"I really have no one to blame but myself," said Trixie with a neutral expression. "I mean, a free X-6000 processor core? How could I have been fooled by something so obvious?"
If it were possible, Trixie would be kicking herself. But any bodily movement was difficult was difficult when you are hanging upside down from the being by a length of chain with steel bracers around her arms and feet. Above her (well, technically, below her), her captor, Dr. Animo, was fiddling with some type of device that Trixie couldn't make heads or tails of. All she knew was that it was big and probably had something to do with mutation.
"This nuclear reactor is the perfect way to detonate my DNA bomb into the atmosphere!" Dr. Animo declared as he started the one-minute countdown. Yep, called it, Trixie thought. "And that's to you unique genetic sequence, I will be able to de-evolutionized the world! Than Cetanu will see that I'm not some two-bit side villain!"
"She dumped you, didn't she?" said Trixie candidly.
"Wha – no!" Dr. Animo denied. "We're on a break! That's totally different!"
"Yeah, she definitely dumped you," said Trixie.
Dr. Animo opened his mouth to retort when the entrance to his lab was blown open. Heatblast stood at the front with Lucky Girl and Max standing on either side of him, magic and a laser rifle armed and ready.
"Okay, Animo, science class is cancelled," said Heatblast threateningly.
"Took you long enough," Trixie complained.
"The dweeb here wanted to stop for cheeseburgers," said Lucky Girl, gesturing to the fire alien.
"It was a limit-time Sumo Slammers collaboration!" Heatblast argued. "Every purchase wins you a sticker to a free Sumo Slammers custom music player!"
"Fools!" shouted Dr. Animo. "In less than a minute, the world will get a lesson it will never forget! In the meantime, meet my latest creation!"
He gestures to the air on his right side where a giant mutated flying insect with six razor-sharp legs and a pronounced horn buzzed around the machine. It presented its stinger to the heroes and dived at them.
"You two help Trixie!" Heatblast said to Max and Gwen. "I'll barbecue this bug!"
"Be careful, Ben," said Max before he and Lucky Girl ran off.
Once his family was out of the way, Heatblast shot a row of highly flammable barrels that were just conveniently left on the floor for no apparent reason. The blast caused a chain reaction of explosions that engulfed the mutant hornet in a sea of flames.
"Oh yeah!" Ben cheered. "Being a hero rocks!"
His celebration was short lived as the hornet rose from the fire, appearing virtually unscathed from the attack. It lunged at the Pyronite with its stinger, but Heatblast pressed his hands to the floor and propelled himself out of the way with a burst of fire. The hornet stabbed its stinger into the concrete and flailed when it found its limb caught. Heatblast used the opening to lob several fireballs that exploded the area around the hornet. All he succeeded in doing was freeing the mutated insect, which made a direct line for the alien hero.
Heatblast ducked underneath as the hornet charged him, smashing through several pipes and wires in the process. The Pyronite cupped his hands together and tossed his largest fireball at the mutant hornet. But the giant insect swerved out of the way, allowing the fireball to hit the ceiling dangerously close to Animo's machine.
"Benjamin, be careful!" Trixie shouted. "This is a DNA bomb! Don't do anything to set it off!"
"My bad!" Heatblast apologized.
Meanwhile, Lucky Girl ran below Trixie and raised her hands, her palms glowing pink with magical energy. She recited an incantation that magically tear apart the steel plates binding Trixie's limbs, which also dropped her out of the air. Fortunately, Trixie accessed Jetray's DNA, allowing her to grow his wings and glide safely to the ground. However, the hornet apparently lost interest in Heatblast and lunged at her with its stinger. Lucky Girl sprinted and tackled her out of the way as the stinger pieced through the floor.
Dr. Animo rubbed his hand and smile maniacally as he watched his pet give the heroes the runaround. That was, until Max suddenly appeared from the side and shoulder tackled Animo into the machine. The retired Plumber slammed Dr. Animo against the tank and twisted the mad doctor's arm behind his back, making him cry out.
"How do we stop the bomb, Animo?" Max interrogated. "Start talking, before I snap your arm off."
"There's is no stopping it," said Dr. Animo gleefully. "I designed it so that once the countdown begins, the command cannot be overwritten." He looked down at Heatblast, who was listening in on their conversation. "And not even you can generate enough heat to melt through the bomb's casing!"
"If I can't shut it down," said Heatblast, "I'll just have to turn it up!"
Heatblast threw out his hands and shot a devastating wave of flames at the tank below the bomb.
"What's he doing?" questioned Lucky Girl.
"He's trying to heat up the bomb's water tank," Trixie explained. "He can't melt through the bomb's casing itself, because he can increase the heat inside the bomb. If it works, there's a fifty percent chance the extreme heat will neutralize the chemicals inside."
"And the other fifty percent?" asked Lucky Girl.
"We all die of horrifically painful genetic mutations," said Trixie bluntly.
"BEN!" Lucky Girl screamed.
"Yeah, I heard!" Heatblast yelled back. "But it's better to take a chance than to wait for that thing to go off!"
Very fortunate for them, Ben's spontaneous plan worked. The machine's pipes burst open with steam and the control console sparked violently.
"No!" wailed Animo. "You're overloading the system."
In a surprise turn, Animo threw his head back, hitting Max's face with his helmet, forcing the older man to release him. The mad doctor made a run for it, but Heatblast had more pressing matters than running after a b-list villain.
The countdown was reaching its final moments and the pressure was still building inside the bomb. Mores were exploding everywhere, gauges were breaking, and hot steam was accumulating in the closer chamber. The timer was reaching its final two seconds…when a system error flashed on the screen. Heatblast let out a relieved sigh as he stopped the flow of heat.
He flashed a thumbs-up to Trixie and Lucky Girl when a warning alarm went off on the control console. Before any of them knew what was happening, the machine suddenly released a ripple of energy. Max, rubbing her throbbing head with a groan, rolled off the side of the bomb and out of the way. Trixie and Lucky Girl quickly dived behind one of the machines connected to the bomb. But Heatblast, who had foolishly been standing still, took the full brunt of it and was thrown off his feet.
The energy wave traveled through the length of the warehouse that Animo had been hiding in and disappeared just as quickly as it came. Max, Trixie, and Lucky Girl cautiously poked their heads out from behind and turned their attention to Heatblast. Only it wasn't Heatblast anymore – the energy ripple seemed to have timed out the Omnitrix and reverted Ben to his original form.
"Oh man…that was not fun," Ben groaned.
"You may have ruined my plan today, Tennyson!" Dr. Animo declared, straddling his mutant hornet. "But there's always tomorrow!"
"Cetanu's not going to take you back, you know!" yelled Trixie.
"We're on a break!" Dr. Animo wailed in denial as the hornet carried him out of the warehouse.
"Ben, are you okay?" asked Max, gathering around grandson with Trixie and Lucky Girl.
"Yeah, good thing I was Heatblast," said Ben, sounding equal parts tired and relieved. "That DNA wave would've scrambled me."
A sharp beeping noise suddenly rang out. It sounded like the Omnitrix had finished recharging, but…that shouldn't have been possible. It had only been a few seconds. But when everyone looked down at the watch, they noticed that the dial had turned orange and there was a strange glow around the faceplate.
"What's up with the watch?" asked Lucky Girl curiously.
"I…don't know," said Trixie, looking over the Omnitrix with uncertainty.
"I thought you got your memories back," Ben pointed out. "I did – most of them. But I've never seen this happen before. I have no idea what to make of it…."
The orange glow only lasted a few seconds before it turned back to green.
"All right, I got the green early!" Ben cheered, then started running off.
"Hold on, Benjamin," Trixie warned. "We don't know what – "
"But Animo's getting away," said Ben, activating the Omnitrix and cycling through his choices. "I can't catch him if I don't go hero. Jetray, cleared for takeoff!"
He slammed down the faceplate and, at first, it seemed like the Omnitrix had finally given him what he wanted. But then, Jetray suddenly morphed into Rath, who shifted into Diamondhead, and then stopped at Gray Matter.
"Sometimes I think this thing just hates me," Gray Matter moaned.
"As much as I hate to say it," said Lucky Girl, walking over and picking the tiny alien by his nape, "I think we're gonna have to let Animo go this time."
"No way!" Gray Matter complained. "We gotta stop him! We're the good guys!"
"Gwen's right, Ben," said Max, his tone firm. "Animo will have to wait another day. Right now, something's clearly wrong with the Omnitrix. It'd probably be a good idea to head back to the RV and get Trixie to examine it."
"Besides, Animo's probably going to spend the whole weekend whining on social media about how Cetanu dumped him," Trixie remarked.
"WE ARE ON A BREAK!" Dr. Animo cried in the distance.
Ben let out another bored yawn, resting his head in his hand on the table. He glanced sideways and spotted a spotting a half-eaten bag of chips on the counter. He started to stand up when Trixie reached over and smacked him across the back of his head.
"Stay still!" said Trixie impatiently. "Any sudden movements could throw off my calculations!"
"But I've been sitting here for four hours!" Ben whined. "My butts falling asleep."
"Listen to Trixie, Ben," said Max firmly. "She knows what she's doing."
"Yeah, dweeb, so suck it up," said Gwen while purposely going for the chips and eating them herself, knowing it would tick off her cousin.
Ben groaned and flopped back down in his seat. His left arm was laid flat across the table with almost a dozen wires attached to the Omnitrix, all of which were connected with a handmade device that Trixie had made out of computer chips and copper wiring. The device was plugged into Trixie's laptop, which was supplying her with information on the Omnitrix. Ben tried to take a peek at the screen once, but it was written in an alien language that he couldn't read.
"So, what's the diagnosis?" asked Max, worried.
"Give me a minute," Trixie grumbled. "The technological difference between the Omnitrix and this computer is like comparing a turtle to a bullet train. If it wasn't for my brilliance, we wouldn't have any way of examining it in the first place."
"Humble much?" said Gwen sarcastically.
"Humility is for the intellectually inferior," said Trixie plainly. A few seconds later, her laptop chimed. "All right, I finally found the issue. It's…oh…oh no," she murmured, her entire complexion going pale.
"What? What is it?" asked Ben, suddenly feeling scared. Trixie was normally fearless, so whenever she looked afraid, you knew it was something seriously bad.
"This is bad," said Trixie. Yup, called it. "The Omnitrix is – "
Trixie was cut off when a bright white light suddenly flared through the window shutters, nearly blinding everyone.
"Who turned on the sun?" Gwen groaned, shielding her eyes with her arms.
"It's almost midnight," said Max, glancing towards the clock on the wall, which read '11:39 P.M.' "That's definitely not the sun. I think we might have a visitor."
For the Tennysons, 'visitors' were typically so one that wanted to kill them, or steal the Omnitrix, or both.
Ben unplugged the Omnitrix from Trixie's computer and moved to the window, peeking through the blinds. Something outside was causing the wind kick up like a hurricane; a poor picnic table was cruelly destroyed under the pressure. Then, as the light grew dimmer, he started to see the outline of something five times the Rust Bucket's size touch down besides them. It was a spaceship!
Ben immediately booked it out the door, followed by Gwen and Max; Trixie packed up her computer inside her bag before joining them. The ship seemed to be powering down by the time they all came outside and the shadow of a person was approaching them through the dust cloud.
"I don't know who that it," said Ben, reaching for the Omnitrix, "but he's gonna think twice before he messes with Ben Tennyson – "
"Benjamin, don't!" Trixie shouted, throwing her hands over the Omnitrix to stop him.
"Hey, what's the big idea?" yelled Ben, trying to shake her off.
"You can't use the Omnitrix," said Trixie.
"I'd listen to her if I were you, kid," a familiar cybernetic voice echoed from the dust cloud.
Ben unconsciously lowers his arm as a taller and slender alien in violet cyber armor emerged from the haze, standing before the Tennysons in a casual stance. Ben immediately recognized her, but couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"EightEight," said Ben, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
"Good to see you again, kid," EightEight the bounty hunter greeted them friendly.
"That's funny, considering what happened back in Townsville," said Ben scathingly.
"It's still pretty mad that you left me trapped in solidified magma," said EightEight. "And with Vulkanus of all people. But I'm willing to forgive you, since I'm such a nice person."
"Yeah, right," Gwen scoffed.
"Don't be that way," said EightEight. "After all, I did save you from my brothers that one time. So one good deed and one bad deed cancel each other out, right?"
"That's not how it works," said Max suspiciously. "You said it yourself, you work for whoever pays the most. So, who hired you this time?"
"No one hired me," said EightEight, suddenly turning serious. "Believe it or not, I'm here to help. I came as soon as I picked up the SDM signal from the Omnitrix on the long-range scanners."
"You picked up on the signal?" asked Trixie, surprised.
"Everyone did," said EightEight. "The Omnitrix broadcast the signal throughout the galaxy when the SDM was activated. Probably a safety feature to warn everyone to get clear."
"Hold on, you're not making any sense," Ben chimed in. "What's an 'SDM?'"
"Self-Destruct Mode," said Trixie simply.
"What?" The Tennysons yelled in synchronized shock.
"The watch is gonna destroy itself?" Ben gasped, staring at the Omnitrix like it was a bomb (which it was.)
"Along with whoever is wearing it at the time," said EightEight bluntly. "I'd hate to be in your shoes right now, kid."
"Oh man…," Ben moaned.
"Trixie, how did this happen?" Max asked the green-haired girl.
"The only thing I could think of it the energy pulse wave that emitted from Animo's DNA bomb after Benjamin overloaded the system," said Trixie thoughtfully.
"Way to go, Ben!" Gwen scolded her cousin, slapping him over the head. "I always said your recklessness would get us killed, and I was right! It would feel so good to be vindicated is this wasn't so bad!"
"Relax, Trixie can just fix this up, no problem," said Ben confidently.
"I have no clue how to deactivate the Omnitrix," said Trixie plainly.
"Then…EightEight'll do it!" said Ben, looking to the bounty hunter hopefully.
"What makes you think I know anything about it?" EightEight retorted.
"Then how do we stop this thing from blowing up?" cried Ben, panic starting to set it.
"Only Azmuth would know how to stop the Omnitrix's self-destruct mode," said Trixie.
"Who's Azmuth?" asked Ben.
"The rumored creator of the Omnitrix," EightEight explained. "The tales on him are sketchy at best. No one is even sure what planet he lives on."
"Trixie, do you know where he is?" Max asked her.
"Truth be told…I only saw Azmuth once," said Trixie, scrunching her brow in thought. "You have to remember that I was left in Myaxx's care, and even then, I was hardly ever allowed out of the lab. The one time I met him was when he inserted the transmitter inside my body that allows me to connect with Codon Stream. But…I can't really remember what he looked like, or what planet his lab was on."
"So how do you plan to find him?" Gwen asked EightEight.
"On my ship, I have the equipment we need to examine the Omnitrix for Azmuth's DNA signature," said EightEight. "It's…like an autograph for his work. Once we have that, we can scan the galaxy until we locate him."
"How long until the watch self-destructs?" asked Max, worried.
Judging by the patterns repetition," said Trixie as examined the Omnitrix, where she noticed the outer edges of the green logo gradually shifting to orange, "I'd say less than four days."
"Then we better get a move on," said EightEight. "There's no telling who else has picked up on the signal."
"Road trip: space style!" Ben cheered, pumping his fist into the air.
"Well, we've already been every other freaky place on this planet," said Gwen, sighing exasperatedly. "What's a little trip to space – "
"Sorry, but only the kid and the green one are coming with," said Eightight, holding her hand up to stop them.
"Yeah right!" Gwen shouted indignantly. "I knew it! This is just some trick for her to kidnap Ben and Trixie and drag them off to whoever hired her!"
"No, she's right, Gwendolyn," Trixie jumped in. "I don't trust EightEight as far as I can throw her, but she makes a good point. Benjamin has the Omnitrix and I'm the only person available with any knowledge of the Omnitrix. I might be able to do something to slow down the timer to buy us a little more time."
"But we can help, too!" Gwen argued.
"Maxwell is a famous Plumber – he's too recognizable," said Trixie calmly. "Besides, Dr. Animo is still on the loose. I wouldn't surprise me if he took advantage of our absence to rebuild his DNA bomb and try again. It would put me at ease knowing that Lucky Girl was around to stop him should that be the case."
"But – "
"I'm sorry, Gwen, but I'm with Trixie on this one," said Max, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Ben and Trixie can look out for each other. We'll hold down the fort until they come back. Besides, you always said you wanted a break from your cousin."
"…Fine, but you better come back alive or I'll come up with a spell to torment your for eternity!" Gwen threatened.
"Looking at your dweeby face every day is torment enough," Ben joked. "Now I can finally get a real vacation."
"Ben, you need to take this seriously," said Max sternly.
"I know, I know, it's always serious, grandpa," said Ben confidently. "And I always win."
"With some help, thank you very much," said Gwen.
"We'll be okay," Ben told them reassuringly. "We'll find this Azmuth guy, he'll fix the watch, and we'll be back before you know it."
"Try not to mess things up," Gwen warned as Ben and Trixie climbed the ramp into EightEight's ship.
"Since when do I mess things up?" said Ben smugly from the top of the ramp.
"Do you want your list in chronological or in alphabetical order?" said Gwen, shooting her cousin with a blank stare.
"Take good care of them, EightEight," said Max with a hint of warning in his tone, "or there will be nothing in the universe that will stop me from hunting you down."
EightEight nodded silently, knowing very well that Max would carry out his threat.
The ramp closed automatically and EightEight walked across the massive storage area with Ben and Trixie nipping at her heels.
"Cool!" said Ben, looking around in awe.
"Yes, it is…cool, isn't it?" said EightEight uncertainly. She wasn't familiar with human slang.
The trio climbed into the elevator, which carried them up to the top of the shaft. Once there, the floor beneath them detached and continued to carry them sideways through the rest of the ship. Between unnecessarily long corridors, there were several rooms on intricate design. One of them was a chamber that housed various floating spiked balls, wall mounted laser rifles, and several dozen humanoid robots, half of which appeared to be under repair.
"Whoa, what's this?" asked Ben curiously.
"This is my training room," said EightEight with a hint of pride in her voice. "Have to stay in shape to catch my prey."
"And how many 'prey' have you had?" asked Trixie.
"I lost count after three thousand," said EightEight with an amused chuckle, which Trixie did not share.
The platform momentarily stopped in front of a chamber with a giant screen that glowed with a pulsating green aura.
"And that's the flight simulator," said EightEight. "it can recreate over one thousand different courses. You're welcome to you it along with the practice jetpacks on the walls."
"Awesome!" Ben cheered.
"We're not here to play games, Benjamin!" Trixie scolded him, which went ignored.
Their last stop was the ship's cockpit with its wide array of half-circle consoles behind a giant screen that was projecting no less than a dozen separate applications, including long-range scanners and interplanetary communication from Trixie's observation.
"Whoa, it's like a big video game…," said Ben, walking around and looking everywhere in awe. He should have been watching where he was going before he banged his knee against something hard that made a loud clang! "Ow! What the – "
He rubbed the sore spot on his knee and looked down. He did a double take he thought he was looking at a miniature EightEight until he started noticing the differences. This mini-Sotoraggian had two protrusions on her helmet on her helmet and was wearing a ballerina's tutu of all things. She waved at Ben excitedly, then bounced over and hugged EightEight's leg.
"I see you've met TwoTwo," said EightEight humorously, patting the smaller girl's helmet.
"You have a kid?" asked Ben, surprised.
"Little sister," EightEight corrected. "SevenSeven was supposed to babysit her, but that slag ran off to go partying with that Czarnian biker and his pet space dolphin. Long story," she added to their confused looks.
"Isn't it dangerous to bring her on a mission as important as this?" asked Trixie, concerned.
"She may be young, but she's still a Sotoraggian," said EightEight confidently. "And if worse comes to worse, she can always pull out her R.O.W."
"What's an R.O.W.?" asked Ben.
"Not important," said EightEight, prying the smaller Sotoraggian from her leg and hold her under her arm like a sack of potatoes. "We're about to take off soon. I assume you're familiar with space travel protocol?"
"…Oh, sure!" said Ben loudly. Trixie knew he was lying – he always got loud when he pretended to know something he didn't.
"Then let's get going," said EightEight. She walked over to the central console, dumped TwoTwo in the seat, and her fingers rapidly tapped the buttons. "Taking off in three…two…one…."
The ship suddenly began to shake violently beneath their feet, causing Ben and Trixie to stumble to their knees. The ship was moving; they could see the top of the trees disappearing from the view port and replaced by a sea of stars. EightEight took a seat at one of the consoles, so Ben and Trixie followed her example and crawled to the other chairs. Safety harnesses were automatically fastened around their chests, locking them in place. They felt the ship tipped with the front facing skyward. EightEight looked back to make sure everyone was secure, then pressed a large yellow button.
The human passengers gritted their teeth as they were slammed by what felt like five hundred pounds of gravitational pressure. The view outside the port window was blurred, but they could tell that they had left Earth's atmosphere well behind.
"So this is what an pancake feels like!" Ben groaned.
Just as quickly as it started, the pressure quickly disappeared as was replaced by a sense of weightlessness. Ben laughed excitedly and unlatched himself from his seat. The wielder of the Omnitrix floated around the cockpit with newfound disconnection to gravity, spinning in circles and striking ridiculous poses. EightEight looked at him with an unreadable expression (mostly because of the helmet) and pressed a green button on the console. The gravity suddenly came back an Ben fell flat on his face.
"This is the part where Gwendolyn would refer you as a 'doofus,'" said Trixie with an amused smirk.
"Ugh…space travel looks so much easier in the movies," Ben groaned.
"Okay, you've had your fun," said EightEight, unbuckling herself from her seat, "but we really should examine the Omnitrix."
Somewhere in another part of the galaxy, a large salvager ship had been in the midst of collecting the scrap of a seemingly derelict spacecraft. They quickly learned that it wasn't as derelict as they believed. For within the span of twenty Earth minutes, the entire salvager crew had been slaughtered.
The leader of the salvagers was gasping desperately for air as he was lifted off the ground, almost weightlessly, but the small blonde child with dark pigmented skin. He clawed desperately at her arm, trying to break loose, but the child smiled evilly as her purple eyes flashed. The salvager leader screeched as he suddenly burst into flames, then was quickly reduced to ash.
"One hundred and sixty-three aliens on this ship," said Fina, wiping the ash off her palms, "and not one of them could put up a fight."
"It doesn't matter," hissed Vilgax as he crouched through the doorway. "This ship will be useful in our quest for the Omnitrix. And when w recover it, we will exact our revenge on the Earthlings that imprisoned us in that accursed Null Void dimension."
"Masters." One of Vilgax's robotic drones entered the chamber, bowing to them both. In the short time they have been allies, Fina had worked herself up to Vilgax's second-in-command – a rank even higher than his "Children."
"Please say you have something exciting to report," said Fina. "I'm getting bored killing these weaklings."
"We have intercepted a signal," the drone reported, displaying a projection from its helmet. "I appears to be from the Omnitrix."
"The Omnitrix? In space?" Vilgax said suspiciously. "What is Tennyson up to?"
Being strapped to a chair with a giant, potentially body crushing machine looming over his head as starting to give Ben some second thoughts.
"Are you ready?" asked Trixie, who was safely behind the protective glass with EightEight.
"Would 'no' be an option?" asked Ben with a grimace.
"Don't worry," said EightEight nonchalantly. "I've had many of these performed on myself. Never felt a thing."
"Was that with or without the armor?" asked Ben.
"…anyway, let's get started," said EightEight quickly, rounding to Trixie. "Whenever you're ready, girl."
"I have a name, you know," Trixie grumbled.
But nevertheless, she equipped the neural interface gloves and helmet, which activated the multitude of holographic screens above the console. The humanoid Slimebiot swiped down on the screen and the machines lowered around him, engulfing him in pitch darkness. He felt a strange heat running down his head and across the length of his body. It must have been the scanners, he thought.
The next thing he knew, Ben found himself staring at a virtual projection of himself floating above his head. His digital doppelganger was immediately wiped, leaving only the Omnitrix. The virtual Omnitrix was then taken apart down to its many pieces with Trixie examining each and every component with the critical eye of a horologist (Ironically enough.)
"Hmm…I should've thought as much," Trixie hummed.
"What? What is it?" asked EightEight.
"I can't find Azmuth's DNA signature anywhere," said Trixie. "Or, it would be more appropriate to say, he didn't put it on in the first place. That's just like Azmuth, always being secretive."
"Any other ideas?" asked EightEight hopefully.
"I might have one," said Ben, making the pair perk up. "When my dad got my mom a watch for their anniversary, he had them engrave some writing on the back of it."
"Hmm…yes, that might just…," Trixie slowly trailed off in thought. She wiped the holographic screens away and projected a new screen with a new virtual Omnitrix. She flipped the virtual device around to the back and enlarged the image. Within the darkest part was a small series of white, almost unnoticeable dots. "Found it."
"You got Azmuth's DNA signature?" asked EightEight hopefully.
"Not his DNA, no," Trixie shook her head while removing the helmet. The scanning machine raised back to the ceiling, letting Ben out. "But I didn't find an engraving, like a manufacturer number. Only, it doesn't belong to Azmuth. It belongs to Albedo."
"Who's Albedo?" asked Ben.
"Azmuth's former assistant," Trixie informed. "I never actually met him myself; Myaxx was very strict on who I was allowed to interact with. But from the way she described it, Albedo was a brilliant, but arrogant scientist with an overinflated sense of self-importance. Something happened, and Azmuth fired Albedo before I was transported and wound up on Earth. I'm guess he must have marked the Omnitrix to take some credit."
"Okay, so we go ask this Albedo guy where Azmuth is," Ben suggested.
"But how do we find him without a DNA signature?" questioned Trixie.
"Already on it," said EightEight, who had been tapping away at the computer while they were talking. "We might not have any DNA, but intergalactic social media is just as reliable. Let's see…let's see…ah, got something!"
It was a post on a social media site called "Feeler." Apparently, some big-time influencer had made a post when Albedo's name cropped up on the search engine.
"'Forced to share a bunk on Incarcecon with this jerk named Albedo,'" Trixie read aloud, understanding the alien scratch language. "'He never stops talking. I would smother him in his sleep if I wasn't already serving fifty quadra-cycles.'" Wow, he hasn't changed a bit."
"Okay, so we head to Incarcecon," said Ben.
"Not so simple," said EightEight. "Incercecon is a prison planet. It's the most fortified jail in the universe and home to the biggest and baddest bunch of thieves, murderers, and con-artists. It's practically impenetrable."
"So how do we get in?" asked Ben.
"Lucky for us, I regularly go to Incarcecon to conduct…business," said EightEight cryptically.
"You mean kill whoever's inside," said Trixie, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"Not all the time," said EightEight. "Sometimes I interrogate prisoners for information. I only break maybe…half their bones…most of the time."
"Yeah…that's not disturbing or anything," said Ben, taking a few steps away from the bounty hunter.
"I'll head up to the cockpit and set a course for Incercecon," EightEight informed them, walking over and stopping at the threshold. "You'll have the run of the ship. Just…avoid the airlock, okay? Last thing we need is you freefalling in space."
"Hey, I'm not that dumb!" Ben complained.
"Yes, you are," said Trixie pointed, earning a glare from the Omnitrix wielder. She ignored him and continued tapping away at the computer. "I'm going to continue analyzing the Omnitrix to see if there's a way to slow down the timer."
"Yeah, you do that," said Ben, waving her off. "I'm gonna go try that sweet flight simulator."
"Don't break anything," Trixie warned. He ran over to the door, but before he exited the room, Trixie called out. "And Benjamin…do not use the Omnitrix, understood?"
Ben just shrugged nonchalantly and walked out.
It was official – jetpacks rock!
Ben had spent the last thirty minutes using EightEight's flight simulator to soar through cavernous gorges, black-as-night tunnels, automated factories, deep sea trenches, and exploding volcanos. It was way more awesome that driving around in the Rust Bucket, that was certain.
He was presently soaring through the smoky clouds of a place called Arsin IV, which apparently had poisonous rainclouds. Ben swerved around a particularly toxic-looking green cloud when EightEight wandered into the room.
"You look like you're having fun," EightEight commented. "Not worried about the self-destruct countdown?"
"Nah, I work best under pressure," said Ben confidently.
"I hope so," said EightEight. "The last thing I want is your grandfather coming after me. The man has a reputation, and when Max Tennyson hunts you down, you're as good as dead."
"Look, Trixie and I have this covered," said Ben. "We'll find Azmuth, he'll fix the watch, and I'll keep kicking alien butt."
"I said Azmuth would deactivate the Omnitrix," said EightEight pointedly. "I never said anything about him fixing it."
Ben stared at EightEight as if his mind was incapable of processing her statement. And while he was distracted, he unknowingly flew straight into a poisonous cloud.
The thing about the simulator was that it was very realistic in all aspects. While the cloud wouldn't kill Ben, it did make his skin prickle like he was being stabbed by a thousand white-hot needles. The wielder of the Omnitrix screamed and spiraled out of control until he fell flat on his face on the unseen floor. The simulation immediately cancelled out, removing the stinging sensation on Ben, who pushed himself up and glared at EightEight.
"You're just trying to mess with me!" said Ben accusingly.
"I'm afraid EightEight is right, Benjamin," said Trixie as she walked into the room. "Knowing Azmuth like I do, he is more likely to just disassemble the Omnitrix."
"But – but that's – " Ben sputtered. No…no, that can't be true! They can't take the watch from him! They can't!
"Truthfully, I thought you'd be relieved to have it off," said EightEight. "You've done well with the Omnitrix – better than any Earthling could've. But now you can have a normal life again."
"Normal?" cried Ben indignantly. "Who wants to be normal? If you're not a hero, you're a zero!"
"You won't be going hero any time soon," said Trixie, "not if you want to live long enough to reach Azmuth."
"What do you mean?" questioned EightEight.
"I first noticed it when doing my initial scan of the Omnitrix back on Earth," said Trixie gravely, "and unfortunately, your ship's computers confirmed my fears. Every time you transform, the countdown will speed up."
"That's why you stopped me from changing when EightEight showed up," said Ben in realization.
"Just to be safe," said Trixie cautiously, "I would advise refraining from using the Omnitrix until we've reached Azmuth – "
She was cut off by strange beeping noise in the room. Ben and Trixie looked to EightEight, but the Sotoraggian hunter seemed as confused as they were. It wasn't until they spotted an unusual orange glow that they noticed the Omnitrix was reacting similar to how it had been in Animo's warehouse. And before they knew it, the Omnitrix suddenly released a pulse of orange energy that knocked Ben off his feet and flew him across the room, landing on his back. Trixie and EightEight ran over and looked over the young boy, who appeared dazed and frazzled.
"What was that?" asked EightEight.
"A fluctuation of the Omnitrix's energy core," said Trixie seriously. "The closer the countdown reaches zero, the worse the pulses will be."
"Then we better find Albedo and fast," said EightEight seriously.
EightEight and her human passengers returned to the cockpit ten minutes later. TwoTwo was still there and apparently took to drawing to pass the time. The pictures she drew were a little graphic by human standards, but EightEight seemed proud and promised to put them on the fridge later.
Then, an alarm wailed from the central console.
"We're coming upon Incercecon," EightEight informed them.
There was a sharp jolt as the ship exited what Ben called "Warp Drive" that almost caused Ben and Trixie to lose their footing. The ship gradually slowed down and their destination appeared through the viewport: a gigantic spire-like structure with umbrella-like protrusions on top floating in the endless void of space.
A new screen appeared on the dashboard resembling a waveform graph with a robotic voice to accompany it.
"YOU ARE APPROACHING SECURE SPACE OF THE INCARCECON INTERGALACTIC DETENTION CENTER! IDENTIFY YOURSELF OR BE DESTROYED!"
"What now?" asked Ben.
EightEight tapped the keyboard and several digits in an alien language appeared on the screen. However, what they got in return was an unreadable message in bright-red lettering along with an undeniable rejection noise. EightEight seemed surprised and typed again, but the new code was also rejected.
The viewport buzzed with a warning siren and zoomed in on the Incercecon's outer walls. Hundreds of slots opened with a multitude of laser nozzles all aiming at their ship.
"Any time now, bounty hunter!" Trixie yelled.
"I'm trying the best I can!" EightEight shouted as another password was rejected.
"Could you do it faster!" cried Ben; the lasers were charging up.
EightEight inputted password after password, but none of them seemed to get through. Ben curled up in a ball as if it would protect him and Trixie threw herself on top of TwoTwo like it would protect her. Just as the laser finished their charge, EightEight input the last code she could think of. To her relief, the code was returned with bright-green letters and an approval chime.
"BENDOR SECURITY CLEARANCE ACCEPTED! PROCEED TO SANITATION DISPOSAL BAY NUMBER FOUR!"
"Phew…," EightEight sighed, giving a thumbs-up to Ben. "See, no problem."
Ben smiled nervously and returned the thumbs-up mutely.
"Sanitation disposal bay number four?" Trixie questioned as EightEight piloted her ship to the lowest point on Incarcecon "They think we're a waste disposal unit?"
Unfortunately, they did. As the ship entered Incercecon through the open hanger door, they found themselves landing in a veritable mountain of garbage infested with giant alien rodents. Trixie grimaced. She may eat what humans would consider "gross" like worms and Max's cooking, but even she didn't like the idea of wading through trash.
"Without a DNA signature, we have no way of finding Albedo directly," said EightEight. "So we'll have to have to ask around if anyone has seen him. Luckily, I have a few contacts in Incercecon that I can reach out to. Although…," she looked over Ben and Trixie, "if the prisoners see a human, it'll be trouble."
"Wow, the rest of the universe hates us that much?" asked Ben, surprised.
"No, most species loves humans," said EightEight. "They're considered quite a delicacy."
Ben and Trixie looked at each other, blatantly terrified at the prospect of being some alien's dinner.
"I – I could go alien," Ben suggested. "Just this once."
"And risk speeding up the self-destruct mode even more?" EightEight retorted. "Not a chance. Every tick is critical until we find Azmuth. But I'm not just gonna leave you stuck on the ship – you'll just run out and get yourself into trouble."
"She knows you so well," Trixie said jokingly to Ben
"From time to time, my hunts require a disguise," EightEight explained. "I have just the one for you two."
Incercecon was a lot more hollow than either Ben or Trixie had expected. The inmates seemed to have the freedom to move around the prison, but there was only walking space available on the outer edges. The middle of the prison was just empty space with radius of a hundred feet. The exception of the multilayered guard tower watching every floor in the center. Because of the limited spacing, most prisoners were cramped shoulder-to-shoulder, which made it even more difficult to navigate.
There were species of practically every type in the known galaxy, and some that even Trixie couldn't recognize with her massive knowledge of the Omnitrix's Codon Stream. For the most part, none of them seemed to notice EightEight, disguised only by a thin tattered cloak that concealed her polished armor. Some, however, shot strange looks at the weirdo following her: an giant green caterpillar with bulbous eyes flailing its stumping limbs for seemingly no reason.
Out of all the disguises EightEight could've given them, a Halloween costume that forced Ben and Trixie to sit on each other's shoulders was not the best.
"How did I become the posterior for a pre-metamorphic Lepidopterran?" Trixie grumbled.
"Hey, rock-paper-scissors, two out of three – I won fair and square," Ben boasted, squinting through the opening in the costume's mouth. "Hey, where are the guards?"
"No guards, no rules, no parole," said EightEight. "On Incarcecon, it's survival of the meanest."
She threw out her arm to stop them as a pair of gruff-looking aliens slammed on the ground in front of them, punching and clawing at each other. EightEight and the kids walked around.
"These aren't friendly types," EightEight continued. "They're all here for a reason. Some of them, lots of reasons."
They continued walking through the crowd, wedging themselves to avoid making contact and potentially starting a fight. None of them realize that a short figure in a stain, tattered cloak spotted them and was following behind.
As they wait for a group of aliens to walk past, a grotesque slobbering alien with an exaggeratedly long tongue stops and crushes one of the prison vermin underfoot. It sneered at Ben, exclaiming "MINE!" and extended its tongue to grab the crushed rodent. Ben groaned as he was forced to watch the alien chew the vermin, shooting spittle everywhere.
"Uh, help yourself," Ben groaned. "I'm on a diet."
"What? What's happening?" Trixie whispered to Ben curiously.
"Trust me, you don't want to know…," Ben murmured back.
The slobbering alien turns its attention to Ben and sees a potential snack until EightEight steps in.
"Snack time's over," said EightEight, moving her cloak and revealing her laser pistol strapped to her side. "Now move along. Unless we have some other business..."
The alien made an annoyed buzzing noise, but nonetheless turned and slithered away.
"Maybe you guys should wait over on the side until I can scope this place out," EightEight suggested to Ben and Trixie.
Ben was more than happy to agree. Without the Omnitrix, he wasn't keen on picking a fight with any of these aliens. EightEight walked away and Trixie moved them closer to the wall, letting them lean against it between the other idle aliens. Trixie let out a haggard sigh, glad to have a chance to relax after the stressful day they had.
But, of course, the universe hated them. That's why the short cloaked figure walked up to them.
"Uh…can I help you with something?" asked Ben nervously.
"So it really is you," said the cloaked figure with a hint of humor in his tone. Trixie perked up, his voice strangely familiar. "Never thought I run into you here. So what'd you do to get thrown in with the rest of the scum" – he raised his head, revealing the (human) face of Kevin Levim – "Tennyson."
"Kevin!" shouted Ben angrily.
"Kevin?" Trixie parroted, surprised. "Benjamin, what are you – wh-whoa!"
Ben dived out of the mouth of the suit, causing Trixie to stumble and fall flat on the ground, struggling to escape. Kevin looked surprised as Ben tackled him to the floor, but quickly planted his feet against the younger boy's stomach and flipped him over.
"What's your beef, Tennyson?" Kevin scowled, standing back up.
"If I have to give up going hero," said Ben seriously, "then at least I'm gonna make sure you don't hurt Trixie ever again!"
"What? Hurt her?" said Kevin, taken aback. "I'm not gonna – "
But Ben was done listening. He activated the Omnitrix and slammed down the faceplate without looking at what he selected. He burst into a flash of green light and transformed into Upchuck.
"Whoa, that's new," said Kevin, blinking. He had yet to see Upchuck.
"I'm gonna chew you up and spit you out!" shouted Upchuck.
Upchuck turned his head and extended his four tongues, snatching up a large tank from the back of a random alien. He swallowed the container whole, causing Kevin's face to twist in disgust. The next thing he knew, Upchuck was spitting up a giant glowing loogie in his direction. Kevin leaned out of the way, letting the attack fly by and explode against the wall behind him.
The impact was so powerful, the shockwave caused the entire floor to tremble and be felt by everyone, including EightEight. The bounty hunter let out an annoyed sigh as she saw the debris in the distance.
"Not even five ticks…," EightEight groaned before turning around and running back.
Meanwhile, Kevin ducked underneath the second lob with a disgusted groan.
"Exploding loogies?" said Kevin. "You're even more disgusting than I remember, Tennyson."
Upchuck ripped out multiple pieces of piping with his tongues and spat out multiple exploding boogers at once, leaving no way for Kevin to dodge. The boy scowled and pressed his hand against the metal floor…and his skin steadily transformed to match its composition. The now metallic Kevin crossed his arms and braced himself, taking the explosion head-on. Upchuck did a double take when he noticed Kevin was still standing despite taking the brunt of his attack, but was even more astonished by his new ability.
"Whoa, since when can you do that?" gasped Upchuck.
"Neat, huh?" said Kevin, flexing his hand with a grin. "A little trick I picked up during my time here."
Upchuck growled and started running at Kevin on all-fours while Kevin did the same, reeling back his metal fist to punch him. As the two were about to collide, Trixie suddenly dropped in between them in her half-Pyronite form, creating a wall of flame to separate them. Trixie didn't drop the barrier until the two had backed off to a safer distance.
"Knock it off, both of you!" Trixie commanded. " You're making a scene!"
"Hey, he attacked first!" Kevin argued, dropping his metallic state.
"Like you don't deserve it!" Upchuck snapped.
"I don't care who started it, cause I'm ending – "Trixie started to say when she got another look at Kevin. The older boy smirked at the green-haired girl's surprised expression. Trixie moved closer toward him, not quite believing what she was seeing. "Kevin, you're…human again…."
"That's for noticing," said Kevin playfully.
"But…how?" Trixie gapped.
"I had some help…for a good friend…," he answered, though his tone was laced with sadness.
Before they could delve deeper into what was certain to be an interesting backstory, they attention was drawn to Upchuck as the Omnitrix beeped its warning signal. The Gourmand exploded in a flash of red light and Ben stood in his place.
Unfortunately, they were standing in the middle of a heavy crowd when it happened and everyone saw it.
"He turned into a human! But how?" questioned a Piscciss Volann Prisoner.
"The Omnitrix!" a Lepidopterran prison buzzed overhead. "He's wearing the Omnitrix!"
"It does exist!"
"That's our ticket out of here!"
"The Omnitrix, he's got it!"
"I think we're in trouble…," Ben groaned.
He, Trixie, and Kevin slowly backed away as more and more prisoners started to realize that the Omnitrix was within their reach. Unfortunately, they ended up backing into a wall with no other escape routes as the swarm of aliens began to encircle them.
"Nice going, Tennyson," Kevin chided him.
TO BE CONTINUED