Ben X Chapter 27
Treasure Hunt Arc
How to deal with an Incursean
Ben and the majority of the Plumber search team had gathered together at Crater City. This seemed like it would be the final big push to get to the tablet before everyone else. But with the location of the tablet having been determined to be within Incursean space, it wouldn't be easy getting there. Max had said he could negotiate a transport for them but had remained somewhat tight lipped about the details. Ben however, reacted as though he knew exactly who their contact was, and he wasn't overly pleased with it. It left Kevin, Gwen, and Julie trying to piece together information from Ben's grumbling. They currently were sitting in one of the Tower's many hangars which had been commandeered by the Galactic Plumbers from the corrupt Crater City plumbers. Teams Delta and Beta had joined them shortly after but they were still waiting for Rook and the rest of team Delta. Ben was pacing back and forth with irritation as the group of plumbers waited in the hangar bay.
"Ben, dude, you're killing us. Will you just tell us who's got you so riled up?" Kevin said after watching him pace a hole into the floor. Ben paused and turned his gaze to the group who looked at him with varying expressions of concern, confusion, and amusement. He sighed before letting his shoulders drop.
"The secret pilot that Grandpa mentioned? I have a feeling he means Rad Dudesman and his ship the Lovely Duck." Ben said. The majority of the group showed no recognition at the name but Kevin however shot straight up from his seated position.
"No way! Rad Dudesman? For real? That guy's a smuggling legend!" He cried ecstatically before Gwen gave him an elbow in the ribs which set him to coughing embarassed. Ben rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, so everybody's told me. We've used his services a few times before but I've never seen what's so impressive about the guy, he acts like a total jerk." Ben complained.
"How so?" Julie asked with a quirked eybrow.
"Where do I start? He's cocky, arrogant, trigger happy, thinks he's better than everyone." Ben said listing things off on his fingers.
"He sounds a lot like you." Gwen replied with a smirk. Ben scowled back at her.
"Haha very funny." Ben replied.
"Did I miss a joke?" Rook's voice called out as he entered the room followed by the remainder of team Gamma.
"We were just talking about Rad Dudesman." Ben responded still sulking. Rook quirked an eyebrow.
"Are we going to be using his services again?" Rook asked.
"Looks like it." He answered.
"I don't get it." Kevin spoke up. "What's your beef with this guy? If he's helped us out before we should trust him right?" He asked.
"Let's just say that the last time we ran with Rad it did not go so well." Rook answered as Ben pointedly avoided the question. "Come to think of it, that you were there as well Charmcaster." Rook said turning all eyes onto her. Charmcaster looked at Rook with a confused expression.
"I was?" She asked.
"Yes? On Anur Transyl?" Rook regarded her equally confused. Charmcaster's face blanched.
"Oh, I uh, don't remember much from those days." Charmcaster said quietly. She withdrew on herself, desperate to avoid the stares from the other group members.
Luckily for her, a loud sound drew their attention just after. They all turned to the hangar doors to see a large space ship begin it's docking procedure. The roar of thrusters sounded out as they kicked up wind and dust. The sleek white and beige ship landed in the hangar, docking soon after. The assembled plumbers gazed up at the ship with mixed reactions. Kevin seemed thoroughly impressed, while Ben's reaction was nearly opposite. The various lights on board the ship blinked before powering down, his ship being put into inactive mode. The doors on the back of the ship opened up with a hiss and a ramp slowly lowered to the floor. Kevin was visibly vibrating with excitement at the chance to meet one of his self-proclaimed heroes. The sound of footsteps echoed as the group of humans and aliens stretched their necks to get a view of the so called legendary Rad Dudesman. The aforementioned captain stepped out onto the hangar floor and approached them, visors in place and an aloof expression on his face. He stepped up to the large group, stopping a few feet away and surveyed them. A tense silence passed between them as neither party spoke up, until…
"Uh, he's a duck." Kevin said with a hint of disappointment. Rad's face instantly hardened and he turned towards the Osmosian.
"Got a problem with ducks?" He asked accusingly.
"Uh, no sir." Kevin blanched and shook his head. Rad huffed a little before looking around at the group again. His eyes paused as he reached Ben who stared back at him. Rad clicked his tongue causing Ben to narrow his eyes. But before either party could speak, Rook stepped up to diffuse the tension.
"Mr. Dudesman sir, I am so glad that we can once again rely on your services." He said amicably. Rad tilted his head slightly at Rook to acknowledge him but soon turned back towards Ben.
"If he's coming along, I want double the pay." Rad said pointing at Ben.
"Oh come on!" Ben complained.
"Now Mr. Dudesman I'm sure we can come to a reasonable agreement." Rook said diplomatically. But the duck like alien simply crossed his arms.
"One: I'm transporting a large group, Two: Into Incursean space, Three: With Ben Tennyson." He said with derision. "I. Want. Double. Pay." Rad demanded.
"Oh, whatever, Rook let's just pay the guy and get this over with." Ben said before storming off in the direction of the ship. The rest of the group followed shortly after with both Rook and Magister Patelliday shaking their heads while Rad smiled to himself having successfully negotiated his pay raise.
The Lovely Duck took off soon after all its new passengers had boarded. Thus they began the long journey to Incursean space. During their downtime the assembled plumbers had little to do but try to prepare for any upcoming battles and try to relax. Delta Squad consisting of the formerly known 'helpers' spent their time touring the ship and catching up. Rook and Kevin were up in the cockpit talking shop with Rad about his ship's modifications and armaments. It was a discussion that Rad was happy to oblige in. Gwen and Charmcaster spent their time bonding over magic. Now that Charmcaster had seemingly turned a new leaf, Gwen was stoked to make good on her promise of being her friend. More than that she was thrilled to finally have a teacher who she could learn proper spells from rather than trying to cobble them together from irreputable sources. The senior plumbers were all prepping their weapons in the ship's armory. Ben however, was keeping his distance in the cargo bay. Julie, and the rest of Beta Squad were sitting next to him and currently Kai was grilling Ben on the tablet.
"And you're saying it was hidden inside the meteorite?" Kai asked holding the tablet in her hands and examining it closely.
"For like the third time, yes!" Ben responded sitting atop a crate. He was starting to become exasperated. He had been answering Kai's questions about the tablet for hours by now. But no matter how many he answered she just came up with more questions.
"How is that even possible?" She wondered. "I mean the tablet couldn't have been inside the meteorite when it fell right? But how would it have gotten inside afterwards? None of this really makes sense." She said scratching her head in bewilderment.
"Couldn't they have used the Hammer itself to put the tablet inside the meteorite? I mean if it's a rule bending weapon it seems to make sense." Julie said.
"Maybe…" Kai responded softly.
"Maybe it's a fake?" Cooper questioned leaning against another crate, Lucy standing beside him.
"No the carbon dating has it the same age as the other tablets. And the writing and style of the tablet all match up with the others as well. This thing is the real deal." Kai responded. "But I can't get rid of the feeling that something is fishy about all this." She said softly. The room fell quiet at her admission, an uneasy feeling spreading throughout those present. The silence was broken as Ben spoke up.
"I agree." He said quietly. The admission surprised them and all heads turned to him. "I've noticed that pretty much all of my biggest enemies have been going after this hammer. Even one who I thought was gone for good. So how do they all know about it? Someone has to be pulling the strings on this. The only question is who?" He said seriously.
The group only had a short time to ponder the answer before an alert went off above them. Pixy's holographic face popped up above them and spoke a few words in her complicated language before she was replaced by a large holo-screen depicting a planet. The planet was very much like Earth. It had large deep blue oceans and multiple green continents. Clouds of white hovered above the planet. It looked beautiful and serene. It was hard to believe a place like this existed in the middle of Incursean territory. However despite the impressive image, the majority of them still had no idea what the message was.
"Pixy says that we're approaching the coordinates from the tablet. This is supposedly the planet the Hammer is on." Cooper said.
"Wait you can understand her?" Ben asked surprised. Cooper simply smiled and pointed to his head.
"Uh duh. Technopath remember?" He offered simply.
In just a short while the ship had touched down on the planet and the group of Plumbers disembarked. Rad had predictably stayed behind with his ship. The group walked through a tropical jungle. The planet's atmosphere was incredible. The humidity was perfect, the temperature was warm but not hot, and the weather was clear and beautiful. A number of gorgeous flowers lined the trees and jungle as they walked. The only thing that was of slight annoyance was the abundance of flying and fluttering insects around them. But the group trudged ahead. Kai was in the lead using Excalibur to cut away any vegetation that got in their way.
"You've gotten pretty good with that sword." Ben commented from her right. Kai smirked back at him.
"You think that's impressive? Watch this." She said. Suddenly she threw the sword ahead of her. The blade glowed white and spun through the air. It carved through the vines and branches in front of the group before turning back around towards them. But Kai stood confidently. She held out a hand and the blade flew back to her grip like a magnet. She stood proudly while Ben whistled impressed.
"Wow, cool. How'd you do that?" He asked. Kai propped the sword on her shoulder as she continued walking forward.
"Charmcaster's been teaching me how to control the sword's natural magical aura." She responded.
From behind Julie watched the interaction with a tense stare. Despite her rationally knowing that she shouldn't feel jealous she could nevertheless feel the emotion sprouting up inside her chest. She hugged Ship tighter to her as she watched Ben converse with Kai. She had turned Ben down, said he was still too immature. But did she really believe that? Or was it just another excuse to keep her heart from being broken again? Afterall Ben had been surpisingly more adult about all these missions they found themselves in. But still she could sense something was wrong, and it confused her. Ben was hiding something, she was sure of it. But she supposed he would tell her in due time.
Soon the group of excursionists broke through the jungle line. Surprised, they found themselves on a large gorgeous beach. The sand was warm and white beneath their feet. The ocean's water was crystal clear blue. The waves sloshed gently against the shore. A cool breeze flowed through the air. The atmosphere was like a tropical beach paradise. The group stopped and stared, captivated by the vista's natural beauty. However, their wonder and amazement was short lived. From far behind them they could hear the noise of engines rumbling to life. In another second they watched shocked as the Lovely Duck took off screaming into the sky. The next few minutes were spent in confusion, wondering what could have run off Rad Dudesman. They tried futilely to contact him over the comms array but he seemed unable or unwilling to answer. They didn't have to wait long to figure out why.
From over the jungle treetops they could spot several large green and purple ships bee-lining for their direction. The group watched helpless as a central smaller semi-circle like ship hovered above them and even higher above that were two Incursean Warships. The group watched with concern as the central crusiser landed on the beach ahead of them. Wind whipped off the ship and blew back their hair. They looked on in anticipation as a platform descended from the center of the ship. A trio of familiar purple clad aliens descended upon the beach. Their violet hued armors concealed a multitude of weapons. These were the mecrenary siblings: Six-Six, Seven-Seven, and Eight-Eight. The group of bounty hunters parted their numbers to reveal an even more concerning sight. From behind them stepped forth the Empress of the Incursean Empire, clad in a purple bikini, a sheer lavendar shawl, and a purple and white swim cap on her head. In her right hand Attea held a laser pistol that she rested easily against her hips.
"All-right scumbags. Hands in the air. What do you think you're doing on my planet?" Attea asked accusingly. The group of plumbers slowly raised their hands, glancing nervously at the cannons trained on their position.
"Don't worry, I got this." Ben said quietly to the people around him. Before anybody could stop him he stepped up beyond the group and made his way over to the ship.
"Hey Attea!" He called out, hands still raised non-threateningly in the air. Attea quirked an eyebrow at the approaching figure, wondering who would be so presumptuous as to address her without her proper titles. But then a smile came over her face as she realized exactly who was approaching her.
"Ben Tennyson? Shoot is that really you? I thought you had croaked." Attea said mockingly while temporarily lowering her gun. Ben only shrugged.
"What can I say, I'm a hard guy to get rid of." He bragged. "Fancy meeting you in a place like this." Ben said gesturing around them. Attea's smile dropped and was replaced by a frown.
"Yeah fancy that. I wonder what all you plumbers are doing here, in Incursean territory, on an Incursean planet, and my personal vacation planet no less." Attea spoke pointing the gun at Ben again.
"Vacation planet?" Ben asked curiously.
"Yes, this planet is a private resort for me and the upper ranks of my military. And you and your pesky friends have the gall to invade me on my vacation time." Attea said impassioned and angry. "Give me one good reason why I should let any of you leave here alive?" Attea said closing one eye and looking down her sights. Her mercenary bodyguards slightly raising their weapons at the ready as well. Behind him the rest of the plumber team watched the situation unfold tensely. But Ben seemed to not have a care in the world.
"Look, Attea, let me level with you here." Ben suggested. Attea stared at Ben for a second before nodding her assent. "We have reason to believe there is a really dangerous criminal hiding out here on your planet. All we want is to be given the freedom to find him and put him back into prison." Ben said sincerely. Behind him the majority of the group was impressed. Technically it wasn't a complete lie. Attea however did not seem to be easily swayed.
"The Incurseans don't do extradition treaties. And that doesn't forgive you for trespassing into my empire's domain without the proper diplomatic channels." Attea said back snarkily.
"You're right, you're right. And we're sorry. But we thought our bad guy would be tipped off if we told you. And besides let's be real here. Even if we did ask, you wouldn't have let us in anyway." Ben said keenly. Attea smirked.
"You're right. I probably wouldn't." She agreed with a smirk. "So again, I ask you. Why shouldn't I just throw you all into my dungeon?" She asked again.
"Come on Attea. What's it gonna take for you to forget this? Name your price." Ben said intent on working out a deal. He was surprised though as Attea gazed at him with half-lidded eyes and biting her lower lip. She sauntered forward up to Ben until she was right in front of him.
"Well, there is one thing…" She spoke suggestively as she traced a circle on Ben's chest with her finger. Ben's eyes grew nervous at Attea's approach. He watched her trace his chest with her finger with apprehension.
"What would that be?" Ben asked raising an eyebrow in cautious curiosity. Attea smirked again before leaning into Ben's ear and whispering to him. Ben felt his face burn red at the suggestion and sweat begin to drip down his back. He turned around just enough to catch a glimpse of his companions. They all simply looked back at him in confusion, unsure of what Attea had told him. He turned back to the Toad Queen and swallowed hard.
"Sorry but that's a no go." Ben said firmly. Attea dropped her smile but shrugged. She turned back around walking back to her ship. Her hips swaying with an exaggerated motion.
"That's a shame, I might have even let you stay human for part of it." She said disappointed. "But if you refuse my offer, that still leaves you with nothing." She finished knowingly.
"Come on work with me here. There's gotta be something else you want that we can get." Ben pleaded. Attea tapped her chin thoughtfully before another idea popped in her head and she smiled wickedly. She pointed grandiosely at Ben before announcing in a loud voice.
"Ten Thousand Taydens!" She said smugly. The crowd behind them gasped in shock. That was quite a high price for their bounty. The amount even made Kevin sweat. That kind of cash wasn't easily available from the Plumber's coffers. The group watched Ben, waiting to see how he would respond.
"Ten thousand Taydens?" He asked to confirm.
"Yep, I'd say that's a fair price to pay for the lot of you." She said knowing her amount was absurdly high.
"Done." Ben said simply.
Attea blinked in confusion. Surely she didn't just hear Ben agree to that price. She looked back at him in shock as she watched Ben fiddle with the Omnitrix. It seemed like from what they could make out from the holoscreen that Ben was making arrangements to transfer the funds. Attea was even more surprised as she heard a beep from her tablet. She motioned to Six-Six to grab the tablet for her. He handed over the device and Attea immediately checked her notifications. She was shocked once again as she read a deposit of 10,000 taydens into her bank account. She turned back to Ben with a curious eye.
"Well that's surprising. I wouldn't have taken you for a high roller?" Attea said. Ben shrugged his shoulders again.
"What can I say? I'm resourceful. Now, does this make us even?" Ben asked with hope. But he was disappointed as Attea laughed maniacally at him.
"No you dimwit, as if. Now though I'm even richer and I've got you all as my hostages." She laughed and the mercenaries raised their weapons at the group starting to walk towards them. But while the group behind him watched with nervousness Ben himself felt calm. He sighed and began to reach for his watch.
"Oh Attea, we really didn't have to do it this way." He said disappointed before transforming. But Attea was used to fighting Ben. She raised her finger and pointed angrily at him.
"Fire at him!" She ordered just as Ben slammed the Omnitrix down. The three Sotoraggian siblings opened fire on the spot where Ben stood. Their lasers, missiles, and projectiles caused mini-explosions to light up Ben in a cloud of smoke. But when the smoke screen finally cleared they were all surprised to find a shield of green energy in front of him. The various bullets and missiles were caught in the middle of the air, floating harmlessly in front of him. Ben had transformed into a lithe alien with teal skin. He had three eyes and two long tentacles protruded out from the sides of his head. A long tail sprouted behind him and large powerful legs that bent backwards held him up. Ben held his hand outstretched and eyes glowing.
"Grrr, how did you do that?" Attea demanded angrily. Ben chuckled as he let the shield and projectiles fall to the ground, his hand dropping as well.
"Don't you know? Psyking's species the Uxorites are incredible masters of telekinesis and telepathy." Ben said identifying himself. "Now this is the last chance I'm gonna give you Attea. Let us past or I'll be forced to do something you won't like." Ben threatened. But the frog woman simply scoffed.
"Oh yeah? Please, what could you possibly do to me? I've got you outnumbered and out-gunned. How could you possibly get out of this unscathed?" Attea laughed.
"Oh I don't know, maybe I might just do a little thing like tell everyone about… Mr. Wartypants?" Ben said sinisterly as his eyes glowed. Behind him the group of plumbers looked at each other in confusion. They wondered if they had heard Ben right. Even the mercenary guards looked amongst each other in confusion. But Attea's reaction was the most interesting. She turned bright red and her eyes widened in shock before she stomped up to Ben angrily.
"How do you know that name?" She whispered angrily to him. Ben smirked back at her.
"I told you. Telepathy. I'm able to read all your thoughts and see your secrets. Like how every night before bed…" Ben started to speak loudly. But Attea put a hand over his mouth, desperately shushing him.
"You can't tell anybody! It would ruin my fearsome reputation." She said in a harsh whisper.
"Then I guess you know what to do." Ben said. "If you don't want every one here knowing about Mr. Wartypants then you have to let us pass." He threatened again. Attea narrowed her eyes at him.
"You wouldn't dare…" She said back staring up at him.
"Try me." Ben retorted back. Attea watched Ben closely. His stoic visage revealed nothing to her. Soon her face began to quiver and uncertaintly clouded her mind. She buried her face in her hands and gripped tightly at her swim cap, pulling it down temporarily in front of her face. A small muffled scream could be heard from underneath it. But suddenly she relaesed her grip and dropped her hands. She took a deep breath, steeling her expression and turning back around. She stomped back up to her ship, much to the confusion of her bodyguards and the plumber group.
"Fine, you've got 24 hours. And you're not allowed anywhere near my resorts. Let's go." She said with finality. The mercenary siblings looked amongst each other in confusion. They communicated to one another in their strange guttural and grunting language. But Attea snapped her fingers impatiently breaking their conversation and drawing them back around her. As the platform raised back into the ship, Attea peered over the edge one final time, her face still tinged red. "You better not mess with my vacation Tennyson, or I don't care what you use to blackmail me, I will destroy you." She threatened one last time. Ben simply gave a salute back. The group watched as Attea's ship flew off into the distance, followed shortly after by the warships. Ben watched them fly off satisfied and feeling somewhat smug. He turned back to see the remainder of the group staring at him with slack jaws. Ben quirked an eyebrow, confused.
"Dude, what…" Kevin said stunnded.
"That. Was. Amazing!" Lucy cheered from behind them.
"How did you manage to convince Attea to leave us alone?" Rook asked curiously. Ben however shook his head.
"Hey man, I promised not to tell. Besides I can't go around giving away a woman's secrets now could I?" He said.
The group predictably ignored his comments as they walked further out onto the beach. They travelled to the east where the coastline curved upwards until it reached a point. The beach beyond the point was obscured by a large hill of green forests forming a bay beyond it. The group walked along the coast line, the sand slipping out from under their feet as they marched. As they crested around the corner they were awe-struck as they took in the sight in front of them. A large pyramid like temple sat sticking out of the water of the bay and towering several stories into the air. The ziggurat was made of carved grey stone and intricate masonry lined the walls of the structure. Sitting half submerged in the water around the temple were several large cylindrical stones protruding into the air and breaking the waves that crashed into the shore.
The group stood awe struck, it appears they had finally made it. Their goal laid inside the temple. After such a long search they were finally close to the finish. The mythical Demiurge Hammer resided somewhere inside the large temple.
A/N: Apologies for the late update gang. I had to go back and rewrite this one as originally Rad didn't have any dialogue and I actually like that character so I wanted to show him off more. As a result the next regular update on Sunday will be skipped and resume the following week. Also we are quickly approaching what I would consider the midway point of the story and also a big plot reveal. All the mysteries that I've been hinting at will soon be revealed. This will be your last chance to share who you think No-One is. Thank you to the reviewers who have been commenting so far with words of encouragement. Lastly, we are somewhat close to my buffer of extra chapters being depleted so updates may slow down but I promise I'll warn you guys if that happens.