Chapter 2

Morning in the forest is calming. The smell of timber, birds chirping away, the sunlight peeking beyond the veil of trees, and the creaking of branches. It is a perfect place to embrace nature in peace.

Then, the air snapped like a cracking whip, silencing the forest. A small rip of space and time appears in between the trees. The air is twisted and turned into a sphere, like looking through a warped glass. A surprised yell came from within, echoing loud and louder until a man came right through it, face-first to the ground with a loud thump.

"Ugh." The man groaned in pain, "That wasn't what I had in mind when I picked the Drop-in method. Ouch.", he muttered in annoyance.

Getting up, he dusts off the dirt and sticks on his brown pants and white long-sleeve shirt. After ruffling off the rest of his gray jacket hoodie, he looks around the area. His annoyed expression fades as a smile crept to his lips: "Finally here. This is gonna be fun. But first, I should get my shit."

Combing back his black hair, he walked to a small clearing where he spotted a few felled trees.

"Looks recent," Cal thought and smirked knowingly.

He walked to where the trees had fallen, finding scorch marks along them and burnt ground that surrounded a big ditch in the middle. The reflection of light in the small crater catches his eye.

Jumping down the slope of the crash site, Cal slides down with ease to the object of interest.

Looking at the object with curiosity, "Huh. Bigger than I thought it would've been."

It's gray metallic and round, with etches like a rolled-up roly-poly. It was as big as a beach ball. A pod.

As he approached The Pod, it beeped in a pattern. After a few seconds, the side of it where a circular symbol had blinked green scanned Cal in a thin ray of blue. It opened after a confirmed beep, revealing an orange glow shining brightly on Cal's face.

Cal smiled contently, "I'll be sure to use these soon." He looked at two other things in the pod: an unassuming black smartphone and a jar of something swirling inside. "It looks like tar." The jar was about a gallon size, shaped like an Erlenmeyer flask. Inside was black, slimy tar with a sliver of gold twisting and swirling.

Cal knelt, took the jar up to his waist, held it with one arm, and looked at it fascinatedly. Cal took his free hand and pressed his thumb on the lid, and a light glowed from where his thumb made contact. A hiss of locks is heard receding back in.

User identified and confirmed.

Cal Links, access granted.

Opening container.

A robotic voice said as the glow stopped. The lid opened, revealing the tar-like substance swirling around.

"This better not hurt." As that thought finished, the tar or slimy substance latched to Cal's chest, and it began to climb out of the jar to Cal.

POV: Cal

Woah. This feels weird.

The thing latched suddenly to me like a magnet. Cool, but that shit still surprised me. The jar fell to the ground after it wormed out and onto me. I could see it get under my clothes in seconds. Spreading itself across my body, to my fingers, and down to my feet.

It's warm, like taking a dip in a nice hot bath—awesome. The thing felt like slime over my skin and muscles, but it was not disturbing; it felt more like a comfortable suit, snugged in all the right places. I could feel it seep into my body through the skin, which felt weird.

I could feel it enhancing my already strong body. My senses are sharper. I can hear cars on a highway a couple of miles away. I smell each distinctive scent, from the type of tree to the animals. And my sight is clear enough to see an eagle high in the sky and, higher than that, an airplane. My senses were getting a bit too sharp, but they were dialed back before it became overwhelming.

Guess it could tell I was getting uncomfortable. That's awesome.

~Yes, I was testing your limits. They are. Vast, to say the least.~

The voice was deep and husky, not as rough as I thought it would be. It kind of reminded me of Wolverine.

Good to meet you.

~You as well. You still have other items in the pod.~

I look back to the pod and pick up the phone. It's sleek and ergonomically designed, making it easy to hold. I double-tap the screen, prompting a fingerprint scan.

So again, with my thumb, I unlock the phone, revealing a simple set of apps: contacts, camera, messaging, and a couple of others. The time had already synced up, saying it was morning. I pulled up my location. Revealing the star system and planet I'm on.

Looks like I'm on earth. Good. And I'm in the United States. Also good.

I tap the geolocation button. It zooms in on where I am and shows a forest and a highway two miles away.

Huh. I know I picked a random spot to drop in, but I didn't think it would drop me in South Dakota. I wonder what part of the timeline I'm in. I held my chin curiously.

~It'll be wise to find a town and get a handle on current events.~

You're right. We need to know how far along we are.

I put my hand over the pod, which beeped in response and closed up. Then, I touched the surface of the pod, making it disappear.

~Where did it go?~

I sent it to a Pocket Dimension. Handy little thing to have when you don't have The Gamer inventory.

~Huh. I don't know what that is, but this ability will serve as an excellent trump card.~

Yeah. But I don't think I can just fling things out of like that guy with a name that rhymes with mesh.

~That is why training exists.~

After discussing a few other things in our mental link, I took the jar. I sent it into my pocket dimension and put out any embers or fires left by the pod's crash with my symbiote. I love this thing; it doesn't have any of Knull's influence, which means it has no fire or sound weakness.

Then, I tested out my abilities as I ran to the highway. Punching a boulder cracked it easily. Jumping from tree to tree was kind of fun, but I couldn't replicate the web-swinging. I could only latch to trees with thick tendrils that pulled me forward. This was probably because I didn't have Spider-Man's gene codex in the symbiote. But who needs that if you can fly? Then, a realization hit me.

Ah, crap, I don't know KI control. Probably just gotta meditate or something.

I could run so fast. It took me 5 minutes to reach the road, and I wasn't even trying to run—I just jogged.

It looks like I need to train to control my strength.

It's not that difficult. I mean, all it takes is setting up levels for yourself and making sure you're using the right level of strength. Right?

~Indeed. I can keep you from overdoing it in the meantime if you'd like.~

I was walking by the side of the road with a backpack on my shoulder. I had the symbiote shapeshift one so I wouldn't look suspicious walking down the road with nothing but the clothes on my back.

It was pretty quiet, with the occasional car passing by. Mostly heading in the opposite direction. I didn't bother hitchhiking because I spotted a road sign saying I was a little ways from a nearby town, in walking distance, no less.

That would help. Oh yeah, I totally forgot to give you this.

~Hmm?~

I raise my hand, palm open. Then, a couple of bars of chocolate appear in my hand.

The symbiote then engulfs the bars. I could feel through the mental link the enjoyment of a delicious meal.

~This is incredible! Hmm, so good.~

I let out a laugh, "Glad you're enjoying it. I got plenty in the P.D. There's a lifetime crate of it, so no worries about running out." It only cost a couple of points, too. What a steal.

As he enjoyed his morning breakfast, I heard another car coming up from behind me. It sounded bigger, so I looked, to my surprise. It was the Rust Bucket, cruising the road at an average pace.

Looks like ROB is giving me a helping hand. Thanks, ROB.

I didn't hesitate at this opportunity and waved my hands out to it. No way was I missing this chance to meet the Tennysons.

Well, there is Max's cooking. Hope he doesn't offer any.

Before I could reconsider putting my hand down, the RV slowed down and parked on the side of the road.

I might've messed up.

~Nothing to worry about. It's not like it'll kill us.~

Somehow, I doubt that.

I walk up to the driver's side of the RV. Looking up to the window going down. And there it was, two green kind eyes and a slight smile on an old man.

He reminds me of my Dad.

I smile at him, "Morning."

He nodded slightly, "Good morning. You need a ride, son?"

Nodding back, "Yeah, I'm trying to get to Rapid City. Could I bother you for a ride? I've got some cash for gas."

I could see the slight worry on his face, though he hid it well. He shook his head, "No, that's alright. We're about a few hours away from it on wheels. But on foot, that could be a few days of walking."

I put my hand up to ease his worry, "Oh, I was going to get to the next town and find a bus to take.", which was the truth. I planned on staying in Rapid City for a bit. And plan out on what to do next. I already had a few plans for the future, but I would need some information before I act on any of them.

That seemed to ease him, "Ah, glad to see a young man like yourself has a plan. Well, I can give you a ride there. It's on the way." he got up and walked away from his seat.

I moved around the RV to the door and saw him open it.

As I got closer, I noticed he was a lot taller than me. I had my height set to 5'9. That was how tall I was sometime in high school till I graduated. But I eventually got to around 6 feet, so looking at Max, I could tell he was taller than that. Maybe 6'4. Why are grandpas always so tall?

He extended his hand to me, and I hesitated for a split second. Don't crush the hand, don't crush the hand, don't crush the hand. Repeating the mantra in my head, I carefully put my hand up to his and shook it. ~It'll be fine. I'm keeping you in check, remember?~ I might've forgotten about that for a quick second. So I eased up and shook like normal.

"Hi. Name's Max. Max Tennyson."

I squealed like a kid inside but kept calm, "My name's Cal Links. Good to meet you, Sir. And thanks for the ride."

He chuckled, "It's no problem. Come on in."

I followed him in, closing the door behind me. It was roomy. I had never been in an RV before, but it was definitely more prominent than a van. Max gestured to the seat next to him as he sat back in the driver's seat. I set the pack on my lap as I sat.

"This is a big car," I said openly.

"Have you never been in an RV before?" he asked as he started the engine, and we were on the road.

I shook my head, "Never. I only ever rode buses and cars. This is like riding in a small house."

He laughed, "Well, the Rust Bucket is home, and for the summer, it's my grandkids too."

"Grandkids?" I asked, knowing who he meant. Then I heard someone waking in the back of the RV.

Peeking over my chair, I spotted a kid with orange hair and a blue clip-on. They were wearing pajamas and a blue shirt with a cat logo. They got up, rubbing their eyes and yawning. "Good morning, Grandpa."

"Morning, Pumpkin. How you'd sleep?"

Yawning more, she walked to us and responded, "Good. What time is it?"

Max looked at the clock on the dash and then back at the road, "It's just past eight in the morning."

She groaned, "That's way too late. I thought I set my alarm for seven?" Then she scowled, which looked kind of funny on someone who had just woken up. "That midget is gonna pay."

"Gwen, wait," Max said, and Gwen stopped turning around toward the bunk in the back. "There's someone I'd like you to meet. This is Cal. He was walking down the road, and I offered him a ride until we get to Rapid City."

"Hi." is all I said.

Gwen's face softened when she finally noticed I was at the front, "Hi. My name's Gwen." She waved a little, "I'll be right back. I got a snot nose cousin to wake up." She turned back and began to walk back to the bunk bed.

I smiled at that, then looked past her to where Ben was. He was sweating, and it seemed he was twisting and turning in bed.

That's not a good sign.

~Which event do you think we're in?~

I have a few ideas, but we might be in trouble.

A/N: Woo! That took a while. It's been about a week since my last chapter. If you think this will be a weekly thing, think again. I get ideas occasionally, but when following where they could go, they usually need a bunch of chaps, which doesn't sit well with me. I'm a lazy bum. What can I say?

If you've watched the Ben 10 OG series, you might notice that some things aren't the same as the show. I need to shift a few things here and there. It'll be AU in some aspects to fit what I want to include in the story, but it'll follow the show to some extent.

Anyhow, hope you liked the chapter. More will be coming. When? Idk. Shit takes a while to think up and fit in right.

Yaeger Out!