Author's Note: Yeah so this was meant to be the Lucky Girl chapter. That proved harder to adapt for the AU so I'm shifting the order until I get that sorted. Advice welcome.
There weren't many things that Ben and Gwen could agree on, but right now they were in perfect agreement over how awesome today was going to be. Max had brought them to "Riptide Rapids", one of the best waterparks in the country and a stop they'd been eagerly looking forward to for weeks.
Rushing out of the changing rooms the pair grinned up at the series of waterslides wrapping around the park.
"Six stories of twists and turns!" Ben narrated with Gwen happily joining in, the two trading off as they hyped themselves up.
"Hurtling down a 200 foot plunge / At speeds over 25 miles per hour / Then, splash down in a churning 300,000 gallon wave pool!"
"You've entered the Riptide Rapid Zone!" they both cheered, high fiving before heading off towards the largest slide.
After what felt like an unbearable wait, the pair reached the front of the line with Gwen going ahead with no problems.
Ben however…
Just as he was about to reach the top of the slide an arm blocked his path, Ben jerked back as an employee ('Brad' according to his name badge) lazily pointed at a sign nearby. Following his gaze Ben saw it was the height requirement for the ride, and much to his disappointment he was just barely under the line.
"You gotta be kidding me!" he groaned, 'Brad' shrugged disinterestedly in reply "Sorry kid, park rules"
"But-!"
"NEXT!"
As Ben fumed at being turned away, Gwen flashed him a smug grin as she continued on towards the slide "Don't worry Ben, I hear the banana boat rides are fun for the small fry"
Sticking out his tongue at her, Ben quickly moved behind a fake ship mast decoration and activated the Chaquetrix "Can't ride? Yeah, let's see what my friends have to say about that" he grinned, slamming the dial down…or at least that was the plan.
The dial stubbornly refused to retract, growing frustrated Ben gave a couple more smacks to the device before it let out a far more intense flash than normal. Blinking away the spots in his vision he found Cerebra standing on his shoulder, looking just as dazed as he was.
Concerned he checked the watch only to find it unresponsive.
"Oh great, it's busted again" he sighed. Deciding to deal with that issue later, he held out his hand for the diminutive 'hero' to climb aboard and brought her around so they could talk 'face to face'.
"Ok so, this isn't a superhero emergency but I do need your help to-Are you ok?" Ben asked, cutting himself off as he noticed how wide eyed the 'hero' was.
"Oh I'm great~" she purred, biting her lip as her eyes trailed over his bare chest.
"Are you sure? The watch was acting up, maybe we should…" he began only for her to wave her hand dismissively.
"Keep your shirt off big boy, we can worry about that later"
"Wait, isn't it 'keep your shirt on?'/ ANYWAY, what did you need?" Ben/Cerebra spoke simultaneously, Ben shrugging it off as a mistranslation before explaining the situation.
Cerebra listened to his plan, before smirking "So you're asking me to get 'wet and wild' with you?"
"Yeah I guess you could say that" Ben nodded along "I'll also probably need to keep you close on the way down, make sure you're safe. That ok?"
"Absolutely~"
"Great! Now we just need a distraction of some kind" Ben hummed, the pair peeking around the ship mast.
They soon found their opportunity as 'Brad' was stuck in a conversation with a stereotypically nerdish looking man in a life jacket, the park attendant looking even more bored than usual.
"Recently declassified documents suggest that an alien craft crash landed on this site in 1951, I would like to gather some soil samples for evidence. Could you get someone from upper management down here for me?" the man asked, unaware of the very real alien sneaking past and tying Brad's shoe laces together.
While Brad mocked the man Cerebra hurried back to Ben as he prepared to try to sneak past, the man however spotted her.
"Look! That could be one of the survivors of that fateful crash!" he excitedly cheered, accidentally drawing Brad's attention to Ben.
"Hey! Get back he-OOF" Brad's attempts to chase our young hero caused him to trip forward, colliding with the alien nerd and allowing Ben (and Cerebra) to reach the slide.
Passing by a surprised Gwen, Ben flashed her a cheeky grin "Race you to the bottom!" leaping down, Gwen managed to spot Cerebra as Ben held her to his chest. The diminutive 'hero' wearing the most satisfied grin on her face.
Holding his 'partner' tight, Ben whooped and cheered as they made their way down the twisting tube. Each turn caused them to jolt slightly, Cerebra being brushed against him with every turn before they finally splashed into the pool.
"That. Was. AWESOME!" Ben laughed, riding high off both the ride itself and pranking the attendant.
His grin faded slightly as he checked on his partner, still clinging tightly to him but noticeably quivering and breathing hard "Hey are you alright?" he asked, realising just how chaotic it must have been for someone so small.
"I-I'm fine. Just..give me a minute~" she replied shakily. Her face flushed for reasons completely alien (no pun intended) to her naive 'partner', just as Gwen finally reached the pool herself.
Surfacing she quickly spotted her doofus cousin and that…'hero'. Her gaze zeroing in on how she was clinging to Ben before acting, in her opinion, very reasonably.
"Gwen what the heck?!" Ben snapped as Gwen swiped at the water, washing Cerebra off and leaving her floundering in the pool.
"Oops, I thought it was a toad. My bad." Gwen lied brazenly, exiting the pool as Ben angrily followed.
As Cerbra managed to right herself she glared at the young redhead, her anger at being so rudely interrupted blinding her to the figure rising out of the water behind her until it was too late.
As she was snatched up in the figures hands, she found herself confronted by…the alien nerd from the ride?!
"There you are, my little alien ticket to fame!" he said, making a beeline out of the pool towards a lunchbox on a nearby table.
Cerbra struggled futilely against his grip, crying out in outrage "Get your hands off of me you brute! BEN!"
Her cries caught the two young heroes' attention, their eyes widening in shock as the man stuffed her into the box before making his escape "What the-/GIVE HER BACK!" Gwen/Ben yelled, Ben immediately taking off after the kidnapper with Gwen following soon after.
The man blundered through the crowds of park-goers, narrowly avoiding colliding with Max who was returning from the ice cream stand. While Max shook his head at how rude people could be, he soon brightened up upon seeing his grandkids running up to him…and continuing on past him?
"He's got Cerebra!" Ben shouted, stumbling as he tried to weave through the crowd. Max took a second to register this news as Gwen also passed by, before (regretfully) abandoning the frozen treats and following after them.
The trio did their best to catch up with the man, though Max eventually fell behind ("I keep forgetting I'm not as young as I used to be" he huffed) Ben and Gwen managed to keep up until he reached his car.
Throwing the lunchbox onto the trunk, the man scrambled into the driver's seat and sped away as Ben slammed the dial on the watch to no effect.
"Seriously, you pick now to glitch out?!" he growled, attempting to twist the dial to no effect. The faceplate remained on Cerebra's icon…and Ben felt himself go cold.
As a panting Max finally caught up with them, Gwen suddenly slapped her head "Why are we even panicking about this anyway? She'll time out soon and-"
"I don't think that'll work" Ben cut in, noticeably downcast as he held the Chaquetrix up for them to see.
"Oh no" Max muttered as he and Gwen saw what Ben meant.
Instead of the usual purple or even red, Cerebra's icon was a dull grey.
-Later-
Howell couldn't stop grinning.
When he had visited the water park he had honestly expected to leave with a few soil samples (maybe even a fragment of the alien craft if he got really lucky!), instead he managed to find a real honest to god alien!
Entering his home, and deactivating his laser grid security system, he set the lunchbox down on the kitchen counter.
"Lights: on" at his command the lights did indeed come one "Prepare dinner" once more the microwave activated on command. Nice to see the home systems were operating perfectly.
Noticing his cat pawing at the lunchbox he gently 'shooed' it away "No no. THIS one's all mine" he giggled, carrying it off to his study (a.k.a his Roswell mancave).
Once inside he transferred the furious alien into a glass jar to better observe his find, crouching down to be at eye level with her.
"Incredible, simply incredible" he said, ignoring her glare as he began listing his observations "Miniature in size, vague frog like appearance yet also unmistakably…feminine" he finished, clearing his throat as he looked away with a blush.
"Unbelievable" Cerebra thought "Such a wonderful day with Ben ruined by this halfwit"
Taking in her surroundings she cast a critical eye over his collection of 'alien' paraphernalia "I feel like I should be offended" she mused, eventually noticing a magazine on the desktop.
Howell hurriedly stuffed the magazine into a nearby drawer before she could see (though she had a pretty good guess…). Clearing his throat he attempted to look professional "(Ok, what to ask first?) Where is your homeplanet located? What is your species called?"
The 'hero' "tsk'd" and turned away "I'm not wasting my time with this" a loud click caught her attention, she turned back to see Howell using the camera on one of this planet's primitive communication devices.
"Hey, you don't get to take pictures like I'm some kind of pin-up girl!" she snapped "At least…not for you" she mentally added, flushing at the thought of Ben in his place.
"Oh my..(cough), F-feisty little lifeform aren't you?" Howell stammered, flustered by her comments. As he hurried out of the room to his computer, he failed to notice his cat slip into his study behind him.
Activating a special programme on his computer, he grinned as the image of an armoured man in a gold mask appeared on screen "Mr Enoch, I have some GREAT news!"
"Mr Howell" Enoch's cold voice cut through his excitement like a knife "We've had more than enough of your blurry photos and fuzzy claims of alien spaceships. I am NOT someone you want to annoy"
Howell gulped "I-I know that sir. But this time is different, I promise you!" sending over his photo of Cerebra, he internally celebrated when Enoch seemed to lean forward with interest "A remarkable specimen, she's around 8 inches tall and speaks fluent english! Perhaps..the 'Organisation' would consider..?"
"I'm sending a car. You'd better not be wasting our time, or resources" the masked man replied, ending the call.
As the screen went dark Howell did an embarrassing victory dance, making his way back to the study "Howell Wainwright, alien discoverer! Heehee, let the fame and fortune begin" turning to the desk his good mood evaporated as he found only his cat, the lid of the jar and one of his vacuum bots cleaning up shards of glass "Nooo!"
While Howell was freaking out over his missing proof, Cerebra had made her way into the kitchen as she escaped two more of his vacuum bots. Breathing a sigh of relief as she reached the top of the counter, she soon noticed Howell's house phone.
A crude technology, but beggars can't be choosers, she raced over and began to dial.
Meanwhile in the Rustbucket, Ben paced back and forth stopping only to try to reactivate the Chaquetrix to no success before continuing.
"Ben I get that you're worried….BUT GIVE IT A REST ALREADY!" Gwen snapped, the constant stomping of his feet and harsh beeps from the watch having worn out her patience.
"My friend's in danger and I'm stuck here, and this thing (he held up the watch) is useless!" Ben's anger faded as he slumped against the table.
Max gave him a sympathetic look "Don't worry Ben we won't give up on finding her, but until we can find some kind of lead-"
As if in response to his request, Gwen's cell phone began to ring "Hello?" she greeted hesitantly.
"Ah Gwendolyn, so the number was correct" a familiar voice replied.
"Wait, Cerebra?" Gwen hurriedly put the call on speaker, as Ben rushed over to the passenger seat.
"Cerebra! Are you ok?"
"A lot better after hearing your voice, big boy" she flirtatiously answered, Gwen and Max's faces twisting at her pet name for him.
"Catch up later (or never), do you know where he's taken you?" Gwen cut in, taking quiet satisfaction in Cerebra's disappointed sigh.
"Very well" there was the sound of scraping, probably Cerebra dragging the phone along beside her, before she answered "Hmm there appears to be a mountain peak 13.2 miles, with a vertical angle of 45 degrees-"
"Hey genius, how about something useful, like a street name?" Gwen snarked, rolling her eyes at Ben's complaints about using math.
"Hmm? Oh yes of course, it's Ripley-GYAH!" and with her startled cry the line went dead.
"Cerebra!" Ben called out in panic as Gwen hastily grabbed Max's roadmap "Ripley Avenue, Ripley Lane and Ripley Drive. But which one is it?"
"We'll need to check them all" Max stated determinedly "Buckle up, this is gonna get rough" he warned, speeding off to the first location.
-Moments Earlier-
"Hmm? Oh yes of course, it's Ripley-GYAH!" Cerebra screamed, falling back as a metal shutter slammed down over the window. The phone tumbling from her grip and sliding off the counter, shattering against the floor.
Hurrying to her feet she heard the sound of footsteps approaching, she had no time to react as Howell snatched her from the bench.
"You're not going anywhere!" his attempt to be intimidating failed miserably. His obvious embarrassment at having her so close…wait.
"Ugh, come on Cerebra. Do it for Ben" she thought, fighting back the urge to wince as she put on her best sultry look.
"Oh my, are all the males of your species so…forward?~"
"I..uh…what?" he stammered, thrown off by her sudden shift.
"Abducting me and bringing me to your base, you're not planning on 'probing' me are you?~" she mentally gagged at the thought. The things she does for her partner.
"Me?! Probe you? I…um that….oh my" he blushed, unable to meet her gaze as he tugged at his collar with his free hand.
In his flustered state his grip slackened, and Cerebra wasted no time in exploiting it. Shimmining out of his grasp she raced up his arm, reaching his neck before he could realise what had happened and pulling his glasses off his face.
As he fumbled to catch them, the 'hero' dropped to the floor and sprinted for a nearby vent opening, successfully slipping inside as Howell managed to secure his glasses.
"You think you can make a fool of me?! You're in MY house, and there's nowhere you can hide from me!"
While Cerebra engaged in a game of cat and mouse with her captor, the Tennysons had been busy checking out the three 'Ripley' streets with no luck.
Inside the Rustbucket Max sat drenched from an incident with some sprinklers, Gwen was brushing cobwebs out of her hair and Ben had to change his shirt after an angry dog took a bite out of it.
Needless to say their spirits were low.
Dropping into the couch, Ben cast another look at the unresponsive Chaquetrix and the greyed out icon on screen.
"We'll find you, I promise." he vowed quietly, his face twisting into a scowl "And then we'll kick that alien geek's a-"
As Howell watched his house's security cameras, he had a sudden feeling of dread. Shaking it off he desperately checked each feed, eventually finding his target…in the power room?
"Oh no" he groaned. Cerebra gave a cheeky wave to the camera before flipping the switch on the power box, plunging the house into darkness and killing the feed.
Howell grabbed a flashlight and rushed out into the house, unaware of the diminutive 'hero' creeping past him into the living room. Spotting the fireplace, Cerebra climbed inside only to find her escape blocked by some shutters.
Locating the switch to open them she flinched as the sounds of scraping metal and falling soot echoed out into the room, starting to climb the chimney soon lit up as Howell aimed his flashlight up.
"I'll smoke you out if I have to!" Cerebra heard him yell, the crackle of flames and clouds of smoke soon following.
As she hacked for breath her grip weakened, leaving her at the mercy of gravity as she tumbled towards the flames. Closing her eyes she missed Howell place a small net into the opening, saving her from the flames but leaving her trapped once more.
"Got you!" he sneered, placing her into a new jar "And this time I'm not letting you out of my sight"
"My, what a charming personality" Cerebra replied sarcastically "You must be real popular with the ladies"
"Oh I will be. After I get the fame YOU'LL bring me"
Their argument was interrupted by the sound of the front door being thrown open.
"Ben?" Cerebra whispered, as the sound of three sets of footsteps drew closer…
-Moments Earlier-
Ben was anxious, they were running out of options and STILL hadn't found Cerebra. Sighing he shifted his gaze out of the window…and gasped.
"Grandpa, stop!"
Max slammed on the brakes, turning back to his grandson as Gwen moved to look out the window too "Ben, what's wrong?"
He and Gwen soon spotted what had caught his attention.
Sitting in the driveway of the house across the street was a very familiar looking car. The pair barely had time to register this before Ben was out the door.
Rushing after him, the trio soon found themselves standing in front of the door. Ben turned to Max, determination etched onto his face.
"She's gotta be here" he said, Moving back as Max raised his foot.
"Let me 'knock'!" he grunted, kicking open the door…and being confronted by a snarling dog and an (understandably) angry old woman in a wheelchair.
"Brutus, sic boy!"
As Max was tackled past them to the floor by the snarling hound, Ben and Gwen noticed the house across the street as they turned. Three armoured men in trench coats exited the house, carrying a glowing box with Cerebra inside while also pushing the man from the water park into their car.
"Oh you are kidding me" Ben muttered flatly, Gwen sharing his disbelief as the mysterious men drove off. Speeding off down the street and out of sight.
"Grandpa, those men took Cerebra" she said, blinking in surprise as Max subdued the dog by placing two fingers at a particular spot on its head. "..Neat trick"
"Thanks, now come on. We need to figure out where those guys went" Max replied, the trio heading over to search for clues.
The search inside the house turned up little of use, his alien man cave having nothing more than toys and obvious fakes. Pulling open one drawer, Ben found a magazine featuring a scantily clad female "alien" in a strange (seductive) pose on the cover.
"Huh? They don't even look like real aliens" Ben said, flicking through and drawing Max and Gwen's attention. Seeing the magazine, Gwen flushed red while Max snatched it from his hands.
"I don't think this is what we're looking for, let's try another room" he suggested awkwardly.
Entering his computer room, Gwen quickly discovered a cell phone sitting on the desktop. Searching through it revealed the photos taken by Howell, which she showed to Ben and Max.
"What is he trying to make his own one of those dumb magazines?" Ben asked sarcastically "It would be better 'cause it would have a real alien in it, I guess" he mused innocently, as Gwen cast a cautious glance at the watch.
"I really hope they can't hear us in there" she muttered. The last thing they needed was for them to get any ideas.
"Looks like he sent these photos to someone recently" Max loudly cut in, ending that train of thought while checking Howell's recent call history "If we can get a reverse trace on that number, it should lead us to where they've taken her"
Gwen gave him a questioning look "And where did you learn to do that?"
"Uh…needed to track down a customer who wouldn't pay once" Max replied, hurrying off to start the trace and escape the conversation.
While that was happening Ben's fists clenched, they wouldn't have needed to do this if the dumb watch had worked!
Glaring at the Chaquetrix he angrily smacked it against the desk…and blinked as it chimed ready.
Mechanically bringing the watch around, Ben found that while Cerebra was still greyed out he could properly scroll through the other icons once more.
Feeling his eye twitch, Ben glared at the device.
"Are. You. KIDDING ME?!"
Meanwhile, Cerebra wasn't having such a great time herself. Trapped inside an energy shielded box, she stumbled as it was placed down on a desk before an Enoch.
Cerebra glared defiantly as he leant forward, his mask making it impossible to gauge his thoughts and yet she felt how intense his stare was.
"You were right Mr Howell, she is indeed a remarkable specimen" he commented, Howell regaining some confidence at his apparent praise.
"Heheh, told you. So what are we thinking? Joint news interview, or hitting the talk show circuit?" he asked eagerly, Enoch steepled his hands and leaned back.
"We prefer to keep our 'discoveries'...private" as a pair of hazmat suited men arrived to take Cerebra away, Howell started to feel he had made a terrible mistake.
"W-where are you taking her?"
"Our scientists have a few tests to run" Enoch replied, rising from his chair.
Howell moved to intercept him "I found her, she's mine!"
Howlell could feel the mocking look through Enoch's expressionless mask "She's OURS now" two of the trenchcoated guards grabbed Howell by his arms "And you just became…disposable"
Howell soon found himself being thrown down a flight of stairs, getting to his feet he adjusted his glasses as he mentally kicked himself for getting into this mess.
"They can't do this, to either of us!" As a guard opened a door beside him he managed to slam it shut in their face, hurrying to find where they had taken the 'hero'.
Outside, the Tennysons hid in a bush as they observed the castle-like manor house that Cerebra had been taken to. As a 'knight' patrolled the grounds, Gwen couldn't help but ask "Who ARE these guys?"
"They call themselves the organisation" Max explained, missing the surprised looks on his grandkids faces "They're a well financed secret society, focused on collecting alien technology"
Gwen and Ben shared a suspicious look "And you know that how?"
Max pointedly did not look at them "You..uh, hear a lot of gossip when you travel as much as I do"
While Gwen seemed unconvinced, Ben stepped out of the bush and activated his hoverboard "Ben wait, we need a plan of attack!" Max said, moving to pull him back.
"I HAVE a plan. Attack" Ben snapped back, lifting off and quickly speeding off towards the walls.
As he reached the top he slammed the board into the face of the stunned guard, drifting back Ben slammed the dial on the watch down as the guard recovered. As the flash faded the guard raised his spear, ready to deal with the young hero…and instead found himself staring down a beaut-distgusting! He meant disgusting, crystalline alien!
Steeling himself, the guard let out a vicious warcry and stabbed forward. The blade struck her skin and stopped dead, leaving him unbalanced as Crystal Knight countered with a swift uppercut.
As he collapsed backwards, unconscious before he hit the floor, Max and Gwen finished climbing a tree beside the wall. After helping them across the gap, Max and Gwen glared at Ben.
"Thanks for ditching us dweeb" she snapped, Ben looking away at Max's disappointed look.
"Sorry, but I could wait any longer. I couldn't save Cerbra at the park or at the house, but I CAN here" picking up the guard's spear, Ben stared at the doorway leading into the castle with determination.
"It's time we get my partner back"
Gwen reluctantly had to admit, the dweeb almost seemed cool there. A dreamy sigh from nearby snapped her out of her thoughts, as Crystal Knight swooned beside her.
"So determined, I could get used to this~"
As Gwen stuck her tongue out in disgust, Max had a nostalgic look on his face "This kinda reminds me of how I met Verdona. Guess rescuing attractive aliens runs in the family" he thought before shaking his head "Nope, not going there"
"Hey enough talking, more butt kicking!" Ben called, already steering his board down the staircase.
"Right behind you Partner!"
Back with Cerebra, the miniature alien found herself strapped to an oversized (for her) operating table. Struggling against her restraints she flinched as a scientist activated his console, a series of mechanical tendrils descending from above.
"Uh I'll be honest, I'm not really into tentacles" she joked, gulping as one of the tendrils split open to reveal a laser cutter
Before the scientist could start the dissection, the door behind him slid open as another hazmatted scientist entered holding a fire extinguisher. The first turned, head tilting curiously as they approached.
"Here let me help you with this" the second said, suddenly swinging the extinguisher up and knocking the first scientist senseless.
The sudden betrayal was soon followed up by another surprise, as the 'traitor' removed their hood to reveal himself to be Howell!
"You?! What are you doing here?" Cerbra asked in disbelief, watching as he took control of the tendrils to cut her free.
Before he could answer the door slid open once more, two more scientists entered the room only to drop their supplies as they registered what was going on.
"Back off! Aliens are people too…kind of" he finished quietly, as he directed the tendrils to restrain them.
Moving to help the 'hero' down from the table he failed to notice the first scientist stagger back to his feet. As Cerbera reluctantly hopped onto Howell's hand the scientist charged, tackling Howell to the ground and sending her tumbling across the floor.
Looking back she caught Howell's eye as he grappled with the scientist, he nodded at her and she nodded back.
"I'll make my way out of here and try to contact my partner." she said.
"And then you'll come back and help me right?"
"...Sure."
Not giving him time to react to her lackluster response, she raced out of the room as fast as her tiny legs could carry her. Rushing out into the hallway she skidded to a halt as one of the guards smacked into the floor in front of her, his weapon sliced in half by a crystal shard.
"Can it be?" Cerebra asked, hope swelling up in her as two very familiar figures stood at the end of the hall.
"Cerebra!" Ben called out, hopping down from his hoverboard to scoop up the stunned alien "You're ok!"
"...You came for me" her voice was quiet and filled with an emotion Ben couldn't quite understand.
Holding her up to eye level, he flashed her a smile that made her heart melt "Of course I did. We're partners, we've always got each other's backs right?"
Cerbra smiled back, her grin shifting from grateful to flirty as the full details of the situation began to sink in.
"Storming a castle to rescue me? Well I'm no princess, but I'm sure I can think of a suitable 'reward' for you~"
"Ahem"
The pair turned to see Crystal Knight, Max and Gwen waiting behind them. While Gwen and Max shared a long suffering look, Crystal Knight appeared torn between relief and jealousy at the attention her fellow 'hero' was receiving.
Ben however remained oblivious to the tension, patting Crystal Knight on the arm reassuringly. The 'hero' blushing at the unexpected contact. "Don't worry, I know I couldn't have done this without you guys. We'll celebrate after we get out of here ok?"
"I'll look forward to it" Cerebra agreed, Gwen rolled her eyes in response.
"I think you had enough fun at the water park" she snarked, Max turned to her in concern "Wait, what happened at the park?"
Cerebra froze up as Crystal Knight wheeled on her in shock "First Armizon and XLR8 get to have a spa day with him, now you get to visit a water park? When's it my turn?!"
Ben held a hand up placating "Whoa, sorry. I didn't realise you felt so left out ("Not in the way you're thinking" Gwen muttered, earning a glare for the interruption) I promise, next park or beach we go to I'll call you out for some fun ok?"
While Max facepalmed at Ben's phrasing, Crystal Knight turned away flustered but happy. She never got to reply as the sound of dozens of stomping metal boots echoed through the hall.
"Let's save the chatter for when we're out of here" Max said, urging the group to hurry down the hall.
As the crept through a courtyard they spotted the shadows of a group of guards approaching from another hallway, Crystal Knight shifted one of her arms into a blade before Max held her back.
"We don't know how long you've got left. Better avoid drawing their attention"
The crystal 'hero' reluctantly had to agree, the group ducking into the closest room just in time to avoid the patrol. Inside the room they were greeted by sixteen pedestals, each topped with a piece of alien tech.
As they took a step forward the floor lit up, lines of light moving to connect all the pillars in a circuit like pattern. Unaware of the alarm they had just triggered, the group made their way through the room while taking in each of the items.
"What is all this stuff?" Ben asked, looking at a sword like artifact.
"These guys probably don't even know what this stuff does" Crystal Knight said, Gwen's brow furrowed "Or worse, maybe they do" she replied, giving a clawed gauntlet a wary look.
"We need to destroy all of this. This collection it far too dangerous to leave in their hands" Cerebra said, pausing as she passed a small 'plug' like device "Well most of it is"
"Hope they washed that" Crystal Knight muttered, much to Ben's (and even Gwen's) confusion and Max's embarrassment.
As they made their plans the wall across the room shifted into a large archway, Enoch, a squad of knights and a captive Howell entering the room.
"Spread out and find them!" Enoch ordered, the knights fanning out while Howell was held at sword point by the golden masked villain.
As the knights searched the room, our heroes crouched down behind the large central pedestal. Cerebra, taking stock of the nearby technology, began sharing her plan with the group.
"Gwendolyn, grab that pulse hypercore. Max, the Gallinium capacitor" pointing out the objects in question "Big boy, I'll need a boost up into this power generator"
As the Tennysons set about their roles a knight stumbled upon them "They're here! To arms bro-HURK!" He was cut off as a flurry of crystals knocked him off his feet.
Shifting both her arms into blades Crystal Knight rushed out of cover to engage the remaining knights "Do what you need to, I'll keep them off your backs"
A trio of knights, two spearmen and one with a sword and shield, rushed to confront her…and hesitated.
"Do..uh…do all aliens look like her?" one spearman whispered, the swordsman held up his blade to silence him.
"Do not be tempted brothers, our mission is greater than her alien charm" he began confidently, though his tone shifted as he got a good look at his foe. Her skintight leotard highlighting some impressive…treasures "...George help us" he gulped, as she sprang into action.
As she tore through the stunned guards, her crystal blades easily sliced their weapons in half while any lucky energy bolts glanced off her skin. Seeing the emerald beauty gracefully dispatch him men Enoch and Howell, surprisingly, shared the same thought "Magnificent"
As more knights began to enter the room, Cerebra hurried to connect the pieces of technology together. Just as she connected the final piece a familiar beeping began to echo through the room, Crystal Knight glancing down at her badge in frustration.
"Not now!" punching the floor, a wall of crystal rose up to shield the Tennysons as she vanished in a flash of red.
As the knights were forced back Cerebra climbed out of the generator as it activated, arcs of electricity lashing out into the ceiling. Seeing this Enoch's eyes widened beneath his mask.
"That reaction will decimate the mansion, all forces retreat!" he ordered, his knights carrying their wounded comrades out as the generator became more unstable. Seeing Howell try to back away, he grabbed the would-be alien hunter by the neck "Not you Howell. Your little alien and her friends have cost us enough!" throwing him towards the centre of the room, Enoch made his escape.
As Ben went to pick Cerebra up she brushed against the Chaquetrix, the device chimed loudly and she vanished in a flash of red. Despite the situation, Ben stared at the watch in disbelief "Seriously, it was that simple?!"
"Complain later!" Max yelled, pulling Howell to his feet as the group also made their escape.
They barely made it clear as the castle was engulfed in a violent storm of electricity, collapsing in on itself leaving a barren patch of land where it once stood.
As they all caught their breath, Howell looked around in confusion.
"Where did the aliens go, did you see them?"
Ben glared back at him "No, now beat it!" he snapped, Max and Gwen giving their own glares to the former kidnapper.
Howell held up his hands in surrender "Ok, ok! I'm done with alien's anyway" he chuckled nervously, making a swift exit.
The next morning Ben resummoned Cerebra to make sure the watch still functioned, the two chatting at the table with Gwen keeping an eye on her.
"I'm glad you're back, but I wonder why the watch freaked out like that?" Ben wondered, Cerebra waved her hand dismissively.
"Probably something stupid, like the DNA splicing replicator copying a fragment of amino acid sequence" she said, earning blank looks from the young heroes.
"...Sure let's go with that" Ben replied flatly "Anyway at least it's working again" As if to mock him the Chquetrix let out a small burst of red static, startling the three of them.
"...You really need to get that thing fixed." Gwen said nervously.
"I knew sparks flew between us, but this feels a little much" Cerebra jokes, while Gwen (not so) playfully flicked the back of her head.
"Maybe we need to get you 'fixed' too"
As the two girls fell into an argument, Ben went to talk with Max "You think we'll run into those 'organisation' guys again?"
Max sighed "Knowing our luck, almost certainly"
Back at the crater that was their castle Enoch sat inside of his personal limo, eyes fixed on the laptop in front of him. On screen were images of the Tennysons and the two alien 'heroes'.
"Find out everything you can about them, they pose a serious threat to our organisation" he ordered, his eyes lingering perhaps a moment too long on the images of Crystal Knight and Cerebra before slamming the laptop shut "A serious threat indeed" he grumbled, ignoring how warm his face felt as the limo pulled away.
-Non Canon Omake-
As Cerebra returned to the Chaquetrix she let out a sigh of relief "Ah, home sweet home"
She soon realised her fellow 'heroes' were giving her proud yet jealous looks "Is there a problem?"
Heart's Fire held up a screen, on it were the names of all the currently active aliens with a number next to them. All except her had 'zero' besides their names while she had 'one'.
"So Ultra-T found out this little feature, it keeps track of how many times we've been…'satisfied'. Care to explain?" she asked, Cerebra chuckled embarrassedly.
"Eheh… it-it was really just a happy accident" she tried to explain "The waterslide was more…turbulent than I expected but.."
"THIS is what happened at the water park?!" Crystal Knight cut in, the others letting out frustrated groans.
"Lucky little…I can't even get a kiss" XLR8 pouted.
"How come she gets to be the first to see him shirtless?" Ripjaws complained, Armizon pointedly looked away "Yeah…so unfair" she chuckled nervously.
"Now girls I…" she trailed off as Scream Queen appeared behind her "...N-now Scream Queen…"
"Relax I'm just going to congratulate you" she replied icily "I believe the Earth tradition is…a 'friendly' punch in the arm" she continued, pulling her first back.
"Ahah..that won't be necessary-NO WAIT!"
Outside, Ben flinched as the watch let out another burst of static "YEOUCH! Seriously, what is this thing's problem" he grumbled, shaking his stinging arm.
