Ben X Chapter 24
Treasure Hunt Arc
Welcome to Crater City
Team Alpha, consisting of Ben, Gwen, Kevin, and Julie, plus their unofficial pet mascots Zed and Ship sat inside the cockpit of the Rust Bucket. They were nearly to their destination of Cormorant and Crater City. They had only left earth a few hours ago, and were taking the time to review the mission brief in more detail.
"So, according to the translation of the text from the last tablet, the next one should be located at the epicenter of the crater. Am I getting that right?" Ben asked, surprisingly studious for once. Gwen looked up from her own tablet to respond.
"More or less. The exact wording is a little different but I suppose that's an acceptable translation." She responded.
"Really? What would you translate it as then?" He asked.
"Well, it's more like the epicenter of the event? Collision? The phrase they use is kind of vague but it seems to suggest that we'll find what we're looking for at the bottom of the crater." Gwen elaborated.
"But haven't tons of people already tried looking for it there? What will we see that others haven't already?" Julie asked concerned.
"I guess we won't know until we get there." Gwen said with a shrug of her shoulders. Ben turned to the pilot seat and saw Kevin white-knuckled gripping the steering wheel. His jaw was tense and his expression grim. Ben raised an eyebrow concerned.
"You've been awfully quiet this whole time. Care to give your take?" Ben asked. Kevin glanced at him before looking back at the rest of the passengers. He sighed and turned back around before flipping switches and pressing buttons on the dashboard. The lights inside the cabin dimmed and only the lights of the various displays illuminated the interior. The other occupants grew concerned by the sudden darkness.
"Kevin?! What gives?" Gwen asked irritated.
"I need to tell you guys something important. And I need to make sure we had radio silence." Kevin explained as the Rust Bucket drifted forward.
"Alright, well we're all ears." Ben said. Kevin sighed deeply before continuing.
"Listen, you guys need to know that Crater City is a bad place." He said.
"Uh, duh, Rook already told us about all the gangs and criminals." Ben said.
"It's not just the criminals Ben. The Plumbers there are bad too." Kevin insisted.
"What? But I thought the Plumbers were the good guys?" Julie asked.
"They're supposed to be. But they're still essentially cops. And no matter where you go there's always going to be bad cops. I know it's hard to believe but I've experienced it myself. When I was younger and fresh out of the Null Void with Argit we stopped over in Crater City. I got my ass handed to me by a bunch of corrupt plumbers." Kevin explained.
"Kevin, I'm not trying to discount your story. But what exactly were you doing at the time?" Gwen asked cautiously.
"Believe it or not I was trying to stop them from running a protection racket." Kevin said. "They were harrassing a little old lady. I had decided to try and put some of my old mentor Qwarrel's teachings to better use and got my butt handed to me. But I managed to get them to leave her alone, so I guess it worked out." He elaborated.
"Look, Kevin, I can definitely believe you ran into some trouble with the Plumbers here but that's a pretty far reach to calling all of them corrupt." Ben said.
"Don't just take my word for it." Kevin said passing around his own tablet. The screen was full of text detailing apparent complaints and charges against the plumber organization of Crater city. The passengers crowded around the tablet as they scrolled and continued reading. "After the whole debacle with the Rooters I did some digging in the Plumber's intergalactic database. It only confirmed my worst fears. The plumbers are not a monolithic organization. There are multiple sects like the Rooters and a lot of corrupt gangs on certain outposts or stations that abuse their power over the little people. It's all in there if you don't believe me. Don't get me wrong, on the whole the Plumbers are a good organization that do a lot to keep people safe and keep the peace. But that doesn't make them immune to abuse or corruption. And from what I could tell from my research, Crater City's plumbers are some of the worst out there." Kevin finished. As the rest of the group finished reading through the tablet they exchanged worried glances. Kevin reignited the engines and continued their journey.
"I just wanted to warn you guys, don't trust these plumbers as easily as you would some of the others." Kevin cautioned. The three looked to each other, nodding in agreement.
"Alright, Kevin. We'll be careful." Ben said seriously. Kevin only nodded in agreement.
The rest of their trip was relatively short and quiet. Before they knew it they had arrived at their destination. The planet Cormorant loomed ahead of them. It's surface was mostly red and brown soil interspersed with patches of green forests and blue seas. Kevin piloted their ship down to the surface of the planet. Even from the outer atmosphere they could make out the giant sprawling city held within the crater. The crater which was the city's namesake was dozens of miles long. In it's center was a spire that towered over the other buildings with a wheeled platform at it's top. Avenues peeled off from the center like the spokes in a wheel. In between the lanes were large impressive steel buildings. The buildings grew more complex the higher up the crater walls they were. Eventually the masses of buildings spilled out over the edge of the crater and surrounded it for a few miles before tapering out into what looked like farmland. The city was absolutely massive, it looked like the NYC equivalent of Undertown.
Kevin piloted the ship closer to the central tower that rose high into the air. He expertly flew the ship into the large wheel that surrounded the spire and touched down in the docking bay. The group exited the ship into the ship dock. They were greeted by a Tetramand plumber wearing the standard issue plumber helmet along with a scowl on his face.
"Greetings, you all must be the visitors of Earth we were told about." The plumber spoke.
"Yes, Hi, I'm Ben Tennyson. This is my cousin Gwen, Kevin Levin, and Julie Yamamoto." Ben introduced them. The plumber officer looked them over but didn't seem to be impressed.
"I'm Magister Bullgo, I'm in charge of this city." He said gruffly. "I want to make one thing clear to you all. I might have orders from above but while you're here you'll follow my instructions. I don't need you wannabe heroes interfering in my city's business. We have enough criminals to deal with and a lot of delicate undercover ops. The last thing I need is a bunch of yahoos messing about in something they don't understand. So are we clear?" Magister Bullgo asked looming over them. The party was slightly taken aback by the less than stellar welcome, exchanging glances with a knowing Kevin.
"Yeah, gotcha." Ben responded evenly. Magister Bullgo stared for a few moments before grunting under his breath.
"Follow me." He said turning and waving them on with two of his four arms. He walked off without waiting for the group. They caught up with him anyway. They passed through the enormous central building fairly quietly, with Bullgo being stoic and silent and none of their group feeling particularly talkative after their warm welcome. Bullgo lead them deeper into the building until they eventually came to a wide open circular lobby. The lobby was filled with plumbers going about their business. A few triangular planters were spaced around the circular room and had green leafy alien plants growing from them. However what grabbed their attention the most was a large red boulder encased in a glass display case in the center of the room.
"Hey, what's that?" Ben finally asked. Bullgo looked to see what he was pointing at. For the first time he let out a slight smile.
"That's the meteor that created the crater you're standing in. It was found on one of the earliest digs in the crater. We owe our entire existence to that chunk of space rock. It's the city's pride and joy." Bullgo explained. Bullgo then ushered the group into an elevator. When the doors closed the group felt themselves descending. "Speaking of which, I don't know what you guys are hoping you're gonna find. More people than you have tried and failed to find the tablet that's supposed to be here." Bullgo warned them. The group exchanged unsteady glances, but Ben, ever charismatic, was unfazed.
"If it's all the same to you, we'd still like to take a look around." Ben responded with a smile. Bullgo stared at him, eyes narrowed.
"Suit yourself." He muttered before turning back around. The elevator continued to descend and the group remained silent. They watched the floor numbers tick slowly down from two hundred. Minutes seemed to pass like hours in the tense atmosphere of the elevator. At last, after what seemed like an eternity, the doors slid open to reveal a dark room. The lights shuddered to life, illuminating a large space filled with metal boxes, and dark red stone and sand. The group stepped out and descended down a short set of stairs to the sandy red soil. The group looked around and observed the space, noting that the ground had several holes and discarded digging equipment laid scattered around the space.
"Here you go. This spot is the exact center of the crater and the site of many digs. We mostly use it for storage nowadays." Bullgo announced. "Now I've got more important things to do than monitor you so have fun playing in the dirt. If you need anything ask reception." Bullgo said curtly. He abruptly turned around and boarded the elevator again. The group waited until the whirring of the elevator had died down to speak.
"He seemed… charming." Gwen commented.
"Is it too early to say I told you so?" Kevin asked.
"Okay, he wasn't all that pleasant but hopefully we don't have to deal with him all that much." Ben said.
"So, where do we start?" Julie asked unsure.
"Let's do a full scan of the room. Trixie if you would?" Ben asked raising up his Omnitrix. Trixie's holographic form popped up on the watch face, giving a mock salute.
"Sure thing Ben!" Suddenly a green light began to emit from the Omnitrix. It scanned across the room from left to right and up and down.
"I'll do a magic scan of my own. Maybe we'll have better luck that way." Gwen said before she adopted a meditative pose and levitated in the air. They waited a few minutes for their scans to be completed. Trixie was the first to finish.
"Sorry, guys. I'm not picking anything up." Trixie replied sadly.
"Yeah, same here. If there was anything here, it's long gone now." Gwen noted. Ben only hummed thoughtfully. It seemed as though their mission would be over before it truly started. But Ben was not so easily dissuaded. He transformed into Wildmutt and began sniffing around. He paced around the dig site, pawing at the holes that were already present. He even went so far as to turn over a couple of the steel crates that were sitting on the floor. But despite nearly fifteen minutes of the group searching, they still came up empty handed. Finally Ben transformed back into human form and walked over to his group.
"Alright, so it's definitely not here. We'll have to come up with a new game plan." Ben stated. He looked at the ground, rubbing his chin in deep concentration. He began pacing the room as he came up with a plan. "I think we need to check out the rest of the city." Ben finally said looking up.
"Uh, Ben, this city is huge." Kevin stated, eyebrow raised.
"So we'll split up. Gwen and Julie can take the north half of the city, you and I will take the south half." Ben said. "There's bound to be at least some rumors that we can drum up. Maybe we can check out some of the other dig sites as well." Ben reasoned.
"Alright, but we'll need some disguises, humans are rare in these parts, and if we go around asking questions it'll scream that we're plumbers." Kevin said.
"That shouldn't be too much of a problem." Gwen said with a snap of her fingers. In an instant she adopted her lucky girl persona. Besides her Julie nodded to Ship who enveloped her in his sleek armor form. Kevin looked to Ben who simply pointed at the Omnitrix. Kevin smiled and nodded before absorbing the stone from the wall. The group left the plumber basement and made their way to the street level. They were surprised by the number of aliens walking about, the city seemed jam packed with people. Even more than that, at the very bottom of the crater light was blotted out by large buildings and flying vehicles from up above. The group looked around them to see that most of the streets were filled with trash and what looked like desolate homeless aliens. The air was filled with the stench of decay and rotting garbage. The buildings were run down and crumbling.
"Man, this is sad." Gwen commented looking at the city. Kevin came up beside her.
"In Crater City, the bottom layer of the crater is essentially the slums. The higher up the crater walls you get and the further from the center you are, the more likely you are to have money. Only the richest people live on the edges of the crater." He explained.
"That works perfectly. I bet these people hear all kinds of rumors." Ben said. He pressed down on the watch face and transformed. The alien he picked however was unfamiliar. He had a standard humanoid body but his arms and legs were metallic with segmented rings. The tips of his fingers were open holes. The majority of his body was obscured by an oversized poncho with a green and black horizontal zig zag pattern. His lower face was covered by a green bandana and his eyes glowed red against gun metal gray skin. He wore an oversized cowboy hat with small tassells towards the back.
"A Calibernite, nice. What do you call this guy?" Kevin asked.
"Uhh, Hotshot" Ben lied speaking in a thick western accent. "We should get moseying, the more time we waste the higher the chance someone will reach the Demiurge before us. We'll meet back here in three hours." He said. The group nodded their assent and split up. Ben, Kevin and Zed went south while Gwen, Julie and Ship headed north.
Gwen and Julie spent the next hour stalking through the slum like streets of Crater City. They passed many strange alien sights and individuals. Eventually they reached some kind of open air market with large crowds and multiple vendors lining the streets. They asked around to anyone and everyone about the history of the city, previous dig sites, and any rumors they might have heard about the Demiurge tablet. They didn't get much information. Most of the people they ran into refused to speak to them at all. Some were willing to give information for a price but even then the info they got was not very helpful. A few more kindly individuals had spoken to the girls and given them some rumors. However their best lead came from one friendly Atrocian who had told the girls that the many gangs and mafias in Crater City had been searching for the tablet for years. But it appeared that one newer gang had been searching more intensely than the others in recent months. He had even told the girls which parts of the city each gang could be found in, although he had warned them against going there directly. The girls however, had assured him they could take care of themselves. They decided to head toward the quarter of the city where they could find one of the gangs, hoping to glean some information from them. As they walked, they noticed the streets becoming cleaner and the buildings looking more respectable. Clearly they were exiting the slums. They had been mostly quiet on their journey, but now that they had a specific destination in mind Gwen decided to strike up a conversation.
"So… how are things with you and Ben?" Gwen asked slyly. Julie nearly stumbled at the question.
"What? What are you talking about? We're not together." She said hoping Ship's face shield would hide her blush.
"Ok yeah, but you two were stranded together alone for three hours on that planet. Are you really going to tell me nothing happened?" Gwen said knowingly. Julie sighed.
"Okay, so he did tell me he still has feelings for me. And he did kiss me…" Julie said dejectedly. Gwen was surprised by the tone of her voice.
"Oh…" She said awkwardly, unsure if she had brought up a sore subject. Julie groaned and placed her head in her hands.
"And yeah, I might still have feelings for him too. But, this hardly seems like the time to revisit any of that! I mean we're trying to prevent a crisis here!" She said. "Plus, I'm still worried about Ben, he just doesn't seem like he's emotionally stable, like he's hiding something. It's why I already turned him down." She elaborated. Gwen nodded sadly.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I've been getting the same feeling." Gwen concurred.
"But the longer I spend around him the more I start to realize how much I missed being with him. I mean sometimes I can hardly believe I gave up on all this." She said gesturing around them. "Your lives are so exciting and full of adventure. I mean I've discovered more about Ship in the last three months than I've learned in the last three years. And I never would have known if I hadn't gotten involved with him again." Julie said.
"You're not scared of getting hurt or being put in danger?" Gwen asked with a quirked eyebrow. Julie looked ahead and thought to herself.
"I don't think I'd ever been truly afraid." Julie said. "Because I always felt like Ben would be there to save me if anything were to happen. And now that I've got Ship I can take care of myself, so I can fight beside him and do the same for him." Julie said with a smile. She turned back to Gwen who looked at her with a knowing look.
"Oh you've got it bad girl." She said. Julie groaned.
"When did things get so complicated?" Julie complained. Gwen simply laughed and patted Julie on the back as a conciliatory gesture.
The girls walked along the street for a few more minutes before Gwen paused. She put a hand to her head, eyes squinted and in deep concentration. "Gwen? What's the matter?" Julie asked concerned. But Gwen continued to focus, drowning out her surroundings. When she opened her eyes again she looked around in shock. She turned to Julie with a concerned expression.
"I think I just sensed Addwaitya here." Gwen said in a whisper. "Come on, I think he might have gone this way!" Gwen called before running off. Julie followed behind chasing desperately after her friend.
Ben and Kevin walked through the busy streets of Crater City. Although they had tried to disguise themselves, some residents of the city still went out of their way to avoid them, recognizing them as outsiders. Kevin had said they should checkout the outskirts of the slums as that would be where they would probably find the most information. Their trip was mostly silent, as they walked among a wide variety of alien lifeforms. Zed followed closely beside them. More than once an individual would come up offering to buy the alien dog from off of them for a hefty price. But a growl from Zed was usually all it took to get them to back off. As they walked through the dilapidated slum streets and back alley avenues, Ben couldn't help but to notice peculiar things. Many of the walls and buildings they walked among were littered with anti-plumber graffiti. Most of it consisted of the words Red-Spots and some variation of curse words. Of the languages he couldn't make out, the bright red dripping circles next to the tags made the meanings pretty clear. There wasn't a whole lot of plumber activity in the slums. But Ben noticed whenever they did make an appearance, much of the populace gave them a wide berth. It was as though they lived in fear of the plumbers.
Ben hated to admit it, but Kevin may have been right. For whatever reason, the Plumbers here were not as trusted as other parts of the universe he had frequented. Kevin could tell that Ben was taking this all in. Although it was no surprise to him, he was sure that it must have been something of a shock to Ben. The young man hadn't been on the wrong side of the law like Kevin had been in the past, and it showed. The naïve belief that the Plumbers were always the good guys had never left Ben's mind and it was only now starting to shake loose. But Kevin didn't comment on it, knowing that any attempt to talk about the subject would be met with disbelief. Instead he silently directed them to the outskirts of the slums. The plan was to visit the local bars and go scrounging for rumors. Places like those were always full of gossip and people looking to get paid. So it made it the perfect stop for their mission.
They soon arrived at one such establishment. The patrons inside eyed them warily. Unfortunately for the duo, their first attempts at trying to pick up rumors got them thrown out. It wasn't until the second bar they visited that they learned talking about the demiurge tablet was taboo in town. Only fools and gangsters went around talking about that subject. So they tried a more covert approach. Kevin took the lead this time, having more experience dealing with these types. But even with Kevin spearheading their efforts they did not gather much intel. What they had learned is that apparently some up and coming mafia had moved into the city and was making headway. They were bold, making deals and trading weapons and drugs quickly and for good prices. It had upset the local mafia ecosystem and some of the old guard weren't thrilled but nobody had been able to track them down or determine their whereabouts. They were supposedly spread out to all edges of the city and no-one was sure who was a member or not. But they had been directed to another bar where they were more likely to get information. So they set out in search of it.
After about another hour they had finally reached the bar. It was a back alley hole in the wall kind of joint. The only indication that it was a bar was the engraved metal plate next to the entrance which read 'Reaver's Rest'. The duo exchanged glances before entering the establishment. The inside of the bar was dark and smoky. The walls and furniture were built with shoddy brick and old splintered wood. Multiple booths lined the interior with a few open tables. The bar to the far left side held only a few patrons. The pair stepped inside and glanced around. There were only a few aliens milling about the interior, it hardly seemed the gathering place for an up and coming criminal organization. But as Ben glanced around his eyes went wide as he spotted a pair of familiar forms.
"The Vreedle brothers?! What in tarnation are ya'll doin' here?" Ben asked stomping over to the pair.
"Uh, pardon. I don't believe we've had the pleasure of being acquainted." Octagon said.
"Don't play dumb." Hotshot said, eyes narrowing.
"Oh, we don't play dumb. We is dumb." Rhomboid said almost proudly.
"Boid…" Octagon reprimanded.
"Sorry." He replied.
"It's us, Kevin and Ben." Kevin said dropping his transformation. Recognition flashed in the eyes of the clone twins.
"Oh, well in that case salutations. Now what can we do for you fine folks?" Octagon replied happily.
"Y'all can start by tellin' us what you varmints are doin' here in Crater City. Up to some no good tricks I bet. What do you know 'bout this new group of gun smugglin' low lives?" Ben asked intimidatingly. Octagon's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms.
"You may forget that we are free citizens and we are not obliged to tell you every detail of our business. We are simply here to enjoy some refreshments of this here fine establishment." Octagon said diplomatically.
"Yeah, plus we ain't even done nuthin' yet." Boid agreed. "We're waiting for a new job opportunity with this new criminal organization but we haven't had any luck gettin' a hold of 'em." He explained. Kevin and Ben glared at the pair of clones.
"Aw, dang it Boid! What have I told you bout blabbering our business to strangers?" Octagon reprimanded throwing his hands up in the air. Rhomboid looked sheepish.
"Sorry Octagon." He said.
"Well now that the cat's outta the bag you might as well tell us. What's the scoop in the city Octagon?" Kevin asked leaning in close. Beside him Zed growled for emphasis. Octagon glanced between the three of them nervously swallowing.
"Okay okay. Well a few months back we had heard tell of a new criminal organization setting up in this here city. Word was they've been calling themselves the Syndicate. Rumors on the street is that they're puttin a crew together for some big kind of heist. Boid and I were gonna volunteer our services, for a cut of the profits of course." Octagon explained.
"Yeah, 'cept we ain't heard nothin' from no-one about it. So we figured we'd get some grub while we waits." Boid added. Ben and Kevin glanced at each other before Ben held up an index finger in front of them. At the tip of his finger a small flame began to burn with intense heat and light.
"Where is the heist supposed to take place? What are they going after?" Hotshot threatened, his red eyes narrowing. Both of the Vreedle brothers held up their hands defensively at the threat of violence.
"I'm not sure. Word is they may even be tryin' to break into Plumber Tower. But I swear on our Ma's name that's all we know." Octagon whimpered. The light from Ben's finger went out and he backed off.
"You Vreedle Brothers are many things, but you don't take yer Ma's name in vain. I'll give ya that much." Ben said. The Vreedle Brothers smiled sheepishly at the comment.
"Do you think we should tell the girls?" Kevin asked. Ben thought about the proposition. It would be good to share information but that would also mean he might have to talk to Julie. He could feel a blush come on his face just from the thought. Although he was trying to take her words to heart, he couldn't help the butterflies in his stomach he got whenever he thought of her. Ben tipped his hat to hide the growing blush on his face.
"I-I reckon we should keep it to ourselves, for the time being." He stuttered. Kevin raised an eyebrow and gave a cheeky smile.
"What, you still afraid to talk to Julie? She's just a girl ya know." Kevin teased him.
"Confound it, I already talked to her." Ben shot back. "She said she ain't interested right now." Ben said, somewhat deflated. Kevin leaned his head against his fist on the table.
"And what about Kai? You talked to her yet? Have you told her you're still into Julie?" Kevin asked.
"Wha- Are you tryin' ta get me killed? No we ain't together neither. I'm just… look it's complicated." Ben said.
"Hoo-whee! Ben Tennyson with girl troubles? That's a funny sight fer sure." Rhomboid laughed.
"What do you know about it?" Ben said annoyed, the tips of his fingers starting to flare again.
"Now Ben, I can tell ya the key to any good romantic relationship is communication and compromise. Both partners need to express their emotions, wants, and needs in a respectful manner while also being willing to come together and negotiate boundaries and desires." Octagon explained sagely.
"Ughh, I really don't need a lecture on my love life from the Vreedles of all people." Ben complained. "Come on Kev, I think we've gotten everythang we're gonna get from these two." Ben said before walking off. The pair walked off leaving the Vreedle Brothers behind to sigh in collective relief.
"So what now? If what they said is true this Syndicate could potentially be planning to attack Plumber Tower." Kevin observed.
"And if they're after the Demiurge tablet it would suggest that it's somewhere in the tower. But a lead like this isn't substantial enough by itself. We should try to collect some more intel." Ben said.
The duo of heroes exited the back alley bar and onto the streets. They were intent to go to the next bar and see what other leads they could gather. However, their attention was immediately grabbed by a commotion happening across the street. A pair of Plumbers were harassing a small alien wearing orange. The commotion had apparently been happening for a while as it had gathered a few scared onlookers. The crowd stayed close enough to watch but far enough away that they wouldn't draw the Plumber's attention. The Plumbers in question were yelling and shouting at the alien. Ben and Kevin couldn't see the individual from their angle but it was clear he appeared harmless. Suddenly one of the Plumbers kicked the little guy over onto the ground. The helpless victim tried desperately to get up and run away but the Plumbers continued to kick and abuse him as he tried to get up. The little alien tried calling out for help, yet the crowd of onlookers dared not move. Ben narrowed his eyes at the situation before stomping forward, the spurs on the back of his heels clicking with every step.
"Hey!" Hotshot called out. The pair of plumbers paused in their beating. They turned around to see Hotshot with his arms out to the side. "Y'all wanna explain exactly what yer doing to that poor little fella?" Ben asked, nodding to the alien who had curled up into a ball.
"Move along civilian, this doesn't concern you." The plumber said.
"Oh, I reckon it does." Ben cracked back. "There's no need to be so brutal, he clearly ain't resisting." Ben said gesturing to the little alien.
"You're interrupting official Plumber business. I'd seriously walk away if I was you. Otherwise we'll have no choice but to arrest you for obstruction of justice." The plumber said.
"I'd like ta see you try." Ben said. The plumber growled and put a hand on his blaster.
"This is your last warning." He threatened. But Ben was not moved.
"And this is your last warning, step away from the little feller, or we're about to have ourselves a shoot out." Hotshot said, curling his fists so that only his index fingers remained out.
There was a tense silence between the opposing sides. The plumber closest to him hovered his hand over his blaster. Ben narrowed his eyes, already feeling the fire building its way up his hand. The onlookers watched on silently, none of them dared speak a word. They had never seen someone challenge the plumbers so recklessly, they were sure that this stranger was about to get himself killed. Even Kevin watched slightly bemused by the scene. Zed whimpered behind him but he ran a calming hand down her neck. The only sound was that of the wind whistling through the street, kicking up red dust from the road.
Suddenly the Plumber reached for his gun. He pulled it swiftly from his holster and took aim at Ben. But Hotshot was quicker. In an instant Ben had raised his hand and shot a fiery ball of red plasma at the plumber. The fiery bullet impacted against the blaster, causing the plumber to drop it. Behind him his partner also raised his blaster. But Ben was too quick, by the time the other one had raised his pistol two balls of fiery plasma impacted his head and gun respectively. The first plumber dashed for his gun on the ground but it was sent spinning away as Ben shot another fireball from his finger tips. A second fireball ricocheted off the wall of a nearby building and impacted the first plumber right in the middle of his helmet. The impact caused his head to smack into the ground. The second plumber abandoned his blaster and charged straight at Ben with his much larger frame.
But Ben opened his palms and began firing from all ten fingers. The sudden spray of bullets sent the larger plumber stumbling back. Once he was off balance Ben started firing all at odd random angles. He fired bullet after bullet against the ground, walls, and any available surface. Incredibly the bullets bounced around the plumber in a hail of ricochets. They impacted him from unpredictable angles. Each bullet left him bruised and singed and painful. Eventually the pair of plumbers were left cowering on the concrete sidewalk much like their former victim once was. Finally the rain of fiery projectiles abruptly ceased. The two plumbers, injured and shamed dared to look up. They saw the intimidating visage of their opponent Hotshot, standing stock still with his fingers still smoking and glowing slightly red. The pair looked up fearfully as Ben spoke.
"Now, are y'all gonna leave peaceful like? Or am I gonna have to make ya?" Ben asked. The plumbers got up and ran off, abandoning both their weapons and their victim behind. As the pair of plumbers ran off the crowd around them burst into cheers. Ben looked around at the cheering aliens, surprised how grateful they appeared to be. Hotshot tipped his hat before his transformation timed out. Ben watched as Kevin walked up to him, Zed in tow.
"Where were you in all that?" He asked.
"Eh, I knew you could handle it." Kevin replied. Together the pair walked over to the bruised alien the plumbers were beating on.
"Hey, there. They're gone now. Are you okay?" Ben asked offering a hand. The pile of orange clothes shifted. The little alien sat up and they could finally see a familiar porcupine like alien with black bristles for hair and a scrawny figure.
"Argit?!" The duo exclaimed in shock.
"Ben! Kev! Thanks for the save you guys. Really appreciate it. Well, now that that's over with I best be on my way." Argit said, walking off obviously bruised. But before he could run off Kevin had grabbed the little rascal by his shirt and lifted him up into the air.
"Now I almost wish I let those Plumbers beat you up." Ben muttered under his breath.
"What's the mayor of Undertown doing in Crater City?" Kevin interrogated dropping the alien onto the ground again but not letting go of his grip.
"Yeah! What tricks are you… Wait, wait, wait. Did you say mayor? Of Undertown? When did that happen?" Ben asked incredulous.
"Whatsamatter Benny Boy? Surprised to learn I've gone into politics? I'm on the straight and narrow now! I'd do anything for my adoring constituents." Argit bragged.
"Which makes it all the more suspicious that you're here." Kevin glowered. "Are you caught up in this whole mafia business?" He asked. Argit gulped nervously.
"Well, ya know, I still have my shipping business on the side, although officially I'm divested from the company. But for the really special deliveries, I like to make them in person." Argit explained.
"By which he means the illegal ones." Kevin explained his doublespeak.
"So spill it. What are you transporting and to who? And where's your Techadon body guards?" Ben asked.
"I can't walk around this part of town with those lugs around. I'm trying to keep a low profile ya know." He said.
"Right, cuz that worked so well before we got to you." Kevin said. Argit winced, rubbing his black eye.
"So who's your client Argit, more importantly, are they involved with the Syndicate?" Ben asked. Argit swallowed nervously. He tried laughing it off but Ben picked up on the rodent's sketchy attitude.
"So you are meeting them here." Kevin surmised.
"Alright shush shush shush. Look I'll tell you. I don't really know the buyer but he's willing to pay three times the price for this techno-doodad. It's not even that dangerous, just some computer component. I've got nothing to do with the Syndicate's plans. I swear." Argit confessed.
"Good, then you'll have no problem if I impersonate you for the drop off so we can find out their plans." Ben smiled.
"I… what?" Argit asked. Ben flashed another grin and pressed the watch. In an instant he looked like Argit, but taller and with a better physique and less scrunched up nose. Argit looked at the transformation with envy and sighed.
"Allright, so here's the plan…" Ben began to explain.
A/N: And we're back to regularly scheduled programming. Sorry guys the last few weeks have been kind of crazy but I'm hoping to get back to my regular update schedule. Hopefully the extra long chapter will make up for it. The crater city story is going to have two more chapters so I hope you guys dig it.