Incursean Empire.
He was screwed.
"Why?" Was all Ben could muster as the frog stared at him.
"That was not disclosed to me." Arfar... was it that? Ben hoped he heard it right. "Just that the empress has called you for a friendly meeting.
"On behalf of the Empire?" Ben questioned, not keeping his hand far from the Omnitrix.
Arfar croaked. "No. Simply a friendly invite, like I said."
Ben narrowed his eyelids, skeptical. "And if I say no?"
"Then I will leave," Arfar stated. "But I reckon the Empress will be displeased not to meet with you, Ben 10."
Ben stared at the alien for a moment, pondering his options. He did not want to go off the planet. Right now, he just wanted to report back to his grandpa and sleep for a day or two. But at the same time... a displeased Attea would probably snowball into something much worse. So...
"Fine." He sighed. "I'll come."
The incursean nodded deeply, almost a bow. "Perfect. We are not too far, our fleet is stationed near your moon."
"Great," Ben said, entering the pod and strapping in. Arfar entered right after and at a moment's notice, they were already on their way. Ben quickly sent the details he had heard from the truck driver through the Plumbers' channel. He wouldn't risk sending what he heard through Whatsapp or something; as for the two psychos waiting for him...
"Sunny, can you hear me?" He pressed the comms button in the Omnitrix, hoping for a response.
"Yes." Again, that was not Sunny who answered. "What is it?"
"There was a change of plans," Ben said, already noticing the sky getting darker as the pod flew up. "I'm going to space... for a bit. I will be back today, just please don't blow up the hotel while I'm out."
"We'll try," Charmcaster said. "Try to come back in one piece."
"Got it." Ben shut off the communicator, resting his head on the seat. He felt tired. So tired. He barely felt like he had enough time to process what happened with Kai. Tech dealings, alternate versions, witches, a new superhero team, and now, Attea.
Surely it could just go up from here, right?
The trip to the incursean ship was short, thankfully. The sight of the massive, heavily armed, and armored space cruiser did make Ben shiver, remembering the invasion of Earth. There were just a few other ships excluding the main one, though, so he doubted this was the beginning of a second invasion. They landed in the hangar, where they were welcomed by two soldiers with blaster rifles. Ben was instructed to follow the soldiers, which he did without objection. They walked across the halls for a bit, with Ben thinking how much it looked like he was a prisoner. He couldn't keep the memories of his time being thrown into space like garbage, with Azmuth saving him at the last minute, only because of Attea's machinations.
It had felt good to destroy Milleous's ship.
They finally arrived at a large doorway, where one of the soldiers knocked on the door, which soon opened to reveal a large throne room. Decorations sprinkled the place, war trophies were hung on the wall, and a large throne was present in front of the door. And in the throne, sat the empress. And she truly looked like a royal. While in the past Attea would wear something akin to an aviator suit, now, she wore long purple and black robes, although her usual headdress remained.
"Leave us." She commanded the soldiers, who left promptly, but not before bowing. The doors closed behind Ben, leaving him alone with the empress. Even from afar, he could see a glimpse of her cruel smirk.
"I almost thought you weren't coming." She declared, walking towards him.
"Not really my choice. Your emissary was persuasive enough."
Attea chuckled. "Why did you think I sent him particularly? After all, I could have sent an armada demanding your surrender."
"But you know I'd fight back," Ben said, feeling himself tensing up as she approached him. He couldn't help to notice she looked more mature. Taller. Less like a teenager. And not just in mannerisms, but in appearance as well.
But as she stood in front of him, her red eyes staring into his green, he was surprised to see Attea extending her hand.
"It's not unpleasant to see you again, Ben Tennyson." She said politely. "I do appreciate you came."
After a moment of hesitation, Ben shook Attea's hand firmly. "I'd rather remain civil with you. And by extension, your empire."
Attea smirked again. "Come. I set up my quarters, so you don't have to stay on your feet while I update you."
"Uh... thanks?" Ben said, unsure of how to feel. Attea simply nodded and signaled for him to follow her, which he did. They entered a door that Ben didn't realize existed into what was without a doubt Attea's private quarters. The space was huge, with a massive bed, a huge television set up on the wall, and a table with different Earth snacks on top of it.
"I hope you enjoy it. I had to consult a lot of people to know what a 'Doritos' is." She told with a grin and sat at the table. Ben too sat, chuckling lightly.
"I do think I'll enjoy it." Ben grabbed one of the chips and brought it to his mouth. "Unless you're poisoning or drugging me."
"I wouldn't dare." She glanced intensely towards him. "You're too good of a deterrent."
Ben found himself frowning. "What do you mean?"
"Alright, to business." Attea adjusted her posture on the chair. "Ben, how versed are you on the affairs of the galaxy?
He drank from a glass of coke. "Not much. Why?"
Attea placed her hands together on the table. "Things are... volatile, recently, so to say. Looma."
Ben tensed again, remembering their shared history, which did involve Attea. "What's with her?"
"Her kingdom... her father's kingdom," Attea corrected. "Has been a nuisance for a while. They have become expansionist, and jingoistic. And now, there's a war coming."
Ben stopped munching. "A war?"
Attea nodded. "Yes. Her father has been wounded in a campaign against a tributary of mine. And... well, Looma, being Looma, is using this as justification for war."
He crossed his arms. "What's the problem? I thought you guys loved conquering and fighting."
The empress looked at him, unlike any other way she had before, at least as long as he could recall. She barely resembled the bratty and sadistic teenager at this moment. "I am not opposed to conquering, Ben. Much to the contrary, but... there's a point where you get overstretched. And people start demanding change. For as much as we Incurseans tried to just conquer our way into glory, we fell into the trap of having to worry about governance, bureaucracy."
Ben furrowed his eyebrows. "So?"
"So, I now need to rule over dozens of planets with conflicting interests. The last thing I need is a war. Many planets do not respect my authority as they should. They only fear the retaliation."
He was left to ponder for a moment. "Do you want me to try to stop her?"
Attea laughed. "Oh, no. You don't need to daydream." Her eyes flashed with amusement. "Trying to reason with Looma is like trying to bash your head into a wall. Just even more painful. What I do want is for you and the Plumbers to stay out of this."
Ben frowned further. "I don't control the Plumbers."
"But your grandfather has enough authority to make things happen." Attea pinched one of the snacks. "So, I need you to stay away. I can deal with this. Just don't complicate things further for me. I'm even willing to leave Khoros alone after we win."
"Okay..." Ben nodded slowly. "Did you drag me to the moon just to tell me to keep doing what I'm doing right now?"
Attea narrowed her eyes. "Mind your tone. And yes, I did. I took advantage of the fact you might have been available. Since you are no longer betrothed."
At her words, he widened his eyes, shocked, ignoring her scolding completely. "What... oh, come on! How come even you are aware?! And I was... not betrothed. She was just my girlfriend."
The empress was undoubtedly amused at his outrage, shrugging. "Don't be so surprised. I had to pretty much stalk you to even be aware of your whereabouts."
"Seems like that is trending." He mumbled under his breath.
"What?" Attea asked, tilting her head.
Ben was startled. "Nothing. Forget it. I'm just in the middle of a lot of things. But I got it. Letting you and Looma fight."
"Good boy," Attea said. "I must admit, you're much nicer when we can be civil."
"You can't find someone who is punching you cool, can you?"
"Looma can," Attea commented with a chuckle. "Oh, and Ben?"
"Yeah?" He answered, shuddering at the way she was gazing at him.
"The offer I made... do you remember it?"
Ben gulped. Of course, he remembered. Right after Milleous had been arrested.
"It's still on the table. I'd even sweeten the deal for you. You aren't as terrible in human form as I remembered."
Despite himself, a blush filled Ben's cheeks. "I... I think it's still a bit early for me to think about that."
Attea hummed. "Well..." She blinked. "You know where to find me."
"I'll... keep that in mind" Ben felt very uncomfortable right now. "I'd rather call you a friend for now."
She pursed her lips. "Friend works."
"So, this is the last place they saw the truck?" Alan asked. All Lucy could see was a bunch of trees that bordered both sides of the road. The team's newly gifted van – if you could even call it just a van since it was so boosted with upgrades from both the Plumbers and Cooper – was parked just a few meters away. They had been assigned this mission with urgency since this was where a truck with possibly illegal tech was last seen before disappearing.
Lucy was happy to be on the case, but all of this seemed very sketchy. The lenopan found herself nervous. Very much so.
"You know it is." Manny grumpily responded. Then again, he was always grumpy. At least to Lucy, he was.
"You two, be quiet." Helen scolded the tetramand and pyronite hybrids. "Cooper can't concentrate on you arguing."
"Thank you," Cooper said, shutting his eyes off again. His technopathy was impressive, Lucy had to admit. Even with her shapeshifting and versatility, Helen's speed, Manny's strength, and Alan's pyrokinesis, Lucy had to admit Cooper was the most powerful of the group, and that was why he was the unofficial leader of the group, much to Manny's disapproval.
The tetramand scoffed. "Yeah, sure. Little Daniels needs his quietness and silence to even do what he's supposed to do."
"Manny, I will shove one of your blasters down your throat. You're giving me a headache." Cooper threatened.
"I'd like to see you try, punk."
"Please, be quiet!" Helen begged and Manny finally acquiesced. Lucy scowled. Manny really needed to work things out and stop antagonizing Cooper. But judging by Helen's constant reactions, this didn't seem like a new thing.
Finally, Cooper opened his eyelids, his blue eyes glowing even brighter, and he extended his hands forward. The ground shook heavily, almost knocking Lucy off balance. A massive elevator-like structure appeared among the woods. When the building finished rising from the ground, Cooper let out a sigh, hands on his knees.
"This shouldn't have been so much of an effort."
"What do you mean?" Lucy questioned.
Cooper looked in the direction of the structure. "That... that thing... whatever it is... I've never seen technology that fights against my control." He paused. "Just once, actually. But regardless. This is too ordinary to be possible."
Manny drew his blasters. "We should go in. See what's up."
"Shouldn't we warn the station first?" Alan suggested.
"We're not supposed to do that anymore!" Manny argued. "We're supposed to get things done. They wouldn't mount a team so we can just be scouters."
"Manny is at least partially right." Cooper composed himself.
"Partially?" The tetramand protested, but the blonde ignored him.
"The Plumbers did send us to deal with this. We're the cavalry. There is no backup coming."
Helen crossed her arms. "I have a bad feeling about this. But..." the Kineceleran looked towards Lucy. The two had been growing a friendship ever since the advanced training they took. The rest of the team looked at Lucy, who found herself blushing. The lenopan didn't even consider herself for a leadership role, not by a long shot, but at the same time, it felt weird for her to probably have the last word. She couldn't help but blush a little.
"Look, Manny is right in saying that we should do this on our own. I too am afraid." She looked throughout the group. "But it's what we trained for. We can't let fear overcome us now."
"I'm with her," Alan said, morphing into his pyronite form. "We can't wait much longer, though. They will know we're coming."
"Alan is right," Cooper said, and with a start, Lucy noticed he was sweating. "It keeps fighting back. Let's go."
The team made their way into the structure, with Cooper willing the doors to open themselves, revealing the inside of it, which truly did resemble an elevator. The lights were dim, barely illuminating the space. It was also claustrophobic, with Manny and Cooper alone occupying half of the space. But they at least managed to make it underground safely.
They were greeted with what looked like a laboratory. There were tables all over the place, small animals in cages, and huge glasses that were seemingly apparent. The whole place was dark, shades of dark blue decorating the impeccably clean walls.
"What is this?" Helen asked the question they all had in their head. Suddenly, Cooper brought his hands to his head, groaning in pain.
"Cooper!" Lucy lunged forward, holding him before he could fall to the ground. "What is it?"
"There's something..." He blurted out with labored breathing. "There's another mind in my head... it's reaching through my technopathy..."
"Our courtesy." An ominous voice spoke from what seemed to be every corner in the room. All of them immediately went into fighting stances, with Lucy assuming her lenopan-human mixed form. In front of them, a swarm of insect-like beings formed the shape of a woman with blue skin, pure white eyes, a black body with blue lines all over it, and to top the eery look, what resembled black antlers popping out of her head. At her sight, Cooper groaned louder, falling to his knees.
"What are you doing? Who are you?" Helen drew her double blasters, pointing at the woman's head.
"Our presence is too much for his mind. There are things no one can control." She sauntered towards them, a dark smile on her face.
"Don't go any further!" Manny warned. The woman did stop, but she didn't seem threatened at the sight of the blasters. Instead, she only laughed. A deep, unsettling laugh that brought Lucy the creeps.
"You are so lucky we need you alive." With that, the woman attacked, leaving barely any time for them to dodge it, so much so, that Alan was knocked away by one of the swarms coming out from the woman. Lucy got up from the ground, just as she noticed Manny flying across the lab, knocking one of the tables in the process.
"Oh, must you make such a mess?" She taunted, while Helen shot at high speed, but the woman barely felt a scratch. With a cry, another wave of those swarms shot out from her hands, knocking out Helen, who was thrown against the wall, falling unconscious. Lucy was the last one standing since Cooper was still in the ground, not in a position to fight back. The lenopan dodged and attempted to attack from a distance, but all it did was amuse the woman, who, in a single blow, hit Lucy with what felt like the strength of a truck, making her fall to the floor.
The woman – if she could even be called just that – strolled towards Lucy, the smile never leaving her face. "You are of use to us." She said, her voice mechanical and aggressive. "So do not think of losing your consciousness now."
Lucy groaned. "What's with you using we anyway?"
The woman brought her foot to Lucy's throat, who could barely do anything apart from trying to hold her leg with her hands, but to no avail. "Nothing that concerns you." She crouched, looking deeply into her eyes. "Now... Alert the Plumbers."
Despite the pain and the air being refrained from reaching her lungs, Lucy still widened her eyes in confusion. "What?"
"You heard us. We need Ben Tennyson to come."