Ben X Chapter 34

Abominatrix Arc

Cult of Personality

Julie Yamamoto sat with her laptop open, cruising the web for any leads on the Flame Keeper's circle. Despite her previous association with the, for lack of a better word, cult; Julie was never a high ranking member of the organization, and as such had little in the way of information regarding them. A fact which somewhat irked her. Hindsight had proven clearly to her that they had only used her to get to Ben at the time. Julie had heard rumors that the cult was still active on a small level, she just didn't know where. She, Gwen, and Kevin thus had little choice but to start with what they knew. So they had visited the location of their former offices in Bellwood. Unfortunately there was little in the way of information there either. The offices had since been rented out to different companies over the years, and all of the group's files, computers, and memorabilia had either been thrown out or sequestered in an out of the way closet. But that had not deterred them. So they searched through the remaining files and computers for any information they could find, no matter how small. Eventually, buried in a file of obsolete financial information and donation records, they seemed to stumble upon a secondary headquarters for the group. It was the only lead they had thus far and as such they were determined to follow it.

That lead to their current situation on the Rust Bucket, flying to Chicago of all places. Their investigation had discovered a former headquarters for the cult which disguised itself as a humanitarian aid organization. Additionally, Julie had discovered evidence of still active cult members on old message boards and email lists which seemed to hint at them being in the wider Chicago area. Julie had to smile as she thought on the memory of Ship helping her with her search. Since the many battles they had been through together she had learned much more of his abilities and found she had vastly underestimated him. With his link to her mind she was easily able to hack into old servers and peruse the Circle's records. She wasn't anywhere close to the level of say Cooper, but she thought she had advanced quickly with her newfound abilities, even if she had to rely on Ship. A frown briefly came over her face. It was no secret that since the beginning of this whole ordeal she had felt somewhat inferior to all her friends. They were all advanced plumber agents, with unique skills and abilities that aided them in battle and made them stand out. Even compared to Kai, who even just being a normal human still had valuable knowledge and mastery of martial arts, Julie felt insecure. She had voiced these concerns to Gwen prior to their departure from Galvan Prime. Gwen had been a close friend while she was dating Ben years ago, after their break up she had gradually drifted apart from the sorceress. Gwen had assured her that skills were unique and appreciated among their group. She had told Julie that even if Ship was the one that gave her access to said abilities, she was still the one using them. Those words brought a comfort to her, that she wasn't part of the group out of pity.

She had no further time to muse on her thoughts though as Kevin brought them down for a landing. The Rust Bucket came to a stop on a distant runway of the O'Hare airport. Apparently, Gwen had called ahead and had their landing approved hours ago. It was still sometimes strange to think about the authority that Gwen held. Throughout their journey Julie had somehow forgotten that Gwen was technically an advisor to the President. Even as they descended out of the Rust Bucket and made their way into the city, Julie could spy a number of media agencies and papparazi spying on them from afar. Julie was something of a minor celebrity herself, given her success in sports. But the constant papparazi trailing them made her think back to her teenage years when she dated Ben. It was one part of why she had broken up with him in the first place. Now that she was travelling with the group again she could only shudder at the thought of the increased scrutiny it would put back on her and the many rumors that were certain to abound about whether her and Ben were dating again. Even if she did consider herself back together with him, this wasn't something that she looked forward to in her renewed relationship. But thinking about Ben again had her consider another thought which she voiced to her companions.

"Hey, do people know that Ben's back?" She asked Gwen and Kevin. She thought back to his initial departure. She vaguely remembered his so called disappearance to be a major news story back when it first happened. She hadn't paid too much attention back then, due to the fact that she was one of the last people to see him, and his visit and request had caused confusing feelings in her. But now that he was active again, Julie had to wonder whether the wider public knew or not.

"Not officially, no." Gwen answered. "Of course all the Plumbers know and I've had to tell some higher ups in the government, but officially he hasn't made a return." She explained further.

"How come?" Kevin asked intrigued by the decision. But Gwen simply shrugged.

"He said he didn't want to make a big deal of it yet. Besides with all the travelling we had to do and the mission to track down and stop Eon it's not like its anything permanent." She responded.

"Huh, ya know, years ago Ben definitely would have made his return to be some grand thing. I guess he really has changed. Right Julie?" Kevin asked her pointedly putting emphasis on her name with a knowing smirk. Julie found herself blushing.

"Yeah, he has." She said shyly. She hadn't really mentioned her and Ben's rekindling of their relationship to any of their friends. There just hadn't been a good time to do so. Yet Kevin somehow knew. And she knew for a fact that Ben hadn't said anything yet. She supposed he was more perceptive than she gave him credit for. But unfortunately Gwen didn't miss the interaction between them. Her eyebrows raised at the teasing look that Kevin sent her way and Julie's blush and attempt to avert her gaze.

"No way. Are you guys together again?" She asked with delighted surprise. Julie sighed but still held a smile on her face. She supposed that the cat was out of the bag now and she nodded with a shy smile.

"Ah! That's great! I'm so happy for you guys!" Gwen said wrapping her up in a hug which Julie returned. "I liked Kai but she was way too much like Ben for either of their good. I always thought that you were a better influence on him." Gwen said letting go. At the mention of Kai, Julie's face fell. She had a suspicion that Kai somehow knew just like Kevin did. The fact that Ben chose her to accompany him on his mission had her concerned. She supposed that he was going to break the news to her. Kevin seemed to sense her thoughts and spoke up as well.

"I'm sure Kai's already gone after Ben's throat by now. But their whole relationship has been like that before. I'm sure he'll be fine." Kevin assured her and Julie smiled at him. "Now, as much as I love talking about Ben's love life, we've still got a job to do here." He declared as they came out of the airport. Julie bent down to pick up Ship who soon transformed himself into a backpack which fit neatly against Julie's back.

The group soon piled into a rental car that Gwen had acquired for them. Kevin of course drove them all through the heavy midmorning traffic of the city, with no small amount of frustration. Their destination was yet another nondescript office building on the south side of the city. They arrived after a mere half hour, with Kevin still complaining about the traffic and the rental car itself. As they entered the building and asked around, they learned that much like the offices in Bellwood, the Flame Keeper's Circle had long abandoned these offices. But unlike their previous endeavor, this office still had much of the group's records and files still present. Apparently in the confusion of the battle with the Forever Knights, no one had bothered to come back here to clean house. But that suited the trio of heroes just fine. They began their search through the numerous files and computer systems.

The young heroes spent hours sifting through the records left behind the group. Much of it was incriminating in its own right: details of illegal transactions and now defunct bank accounts. The group even dealt in alien arms deals through brokers Kevin recognized the names of. But unfortunately, none of the information was really what they were looking for. They were nearly ready to give up. Until Gwen happened to spy a familiar name on one of the nearby documents. Gwen snatched up the piece of paper and skimmed over it, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Hey guys, come check this out." She beckoned. Julie and Kevin walked over to read through the paper that she held up.

"This paper references a financial transfer from the Flame Keeper's circle to one Francis Edwards. Wasn't Edwards the name of the top guy in the Circle?" Gwen asked for clarification.

"Yeah! Conduit Edwards he called himself. But I thought he died in that final battle?" Julie asked confused.

"He did." Kevin confirmed. "But what's so important about a bank transfer? Dude was probably embezzling from his own organization." He surmised.

"Because this money transfer happened after his supposed death." Gwen stated, pointing out the date.

"No way. Do you think he somehow… survived?" Julie asked slightly nervous. She had never stopped to consider the possibility before. The Esoterica had a myriad of mystical powers. She supposed he could have magically healed himself, or teleported to safety. She felt a sense of bitterness and revulsion at the thought. Conduit Edwards was the one who had tricked her into joining in the first place. She wouldn't have wished death on anyone but the thought that Edwards may have survived and resumed his brainwashing on other young innocents filled her with a sense of disgust.

"I don't know. I guess it's possible." Gwen rubbed her chin thoughtfully, no doubt thinking along the same lines as Julie. "But look, there's also a record of a donation to the University of Chicago." She said pointing down lower on the document.

"Okay, assuming that Edwards is still alive, why would he donate money to a college?" Kevin asked suspicious.

"I don't know. But I think it's another lead worth checking out." Gwen responded, folding up the piece of paper and slipping it into a pocket.

The trio of heroes quickly made their way to the next destination. As far as any of them knew, the University of Chicago had no connection with the Flame Keeper's Circle. But the money trail was clear and they were determined to get to the bottom of it. They arrived to the main campus, an open courtyard with a well manicured field and sparse trees. A multitude of college students milled about, talking and laughing or walking to their next class. A few played games on the open field. It was a strange sight in the midst of the rest of the bustling city of Chicago. They looked around at their surroundings with confusion and apprehension. This was unfamiliar territory for them. For both Gwen and Julie, they at least were familiar with college life. Kevin was still mostly out of his depth having not attended any formal education in years. Gwen had suggested that they try to find an administrative building for the college to begin their inquiry about the payments. Julie however disagreed, thinking that a direct approach would tip off whatever remnants of the Esoterica were around the college. She instead suggested sneaking in and hacking into the school's financial records. Kevin let the girls debate as he kept an eye on their surroundings. He didn't want them to draw too much attention to themselves so he took a step away from them to look around some more. It was then that he noticed he was approached by a random student.

"Hey man! Do you need some help?" The stranger said asked amicably. Kevin eyed him up and down looking for any potential threats. He shorter than Kevin, but only by an inch. He had brown hair and eyes and what Kevin had taken to calling a 'dreamboat' face that he knew girls would go crazy over. He wore a simple black hoodie with a pair of jeans. He smiled again at Kevin.

"Nah, man I'm good, thanks." Kevin said intent on ignoring him. But the stranger's smile didn't fade.

"Really? Cuz you seem like you're lost?" He asked with a tilt of his head. Kevin glanced at him again with narrowed eyes which widened when he spotted the small picture of a flame on the kid's hoodie.

"Actually we are a little lost." He heard Gwen come up behind him. "We're looking for…" But Kevin clapped a hand on her shoulder and interrupted her quickly.

"Actually we're new to campus. We're uh transfer students. This is our first time here. We're just checking the place out ya know?" Kevin replied in an overly friendly fashion.

"Right on. I'm Dane, I'm a senior here, and also an ambassador to a student outreach group here on campus." Dane explained. Gwen gave a raised eyebrow to Kevin who deliberately ignored the look and instead gestured to their group.

"Cool, I'm Kevin. This is my girlfriend Gwen and our friend Julie." He introduced them. "Tell us more about this outreach group you mentioned." Kevin said quickly changing the topic but in a smooth and effortless way. Dane's face seemed to light up.

"I'm so glad you asked. We call ourselves the Ember Association. We're a student group that does things like charity work, community outreach, and fundraising. But we also do stuff like parties and networking events. But mainly we help new students to campus adjust and get their feet settled." Dane said.

"Oh that sounds cool." Kevin said with that same fake interest. "Gwen here is big into charity work right babe?" He nudged her elbow, silently telling her to go along with his plan.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah I did a lot of volunteering in col… uh high school." She said not nearly as smooth as Kevin.

"Oh that's great! We're always looking for new members." Dane said seemingly not picking up on their awkwardness. "But anyway do you want me to give you guys a tour?" He asked pointing a thumb over his shoulder.

"Yeah that'd be great dude!" Kevin said with enthusiasm and immediately began following Dane. Gwen and Julie exchanged confused clances before they too followed after Dane and Kevin.

"So have you guys decided what you're going to major in?" Dane asked nonchalantly.

"Political science." Gwen said easily, choosing just one of the majors she had already earned several degrees from.

"I'm thinking about Engineering." Kevin responded next.

"Uh, Journalism." Julie replied next thinking about her dream to do sports writing after she retired from professional tennis.

Dane simply nodded encouragingly at each of their choices before he lead them on a tour of the campus. He showed them the main study halls and lecture halls around campus. In between visiting the main buildings he also gave them a history of the University. He notably avoided mention of any of the other student clubs and groups on campus besides those of the Ember Association. Eventually he ended their tour near a dining hall where he offered to treat them to lunch.

"Thanks but we already ate." Kevin dismissed. "But if you've got like a business card for the Embers we'll take that. I think we might want to look into it a little more." Kevin offered. Dane chuckled.

"Hah well we don't have business cards but we do have flyers!" He said digging through his backpack to hand Kevin a flyer. It had a list of meeting dates and locations as well as phone numbers, emails, and social media pages. At the top of the flyer was a stylized image of a flame. "Just text the number on the bottom and mention my name and we'll get you some more info." Dane said. Kevin smiled and raised his hand for a high five.

"Thanks man, appreciate it." Kevin said easily. Dane slapped hands with him and smiled again before wishing them all goodbyes. As soon as he was out of earshot, Kevin's smile dropped immediately from his face.

"Okay… you want to tell us what that was all about Mr. Engineering major?" Gwen asked suspiciously with arms crossed. Kevin glanced at both the girls with a dark look in his eyes. He passed them the flyer, pointing at the fire picture.

"This Ember Association is our best lead." Kevin explained.

"What? Why?" Julie asked confused as to how a simple student group could possibly be related to the Flame Keeper's circle. Kevin regarded the two of them as if they were clueless.

"All of that was classic cult tactics." He explained. "The face of the Cult are the young attractive looking ones. They act all nice and friendly to lure in young, outcast, and lonely kids, give them a sense of belonging. They make you feel like you make a difference. But in reality they just brainwash you to give your loyalty to the cult. I've had to deal with a number of groups like that growing up." Kevin responded darkly. Julie and Gwen looked between each other with a degree of shock. "Plus," Kevin said pointing again to the picture on the flyer. "They're calling themselves the Ember Association. Embers? Flame Keepers? See the connection?" Kevin pointed out as if it was obvious. Julie and Gwen once again exchanged looks as they realized that Kevin seemed to be right on the money. Julie once again wondered just how smart Kevin was and why he always seemed to hide it.

"Ok, so the Embers are likely the remnants of the Flame Keepers. So I would assume that the money transfer to the University was a bribe to let them operate. But why the university in the first place? Just a recruitment ground for more members?" Gwen wondered.

"I don't know, but infiltrating this group will take too long. We need to get to the top bronto." Kevin said punching his fist to his palm.

"And how would you suppose we do that?" Julie asked. Kevin only smirked in response.

Julie, Kevin, and Gwen approached the meeting spot with hoods drawn and hidden in the shadows. The meeting was supposed to take place underground in one of the city's disused sewer systems. They approached the entrance: an open grate under a small bridge that passed over a drainage ditch ending in a small culvert. Julie hated to admit it but Kevin's tactics for gaining entry into the cult worked like a charm. If you could call holding a higher member of the cult hostage and threatening him into revealing secrets any sort of tactic. But regardless, the trio were able to get the information they needed. Luckily for them, a meeting for the roughtly two dozen of the Ember's upper echelons was taking place tonight. All they needed to do was infiltrate the meeting, confront Conduit Edwards (or whoever was posing as him), and put them into custody to prevent whatever relic they had from falling into Eon's hands. It was all much easier said than done though. They still didn't know fully what they were walking into. They were unsure if there were any further Esoterica awaiting them inside. They didn't even really know what they were looking for. Gwen theorized that the 'Faith' that was referred to in the resurrection spell was a holy object held in the cult's possession. But they all knew that they needed to apprehend the cult before Eon got to them.

As the trio reached the circular grate embedded into the concrete, hoods still up and obscuring their faces, another member of the Embers nodded his head at them and gestured them to head inside. They walked single file into the small dark tunnel, a single flame held by their guide acting as the only source of light. Thankfully there was no stench that they would have expected from the sewers, but the air was still damp and unpleasant. Eventually the tunnel opened up into a larger empty cistern. A collection of cloaked figures milled about in small groups around the room. The circular chamber was lit by caged flood lights on the tops of the round walls, casting a fluorescent glow onto the floor. The trio of heroes kept to themselves, not wanting to raise suspicion. The only conversation that occurred was in quiet hushed whispers which lent an eerie atmosphere to the already cryptic gathering. Finally the sound of echoing footsteps sounded from a tunnel in front of them and the group of cloaked figures quieted down. They watched as another hooded stranger emerged from the tunnel and stepped in front of the group. He lowered his hood to reveal a young white man with brown hair and eyes.

"That's not Conduit Edwards." Gwen observed quietly.

"No, but it does kind of look like him?" Julie replied back. They silenced their voices as the stranger began to speak.

"My loyal brothers and sisters!" He began. "Thank you all for gathering here on this most glorious of nights! As you all know, my father, Conduit Thomas Edwards, gave his life years ago in service to ressurect our god Dagon. But alas his sacrifice was in vain, as the meddling of the Forever Knights and the accursed Ben Tennyson foiled our plans!" He continued to applause and jeers. The trio of heroes exchanged glances at the reveal of Edward's son. "But now, I, Francis Edwards have brought us one step closer to our goal!" Edwards spoke eliciting claps from the crowd. "I have met with a powerful benefactor who seeks to revive Dagon just as we do! I met him several months ago, when he approached me with offers of aid and support in exchange for adding more faithful to our cause. Please, welcome our fellow member into the fold!" Edwards stated and stepped aside to allow another shadowy figure to step into the light. Julie, Gwen and Kevin all gasped as they saw Eon step into the cistern, a shady smile on his face and hands held behind his back.

"That's Eon! We've got to move." Kevin said harshly. Immediately all three heroes prepared to spring into action, dropping their cloaks. Kevin absorbed the concrete onto his body, while Ship armed Julie and Gwen raised twin spheres of mana in her fists. The surrounding cultists all stepped back in shock and gasped. Edwards to turn to stare at them in shock before pointing at them in disdain.

"Heretics! They are affiliated with our enemy Ben 10! Destroy them!" He issued the order. Immediately the three heroes were beset upon by the numerous cultists. The cloaked cultists rushed them, no weapons in hand aside from their fervent zeal for their cause. They clawed at them with bare hands and tackled them trying to take them to the ground. The cistern soon filled with the sounds of shouts and fights. Ordinarily, the trio would have had no problem taking down the cultists. Kevin's enhanced strength, Gwen's mana forcefields, and even the built in taser in Julie's armor could have made short work of them. However, the cramped space and sheer number of the zealots made defeating them more difficult than it should have been.

"Edwards!" Gwen finally called out over the shouts of the crowd. "Eon is just trying to trick you! He doesn't want to resurrect Dagon, he wants to steal his power for his self!" Gwen called desperately in warning.

"Liars!" Edwards responded. "I will not believe you! My faith is absolute!" He cried.

"And that is all I need." Eon said from behind him. Shocked, Edwards turned around just in time to see Eon run him through the middle with Ascalon. The cult leader looked between Eon and the sword with shock as the blood began to seep from the wound.

"Blasphemer." Edwards cried out as Eon smiled wickedly at him. Eon withdrew the sword and Edwards stumbled backwards for a step.

"No good sir, I was true to my word. Now your faith shall feed him." Eon spoke before he thrust out the Abdominatrix. The runes on the device glowed a bright violet color. Immediately all of the cultists in the room fell to their knees in pain. The trio of heroes watched in horror as it looked like their very souls were sucked from their bodies. Ghostly apparitions were torn from their bodies, screaming in agony and swirling to form a vortex centered on Eon's arm. When all was said and done, the cultists lay drained on the floor like shriveled husks.

"With this I need only one more requirement for the ritual! When I retrieve the Alpha Rune, ultimate power will be mine!" He crowed. Gwen barely had time to react before Kevin shouted.

"Murderer!" Kevin screamed and charged at the madman. But Eon only smirked and ran into the shadows of the tunnel he previously emerged from. The heroes gave chase but soon after many twists and turns it became apparent that he had eluded them.

A/N: This chapter was a pain to write. I really had to slog through it mostly because I wasn't interested in it all that much. Still I did like parts of it and I hope you guys do too. Also I found a review by a guest reviewer who praised the story as a 'love letter to the prime continuity' which is really what I wanted it to come across as so thank you so much. The rest of the chapters should be coming along much better as it'll be way more fun to write.