The crew of heroes woke up early the next morning. They had repaired the Rust Bucket just as dusk was settling on the planet. Utterly exhausted from their work they unanimously decided to wait until the next day to leave. That night was one of celebration and catching up. They had not truly had a moment to relax and realize just how much Ben's absence had affected them. But being so tired they all decided to turn in early. They slept inside the repaired steel of the Rust Bucket, safe from the planet's many nocturnal predators, of which Ben assured them there was many. But, still full of surprises, Ben was the first of their group to awake. He moved around the cabin, waking the rest of their group and urging them to rise so they could leave as soon as possible. When questioned about his new morning habits Ben replied simply. "I never had time to sleep in." and left the conversation at that.
Despite their conversation from the other day, Gwen noticed there was still something off about Ben. She hadn't been privy to his and Julie's conversation yesterday but judging by the way they had interacted with each other since it had seemed to go well. But Ben was still much more serious than he used to be. She could count on one hand the number of jokes he had cracked. She tried to rationalize it. Ben had been on his own for three years. Of course he was bound to change and mature. And some of that she was glad to see. Overall he seemed to take things more seriously and he was applying himself and appeared more knowledgeable than she had ever thought he could be. Yet there was always that nagging feeling that he was hiding something. His tough capable exterior seemed to be like a shell to her, and all it would take was the right kind of pressure to get him to crack. She felt she glimpsed a bit of it when she spoke to him yesterday but he recovered too quickly for her to comment on it. Not to mention she didn't want to set his anger off again.
She thought back to Paradox's warning. Perhaps this is what he meant by Ben being fragile at the moment. She couldn't imagine Ben ever turning truly evil. The idea was too far fetched. The darkest she had ever seen Ben was when he had threatened to stop Kevin during one of his monsterous rampages. But they had moved past that, like they always did. Gwen was hesitant and unsure. But she knew she and Kevin would be there for Ben no matter what. It was like Kevin said, they would drag him back to the light kicking and screaming if they had to. But her thoughts were quelled as they prepared for launch. It was still early morning but they wanted to get underway as soon as possible.
"All right, ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking. Please take your seats and adjust your seatbelts. We are about to launch." Kevin announced loudly.
"Uhm, Kevin? What about the big storm that crashed us in the first place?" Gwen asked finally realizing their predicament. "If what Ben said is true then we'll just cause another storm when we try to leave." She said.
"Not to worry Gwen. I updated the Rust Bucket's shields with atmospheric dampeners. We should be safe." Ben spoke up.
"Wait what? You didn't tell me about this?" Kevin accused. Ben shrugged. The Osmosian grumbled about unauthorized changes but made no further comments.
Kevin proceeded to flick numerous switches and press buttons on the dashboard. The ship's engine rumbled to life. The interior of the cabin began to shake and rattle, the noise of metal shaking reverberated through the air. Gwen and Julie cast nervous glances around but the boys appeared confident the ship would hold. They all felt the pull of gravity as the Rust Bucket lifted into the air. The noise of the afterburners roaring to life on the outside of the ship. Kevin piloted the ship until it began to take off into the air. It ascended through the clouds quickly. The crew gripped their seats tightly as they watched the Rust Bucket ascend through the clouds. They waited nervously for the clouds to coalesce and turn into a storm again. However a shield of blue light materialized around the vessel, dispersing the clouds. Within minutes they had escaped Hazard's atmosphere and the vast expanse of stars and space laid in front of them.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, you are free to move about the cabin." Kevin said with a smirk.
"So what's the game plan now that we've found Ben?" Julie asked.
"We should head straight for Earth. Magister Tennyson was supposed to have put together a team to look into the myths and rumors surrounding the Demiurge. With that information, hopefully we can track it down before any villains can." Rook responded from the copilot's chair.
"Sounds like a plan to me." Ben said nonchalantly.
Hours had passed by since the group left Hazard. Despite it's faster than light travel capabilities it was still a long trip back to Earth. The first few hours had passed by with Ben asking about how life had been for the group. They regaled Ben with tales of their new jobs, their lives while he had been gone. As they talked, a sad frown came upon Ben and he excused himself to the bathroom. It had been nearly a half hour since then and the others had started to grow concerned.
"Do you think he's okay?" Gwen asked.
"He did not appear to be ill. And you humans do sometimes tend to take a long time in the restroom." Rook countered.
"That's not what I meant Rook." Gwen said deadpan.
"He probably realized how much he missed out on when we talked. Maybe he's just trying to take it all in." Kevin offered.
"I'm going to go check on him." Julie finally spoke up. She stood from her seat and made her way to the end of the ship. She passed into the cargo hold looking for the bathroom. However, what she found surprised her. Ben sat atop a crate, head bowed and seemingly lost in thought. But what shocked her most was the disappearance of his new beard. Ben noticed as the doors to the cargo bay opened and he moved with a start.
"Oh, Julie, hey." He started unsure. Julie smiled sadly at him and walked over so she was leaning against the crate opposite him.
"So you shaved it off huh?" She asked. Ben blinked before he realized what she was referring to.
"Oh, yeah." He said rubbing his now naked jaw. "It was just too different from what I was used to. Maybe someday I'll grow it back." He said. Julie smiled back at him and the pair fell in to an awkward silence.
"So umm, how, how have you been?" Ben asked.
"Oh, uhm. I've been good." She said. "I graduated college, moved out to San Diego. I uh, won bronze in the Women's Olympics Tennis Championships." She admitted. Ben was equally shocked and impressed.
"Wow Julie that's awesome!" He said with joy and excitement.
"Oh it's nothing, it's just bronze." She said sheepishly, turning her face away to hide her blush. She wasn't sure why Ben's praise affected her so much.
"Not much? I wouldn't call being the third best Tennis player in the world nothing much." Ben chided.
"Aw thanks, but I've still got a long ways to go." She said. Ben smiled at her before his expression fell and he turned away trying to hide his expression.
"How's your uh, boyfriend?" He tried to ask nonchalantly.
"Boyfriend?" She asked confused. Ben turned back and raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, weren't you dating that guy Herb?" He asked. A light of recognition went off in Julie's eyes.
"Oh! We broke up years ago." She clarified.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Ben said unsure.
"Don't be, he was kind of boring anyway. He always just did whatever I told him to." Julie remarked dismissively. The pair looked at each other awkwardly as the silence fell between them.
"I uh, met Kai. Before we left. Seems like you both uh, have a lot in common." Julie said, internally cringing for bringing her up. Ben's face fell at her mention and he glanced downwards.
"Oh… yeah." He breathed. "I hadn't even thought about what I was going to say to her when we get back." He admitted.
"Well, best of luck to you." She joked awkwardly. Ben gave a dry chuckle.
"Heh, thanks, I'll probably need it." He said.
The pair sat in estranged silence for a few more moments. Julie felt like there was more Ben wanted to say to her. Yet she could tell he was holding himself back. She couldn't blame him. She also had things she wished to tell him. Being around Ben again reminded her of how they used to joke all the time when they were younger. She knew of course that they had both changed and that things were different now. However she couldn't stop the feeling inside of herself. She felt at ease knowing he was there and safe. Their reunion was cut short though as an alarm sounded off in the interior of the ship. The pair glanced at each other, their gazes turning serious before they ran back in the direction of the cabin.
"What's going on?" Ben asked seriously. The group turned to him and were equally surprised by his clean shaven face. But the matter at hand was not to be ignored.
"It's a distress call." Kevin reported simply.
"It seems that a transport ship has had their engines fail." Rook stated reviewing the information. He brought up an image on screen. The image showed a large cargo ship listing to the side. It was grey and teal in color, with 4 large nacelles positioned on either side of the hull. A large yellow set of windows indicated the command deck. The lights on the ship were flickering quickly. A cloud of dust drifted from one of the engines, spreading into the vastness of space.
Ben frowned. "Can we alert any other nearby plumbers? Have them send out a rescue party?" He asked.
"We are several days away from the nearest plumber base. It is unlikely there are any nearby plumbers that will be able to help." Rook clarified.
"Well we can't just leave them can we?" Julie asked. The group turned to Ben, awaiting his response. Ben glared at the ship on the view screen seriously. He turned to look a the faces surrounding him.
"It's your call Ben." Kevin said. Ben took a deep breath. He glanced to his right at Gwen who looked at him with a curious expression. Ben smirked.
"Well, how could I call myself a hero if I ignored the first person who needed my help?" Ben said proudly. "Let's go." Kevin smirked and began to steer the Rust Bucket on course for the damaged vessel.
It was only a few minutes before they had approached the stranded cargo ship. As they neared they noticed metal debris floating in the vicinity of the damaged vessel. However curiously they could see no signs of external damage that would have caused the ship to be stranded here. They circled around it, scanning the hull several times.
"Any life signs?" Ben asked hoping they weren't too late.
"A handful." Kevin replied reading off the screen. He maneuvered the Rust Bucket up alongside the larger ship. Within minutes they had successfully docked with it.
"All right, here's the plan. Gwen, Kevin and I will search the ship for any survivors. You guys stay here and keep an eye on things." Ben said. Rook and Julie nodded.
Gwen, Kevin, and Ben stood at the ready, waiting for the docking bay doors to open and let them onto the derelict ship.
"Just like old times huh?" Kevin spoke aloud. Ben couldn't help but smile as he looked at his closest teammates.
Finally the docking bay doors opened with a hiss. The trio crossed over the steel corridor linking it to the other ship. As they entered the cargo ship they were relieved to find that some of the major systems were still working. The artificial gravity was still working and life support seemed to be still intact. However the hallways were still dark, the only light coming from glowing emergency lights embedded in the ceiling and floor. The ship was eerily silent, nothing but shifting metal and their own footsteps echoing in the empty space. The trio made their way further inside, Gwen lighting their way with a glowing ball of mana.
"Rook, where are the life signs located?" Ben asked over the radio.
"The life signs appear to be clustered near the command deck. You should take a right at the next intersection." Rook guided them from back on the Rust Bucket. The group of heroes followed Rook's directions but it seemed the hallway never ended. Eventually it began curving to the left.
"Uh, Rook? You sure you got those directions right?" Ben asked
"Strange, I have downloaded the schematics for this class of ship but according to my readings you are nowhere near where you are supposed to be." Rook said perplexed. Ben raised an eyebrow in confusion, before Kevin's voice spoke up.
"Uh, I think I know why." He said.
The group looked up to see the hallway in front of them filled with dozens of familiar orange robotic minions and floating spider like droids. They all aimed weapons at the trio of heroes. At the far end of the hall was a green figure, towering above the mechanical minions. The familiar silhouette of Vilgax stepped forth, clad in his classic maroon and black armor. The alien warlord stepped forward, raising a single remote into the air. He pressed a button and suddenly the entire interior of the ship transformed. The once rectangular dark grey halls disappeared to reveal curved red and orange architecture. Outside, Rook and Julie watched shocked as the illusion fell away to reveal Vilgax's flagship, the Chimeran Hammer.
"Ben Tennyson. As the people on your world say: Long time no see." Vilgax spoke with his gravelly voice.
"Vilgax. You've saved me the trouble of hunting you down. I'm sending you straight back to jail." Ben said with conviction.
"This is not like the other times Tennyson. Here you are on my ship. I have you trapped right where I want you." He spoke.
"Never thought you'd resort to tricks Vilgax. Cloaking your ship and pretending to be in distress? You've fallen quite far since we last saw each other." Ben taunted.
"In pursuit of the Omnitrix, I will resort to any measures." He said. "Now, you have two choices. Either give me the Omnitrix willingly, or I will take it from your crushed corpse. What will it be?" Vilgax asked, hand outstretched.
Ben glanced at his companions. Both Gwen and Kevin had determined expressions on their faces. Gwen held her hands at the ready, prepped to summon a mana construct at a moments notice. Kevin had crouched down, fingertips grazing the steel floor in preparation to absorb the metal onto him. Ben smirked, it was just like old times indeed.
"Sorry Vilgax, I choose option 3. I kick your butt and drag you out of here!" Ben said. He brought his left wrist up. The omnitrix dial popped up. He slapped down on the dial causing a great flash of green light. The flash lit up the entire hallway, blinding everyone present. When the light faded it revealed a strange new alien. The alien was small and round. It's entire body was covered with fuzzy brown hair that stuck out all around it. A pair of black doll like eyes stared out at the world. In between and slightly below the eyes the omnitrix symbol stood proudly. The tiny ball of fuzz jumped into the air, despite seeming to have no limbs to do so with.
"Hairball!" the alien shouted in a squeaky voice before landing proudly in front of them. The hallway was silent for a few moments as those present took in Ben's surprising new alien form. Suddenly a deep throaty laugh resounded through out the ship.
"You think an alien as puny and pathetic as that could possibly stand up to me? You must have gone insane in the last 3 years." Vilgax gloated.
"Uh, Ben. I think maybe he has a point? Wouldn't humongosaur be a better option here?" Gwen asked nervously as she eyed the little fuzz ball.
"Oh, just you all wait." Ben replied in his squeaky high pitched voice. "Let me show you all just what a Keratinian can do!" He shouted.
Suddenly the little ball of hair leaped into the air again. In an instant several tendrils of long brown hair shot out of Hairball's body. The tendrils reached out for the nearest Bioids before snaking around their forms. Once in his clutches, Ben used his newfound tentacles to crush the bioids into piles of scrap metal. Kevin and Gwen looked on, shocked at the display from the tiny alien. Hairball flung himself forwards, using the androids as anchors before tossing them at the next group of robots in front of him.
"Open fire!" Vilgax commanded. The remaining droids lifted their weapons and started firing lasers at the group.
Gwen readied a mana shield in front of them. However, she was surprised yet again as Hairball's strands expanded and formed into a solid wall in front of them, spanning from wall to wall. Ben's face watched them from the other side, but winced as the lasers impacted his form.
"Guys, a little help here?" Ben asked.
"But how do we…" Kevin asked putting a hand up to the wall of hair which felt as solid as stone. Suddenly the strands of hair fell apart and a hole in the wall opened. Kevin wasted no time, rushing through in his metal clad form to bash the nearest machine. Gwen followed through next, one hand raising a shield in front of her and the other blasting pink energy. Once they had passed through him, Ben shrunk back into his tiny ball form. He bounced forward towards the battle.
Kevin and Gwen began destroying the nearest drones. Kevin transformed his fists into hammers, striking the robots and flattening them into piles of scrap metal. Gwen's mana blasts burned holes through the machines. They began dropping like flies. However, no matter how many they seemed to destroy, more would pop out of the walls to take their place. But both of them were more surprised seeing Ben's tiny innocent looking fuzzy form wreak absolute havoc on their enemies. He ducked and dodged nimbly between the laser fire. Tendrils of hair whipped out of his round body, disabling and disarming the alien drones with quick efficiency. Whenever an enemy got too close within his range, the hairs on his body would stiffen and sharpen to razor sharp points which he would then use to pierce the enemies.
"Kevin!" Ben called out, grabbing the osmosian's attention. Ben screwed his eyes shut and in another second several foot long spikes emerged all around his body. A single tendril of hair wound it's way up Kevin's arm. "Toss me!" Ben instructed. Kevin nodded, the message received. He gripped the tendril of hair that attached him to Ben. He began spinning in a circle, slamming Hairball's mace like form into every enemy in their path. He had soon cleared a wide swath of robots from in front of them. Once the Bioids had been dealt with Ben turned his attention to the drones still flying above them.
Reaching up with more tendrils of hair Ben gripped one of the drones flying above. He was ripped out of Kevin's grip as the drone flew around the room, desperate to shake him off. But Hairball was persistent. He tangled himself up in the mechanical parts of the flying drone. The drone malfunctioned and began to crash to the ground. He jumped ship and swung to the next drone, repeating the process. He looked down to see Kevin and Gwen still struggling with the bioids on the ground. He hopped off and plummeted to the ground. He sent out several sharpened spears mid-air that pierced into the remaining bioids, stunning both Gwen and Kevin.
"You deal with the rest of these guys. I'm going after Vilgax!" Hairball's squeaky voice said. Ben then bounced forward dodging laser blasts as he did so. Finally the little fuzz ball reached Vilgax.
"Tennyson!" The alien warlord screeched. He stomped down on Hairball, intending to crush him. But Ben easily dodged out of the way. He extended several tendrils of hair, easily climbing up Vilgax's long limbs.
"What? What is this?" Vilgax said trying to shake free of the tendrils.
"Let's just say you're about to have a bad hair day!" Ben quipped even as his tendrils continued to tangle around Vilgax. The villain tried desperately to punch and swipe at Ben's main body which stayed just out of reach. But Ben continued to wrap Vilgax in his long locks. Vilgax growled in frustration. His eyes glowed red and in another second twin lasers shot out from them. The lasers burned at Hairball's tendrils, severing them in half. Ben cried out in pain, his tendrils loosening as he lost concentration. With his grip going slack, Vilgax was able to free himself from Ben's grip. He grabbed him by the long strands of hair and used them to slam Ben into the steel walls and floor. Ben groaned in pain as Vilgax finally released him. His eyes closed and he lost consciousness. A second later he flashed green and returned to human form.
"Ben!" Gwen yelled out in worry. Vilgax reached down and picked up Ben's slack form by his wrist. He examined the Omnitrix closely. He grinned evilly. Vilgax turned and held Ben's limp body out in front of him.
"Surrender now or I will destroy Tennyson in front of you!" Vilgax demanded.
Gwen and Kevin looked at each other frowning. They couldn't risk it. They nodded and slowly raised their hands.
"Put them in the holding cells. I will take Tennyson and remove the Omnitrix. Finally it will be mine." Vilgax said.
Back aboard the Rust Bucket, Rook and Julie listened in to the fight through the radio connection to the plumber's badges.
"What do we do now?" Julie asked worried. Ship curled around her neck, attempting to give his owner some sense of comfort. Rook steeled his gaze and turned to her.
"Now we go after them." He said. Rook grabbed his proto-tool amd started gathering equipment from around the ship. Julie followed behind him worriedly.
"Isn't Vilgax a really bad guy?" Julie asked concerned. Rook turned to her and his gaze softened ever so slightly. He reached a hand out to her shoulder.
"If you wish, you can remain on the ship." He said. "I know fighting like this was not what you signed up for." Rook spoke. Julie's eyes widened as she considered this. She wasn't like Ben or the others, she didn't have a lot of experience fighting in the field. In fact she was downright terrified. Ben had told Julie stories of just how bad Vilgax was. Going up against him wouldn't be easy. But, she realized, Ben needed her. Julie steeled her gaze and nodded resolutely. In another second, Ship had coated her in her familiar armor.
"Let's go. What's the plan?" She said confidently. Rook nodded in return.
"We will have to free Gwendolyn and Kevin first, they can help us take on Vilgax and free Ben." He said.
The duo silently snuck aboard Vilgax's ship. Rook checking around corners and sticking to the shadows. Julie followed as quietly as possible behind him, sticking close to the more experienced alien. Rook looked down to his plumber's badge and Julie snuck a peek over his shoulder. The badge displayed two blinking dots in close proximity to each other. In the opposite direction was a single blinking dot that was separated. That must be Ben, Julie realized. Rook continued monitoring their positions before speaking in a hushed whisper.
"We will have to sneak our way down to the detention level to free Gwen and Kevin." Rook whispered. "Miss Yamamoto, it is very important that you stay as quiet as possible and stick close to me at all…. times?" Rook trailed off confused.
"Julie? Where did you go?" Rook asked, puzzled as the young woman had seemingly disappeared.
"What do you mean? I'm right here." Came Julie's disembodied voice from his right. But no matter how hard Rook looked he could not see her.
"I cannot see you." Rook stated confused. Julie frowned, annoyed. This wasn't a time for games.
"Rook I'm right next to… you." Julie said as she finally looked down at herself. She lifted her hands up to her face and found surprisingly that she could see right through them. She was shocked before realizing that she must be invisible. She reached out a hand to Rook, startling him somewhat. Rook looked down at his shoulder where he saw a slight shift in the light.
"Incredible, it seems Ship has activated an adaptive light bending camouflage." Rook said impressed. Julie smiled to herself, she was incredibly proud of her little pet. She never realized he had this much potential before. "This is perfect. Now I will not have to worry about you getting into danger." He said. Julie frowned at this.
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" She asked accusingly. Rook's eyes widened before he glanced away. But Julie's persistent stare was unrelenting.
"I apologize. I did not mean anything by it. But Ben had asked me before we left camp to watch over you and make sure you weren't hurt." Rook admitted. Julie gasped in shock before growing angry. She couldn't believe Ben looked down on her like that. "I had tried to assure him you were more than capable of looking out for yourself, however he insisted. He seemed very keen to keep you safe." He continued. Julie felt confused: She wanted to be angry at him but at the same time it seemed like Ben only wanted to keep her safe.
Julie shook her head. This wasn't the time to deal with any of this. They had a mission. They needed to rescue Gwen, Kevin, and Ben. And they needed to do it before Vilgax could steal Ben's Omnitrix. "It doesn't matter. We've got a job to do. Lead the way." Julie said determined. Rook nodded and stalked forward through the empty hallways towards Gwen and Kevin's positions.
Ben woke up groggily. He winced in pain from the throbbing ache in his head. Slowly opening his eyes, they adjusted to the bright lights. He looked around to find himself in a large circular room. It was then he realized both his arms and legs were restrained. He was strapped to a large platform, a bright light hanging over head. Arranged around him in a circle were a variety of mechanical devices. The room was mostly empty besides that. A few consoles lined the outer walls of the circular room. Ben struggled weakly against the restraints which held him fast. Before he could come up with a solution to his predicament a familiar voice spoke from behind him.
"Alas poor Tennyson. Had you stayed unconscious you would have been spared the pain of me ripping the Omnitrix from you." Vilgax spoke stepping out from behind him and into the light.
Ben simply rolled his eyes. "So… here we are again. Me strapped to some alien device meant to steal the Omnitrix. You gloating prematurely over what you assume will be your victory. Don't you ever get tired of this Vilgax? I'm starting to suspect you just have a crush on me." Ben said cheekily.
Vilgax narrowed his eyes in contempt. "Make your jokes Tennyson. You won't be laughing for long." Vilgax said moving to one of the monitors floating around Ben. He touched the screen and an array of sharp dissection instruments fell from the ceiling above him. Unperturbed, Ben turned his attention to Vilgax once more.
"What have you done to my friends?" He asked seriously. Vilgax chuckled.
"Your pathetic friends are being held in my dungeon. As we speak your newer companions are plotting an ill-conceived rescue attempt of them." Vilgax explained. Ben narrowed his eyes at that. He had hoped that Rook would have talked Julie into staying behind on the ship. However he didn't have time to dwell on that thought as Vilgax approached again.
The alien warlord held up a high tech scalpel with a laser blade. He leaned in close to Ben's face and smirked. "Are you ready to suffer Tennyson?" He asked menacingly. Ben began to chuckle, his sides shaking with laughter. Vilgax looked confused. "What is so funny?" He asked. Ben's laughter died down and he looked at Vilgax with a mischievious grin.
"Do you know what I've been doing for the last three years Vilgax?" He asked. The alien paused and withdrew, certain that Ben was up to something. "I've been training with the Omnitrix. I have Master Control. So do you know what that means?" Ben asked. Vilgax scowled, his stance turning defensive as he prepared for whatever trick that Ben had up his sleeves.
"It means that I don't have to touch the Omnitrix to transform anymore." Ben said with a smirk. "Voice Command: Four Arms!" He called out. The Omnitrix blinked before the familiar flash of light enveloped Ben and replaced his form with that of Four Arms.
Vilgax was shocked and before he could respond Ben used two of his newfound hands to rip the restraints from himself. Once free, Four Arms launched himself at Vilgax, swinging with superhuman strength. It was only due to Vilgax's enhanced physique and durability that he was not thrown backwards from the force of the swings. The pair began trading blows, wrestling around the room and knocking the various torture implements to the ground. Vilgax pinned Ben to the ground and attempted to stab his head with the laser scalpel from earlier. But Four Arms narrowly dodged the strikes by adjusting his head. Finally he kicked up at Vilgax, sending the alien warlord flying across the room. Four Arms stood to his feet, wiping sweat from his brow as Vilgax did the same.
"Come on Squid Head! That all you got?" Four Arms taunted. Vilgax growled and charged at the Tetramand. The duo grappled hands, pushing against each other. But Ben had the upper hand, literally as he used his free arms to pummel Vilgax's midsection. The Chimeran grunted in pain before his eyes glowed red and twin beams of laser energy shot forth from them. The lasers burned into Four Arms' skin causing him to cry out in pain. But Ben grit his teeth and slammed his head forward, headbutting the villain and causing him to stumble backwards. Four Arms was relentless, he charged forward punching Vilgax at every opening he could find.
Growing frustrated, Vilgax grabbed hold of Ben's arms and tossed him aside. He crashed into a control console, smashing it to bits. The entire ship shuddered as Ben stood back up. Lights began flickering and the engines roared to life. The Ship began drifting away and the interior lilted to the side. However, Ben hardly seemed to take notice of this. Instead he charged back at Vilgax determined to knock the villain out cold. The pair continued to brawl even as multiple warning sirens and flashing lights signalled danger.
"Ben!" Called out Gwen's worried voice as the rest of their group made it to the command center. They took in the destruction, alarms, and the two brawling figures with shock.
"I'm fine! Stabilize the ship!" Four Arms called out. Suddenly he was sucker punched in the gut by Vilgax. He was thrown against the wall again and the pair continued to fight tooth and nail. The group looked at each other in confusion and fear.
"Kevin, you and miss Yamamoto should attempt to stabilize the ship. Gwen and I shall assist Ben." Rook instructed. He and Gwen ran off as Kevin dragged Julie over to the smashed control console. Kevin surveyed the damage with a grim expression on his face.
"Can your mutt fix this?" Kevin asked. Julie scowled, offended.
"How should I know? And don't call him a mutt!" Julie yelled back.
"Well what is he good for then?" Kevin shot back, stressed as he tried desperately to punch in commands on the destroyed console. Julie growled again.
"Ship can you help us here?" she asked her loyal pet. The mechanoid chirped happily before extending his semi-liquid form off of Julie's hands and over the console. The dashboard reformed in a matter of seconds, allowing Kevin to access the ship's functions.
Behind them Vilgax was struggling against Ben still. The pair were still locked in vicious hand to hand combat. Both Gwen and Rook were attempting to subdue Vilgax, however Ben's ferocity in battle meant that they could not get a clear shot at their mutual opponent. Every time they would find an opening to shoot Vilgax with a blast of energy or mana, Ben would block their shot a moment later.
"Gah Ben! We're trying to help you!" Gwen yelled out as the pair tumbled around in front of her for the fourth time.
"I don't need, ugh, any help! Fix the ship!" Ben demanded as he continued to fight off Vilgax's onslaught.
"Uh, guys we've got a bigger problem over here!" Kevin yelled from across the room. "The ship's main power core has been overloaded. It's gonna blow soon!" Kevin explained in a panic. Above him a display of the ship showed the center flashing red and yellow and gauges across the display were rapidly increasing into the red.
"Is there any way to stop it?" Rook asked.
"No, I've tried but we were too late. We need to get out of here ASAP." He explained. Gwen turned to Four Arms and pleaded desperately.
"Ben we need to go!" She yelled.
"I'm not leaving here till I take down Vilgax!" Ben called angrily. But when he turned to Gwen his guard momentarily dropped. Vilgax smiled wickedly as he pluged his hand onto Ben's chest, gripping the omnitrix symbol. His gauntlet alive with an electric charge.
"And I'm not leaving without the Omnitrix." Vilgax shot back as Ben cried out in pain.
"Ben!" Called the voices of his friend in distress. Rook and Gwen attempted to rush Vilgax but were halted as they noticed a strange commotion. Where Vilgax gripped the omnitrix a large sphere of crackling white energy grew. Vilgax's smile faltered but he did not release his grip. Ben grimaced in pain as he felt the energy surge through him. The sphere grew larger and larger until it exploded outwards in a pulse of white electricity. The pulse knocked everyone off their feet.
As the energy spread Ben's transformation failed and he returned back to human form. He looked at himself in confusion, but he wasn't the only one to be affected by the surge of energy. A moment later he heard Julie cry out in pain. He looked over to see Julie fall against the wall as Ship's body drooped off of her, sparking randomly. Ben looked between Julie and Vilgax who seemingly also had difficulty getting up. He looked at the Omnitrix in confusion as it flashed between red and green rapidly. He tried to dial up another alien but the Omnitrix was non-compliant. The alarms and flashing lights grew more intense as the gauges showed the core was reaching critical mass. Ben looked back at Vilgax who was just starting to rise from the floor.
"Ben! We have to go now! Or else we won't make it." Gwen said grabbing him by the shirt.
"What about Vilgax?!" He countered.
"Forget about him! Our lives come first." Gwen fired back. Ben clenched his fist but he couldn't argue with his cousin's common sense. Instead he ran over to Kevin and Julie. The young woman was still recovering from the electric shock when she felt Ben pick her up Bridal style.
"We need to get to the escape pods!" Ben called out, running off down the hallway.
"Wait! You forgot Ship!" Julie called back.
"Don't worry, I got him." Kevin shouted as he picked up the limp creature from the floor. The group followed Ben as he ran towards the corridor of the escape pods. Vilgax watched them leave with a scowl on his face. Still weakened by the surge of electricity he was unable to give chase.
"You have not seen the last of me Ben Tennyson!" His voice yelled out even as the group moved further and further away from him.
The group of heroes found the escape pods rather quickly. But they each could hold only two persons at a time. Ben wasted no time in setting Julie into the pod and quickly climbing in after her. Julie, still recovering from the powerful shock could hardly protest as Ben buckled her up and the doors to the escape pod sealed shut. She glanced out the clear glass and saw Rook and Gwen get into one together. She reached her hand out to touch the cold screen as she watched Kevin climb into an escape pod with Ship clutched protectively in his arms. She wanted to call out, but the vision was ripped from her suddenly as the escape pod was launched. She watched helplessly as stars flew by her, Vilgax's ship grew smaller and smaller in the distance. Two more pods shot out from the ship, streaking white against the otherwise black sky of outer space. Suddenly the ship burst into a series of explosions, sending debris and metal shooting off into space. It was the last thing Julie saw before she was overcome by exhaustion.