Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Hole. The Plumbers’ most noteworthy prison offset of their main base. Located approximately 50 miles of the coast of New York. Several of Ben’s most notable human adversaries were held here during its relatively short tenure in operation. And during the morning drills, an example of such can clearly be seen…

“The time has come, my comrades! Soon I, Dr. Aloysius Animo, will bring about the dawn of a new world order! A world where our creatures and comrades reign supreme! And they thought they could lock me up forever!” He gave a mild villainous chuckle as his one of his fellow prisoners rolled his eyes. Talking to seagulls again. The boss has clearly lost it… The blonde convict standing next to him animalistically scratched at the power blocking collar on his neck as the overlooking guards glance over. One gave a harsh chuckle as he spoke.

“You're not going anywhere, Dr. Freak-a-mo.” The blonde gave a low growl at the guard before the other one activated the collar’s shock function. The electric shock caused the convict to fall to his knees, snarling like mad. As the guards left, Animo looked over him indifferently.

“Boss, I think you said something about an escape plan?” Animo grunted as one of the seagulls flew onto his comrade’s arm. “Ah, soon we’ll be free, my friend. Soon…”

“Yes, ignore them, my pet, for you have been exceedingly loyal, bringing the components I need one piece at a time.” Animo was about to continue when a sudden explosion shook the prison yard.

“What was that?!”

“Huh?!” A portal opened up behind Animo as he got back up. The guards swarmed the yard as a tall redheaded man, dressed in a purple jumper underneath a dark grey trench coat, dark blue jeans, black military grade boots and fingerless gloves stepped out.

“Pardon the intrusion, but Dr Animo is to be transferred into my custody. Effective immediately.” One guard raised his blaster, only for Nate to activate his purple gauntlet. It transformed his arm into a Gailien's, and he slammed the guard through the wall with his gravitokinesis. He smirked playfully as the remaining guards charged at him, only for him to use his Omegatrix again, transforming his other arm into a Mentollusc’s (Ventrilosquid's species) tentacle, and using his telepathic powers to throw them around like ragdolls. Nate gave an evil chuckle. “I do so enjoy these... limited displays of power with my latest model... even if these are barely worth the effort...” Animo cleared his throat.

“Ok, enough with the smashing! Why are you here, Nate? What reason do you have for busting me out?”

“Patience, my dear Animo. Patience is, as the late legend that is William Shakespeare once wrote, is a virtue.”

“He didn't write that one. I know.” Nate smirked as his arms reverted to normal.

“Say what you will, Doctor. I have a business proposition I think you will be most intrigued by.” Animo scratched his brain dome for a moment before nodding. “Good. Miraculouses. They’re becoming well known thanks to a certain snot rag we have the displeasure of knowing. Their power will serve us well. I admit, I could care less about your animal order, but these new heroes… they could be a great asset. Imagine them mutated, and under your control. That would be something to behold.” Animo raised a curious eyebrow.

“I do admire a man who presents a business proposition clearly and precisely. I’d have my new world order… what would you get out of it?” Nate lent in uncomfortably close.

“Take a wild guess. Action in Paris will attract you know who’s attention. And there’s only so many animals for you to mutate in an urban jungle. Now… you know what I’d get. You get this world, I get his head underneath my boot.” Nate suddenly gave a harsh stamp as if to further empathise his point. Animo briefly flinched before turning to his associates. Both gave the nod. The blonde pointed to his collar. Nate nodded and activated the Omegatrix, transforming into a black and purple circuited creature. “Fly my underling, be free!” He shot out a hand and the collar merged with it, evaporating off like a mist on a warm day. “A particular perk of Techno-Blob’s powers. Hybridised with Malware’s remains, now in this form I do not just mimic tech, I can absorb it!”

“An excellent display. Now might I be allowed to mutate something in peace?” Nate reverted to normal and nodded. Animo turned his sights to the seagull on his lackey’s shoulder. “And now for your reward.” He shot out a dark red ray at the seagull, causing it to mutate into a form similar to that of the original mutant seagull in the original series. Animo and his minions climbed aboard. He signalled for Nate to join them. He shook his head and activated the Omegatrix once more, transforming into his humanoid pterosaur form.

“Ha, Terrordon, I like it!” He shot into the skies above as Animo’s mutant seagull did the same, snatching the two guards who’d disrespected him earlier as it did so. They begged to be put down. Animo complied. They both hit the waters below. Terrordon flew in close to the seagull as they made for the Atlantic.

“My genius in motion, my good doctor. Thanks to my brilliance, you are free once more!”

“And the first thing I plan to do is visit that snot-nosed brat... Ben Tennyson!” If Terrordon was able to, he would’ve given a slight smirk. Instead he twiddled his thumbs in a sinister manner.

“I think that privilege will have to wait, Animo. We have business in Europe, specifically Paris, that demands our attention. But rest assured, he will find us, I’m certain of that. And when he does…” Within a second, Terrordon generated an energy whip and sliced a passing seagull into pieces. That got his message across alright…

“Very well. If I have to wait to exact my revenge, so be it. I’ll soon have an empire for him to fall beneath anyway!”

“Exactly my good friend, you will have an empire that will last beyond eternity!” But Animo’s evil laughter prevented him from hearing Terrordon add under his breath “Although in your case, eternity will be a very short time!”

Chapter Text

Elsewhere in Bellwood, blissfully unaware of the impending danger that awaited Paris, two figures sat on a rooftop overlooking main street. One of them a tall, periwinkle-blue furred, humanoid with black markings on his face and pointed ears. The middle of his face, his chest and his stomach were white. He had black stripes on his shoulders, waist, lower legs and lower arms, and he wore very durable blue-and-black Proto-Tech Armor. The other one, a dark tan creature with bat like ears and covered in green eyes. It seemed to be a dull day so far for both of them, as this break from patrol was spent… well, read for yourself…

“I spy with my little eye…”

“Which little eye would that be? They all seem rather large to me.”

Eye Guy did a face palm. “It’s just an expression, Rook! I spy… something beginning with… Hmm, what we got here? Umm… something beginning with…” He gave a disgusted grunt of pain as an overhead spectator delivered its business right into one of the eyes on the back of his left shoulder. He muttered P for the I Spy as a result.

“Pigeon. Again.”

“Correct. Again. Urgh…”

“I admit, this game is easier than I’d heard. Then again, I suppose the lack of much to spy is a contributing factor as well…”

“Yeah, ever since that road trip and that time we had to recover the Map of Infinity from Vilgax and take down him and Kevin when he made him relapse into full on villainy, things have pretty…”

“Mundane?”

“Yeah… And then there’s the fact Eye Guy has an advantage you don’t. I can see 360 degrees, you can’t! Unless your Proto-Tool has a telescope function…” Rook picked up his tool and started looking through the functions. He can be a bit literal minded. “Urgh, not what I meant!”

“Oh. Right. Oh well, I guess it’s my turn. I spy… huh, a black dragon! Is that a black dragon down there?”

“Err no, I think that’s a cloud of smoke… Mr Baumman must be burning leaves again. And you’re meant to spy something you can actually see.”

“Oh. Ok… I spy with my little eye…” His eyes quickly caught the sight of an armoured car parked next to the main street bank blowing open. “Armoured car robbery, nine o’clock!” He readied his Proto-Tool…

“Ok, where can you see an armour car rob…?!” Eye Guy trailed off as Rook pointed to the sight of a certain teched out tomboy biker and her goons retrieving money from the armoured car. “Rojo! Right! Enough games, partner! Get on down the- oh, he’s already gone.”

(scene break)

“Madame! Your unprovoked aggression stops here! By order of the Plumbers…!” Rojo turned around to see Rook advancing.

“Yeah yeah yeah, ‘by order of the Plumbers you place me under arrest’, blah blah blah! I’ve heard it so many times!” She spun her blaster rifle in one hand, then fired at the Revonnahgander agent at full blast. Rook only just managed to counter with his Proto-Tool before one of the other goons shot it out of his hand and it went skidding underneath a parked car.

“My Proto-Tool!” He fell to his knees as Rojo fired her laser beam again. Clearly set to heat mode, as the Revonnahgander’s fur obviously enhanced the effects. He was sweating badly… Good thing the rifle was sent flying as well when his partner landed, now a humanoid frog-like alien with the Omnitrix symbol on his upper chest.

“Tennyson!”

“Don’t get croaky with me, Rojo! Oh, and Rook?” He spat his tongue under the car. It retracted moments after with the Proto-Tool.

“Excellent catch, Bullfrag. Now I would recommend a full course of action against these ruffians!”

“Ah, just try what you like against me! You ain’t depriving me of this score! Caballo, full attack mode!” Her hoverbike flew in shooting missiles from the opening on the front once more, forcing Rook to activate the Proto-Tool’s shield function for defence. Bullfrag barely managed to dodge them properly, given the volume of rockets was so thick he couldn’t jump properly to avoid them. Getting tired of simply having to hop over them, he spat his tongue out at the bike, only for Rojo to leap onto it and jab it hard with a taser and give him a vicious shock. In fact it was enough to send his tongue flipping back toward him and whack the Omnitrix symbol on his upper chest hard enough to force another transformation. When the green light faded, a certain Lobon had replaced him.

“HA! Blitzwolfer! Thanks!” He let out a sonic howl as Rojo fired her next wave of missiles, deflecting them all around the abandoned streets. Rojo gave a low snarl as she readied her blaster for a fatal shot, but a sudden sniper shot from Rook sent that plan skidding out of reach alongside the gun. A sudden howl for the briefest of moments was all Rojo heard before Blitzwolfer’s claws shredded through her bike and pinned her to the sidewalk, completely unconscious.

“Unfortunately for Rojo, the hammer of the law is unisex.”

“That’s actually pretty good, Rook. Now where were we before we were so rudely interrupted…?”

“I Spy, I believe.” Ben scratched his chin as he reverted to normal.

“Hmm, I’m a little tired of gaming. And waiting for someone else to try to take a shot at me. So… what else to do…?”

“Hmm… we could spend a few days on Revonnah. I would like to visit my family, see how Rook Ben is doing.”

“But then you’d probably have to fight Kundo again. Not to mention the most exciting thing to do on Revonnah is to keep those Muroids out of the grain silos…”

“That is a good point, Ben.”

“Maybe instead of you showing me your planet, I should show you mine? I think you’ve only seen America and then aboard we fought Zombozo in Tokyo, that necromancer dude in Egypt…”

“I believe his name was Shadow Khan.”

“Yes, thanks for the reminder. Then there was Charmcaster and that terracotta army in China, the Forever Knights in London… and I think there was that time fighting Clancy and those mutant spiders in the Amazon… Wasn’t there one in Australia as well?”

“Ah yes, that Kangaroo Kommando incident in Canberra… I also remember something about Atlantis and Ssserpent…”

“Yeah, perhaps we need to show you somewhere else in Europe… somewhere without mutant clowns, zombies, terracotta warriors that take ages to Armadrillo through, Forever Knights, mutant spiders, robot kangaroos… Cyber Squids, mutant sea monsters…” Then it finally dawned on Ben. “Hang on… there is one place you’ve not been before… I mean, I’ve been there: Gwen, Kevin and I once fought the Vreedles and Sunder there. You should seen it dude, Ultimate Swampfire VS Sunder. Real highlight. I’m talking Paris, dude!”

“Paris? As in the French capital? Hmm… I suppose there are a number of things there I would like to see…”

“Come on, name one!”

“The Mona Lisa springs to mind… as does the awful tower…”

“Err, that’s the Eiffel Tower. So we good?”

“I suppose. A Paris vacation it is.”

“Ah parfait, mon ami!“ Rook gave a confused look. Ben sighed. “That’s excellent, my friend in French. You might want to look up the language while I talk this over with Grandpa…” And then Ben transformed into XLR8 and ran off, leaving Rook behind.

“This is going to be interesting…”

Chapter Text

“Ben, when you said this would be a trip to remember...?”

“Yeah...?”

“That we’d be able to mix and mingle with the locals outside of combat for once...?”

“Yeah...?”

“I do not believe this was entirely what I had in mind.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to be confronted upon arrival with... err, sorry what were your names again?” Even being held at staff point, Ben still retains his classic sense of humour. The leather clad teenage boy standing opposite seemed about to answer, before his red and black spotted accomplice shut him up.

“Your games won’t work on me. Now help me convince your friend to hand over his akuma and this’ll all be over.” Rook glanced at Ben, evidently as confused as he was.

“Miss, I have no idea what you are implying...”

“Just let me cure you and we’ll get gone, ok?”

“OK, what is going on here, he’s not sick! Or at least not that I’ve noticed... do your kind actually get diseases, buddy?” Rook did not respond. “Besides, your fashion sense? Puh! Are you sure you’re not in need of a hospital visit yourself?” Ben’s words only seemed to aggravate the girl further, before her partner gave a cough.

“Strictly speaking, mi’lady, it might be worth investigating these two before we jump to any conclusions...”

“If you weren’t always so busy trying to flirt at inappropriate times kitty, you’d understand Shadow Moth’s victims can look like anything! And that’s just regular akumas, I haven’t even mentioned the sentimonsters... But anyway, I’d expect that,” she pointed towards Rook’s Proto-Tool, “to be his akumatised weapon... so I’ll give one more chance. Drop the weapon, let me break it and purify the butterfly inside, and all this is over.”

“Weapons, butterflies, whatever! You’re not breaking Rook’s Proto-Tool without going through a little trial by...” Slamming down the Omnitrix dial, Ben was engulfed in green light, much to the surprise of the captors, and when it faded, he had fully transformed into an orange and white bipedal tiger with one greyish-silver claw coming out of each wrist and no tail. He is also muscular and has green eyes and black stripes on his shoulders, head, legs, and upper body as well as a white jaw, neck, chest, stomach, hands, and feet, wearing an outfit similar to that of a luchador (a Mexican masked wrestler). Rath's luchador outfit has a green and black colour scheme, consisting of black boots, black gloves, and a luchador mask. The Omnitrix symbol is now on his luchador belt.

“SWAMPFIRE!!! Huh? Oh man...!!! I MEAN RATH!!! Lemme tell ya something, new Omnitrix that keeps turning me into the wrong thing... YOU KEEP TURNING ME INTO THE WRONG THING!!!”

“Ok, that was not what I was expecting…”

“So you’re an akuma too? That explains why you’d be so eager to protect your friend…!”

“AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!! LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN', LITTL’ RED AND BLACK SPOTTED CRAZY WOMAN WITH YA LEATHERBRAINED SIDEKICK, YA STAY OFF OF RATH’S NEW ALIEN PARTNER THAT I NEVER WANTED IN THE FIRST PLACE BUT I'M BEGRUDGINGLY BEGINNING TO LIKE, IN SPITE OF MYSELF; OR YOU JUST BIT OFF AN EYE BIGGER THAN YOUR STOMACH CAN CHEW!!!!!”

“That makes no sense at all!”

“…I know!!”

“I was kinda hoping to avoid a fight, but if you really want to fight my mi’lady, I’m sure she’d love to see what you can do…”

THEN LEMME SHOW YA, PIPSQUEAK!!! POLARIS PILEDRIVER!! ANTARIAN ARM BAR!! OPHIUCHUS FACE-PLANT!! SIRIUS BUTT-KICKING!!” By the end of his attack spree, Ladybug was floored. Given Rath’s incredible strength, temper and agility, that was hardly an unexpected outcome. Cat Noir seemed to grow increasingly nervous, it was Ladybug’s suspicions that drove them into this position after all. Still, these one fights hard enough to warrant a retreat. At least for now. Though he would have to rescue Ladybug because she’d probably be quite annoyed with him if he didn’t and Paris needs the both of them. Instinctively he slid his staff under Ladybug’s back and began to slide her out. That might have been a mistake. Rath gave him a long cold furious glare, one that his one father had given him far too many times, alongside a deep ferocious growl. It was enough to make Cat Noir throw his free hand in the air as a sign of surrender. Rath did not lighten up until Rook stepped in, firmly but fairly reminding the tiger alien that is it is considered dishonourable to strike a surrendering opponent. Somewhat reluctantly, Rath complied and hit his Omnitrix symbol, engulfing him in a green light and reverting him back to Ben. He then simply shook his head disapprovingly at Cat Noir before walking off, swiftly followed by Rook.

(scene break)

Ben and Rook might have been preoccupied with the locals at that time, but they should be thankful they were not aware of what was going on in their makeshift lair in the city’s catcombs. For even now, comunicating with his partner in crime via hologram, was the mad scientist who’d plagued young Tennyson so many times before...

“Welcome to the City of Love, my good doctor. A place of romance... beauty... and of course... heroes. Pathetic flies to swat away.”

“And swatted away they shall be, Nathaniel. We only need a couple of tweaks to my transmodulator and this hero infestation will tremble before my mutant animals!” Nate ran a hand through his hair as he gave a devious smirk.

“It might be more simple than that.” He took a holo-viewer from his coat pocket. “Observe.” A hologram of a blonde teenage boy in a black leather catsuit appeared, then quickly replaced by a bluenette girl of the same age in a red and black spotted suit. “Ladybug and Cat Noir. They’re based on animals.”

“Hmm... that is a plus... but I am not certain it would work on them...”

“My money’s on a victory, Animo. But let’s not waste time on all this. Wherever we go, Ben Tennyson is never far behind. So we have to find a way to slow him down when he inevitably arrives.”

“Perhaps it would help if you explained what our endgame actually is?”

“If we want an army of hybridised animals/humans, we need a means of extending the range and power of your helmet. Hence one of the reasons why I selected Paris.” A hologram of the most iconic structure in Paris appears on his holo-viewer. “The Effiel Tower. Do you think we could turn it into a giant transmodulator doomsday device?” Animo stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“It’s possible... we’d need the necessary equipment on a larger scale... and a massive power source... but I believe it could be possible.” Nate began rubbing his hands in evil glee.

“Excellent! Then I suppose we’d better make a start on things, my good man. First order of business, track down and remove these Miraculers from the equation. Once Harrison and Alex get back with the records and likely whereabouts... I can begin. Those heroes will be cast aside, just as will be Tennyson if he tries to stop us!” Animo nodded and turned around to his workbench to begin conjuring up a prototype for the device. As the holocall cut off at this point, he did not hear Nate turn away and quietly add, “There’s one more person who we need to bring into this affair...”

(scene break)

The room was large, dome-like, and dark when Shadow Moth was not using an akuma. It had a large window with a butterfly (or flower) design that opened whenever Shadow Moth planned to send an akuma to a person who feels strong negative emotions. At this very moment, the window was beginning to close, for before Ben and Rook arrived, Shadow Moth had corrupted another citizen to his evil cause: Mr Ramier once again, this time regarding an incident regarding a cat and some pigeons. Even his sentimonster pigeon monster didn’t save him from a minimal reign of terror before Ladybug and Cat Noir defeated him again.

“Urgh... again, my champion falls... wretched pigeons! Wretched Ladybug! I will destroy every one of them! Someday! ...when I have another opportunity”

“How much would you like that chance, Agreste?” Startled by the voice behind him, Shadow Moth turned around, presumably expecting Nathalie or the Gorilla again, although the latter was purposefully kept out of the loop regarding Shadow Moth’s true identity. He was therefore surprised to see it was neither of them, instead the silhouette of a man stood silently in the darkness.

“Who are you? How did you get in here?”

“I am the one who asks the questions, Shadow Moth.” The man stepped forwards into the dimming light, the flickering of his long loose lapel cloak illuminating his silhouette briefly before he stood eye to eye with the villainous fashion designer. He lowered his hood. A tall redheaded man, dressed in a purple jumper underneath a dark grey trench coat, here obscured by his cloak, dark blue jeans, black military grade boots and fingerless gloves. “My name is Nathaniel Eighton, you may know me better as Nate 8.”

“You must be foreign, I’ve never heard of you.”

“Meh, I shouldn’t be surprised. Your little crusade would attract quite the attention from the Plumbers, I’d think. A pity it hasn’t… for me, at least. Then perhaps I would not have had to go to all the trouble of tracking you down…”

“What do you want from me?”

“I have business in this city. Business concerning both your enemies and mine. We will work together to destroy them and seize their items of power. Such will make us unstoppable!” Shadow Moth seemed deeply unimpressed by Nate’s explanation, enough to retract a feather from his fan behind his back…

“If you seriously think I will submit to an inferior with bad breath and a nasty attitude…!” He jabbed the amok into his cane, and suddenly the dark-blue ether surrounded the building. Nate seemed unimpressed, even as the mighty dark purple Butterfly Sentimonster materialised.

“So you wish for me to beat some sense into you before you join me, eh? Very well!” Nate showcases decent reflexes, as he dodged the stinger of the purple beast with ease, even without transforming. He gave a mocking chuckle as the creature went in for another strike. Again he dodged… except this time the creature secreted some form of slime that Nate dodged right into, rendering him immobile. Shadow Moth drew his swordstick and approached menacingly. Knowing what was going to happen next, Nate rolled up his sleeve, evidently preparing to go alien, but Shadow Moth was quicker and slammed his arm into the slime. Nate was now unable to touch the Omegatrix. Shadow Moth boasted that this would be the end of their disagreement… but he hadn’t reckoned on one advantage Nate’s watch has over Tennyson’s… “Omegatrix! Switch to voice command!”

“Voice command mode active.”

“Hybridise transformation: Talpaedan plus Gourmand! Drilldozer plus Gastropower!” And then Nate was engulfed in a deep purple light, much to Shadow Moth’s surprise, and when it cleared, Nate had become a terrifying dark purple creature: the overall size and limbs of Drilldozer, albeit even bulkier and much more organic looking, and the torso (and glowing stomach area) and head of Gastropower, albeit with Drilldozer’s helmet head shape and ears. Shadow Moth stepped back a few feet, his face frozen in terror.

“GASTRODOZER!!! How do you like me now, Mothy?” The Butterfly Sentimonster spat out several more balls of slime at the Talpaedan/Gourmand hybrid, but none were a match for the omni-consumption and energy conversation abilities of a Gourmand. He instantly swallowed them all, his stomach glowing bright indigo, and then spat them out in rapid succession, striking the Butterfly Sentimonster in the wings and grounding it. Gastrodozer then slammed the floor hard, activating the abilities of his Talpaedan half, generating a massive earthquake under the building to free himself from the slime trap. Standing up and grinning sadistically, Gastrodozer leapt at the downed Butterfly Sentimonster, before engulfing in purple light once more and transforming into Nuclean. He shot into the air, almost to the ceiling even, and roared: “HAA-MEE-NA HAA-MEE-NA HAA-MEE-NA! Nuclear Winner!”This was the attack that Ben as Atomix used to defeat Albedo, sharing the same name as that one because Nate tends to be a bit lazy when it comes to naming his attacks and mostly uses the same names as Ben. The blast of nuclear energy tore through the room, throughout the Agreste mansion and onwards throughout the French capital. When the smoke cleared, Shadow Moth had fallen, and with his cane destroyed, so was his Sentimonster minion. Nuclean gave a mocking laugh as he reverted back to Nate, landing in a classic Spiderman pose for a moment before standing up, dusting himself off and walking towards Shadow Moth’s unconscious body.

“I win, Mothy. I will convert you to our way of thinking if that beatdown hasn’t already. Then all four of us will have our desires: Animo - a continent of mutants. You - these Miraculouses. Me – the satisfaction of Ben Tennyson’s head under my boot. And your neutral ally and my master... well, like I’m going to spoil that so early...” He picked Shadow Moth up, throw him over his shoulder and started fiddling with the Omegatrix once more, before transforming into Terrordon again and flying off with his prize to his partner in crime. With this new variable in the machine, the final defeat of Ben Tennyson will be certain and absolute this time! And these local heroes... hmm... if Shadow Moth fell so easily, perhaps they won’t be any different? Perhaps they will wilt just as easily? Or perhaps they can be turned, sent to delay Tennyson while the real action goes on at the Tower? So many possibilities... so little time...

Chapter Text

By this point, completely unaware of the colossal beatdown their sworn nemesis had just been dealt, the local heroes of Paris were currently on the back foot, having retreated to a secluded location not too far from their regular haunts: school, the parks, a certain bluenette’s bakery, etc, but also quiet enough for them to talk privately without anyone overhearing. Ladybug might’ve been overcompensating, of course, given the fact Alya was currently visiting her family in Martinique, so there was significantly less chance of someone deciding to be nosy, eavesdrop and put whatever they were going to say on their blog where millions of people could speculate and blow it way out of proportion and end up making Ladybug’s life so much harder than it needed to be. Regardless, there were far too many people about to unwittingly give Hawk Moth information, even without Alya’s help. And secrecy is an unfortunate part of being a superhero, unless your name happened to be Ben 10, in which case he could back them up that having their secret revealed to the world is not a pleasant experience. Still, the matter draws back to that secluded location, as the heroic duo began to contemplate that experience a few moments ago…

“Urgh… I’ll be alright, chaton. My suit protected me from that akuma’s pummelling. But we have to stop him before he hurts anyone else.”

“Not everything is an akuma, you know. And a thank you wouldn’t go amiss, I practically saved your life back there! If I hadn’t jumped in, you’d have suffered the fate of so many actual bugs!”

“Yeah, yeah, stomped out, I get it. But I was handling myself just fine without you doing what you always do and take the bullet for me.”

“Err, excuse me, I’m a cat! I’ve got nine lives, I can spare some!”

“But not everyone else does, Chat. Take the thousands of innocents those two will hurt if it means luring us out to take our Miraculouses for example. Those two are dangerous, chaton. We have to stop them.”

“You know, they might not be akumatised! Personally I can’t shake the feeling I know them from somewhere, and that’s weird because I don’t remember meeting them before…” Cat’s eyes opened wide as he realised something. “…though having said that… I might have to see if that guy can turn into what I can only describe as a humanoid tree creature with exploding blue fruits…”

“What, was it looking for a lumberjack convention?”

“No, I vividly remember the news report. That creature was on top of the Tower, fighting some sort of grey goblin on a flying plank of wood with an energy axe…” Ladybug rolled her eyes at Cat’s recollection of the event on October 5th 2010, where the Omnitrix wielder in question, or indeed Ultimatrix wielder as that was what he was using at the time, did indeed battle Sundar the Retriever atop the Eiffel Tower for a piece of an alien artifact called the Potis Altaire. Cat would have been around eight at the time, but something like a foreign superhero fighting an alien bounty hunter on an international landmark is kind of difficult to ignore or forget. “I’m serious, bug! If he can transform into that creature, then I’m pretty sure you just picked a fight with Ben Tennyson him-freaking-self!”

“Huh, am I supposed to be impressed or embarrassed?”

“How about both? Some guy over in America runs a blog on him, like that Alya does with us. I sometimes check it out. He has this watch that can transform him into all kinds of superpowered aliens! I know, it sounds crazy, but it’s true!”

“Hmm… sounds like that watch is where the akuma is.” Cat facepalmed with a sigh. “He might not be that hero, Cat! I mean, remember that Copycat fiasco a few months ago? Hawk Moth created a supervillain who looked exactly like you, who’s to say he couldn’t make one who looked exactly like this Ben 10 or whatever his name is, with all his powers?” Cat Noir stared at Ladybug disapprovingly for a moment, before furrowing his brow in thought and nodding. She does have a point, they can’t prove that those two weren’t akumas who happened to look identical to the real Ben and Rook… Then again, they can’t prove that they were either, so the argument is a stalemate. Nevertheless, Cat suggested that they at least consider the possibility that these two aren’t merely two of Hawk Moth’s victims and actually are the real deal, so they should treat them much less suspiciously. Until he additionally pointed out the possibility that they could have been pursuing one of their rogues gallery to Paris, and that Ladybug might’ve just given that villain the opportunity to complete whatever dastardly plan they had in mind, he only got an annoyed sigh as response. After he additionally pointed out the possibility that they could have been pursuing one of their rogues gallery to Paris, and that Ladybug might’ve just given that villain the opportunity to complete whatever dastardly plan they had in mind, she completely broke down in shivers and starting babbling incoherently. And then she grabbed his shoulders in terror, and screamed that if that’s true, then that villain might find Hawk Moth! And then they could form an alliance and defeat them both and take the Miraculouses and destroy the world! Honestly, Cat had nothing to say about that possibility. That he hadn’t fully contemplated when he said that…

(scene break)

So it was disturbingly prophetic that such an alliance was being formed under their feet at this very moment. Even as Harrison and Alex were finishing setting up Animo’s equipment, the footsteps of their shapeshifting ally, and the sound of him dragging his butterfly accomplice across the hard ground, rung out through the catacombs.

“Ah, young Nate! And err… who’s your new friend there?”

“A Lepidopterran. What do you think, it’s the central adversary of our young friends! From what I understand, he can turn ordinary people into supervillains! Can you even imagine what such an ability applied to one of your mutant monogamy? Instant world domination at our command!”

“As a scientist Nathaniel, I prefer to reserve my judgement for a personal viewing. Show me what he can do and I will consider him.” Nate gave a grunt before his eyes turned towards a wire cage on a makeshift desk in one corner. He asked what animal Animo had for testing his prototype. Animo smirked, walked over to the cage slowly and picked up the creature inside… “Behold – the Gila monster! A reptile native to certain areas in the south west of the USA. It’s speculated to be so dangerous that I need to keep my gloves on at all times while handling it. It’s normally far too sluggish to be a realistic threat to a human being… but if my transmodulator prototype works, that will swiftly change.”

“I would question if it is wise for us to proceed with such an experiment with such a specimen in such a contained environment. But if needs be, I can transform and neutralise the threat. In fact, let me do so right now…” He activated the Omegatrix once more, transforming into a blue iguana alien with green eyes wearing a black and white suit. He looked at himself frustratedly for a moment. “Tundrabreath?! Doh…! Alright, I was going for Ghostmoth but this’ll do just fine! Most notable way to beat a lizard – cool them down enough to send them into hibernation!” Animo nodded and placed the Gila monster on the floor. He then took a few steps backwards and picked up the remote control for his new invention. He then took an audio recorder from his breast pocket and switched it on.

“Doctor Aloysuis James Animo Mobile Transmodulator Doomsday Device Experiment 1. Subject is a Gila monster in fine condition. Testing mutative range at 50% power.” Animo pressed the button. The prototype whirred into life. Loudly enough to cause Shadow Moth to start stirring. Harrison and Alex recognised this and ran over to him, each grabbing an arm to stop him interrupting the experiment. Within seconds, the Gila monster grew to a monstrous size, sprouting massive back spikes like an iguana and underarm ‘wings’ akin to Jet Ray’s. Its oversized fangs began to dribble its horrible disgusting green saliva, every drop now containing enough venom to poison an entire city. It let out a deafening roar, completely waking up Shadow Moth as Tundrabreath began to fire his freeze ray to pacify the creature. It did not work as intended. The creature dodged too soon, causing Nate to freeze Animo by mistake, and then the creature swatted him into the opposite wall with its massive tail. And then it charged off down into the catacombs, presumably to find a way to the surface. Alex dropped Shadow Moth and transformed into his mutant werewolf form, shattering Animo’s ice prison with a few swipes of his claws, just as Nate reverted to human form and got back to his feet. “Experiment was a failure. Test subject mutated so much I couldn’t control it. Must send Alex and Nate to recover it for termination.” A few loud crashes echoing through the halls cut Animo off.

“Yeah… or we could alternatively leave it for Tennyson and the local heroes to clean up?” It seemed obvious Nate had no intention of tailing the monster for a rematch. That thing hits hard. Not that Tundrabreath has outstanding durability though… Regardless, Nate did not want to have to fight it again. When Animo tried to protest, Nate quickly changed the subject, pointing out the device worked perfectly for a prototype, reminding Animo the intention was to mutate all of Europe into feral monsters infused with animal, or possibly Omegatrix, DNA to eliminate Ben Tennyson and take his Omnitrix. When Shadow Moth inquired about this plan, Nate simply reminded him that, despite the obvious durability boost some of his transformations give Ben, almost every one of his aliens has a limit to how far they can push before exhaustion overpowers them. Every species can only exert themselves so much before they collapse. Only Alien X would possibly be an exception, but Nate knew Ben well enough to know he would never use so powerful a transformation to such an extent. Overexerting the power of a Celestialsapien could destroy the universe. Would Ben risk the universe to deny Nate the victory? Nate didn’t think so. Ben Tennyson was nowhere near that petty anymore. Six years ago, perhaps he would in his bratty child temper tantrums. Hence that could be the reason why he didn’t unlock Alien X until he was 15. A child with almost godlike power could well be a disaster. So he wouldn’t use Alien X to fight the mutated hordes of Europe. He’d still have so many other guys he could use, but they can only last so long. Ben might be able to hold out against a mutated Europe for hours, days, possibly weeks. But eventually they’d wear him down, to the point where Nate could defeat him without the Omegatrix for once. In short, if this works, Nate will be standing over Ben’s broken body at last, the Omnitrix lying broken in his hand, to usher in a new era for the people of Earth. A new era where Nate rules this world alone, while his neutral ally gets the rest of the universe. A dream he’d had for about a year now. Finally it was within reach.

(scene break)

“So Rook, how are you liking Paris so far?”

“I would say that, aside from the disagreement with the local heroes, whom I am fairly certain were only trying to do their job, the city seems quite pleasant.” He suddenly coughed and spat out part of the macaroon he was eating. “Although in retrospect, these biscuits seem to upset my digestion.”

“They’re cookies. Or macaroons as they call them here. Each to their own. Though one of those things upsets your digestion, I dread to think what it’d have done to you had you seen the amount of them Kevin put down when I was here last. Oh yes, that was an interesting experi…” The sound of a loud crash, seemingly just around the corner from the café they were seated, cut Ben off. He looked at Rook. Rook looked at Ben. Ok… loud crash usually means trouble, and where there’s trouble, Ben never likes to be far behind. Even now, he was fiddling with the Omnitrix, clearly anxious to investigate. He slammed down the dial and instantly engulfed in the green light, transforming into a blue jellyfish-like alien with white swipes on his body resembling lightning streaks, a main body with three-segmented skirt-like parts for his head, chest and abdomen, and six long tentacles that function as two pairs of arms and a pair of legs. The Omnitrix symbol was on his mouth. Ampfibian. Good choice.

Taking to the skies once more, the terrible reality of what he was about to face hit him, not just from the destruction being wrought all over that part of Paris, but from the actual agent of said destruction. Ben might well have been expecting the culprit to be this Shadow Moth those two had accused him of working for earlier. The sight of the mutated Gila monster tearing through a couple of city blocks was enough to shatter that expectation. Even from here, he could tell it was obviously some form of mutated animal. And he knew all too well from experience that when a place is under siege from a mutated animal, one person is usually never far behind. Something like this is a very good indication his Parisian vacation was about to do a radical 180 degree turn, flip on its head and give him the action that, only that morning, he’d been craving ever since Malware’s Negative 10 were forcibly sent on that luxury holiday in the Null Void. Ok, since the whole Malware’s-Negative-10-trying-to-resurrect-the-alien-robot-race-known-only-as-the-Dominators-incident was slightly inaccurate, as immediately following that, there was the matter of the original earthbound Negative 10 helping Vilgax take over the world while Ben, Gwen, Kevin and Rook were away on that intergalactic road trip. Still, let’s not stray too far from the here and now, Ben. A mutant animal makes it very, very clear Ben’s old nemesis, Dr Animo, is in the City of Love. What that crazed mutation-loving megalomanic was up to this time was beyond him. Still, knowing Animo, it’s very unlikely to be him trying to open a petting zoo or become a veterinarian, as much as Ben would prefer that change of career. This needs investigating ASAP, Ben thought. Had Rook not been running so far behind, he might well have agreed. Thrusting his tentacles behind him, Ampfibian darted through the city skylines towards the rampaging giant beast. Moments away from physical contact, it sensed him and swatted him away like a fly on a wall. Being boneless, Ampfibian was not injured as badly as another transformation might have been. Still, it was discomforting to say the least. But not as discomforting as it would be for whoever would have the mammoth job of cleaning all this up… The monster roared violently, smashing through at least two blocks with its tail before starting to march, or realistically it was more of a slithery limp, towards city hall. That’s going to be problematic if it isn’t stopped soon. Ampfibian leapt into flight after the mammoth monster, before concluding Ampfibian might not be the best option for this if it can resist electricity, and likewise activating the Omnitrix’s quick change function, opting instead for the To’kustar option…

“Way Big!!! Ok, this I can work with! Hold it, scaley!” The mutated Gila monster turned around, somewhat startled by this sudden turn of events. Nevertheless, as it was still technically under Animo’s control, it reared up onto its back legs, took a deep breath and spat out its poisonous saliva at him. While the splatter to the head fin was certainly discomforting, it did not seem to have any lasting effects besides stunning him for a moment. In that moment, the mutated lizard monster slashed out at Way Big with its claws, before suddenly, a red and black spotted yoyo wrapped itself around the lizard’s neck, yanking it backwards off of him. Way Big looked down. There they were. The two crazies he’d met earlier. Normally he’d say it’s too dangerous for civilians in fancy dress to be out at a time like this, but right now he was just glad to get a little back up. The monster jumped up and snarled at the two heroes, Cat Noir making a sarcastic remark about how the creature needs a breath mint, before shooting its toxic venom at them as well. A constant circle spin of her yoyo was all Ladybug needed to shield them both. Then the creature slammed its foot down hard on the ground, generating an earthquake that sent them both stumbling into each other. But this distraction was all Way Big needed to regain his strength. He thrust his arms over his chest, and fired out his cosmic ray. The creature was sent crashing through several more buildings before it came to rest in the Seine, just below the Eiffel Tower. It briefly tried to muster the strength to continue fighting before succumbing to defeat and collapsing.

(scene break)

“Live news feed. Tennyson has arrived sooner than we thought. This could complicate proceedings.”

“Not so, Animo. There’s a reason I opted to bring this guy along for the ride… besides it being a mandate of my… let’s say… neutral ally. Mothy, you know what I’m talking about. Do what you gotta do and give the lizard a little upgrade.”

“No. I won’t have any part in this evil endeavour.” Nate was unsatisfied, leant in menacingly close to Shadow Moth’s face and rolled up his sleeve, holding his hand menacingly above the Omegatrix. Shadow Moth immediately apologized and agreed, infusing a fluttering butterfly, another of Animo’s test subjects no doubt, with his dark energy and muttering quietly, “fly away my little akuma, and breath new life into this desperate creature!” Per Nate’s indication via a harsh stomp with his left foot, Shadow Moth conceded and sent an amok out as well. Nate gave a cruel smile.

“There. That wasn’t so difficult, was it? Cheer up, Mothy. You’ve a front row seat to the main event! And actually, having looked through your history with those things, it might be wise if an extra element was added. I still don’t want to have to go out there with that… thing, for lack of a better word, still out there. But… this could be our best to kill,” he gave a disturbingly sadistic emphasis on the word kill, “three birds with one stone. I’ll do it. But I want to see the prototype sufficiently upgraded when I return! Understand?” Animo and Shadow Moth each gave the nod. Nate chuckled evilly as he strolled out.

(scene break)

Meanwhile, just after Way Big had reverted to Ben…

“I’d say no need to thank me, or that I could’ve handled that myself, but I’ll give credit where it’s due. You two really nailed it out there. Maybe even saved my life. I’m grateful.”

“I’m still not convinced you’re the real Ben Tennyson, but thanks.”

“Ha ha, so funny(!) Listen here kid, it’s quite possible you’re in need of a serious reality check right about now…”

“He’s got a point, mi’lady. Actually, I might as well spit this out now, that transformation thing you do, is there a humanoid tree creature with blue explosive fruit things in there? Because I’m sure I’ve seen you on the Tower before.”

“See, someone actually watches the news! And the answer, cat boy? Not anymore. That was Ultimate Swampfire you were thinking about. Now I’m back to the Omnitrix, it’s just the regular Swampfire these days. I was going to use him on her earlier, but…” Ben suddenly cut himself off, remembering that that monster was almost certainly a creation of Dr Animo, and if he’s in Paris, Ben can’t afford to waste time talking to locals. Then again, this is their turf and if that battle taught Ben anything, it’s that Animo’s mutant animals are getting stronger and stronger. “…Actually I’ve got to run. I know who sent that creature to attack the city. I’ve got to find him. Quick-style.”

“Don’t go acting like its obvious, hero. We already know this is Shadow Moth’s doing.”

“And there we were earlier considering the possibility that this isn’t Shadow Moth’s doing… Sorry about Ladybug, Mr Tennyson. I’m Cat Noir, I’m something of a fan. Ladybug’s a sceptical compulsive who thinks any problem in Paris these days is something Shadow Moth’s orchestrating. I happen to understand there’s a guy from your side of the pond who utilises creatures like that…?”

“Indeed, Cat. His name’s Dr Animo, and he has the power to control animals. I’ve no idea what he’s up to here, but if I’m wanting to get back to my vacation, I’ll have to stop him first. Perhaps you’d like to help? I could use all the help I can get. Rook’s good enough, but more hands means better chance of success…” Before Ben could finish, Ladybug interrupted to declare she’d known this monster attack was Shadow Moth’s doing and point towards the unconscious lizard monster. Ben and Cat turned around to see a glowing purple butterfly and feather float ever so gently onto the creature’s back spikes, and engulf it in purple mist. When it settled, the creature was even larger and significantly less humanoid; the spikes going into overdrive all over its body, its scales growing all over at an exponential rate, and its toxic venom starting to secrete from each and every pore like waterfalls. Seconds afterwards, what could only be described as some deformed cross between a butterfly, a hornet and a tarantula manifested hovering about its head. Ladybug and Cat Noir looked at each other in shock. Ben just stared at the creatures in confusion. After a long silence, Cat finally spoke quietly.

“…I guess we were both right, mi’lady…”

“Shut up, kitty.”

“No time to argue, kiddies! It don’t matter who’s responsible for this, only that we’ve got to stop them! It’s hero time!” But before Ben could press the dial and transform, the sound of slow footsteps walking towards them cut him off, as did the unnerving sound of the walker clicking his tongue to the rhythm of a ticking clock…

“Tick tock, tick tock. I think your time is running out, Tennyson.” Into view stepped a tall redheaded man, dressed in a purple jumper underneath a dark grey trench coat, here obscured by his long hooded loose lapel cloak, dark blue jeans, black military grade boots and fingerless gloves.

“Nate 8?!” Ben shrieked in surprise.

“He’s here too?” was Cat’s equally surprised response.

“Wait… so… does that mean you’re working for this Animo fellow?”

“Think bigger, little Ladybug. I answer to a higher order. Concerned only with the removal of the Omnitrix from Ben’s wrist and transference of ownership to my master.”

“Then excuse me if I tip the balance in our favour!” Ben slammed down the dial; when the green light faded, he’d fully transformed into a somewhat humanoid dinosaur standing about twelve feet tall with hard skin that is coloured brown on its outer side and beige on its inner side, sporting black briefs with a white waistband, and a green and a black sash across his chest (going from his right shoulder to the left side of his lower back) containing the Omnitrix symbol. Nate seemed unimpressed.

“So you’d prefer to kick things off with Humungousaur, would you? Very well!” Clearly recognising the intention for physical combat, Nate smirked and activated his Omegatrix, transforming into a creature that was evidently of the same species as the alien Ben was using, but which was more monstrous looking than a typical Vaxasaurian, with green skin, red eyes, red lines across his chest and a barrage of heavy-duty scales on his back somewhat resembling the shell of an evolved Vaxasaurian. He gave a vicious roar as the akumatised mutant lizard and its sentimonster partner also approached the heroes. As Ladybug and Cat Noir shrank back in fear, Titansaurus began cracking his knuckles viciously.

“Titansaurus VS Humungousaur: round so many hundred and so forth! Oh, crushing your skull under my foot is going to be all the more satisfying!”

“We’ll see about that, Nate. Between us, them and your little friends… well actually they’re more of big friends… this isn’t going to end well for you!”

“So you keep saying, Tennyson. Repeatedly. But you know it as well as I do. There’s two things I can do: crush necks and chew gum, and let me make this clear: unfortunately for you, I’m all out of gum.”

Chapter Text

Instantly every car and house alarm in the city went off simultaneously as the two dinosaur creatures’ fists collided, shattering every window for miles with the shockwave. Both Miraculous heroes were blown off their feet and sent crashing into the legs of the Eiffel Tower. Both fell unconscious for a while. Meanwhile, the dinosaur combatants resumed their epic fight. Humungousaur charged in immediately for a punch to the face, but Titansaurus tapped the Omegatrix symbol on his chest, so when the punch landed, the impact blasted Humungousaur backwards a few feet. Titansaurus sniggered mockingly and boasted of another upgrade to his Omegatrix – instant installation of abilities that a species doesn’t usually have. Like in this case, he’d given himself an impact absorption and redirection ability. Which basically means he could take a hit and redirect the kinetic energy out against his enemies. Humungousaur grunted in annoyance, pulled up a nearby streetlamp and hurled it like a javelin at Titansaurus, who instantly ducked right and caught with his free hand. He tightly clenched a fist, squeezing the streetlamp in two.

“It doesn’t take a genius to understand every move you can make, Tennyson! It only takes enough genius to build an Omnitrix of my own!”

“That’s not a very clever thing to say, Nate, we both know you stole the schematics from mine!”

“Oh, sounds like you want to make this brains vs brawn, eh? I’m all too happy to oblige you!” He slammed the Omegatrix symbol on his chest, and transformed into an pale orange crustacean like alien. “Cortexustacean… hmm… let’s think on that later, for I have more important priorities to consume my attention.” Cortexustacean opened up his brain-shell, exposing his massive oversized brain. His normally immobile mouth flipped into a sinister smirk as he shot out a massive electrical current, striking Humungousaur in the chest, bringing him to his knees in agony. He struggled enough to hit the Omnitrix symbol on his sash and transform again, this time into an alien resembling a dry cell battery with two bolts on each arm, a green lightning bolt stripe, and the top of his head features a proper battery cap, colored light green. His head is now more prominent, as his chin actually sticks out rather than being a part of a long, one-piece body, and his eyes are now almond-shaped instead of being circular. He wears the Omnitrix symbol on the top of his head cap. Nate grunted in annoyance. Buzzshock. Brilliant(!) But Nate was no one to underestimate. He activated the Omegatrix once more, transforming into a humanoid alien that is ten feet tall, with well-developed muscles, two pairs of four-fingered arms, and red skin. A black stripe went from his chin to his lower lip, and he has four eyes: a main pair and a smaller pair below them, while he lacked ears or a nose. He had whisker-like spikes on each forearm. He was wearing a black tank top-like shirt with one large purple stripe in the middle, black pants, a purple and black belt, black fingerless gloves with purple cuffs at the wrists and the Omegatrix symbol on his left shoulder. Ok, this has gone from Humungousaur VS Titansaurus to Cortexustacean VS Buzzshock to Quartersmack VS Buzzshock. And Nate’s Tetramand form has the size advantage over Ben’s Nosedeenian form. This could be interesting… Course, Ben knew that Tetramands are weak against lightning, but Nate’s Omegatrix might gift him a workaround… Four fists of fury directly into his front cut Buzzshock off. He flew backwards a few feet before regaining his footing. He shot out a burst of green electricity at Quadsmack, which was enough to incapacitate him for all of three seconds before his two right arms merged together into one Petrosapien arm and morphed into a long swordlike blade construct. Ah, the old diamond-sword limb trick, Ben loves using that as Diamondhead… But then Nate stopped. He looked over Ben twice before acting. Nosedeenians duplicate if bisected, so if Nate strikes him now, he'd only be giving himself more to worry about. As such, he slammed Buzzshock to the ground with his upper left hand and pressed the Omnitrix symbol on top of his head with his lower one. The light engulfed the streets as Buzzshock transformed again, this time into a small, blue fish-like alien with stubby fins for arms, a shark-like dorsal fin, and a pair of thin, spindly legs jutting from his underside. He had a wide mouth with an underbite, and gills on his cheeks with bulging green eyes and wore a green belt-like strap around his "waist" and back, with the Omnitrix symbol connecting the front. Ben looked at himself in disappointment at his new form.

“Walkatrout?! Now of all times?!” Nate gave a sinister chuckle as he readied his blade arm.

“How the tables have turned! No duplication, no offensive capabilities, no nothing!” He rose his blade arm close enough for Ben to see his reflection in the crystals. “Nothing to save you from my final revenge!” He rose his crystal arm high over his head, ready to strike the fatal blow, before a sudden discharge of destructive energy made contact with it just before he landed the fatal strike. Walkatrout looked upwards. Cat Noir. Cataclysm! It must be! Frustrated, Nate withdrew his crystalline arm and it reverted into the two Tetramand ones he’d previously sported. Still unsatisfied, Nate activated the Omegatrix once more, transforming this time into a humanoid alien wearing a heavy, dark reddish brown volcanic rock containment suit, with three slits capable of letting out some of his radioactive energy. In this hybrid transformation however, much of the suit’s left side was exposed, revealing the true form: a physical being constantly emitting pure, red, radioactive energy with literal flames erupting uncontrollably from his physical form. Walkatrout and Cat Noir looked on in worry. A Prypiatosian-B and Pyronite fusion? NRG and Heatblast? Or, to use Nate’s names for each transformation, Iradicage and Inferno? “Now this is a burning combination!” Through the vent on his suit, he fired a RAD blast directly at the feline hero who’d so boldly dared to interfere with this private affair. Only a rapid spinning of his staff saved him from serious damage. Infericage was not disheartened and slammed a fist into the ground, swarming the sidewalks with molten jets, blanketing onlookers with fiery rocks. Cat was quick to pick up Walkatrout by his tail and dash off in the opposite direction, clearly he recognised the need to think this one through. Fortunately for him, just as Infericage was preparing to fire another optic RAD blast, an orange energy grappling hook wrapped itself around his neck, restraining him for a couple of moments. Looking back briefly, they could see Rook behind Nate saluting them. Good move, buddy…

(scene break)

Past the sight of Ladybug getting tail-slammed by the mutant Gila monster and its insectoid companion they fled, past the erupting vents of volcanic energy erupting throughout the city, until finally, they reached the relative safety of the roof of City Hall.

“Phew! I am exhausted… that guy really packs a punch!”

“Try facing him every other week for a year and you’d really feel the strain…” Cat Noir gave a slight chuckle before remembering he’d left Ladybug behind with Rook. That’s not going to bode well. Both can likely only hold out so long. And Ben’s going to need a better form to fight back with. And he’ll need Cat to help him, because Walkatrout doesn’t have any hands to press the Omnitrix symbol himself. So Cat hit the symbol for him. He’s clearly been paying attention to Ben’s exploits outside of that encounter with Sunder years ago. The green light erupted. Cat lost himself in the light for a moment, wondering which alien form he’d get to see next… only to be sorely disappointed when Ben instead reverted to human form. Judging by his expression, he was obviously no more pleased with this than Cat was.

“Urgh, perfect timing(!) We’re out, I need a recharge!”

“For how long?!”

“About 15 to 20 minutes.”

“We haven’t got that sort of time! Ladybug’s still out there, and she’s got three enemies to worry about! Between the lizard, the sentimonster and Nate’s alien forms, she’s practically doomed!”

“That may be so, but you should see Rook in action some time. He’s a great martial artist and one of the best fighters I know. He can handle Nate just fine, I shouldn’t doubt.”

(scene break)

“I would expect Ben is expecting me to handle Nathaniel alone…”

“Well, short of rushing home to get the fire potion, I think you’ll have to take the lead on this one… What does it usually take to bring him down?”

“That usually depends heavily on the transformation he is using at the time. In this hybridised form, I would recommend carbon dampening rods or sufficient amounts of cold water…” Rook was immediately cut off by another radioactive optic blast narrowly missing his head, and instead impacting on the skull of the mutant Gilla monster as it drooled more of its venomous saliva, perilously close to Ladybug’s head. From what could be told, it didn’t hurt the creature but it did leave it open to Ladybug backflipping into the air, wrapping her yoyo around its mouth and slamming it to the ground, knocking it out. Infericage recognised this was inconvenient as he’d now got two enemies to worry about, and activated the Omegatrix again, this time becoming a much more terrifying combination, the one Ben would dub ‘Ghostpick’. Or to use Nate’s names for the transformation, The Eldritch Phantom. The signature helmet, arm shape and body weight of the Eldritch Horror-Head and the rest of the body of Phantom, alongside the striped tentacles an Ectonurite usually has on their insides creepily poking through the underarms and all over the back. That’s a combination Ben would not have liked to have seen. Especially since the powers Toepick normally has would be amplified through combination with Ghostfreak. Even Rook recognised this as he desperately flailed his arms around as Ladybug charged at the Eldritch Phantom, desperately trying to dissuade her from getting too close. Or even more specifically, within viewing range of the hybrid monster’s face. It obviously didn’t work, as the evil hybrid monster let out a terrifying laugh sounding much more like Zs’Skyar than regular Ghostfreak, as his helmet retracted, allowing Ladybug a good close up view of his terrifying tentacled face. Scary enough on its own, of course, but very, very greatly amplified by the fact his face, which taps into the primordial fears locked in all beings' subconscious and primitive brains and is supposed to resemble an eldritch horror, is combined with that of Zs’Skyar, further driving in the terror. Ladybug was only able to look at him for about a millisecond before her fear overpowered her completely, leaving her a pale, screaming wreck. Unfortunately, it seems Nate has a taste for fear, even declaring he lives for seeing others scared as he menacingly approached the poor girl as she screamed, begging him not to come near her. He purposely chose to ignore her pleas as he rose a clawed hand to strike a fatal blow. Only the quick intervention of the Proto-Tool’s grappling hook function saved Ladybug from being split into four. The Eldritch Phantom glanced menacingly in Rook’s direction, clearly enough to make him feel uneasy, as he pulled Ladybug tightly to his chest and ran off in the opposite direction. Of course, Nate 8 was perfectly capable of transforming again and pursuing them. But that was not what he was intending to do. His mission was to distract the heroes alongside the mutated creatures, although he did notice the lizard had reverted from its akumatised form to its natural form by now. He suspected either Shadow Moth had retracted the akuma, or Ladybug had managed to knock it out of the creature without managing to purify it before he scared her silly. A minor annoyance, requiring a minor change in plans. Both duos had escaped him now. But there’s only three of them to worry about, since Nate was quite confident the amplified terror powers of the Eldritch Phantom would leave Ladybug a shivering wreck for a very long time, if not the rest of her life. That only leaves Ben, Rook and that cat boy who seems to idolise Tennyson so much. Hmm… Nate could only hope Animo had managed to assemble the parts he’d need for the main event quickly enough. Had he bought Animo enough time? He decided it would be wise to find out. But before doing so, he decided to make a house call. These Miraculous heroes don’t seem to be anything special, but it couldn’t hurt to find out what the villainous conspiracy’s mutual friend, and Nate’s current master, would want with these jewels…

(scene break)

“Best martial artist you know, huh?” was the less-than-enthusiastic tone of Cat Noir at the sight of Rook carrying a whimpering Ladybug into the Mayor’s office. In gratitude for Cat Noir’s actions in defending Paris, Mayor Bourgeois had been kind enough to allow him and Ben to use his office to strategize, as well as pledge any resource they needed in stopping the evil invasion to their disposal. Granted, all this was done over videocall, as the Mayor himself was preoccupied with a family vacation on the other side of the world. Still, it was nice of the Mayor to give them free reign to do whatever necessary to stop Nate and Animo. Though it turned out he was also something of a fan of Ben’s, so that might not have been entirely in Paris’s best interests... Nevertheless, the two heroes were there to welcome their wounded. Cat Noir raised a hand to greet Ladybug with, which only sent her in a renewed screaming fit and sent her running into a corner, burying herself in the foetal position. Ben looked at Rook, evidently concerned.

“Is she alright?”

“Let’s just say Nate proved trickier than we had anticipated. But we did manage to defeat the lizard monster.” At which point, Cat decided to interrupt.

“And the sentimonster? The thing that was with it on the Tower?”

“…I am afraid that creature is still active. I last saw Nate boarding it as I was running to safety. A strategic retreat.”

“Look, I’m sure you did the best you could. But what happened to Ladybug, she looks terrible!”

“I know, I’ve never seen her like this in the three months I’ve been partnering with her!”

“Cat, Ben… she has been deeply traumatised. By the sight of the face of what you would call Ghostpick.”

“Whoa… Toepick and Ghostfreak…? That is not a combination I’m in any hurry to see…”

“I cannot say I blame you, Ben. She only got a glimpse of his face. It was enough to reduce her to… that… I have no idea how long it will be before she recovers… if she ever does…”

“So Nate and Animo are on the loose, we’re one hero down and we still have no idea what the bad guys are planning?”

“That’s about the size of it Ben, yes.”

“Urgh, at least you two are vetern heroes… this superheroic gig never seems to get any easier…”

(scene break)

If only Cat knew that their lives were about to get even harder, as the orchestrator of their pain was no longer on the planet. Instead, at this very moment, he was walking calmly through a crowded street on a world far away. A world in a place referred to as the Shadow Realm. A place to which Ben and co had once ventured, in order to save the planet from Zs’Skyar’s forces. Yes. Nate was on Vilgaxia. His target stood intimidatingly over the city. The castle of the conqueror of ten worlds himself. The most feared being in the known universe. The undisputed arch nemesis of Ben Tennyson, his grandfather Max, the Plumbers, and pretty much every intergalactic law enforcement agency this side of Primus. A place Nate would not have chosen to venture… if he wasn’t indebted to the evil genius in question.

The memories of his last encounter with Ben before today still stung deeply in his mind. How he’d set Ben up for a massive defeat, enlisting Albedo and Khyber for assistance. Albedo was easy enough to manipulate into impersonating Ben and stealing Azmuth’s intelligence, and Khyber was all too happy for another shot at Ben’s head. Just a pity the showdown afterward those two had been defeated saw Nate get Nuclear Winner-ed across several solar systems. Surviving that took everything Nate had. The enhanced durability of the hybridised form he was in at the time certainly helped his chances of survival, but it still left him crashing towards an uncharted planet when the Omegatrix timed out. It was luck alone he had found him, spawled outwards, barely clinging to life in the radioactive lava streams of that inhospitable planet. That much was certain.

It was his saviour’s robotic minions that repaired Nate, gave him the upgrades to his Omegatrix. But it came at a cost. Now Nate was forced to work for his saviour, serving him as his herald until his saviour had the Omnitrix. And as he teleported into the throne room, that was who he saw, sitting atop his intimidating metallic throne, eagerly awaiting Nate’s update on their current plans. A red-eyed humanoid creature with a face resembling that of an octopus, with tentacles dangling in front of his face, like a beard. His skin is pale green with yellowish spots on his face and tentacles. He doesn't have a nose or a visible ear. Two of his face tentacles end with a spiky-looking shape, resembling actual squid tentacles. His armour is similar to that which he sported in the original series, with the exception being the cylinders on his arms now being gold in colour. He wears black clothes underneath his armour and black stockings, and he now has fingerless gloves and a headpiece similar to his shoulder pads.

“Nate 8.” The evil warlord began. “I was expecting an update hours ago. How fares Dr Animo in his new accommodation?”

“He seems to have adapted extremely well, master Vilgax. Early tests of the intended weapon are positive, as I can confirm, having seen its effects in person. It certainly gave the local heroes a run for their money. Once the Tower is converted, there will be no resistance from them. They will become our minions, and their jewels that you have taken an interest in will be ours. Although, dare I question why exactly you believe them to be of any use to you? From what the local supervillain tells me, they can rewrite reality if used correctly. Surely that much power would be overkill once we have the Omnitrix as well?”

“You make a good point, Nathaniel. But not one I hadn’t considered. The power of the Miraculouses is intriguing, but unnecessary to me. Such power would make gaining the Omnitrix obsolete. So I don’t want to wield the Miraculouses. I simply want to own them. Put them somewhere where no one will ever find them. Once I have the Omnitrix, I intend to conquer the universe. I do not want someone finding these Miraculouses and using them against me. So, short of destroying them, that is my best option. You, Nathaniel, are my instrument for this game. You’ve done well, manipulating Animo into thinking we want a mutant army and convincing him to turn the Eiffel Tower into a weapon for us.”

“Although, my master, I regret to inform you our objective has not gone unnoticed. We have a slight problem. I’m afraid I have discovered a certain Omnitrix wielder vacationing in Paris at this very moment.” Vilgax’s expression did not alter as Nate thought it would. He thought Vilgax would be furious to hear Ben Tennyson just happened to be in the one city on Earth that they’d chosen for their evil plan. Instead, he rubbed his hands together in evil glee.

“Even better! If Ben Tennyson is in that city as well… what is it you humans say? I can kill two birds with one stone?”

“So we could raise our army and get the Omnitrix from Tennyson at the same time… I will look into it at once, master.” Vilgax stood up suddenly.

“You will not do so alone, Nathaniel. Upon hearing your report that Ben Tennyson is in the very city I plan to turn into my army, I think I will take a vacation myself…”

“To that very city?”

“You catch on quickly, Nathaniel. Drone battalion 15067, prepare my ship for launch at once! If Tennyson thinks he will thwart us both this time…” Nate rubbed his hands together in evil glee before looking over the Omegatrix, longing for a chance to go full Nate 8 amalgam again.

“…he will be sorely mistaken, master Vilgax! We shall not be denied!”

Chapter Text

Meanwhile, back in Paris, blissfully unaware of the imminent danger that was making his way to Earth at this very moment, there remains four superheroes, desperately trying to plan their next move. Or would that technically be three superheroes and a babbling, screaming coward at this moment in time?

“My Proto-Tool’s scan function confirms significant trauma of all types to her temporal lobe. The poor girl must have gotten closer than I had estimated.”

“Yeah, less talking, more helping, Rook! Is there anything we can do for her?”

“Short of signalling Plumber HQ and asking them to send a medical team? Or taking her off-world to a Galvan doctor? I fear not. She’s been traumatised so badly, I doubt she’ll be much help for the rest of the day. Or possibly the week. Or month or beyond, although I would certainly hope not as I’m sure her parents will have questions about this…”

“Hmm… she looks old enough to be living independently. As does kitty over there.”

“I could say the same about you, Ben, in all honesty.”

“Well, thanks. Still, if she’s younger than she looks, that could be a good idea. But then we also have to work out what Nate and Animo are up to this side of the pond… I saw Nate, he sounded like he was expecting us… I wonder if he was trying to lure me here…”

“Nathanial Eighton is a psychotic madman, Ben. From our previous encounters with him, I cannot see any common pattern to his methods of gaining power. Whatever he is planning in this wonderful city must be thwarted. Quickly.”

“Which is why we’re trying to work out what his plan is so we know where to investigate!” Then an idea suddenly crept into Ben’s head. Oh… oh… that could work… He continued, thinking out loud. “Judging by that mutant Gila monster, Nate is obviously working with Dr Animo. That they knew already of course, but that mutant does call something into question. Gila monsters aren’t usually found in the wild anywhere near Paris, so where did Animo get it from? Hmm… most logical would be from a zoo or somewhere…” That line of thought caught the Cat’s attention. Up until now, he’d been desperately, and ineffectually, trying to console Ladybug. But that mention of a zoo certainly caught his attention.

“Sorry Ben, did you say something about a zoo just now? Because I might be able to help us there. A friend of mine knows a thing or two about zoo animals – her dad’s a zookeeper at Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes – and I’m pretty sure that place is known for various reptile specimens…”

“Amongst others… possible… certainly fits Animo’s MO, I could certainly see him trying something like that… alright, can you set up a meeting with this friend’s dad?”

“Err… she’s currently visiting her family in Martinque… and I think her parents have gone with her…” Ben gave a simple shrug.

“Ok, sounds like we’ll have to check their cameras another way.” He began fiddling with the Omnitrix.

“And how exactly are you planning on doing that without an ‘in’, partner?”

“Easy Rook, my old friend. We improvise.” The green light erupted. When it cleared, Ben had transformed into a large purple salamander with darker purple camo-esque spots all over his body and a short tail. He was wearing a black helmet with three triangular colored lenses, the left one being blue, the right red and the middle green, which hide his three eyes. The helmet also has spike-shaped fin on the back of his head and two green ‘vents’ on either side of his head. He has four-fingered hands and three toes on his frog-like feet. He also has a wide mouth with sharp teeth. The Omnitrix symbol is now located on the centre of the green harness on his chest. “Chamalien! Here’s one I haven’t used in a while! Let’s fade out and find some answers!” And with that, he activated his invisibility powers, and blended seamlessly into the scenery. No doubt he’ll be off to sneak his way to an answer or two, just as certainly as Cat returned his gaze to the notion of the babbling Ladybug. How to fix this one…?

(scene break)

“Animo. I trust the prototype has been improved since I was away?”

“I’m about to commence the next test now, Nate. Now, you might want to transform again. After last time, we need to heighten security measures…”

“Which also reminds me, what are we to do about that deformed butterfly… thing?”

“If your friend puts me down, I can dispel it at once.”

“Very well, Gabriel. Alex, release him.” Animo ordered. With a crude snarl of frustration, Alex complied. Nate wandered over towards Animo’s equipment, clearly intending to see what he’s planning to use as a test subject this time. Hmm… no obvious specimens this time… “And before you say anything, Harrison is still acquiring the next animal specimen for testing. Though I might have to issue another order soon… You see Nate, we heard about your standoff with Tennyson on the radio. After that pummelling, he’ll probably be looking to impair our operational capabilities before we are able to finish our mission. As such, he’ll probably look into anywhere in the city that I could have gotten that Gila monster from. I might have to divert Harrison from solely utilising Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes…”

“Harrison is not a pushover, old friend. I have every confidence that if Tennyson does track him down to that particular area, he will not be able to prevent a delivery. Although, with that said, there’s every chance that he WILL track him down to that particular area… Still, I shouldn’t overestimate Tennyson’s capabilities too much. I am fairly confident that once my master arrives, the chances of Tennyson’s continued consistency in foiling us will be dramatically altered.” Gabriel turned back to Nate, asking him who this master of his was. Nate responded that he was no one Shadow Moth wanted to meet, that this man, who he was very begrudgingly serving purely out of gratitude for saving his life, was the conqueror of at least ten worlds, the destroyer of at least five others, and the creator of at least one black hole. To even utter the name of Ben Tennyson in his presence would mark you for death. And should you cross him even slightly, you had better never stop running, for he will dedicate every resource he has at his disposal to find you and destroy you. This was the man who Nate was forced to slave under. Animo’s expression became extremely worried for a moment; clearly he understood who this monstrous being was all too well. Gabriel merely gave an audible gulp, straightened his tie and offered Nate his sympathies. Nate merely grunted and brushed him off, before reminding them about the transmodulator device they were intending to create. This was something that could not fail. The device would have to be completed soon, ideally before Nate’s master reaches Earth. All three of their lives could depend on it.

(scene break)

“Ok…” was the almost inaudible mutter from the mouth of Chamalien as he invisibly slinked ever so quietly through the various walkways of the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes. “…Chamalien is in position… as of yet, nothing out of the ordinary…” He looked up suddenly as he heard a snapping sound. Was that Animo arriving, or merely Chamalien himself stepping on a twig? He looked around anxiously. Obviously, Animo would be unable to see Chamalien, but as he only changes his colour to camouflage, he would be able to see if Chamalien left any footprints, or be able to hear if he made a noise. For a moment, his heart was in his mouth… but it seemed to be a false alarm. Besides a zookeeper or two briefly looking in his direction suspiciously, there was no indication of a premature breach of cover. He gave a deep sigh of relief…

“Ben Tennyson.” Chamalien resumed visibility as he looked behind him, startled by the mysterious newcomer. Had Animo’s goon somehow followed him? Or had Nate gone Feraltrack and tracked Ben down using his Vulpimancer senses? Thankfully it turned out to be neither. It was merely the sight of a Petrosapien mercenary who he hadn’t seen for a while. Which depending on how you look at it, could be cause for concern in of itself…

“Tetrax! Err… I’m honestly not sure if this is a good time or not…”

“I can see you were attempting a stealth mission of some kind, Ben. If I have complicated things for you, I can only apologise.”

“Never mind that! While I don’t object to seeing you again, Tetrax, and I’m sure whatever brings you here is vitally important, there is the matter of a potential robbery in progress happening here that I need to intercept. Long story short, two of my greatest enemies, Nate 8 and Dr Animo, are at large in this city, and I’m expecting one of their goons to attempt to steal a zoo animal for another of Animo’s experiments…”

“Ben, did I hear you right? One of these criminals is called Nate 8?” Chamalien nodded. “Then I may well be too late. I have it on good authority that a Nathanial Eighton is currently working as the herald of a certain Chimera Sui Generis who is apparently on his way to Earth at this very moment.”

“Chimera Sui Generis, I’ve never heard of that species before…”

“I would have thought you’d heard it before, given that very individual was the one who destroyed Petropia years ago…” If Chamalien’s eyes weren’t mostly restricted to his helmet, they would have grown to such an extent that his face could barely contain them. Ben knew exactly who was responsible for that event. And if he was on his way to Earth, Ben needed to wrap this business with Nate and Animo up fast. Which was immediately complicated immensely, because when Ben turned around, he saw the very figure he’d been attempting to catch in the act sneak in, take one look at him and Tetrax, notice the Omnitrix symbol on Chamalien’s harness and run off in the other direction. Oh, way to tip off your target, Ben(!) Though granted, he had not expected to be interrupted by an old friend, so they were equally to blame. Nevertheless, now Harrison knows he’s been rumbled, they’ll have to catch him.

“Oh perfect…(!)”

“Was that the person you were spying on?” Chamalien nodded and pressed his Omnitrix symbol. Aha, he gets XLR8, the Omnitrix gets it right first time for once! That’s certainly convenient… Ok, time to fast-track, as inappropriate as that term is for this transformation, to the best part, Harrison needs to be caught before he gets the chance to tip off Animo. He’d already started his engine by the time the Kineceleran hero picked up enough speed to shoot off after him, so that did present him with a slight head start. Of course, when your van’s maximum speed is 50 miles per hour and the person you’re trying to outrun can reach a top speed of 500 miles per hour, such a head start’s only going to help so much. But there is the fact that Animo is not an idiot. Any vehicle his henchmen utilise would be properly decked out for the inevitable interference of Tennyson’s aliens. In this instance, that meant a button concealed in the gear lever that could make XLR8 hit the skids. A key drawback to a Kineceleran’s speed is it is not unfathomable across all surfaces. Should they run across something slippery like ice, or in this case an oil slick, they can lost their balance and slip and slide around harmlessly. As XLR8 demonstrated, before he could even chase Harrison’s van round the corner from the zoo. And although Kinercelerans are shown to be durable enough to withstand a collision with a wall, that still presents the problem of civilian casualties; innocent people who are just going about their business, getting hurt by Ben crashing into them. And given how popular the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes was on that particular day, had Tetrax not reacted quick enough to generate a crystal pitcher’s glove through the tarmac to catch him, casualty rates could’ve been high. Frustratingly, it was enough to give Harrison even more of a head start. A rather massive one at that, as the time had obviously flown by enough for the Omnitrix to pick this moment out of every moment it could’ve picked to time out. With a frustrated scream, XLR8 reverted to Ben, allowing Harrison’s van to disappear further into the City of Love.

“Urgh! For a watch, this thing has a lousy sense of timing!”

“It is certainly frustrating, I admit. Again I apologise, Ben. Had I not arrived when I had, you might have nailed him.”

“Now don’t beat yourself up, Tetrax. We didn’t know you were on your way, and you didn’t know I was in the middle of something fairly significant… Still, focus on the here and now. We’re going to have to track Harrison down later. I’ve a crew in this city who’d probably want to hear what you’ve got to say…”

(scene break)

“Are you sure you heard them correctly, Rook?”

“Confirmation, Cat Noir. HQ’s closest medical team with the gear necessary to make any serious attempt to fix Ladybug is in the human settlement you call Madrid. It could be a half hour before they’re here. Time which we may not have. We could be on our own for the most part…”

“So it was exposure to Ghostpick’s face that caused this… hmm…?” Cat began mentally reviewing his options. Ladybug’s panicked state was created when she looked at Nate’s face while he was a fusion of Ghostfreak and Toepick. It’s clearly a state of shock she’s in. Except way worse than anything Cat had seen before. Ok, how does one usually treat shock? Treat them to something familiar? Hmm, could work. Though it might well have been a pointless endeavour, given that Cat did not know Ladybug’s true identity at the time, so there would be little point in recruiting anyone from her private life to help. Hmm… perhaps there’s something else that could work… Cat’s mind returned to that incident with the Mime a few months ago, where Ladybug protected him in civilian form from something and both seemed in awe at each other… Hmmm... is Ladybug a fan of Adrien…? Maybe this is more a job for the Agreste rather than the Cat... But just before he could utter his detransformation phrase, he heard the doors burst open. Turning around, the sight of Ben, back in human form, carrying under his arm a particularly interesting hoverboard, and a large creature seemingly made from crystal wearing a black suit greeted him. “Oh, err, Ben! Wasn’t expecting you back so soon… and err… you’ve got a new friend, I see…”

“I recognise him. The Plumbers have a file on him. Tetrax Shard, is it?” The crystalline creature nodded. “A former mercenary and bounty hunter turned protector of Omnitrix secrets and a member of the new Galactic Enforcers. I’ll explain later, Ben. It is quite an honour to make your acquittance.”

“It shouldn’t be, Rook. Whenever I see Tetrax these days, you know who usually isn’t far behind. And if he’s coming for us, we need to be ready.”

“You know who…?”

“You seem well versed in my adventures, Cat, so I trust you’re at least aware of this guy. My arch nemesis – Vilgax.” That name made Cat shudder, almost as much as Ladybug was at this point. “An intergalactic warlord who wants the Omnitrix for his own evil endeavours. Apparently he was also indirectly the reason I got it in the first place. Still… Vilgax is no one to take lightly, Cat. Across my many battles with him, he’s launched full-scale invasions on planets like Xenon and Primus, enslaved at least ten populated planets, destroyed at five others…”

“One of which being my planet, Petropia…” Tetrax solemnly interrupted.

“…attempted to harness the power of an eldritch horror to conquer the universe, created an army of evil Bens to distract me and the good Bens long enough for him to blow up the multiverse, turned the corpse of a long dead enemy and massive trauma button for me into a weaponised suit of armour… oh yeah, and he recently conquered Earth while I was away on a galactic road trip, turning it into a spaceship that emitted a radiation signal that cost me control over the Omnitrix! And he almost used it to destroy the solar system as a show of force! Vilgax is, quite simply, pure walking evil. He’ll stop at nothing to destroy me and obtain the Omnitrix. Heck, he’d probably obliterate all of reality if it meant destroying me! To even utter my name in his presence is to guarantee an excruciatingly slow and torturous death.” Cat gave an audible gulp before struggling to regain his bravery. Amino’s one thing, Vilgax is another. If Vilgax is coming for them, a terrible feeling in Cat’s heart awoke, a feeling that at least one person dear to him was going to die. Would Ladybug or himself be forced to sacrifice themselves to stop Vilgax? Possible. Although given Ben does much more experience fighting the evil Chimera Sui Generis warlord, so if they were going to die, they’d at least have the confirmation that Ben would likely find a way to defeat him. Though that’s still little comfort, given the reputation of the intimidating monster… Still, Cat turned back around to Ladybug, still shivering with fear in the foetal position. If Vilgax is coming, they’ll need a full unit. And Ladybug seems pretty spaced out with fear still. So it naturally becomes a question of ‘which of the active support heroes are currently in the city and where does that Guardian where Ladybug gets the Miraculouses live?’ Unable to answer those questions himself, Ben cleared his throat before continuing. “Tetrax tells me Nate 8, who you’ve already met, is working for Vilgax. That probably explains why Vilgax is attacking now of all times. That likely means he’s behind all this business with Animo and Shadow Moth too. I don’t know what he’s planning, but we need to stop him. Which means we need backup. Quick style. All options are on the table at this point. Ideas?”

“I might have an idea… but it’s going to need a favour or two from… is it Jetray, that flying manta’s called?” Ben nodded. “Ok, I need Jetray to do a fly by of the city, find out where the Guardian of the Miraculouses is at this point. Ladybug’s the only one who’s been learning much from him. He’ll have the other Miraculouses we need. But that’s also going to necessitate finding holders for most of them. Chloe’s out of town, so that rules out Queen Bee… same for Rena Rogue… Carapace… actually haven’t checked on Nino so far today, I probably should give him a call…”

“Ok, sounds like a plan. I’ll… just have to wait for a recharge and then I can get right on that…” Tetrax interrupted again by placing a hand to Ben’s shoulder.

“I can handle the fly by. Gluto’s already scanning the city from orbit, looking for other superheroes to contact if needs be. And from my hoverboard, I can track this guardian down for you.”

“Guess I’d better come with you, I’ve a vague idea of what he looks like while you don’t.” Tetrax nodded and turned to leave, Cat quickly following.

“Oh, and about the girl… I might have something to help her…” He turned back to Ben and rapidly began pressing a few buttons on the Omnitrix. Ben looked concerned for a moment, and was about to ask what Tetrax was trying to do before being engulfed in green light again. Cat and Rook did not remember seeing this particular alien before. It was a squid-like alien with a white body, a big collection of purple hair, and tufts of white hair on the sides of his head. He had eight tentacles with a green eye with a black pupil on each one, made to resemble sock puppets, but no visible eyes on his face. He also had a wide mouth with yellow teeth and a single longer pointy tooth, as well as gills each of his sides. He wore the Omnitrix symbol on his chest, with two protrusions around it similar to the ones on Toepick. Ben looked at himself for a moment, evidently confused.

“Whoa… what’s this thing supposed to do…?”

“It’s called a Mentollusc. In addition to ventriloquism, you have the ability to telepathically implant and extract thoughts and words from someone’s brain. Try it out on her.” Tetrax said, pointing to Ladybug. Ben nodded and rose a tentacle over Ladybug’s head. A green light arose over it, with her screaming for a moment before the light faded, and Ladybug sat upright with a faint smile.

“It’s gone… It’s gone! That horrible sight is gone! I don’t remember it anymore!” She shouted, overjoyed.

“Excellent work, Ben. Keep practising with that form. You never know when it’ll come in handy…” And with that, Tetrax and Cat left the three remaining heroes alone, as they prepared to make an advance on that fly by. Ladybug struggled upwards and stumbled towards Ventrilosquid as he rose a tentacle to his Omnitrix symbol, reverting him back to Ben.

“So… what’s happened so far? While I was… urgh… panicking…?”

“Long story. Short answer: we need back up. Quick style. Animo and Shadow Moth are the least of our worries. Nate’s bringing in backup. The big, scary, squid kind.”

“Ok, ok… hmm… did Cat mention anything about the Guardian?”

“He and Tetrax are just about to look for him now.” Ladybug sighed and pointed out that was now unnecessary, since she knows where to look for the Guardian at this time. Although Rook was quick to reiterate that a fly by could still be useful. They still have Animo to look out for after all. Ben and Tetrax had stopped him getting another test subject, but that’ll only delay Animo for so long before he finds another one. They need to find out where he’s hiding and stop him. Ideally before Vilgax gets here. Both Ben and Ladybug stood up quickly. They’re going to make a stop off at the Guardian’s place. That much was obvious to Rook, who simply went back to the computer equipment he’d set up earlier as they both left.

(scene break)

And so that was how Ben and Marinette found themselves jogging down that street at that hour. Obviously she’d made it a point to meet the Guardian in civilian form, as not to attract Shadow Moth’s attention towards him and kick-start a chain of events which would see Marinette have to become the new Guardian, isolating her from her friends and eventually forcing her to reveal her secret to Alya, and eventually lose all but three of the Miraculouses to Shadow Moth. Unfortunately, it didn’t help that everything looks slightly different at late evening, as it was approaching at this time. So finding the massage shop that housed those ancient Chinese secrets was a bit harder than they would’ve liked. Ben did suggest at one point that he could find the shop through its mana, and began dialling in Terraspin. Had Marinette not regained her bearings then, he might well have transformed. Eventually they found the massage shop they were looking for…

“Leave this to me.” She gave a gentle knock. No response. Master Fu must be working on something, or maybe he’s in bed right now. Regardless, they need his help. She gave the node and they both entered. All quiet for the most part, besides the faint sound of something bubbling and a smell of something unusual cooking. Ben hoped this Master Fu didn’t share his Grandpa Max’s taste in food… “Master Fu?” Marinette’s comment gave no response for a moment, but walking towards the kitchen area, there was the old Guardian of the Miraculouses, hard at work mixing together what was presumably some form of potion. Marinette gave a smile. He must not have heard her over the bubbling. She gave a sharp throat clear, which turned out to be enough to attract the attention of the old Guardian’s kwami, as Wayzz fluttered out from the old man’s shirt to investigate the noise. Overjoyed at seeing Marinette looking back at him, he frantically tapped the old man’s shoulder, prompting him to turn around to glance, somewhat surprised, at his visitors.

“Oh! Marinette. I didn’t hear you come in. And you’ve brought a friend, I see. Have you come seeking the wisdom of an old Guardian?”

“Yes and no, Master. We’re going to need some backup heroes. Ben here tells me something really big and bad is coming our way and we need everyone we can spare to stop it.”

“I won’t bore you with details, sir. Haven’t really got the time anyway. I’m Ben Tennyson, a famous superhero back in the States. I’ve chased a couple of my greatest enemies to Paris, and now my nemesis, an intergalactic warlord named Vilgax, is on his way here too.”

“This is a very troubling development, Marinette. Do you have any indication that these antagonists are in league with the present threat? It may be wiser to keep numbers lower if so. Even one of them falling into the wrong hands would be disastrous.”

“The closest we’ve seen that they’re working with Shadow Moth is that lizard creature that rampaged through the city earlier. I saw it absorb an akuma. And then Shadow Moth created a sentimonster for it as well. We barely survived the encounter.”

“And then there’s the fact you were out of business for the past couple of hours because of looking directly into the eyes of the other newcomer, Nate 8, one of my greatest enemies. He was using a hybrid transformation. One I hope to never encounter myself. A creature with a face so terrifying that a brief glimpse can turn a man insane. It took a new transformation for myself to cure her. We need everyone we can get if that’s the level we’re fighting at now.”

“Hmm…” began Master Fu, deep in thought. They both make a good point. A very good point even. Shadow Moth’s victims usually prove nothing more than an annoyance at best, and a straight up apocalyptic scenario at worse. But these newcomers are a different story. If Ben’s story is true, and the old master had no reason to believe it wasn’t, the best they could hope for would be that the newcomers would be content to merely maim people as opposed to killing them. Something like that could be way too much for just Ladybug and Cat Noir to handle, even with their new friend. They needed more holders, Fu could see that. “The point is good. I will fetch the Miracle Box at once. Please excuse me a moment.”

A pity immediately after he’d said that, there was a sudden crash as something large and metallic came smashing through the ceiling like glass. Ben and Ladybug barely managed to leap to safety in time. The old master was not so lucky, getting pinned under the projectile as the smoke cleared. It was a massive red ball with spikes all around it. Ben’s eyes went wide as Ladybug began to scream. He recognised it all too well. The same vehicle that he had used upon their first meeting. And as it began to open up, Ben’s fears were confirmed. They’d known he was on his way to face them, and now such was confirmed. Rising up from the pilot seat and from behind it were two villainous figures: one a hybridisation of a number of Ben’s aliens, two from each series in the Classic Continuity. His torso resembled that of a Crystalsapien, with a Geochelone Aerios’s shell on his back, his right arm resembled that of a Petrosapien and his other one resembled that of Atomix, with a hand and elbow spike resembling that of Kickin’ Hawk. His legs would provide tremendous speed, for they were those of a Citrakayah, perfectly designed for rapid acceleration. His head was that of a Loban, with purple eyes and the horns of an Aerophibian. His identity was confirmed by a look at his chest, for there was the Omegatrix symbol, with four spikes protruding from it, similar to how the Ultimatrix did so.

A glance at the other figure renewed Marinette’s screaming fit. A red-eyed humanoid creature with a face resembling that of an octopus, with tentacles dangling in front of his face, like a beard. His skin is pale green with yellowish spots on his face and tentacles. He doesn't have a nose or a visible ear. Two of his face tentacles end with a spiky-looking shape, resembling actual squid tentacles. His armour is similar to that which he sported in the original series, with the exception being the cylinders on his arms now being gold in colour. He wears black clothes underneath his armour and black stockings, and he now has fingerless gloves and a headpiece similar to his shoulder pads. At this point however, he additionally sported his lethal-looking sword, the gauntlet that generated the Shield of Seagle and the Ruby Ray of Rouleau, all of which he had in the previous series. And just as Marinette was about to give another bloodcurdling scream, both of the mysterious figures stepped outwards, both landing on the wrecked massage shop floor, now littered with the remains of the ceiling, with a deafening crash. The second figure gave a long, cold, menacing glance across the room, until his gaze fell upon the sight of the Omnitrix, and its holder, his mortal enemy. He instantly drew his sword, snarling ferociously.

“Ben Tennyson! I’ve come to kill you and conquer your world once more! Is now a bad time?”

Chapter Text

“Vilgax…”

“T.t.t.t.t.t.t.that’s Vilgax…?”

“You seem surprised, Tennyson. Did you really think I would take our last battle lying down? And you, little girl…” He pointed his sword at Marinette’s throat. “…my feud is not with you. Surender your jewels and I will consider letting you live.” Not convinced, and evidently still shaking with fear, Marinette decided it was time for action. She uttered her transformation phase, and her costume crawled over her. That being enough of a response for Vilgax, as he shot out an energy blast into her chest, blasting her through a wall onto the moonlit streets outside. Immediately Nate zoomed after her, his Diamondhead arm shifting into a bladed cannon, from which he would fire crystal shards infused with Pyronite flames at the Crimson Beetle, all of which she narrowly manage to dodge.

“Or don’t. I do so enjoy the hunt.” Utilising the enhanced intelligence of his Grey Matter and Brainstorm DNA, Nate fired out more crystal shards with expert precision. It was only a matter of time before Ladybug couldn’t dodge any more and got hit, the shards exploding against her stomach and sending her flying once more. Not quite content with that, Nate went for another ranged attack, specifically the sonic howl of a Loban. Unable to control her flight, Ladybug failed to dodge in time and again was sent flying, with her screaming “Urgh… not again!”

(scene break)

“Now… while Nate distracts your little friend, Tennyson, I think now is the perfect time to end this. Surrender the Omnitrix. Now. And ideally whatever your friend under there was going to get before I landed on him.”

“If I let you have the watch, why would you want the Miraculouses as well? Classic case of overkill. Then again, I suppose that’s kind of your thing…”

“I don’t want to wield the Miraculouses, Tennyson. I simply want to put them somewhere where no one will ever find them and use them against me. Once I have the Omnitrix, the universe will be mine! And once that transpires, I intend to keep it that way. So the Miraculouses must be removed from the equation… like you!” Vilgax leapt forward at Ben, slashing down at him with his mighty sword…

“If you want to fight dirty, be my guest!” Ben activated the Omnitrix to defend himself, transforming into the alien generally considered a fusion of Heatblast and Wildvine. “And no one fights dirtier than Swampfire!” Immediately Swampfire shot a pair of fiery blasts at the vile Chimera Sui Generis warlord, who simply sneered and generated the Shield of Seagle to protect himself. Of course, it had been established several times in the past that Vilgax is impervious to high temperatures or outright fire based attacks, given he had survived the tremendous heat of re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere before, so he probably didn’t actually need the shield to protect him, he would have been fine without it. “Ooookay… time for plan b…!” Swampfire launched himself forwards, obviously remembering how he’d previously managed to hold his own against the evil Chimera Sui Generis warlord before. He managed to get in a number of good blows before Vilgax fired a blast from the Ruby Ray of Rouleau, burning a hole through Swampfire’s chest. Master Fu barely managed to crawl out from under Vilgax’s spiked ball vehicle in time to watch him fire again, burning three more holes through the plant hero’s chest, melting down to his hips. Unsatisfied, Vilgax fired a final blast, obliterating Swampfire’s head, causing Master Fu to wince in disgust. Of course, what he didn’t realise before then was the regenerative capabilities of the Methanosian species, for the plant hero quickly regrew his body in seconds, much to Fu’s bewilderment. Immediately afterwards, he hit the Omnitrix symbol on his stomach, quick transforming into a humanoid robot with a green and white body with large cylinders on his arms near his wrists, that are full of green energy with dark green bubble-like spheres, which constantly move. He had the same energy on his Omnitrix-shaped chest. His head was a pointed, armored helmet filled with the same bubbling green energy from his arms. He was mouthless. He wore the Omnitrix symbol on his green and white belt. Unimpressed at the sight of the alien he controversially piledrived off of Galvan B with absolutely no resistance (although part of that was thanks to the Malware armour he was wearing at the time), Vilgax charged forwards to get in a bludgeoning blow, but the power of Atomix’s Nuclear Winner attack blasted him back a couple of millimetres. No further thanks to Vilgax’s incredible durability. Ok, that might have been a stupid move, given Ben knew from last time that Atomix has poor stamina, so he gets tired easily once he uses most of his energy. Indeed, it didn’t save him when Vilgax withdrew the rods on his arms to greatly improve his already formidable strength, and unleashed a punch with such force that it sent Atomix flying uncontrollably through the opposite wall and through every house to the left of the shop at breakneck speed, eventually resulting in him crashing in a massive mushroom cloud approximately where the Collège Françoise Dupont was located. Thank goodness it was completely devoid of inhabitants at this time of day or there could have been so many more fatalities to haunt Ben’s consciousness. As he struggled into a sitting position, another thundering crash echoed through the city as the vile Chimera Sui Generis warlord landed in front of him.

“Struggle all you want to, Tennyson. It will do you no good. I will destroy you and reclaim this planet, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!”

“Even if I can’t stop you, repulsive conqueror, I will still fight on… urgh, after I’ve had five or ten minutes to catch my breath…” His sword drawn, Vilgax swung it violently towards Atomix’s neck, stopping just shy of it. It was obvious that he was assessing the situation, trying to get the perfect angle to behead Tennyson and score the Omnitrix at last… but he didn’t get that chance before a sudden bolt of energy struck him in the back of the hand, forcing him to drop the sword. Twitching in pain, he clasped his hand with his other one as he turned around, eager to see who dared invite the wrath of Vilgax upon their entire family. He was not surprised to see who it was. Rook Blonko. Of course… Immediately he fired out another laser blast from the Ruby Ray of Rouleau, tearing through the air towards Rook at top speed, before continuing past him when he dodged at the last minute, and incinerating a passing family car, sending it up in flames. Rook looked back and winced. That is probably going to get Plumber backup delayed with paperwork. Fantastic(!) He twirled his Proto-Tool in one hand before resuming fire. Vilgax snarled and activated the Shield of Seagle for defence, before shooting an energy blast from his palm directly into Rook’s chest, burning a hole through his armour and pushing him back a few feet. This proved enough of a distraction to allow Atomix to activate the Omnitrix’s quick-change function again, engulfing him in green light and transforming him again, this time into a yellow ten-foot-tall alien with an armoured, robotic-like body. His head is similar to a Greek Corinthian helmet with two ears on it, giving him the appearance of an armadillo. Armodrillo has a gray tail and jackhammer parts on his elbows, wrists and hands, creating the impression that he is a digging robot. Despite his mechanical appearance, all of these aspects are, in fact, biological and natural to his race. His ears are slightly longer, he has grey bolts with black markings on his shoulders and a metal circle on top of his head. His face has been restructured a little bit, his arm-drills are now much larger, and his feet are now yellow instead of grey while his toes remain grey. His fingers now have a small horizontal line design along with his tail and the black parts of his limbs, his arms, upper arms, and thighs are now more chain-like, and his forearms and shoulders are now much bulkier. He wears the Omnitrix symbol on his chest.

“ARMODRILLO! Let’s shake things up!” Turning back around and growling, Vilgax charged at the Talpaedan hero, drawing his sword back into his hand as he rose to strike… only to get one in the stomach from Armodrillo’s jackhammer arms. Still it didn’t have much of an impact, due to the evil Chimera Sui Generis warlord’s enhanced durability. Recognizing the futility of continuing that line of attack, he opted for a shockwave attack instead, which was enough to send Vilgax flying, but he quickly recovered and fired the Ruby Ray of Rouleau again. Thanks to Armodrillo’s impenetrably armoured hide, it had no immediate effect, other than blasting him backwards through the college building walls until he finally managed to stop himself moments before bringing the whole building down on them. And then he received a mighty blow to the head, slamming him into the ground repeatedly, beginning to cause his armour to crack dramatically, exposing the vulnerable alien inside. The Omnitrix obviously wasn’t able to solve that problem as it sparked rapidly before causing Ben to revert to human form. Perfect timing(!) With Rook too far behind to do much to help, for a moment it looked as if Vilgax was about to get the final word in his feud with Ben Tennyson… before he was caught by surprise by a barrage of crystal shards. Looking to his left, Ben gave a smile. There was the Petrosapien warrior who Vilgax had wronged years ago.

“You…”

“It’s been a while since our last dance, Vilgax. And you still owe me blood for what you did to my people!”

“How unfortunate for you. I destroyed your people once before and I shall do so again! Only this time, I don’t intend to leave you alive to see it!” He charged furiously at Tetrax, slashing his sword downwards violently, obviously intending to finish him quickly so he can get back to destroying Tennyson. But Tetrax morphed his arm into a crystal blade of his own for defence. He parried the strike expertly… before a mighty crash behind him forced him to turn around. There were Ladybug and Cat Noir, both brutally pummelled, and standing over them both was a twisted, yet strangely refined, amalgamation of Diamondhead, Chronastone, Blitzwolfer, Jetray, Fasttrack, Terraspin, Atomix and Kickin’ Hawk’s DNA. Nate 8. Fantastic…(!) He turned to face Tetrax, offering his master a look that questioned if he could tag in, but Vilgax shook his head, clearly indicating he’s got this one and Nate should focus on making sure the Miraculers don’t get back up. Nate nodded and morphed his Petrosapien arm into a massive vicious-looking blade construct, while altering the composition of his other arm into an identical construct. Yes, that’s another thing Nate’s amalgam form can do which Kevin’s couldn’t – he can rearrange the DNA composition of his body at will. He rose both constructs above the heads of both heroes desperately squirming under his feet, clearly intending for a kill shot… but fortunately, a green shield construct formed over them just in time. Nate tried anyway to smash it with no effect. As his master re-engaged Rook, Ben, who’d just transformed into Feedback, and Tetrax, Nate cast his eyes over the battleground, and quickly caught sight of the interloper. Standing opposite him, clutching his stomach in pain but still very much in the fight, was Jade Turtle. Nate snarled viciously as his arms reverted to their default forms.

“So the old turtle managed to work up the courage to face us after all. I was beginning to think you’d have bled out by now…”

“Never underestimate the elderly, misshapen monster. If you seek to do Ladybug and Cat Noir harm, I will fight to my last breath to protect them!”

“And that last breath of yours is about to be breathed. Try a little spectral trespassing – “ he barked as he went intangible and leapt right through the Shelter, “ - catered by Ghostmoth! And now it’s all over for you. No defences. No further tricks. No nothing.” He morphed his crystal arm into a lethal blade. “And this is unquestionably your end.” He said that very nonchalantly, as if he was relaxing in an easy chair rather than walking slowly and menacingly towards a man who he was going to kill across a battlefield. He slashed out suddenly, only for the old mentor to dodge with surprising speed. Nate was taken aback momentarily, he knew turtles are far from the fastest creatures on Earth! But he recovered just as quickly and continued his attack spree, furthermore firing out neural blasts and lasers at high speed and seemingly indiscriminate about who they hit, as they exploded upon impact with the ground when Fu dodged them. Finally Nate had had enough and decided to get serious. Shooting a fireball at Tetrax while he was distracted by Vilgax, which blasted him into the skies and onto Rook, Nate began to levitate high into the air, as he began to chant “HAA-MEE-NA HAA-MEE-NA HAA-MEE-NA! Nuclear Winner!” Recognizing what was about to happen, Vilgax threw Feedback off him, knowing he’d be flung into the danger zone, and slammed his sword into the ground to serve as an anchor. Indeed, Master Fu also recognised the impending danger, as his shield faltered and he desperately rushed at Ladybug and Cat Noir, both clearly injured as they regained their footing. He knocked them clear of the nuclear blast, but the entire building and city block were completely obliterated. Fu himself didn’t make it to safety in time, his final action being to detransform and tell Wayzz to look after Ladybug and Cat Noir for him. Then in seconds, the blast engulfed him, and the old master was dead. And although Feedback, Ladybug and so forth had been knocked clear of the radiation blast, the exploding impact was enough to send the lot of them flying upwards uncontrollably, higher and higher, right up into orbit…

“Whoa…”

“That’s… our entire planet… it’s beautiful…”

“Yeah… I’ve seen it from up here thousands of times, but this never gets old.” …but they were not out of range of Earth’s gravity, as they began to descend just as quickly. In desperation, they all huddled around Feedback, who quick-changed into Cannonbolt, remembering how he’d survived something like this before…

(scene break)

Elsewhere in the French capital, it was significantly quieter. Along the streets to where the Liberty was moored walked four friends of Marinette and Adrien. Nathenial and Alix had both been to an evening music and art club with the Couffaine siblings, and were now casually strolling back to the Liberty, two of them for the night, the other two because Alix left her skates on board earlier. It was only meant to be a causal thing, drop in, get her skates, get back out and get home. Mind you, Alix did often do evening street art for the local community, so her dad might not be too upset if she ends getting home late. Still, it’s better not to risk it too much. The streets can be dangerous at night, and Nathenial lives on the other side of the city, so Alix was going to escort him home. Given how he was practically married to his sketchpad at the moment, attempting to draw a picture of the beautiful sunset, that might be necessary. And probably easier said than done. But Alix was always fond of a challenge, her relationship with Kim demonstrated that perfectly, in particular that time she had to babysit him a couple of weeks ago – lucky her(!) - when he was de-aged into an nine year old during the week-long reign of a time-themed akuma. The entire class were all affected in either direction just on the first day. But that was a sequence of events that they agreed never to speak of again, so we’ll skip over that part and get to the action developing right in front of them. Mere metres from where they were walking, a large yellow ball of fire came splashing down into the Seine, then suddenly bounced off the riverbed and landed right in front of the group. The four stopped, Nathaniel dropping his sketchpad in surprise, just as the ball unfolded into a pill-bug/panda-like creature, causing Ladybug, Cat Noir and two others who the four could not identify to fall off his stomach. He weakly managed a simple “Ouch…” before the Omnitrix symbol on his chest timed out and he reverted to Ben in a flash of green light. All four of the group watching stood in silent shock for a moment, before Alix finally broke the silence.

“What the…?” Ben struggled to get back to his feet…

“Urgh… Ben Tennyson… pleased to meet you…” he muttered dizzily before falling over again. At this point, the groans of the heroine of Paris caught their attention. Alix skated up to Ladybug, lying on her stomach perilously close to the river edge, with Nath and the others quickly following. They watched as her transformation timed out, and she reverted into the tireless classmate they knew all too well. To say they were surprised was an understatement.

“M-M-Marinette…?”

“She was Ladybug this whole time? I rejected her… because I fell in love with her…?”

“That would explain why their songs were so similar…”

“Luka, you actually suspected something and didn’t tell me?!”

“I’m not one to push, sis. Marinette’s song and Ladybug’s were almost identical in a lot of ways. I realised there was something Marinette wasn’t telling me, but I figured she’d come clean in her own time. And it seems that time has finally come. Although much like her, I only wish it were under better circumstances…” Marinette must’ve heard Luka’s words clearly enough, as she struggled through the pain to prop herself up, looking up at her friends.

“H-H-H-Hi…?”

“Awkard, Nette. We saw it. You’re Ladybug.”

“Alix… urgh, I’m not going to convince you otherwise am I?”

“Nope.”

“Urgh, alright fine, yes I am Ladybug, it’s true, but you mustn’t tell anyone! Please!” Luka knelt down besides her and gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder.

“I get why you did it, Marinette. I don’t blame you for keeping secrets. Now at the very least, I’ll keep yours.”

“That goes for us too, Nette. We won’t snitch.” Marinette smiled as Luka helped her up. She looked down briefly at Cat. Still out cold. He hasn’t detransformed yet, although she was expecting him to do so any second. Then her mind flickered back to another matter. A much more important and terrifying matter… She didn’t see Master Fu make it out of there… and there’s still the remaining Miraculouses of the Zodiac box to recover before Vilgax and Nate find them. Her smile faded, replaced by a look of pure, unrivalled terror.

“The Miraculouses…” she whispered, initially causing confusion for her friends. Ben and Rook clambered back to their feet to interject…

“That’s bad news. Master Fu didn’t get the box in time. Vilgax will be looking for it now. We might not have the time to stop him and Animo… if they even are working together…”

“I do not think this was merely coincidence, Ben. Vilgax arrived moments after we’d certified Dr Animo was in the city. And Nate 8 does have quite the history of working with Vilgax. It is obviously something they planned. This is going to need investigating quickly. Ben, when your watch is recharged, go XLR8 and check that point of entry for any significant discoveries.” Ben nodded.

“In the meantime… urgh! Back’s playing up… any of you live nearby, I could do with a proper lie down…?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem, Ben. Luka and Juleka live on a houseboat, it should be moored just ahead.”

“Yeah exactly, we were just on our way back when you guys showed up.” Luka looked around at his sister and her friends for a moment before continuing. “…do we even want to know what that was all about?”

“Urgh, long story short: Ben came over for a vacation, only to find some guy named Dr Animo working with Shadow Moth. And just now an alien warlord just landed looking for Ben’s watch or something.” Ben struggled through his pain to confirm Marinette’s explanation, also giving a very brief description of Vilgax’s evil ways, including how he once tried to blow up the whole multiverse just to kill him, and how he’s ruthlessly massacred millions of innocent people to get whatever he wants. Naturally this raised alarm within the civilians who’d been walking home. And that wasn’t even mentioning how relatively effortlessly he’d defeated them all…

(scene break)

“Another day, another victory, master Vilgax.”

“I would not be so certain, Nate. In case you are unaware, that blast of yours obliterated the one person who we were certain knew exactly where the Miraculouses are! And that means we have a problem! If Tennyson finds them before we do…!”

“He won’t.” Nate reverted to his human form, and began fiddling with the Omegatrix. “Using the same tracking method as the custom-made Techadons used when Vulkanus used them to try and kill Tennyson… aha! It might be redundant because your drones are programmed to track the Omnitrix anyway, but via programming in a few additional commands… they’ll also lead us right to the Miraculous Holders, and our ultimate victory!”

“This had better work, Nathaniel… for your sake…”

“And for yours, master, I hope it doesn’t…” Nate said that just loud enough for Vilgax to hear, earning him a vicious snarl as he drew his sword. Nate dodged the blow and went Inferno, propelling himself skywards…

“Nate 8… more trouble than he’s worth… no doubt his usefulness will soon exhaust itself… but today is not that day. But if Nathenial wants to risk my wrath… I shall remind him why I am the most dangerous being in the galaxy…!”

(scene break)

On the Liberty, the mood was grim. This been despite the fact that, having been made aware of the danger awaiting their new guests at the moment, Anarka agreed to let Marinette and her friends stay the night. Out of appreciation for the works of Ladybug and other superheroes, she even offered to let them use the Liberty as a mobile base of operations in the city. But in their cabins, the mood was grim among the superheroes of Paris. As his body lay on the couch, Cat Noir still had not woken up yet, and by this point, Marinette was worried he never would. The fears were prevalent among the other crew members as well, even when Ben narrowly managed to retrieve the Miracle box from the remains of Master Fu’s shop without Vilgax noticing. For Vilgax was a ruthless conqueror and a remorseless killer, as Tetrax’s story about what happened to Petropia confirmed. Still, Alix at the very least tried to put on a brave face, spending most of the night exercising in anticipation of the gruelling trials ahead of her. Meanwhile, the Couffaines were in their bunks, each with a specific guest on board…

“Marinette, could you stop pacing? It’s making anxious about this.”

“Coping mechanism, need to get my head in the game!” She sighed and sat down alongside Juleka. “Honestly, I don’t know if we’re going to be able to win this one… Vilgax seemed tough enough alone from what I saw of him, but Nate effortlessly sent me flying – multiple times even!”

“Well, flying is what ladybugs do…” Marinette gave a reluctant chuckle. “He’s clearly got a sense of humour. But we can still win this, Marinette. Ok, I might not be the best person for motivational speaking, but it’s obvious these two can be defeated! I mean, would we even still be here if it wasn’t?”

“…I suppose you’ve got a point. Ben’s probably more optimistic than me about all this… We’ve lost so much these past few hours… Master Fu… I didn’t see him make it out…”

“You sound like he was really special to you, who was he?” And so Marinette spent the next few minutes explaining the history of Master Fu and his order, how he picked her to be Ladybug and guarded the secrets of the Miraculouses. And in the room opposite, Ben was doing the same with Luka, explaining the history of the Omnitrix and how he’d used it to defeat people like Vilgax multiple times before. He had to admit, even he was worried about his chances on this one. If Vilgax and Nate are working with Animo and Shadow Moth, whatever they’re planning to create could devastate the entire planet…

Not that he had too long to think on that before the boat suddenly rocked up and down violently, almost as if it had gone over a tidal wave. And from where Rook was on the main deck with Anarka, the reality was not too dissimilar. For even now, the sight of a mechanical monster tore up from underneath the waves, as approximately nine more splashed down in the Seine behind it. Oh no… Vilgax’s Attack Robots! These guys are nasty! Even more so because it became obvious that this was an updated variant, as the ones behind the larger one in front of the Liberty each leapt into it, melding into it and increasing their size and strength. In seconds, the full terrifying height of the mechanical monster was clear – an 80 foot juggernaut with tank cannons for hands, fully armed missile launchers for shoulders and a total of six massive legs. Oh no…

“What manner of sea monster be that…?”

“Nothing so negligible, Mrs Couffaine, that’s a Level 15 Omega-Class Vilgaxian War Machine! Vilgax must really want us sunk!”

“Well I’m sorry to disappoint him!” Anarka wasted no time rushing into the control room and turning the Liberty around, jetting away in the opposite direction. Initially the robot did not follow, as it was programmed to track via visual recognition of either the Omnitrix or the Miraculouses. As the Liberty’s exterior had nothing resembling either, it had no reason to attack. Or at least, that was until it caught the briefest glimpse through Juleka’s porthole, and saw Marinette holding the Zodiac box as Ben and Luka walked in. That means both the Omnitrix and the Miraculouses are in the same place. It began to follow, each step it took flooding a street of the great city, as it primed its cannons for an energy attack. In seconds, much too late for Rook to signal Ben, the blood red lasers very precisely impacted the Liberty’s rear. It wasn’t enough damage to sink the ship, but it was enough to completely stall the engines. Which would have to be manually reset, which leaves them vulnerable. How fortunate everyone had felt the impact and Ben came rushing up to protect them. The robot’s sensors homed in on the Omnitrix…

“Nemesis detected. Beginning full combat mode!”

“You can try. But there ain’t no energy that gets past Chronastone!” Activating the Omnitrix, that was exactly who he was hoping for. Somewhat unfortunate therefore that a sudden blast hit the dial before he could, just as Marinette and the other heroes arrived. The dial began to spark violently as the dial shot upwards, seemingly without an actual alien selected. Ben tried desperately to regain control… but instead it unleashed a massive energy wave, forcibly turning Ben into Walkatrout instead. Not only that, but the energy wave shot out in the form of dark green jolts of lightning, both hitting the Couffaine siblings and engulfing them in a green hue. To the shock of the onlookers, they too began to transform: Luka falling on his hands as he morphed into a creature similar to Ssserpent with multiple heads each resembling a fully grown snake themselves, and Juleka screaming and clutching her stomach in pain as she turned into a greyish-white phantom like alien with black lines across her body, almost giving the impression of being in a straightjacket, long claws resembling Zs’Skyar’s, and black and white striped tentacles sprouting from around her ribcage. Her secondary skin surrounding her head resembled a hood, from which her unaltered haircut flowed out from. Everyone stared in shock. The Couffaines both looked at each other and fell back in shock.

“Juleka…?” Although it wasn’t noticeable from that one word, Luka’s transformation added a hissing filter to his voice…

“Luka…?” …whereas Juleka now had a much more noticeable deeper and raspy filter to her voice, similar to Ghostfreak’s in Alien Force and Ultimate Alien.

“Ah come on…!”

Chapter Text

“…I was not expecting a result such as this…” Ever the emperor of understating, Rook’s words were certainly accurate as the eyes of the boat remained fixed upon the Couffaines. Luka was struggling to remain slithering upright, while Juleka was staring at herself uneasily. None of the others knew what to make of this development. It was clear that this freak occurrence was an accident, but one that was very clearly an uncomfortable arrangement altogether. Walkatrout spent a few seconds switching between looking at the twins and the Vilgaxian War Machine, which thankfully did not attack. He reckoned it wasn’t programmed for such an occasion as this, so it isn’t able to accurately determine which one he was. Which thankfully gives them a few more moments to work out what’s happened…

“Ok, thinking time… thinking caps on, not literally, Rook!”

“Oh, another expression. Right…”

“Can we stop worrying about expressions?! Meanwhile: bigger problem! There’s a killer android in front of us and I’m looking like a freak!”

“A Ghostfreak, to be precise. You’ll probably be alright. It’s your brother I’d worry about. At least with you, I can tell you how to fight, with him… that’s not an alien I remember turning into…” Juleka gave a crude sigh as she began levitating slightly, seemingly unintentionally as she gave a yelp of fright immediately afterwards. This is going to take some getting used to…

“…I’ve got nothing.” Alix’s comment was shared by the rest of her classmates. Neither Nathenial or Marinette had any idea what caused this, although Rook looked like he had some suspicions…

“I would estimate it was something akin to what happened when the Omnitrix had its core stabiliser removed. The energy blast that hit the Omnitrix must’ve damaged the core stabiliser, resulting in these present transformations. If my calculations are correct, we’ll need to fix the Omnitrix before these two can change back to normal.”

“Urgh, that’ll have to wait, Juleka’s got a point, we’ve still that robot to send to the scrapheap! Oh, but Walkatrout’s not much use in a straight fight… Rook, this might not be the best idea, but could you hit the symbol, please? I’ll be more use then.” Rook nodded and bent down. He hit the Omnitrix symbol on Walkatrout’s chest. A green light engulfed him, and he transformed into an alien much more beetle-like than his previous form, now having grey skin with dark green spiked armor running from his face down to his back, and also on his arms and legs. He now has an underbite, with his grey jaw being more rounded and toothy, and hinged to his face by two spikes. He has a blue tongue, and his longer and shorter horn now switch places, with the longer one having forks at the top, making it resemble that of a Japanese rhinoceros beetle. He now has two toes on his feet, and only three fingers on each hand. He wears green clothing over the parts of his torso left bare by his shell and the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. “Eatle! Good call, buddy!” The sudden transformation apparently caught the War Machine’s attention, confirming that this was the correct wielder. It fired out a pair of blasts at full strength, both of which everyone was quick to dodge, minus the Couffaines of course. Clearly unaware of her ghosting powers, Juleka was sent flying backwards over to the ship’s bow, while Luka had fallen on his face again and thus avoided the blast altogether.

“Urgh… give me a minute or two… I’ll help as best I can…”

“I wouldn’t recommend that, Luka, unless you’ve a better idea of what that guy can do than me!” Somewhat reluctantly, Luka nodded and stayed down, as the remaining classmates who’d not been transformed fled below deck for safety. Meanwhile Eatle began to work his omnivorous magic. Recognizing the need for a laser blast to start with, he looked around for something to eat. He quickly settled on the guitar Juleka had causally left lying around on upper deck, before a stern glance from her made him change his mind. He quickly settled on one of the canopy posts instead, uprooting it and stuffing it into his mouth in seconds. As the War Machine readied another shot, Eatle beat him to it, firing out a green laser from his horn, ripping through the robot’s framework and burning a nice big hole through its chest. All well and good, but this model comes equipped with a self-repair system, so it might be wise to take this one down while it’s distracted. And so he leapt upwards at it, just as it went in for a swat attack, biting down hard on its hand cannon and ingesting it at high speed. Of course, a key difference between Eatle and Upchuck, another alien with omnivorous abilities, is that Eatle cannot eat nearly as much as Upchuck, so his appetite was quickly starting to dry up from such a meal so quickly. Though it was enough to charge his horn’s energy blast to maximum and shoot it out, right through the robot’s head. Unfortunately, its CPU is obviously located in it’s stomach, as the blast didn’t stop the robot swatting Eatle away like an actual beetle. Catching sight of this, Luka managed to prop himself upwards. Ben’s not used this alien he’s been turned into before, so Luka’s on his one trying to figure out what this one can do… Then just as the robot readied another blast, it happened. As his three heads reared upwards, lightning-like laser rays shot outwards from his eyes. In seconds, the robot was completely petrified and crumbled into dust. Eatle climbed back on board just in time to see it and revert to Ben.

“Petrifying eye lasers. Nice. Really must get that one unlocked soon…” At which point Rook reemerged with his Proto-Tool drawn, realised the danger had passed and deactivated it. The three remaining classmates crept out behind him with Tetrax behind them.

“Yes, that certainly looked like trouble. I was doing some research below deck. That was indeed a Level 15 Omega Class Vilgaxian War Machine. Vilgax must really want this one badly. They’re top-of-the-line robots, manufactured by the Weapons Masters of Techadon. I must remember to pay them a visit this week…”

“Never mind that! We’ve got to work out a plan! Quickly! If Vilgax or Nate were watching through that robot…”

“Yeah, yeah, valid points, Marinette. Real question, what are we doing about me and Luka?”

“I’d vote we stay like this for a while. I could probably get used to this…” Juleka looked at her brother in frustration before floating low enough to touch the deck. She muttered something under her breath and said she wanted some time alone. Of course, not being quite used to her new levitation powers, she only succeeded in falling over instead, much the subtle amusement of Alix and Rook.

“Urgh… this is going to be a nightmare…”

“You can go below deck a little quicker, you know. You’ve got the powers of a ghost, use them already!” That came off a little harsher than Ben would have liked, but he certainly got the point across alright, as Juleka did indeed drop down onto all fours, and attempt to utilise her new powers. It took a lot of concentration, but she managed it, ghosting through the floor onto the deck below. “Probably just needs practice. When I first used Ghostfreak, it took me a couple of days to work out how to do that.”

“She’s got a point though. Guys, what ARE we going to do about these two? If this turns out to be irreversible, and I’m not saying it is, but if it is, we can’t exactly let Juleka wander back into class and expect everything to be hunky dory. I know for a fact a certain blonde will be on her case. You remember Reflekta, right?” Nathaniel shot Alix a ‘don’t remind me’ look and she wisely shut up. Marinette was lost in thought for a moment. That’s not something she’d considered yet… Though Ben was quick to defuse the situation by comparing it to another time the Omnitrix broke and turned people into alien hybrids. The effect was reversible then, so it should be now as well. Of course, Rook was quick to point out that on that occasion, they had to fix the Omnitrix before that happened. He also likened the situation to Kevin’s mutation after he and Ben tried to hack the prototype Omnitrix. That mutation didn’t reverse until Ben sacrificed the Omnitrix to defeat Vilgax. Acknowledging the similarities, somewhat to Luka’s obvious discomfort, Ben did reiterate that Azmuth probably has better things to do than regularly build a new Omnitrix so Ben can sacrifice the previous model to reverse a mutation. As trivial as it might be to the smartest being in three galaxies, arguably five, it would probably become somewhat annoying very quickly and likely wouldn’t help change Azmuth’s opinion that humans are the most annoying species in the galaxy. Besides, Ben still retained the feeling Azmuth still hasn’t completely forgiven him for hacking the Omnitrix. Frequently blowing up Omnitrixes purely to reverse someone’s mutation probably wouldn’t help that… At which point Tetrax decided to interrupt.

“If I might interrupt, while I understand the desire to undo what’s happened to your friends, there is still the matter of Vilgax to worry about. We still don’t know what he’s planning here on Earth. But if he succeeds, the human you called Master Fu might have given his life for nothing.”

“That is a very good point. We should probably get back to tracking him down.” Everyone agreed with Rook’s assessment. They don’t know what Vilgax and Nate 8 are planning. They didn’t even know if they were working with Animo and Shadow Moth…

(scene break)

But in the catacombs beneath the city, their answer was materialising as they spoke…

“Final testing completed… effects are satisfactory… need to supply the materials for the construction of the transmodulator for the tower… other than that… I think we are right on schedule.” Shadow Moth looked in Animo’s direction from the crate he was sitting on.

“I only hope this matter will blow over soon enough. Then maybe some cheese and red wine will make me feel better after all we’re doing.”

“And I hope Tennyson finds us before sunrise. I want him to see the end coming!”

“An end you expect my creations to help deliver. Animo, you're a worse animal than anything that you turn those rats into.”

“But I'm the animal who holds the key to your salvation! Don't ever forget that. Now, why don't you pour Gabriel a cup of tea, Harrison? He'll feel better.”

“....... pigs's eye, Animo! There's only one thing I want from you!”

“The antidote for your wife? Certainly. When you’ve earnt it.”

“As if I haven't suffered enough?”

“You know what they say, old friend; no pain, no gain. But you know that far better than I. What with all that extra work put into studying the Miraculouses so you’d be able to reunite with your long lost love. But that wasn't good enough for you, was it? No. You wanted something else. Something that would guarantee you her return. And we gave it to you. Now, that was a decision you'd live to regret, wasn't it?” Gabriel just sank down in silence. Maybe his obsession has gotten too far… And then his thoughts were cut off by a loud thudding down the corridor. Fear overtook his heart as the sight of Nate, with a large menacing squid-like creature behind him, came into the light. Animo and his henchmen turned around and gulped.

“Animo. It has been a long time since the Negative 10…”

“A pleasantly long time at that, Vilgax. I suppose this isn’t a social call?”

“Ha ha. I never play, Animo. The only social calls that Vilgax – conqueror of ten worlds! – makes are to Ben Tennyson to retrieve my Omnitrix! And I see that this is the legendary Shadow Moth that my minions have told me so much about. Shorter than I thought you’d be.” Shadow Moth stood up and straightened his tie nervously. If half of what Nate said about this man is true, he must play this safely. Do nothing to risk his terrible wrath.

“T-T-T-That can be attributed to y-y-y-y-your intimidating height, mister V-V-V-V-Vilgax…”

“Cowering in fear for your very life, I see. I admire that. Now, onto the reason I am actually here. We have an army to raise.”

“Of course. I’ve already precured the schematics for the DNA transformation part while you were controlling that war machine, master. And I see that you, Animo, and Shadow Moth have completed the base design.”

“We only need to acquire the relevant materials to begin construction, then we can commence test firing.”

“How fortunate that I have predicted this very outcome. All the necessary components are aboard my ship at this very moment.”

“Excellent! We can began construction tonight! At last, the common proverbial thorn in our sides is finally about to breath his last! Then so shall the local heroes, then the Plumbers…!”

“Oh never mind the heroes! Once I have control of the Omnitrix, they’ll be of no more danger to my conquests than those rodents over there!”

“Oh, the Omnitrix will be in our hands before next sunrise, I guarantee it, master!” Then Nate added under his breath, “Or at the very least you’ll have it long enough for me to free myself from your regime…!”

(scene break)

“Ok… Gluto’s sending out spy probes across the city. We should have a fix on the enemy’s position in moments.” As Tetrax began fiddling with the computer terminal Rook installed in the lounge, all the Liberty’s occupants were on high alert. That robot attack was way too close for comfort. If Ben can’t get the engines working again soon, they’ll be sitting ducks. How fortunate Ben had just the alien for the job. He activated the Omnitrix, ignored it sparking up again, and…

“Upgrade! Perfect choice! I’ll have this baby back in action in less than a minute!” Slamming his fists into the engines, the classic black and green nanite slime spread across the entire boat in seconds, until it resembled a black and green variant of the version Captain Hardrock used.

“It looks as if the boat is the process of upgrading…”

“Kind of in the name, Rook! Now, let’s take this somewhere where Vilgax can’t so easily catch us…” And up and up into the skies the Liberty flew, until the time came that the upgrade was self-sustaining and Upgrade blorphed back off into his human form before reverting.

The sudden sight of the clouds above Paris was a sight to take the Miraculers below deck by surprise. Then again, they had been rather busy helping Luka and Juleka adapt to their new powersets. Luka seemed a quick learner, though that might be because his Hydranoid form didn’t have nearly as many powers as Juleka did as an Ectonurite. In addition to the intangibility, invisibility, flight and levitation powers she’d already experienced, there was also the matter of the prehensile tentacles, telepathy, telekinesis, regeneration, sharp claws, removable secondary skin, enhanced strength, durability, speed and reflexes, prehensile tail, glowing movable eye, 360° vision, night vision, density shifting and her new smoke-like form to get her used to. Of course, there was also the body possession ability to work on too, but everyone on board the Liberty was understandably none too eager to offer their body for her to take over. And by this point, they’d only just started on the density shifting ability as Ben and Cat Noir rejoined proceedings.

“…do I even want to know what happened here?”

“Long story short, Cat, little accident with the Omnitrix while I was trying to fend off one of Vilgax’s robots. She’s turned Ghostfreak, her brother over there’s gone… hmm… what am I going to call that guy? Ssserpent’s already taken… hmm… I guess this guy’s more of a Snakepit anyway…”

“Never mind that, how are we going to fix them?”

“Yeah, I heard, a certain blonde will be on her case if we don’t… By the way, how come you’ve not reverted yet?”

“Who says I haven’t? I reverted and recharged while you were fighting that robot.”

“Ok, makes sense. As for Ghosty over there, I’m still trying to think… I don’t really want to have to destroy the Omnitrix to fix them… nor do I think I’m going to be able to do much to fix it without Tetrax’s help…”

“Hmm… let me see if I can help…” Despite Ben’s efforts to dissuade him, Cat picked up a screwdriver and began to fiddle with the Omnitrix dial. Catching sight of this, Alix and Nathaniel ran over, desperately trying to stop Cat before he broke it even further. Attracted by the noise, Marinette transformed back into Ladybug while Cat was distracted, worried that something else might be about to go wrong. And yes, it most certainly did, as the faceplate came flying off, causing Ben to gulp in shock. He remembered what happened last time this happened! As the Couffaines fled the room, obviously unwilling to get another jolt of Omnitrix energy, the watch erupted in an orb of green light, engulfing everyone in the room.

It was a good few minutes before the dust settled, and Rook made it down with the Couffaines and Tetrax. Initially everything seemed fine. Aside from being blasted off their feet, there were no obvious signs of mutations induced in Ladybug, Alix or Nathenial. Cat hauled himself up and gave a sheepish grin. Ladybug turned around to face him, clearly frustrated that he pulled such a dangerous stunt when civilians are near. He was about to argue his case when he suddenly doubled over in pain, clutching his head. In seconds he had fully transformed into a feline-like alien with a black suit-like colour scheme, and his hands, legs, chest, and part of his head were coloured green. He had black mask-like fins around his green eyes, a triangle-shaped nose, a thunderbolt-like design down his chest, and a triangle one down his back. He also had spike-like blades on his arms and legs. He now wore the emblem of the Cat Miraculous on his chest.

“Kitty…?”

“Well… if this isn’t a cat-astrophe…” Ladybug rolled her eyes. Even now he makes his puns. That would be enough to make her head hurt… if it wasn’t doing so already… even now she knew what that meant. If Cat’s transformed into an Omnitrix alien, it must be happening to her as well! As she fell over and sprouted a brownish-green tail, she was proven right. Looking behind her, she gave a scream. Her transformation rapidly progressed, as her body turned much more insectoid in nature, and her legs morphed to become crab-like legs, of which she sprouted a second pair. She developed four small eyes on long prehensile stalks connected to her enlarged head, which could all be moved around independently from each other. On her back shot out two very fragile light greenish-yellow dragon-like wings with veins running through them, and her limbs are a brown-greenish colour. For attire, she wore a red and black spotted sleeveless jumpsuit with black lining which covered most of her body including her head (which was not a mask but part of her biology) and tail, her hands had a black coloration similar to fingerless gloves, and her eyes were yellowish-orange. Her mouth had a tongue and gums that are green in coloration, and she had squarish teeth that interlocked when closed. She wore her Ladybug Miraculous emblem on the top of her forehead. She gave one look at her new appearance and screamed in horror. “Whoa… I guess you really are a lady-bug now…”

“This is nothing to make light of, Chaton! I’m a monster! I’m a freak! I’m a… what do you call this one, Ben?”

“Err...” Ben stroked his chin thoughtfully, trying hard to remember this one’s name. It had been a while since he last used him… “…Stinkfly. And he’s Fasttrack.”

“Looks like Cat’s handiwork has caused a few more problems.”

“Exactly. Now Ladybug is a Lepidopterran and Cat is a Citrakayah.”

“Urgh, I can only imagine what we’re going to turn into, Nath…”

“Meh, as long as I get an artistic alien, I can probably roll with it.”

“Yeah… I don’t think I have one like that…” Nath rolled his eyes and muttered something about his luck failing him again, as he suddenly felt his hands start to drip. He looked down. Oh no, it’s affecting him too… He shut his eyes, as his body melted into a 200-pound single-celled organism that is neither liquid nor solid but a colloidal suspension. In short, he became a humanoid pile of tomato-red goo that can take any shape at will. Now Nath had dull blue eyes and an Anti-Gravity Projector that allows him to be mobile in Earth's gravity. He opened his eyes slowly and looked down at himself as Alix nervously backed up.

“O…K… this is weird…”

“Polymorph. That’s your new species, Nathaniel. It’s probably the closest to an artistic one Ben has.”

“Well in that case, I could probably get used to it…” Immediately he tried to take a step forward, only fall over and splatter over the floor. His Anti-Gravity Projector helped him back up. “…or not.”

“When even is that thing over his head?”

“That Cat, is his Anti-Gravity Projector. You see, Polymorphs are from the planet Viscosia, which has a lighter gravitational field than Earth does. As such, Polymorphs have to have an Anti-Gravity Projector to be mobile when away from their home planet.”

“So if something happens to it, I become immobile?” Rook nodded. “Ok… this is going to take some getting used to…” By this point, Alix was practically shivering with fear, which was unusual to see. She’s almost always had an aura of confidence about her, but now she was freaking out at the sight of what was happening before her eyes. Three of her closest friends had turned into aliens, she had no idea if they’d ever be able to change back, and as she was in range of that blast, she’s almost certainly going to change too. Having gotten Ben to go over his active playlists before he went to upgrade the engine room, Alix’s mind was awash with all the aliens she could be about to turn into. Something gross like a Sphoeroid? Maybe. Or something absolutely useless like an Atrocian? Honestly she didn’t really want to be turned into one of Ben’s aliens. But she nonetheless accepted her fate. She knew it would probably do more harm than good to resist. She shut her eyes as her body changed, the bulk of it changing to resemble a semi-armored Velociraptor. She developed black orbs on her feet, a black tail with five blue stripes, and bulky claws on her fingers. Unlike other Kinecelerans, Alix still had five fingers on each hand that were slightly more dexterous than typical for her new species. She wore a black cone-like helmet with a protective visor that slides over her face. When the visor is lifted, one can see her now blue face, brilliant cerulean eyes, black lips, and stripes running under and in between her eyes; the rest of her head's features are unknown. Her outfit was mostly unchanged, aside from her jean shorts now having a hole in them to accommodate her new tail, and her sneakers being torn apart as her feet transformed. She breathed a sigh of relief as she realised her transformation was over. Everyone looked at her, sympathetic to her fate after she’d looked so scared to face her transformation.

“Well… that happened… Guess I’m an alien too now…”

“Kineceleran, to be precise, Alix. You see…”

“Enough mouth flapping, Rook, how do we get them back to normal?! If Vilgax and Animo are working together, we haven’t got the time to teach them their new powers, do we?!”

“A rhetorical question I assume, Ben? Still, your point is a good one. After all, we need all the help we can get, but inexperienced fighters might tip the balance in the enemy’s favour…” At which point Tetrax, who’d been watching most of the transformations in silence, spoke up.

“If I may interrupt, I might remind you I am a highly trained former mercenary. As a bounty hunter, I’ve been to many of the Omnitrix aliens’ home planets, and I know their abilities like the back of my hand. If you two go after our enemies, I could teach our new recruits how to utilise their new powers…” Ben and Rook looked at each other and nodded. It could be their best option.

“Alright, we’ll get on it. Oh, but err… Tetrax, could you look for where the faceplate went while you’re at it? Really need to get this fixed before the final battle…” Tetrax nodded and said he’d keep an eye out. At which point Ben and Rook made their departure, leaving Tetrax alone with the former humans.

“I… I’ve got nothing to say… I’m sorry, guys... I was only trying to help…”

“And for that, I can’t fault you, Cat Noir. But for the remainder of this mission, I’d appreciate it if you leave Omnitrix DIY work to a professional. Me.” Cat nodded guiltily. “Right… first things first, I should probably explain your new powersets. Cat Noir and Alix Kubdel, both your powersets are similar enough. Both of you will now have enhanced speed, way faster than any Earth vehicle. Although that will present its own disadvantages as well. Your speed won’t work on all surfaces, and you may slip a lot if running on ice for example. I can make a list of things to watch out for if you like. Ok, next up, Ladybug. Somewhat literally…” Tetrax chuckled at his little joke, making Ladybug sigh in embarrassment. “Lepidopterran. Powers include flight, somewhat obviously, slime projection from your new ocular ports, razor sharp tail for stinging attacks. What to watch out for: stay away from water. Not only are you unable to swim like that, but your wings will become limp and heavy if soaked for too long. Nathenial Kurtzberg… Polymorph abilities should be somewhat obvious. Shapeshifting, density shifting, corrosive slime… There are more to go over, but let’s keep this quick. The Couffaines, you’ve probably become familiar with your powersets already, so I’d advise you two go with Ben and Rook, make sure they don’t get into too much trouble. The rest of you, with me. I’ll take you somewhere where there’s less chance of you hurting someone...”

Chapter Text

“Very well. We have everything we need. The Eiffel Tower is unguarded. We can begin repurposing it at once.”

“Excellent news, Nathainel. I’d advise you go Cloner and duplicate yourself several hundred times. That should be an adequate number to complete construction.” Nate nodded and activated the Omegatrix, turning into his Splixson form. Each clones outstretched their fingers and set to work on constructing their evil invention. It wasn’t too long afterwards that Alex and Harrison decided to help out as well. Numbers like that, and resources aplenty, there was a very good chance they could have the machine ready that evening. Hence why a certain pair of Plumbers were hiding in an alleyway within visual distance of the Tower…

“Alpha target’s in sight, old squid-face is building something… and it looks like he’s definitely working with Animo… any ideas on this one, partner?”

“It seems implausible that he would be building anything benevolent, Ben. In fact, judging by my Proto-Tool’s scanning function, I don’t think even Animo and Shadow Moth fully comprehend what it is designed to do. For some reason, I’m picking up a sizable trace of Null Void energy originating from that pile of barrels. I wonder what that could be for. I doubt it could merely be a power source…” Rook suddenly gave a gasp as he felt someone poke him. He looked at Ben momentarily before realising his expression meant he genuinely had no idea what just happened, and then looked around behind him. He was quick to shrug it off when he heard Ben yelp out before covering his mouth with both hands, realising the danger that the enemy might hear him. Rook glanced at the Tower base with a worried expression. He did notice Vilgax glare in their direction as if genuinely suspecting something, but he quickly shrugged it off and turned back to the Tower’s refurbishment. Breathing a sigh of relief, Rook turned back around as Ben glanced behind him, just as eager to find out who nearly gave them away…

“Hey.”

“Huh?!” was Ben’s reaction before covering his mouth again, as a certain Couffaine made her body appear in front of him out of nowhere with a mischievous smile. Rook gave a slight chuckle as Ben facepalmed.

“Miss Couffaine. I see you are getting the hang of things.”

“Y-Yeah, I guess I am. It’s really weird, my new body fits almost like a glove… I just… feel so much more like me like this… I…I’m honestly starting to wonder if I even want to change back anymore…”

“Some of my transformations get a little addictive, I’ll admit.” Then Ben’s tone went deeply serious, to a level Juleka had not seen from him before. “Just don’t go overboard. There’s some nasty side effects if you use one transformation way too much. Believe me, I’m talking from bitter experience…” Although he didn’t say anything, Rook’s expression indicated he knew exactly what Ben was referring to. “I got addicted to a transformation once myself. Feedback. I don’t know why I liked him so much… he became my go-to alien for a while… and then he was destroyed.” Juleka gave a quiet gasp. “A rouge Upgrade, Galvanic Mechamorph or whatever you want to call him. Malware. He… did something to the Omnitrix… corrupted and destroyed the Conductoid DNA sample… Only fairly recently did I regain access to Feedback…”

“I remember it well now. Malware was destroyed in that battle, or so Ben thought, but the damage was dealt, and the Omnitrix would never accept Conductoid DNA again. Or at least, that was the case with the prototype. In the current model, I do not know why Feedback was unavailable.”

“Meh, maybe I’d yet to reunlock him? Or maybe it was a security measure Azmuth built in for safekeeping? I’ve no idea. Look, all I’m saying is, don’t get too comfortable as Ghostfreak. It might affect your ability to change back… if that’s even possible…”

“…m-m-maybe you’re right… that’s… unsettling… w-w-w-wait… you said this Malware wasn’t destroyed… i-i-i-is he still around…?”

“Nun uh. Thankfully. I defeated him twice fairly recently. Firstly when I reunlocked Feedback, then Vilgax turned his corpse into a superpowered suit of armour, and then I beat Malware again when he tried to morph with the leader of an ancient race of robotic conquerors and exterminate the universe. Haven’t seen him since, and honestly I hope I never do. But he’s not the only one who can destroy my transformations. Well, I’m a little paranoid that’s the case, I admit…”

“I shouldn’t be surprised, Ben. Malware is hardly unique in that department. I imagine nearly any villain with sufficient skill with technology might be capable of pulling that off.” Rook’s comment didn’t help Ben’s expression. And then came the sound of a slithering snake behind them…

“Luka.”

“Hey Jul. Hey guys. Tetrax thought we’d be used enough to our new powers to give you a hand.”

“While I don’t object to a little more back up, I can’t shake the feeling this could be more trouble then he realises… still, can’t say no to some help around here. If you think you can pull your weight in combat, don’t let me stop you. But keep a calm head and follow instructions. Ok, first one, we need to understand what Vilgax needs all those components for. Juleka, I suggest you go invisible and sneak up to the control deck. Rook’s good with stealth, so he can go with you. Luka and I will keep Vilgax and Animo busy.” Everyone nodded. Ben gave a smirk as he fiddled with the Omnitrix, fully aware of the extent that Cat could’ve damaged it… in seconds, the green light faded and in Ben’s place stood…

“Ben…?”

“Humungodrillo?”

“Huh?” Ben looked down at himself. Now he sported a design similar enough to Humungousaur, but texturally more similar to Armadrillio’s armoured hide, and also sporting his drill pistons on his elbows. “Whoa… Humungousaur and Armadrillo? Not bad!” Brimming with confidence, he leapt into a charge… “Hold it, Vilgy!”

“Ben Tennyson? Even now you seek to thwart my glorious retribution?!”

“And I see you’ve reunlocked combination forms. It’s been a while since I last saw one of those… Ah well… I look forward to dissecting your altered state once my armies control all of Europe!” Without wasting a moment, Animo activated his transmodulator helmet as Shadow Moth opened one of the cages containing their lab rats. In seconds, all were converted into ravenous hulking abominations. “Destroy him, my puppets!”

“Luka, time for action!”

“Guess it’s time for a duet! And probably for me to work out what this thing can do before we wind up chew toys for these guys…”

(scene break)

Elsewhere in the galaxy, far from any possible indication of the danger Ben and Luka were putting themselves in, the Resolute was tearing through the infinite void of the universe, gliding through at least three asteroid belts before finally settling down in seconds. Inside, the assembled crew were lounging around in the crew area, evidently sharing their concerns and condolences about their new appearances, and in two cases, excitement about where Tetrax was taking them. The Petrosapien mercenary in question was, of course, currently on piloting duty alongside Gluto, aiming to get them to his private live-training ground in one piece. A dangerous intention, given the mysterious nature of said planet, but it’s not as if he has much choice about where to take them. Ben needs their help, and they’re not going to be able to help much if they don’t understand their new powers. And the training area aboard the Resolute isn’t big enough for all four of them. So they’re going a little further afield…

“So… mi’lady…” Cat’s comment only got him an attempted elbow to the ribs. Attempted because Ladybug underestimated her new centre of gravity and fell flat on the floor, much to the amusement of their comrades. “I-I… urgh… I’m sorry…”

“You’ve said that several times already, chaton…”

“Yeah, but it’s been a while now. This is all my fault. And now we might be stuck like… this… forever…” His comment earnt him a sigh and a comforting pat on the back from his partner in crime fighting.

“Hey… don’t beat yourself up, ok? It was an accident… which quite frankly makes it all the more annoying, but I might be able to… roll with it… I hope… because trying to sit down like this isn’t easy…”

“Too right, Nette. Hence why I gave up on that ages ago. Been running laps around the spaceship and testing my powers out. Oh, if we’re going somewhere with more space to run around, I can only imagine the fun I’ll have!”

“That’s a pretty big tone shift from earlier, Alix, when you were so freaked out at the prospect of transforming…”

“That was before I knew what alien I was going to get, Nath! Anything like… I don’t know, a Polymorph - no offence, Nath – or one of those… creatures, you know, the ones that swell like a balloon and spit slime blasts? Either of those, no thanks. If I had to become an alien, I’d at least like to pick what I become. Nothing gross or hard to look at, I still want a decent social life, ideally something that actually has decent capabilities, so nothing like one of those blobby things in underwear… I’d actually say this is the best one I could’ve gotten. Look, wheeled feet aren’t so different from my skates, I can go even faster than I’ve ever dreamed…! I freaking love this!”

“Glad to see you’re enjoying yourself. Certainly more than me, at any rate. Going from a solid human shape to… this slime based one… it’s not easy. When I’m not sitting around, I can barely hold myself up, the whole projector thing’s not easy to get used to…” He set a slimy hand down on his armrest, and it immediately burnt away, leaving a nice hand-shape on it. “…and add to that I apparently corrode whatever I touch now…”

“Yeah, that could take some getting used to… Honestly… I don’t know how to feel about this… Tetrax said my new powerset is the same as Alix’s, or similar enough, so there’s that… but I’m still… urgh… I’m just feeling uneasy about all this…”

“That could be your guilt talking, chaton.”

“Huh, probably is. Well, I guess there’s something else we’ll need to look over later as well…”

“Secret identities? I keep telling you…!”

“Not that, Ladybug! Or at least, not yet, though that is a factor… what about our Miraculouses? Will they even work with us like this? What do we do with them if we can’t change back, I mean we can’t return them to Master Fu, can we?” Ladybug gave a long thoughtful look. Cat’s got a point. There is the future to consider. If what Cat’s done turns out to be irreversible, what do they do about the Miraculouses, about their social lives? There’d be questions all round, most certainly from Alya, who’d never know when to stop and dig in too deep, forcing them to reveal their secrets to her, and then she’d probably post them on the Ladyblog to immortalise their shame. All the more reason to try and get this sorted as soon as possible… Her parents… might be difficult to explain to them how their daughter suddenly turned into a giant alien bug, but they might be able to come to terms with it. School… would be a nightmare, if only thanks to a certain blonde. The others though, might be more accepting and supportive. Otherwise, it could be off to home-schooling for a bit… Miraculouses… that’s a good point, if they can only be used by humans, they’ve got a problem, because if Master Fu didn’t make it, who’s going to keep a watch over the Miraculouses so people like Shadow Moth don’t get their hands on them? Hmm… that bridge might be worth burning when they come to it. Firstly they need to get a grip on their new powers… Then suddenly everything went black as the sound of a sudden explosion under foot rang out…

(scene break)

“It matters not what you try to hybridise transformations to stop me, Tennyson! I am Vilgax - conqueror of ten worlds! – AND I WILL NOT BE DENIED!!!”

“You know, you say that every time!” In seconds, Humungodrillo had morphed one hand into a ball to land a strike on Vilgax, managing to beat the evil Chimera Sui Generis warlord back a few feet before he retaliated with a thunderclap. Evidently unwilling to go down easily and probably wanting to end it quickly, he retracted his boost rods on one arm and launched a vicious blow to the Vaxasaurian/Talpaedan hybrid’s neck. Clearly this effected his nervous system as his jackhammer arms went out of control, causing him dig himself deeper and deeper into the ground when Vilgax slammed his head down. “Ok, this is getting problematic…!”

Devolving into a violent rage, Vilgax continued pummelling Ben in the most brutal of manners while furiously proclaiming: “WHEN WILL YOU LEARN, TENNYSON, THAT I AM UNSTOPPABLE?! ONCE I HAVE YOUR SKULL IN MY HANDS, I WILL REFORGE MY EMPIRE AND MY LEGACY AS AN INVINCIBLE CONQUEROR! AND THEN I WILL MAKE SURE YOUR BLOODLINE CEASES WITH YOU! I WILL HUNT DOWN AND TORTURE EVERY TENNYSON ON EARTH UNTIL EVERY MEMBER OF YOUR MISERABLE FAMILY IS EXTINCT! AND WHEN I AM DONE HERE, I WILL CONTINUE – ACROSS THE GALAXY, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, UNTIL THE ONLY SURVIVING PLANET OF AN OMNITRIX ALIEN IS MY OWN!!!”

“Urgh…! Ok, this is getting dangerous…! Luka, wanna give me a hand?”

“I’ve got problems of my own here!” Indeed he was, as he tried to slither up the Tower’s legs, followed by Animo’s mutated animal brethren. Indeed, the matter wasn’t helped by Shadow Moth deciding to pitch in as well, drawing a feather from his fan and corrupting a passing butterfly with his dark magic. In seconds, both the lead rat, now sporting a design similar to that of a Panuncian, and the rodent sentimonster created from it had generated, leaving Luka in a tight spot when he got his tail tangled on the lowest deck of the Tower. He barely managed to shoot his petrifying lasers in time to defeat the rodents either side of the lead rat, just as it leapt towards him, teeth drawn…

(scene break)

Advancing upwards towards the uppermost deck, even as his Proto-Tool’s grappling hook function wore out and he landed on the middle deck like a cat, stroking his head fur dramatically, Rook managed to sneak a glance of what was happening below them. As Juleka became visible beside him once more, she confined in him her worries about whether Luka can handle this or not. Rook’s response was to remind her that the action for them is on the topmost floor, as they were to stop Nate 8 completing whatever it was he is intending to build. And whatever it was, the control deck seems to be on the highest level. And looking briefly at the elevator to the summit, it appeared to be out of order. Ok, that’ll mean he’ll have to climb the old fashioned way… Quietly giggling at his discomfort, Juleka went invisible again and floated upwards.

At the summit itself, Nate was indeed hard at work, currently in his human form and assembling the main control panel from scratch. Why did he opt to make things so much harder for himself instead of going Nerulcrab or Pain Matter or any of his other transformations with telekinetic abilities or genius level intellect…? A sudden jab of pain right in the back of his left shoulder cut him off, making him turn around. He saw nothing. That doesn’t entirely prove he is alone though. If Tennyson has made his way up here to fight him, he could be utilizing Ghostfreak or Big Chill’s invisibility… Now what alien does Nate have to counter that? His eyes scoured the deck for a moment, his hands fiddling with the Omegatrix frantically, before suddenly remembering there is one alien that he has who can detect this intruder… one whose entire upper-body is covered with purple eyes, around 20 of them; although he ironically has no eyes on his face, which consists of a mouth and a very large pair of elastic bat-like ears. He has dark tan skin with a lighter tone of tan on his chest and the underside of his arms. His pants have purple cuffs replacing the white bands; the main belt where the Omegatrix symbol is located is recoloured purple with a black stripe; and he additionally wears purple cuffs on his hands. Eye Guy. Or as Nate calls him, Ocular. Immediately his 360 vision spurred into life as he scoured the decks once more…

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” Still no visible answer. “It’s no use hiding, Ocular sees all in every spectrum! You can run, but you can’t hide from me!” Then he felt another sudden jab to two of his back eyes, making him wince in pain as he hit the Omegatrix symbol on his belt, regaining human form. There he saw the figure of Juleka Couffaine becoming visible once more… “So you are the creature who dares to try to stop me, eh? Hmm… I do not recognise you as a member of Tennyson’s team… Another of Servantis’s amalgam kids, huh? Or maybe not, I’ve met them all and your face is not one that I remember being among them. And I would remember, I have a photographic memory.”

“Let’s just say there was an accident with the Omnitrix when you sent that robot to my boat. I got turned into this, and my brother’s down there, kicking your friends’ butts!”

“An accident, you say? Hmm… I suppose now would be the point when I should offer to find a way to change you back if you help me kill Ben Tennyson…”

“Forget it, Nate – if you can! I’ll never work for you, never!”

“That is precisely what I told Vilgax before he gave me a reason to join him. Of course, it is fortunate that I am not making such an offer. Instead… I’m getting a sense that you don’t quite understand your true potential… Yes… the Omegatrix scans you even now… is it possible only one of your parents was completely human…?”

“Both of my parents are human, Nate! Jagged Stone and Anarka Couffaine, I’d know if they were secretly aliens!”

“Would you? There was a cartoon about a human being with aliens for parents back in the day. And Jagged Stone, did you say? Urgh, and I was just starting to consider not killing you as well… hit me up with Brittany any day… But what I was referring to… yes… I have an answer… is it really him…? Hmm, if your parents are as human as you say, Miss Couffaine, can I inquire why my Omegatrix is cataloguing you as, and I quote, ‘hybrid daughter of a High Ecto-Lord?’” Juleka suddenly froze. What is Nate implying? What even is a High Ecto-Lord anyway? It must be something to do with Ectonurites, Juleka figured that much, but what exactly did Nate mean? Was one of her parents secretly an Ectonurite and she inherited their powers? It would certainly explain why her new body feels so right for her… but it wouldn’t explain why she only discovered her powers when she was hybridised. Nor would it explain how that came about in the first place if she was already half Ectonurite… “Of course, maybe your parents are completely human, but an Ectonurite was inhabiting one at the time of your creation? I can certainly see that transpiring as well. But still, enough of this. What’s important is that you are an Ectonurite, and so share the weaknesses of one. So please, feel free to tremble in terror at the power of” Nate slammed the Omegatrix dial once more, turning into Nuclean. He began his fearsome chanting, as he began to generate a Fusion Cuisine orb between his hands, the light from it glowing brighter and brighter as it flooded the Tower’s decks. Immediately Juleka fell to the floor in agony as the light glowed brighter and brighter, beginning to burn away her secondary skin. But then Rook finally caught up to her, firing a Proto-Tool blast into Nuclean’s back, making him turn around and snarl ferociously as Juleka got back up…

“Guess it’s time to test out the possession ability!”

“Don’t waste your time, such abilities are useless while I’m in alien form!”

“Ok, I’ll have to think of something else then…”

“Or don’t bother. This Fusion Cuisine orb will spell your final demise if you’re in its light for so long!” As Rook activated his Proto-Tool’s sword function, Juleka could only mutter these words as she struggled to maintain ghost through the floor to safety…

“I sure hope Marinette and the others are having better luck training than we are stopping the main event…”

(scene break)

“…urgh… ain’t this the mother of all headaches…” Her comments were well-placed as she slowly regained consciousness. She looked around. She’s in a desert of some kind…? Light green sand… what appears to be a jungle over there in the distance… enough piles of wreckage to indicate a crash, although that much she figured was obvious by now… no obvious water sources so that’s some comfort to her wings… Urgh, wings… that’s something to get used to… Then she looked down at herself, and the amount of red goo splattered over her and the nearby ground. “…urgh… ew… Nath, get off of me…!” Spurred back into consciousness, Nath’s Anti-Gravity Projector whizzed upwards suddenly…

“Oh sorry!” …and the red goo swirled upwards, contorting itself into a humanoid shape, rubbing the back of its head. “Not too easy to control this one…”

“Urgh, I know. Wings, 360 vision, horrendously disfigured body… I think I prefer my regular costume.”

“Not to mention your new slime shooting powers Tetrax mentioned…” As Nath finished, the heavily cracked but remarkably still whole figure of a Petrosapien clambered out of the surrounding wreckage, just as Alix and Cat struggled back to their feet. Wobbling immensely in Alix’s case, that’s a major drawback of having balls for feet…

“You’d think this happens a lot more than it actually does… that’s going to take some fixing… could be weeks before she’s sky-worthy again…”

“Still… look on the bright side, Tetrax… so much space to run around in! Oh this is going to be epic! Cat, race you to that tree over there! Actually, scratch that! Three laps of the planet, THEN finish line’s that tree over there!” Cat shot her a ‘bring it on’ look and dived into a starting position. Shrugging, Tetrax rose an arm to the skies, clearly intending to humour them enough to take up the starter role.

“On your marks… get set… GO!!!” Both competitors zoomed off in the blink of an eye. Tetrax turned back to Ladybug and Nath, a worried expression on his face. “While they’re running laps, it might be wise to work on our way off world. It’s just occurred to me which planet this is… not even the one I was planning to take you to… it’s Veomia… That’s bad news in of itself…”

“And what’s so bad about Veomia?”

“It’s the only planet in the galaxy where the Veomian Scum Leeches are found, the most venomous parasite in the universe. They’re so horribly poisonous, even the tiniest bite can kill you… it’s also the native planet of the Gilans. A species resembling Earth’s Gila monsters with toxic immunity that deliver a debilitating venom bite for self-defence. Should be a sample in the Omnitrix…” The sound of a low growling originating from the jungle cut him off. Oh no… in seconds, there it was: some horrifying fusion of a sabretooth cat and a hyena, with large sabre-teeth and a horn on its dog-like nose. Its stomach hair is a crimson red, while its back hair is black. It was wearing a red spiked collar with some sort of Omnitrix symbol on it. It was enough to take both former Miraculous Holders by surprise. Both fell back in fear, Nath quite literally as he splattered onto the ground again, while Tetrax glared angrily at this predatory creature, just as the telltale footsteps of its master began to echo…

“Tetrax Shard. How delightful to make your acquaintance again after that unfortunate business on Khoros.” He drawled, as he came within speaking distance. He was an intimidating chap to say the least: underneath a grey cloak, he sported a black suit covering his upper body with a red stripe in the middle and grey pants, grey gloves and a grey belt, as well as black boots with grey soles. He wore bones as ornamentation over his clothes, which consisted of a ribcage on his chest, a tail bone on his right shoulder, a horned animal skull on his left shoulder, ribs covering the back of his black suit and boots, and claws on his shoes. The only part of his body that is exposed is his face, which was turquoise with a large lower jaw which has teeth fused with his lips, similar to Detrovites. He had dark red sunken eyes, as well as gills under his cheeks, which he used for whistling in order to summon his Panuncian pet who the Holders had just met.

“What happened to Gar Red Wind wasn’t my fault, Khyber. You were there, you should know.”

“Err… do we even want to know who this guy is…?”

“Khyber the Huntsman, a notorious enemy of Ben’s. The self-proclaimed greatest hunter in the galaxy. Known associate of such criminals as Malware, Doctor Psychobos and Albedo.” Ladybug and Nath looked at each other at the mention of such names, evidently unfamiliar with who Tetrax was name-dropping. “Beware the cat. That’ll be one of his hunting pets. A Panuncian, unless I’m very much mistaken. Natural predators of the Splixsons, so you’ll probably be alright, since none of you got Ditto’s DNA…” Khyber gave a cruel chuckle as he whistled through his gills. His Panuncian pet suddenly split into two, and then the original transformed into an equally menacing creature with a white, black, and red color scheme. It had a black head, which donned a white patch on each side. Located on these, it had four purple eyes, two on each side. They had sharp teeth and the gums protruded in their lower jaw and they had a row of red spikes running down their back, which also had a black stripe. In total it had four legs and black feet, each ending in 3 red claws and a red marked tail tip. “Buglizard… Marinette…” Tetrax was about to continue to warn Ladybug before Khyber threw some sort of sticky grenade at his face, glueing his mouth shut.

“Marinette, is it? You’re in trouble, I’m afraid. Fascinating creatures, the Buglizards, native of the planet Lepidopterra…

“Hey, I recognise that name! That's Stinkfly's home planet!”

“…Where it's the natural predator of the Lepidopterran.”

“Hey! That's Stinkfly's species!” Nath’s comments only worsened Ladybug’s expression. He does realise that she’s currently the same species as Stinkfly, doesn’t he?! Which would make this Buglizard her natural predator as well! If Khyber gives the order to attack them… and especially considering she hasn’t learnt how to control her new powers yet…

“Is it now? Huh, fancy that…” Genuinely fearing for her life, Ladybug began to back away as the Buglizard began to advance menacingly towards her…

“You and your big mouth, Nath…”

“What mouth? I don’t have one now or hadn’t you noticed?” he responded cheekily.

“Urgh, right now, and I hate saying this, I’m really hoping there’s a predator for the Polymorph inside that… whatever it is!”

“It’s called the Nemetrix, my dear. It turns my pets into the perfect predators for each Omnitrix alien. And yes, the Polymorphs are included in that package. If you want to meet the Toxikong, who am I to deny you?” Khyber whistled again, and, with a bloodcurdling roar, the second Panuncian morphed into a dark green and purple creature with the rear end of an elephant and the front end of a gorilla, as well as sporting a total of around eight elephant-like trunks: two on each shoulder, one on either side of the head and the remaining four on its back. The head itself resembling a hippo’s for the most part, with a sharp horn on the top making it resemble a rhino. It bent down, glaring ravenously at Nath, who shrank back in terror. “The Toxikong. Native to the planet Viscosia…”

“…and it’s the natural predator of the Polymorphs, I’m guessing?” As Nath trembled in fear, Khyber nodded.

“You catch on quickly, my pathetic little appetiser!”

Chapter Text

“Ok… worth going through your options here, Nath…” he ruminated as the Toxikong shot two of its hind trunks in his direction. He marginally managed to dodge in time. Thank goodness for his Anti-Gravity Projector… Still, it was fairly obvious how this creature would devour him if given the chance. The trunks most likely function like vacuum cleaners, sucking in a Polymorph with tremendous force. Which is exactly how he’ll meet his end if he doesn’t dodge in time. Looking at the creature in front of him, one could logically add super strength and durability to its powerset as well. Which is worrying, because if he’s going to survive this encounter, he’s got to find a weakness to exploit. Looking over at Ladybug briefly, and how her wings began to flutter ever so slightly as she backed away in fear at the sight of the advancing Buglizard, Nath began desperately trying to copy her example, if only to find a means to incapacitate the Toxikong before it devoured him. That moment was seemingly about to come sooner than he’d thought, as the Toxikong bent down and expelled a foul-smelling pale green gas from the ‘gills’ on its neck. Nath tried to dodge, but he could not, as the gas forced the goo around his feet to solidify, nullifying his shapeshifting abilities. Falling flat on his face and splattering, Nath saw his life flash before his eyes as another long prehensile trunk slithered through the air towards him… How fortunate a crystal structure rapidly shooting upwards underneath the Toxikong sent it crashing onto its back with a thunderous bang that resonated through the ground at maximum velocity. Tetrax came running over to the puddle of slime that once was Nath, and began rummaging around in his utility belt for an antidote to the creature’s gas. It seemed to take longer than he’d thought, as he had to dodge the sight of Ladybug running past them both as she desperately tried to take flight as the Buglizard whipped its prehensile tail out at her. To the delight of Khyber watching, she was unable to, and the Buglizard slammed her to the ground. She tried to aim for the eyes with her ocular ports, but she hadn’t tried to shoot her slime yet, so her attempt failed, and the Buglizard’s fog generation ability would’ve nullified it anyway. Seconds afterwards, just as the Toxikong reverted back to a Panuncian, Ladybug went unconscious as Khyber menacingly walked towards her, pushing Tetrax aside while muttering to himself how thankful the bounty hunter is that Petrosapiens don’t have a natural predator.

“One down. Four more to go. How thankful I caught you flying over this world when I did. I was surveying the landscape for a future rematch with Tennyson, but allowing my pets to train on your friends is proving equally invigorating. Now… you, old friend, I remember seeing two more with the group a moment ago. Divide and conquer.” He gave a sharp whistle and the Panuncian nodded and ran off at top speed in vaguely the same direction that Alix and Cat ran in on their race around the planet…

(scene break)

Moments afterwards, blissfully unaware of the danger making its way towards them at this very moment, a certain pair of speedsters zoomed across the planet’s multiple surfaces at high speed, evidently greatly enjoying the new power their transformations gave them. Upwards at high speed they spiralled up a winding mountain, then down again and through a canyon to another winding mountain where both blue blurs came to a sudden halt. The feline alien on the right bent over with his hands on his knees as he panted for breath, as the velociraptor alien on the left threw her hands up in celebration.

“Winner, winner! Looks like I’m the faster one, kitty cat!”

“Yeah, yeah, no one likes a show off, Alix… I guess Kinecelerans are faster than Citrakayahs…”

“Meh, don’t put yourself down so much, you run a good race. I was always going to win, mind. I’ve got the skating experience so you were already at a disadvantage.” Cat was about to respond when the sound of a sudden roaring behind them caught their attention. They turned around to see the arrival of a predatory animal that they were not entirely familiar with, but were able to identify nonetheless from the Nemetrix collar alone. They quickly looked at each other in worry. Neither of them had heard of the Nemetrix itself, but they had seen a couple of pictures of it whilst in transit, as well as a few of its wielders and their handler. That was enough to unsettle them dramatically. “Alien sabre-toothed tiger. That’s bad news.”

“I know, that collar… we could be in trouble…”

“Maybe not. Last I heard, there’s only ten species in the collar. As long as neither of us have a predator in that databank, we’re fine.”

“I didn’t even know the Omnitrix aliens had predators.” He quickly learnt otherwise, as the Panuncian divided in two and transformed into two separate predatory aliens, one for each of the heroes. One of which transformed into a large dark grey bat-like creature with black fur across its back, underarm wings and lower legs, and giant electrically charged spikes on the shoulder blades and a long tail with two more long spikes on the end, a magnetic charge emitting between them. It had become a Magnebat, the apex predator on Kinet, and the natural predator of the Kinecelerans. The other became a dark red, brown, purple and green wolf monster, at least five feet taller than before with muscles the size of basketballs and fur over its back unshaven and wildly grown, almost resembling a porcupine’s quills in a sense. Its paws ended in four blackened serrated claws, each the length of a bread knife, and its tail seemed to curl over its body like a scorpion’s. Both heroes fell back in fear as its dark orange reptilian eyes focused on them both, and it bore its oversized grey teeth, all of which were canines, with a low, ferocious growl. This was the natural predator of the Citrakayahs, the apex predator that terrorises the canyons of Chalybeas – the solvent-spitting Hyena-Wolf. “Ok… we can logically assume that these two must be the predators of our species, right?” Alix nodded.

“Only matter is working out which is which so we know which one to go for…”

“I’m willing to bet that wolf thing is my predator. Cats and dogs, you do the math. Sounds pretty good odds to me.”

“Then that’d leave the bat for me. Ok, you take the bat, I’ll take the wolf!” Cat nodded as he dashed towards the Magnebat, leaping skywards in an attempt to catch it off guard, but unfortunately, while Magenbats are far from the most intelligent of animals, the Hyena-Wolf is not. They are extraordinarily cunning for a non-sapient species, able to lure their prey into traps other predators could never have assembled. This one obviously understood what they were trying to do, as its back fur stood on end, exposing in places the dark purple skin underneath, as its dark red slimy solvents shot out, striking a direct hit to Cat’s chest and sending him plummeting to the ground far below. Upon impact, the slime spread out and hardened into a state as solid as cast iron, rendering Cat stuck in place and unable to move. “OK, that could’ve gone better...” was all Cat must muster before the sudden sound of the Hyena-Wolf expertly landing on all fours just above his head sent a chill down his spine. The Hyena-Wolf gave a ravenous snarl as it lowered its terrifying snout to sniff the feline hero, before determining that he was indeed still alive and thrust its massive jaws open... only to pause briefly when its attention was captured by the sound of a dull thud, like the sound of a body hitting soft earth, accompanied by a kinetic explosion of sorts, a few feet behind them. It turned to see Alix lying face down in the dirt, the Magnebat coming into a gentle hover above her, its tail posed over one shoulder, still smoking from firing a magnetic charge. It was obvious Alix had learnt the hard way that Kinecelerans are vulnerable to magnets and charged pulses, for they can throw them right off-course and make them lose their footing and spin out of control. Presumably she’d tried to flee upon seeing her plan fail, but the Magnebat caught onto it and unleashed its magnetic pulse blast, sending her into a uncontrolled spinning frenzy which ended with her flying off the mountain and crashing. She shut her eyes in fear as the Magnebat came into land over her, its mouth splitting open to deliver a menacing screech as it bent down towards her neck...

(scene break)

If only the group on Earth knew that it was a losing game all around. Especially now, given the size of the gathering crowd, earning to catch a glimpse of Ben 10 in action... As Humungodrillo took another thunderous blow to the stomach, making him puke up over Vilgax, earning him another blast from the Ruby Ray of Rouleau. Vilgax gave a vicious laugh as he drew his sword, which rapidly engulfed itself in blood-red electrical energy as he rose it over Ben’s head. This was all the incentive Ben needed to slam the Omnitrix symbol on his chest, transforming into another hybrid. This one was a hybridization of Gourmand and Oyrctini DNA, resembling Perk Upchuck in Eatle’s outfit, but much bigger and with Eatle's horn and lower jaw.

“Upchuck and Eatle? That’s... unusual. I wonder how these powers compliment each other...”

“You sound as if it’ll save you.” Vilgax barked nonchalantly. Undeterred, Eatchuck slammed down onto all fours, took a massive gulp of debris from the ground and puked out a massive energy blast, blasting Vilgax back a few feet and forcing him to generate the Shield of Seagle to defend himself. In moments, the blast ceased and the evil Chimera Suis Generis warlord began to advance slowly, before the two were separated by the petrified bodies of the mutated rat and its sentimonster companion. Turning around to see Luka slithering downwards, his Medusa vision primed and ready for action, both combatants seemed at odds with how to react. Vilgax began charging towards Luka and swung his sword over his head, which he very narrowly managed to dodge, accidentally petrifying Animo and his minions as they tried to get in a sneak attack. That wasn’t enough to dissuade Vilgax, conqueror of 10 worlds... “You... your powers... intrigue me... what manner of creature are you?”

“Human. Combined with some sort of snake alien thanks to your robot’s strike to the Omnitrix.”

“Intriguing. A critical strike to a crucial component. Enough to make someone other than Tennyson turn into one of those wretched aliens. But also a great weakness...” Jumping and mastering a three point landing, Luka was now within Vilgax’s reach. His eyes turned to the emblem of the Snake Miraculous on his stomach. He viciously jabbed a claw onto it, making Luka wince in pain for a moment before he was engulfed in red light. In seconds, Luka fell onto his knees, human once more. He looked at himself, evidently confused at what Vilgax had just done.

“Wha...? What did you...? How did you...?”

“Human again. How unfortunate for you.” Before Luka could react, Vilgax slid behind him and forced his sword to his throat. “I trust my intentions are clear, Tennyson? Take another step towards me or fire another blast and we shall see if the rumour that the snake creature called a hydra can regrow a severed head is true.” Juleka and Rook might be too far above them to see him, but Ben still didn’t want to risk a civilian’s life to stop Vilgax, especially since his hostage in this case was Juleka’s brother. From what Ben had seen, they seemed pretty close, almost to the extent of Gwen and her brother Ken, who Ben knew had the closest sibling bond he’d ever seen. If Ben tried anything and cost Luka his head, the chances were good that Juleka would be devastated. He couldn’t let her down like that. He placed a hand on his Omnitrix symbol and detransformed. “Your weak human form. What a novelty. Are you finally ready to surrender?”

“Ben, don’t even think about it! Please! You don’t need to give yourself up for me!”

“You’re right Luka, I don’t. But I daren’t take any chances. If I get you killed, my reputation as the galaxy’s greatest hero takes a hit. And for the sake of the universe, I can’t let that happen. Plus with you gone, Juleka would probably fall into depression and the like, and making her live without her beloved brother is no action of a hero. Alright Vilgax, you win. You can have the Omnitrix... if you can find the missing part Cat Noir broke off earlier!”

“Finding the lost parts and cracking the control combination is child’s play for a master of the Omnitrix!”

“Oh.” Of course, there was the fact that fate wasn’t about to let Vilgax seize his prize so easily. Oh no, no, no. Hence why before Ben could decouple the Omnitrix and give it to Vilgax, the air around filled with dust as another combatant landed awkwardly between them, knocking Luka out of Vilgax’s reach in the process. He staggered upwards dizzily, struggling to aim his Proto-Tool properly, until another blow from Vilgax knocked him back down like a domino. So Rook probably won’t be much help until he regains his bearings. Which is going to complicate things if Ben has to keep Luka out of harm’s way for a while... How fortunate that at this very precise moment, the other missing combatant was blasted off of the upper deck and fell down to the battle below. In doing so, she bounced off the ground momentarily and sprang backwards... right into Ben’s path. In seconds, before she could comprehend what she was doing, she fell backwards and landed on Ben, which was obviously enough to register as a possession attempt, as the Omnitrix sprung into defensive mode, sparkling violently like a firework for all of the five seconds it took for her to completely ghost into Ben’s body, before the sparks died down and she looked around in confusion and worry.

“What... just... happened...?” Luka’s eyes went wide in confusion at the sight of his sister’s voice coming out of Ben’s mouth, while Rook cleared his throat and got back to his feet.

“I would estimate that was a demonstration of your body possession abilities, Miss Couffaine. You now have complete control of Ben’s body...” Before Rook could finish, Juleka thrust her head upwards in pain as she clutched it, as the original owner of said body took back control momentarily.

“Urgh... which I’d like back when you’re done!” At which point Juleka retook control, just as the variable they’d overlooked in the kerfuffle cleared his throat and thrust his sword into the ground.

“I might not know exactly what is going on here, but such a trick will not keep me from my Omnitrix! Hand it over now, and perhaps I will consider letting you live!”

“Over my dead body, Vilgy!”

“If you insist.” Unfortunately Juleka’s sudden jolt of confidence was short-lived, for immediately thereafter she remembered that she hasn’t wielded the Omnitrix before and so didn’t know how to work it. Which was a problem, given she was face to face with the most evil being in the universe and the ground was beginning to shake violently. The latter of which was the work of that doomsday device he was building, she was certain of that. “Which will occur either way if you don’t surrender the Omnitrix to me. Even now, the power of the Null Void energy courses through the structure you so confidently revere. Once the firing sequence begins, it will unleash a blast far beyond anything you can withstand, Tennyson! A blast that will bleed every mongrel of this pitiful planet into the infernal dimension that you once dared imprison me! Your world will die screaming! And I will finally have my revenge for every defeat you cast me tenfold!” With the petrification spell beginning to wear off, Animo regained what was necessary to overhear Vilgax’s declaration, and the combined gasps of worry that followed. Neither Animo nor Shadow Moth, who’d just regained mobility himself, were terribly surprised at this development – Animo knew enough about Vilgax to know he would undoubtedly betray them at his earliest convenience, and Shadow Moth’s evident fear of the evil Chimera Suis Generis warlord had long since opened his eyes to the inevitability of being used for so long as Vilgax deemed necessary before being eradicated. And neither was terribly happy at the prospect of being used. Unable to stand properly yet though, they were unable to join in as the teenage hero unwillingly housing an Ectonurite inside of them narrowly managed to inexplicably dodge a lethal blast from the Ruby Ray of Rouleau, and began desperately fiddling with the Omnitrix on her wrist, hoping to activate it by chance. It took a few tries for the dial to spring up. Rook and Luka started offering advice on which alien to use, the former suggesting Humungosaur and the latter Swampfire. Unable to tell which one was which, Juleka made Ben slam the dial anyway, transforming them into...

“Err...?” Her voice was naturally confused as she looked upon themselves. They really had got the short end of the stick here, as is naturally the case for any fusion involving Nanomech. The Ectonurite possessed hero was now a microscopic creature made of turquoise crystals, green energy wings on their back and the Omnitrix symbol located on their chest. Ben’s reaction as he retook control of their shared body was much the same.

“Oh man, Diamondhead and Nanomech?! We’re a razor-sharp Christmas tree decoration!” Such an occurrence did not go unnoticed by the evil Chimera Suis Generis warlord, who gave a menacing smile as he drew his sword.

“Well, well, well. This is indeed a turn of events. Your weakest transformation hybridised with one your most powerful. Which will undoubtedly result in a mediocre form at best! Tremble before me, Ben Tennyson, or prepare to perish!” was Vilgax’s vile declaration as Rook began to hurriedly usher Luka away, evidently all too aware of how dangerous this could be to someone without powers. But even as he did, Diamondmech stood defiantly.

“I think you know our answer, Vilgy!”

“AND DON’T CALL ME VILGY!” The sword fell, narrowly missing slicing Diamondmech in half, and leaving quite a cavernous slash in the ground. Instantaneously the crystalline insect fired a round of bio-electrically charged crystal shards at the evil Chimera Suis Generis warlord, who immediately generated the Shield of Seagle for defence. All of the shards exploded on contact. One half of the crystalline insect gasped in shock while the other face-palmed. They should’ve known it would take far more than that to overcome Vilgax! He viciously pulled his sword free and generated its crystal coating. That was more than necessary to make Ben nervous, even more so when Juleka retook control. For Juleka had no way of knowing this crystal coated sword was precisely how Vilgax had destroyed Chromastone a while ago. Temporarily, of course... but that wasn’t any comfort for either hero at this moment. Especially since Diamondmech has one other particular strike against him, that being the additional weight of his crystal body renders him unable to fly as such, leaving him only able to hover above the ground. Which isn’t very useful when facing an opponent of Vilgax’s size and strength...

(scene break)

Given Ben and Juleka were about to be either squashed underfoot or diced into pieces by Vilgax’s sword, now probably isn’t the best time to check up on the groups on the other side of the galaxy. But matters being what they are, check on them we shall. Indeed, matters weren’t much more optimistic, given the sight of Ladybug clawing ineffectually at the swampy soils as Khyber stamped down hard on her tail, holding her in place as his Panuncian minion, still remaining in Buglizard form, slicked towards her. Even now she could smell its fog breath and it wasn’t even emitting any of it. Where’s Nath and Tetrax when she needs them?

“So young. So inexperienced. It’s hardly worth the effort to claim your head for my trophy shelf. Still, this is excellent training for my pets.” He reached out a hand to pet his Panuncian pet affectionately. “I’m sure that this beautiful creature appreciates your attempts to escape. I understand it tenderises the meat. Granted, the hybridization with a human probably induces high amounts of cholesterol, but I’m sure he can manage.” He whistled through his gills. “Dig in, old friend.” The Buglizard growled ravenously as it lowered its jaws towards Ladybug’s neck... before something incredible happened. Out of habit, she gave a desperate call for Lucky Charm, and then, much to the confusion of Khyber and his pet, the magical Miraculous power actually activated, showering the skies in red and pink sparkles. So the Miraculouses do work with non-humans! How fortunate for Ladybug as a car jack, like the one she used to defeat Animan, landed in her hands. Instinctively she shoved it into Buglizard’s mouth, disabling it’s mighty jaws. While its reflexes and durability are superhuman, its bite strength obviously isn’t. Enraged, Khyber shot back up and unsheathed one of his hunting knives. Ladybug jumped back to her feet, all four of them, and began mentally racing through her options. She’s too inexperienced with flight to try to escape and the dampness of the swampy soils would probably affect her flight anyway. But as Khyber gave a snarl and prepared to whistle for the remaining Panuncians, her eyes began to twitch, and to her shock, her ocular ports fired out their slimy contents directly into Khyber’s gills, clogging them to such an extent that whistling was impossible. To further add insult to injury, before he could react, a massive blast of crystal smashed into his face, knocking him into the mud behind him. Ladybug turned around to see Tetrax and Nath finally reaching her, fashionably late as usual.

“Marinette!”

“Nath, Tetrax, what time do you call this?! I was about to get eaten alive here!” Neither of her contemporaries seemed particularly sympathetic to her whining after they’d both been through something similar with that Toxikong creature.

“Pleased to see you too. Even if you do sound like a certain blonde bimbo I’ve had the displeasure of having to endure since kindergarten...”

“That hurts, Nath! Why does everyone have to compare me with that rodent? How that sickens me...!” Nevertheless, Ladybug managed to calm down remarkably quickly. “Although I can’t ignore the fact the unfamiliar terrain slowed you down a bit, as much as I want to...”

“Quiet! Both of you! Now isn’t the best time to be falling out and laying blame! Do I need to remind you both there still is the matter of the remaining two Panuncians to sort out before we can make a move on either getting to where I was going to take you or heading back to Earth concluding this adventure is training enough?” Ladybug and Nath looked at each other, contemplating Tetrax’s outburst. He has a point. Arguing and laying blame for each other almost being eaten by their new species’ natural predator is getting them nowhere. And there are indeed two more of their friends to rescue from that fate before their natural predators get them...

(scene break)

Speaking of which, as the Hyena-Wolf lowered its terrifying snout towards the body of its prey, Cat Noir’s mind was arush with feelings of fear, dread, and mortal terror as he struggled to work his way loose of his slimy restraints. Whoever owns this creature clearly recognises lethal potential. A single bite from those canines would take at least half his chest off. And his father would be hard pressed to get that fixed... And it’s not as if Alix is in any shape to help him, having come close to exhausting herself in managing to escape from that Magnebat and even now she was struggling to lead it on a wild goose chase after her and away from Cat. This was all well and good, but it wasn’t doing much to get Cat himself free. So... options... Among other things he thought of was his lady, and how she’d get out of this position. Unfortunately nothing he could replicate was springing to mind. Nothing that would actually let him escape this predator and... wait. Their original plan... where Alix would take the Hyena-Wolf and Cat the Magnebat... was that plan still salvageable...?

“Alix, I’ve just thought of something! Lure him back over here!”

“But Cat, we agreed...!”

“Just do it!” Somewhat reluctantly, Alix complied, beginning to race towards Cat at top speed, swiftly followed by the ear-splitting sound of a screeching Magnebat. Cat’s plan was working. Hyena-Wolves, much like an Earth wolf, evidently have much more sensitive hearing than a human, as the one over Cat turned towards the racing Kineceleran girl and raised its back fur again, shooting out another blast of slime. However, while their reactions are fast enough to ensnare a Citrakayah, they’re obviously ill-equipped to counter Kinecelerans, as the slime blast missed Alix completely and hit the Magnebat in the face, knocking it out of flight and gluing it to the ground. Good call, chaton... So that’s one down and one to go. Which at least means Alix can actually help him now. Her mind started rushing with the possibilities. And then her answer suddenly struck her. Of course! A Hyena-Wolf is still a living being, and there’s no indication that it doesn’t need to breath. Alix started dashing around the Hyena-Wolf in circles, her speed ever increasing, siphoning away the monster’s oxygen until it finally built into a tornado, blowing the Hyena-Wolf upwards into the skies to parts unknown.

“Good move, kitty cat. Lifesaving even.”

“If you’re done patting yourself on the back, Alix...”

“I would, but I can’t reach!”

“...would you mind getting this off me?”

(scene break)

Now that the space groups are alright, we can now return to the scene unfolding in Paris, moments after Diamondmech had transformed again, this time into Diamondbolt, hybridised Diamondhead with Cannonbolt instead. His diamond spikes acting like a tread, he bowled towards Vilgax at high speed, only to be batted aside as the evil Chimera Suis Generis warlord activated the Shield of Seagle. The crystalline sphere was sent crashing into one of the supports of the Eiffel Tower, evidently hard enough to knock his Ectonurite passenger out of his body entirely. For a brief moment, Juleka seemed relieved to be outside another person again, before another blast from the Ruby Ray of Rouleau hit her in the chest before she could turn intangible, blasting her into the steel structure and rendering her unconscious. As Ben struggled to get back up, the ground shook once more with Null Void doomsday energy, worse than any earthquake experienced on Earth before...

“It seems my plans are proceeding as expected. I’d estimate another minute or so before the fatal blast. So again I ask: give me the Omnitrix if you value these people’s lives.”

“And why exactly should I negotiate with you after everything you’ve done?”

“Because the doomsday equipment is coated with an unbreakable resin to prevent you destroying it. Which means the only way for it to be disarmed once activated is via my handprint. And even then, it’ll only work IF I have the Omnitrix. Your choice, Tennyson. The Omnitrix or your planet. There’s no way to save both. Either way, I get the last laugh. The Omnitrix or your planet.” Ben stared in silent shock for a moment. This was a troubling development. Vilgax doesn’t joke around, if he says the only way to save the Earth from being relocated to the Null Void is to surrender the Omnitrix, then the only way to save the Earth from being relocated to the Null Void is to surrender the Omnitrix. And it wasn’t a decision that needed much thinking on either. Vilgax set about this plan, plotting to make Ben choose between the Omnitrix and Earth, knowing he would choose Earth. Reluctantly Ben made his choice.

“Urgh... Decouple Omnitrix Command Code: 000 – Release Coupling – 0.” He reverted to normal as Juleka regained consciousness. The Omnitrix was now in his hands. Vilgax marched over and took it from him, a triumphant smile on his face. “You’ve got what you wanted. Now will you disarm the doomsday machine?”

“I will do so. And as I’m in such a generous mood today, you can keep your measly planet, Ben Tennyson. What is this backwater planet compared to the rest of the universe?” He leapt upwards to the top deck, laughing triumphantly...

(scene break)

“At last, the Omnitrix is mine and Ben Tennyson is humiliated! The universe will tremble at the mere mention of the word Vilgax once more!” As he marched forwards towards the control pane, that was what the evil Chimera Suis Generis warlord cruelly declared. Now all that remains is to disarm the Null Void doomsday device and leave this crude backwater planet behind him. Then he can resume his conquests alone, obviously betraying Nate to do so. He didn’t know why, but the idea of either returning Nate to where he found him or simply firing him out of an airlock came to mind in that regard. But he turned his attention back to the control panel, now 10 seconds from detonation. He placed his hand on which now resided the Omnitrix onto the handprint scanner. He was expecting it to deactivate the machine, as it was programmed to only recognise Vilgax’s handprint while he wore the Omnitrix as the disarmament code. Hence his surprise when the computerised voice said otherwise. He tried again to the same result. Then it suddenly dawned on the evil Chimera Suis Generis warlord. Nate was working on the doomsday device while he was outsmarting Tennyson. And Nate’s disobedience was becoming a real problem. Then Vilgax suddenly realised the truth. Nate was working on the controls in particular. He’d have had the perfect opportunity to reprogram them! Indeed, looking deeper, his suspicions were confirmed. A crudely sketched drawing of the Omegatrix symbol and a Chimera Suis Generis. Oh no... he’s changed the settings so it’ll only respond to Nate’s Chimera Suis Generis transformation, and that was one he’d yet to actually unlock! The timer hit zero. “NATHANIEL EIGHTON!!!!” was Vilgax’s scream of pure, primal, unparalleled fury as the dark red energy waves fired outwards, tearing apart entire sections of land, faster than even XLR8 could run, engulfing the city, the country and eventually the entire world in a matter of seconds.

Chapter Text

From the bridge of the battleship once commanded by his former master, there was one man gazing at the sight of the Earth disappearing into red mist. From the comfort of his command chair, evidently pretty proud of himself for managing to outfox all of his enemies in one go, Nate 8 was now in control of all of Vilgax’s resources. This made him a force to be reckoned with, even more so than before.

“How very naughty of me. I’ve managed the impossible – I’ve lured Vilgax, the most feared being in the universe! – er, correction – the FORMER most feared being in the universe, into a trap from which he’ll never escape! The Earth now resides in the Null Void, where the most monstrous of creatures live. And with Ben Tennyson stuck there as well, I can finally move on with my life. Now my ultimate goal can take shape at last! And for that, I only need an Osmosian and a map...”

(scene break)

How long had it been since the detonation? Who knows? At best estimate, it was likely a number of hours. An obvious giveaway was where the four heroes regained consciousness. They were no longer in the general vicinity of the Eiffel Tower. They were instead scrawled over the deck of the Liberty. Exactly how that happened wasn’t clear, perhaps Anarka came looking for them and brought them home? That wasn’t quite so important at the moment though. As Ben looked up at the skies, he knew exactly where they were.

“Well... I can’t say this was a perfect outcome. What even happened, did Vilgax retreat on his word or something? So much for his word...” Ben’s rambling was quickly cut off, by the sound of one of his comrades regaining consciousness. It was Juleka, still smoking from that energy blast, swiftly followed by her brother. Juleka managed to prop herself up and finally got a proper look at her brother’s original form.

“Luka...”

“Hey.”

“You’re human...”

“Yeah, that Vilgax guy did something to me, now I’ve got my old handsome face back.”

“...and naked...” Luka looked down at himself, evidently embarrassed at not having realised it sooner. He excused himself and went to his cabin to change as Juleka began looking around her rapidly, quickly noticing the new skies and gasping. “O...K... Whoa... the skies... red and... where even are we?”

“The Null Void. It’s an alternative dimensional prison, where the Plumbers send the worst criminals in the universe. Never gets any more pleasant... I’ve been here more times than I can count. Not as a prisoner, mind you...” Although then Ben’s eyes turned around to where the boat was moored, and in particular, the sight of the one responsible for this sitting on a bench directly opposite them caught his attention. Instinctively Ben raised his arm, eager to transform into Rath and rip Vilgax a new one, before he suddenly remembered what he’d done hours before. Oh great...(!) His nemesis has the Omnitrix and what Ben could do to stop him without it was limited. Then something very strange happened...

“You are welcome, Ben Tennyson.”

“Save that talk for someone who cares, fish-face! I thought you said you’d disarm your machine, that you’d leave without further conflict!”

“You might have no reason to do so, but you will have to believe me when I say that I was completely sincere about that! I had absolutely no intention of leaving your world to this fate. And do you honestly think it was my intention to be within range when it went off?!” That made Ben think. That is a good point his nemesis makes, as much as he hates to admit it. “I fully intended to keep my word, but there arose a problem. Entrusting Nate 8 for tech support...”

“Nate betrayed you?” Ben looked at Juleka and nonchalantly muttered it was only a matter of time before either Vilgax or Nate betrayed the other.

“The doomsday machine was programmed to only disarm itself via a handprint. My handprint.” He looked at the Omnitrix in his hand. “While wearing this. Unfortunately Nate decided to change that. By the time I tried to deactivate it, the necessary handprint had been reprogrammed to the Omegatrix’s DNA sample of my species! Which I know for a fact he hasn’t actually unlocked yet. There was nothing that could’ve stopped the blast. Your world is doomed. For we both know what manner of abominations inhabit the Null Void...”

“Yeah, that much is obvious... So you were the one who brought us back here?” Vilgax nodded.

“The pirate woman... when the dust settled, she came to look for you. Between me, Animo and Shadow Moth, I was the only one who reminded conscious. I contemplated leaving you to fend for yourselves... but I decided against it. As much as it pains me greatly to admit it, if I couldn’t defeat you by now, I would stand no chance of exacting my revenge for this betrayal alone. So when the pirate woman came to look for her children, I offered her assistance. Right now, I would prefer taking the Omnitrix in circumstances that would not remind me of the agony of this day. So... as much as I hate to do this...” He stood up, clearly in frustrated disbelief of having to resort to this, and slowly walked across the gangplank. Reaching Ben and Juleka, he reached out a hand. The one containing the Omnitrix.

“This is... certainly unexpected...”

“I agree. But if we want to escape this infernal dimension and destroy Nate 8 for banishing us here... what is it you humans say? There is strength in numbers?” Ben nodded and re-donned his trademark wristwear. “I will help you escape this infernal dimension. But I demand a rematch for the Omnitrix when this is over.”

“Help us out, help us stop Nate from doing... whatever he’s planning on doing... and I’ll grant you that rematch. But, I’m sure I’ve said this before but whatever, the first sign of a double-cross and you’re a sushi platter.”

“Very well. I accept your terms. Once Animo's signal arrives, we should be ready. While you were unconscious, I sent him and Shadow Moth to his fortress from when he ruled these lands last.”

“Good call, there might be something salvageable we can use...” At this point Juleka saw it fit to speak up. She seemed rather panicked while doing so...

“One problem, behind you!” Vilgax turned to see what had startled her. Null Guardian flock approaching fast. Perfect(!)

“Null Guardians. Created by the Galvan as prison wardens of sorts. Don’t worry, chances are I’ve got something in here that’ll send them flapping!” But Ben didn’t get the chance to utilise whatever alien he was going for. For Vilgax jet-jumped upwards, backflipping onto the lead Guardian’s back, and jabbed his claws into the pressure points around its neck. This was enough. The Guardian struggled for a moment before submitting, lowering Vilgax to the ground, much to Ben and Juleka’s surprise.

“H-H-H-How did you do that?” Vilgax leapt aboard the Liberty once more at Juleka’s question.

“Respect. I command it, even here.”

“Well, goodie goodie for you. Now what’s your plan for while we wait for Animo’s signal? Because I for one don’t much like the idea of encountering the Way Bads while we’re in here...” A sudden scream shoreside cut him off. Aside from being loud enough to wake Rook up, it seemed to be the scream of a young girl. That was the case to Ben’s ears, of course. Juleka knew exactly who it was. Wasting no time, she leapt upwards and into a levitation, and onwards towards the screams. Naturally Ben decided to go with her, quickly going Jetray and zooming after her.

(scene break)

Given Jetray’s flying speed, the answer to if help could arrive any faster was most likely yes. Just down the Seine was the sight of the remaining two members of Kitty Section, both in trouble and both surrounded by a group of a non-sapient species that Vilgax referred to as Nerve Beetles. That was a pretty accurate name, given the creatures resembled humanoid beetles ranging in size from not much taller than Mylene to ones that were almost as tall as Ivan. How unfortunate that the group had to encounter these creatures of all the ones in the Null Void... It was only a matter of time before someone got stung if the Nerve Beetles got any closer, the most likely candidate being Rose as she was the one screaming her head off as the Beetles’ stingers stretched nearer and nearer to her pretty little face...

How fortunate for them that the cavalry arrived at that moment. Just inches away from contact, a pair of green neuroshock blasts hit that Beetle square in the back, making it collapse in a heap on the ground. The rest of the pack turned around to see the sight of a red and yellow humanoid manta ray hovering above them, eyes ablaze with energy. Seconds afterwards, a certain Chimera Suis Generis landed beside him, shaking the ground on impact. This was already enough to demoralise the Nerve Beetles, but the clincher came in the form of a deep blue laser beam exploding in front of them. That was enough to unease the Nerve Beetles enough to send them scampering, and the manta ray reverted to Ben in a flash of green light, evidently catching Rose and Ivan off guard as they were still huddling in fear.

“Danger’s passed, kids. You should probably head home. I’ll have this mess cleaned up as quick as ASAP.”

“W-W-W-Who even are you? And what in the world were those things?!”

“More importantly, Rose, where even are we, cause this don’t look like nowhere I’ve ever been before...”

“The Null Void, tall one. An alternate dimension where the galaxy’s worst of the worst are banished. And those creatures are called Nerve Beetles, I’ve had the displeasure of getting stung by them before. Be thankful we got here in time, or your friend would be a cadaver by now.” Ivan gave a shudder at Vilgax’s explanation as Rose let go of him.

“Oh, and answer to the original question? Ben Tennyson, hero of heroes, surely you’ve heard of me.”

“Someone has a high opinion of themselves...” Rose muttered nonchalantly as Ben started looking around, obviously keeping an eye out for any other potential threats. It was at this point the originator of that laser, overcome with happiness at the sight of her BFF being safe once more, suddenly opted to resume visibility.

“Rose!” Her sudden reappearance, combined with the fact Rose wasn’t on board the Liberty when that blast transformed her, reignited Rose’s screaming fit. “Oh! Oh darn, I should’ve thought of this... Err... look, I know I look weird, but I’m still...!” Rose was practically hysterical, so much so that none of Juleka’s attempts to explain registered. Ben and Vilgax looked at each other before nodding. There was only one way to explain this to her. Vilgax grabbed Juleka by the shoulder and tapped the Tiger Miraculous emblem on her chest. In seconds a red flash of light shot out and the gothic girl reverted to human form, falling hard on her knees in the process.

“Juleka...?”

“Who did you expect, a ghost?” Rose gave a slow nod as she ran over and engulfed her best friend in a tight hug. “It’s a long story... I’ll explain later. Now here’s a question of my own, what were you doing out here at this time? Haven’t you seen the sky and the monsters it’s really dangerous!”

“We know, that’s why we were out! When the city was brought here, I wanted to make sure you were safe, so I was coming to the boat and I ran into Ivan, we were going to come together, but then came those monsters...”

“Ease up a little, they won’t hurt you anymore. Not while I’m around anyway... Juleka, these two seem close friends of yours, shall we take them back to the boat? Darn sight safer than staying out here...” Juleka turned back to Ben, smiled and gave the nod.

(scene break)

So the Couffaines and their friends are alright, at least for the time being. So perhaps it is time to turn our attention elsewhere, towards a natural satellite that wasn’t brought into the Null Void alongside Earth. The moon. A likely target for Nate 8, for on a Plumber moonbase, that is where he will find the Osmosian he needs for his ultimate endgame. Indeed, even now, as the Osmosian does a little deferred maintenance on the outside doors alongside his Anodite girlfriend, he could not possibly have understood what was due to await him shortly...

“Excellent recon, my metallic minions. Even from this ridge I can see Mr Levin. Oh, and poor deluded Gwen Tennyson as well, of course. I wonder if she still remembers that... unfortunate bit of history... Meh, never mind. Begin lockdown procedure. Make sure that they are both trapped in there with me. I’ll overpower Kevin Levin and make him go along with my plans. Then we will lure the Miraculouses to me. And then the way to the final variable – to the planet of the infinite power – will reveal itself to me! The universe will be at my feet, and nevermore will I have to endure the nauseating drudgery of the Plumbers and their obsessive delusions of heroism!” The drone hovering above his shoulder flew off to obey. Nate gave a hushed giggle as he leapt forward to where his prey was lurking, silently landing inches behind his prey as he picked up his toolkit and went inside. Quietly transforming into Phantom, Nate ghosted through the closing door to continue his hunt...

“OK, outside pressure readings are normal, oxygen ratings are slightly below average, but nothing too indicative of a risk...” He looked at the clipboard in his free hand. “...solar radiation rates... need attention, but we’ll have to order in the parts which could take a while...”

“Which is problematic, because Grandpa Max wants this base operational for the next batch of recruits. Due next week.” Suddenly there was a power fluctuation and the base’s lighting flickered out. “Add to that generator upgrades. That’s the fifth blackout today...” Gwen mumbled as she generated an orb of light in one hand.

“Errr... that’s impossible, I double checked after the last one and improvised enough so we wouldn’t be expecting another blackout for days!”

“If that’s true, and I’m not doubting it is, then the only other logical explanation is...” A sudden crash of metallic material cut Gwen off, the light vanishing with her. Taken by surprise, Kevin turned around in shock, absorbing the moon rock floor in the process. The lights flickered back on briefly, illuminating the face of the attacker: a hybridisation of a number of Ben’s aliens, two from each series in the Classic Continuity. His torso resembled that of a Crystalsapien, with a Geochelone Aerios’s shell on his back, his right arm resembled that of a Petrosapien and his other one resembled that of Atomix, with a hand and elbow spike resembling that of Kickin’ Hawk. His legs would provide tremendous speed, for they were those of a Citrakayah, perfectly designed for rapid acceleration. His head was that of a Loban, with purple eyes and the horns of an Aerophibian. His identity was confirmed by a look at his chest, for there was the Omegatrix symbol, with four spikes protruding from it, similar to how the Ultimatrix did so. It didn’t take Kevin long to piece together his identity.

“Nate. It’s been a while since you last tried to kill us.”

“Oh, please don’t dwell on such trivialities, Kevin. Besides, I wouldn’t have had to try if you’d only retained your common sense. Do you even remember six years ago, when you and I were better buddies than you and Tennyson now? Hmm... good times.”

“Oh, skip the reminiscing, Nate, I know you’re not here to chat, out with it!”

“If you insist. By now, you’ll have noticed something missing from the skies up there. That is indisputable prove that Ben Tennyson has been defeated. I call the shots now, young Levin. And I am now free to act on my intentions for the universe. But I require an Osmosian. And since you are the only Osmosian I know...” Kevin gave a humourless laugh.

“You are crazy, Nate. To think I’ll have any part in your scheming anymore! I’m not evil anymore. I’m nuanced.”

“Does that mean you reject my offer?” Nate didn’t even wait for Kevin to nod. Instead he slammed the Omegatrix symbol on his chest and transformed once more, evolving his hybrid form to its ultimate potential. In seconds, the corridor was blocked by the evolved hybridization of DNA that was Ultimate Nate 8, retaining some similarities with his regular form, namely retaining Fasttrack's legs, Terraspin's shell and Blitzwolfer's head, the latter of which obscured slightly beneath Water Hazard’s hood. However this mutation is drastically different. His torso now resembled that of Four Arms with a biological heat vent exposing red-hot energy styled similarly to NRG's, with Terraspin's shell on his back, all of which now textured like Water Hazard's armour, as well as both Astrodactyl's and Nanomech's wings. His upper right arm still resembled Diamondhead's, but it was now cracked in a fire pattern similar to Heatblast's and the corresponding hand was a massive fist, basically a crystal version of Humungosaur's. The lower half of his upper left arm still resembled Atomix’s with a hand like Kicking Hawk's, while the shoulder and upper part resembled Gravattack’s. Both upper arms had Jetray’s wing membrane connecting them to his torso, and both of his new lower arms resemble Chromastone’s. Ultimate Nate 8 was also noticeably much more bulky than before and still wore Nate’s dark blue trousers. “I would strongly advise you to reconsider your answer. If I am forced to pummel you into obedience, I will do so as viciously as I would Tennyson. Do not test me, Kevin. My powers fully exceed any of yours.”

“I’m going to ignore that statement. And besides, you’re not the only one who can presto-chango!” Making two fists, Kevin’s brow furrowed as his body began to morph as well. Within seconds, he’d reverted to his Omniverse mutation. “And one thing you should know about me by now is I love doing things the hard way!”

“In which case, you’ll get no objections from me!” Immediately every electrical system in the base went offline as their fists collided, unleashing a shock wave that would’ve levelled half of Bellwood had they been on Earth at the time. Each combatant glared at each other, deep into their eyes, before Kevin made the next move, slashing outwards with his star power, which Nate countered with his NRG RAD blasts from his vent at the top of his chest. Undeterred, Kevin shot forth his Feedback tendril hair, striking Nate in the chest and electrocuting him in a shower of sparks. An effective move, for electricity can prove effective in stunning Nate 8, unless he is in a form that can handle electricity. In this case, the only potential contender was his Nanomech wings, so Nate fell to his knees. His discomfort was short-lived however, as he ruthlessly shot both legs into both of Kevin’s, knocking him backwards through several more doors. Nate got back to his feet, chuckling with evil glee. “A minor problem with Orthopterrans: the legs are designed in such a manner that an impact to them automatically knocks them backwards! I trust you have something to say to that, Kevin?” Kevin struggled back to his feet and spat out one of Ball Weevil’s plasma balls, clocking Nate in the eyes and clouding the corridor in moon dust. Satisfied, Kevin hauled Gwen over his shoulder and retreated, but this did not escape the attention of Nate as he rubbed his head in discomfort. “Clever, old friend, very clever. But I have one more similarity to you than you think. Well, not you personally but your friend Aggregor. One major similarity between him and me - no one escapes me, Kevin Levin!”

Chapter Text

“OK Kevin, let’s go over the obvious. Gwen's got a concussion far as I can tell, Nate’s going to keep charging through walls until he gets my severed head through one of them, there’s only so much I can attack and fall back before critical damage occurs and we all get sucked out into space...” A thunderous crash as Ultimate Nate 8 tore through the door cut Kevin’s line of thought short.

“Even now, you acknowledge your limitations. Recognition is the first step towards self-improvement.” Kevin’s response was short and to the point, with a venomous undertone empathising his modern contempt for his former friend.

“If you end her, I will end you.” Nate did not seem to react.

“I’m getting the strangest feeling that honour might in fact be yours,” he drawled disturbingly nonchalantly. A look of fury that Nate had not seen since the Snap Dragon’s attack on the Settle Space Needle during their partnership with Zs’Skayr, Animo and Vilgax six years ago overtook Kevin’s face in that moment, enraged that Nate would believe he would intentionally hurt the girl he loves! OK there was that brief period when he snapped when he absorbed Aggregor’s stolen power, but aside from that, he’d never harm a hair on her head! So for Nate to imply that he may actually do so was a very worrying sign.

“You mess with my head, you make me hurt her... it will be the last thing you ever do! So back off! If you like your head where it is.” He dropped Gwen as Nate gave a sinister chuckle.

“Best of luck with that. I’m as invulnerable as an Orishan’s armour! You’ll never make me bleed. You, on the other hand...” Nate took in a deep breath and let out a massive Loban sonic howl, blasting Kevin back a few feet as he morphed his Bloxx arm into an anchor to save himself. Unsatisfied, he spat out a barrage of plasma balls as Nate charged forward like a freight train, the size of his Humungosaur fist growing dramatically in preparation for the blow. Every one of those balls hit Nate in the chest and exploded, each blasting him back a few inches but did nothing to halt his advance. Undeterred, and starting to fear for Gwen’s life with all the debris floating around, Kevin shot a hand forwards activating his gravikinetic powers, forcing both of Nate’s feet to the ground and making him fall flat on his face. Even then, Nate struggled to get upwards to look Kevin in the eyes, before firing an Aerophibian neuroshock blast towards Gwen’s unconscious body, knowing Kevin would have to drop his gravitational field in order to shield her. It was a very accurate prediction. Kevin leapt in front of Gwen, activating his natural energy absorbing powers to absorb Nate’s blast, and then, just as Nate began utilising his size alteration powers, Kevin fired that neuroshock blast right back at him, engulfing the corridor in a cloud of moon dust once again. That’ll slow Nate down at least. Hopefully long enough for Kevin to get Gwen to the infirmary, and hopefully contact Max and the Plumbers. But even as he picked up his girlfriend and ran, the menacing figure of Ultimate Nate 8 shot back to his feet, now sporting an eight shaped scar across his right eye. He snarled in fury. His quarry evades him... for now. He will track Kevin down and make him help him in finding the ultimate power! No one will get in his way, even if he has to fight the entirety of the Plumbers singlehandedly, he will do so and win! For he is now the most dangerous being in the universe, for he now has everything Vilgax did, for he knows exactly what and how to get what he wants, and nothing anyone can do will stop him finding the map, and then the ultimate prize...!

(scene break)

“OK, so... for our newcomers, I might as well explain things quickly. Me – Ben Tennyson. Him,” he pointed at his Revonnahgander partner sitting on Luka’s bed, “Rook Blonko. Squid face up on deck, Vilgax. Long story short, Vilgax was working with another guy to force me to surrender the Omnitrix.” He raised his watch hand to showcase his trademark wristwear. “This. It lets me transform into various superpowered aliens. The other guy working with Vilgax betrayed him, and so he couldn’t deactivate his doomsday device. Hence, we’re all here. In the Null Void. While the traitor is out there, plotting whatever he’s planning.”

“Great story. But do you have any idea how to get out of here? If those beetles are any indication, I really don’t want to meet the other locals!”

“Ha, big strong Ivan quaking in his shoes. Never thought I’d see the day...” Ben ignored Juleka’s comment as he turned back to Ivan.

“Can’t say I blame you. I wouldn’t mind never setting foot in here again. The Null Void is the end of the line for the worst criminals in the galaxy. You’d wet yourselves if you saw some of the others in here. And to be honest, we’re currently working on a lead that might help us out, but at this stage I can’t promise anything.”

“Sounds like we’re going to be stuck here a while then. That’s one question answered, now here’s another: Juleka, what’s up with that other side of you, have you always been a ghost creature...?” Juleka turned to her brother on the opposite side of the room for guidance as Rose rambled on, half in terror, half in bewilderment. A few melodic strums were her answer.

“Rosie, Rosie, just calm down, I’ll explain everything. That... thing I was earlier... that’s an Ectonurite...” She trailed off, looking towards Ben to confirm pronunciation of that word. “I wasn’t a ghost, I was an alien. That just happened to have ghost-like abilities. And no, I haven’t been one of those all my life. I got caught in an energy wave when something went wrong with the Omnitrix, it turned me and Luka into two of Ben’s aliens.”

“And be thankful Vilgax was able to undo your transformation. Might’ve affected your ability to change back at all otherwise. She might’ve been like that forever...”

“Yeah... about that... for some reason, I just felt so much... more like myself like that... like it was familiar... and something Nate said... Ben... do you what a High Ecto-Lord is?”

“Ruler of the Ectonurites and the Anur system, from what I understand.” Then Ben suddenly remembered that that title was one once held by his old enemy Zs’Skayr. His eyes turned wide with realisation. “What exactly did Nate say to you?”

“He said his watch categorised me as the hybrid daughter of a High Ecto-Lord. I... I don’t know if it’s true or not...”

“We can only hope it isn’t... Rook, how many High Ecto-Lords besides Zs’Skayr have been reported in history?” Rook looked at his Proto-Tool’s screen to search for an answer.

“Given the average lifespan of an Ectonurite is approximately 800 Earth years... if Nate’s accusation is accurate... I’d estimate only one would have been in power at the correct time for Juleka to be her current age. Therefore the chances of it being any other Ectonurite than Zs’Skayr are minimal at best.”

“Ben, what’s he talking about?” Ben gave a sigh at Juleka’s inquiry. He’d have to tell her the whole tale... As he did so, Rook waved his Proto-Tool over the gothic girl’s body, presumably using the scanning function to investigate Nate’s claim.

“When I first found the Omnitrix six years ago, an Ectonurite was one of the original ten aliens I had. I called him Ghostfreak. But I didn’t know the full danger of using him back then. One time I was fighting a creepy clown who vampiracly fed on people’s emotions, either happiness or fear. I went Ghostfreak to face him. I lost control. I beat him, but that was way spookier than when I normally used him. Then came the Zs’Skayr incident... I didn’t know this at the time, but a High Ecto-Lord named Zs’Skayr was possessing the sample for Wildvine when it was taken for the Omnitrix, unintentionally adding Ectonurite DNA to the watch as well. And as an Ectonurite’s consciousness exists even in a few strands of DNA, Zs’Skayr took over Ghostfreak. At one point, he managed to escape the Omnitrix and became one of my greatest enemies. I beat him every time, at one point even regaining Ghostfreak in the watch, but it was only fairly recently that I started using him regularly again.” His audience listened in silent discomfort before Rook spoke up. Nothing to worry about, he said. No further traces of Ectonurite DNA in her system. Juleka breathed a sigh of relief. It was at this point Luka decided to speak up.

“While I’m thankful that my little sister isn’t secretly a ghost alien, isn’t there a slightly more important problem that we need to work on?” Oh yeah, they need to get out of the Null Void and stop whatever Nate has planned. And short of stumbling across the Null Void, hoping to escape the way Vilgax did by stumbling across a portal being opened on another planet, their best bet is whatever Animo and Shadow Moth can find in Animo’s old lair...

(scene break)

“...ear!” She felt a shock flow through her body. “Clear!” Another shock. CPR... when did Kevin learn CPR...? “Come on, come on ...”

“Urgh... Kevin...?”

“Oh, thank goodness! I thought I lost you for a minute there...”

“What happened? And why are you...?”

“All big and patchworked again? Nate’s gunning for us, he’s defeated Ben! He wants me to help him with his villainous schemes, I’m not going back to crime!”

“That might not be entirely your choice.” Kevin and Gwen turned around to see Ultimate Nate 8 approaching. “No one escapes me, Kevin Levin. You’re going to help me find the map whether you like it or not!”

“Over Gwen’s dead body!” Nate gave a hushed giggle.

“I believe that is the intention.” Nate generated a ball of nuclear energy in his hands. Kevin pushed Gwen behind him for her own protection. The energy ball hit his chest and exploded. Nate followed up with a combination of RAD blasts from his heat vent and multicoloured Lasers from his lower Chromastone arms. It was much to his frustration that Gwen mustered up the energy to project a mana shield to protect Kevin. He snarled animalistically and slammed all four hands together, generating a thunderclap and severely cracking the shield. “Your magic tricks amuse me less and less.” A pair of neuroshock blasts burst through the shield, shattering it and blasting Gwen backwards into a wall. Furious, Kevin lashed out with a star power whip, striking Nate in his private parts and making him stagger backwards in pain for a moment before jetting his Diamondhead arm into the ground, blasting a massive row of crystal spikes through the ground and sending Kevin rocketing through the ceiling into the atmosphere. Though his enhanced durability meant he was able to recover and steady himself into flight as Nate leapt upwards after him. But Kevin saw this coming and activated his gravikinetic powers, sending Nate crashing into the moon’s surface equally quickly, showering the skies in moon dust. Kevin came in to land... “Urgh... urgh... help me... winded... can’t... breath...”

“Oh come on, I didn’t hit you that hard!” Although immediately after saying that, Kevin’s demeanour changed. “Although I don’t always know my own strength...” Concerned for his former friend, Kevin ran over to Nate’s suffocating body... and right into a crystalline Humungosaur fist sending him flying backwards into a crater miles away.

“Yes, I knew you’d fall for that.” Kevin looked upwards, rubbing his head.

“Low blow, high brow!” Nate suddenly landed in front of him, his crystal arm lighting with Pyronite flames as he readied a fireball in that hand.

“I do what I have to.” He nonchalantly barked, and he shot out the fireball, only for Kevin to use his gravikinesis to flick it back at him, impacting in his bad eye and making him howl in pain as Kevin leapt back into action, spitting plasma balls at him like mad, clouding him in moon dust until his visibility was greatly reduced. Pausing for breath, Kevin briefly thought Nate had literally bitten the dust, before remembering the full extent of Nate’s durability in his Ultimate form. In seconds, he was proven right, as a pair of Chromastone blasts hit him in the knees, forcing him to fall down and revert to human form as Nate re-emerged.

“Don’t think you’re so clever, Nate. I knew you weren’t beaten yet.”

“Compare Aggregor’s durability and stamina in his ultimate form to mine and you’ll understand just how much longer I can hold out. I will give you one last chance. Help me find the map and I will allow you to live. Continue this struggle, and you will die. What is your answer?”

“Here - is our answer!” That was not Kevin’s voice. Nate was taken aback. It sounded female for one, but Gwen was still out cold as far as he knew. Then he turned around, right into a crystal eruption inches in front of his face. Seconds afterwards, a pair of blue blurs zoomed at him and kicked him all over for a moment, just long enough for a certain Petrosapien mercenary to get a blow to the face in.

“Tetrax. I don’t know if I should be grateful or unnerved.”

“I know, when I turn up, Vilgax isn’t far behind. That’s why I’m here. Nate is up to something and we have to stop him reporting back to Vilgax!”

“Hahahahahaha! You have no idea what has gone down on Earth, Tetrax Shard! In fact, if you’ll look up for the briefest of moments,” Tetrax and his two friends did so, noticing the absence of the blue and green jewel they called a home planet, “you will see what I mean. I’m a free agent now. Vilgax didn’t recognise my true intentions until it was much, much too late. He now resides alongside Tennyson and the rest of humanity in the Null Void. And now I can put my master plan into action.” Tetrax and the Citrakayah looked at each other worriedly.

“So... you’re not working with Vilgax anymore?” He was quickly cut off by his Kineceleran friend’s tail whipping him in the face.

“Did he ever strike you as the type of guy to share power, Cat? The minute Ladybug told us about that guy, I knew one of them would betray the other. Funny, I always thought it would be Vilgax backstabbing Nate...”

“I expect he thought much the same, my dear.” At this point, Kevin climbed back to his feet and looked at the Kineceleran girl confused.

“Helen? Been a while... You cheating on Manny with this poser now?” She looked at him, every bit as confused as he was.

“Err... who’s Helen? I’m Alix.” Her response only confused him even more. Before anyone could explain, a barrage of Nate’s drones whooshed inwards, catching her by surprise. She managed to avoid their rate of fire easily enough, before Nate himself radiated a magnetic pulse from one hand, “Oh man, why didn’t I learn from the Magnebat...?!”, dramatically affecting her ability to control her speed and sending her crashing into Tetrax at high speed, knocking him over as well.

“Courtesy of the Biot-savartians." Nate’s heat vent began to glow, clearly he was about to go for a RAD blast, before a sudden rush of slime clogged it up, leaving him open to a jump-kick from the Citrakayah.

“So how'd you even manage to pull this off, Nate? When we last fought, you were firmly in his pocket!”

“Feline traits, we’ve met before... the Cat hero... hmm, another victim of that accident your gothic Ectonurite friend mentioned... I like your new appearance, Cat Noir. Really suits you. A simple statement of fact.”

“Well I do look pretty purr-fect...” He only got a burst of slime to the back of the head for his comment. Both he and Nate looked behind them at the Lepidopterran fluttering behind them.

“Just about the only positive of my new form – a decent get-back for every time I have to listen to one of your inappropriate puns!” Cat sank down in annoyance for a moment, just as Kevin wandered up to them. He asked for an explanation. Ladybug obliged him... before both her wings suddenly took a jet of water each and she fell on top of Cat. Kevin turned around to see Nate pulling a tomato red Polymorph out of his heat vent and crushing its Anti-Gravity Projector in one hand. That’s bad news.

“As much as I enjoy surprise parties, I much prefer it when I am providing the intrigue. This momentary twist of fate will not save you, Kevin. Even if it wasn’t your intention to call them in. The look of confusion on your face is not easy to fake, especially for someone as dead to sympathy as you. Now... this is going to end and I am going to make you show me where the map is.” Kevin looked Nate in the eye. He could be right. Nothing they’ve tried has even slowed him down yet. As much as he hates to admit it, there could only be one solution. Take the power out of Nate’s hands. Alix and Tetrax are busy with the drones and everyone else is out cold. Plus Max isn’t going to be much help at his age. It’s got to be Kevin. He charged at his former friend, leaping upwards and raising a hand, ready to absorb every ounce of power the Omegatrix has!

A tragic pity therefore, that it was someone else who made contact with that hand. Nate had foreseen Kevin’s aggression. He knew he’d try this. Hence why in the split-second Kevin clouded him in moon dust, he’d dashed back inside the base and snatched Gwen’s unconscious body. He’d levitated it up from the crater in which he hid it. Too late did Kevin realise it. Too late did he try in desperation to stand down. He began draining her at an alarming rare, her energies surging into him uncontrollably. She started screaming in agony as Kevin desperately tried to stop himself. It didn’t work. In seconds, Gwen crumbled into dust before his horrified eyes. Immediately his eyes turned murderous. Nate tricked him into murdering the girl he loved...!

“Such a shame about your girlfriend. I pity thou, Kevin.” Nate drawled, with a hint of genuine sympathy in his voice. Kevin snarled in pure unrivalled fury, absorbed the moon rock and bolted towards Nate, morphing one hand into a spiked ball to ensure Nate wouldn’t slither out of this one! But Nate was clever. Kevin’s hot-headedness makes him very easy to exploit. And there’s only so much protection his armour will give him against what he was slipping out of his back pocket. It wasn’t Nate’s face Kevin’s fist collided with. It was a cheap knockoff of the Omnitrix, coloured red with indications resembling a predatory creature’s mouth. Oh no... he recognised it from Zed... the Nemetrix! “A crude replica of the model Khyber has, but sufficient for my ultimate goal. Now Kevin... you’ve just exposed yourself to the feral DNA of the most savage predators in the universe. Even now, the side effects will be eating away at your mind, until you become the monster you were six years ago.” Kevin’s eyes lit up with a combination of fury and terror as his body did indeed begin to painfully morph, much to the horror of the amalgamated French teenagers who’d recovered enough to watch. Nemetrix Kevin 11 retained his humanoid shape, but aside from that, his appearance was significantly more animalistic. His torso became a combination of Crabdozer’s and Hypnotick's with Slamworm's tail and several of Mucilator's gooey patches all over the torso. His legs changed to resemble Tyranopede's. His left arm morphed into Buglizard's with armour like Crabdozer's, and his right arm became a dead ringer for Terrorantula Phil's. Omnivoricious's wings and Vicetopus's tentacles sprouted from his back, and his head now resembled a Panuncian’s, with the mane sprawling over his back, and he wore a red spiked collar with the Nemetrix symbol on it. He terrified the onlookers with a feral, bloodthirsty roar. “Excellent. Your new collar will ensure you remain my pet.” Kevin tried to protest, but the collar drove a horrifying burst of electricity into his nervous system, making him howl in pain before bowing submissively at Nate’s feet. “Much better. Now... before I forget, what shall we do with the intrusive rodents...?”

(scene break)

“OK... judging by the trajectory of the islands and what appears to be a sun of some sort... I still have no idea which part of the Null Void we’re in.” Up on deck, Ben’s words weren’t much comfort to the growing number of civilians who were hounding him about his failure to prevent this. “But I have been here before and I can fix all this, more likely than not!”

“What do you think, Julie? Think Ben can get us out of this terrifying place?” Juleka looked at her friend uncertainly. While it is certainly true that Ben Tennyson has a number of transformations who could possibly create a means to get the Earth back to where it originally was, his chances of success depend on his experience of doing anything like that. Besides that, there’s also the problem of limited materials to do such with in the Null Void. She settled on a shrug... just as the sky above them opened up and spat five humanoid figures down onto the Liberty’s decks. In one particular case, a very messy business in general...

“Mr Tennyson, I think I speak for all of us when I say... what just happened?”

“We just lost. That’s what happened...” As he came back on board, ignoring further questions from Miss Chamack about what he meant, the mood became even more grim. Particularly when Rose and Ivan actually worked out the identities of the five newcomers. Ivan was about to head below deck when they entered. The noise changed his mind. A wave of familiarity washed over him as he looked across them, in particular the Kineceleran. He didn’t know her species at the time, but her choice of clothing ran a few alarm bells for him. He wandered over to where she was lying sprawled out on the deck...

“Black top, pink hair... Alix? Is that you?” The Kineceleran did not even try to deny it as she turned to look at him.

“Urgh... yeah, it’s me, could you help me up?” Ivan nodded and did so. “Thanks. Been a rollercoaster ride being like this. On the one hand, I can go faster than I’ve ever dreamed, on the other hand, I’ve got a serious problem with magnets now. And probably a lifelong fear of bats. Long story.” Rook decided to speak up.

“It sounds as if Miss Kubdel has had a run in with a Magnebat.” Alix shuddered at that name.

“Huh, I never thought XLR8 would have a predator...”

“Sounds pretty scary. Awesome... but I probably wouldn’t want to meet one...” Juleka’s comment went unnoticed by almost everyone, until the moment Rose decided to mention the tomato red stains that splattered over her when the portal opened... “Oh yeah, nearly forgot. Nath, would you mind getting off us?”

“Urgh... sorry Juleka, my Anti-Gravity Projector’s busted, I can’t move!” Recognising Nath’s discomfort, Ben and Rook gave Vilgax the classic ‘you know what to do’ look. Unhappy with it, but acknowledging, the Chimera Suis Generis warlord knelt down where the remains of the projector, alongside the Goat Miraculous emblem on it, had landed. He tapped the emblem, and Nath reverted to human form, knocking both girls he’d been splattered on down in the process. “Wha...? Human? I... I’m human...!” Such didn’t escape the others’ notice, particularly Alix’s, turning her expression sour. This means the transformation isn’t permanent, she thought bitterly. She’d obviously gotten so used to being a Kineceleran, she didn’t want to change back. But she hid her feelings well enough as Rose and Juleka got back up.

“Nath.”

“Hi Rose. Sorry about that, little weird, I know. Man, it’s so good being solid again...”

“I shouldn’t doubt.”

“Oh! Juleka, you’re human again?” Juleka nodded. Nath guessed it must have been Vilgax’s doing. He was about to speak when Ben cleared his throat.

“If I may interrupt! It’s great to see you guys again, honestly. But there is still the elephant in the room! Look around you! We’re in the Null Void! And I honestly don’t know how useful your training will be in getting us out!” Before anyone could say anything else, the Omnitrix started beeping rapidly, catching Ben’s attention. Either its scanning a new transformation... or... “Incoming communication...”

“Benjamin Kirby Tennyson. I have finally defeated you. I contact you now to gloat, and to show you what I had thrown in with you.” Nate’s hologram briefly turned to an image of the Havoc Beasts menacing Max in his old cave, much to Ben’s horror. “Find him. Say your goodbyes. Once you’ve had time to turn grief into anger, then you’ll be ready for our final battle. A battle for the very fate of not only the universe, but of the one creature more powerful than the Celestialsapiens as well. Gemini. Kwami of reality. With my new pet here,” Nate shifted his camera slightly to showcase Nemetrix Kevin, “I will take their power and carve my name across the universe, spreading terror as the one who defeated Ben Tennyson, hero of heroes, the greatest hero in the universe! So find your grandfather, and then find a way to me. I have purposely left enough life left in him for some final words... if you hurry...” Nate’s diabolical laughter echoed out as the hologram turned off, leaving Ben, in absolute powerlessness and horror, to scream just one word to the skies...

“GRANDPA!!!”

Chapter Text

“The tables have well and truly turned against us, it seems. Magister Tennyson is in extreme danger, and from that holorecording, I fear he might not last much longer without immediate attention.” Rook's assessment was very much an understatement after Nate’s broadcast. The entirety of the Liberty was awash with concern, both for Max's safety and whatever this Gemini Nate mentioned was. Most of the Miraculers present had not heard of a kwami by that name. Least of all Marinette, who at this moment finally reverted to her abnormal form, namely her Lepidopterran form wearing something more akin to her normal outfit. Her friends looked over her as she looked at herself.

“OK... still not completely back to normal...” Her kwami suddenly flew out of her jacket, took one look at her holder’s new appearance and started giggling, much to Marinette’s embarrassment. “It’s a minor problem with fixing Ben’s watch, Tiki. I’m stuck like this for now.” Tiki quickly sobered up and nodded, before noticing the extra pairs of eyes watching her. She’d already had to make herself known to the Couffaines, Alix and Nath, Cat not counting because he wasn’t conscious when that happened, and now Rose and Ivan had seen Marinette detransform. At this rate the whole class will be aware of the true identity of Ladybug... But from what she learned whilst transformed, this wasn’t exactly the best time to worry about secret identities.

“O...K... I see you’ve exposed yourself to another two people, Marinette... this could make your life harder in the future...”

“Right now, Tiki, that doesn’t matter! Nate 8 betrayed Vilgax and dumped us... wherever here is...”

“The Null Void. An alternate dimension where the galaxy’s worst of the worst are banished.” Vilgax grumbled, barely looking away from his argument with Tetrax to do so.

“...and now he’s after a kwami called Gemini!” Tiki’s eyes went wide at that name, and for a moment she showed her true age. “You know anything about Gemini?”

“Gemini is the kwami of reality. They can only be summoned through combined my miraculous with Plagg’s. We should be safe. It sounds as if Nate does not truly understand how to get their power.” To Tiki’s frustration, Rook took the opportunity to speak up. In studying galactic history and mythology, he had heard rumours of where the kwamis come from. An unknown planet, named Infinity, as it was accessible only by the Map of Infinity, which learnt him a worried look from Ben. That’s the artefact Aggregor was looking for in his quest to absorb an infant Celestialsapien. Logically that means Nate’s looking for the Map as well. Rook then recalled that on Infinity, any fusion between kwamis exists separately from the ones that are needed to summon them. That earnt him a horrified look of confirmation from Tiki. That is not implausible, and if Nate intends to seize Gemini’s power for himself without taking Marinette and Adrien’s Miraculouses, heading straight for Infinity is his only other option. But there was one crumb of comfort. No one knew what had happened to the Map of Infinity after Aggregor was defeated. That might be their biggest strength right now. None of them knew about the Map’s whereabouts after the battle at the Forge of Creation, but Nate has a habit of overlooking crucial details when researching for his plans, which likely means he wouldn’t know where the pieces of the Map were either. Meaning he’d have to work that out before he could make any advance on them.

Meanwhile the Tennyson side of things was not much better, between Ben hyperventilating in worry and Vilgax arguing with Tetrax over who the fault for all this lies with. Both made valid points: it was Vilgax who sewed the seeds from which this diabolical oak of evil would grow, but his counterargument that they could’ve stopped Nate before he had the chance to reprogram the doomsday machine if Tetrax hadn’t taken his group off-world for training did also have some merit. Exactly how much use he thought they’d be in stopping Nate when most of them had barely managed to control their new powers was anyone’s guess. Tetrax even explicitly mentioned this prior to Vilgax almost capsizing the Liberty with a single hard stomp. He was getting impatient. With Max’s life on the line, they need a game plan – fast. Hence why Cat and Alix volunteered themselves to make the rescue. But Ben didn’t think that was strictly necessary. That volume of Havoc Beasts would call for a full house. Hence why he dialled up the alien he did...

(scene break)

“Hmmm... to my immense frustration, it has come to my attention that I have overlooked a crucial detail. If I plan to find the Map of Infinity, I need to know where the pieces are. And that information eludes me still...” Kevin gave a chuckle at Nate’s musings, which earned him another shock from the collar. “Quiet. I’m trying to think. Hmm... if Paradox created the Map and hid it both times... hmm... where would he hide it the second time? Wait a minute... why am I overthinking this? Yes... yes, why didn’t I think of it before?! If you want to know where someone hid something, you ask them! The answer was so simple I was too smart to see it! Mmm, although tracking down Professor Paradox in order to ask him wouldn’t be terribly easy...” Then the answer hit Nate. What this calls for is a little Chronosapien magic...!”

(scene break)

If this day could get any worse, Max Tennyson did not know. His day had started with him having to fix the Rustbucket himself after the warranty for the parts expired, after which he had to oversee Gwen and Kevin’s trip to the moon to get a decommissioned Plumber moonbase operational for the new recruits in a couple of weeks. And if that wasn’t enough, the few reports he’d gotten from Ben before the Earth suddenly disappeared indicated that Vilgax was working with Nate 8 and Dr Animo on some form of Null Void doomsday device. Which, given he now found himself in his old cave from his time as The Wrench, he would have to assume actually fired. Ben had failed? That is a very rare occurrence. The last time that happened, it cost Ben Feedback. What effect might it have on him now? But with Havoc Beasts surrounding him, now probably wasn’t the best time to worry about that. A pair of Havoc Beasts started breathing fire at him, forcing him into a rolling dodge, a narrow escape. The Havoc Beasts quickly caught on, at least three of them leapt onto his back and wrestled him to the ground. A larger Havoc Beast unsheathed its claws and rose them over Max’s head, clearly intending to rip his head off...

“Oi, get off him you big bullies!” Everyone turned around. At the entrance to the cave, two teenage boys were blocking the way.

“While I appreciate wanting to stand up for the elderly, Kim, in a strange place against a few fire-breathing monsters, I’m forced to question your common sense!”

“Just because your age matched his when the Age Mage attacked two weeks ago, Max!”

“I thought we all agreed to never mention that again. Or should I start boasting about when you became nine years old and had to be babysat by Alix?” Kim winced in embarrassment.

“OK, OK, it wasn’t so bad at the time! And anyway, the reason we actually came here – save that old guy from these... things...”

“Less of the old guy, buster! And these creatures are called Havoc Beasts. Don’t let them get near!” Kim and Max K nodded and dodged in opposite directions as the Havoc Beasts resumed breathing fire at them, narrowly missing them both as they ran to Max T’s position.

“So old man, this a good time for introductions or...?”

“Max Tennyson. Pleased to meet you.”

“Ha, another Max, just like my little friend here!”

“Watch it or I’ll bite your ankles!” Max’s threat did not register with Kim, possibly because he was bending over to pick up some rocks, presumably for self-defence.

“And I’m clearly the odd one out. Name’s Kim. Ready to rock and roll?”

“That might not be such a good idea. A Havoc Beast’s skull is so thick that instead of putting them off, you’d probably just end up annoying them.” Kim let out a sheepish Ah and dropped the rock he was holding, which splattered its contents over his feet.

“Especially because that looks like one of their eggs, not a rock.” The senior Max agreed with the younger’s observation.

“Blimey. No wonder Havoc Beasts are critically endangered outside the Null Void...” Then a pair of Havoc Beasts leapt at the trio, all managed to dodge their claws on each swipe, until finally Kim got scratched along the chest, which started a chain reaction that ended with all three of them out of the cave and onto the narrow rocky bridge connecting the cave to the next island. The Havoc Beasts started advancing towards them...

“Markov’s still reeling from being sucked in here, no offensive options... we’re not going to make it, are we?”

“If not, thanks for trying to help me anyway.” As the lead Havoc Beast unsheathed its claws and breathed a jet of fire directly towards Max K’s head, precariously dangling over the edge like the overs, their hearts were in their mouths... before something incredible happened... A sudden loud thud shook the bridge, followed by the telltale sound of the Havoc Beasts squealing in fear. Max T only saw him from behind, but he knew exactly who it was.

“LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN’, LITTLE RED RODENTS MENACING MY GRANDPA MAX, YOU BETTER QUIT MENACING MY GRANDPA MAX QUICK STYLE OR RATH IS GONNA RIP WHATEVER PASSES FOR YA BRAINS OFF AND KICK THEM SOCCER STYLE INTO THE SUN!!!!!” Rath never makes empty threats, if he makes a threat he has every intention of carrying it out. In this instance, an added growl, very low and intimidating, was all the encouragement that group of Havoc Beasts needed to run away across the rocky bridge, far away from the Appoplexian. “YEAH YOU’D BETTER RUN!!! AND DON’T YOU DARE COME CRAWLLING BACK TO A TENNYSON BECAUSE RATH WILL UTTERLY...!!! “ Before he could finish, Max gave a cough, attracting Rath’s attention.

“Please tell me he’s a good guy...”

“LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN’ RED HOODIE BOY WITH A TERRIBLE HAIRCUT, RATH IS GONNA...!!!” Fortunately for Kim, it was at this moment that the Omnitrix timed out and Rath reverted back to Ben. Briefly still caught up in anger, he quickly managed to calm down before helping Max up and hugging him tightly. Kim and Max struggled back to their feet.

“Ben.”

“Grandpa, thank goodness you’re OK, I was so worried!” Max gave a chuckle.

“You should know by now I'm a fighter, Ben. It’ll take more than a few Havoc Beasts to get the drop on me.” At this point, a sudden whoosh transpired as the Upgraded Liberty flew in overhead.

“Max... is that what I think it is...?”

“A flying houseboat? It seems so...”

“My doing. Ben Tennyson. I’m guessing you two are friends of Marinette, given how Alix is rushing around behind you?” Both Kim and Max turned around. Alix was nowhere to be seen. But they did hear her giggle playfully behind them, leading them to turn back around. This time Alix decided to stick around, and both Kim and Max got a look at her new appearance.

“Alix...?”

“Yeah Kim, it’s me. Hope you like my new appearance, because I ain’t ever wanting to turn back!”

“I must inquire how this transformation came about, Alix, I really fail to understand how something like this could’ve occurred.”

“Always on the analytical side, Max. Still, your point’s good, is she going to be a monster forever?”

“I’m not a monster, Kim. I’m an alien. Kineceleran, I think Ben called it. Now I can beat you in a race no matter how fast you run, Kim! My new speed... I’m faster than I’ve ever dreamed!” Kim looked at Alix, somewhat confused. Ben decided to answer his questions.

“There was an accident with the Omnitrix earlier. Alix got caught in the blast, turned her into a Kineceleran. Five others were affected too. But they seemed to have adapted fairly quickly. As for you two, what were you doing out here before I found a way to get Earth back to it’s proper place? The Null Void locals are dangerous!”

“A thanks for saving your grandpa’s life wouldn’t go amiss...” Just then, they heard someone call out from the Liberty...

(scene break)

“And there I was thinking we’d have a slight advantage over Nate. An unconscious body’s bad enough, but this one...”

“You should probably explain who he is, Ben. For those who haven’t yet met him.”

“Alright Rook. Professor Paradox. An old friend of mine. Time traveller, deliberately cryptic...” The immortal time traveller gave a harsh cough as he woke up, startling the onlookers. His ancient eyes fell on Ben, overcome with worry. “Paradox, what happened to you? Another part of the Time War or... wait... it was Nate 8, wasn’t it?” Paradox nodded.

“A long story how he managed to find me, young Benjamin. Unfortunately I don’t have the time to explain further. What I can say, Nathaniel Eighton knows I am not a liar. He used his Chronosapien transformation to find me and forced me to divulge the locations of the Map of Infinity.”

“We should probably explain for Kim and Max. From what Nate implied, it’s a complete map of space-time. With it one could travel anywhere in the universe.” Paradox nodded at Ladybug’s explanation before continuing to add that Nate 8’s goal is to find his way to the planet Infinity, from where kwamis like Tiki and Plagg over there are from. He plans to sample a specific kwami’s essence, one that would give him absolute power over every particle in this universe, and likely every other.

“The Map of Infinity was once sought by a villain named Aggregor, who used it to access the Forge of Creation, intending to absorb an infant Celestailsapien and gain ultimate power. Stopping him cost Ben dearly, it claimed Kevin’s sanity. In the aftermath of that, I returned the pieces of the Map to where I put them in the first place. I figured people would assume I’d hide the pieces somewhere else, so I hid them in plain sight. Unfortunately Nate now knows where the pieces are. If you cannot stop him finding the map, he will become unstoppable.”

“Then it sounds like we’d better see if this boat can go into space.”

“Not just yet, Cat Noir. To save time, I will free you all. But before we can do that, there is one more thing to be done. In order to defeat Nate 8 and Kevin 11, we will need a team. Ben’s 10, they are called. Including Ben and Rook, the other eight are Miraculous Holders infused with Omnitrix DNA, which we can take care of when we reach Dr Animo’s old fortress. Only then can we escape from this prison dimension and recover the Map of Infinity.” Paradox’s revelation arose alarm in several of the Miraculers, a number of whom hadn’t been transformed yet, and in particular Luka and Nath seemed uneasy at the prospect of having to transform again. But they nevertheless hid their opinions well. If Paradox says that’s the only way to save the universe, then they must simply abide by it. And so Ben called up to Anarka and Tetrax at the helm, and off they zoomed, into the great unknown, hopefully towards Animo’s lair...

But they did not hear a certain Chimera Suis Generis ruminating to himself.

“I never believed in the Map of Infinity before... but I cannot deny it any longer. Ben Tennyson and his team will lead me to the Map, to my revenge on Nate 8 for his betrayal! And then I’ll reclaim my resources and take the Map for myself – as well as the Omnitrix! And as for the Miraculouses they speak of... perhaps there is some use to them after all. When this journey is over, they will serve only me. And then comes the destruction of Ben Tennyson, hero of heroes, and my long-delayed reign over all of the universe!”

Chapter Text

“All connectives to the drill are online... various bits and pieces comprised into a makeshift DNA sampler... check... Alright Gabriel, I think we might have our escape ready.”

“I fail to see how that pile of junk is going to open a portal out of this place. The monsters... the skies... they terrify me...”

“Nothing to be too scared of, I can control animals, remember? The species in the Null Void, in particular the Null Guardians, are no different. It’s the Way Bads that give me such trouble. Alex and Harrison will be on defence duty for quite some time if we don’t get out soon. And anyway, in the Null Void, you work with what you’ve got. Those scraps were all I had left after Ben Tennyson overthrew me. Only a genius like myself could understand the exact measurements necessary to assemble this. And though it is nowhere near powerful enough to open us a portal out of here, it should, in theory, be enough to kick-start the drill behind us. With that reactivated, we can drill our way out and work out what we’re going to do next. Urgh, I vote to return to my prison cell in peace, after today I need a very long break from world domination...”

“I don’t have much of an opinion on what to do next. In less than a day, I’ve been strong-armed into helping you build your wacko doomsday device, betrayed by a collaborator and banished into another dimension! I wouldn’t mind some peace and quiet myself, but I’d much rather have some say in vengeance on Nate 8 beforehand...” The sudden sound of the Upgraded Liberty coming into land cut Shadow Moth off. “It seems our circumstantial allies have arrived.” Immediately Ben led the other passengers off the gangplank, rapidly looking around trying to regain his bearings. It had been quite a while since he had come here, after all.

“Ben Tennyson. And your little friends, I see. I trust I don’t need to waste time voicing my reluctance to assist you?” One or two of the classmates gave a snigger at Animo’s appearance, only to be intimidated into silence by Shadow Moth’s swordstick. Animo ignored them and continued. “Then I shall get to the point. Some of you might be aware of my previous tenure as ruler of this foul place. During which I constructed the drill structure behind me. That is how we’re getting out of here...” Animo’s eyes quickly caught sight of Ladybug, still a Lepidopterran. Lepidopterrans are Animo’s favourite aliens, and it shows in the amount of times he’d used their DNA in the past. He seemingly took an interest in young Marinette, before coming to his senses and clearing his throat. At which point...

“A makeshift DNA sampler haphazardly constructed from various scraps. Hmm...”

“Tetrax is right, I am certain you’d win a prize for improvisation for that one.” Animo’s eyes narrowed in frustration.

“I actually was once in the running for an award in veterinary medicine, you know. It’s what led me down this path, into insanity... I admit it, I’m insane. But sometimes I can’t help but think that maybe... just maybe, all this could have been avoided...” Amino was not expecting any tremendous amount of sympathy from those who’d bothered to listen. He wasn’t even expecting the amount he actually got. Ben and his grandfather were understandably less sympathetic to him, but a surprising amount of Marinette’s class seemed to pity Amino in that moment. Even Shadow Moth seemed genuinely sorry for the guy. Then Ben decided to speak up.

“I think I get what he’s thinking with this. Is it meant to be repurposed as a power generator?” Animo nodded. Ben was about to continue before Paradox cleared his throat.

“As much as I resent to have to say this to a fellow man of science, I’m very much afraid getting the drill operational again was a complete waste of time. I can help you all out of here, in order to defeat Nate 8 and save the universe.” As frustrated as he was to hear that, Amino agreed to listen to Paradox’s plan. And he was quite eager to learn it required a certain speciality of his...

(scene break)

It was certainly a more optimistic outlook for the heroes than it was elsewhere in the Cosmos. In Ledgerdomain for instance, the outlook around Charmcaster’s castle was much grimmer, particularly as the grand witch herself was blasted into a wall with a tremendous ball of energy. She recovered quickly as the shooter landed – a fusion of various aliens the cousin of her nemesis Gwen Tennyson used.

“Ledgerdomain’s skies are uneven, so I am unable to fly properly. But I am Ultimate Nate 8, and I don’t need flight to defeat you, Charmcaster, daughter of Spellbinder! For among other things, are you aware that Geochelone Aerios are invulnerable to mana? So with that DNA sample in my body, you stand no chance of beating me.”

“I stood against the tyranny of Addwaitya during his reign, interloper! If you would seek to do me harm, then all I have to say to you is: Tempestsas Surrectum!” A great gust of wind blew strong against Ultimate Nate 8, but even that was little use against his size alteration powers and crystal anchor generation.

“Your mystical mumbo-jumbo stands nought against my epic power!” Nate boasted as he fired a pair of RAD blasts directly into her stomach, but the grand witch quickly generated an energy shield to protect herself. Undeterred, Nate decided to up the ante. He morphed his Diamondhead arm into a cannon, and fired out a powerful fiery blast, which Charmcaster quickly extinguished with another spell. In doing so however, she had to drop her shield, leaving her open to a bludgeoning blow from his other arm, knocking her back into what looked to have been a tree, stranding her in its branches. “Surrender the Alpha Rune and I will consider letting you live. Continue this meaningless struggle and you will die.” Charmcaster gave a defiant glare as she rose a hand behind her, summoning her classic Rock Monsters. How unfortunate that she didn’t anticipate Nate had his own backup. A sharp whistle brought him running on all fours to his reluctant master’s side...

“Kevin...?”

(scene break)

“OK, various final checks done... alright... if someone could insert the makeshift DNA sampler into the drill mechanism, we should be able to begin the procedure immediately, if not sooner.” Animo’s assessment, as Kim and Max thoughtfully picked up his invention eager to help out, was unheard by most of Marinette’s class. All were busy discussing their impending transformations. It was certainly a nerve-wracking time, not least because Paradox had confirmed that every other course of action that didn’t require them transforming would lead to unacceptable consequences for the entire omniverse. This was the only way to stop Nate and Kevin.

“OK, guess I might as well run the numbers here... we need ten ‘volunteers’ including me and Rook, right?” Paradox nodded. “Alright... Marinette, Cat and Alix are already transformed, so that’s a no brainer, which gives us...” Ben ran the numbers on his fingers quickly. “...five confirmed so far.”

“While I did say that the team requires ten members, I think I misinformed you when I said that includes you and Rook, young Benjamin. By my count, there should be enough here to fill the remaining seven places.” Right now the group might well have wished Paradox had remembered that little detail earlier, as that means no one will be spared getting transformed. Nevertheless...

“...basic head count... Marinette, Cat and Alix plus... both Couffaines plus Nath is three, that’s six in total... with Rose, Ivan, Kim and Max on board that gives us ten. Alright, the numbers check out.”

“And so none of us are off the hook. Urgh... I just hope whatever’s about to happen to us is reversible. I just know how Mylene will react if I end up stuck as some giant toad or something...” Ivan’s worries were echoed by a number of the so-called ‘volunteers’, in particular Nath, obviously in no great hurry to become a Polymorph again. But they did not outright reject the plan, for it was obvious that this was a last stand. Just then, Kim gave a shout, and the DNA sampler whirred into life. Content, Ben walked over and inserted his watch hand into the machine.

“Unlike last time, our volunteers will now be afforded the luxury of choice. They will be able to pick which alien to become. So... may I have a volunteer?” Kim stepped forward, presumably eager to experience this for himself, and to also prove to Rose and Ivan the process wasn’t as painful as they’d been led to believe by Juleka’s exaggerated recollections. Animo nodded as Kim began to operate the machine...

“I would recommend attempting to cover all bases with these transformations.” His genius friend suggested. Something Kim took to heart. Ivan was likely to end up as the muscle of the team, Alix and Cat have speed covered, Ladybug can fly, Max is bound to get a smarts alien, Nath, Juleka, Luka... not sure. So what does that leave Kim with? He asked Paradox to explain where he hid the Map of Infinity again. He mentioned Piscciss as one such location, which Kim misheard as Pisces, which means fish. He turned the Omnitrix dial until he came across the most aquatic looking alien, then gave the indication that this was the one he wanted to use. Ben nodded and pressed the dial, engulfing him in a ray of green light from the DNA sampler. When it cleared, Kim looked down at his new body, which shared a number of traits with Earth's aquatic life, such as an alligator, an eel, a leech, an anglerfish, and a shark. As he’d discover later, he could change between a fishtail with triangular lines or legs at will and has a phosphorescent light on his head. His new body was mostly grey and he had four-webbed-fingered hands and two webbed two toe feet, he had visible gills and some patches of scales on his body along with sharp blade like fins also on his legs. His eyes were now green and he now had arm and neck braces. His antenna light was green, he had a big fin on his back, the fins on his arms are longer and he was now hunched back. His claws were black, and his tail is bigger and dragged behind him. He now had a belt in place of the strap that holds the Omnitrix symbol on it. Overall he was a dead ringer for the Ripjaws design of Omniverse, except with the black parts recovered red.

“Whoa... this... is... AWESOME!!!” He began jumping on the spot in excitement, much to the obvious amusement of his comrades. Ben simply rolled his eyes, deciding Kim was having way too much fun for him to mention Ripjaws’s relative uselessness outside of an aquatic environment, and indicated for Max to take his turn.

“So sis, what are you going for when our turn comes?” Juleka shrugged.

“Honestly, I’m undecided. I’m contemplating going with the Ectonurite option again just for a sense of familiarity, or maybe one of those vampire creatures I saw Ben demonstrate earlier....”

“Meh, I think I’d much prefer something solid this time.” Nath’s comment earned a chuckle from the other three who’d gone into space with him and Tetrax. Clearly Alix might not be particularly willing to let him forget that awkward duration any time soon... A sudden flash of green light cut their lines of thought off, as they turned to see which Omnitrix alien Max had chosen. He now had a light orange crab-like appearance with pincers for hands. He wore a black loincloth with a green stripe in the center of it on the bottom of his body. He also had a black stripe in the center of his head with a green stripe running across it. He now had six legs, and each leg had two joints, with a black stripe on each one. The spines on his face and forehead were now longer, and his eyes connected to a large black strip that extends around his forehead. He also had two spikes on each elbow, and he wore the Omnitrix symbol on a white and green neck brace.

“Brainstorm. Good pick. Should be able to think us out of trouble easily enough…”

“I wouldn’t give him ideas for powers that his new form does not have, Ben. If a Cerebrocrustacean could teleport via thought, we’d be seeing one every few seconds.” Opting to ignore Rook’s joke, Ben quickly glanced over at the remaining Miraculers, as if silently questioning who would be next. Perhaps understandably, he went unanswered for a moment, before Ivan muttered something to the effect of ‘ladies first’ and pushed Rose and Juleka forwards, earning him a harsh glare from the latter as she ushered her friend forwards.

“So here we are again. What’s it to be, Juleka? Ghostfreak again or something different?”

“Keep it simple, Ben. I’ll go with the Ectonurite option. And can I go first, looks like Rose is getting last-minute nerves…” Her friend’s sudden shivering fit made that obvious. Ben gave a quick nod and turned the Omnitrix dial to the Ectonurite option. He pressed the dial. In seconds, the gothic girl was back in her ghostly form. Evidently to the marginal discomfort of her friend.

“Still a little uneasy, Rose? I shouldn’t be surprised. I was much the same when I first transformed. But don’t worry yourself too much, we can undo whatever the watch will do to you.” Rose gave a slow nod. “Come over and take your pick. Must be something in there you’ll like.” Then a sudden thought entered Ben’s head. “Actually… I might know the perfect fit… fairy wings on your back… I think I know the perfect alien…” Before Rose could react, Ben quickly turned the dial in rapid succession until the Nemuina icon presented itself, then slammed the dial down, engulfing the pink lover in green light as she crossed her arms over her face. In seconds, she’d completely transformed into a short, fairy-like alien with blue skin. She now sported purple fairy-like wings, pink spots and blue hair that stuck straight up. Her dress was for the most part unaltered, only gaining with black zigzags, the bottommost one of which is slightly asymmetrical. Her hands now had three fingers with white gloves on them and her feet have two toes. Her eyes were pink with feminine eyelines and had pink markings on her cheeks and chin. She looked downwards at her new appearance as she fluttered about, evidently a little concerned but opting to remain quiet about it. Her opinions probably weren’t helped by Kim and Alix sniggering at her. Unamused, Ivan pushed his way forwards, presumably wanting to get his transformation out of the way as soon as possible. Unlike the others, he seemed to have a specific alien in mind as he began operating the machine.

“Keep it simple for me, Ben. Big guy, strong transformations… you do the math. The team needs a powerhouse.”

“And I assume you’re volunteering?”

“I just want something to shut them up. Big strong guy, something that will make those two get in line.”

“Then I think there’s two logical choices. Humungousaur or Rath? Which one do you think?” That was not a decision that needed much forethought on Ivan’s part…

“YOU TWO, SHUT UP!!!” At the thunderous sound of Ivan’s new voice, Kim and Alix wisely complied. They gazed at his new body: a somewhat humanoid dinosaur with hard skin that was coloured brown on its outer side and beige on its inner side, wearing black briefs with a white waistband, and a green and a black sash across his chest (going from his right shoulder to the left side of his lower back) containing the Omnitrix symbol. He now had grey fingernails instead of brown, a slightly bigger chin, green eyes in the same hue of his Omnitrix symbol, a shorter build, and his nose was positioned on his forehead. Ivan turned back to Ben. “Like I said before, I hope this is reversible.”

“Meh, shouldn’t be any more complicated than fixing a car. Simple.”

(scene break)

“Meena goh!” Still her fire spell had no effect on the Nemetrix mutated Kevin. Nate gave a sadistic laugh as he watched Kevin leap through the flames and unleash a breath of fire at the grand witch.

“Did you know that Crabdozers are the natural predators of Pyronites? As such, they are completely impervious to fire. You, my darling Charmcaster, are kapoot. Nothing you try will defeat my mutant friend!” The Rock Monsters swarmed Nate once again, none of them proving much use against his formidable strength, much less against the diamond drill arm he conjured up. Each one that got close enough was torn to shreds. But for every Rock Monster he destroyed, another twenty or so joined the fray. If this continued much longer, Nate would be overwhelmed. Another jet of fire shot out from Kevin’s mouth, drawing back Nate’s attention.

“Interdamoto Ilabortor!” The explosive blast knocked Kevin back a few feet, right onto his back, but he quickly recovered and spat out an energy web, which Charmcaster dispelled with another spell. This didn’t satisfy Kevin, who coated his body in said electric webs for an armour increase. “Tempestas impetus!” The lightning strike was enough to catch Kevin off guard, electrocuting him and bringing him to his knees. Annoyed, Nate sent the Rock Monster horde flying into the great void with a single mighty stomp and reengaged Charmcaster himself.

“Clever tricks, disabling my associate, Miss Charmcaster, but it won’t help you against me! I’m as invulnerable as an Orishan’s armour! You’ll never make me bleed. Now surrender the Alpha Rune or I will bring this entire dimension crumbling down on top of you!”

“Best of luck with that, interloper! Rava-bilatis-galametro!” Immediately a stormy vortex appeared in the skies above them. The winds were strong enough to suck Nate upwards, and because Ledgerdomain’s skies are uneven, he was unable to recover into flight to counteract. “Citaro-macola!” Nate gave a gasp as the purple apocalyptic rings of destruction fired out all over the realm, all eventually homing onto him and engulfing him in a massive explosion. Charmcaster seemed content for a moment, before a massive Diamondhead fist fired through the air and slammed her into her castle walls, resulting in the building crumbling down on top of her. Nate gave a sinister laugh as he landed.

“A word of warning to the wise: never let down your guard too soon. Hmm, my mental probing powers indicate a lack of consciousness.” Nate’s assertation was confirmed with no doubt as his eyes fixated on the sight of an unconscious Charmcaster lying half-buried under a tremendous pile of rubble. He gave a smirk as he helped Kevin to his feet. He grunted something unintelligible which only Nate could understand. He nodded and pointed to the grand witch lying half-buried in the remains of her castle. Kevin began to crawl over as the Alpha Rune around her neck hit the ground with a loud thud, reverting to its natural state in the process. “One piece down. Three more to go. Then the ultimate prize is mine for the taking, and the universe will be mine.”

Chapter Text

“Rook, how are we doing for transformations?”

“There is also the matter of who will be assisting us on this mission besides them, Ben. But to answer your question, I believe only Luka and Nathaniel remain.”

“Good to hear. So then… who volunteers?” Obviously still a little apprehensive about potentially becoming a Polymorph again, Nath gave Luka a mild push forwards. Luka turned around to give an annoyed look before calming and walking over to Ben.

“Let’s make this quick. Ditch the snake theming. Is there a musical one in there?”

“I think I might know just the alien for you…” The dial slammed. The green light flashed out. A small, teal humanoid made of silicon stood there when it faded. “Echo Echo. One man screamer band. He’s pretty cool.”

“So this one has music powers…?”

“Moreso sound in general. And there’s the duplication power which will come in handy, I’m certain of that.”

“And with that, I think it’s time for the final induction.” Nath looked at Rook uneasily. “Unless there is anyone else you’d recommend?”

“I can certainly think of a few! But… we’d probably never be able to find them in time…” He gave a deep sigh. “Alright. But A, I want something solid this time, and B… actually I can’t think of anything else, so let’s just get this over with…” He grumbled as he reluctantly walked over to Ben.

“So… if you’re not wanting the Goop option again, what’s there for an alternative…?” As Ben cycled through his aliens, trying to find one Nath would like, or at the very least wouldn’t mind being for a while, the remaining inductees of Ben’s 10 were preparing to depart. Paradox didn’t specify how he’d get them out of the Null Void, but they were assuming the Upgraded Liberty was the viable option. Granted, it was more so Ladybug, Cat and Max that were preparing to depart, given Juleka seemed more interested in comforting Rose over her transformation, in between snickering at her being taller than Luka for once, and Ivan was attempting, attempting being the operative word, to keep Kim and Alix apart for the foreseeable future. They should save their energy for fighting Nate 8, instead of racing around Animo’s lair like headless chickens. In the end, all attentions were quickly drawn back to Ben as he cleared his throat, Nath’s transformation into a Thep Khufan completed. “Ok, to business! Yes, I gave him Snare-Oh, it’s the best compromise between solidity and shapeshifting. Now then, Paradox, how did you say you were going to get us out of here?”

“I never said that in so many words, young Benjamin. But I suppose I should elaborate for the less eloquent among us. The answer lies in the Liberty docked over there, upgraded for travel outside of water. A few more minor alterations will enable it to function as a starship, allowing us to begin the journey to Piscciss to stop Nate and Kevin completing the Map of Infinity.”

“So… there’s no specific order they need to be collected in?” Paradox shook his head.

“Not at all, young Ladybug. Although it does help considerably to have one piece of the Map at hand to locate the others.” Paradox suddenly paused for a moment, as if he felt the flow of time around them alter in some way. “We must hurry. It appears Nate and Kevin are one step ahead of us. Charmcaster has fallen. Legerdomain’s piece of the Map is in Nate’s hands.” He turned to the crowd surrounding Animo’s machine. “We must leave at once for Piscciss. If we leave it any later, they might succeed in gaining the remaining three pieces as well.”

“Guess it’s hero time, peeps.”

“Indeed, Alix. Everyone, we’re leaving right now, gather your things and get on the ship!”

“Ladybug, may I say something quickly? I… would like to take this opportunity to apologize for my role in all this. I never meant for it to come to this.” Ladybug gave a nod of appreciation as Animo cleared his throat.

“Good luck out there to you and your team, Ben Tennyson. Without me and Shadow Moth working for you, you’ll be in for quite a fight!”

“Wait, Animo… you’re not coming?” Animo shook his head.

“Oh no! You’ll be needing someone to help with re-entry when you get back to put the Earth back where it belongs. Paradox will back me up on this, inter-dimensional travel is nothing like dusting crops!”

“He makes a very good point, Benjamin. We would likely need a supreme intellect to guide us back in.”

“I hate to say it, but that sounds fair. Even if it did mostly go to waste, thank you for your help, Animo. I mean it.”

“Aww, it was all you, young Ben.” At this point, just as the last Miraculers boarded the Liberty, Rook turned back with an inquiry of his own.

“I suppose we should determine if anyone else has cold feet about this mission…” They could all tell he meant the supporting cast, was there anyone who wasn’t a member of Ben’s 10 who wished to remain where they were?

“You can count on my aid in the fight, Ben Tennyson. I will seek vengeance against Nathainel Eighton for his betrayal on behalf of all my comrades.”

“Aye, I’ve got to come anyway, you’ll need me to pilot the old girl.” Vilgax and Anarka’s comments were met with approval, as was Tetrax’s decision to come as well. If nothing else, to keep an eye on Vilgax, make sure he doesn’t try anything before Nate is defeated.

“Then I guess it’s just me staying with these two.”

“Grandpa…”

“I know, Ben, we make a good team, and honestly I’d be all too happy to help you save the universe again. But when Aggregor went after the Map, he nearly killed me in the process. And Nate 8 is arguably even more powerful than Aggregor. At my age, I can’t risk another shock like that. I can’t help you directly, Ben. But I have every confidence you will succeed where I can’t.”

“That’s… touching… Grandpa…” Ben said nothing more, and simply embraced Max in a tight hug. “Be careful.” Max nodded.

“And if you see any of our parents or friends, in case we don’t return, just tell them we love them and went down protecting them.” A heartfelt plea from Ladybug, which Max confirmed he would give them the message. Then out rang Rook’s voice once more.

“Final boarding call for the planet Piscciss!” As Ben boarded the Liberty, he turned back towards Max ever so briefly, to utter these words.

“Goodbye Grandpa. Hopefully we’ll see each other again.”

“I’ll have a statue commissioned in Bellwood for you if we don’t.” That is a generous gesture. Ben simply smiled as he climbed aboard, and the Liberty began to charge with mysterious energy…

(scene break)

They were on their way. But Nate still had the advantage. He had one piece of the Map of Infinity. And even now, as the Chimeran Hammer tore through the void, he was already contemplating how he would acquire the next piece.

“Urgh… among other things, Kevin, it appears this command throne isn’t quite good enough. I’d really like one with a back massager. Still… there are other matters to dwell on. Piscciss. How much do you remember of your previous visit?”

“With the DNA of the Nemetrix coursing through me, it’s difficult to be certain. I mostly remember a fish sucking on my head…”

“Ha ha ha. It should be amusing if the fish is still there. But still, the manner remains. Where exactly on this planet-sized ocean was the Map of Infinity located?” Struggling to remember, Kevin let out a welp of pain as Nate activated his shock collar.

“The core! The central core, that holds the planet together, that’s where it is!”

“Excellent. And it appears we’re coming up now. Prepare for a deep swim, old friend.” Nate stood up, outstretching his hands. “We have bigger fish to fry.”

(scene break)

“Ok, we’re on the move… I just hope all those transformations aren’t going to take too much out of the watch… What do you think, Rook, old buddy? Think we stand much chance?” His Revonnahgander partner gave a long calm stare as he fiddled with his Proto-Tool.

“I cannot lie to you, Ben. We are still drastically outgunned. But we do have a chance to stop Nate 8, and hopefully to rescue Kevin.”

“Sounds like he is, or was, a close friend of yours, how’d that pan out?”

“Long story, Alix. I’d tell, but I doubt we have the time.” Indeed they didn’t, as a call from above deck caught their attention. They’re arriving.

(scene break)

“Here we are. The planet Piscciss. It can be described as a large, planet-sized mass of ocean, with the only land being its central core, which makes up less than 2% of the planet's total mass. The waters are bound by an artificial gravitational multiplier at the centre of the core, which generates centripetal force, keeping a liquid atmosphere held together.” Tetrax continued his explanation of the planet, as Ben and Max began fiddling with the Omnitrix.

“Given the aquatic nature of Piscciss, Ben, it might be advisable to prioritise one of your more aquatic life forms.” Ben just rolled his eyes at his partner’s comment.

“What do you think I’m trying for? And anyway, Max and I are trying to get that mode working again. You know, the one that kept me as Wildvine during the mission to infiltrate Fistrick’s operation? DNA lock code, I think they called it. If Max here can use his Brainstorm intelligence to get it working, I can remain as Ripjaws for the entirety of the mission without worrying about a timeout.” He looked sheepishly at Rook, who seemed genuinely surprised by Ben’s logic. “In theory, anyway. Or maybe we need to contact Blukic and Driba and see if they can get it working remotely.”

“That is plausible… but I am confident they are back on Galvan Prime on holiday at the moment. I would hate to have to interrupt their vacation solely for the code.”

“Yeah, but compare their vacation to the safety of the entire universe and I think we all know which is more important. Or at least, I’d like to think so.”

“That is true, Ben. Perhaps the DNA lock code would be advantageous to us on this mission.” Then Rook suddenly snapped his fingers, as if suddenly recalling something. “Then again… I am certain Tetrax knows certain overrides for dozens of security systems…”

“What was that, Ben?” Tetrax turned to look at them, so Max stopped fiddling with the Omnitrix. With his new claws, the amount of work he could do without breaking it was limited anyway.

“Oh Rook and I were just discussing people who might know the Omnitrix’s DNA lock code. Staying aquatic until we’re inside the core could be easier said than done, after all.”

“I see. Well, I don’t know it personally, but I do know someone who will.” Tetrax took his communicator from his belt, and typed in a com code. Ben was pretty confident he knew who he was calling. Only one creature in the universe could know absolutely everything about the Omnitrix. The man who made it in the first place. Azmuth. In moments, Tetrax got a reply bleep. Excellent.

“Basically intergalactic texting.”

“Correct Ben. Azmuth additionally mentions he’d have preferred inputting the code in person, but we really don’t have the time to fly to Galvan Prime and back before Nate claims the next piece of the Map.” Tetrax replied as he input the code with expert precision.

“Ok, good to go!” Keywords accepted. Volia. They’re ready to dive. As Anarka brought the Liberty down the watery surface of Piscciss, the ensemble on main deck were dividing up duties. Kim and Max would be a given to accompany Ben and Rook: Kim because he was currently one of the planet’s natives, and Max because Cerebrocrustaceans are capable of underwater breathing. Juleka too, because Ectonurites aren’t alive in the traditional sense, and also Nath because a Thep Khufan can survive underwater, remarkably enough. That still puts them at a disadvantage though, because Lepidopterrans, Kinecelerans, Vaxasaurians and Nemuinas aren’t exactly known for underwater capabilities, meaning Ladybug, Alix, Ivan and Rose would have to remain on board. And given Ben had no idea if Citrakayahs or Sonorosians were any good underwater either, Cat and Luka might be joining them. They’d be staying on board to make sure the ship was still there when they returned. Piscciss’s surface weather is identical to Neptune’s, so keeping an eye out for trouble was vital. At which point, Rook finished donning his scuba suit and Ben transformed into Jetray. Signalling the others to join him, he leapt skywards for the briefest of moments before, in a graceful arch, disappearing beneath the waves. Some more eager than others, those going with him swiftly followed suit, all still worried about the perils of this new world they were about to explore.

(scene break)

They had good reason to be worried. Even despite dodging the Krakens and even the Liopleurodooms (which according to Rook were the natural predators of the Piscciss Volanns) on the higher waters, the deeper waters were equally perilous. In particular the approach to the core, guarded by what once was supposedly an entire defence squad of Kim’s fellow Piscciss Volanns. Now disseminated completely. That’s evidence Nate and Kevin have made it down here already. Jetray remembered what happened when Aggregor came here, how he made him choose between saving Piscciss and recovering the piece of the Map. Nate will not make Ben make that choice again.

(scene break)

“Hmm… Paradox must have reenforced it since last time. Even with our combined strength, it will take quite some time to get it loose.”

(scene break)

“Welcome, fellow warriors, to the core of Piscciss.” How exactly it was possible to breath down here no one knew. All seven teammates didn’t want to think on that. The evil Nate could accomplish if he succeeds kept them focused. And they heard that pained groaning, which drew their attention towards the water helmet storage area. There he was, scrawled outwards, suffering from extreme dehydration, and sporting a mortal fiery crystal wound through his stomach. Jetray uttered his keyword to detransform, reverting to human form in a flash of green light, and he and Rook rushed over to his side.

“Magister Pyke…”

“Urgh… Rook… Blonko… tadpole… and… urgh… Ben Tennyson…”

“I can guess who did this, Pyke. Don’t worry, we’re going to stop him.” The others quickly came forward to see.

“I know I’ve seen a lot of creatures like me on this world. But this is something else.”

“To you, Kim. Who is this guy?”

“His name is Magister Pyke, Nathainel. He’s an old friend of Ben’s. He helped Ben stop Aggregor last time.”

“Urgh… but unfortunately… I wasn’t able to defend Piscciss this time… that… monster… he had an arm made of crystal… engulfed in flames… dehydrating stomach wound… Stop him… for me… for Piscciss… urgh!” Pyke gave a feeble cough. “Magister Pyke… regrets… retirement… from… urgh… active… duty…” He slumped down with a feeble breath. Ben and Rook looked solemnly at each other.

“He is dead. Ben, remind me to inform Magister Tennyson that Magister Pyke should be given a traditional burial at sea.”

“If only I was the one to finish him off. He would not have suffered. Respects can wait, Ben Tennyson. The monster who did this to him is just ahead. He shall be destroyed.” Vilgax didn’t even wait to hear the reactions of Ben’s team, simply marching forwards through the cave…

(scene break)

“As if those locals guarding this place weren’t enough…” Nate suddenly cut himself off upon hearing the door behind them smash inwards. He did not turn around, being perfectly aware of who dared interrupt him as this moment in time. “Ben Tennyson. I shouldn’t be surprised. And I see you brought help this time. I shouldn’t doubt you’ll need it. You are aware I already have one quarter of the Map already? What lurks here makes it two. And then the ultimate victory and the ultimate prize will be mine.”

“Your ego costs you dearly, Nathainel Eighton! I will give you credit though. Outsmarting and manipulating me to your end was genius. It takes an experienced genius to outwit Vilgax - conqueror of ten worlds! – so I give you some credit for that. But betraying me and banishing me to that infernal dimension once more – that was a serious mistake!” Nate turned around, growing to his larger size using his Humungousaur powers, and morphing his Dimandhead arm into a terrifying spiked mace.

“Vilgax. Conqueror of ten worlds. Pah! I’ve seen amphibians maintain control over an empire better than you! The Incurseans amassed and held an empire of over a hundred planets, you couldn’t maintain control over ten! And if you think you can challenge me now at my most powerful – you are sorely mistaken!” Leaving Kevin to retrieve their prize, Nate leapt at Vilgax and smashed his Diamondhead mace into his face. The Chimera Suis Generis warlord was not discouraged, immediately retracting the boost steroids into his arms and monstrously increasing his strength. He threw a monstrous punch, colliding with Nate’s face... and immediately grunted in pain and clutched his hand. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I’m as invulnerable as an Orishan’s armour! Nothing you can do can harm me!”

“Err... hold on, interjection! Err, Orishan armour is only on your lower half and Vilgax hit your face... how does that check out exactly?” Nate looked behind Vilgax as the speaking Piscciss Volann, who clearly didn’t understand which species was which. And moments later, his five contemporaries appeared behind him. Annoyed, Nate rose his two lower Chromastone arms and fired a pair of energy beams at them, expertly blocked by Max’s electricity shield.

“You amuse me less and less.”

“Sounds just about how I’d describe running into you so many times in so long, Nate!”

“Bah! Between you and your hybridised swine, Tennyson, I am getting a headache! I was hoping it would take you longer to get out of the Null Void, but if I have to destroy you before I can rule the universe, so be it!”

“Ohhoho, you want to fight, you’re in trouble now, Nate! Let’s see you handle a little taste of - Chromastone!” Ben slammed down the dial, but it wasn’t the alien he was expecting that he transformed into. Instead, Ben’s new form was a tanky wall of a Minotaur, brown skinned with a head resembling a bull’s, with oversized metallic horns, massive shoulders coloured black and orange, and a one-piece bodysuit covering his torso, coloured green and black, including a technological belt with the Omnitrix symbol on it. His massive hands and hooved feet were black and orange, and his tail resembled a brown lightning bolt. He gave a mighty roar as everyone looked at him.

“CLIMATAUR!” Slipping back into his old habit of calling out his aliens’ names, Ben looked down at himself in annoyance. “Oh man! I’m just in the middle of saving a fragile planet from an overpowered megalomanic with a bunch of transformed teenagers and an alien partner I never wanted in the first place but I’m begrudgingly beginning to like in spite of myself… yeah, perfect time to test-drive a new guy(!)”

“Ha ha! You’re stuffed, Tennyson! I do not think a Metotaurologian will prove much help in an enclosed environment!” Climataur just looked at Nate, obviously confused.

“Is that what I am?” Before anyone could explain, Kim leapt into action, sliding through Nate’s legs and biting him hard on his bottom, which was obviously not as armoured as the rest of him, making him wince in pain for a moment while trying to restrain his discomfort for all of about two seconds, before he whipped his Atomix arm outwards, narrowly missing Kim’s hear, and outstretching his palm, activating his gravikinetic powers, ripping Kim off of him and shooting him upwards at high speed, embedding him tightly in the ceiling of the core.

“Kevin, our plans must be accelerated! Get me that piece of the Map!” Kevin simply leapt over to Nate and shoved him in the direction of the Map.

“I’ll hold Tennyson off. You get it yourself.” Nate grumbled and begrudgingly complied. Then of course, Kevin singled out Climataur who was still trying to work out his new powers.

“And of course, I’m facing Kevin mutated into ten of my aliens’ predators!”

“Be very careful, Ben! His latest mutation contains the DNA of Tyranopede, Terrorantula, Hypnotick, Omnivoricious, Panuncian, Crabdozer, Buglizard, Vicetopus, Mucilator and Slamworm! In short, do not transform into Humungosaur, Ball Weevil, Big Chill, Grey Matter, Ditto, Heatblast, Stinkfly, Brainstorm, Crashhopper or Armadrillo!” Good advice, Rook, but exactly how much use that would be against this psychotic mismatch of predatory DNA might be limited. Particularly when he tackled him to the ground with a loud roar.

“Aren’t you even going to try to fight me, Tennyson?”

“Urgh! I’ve only just unlocked this guy!” Ben’s comment was indeed accurate, despite Kevin secretly knowing Climataur was one of the aliens unlocked by Ben 10,000 a while back (because Albedo can use him, meaning he’d have to have been unlocked before Double or Nothing). Though Nate was also correct in his assertion that Climataur was of limited use indoors. A Metotaurologian’s signature ability is localised weather manipulation, and weather relates to open-air environments. So this far from Piscciss’s surface, exactly what he could do was severely limited. So besides that, what can he do? Reflexes certainly aren’t too great, as he was forced to accept the various blows Kevin gave him, harder and harder, until he suddenly shot backwards in pain, clawing at his face incoherently until a familiar ghost girl faded out of him.

“That ain’t no way to treat a lady, Levin!” Kevin recovered instantly and unleashed the full hypnotic power of his wings against her. Typically a Psycholeopterran’s prey is Necrofriggians, aka Big Chill’s species. But as Juleka was currently an Ectonurite, a species with a number of similarities to Necrofriggians, it appears their hypnotic powers can work on her as well, as she began hallucinating herself and Rose in a gothic fairytale wedding. That could be problematic. If a Necrofriggian can’t phase out of a Psycholeopterran’s stomach, Ben didn’t think an Ectonurite would fare much better in that department. Then again, Kevin isn’t a complete Psycholeopterran, is he? Unless his mutation involved him developing multiple stomach compartments for each of the aliens he turned into, who knows if Kevin’s mutations affect his insides? Well, the one from when he was 12 probably did as one of the aliens involved in that mutation was Upchuck, and allegedly the same for Ultimate Kevin as well. But Ben quickly realised he was getting lost in his thoughts and shut up. He struggled back to his feet, and returned to trying to figure out what Climataur can do. And then he remembered that name. Climataur. A clever combination of the words minotaur and… climate! That’s it! Weather manipulation! Without wasting a moment, he concentrated hard, generating a mass of green electricity between his horns which immediately shot out in a lightning storm. Despite Kevin’s greatened resistance to electricity because of his Vicetopus DNA, he was greatly discomforted when he was hit, screaming in pain for the longest time, before his nervous system shut down and he collapsed on his face. One down. But there’s still Nate to go, and he has more alien DNA in his system than Kevin.

Cutting over to the other side of the cavern, we see Nate utilising said DNA to the max in his fight against Nath and Rook. Max he’d already slammed into Kim with his gravity powers, further damaging the ceiling enough to start leaking slightly. Anything else hammers into those two, there could be a flood.

“Stand down, Revonnahgander! I will have the Map of Infinity and you will not stop me!” He furiously threw a ball of Heatblast fire combo-ed with Diamondhead crystals at Rook with one hand, and an Atomix nuclear orb from his other. Rook managed to dodge the first stage of the attack, but was blasted into the Map piece when the ball hit the floor and exploded like a nail bomb. And that led to him falling head over heels repeatedly until contact with the floor again. Meanwhile, Nath managed to avoid serious injury thanks to his Thep Khufan shape-shifting powers, although that did tear the door they’d entered from apart and send him flying, although quick deployment of his bandages enabled him to catch himself. Then of course, came the shaking.

“Whoa… Seaquake!”

“Of monumental proportions, Nath!” Ben and Nate immediately recognised what this meant. When Rook hit the Anti-Gravity Multiplier, he knocked it out of its chamber, and that makes one thing obvious – now there isn’t a gravitational force holding Piscciss together! Again…

“Your partner speaks the truth, Tennyson. The seaquakes are starting again. Without the Anti-Gravity Multiplier,” which had now reverted to its true form, “this planet is doomed. Go on, Tennyson, fix it like you did last time.” Climataur nodded and dashed over the chamber, quickly followed by the rest of his team. “And leave me and Kevin to escape in peace.” Nate gave an audible chuckle as he hauled Kevin’s unconscious body over his shoulder. Of course, he’d forgotten about one particular character who’d tagged along, and almost walked right into the Sword of Seagle.

“We have unfinished business, traitor.”

“That much I cannot deny, Vilgax. But it will have to be on my terms. Look around you, this planet is falling apart! If we fight here, we would both be destroyed, and the universe would never tremble under your majesty!” Nate was probably being sarcastic when he said that last part, but Vilgax nevertheless acknowledged the validity of his argument. Of course, Nate being as invulnerable as an Orishan’s armour, and the fact that being trapped on an imploding planet is the least hazardous occurrence Vilgax has survived, would probably mean they’d both survive. But of course, probably doesn’t mean they are guaranteed to survive. Incredibly reluctantly, Vilgax allowed Nate to leave without conflict, although not without warning him that the next time he lays eyes on him, he dies. Though as Nate left, he did make one very interesting declaration, unheard by Ben’s team. “I’m pretty sure they cannot hear us, you don’t need to keep up the act 24/7 for this to work…”

“Ok, what’s happening here?”

“This, Juleka, is the complete and total collapse of Piscciss. The piece of the Map of Infinity Nate wanted was disguised as the Anti-Gravity Multiplier that holds the oceans together. Without it, the planet is doomed to implode.”

“Rook’s right. Real shame you didn’t want to become a Polymorph again, Nath. Then we’d have a better chance of fixing this. I mean, we need Goop to fix this but getting him first time on a quick change is pretty unlikely.” Though not having much choice, Climataur tried anyway. Flash! Four Arms. Ok, take two. Flash! Ripjaws, now he gets Ripjaws! Again… Flash! Ball Weevil? Flash! N… yes, this is the one! Goop was the one who fixed Piscciss last time, and it looked like this time not as much of the planet is falling apart as rapidly. “Rook, get word to the Liberty, we’ve got trouble! If it can go submarine, get ready to lock onto the signal of the Omnitrix timing out. I’ll need it in a minute!”

(scene break)

If you’ve seen the episode, you’ll know what happens next. Plus side, they fixed Piscciss the same way as they did on the show proper, Goop using his Anti-Gravity Projector to simulate the necessary gravitational pull to reconstruct the planet. On the minus side, Nate 8 and Kevin 11 escaped with the fragment of the Map, despite the Liberty’s best efforts to stop them. The mood was grim as they took off into space once more.

“…among other things, Magister Tennyson, I regret to inform you that Magister Pyke was killed in action. Nate got there before we could. There was nothing that could be done.” Max gave a deep sigh as he bent over the galaxy map.

“You did the best you could, Rook. That’s all I can ask of you. I’ll have to inform the rest of the Plumbers and arrange a memorial once all this is over. As for the rest of you…” He turned back around to the assembled heroes. “…game of two halves, this. On the one hand, I’m proud of you for saving an entire planet. On the other hand, I’m disappointed doing so meant letting Nate escape. That’s two pieces of the Map he has now! Make sure he doesn’t get the other two.”

“I’ll personally take responsibility for this failure, Grandpa. There should have been a way to do both. But I’ve learnt from Aggregor. I’m not leading us into another failure. Nate won’t get the last two pieces, I swear! Anyone else with me?” The Miraculers cheered in anticipation.

“Make sure he doesn’t, Ben. Aggregor came dangerously close to universal domination. If Nate completes the Map, he would succeed.” Before Max could finish…

“If I may interrupt. I believe I mentioned I put the pieces of the Map where I put them the first time? That was, I’m afraid, creative misdirection. Only two pieces, the ones Nate has, were returned to their original place. The other two pieces I relocated, and I said they were where they were in order to mislead Animo and Shadow Moth, in case they wanted to tag along.”

“Then the question naturally becomes, ‘where are the other two pieces located?’”

“That, Ladybug, is the question. To which the answer is, where Amber Ogia is cultivated, and where Draveks roam free.” Rook was quick to speak up.

“We’d better get ready then. That’s Revonnah. That’s my home.”

Chapter Text

Revonnah is a majestic and beautiful planet with multiple suns. Its rugged terrain is dotted with farms that have been cut into the mountains like terraces, with orderly rows of crevices sliced into the rock for cultivation, broken up by silos and simple farmhouses. These hillside farms, operated by the Revonnahganders, yield one of the most remarkable plants in the universe: Amber Ogia. Even now, as the Liberty sailed through the void towards it, Rook’s mind was awash with where the third piece of the Map of Infinity could be on his home planet. He had no idea where Paradox could’ve hidden it, which puts them at a disadvantage even before they arrive.

“So… we’ve seen your planet on the holos. It’s really pretty.”

“I agree, Marinette. Revonnah is one of the jewels of the universe. Hmm, although perhaps I am biased, as it IS my home planet…” And then his human partner came strolling into the cabin.

“I probably feel the same way about Earth, most of us probably do. Bias might not be the worst thing in the universe in the grand scheme of things. But I digress. Anarka’s just received an SOS from the surface. I think you’re going to want to see it.” This quickly caught Rook’s attention and he leapt upwards.

(scene break)

“Aye, thank goodness you arrived when you did, Blonko. I’d have sent Luka to howl through the walls otherwise!”

“That would likely prove unnecessary, Ms Couffaine. I would have come anyway at the mention of my planet.”

“Yeah, yeah, patriotism is great, yah, yah, yah! Haven’t we got something to show Rook?” Anarka nodded and hit play…

“To any passing spacecraft in orbit around Revonnah, this is Sheriff Rick-Dan Wat-Senn of the Plumbers requesting immediate backup! Rook Da is in critical condition, the mysterious perpetrators of these continued Taydenite attacks have seen to that! The resulting Muroid migrations are driving people from their homes in unprecedented quantities! I repeat, any passing spacecraft…!” The message was immediately cut off with a loud smash. Ben and Rook looked at each other uneasily.

“That’s every bit as alarming as it was the first time. And obviously there’s the Rook Da factor as well…” Rook’s expression turned gravely worried.

“Father…” He whispered to himself, as Ben placed a comforting hand onto his shoulder.

“I’m sorry about your dad, Rook. I know how much he means to you.”

“I appreciate that, Ben, thank you.” The Miraculers turned to look at Rook, some confused, some worried, and all eager to make a start on investigating. There might still be time to save Rook’s father if they hurry…

(scene break)

Upon landing, Cat and Alix insisted on forming their scouting patrol. Their super speed meant they could work out where the Muroids were coming from in double time. Then came a rapid beeping from Rook’s Proto-Tool. An indication of some pretty major activity nearby. It could be Muroids, or it could be the perpetrators of these attacks. Either way, it begged closer investigation. Rook took charge of the party as they embarked. Already they got a hit, Muriod tracks leading in the general direction of the mountains. Plausibly a base of operations for the culprits. Possibly even the one Fistrick used during his scheme to harvest Amber Ogia for his own diabolical purposes. Cat and Alix offered to investigate. They were back in less than a second, to confirm, yes, there was something going on in the mountains, a definite base of operations for the criminals responsible for these Taydenite attacks. That makes it worth investigating on the double…

(scene break)

The caves were dimly lit and likewise difficult to traverse. Even Ben using Eye Guy’s enhanced optic options wasn’t much help. Exactly how long it took to reach the location that Fistrick previously used for a lair was uncertain, it could have been a couple of hours or multiple days. But eventually, their efforts were rewarded, as they came into a cavern containing a very specific type of machine. A twisted fusion of the cloning machine Ma Vreedle used to drain Earth’s oceans, and the hacking machine Kevin used in a failed attempt to hack the Omnitrix, with a large scoop-like chute for Amber Ogia at the back and a ray gun on the front resembling a DNAlien freeze gun. Naturally Ben and Rook silently agreed this must be the cause of all this. It resembles no farming machine on Revonnah that Rook had ever seen, and farmers on Revonnah typically prefer more primitive methods of cultivating crops anyway. This was obviously the work of an off-worlder, someone with a specific plan for the Amber Ogia that Revonnah cultivates. But who could gain anything from this? Then, before anyone could react, a mysterious figure landed in a classic superhero pose behind them, catching Tetrax’s attention. The rest quickly turned around as well, as the figure shot upwards, edging into the dim light. An armoured figure, his feet were hooved. He had purple pads covering his central joints, a belt, and four central lines on his helmet to provide outlines for his face, which were his eyes and mouth. His attention quickly fixated on Tetrax, remembering their history together, and he barked something in a strange alien language.

“A pleasantly long time at that, SixSix!”

“You know this guy?”

“Long story short, Kim, Vilgax once hired SixSix here to recover the Omnitrix for him. Alongside Kraab and Tetrax in fact. I won, of course. SixSix has been itching to even the score ever since.” The Sotoraggian mercenary in question immediately drew his blasters. Ben quickly readied to transform, before the trademark chattering of a large number of creatures caught the ensemble’s attention. Oh perfect…(!) These guys…

“Rook, get ready! We’ve got trouble!”

“Exactly, Ben! These creatures are a race we’ve met before, and commonly employed lackies of one particular criminal…” Before Rook could finish, said Detrovite criminal came into view, atop the machine that was presumably responsible for those Muroid migrations. The machine which was sampling Amber Ogia…

“Who dares intrude on the lair of the... ohh, not you again.”

“Unknown target, eh Ben? So you do know him!”

“Vulkanus? Yes Alix, we know him. We don't like him though.”

“The feeling is mutual, destroy them!” And so the heroes quickly found themselves surrounded by the pickaxe aliens and their mining machines…

“Whoa whoa whoa, hold on, we didn’t even know you were here!”

“Cat’s right. And by the way, why ARE you here?” SixSix said something in his native language, which only Rook, Tetrax, Vilgax and Vulkanus were able to understand.

“I’m sure the Kineceleran would like to know, that’s why she asked the question! Urgh… long story short, Tennyson, I trust you’re aware of my… how shall I say this…? …fondness for Taydenite?”

“Given you’ve previously been all too happy to kill me over minuscule amounts of it, yeah, I know it!” Vulkanus ignored him and continued.

“Then again, they DO say actions speak louder than words…” He turned back to the squad of his minions operating the machine’s controls. “Pick one of them! At random! And fire!” His minions nodded as the machine began to charge a shot. Tetrax pushed his way forwards to shield the group, knowing his reflective crystal body could be the best defence against whatever Vulkanus’s weapon does… The shot fired out, striking Tetrax in the chest and refracting off of it behind him. Kim and Rose failed to dodge quickly enough and were both immediately struck, instantly freezing into Taydenite statues.

“ROSE!!!” Juleka’s horrified screech turned into a scream of fear for herself as the machine immediately recharged and blasted her as well, and she couldn’t react in time to turn intangible to protect herself, so she instantly froze into a Taydenite statue as well. The Sotoraggian mercenary gave a screech of content.

“I agree, SixSix, these results are satisfactory. If this keeps up, we’ll be able to destroy anyone who gets in our way and make enough money to set us up for life!” He gave a wicked chuckle before continuing. “I might as well explain, Tennyson. You remember those freeze guns the DNAliens were using to construct weather machines for the Highbreed? Yeah well, after you thwarted their invasion of Earth, DNAlien numbers dropped dramatically and there was an awful lot of their freeze guns lying around. Dirt cheap, you know. I ordered them by the bucketload, see if I could find some use for them. And now I have the perfect solution, for what to do with all those guns AND for how to make some money when Taydenite’s in short supply! SixSix and I have been building this baby for months – the Taydenite Decimation Cannon! One shot transmutes whatever it hits into pure Taydenite, the rarest, most precious gem in the galaxy! Perfect answer to when I need some quick cash! Only downside is the Amber Ogia residue needed to give that mysterious crystal inside the engine the necessary kick to power it. But that ain’t so bad, this stinking planet has all the Amber Ogia I could ever need to power the cannon! And of course, this here’s only a prototype. Pretty soon I’ll have an improved version in the works. The perfect thing to turn your miserable wasteland of a home planet into my own private garden of Taydenite!”

“You don’t seriously think I’m going to let you get away with this?”

“Frankly, no. Not that you’ll have anything to say about it for very long! Target Ben Tennyson and fire!” Wasting no time, Ben quickly activated the Omnitrix once more…

“Ball Weevil! Ok, I was going for Lodestar, but this’ll do just fine!” He quickly spat into action, secreting his trademark green plasma into a ball which he quickly leapt onto. The remaining Miraculers seemed unsure of what he was looking to do here, but Rook knew it all too well. The pint-sized puke bowler dashed forwards, his energy ball growing in size dramatically as it bowled through the waves of Vulkanus’s henchmen, before finally shooting it out aimed directly for the Detrovite criminal. Fortunately for him, SixSix zoomed in front of him at the last moment, taking the full bunt of the blast for him. He landed expertly as the smoke cleared: the explosion wasn’t strong enough to completely incapacitate him, although it was enough to shatter his black and pink mask, revealing the ugly, mutant, gray-yellow creature with pink and gray robotic eyes and four arms inside. He gave a vile screech as the Miraculers winced in revulsion.

“Indeed. That is unnerving even for a mutant Sotoraggian…” Rook was quickly cut off by another moment of screeching from SixSix. Almost everyone looked to him as if he could translate. Rook held his hands up as Tetrax clarified what SixSix just said doesn’t translate well. At which point the Miraculers leapt into action, each eager to avenge their fallen and get back on track for their quest for the Map of Infinity. Immediately Tetrax shot out a barrage of crystal fragments at SixSix, presumably to make him focus on him, which might well have been a valid option. If Tetrax can lure SixSix away from the action, that’s one less problem the others have to worry about. The Sotoraggian mercenary immediately responded by activating his jetpack and zooming out of range, before barrelling into Tetrax at high speed, propelling them both further into the caverns.

“Alright, one down, too many to go!”

“Well, if you’ve got any ideas for tactics, mi’ladybug…”

“WILL YOU STOP CALLING ME THAT CHATON!!!” Ladybug did not get long to rage before her moment of distraction proved sufficient for Vulkanus’s minions to take advantage. Right before Cat’s eyes, she took a blast to the chest and froze into a Taydenite statue.

“LADYBUG!!!” Cat’s screams were echoed by the rest of the Miraculers, who quickly focused on Vulkanus himself. “Oh, you’re so going to pay for that!” Both he and Alix zoomed forwards, their enhanced super-speed ever increasing, much like Ball Weevil was doing with his bile balls, until both leapt at Vulkanus and started kicking his head rapidly. Due to his injuries, Vulkanus wears a robotic suit to make up for his small size. As such, his head was currently the only part of him to retain feeling. His continued grunts of pain quickly got his minions’ attention, leading to a rapid recharge and discharge of the Taydenite Decimation Cannon. Too preoccupied with fighting Vulkanus to notice, Alix was the one who failed to dodge in time, somewhat paradoxically as her current species is way faster than Cat’s, and was subsequently petrified. Immediately afterwards Cat called for Cataclysm and dashed forwards… right into another discharge and meeting the same fate.

“Ah. Some people are complete dumbos… Well, this is unfortunate. Guess I’d better puke it up!” Unleashing his current bile ball at Vulkanus’s weapon, the resulting explosion only managed to blast a few of his minions off it. Which is actually beneficial, because it hadn’t showcased anything like an autopilot mode yet. So as long as Vulkanus doesn’t utilise them himself, they should be fine. Indeed he didn’t, he instead ordered more of his minions forwards, pickaxes drawn and ready for combat.

“Ok, running the numbers, we are increasingly outnumbered.” That didn’t stop Max opening his shell up and firing an electric blast to slow them down. Nath’s prehensile bandages certainly helped as well.

“If you’d like to change that, mind I remind you Echo Echo can duplicate?” A little embarrassed he didn’t work that out sooner, Luka split into dozens of identical clones, all of which began a Wall of Sound that quickly forced a retreat from the enemy. And which played havoc with Rook’s Proto-Tool. And everyone’s ears, thanks to the enclosed space they found themselves. It actually reached such a level that Ball Weevil himself was forced to silence them by hitting the original with a bile ball, instantly reverting the duplication process. Of course, it then transpired that Vulkanus’s minions were simply retreating to the safety of the cannon’s controls. Just as he got back to his feet, and just as he was about to duplicate again, he met the same fate as his sister. Vulkanus gave a sinister laugh as he pointed towards the remaining three Miraculers. Nath opted to whip his tendrils around himself all at once to create a tornado attack to upheave the TDC before it could fire again. Yet due to its intense weight, the tornado he generated was nowhere near strong enough, and he got hit before he could separate his body to dodge. “Ok, this is getting troublesome, Vulkanus! I’d better take this down before you do any permanent harm!”

“Not so likely there, Tennyson! Minions! Target the Insectoid and fire!” The TDC began to charge up its devasting payload, the target locking onto Ball Weevil like a missile, before firing out that teal blast of evil…

“BEN!!! NOOOOO!!!!” How fortunate for his partner and Max taking the bullet for him. Both were instantly petrified. That was the final straw for Ball Weevil. But before he could make a move, the TDC fired again.

“Ha ha ha ha ha! Now you’ve become the only good type of Tennyson, Tennyson! A DEAD ONE!!!” But in his moment of triumph, Vulkanus had overlooked something. The transformative powers of the Omnitrix. Ben cunningly reverted to human form just prior to being hit, and then retransformed into Ball Weevil, giving him more space to work with then he otherwise would have had. His eyes scanned over the cavern. Vilgax and Ivan were the only two, besides Tetrax, who’d not been petrified. It’s all down to them now… and then another tremendous rumbling shook the cavern, as another monstrous blow from Vilgax was blocked by Vulkanus, withstanding similar attacks from Ivan in his larger form. It seemed pretty likely if this continues, a cave-in beyond even Armadrillo’s digging capabilities would occur and burry them alive. So, this needs to be dealt with quickly. But how to stop Vulkanus from using that thing without…? Then the answer quickly came to him. He slammed the Omnitrix symbol on his neck brace…

“Gravattack! Pretty dope!” Vulkanus clearly didn’t think so.

“A Galilean, Tennyson? Really? You are desperate, I’ve seen Atrocians withstand more of a walling than those piles of rubble and magma!”

“I’m told Atrocians are borderline indestructible, so that’s not such a good comparison!” Vulkanus simply snarled and backflipped to the Taydenite Decimation Cannon’s controls, priming a direct shot at Gravattack’s core. That would be bad news if it hits. It would cause him to enter meltdown and explode, which could be dangerous enough to destroy the whole area he is in, and the cavern seems unstable enough as it is. The blast fired, but Gravattack’s gravity powers managed to suspend the blast before it hit him. That’s some time they’ve garnered. But there’s only so long Gravattack can sustain it before the Omnitrix times out. So… options…?

“If you’re willing to listen, I’d recommend smashing that thing!”

“And how, dinosaur brain, do you propose we do that? Without getting too close, I mean!”

“Hmm… I might have an idea… Vulkanus said it needs Amber Ogia residue to work, right?” Ivan quickly took a rocket punch to the face as the Detrovite criminal turned his attention towards them.

“Actually, you’re off your rocker. What I said was the Amber Ogia residue is needed to give that mysterious crystal inside the engine the necessary kick to power it.” He trailed off, quickly realising what he’d just given away. “Ah… probably shouldn’t have said that… Oh well, ain’t much you can do about that, you can barely move for Amber Ogia on this planet!”

“I think I get what you are implying, though. Given the volatility of the fruit in question, if we were to cause some form of reaction…”

“…it would destroy the Amber Ogia and cut off the weapon’s power supply! Great idea, Vilgax!” Immediately Gravattack sideflipped into his ball form, ramping up the power of his orbit powers and whipping Vulkanus’s energy blast around himself at high speed… “let’s see how that stuff works on Amber Ogia!”

“Oh no, I know what you’re trying to do, Tennyson! Don’t you dare…!” Recognizing the danger, Vulkanus leapt upwards, desperately attempting to block the redirected energy beam… which didn’t work, as his armoured suit was rapidly encased in Taydenite, much to his frustration. “Urgh! Urgh! I’m stuck!”

“And so I guess it’s time to start smashing!” Just as Vilgax retracted the boost steroids on his arms, Ivan grew to a much larger size and swung his now armoured tail at the frozen Vulkanus, as Vilgax delivered an earth-shattering punch which reverberated throughout the entire cavern. It was clear Vilgax was incredibly strong, even for his species, as was Ivan, as the combination of their attacks was enough to shatter Vulkanus’s Taydenite encased suit into smithereens, leaving his true form, resembling an infant wearing a white diaper while retaining his regular head, scrawled out on his back, unable to right himself. “Ok… I’ve got to be honest, I was not expecting this.” Ivan muttered.

“Detrovites are typically much larger and more muscular.” Vilgax agreed.

“Urgh… Tennyson’s fault on both counts! Threw me into an iron mine with Element X! Look what it did to me! And that’s going to be another so many years my regeneration’s going to be delayed thanks to you!” Leaving Vulkanus to let out his rage, Ivan and Vilgax leapt aboard the Taydenite Decimation Cannon, looking for the power supply on the back. There’s obviously some blender-like machine on the back to break down the Amber Ogia fruits into residue to power the crystal… aha, and there’s the maintenance hatch! Gravattack hovered over before reverting to Ben. He gave a look indicating they could proceed, which Vilgax did, reaching inwards to retrieve the special crystal Vulkanus and SixSix were using to power the thing. Moments after Vilgax removed the crystal, it reverted to its true form, a form everyone was quite happy to see.

“Another piece of the Map of Infinity! That certainly explains the power output. Wonder why Paradox chose to disguise it as a crystal here of all places?”

“Revonnah is a backwater planet, not unlike Earth. The only off-world visitors it gets are the ones who know about its special produce. To the untrained eye, there is nothing of any value to an off-worlder here. But because of that, it’s extremely useful if you have something to hide. Paradox is clearly smarter than I thought.”

“Yeah, yeah, real nice, squid-face, now the other big question – what are we going to do about the others? Look at them, they’re all statues!” Ben and Vilgax looked behind them, at the massive statuary of Taydenite figures, all perpetually frozen unless they think of something. The answer wasn’t easy to think up. Taydenite is borderline indestructible, so conventional gem cutting tools are automatically ruled out. In theory, anyway. Any of Ben’s aliens would be useless trying to free them, unless Diamondhead’s crystals are strong enough to cut Taydenite. Probably not because, as Tetrax explained earlier, despite the mineral and his species looking identical, Petrosapiens are not made of Taydenite and their crystals don’t have any real value. So this leaves Ben in a frustrating position. Ivan and Vilgax’s combined strength was enough to break Vulkanus’s Taydenite encased suit, but that was due to the suit supporting his tiny body. If Vulkanus was still at full size, that could have killed him. So it would be considerably risky to attempt that with the others. Not to mention Cat Noir was one of those encased in Taydenite, so even if Cataclysm does work on Taydenite, they wouldn’t be able to put it into practise. Or rather, that’s what they thought, until a sudden sound of matter disintegrating reached their ears. They looked at the statue of Cat Noir. His Cataclysm hand was glowing, and his Taydenite prison was evaporating!

“Urgh… that was weird…” He quickly shook off the doziness and assumed a battle stance. “Alright Vulkanus, here comes round two!”

“Battle’s over, kitty.” Ben pointed to the shattered remains of Vulkanus’s suit, which the pint-sized power-monger was still struggling to right himself in. “Vulkanus is down, and we’ve got the next piece of the Map. Mind you, still got SixSix to worry about… wonder how Tetrax is doing holding him off?”

(scene break)

Elsewhere in the caverns, the answer was ‘reasonably, at best’. Blow after blow was being traded as the Petrosapien warrior and the Sotoraggian mercenary continued their brawl. Tetrax instinctively blocked his face with his forearm as SixSix drove his energy buzzsaw into his crystalline flesh, immediately following up with a sudden kick to the gun as he whipped his twin laser pistols into his hands, barking something in his native language. He quickly opened fire, forcing Tetrax to generate a wall of crystals to protect himself. But SixSix was not discouraged. He quickly switched tactics to his lethal sonic weapon, effortlessly shattering the crystal wall and working its lethal magic on Tetrax himself, rapidly cracking him like an egg. Severely weakened, but unwilling to go down just yet, Tetrax worked up the energy to slowly edge forwards, centimetre by centimetre, until the Sotoraggian mercenary was within punching distance. He quickly got one in before the Sotoraggian mercenary slashed out in retribution with his energy whip. A dual block was scarcely enough to shield himself. But even now his durability was thinning. How fortunate for an unexpected occurrence. Before SixSix could react, a Chromastone laser suddenly shone directly through Tetrax’s crystal body, unleashing a laser powerful enough to send the Sotoraggian mercenary crashing backwards into a wall, setting off his jetpack and making him up rocket into the roof of the cavern triggering a cave in, burying the Sotoraggian mercenary under a mountain of rubble. Recognising the instability of the cavern, Tetrax wisely drew his hoverboard for a quick getaway.

(scene break)

So the battle was won and SixSix and Vulkanus were defeated, and now in Sheriff Rick-Dan Wat-Senn’s custody to await transfer into the custody of the Plumbers. The Miraculers too were returned to flesh and blood thanks to Cat’s quick thinking, Cataclysming each of his teammates back to normal over the course of several hours. Then, aboard the Liberty, just as Rook was finishing a modest farewell to his father, who had miraculously survived his encounter with the Taydenite Decimation Cannon, Paradox threw another twist into the tale.

“Congratulations, young Ben. Our quest is over. We are victorious.”

“Isn’t that a little premature, Paradox? We still have one more fragment of the Map to find.”

“That is true and false at the same time, Ladybug. For you see,” Paradox took something very particular out of his coat pocket, “while you were busy facing SixSix and Vulkanus, I took the liberty of guaranteeing our victory in the event of your possible defeat. The final shard of the Map of Infinity was located on Turrawuste. But you will notice I recovered it during your previous mission. Nathaniel and Kevin are on the hunt for a fake replica. With any luck, that should at least slow them down long enough for Plumber backup to surround the planet and cut off their escape… Meaning we can now probably relax.”

“Yeah, just got to stop you there, are you forgetting the fact our planet’s stuck in an alternate dimension?”

“Kim’s right, we need to sort that out. Quick style. Anarka! It’s hometime.”

(scene break)

“Seven hours digging across this wasteland, here we are.” Nate gave an evil smirk as he took the piece of the Map from Kevin.

“It is mine! The final piece of the Map of Infinity! Barring the one on Revonah of course, but that can wait! Whoever succeeds in merging these four pieces together shall be granted a power that can change reality! And rule the universe!” Then he noticed something wrong with the "Map”. "Dah! THIS CANNOT BE! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KEVIN ETHAN LEVIN! That sly Paradox tricked you! This is a fake Map piece made out of salt dough!!!”

“Wha…?” Kevin looked closer at the map piece, only to confirm Nate’s declaration. “Oh… that’s annoying!”

“That is irritating.”

“That’s annoying! And what’s worse – Tennyson hasn’t shown up all day! He probably went to Revonnah! That’s two pieces we’ve lost! Urgh… fist shaking time, methinks…” Kevin was of course, naturally unprepared for what Nate, obviously working hard to control his emotions, did next.

“No, Kevin.”

“WHAT?! But they’ve got half the Map now, and it’s useless without the other half, aren’t you furious?!”

“Yes… but I have a plan…”

Chapter Text

They had good reason to be alarmed upon their arrival. When they’d previously left Animo and Shadow Moth to their own devices, they had half-expected them to use the time to amass an army to besiege them when they returned to put the Earth back where it belongs. The sight of Animo’s old fortress lying in ruins, with the vague silhouettes of Harrison and Alex dragging their master’s body, which seemed to have been severely injured from the blood trails flowing from it, back into the shadows was not what they’d expected. Perhaps they were hoping to find that albino gorilla body that his future self used and transplant his head onto it? Shadow Moth crawling towards the landing Liberty was also unexpected. And the slash wounds across his body indicate only one thing. Someone or something has been this way. Ben and Marinette disembarked to investigate.

“Urgh… L-L-Ladybug…”

“I always thought your own evildoing would be your undoing, Gabriel. I never actually believed it would be like this.”

“More importantly, who – or what – did this? There’s enough criminals and monsters in the Null Void that would attack you, but nothing I can think of that attacks with such ferocity. Maybe the Way Bads, but…” A weak cough from Gabriel cut Ben off.

“Nathaniel…”

“Nathaniel Kurtzberg? As in the redhead we’ve got on board?”

“If only… it was…” That response caught Ben’s attention. There’s only one other Nathaniel they know…

“Nate 8. It has to be. He did this, didn’t he?” Gabriel gave a nod as he coughed weakly.

“He… returned… for us… cut us down… darn near decapitated Animo… left me to his pet…”

“This makes no sense, why would Nate come back here?”

“Remember this much, Marinette. We stopped Nate getting half of the Map. If he’s come back to strike at us now, he’s obviously planning something. But first, we need to get Gabriel here to a hospital, those wounds look deep cut…”

“No… it is too late for me, Ben Tennyson…” Gabriel gave a harsh coughing fit as Cat Noir zoomed over to see for himself. “Cat Noir.”

“This might not be the best time, mi’lady, but there’s something I need to share. At least let me say goodbye to my father.” Ben and Marinette looked at him suspiciously, before he uttered those three magic words: “Plagg… claws in.” And there it happened. The flash of green light, and the sight of the boy that she had been crushing on for ages replacing her leather clad partner. His Citrakayah body was not reverted, leaving him a feline alien wearing Adrien’s clothes. It was still enough for everyone to piece the puzzle together.

“Adrien.” Gabriel’s tone was not as annoyed as he once would have been to learn his son was one of his enemies all along. “It seems we both have had secrets to hide. I was so close to getting the ring… I could’ve been one step closer to my goal all along… that is frustrating.”

“You might not have been a good man, Gabriel, but you had conviction. Though there is one thing I’d like confirming. Was all this… for mom?”

“Was I only doing this to reunite with Emile, so you could have your mother back in your life? Yes. That was all I wanted. I wasn’t interested in destroying the universe or conquering the world or anything like that. I only wanted Emile back. Well, I suppose my goal has been accomplished.” He gave a sudden grunt of pain as he clutched his side in agony. “Soon I will be reunited with Emile after so long apart… although not in the way I’d imagined… You’ve done well defending Paris from my madness, Adrien. For that… I am proud of you…”

“Goodbye father.”

“Goodbye… Adrien…” And then he finally slumped down in death. Finally Gabriel was reunited with Emile. Finally Adrien was free of his father’s control. He simply shook his head sadly as he stood back up.

“Adrien… I-I-I’m so sorry…”

“Seeing a loved one die never gets more pleasant. Trust me, I know. Real shame things turned out this way. I get the feeling he might’ve actually been on the way out of that dark hole he dug himself into…” Then the rest of the Miraculers came over as well, each to offer Adrien their sympathies of their own. Although quickly enough, the moment was interrupted by a slow, methodical clapping coming from southwest of their location. They all turned to see the unbearably smug creep standing in front of a deep pit – Nate 8, human once more. Presumably the Omegatrix had finally reset and timed out after the power demand of going Ultimate burnt out the starter like it always does.

“How the mighty have fallen, and how the tragedies keep piling. Oh ho, I pity the, Master Agreste.”

“Nate!” Instinctively Ben tore his jacket off and rose a hand over the Omnitrix, eager to go Rath and beat the living daylights out of Nate for what he’d done. But Nate did not react.

“This is a reunion none of us was expecting, Tennyson.”

“You’re in a pretty good mood for someone who just got his butt kicked.”

“I can assure you, Miss Kubdel, my objective has been met. For all your efforts, I was able to recover two pieces of the Map of Infinity.”

“It’s over, Nate, we have the other half of the Map!”

“And I…” He gave a subtle indication towards Kevin, who nodded and tore away the cloth draped over a cage of bones, presumably the skeleton of a creature that once roamed these lands, and in turn revealed a sight that chilled the blood of every Miraculer. “…have your families!” He gave a sinister chuckle as the Miraculers came forwards, desperate to see the sight of their loved ones, ranging from Tom and Sabine to obscure ones like both of Nath’s mothers and sisters, stranded in that impossibly small cage, suspended over the dark pit, filled with millions of minuscule crawling insects. “I don’t know how much you know about Voidermites, Tennyson, but the poor things are eternally ravenous. Piranhas of the void, I’ve heard people call them. They’ll eat anything: flesh, bone, entrails… you name it. And all instantaneously, or all in a matter of seconds. With eating skills like that, I doubt this load of prisoners will satisfy them for long, but some sustenance is better than none. I trust my intentions are clear? If that rope breaks, your families will find themselves on the menu for the Voidermite swarms below us! Take one step towards me, and they die! Now… care to trade?”

“I get it, Nate. We give you our half of the Map, you cut the rope anyway and send them falling to a quick death while you take Gemini’s power.”

“You’d think, Tennyson. You’re wrong. This time I fully intend to keep my word. Surrender the Map of Infinity and I will release them. Or at least, I will let them live long enough to watch you fail to stop me when it really matters. Or, of course, if you are willing to take your relatives’ place in the cage, I won’t stop you…”

“Who had the Map last?” The Miraculers looked at each other uneasily at Ben’s question. Though he certainly had the right idea. Nate wants the other half of the Map of Infinity, and he’s got their loved ones over a ravenous pit of monsters. They could try something, anything, to beat him to the punch, to open the cage before he cuts the rope. But that would be far too unpredictable. One wrong move and their loved ones die. Reluctantly, Marinette walked forward, taking the remaining fragments from her back pockets.

"Your fears have got the better of you, I see. How fitting that I will win and your legacies will be over... not because of what I have done to your precious planet, but because you are scared of what I will do to your friends, your family. They are your weaknesses, hiding just below the surface. I'm sure that you're scared of what will happen when I draw the essence of Gemini into my being. What will we find when every kwami’s knowledge is mine? Your true identities, or proof that without their masks, a so-called hero is nothing. Impotent. Powerless, Afraid. Give me your half of the Map, and we can find out." Despite pleas from her loved ones inside the cage, Marinette handed Nate the Map compliantly. “Excellent. Finally, the universe at my fingertips. And you cannot stop me now. I have won already. You are defeated. Now… I suppose I should fulfil my end of the agreement.” As he handed Kevin the Map, Nate reached into his inner coat pocket and took out a key, which he quickly inserted into the cage’s lock. He turned it clockwise momentarily and the door opened. “You’re all free to go. Get out of here.” His prisoners were understandably all too happy to obey. “Now… for my prosperity, I am broadcasting this throughout the galaxy, for your consideration. Every sentient lifeform in the known galaxy, I have messages for you all. To the vandals who stayed behind to pick the still warm flesh from the bones of this dimension: Have your fun. You are under my protection. To the cowards quaking behind the emblem of the Plumbers: You will not be spared. And to you, Ben Tennyson: I have already won. Emptied your planet’s hopes with a doomsday device and a few threatening words. That's how little the safety you provided was worth. And when the dawn comes...when Infinity lies in ruins and I turn my gaze to the universe beyond... the legend of the Omnitrix will be worth nothing at all. As for the rest of you, I’m not taking any chances. I count at least nine of you cannot fit through small spaces? Minus old bandage face, the rest of you can get in here. Oh, but don’t worry! I’m not going to feed you to the Voidermites! No, you’ve proven yourselves sufficient opponents to my goals. As such, I think it’s only fair you get to see for yourselves my coronation. We’re bringing you with us to Infinity.” Unable to resist, Marinette and her team complied. “As for Ben Tennyson, hero of heroes… I think I will leave you here to rot. The damage you can do to me when I’m in one place and you’re in another is limited. You shall be spared… long enough to let your defeat sink in, of course. After that, I will destroy your Omnitrix, I will destroy the Galvan and Cerebrocrustaceans and any other species capable of building another, and then, when the chance of an Omnitrix wielder standing up to me is rendered nought, I will kill you. As slowly and excruciatingly as humanly possible. Then maybe I’ll jumpstart your heart… transform you into Heatblast and kill you again, even more excruciatingly. And so on and so forth through each and every one of your aliens, the pain increasing tenfold each time, to serve as a living warning to any being that dares invoke my wrath. No one defeats Nate 8. Not even the so-called hero of heroes himself.”

“So Nate… is it showtime yet?”

“Not just yet, Kevin, but we are approaching it. For before that, I want to address one more person. Vilgax, will you hear my plea?”

“Speak quickly, Nathaniel Eighton, but your words had best please me.”

“In that case, I will get to the point. A few things. One, you’re going to be executed at best, or at worst, spend the rest of your life in the newly refurbished and absolutely escape-proof Incarcecon in this place. Two, this will be the final conversation you will ever have with an organic lifeform. And three, it really wasn’t my fault this whole mess started.”

“How do you arrive at that conclusion?”

“Considering we’re on the same side here, I’d have thought you’d already know. You only got caught in the detonation of that Null Void doomsday device because an Omnitrix is by its very nature somewhat unpredictable. I couldn’t accurately factor in how long it would take you to defeat Tennyson, could I? No. I never betrayed you, Vilgax. This was our plan from the start. The power of Gemini… we craved it both. It was a trivial pursuit, dare I say it. Convincing Animo and Shadow Moth to assist us, assembling everything we needed for the ultimate plan, rigging the doomsday machine to trap you with them so you’d team up with them for revenge, and using them to help us find the Map of Infinity… all meticulously calculated.” Ben and Rook looked at Vilgax, a mixture of concerned and content that Ben’s suspicions about Vilgax had proven correct.

“Initially… yes. Nate betraying me and hunting the Map for his own agenda was an act. That part is true. Of course, what he does not know is that he is a far better actor than he realises. He pulled off the ruse of his betrayal so well I am not inclined to aid him further. He did not realise that I decided to aid you, Ben Tennyson, not because I want Nate to win…” Immediately Vilgax withdrew the rods in his arms, bulking him up and monstrously increasing his strength. “…but because I want you both to lose!” The thunderous punch sent Nate flying backwards at ultimate speed, crashing through several asteroids without the durability of his amalgamated form to protect him. Naturally Kevin was quick to leap into proceedings.

“So you were playing us as much as we were playing you. Can’t say I’m surprised. Never trust a Chimera Suis Generis.”

“I’m not so sure Myaxx would agree with you, Kevin! So Vilgax, how we doing this? You scratch my back, I scratch yours?”

“I meant what I said. You handle your amalgamated friend; I will destroy Nate 8!” And with that, he leaped into the great abyss, leaving Ben to handle Kevin alone. Ok, he did technically still have Rook, Tetrax and Nath to help him, but they’ll have to find a way to get the others out of the cage before one of these fights accidentally cuts the rope. Paradox is also worth ruling out as he’s notoriously unreliable at the best of times. Not that he got much time to think on that, before Kevin leapt animalistically at him, roaring not too dissimilar to a lion.

“Six long years we’ve known each other, Tennyson. And what an impression you’ve made. I've had it with you, Tennyson! Always beating me when we were kids! Everything always going your way! I get turned into a freak, you become a world-famous superhero! With my powers, I should be ruling the universe right now!!!”

“You were always a freak, Kevin! Especially when we were kids. I might not be the most socially aware guy out there, but even I can see your humanity’s dropping, Kevin. You’re becoming more of a monster than ever before.”

“You’re just jealous of me!!! I have all your powers, plus my own! I’M KEVIN 11!!!” He immediately shot out a blast of his Buglizard fog from one palm, which Ben was quick to dodge without even transforming.

“Too bad every one of those powers is only a tenth as powerful as mine!” And then came the dial turning…

“Just for their sake, I suggest we keep this one on the low down. One on one. Hand to hand.”

“Alright Kevin, if you want to do this old-school, I’ve got a guy in here you’ll love taking on…” FLASH!!!

“RAAAAAATH!!!” He looked down at himself and sulked, before rapidly regaining his composure. “Fine, Rath’s better anyway!” He slammed his fists together, cracking his knuckles. "LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN' KEVIN ETHAN LEVIN!!!!"

“I’d rather you didn’t get the opportunity!” Kevin quickly spat out a jet of Tyrannopede’s webbing into Rath’s face, which he struggled to remove for all of ten seconds before his rage increased to the point where he could tear it off with ease.

“AS RATH WAS ABOUT TO SAY BEFORE RATH WAS SO RUDELY INTERUPTED!!! NOBODY GETS ONE OVER RATH!!! ESPECIALLY ONE WHO CHEATS WHEN THEY SAID NO PROJECTILE ATTACKS!!!”

“I only said hand to hand, I didn’t say no projectile attacks!” He dashed forwards on all fours towards the Appoplexian warrior, only for said Appoplexian warrior to suddenly leap out at him and headbutt him to the ground, quickly forcing his arms and legs behind his back in a painful manner. As Kevin squirmed in pain, Rath continued his ferocious ranting.

“YOU WANNA PIECE OF RATH?!!! YOU GOT A PIECE!!! AND WHEN RATH’S FINISHED WITH YOU, YOU’LL BE IN ENOUGH PIECES TO CONSTRUCT A DOLLHOUSE WITH!!!”

“You know, Rath is the only alien that makes me wanna get a box of popcorn, kick back and just watch.” Clearly Rath didn’t like that implication…

“ARE YOU CALLING RATH STUPID?! BECAUSE NOBODY CALLS RATH STUPID!!! LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN' KEVIN ETHAN LEVIN, RULE NUMBER OF FIGHTING RATH – DO NOT CALL RATH STUPID!! IN FACT IT’S NOT EVEN SO MUCH A RULE, IT’S SO OBVIOUS!!!” A sudden sharp impact to the backs of his legs sent Rath flying face first into the dusty ground. Kevin gave a mocking laugh as he climbed back up, his Vicetopus tentacles squirming wildly behind him.

“Lemme tell ya somethin', you’re right, you are pretty smart. For an Appoplexian. Which is not a high bar to jump but still…” A slashing uppercut cut him off. Rath gave a ferocious roar as Kevin staggered backwards, clutching his chest in pain. He glared animalistically at Rath as he lifted his hands off his chest, uncovering the deep-cutting scar across his left shoulder and right underarm, almost splitting his torso in two. “THAT HURT!!!”

“NOT ENOUGH FOR RATH’S LIKING!!! LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN' KEVIN ETHAN LEVIN, YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO STEAL RATH’S CATCHPHRASE!!!” As the two powerhouses continued their brawl, the gathered crowd watched in horror, entertainment, and maybe a little nausea considering all those punches to the gut.

“This one could go either way. Kevin’s latest mutation has made him practically indestructible.”

“Although Tetrax, one cannot rule out that Rath is also practically indestructible, I am certain Gwen told me about one time Rath survived freefalling several hundred feet out of a spaceship, just to get up and yell at the crater his face made.” As Nath turned from trying to unlock the cage with his bandages, he gave a worried facepalm.

“This is going to be a long night…”

(scene break)

Deeper into the Null Void, approximately how deep Phil was during Back With A Vengeance, far away from the scene of an Appoplexian wrestling with an amalgamation of several Nemetrix aliens, the body of the mastermind responsible for all this came to rest. A single blow from Vilgax at that strength could have been fatal. But just as Tennyson’s Omnitrix has a failsafe that kicks in when the user’s life is in jeopardy, so does Nate’s Omegatrix. Just as Vilgax came thundering down towards him, Nate transformed into Shellspin, his thick, impermeable shell protecting him from the ferocious impact of Vilgax’s monstrous strength at full force. “I suppose that balances the books, Vilgax.” The Chimera Suis Generis warlord snarled viciously as he drew his sword.

“By my count, there is still a level of interest.”

“And me without Ma Vreedle to make you back down.”

“You are never going to let me live that down, are you?”

“I do believe that is a certainty, yes.” Without wasting a moment, Nate transformed once again, this time into a form that looked similar to Way Big but with the red parts being blue and the white parts being grey with the exception of his palms, fingers and face. He had red eyes, and a large red and copper-colored device on his chest, covering the area where the Omegatrix symbol would be. “Giant Cosmic! Now this is something else! You don’t have such a good track record fighting To'kustars, do you?” Vilgax winced in disgust at that memory. This time, he would not be defeated so easily! True, a To’kustar is bigger than Vilgax, and stronger, but they have a much more prominent weakness. Their massive size is not such a problem in the Null Void, but their frills on their heads are a much different story. If Vilgax could jump high enough, which of course he could, a precise strike could be enough to bring Nath crashing down in agony. Not that Nate would let him try that, mind, as he immediately crossed his arms together and fired his cosmic rays at maximum strength. Only the Shield of Seagle protected Vilgax from serious harm. Grinning wickedly, he leapt high into the skies, locking in his target within seconds and rocketing downwards at the frill on Giant Cosmic’s head… and crashing into the dirt far below when Nate realised what he was trying to do and ducked suddenly, nearly creating a canyon in the rocks below in the process.

“Clever, Nathaniel, very clever!”

“Of course I am, otherwise I would never have been able to pull all this off! Now, I would love to continue these childish amusements with such a mediocre so-called conqueror of worlds, but alas, if I do so, I run the risk of one of Tennyson’s team recovering the Map, rendering my plans naught. So I’ll simply have to finish this here and now!” Immediately as he finished his sentence, Nate thrust his arms downwards beside him, and a massive cosmic vortex spiralled into existence in the skies above him. “To’kustars are created during highly unpredictable cosmic storms, as such, they can control said cosmic storms! Now Vilgax, conqueror of ten worlds, let’s see how well you can stand up to the power of the cosmos itself!” He thrust forward a finger, pointing at Vilgax, and the cosmic winds began to increase dramatically all around their arena. Lightning strikes rained down, vortexes opened up all around the struggling Chimera Suis Generis warlord, until finally, with his durability beginning to wear out, and with the wind levels increasing into a hurricane that would exterminate all life on Earth, the evil Chimera Suis Generis warlord was sent flying skywards, completely unable to control himself, while continually being battered with cosmic lightning…

(scene break)

Back in the ruins of Animo’s fortress, Rath and Kevin were still going at it, furiously ripping and clawing at each other and pulling off wrestling moves that could paralyse a human being, all with incredible precision. The noise of such was no help to Rook, having resorted to using his Proto-Tool’s skeleton key function on the skeleton cage lock. This requires a certain degree of concentration, so the worried gasping of everyone watching and those locked inside said cage was not helping. One wrong move, he repeatedly empathised, could be enough to send the inhabitants crashing down into a sea of ravenous Voidermites, which would automatically devour them. Ruling out the possibility of anyone on the inside being much help in getting them out, besides Max possibly, Rook was their best shot. And then, of course, the crowd surrounding them gets split in two when Rath came skidding along on his back after Kevin got him with a Terrorantula web coating. The Appoplexian quickly broke free and got back to his feet as Kevin flew in…

“LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN' KEVIN ETHAN LEVIN!! RATH IS NOT GIVING UP HERE!!! NO ONE BEATS RATH!!!! RATH CAN HOLD OUT ALL DAY, WHILE YOU COULDN’T HOLD OUT AGAINIST SSSERPENT FOR AN HOUR!!! HA HA, AN HOUR IS NOTHING TO RATH!!!”

“He hits hard, I thought you’d have known that! Oh well, guess it’s time for my secret weapon!” Kevin gave an evil smirk as he unleashed the full hypnotic power of his wings against Rath. Typically a Psycholeopterran’s prey is Necrofriggians, aka Big Chill’s species. But they seemed to be pretty effective against Appoplexians too, as Rath immediately struggled to keep his wits about him…

“URGH!!! OH NO, THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!!! LEMME… lemme… tell ya somethin'… Kevin Ethan Levin…”

“Against the power of Hypnotick’s wings, you’re nothing, Tennyson!!!” Indeed, Kevin’s declaration might well prove to be accurate, given Rath was struggling to even stay upright, falling on his knees and clutching his head, trying desperately to resist… before a sudden Proto-Tool bolt right between the eyes shut off Kevin’s hypnotic powers. Stunned, he wasn’t in any shape to stand against a sudden shot of Stinkfly slime to the face, or an Ectonurite pulse laser to the chest, knocking him out of flight and forcing him to land. There he saw it. The Miraculers! Freed?! How could this be, Nate installed a quadruple Infinium lock on that cage! Then he noticed the shape of Nath’s fingers. Proto-Tool AND bandages. Unorthodox. And then, just before he was able to react, the fairy-girl turned actual fairy, or Nemuina, which are similar enough, came zipping over him, spreading her sleeping dust over him in the process. Kevin struggled against the overpowering drowsiness for as long as possible, before ultimately succumbing, falling down in a heap, snoring loudly. Rath reverted to Ben and staggered back to his feet.

“Urgh… thanks guys. That was weird. Like, weirder than normal…”

“You are welcome, Ben. I must thank our esteemed onlookers for suggesting I combine my Proto-Tool’s lockpicking function with Nathaniel’s bandages.”

“And speaking of Nathaniel, where do you think he is? Did he even survive that punch from Vilgax?”

“I wouldn’t count him out yet, Marinette. True, without his rip-off-nitrix, Nate’s just an ordinary 14-year-old kid. But it’s similar enough to mine that it shares various functions. Possibly including the failsafe that keeps me from dying in extremely serious situations…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up!” A certain auburn-haired reporter suddenly pushed through the crowd with her DJ boyfriend close behind. Marinette quickly facepalmed. Of course everything that’s happened wouldn’t escape Alya’s attention. She pushed her way to the bug alien that was once her bestie. “You’re Marinette?”

“Alya… ok, look, this really isn’t the best time! For one, have you even seen everything surrounding us?”

“She’s got a point, babe. Did all that time we spent in that cage not mean anything to you?”

“My personal safety means nothing compared to the truth, Nino!”

“I was afraid you’d say that…” Ben came over to Alya frustratedly, presumably eager to answer her questions and get her back in line.

“Ok, look, long story short, these guys, who I’m assuming you know, have been helping me face off against a number of my greatest enemies who were working with Shadow Moth. Two of them betrayed the others and trapped Earth here – in the Null Void. A place where the Plumbers send the worst criminals in the galaxy.”

“Because the worst criminals in the galaxy clog toilets?”

“No no, Nino, the Plumbers are intergalactic police officers.” Nino gave her a weird look, as did the remainder of their classmates who hadn’t been transformed. “My Uncle Vitto used to be one, he’s actually what inspired me to hunt for the truth! ‘The truth is out there’, he always says…”

“Vitto Cesaire… now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time…” Ben turned to look at Max as he approached the group. “How is the old lion, dear?”

“He’s doing surprisingly well for his age, sir. Mainly taking up astrology. He’s rather good at it.”

“Huh. Grandpa, could you introduce me to this Vitto sometime? I’d love to hear some of his stories. Sounds a pretty swell guy.”

“That he is, Ben. That he is. He was a close friend of mine back in the day, but we fell out of contact when Vilgax was presumed dead…” Before Max could finish, a loud crash shook the ground as said Chimera Suis Generis came crashing down in the circle of people surrounding the area. Ben’s expression said it all. Vilgax’s injuries were identical to when his ship was attacked in the first episode of the franchise. Something very powerful had delivered a crippling blow to him. Immediately before Alya could question what exactly was happening, her answer arrived. A very big, very blue, very powerful creature, which quickly reverted back to Nate 8 in a flash of purple light. He gazed over Vilgax’s body, content with his work, and began walking over to Kevin, still sleeping off Rose’s attack. The four pieces of the Map of Infinity were scattered in front of Kevin, and Nate gathered them up.

“And now… victory is mine.”

“Ok, ok, listen here, mister, I need answers! The world needs answers! Who are you? Why did you lock us up? And what on Earth is that thing you’re holding?” Nate turned around sharply and death-glared Alya so viciously she looked genuinely afraid.

“My name is Nathaniel Eighton. Your imprisonment was necessary to convince your friends to surrender this. The Map of Infinity. Now it will lead me to the ultimate prize, and the ultimate victory.”

“What do you want?”

“A wise man once said that happiness does not consist of having what you want, but wanting what you have. And I have the Map of Infinity, which makes me happy. Goodbye.” Nate morphed a hand into a Gailien's, and he slammed Alya back into the skeleton cage with his gravitokinesis. Chuckling evilly, he picked up a sharp stone from near his foot and hurled it through the rope, much to the crowd’s horror. Only Ivan’s quick reactions saved Alya from becoming Voidermite food. “It matters not. I have already won.” Nate used his gravity powers to lift Kevin over his shoulder. “At the end of the day, I have the Map of Infinity and you don’t. I’m about to visit your kwamis’ home planet, children. Infinite power will be mine, as will the universe. We won’t meet again. Goodbye.” And immediately after he finished his sentence, Nate teleported himself and Kevin back to their ship, to begin the long journey to Infinity, the planet of the kwamis…

Chapter Text

“It appears that we have failed.”

“Indeed, Rook. We’re hurting real bad now. At least I did better than with Aggregor. We at least stopped – or should I say delayed? – Nate and Kevin getting half of the Map of Infinity. If only temporarily, but every cloud and all that…”

“Even then, we are in serious trouble! We had four opportunities to stop Nate, two of which were utilised, and he still managed to outwit us and get the other half of the Map! We’ve lost, simply put. We’re stranded in the Null Void with Paradox nowhere in sight, we’ve no way to get to Infinity before Nate and the universe as we know it is completely doomed!” Tetrax gave a deep sigh as he continued. “I would blame you for this failure, Ben, but others have had their flaws as well. And now there is no hope.” The Miraculers listening to Tetrax’s despondent claim were equally despondent. Well, the ones who’d been transformed were, the remainder, in particular Alya, who’d barely recovered from her close shave in the skeleton cage, merely seemed greatly confused.

“Ok, ok, can we get some answers here? Who even are some of you lot…?”

“Let’s just give her the answers here. Me, Marinette. Him, Ben 10. There was an accident fixing his watch, turned us into several of his aliens. The others you might remember their names: Juleka, Luka, Nathaniel, Alix, Kim, Max, Rose and Ivan. And Adrien, my kitty companion.” Alya and Nino looked to the Citrakayah standing next to the Lepidopterran.

“Adrien...? Dude… that is a transformation…”

“Appropriate though. I was Cat Noir. You’ll probably never believe me but it’s true. Long story short, that Nate 8 guy was originally working with Vilgax down there…”

“Who for your information is perfectly fine, I’ve recovered from far more serious injuries than this!”

“Riiiiight… and Shadow Moth and a guy called Dr Animo. They were planning to turn the Eiffel Tower into a doomsday machine that would trap Earth here. Tried to get Ben to surrender his watch with it, knowing he’d choose Earth over the Omnitrix. Then Nate backstabbed the others. And then he set out to find the Map of Infinity, a complete map of space and time.”

“Which is super bad news. Nate wants to use it to get to Infinity, the planet of the kwamis. That’s also why he mutated Kevin into that form you saw. He’s going to sample the essence of Gemini – the kwami of reality! – and become omnipotent! And now we’ve lost any chance of stopping him.”

“That’s not true though, Ben’s fought Nate before from the sounds of things! And he’s likely faced far greater dangers than this!”

“Don’t know if you’re an eternal optimist… Alya, was it? …or need to have your head examined. I have faced monsters far beyond your regular brand of action. Even been through a similar situation to this when Aggregor went after the Map of Infinity. And I stopped Maltruant remaking the universe in his image, and stopped Vilgax blowing up the multiverse. But even then, I haven’t always had things all my own way. Defeating Aggregor cost Kevin his sanity. We don’t even have that option this time. Bet that’s part of the reason Nate went after Kevin of all the Osmosians out there. Urgh, it’s all over this time. All our options are exhausted. Even if the Liberty can make it out of here, we’d still be searching blindly for Infinity, and Nate would win.” Ben sank down onto his knees and put a hand over his face. “I can scarcely believe how badly we’ve messed up. We need to get to Infinity to stop Nate, but we can’t do that without the Map, which we’ll now need to go to Infinity to get in the first place.”

“That is indeed an impossible situation, no matter how one looks at it. It appears that the universe is doomed. And we can do nothing to save it.”

“Urgh, least he could have changed us back to normal before he left. Which is just perfect. I’m stuck looking like this forever! I’m a monster, a freak, a…!”

“Lepidopterran is the word you’re looking for, Ladybug.” Indeed, the mood was despondent. It did indeed seem like an impossible situation. Not just that in fact, Ladybug’s decision to focus on her mutation was met with criticism, until the critics realised this was not going to get them out of the Null Void. And then of course, there came the answer…

“It looks bleak, I can’t lie. But when the flames are burning, when planets are dying, anything you can do to help is an action worthy of a hero.”

“Grandpa…”

“I’m not saying it’s over, I’m saying there could still be time. All of you, I can understand what’s gotten into you, but snap out of it! The Miraculouses are still alive! Earth is still alive! We are still alive, and where there’s life, there is always hope!”

“But Grandpa… we’re outgunned.”

“And how many of your aliens even use guns?”

“The power of Infinity would make Nate 8 invincible, magister.”

“All the better to prove you all as true heroes, Blonko!”

“The Map is in enemy hands…”

“For now, Ladybug! This isn’t the end. Not yet at least. It’s an opportunity. Most men wait their whole lives in vain for a moment like this. A chance to matter, a call to adventure! The call is echoing, pilgrims. Will you answer it?” Some quicker than others, the Miraculers began to perk up. Motivational speaking is clearly a hidden strength of Max’s. His words were true, there was still time to stop Nate. Not much time, but time to act nonetheless. The Miraculers cheered in favour. But Ladybug and Ben still seemed unconvinced.

“I know what you’re trying to say. Grandpa. A-A-And… urgh… I appreciate it. But given all your adventures over the years, I’d have thought you’d understand by now there are battles you can’t win.”

“Believe you me, Ben, that is a lesson I’ve been made aware of far too many times over the years. It’s true, there are battles you can’t win no matter how you hard you fight. But just because you can’t win doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Overwhelming odds, Ben, what other heroes would falter in the face of. But you’ve had run ins with the likes of Vilgax, the Highbreed, Aggregor, Malware, the Incurseans, Albedo…”

“Albedo’s pretty stupid by Galvan standards.”

“Ok, bad example. …Zs’Skyar, the Rooters, Maltruant and the Negative 10, and there were moments when it looked like their evil schemes were going to succeed and the universe would be in grave danger. Take the first time you fought Vilgax in person, for example. Nearly all of that day I was absolutely terrified that you’d prove no match for him, that he’d kill you and take the Omnitrix like he wanted. But eventually the tables turned, and you triumphed over not just him, but every foe you’ve faced. And in case you need further encouragement, I’ll tell you what I do know: I know of all the stubborn, strongminded people on Earth, the watch picked YOU. Azmuth didn’t send the Omnitrix to me, or the Galactic Enforcers, or Gwen, or Kevin. He sent it to Ben Tennyson. Because Ben Tennyson has what it takes to be a superhero. Because Ben Tennyson is the REAL DEAL. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the same was true for you as well, Ladybug.”

“Y-Y-Y-Y-You really think so?”

“I know so. Now it’s time to man up and teach Nate 8 that if he messes with one hero…” Ben stood up suddenly, his confidence replenished.

“…he messes with all of us. Thanks Grandpa.”

“If you’re serious about this, we’re coming too. No way I’m missing this scoop for my blog!”

“There’s still one thing we’re underestimating, Alya. Exactly how are we going to stop Nate when we’re stranded in the Null Void without the Map of Infinity?”

“Actually Ladybug, thinking about it, there might be one more possibility. …I was going to say Paradox could get us there, but I think I know someone who could do it even quicker…” Ben immediately activated the Omnitrix and transformed, this time into an alien that Rook seemed genuinely disturbed to see, while everyone else seemed confused.

“ALIEN X!!! Motion to return the planet Earth to its proper place in time and space. Motion carry!” The Celestialsapien rose a hand and from his palm fired out a white ring of light which rapidly engulfed the landscape around them in blinding white light. When it faded, the skies were blue again and the monsters were gone. Earth was back where it belonged. “Motion to transport Miraculers and teammates to planet Infinity carry!”

(scene break)

And there it was: a large creature that was a pinkish combination of both the kwami of Creation (Tikki) and the kwami of Destruction (Plagg). They had four wings, two on top, and two on the bottom, and they're full of sparkles. They also had five turquoise eyes with no pupils. The hybridised Nate 8 continued advancing towards them…

“At last… you are Gemini, the kwami of reality.”

“I am everything that was, is and will be.”

“Big talk. But that’s not what I’m here to do.”

“You come to complain then? That is all your kind seem to do.”

“That is a negative stereotype of mortal beings. But of course, such will be irrelevant shortly. I have journeyed across the universe to find you. What I aspire to have… is your very power. I am about to have it all.”

“You would wish to herald the power of the kwamis? That is a wish I would not advise you to have.”

“Forgive me, Gemini, that was not a request.” He used his gravity powers to levitate some form of machine resembling an Entropy Pump to the altar of Gemini. Immediately two cables shot out directly into Gemini’s essence, Nate laughing manically as they did so. Immediately Kevin landed in front of the machine and began slipping on a harness to transfer the power to him. “Be ready, Kevin. Absorb their entire essence, every last drop of their power! When the red light lights up, we’ll be ready to expel that power into the Omegatrix, granting me unlimited power in every form, amalgam or ultimate at my disposal! The universe at my fingertips…! This is what I’ve been waiting for!”

“I think you’ll be waiting a little longer, Nate!” Nate and Kevin turned around to see an all too familiar starry creature teleporting in with his legion of allies. “For instance, eternity!”

“Tennyson! And your inscrutable allies as well! I can’t imagine how you managed to reach this nebulous world, but it doesn’t matter! Kevin, begin absorbing Gemini’s power at once!” Furiously Nate slammed the Omegatrix symbol on his chest and transformed once more, evolving his hybrid form to its ultimate potential. In seconds, there stood the evolved hybridization of DNA that was Ultimate Nate 8, retaining some similarities with his regular form, namely retaining Fasttrack's legs, Terraspin's shell and Blitzwolfer's head, the latter of which obscured slightly beneath Water Hazard’s hood. However this mutation is drastically different. His torso now resembled that of Four Arms with a biological heat vent exposing red-hot energy styled similarly to NRG's, with Terraspin's shell on his back, all of which now textured like Water Hazard's armour, as well as both Astrodactyl's and Nanomech's wings. His upper right arm still resembled Diamondhead's, but it was now cracked in a fire pattern similar to Heatblast's and the corresponding hand was a massive fist, basically a crystal version of Humungosaur's. The lower half of his upper left arm still resembled Atomix’s with a hand like Kicking Hawk's, while the shoulder and upper part resembled Gravattack’s. Both upper arms had Jetray’s wing membrane connecting them to his torso, and both of his new lower arms resemble Chromastone’s. Ultimate Nate 8 was also noticeably much more bulky than before and still wore Nate’s dark blue trousers. “I will hold them off while you take that power!” He gave a hearty roar which, combined with the fact that this was the first the untransformed Miraculers had seen of Nate’s ultimate amalgamation, was certainly cause for concern for the lesser heroes.

“That’s who we’re fighting…?” Mylene quietly stuttered as she huddled Ivan’s leg. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea…”

“I would wholeheartedly agree, little girl. Not out of any emotional tie, mind you. If you stand down now, Kevin will absorb Gemini’s essence and transfer it into the Omegatrix, granting me absolute power over every particle in this universe, and every other! I will be unstoppable! I will rule every corner of this pitiful existence. So Tennyson, as you can see, I have big plans.”

“And when exactly does blasting us into space dust take priority?”

“Oh ho ho, I assure you, Tennyson – THAT IS RIGHT AT THE TOP OF MY LIST!!!” Alien X gave a brief invisible smile at that remark, even retaining it as he switched into Atomix. Nate cracked his knuckles and neck, ready for battle. For the longest of moments, neither side made a move, instead glaring menacingly at each other until Nate finally barked “DRAW!” and punched forwards a massive blast of Pyronite flames. Ivan quickly hoisted Mylene onto his back and leapt forwards, shielding his friends from the blast. Undeterred Nate zoomed forwards using his Fasttrack speed and utilized his size alteration powers, growing even bigger… “A lesson you once taught Kevin. When one uses their powers in combinations, they make up for not being full power. For example, Titansaurus size alteration and strength plus Zoomline speed plus Shardstrike invulnerability equals – ONE MEAN PUNCH!!!” …and delivering a formidable blow to the Vaxasaurian hybrid, sending him and his tiny friend flying backwards until Rook fired a lasso from his Proto-Tool to recover them both. Mylene gave a dizzy groan as Nate charged forwards for another blow to her friend, only for a sudden Wall of Sound attack to force him to a halt, covering his ears in agony. Having super hearing is not always a good thing. But he recovered quickly enough and unleashed a barrage of crystal spikes infused with flames at each of the Sonorosian clones, obliterating them all one by one until only the original remained. And Sonorosians can only survive if entire groups of their clones are destroyed provided one of their clones remains intact. That means if Nate gets Luka with his next strike, the only option would be to hope Miraculous Ladybug would reverse non-Miraculous related deaths as well. “Incredible Galvan level intelligence, granted by several of my alien forms! As a result, the impeccable precision of my sharpshooting cannot be understated!” He fired out another crystal shard barrage, only for Ivan to leap in front of him, taking the bullet. Nate growled in frustration as his attention fell back to Atomix, now levitating a few feet above them…

“HAA-MEE-NA HAA-MEE-NA HAA-MEE-NA! Nuclear Winner!” The fired blast of nuclear energy exploded in an extraordinary fashion, blasting nearly everyone back for miles. Atomix landed quickly. “That was too easy.” He gazed up at the altar of Gemini, the steps leading up to it now sporting a sizable hole. Thoroughly dazed, Nate slowly climbed back up. “That’s more like it! I knew you weren’t down just yet, Nathenial!”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re as invulnerable as an Orishan’s armour, I think we’ve established that!”

“A few lucky punches aren’t enough to keep me down, Tennyson, I’d have thought you’d know that by now!” Seconds afterwards, a pair of blue blurs zoomed at him and kicked him all over for a moment, just long enough for a certain Petrosapien mercenary to get a blow to the face in. Obviously his face wasn’t quite as well armoured as the rest of him, as he went flying backwards, howling in pain. But he recovered quickly enough, as when Cat Noir and Alix went over to inspect his body, Nate suddenly shot upwards again, tightly clutching his opponents’ throats, his Nanomech and Astrodactyl wings rocketing him into Infinity’s orbit, before he slammed them both together and rocketed them back downwards, shattering the ground on impact, alongside both blue heroes’ entire skeletons. The onlookers were consumed by horror and rage.

“CAT NOIR!! NO!!!”

“Cat Noir, what about Alix?!” That was the loudest anyone had ever heard Nath speak. Alix was a close friend of his, so watching Nate 8 piledrive her into the ground from orbit was discomforting. Judging by the velocity in which Nate was travelling, he knew there was no way Cat and Alix could’ve survived.

“Two down. Two more skulls crushed underneath these mighty feet. Surrender now or suffer their fate. Not all of your species are as durable as a Vaxasaurian, after all.” With that confirmation, Ivan breathed a sigh of relief. That at least means Nate wouldn’t be able to kill him by slamming him into the ground at high speed. Still, he charged forwards, presumably intending to keep Nate busy until Ben could figure out a way to put him down for good. Kim quickly followed suit, as did the rest of the Miraculers’ allies, as equipped with standard Plumber issue weapons by Max. A couple of blows to the stomach and a bite to the lower arm dealt their damage. But Nate doesn’t fall so easily. And he has one advantage over most of these so-called ‘heroes’. Nate understands what their weaknesses are, hence why he got Kim in the face with a Pyronite punch wave, quickly sapping his ability to survive out of water. How Kim didn’t catch onto that on Piscciss, he had no idea. Another one down. Who would be next to face his wrath? The underpowered Miraculers went next, as Juleka and Luka tried a combination attack, Juleka trying to possess Nate while Luka re-duplicated and unleashed another Wall of Sound. It didn’t work, apparently the combination of armours that made up Nate’s form rendered him immune to Ectonurite possession. He simply pulled her out of him and threw her at Atomix, briefly passing through him and short-circuiting the Omnitrix, forcing him to revert to Ben. Nate then delivered a thunderclap that sent the underpowered Miraculers flying into their friends, before turning briefly back to Kevin. Almost there. ‘Then I’d better finish this quickly,’ Nate thought to himself. Despite resistance from Rose’s sleeping dust, he flew upwards again: “HAA-MEE-NA HAA-MEE-NA HAA-MEE-NA! NUCLEAR WINNER!” And out fired the nuclear blast. Instinctively Nath and Rose leapt in front of the blast, presumably intending to take the hit for the team, but in the end, it was Tetrax who took on that role. Generating a crystal shield, he turned to say one last thing to his young wards.

“Tetrax, that was meant for me!”

“You helped me turn my life around, Ben Tennyson, now I am merely returning the favour!” The Nuclear Winner exploded, obliterating the shield and the Petrosapien warrior generating it.

“TETRAX!!!”

“His sacrifice must not be in vain! Ladybug, Max, we have but one more chance! Get up there, stop Kevin from using that machine!” The Cerebrocrustacean nodded at Rook’s order, while the Lepidopteran shook her head as she took to the skies once more. Nate focused in on her as he morphed his Diamondhead arm into a cannon.

“You killed my partner… you masterminded the events that got me stuck like this…!”

“And if you don’t stand down this instant, you’ll join him as a stain on these grounds!”

“Not just yet. Notice the colour of my uniform? I went hero myself earlier, now I’m going to show you what a Miraculous can really do! LUCKY CHARM!!!”

“Not so fast, insectoid swine!” Nate leapt up after her, ready to fire a barrage of fiery crystals at her, when a cloud of Buglizard fog consumed her just as she tried to catch the screwdriver her power had generated. Nate looked back towards the altar of Gemini. Kevin’s obviously trying to get his attention, the machine must be ready to expel! Without wasting a moment he dashed towards the altar, intent on finally seizing the power he had craved for so long…

“NATE!!!” He turned back around to receive a gastro-energy blast to the face. He shook off the pain and glared downwards at Perk Upchuck, still ready and willing to fire again. “It’s not nice to turn your back on someone when you’ve still got business with them!”

“And my business is about to be rid of you, Ben Tennyson, even if I have to slaughter every single one of you to do it!”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Nate, when I’m Upchuck, I eat punks like you for breakfast!”

“Hence why the Gourmands just made the top of my list of species to eradicate when I rule this universe.” Nate charged forwards, screaming in fury as he morphed his Diamondhead arm into a ludicrously sharp blade, leaping down at Upchuck who narrowly dodged in time and spat out another barf bomb, clocking Nate in the chest. Not that it did much to him, as the mismatched juggernaut recovered immediately… “Your end, Tennyson. I’ve craved it so very much.”

“Not as much as THIS!!!” Quoting himself from Ben 10 VS The Negative 10 Part 2, Upchuck barfed out a continuous stream of gastro-energy, which managed to blast Nate back a few feet. Unfortunately Nate was able to work his way through the effort, and before Upchuck could react, a massive explosive blast shot out, creating a sizeable crater. All that was left of Upchuck was his Omnitrix symbol. Rook and the others looked on despondently.

“No…”

“Ben… no… it did not have to end like this…”

“Ahahahahaha! I am victorious! Finally I have defeated Ben Tennyson! None shall stand in my way now!” Kevin then landed, a devious smirk on his face.

“Almost a shame he went down so easy. Oh well, is what it is. Just don’t expect me to absorb it, ok?”

“Of course. Because it won’t be in a state to be absorbed shortly! The end of the Omnitrix, and with it the legacy of Ben Tennyson!” But just as Nate reached for the Omnitrix to destroy it, a sudden blinding green light engulfed around it. The Miraculers’ allies looked on in awe as Nate scowled in frustration and bewilderment. And then the light dissipated, and there it was: a large creature that was a greenish creature with four wings, two on top, and two on the bottom, and a body that was full of sparkles. They also had five turquoise/green eyes with no pupils and sported the various symbols of the ten Miraculouses their holders were wearing when Nate unleashed that lethal strike. As well as the Omnitrix symbol on their forehead.

“Urgh… that was weird… Whoa… what’s this one…?”

“Your Omnitrix was somehow able to sample the essence of the kwamis, granting you access to such a transformation…? How is that even possible…?” Nate just as quickly gave up on trying to work it out and resumed a battle stance. “Not that it will matter when all trembles before Nathaniel Eighton, master of the omniverse!”

“Master of the omniverse, you really need to work on that name. As for my name, how about… Miraculer?”

“Miraculer, Powerplay, heck, you could call this one just plain old Kwami for all I care! The harness, Kevin! Get to the… wait a second, if you’re down here, then how is…?” Nate didn’t get a chance to finish before the deranged Osmosian suddenly shot his hand out to the Omegatrix on Nate’s chest. Very understanding of what he was planning to do but unable to counteract, Nate gave a long agonising scream of immense pain as he was forcibly reverted to human form, slumping down on the floor, completely exhausted.

“Little problem with driving me crazy again, Nate. I don’t submit to anyone. The extra power of Gemini… it’s all mine now. And I’m not sharing it with you! This day, I finally amass the power to achieve what I’ve been wanting to do for years – DESTROY BEN TENNYSON!!!” Continuing to mass absorb the Omegatrix, Kevin quickly morphed into another amalgam form, this one a new iteration of forms previously utilized. His upper torso resembled that of Water Hazard with the lower torso of Gutrot. His legs now resembled Bullfrag’s but bulkier, his upper right arm was now that of Frankenstrike, his upper left arm resembled Rath’s, both his lower arms belonged to Wildmutt and he additionally had Jetray’s wings and tail on his back. His head mostly resembled Frankenstrike’s with Kevin’s own hair (albeit much longer and dishevelled), Upchuck’s mouth, a forehead horn resembling Eatle’s and Clockwork’s key on either side of his neck. He gave a devious smirk as a familiar pinkish glow erupted over him. Miraculer and their allies looked on in terror. “Ooooooh yes, this is delicious! Power… infinite power… delectable…!”

“Kevin, no! Nate has fallen, you don’t need to do this!”

“You’re right, Tennyson, I don’t need to do this, I want to do this! You wonder how I ended up as a mixture of Nemetrix aliens in the first place? Nate tricked me into absorbing a crude replica of it! Nothing so complex, but enough for the savage predatory DNA to eradicate any remaining traces of sanity I once had! Now I’m going to bring you down hard, and then I’m absorbing all the other kwamis on this planet! Then at last, I will be the one who rules the universe instead of Nate! And it will be glorious! For me! But of course, this is only an interim form. Your Omnitrix’s DNA samples, that will cultivate the ultimate form to take on the universe!”

“I might have recognised it sooner. I knew I should have taken you out last time, and now Gwen’s not around to convince me otherwise! This time, you’re going down, Kevin!”

“I usually do, Tennyson, but this ain’t no ordinary form of mine, is it? Kevin 11 is back, and this time I ain’t going nowhere! Now stand down and face absorption like a good little boy!”

“You know we’ll never surrender to you, Kevin.”

“Then we’re doing this the nasty way, I prefer that anyway! Prepare to perish!”

“Judgement Day is upon us. Time to see what Miraculer can do… hopefully something good…”

Chapter Text

“En Garde!” Both combatants charged each other with equal force, Kevin quickly managing to get a bludgeoning blow in with his enhanced strength before Miraculer ducked and retaliated with a strike of their own.

“Ok, time to see what Miraculer can do! And I think I’ve got an idea! CLOUT!!” Their body quickly turned dark purple and a massive burst of energy manifested in between its wings, which quickly released and blasted Kevin back a couple of feet, before he slammed both his two arms around the blast and absorbed it into him.

“Ha ha! Psyche! I absorb energy, remember?”

“You said that when we first met, Kevin. You might want to get some new dialogue.”

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And if it’s your skull that’s broke, don’t fix it either! Remember Tennyson, I’ve got…!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’ve got all my powers, plus your own, you’re Kevin 11. Proving my point!” Kevin gave a low snarl at that remark as he drew upon his Gutrot powers, breathing out what appeared to be a cloud of dichlorodiethyl sulfide, or mustard gas as its better known. Aware of what it does because of Max’s chemistry expertise, Miraculer quickly called for Shelter to shield themselves. It worked, for all of the three seconds it took Kevin to think up a workaround. Dichlorodiethyl sulfide is combustible under certain conditions, so a little Heatblast fire should set it off nicely. It did, exploding the shield and reverting Miraculer’s colour scheme back to standard green. Ok, this could be quite a marathon…

“Each and every one of your aliens, Tennyson. Their powers are all in me! No matter what you try, I can better it!”

“I guess we’d better turn things around then! Miracle power…!” Kevin charged forwards suddenly, his Frankenstrike arm vibrating wildly as if intending to utilise Armadrillo’s jackhammer punch, but Miraculer was one step ahead. “…Resistance!” Immediately Miraculer’s colour scheme changed to grey tinged with light blue energy as Ivan’s superpower came over them. Kevin managed to get in a thunderous blow but it only made his hand wince in pain instead. “And now we’re immune to any superpowered attacks! Kevin nil, Miraculer one!”

“Don’t get so cocky so soon, Benji! From what that brief taste of Gemini’s power told me, Resistance only works against magical attacks, or otherwise unnatural forms of attack! So I only need to get in close without my powers and…” Kevin’s theory worked out, as a classic uppercut was enough to send Miraculer flying backwards, seemingly dispelling Resistance in the process as their colour scheme reverted.

“Ok, what next? Hmm… I’ve got the powers of any kwami on their team, so that’s a decent amount of wiggle room… hmm… how about a little…”

“Blow to the face!” Another Armadrillo punch to the face cut Miraculer off, sending them flying backwards for a couple of miles before crashing down into a crater. Using his Bullfrag jumping skills, Kevin quickly caught up, sharpening his Rath claw into a Diamondhead crystal blade. “Now let’s see if your new abilities cuts mustard against my razor-sharp skills!”

“Guess we’d better come up with something soon! Here we go! Genesis!” Miraculer turned light grey and a shield quickly materialised, but as it wasn’t magical, Kevin sliced through it effortlessly and thrust his blade into Miraculer’s chest. But Miraculer was not technically a corporal being, so the strike didn’t have an effect. Annoyed, Kevin retracted his blade and slammed all arms onto the ground, his forehead horn charging up accordingly. The Eatle gastro-blast shot out, blasting Miraculer into orbit for the briefest of moments, before they quickly recovered and zoomed forwards, combining Clout with Cataclysm to blast Kevin back into the altar of Gemini. He snarled as he turned towards the creature. He was clearly intending to take their power and use it to destroy Miraculer as a show of force. But moments after he made up his mind, Miraculer zoomed forwards, tackling him from behind…

(scene break)

“This is some battle. Freaking awesome!”

“I am not sure your enthusiasm is well placed, Miss Cesaire. This is a highly dangerous situation, might I remind you. Miraculer is barely manging to hold their own against Kevin. If they lose and he absorbs Gemini…”

“Rook’s right, game’s over. But what can we do to help, we’ve got no idea how to match his powers!”

“Perhaps it is time for a hint, wink wink?” Suddenly Professor Paradox appeared behind the untransformed Miraculous Holders, although only Rook seemed to recognise him.

“Your timing seems impeccable, Professor.”

“Indeed, young Rook, I have literally all the time in the world, I might remind you. But let’s focus on the present situation. Ben and the others have undergone a fusion transformation, unlocking Miraculer, the Omnitrix’s DNA sample of a kwami. And as Kevin has returned to his evil ways, they are locked in mortal combat. Only one side can come out as victorious.”

“So do you have anything to suggest, professor?”

“Indeed, Miss Harple, there is something that will work. A surefire tactic that will forcibly dispel the energies Kevin has absorbed and restore their owners to life, while making sure he cannot counterattack and strike while our guard is down. In short, sending him back to the Null Void will be trivial.” Everyone looked at each other. It sounded way too good to be true. Alya broke the silence.

“There’s obviously a catch, I can tell from your tone.” Paradox turned to her and gave a solemn nod.

“Indeed. And not just one, I’m afraid. It would necessitate Miraculer to unleash all Miraculous powers they have simultaneously, while plunging the harness Nate made Kevin wear into the Omnitrix’s core frequency and trapping the power drainage from Gemini on a simultaneous loop. As Osmosians are mortal beings, there is a limit to how much energy they can absorb before their body collapses under the pressure. The resulting energy overload would forcibly dispel the energies he stole and render him powerless for a time. Unfortunately, this would also bind the Omnitrix DNA samples into your classmates’ DNA, rendering them unable to return to human form. Additionally, it would also do likewise with the kwamis, giving them the ability to use Miraculous powers just as well as a kwami can. This would however result in the kwamis themselves being muted to their holders and their physical forms permanently bound to Infinity. And, I should mention, since Voyage is one of the superpowers Miraculer has access to, the resulting burst of energies would almost certainly leave your classmates stranded in another dimension if Ben reverts too quickly. All of which means you’d be hard pressed to have them as they once were.”

“That is unfortunate, but if the stakes are half as high as you say, it could be our best shot. I only hope the side effects don’t all happen at once…”

“I should mention that in either circumstance, Kevin would be defeated, if that makes you feel any better.”

“Guess someone’s got to let Miraculer know what the plan is…” Mylene was correct, and fortunately Rook volunteered, just as Miraculer landed in front of them.

“Over 10 000 aliens and you can’t even outlast 11! I always was stronger than you, Tennyson, now you’re proving it!”

“Yeah, well, you know what pride comes before!” Miraculer shot their Clout blast out again, blasting Kevin in the chest, powerful enough to blast him back a few feet and score the Miraculers a few seconds to work out a game plan. “That probably won’t keep him down. If anyone’s got any ideas, I’d love to hear them!”

“Fortunately, that is precisely what we have! Paradox indicates there is a way to defeat Kevin. You merely need to dump your Miraculous powers into Kevin simultaneously! Combo-ed with the power harness, the discharge would overload him. As Osmosians are mortal beings, there is a limit to how much energy they can absorb before their body collapses under the pressure. The resulting energy overload would forcibly dispel the energies he stole and render him powerless for a time.”

“Guess that’s as good as we’re going to get. I’m not expecting things to go perfectly anyway...” Before they could say anything else, another gastronomical blast from Kevin knocked them backwards. They barely managed to notice the sight of Nate staggering back to his feet and watching Kevin march forwards.

“Not so tough now, are you, Tennyson?!”

“Don’t just sit there like a lemon, Kevin, finish them off!” Kevin turned around sharply and snarled venomously at Nate, so hard that uncharacteristically he looked genuinely afraid.

“I AM NOT YOUR PATSY ANYMORE, NATE!!! You can’t boss me around anymore, things are going back to how they were six years ago, when it was just you and we against the world before Tennyson found me in that arcade! Before he threw us both into the deep end! Before he ruined both our lives!”

“Only objection I might have with that, Kevin…”

“What?”

“You ruined your own life! You were the one who decided to devote his existence to absorbing people’s life forces, not me! No wonder you started dating Gwen, you were just in it for her mana, just like Darkstar!”

“I’LL FREAKING KILL YOU!!!” Infuriated beyond belief, Kevin charged straight for Miraculer as the hero made one last declaration – the word Unification. Miraculer turned multicoloured, and a massive sphere of energy built up around them. Kevin froze suddenly in fear. What are they trying to do…?

“MIRACLE – BOMBARD!!!” The energy blast fired out, engulfing the landscape in blinding light. Kevin began absorbing immediately, but even to him it was evident he was in trouble. Glowing blinding white cracks began appearing all over his body, as he struggled on in immense pain.

“Too much… to… absorb…”

“Oh yeah, and the bad news just keeps on coming!” Hurting too badly to turn to see Alya and the others with the power harness, Kevin was unprepared when she threw the cable towards Miraculer. Quickly enough, Nate caught onto what they were trying to do and ushered Kevin to stop her, only to go ignored. As such, the Revonnahgander quickly leapt into the fray, seizing the cable and leaping upwards, jamming it into the Omnitrix symbol on Miraculer’s forehead. The power input increased exponentially, to the point that Kevin was screaming in agony and barely managing to hold himself together, until finally, the massive burst of light erupted into a massive white blast, shockwaving the entire planet of Infinity in seconds. As Kevin reverted to human form, Nate rushed over to him, seemingly awash with concern for his former friend. As exhausted as he was, Kevin brutally shut him down, just as Ben finished reverting to human form, as the energies of the Miraculouses surged behind the two villains, and erupted into a circular portal to a place they were all too familiar with. Gulping in fear, Kevin desperately tried to dig his fingers into the dirt, hoping that would be enough to save him, but it wasn’t, and so Kevin desperately forced his way forwards, reaching for the Omnitrix, obviously intending to drag Ben into the Null Void with him. A blast from Rook’s Proto-Tool to the chest thwarted that advance, and the Osmosain gave a final scream of anguish as he finally lost his footing and fell backwards into the Null Void. Nate wasn’t faring much better as the energies of the Miraculous Holders battered him violently, sapping away his grip on the rock he was grasping desperately, eager to escape Kevin’s fate. Powerless without the Omegatrix and desperate, Nate turned to Ben, his eyes locked in absolute terror.

“Wait! Please! Tennyson! You don’t have to do to this, you already let me rot in there once, have a heart!”

“I can’t deny it, Nate, you sure as fudge got a raw deal when I threw you, Kevin and Vilgax in there the first time. But now, you’ve had this coming!” Overcome with horror as his grip began to loosen dramatically, Nate gave one final scream of terror as he finally got sucked into the closing portal, despite further pleas for mercy. With the portal closed, Ben hung his head in sorrow, realising the lengths he’d had to go to in order to save the universe this time.

“There should have been another way. Marinette and the others were only helping me stop Kevin and Nate, they didn’t deserve to get dragged back in there with them.” Rook and Paradox came over with the remaining Miraculers, each sharing his stance on these events.

“Nor did they deserve to be locked in their new forms, for as long as that Omnitrix lasts. I pity them, young Ben.”

“It was likely the only way to stop Nate and Kevin. It was what was right for the universe, and unfortunately, what is right is very rarely what is easy.”

“So Marinette and the others… are gone forever?”

“They are now stranded in the Null Void alongside Nate, Kevin and the other two villains we have encountered on this journey, Vilgax and Dr Animo. Far beyond the operational capabilities of any Null Void projector in the galaxy.”

“Then how do we get them back?”

“I don’t think it is possible. I cannot pinpoint exactly where they ended up, so they must have landed in the deepest reaches, where no Null Void projector can reach. At Earth’s rate of development, I’d estimate any attempt at a rescue would be this time… next century at the earliest.” The remaining Miraculers sank down in sorrow. Their friends were gone. And this time there would be no getting them back.

“I’m not quite ready to give up on them just yet. There are other worlds, an entire universe of access points. There could be some way. To help them.” Everyone perked up. Ben’s words were true, there might still be hope! “As long as there’s even a tiny chance we can save your classmates, we should take it. I can’t promise anything, but if every available Plumber keeps their eyes open during their missions, maybe someday we’ll find a way to bring them home…” And then a strange sound filled their ears, as a young woman Ben knew all too well dematerialised in front of them… “Gwen!” That woke her up suddenly, and she gazed her cousin in the face.

“I keep telling you, it’s Gwendolyn!”

“Oh whatever!” He gave her a tight hug. “It’s over now. Nate is back in the Null Void where he belongs and Infinity is safe.”

“And Kevin…?”

“Full-on relapsed into his old ways. I had to send him back as well. I’m sorry. If you’d seen how he was acting… way worse than before…”

“You did what you had to, Ben. I’m only sorry I wasn’t much more help in stopping him…” Ben turned back to the remaining Miraculers.

“Guess I should introduce you to our new friends. A number of others got sucked in alongside Nate and Kevin. I’m taking the opportunity to investigate. We can’t promise anything, but maybe, if you and I work together again…?”

“We can find a way to save them. Give me a few days to recover and I’ll dedicate every spare moment I have to researching relocation spells. We’ll see what we can do.”

“You’re right, Ben. On behalf of the others, we agree we can’t just sit around feeling sorry for ourselves. We’re with you, we’re happy to help. Even if it takes the rest of our lives.”

“Ok new recruits, guess it’s off to Plumbers Academy for you. Let’s get to it.”

Chapter Text

“Well, this wasn’t a turn of events I’d foreseen in a hurry. After all the effort I went into escaping this place the first time, I end up back here. Story of my life… Urgh… so now I’m stuck here, while Tennyson goes free. And my appetite is starting to build again… I hate to have to compare myself to Darkstar, but realistically and ironically, I am starting to see similarities.” He turned back around to his other hand, suspending a powerless Nate 8 above the pit of Voidermites he’d previously used to blackmail the Miraculers. “As for you, Nathenial Eighton…”

“Kevin, please! Let’s be reasonable about this!”

“Oh, so you turned me back into a monster and yet I’m the one acting unreasonable?”

“Alright, you’re right, I have no right to say that, but please! Voidermites are eternally ravenous!”

“Like you said, some sustenance is better than none.”

“Please! I don’t want to die! Look, I’m sorry, ok? I’ll just… err… run along, find some far-off corner to hide in, you’ll never see me again! Or at least take what little power the Omegatrix has left, or that lot!” Nate fearfully pointed to the Miraculers standing to their side. “Maybe they could be… useful in getting out of here…?” Kevin glared over them for the longest moment, before grunting and pulling Nate to safety.

“Alright Nate. Just because you grovelled so nicely.”

“T-T-T-Thank you.”

“I’m not going to kill you right now. No, I figure leaving you to sweat it out in here is still pretty sweet. And if I can find a way of here and destroy Ben Tennyson, even sweeter! And as for you lot…”

“Don’t think we’re happy, Kevin, getting sucked in along with you.”

“Blunt bug girl. Touche. Besides, it wasn’t really my fault this whole mess started, was it? No, I was only a pawn for Nate’s delusions of grandeur. Well now… you lot are going to be helping me. Find a way out of here. Get me Ben Tennyson’s head under my boot. And I’ll look into getting your alien DNA removed. If you want it, take it. Or if you don’t want to join forces with me, that’s fine too. But err… don’t expect to stay in one piece too long. I know from experience this place is a dog-eat-dog world. Or a Buglizard-eat-Lepidopteran world anyhow. Is now a bad time to mention that one behind you right now, Ladybug…?” She turned around squeaking in fear, before her fears immediately subsided. “Ok, so it wasn’t a Buglizard, it was a Vulpimancer, the two are very easily confused. Look, this is no place to play the individual route. You’ll know by now there are creatures that will eat you and enjoy it in here. And I’ve got the most experience in here, so I can help you out… if I felt like it.”

“A remorseful future or no future at all.”

“My brother Luka’s right, that doesn’t need too much thinking on.”

“I guess we’re game.”

“Good choice, Cat Noir. So first things first: we set up a base camp, we prepare ourselves for the long run. We endure the endless battles for survival here. We hate it, but we love it. We work our way up the food chain, eventually we pull off the big time and run this place like D’Void did. Then we wait, we train, we bolster our armies with the criminals Tennyson throws in here, and eventually, years down the road, we escape this infernal dimension and return home to Earth, and to the man who used you and cast you aside like a lost puppy – Ben Tennyson!”