Ben X Chapter 43
Across the Omniverse Arc
Ben Punk
Ben emerged from the swirling vortex of the portal once more. He found himself in a dingy back alley of some unknown city scape. Trash bins lined up against the brick walls of high story apartment buildings. The ground was infested with rats and murky puddles. Trash and empty beer bottles were strewn about the ground. It was dark, perhaps sometime in the late afternoon with the light of the sun barely peeking between the distant far off ends of the alleyway. The smell was probably the worst aspect though, a strong combination of scents that he didn't want to think about ever being combined. He looked around at his companions who all seemed equally upset by their newfound surroundings. His thoughts strayed back to the words Paradox spoke to them all before leaving.
"Our last recruit may prove to be our most difficult." Paradox explained to the group. They stood around the clearing of Bengar's forest still. "I selected the last Ben because he is something of a wildcard. He has that sort of unquantifiable quality to him that would make him an ideal member of our little group."
"So like a sort of X factor?" Ben remarked casually.
"Precisely, but this same quality also makes him difficult to work with. He resents nearly any kind of authority. So while I do think he will agree to help us we may have to frame our argument in the correct manner before he agrees to do so." Paradox said.
"What makes him so unique?" Gwen asked with arms folded.
"I'm sure you'll see for yourself." Paradox remarked. "Suffice to say he is one of the most stubborn, resilient, defiant of any Ben I've ever been in contact with." He finished.
"So you've dealt with him before then?" Ben asked.
"Only very briefly and he didn't seem too interested in what I had to say. He actually reminded me of you Ben, only to a much higher extreme." Ben frowned at that. He knew his own flaws well enough by now. He supposed it was some sort of cosmic Karma that he would now have to confront those flaws in such a direct way. Regardless, they still had a job to do, and if this new Ben was any help, they would welcome him with open arms. That was only a few minutes ago and they had all stepped through the portal from Bengar's world to this new dimension.
"Everyone, we must proceed with more caution from here on." Paradox warned them all before anyone could wander off.
"Why? What's so bad about this place?" Ben 23 asked.
"Besides the smell…" Jen added pinching her nose.
"This is dimension 79, a world that is under control of a despotic dictator. No doubt we will be seen as outsiders immediately and turned in by any spies or citizens looking to get on his good side. I therefore propose that we acquire some disguises for ourselves." Paradox said.
"Will those do?" Hook asked pointing upwards to a clothesline held between the two buildings. It was laden with an assortment of loose baggy jackets, shirts, and pants.
"I got it!" Jen said before jumping from wall to wall. In a matter of seconds she had gathered up the articles of clothing and distributed them to the group. The Omnitrix users donned the disguises, many of them being baggy black hooded jackets to obscure their faces.
With their newfound disguises in place the group of heroes exited out onto the street in search of the last recruit for their team. What they found on the main thoroughfare only filled them with more despair however. The streets were grimy and filled with huddled masses, downcast and trodden in appearance. Despite their disguises the locals tended to avoid them. The buildings were an odd mixture of more archaic victorian looking buildings and modern structures. Smog filled the sky and choked what little daylight reached the ground. Wrought steel street lamps illuminated the street through the noxious air. Vintage looking cars filled the roads, honking in annoyance at inevitable traffic. Ben tried his best to take in his surroundings without being too conspicuous.
What little he could gather from his reconnaissance revealed much to him. Firstly, he deduced that they did not appear to be in a version of Bellwood, or even America for that matter. Judging by the few accents he was hearing around he would guess they were somewhere in the U.K. Additionally, he kept seeing references to a 'Lord Decibel' plastered on posters and billboards. If Ben had to guess, he would put money on him being in charge, and his symbol of a cracked record seemed to be posted everywhere. In addition, there were none too subtle indicators of mass surveillance and oppression: cameras on nearly every corner, propaganda posters lining the walls, civilian checkpoints to major city centers. It all painted a fairly bleak picture and Ben realized that they were at real risk of being detained here if things went wrong. That was a delay that they could not afford.
"Psst, any idea where this guy is? I don't wanna stay here any longer than we have to." Ben whispered to Paradox.
"I found his base of operations, such as they are, on a previous trip here. We should be there shortly." Paradox responded.
The time traveller was true to his word. In a few short minutes and mere blocks away from where they first appeared he led them into what appeared to be an apartment building above a pub. The pub was obviously closed and even if it had been open Ben doubted it would get much business. Trash was strewn about its outside and cracked glass windows sat in their frames. It looked to be a dive the type only locals and regulars would frequent, not that Ben had much experience going out to bars. Paradox led the group up the stairs to the side of the pub and into the hallway. It was a tight fit with all of their group crammed into the narrow space. The inside of the building was no better than the outside, with dusty floors, peeling wallpaper, and evidence of roaches scuttering around. Many of the group including Gwen, Ben 23, and Ben 101 looked absolutely disgusted by the surroundings. Hopefully they wouldn't have to spend too long here. The time walker led them down the hallway to a door covered with stickers and graffitti.
"He should be in here." Paradox said. Ben walked up to try the door but predictably found it was locked. "Not to worry, I know his secret hiding spot." The Professor turned to the corner where the peeling wallpaper exposed a section of the brickwork constituting the building. He pried a loose brick from its spot in the wall and returned with a key. Inserting the key into the lock he opened the door easily, only to pause in the doorway. The rest of the group crowded behind him to peer inside, eventually moving inside. The apartment was rather spacious, and had the appearance of having been lived in, but it was shockingly empty. There were faded shadowed spots where furniture and posters once scattered about the room but they seemed long gone.
"Great, well this was a collossal waste of time." Ben 101 complained.
"How very strange. Taking into account the local time differential it should have only been a few days since I was last here." The professor said.
"Well we'll have to figure out a way to track this guy down. Come on, let's not stay here too long." Ben said and ushered the group outside. This was certainly not the way he was hoping for this to go down. Up until now his counterparts had been rather easy to find. Ben wasn't sure what to do at this point.
"Ben, I think we're being followed." Hook whispered to him as they exited the building. Sure enough, Ben glanced back to see some shadowed figures wearing suits and dark clothes trying to surreptitiously watch them from the alleys. Ben narrowed his eyes.
"All right guys, let's try ditching these dudes." Ben said quickly. He ushered them swiftly down another street, hoping to lose them. But unfortunately they ran right into an ambush. Soldiers wearing dark grey and black cornered them on the next street, brandishing pistols and rifles right in their direction. The soldiers soon encircled them, surrounding them on all sides with no means of escape. The Omnitrix users huddled together back to back as they watched the soldiers leerily.
"We have you surrounded. Surrender now and give us the location of the Punk!" The apparent commander shouted at them.
"What do we do Ben?" asked Ben 23. The hero eyed their options as the soldiers continued to close rank on them. There were only about fifty of them if he estimated correctly. With as many Omnitrix users as they were it should be an easy fight. The problem would be getting away.
"Looks like we don't have a choice." Ben replied as he transformed into Blitzwolfer. Taking his transformation as signal the others donned transformations of their own. Jen became Goop, slithering over to the group of soldiers and encasing their weapons in slime before ripping them from their hands. Hook became NRG blasting the weapons and soldiers with precise blasts of irradiated heat. Ben 101 turned into Brainstorm, his carapace opening and shooting electricity at the enemy soldiers. Gwen transformed into Swampfire and immediately began launching balls of burning methane into the group, causing explosions to ring out. Ben 23 shouted out "Vomit man!" as he became a Gourmand, the smaller alien using his long prehensile tongues to swallow the rifles before launching projectiles of his own. Blitzwolfer used his enhanced strength and speed to knock the soldiers to the ground with vicious claws and powerful howls.
"Bah! Bengar not even need transform to take care of puny wimps!" Bengar bragged as he picked up a rusty pipe and joined the fight. He jumped into the fray swinging with the improvised weapon and taking down just as many soldiers as the others. Ben watched in awe as the caveman tossed men aside like they were little more than pebbles. A group of soldiers attempted to dogpile him, easily a dozen or more struggling to contain him. But Bengar shrugged them off, tossing them five feet into the air. Paradox wasn't lying about this Ben's strength it seemed.
For a moment it looked as though the battle would quickly be won. Their combined alien strength was no match for the resistance put up by the soldiers. But Ben soon noticed the reinforcements arrive. His eyes widened as he realized they were packing even more powerful weaponry than the infantry they were currently battling. Ben was about to sound a retreat when the enemy opened fire again, this time with powerful blasts of laser fire. The assault brought nearly all of them to their knees as the painful laser fire impacted against them, stunning them into inaction. From the ground they looked up at the soldiers still surrounding them. Fear and panic began to set in as they realized that they were even more outnumbered now. From the corner of his eye he watched Paradox raising his hands in a gesture of surrender as he was threatened by the rifles. Ben wondered what they were going to do now.
"Oi mates!" came a sudden shout from above them. Everyone present turned to look upwards. They saw a figure standing on the roof of one of the buildings. He stood out immediately with a neon green spiky mohawk on his head. He wore a spiked black leather jacket that was laden with a colorful assortment of pins and badges. Ripped black denim jeans led down into large thick combat boots. Strangely a red and black plaid skirt seemed to hange from his waist as well, reaching down to just above his knees. He wore an indigo shirt and an indigo bandana that covered his mouth which all matched in color with his Omnitrix that he wore on his wrist. The mysterious figure pulled down his bandana to reveal Ben's face, studded with nose and lip piercings and black eye liner. Lastly a red and white Fender guitar, covered in stickers and scratches hung from his back. "Looks like you're all in a spot of Barney Rubble innit?" He shouted before jumping down to ground level.
In mid air he transformed into Echo Echo. He landed in a crouch and Ben noted that all the assembled soldiers raised their weapons in fear at him. The Sonorian smirked with his wide mouth. He cloned himself, surrounding the Omnitrix users in a circle of white aliens, each holding a guitar. "Might want to cover yer ears lads!" He shouted in warning behind them. The other heroes had barely a second before Echo Echo connected to his guitar through cables. He shredded on the guitar, an immense sonic blastwave issuing forth from the mouth of every clone, the aliens acting as inpromptu speakers. The wall of sound was deafening and blew the soldiers back, covering their ears. Ben couldn't tell if this Punk Ben was an expert or not, all he could tell was that the guitar made some of the craziest noise he had ever heard in his life. His fingers flew over the strings like a speed demon, creating a blizzard of noise. When the solo finally ended the soldiers around them all laid on the ground clutching at their ears and heads.
"Come…on…" Echo Echo said before transforming back to human. He lead the group of Omnitrix users down the streets, each of them detransforming themselves. Everything was happening too quickly for any of them to fathom what just happened. So they blindly followed this Ben as he led them down into the underground subways. They raced down tiled stairs and instead of waiting for a train they immediately hopped down into the dark tunnels of the rail ways.
"Woohoo! That was some action ey lads?!" The Punk Ben shouted out as he led them through the dark humid subway tunnels.
"Okay can we like stop for a moment here. Where are you taking us and who are you?" Gwen asked pausing in the dimly lit tunnels. The Punk turned around impatient and rolled his eyes.
"We're going to my new hideout o'course. The Special Police clocked me old one when yer geezer over there stopped by last time and told me bout all you other Omnitrix users." He explained. "As for who I am, name's Benny, but you can call me by me super'ero name, Punk Diez!" Benny said proudly pointing a thumb at his chest.
"Punk Diez?" Hook parrotted confused.
"Course! Diez is like spanish for ten. Couldn't well go round callin me'self Benny Tenny now could I? How lame would that be?" He asked with a laugh as he started walking again.
"So uh Benny? What was the deal with all those cops back there?" Ben asked as they resumed their trek.
"Those scuffers 'ave been after me since day one. They're Lord Decibel's attack dogs, and since I'm one of the only ones with the guts to stand up to him, they come after me." He said bitterly.
"Who's this Lord Decibel guy anyway?" Ben 23 asked. At that Benny froze, shoulders hunched and turned around with an incredulous expression on his face.
"Are you mental? How have you never heard of Lord Decibel?" At the blank stares he received Benny slumped backwards. "Are you telling me none of you have a Lord Decibel in your universes?" He asked. The assembled heroes all exchanged glances with each other before turning back and shaking their heads. "Unbelievable, Lord Decibel is a despot and a tyrant. He rules this country with an iron fist. His M.O. is threatening countries with natural disasters and super weapons until they either give him control or pay him off with billions of dollars. He's ruled this country since before I was born. Worst of all, he forces everyone to listen to only his shitty techno music. I mean don't get me wrong I like some fresh beats as much as the next guy but they become boring and repetitive and anybody who don't listen to it get thrown in the slammer." He complained as he resumed walking.
"What about Vilgax?" Ben asked but Benny simply scoffed.
"Vilgax is peanuts to Lord Decibel. That alien is all about brute force, but Lord Decibel is tricksy see." He replied as he led the group of heroes through a dimly lit service corridor in the underground. They passed through single file through the cramped space. "I'm the only one crazy nuff to fight back against Lord Decibel, even me own family says I should leave well enough alone. But Punk Diez don't play them games. So I do anything I can to mess with his plans. Sabotage tech, disrupt his rallies, steal his cash, you name it. Plus it's fun to tick him off." He laughed as the group suddenly found themselves in a sewer. He pointed up to a ladder leading to the surface.
"Course, that makes me public enemy numero uno, not that I mind much." The group found themselves in front of an abandoned warehouse. Benny went to the front door and unlocked it leading them all inside. "Anyway, we should be safe here. Mi casa es su casa folks, make yourself at home!" The group looked around. The ware house was furnished with run down couches, chairs, and mattresses. A multitude of cardboard boxes were stacked atop each other and pushed against the walls. Various neon signs hung from the walls and arcade video games took up one corner of the spacious room. An array of various tv's formed a wall of screens in front of the couch. A makeshift kitchen with multiple minifridges and a table took up the opposite corner. All around them were empty beer bottles and cardboard fast food receptacles.
"Well this place is certainly…" Benjamin began.
"Homey?" Gwen supplied as she nudged a beer bottle away from her.
"That is one word for it." Hook added.
"So uh, Benny…" Ben started awkwardly. He watched the younger teen lay down nonchalantly on the sofa bed, flipping open a comic book idly. "Have you given any thought to Paradox's proposal? Ya know, joining up with us and stopping Eon?" Ben inquired. But the young Punk gave him little mind, continuing to lounge care free.
"Eh, yeah no. Punk Diez flies solo. You guys are on your own." He answered flippantly. Ben looked at him with some shock.
"Solo? You must have some allies right? What about Grandpa Max or the Plumbers?" Ben questioned. At the mention of the Plumbers Benny's face turned sour.
"Uggh, as if I'd ever team up with those Red Spots. Lemme tell ya right now, any copper's a copper no matter what galaxy yer in. They can't be trusted." He said sagely. Ben thought back to the recent experience on Cormorant at the words.
"Surely you must at least have a Gwen?" The only Gwen in the room said. But again Benny rolled his eyes dismissively.
"She ain't want nothing to do with me.." He said with a wave of his hand and jumped up off the sofa to begin packing his guitar away in a faded dusty zip up case. "She used to be a total Mod-Head, now she's mixed up with some new hippie crowd, spoutin' some mystical third eye shite." He said with a mocking tone.
"So what, you just fight all these bad guys on your own?" Ben asked.
"Course, ain't nuthin to it. Punk Diez is the best there is. I don't need nobody else, they'd only slow me down." He said proudly. A frown appeared on Ben's face as he began recognizing his own most toxic traits in the youth. The cock-suredness, the bombastic ego, the resentment of authority figures. It was like this Ben had taken all of his worst attributes and cranked the dial to eleven! But hopefully, some of his better traits were in there too, and that it wasn't too late to make a difference for him.
"Well, I'm sure you're very talented, otherwise Paradox wouldn't have recommended you. We would really appreciate having you on our team. With you on our side we'd definitely be able to defeat Eon." Ben said trying to play to the teenager's ego.
"Look I feel for you lot, I really do. Takin' down authoritarian slime balls is right up my ally. But like I told yer geezer there I got me hands full enough dealing with Lord Decibel and his cronies." Benny answered, crossing his arms.
"Oh come on man! You've gotta help us! Eon's a madman bent on controlling all realities, and he's absorbed enough power to make that possible! Eventually he'll come for your world too!" Ben 23 added impatiently. Benny's face finally twisted into an expression of discontent and anger.
"Yeah, and I'll deal with him if he comes here, but I told ya I don't work with a team. I don't like bein' told what to do." He emphasized.
"Yeah! Bengar agree! Me no like follow rules either!" the caveman shouted as he lifted up a piece of furniture and prepared to toss it.
"Uh Bengar buddy I don't think you're helping." Jen tried to placate him and gently coaxed him into dropping the table.
"Aww, but Bengar like making mess." He pouted.
"Yeah big guy, why do you have to listen to what they tell you? They're just trying to keep you down man, you should be free to wreck as much as you want!" Benny emphasized by tossing a beer bottle against the wall where it promptly shattered.
"Bengar don't listen to him." Ben warned before turning back his attention to the punk. "What's your deal man?" Ben finally asked getting upset. "Why are you so against working with us?"
"My deal is that I don't want nobody tellin' me how to live me life. Rules are meant for breakin' man. Maybe it ain't the same in your universes, but in my universe I have to fight for my freedom and the freedom of everyone else. I have to fight for my right to dress how I want, shag who I want, and be who I want. And when you become part of a group, naturally you've gotta follow a leader. And no offense mate, but I don't really know you, so why should I follow you?"
Ben paused at that comment. It was true that he and Benny didn't know each other well, and based on their current conversation that divide was likely to only widen if he didn't do something to fix it. Well thankfully, he already had an idea to help with that. "Alright, fair enough," Ben conceded. "What if I make you a deal then? If you agree to help us take down Eon, we'll agree to come back and help you with Lord Decibel." He offered.
Benny's eyes widened slightly at the offer before they narrowed once more. "Nah man I told you I got it covered, don't need no help." He rebutted.
"Oh really? Cuz it seems like you've been doing such a good job so far." Benjamin remarked sarcastically.
"Oi Poindexter, don't start with me." Benny warned the other omnitrix user.
"He's not wrong though," Ben interjected. "How close have you gotten to beating him? What are your plans for once you finally do bring him down? Are you just gonna take over yourself?" Ben asked him earnestly. Benny looked completely flummoxed by the barrage of questions.
"Wha- no, I… What are you even asking me all this stuff for anyway?" He countered.
"Because you need to have a plan in place. You can't just expect everything to change for the better once you beat the bad guy. Trust me I've beaten enough myself to learn that lesson. Sometimes if you just let them go they come back to haunt you in the worst way possible." Ben tried to explain. Benny stammered over his words in response to Ben but finally he shook his head and regained his composure. He regarded Ben with an ugly furious expression.
"You know what? I don't need to take this. How bout you sod off before ya really irritate me?" He gestured with his thumb.
"No." Ben responded defiantly. Punk looked at him with a shocked expression.
"Come again mate?"
"No, I'm not leaving yet." Ben stomped his way over to Punk Ben who regarded him with animosity at first. "You need a reality check Benny." He said jabbing him in the chest. "You think you're so tough and cool, that you can do anything just cuz you've got that watch on your wrist that gives you all those powers. But let me tell you something kid, you can't do everything by yourself, and your insistence that you're just rebelling against control and the status quo means that you're really just alienating all your friends and family. Take it from me guy, I used to be a lot like you, thought I was above everyone and that I was the greatest hero alive, but I've screwed up enough to finally realize that you need other people to help you when you get pushed down. So you should really do some soul searching before you wake up one day and realize that you're all alone. We'll leave you be but you should seriously consider cleaning up your act." Ben monologued at him, leaving the room in awed shock before he turned away to resume his exit. The other Omnitrix users glanced between them with mixed expressions as Benny was left in stunned silence. Ben ushered them towards the exit, looking back one last time at Benny.
"By the way, we weren't trying to tell you what to do. We were asking for your help. If that's how you treat people who ask you for help, well, let's just say I wouldn't think you were much of a hero." Ben said his final parting words and left the warehouse.
Outside the group remained sheepish and unsure. Ben glanced at Paradox with a defeated sigh. "Well that was a complete bust. I guess we should just head home and make due with who we've got." Ben said. Paradox hummed thoughtfully in response.
"Perhaps not as bad as you might think. If I may have your permission to try one last tactic?" The professor asked. Unsure what the time traveller was up to but trusting him implicitly, Ben nodded his head. Paradox opened another portal and pushed the group through it. But instead of ending up in a different dimension they exited out in the exact same spot they were just standing in. The only difference was that night had finally fallen.
"It's been approximately six hours. Let's see if our friend has changed his tune." The group entered the warehouse once more to see Benny sat on the couch, morosely strumming the guitar. As they entered he picked up his head and looked at them in shock.
"Yer back?!" He exclaimed surprised. Ben only nodded silently, still looking at him with a stern expression. "Right, well uh, I had some time to think about what you said. I want to apologize. You were right. It looks like I forgot what being Punk is all about eh?" He said with a sardonic laugh.
"And that would be?" Ben asked confused. Benny smiled back at him, small but genuine.
"Punk is about lifting people up. It's all about fightin for the little guy! Accepting people for who they are and fighting like hell against anybody who oppresses others. Its about helping others, it's always been about helping others, just like a true hero. And you my new friend, yer the most punk sunnovabitch I've met, other than me of course." He said with pride. Ben smiled at the words and around him he could feel relief wash over the others of their little group.
"So when are we leavin' to go put this Eon tosser in his place?" He asked swinging the guitar up onto his shoulder. Ben grinned at the younger doppleganger, it seemed as though he would fit in just fine.
A/N: Yeah so, I was very clearly inspired by Across the Spiderverse for this part of the story and by SpiderPunk in particular. But during my writing I realized that Ben Punk would have to be inherently different from his inspiration, not just because it would be lazy writing but because they have different circumstances. Spider Punk was very well put together cuz he kindof knew everything going on already. Ben Punk doesn't really have experience with other omnitrix users so his attitude is a little different. Also if you're unfamiliar with Lord Decibel he's a character from the Reboot. I know, the fandom really hates on it. I wasn't a huge fan either, finding it only mildly entertaining. But I wouldn't have even bothered with it if I hadn't seen fanart of that character. Plus I figured who else to be the big bad of Punk's universe then another sound based villain? Lastly I've been getting a lot of PM's on FF about offers for comissions. While I appreciate the hustle and am a huge believer in the arts, I'm not likely to commission any art for this story, sorry. Only 1 more chapter for this arc. Then likely the hiatus will continue into November until I get more chapters written.