Servantis was a patient man. He had risen through the ranks of the Plumbers slowly, even when they were a fringe organization compared to the massive operation they now sponsored. But his patience was tested before. When his soldiers, along with Kevin Levin, had been unable to destroy Ben Tennyson.
It made him angry. In hindsight, ditching the project so early had been a mistake. It had made Levin grow too close to Tennyson, and that proved Servantis's undoing.
But now, he understood the need to wait. Because he needed all the help needed.
"Servantis!" A voice called from the radio of his bunker-like base. "I have returned."
The rooter smiled and pressed a button on his panel. Soon, Phil Billings joined him in his control room.
"Hello, Philip. I take your task has been a success?"
"It has, sir." The former partner of Max Tennyson answered. In truth, not even Servantis knew quite well who was this man in front of him. If it was a product of the Nemetrix, if it was the man who betrayed the grandfather of Ben Tennyson... he didn't know, but he couldn't question his loyalty. "I have counted eight of them. It should be enough-" Phil widened his eyes, staring at something behind Servantis. "Sir..."
Behind the rooter, of course, stood Malware, the mecamorph seemingly surprised to be facing Phil.
"Fret not, my friend. For he is an ally."
"He is not an ally!" Phil cried. "He and others made me into a lab rat."
"That is in the past," Servantis stated. "Now, only the present matters."
"What even is that present, Servantis?" Malware was the one to make the question. "I don't understand why me and Khyber are necessary for your plans."
Servantis walked around the room. "You see... I had to come up with something to wear Tennyson down. Truth be told, Malware, I am driven by revenge. Or at least, not enough compassion is left in my heart to allow me to care for the fate of Earth with what I have planned."
"And what is that?"
Servantis smirked. "You weren't alive during the Incursean invasion of Earth, were you?"
"He wasn't." Khyber joined them, leading to a silent outcry by Phil. "But I remember. Surely you don't mean..."
"Yes." The man's smile grew wider. "The To'kustars are not to be siege weapons or a scare tactic. They are meant to wear him down. Enough that we can apply the killing blow."
"And what do you expect from me?" Malware asked.
"You have the skills necessary to fasten the development of a device to control the To'kustars. And you, Khyber," Servantis turned to the hunter. "You are second to none in controlling feral creatures. It would be ideal for you to at least make them focused. Safe to say... they are too unstable."
A roar in the distance confirmed his words.
"Fine." Malware left afterward, and that was probably the best reaction Servantis would get from the mecamorph. Khyber didn't say anything but stared for a few seconds before also going away.
He had his approval. Now he needed to finish what he had started.
...
Ben shot fire at her, but she was quick to dodge. More than just a sorceress, Hope could at least dodge, but she was skilled enough to fight.
Though she did cry in pain with the warmth of the fire almost burning her hair.
"Damn it, Ben! You don't give me breathing room!"
"Exactly why I win every time." He answered, transformed into Heatblast. He shot a fireball onto her but Hope wasn't cunning enough to dodge that, slipping on a rock and being hit by the blow.
"Hope!" Ben called when the witch cried loudly in pain. He transformed back, running to her.
"I'm fine." Hope said weakly, still catching on to her breath. "I wasn't expecting it."
"Sorry. I went too far."
"It's okay. You used to be terrible even in real fights."
Ben smiled. "I know you're lying."
"Only I know." Hope got up with some difficulty. "I think we had enough of sparring. I would much rather do something less demanding."
"Well, first I need a shower. You do have a shower, right?"
Hope stared at him for a few seconds. "I... I can summon one. But I usually just, well... Use spells to clean myself."
"Of course, magic." Ben rolled his eyes. "I also need clothes."
Her eyes flashed amusingly. "I'll see what I can do."
After Hope quite literally summoned a shower from nothing, Ben took a long and refreshing shower in warm water. Usually, he would prefer a cold shower, but the whole dimension was still quite cold compared to Earth. The clothes Hope selected for him were... well, they fitted, at least. But at the same time, robes weren't his thing. Nevertheless, he wore them, black robes that were comfortable enough. He hoped he could wash his usual attire.
"You're done. I thought you would stay here forever." Hope laughed, staring at him from the bathroom door.
"It's been a while since I showered properly, okay?"
"I know. You don't stink, but your hair gets so messy."
Ben rolled his eyes. "Why did you dress me up like a wizard?"
"I thought it would be funny," Hope said. "Be thankful I gave you pants to wear instead of a proper robe."
"More like a dress."
"Maybe."
...
Benjamin was bored .
How?
Boredom was something he hadn't experienced in a long time. He enjoyed his own company and didn't mind having not a lot to do. But this was terrible.
Ben's phone rang. Should he pick it up? Probably. Benjamin had promised his younger self that he would fill it up for him.
"Hello?" Benjamin said.
"Ben? I've been trying to reach you." That was Grandpa Max. Benjamin's relationship with his Grandpa Max was... complicated. While Grandpa had told him that killing Kevin would be the better option, even if he thought would be extreme, it was clear that he disapproved of his further actions, even though no one knew of his temporary alliance with Vilgax.
"He's not here. This is... the other one." Benjamin answered.
"Oh." Grandpa Max said. "Did something happen?"
"No, he's just away. Promise. I didn't do anything; he left me on my own and with his phone if someone needed to talk to him."
"Where did he go?" Max asked. It didn't seem like he was quite buying Benjamin's explanation.
"He didn't tell me, unfortunately. I just know he was talking with a woman." While Benjamin didn't want to be a rat, he didn't want to compromise his position. So, telling the Plumbers the bare minimum of the truth should be enough.
"Okay. I quite needed him right now." The older man paused. "Could you come instead? I can't say that I fully trust you, given what your Azmuth told us, but you're still him, in a way. You could give your insight."
Benjamin was a bit taken aback. "Of course. How can I-"
"A ship you pick you up. Text me your location."
Ben hummed and turned off the call, sending Max the location of the hotel. Not ten minutes later, a small pod had come, piloted by a white woman wearing red plumber armor.
"Hop in." The woman said. Benjamin obliged quickly.
"Wow, you do look like him." She commented.
"I am him," Benjamin stated.
"Do I exist in your world?"
"I don't recall anyone that looks like you. What's your name?"
"Molly Gunther." The woman told him.
Benjamin pursed his lips. "Yeah, nothing.
"Huh. Maybe I never joined the Plumbers in that timeline."
"Perhaps. It's unusual to see a human operating in the Plumbers after my identity went public. And the same can be applied here."
"I was FBI," Molly said, truly surprising him. Outside, the blue skies were replaced with purple and orange shades as they left the atmosphere. "I solved a case that involved an alien serial killer, and Max contacted me. I thought it was a joke, trust me. We knew there was an organization to combat criminal alien activity, but..."
"Plumbers."
"Plumbers." Molly agreed.
After a few minutes more of travel, they had arrived in the massive space station that was Plumbers HQ. The pod landed in the hangar, where Max was already waiting, wearing his signature Hawaiian shirt.
"Hello, Ben." The magister greeted.
"I prefer Benjamin."
"Benjamin, then." Max's answer made Benjamin curious like it wasn't the first time he had to correct himself on someone's name. "Follow me."
They walked together until they reached Max's office on the seventh floor. There, the older man sat behind his desk and pointed toward the chair in front of it. Benjamin sat on it, waiting for what the plumber had to say.
"We have a dangerous problem on our hands."
"Mhm."
"Recently, a prisoner received a transfer request to another facility. But since then, we have not received a report on either the crew that was bringing the prisoner there, or that the prisoner arrived."
"So, they were either ambushed or lost."
"I'm betting on the first option." Max grimly stated. "Are you familiar with Khyber?"
"Yes," Benjamin recalled the fierce hunter who made a run for his money weeks after Azmuth had given him the new Omnitrix. He had been annoying, but, being in that state of mind at the time, Ben had managed to neutralize the dog, and finish off the hunter.
"He is the one. Two years ago, events transpired that led to Khyber losing his sanity thanks to the Nemtrix. But now, he has escaped. Is there anything you can say about this situation?"
"I'd bet on potential allies to Khyber."
"We have thought of that. Malware is dead. Albedo is still imprisoned on Galvan Prime."
"Albedo?" Benjamin asked. He remembered that name, he just wasn't sure who.
"A Galvan that became a sort of evil twin to Ben. White hair, red clothes."
"Oh... I... I know who that is." There weren't any evil twins in his dimension, but Benjamin thought it wouldn't help his case to tell Max he knew Albedo because he had worked with him when helping Vilgax.
"Our list is very short," Max said. "Dr. Psychobos is an option, his whereabouts are unknown. But we don't know what he could be planning."
"Khyber is someone that didn't have any major plans for conquest. He mostly wanted to kill me. I believe that applies to this reality."
"It does," Max confirmed. "In part, it's good that Ben's not here, we don't want him to be a target. Though, you may get caught in the crossfire."
"I'd doubt it."
"Look, kid." Max leaned forward, his elbows touching the table. "Like I said, I can't trust you yet. But you don't strike me as pure evil like that Mad Max version Ben told me about. You aren't a hero; I can see that."
"Yes?" Benjamin waited for him to continue.
"We Plumbers are also not heroes." Max's face darkened. "We are above all a law enforcement organization. And while we prefer to ask questions first before shooting..." The old man trailed off. "What I'm trying to get at, is that while you have done bad things... some of them might have been for a greater good."
"Did you advise Ben on killing Kevin?" He suddenly asked.
"Yes," Max confirmed. "It didn't please me, but I thought it had to be done. I was wrong. Perhaps in another world, I wasn't." The magister chuckled humorlessly. "If you feel like you're in trouble, call. Wearing that face can attract attention, especially with a bare wrist."
Benjamin rubbed where the Omnitrix was supposed to be. "I will remember it."
Max gave him a brief smirk. "I think we're done. Thank you for coming here."
"The pleasure is mine."
Benjamin wouldn't dare to call this man grandfather , but... he certainly respected this Max Tennyson a lot.
...
"Faster!" Ben, as XLR8, taunted Hope, who tried to hit him again. It was unsuccessful, seeing as the kineceleran completely dodged her attacks, and with a slide, knocked her out of her balance.
"Damn it." Hope got up, shaking dust off her clothes. "How did you get so good, again?"
"Years of fighting," Ben said just as he transformed back. "You're also good."
"You Tennysons are always surpassing me." There was some bitterness in her voice. "I was always so angry at Gwen for picking up so fast..."
"I can relate, trust me." He joked. "It's horrible to be compared to your prodigy cousin. If it wasn't for that summer, I'd take all of that to my heart."
"Now, she is a mage on the level of my uncle, me, Addwa-" Hope stopped talking when she started speaking the name of her deceased foe. "You get it. And it isn't just because she is an Anodite..."
"No, of course not. I'd say she could probably beat my grandma if she tried hard enough..."
"You know your grandmother?" Hope asked, curious.
"Yeah. Saw her a few times. The most recent one was when she came to take my other cousin back to Anodyne."
"Sunny?"
"Yeah. Like I told you, she is annoying."
"Is that why you made me disguise as her? Because I'm annoying?" Hope arched an eyebrow.
"Of course not!" Ben protested. "It's because of her attitude. I thought you could play the bratty teenager type well. That was before we became friends, okay? Won't you cut me some slack?"
Hope rolled her eyes. "Fine. But I am still offended. Is that cousin powerful?"
"It took Gwen some effort to match her. But my grandma trapped her without even breaking a sweat, can you believe it?"
"Honestly, I can." Hope looked into the purple skies above. "Gwen wouldn't react well to our friendship.
"We don't have to tell anyone for now," Ben said.
"I don't want to meet you in secret, Ben."
"I know, it's just that I don't want problems."
"She would be angry. But... I believe she would accept it." Hope mused. "Thought it could be a disaster for your public image."
"I don't care about that."
"Sure, but I'm still a criminal."
"So was Kevin."
"But he got to walk with you properly when you didn't have a secret identity." Hope argued. "Most people wouldn't even know Kevin was that monster you fought in San Francisco and New York."
Ben thinned his lips. "I guess. I still don't want problems."
"Us meeting in secret, if someone indeed found out about it, would lead to people thinking that..."
"Thinking that we wh-" Just then he realized, blushing heavily. "Oh."
"Yes." Hope did seem a bit flustered by the thought as well. "Me being your friend is one thing, but us... well, dating ... that would be scandalous enough."
"I suppose." Ben coughed awkwardly. "Even so, I told you I don't care about public image."
"And what does that mean?" By now, the witch was truly intrigued.
"N-nothing!" He exclaimed. "I think I need to take a shower. I will be back soon."
"Okay..." Hope was left to ponder alone as he ran off.
What was that all about?