabbed with the razor sharp rose petals-
And crushed underneath a ton of debris. Ruby easily flipped through the air, not a speck of dust on her.
"That...was the fucking coolest thing I've ever seen her do," Kylie said in awe.
And then Ruby landed flat on her face.
Ben could go off on a tangent about how much he hated Servantis. He had saved up every hurt feeling, every thought about how much he wanted to hurt Servantis, and now, when the bastard was standing before him-
Ben had no doubt that Servantis was going to get everything that was coming to him.
"Oh? So you're back," Servantis scoffed as he stood up from his desk. "Come to turn yourself in?"
"I'm taking you down, asshole," Ben stated flatly. "Your associate let me in on the footage tidbit."
"Oh, did he now?" Servantis grinned, snapping his fingers. The world around Ben started to change, but Ben simply closed his eyes. He reached for the Omnitrix and transformed into Blitzwolfer.
"Oh? Still going to attempt to fight me?" Servantis laughed as he caused the illusion to warp and morph. Ben stood perfectly still as he waited for the perfect moment to strike.
"What's wrong, hero?" Servantis smirked as reality around him began to melt. "Are you scared? I know more about you than you do..." He suddenly disappeared. "I know far more precisely than you how many you've harmed. How many bad situations you've made worse." Ben immediately knew who he was talking about. He was sick and tired of hearing it.
Ben could feel his skin boil...literally, his skin was starting to mutate wildly. Arms and heads started popping out of his body. Ben took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He was scared out of his mind, but refused to let it show.
"Be honest," Ben said. "Did you set my grandpa up?"
"It was for the cause," Servantis said. "As cruel as it was, it was the only way I could really use the limelight in my favor. That footage of Albedo wouldn't see the light of day if Max was still around."
"Is that so?" Ben mused, trying to resist the ongoing mutations.
"As sad as it was, Max's death was necessary for her plans. I wanted to bring you to your lowest, so it would make you easier to get rid of," Servantis went on. "Besides that, it was more for humiliation. This is the world's greatest hero, the man who could've helped Vilgax but turned his back."
"Really now?" Ben said, feigning interest. The mutations started to die down...
"Yes. There was no effort to educate you, to immerse you. We all had to hope that the skills you have were enough," Servantis added. Ben refused to let his words affect him. "With your powers, you don't grow. You don't improve. You take a shortcut and gain nothing. Nothing in your life was risked-" Ben bawled up his fists. "And nothing was gained. It's sad that you don't know the difference-"
A deafening crack of thunder filled the room as Ben smashed Servantis' face in. Not an illusion. The real one.
Servantis backed away as reality returned to normal. "What the hell? How did you-!"
"You can fool most of my senses with your powers, right?" The now not mutating Ben asked, cracking his fists. "I remembered something yesterday- even with the pain I was going through, I could still smell the exhaust and the dust that was in that subway station. So I decided to cheat. Although, I'd say that's the least of your worries. I've been broadcasting this entire fight through my communication system."
Servantis laughed. "I deactivated your badge a while ago so you wouldn't call for backup. Why the bluff?"
"Oh, no," Ben said. "Not my badge. Little known fact about the Omnitrix, found it out recently- it also has a communication system somewhere in it."
Servantis turned as white as a ghost.
"Kinda kills the battery, though," Ben said as he reverted back to human. "Ceres and the others made it to the communication hub about 10 minutes ago. Your confession's been made public to this entire base."
"I-impossible!" Servantis yelled, whipping out his badge. "Don't listen to him! Don't listen to his lies! H-he used one of aliens to-"
"That's enough, Servantis," Ceres drawled from the open doorway, the others spilling in after her. "You've already embarrassed yourself enough."
"Don't wanna say anything else controversial," Yang teased. "Your reputation is already in the toilet. Wouldn't you agree, Miss Verdona?" She turned to the older woman beside her.
"Yes, but I'm very curious to hear more." Verdona gave a shark-like smile.
"T-the Magistrata..." Servantis' voice fell. "But..."
"Oh, please. Don't make excuses," Verdona snapped. "You were never good at those."
Ben gave Servantis a cheeky look. "Problem?"
"You BRAT!" Servantis tried to attack Ben, but a bullet pierced his arm. He yelped in pain, clutching the appendage to his chest.
Ruby stepped out of the shadows. She looked tired, but still managed to stand ready for a fight.
"Thanks for the save," Ben told her sincerely.
Ruby noticed he was smiling wider than usual. "Get it all out of your system when you punched his face in?"
Ben chuckled. "I did."
"So, how are we gonna fuck him up?" Ruby asked curiously.
"I got a few ideas. Probably gonna go with Plan A," Ben said as he activated the Omnitrix.
"I WON'T GIVE YOU THE CHANCE!" Servantis screamed, preparing to activate his mental powers.
"Haha, nope," Ben jeered as he slapped down the dial. His form shrank down, his body splitting up into dozens upon dozens of clones, filling up the room...and in an instant, Ruby and Servantis were standing in a sea of Echo Echo's. (The others quickly escaped the room and ran for cover.)
Something told Ruby she was going to either be deaf or just have a massive headache by the end of this.
Servantis immediately went for the first move; his eyes lit up as he targeted Ruby. However, he didn't expect Ben to use his clones to form a massive wall in front of her, blocking her from his range.
"What on Earth?" Servantis yelled.
"Woah!" Ruby gushed. "That's different."
"Got inspired by some game," one of the clones explained.
"Besides, I don't want to give people headaches sometimes, you know?" another one added.
"So, quick question," Ruby chirped. "Why Echo Echo?"
"Well," a third one began. "Another thing I noticed is that, when Servantis uses his powers, it only affects up to a select amount of people."
"His limit is up to 10," a fourth said. "And it only works when people are in his eyesight."
"So, you're screwing with his weaknesses by using Echo Echo's improved cloning capabilities?" Ruby asked.
The clones nodded eagerly.
"Niiiiice."
"Now, if you'll excuse us..."
The clones immediately hopped into action, running towards Servantis. He yelled in frustration as he activated his powers. The frontline of Echo Echo's dropped to the floor, but the others just kept on going. Servantis gasped as he was buried underneath a dogpile of aliens. They were light, but their sheer number made it feel like Servantis was underneath a massive, squirming boulder.
"That's just adorable," Ruby stated, as watched in amusement. One of the Echo Echoes tugged on her cape. "What's up, little dude?"
"Hey, uh...can we do something that's both cool and stupid?" the clone asked nervously.
Ruby grinned. "Absolutely. What are we doing?"
The clone scratched the back of his head. "Uhhh...a bunch of us are gonna build a giant pillar, with you on top. We're gonna collapse on top of Servantis and you're gonna take a few good swings at his stupid face."
Ruby blinked. "...well, you're right, it's stupid," she said as she scratched her chin. "But it's also AWESOME!"
The clone grinned, and a bunch of other clones gathered around Ruby. She hopped on top of them, and they started to clone themselves and build up the tower to reach the ceiling. The tower tilted and swayed as the bottom layer of clones struggled to carry the weight. Ruby remained at the top as she watched the group approach the dogpile.
The dogpile dissipated just as the tower collapsed on top of Servantis. Ruby jumped off and she watched the clones rain down on top of the bastard, randomly hitting him and disappearing as soon as they hit the ground. The guy had no way of defending himself, Ruby noted, which was probably why Ben went with Echo Echo.
A clone hopped onto her back and clung to her cloak. "You ready?"
"You fuckin' know it!"
Ruby slammed her foot down into Servantis' face, making him stumble back. Ruby landed on the ground, and the Echo Echo on her back let out a piercing screech that blew Servantis back even further. Ruby sped forward and slammed the blunt end of her scythe into Servantis' stomach.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Servantis' eyes lit up dangerously. Ruby could feel the effects starting to take hold, but the clone on Ruby's back suddenly jumped on his face and blinded him.
"GET OFF!" Servantis yelled, struggling to pull off the alien with his one good arm. Ruby grinned as she took a shot at Servantis. An electric Dust bullet pierced his armored chest and shocked the life out of him. Servantis collapsed on the floor, his body twitching.
"And that's that," Ruby huffed as she dropped to her knees.
"Don't tell me you're tired from all that," Ben scolded her.
"No," she stated. "I'm tired because you SCREAMED RIGHT NEAR MY EAR."
"...oh, right. Sorry."
Servantis felt humiliated, handcuffed and being led through the prison district of the base. The taunts and jeers of the prisoners (most of which he put away) were like knives digging into his back and chest.
"Believe me," Verdona said coldly, "they haven't even started to dehumanize you." Servantis was promptly shoved into his cell. "I'll be back in a while to question you."
"And how long will that be?" Servantis hissed.
"Whenever I feel like it," Verdona snapped. "You have no right to question me."
"But I'm-" Servantis caught himself before he said something stupid. Verdona stalked off, and Servantis slumped against his prison walls.
"It's funny," a voice said. "It's funny how wrong you were." Servantis perked up to see a small Galvan standing in front of his cell.
"What, are you another one of those damn Galvan?" Servantis hissed. "Are you the one that jeopardized one of our missions because you wanted a smoothie?"
The Galvan raised an eyebrow. "I'm Azmuth. Perhaps you've heard of me."
"...well, fuck," Servantis said flatly.
"As I was saying...it's funny how wrong your beliefs were," he continued. "Well, except for one detail."
"And what's that?"
"Ben was never supposed to get the Omnitrix," Azmuth told him. Servantis' eyes widened. Did he hear that right? "Max was meant to obtain it. The Omnitrix only binded to Ben because he had Max's DNA."
"So this proves it! I'm right!" Servantis crowed.
Azmuth shot him a dirty look. "No, it doesn't. If there was something wrong with the user, I would've gotten the watch myself. One of Ben's most defining traits, even before he got the Omnitrix, was an almost obsessive desire to help the people around him whenever he can, even at his own expense. That boy will always try to find a better way if he can."
Servantis wanted to retort, but...nothing came out.
"You could've talked to me about your doubts. I could have quelled your ignorance, but I suppose you loved thriving in it." Azmuth sighed as he walked off. "I just hope you like where you are."
"So, that's all you know?" Verdona demanded. "You're just some informant?"
Servantis nodded, not making eye contact with the older woman. The room felt colder than a winter in Alaska, and just as tense as you would imagine. Ben and Ruby remained in the back.
"And you're not bluffing? Your men will tell us the same thing?" she pressed on.
Servantis nodded again. "They just told me to get Tennyson out of the picture so they could get started on preparation at Beacon."
"Alrighty, that checks out with what they said." Verdona sighed heavily. Servantis felt at ease; rotting in a cell didn't sound too bad, if he was being honest.
"Although..." Ben walked over to Servantis and slammed his fist on the table. "One more question."
"And what's that?"
"Did you play a role in Max Tennyson's death?"
The room's atmosphere intensified. Servantis gave a sly grin.
"I was just told to get him alone," he chuckled. "I don't know who went and killed him. Honest."
Ben stared angrily at the man-no, monster, as he reached for the Omnitrix. "I can walk a mile in any alien's shoes. I can withstand the heat of the sun at point blank range and survive the cold vacuum of space. I can create a diamond storm and shatter people with only a thought. All that power, and I still can't understand why a man like you has such delusions of grandeur. I just see it as something cool, not dangerous."
Servantis perked up as Ben slapped down the watch; bulky gold armor encased his body as the boy transformed into Clockwork. Verdona moved away from where she was standing, Ruby changed seats, and Azmuth changed his position on the table.
"A Chronosapien?" Servantis scoffed. "What are you going to do with that? Rewind the conversation?"
Verdona cleared her throat. "Actually, no. Are you familiar with the Chronosapien punishment of 'elastic time'?"
"I...I am not," Servantis said, suddenly nervous.
"It's an interesting, yet effective method," she went on.
Azmuth nodded. "To torture their worst criminals, they put them in an endless loop of a moment, staring from Point A to Point B. They'll be forced to forever live out their life again, and always fail in the end."
"Wait...are you..."
The room suddenly turned green, and a frozen image of Servantis appeared near the door.
"For using the Plumbers as a weapon, for your hypocritical actions, and for playing a part in the murder of Max Tennyson, you'll be forced to relive your moments in this room for all eternity," Azmuth declared.
Servantis gasped as Ben grabbed him by the arm. "No! T-this is too cruel! I was right! Tennyson is a monster!"
"I dunno," Ruby scoffed. "The only monster I see in here is you."
"For trying to smear my grandfather's name, for trying to ruin my life, for actively violating my mind, and for hitting me with a train...this is just fitting," Ben said coldly.
Servantis felt a strange sensation run through his body as he collided with his past self. He screamed in absolute terror-
And then Servantis felt at ease. He sat down, ready to be interrogated.
Her eyes glared into Albedo's soul. Albedo was a man without fear, and yet he trembled. There was something frightening about her tranquil nature, especially after such a loss.
"So, Tennyson was able to figure out Servantis' deception?" she asked.
Albedo nodded. He dare not inform her of the truth.
"That boy is more perceptive than I thought," she said.
"Of course he is," the raspy voice of Zs'Skayr added. "The boy is a polytropos, a difficult opponent."
"Perhaps he is," the woman added, standing up. "But for now, let's focus on other matters." She walked over to her window and overlooked the sea of black, murky waters.
"Yes, the plan," Zs'skayr said. "Are they ready for infiltration?"
Salem turned around to face Cinder and her faction. "Well? Are you?"
Cinder smiled sinisterly. "Yes. We'll be heading to Beacon soon enough."
Salem smiled. "Excellent."
