Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Now, I've already learnt this Summer that I don't come from an exactly ordinary family, so the fact that I am normal makes me very proud. I mean sure, I could kick the bad guy's butts along with my cousins and my grandfather, but I was still normal. I didn't turn into aliens or cast magic spells. I didn't even use fancy technology that I'd gained from old secret organisations. I was just me. Normal me. My parents had been called out on a last minute business trip at the end of the school year so they'd asked my grandfather if I could accompany him and my cousins on their Summer road trip. To say I'd been ecstatic was saying that the Pope was a Muslim. Definitely not true. But when one of my cousins, Ben, found an alien watch called the Omnitrix that came from outer space you could say that life started getting less and less of a drag.

It was quite good for a while. We battled aliens, criminals and general foes that just could not get the hint that they were meant to stay in prison. We'd even met some friends along the way, one of which we were with right now trying to find out how to fix something that of course, Ben made a mess of. He'd only gone and set the Omnitrix to self destruct somehow which could probably wipe out half the universe with it if it was to blow up, including Earth. Idiot. Tetrax, one of our allies, had come to Earth to pick Ben up in order to find the creator of the Omnitrix so he or she could cancel the self destruct mode. However, when we were told only Ben could go, Gwen and I weren't exactly pleased with that and snuck aboard onto the space ship. That's where we are now: space. Well actually, we were on the planet called Xenon. Ben and I had just found out that our cousin was in fact alive after she'd been taken by a load of Wildvine's species. Weird thing was, she was with Gluto who'd also been killed by Vilgax. She was going on about how Gluto's species could regenerate form little pieces, like what was left of him on her shirt. How… fascinating.

We'd met Azmuth as well. He was, to excuse my language, an absolute dick. Very rude as well. I hope he's not like that all the time. He's not even going to turn off the self destruct mode.

“I don't know why you're not going to help us! If that watch self destructs, then half the Universe is going to die!” I screamed at him over all the noise of the battle and blasters that was surrounding us. I couldn't really fight Vilgax's robots very well so I was mainly defence and giving us some ground to stand on. I was only human after all.

“The universe if full of selfish beings. They don't deserve saving.” Azmuth replied as some debris from a robot flew over the rock formation we were using as shelter.

“While I do agree that there are many who are selfish, there are innocent men, women and millions up on million of children on the planets you're willing to half get blown up. While some are selfish, they don't deserve to die. And the innocent, selfless and generous people definitely don't deserve to die. Don't you have anyone special that you would do anything to keep them alive?” I asked him rhetorically. “Because that's what me and my cousins are doing right now. All the friends we've made have become family and you always look after your family.” I yelled at him in order to be heard. I felt that I hit a nerve when asking if he had someone because his eyes became a bit wider. They were already wide at the fact we were in the middle of a battle. Then, a robot came around the corner and started blasting at us. I quickly got up and started tearing it's arm off, only for Tetrax to send a diamond through it's body, short curcuiting it. All of a sudden, a massive wave of energy went across the entire battleground, sending me flying into a boulder. I only heard one thing before my world went dark:

“I will never understand humans and their sentiment.”

###LINEBREAK###

When I came to, all of the robots and Vilgax were gone, no where to be found. The only thing that made me know it wasn't just a dream was the fact there were still smoking craters from blaster fire in the ground.

“Abi you're okay!” I heard Gwen shout, snapping all my attention to her. “How do you feel?” she asked me.

“Like I just got hit by a bus. Did you get the number plate?” I asked her, already cracking a joke. I couldn't act very serious because it would make my younger cousins worry. I was six years older than them after all. I had to be the one that took care of them while grandpa Max wasn't there. The best way to do that was making it look like not a big deal and making a joke about it. “How much longer do we have on the countdown?” I asked Ben who was next to Gwen.

“It's been cancelled. Azmuth turned it off.” he told me. I looked over at Azmuth who was a couple feet away with Myaxx, Tetrax and Gluto.

“Why'd you change your mind Azmuth?” I shouted over to him as I sat up from the uncomfortable, solid floor. Not the best place to be lying down let me tell you.

“You were able to convince me Abigail. I am willing to give the Universe a chance if it's all you claim it is.” he explained to me.

“He also gave me this cool new alien. He was huge! Massive! I called him Waybig.” Ben started talking at me excitedly. “You missed all the action. Thanks to me, Vilgax won't be bothering us again.”

“You? We helped as well!” Gwen protested in anger at his claim to have done all the work himself.

“Well what did you do? You're not the one who got rid of Vilgax.” Ben boasted.

“Ten year olds.” I groaned to myself before heading over to Tetrax, Azmuth and Myaxx. In the distance, I could see my cousins already starting to brawl. “Hey Tetrax, when will you be taking us home?” I asked the Petrosapian as I came over.

“Gluto is bringing the ship around now. We'll be leaving in a few minutes.” he replied. I was wondering where Gluto went.

“Before you leave, I must speak with you in private Miss Tennyson.” Azmuth told me from the boulder he was standing on next to what I assumed was his own ship.

“I'll leave you then. Make sure to come to the ship when it gets here.” Tetrax told me before going to sort out my still fighting cousins. How one of them aren't dead yet is a miracle. Once he had moved out of earshot, it was only me, Myaxx and Azmuth.

“What's up Azmuth?” I asked him. Why he would want to talk to me, I have no idea. Ben's the one with his omnitrix so if anything I thought he'd have wanted to talk to him.

“What you said, about family and how your friends became family. Why is that?” he asked me, looking at me with his beady eyes.

“Well, I just care so much for my friends that I would do everything I would do for my family for them. So I just automatically consider them my family because I love them so much.” I explained to him. “You don't have that?”

“No. But seeing how you do, I have a special mission for you.” he replied.

“What? Me? Why not Ben?” I asked, stuttering in confusion and surprise. I mean, I get that I'm older than him, but he's the one with the alien transforming device on his wrist. Shouldn't Azmuth be going to him for this?

“Because frankly, he's immature. However you are the only one here that I can see being able to successfully do this mission.” Azmuth told me.

“What mission is this?” I asked him suspiciously, crossing my arms.

“When the omnitrix was created, there was a… glitch of somewhat.” Myaxx started explaining to me.

“What glitch? It won't affect Ben will it?” I asked, suddenly very concerned for my cousin.

“No. It's harmless to him. But the aliens he transforms into are another story. When my assistant and I created the omnitrix, there was a side affect. Whenever young Tennyson turns into a new alien, that alien is 'brought to life' if you will. So for example, when Ben transformed into a To'kustar during the battle for the first time, a copy just like him appeared somewhere on Xenon. Because Ben has already unlocked and transformed into multiple aliens,-” Azmuth started.

“-There are copies of each alien wandering around on Earth.” I finished.

“Yes.” he confirmed sharply, annoyed that I'd cut him off. There was a pause.

“But what's this got to do with me?” I asked the watchsmith and his assistant.

“There needs to be someone on planet Earth to find these aliens and to take care of them. Aliens aren't accepted by your kind so they must be kept hidden. Your mission is to find the aliens when your cousin turn into them for the first time and shelter them.” Azmuth explained to me.

“But there are thousands of aliens in that thing. Plus, my parents would freak with aliens living with us.” I protested. “I am not the person for the job. Sorry Azmuth, but no can do. I'm not an alien babysitter.” I told him, my arms falling to my sides, shame spreading across my face.

“Miss Tennyson, Abigail is it?, I have chosen you because you care for all those like one would their family. And that is exactly what each alien will become to you: family. There are multiple aliens down on Earth with no where to go and no idea as to why they're there. They will need to you guide them and help them. I know that your grandfather knows of a place where you can stay and look after each alien with enough space to get the job done.” Azmuth explained to me. Did he just expect me to drop my life and go to who knows where to help a bunch of people I don't even know? He's a nutty Galvan who's been inside that suit of his too long! Yet, I'll always feel bad if I don't take this chance to help those aliens who have no one and no where to be right now.

“Fine, I'll do it. If only, for those guys down there who need help. But you better realise how much you're asking me to give up.” I told him, finally admitting defeat after a minute of thinking it over and deciding to accept my mission from him. “Do you know how many aliens there are on Earth already?”

“How many aliens has your cousin transformed into?” Azmuth asked as he hopped down from the boulder and started walking over to his ship.

“A little under twenty I think.” I replied, following him.

“Then there's 'a little under twenty'.”

“Your agency known as the plumbers already know where several of them are and will be able to help you find them.” Myaxx told me.

“Okay. I'll take care of them.” I told them. The ship I then recognised as Tetrax's ship showed up, already in the air, the airlock open and waiting for me to get in. “I won't disappoint you Azmuth.” I let him know, waving as I jumped onto the ship and started heading back to Earth, my home. A home where I'll be starting anew and making a whole new family.

Chapter Text

When I returned to Earth with Ben and Gwen, the campsite looked like nothing had changed. Like a spaceship hadn't landed here just a few days ago. It was amazing how things could seem so ordinary but could actually hold a million stories. Now, according to Azmuth, grandpa and the plumbers knew of a place where I could live and where all the aliens could be as well. Guess that means my Summer roadtrip is going to be cut short huh? What do I say to him? 'Hey, I've been given a mission by the creator of the Omnitrix to find and live with all the aliens of the Omnitrix. Do you know a place where we could all stay?'

"'Hey, I've been given a mission by the creator of the Omnitrix to find and live with all the aliens of the Omnitrix. Do you know a place where we could all stay?" I asked him once Tetrax had left with his ship. Huh. Guess I can just ask him then.

"This Azmuth gae you a mission to live with all of what? Explain from the beginning please." grandpa Max told me. Well, looks like I can't just ask him. This is going to take while.

"well, when we were on Xenon, we met Azmuth and apparently I said the right stuff so I ended up being the perfect choice to find all of the aliens that have been brought to life because of the Omnitrix and live with them, helping the adjust to life here on Earth." I explained to him quickly, taking in a big breath at the end.

"I'm not sure about this Abi." my grandpa said after a few seconds to think it over.

"Well I've got to do this. So either you help me or I do this myself. I've already agreed to do this." I told him determinedly, my arms folding across my chest in order to stand my ground.

"If you're sure about doing this-" grandpa started,

"Which I am." I added mid sentence.

"-then there is one place where you could go. The plumbers have always held it for alien refugees or migrants. This could be a reason to use it. I'll need to smooth things over with the plumbers after but it's about a three hour drive from here. It's another hour to your house if you want to go there first and pack up your stuff before going there, seeing as you're going to be living there?" he asked me.

"Yeah. I think that'd be best. It's only an extra hours drive and back." I stated. God, I was actually going to do this. Was I insane? Yes. Was I doing the right thing? Yes. Was I doing the craziest thing I've ever done in my life? Sadly enough, no. Craziest thing was being in space, most definitely.

"So where're we off to now grandpa?" Ben asked as he and Gwen came over from the rust bucket.

"We're taking your cousin home so she can pack up her stuff and move into her new place." grandpa Max explained for me.

"Wait, so you're not going to be with us for the rest of the Summer?" Gwen asked me.

"No sorry. I've got something I've got to do." I told her.

"I call dibs on her bunk!" Ben exclaimed, making a run for the RV.

"No fair!" Gwen shouted, running after him.

"God, I'm going to miss this." I muttered to myself as I started making my way to the RV, grandpa next to me. I climbed up and into the passenger seat while Ben and Gwen were in the booth behind me. There never were enough seats for everyone, even if I hadn't come on the trip so last minute.

"So where are you going, nerd?" Ben asked me from the booth as we started driving towards my home.

"I'm not sure exactly where I'm going. Grandpa, where exactly am I going?" I asked him as we got onto the main road.

"You're going to a place that used to be called Updown Court by the previous owners. It has enough room for all of the aliens that will be joining you and enough woodland surrounding it so they won't be seen by anyone. There isn't a neighbour for two miles." he explained to me. During this explanation, Gwen had gotten her laptop out and searched for the palce grandpa Max was talking about.

"Wow! Abi you're going to live here!? So unfair!" I heard her say from behind me.

"Where? Let me see!" Ben's laud voice filled the RV.

"Dweeb!"

"Doofus!"

"Don't make me come back there!" I threatened them. I'd gone back there before and sorted them out so they knew I'd go through with it. The first time they didn't believe me and I ended up banging their heads together. So from then on in, they knew not to argue when I got involved. I knew they were still be arguing quietly, but as long as it wasn't bothering me, I didn't care. "Oh yeah. I'm definitely going to miss this."

About an hour later, we arrived at my house. I didn't live in Bellwood like Ben and Gwen did. I lived about five hours away from them in a small town. I'd lived with my mother, father and my older brother. My brother was off in Iraq in the army. He was so brave to go fight in the war and protect people he didn't even know. Although if I think about it enough, really I'm helping the world more than him because without my cousins, grandpa and I, the world would probably be dead ten times over. Anyways, we lived in an apartment on the second floor, having a living room, small kitchen with a floor tile missing, a bathroom and three bedrooms. We weren't poor, my parents just didn't see the point in replacing the tile in the floor. I'd opened the door and a burst of cold air hit me, making me shiver. The room looked almost blue with cold because the heating wasn't very good and there were no windows apart from the one in the bathroom and my parent's bedroom. But there was air conditioning that wouldn't turn off. We hadn't bothered reporting it. God, I make it sound like I live in a broken home! I don't, trust me. It's a pretty good home.

My teeth now chattering as I turned on the light in order to see. Not wanting to be here too long and have the neighbours call the police because they know no one is meant to be home all Summer.

"I-I'll be b-b-back in-n a fe-ew m-minutes." I managed to get out to my relatives, my words choppy from my teeth chattering non stop.

"We'll stay in here Abi." grandpa told me much to my cousins dismay, not bothered by the cold at all. I just nodded before heading into my room to pack my things.

The first thing I did was get out my suitcases. I wasn't sure how many I had, but there'd be more around the place. In my brother's room possibly. I opened my underwear draw and emptied it out, save for a few. If I was to ever visit then I would want some things here. I did the same with my pants and skirts. I didn't have too many anyway and most were in the RV anyway. Next was tops. I took about ten tops, seven t-shirts, four jumpers and two long shirts. I got out a few of my dresses. Only my favourite dresses and most fancy. Never know what situations may occur. I got my favourite cap which was plain green and placed it on my head so I could save room in my suitcases. My hair accessories easily fit into my a backpack I found and I also placed my childhood soft toy in it which I always kept in my wardrobe. Over the years I never found the heart to throw it out or give it away so I kept it at the bottom of my wardrobe for sentiment sake. I then ran out to the bathroom and grabbed my hairbrush which I had idiotically left there before I went on the road trip. I then ran past my grandpa and my cousins as they waited in the living room. I threw my brush into my backpack before packing up my laptop and charger which also went into my suitcases. My digital planner and mobile phone also went in, along with their chargers. The last three things I could think of to bring was my martial arts kimono and sword. I hadn't used them since Summer began and I went away with my cousins. Carefully, I placed them on top and then got my favourite books and shoved them on top before successfully closing the lids on the two suitcases and backpack. I threw the backpack over my shoulders and grabbed a case in each hand before heading out the door.

"Ready" I stated as I got into the living room.
###LINEBREAK###

About four hours later because of traffic, we finally arrived at the house that I was going to be staying in, in order to complete my mission for Azmuth. Of course, when I say house, I mean a freaking mansion! The place was huge! Like over thirty times the size of my home huge! No wonder Ben and Gwen were in awe when they saw the picture of it on Gwen's laptop. It looks even bigger than the queen of England's place! I'm living in practically a palace! I'm starting to like this mission. Hopefully I'm not going to set this place on fire if I try cooking something.

"This place is huge grandpa. How have the plumbers not turned this into a party house yet!?" I asked as we all stepped out of the rust bucket. He didn't answer me though. I guess that means they did use this for parties now and again back in the day. Before I even knew what was happening, both Gwen and Ben had started running towards the mansion and somehow got inside. Both grandpa and I hurried after them, but I stopped in shock once I saw the inside. It was absolutely amazing! It was like something from the fairytales I used to read when I was a child.

"This place is amazing!" I heard Ben shout as he slid down the banister of one of the staircase. Yes, I just said, one of them.

"Ben! Get down." grandpa Max scolded him. He then turned to me.

"While you were packing your things in your apartment, I contacted the plumbers and they've sent you a floor plan of the mansion to the RV and I've got a copy on paper for you." he told me, handing me a rolled up piece of paper. "Also, when I told them about your mission, they gave you these." he continued, handing me a tablet and USB drive.

"What are these for?" I asked him.

"They're both a GPS world tracking system which tells you when a new alien has appeared. It was found that when a new alien appears, they emit a small, almost untraceable amount of energy which no one can see unless you have some Galvan technology like we do. The USB drive will also put the same system on the main computer in the mansion when it's connected. Once it's connected, it will stay on as a site which can be accessed at any times and it will also sync with your phone to let you know when a new alien appears and where. The second thing is this." he explained before handing me two sets of keys.

"What are these for?" I asked him.

"The first set is for the jet that is in the woodland and the second one is for the submarine inside it." he told me.

"WHAT! Are you kidding me! There's a jet?" I exclaimed in disbelief. "Why is there a jet?"

"Because the aliens from the watch show up all over the world. You will need to travel to them in order to bring them here." grandpa explained to me.

"Okay. I think I get it. One thing, the aliens that are already here on Earth, how will I find them? Are they still emitting the energy?" I asked him.

"Yes. Once they're sprayed with this once, they will stop emitting the energy." he replied, handing me what looked like a spray bottle of water.

"Okay cool. I'll be scolding them like dogs for bad behaviour as soon as I meet them." I joked. "So I'm going to go and get set up in my new room and then I'm going to go and find an alien and bring him home." I told him, a squeal entering my voice as I finished the sentence. "I'm so excited!"

"Good luck Abi. If you ever need anything, just call me." grandpa told me. "Come on kids. It's time to go." he called out to Ben and Gwen who came down from the top of the stairs.

"Bye guys. I'll see you soon, 'kay?" I told them, hugging them.

"Bye Abi. Take care okay?" Gwen told me.

"I will Gwen. And Ben, don't get yourself killed out there with some villain. If you do, I'm gonna kill you." I joked, making them laugh. "Take care guys." I told them as they left, closing the doors behind them.

"Well, I'm gonna have to come up with a name for this place. Gonna have to thin on that." I said aloud to myself as I made my way upstairs with my suitcases. I took a right once I reached the first floor and opened the first door: Supply closet. Second door: Linen closet. Third door: Bedroom! Finally! Wait a minute, I have a floor plan. Why the hell didn't I use that? I looked at the floor plan and it showed that each bedroom had it's own en suite. Cool. I ain't gonne get caught sharing a bathroom with twenty aliens. I went into the room and to say it was basically screaming makeover was an understatement.

"This place definitely needs a makeover." I told myself. "Gotta find paint sometime to do this up. And some decent duvet sheets." I placed the cases, tablet, USB and keys down on the bed and started unpacking, placing as many thing as I could into the single drawer before finally giving up and sitting down on the bed, appreciating the silence. I was starting a new life now and there was no going back on this now.

I picked up the tablet and unlocked it to find a map of the world, with about twenty red, pulsing dots on it. I glanced over each one quickly before settling for the one closest to me. It was actually only a few miles from here. Lucky me, I can just walk there and he's even in the woodland so no one will see him as we walk back. Confidence filled me as I stood up and left the room, heading back downstairs. Only this time, instead of heading out the front way, I went out the back because the dot was that way. I looked at the gardens I had to make my way across and the massive 30 acres behind it. Well, new roomie number one, here I come.

Chapter Text

Originally, I didn't think that 30 acres was very big, however now I see I was wrong. And really wrong. Forget 30, it was more like the 100 acre woods from freaking Winnie the Pooh adventures. I'd been out here for probably a good hour trying to follow the coordinates on the tablet's beacon and the GPS on my phone to match. Let's just say I wasn't making much progress.

"Maybe if I go left for a bit…?" I asked myself aloud as I stopped walking for a minute. It was getting darker by the minute and I was still no closer to finding this alien. I didn't even know exactly which alien it was I was looking for. The only reason I knew I wasn't looking for Ripjaws was because he had to be the signal I detected in the British Channel. He wouldn't have survived in the terrain here for this long so it definitely wasn't him. So that meant it was a possibility of nineteen different aliens and I had no idea which one it may be. It could be any one of them!

Exhausted from walking, I fell back against a tree, sliding down it so my knees were up against my chest. My tablet was resting on my knees as the screen illuminated my face. It was getting darker now and to be honest, I was getting quite creeped out. It would take me another good 45 minutes at least to get back to mansion because I'd be running there but to be realistic, I was too tired to do so.

Maybe I wasn't cut out to do this job. Azmuth definitely picked the wrong girl. I couldn't even find the first alien I'm that much of a failure. This was all a big mistake.

I locked the tablet, turning off the only source of light apart from the moon. I closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to overtake me. However, it never came because it was only a few minutes later, I started smelling smoke.

"What the…? Who's having a camp fire out here?" I asked myself. I got up with the help of the tree I was resting on and started looking around to see if I could see the camp fire from here. Unfortunately I couldn't so I had to rely on my sense of smell and hearing the fire crackling. And hopefully people talking and laughing. Maybe they'd let me stay with them until the morning? I carried on following my nose until the scent was so strong it was even starting to effect my eyes But soon I started seeing the light from the camp fire and picked up the pace in order to get there quicker. However, as I got closer, the fire started changing. Almost taking a shape.

"Uh..." I started speaking, but then the fire moved!

"Who are you?" it asked. Shock made my blood run cold. And that was hard to do since the heat from the fire, or whatever it was, was radiating off onto me. I screamed when the fire spoke. My eyes started adjusting to all of the smoke and the fire-y shape started taking a familiar form.

"H-Heatblast?" I asked aloud, still unsure whether it was him.

"I'll ask again. Who. Are You.?" he asked me.

"Uh, my name's Abigail Tennyson. But everyone calls me Abi. You are Heatblast right? Not just some random Pyronite?" I asked him, hoping I didn't just stumble a random Pyronite.

"Who's Heatblast? Where am I? What am I doing here? I've been stuck here for three months! Everyone I've seen has run from me. Or screamed and fainted." he told me. "You're not going to run too are you?" he asked me.

"No, no!" I replied immediately. "I won't run, I promise. I'm sorry I screamed. You just startled me, is all." I informed him. 'Most important thing right now is to get him to trust me' my instincts told me.

"Oh." he said, sounding almost sad. "I guess you're going to be going now aren't you." he stated more than asked.

"Well, not yet. You still haven't told me your name." I replied, smiling in a friendly manner.

"I don't know my name." he stated.

"Well, what do you know?" I asked him, trying to get somewhere.

"All I know is that one day I wake up and I'm in this forest. No name, no memories, no nothing." he told me, a slight ticked tone in his voice on the last bit.

"Then you have to be Heatblast." I told him, making him look right at me.

"What makes you think that?" he asked me.

"Well, I was given this mission by a genius Galvan with a major lack in manners. He created this watch called the Omnitrix which allows the user to turn into different aliens at will. But each time the user turns into an alien for the first time, a copy of that alien will appear somewhere on planet Earth – this planet – and it's my mission to find you all and bring you to live in this massive mansion on the outside of the forest." I explained to him, said alien listening intently.

"Huh. Sounds legitimate. But why would you help us?" he asked me. "You don't know any of us." he added.

"Because of how I found you. You were alone and scared and needed a friend. And that's exactly why I'm here: to be a friend. All of you are alone on this planet, but once I find you, you'll become part of the family. The… Omnitrix family." I decided after thinking it over for a second.

"Huh. So you said my name was Heatblast?" he asked me, walking over to me. He was about two and a half heads taller than me. God I feel short.

"Uh yeah, but you can change it if you want. It's what my cousin called your form." I explained to him, not wanting to pressure him.

"Nah. I think it's a pretty cool name. Beats 'monster' and 'freak' by a long shot." he replied.

"Well then Heatblast, you can be my night light for now and help me, us, get home." I joked. "But actually, is there a way for you to regulate your temperature? Because if not, I'll have to fire proof everything." I joked, but still serious in my question.

"I think so. I was able to touch a tree and it didn't start a fire." he told me. To test my theory, I quickly placed the back of my hand on his arm before pulling it back. My hand wasn't burning so I tried again, just doing it slower each time and eventually I was able to have my hand on him without screaming in pain. It was like holding a hot water bottle. Oh he can expect for me to be right next to him in the winter and the heating breaks. Which knowing my luck, it will.

"Yeah, this temperature's good. Not any hotter though or you might set something on fire." I told him, laughing. "Now come on," I continued, pulling out my phone, activating the GPS. I was smart enough to set the mansion's co-ordinates as a saved place so it started leading us back to the mansion. Funny how once all the important stuff's over, I figure out how to work the GPS. Typical. I am not very good with technology, in case you can't really tell. "Let's go home." I finished, starting to drag him.

"Okay… Abi." Heatblast replied, a small smile on his face as we made our way back to the mansion.

After a while, Heatblast asked me,

"So who is it that's wearing the Omnitrix and made me?" he asked.

"My cousin Ben. We were camping with my other cousin Gwen and our grandpa when he found the Omnitrix as it crashed down to Earth." I explained to him briefly. "You were actually his first transformation. He started a forest fire." I told him, laughing.

"How could he start a forest fire? Only an idiot would do that because he couldn't control his powers." Heatblast laughed as well.

"Well he managed it. Set Gwen's and my shoes on fire. On purpose mind you. You can still see the scorch mark on them a bit if you're in the light. I'll show you tomorrow. It's too dark right now." I told him as he laughed at the story. "Hey look, there's the mansion!" I yelled, pointing ahead of me. True to my word, there is was, standing in all it's glory. Turns out I'd left the main light on. Good thing I don't pay the electricity bill. The plumbers do. We walked across the grass, leaving faint footprints and walked up the steps into the main foyer.

"Wow. This is a big building. What did you say the name of this place was?" he asked me.

"...The Omni-Mansion." I decided after giving it a second of thought.

"...Fitting."

Chapter Text

I woke up the next morning at about 9-ish AM. Yes, 'ish' is a time phrase to me. I'd been in the forest with Heatblast quite late last night, until about 11-ish. Another ish. I'm not completely sure on the time because I didn't check the time before I went to bed. Speaking of bed, it'd be best if I got out of mine.

Yawning, I sat up, pulling the covers off and revealing my red shorts, black knee high socks and dark blue long sleeved sleeping shirt. I slowly slid out of bed and left the room, remembering to grab the bottle of weird spray grandpa told me to spray the aliens with. I didn't have to walk for long before I came across Heatblast as well at the top of the stairs. Obviously he came from the left west wing of the mansion where he'd chosen his room to be.

"Hey, you hungry?" I asked him as I started my trek down the stairs and into the kitchen. I hadn't actually been in the kitchen before so I needed to find it first. I was stupid enough to bring the spray bottle but forget the map to the entire place! No way was I going back upstairs to get it – too much work. We both made our way around the ground floor until one of us found the kitchen. It wasn't me I was disappointed to say. I found a swimming pool though!

When I went into the kitchen, it looked like one you'd find in a catalogue.

"So, what do you like to eat?" I asked Heatblast as he sat on one of the stools on the island.

"I don't know." he replied like a little boy who was just told to give the answer to an impossible math question.

"Well… what did you eat out in the forest?" I asked him again, trying to get something to work with. While I spoke, I was browsing the surprisingly stocked cupboards. The plumbers must have stocked the place when they knew of my arrival.

"These weird orange things. Uh… those round things there." he told me, pointing to a plate of… oranges.

"Those would be oranges." I told him, going over to them and throwing him one.

"Well duh, of course they're orange." he said, catching it. "But what are they called?" he asked me.

"They're called oranges!" I laughed, having to lean on the counter so I wouldn't fall over from laughter.

"Very creative name." Heatblast commented sarcastically.

"From the species that brought you blueberry, blackberry and green bean." I added before finding a jar of nutella. Jackpot. I then checked the bread bin and got out two slices of white bread and sandwiched them together, cementing them with nutella and digging in.

"So what do you normally do for fun?" Heatblast asked me as he ate a piece of his orange.

"Well, I was on a camping trip with my two cousins and grandpa. But you already know that. Other things I like to do are cooking, reading and archery. I'm quite good with a bow and arrow, if I do say so myself." I said, not afraid to be something other than modest for a second. "Aw crap! I left my bow and quiver in grandpa Max's RV. I'm an idiot." I scolded myself, going so far as to hit myself over the head. It was a thing I tended to do when I knew I'd been stupid. Turns out hitting myself does do wonders for the mind because it was then that I remembered something. "And before I'm an idiot and fogrget anything else, I've remembered I need to spray you with this." I told Heatblast, holding up the bottle of de-irradiating agent.

"Um, you do know that too much water, sand or foam can kill me, right?" he asked me, suddenly seeming very wary of the bottle in my hand.

"Chill, Ben got blasted with an entire fire extinguisher last month when he was a Pyronite as well and he's still alive. And besides, it's just one little spritz." I tried convincing him. "If I don't, you'll still be radiating traceable energy which bad guys could use to track you." I added.

"Fine. Just one spray?" he asked me. I squired the liquid on him.

"Yeppers." I replied. "I'll check the tablet later to see if you're still on the map or not. Until then, consider yourself spritz free." I told him, unable to hide the smile from my face. "I was thinking, why don't we go find another alien?"

"We?" he asked me, surprised.

"Well yeah, I won't leave you here by yourself. And besides, if they're hostile, I'll need someone with a little fire power. Quite literally." I explained to him.

"Sure then. Hard to say no to you anyways." he replied with a shrug.

"Is it now? And why is it so hard?" I asked him, smiling.

"It's like saying no to a little sister. Absolutely impossible." he answered. It took me a second to register and understand what it was he was implying.

"Aw! I've always wanted a big brother!" I cooed, hugging him around his upper torso as he was still quite a bit taller than me and I would've had to have jumped to get my arms around his neck. "Although, technically I am older than you, y'know?" I joked, making him laugh.

"Alright-y then. So how are we meant to find any of them?" he asked me.

"With the map I told you about, remember?" I reminded him, starting to head to my room to get the tablet, Heatblast following a few paces behind me. "Each alien who I haven't sprayed with the thing I sprayed on you give on some sort of radiation that can be traced by a plumber's satellite and it then shown on the map on my tablet." I explained to him, opening my door and quickly grabbing said item and hurrying back out. "See?" I showed him the map and the numerous pulsing red dots. "Your dot is gone now so you can't be traced anymore." I continued.

"That's weird: there are three all in the same place. They're in the place called 'Ger-many'" Heatblast read off the map.

"You mean Germany."

"That's what I said."

"But-, never mind. You're right it is weird. We should go get them. Means we'll be able to bring back more family." I rambled.

"That's great and all, but I'm not gonna be able to get there." Heatblast stated.

"What? Why not?" I asked, confused and disappointed.

"You do see the massive body of water between us and them, right?" he asked me, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Uh, we're not swimming. We're flying." I replied. "Grandpa Max said there was a jet that we can use. I said, pointing ot the key rack by the front door. "Just let me go change and we'll be good to go." I told him, slipping back into my room. "Give me five minutes!" I called through the door.

"Wait, change what?"

"My clothes!"

"What are clothes?"

"The cloth I use to wrap around and hide my body." I explained briefly.

"Ah, your wrappings. Got it." he replied before I heard his footsteps dying away and heading down the stairs. Now I knew he was gone, I opened up my drawer and picked out some random clothes. I would have to shower once I got back because I don't really have time to right now. I threw some spare clothes from the top of the drawer and left the room with a skip in my step. I slid down the banister and landed in front of the door, grabbing the jet keys, then saw Heatblast waiting for me.

"You know how to fly a jet?" I asked him.

"Uh, I didn't even know what clothes were. What on Pyros makes you think I know how to fly a jet?" he asked me incredously.

"Well then. Let's hope it has autopilot." I prayed. With that, we both made our way slowly to the jet which was apparantly just outside the woodland according to the map. However, as it was me reading the map, we were going to take a while to get there. I failed Geography pretty badly. Finally, I'd managed to get us to the jet without blowing something up, it's been known to happen, and opened up the bay doors to let us in.

"Well, that was easier thani though it was going to be." I claimed.

"It took us ten minutes to travel about 300 meters because you can't read a map." Heatblast shot back, albeit with a smile on his face, letting me know he didn't mean it harshly. "So do we just type in the co-ordinates or…?" he asked me.

"I uh, think so?" I replied unsurely. I looked over to the console and it looked like there was a GPS thing there so I thought 'Why the hell not?' and typed in the co-ordinates that the tablet was saying the aliens were at. Once I pressed enter on the touch screen and started the engine, the doors closed and we were starting to fly.

"Looks like this thing does have auto pilot." I mused thankfully.
###LINEBREAK###

It was a good nine hours before we were starting to land in Germany. It was pretty funny during the flight when Heatblast kept freaking out because he could see the ocean clearly beneath us. He looked like he was about to start having a panic attack! Although I react the same when I go to the reptile sanctuary in the zoo and put my head through one of those glass bowls. I hate snakes. After all those movies and documentaries I've seen, how can people have them as pets, I'll never know. We'd landed near the entrance to some mining caves which looked like they'd been abandoned only a few months ago. Yet, some of the boards people had boarded the mine with had already been torn down. And when I say torn down, I mean they were torn apart. The edges were still nailed to the entrance but the centre of them looked like something had forced their way through them.

"Looks like someone or something really wanted to get into this cave." Heatblast observed.

"Or out?" I asked fearfully. I pulled out the tablet and opened up the map to close range.

"Knowing my luck, the three aliens are inside the cave. And the answer is…!?" I announced sarcastically as I checked the map. "...Inside the cave." I finished miserably, making Heatblast chuckle at my misery.

"Alright then tough guy – you're leading." I told him.

"You have the map though." he replied.

"I'll tell you when you're going the wrong way." I shot back dryly. "Now start moving." And with that, we entered the cave.

We walked for about two minutes with me guiding from behind before my tablet started going static-y.

"Damn it. The map's shorting out, I can't get a signal if we go any deeper into the mine." I explained in annoyance.

"It must be the mineral deposits that are blocking the signal. But if there are mineral deposits still here, why did the people close the mine down?" Heatblast asked, as if expecting me to know the answer.

"I honestly don't know. Maybe the place was deemed unsafe? There was a lot of danger and 'keep away' signs warning us." I theorised. "It must have been. A load of their stuff is still here. The miners wouldn't leave all of their machines and tools here if they had the time to get out." I observed as I went over to some of the tools leaning against what I recognised as a generator. Don't ask me how I know what it is, I just do. Okay, I watch a lot of western movies, actually, movies in general. I tried pressing a load of buttons but the thing seemed out of action. I wiped some of the dust away with the bottom of my shirt, shivering as I did so. It wasn't exactly warm in a cave let me tell you now. Next time, I'm bringing a coat.

Once the dust was gone, I saw a lever labelled 'light' so eagerly I pulled it, only for a whir to happen, they started glowing before a pop and we were engulfed in darkness once more. Well not complete darkness because Heatblast was like a walking nightlight.

"I'm gonna back up a bit so I have a signal then we'll head off in the general direction of where the aliens are." I explained what I was doing as I walked back out the cave for a few seconds until my signal came back. "They look like they're on the left side a bit!" I called down to the Pyrnite as I ran back down to him and his illuminating light.

"Then let's head that way then." he said, pointing to where the cave branched off into two. We had to go left.

"'Kay, but I saw these by the generator." I said as I held up a sack.

"What's in those?" he asked me.

"Lights!" I exclaimed happily as I put on a headband with a light on and turned the light on. "I'm gonna put these on the floor every now and again so we can follow the trail out." I explained happily, beaming at my genius plan.

"From the brilliant mind that tried flying a jet before knowing if there was autopilot." he congratulated me sarcastically.

"Sarcasm's a little stale there." I retorted as we started walking, the tablet once more turning to static.

Our plan was working well for a while until we came across another fork in the path. We had no choice but to split up and cover more ground.

"Uh, I'll take the one on the left you take the one on the right?" I asked, looking at him with uncertainty.

"We'll find them faster this way." Heatblast added. "If you need me to come rescue you, just scream." he joked.

"Oh, it was so funny I forgot to laugh." I said before dropping a light and heading down the left tunnel. Little did she know, there was someone following her on the ceiling.

"Scream? Ha! If 'Flame-Boy' thinks I'm gonna scream then he's dead wrong." I spoke to myself as I put down another light on the floor. "But I'm still wondering why the German's shut this tunnel down. It doesn't look very unsafe. Can't be because of a gas exposure because you're required to completely insulate the place so the gas wouldn't escape. So what is it?" I was asking myself, trying to find out what happened to the mine.

Suddenly, I had a feeling that there was something behind me. Quickly, I turned around, sending my light all over the cavern's walls. But there was nothing there apart from wiring from the supposed lights and glittering crystals and shiny substances.

"I must be going blinking mad. It's just nerves." I told myself as I put down yet another light. However as I looked back, I couldn't see any of the lights. They'd all turned off. "Pieces of crap." I muttered. I then turned around, only for something furry to jump at me, releasing a rawr in the process. The only thing anyone within a mile's radius could hear was the shrill scream that tore through my throat and as my headlight fell to the ground, fizzling out, I could no longer see.

Chapter Text

Further down the cave, the Pyronite was searching in his own cavern for the unidentified aliens. There was no need for him to have any lights or torches because he was quite literally a walking matchstick. At that moment thought, he was a bit on edge as the condensation from the bejewelled cavern walls was dripping all around him, occasionally even landing on him. It wasn't that he was the only Pyronite that was 'scared' of water, it was just a natural instinct for his species. Being fire-based being, it was natural to be on edge with even a little droplet of water which was why Heatblast was so worried and slightly skittish when Abi had to spray him with some liquid. The liquid had actually stung quite a bit but he hadn't wanted to make the girl feel bad about hurting him. There was still a small tingling sensation as his body's temperature had been lowered to underneath water's boiling point, so it hadn't all evaporated off his rocky-like skin.

Then, a shrill, feminine scream echoed throughout the cave, shocking Heatblast to his core. Immediately, he recognised it to be Abi. What other poor souls would be door there? With that, he took off running down his partner's path, placed lights illuminating his way.
###LINEBREAK###

Abi's PoV

Maybe it wasn't a good idea to scream when something attacks/jumps you. Because when you have lock like I do, the thing that attacked you would decide that it wants to keep you like a plaything… or it's next meal. So here I was, sitting down with a Vulpimancer's front legs wrapped around my waist as it tried to fall asleep. Just like I said… the plaything. There was silence from the Vulpimancer for a good ten seconds so I chose to take my chances and try to slide out of his grip. However as soon as I started slowly sliding my body, his grip tightened and a low, predatory growl came out of his sharp fanged mouth.

"Ugh, why is it me that's the damsel in distress?" I whispered quietly to myself, careful to to rile up the sleeping alien. Although, I had to admit, Vulpimancers would make very good pillows. They're really warm, fluffy and their breathing was like a child's lullaby, at least Wildmutt's breathing was to me. Suddenly I could see a light making its way towards us, slowly getting brighter. As the light came around the corner and into the small clearing, it was revealed to be Heatblast. "Oh thank God!" I exclaimed, relieved.

"Couldn't resist a scream could you?" he teased me.

"Couldn't resist being an ass about it, could you? Now help me get out of here!" I hissed, still very aware of the alien who was using me as a toy plushie and could very easily tear me apart.

"Yeah yeah." Heatblast replied, ignoring my insult, knowing I didn't fully mean it and I was just annoyed at my situation. However, all of a sudden, glowing green crystals rose out of the ground, blocking Heatblast from getting to me. I wasn't that much of an idiot to know what magically appearing crystals meant.

"Diamondhead?" I called out, knowing he had to have been here. There was silence before a split second later, I found the tip of a particularly sharp crystal less than an inch away from my throat. Damn, talk about a close shave.

"How do you know my name?" a deep voice asked me from the shadows of the cavern. I turned to the general direction of the voice, my headlight was gone so I couldn't see the alien I was sure was there.

"Your name?" I muttered aloud in confusion. "You already know your name?"

"Abi! Are you alright? I can't get through!" I heard my new brother call through the crystal wall.

"I'm fine… I think." I called back which earned a growl from the Vulpimancer lying behind me.

"Oh shut it Wildmutt. What did we say about taking humans from the village!?" a new, slightly squeaky and childish-like, voice belittled the 'Mancer which sounded freakishly close to me. Wildmutt growled before a robotic voice spoke.

"She attacked me!" the voice said. What the heck could be saying that?

"Woah woah woah! Wildmutt? You jumped me in the middle of the cave! And how on Earth are you speaking?" I ranted. I've had a very long day and honestly I'm starting to get a headache from it. After flying, the tiredness from it, to being in a cave and getting trapped by a sleepy alien dog I thin kit's safe to say that I deserve to ask some questions.

"Universal translator – that's how. And let the girl go Wildmutt, before you scare her." the voice next to me said as I felt something climb up onto my leg. After being with Ben and his antics all Summer, I knew how Gray Matter felt and how heavy he was.

"So you made it then, Gray Matter?" I asked him, shocking all of them how I knew his name. All of their names.

"You need to start talking girl, or things are going to get ugly, fast." Diamondhead threatened me, bringing up his arm which had turned into a sword.

"You don't scare me. You know why? You've got that look in your eye." I stated, now full of confidence and smirking. I had him where I wanted him.

"Abi, what the hell are you doing? Don't tick off the Petrosapian!" Heatblast shouted over the flames he was producing, trying to melt the crystals with little luck. "He will kill you." I turned from the crystal wall back to the Petrosapian.

"Look, we came here looking for you guys. We know you've been on your own and we're here to take you to a place where you can live peacefully. But to do that, you need to remove the shard very close to my throat." I explained firmly to the crystal alien. "And Wildmutt, you need to release me." I told him. Heatblast then broke through crystal by giving up on melting it and just plain pounding into it like no tomorrow.

"Nice of you to join the party." I drawled at him.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Wildmutt asked us. How did I know someone was going to ask me that question at least one of these times?

"Because if I was lying, why would I make the lie so complex? And also, I've already saved his butt from dying in the woods… or setting them on fire." I explained to them. "But if you don't believe me… then you can kill me." I added, starting to get out of breath from how cold it was starting to get down here. My breath was easily visible each time I released a breath.

What time was it again? I've forgotten. Like, eight-ish maybe?

Slowly, the shard from the ground started retreating and Diamondhead lowered his arm/blade. "You've got quite the way with words." Gray Matter stated, sounding impressed. "For a human anyway." he insulted.

"Oh blimey, got another male with a large ego. Exactly what I need." I retorted. Something tells me I wasn't going to get off to a great start with this lot.

"So how did you know our names?" Diamondhead asked me, generally curious while still holding up his guard.

"Well you see..." I explained to them, telling them about Azmuth's creation and how my cousin used it to fight for good. "But I have a question, how did you guys already know your names? Heatblast didn't know anything apart from waking up in the forest. Why are you guys different?" I asked them openly, hoping for any of them to be able to answer.

"Maybe your friend - Heatblast is it? - hit his head when we started existing and forgot everything?" Gray Matter guessed. "Hm, it would make sense. Yes, I do suppose that's a plausible explanation." he started muttering to himself.

"Does he do that often?" I asked Wildmutt as he had thankfully let me go during my explanation of why Heatblast and I were down here.

"You have no idea." he replied. "Your name's Abi?" he asked me.

"Well, it's short for Abigail. But you can call me either." I replied, looking at him.

"I like Abi." he stated after a moment's thought.

"How do we get out of here then?" Heatblast thought aloud.

"My light trail! And you said it was stupid!" I accused him of insulting our possibly only way out.

"I didn't say it was stupid." he defended himself.

"But you were thinking it!" I shot back, ready for any excuse he may have. He was silent for a second.

"That doesn't even make any sense!" he exclaimed. "Let's just go before I get a headache trying to understand all this." he continued, picking me up and heaving me over his shoulder.

"Hey! What the hell? Heatblast put me down, my hat's going to fall off!" I protested to the man handling, lightly hitting his back. I knew he wasn't being mean, just having some fun is all.

"We're going to get along just fine Abigail." Diamondhead told me as I was currently facing him because of my awkward position.

"Yeah. It's gonna be a real hoot and a half." I replied. "Just wait until you see the gardens back home." I smiled as our three new additions to the family followed us outside. It was now dark and I was getting really tired. Not that I'd admit it, but it had been a long day after all and I'd spent a majority of it down an old mine with poor air. Once we were outside the mouth of the cavernous monster of a hell hole, Heatblast dropped me down, and luckily I landed on my feet but not without stumbling a bit. "Jerk." I insulted him as I opened the doors to the jet. "You're driving." I threw the keys to him. I clambered inside, followed by the four boys.

"Alright boys, it's a long ride home. Suggest you get comfortable." I said, dimming the main lights which were too bright for the time of day. I left only the lights surrounding the console on which gave the bridge a warm yellow glow.

"Not bad for human technology." I heard Gray Matter mutter while looking over all of the console which stretched over the window of the jet. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my favourite (and only) Pyronite start up the engine and set a course for home on auto-pilot the same way I did when we got on the jet for the first time. To my right I noticed that Diamondhead was sitting on a spot on the floor while Gray Matter sat on the navigators seat which happened to be in between us. Opposite us was Wildmutt who had lay down and seemed tired as well.

Meh, I had nothing to lose after all. I pulled my hat and busted headlight off tiredly, running my black stained (from the rocks) hands through my hair in an attempt to quickly massage my scalp to de-stress myself. I dropped both of them on the chair to my left before dragging myself over to Wildmutt and plopping myself on the floor with my back to his body before leaning back on him. Hey, he kept me trapped in his front legs for who knows how long, so now he has to return the favour by becoming my pillow for the night. Judging by the fact short staggered breaths made his body move in the same way, I was going to guess that Wildmutt was laughing at my actions. I saw Gray Matter and Diamondhead smirk before I crossed my arms and legs and closed my eyes, letting sleep take me. Hopefully I wouldn't wake up until we were home.

Chapter Text

Abi PoV

This whole alien babysitter thing is easier that I originally thought it was going to be. I mean, I'd had some experience looking after little ones when I was back home and had to look after a pair of twins down the road every Monday and Thursday night so I thought I wouldn't be going in half blind. But man was I wrong, this is nothing like babysitting a pair of twins. When I watched the twins it was just 'don't touch this' or 'don't do that', but this was a whole new level, like 'Wildmutt, don't try and get Heatblast in the pool' and 'Gray Matter, you can not rewire my phone… even if it does make it better' or 'Diamondhead, the door is not a dart board for your crystal shards'. See what I mean? And this was with only four aliens. I had to tell them what things were for. I had to teach them how to use things which wasn't exactly easy.

It had only been two days since Heatblast and I found Diamondhead, Wildmutt and Gray Matter and I was already exhausted. And now we were in the backyard trying to just relax for a few hours. I was on one of the sunbeds by the pool, an umbrella shading both myself and the Pyronite lying next to me. It was quite difficult for him to be relaxed out here since he was so near the pool which could easily kill him if he were to fall in. It would be like a human not feeling very safe standing on the edge of a cliffside. Could easily kill us if we were to fall. It was the same with him. I kinda feel sorry for him when I think about it, he can't go in water basically at all. He also had to keep a constant watch on his body temperature or he'll just set everything on fire. It must be so hard for him to be constantly on his guard. Diamondhead was sitting on the poolside with his legs in the water with Wildmutt sitting next to him. As for Grey Matter, I was still trying not to giggle whenever I looked at him. I found an inflatable toy in one of the indoor pools so now he was sitting on it like it was an inflatable horse in the water. It was absolutely adorable but I didn't dare say it.

"It's amazing how you all remember stuff about your planets and your cultures. It's almost like you've actually been there yourself!" I exclaimed in awe as the Galvan told us about his planet. "I thought your species came from Xenon considering Azmuth was on that planet when we found him." I mused.

"Must've just been where he was working." Heatblast theorised. I just shrugged my shoulders at him before pulling off my too big white top to reveal my black and purple one piece.

"I've gotta cool off." I stated, taking off my sunglasses and flip flops. It was extra hot today which was why we were outside. I hopped off the sunbed before sitting at the water's edge and sliding myself into the shallow end.

It was absolutely freezing!

I quickly dived underneath so my entire body was submerged before quickly resurfacing so I could start warming up. When I was younger I'd always spend about ten minutes in the water before eventually going under so I've just learnt now to do it quickly and get it over with so I'd only be cold for a few seconds.

"So what's it like on the rest of this planet? I've seen woodlands and these guys have seen underground. What else is there?" Heatblast asked me.

"I must agree with our fiery friend here. I am also intrigued on what other landscapes there are on this world." Grey Matter voiced his opinion.

"Well, there's not that much to say about it really. The Earth's made up 70% of water so it's mostly oceans. But in places like Africa there's countries and regions where it's bone dry. No sign of water for miles and miles! In fact a lot of that continent goes without clean water because there's no clean water sources for them. There is some woodland but that's getting reduced more and more everyday to make room for cities and other buildings. It's the same with the rainforests. 3% of the planet is all cities and increasing so natural habitats for animals are being diminished making a lot endangered or even extinct." I explained to my new friends who listened intently. I sighed "Now that I think about it, this planet's not such a great place to live."

"It's better than what my planet was." a new voice but in making me jump and all of us looked around for the source of the voice. "On my planet, my kind is constantly hunted by predators. I'm so lucky I live here." the voice continued, now sounding like it came from another place in the yard.

"Where's that voice coming from?" Wildmutt voiced what we were all thinking.

"No, I live here now. You can go wander off in the woods." the first voice retorted in annoyance. It kinda reminded me of how Ben and Gwen often behaved.

"Ahem." someone coughed, poking my shoulder. I jumped around in the water and smacked whoever it was right in the face. A chorus of 'ow's followed before an exact copy of the thing I hit fell from the tree he was dangling upside down on above the pool making a large splash in front of me. Some of the splash made it's way to Heatblast and he fell off his sunbed and onto the grass behind him

"Ha! Scaredy cat!" the person next to me mocked my brother as he scrambled to his feet. I took my opportunity to take a good look at who exactly we were dealing with. Immediately I recognised the species, and an annoying one at that.

"Ditto!" I exclaimed in shock at one of the many Splixson in front of me who was still rubbing his cheek from the not-so-nice slap on my part.

"That's my name." the Ditto in the pool said, back to his cheery demeanour.

"Don't wear it out." another one added who was swinging his legs as he sat on the banister of the stairs leading to the garden.

"And don't you forget it!" the third and final one rounded off for them, standing in front of Heatblast.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to slap you all. I'm Abi." I introduced myself, getting out of the pool and grabbing the towel I'd left on my sunbed, wrapping it around my arms like a shawl. "This is Diamondhead, Wildmutt, Grey Matter and part of you've already met my brother Heatblast." I introduced everyone who still seemed a bit edgy at the new arrivals. "Everyone, this is Ditto. He's like all of you." I summarised for them all.

"Nice ta meet cha." one of the Ditto's drawled, the two other of his kind walking over to the one who was getting out of the pool and were quickly and easily absorbed back into him, the Splixson now becoming one body.

"What're you doing here?" Diamondhead asked him, becoming quite hostile, his deep voice rumbling as he spoke.

"Heard some human was bringing a load of us newbie aliens together." Ditto explained, a hint of mischief in his voice. "Give us a home and all that. Came to see if it was true. Which it is!… Isn't it?"

"Uh yeah, it is. Not that it isn't great to see you and all, but um, how did you know that and where to find us? We're not exactly broadcasting our services here." I inquired, unsure of how the Splixson could've gotten hold of our location without any of us telling him where we were.

"Just knew. We all do actually. Some sort of vibe we got early last night. Unlike the others, I chose to find you before you found us." he answered.

"Us?" Heatblast asked, rubbing his arm still from where the water had hit him, coming up to stand next to me.

"Us. Me, XLR8, Cannonbolt, Buzzshock and Blitzwolfer. We all felt the vibe somehow telling us that we were being looked for and that we were gonna be safe. After that we had a disagreement about what we should do. I wanted to look for you, the others had other ideas. Blitzwolfer thought it was a warning to stay away from you. So he isn't gonna be coming here peacefully." Ditto told us all.

"Right. I know I'm meant to be the expert on you all, but who's Blitzwolfer?" I asked him, sitting down on the end of the sunbed, relishing the heat of the plastic against my legs.

"Uh, Loboan? From the Anur system? Looks like what you're myths would call a werewolf?" Ditto tried hinting, getting me to remember. Suddenly, my brain decided to start working and his identity came to my mind.

"You mean Benwolf? I honestly don't blame him for changing his name. It was so bad." I reminisced, going back to the time we met Kai Greene and her grandfather in the desert.

"That's him. Scary dude when he's mad."

"So what's going to happen now? We going after everyone?" Diamondhead asked us all.

"No we, just me. Plus Ditto if he's willing to lead the way to his friends." I told them firmly.

"What? No, we're going with you." Heatblast protested.

"You're not going alone. You could get hurt." Wildmutt inputted.

"Look guys, you're here to be safe. It's my job to make sure every being that comes out of my cousin's watch gets here safely and can be happy. That's not going to happen if you're all going out with me when I go to gather a new alien!" I exclaimed. "And besides, I've handled a lot bigger, badder and meaner than any of you. When you take on Kevin 11, Vilgax and others just the same this becomes a walk in the park."

"But you had your cousins who could be any one of us and you even admitted that you didn't have any weapons with you here." Heatblast defended his cause.

"I don't need weapons for any of you!" I raised my voice. "I'm not bringing anyone here against their will so if they so no, I'm not going to force them. You came with me the first time because I was worried you'd be lonely by yourself and now others are here. I don't need to worry about you." I told him before reality dawned on me and I heard what I'd just said. Quickly, I ran up to the mansion and into the main parlour area.

"Oi, what's happening?" Ditto's voice met my ears once he'd caught up to me Apparantly he'd run after me. I just whispered for him to be ready to go tonight and then retreating to the solitude of my room.
###LINEBREAK###

12:30 AM.

"You sure you can find them with that?" Ditto whispered as he and I were sneaking down to the jet so we could go to one of the national parks in Canada and track down XLR8 and Buzzshock who had apparently decided to stick where they were while the others had gone their separate ways.

"I found the others, didn't I?" I replied. "Now shhh. You're gonna wake them up. Last thing I need is Heatblast lecturing me on how I shouldn't be going for aliens on my own." I complained quietly.

"But you're not on your own. You've got me!" Ditto responded.

"Yeah, you don't count according to him." I stated as I opened the jet ramp to get inside. I was worried that the sound of the ramp lowering would wake up the other occupants of the mansion so I could only wince in fear and worry as the automated system slowly came to a screeching halt.

"Come on, time's a wastin'." Ditto's voice rang out, already up the ramp. Nodding, I ran up the ramp and into the jet as the ramp started closing itself.

"Alright. Just gotta program the coordinates into the navigation system and..." I spoke while trying to do exactly that. "Man, I knew I should've taken IT in school." I muttered in frustration before the tech in front of me finally decided it wanted to cooperate and the engine of the jet started rumbling as we took off to the skies.

Once safely in the sky I turned to Ditto who was to my left. "It's a good thing none of the other knew what we're doing. Otherwise I'd be in so~ much trouble with them." I chuckled half heartedly.

"You really would be." a third voice contributed to the conversation, making both of us jump, Ditto splitting into two.

"Who said that!?" one of Ditto called out.

"Show yourself you coward!" the other jeered. From the back of the ship where the lights hadn't illuminated the area, a tall figure shifted in the darkness.

"I warn you, I am… armed!" I improvised as I grabbed what looked like a metal stick, maybe a pipe before continuing. "And… cross!" I tried to threaten the thing in the dark.

"It can see you. It knows that you're not armed." one of the Dittos interjected.

"Oh bugger. Heatblast was right, I shouldn't have done this."

"He was right."

Chapter Text

“Diamondhead? What the hell, man? You trying to give me a heart attack or what!?” I shouted in relief that there wasn't some creepy Forever Knight or something along those lines. The jet had been set for its course for a Canadian national park in the south-east region of the country. So not too far time-wise on the aircraft.

“Well maybe you shouldn't have tried searching for more aliens from that watch without us.” Diamondhead countered, coming over to the console and sitting down in one of the few passenger seats.

“Hey, what am I, a lamp?” Ditto protested from where he and his double had once stood. Now having his wits about him from his fright earlier, he had reabsorbed his mimic. It seemed that not all Splixsons liked causing havoc with their multiple copies like Ben did all the time. Thank the heavens for that.

“Us? The others are here too?” I asked nervously, trying to look past the Petrosapian and into the darkness, jut waiting for the others to pop out.

“No, just me.” he said gruffly. “Heatblast figured after what went on earlier today… yesterday even, that you might try and pull a stunt like this and asked me to spend the night in here to stop you. Didn't think you'd actually do it though.” he explained.

“Looks like you didn't do a too good a job on stopping me, did you?” I retorted. “And I'm sorry Diamondhead, but nothing's gonna stop me from going after XLR8 and Buzzshock. You're gonna have to go through me to turn this jet around.” I challenged him, standing to face him, determination raging through me. What shocked me though was, he only chuckled at me utterance. “You think I'm joking?” I raised my voice, irritated he wasn't taking me seriously.

“I knew I liked you for a reason. I told the Pyronite I'd stay here for the night, but I never agreed to stopping you. I'm here as your back up. Ditto here isn't exactly the muscle of the group. No offence.” he smirked, directing the last bit to the Splixson.

“Oi! I am offended!” he gasped in mock offence. I looked him up and down, trying to detect any traces of lies or deception. I couldn't actually tell if he was lying or not but I thought it looked intimidating.

“Well then,” I started. “It's good to have you on our side.” I sat down back in the pilot seat, putting the headphones over one of my ears while the other was behind my other ear so I could hear the other two if they spoke to me. I guessed the headset was for the radar but I honestly had no idea.

'Remind myself to ask grandpa Max if there's a learner's manual to this jet, or even better, an idiot's guide to flying' I thought to myself. I was just relieved I had autopilot so I didn't actually have to fly it.

###LINEBREAK###

“Well at least it wasn't a total loss, we did get Buzzshock to come back with us.” I said, trying to stay positive despite the throbbing on the left side of my face and the right side of me covered in now dry mud, and despite it was practically dawn and I hadn't slept a wink.

“Yeah but you got your butt handed to you in the process!” Ditto stifled his laughter.

“That is quite the shiner.” Diamondhead commented. I raised my my hand to my eye in self consciousness.

“You want to talk about who here shines, Diamondhead?” I challenged him. “And what happened to being the 'muscle' of the group with quick reflexes? You did nothing to stop it.” I huffed. Yes, I know it's childish but I'm in pain, tired and in need of an hour long bath and trying to ignore all that despite the increasing need so I deserve some slack.

“I seem to remember you saying 'Chill, I've got this'.” he shot back. He had me there. I did say that so my black eye was my fault.

Flashback

“Alright. People may be camping near here so we can't cause too much of a scene or they'll call the park rangers. And that's the last thing we need with you guys looking like… aliens.” I finished dumbly when we got off the jet.

“And you thought landing a massive, loud jet was the right way to keep it incognito?” Diamondhead snarked.

“You really are the snarky one in this family aren't you? Don't like it – stay on the jet.” I snipped. He raised his hands in defence. Rolling my eyes, I pulled out the mini locator and saw two red dots. “According to this, we should be right on top of them.” I observed. Ditto, who was standing a few yards ahead turned his head.

“Or, maybe they're on top of us. Gah!” he squealed, splitting into two in fear, both of them pointing up. I looked up where a dark figure was in the tree. Three glowing yellow eyes staring down at us. I gulped. Dark figures have had a thing for me tonight – first Diamondhead, now whoever this guy is.

The figure jumped down, landing in between Ditto and myself. Diamondhead had transformed his hands into sharp blades that seemed to glitter in the moonlight. Not gleam or shine. Literally glittered. He's going all Edward Cullen on me. I quickly grabbed the flashlight that I'd picked up in the supply cabinets of the jet from my belt and flicked it on, pointing it at the unknown alien. It was only then that it's third eye turned out to be an outlet on the top of its head. Quite small, I'd say as tall as a fully grown Yorkshire Terrier that was standing up on its hind legs. Black body with a white middle… and sparks of electricity radiating off him.

“Buzzshock?” I was surprised. I honestly didn't stop to consider that Buzzshock was the one in the tree. Even though I knew he was one of the two we were going to find, I was still surprised to see him. I thought it would take much longer to find him.

“How do you know who I am?” he raised his arms, both of them charging with electricity ready for an attack.

“Woah” I raised my hands up, showing no intent to harm him. I saw Diamondhead get angst up too at the sign of a threat. “No need to get violent.” I turned my head slightly. “Chill. I got this Diamondhead.” I turned back. “This'll sound crazy, but I'm the weird signal you and the other felt a couple of days ago.” I could see his eyes widen in panic. “I'm not here to harm you or anything like that. I've been given a job to find everyone who came out of the Omnitrix and give them a home.” I explained. “That's all I want to do. Just give you and XLR8 a home.” I could see that he was starting to believe me since his arms slowly lowered as I explained my story to him.

“You're right.” a new voice cut in. My head spun to where I assumed the voice was coming from, but felt painful pressure on my cheek and eye and next thing I knew, I was on the ground. Great. It had rained earlier that day so the right hand side of my clothes were caked in squelchy mud. Fantastic. “It does sound crazy.” it said from above me. I opened my eyes to see spheres as feet and a blue and black striped tail gently brushing the ground as it swung being lit up from my dropped flashlight.

“Hey! That was-” Ditto started.

“-Unnecessary!” the other version of him finished.

“You can say that again.” I winced, the wind taken out of me. I tried pushing myself off the ground, but XLR8 had resorted to keeping me down with one of his feet. It was strange, even through my jumper, I could feel the cold surface of them, almost as if they were… stones?

“Stay down if you know what's good for you, witch.” he hissed. Okay, this guy is really strong. I seriously underestimated him whenever Ben would turn into him. “You gotta lotta nerve coming after us with your lies. Now, unless you want the damage to be permanent next time, you'll leave us alone.” he pushed off my back before gliding over to Buzzshock.

“You,” he directed at Ditto. “You're a traitor for siding with the likes of them.” he told him.

“She's not hurting anyone!” he defended me.

“Yeah, she's just here to help us!” the other Ditto added.

“Whatever.” he rolled his eyes before closing his visor. I vaguely saw him turn to where Buzzshock was still standing, looking at me. Weird. “You coming?” he snapped.

“No.” Buzzshock finally spoke, surprising me since I hadn't really heard any of his species speak before, not even when Ben had transformed into him It was always just chattering. “I think I believe her. If she's telling the truth, is a room over our heads really so bad? And also, why would Ditto lie about it?” he challenged XLR8. The slight shift of XLR8's head made it seem like he was actually thinking about that. But the scoff he made before he zoomed off obviously scrapped that idea.

“Are we going after him?” Diamondhead asked me, offering me a hand getting up. I grabbed it since it had returned to normal from the shards he previously had.

“No.” I said surprising all three of the aliens with me (technically four because of Ditto being two right now but whatever). “I stand by what I said. I'm not forcing anyone. If he changes his mind, he knows how to find us. But I highly doubt he's gonna be changing his mind anytime soon.” I said, dabbing my face for any signs of bleeding. Maybe he didn't kick me as hard as I thought. I turned to Buzzshock who seemed to be the main source of light now that my flashlight was just lying on the floor.

“So. You're a… Nosedeenian right?” I asked him, testing my knowedge.

“From the Nosedeen Quasar.” he confirmed.

“Cool. Let's get you back home then. Got a room with your name written all over it.” I smiled before wincing. It hurt to smile. “Best hurry in case any officers are on their way. We caused quite the disturbance.” We all headed for the jet.

Flashback End

“Yeah well, I'm just a 'witch' apparently. Can't believe XLR8 actually called me that. Kinda stung.”

“More than the sucker punch?” Buzzshock jabbed, grinning. I chuckled before hissing.

“Oh, don't make me laugh, it hurts.” I warned him as we left the garage, the jet fully shut down. I hadn't thought to bring any spare clothes with me. Just the newly dubbed 'signal spray' by Ditto to clear Buzzshock of his energy signature.

“What hurts?” I heard Heatblast say just in front of me.

Busted.

“Oh man, Abi, what happened to you?” he panicked.

“Heatblast! Hey” I fake cheered. “What are uh… what are you doing up so early?”

“I've found getting up early to absorb some of the Sun's rays are relaxing for me. Why are you filthy? And have a bruised eye? And who's this?” he asked, the last part partly directed at Buzzshock. Knowing I was going to have to explain everything to him, the others started sneaking off to their rooms, Ditto showing Buzzshock where he could go. I looked at Healtblast who had a 'well?' look on his face.

“I uh, went to go get Buzzshock and XLR8 with Ditto. Diamondhead hid on the jet and ended up coming with us.” I admitted like I had just been caught with my hand in the sweetie tin by my mother.

“What!?” he yelled. “Are you insane? Is that why you're hurt? How could you be so stupid!”

“No need to get personal! XLR8 just got the jump on me, is all.”

“Where is he, I'm gonna kill him.” he glared, looking around as if he'd just magically appear at the mere mention of him.

“He didn't come with us. Thought I was there to hurt him so he hurt me first.” I explained. “And as much as I hate to say it, you were right.”

“You're never going to unde- wait what?” he said shocked, his armd falling to his sides during his rant in disbelief.

“You were right. If I'm going after aliens who think I'm a threat. I need people to go with me. Because next time, the next alien may go even further than XLR8 did.” I elaborated, starting to get teary. “They may even try to kill me.” Heatblast pulled me into a hug.

“No, you were right. Eventually there's going to be too many of us for you to take us all with you. I mean, there's six of us now, not including you. That's already too many people. You need a small team to go with you. Not everyone. But so you're not on your own either.”

“So we're good?” I asked hopefully.

“We're good.”

“Good. Because I need a shower, a bacon sandwich and twelve hours in bed.” I told him, running up the stairs to my room.

“Goodnight Abi.”

“Good morning Heatblast.”

Chapter Text

There's something I've noticed since I found Heatblast and every other alien since. None of them are like Ben. I mean, some traits can be vaguely connected to Ben, like Buzzshock being slightly hyper all the time or Ditto picking fights with himself, but other than that, they're all different. Heatblast is a semi-overprotective mother hen, Wildmutt loved to cuddle, Diamondhead was quite sarcastic and always had a quip. Gray Matter seemed to talk to himself while he worked. The fact that he worked at all proved that he was nothing like Ben, who hated anything to do with school or learning. I mean, just answering C on every test so you'll pass does not qualify as hard work. But my point is, is that they're all their own person. The part that worried me, was when I would try to find them for the first time, it meant they were going to be extremely unpredictable. I'd already seen how XLR8 could be hostile and violent around people when he thought they were a threat to himself, and Ditto said Blitzwolfer could be a bit hot-headed. So if I went after someone, I could possibly be dealing with either an overemotional scaredy-cat or even a sociopath. There was no way of knowing. How long would it be before I ran into an alien that wouldn't hesitate to kill me if he decided he didn't like me?

I was on the tablet in the living room while Cinderella was on the big screen. The guys were all with me except for Gray Matter who had gotten a room near his bedroom and dubbed it as his 'laboratory'. At least we couldn't hear when he was tinkering. Sound proof walls are a godsend. I'd put Cinderella on for them because they'd never seen Disney movies. I was watching Toy Story 2 that morning and they had no idea what was going on, so I sat them down and started with the classics. They'd already watched Snow White, Dumbo and Pinocchio. They all cried (or at least their equivalent of crying) in all three films at the sad parts. They won't survive Mufasa, I'm telling you now.

Best part about being in a mansion, the living room was massive so we could all fit in easily. However I felt as our family grew, that was going to get harder.

"How are you not watching, Abi? The sisters just destroyed the dress the mice worked so hard to make! Poor Cinderelly..." Ditto gasped at the scene, his eyes only breaking away from the screen for a second to see that I wasn't watching.

"Huh? What, yeah, I am." I frowned as I kept looking down at the map of the US on the tablet. Two dots were on the screen. But it wasn't making any sense.

"Is something bothering you?" Diamondhead asked me from the other end of the three seater. Heatblast was in between us, Buzzshock was sitting on a beanbag and Ditto and Wildmutt were on the ground. Wildmutt couldn't see what was happening on the film but he could listen and the others would tell him what was going on.

"I'm not sure." I admitted, getting the attention of everyone else. One of them paused the movie and all turned to me. "I've been looking at the signals in the US over the past week or so and one of them is more or less staying in the same place in some forest on the other side of Cali. But the other one is just all over the place." I explained. "At first I thought it might be Stinkfly but when he moves, it's slow and sticks to roads and traintracks."

"I didn't realise insects on this planet also followed man-made roads." Diamondhead pointed out.

"That's the thing. They don't." I stated. "When he does stop, it's for three days and three nights. Then they move to a completely new state. See here." I told them, gesturing for them to gather closer. Ditto and Buzzshock gathered around while Heatblast and Diamondhead leaned over. I changed the map to show it two weeks earlier. Right here. Two weeks ago, this alien was in Washington for three days. On the fourth morning, they start moving. Again, sticking to man made paths until they reach some place in Oregon." I swiped to the next few days where it showed the dot moving on the roads to the different state.

"Then the same thing happens again. Sam pattern. Only this time, it takes us to… Nevada. And now today," I changed the screen to present day. "he's here in California. About two hours drive away from here." I explained. Buzzshock grabbed the tablet, swiping through my screenshots rapidly. Perk of being a natural at electronics I suppose.

"It goes back further than Washington. They've been to every state, east to west. Whoever this guy is, he's a real tourist." Buzzshock commented.

"But why, it's not as if he can be seen. I'm sure if he was out in public, there's be news stories everywhere and there haven't been. So what is he doing?" I wondered out loud.

"Oh, I got it!" Ditto exclaimed as if he'd just solved the answer to the meaning of life. Dramatic pause on his part. "He's following the circus!" he announced. Silence.

"Moron." Wildmutt growled, falling to the floor in disbelief.

"Are you really sure about that Ditto?" Diamondhead was apprehensive. It was quite a ridiculous conclusion.

"I'm being serious. Calamare's Circus! I've saw posters for it all over the country when I was on my way here. I was even in the same town as it was once and the crowds were buzzing. It's a big deal." he defended himself. "And from what I can remember, the order that our alien brother has been going is the exact same order the circus has been going all over America" he said, grabbing the TV remote and flipping it to an advert showing all of the dates and venues for Calamare's Circus.

"I'm going to see Gray Matter. Get his opinion on this. He is the smartest one here, after all." Wildmutt said, getting up off the floor and leaving the room, heading for the 'lab'.

"Originally I thought that'd be something you would do Ditto." I told him. "But with all of you having different personalities than I expected, it could be anyone. And it might be plausible. Given that the show is on for three nights. Then they have to drive to the next venue and then repeat." I put my two cents in.

"It works for all of the previous signal appearances. From what you told me, it could be Upgrade. He'd have the means to disguise himself easily as some appliance or machine." Heatblast mentioned.

"Yeah. Ditto, when is the show gonna be in Cali?" I asked him.

"Tonight, tomorrow and Thursday." he answered.

"You're not actually going along with this, are you Abi?" Diamondhead asked in shock. I stood up, putting the tablet on the arm of the sofa.

"I don't know. Right now it's our only suggestion, making it the best one. I trust Ditto, and if he says that I need to go to the circus, then I need to go to the circus." I smiled at the Splixson. It didn't hurt anywhere near as much to smile as it did a week ago. Around my eye and the eye itself were still not very nice to look at, but makeup covered it up nicely until it finished healing in another week.

"Woah, woah. What do you mean I? You mean we." Heatblast stood up as well.

"No, for now, I mean 'I'. Just me. You guys can stay close but the circus is going to be filled to the brim with people both inside and outside the tent. You're gonna freak a lot of people out. I mean, talking matchstick, walking mineral deposit, dog with no eyes, tiny speaking creature with the brain capacity of a super computer who could probably solve global warming if he tried hard enough, and someone who can control electricity and can multiply himself in moments. I can just see the headlines now." I argued. "This isn't about me doing my job for Azmuth. This is about me making sure non of you end up on a dissection table." I grabbed his arms. "I need you and the others safe, meaning you only step in if something goes horribly wrong." I explained.

"And what happens to us if something goes wrong and you don't come back?" Gray Matter asked, now joining the conversation from the door where he and Wildmutt were walking over.

"Yep. Yep, I see it – CIA are first on the scene. Area 51 arrive not long after and damage control is using the neuraliser from Men In Black." I exaggerated.

"Men in black?" Diamondhead asked, confused.

"Movie reference. Mind eraser." I simplified it for them, seeing I'd lost them all. "Besides. I'm simply going to be observing. I'll search for our alien and as soon as I see him, I'll come back and we can find out a way to get him to come back with us together." I emphasised the final part, looking at my brother.

"Well I'm all for it. Especially since I've just whipped up some handy new toys to help find our new buddy." Gray Matter grinned, rubbing his hands maliciously. We all looked at him.

"Dude, I can not take you seriously when you act like an evil genius. Cut out the hand thing." I said. The Galvan pulled out some things from behind his back. How did he hide those. A small earpiece was thrown to me, while those who didn't have ears were given basically a stick on version.

"It's a communicator. That way we can keep tabs on each other when we're seperated. Don't ask how they work, it'll just fry your brain." he explained, proud of his mental superiority.

"Are they safe?" Heatblast asked.

"...Safe enough." he mumbled.

"Good enough for me," I shrugged, sticking it in my ear. There was a brief static noise before radio silence. "Cool. What else you got?" I grinned. He threw another gadget at me. I quickly caught it before it fell to the floor. I looked at them to see… glasses?

Gray Matter must have seen the confused look on my face since he decided to explain them. "The frame has a small camera in the middle. Can't be seen to the naked eye. He pressed a button on some remote he had as I slid them on. I turned to Heatblast.

"How do I look?" I asked nervously. He just gaped before it slowly turned into a smile.

"Look for yourself." he said grabbing my shoulders and turning me around to the TV. Instead of the paused screen of Cinderella crying in the garden, I was there!

"What the-?" I started, only to realise that the version of me in the TV was saying it the same time as me. "That's me!" I pointed to the screen. Everyone else was on the screen as well. It was real time.

"Now, we'll be able to see everything you seen in the circus. A few extra pairs of eyes to help you look without us causing a scene." Gray Matter explained.

"Wicked."

"I don't get it. What is everyone looking at?" Wildmutt asked. I could only smile, amused at it but still felt sorry for him. He couldn't see what was on the TV since the heat signatures hadn't changed.

"Nothing Wildmutt. Don't worry."

"I've got some other stuff but it won't be ready by tonight. Sorry." Gray Matter said.

"It's fine. This alone is fantastic." I said, pushing the specs up on nose so they sat properly. "Well, guess I'm going to the circus."

###LINEBREAK###

"Okay guys, you getting all this?" I asked the guys through the earpiece. They were sitting on the jet about two miles away. Turns out the jet had a camouflage mode so they shouldn't be found in the woods anytime soon. I adjusted my glasses so they could get a better look.

"Yeah, we're seeing a tent, a few booths. Nothing out of the ordinary on our end." Diamondhead replied on the other end of the line.

"Exactly. Nothing out of the ordinary. Meaning whoever we're looking for, isn't here." I said as I drank a soda through a straw, trying to blend in with the crowd.

"The signal is still in the area. They're near you. Just keep an eye out." he encouraged me.

"If we're looking for Eye Guy, 'keep an eye out' is gonna be so corny." I stifled a laugh. "Oh, the show looks like it's started soon. I better head in and get a good seat."

"And by good seat, you mean a bad seat, right?"

"Of course. The more of the wings and backstage I see, the higher the chance is I find our alien. The wings are filled with equipment. If Upgrade's the one here, then that's where I'd place my bets on where he'll be." I said as I let myself be absorbed by the crowd. To them, it looked like I was on one of those bluetooth pieces and I was just a tad bit crazy, talking about aliens. "I'm starting to get looks. I'm gonna go silent for a while. Let me know if you spot anything on the camera." I said, closing the comm channel. They could open it again if the found something of interest.

I found a seat easily since no one was going for the bad seats at the moment. Bad part is, is that it was still in the splash zone area that was marked on the floor. Looked like parents had enough sense to keep their kids away from the zoned off area. I was near the edge of the tent, meaning I may be able to discreetly look behind the curtain behind me and I could also see the wings of the arena on the other side.

"Guys" I opened up the comm. "See if you can zoom freeze frame from where I'm about to look now." I instructed. I quickly looked behind the drape, seeing some props and people backstage before I quickly closed the drape to make sure I wouldn't get caught and thrown out. That was the last thing I needed. "Got it?" I asked. I got a confirmation and shut off the channel again. It was then, that the lights went down and the stage lights lit up the arena. I had only just noticed that even where I was sitting was now also packed. At least I was blending in. I wasn't going to tip the alien off in case it was a hostile. I couldn't risk freaking it out and causing a scene.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boy and girls of all ages. Welcome, to my circus!" A man in the centre ring announced to the roaring crowd. Microphones were amplifying his voice through the speakers around the audience. "My name is Michael Calamare and I run this little joint and I can personally guarantee, you've not seen these kind of acts anywhere else on the planet!" he smirked. The man Calamare had something off about his character. "On with the show!"

###LINEBREAK###

"Have you guys found anything from what I was able to get before the show and during halftime?" I asked. I had figured out that if I had my phone presed to my ear, I wouldn't look as much of a lunatic.

"Sorry Abigail. It was all stuff that normally appeared at a circus. Performers, props, some animals, some cages, some -" Heatblast listed.

"Hold up, cages? I didn't see any cages." I interrupted, getting some looks from people as they were watching the magician stab a box 100 times where their resident swordsman was currently detained.

"They were quite far back. We had to enhance the footage to see it, but there was a fairly large empty cage. Probably for some of the animals to share." Heatblast commented. "Anyway, maybe our alien is just watching the acts from a distance and isn't actually as close as we think?"

"Omnitrix signals haven't been off before. He's here somewhere. Hey!" I yelled as the guy behind me elbowed me in the head, knocking my glasses to the floor. "Watch it you moron." I turned to him.

"Sorry lady." he grumbled, not putting any effort in apologising before continuing to watch the show.

"Whatever." I huffed, turning back around to try pick up my glasses from the dark floor.

"Abigail, what's happening, we can see anything. The camera isn't working." Gray Matter's voice came over the channel.

"Some jerk knocked my glasses off. Wait, I got them." I cheered myself on a job well done. But when I picked them up, I could feel them covered in a sticky substance. Toffee. "Uh guys, the glasses are no longer of any use." I told them.

"I might still be able to salvage them. Keep them safe. Well, safer than you were before." he replied.

"Well that won't be too hard." Diamondhead snarked.

"Watch it." I said, pocketing them. This was a good coat too. Now, the pocket is full of toffee strands. Great. Some gasps and murmurs came from the crowd behind me. I looked to the stage to see them wheeling off the swordsman, still in the box stabbed with multiple swords. Guess their magic trick didn't work too well. The magician girl just barely saved herself with her final act of making herself disappear with a smoke bomb. Too bad I saw her run off-stage. Suddenly, some clowns ran on with water pistols and started aiming at us! I squealed as the cold water hit me. I now realise why most people avoided the splash zone. Many of the people there had waterproofs, but I didn't so I got soaked to the bone. They went off as quickly as they came on, only Calamare was left on stage, with a whip in one hand and a remote in the other. It must nearly be the end. And we hadn't found our alien. And I was cold.

"Guys, can you see if there's a towel or something on board for when I get back?" I asked the guys over the comm. "I just got sprayed by the clowns." I quickly closed the channel, not wanting to hear their predicted laughter to my misery.

"Now, now boys and girls, while our show is drawing to a close, our final act is one with such glamour, such ferocity that you won't want to turn away for a moment!" Calamare announced. A woman to my left grabbed my arm excitedly, making me jump.

"I've been waiting for this all night!" she shrieked. Definitely had too much sugar. But then again, everyone seemed to be going ecstatic at the announcement. They all obviously knew something I didn't. "The strongman! He's abominable!" Abominable? He couldn't be that bad if people were looking forward to seeing him.

"I give you, our resident strongman, the miraculous, the tenacious… dare you speak his name?… THE ABOMINATION!" he shouted into the microphone.

"Oh my god. Guys, I found him." I yelled into the comm so they could hear me.

"Where? We can't see." Diamondhead asked persistently.

"He's not following the show. He is the show." I gasped. The newcomer roared.

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Chapter Text

"What do you mean? Who is the show? Abi, are you okay? What's that noise?" Heatblast asked rapidly, growing worried as I couldn't find the strength to answer him. I swallowed the bile in my throat.

"I-it's Four Arms." I managed to get out. It was awful. The stage apparently had concealed a large trap door the entire time and they had now raised their 'strongman' from underneath the arena. Bruises and scars littered his arms and no doubt there was many hidden by his shirt and pants. A few of them even looked fresh. He, on the other hand, looked ill. I hope the plumbers have some stuff on healthcare for Tetramands. While he didn't look the way Ben looked when he had a cold, he was not the normal vibrant colour I recognised. Parts of his shirt was torn around the collar, and had a few tears here and there in the main body. It was awful. I saw some old wounds from the tears but I couldn't force myself to look away.

Most disturbing was that he was chained around the waist and the chain was also linked to his arms and legs. He was completely trapped. He was also an almost unbearably tight-looking choker around his neck, digging into him.

"They've got some sort of choker on him as well as a load of chains." I vaguely described what I was seeing, not wanting to tell them anything near the truth because they would come in all guns blazing

"Why do I get the feeling he isn't wearing that to make a fashion statement." Diamondhead quipped. I didn't have the heart to tell him to knock it off. Seeing Four Arms, the alien I frequently saw my cousin turn into look so worn down.

"Now Abomination, are you going to behave and put on a good show for these people?" Calamare whipped him. Literally whipped him. A new scratch on his arm started to bleed. I could see Four Arms get mad at that but what happened next shook me to my core. Whe Four Arms tried to go against the chains and grab Calamare, Calamare hit one of the buttons on his remote and the choker he was wearing started electrocuting him!

"Well well well, looks like our resident strongman is feeling a little grumpy today." Calamare addressed the audience. The crowd started booing Four Arms as he writhed in pain on the ground, his chains not even letting him fall to the ground. He was grabbing at the choker, but it wasn't coming off. Whatever that choker was made of, it was too strong for even a Tetramand to break free of. Now I realised why the collar of his shirt was more worn than the rest of his shirt. He would be tearing at the shirt when his hands slipped from the choker.

I felt like I was gonna cry.

Calamare finally stopped the electricity running through Four Arms' body, letting him relax for a moment. "Alright Abomination, you know what to do." Calamare said, pointing to the weights. He lifted them above his head but… it looked like he was struggling. What were they doing to him when the show was over?

"That's it folks! We're here for another two night then it's off to the outback. That's right! Australia!" Calamare announced as Four Arms was dragged forcefully out of the area by stage hands holding onto the chains which were previously attached to the floor and some others using those poles that animal control would use to capture doggies. The lights went up after the 'ring master' made his exit.

"Oh no, how do you think they're going to do the show tomorrow with their swordsman so badly injured?" I heard people in the crowd ask each other as they started getting their stuff together to leave.

"You guys still there?" I called to the guys through the earpiece, putting my phone there again so it looked like I was talking to someone.

"We're here." Diamondhead answered.

"It was awful. We have to get him out before they go to Australia." I told them.

"Australia?" he repeated, not sure he heard right.

"Yeah! They're going there after the America Tour. This is their last state before they g international." Ditto chipped in.

"And after that, everyone across the world is going to be seeing an alien as the grand finale. Someone is going to notice he isn't human and not just badly sunburnt." Buzzshock continued.

"So how are we meant to get him out? If it's as bad as Abi says, then we need to get him out fast." Heatblast said passionately.

"Simple - they're gonna be looking for a replacement swordsman since they're took the plunge in tonight's show." I told them. "Let's see how much swordplay I remember from middle school. Guys, I'm joining the circus."

###LINEBREAK###

It was too easy getting behind the scenes of the show. Most people had left so they were left to panic about the loss of one of their acts. And it was even easier to spot Calamare among all the chaos as he was on his phone, yelling into it about how someone was fired. If that's the swordsman, I feel so bad for him.

"Excuse me, Mr Calamare?" I pushed through the bustling staff to get to him.

"What is it kid, I don't have time for fans." he huffed. Rude. So glad I'm trying to ruin him.

"Well I couldn't help but notice that your swordsman appeared to be in a state that he wouldn't be able to perform for a while. And as a-" I started but he cut me off.

"Hurry up kid, I got places to be." he frowned. I swear to god if he calls me 'kid' one more time.

"I'm a swordsman! I can take his place until he's better. So long as I don't get put in that box with the magician." I blurted out. I couldn't lose him, this was the only way I'd be able to get Four Arms out.

"Kid, you may have just saved us! When can you start?" he asked me excitedly as if I'd just offered him a wad of money

"First thing tomorrow." I smiled.

"Great. I have to warn you now though, one of our acts are abnormal." he attempted to warn more. More like intimidate. It wasn't working.

"What do you mean?" I played innocent. He gestured for me to follow him, so I did and what I saw did not make me like him any more. In fact, he may have just confirmed his death at my hands.

"Meet - the abomination!" he exclaimed proudly at the supposed 'beast' in front of us. Now I knew what the cage was for.

It was for Four Arms.

His arms were chained to the walls as well as his waist but his legs were released so he was stuck kneeling in the large cage which now seemed way too small. I couldn't find anything nice to say about it to stroke Calamare's ego.

"Speechless huh? We tend to have that impression on people around here." he smirked. Guess saying nothing was just what I had to do. Four Arms just growled at us. Why won't he speak?

"Well, I better get going. My boyfriend is probably worried out of his mind waiting for me." I lied. But I didn't like the way this guy was looking at me. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"12 o'clock sharp for rehearsals. You'll be taught how to help handle the beast. If you have your own swords, bring them." Calamare told me.

"Oh trust me, I'll bring them." I smiled, keeping the other meaning of my words to myself as I left the backstage through the wings and running to the exit.

BACK AT THE MANSION

"They've done what to him!?" Diamondhead roared when I told everyone what I saw.

"They had him chained, in a cage and are trying to modify his behaviour through electro-shocks." I confirmed, trying not to think about it too much.

"And you've chosen to go back because…?" Ditto trailed off, prompting an answer out of me.

"Because right now, it's the only plan we've got to get Four Arms out of there without letting on that you're all aliens." I said plainly. "Besides, now I've seen what they do to him, I can start getting him to trust me before we get him out."

"...So how good were you at swords?" Buzzshock wondered.

"Good enough to get a ribbon." I said meekly. They just looked at me grimly. "What?"

"...This may not be the best idea."

###LINEBREAK###

Walking around with what was obviously a sword strapped to your back was again, not my smartest move. At least I'd parked close enough the police weren't called because of me walking down the street with a weapon. No, I'd taken the jet again, in camouflage mode once again where Gray Matter and Heatblast were staying while the others were staying at the mansion. There was no point in everyone being trapped on the jet and Heatblast was too protective to let me go without him and Gray Matter had all the tech and gizmo knowledge.

Inside the tent, there were people rehearsing their acts again, some people tending to the props that needed mending or just a freshen up and Four Arms was still in the cage. They must have gotten it wrong, the monsters are outside the cage, not the one who's trapped inside.

"Kid! God, you're here. What's your name again?" Calamare exclaimed from behind me, making me jump. I spun around quickly to face him, almost hitting someone with the hilt of my sword. I could only wince in apology as the man glared at me as he passed us.

"Abi, Mr Calamare." I answered before I mentally slapped myself ten times over. Why did I give him my real name!? I seriously need to work on this whole covert, illegal (is it even illegal?) operation that I'd gotten myself into.

"Well then Abi, as you can see, I run this joint." the burly man started. "And as long as you follow what I say, we'll get along just fine." he threw an arm around me and held me close. Okay, this part was actually intimidating. "You can do whatever you want in your act, just don't let Marlene near you. Your main job is making sure that monstrosity over there," he pointed to the cage. "Keeps to himself and is strong enough to go through with the act, but weak enough so those bonds won't break. If that means using your ahem, skills, to incapacitate it, then make sure you don't do any lasting damage." he grinned darkly as he rolled out instructions to me by the dozen. Lasting damage? They crossed that line long ago when they trapped him here. And my skills? My sword? He… he wanted me to beat him if he started causing a scene. Calamare was the one who deserved to be in the cage, not Four Arms.

"Who's… Marlene?" I asked hesitantly. If this was someone who was dangerous, I needed to look out for them. He pointed to a familiar woman. She was in a dark blue top hat with stars that contrasted with her ginger hair. She had a black coat with two tails, unbuttoned to show the white shirt and dark blue corset to match her hat which looked more like a swimsuit than a corset. How was she happy to be seen by people across the country wearing that? Then again, if she was fine being part of the group that tortured an innocent alien into being a freak show, then to hell with her.

"The magician who cost us our swordsman." he pointed her out. Okay, stay away from the girl who may just kill me. And to think I was worried about it being a Loboan or Kineceleran that finished me off.

"And how does the 'Abomination' stay contained. He looks strong enough to break some chains. I've seen not-so-studlier men break out of them." I questioned, trying to seem innocent in all this. If I could find out anything and everything that they were doing to keep Four Arms down, it gave me a better chance at breaking him out.

"Now, this is where the story really comes alive. You see," he started, as if he was about to share his fame and fortune with me. "That monster's no monster. He's an alien." he spat. My eyes widened, trying to pretend I didn't already know that. If he thought I under-reacted, he may think something's up. "Oh yes, little girl. Proof that intelligent life is out there. Well, intelligent enough to be a showdog." he grabbed the whip he used last night and aimed for the Tetramand's fingers. Ouch, even I felt that one. "And with alien species, come alien materials." he smiled, yanking on one of the chains that held Four Arms to the wall. "Can't be broken by anything on Earth. Doesn't rust either. So strong, it can hold even a creature with Hulk-like strength." he finished. My fists were clenched. The chains couldn't be broken, and odds are, the cage was made of the same material.

"Snazzy." I am never saying that again. "Do I have to do anything else with him, or just what you've already said?" I've got to get him to go away so I can get Four Arms alone.

"Nope. That's everything. Strong enough, weak enough, and don't kill him." Calamare said. "Have fun." he chuckled before walking off to deal with other performers. The only thing this guy got right, was keeping Four Arms at the back of the tent where no one went unless they were interacting with him, which it seemed that no one wanted to do if it was my job. I went up to the cage and started unsheathing my sword, it scraping against the case as I did. Four Arms looked at me, having heard my conversation with Calamare just then. I mean, we were right in front of him and he had nothing better to do than to listen to what it was we were saying.

"Hey, Four Arms. That's your name right?" I asked him tentatively. He just glared at me.

"Strike me with that blade, I dare you. Because when I get out of here, I'll return the favour." I threatened me. So he can speak, at last. I gently lowered my sword to the ground, trying to show him that i wasn't going to hurt him. I quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching, otherwise we'd both be in deep.

"My name's Abigail. But you can call me Abi. I know you don't trust me, but I'm going to get you out of here. You can trust me on that." I told him.

"I don't trust you." he sneered, pulling on the chains to try and get to me. Sighing, I pulled my phone out. Obviously just my word for it wasn't going to be enough for him. Though to be honest, it wouldn't be enough for me either. I opened my phone and opened my gallery.

"Here," I said, turning my phone so he could see my pictures. I slowly slid them across so he could see multiple photos. There was one of me and Ditto in a blanket fort we'd made a couple of days ago. The bruising around my eye was a lot worse then than it was now. "You're not the only alien I've met. I've been searching for certain aliens who were created by a device called the Omnitrix. That means you." I explained to him. Swiped it again to Gray Matter when he was sitting on an inflatable toy in the pool. Ditto was hanging from the tree above him. "You just appeared here three months ago, yeah?" I asked him, closing my phone. He just huffed, and I took that as a yes. "Look, what Calamare's doing to you here is wrong. You and I both know that. I can't get you out right now because I wouldn't know where to start, but I am not letting them take you to Australia." I told him. "You've just gotta hang in there for two more nights." He didn't answer me. Giving up, I picked up my sword again and just sat next to the cage.

"Sometimes, I really hate the circus."

###LINEBREAK###

"How did the show go?" Heatblast asked me when I sat down at the console, exhausted. Turns out, playing fruit ninja is nothing like doing the real thing in front of two hundred people. Performing in front of them was the easy part. Even having volunteers to have fruit sliced on top of their head was easy compared to the finale. Once again, Four Arms had to be forcefully dragged off stage, and this time, I had to help. Seeing him in pain at Calamare's hands and also mine, as I did nothing to stop it. I was no better than anyone else in that circus hell.

"Sickening." I mumbled through my hands as I tried rubbing the stress away from my face. "Guys, this can't go on anymore. Having to be a part of what they do to poor Four Arms, I feel like the monster now, not them." I cried.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Gray Matter asked.

"We can't wait to come up with a plan with the others. We've got to get him out tonight."

Chapter Text

"Everyone in place?" Grey Matter called out over the comm. Even though he'd spoken at a normal volume, I could hardly hear him properly with how my heart was throbbing in my ears. Uncomfortable dampness covered my palms as I frantically wiped them on my shirt or jeans, wherever my hands were able to land. I needed to be able to keep a firm grip on my sword in case things got rough. Not that I was hoping for that, I'm praying that this is going to be an easy-in, easy-out mission.

God, a mission. That's what this was. It was an (undoubtedly by now) illegal breaking and entering. And theft, can't forget that. Possibly assault depending on how things go.

I'd never been on such a covert mission before.

Back with grandpa, it was more of a right place wrong time sort of life where there were no real 'missions' to stop the bad guy. We may as well have just knocked on the villain's door and punched them in the face. Aside from no one actually finding the link with Ben and the aliens, there was no subtleness.

"Working on iAHH!" I gasped as a blunt force against my shin made me topple over, face first to the floor. My knees actually hit the ground first, allowing me to shield myself with my arms in enough time to save my face. It's been through enough the past week. Leave my poor face alone you cruel, cruel world.

"Oh my giddy aunt, are you okay? I am so sorry! Let me help you" a frantic high squeak came from above me. A pale hand decorated with blue with white stars nail polish was stretched out in front of me. I didn't even look up as I grabbed it. Imagine my surprise, and fear, that somebody else was still back here. I knew some acts had retired back to their accommodation for the night. They were being put up by a nearby B&B supposedly. No way Calamare would actually put them in a real hotel that actually cost money. Immoral an a cheapskate. People actually look up to him?

"I am super sorry. I was meant to put these blasted things away." the young woman chuckled nervously, twirling her hair. The bright ginger really stood out against the blue of her nails and even the paleness of her skin.

"You shouldn't twirl your hair, you'll pull it out." I stated nonchalantly. She quickly withdrew her hand, looking to the ground in embarrassment. Her cheeks were starting to flourish with blood, making her look like she'd just run a marathon. "Um… Marlene, right?" Her head shot up, eyes twinkling in the excitement of being acknowledged.

"Uh huh! I'm the magic act!" before becoming crestfallen again. "At least, until tomorrow night that is."

"Whaddya mean?" I asked, concerned about her. She didn't seem so bad. Why was he even in a place like this? She sighed before going down to pick up the stuff I tripped over. I quickly knelt down to help her.

"Abi! Stay on mission! Everyone else is in place!" Grey Matter hissed impatiently over the comm.

"In a minute!" I hissed back.

"Huh?" Marlene asked me. Shoot.

"Uh, I said 'does it matter'?" I trailed off, not even believing my own lie.

"Course i' does! The circus is my life! It's all I've ever known. I make a few mistakes and they're just going to leave me here." she drawled. She picked something up from the box of props in front of us. "Look at this - Ah'm the best baton twirler this side of the Atlantic. Have been since I was 5. See these?" she pointed to the button in the middle and the slider underneath.

"Yeah?" She suddenly pressed the button and fire shot out of both ends, making me jump in surprise. "Woah! That's awesome! You can use these?"

"Like a champ. And yeah, I suppose they are pretty cool, but I'm never allowed to go more than a quarter of the power" she extinguished the flames with another push of the button. "It's just as well, the fuel in the baton runs out faster the higher the slider." she shrugged.

"Forget that! You are brilliant and you shouldn't let that Mr. Cala-Nightmare control you. Take a stand and be you. If that means playing with fire, then you go for it."

"Really?" she was shocked as I lifted both of us up from the ground, dusting off her shoulders. God, looking after all these aliens is turning me into a mother 10 years early.

"I mean it. I wouldn't say it if I didn't." I said firmly. She picked up her red, white and blue top hat from the box. I could see her debating in her head. Grinning, she flipped the hat onto her head before securing it in place.

"By the way, 'Cala-Nightmare?' Gotta remember that one when I trash talk my old man." she chuckled, making my heart stop.

"You're… Calamare's daughter?" I choked.

"The only one, thank God." he sighed, her smile disappearing again. "He's not the best dad in the world. Especially when you can't live up to his expectations. Ya need ta be careful. You slip up and," she made special effects with her mouth while throwing a few mid-air punches.

He hit. His. Daughter.

"Sorry Marlene, but there something I need to take care of. You get away from that man if it's the last thing you do okay. Promise me that."

"Abi, move! We're starting." Grey Matter told me. Suddenly, all the power went off, plunging us into near darkness.

"What the- what's goin' on?" Marlene wondered aloud, sounding a little spooked.

"I'm sorry," I whispered before running past her.

###LINEBREAK###

Running in darkness was maybe not our brightest moment. Abandoned props and backdrops were scattered all around, making it difficult to manoeuvre myself through everything. If memory serves me right, Four Arms' cage was up ahead, and judging by the dim light I could see behind the curtains, Heatblast was already there, executing his part of the plan. I threw myself under the curtain.

"I'm here." I panted, tired from running. "How's it going?" Molten chains lay askew on the ground, varying from a dull burnt orange, to almost neon looking.

"Nothing I can't handle," Heatblast grunted.

"You hanging in there Four Arms?" Silence. I gingerly eased my hand into the cage, resting my palm on his cheek. My thumb glided back and forth across his rough skin at some attempt at consolation. "We're gonna get you outta here big guy" I practically cooed at him. His eyes lulled shut in what could have been either comfort or defeat, only he would know. Heatblast muttered behind him about being nearly done. More chains rattled down to the ground.

"You came back sooner." he rasped. He sounded like he was really dehydrated. My hatred towards the circus grew more every minute.

"We couldn't leave you here. "Heatblast inputted.

"And two nights was far too long. You are not going to Australia. You're coming home with us." I stood my ground. "You need someone to care for you, at least for a little while."

"Got it." The final chain became molten, falling slack. Only the cuffs around Four Arms' wrists and ankles remained, but they could be taken care of once we were all safe. We couldn't spare any more time than I'd already wasted talking to Marlene. The door easily opened with the keys that Calamare had entrusted me with and my brother and I were able to help Four Arms out of the cramped space.

He was so frail.

When Ben would transform into Four Arms, he was hulking, able to take on the Wooly Mammoth exhibit created by Dr. Animo, but now, he would easily lose that fight. He would even lose against someone Diamondhead's size.

Then I noticed the black choker still around his neck.

"Shit!" I cursed. "He's still got the choker. Buzzshock," I called into the earpiece, "we need you to short-circuit an electrifying choker necklace. Think you can do it?"

"Yeah, just get him here." came the response.

"Alright, come on, we gotta get back to the jet." I tried to help Heatblast support the weak Tetramand. He didn't even try to pull away. Tetramands were known for being prideful warriors, so to accept aid without any resistance just went to show how exhausted he was from all of the malnutrition, dehydration, abuse and violence night after night for months. "Fastest way out's through the main stage." Heatblast directed us. "Let's go." I nodded.

We ducked our way through the drapes, nearing the wings to the main stage when some of the crew caught us.

"Freaks! Get them!" one of them yelled. They barely had the chance to charge us when Heatblast knocked them both out with fire blasts.

"They'll wake up a little soft boiled but they'll be okay, sadly." he huffed before taking part of Four Arms' weight again.

"I see the exit!" I exclaimed as we crossed the main stage.

Something wasn't right. This was getting too easy.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I suggest that those with weak stomachs turn away now!" a voice behind us called out, open flames lit all around the edge of the tent, threatening to send the entire place up in flames. Calamare was in the centre ring, holding Ditto up by the throat in a vice grip. Ditto was clawing at the ringmaster's hand, but to no avail. "For this next part is not suitable for young viewers." he cackled.

"Let him go Calamare. Let them all go." I ordered him.

"Says who?" he barked. "A child who thinks these freaks are anything more than that?"

"No, says me. Someone who has humanity and sees these aliens as amazing individuals who are capable of so much more than you will ever be." Calamare growled at this. He pressed a button on his remote, the choker on Four Arms started at full power and our exit slammed shut, reinforced with steel doors. The Tetramand collapsed in agony, desperately pulling at the collar.

"Stop it! Stop it now!" I cried, looking back to Four Arms behind me. A blast of fire flew at the remote. I turned to see my brother coming back from an overarm throw. The remote fell from Calamare's hands as it became molten and hot to the touch. His innate reaction of releasing what was causing him pain also caused him to release Ditto from his other hand who scrambled over to us. "Heatblast, take Four Arms and Ditto and find another way out of here. I'll hold off Calamare." I commanded.

"No way Abi, I'm not leaving you." he protested. I unsheathed my sword, holding it in both hands.

"Four Arms can't walk himself, he needs Grey Matter and Buzzshock who are already at the jet and you can't keep him up alone. Now go, I'll be fine. I'll meet you at the jet."

"Come on," Ditto nudged him, taking Four Arms under one of his arms, Heatblast joining him on the other side before the hurried back to the wings to find another way out.

"Looks like it's a fight for the spotlight." Calamare chuckled.

"So it is," I replied. We started circling.

"I underestimated you, Abigail. Of course, I knew from the start there was something that you were hiding, but to actually consider these beasts as being even remotely capable of human emotion is a joke." he was snide.

"You're the only joke here Calamare. You trap and beat innocent people to make a quick buck, even your own daughter. No wonder other aliens are always trying to take over or destroy the world if you were the example of humanity I saw, I'd try to wipe us all out too." I berated him.

"News flash kid, not everything in this world is sunshine and rainbows. And not everyone in this world is as 'kind-hearted' as you are." he mocked me.

"Yeah, there'll always be bad people, but like I told someone else who thought there was only bad, for every bad person, there are good people. At least not all of them are as bad as you." He lunged at me with a small knife, fury written on his face. I quickly sidestepped before kicking him in the side, sending him to the ground.

###LINEBREAK###

3rd PoV

"Is Abi going to be okay?" Ditto wondered out loud as the three of them tried to find another exit. "We just left her behind." Heatblast looked at him.

"She'll be fine. She has to be."

"Why are you with that human? They only torture and laugh at us for being different." Four Arms growled.

"Not Abi." Heatblast stood his ground as he looked around for a possible exit. "She hasn't done anything to show that she'd even consider hurting us. She was the first person I met that didn't run screaming."

"I came from nowhere and she just let me stay, no questions asked. Said she got this gig by telling Azmuth that there are both good and bad people. I think she's pretty cool to do that for us." Ditto put his two cents in.

"Hhmmn." They kept going through the circus tent, trying to find a way out while staying as incognito as three aliens could. The three of them froze when one of the acts walked in front of them, noticing them. She gasped, eyes darting between the three of them, not sure which one was going to kill her first.

"Don't scream!" Heatblast pleaded, holding his hands up.

"What- who- what?" she spluttered. Very dignified. "There's… more?" she tilted her head like a confused baby trying to find out how its nose got stolen.

"Yeah… more." Ditto shrugged, not seeing it as a big deal.

"And you're… you're having a conversation with me?" she inched closer ever so slightly, her body mostly turned away in case they tried to attack her and she could make a run for it. Her teeth were chattering in fear, making her voice come out quite choppy.

"We're not mindless monsters." Four Arms snarled at her. She leapt back, trying to get out of what she considered the danger zone.

"All my days, I never stopped to think you were…" she trailed off, muttering to herself. Four Arms suddenly started to keel over, his eyes closing. The girl's head snapped up from where she was muttering to herself.

"Oh my god, is he okay?" she panicked, forgetting her fear of getting killed by them. She slid down to her knees, cupping his cheek. "I am so sorry. I was a part of this."
"We're running out of time. We need to get to the jet." Heatblast ignored her, trying his best to hold the Tetramand up. Ditto started multiplying in order to help distribute the load.

"You're looking for the way out? The main entrance is the other way," she told them, pointing behind them.

"Calamare's there. Abi's holding him off." Ditto told her.

"Abi!?" she gasped. "She's with you?" A few of the Dittos nodded. The girl frowned. "Down this aisle, first right then second on the left is the stagehand's exit. You can get to wherever your jet is from there," she informed them. "I'll get Abi and get her out of here for you."

"Thank you." Heatblast thanked her. He adjusted his grip on Four Arms before they started moving.

"Don't thank me yet. Just tell… whoever 'the Abomination' really is, that I'm never going to forgive myself for the role I played in his pain." he nodded and then the girl was left alone. She looked to her right and saw a first aid kit and sighed in relief.

###LINEBREAK###

Abi's PoV

I hurt. All over. He's good. Calamare may look like an unfit slow man, but he used my underestimation of him to his advantage. He's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve. I should've been able to take him, apart from the fact he had an endless amount of electrical grenade patches that attached themselves to my skin, sending a live wire through my body, leaving me immobile and giving him free access to strike.

He's good.

No, not good. Sneaky. I'm losing.

"You just had to play hero didn't you?" he struck me with a metal bat he'd gotten from the sidelines which one of the acts had used earlier on in the night. "It's just a freak, a monster, nothing more." Strike. "A mindless creature." Strike. "You couldn't leave well enough alone. Trying to ruin me." Strike. I cried. "But I'll get him back, your other friends too. I'll be more popular than ever!" Strike.

I was on the ground at this point, covering my head as best I could, praying he wouldn't go for my head or neck and hoping for a miracle that would make him avoid my spine. I wanted to walk at the end of this. If there was an end.

"You're wrong." I coughed, then groaning at the pain that went down the side of my chest from it. "You're the one who trapped a sentient being, the one who would hit his own daughter when she didn't 'meet your expectations'. You're the only monster here. You and your cronies." I spat, my saliva landing on his face. He coiled back in disgust, trying to wipe the spit from his face. He struck me again, this time landing solidly on my ribs. I screamed.

"You insolent, little-ugh!" he started before keeling over in front of me. Behind him stood a girl with two batons in her hands.

"M-Marlene!" I gawked. "What are you doing?" She grabbed my arm before stabbing me with something. "Ow! What was that?"

"Help. If you want to get to your friends, then follow me." she pulled me up. I felt the jostle of my ribs but no actual pain came from there. Whatever she gave me, she gave me the good stuff. "Come on." Marlene started pulling me towards the main exit , stepping over Calamare.

"Thank you." I whimpered, there may be no pain but I could still feel the soreness and discomfort with every jostle.

"Don't thank me yet." we were leaving the ring when it seemed every act and stagehand found this the best time to step out from the curtains, blocking the exit. Again. "Like I said, don't thank me yet! Move!" she squealed the last part, twisting around and pulling me along. The circus crew ran after us.

We ran. "Why are you even helping us when you've been hurting Four Arms for months!?" I yelled at her over the noise the crew were making as they ran after us. We made a sharp right.

"I didn't know! I thought he couldn't feel or think. Then they all started speaking to me. Here." she pulled me to the left. "This is where your friends went. Get out of here." she pushed me out the door, locking it after me. I fell to the ground, not expecting the sudden push. I turned to where the locking mechanism was ticking as it sealed. I sat up, banging on the door which was made of some kind of metal. Probably the same metal that they used Four Arms' chains for, to stop him getting through the door and escaping somehow.

"Marlene, stop this. Let me in. Or at least come out. I can get you away from him." I begged her.

"Go!" I heard her shout. She sounded far away. "I won't stand a chance for long." she wobbled.

"You are such a badass, Marlene. Thank you. I won't forget this." I pushed myself off the grass, getting to my feet. She'd thrown my sword out too so I quickly sheathed it and started running as fast as I could. The jet was in a clearing just in the forest.

"Start the jet! Do you hear me? Start. The. Jet." I ordered into the comm unit.

"Abi, you're not here yet" Ditto disobeyed.

"I'm almost there. But people are on my tail. Now start taking off. Leave the ramp down!" I turned off the comm link and kept running. Marlene had bought me a few more seconds but the circus acts were chasing after me again and catching up with my ragged pace. I was sore and getting tired so they had the upper hand.

I could finally see the jet as I entered the clearing. They had decided to listen to me and were starting to take off, the ramp still hanging open. I jumped up and yanked myself up with my arms which were shaking from all the adrenaline and exhaustion. As we climbed higher, I leaned forwards, bringing myself onto the ramp up to my waist, my legs still trying to get onto the jet. As I tried to crawl forwards more, something gripped onto my ankle, pulling me back, only one forearm and a hand holding onto the ramp. I looked down to see one of the gymnastic acts snarling at me as we ascended higher into the sky. We were now easily twice as high as the tallest tree. Panicking, I kicked her hands, trying to pry her off me.

"Are you crazy!?" I screamed over the turbines which were surely making me deaf. My chest was burning! I kicked again, this time landing on her face, but I could feel my weight slowly teetering backwards on my hand and arm, meaning I was going to fall to my death. My hair was blowing all over the place, not letting me see anything other than a sandstorm of brown. Both the gymnast and I started falling, but something grabbed my wrist. Something firm. The recoil of my saviour grabbing me, jostled the gymnast so much that she slipped off my foot, falling to the treeline below. I think I could hear her screaming as she fell. Or it could have just been the turbines. I could only look up as someone pulled me up onto the ramp. Green crystal was visible through my hair.

"Diamondhead! I breathed. Realising how high up we were, he pulled me away from the edge of the ramp. "I think... I… I just killed someone." I was frantic. I don't know whether he heard me or not. "My... side." I was too tired. I hurt too much. I heard Diamondhead calling my name, I think. I closed my eyes. 10 minute nap.

Chapter Text

It was a lot warmer than I remembered but somehow, cold at the same time. I'm not being delirious, I swear! My waist down feels toasty but my chest feels like someone has thrown snow on it. Behind me feels like a bouncy castle so I must be propped up with about fifty pillows. Or at least it feels like fifty. Could just be five. There are more than fifty pillows in the mansion though, so it may just be possible I have fifty pillows for support. I could make a pillow fort that would obliterate all other pillow forts! Ditto's pillow fort could eat my dust!

"Abi? Abi, wake up." warmth spread all over the back of my hand, wrapping around to my palm. Heatblast must be grabbing my hand. Was he the one speaking to me? Why's he in my room? Despite the crust on my eyelids (so attractive right?), I opened them, my eyesight slightly blurry from the crustiness. Now, if my housemates were human, I'd have trouble telling who was who, but they all looked so different, it was easy to tell who was who, even when they were just coloured blobs.

"Heatblast?" I cleared my throat once I heard how pathetically my voice had cracked on the first syllable. Big mistake. I felt hot fiery pain flush across my right side. I looked down to see a bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in my dressing gown, lightly pressed up against my side.

"Oh Abi, we were so worried." Heatblast brushed my hair from my face. He was sat at my bedside, on the side where the make-shift ice pack was. Wildmutt was lying on the bottom of the bed, but he'd wandered off somewhere in the one minute I'd been awake.

"What-? I don't- how did we get back to the mansion?" I asked him. My head felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls. It hurt to think. The wall of pillows behind me was too inviting as I leant back into it, trying my best to resist the temptation to simply go back to sleep.

"We aren't sure of what happened back at the circus. You'd have to fill us in on that. But once we got you onto the jet, you were out like a light. Sent most of us into a panic, especially Heatblast." Diamondhead said, coming into the room, obviously having heard my question. Wildmutt and Grey Matter followed him.

"Please, you were worried too." Grey Matter elbowed him from his perch on his shoulder. "Seriously though Abi, what happened back there? Even XLR8 didn't leave that much of a mark."

"I can't remember much but… I was fighting Calamare, I definitely know that." I said, my eyebrows furrowed as I tried my best to remember what happened building up to my black out. "Marlene! Oh god!" I gasped. She had fought the circus acts off for me to escape. "She risked her life for mine."

"It's okay Abi, you're safe now." Diamondhead sat on the other side of my bed. Now I had Heatblast to my right, Diamondhead and Grey Matter to my left and Wild Mutt near my legs.

"But she's not. Calamare has done who knows what to her." I sobbed.

"I'm sure she knew what she was doing." Heatblast consoled me. "But for now we just need to focus on you and Four Arms regaining your strength."

"Where is-?" I hiccuped, doing my best to will myself to not fully break down crying.

"Buzzshock and Ditto are keeping Four Arms company downstairs. He's still not… in the best state physically or mentally. But he's been getting up and about the place." Diamondhead explained, knowing what I was going to say like the mind reader he is. We were all quiet for a minute, not sure what else needed to be said. I sighed.

"I killed that woman on the jet."

"No Abi-" Heatblast started.

"No Heatblast. I did. I could've gotten her on the jet and dropped her off somewhere. But I was kicking her. I was only thinking of myself." I cried out hissing as I jostled my ribs.

"You were thinking about us, about Four Arms." Diamondhead's voice was firm and low. There was a tone which dissuaded me from even trying to argue with him. "No one knows what she would have done if she managed to get on the ship. She may have led Calamare straight to us all and then none of us would be free. No one here condemns your actions."

"I've just… I never killed anyone before. I don't want to have that on my conscience."

"It was not your fault Abi. That woman was too stubborn and mad at the fact we'd gotten away. There's no one to blame but her." Heatblast shook me from my grief.

"Since when has telling someone that ever worked?" I rolled my eyes. "Next thing I knew, I was waking up here. Calamare must have done quite the number on me.

"You gave us all a scare. Two unconscious people, one of which we had no idea why until we got you into the lab to run tests." Grey Matter told me.

"Sorry." I whispered.

"No, there's nothing to be sorry about Abi. You were fantastic out there." Heatblast cupped my cheek. He looked so sad, like he'd been forced to watch a loved one grow old while he never aged a day. Did these guys even age at the same rate as humans? I feel tired. A small 'ahem' cut through the deafening silence. Seriously, my ears felt like they were ringing.

"Abi, while you've been out the last three days-" Grey Matter started, jumping from Diamondhead's shoulder onto my bed.

"Three days!"

"-we found that you'd suffered from multiple severe electric shocks which caused burns in the contact area." he continued. Taking this new information in, it explained the weird sensations I was feeling on my arms, stomach and collarbone. The sticky adhesive from the tape and plasters wasn't letting my skin stretch when I moved.

"Yeah. There were these electric grenade things that stuck to me. Felt worse than the beating from XLR8."

"The good thing is," Wild Mutt's collar allowed him to finally speak "that Grey Matter says there won't be any long lasting damage. Worst case you'll be extremely restless for a few days."

"You don't have to worry about that. Restlessness doesn't feel like it's gonna be a problem. But there is something that I still don't understand." I said.

"What?" Grey Matter asked.

"How the hell did I get into my 'jamas?" My button down pastel pink pyjamas were most definitely not what I wore on the mission. The boys all suddenly found my room very interesting and focused their attention on that. "Right. At least one of you has seen me naked then. Great."

Chapter Text

Abigail's PoV

"Workers reported sightings of a half man-half fish caught on their cameras. I've contacted some old friends who have already spoken with the researchers to swear them to secrecy and have erased all footage except what you've got." Grandpa was explaining over loudspeaker while I studied the footage from the deep sea cameras. There were rusted orange bars at the forefront of the screen with white ceramic crockery peeking out of the sand behind them. The untamed ocean growth spread over the wall behind it, rendering the wall's art invisible.

"Thanks grandpa. Last thing we need is the workers blabbing about what they think they saw." I rubbed my eyes, trying to ease the computer strain. "Tell me about what's going on with you. How're Ben and Gwen? Have they killed each other yet?"

"Not yet. Since you left we've been keeping busy." he reassured me. I could practically hear him smiling warmly through the phone.

"That's good."

"And how are you doing?"

"Well I'm still confined to bed rest until I turn thirty. I'm able to walk without someone helping though. Makes going to the bathroom less stressful." I tried my best to laugh about it now it was over. When I woke up the first time, it wasn't long before I learnt mobility was not on my side for the foreseeable future and needed one of the guys to support me while I hobbled to and from the bed. It only got worse when I eventually needed a shower. Up until that point, I did not know aliens could go so red.

"It was stressful for all of us." Ditto yelled over the comms, having heard the end of my conversation. Ditto was the main person on shower duty as he was able to support me from multiple positions quickly in the event I collapsed. While Ditto wouldn't have been my first choice of awkward companionship while showering in my underwear, my go to would have been harmed by the amount of water.

"You're acting like you even saw anything Ditto. I was decent each time." I rolled my eyes at his dramatics.

"Well it sounds like you've got your hands full. You make sure to call me if you need anything."

"I will. Bye grandpa." With that I ended the call before returning to the screens in front of me. "Okay there are no scheduled tours or dives in the area for the next few weeks so we're clear there. You still up for this Diamondhead? We can just send the drones instead." On the side of one screen I had the vitals and comm signal for Diamondhead, Ditto and Grey Matter with the rest being taken up by a video feed of inside the ship from Diamondhead's point of view.

"What happened to this being a once in a lifetime experience?" Diamondhead joked over the comm. "I'd be more worried about how we're bringing this guy back seeing as he can't breathe up here."

The breathing part had been something to plan for before the mission. Grey Matter and myself had spent the best part of a day trying to come up with a way for Ripjaws to be able to breathe outside of the ocean. We eventually settled on some apparatus that went around his neck with pods of water that his gills could access. The idea may have only dawned on us after scrolling through social media and seeing a fandom post about the Hellboy movies which also had a fishy friend on land.

"My invention will work! Once he's wearing it, it will start working immediately." Grey Matter cried out faintly. Grey Matter had a bit of a mad scientist vibe lately with some of the inventions he's come up with. I've had to ban him from the internet after he tried to buy uranium from some third world country.

"I'm sure it will Grey Matter. Now Diamondhead, you should be minutes away from the crash site. Once you leave the sub we will only be able to talk to you but you won't be able to talk back. Do you remember the hand signs we went over to communicate?"

"How can I forget? There was a whole slideshow!" Static filled the video portion of my screen before inside the submarine.

"Are you sure you're okay doing this?" While being underwater is always exciting on paper, it's much more nerve wracking when it's actually happening.

"Abi, any unmanned machines that have gone near Ripjaws have been torn apart. Any robots we send down will end up the same. And Diamondhead is our best option for surviving the atmospheric pressure down there. As well as anything else that's lurking." Grey Matter sighed. "Diamondhead will be fine down there."

"Yeah, no need to worry." Ditto added. The video feed showed Diamondhead entering the chamber that led outside. Due to the depth of the wreck it was dangerous for most of us to leave the submarine. While Ditto was able to breathe underwater, they were a lot less dense and would be crushed by the weight of the atmosphere. Petrosapiens on the other hand were quite literally built to withstand the pressure of the ocean and then some. I'm pretty sure they could survive comfortably in the pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

"Ready to submerge." Diamondhead's voice crackled slightly over the comm. The footage quickly darkened as sunlight wasn't reaching as far down as had traveled. The lights attached to his suit flickered to life giving a very limited view of the seabed beneath him. Full scuba gear wasn't necessary as the oxygen tank sat between the two spikes on his back.

Diamondhead's movement was slower than normal, the water making his actions seem sluggish, like he was concussed. The familiar orange of the rust from the crew's footage came into view as a crystal hand pointed forward. There was no existing hand signal for going forward that we could find so we had to make one up ourselves.

"Hey you're doing it!" Ditto exclaimed.

"Great job Diamondhead. Just take it slow alright. Remember the plan?" I received the a-ok hand gesture in response as orange was slowly becoming more obvious on the screen than blue.

There was a faint knocking on the door to my room before it opened. In the doorway was Heatblast who smiled before stepping in, closing the door again. "Hey." I smiled, having muted myself on the comms so I wasn't a distraction. Heatblast carried some painkillers and my water bottle.

"How's it going?" he asked, peering around the screen to see what I had up. He gently placed my water and meds down on my bedside table.

"He's just arrived at the wreckage and has gone in." I told him. I leaned over as much as I could with my still healing injury to glance at the other screen which held layouts of the wreck. Or at least, the parts which had been documented. Seeing where he was approaching, I quickly unmuted myself so I could speak. "There's probably going to be a big drop which will take you straight down to the base. Try explore the higher parts first before you head down. Also try not to destroy the area if you can. This is a delicate place." Another a-ok then silence again. I turned to Heatblast who was watching the same thing. "How's Four Arms? I haven't heard from him today."

"He's watching TV with Buzzshock. They've been arguing about whether they were 'on a break' or not. Whatever that means."

"Ah. They weren't, by the way." The screens were making my eyes sting from the brightness I had them to see anything happening. I shuddered. "I can't help but think something's going to go wrong."

"Do you need me to do anything?"

"Stay? Keep me company." He sat down on the bed which easily fit the both of us with room to spare. It was quiet while we all watched Diamondhead explore the murky waters. Grey Matter and Ditto were watching the same footage from the ship which was hovering above the sub's drop site. As close as they were, if anything did go wrong, there was no way for them to get to Diamondhead to help. If anything unexpected happened, he could easily be sentenced to a watery grave.

"I just still can't believe Ripjaws is hiding in the RMS Titanic."

Chapter Text

"I don't understand. There are many boats that lie abandoned in Earth's oceans. Why is this one any different?" Sometimes it was difficult to remember that these guys were aliens who knew next to nothing of Earth's history or cultures. Everyone knew the story, or had at least heard of the RMS Titanic. It was made even more famous after the movie released less than a decade earlier.

"The Titanic is famous because it was never supposed to sink. It was the whole premise." I explained quickly.

"Surely that's the premise of every boat? It goes against the design if it isn't buoyant." Grey Matter chipped in from over the comm. While I was muted for Diamondhead, the others could still hear both Heatblast and I.

"Well yes, but she was known as the unsinkable ship even though she was never said to be by the creators. It was a lot of propaganda so when she started to sink on her maiden voyage it was a tragedy. A lot of people died that shouldn't have."

"We aren't going to see any of the people down here are we?" Ditto's voice wobbled.

"No. The sea creatures would've eaten them within days, possibly hours and the bones have been broken down for decades. The most you'll see resembling a body is a pair of shoes." I reassured him while I watched Diamondhead enter what must have been the grand staircase area. There was a wide gaping hole as rust and other sealife grew on the railings of the upper floors that would have overlooked the staircase.

"Hey Abi, you ready for Diamondhead to turn his speaker on? We might be able to draw Ripjaws out." Grey Matter asked me. I nodded before realising they couldn't see me.

"Uh yeah. I'm good to go."

"Okay Diamondhead. Activate your speaker." Diamondhead slowed down before carrying on with an a-ok as well as the hand sign we made for the speaker being on.

"Right, uh, I guess this is just gonna be me talking to myself." I muttered. "Hello? Ripjaws? We don't want to hurt you, just talk." Even with it only being a screen, the looming eeriness of the resting place of hundreds of souls was spine chilling.

"I warned your kind to not come here." a growl warbled through the water. The video was moving side to side so fast I was sure I'd start feeling seasick before long. Diamondhead must have been trying to locate the origin of the voice. Grey and black flashed through a doorway on screen, out of sight once again.

"The researchers weren't here for you, they were looking into the ship."

"Stop lying! I know who you are and-" the conversation was cut short with a harpoon flying across the screen, embedding itself in the doorframe Ripjaws was hiding behind. The camera turned and there was a small team of divers with advanced mechanical suits. They were a similar style to the crooks who were trying to steal the krakken's eggs at the start of the summer. These were grey instead though and less clunky.

"Woah what the hell? Diamondhead get out of there." The others on the plane were echoing my sentiments. "Grey Matter talk to me. I thought there were no dives. How are they not in subs?" There were flurries of movement on the screen as Diamondhead was backing away to escape the newcomers. But the confines of the ship as well as water slowing him down it wasn't going well. The diver in the middle of the three was reloading his harpoon weapon while the other two were aiming, one of which was pointed right at Diamondhead. The shot must have been lousy because even from the video I could tell they missed. There was still a manic screech before the Piscciss Volann emerged from behind the rusted doorway, his jaw wide open and claws primed.

"Leave me alone!" he roared. His black and green striped tail coiled before he took off at record speed towards the diver on the left. His jaws clamped down on the metal arm of the mechanical suit before ripping it away. His tail whipped to deal a devastating blow to the middle diver. Another stray harpoon went flying as the first diver ejected from the failing mechanical suit, retreating. The third and right side diver was ignoring Ripjaws for the moment and instead aiming for Diamondhead with a small blade, the harpoon having run out of ammunition.

"Duck!" Ditto yelled over comms. Diamondhead moved his head to the side before grabbing the blade and punching the diver back. He quickly pocketed the knife.

"There shouldn't be anyone around for miles. Whoever these guys are must have some sort of signal jammers. They do not want people to know they're here." Grey Matter explained in panic that things were going wrong. "I can't get a reading on their suits or where their ship or submarine are. Truly remarkable."

"Let's not compliment the bad guys!" Ditto yelled.

"Well we know they're here now and something tells me they are trying to change that." I commented. "Not that Ripjaws is giving them a chance." Ripjaws was punching through the mechanisms of the suits, all three of the divers having retreated upwards. The Piscciss Volann turned to face Diamondhead, his tail curling slightly. His beady eyes were squinting at us through the screen, as if he knew we were watching.

"If you are not with those who came before," he paused. "Then… who are you?" I had to stop and think about how I answered. After the excitement, I felt the long winded explanation I'd given the others wouldn't be absorbed properly this time. I looked to Heatblast who I had been gripping throughout the battle. He could only shrug, not sure what I was asking him for. Not that I knew either.

"We're-" I wasn't able to finish my sentence as Ripjaws suddenly arched back, a roar ripping its way out of his throat, past his razor teeth. His body soon went limp and started sinking to the ship's floor. The camera showed behind Ripjaws the fading outline of one of the divers, still with their harpoon.

"What was that?" I couldn't see exactly what happened as Heatblast voiced my exact thoughts. But I did have an idea of what happened.

"I'm not sure." Diamondhead must have started swimming downwards to reach Ripjaws as he sank. Even with the shaky and dim footage, I could see something sleek and shiny sticking out of his tail, reflecting the little light Diamondhead's suit was giving off. "Shit. Ripjaws is down. Diamondhead, grab him and start heading to the sub. Try not to jostle him and watch out for those divers - they may not be done." Ripjaw's body was no longer fading on screen and was now firmly held by the Petrosapien. Trying my best to ignore the unconscious alien on screen, I focussed on talking to the plane.

"Grey Matter, are there any medical supplies on board? Odds are you'll need to stop any bleeding until you get back."

"I think so. Ditto go and check." The familiar sound of Ditto splitting came over the speaker. "We won't be able to remove the object impaling him until I'm back at the mansion. I'll need assistance when we arrive."

"Okay. Just focus on getting that sub back up pronto. Push it to the max and get that rebreather on him as soon as he's on board. He should be okay in the sub so long as he's not out of water for too long."

"How long is too long?" Ditto asked.

"Who knows. The older Ripjaw's species is, the longer they can go without water. If you're all close to Ben's age he won't last long at all. Here's to hoping. Praying." It wasn't long before Diamondhead and Ripjaws were out of the wreck and back at the sub. The divers were nowhere to be seen. The camera shut off as both aliens were back in the submarine and it had begun its automatic ascent. My nerves felt like they were pouring out as I couldn't keep myself still, despite not being able to do anything through the screen to help.

"It'll be okay." Heatblast hugged my side. Pushing the screens back, I threw my covers off.

"Help me get downstairs. We need to prep a med bay."

Chapter Text

The silver of the harpoon caught the light from the table it lay on across the room. It had been removed nearly two hours ago when the team had returned from the Atlantic with Ripjaws in tow. The bedding he had been laying on during the treatment would have to be salvaged, if not burnt. The dark green ooze of his blood was turning black as it dried in my hands. I could only shove the linens in the bag one of the others had brought in earlier, trying to ignore the same colour staining my hands and shirt.

It had been a flurry from landing to the end of what was a surgery. With Grey Matter's guidance and Four Arms of all people assisting, I was able to remove the harpoon - a job too big for the Galvan. It was best that Four Arms was there. With Ripjaws' powerful jaw, he may have regained consciousness and attacked. There had been a rush of blood gushing out, splattering my shirt and arms.

The worst part was knowing he was very close to dying.

Our medical equipment was well stocked thanks to the Plumbers, but it was stocked for humans. Ripjaws was losing blood that we had no way of replacing. No blood banks on the planet carried alien blood, let alone that specifically of Ripjaws' typing. I wasn't even sure how sharing blood worked among other species.

Everything was okay for now. The sutures Grey Matter did were holding and the weapon didn't hit anything serious.

"You okay?" all of the aliens were waiting outside the temporary med bay Heatblast and I had scrunched together. The best we were able to make was a cot in one of the 'labs' near a pool in case we needed to submerge him at all during treatment. Thankfully the rebreather around his neck was working as planned. I looked up to see Ditto waiting for my answer. I nodded, closing the door behind me as I left Grey Matter in there while I caught my breath.

"How is he?" even Buzzshock was low and sombre when he spoke.

"He's uh… we got lucky." I choked back the sob that I needed to release. Most of the guys had resorted to sitting on the floor or some of the random single chairs scattered throughout the house and I couldn't resist collapsing to the floor with them, my feet not used to standing for so long after being stuck in bed. The seven of us sat in the hallway, letting the heavy silence of the mansion join us. "Grey Matter's still in there just sorting stuff. I dunno."

"If I'd have been better this wouldn't-." Diamondhead grumbled, punching the ground. The concrete flooring of the lab area was used for this hallway as well fortunately or there would have been a hole in the floor from the force.

"Don't, please." I sighed. "'s not your fault. I shoulda seen them on scope or something."

"Neither of you are to blame for this." Wildmutt growled. "He's alive because of you" he looked at Diamondhead, "bringing him back. And you and Grey Matter" he faced me, "for treating him."

"No one saw this coming." a new voice chirped in as Grey Matter walked out of the door I came through earlier, handing me a damp rag to continue scrubbing the stains off my hands.

"What's the damage doc?" Four Arms asked. Even though he'd been in the room for a good while, the quick pace and chaos had left a lot of answers.

"There was a lot of blood loss but it was just short of 40% of what I predict he should have in total. Hopefully that means he'll be able to replenish his own blood. If I'm wrong then it'll just be a matter of time."

"Shit." I ran a bloody hand through my hair before realising what I was doing and pulled my hand out. "So it's a guessing game."

"I think… whatever happens, we need to start making provisions in the chances this happens again." Four Arms looked at the smallest of our group. "When I was at… before I was here, they would take some of my blood in case one of the trainers ever went too far and I needed a transfusion." When this all started, these eventualities never crossed my mind. With Ben being the main one taking hits, he just seemed to keep getting back up. There was no rush to the hospital when he was hurt as an alien.

"How are we supposed to do that? We can't plan for people who aren't here." Ditto curled up on himself.

"I can reach out to Ben. He might… maybe we can see changes inside as well as outside when he transforms into you guys." I thought aloud. The skin on my knuckles was wearing thin with how hard I was scrubbing. Skin cells were shredding and clumping together on the backs of my hands.

"One person can only give away so much blood at a time. Even if it were possible, it would be a slow going process." Grey Matter slumped against my thigh.

"I'll call Grandpa Max tonight. Let him know what happened."

"If Ripjaws does wake up-" Four Arms started.

"He will." Diamondhead gritted his teeth, fiddling with something small in his hands. Four Arms blinked.

"Yeah. When he does wake up, how long do you reckon it will take for him to come about?" We all looked to Grey Matter, needing to know any answers he may have.

"We can only hope within the next 12-36 hours. It says that humans replenish blood within 24-48 hours of losing it so I'm being optimistic."

"That's all we can be." I sighed. "I can't stay like this anymore. I have to get him off me." I made my way to stand up again, giving Grey Matter time to move off me. "I'll be quick, promise." I felt bad for leaving them all. It seemed like we needed to be all together right now.

"Take your time. Clean yourself up." Heatblast reassured me, probably seeing the turmoil on my face. "We'll get you something to eat while you get dressed. Come join us in the main living area when you're ready." He smiled. I looked to the others to see they were all showing similar approving gestures. I nodded. "I'll be fast." It took too long to get to my room. I hadn't found the time to personalise it much further than a coat hung on the door handle and slippers on the floor. The bedspread was still plain white, messy from when I jumped out hours earlier to prepare a surgery theatre. There was still some water along with unopened painkillers on the side table. With adrenaline's effects finally weaning off, the dull pain in my chest grew again and I quickly downed the other tablets with the last of the lukewarm water. It wasn't pleasant but it would do for a few more days until I didn't need them anymore.

The en suite in my room was spacious. With the size of the mansion it was to be expected and I was grateful as I didn't have to worry about knocking against the sink as I stepped into the bath-shower combo. The steam and soap helped remove the excess blood on me as I hurried through the shower. The first shower I'd taken without assistance in weeks was something I thought I'd relish in, but I wanted nothing more than to be out and back with everyone downstairs.

It wasn't long before I was out and had discarded the bloody clothes, wearing basic sweats and a tank top. The bandages from Calamare's electro-patches were long gone and the wounds were nearly fully healed over. You couldn't see them if you didn't know they were already there. Hair still damp I hurried to join the others downstairs, catching the end of their conversation.

"We should take turns staying with him, like we did with you and Four Arms." Ditto suggested. I smiled. It would be good if when he does wake he's not alone. Ditto looked to Diamondhead who was sitting next to him. He frowned. "What's that?" As I came through the open archway leading from the stairs I saw Diamondhead holding something which was glinting. It was different from when light shone off the Petrosapien's limbs. This was more of a flash than a glimmer. I sat down on the sofa across from Diamondhead, between Heatblast and Ditto and Buzzshock on the other side of me, squishing myself in a bit with the four of us on one sofa.

"One of those divers who attacked us had it. Tried going after me with it but it obviously did nothing." He showed off what he had stolen from the attackers for us all to see. It was a small knife-like weapon.

"A dagger? Seems primitive for what they were doing and the other weapons and tech they had." Grey Matter muttered, peering at the weapon from Four Arms' shoulder who was sat by Diamondhead.

"Wait, let me see that." I held my hand out for the dagger. When it was handed over I looked at it closely. It was a bright metal, probably well cared for prior. But that wasn't the part which interested me so much. "I know who Ripjaws was talking about." I gasped. "He said he told our kind to leave him before. He thought we were with them because they hadn't stopped trying to get him." I rubbed my thumb along the crest on the handle. A red and yellow shield with crossbones underneath it.

"Abi, you know who those people are?" Heatblast asked me. I nodded, still staring at the dagger.

"My cousins and I have been fighting them all Summer. I thought they were gone after… but I was wrong. They're bad news. They go after any sort of alien tech, or aliens in general. They nearly dissected Ben the first time we met them. If I'm right…" I trailed off. They'd gotten smarter since they took Ben into dreamland.

"Who are they Abigail?" Wildmutt asked me again.

"If I'm right, everyone we haven't found yet is in danger." I said. "The Forever Knights are going after the aliens."

Chapter Text

There had been an unspoken panic among us since we rescued Ripjaws from the Forever Knights dive team. It was highly possible that they were able to track the aliens from the watch the same way we could. The only way we were safe was we were able to disable the tracking once they were at the mansion. In Ripjaws' case, the chemicals that needed to be used to cancel the tracking were administered by Grey Matter on the ship. Everything seemed to be going downhill.

"Hey man, need anything while I'm up?" I looked at the Piscciss Volann lying peacefully on a bed of his own. Mist trickled down from the ceiling above him thanks to Grey Matter playing around with some plumbing and extraction fans so the room would stay moist without the need to worry about possible damp and mould. It was almost like a tropical rainforest with the mist and humidifiers.

"No thank you Abigail. Your company has been plenty." I nodded before lifting myself out of my chair and slipping out the room for a moment. Ripjaws had regained consciousness in the middle of his first night at the mansion and caused a stir. After taking the first watch with Buzzshock, I had been sent to bed by Wildmutt and Ditto who relieved us. I had slipped into my bed, unable to sleep. I spent my night compartmentalising everything I knew about the species that my cousin could turn into, determined to factor in all information that could help with finding and helping them. I was only a few hours into researching Kinecelerans when there was screaming from down the hall growing closer. Multiple Dittos had burst into my room before slamming the door just as quickly and hiding in my bed. They squished up against me as my notes slid off the bed into piles on the floor. It had been a challenge to get enough information out of the terror triplets to realise Ripjaws hadn't awoken in the friendliest of moods. Trying to leave the room was even more difficult as they desperately tried to keep me in my room. Echoes of it 'not being safe' was the extension of their vocabulary.

With a group effort we were able to explain what happened and where he was. Like Ditto and XLR8, Ripjaws knew of my existence somewhat but hadn't known it was me as I was not physically at the Titanic. Thankfully he didn't want to attack me and was grateful for our help. It had been a huge weight off everyone's shoulders when Ripjaws was awake and aware as it was a definite sign that he was going to be just fine despite the blood loss.

As soon as I stepped out of the room, I could feel the vapours on my skin evaporating with the air being so much drier. Ripjaws' room was in the far east wing near Ditto's room. The rooms themselves were pretty sparse but the hallways were a dark varnished oak with a red rug running along the entire hallway that would get between my toes. The decor gave an entirely different atmosphere to downstairs which was much brighter and open. It could be argued that two different people designed each floor. The top floor would definitely feel cosier in the winter months when it's colder.

The kitchen downstairs blinded me with its spotlights reflecting on the gloss white cabinets. I saw the fruit bowl on the island counter was looking a bit ripe. The bananas were more black than yellow so I quickly grabbed them by the stalks and trapped them in the bin. I couldn't be bothered making something for lunch as it was long past a suitable time. I made a mental note to have an earlier, larger dinner to make up for missing lunch. I still needed a drink though. As I was grabbing a glass from the top cupboard, I saw someone enter from the same doorway I did.

"Hey Abi, we think you need to see this." Wildmutt said, his collar lights blinking as he spoke.

"What is it?" I frowned, leaving the glass on the counter and wiping my hands on my jeans. He tilted his head in a 'follow me' gesture before retreating out the kitchen again. I followed him to the main living area where everyone but Ripjaws was and the television was paused on the news channel. The living room was more colourful than the kitchen with cream walls instead of white and the curtains being blue. "Alright what do I need to see? Is everyone okay?" I looked over everyone to see if any of them were hurt in any way. While Four Arms was looking better than when he first arrived, the clear lack of muscle was concerning. It had been nearly two weeks since his recovery started and he was still closer to a husk than his normal size. He had more colour to him now, closer to the deep red I was used to seeing on Ben during his transformation.

The television played.

A man was facing the camera, corresponding from outside of whatever studio this news program is wind made some interference noise before settling down but it was obvious there was still a slight breeze with the sparse amount of trees dancing about in the wind. Yellow tape was behind the man going from one side of the screen to the other. The tape was fairly far back from where the man was standing so the area cut off was extremely large. Among the tape was an unidentifiable amount of barriers.

"Experts are still unsure on who exactly committed this crime, however there is clearly a blatant disrespect of this country's culture and history. Until the area can be successfully cleared safety-wise, the tourist attraction will remain closed which will most definitely have a negative impact on the tourism and profit of nearby businesses." the man was speaking into the microphone he was holding.

"Wait, what happened?" I wasn't sure what I was watching as no places were mentioned and the headline underneath had already disappeared. It seems awfully sandy where the man was. Ditto held up a finger in a 'wait' gesture before looking at the screen again.

"Experts and police are continuing to investigate the damage and find those responsible. We are unable to show you the damage to my left as it is still under investigation but we can show you an image of some of the vandalism." An image appeared in the top right of the screen showing stone matching the colour of the sand in the background. The large bricks were chipped and some even sliced in half. Others looked like they'd been torn apart like play-dough.

"The pyramids!? This is not good."
################# #

"So you think you know which one of us decided the pyramids needed a remodel?" Heatblast asked me as I browsed through my files on the large screen. I had plugged my laptop into the television so the group could see what I was looking at. After the news article I ran back upstairs to let Ripjaws know something had come up and he insisted on coming downstairs as well so it was now a full house. The rebreather around his neck was working well enough that he was sitting comfortably.

"Well I have no idea if this is just being really offensive on my part, but with it being the pyramids, only one species from the watch so far comes to mind - Thep Khufan." I pulled up the biography I had piled together on said species from plumber resources and what I knew from my own encounters with them. "They're a humanoid-like species originating from the Anur system, specifically Anur Khufos and look like Earth's mummies." I broke it down. An image of the mummy we fought earlier in the Summer was to the right while details about it were on the left.

"Woah woah woah. Woah. Human mothers look like Thep Khufans!?" Ditto exclaimed, seeming even paler than normal. The others were all very nervous-looking as well.

"Huh? No. Not that kind of mummy. This kind of mummy is from ancient egyptian times where they would wrap dead bodies in fabric and place them in coffins so the bodies wouldn't decompose and would mummify instead. Some beliefs they had about the undead back then I don't know why really. But over time there's been ghost stories about mummies rising if their coffins are disturbed and unleashing things like plagues and world disasters if it happened." I explained the difference. "And surprise surprise, the richest kings and queens would have their coffins in a pyramid."

"And I thought the Anur species were weird enough. This is a whole new level." Wildmutt grumbled. My head tilted as I tried to comprehend what he said.

"The Anur species?"

"Well yeah the aliens who come from the Anur system. Thep Khufans, Ectonurites, Transylians and Loboans." I wrote this down as Four Arms spoke.

"Don't forget the Vladats." Grey Matter mentioned making most of the others wince.

"They're extinct. They don't matter now." Diamondhead growled, stopping all conversation regarding them. It was strange to hear any entire alien species was extinct. It was a shame, I was interested to know what they were like. Depending on when they went extinct, it was possible that the DNA was one of the 10,000 aliens in the omnitrix. I hummed, thinking over the new information.

"Seems easy enough to just go and get him then." Four Arms shrugged. If only it was that easy.

"Not easy enough. This is all over the news. The entire world knows about the pyramids being damaged. If anyone else finds him- oh crap." Things kept getting worse the longer I looked at it.

"What is wrong Abigail? You are in distress." Ripjaws frowned in concern.

"The entire world saw that news piece. How much of a jump do you think it would be for the Forever Knights to connect the dots like we have? We don't just have the local law enforcement to worry about. We have alien poachers to worry about - or whatever they are now." I sighed. I looked at the screen. "I need to make a call to Grandpa. But… Heatblast, Diamondhead, feel like a tourist trip? We leave in an hour." I stood up to get a weekend bag together and some emergency supplies.

"I wish to assist you Abigail." Ripjaws halted me leaving. "If my attempted hunters are after another of our kin, I must help in every way I can." I smiled before hugging the Piscciss Volann. When I pulled away I looked up at him.

"Thank you Ripjaws but I don't think your… biology is the best suited for the middle of a desert-based country, even in the colder night hours. And you're still recovering - you can't form a tail yet. Until then you're needed here. Resting." I told him firmly. "And the others will be here as well. It's not just you on the bench this time." With that I left the living room and made my way back to my room.

Silently begging not all Thep Khufans were the same.

And why were the guys all so afraid of the aliens from Anur?

Chapter Text

It hadn't been the slowest journey I'd been on. The entire Summer was filled with me stuck in a small space with three other people with very little to do. Sure there was sitting in the front with grandpa Max and singing along to the radio or trying my best to help Gwen with her magic. It was still pointless hieroglyphics to me but it helped her to try and teach it to someone else. I remember trying to help Ben with his powers in a similar way but he wasn't one for battle strategies and leant towards using what worked last time. There were even rare occurrences where he tried to adapt to his environment. That could be argued as being a battle strat, right? The point was that while it was a small space with little to do, staying sane by getting creative with those in the same boat. However after the first two hours in the air, things became tense.

"I just don't get why you won't talk about them! I need to know about them in case I come up against them. I can't find any information about their homeworld or even their species. In fact that goes for most of Anur!" I growled at Diamondhead who was also riled up. Poor Heatblast was in the seat beside us trying to ignore the blatant yelling.

"You won't face them because they're extinct." Diamondhead tried his best to shut down my constant questioning, the sharpness of his voice almost matching the rest of his body.

"If they're extinct then why are you all so afraid of them?" There was quiet for a while. Only the ship's mechanics could be heard. My eyes rolled as the lack of response made my blood boil close to Heatblast's temperature. I looked back at the screens in front of me to see how long it would take to arrive in Egypt. 10 hours.

Kill me.

I took a deep breath before lowering my voice. We had been at each other's throats since before the ship took off and any sense of calmness left not long after. I tried once again using the limited access to plumber resources to find anything on the aliens of Anur but there was hardly anything there. There were a few images of the system from a far off distance. If one could be mistaken, one would say it was a purple spiderweb. The 'webs' stuck to everything from asteroids to some of the planets. There were also some images of Loboans, Ectonurites and Thep Khufans but there was no substantial information that went along with them. Nothing on these Vladats that Grey Matter tried telling me about. Nothing on Anur Ormerow, Millgan or G'rrnay. It was as if no one from outside the system had ever been there.

"What happened? Why is everyone so scared of Anur?" I asked again, this time quieter than anything that had come out of my mouth the last two hours. "It doesn't matter that they're extinct - whatever they are is affecting all of you and so I need to know."

"Do you have anything in your history that was so evil, so feared that no one speaks of it?" The Petrosapian's voice was as quiet as mine but still cold. I nodded, thinking back to learning about world war two in history last year. The extermination of millions of people because of their religion, their way of life. In my opinion it was the darkest time in human history. Compared to how long Earth had been spinning, it was a recent event. So recent that humanity should have known better but didn't.

"That's why. The Anur System is the home of monsters" he said.

"But if none of you have ever met someone from Anur, how do you know they're bad?" Heatblast finally joined the conversation. Diamondhead taps his forehead, hunched over in his seat, elbows resting on his knees. His eyes closed as he started speaking.

"It's all in here. Our planets, cultures, you name it - but there's nothing personal. I've never left Earth so I shouldn't know anything like how Heatblast doesn't. Instead I have all of these facts in place of memories. Like a walking encyclopedia." he said darkly. There was a small sinister chuckle. "I know my planet is destroyed. All these images in my head of a place I can never go to, never experience for myself." It was quiet for a moment before Diamondhead shook himself out of whatever reverie he was in. Clearing his throat, he continued. "But even as far as Petropia word got around about the Anur system, despite how hard they tried to keep themselves isolated." Diamondhead sighed. "There were incidents where Vladats would try and search elsewhere for food sources. It never ended well for anyone they found."

"What… what did Vladats eat?" I had a feeling about what the answer was going to be. There was an obvious trend on the appearance of aliens that came from Anur. Werewolves, ghosts, mummies, frankensteins - all famous monsters from human horror films and literature. There weren't many popular horror monsters left to choose from. Two major ones came to mind and neither were pleasant.

"They absorbed the life energy of other beings."

"Alien vampires." I muttered to myself. It was loud enough for Diamondhead to hear me as he nodded in confirmation, a small 'hm' came from his mouth. "Vladat… Vlad, vlad… Vlad the Impaler!" I gasped.

"Who the what?" Heatblast asked. Both guys were staring at me like I'd grown a second head. "You're making even less sense than usual, and that's saying something. Hey!" he laughed as I stretched over to playfully whack him on the arm. He dodged out of the way.

"I think the Vladats may have come to Earth a long time ago. We have vampire myths on our planet and the most popular fictional version of a vampire is Count Dracula who was inspired by this European guy called Vlad the Impaler for his vampiric qualities. If they truly searched the galaxy for external food sources, Earth may have been a very real possibility and just maybe one of them decided to stay but wanted to stay true to his origins."

"Maybe that means Anur aliens influenced Earth's history more than anyone really knew. Especially if the link between mummies and Thep Khufans is as strong as you say" Diamondhead mused. I nodded, looking at the locator I had locked onto presumably 'Benmummy's current location.

Diamondhead was unironically the most hard headed and closed off person in the group so far. He was normally the most serious one in the room, sometimes throwing in a snarky remark if the situation called for it. Definitely one of the most mature, up there with Four Arms and Ripjaws. Even with him being one of the first aliens I met after Heatblast, he hadn't opened up as much as the others. He was polite and pleasant to be around but he didn't seem to get in touch with his feelings as well as the others. I knew that wasn't necessarily a bad thing - people don't always trust easily and it could take them a while to be completely comfortable with others.

"It really bothers you, doesn't it?" I almost made the question a statement, the answer so obvious from the conversation upon reflection.

"They're just really disturbing. We'll just have to learn to get along with them." he shrugged, staring out the window. I shook my head before turning to look at him.

"That's not what I meant." he glanced over, not turning to face me but I knew I had his attention. I quickly checked on Heatblast who was pretending not to be listening in but kept looking over. "I meant about your memories." The two spikes sticking out of his back bounced light my way as his posture shifted, his back straightening. "I can't imagine what it's like to know the planet your race comes from is gone, I really can't. But in a way Petropia still lives on - in its people. It is remembered and you feel something when it's in your mind, be it a fact or a memory. Love. Longing. Joy. Sorrow. Don't think that because you don't have memories of a life on Petropia means it's any less a part of you than it is for any other surviving Petrosapians." I did my best to comfort him. He didn't respond. Sighing, I threw my seatbelt off and leapt over to Diamondhead, taking him by surprise. I threw my arms around his neck, burying my head in his shoulder.

"And don't think not having memories before this Summer makes you any less a Petrosapian either. You saved my life at the circus and you saved Ripjaws. You're amazing and don't forget it."

Chapter Text

It was getting dark when we closed in on Egypt, hours later. No clouds were in sight, leaving a sticky humidity. The air conditioning had been set in my direction for the last half an hour. Having changed into black leggings and shirt to make sure I wasn’t considered indecent by Egypt’s culture, I was sweltering. Originally I was going to wear only shorts and a tank top, but I was advised against it in case I had to run interference with any of the locals. I also assumed the inside of the pyramids was going to be colder than outside which was mid to high 20s celsius.

“Not too much longer. It should be even darker by the time we land.” I said as I checked the instruments. Looks like the ‘piloting for dummies’ book actually came in handy. I was able to understand some of the basic instruments and the radar.

“It’s so yellow down there.” Heatblast was almost pressed up against the glass, peering over the thousands feet drop. The ground was an ocean of amber, slowly shifting as the wind blew. Even at a distance the pyramids in the skyline were breathtaking. Before this Summer, I’d always wanted to see the pyramids and the sphinx. Have a proper holiday and visit the local markets and sunbathe on the beaches. Everything seemed so different to the environment I was used to living in. Now I wish it was just under better circumstances.

If I end up part of the reason the pyramids get destroyed, I will never live it down.

“So we’re not supposed to be making a scene, right?” I turned to where Diamondhead had spoken, trying to angle myself so I’d stay in the air current. I nodded. “Then isn’t landing a plane in the middle of a tourist-heavy and overall highly populated area, going to cause a scene?”

“Don’t worry. I’m owed a favour. Figured now was as good a time as any to call it in.”

#################################################
Flashback:

"And the others will be here as well. It's not just you on the bench this time." With that I left the living room and made my way back to my room.

Inside, I grabbed my backpack and started throwing in the lightest, coolest clothes I had available. Wandering around the room, the whole situation was exploding my mind. There was no way we could pull this off - the media was eating it up and there was no chance we would get in and out without getting caught. It wasn’t everyday that the last wonder of the ancient world got damaged. From what websites and tourists say, they guard the pyramids pretty seriously and you would be arrested on the spot for doing anything inappropriate there.

I stopped moving around the room when I saw my phone sat on my bed. Even with his old plumber days, it wasn’t likely that Grandpa Max had enough pull in Egypt to help us. I grabbed the phone. Scrolling through, there was only one person I knew who I could ask for help. I clicked the dial button and waited.

“Miss Tennyson. It’s been a while.” the voice on the other end of the call greeted me.

“Indeed it has, Lieutenant Steele.” I smiled. “I’m calling for your help with something.” I continued to slowly make my way around the room.

“Miss Tennyson my unit and I are very busy. Whatever you need help with can wait-”

“I seem to remember my family being busy, yet we still saved your ass. So you are going to respond in kind.” I wasn’t in a gaming mood. With the news footage, the situation and what happened downstairs, there wasn’t much keeping me pleasant. There was silence on his end. I checked to make sure the line hadn’t disconnected, and when I saw it was still going, I took it as the signal to continue. “How much sway do you have abroad?”

There was a short pause before the Lieutenant spoke. “What have you got going on internationally?”

“Whether I tell you depends on how much sway you have in the Egyptian police and security.” I said.

“The pyramids.” High sigh was clear over the phone. Humming in agreement, I held my mobile up to my ear while I sorted everything in my bag properly. “What is it you need exactly?”

“All civilians and news crews in the area gone and make sure no one is around. Not even the police.”

“What you’re asking is impossible.”

“You’ve gone toe-to-toe with a Kevin 11, lived, and now you’re quaking in your boots? Where are those nerves of steel you’re named after?” I teased.

“Aliens I can do. What do you even want with the pyramids that can’t have any witnesses?”

“You know as well as I do that people aren’t well equipped to handle aliens. And we got a bogey, guess where.”

“And tell me why I shouldn’t just take my team there myself and bag this alien?”

“I have plumber clearance in these matters now. Even SACT knows plumbers hold seniority in these matters. You might have forgotten that as they haven’t been as involved with Earth recently, but the regulations still stand.” The plumbers never did clear out their old files and code of conduct from this place. All the downtime on bedrest had left me with plenty of time for the new reading material which was coming in handy now. “Now as my organisation isn’t seen as being official by regular citizens, I would appreciate it if you could clear the runway for us. Tonight.”

“And what does your grandfather have to say about this?” the Lieutenant asked.

“Actually it’s just me on this one. Along with some allies. Now can I trust you to help?” I asked him again.

“I’ll have to make some calls, but I should be able to get what you want within a few hours. Need any backup out there?”

“Why Lieutenant, I thought you and your team were too busy?”

“Never too busy for aliens.”

“Thanks Lieutenant, but I can handle this on my own. Just get me the space to do my thing and we’ll be even.”

“Very well Miss Tennyson. Just don’t let it result in me explaining to my superiors that the pyramids have been destroyed.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.”

End Flashback ##################################

“Looks like the Lieutenant made good on his word.” I mused as we stepped into the blistering heat. While there were market stalls still set up, the entire area had been blocked off as well as the edge of the city nearby. “Let’s be quick about this.”

“This place is amazing! So nice and warm!” Heatblast sighed, his own flames spiking briefly. Checking the weather app on my phone, it recorded 29 celsius. The heat from the day hadn’t faded yet. But the occasional breeze made it just about bearable when it cared to make its presence known. That didn’t mean I couldn’t already feel my shirt sticking to me. I shrugged my backpack off, grabbing the portable scanner inside. There was also a large water bottle, my headlight and a couple dozen glow sticks. I could only imagine the massive damp patch on my back forming from my bag.

The pyramid subjected to the surprise demolition was just ahead.

“So this is the pyramid of Giza.” I looked up from the screen tracking our alien to take in the towering structure. Each layer of brick making up the monument was nearly as tall as me. Chunks higher up were taken out and lower down rocks were squashed like plasticine. The monument could have blended in with the night sky if it weren’t for the stars being blocked by its incredible height. Whichever alien was here was very strong indeed. “I wish I saw it before… this.” I sighed.

“How are we not going to get lost in that thing?” Diamondhead was also looking up at the pyramid. I suppose it was a sight to behold no matter what species you were.

“It’s uh… actually pretty small in there from the looks of it. It’s only two or three areas according to online maps.” I replied.

“Online maps?”

“It was the best thing I had to go on.” I pulled my tongue at him before looking at the scanner. “Whoever’s here has to be in the pyramid somewhere. The density of the stone is messing with the signal.”

“So how do we get in?” Heatblast asked. His heated body gave off an orange-y glow under the silver moon. In the evacuated area, the rise in heat made it possible to hear his fire crackling and snapping.

“There’s an entrance called the ‘forced passage’. Apparently the main access point was never opened to the public because of the stones sealing it up. It should be just…” I stood in front of the main entrance before sliding a few feet to the right. At half the height of the main entrance, there was a crude dark hole. “About here.”

Pocketing the scanner, we started making our way up the man made path leading to the forced entrance. It wasn’t very clear but the stone and sand left a slight erosion pattern from tourists climbing up and down it everyday. The gritty sand was already kicking up and getting in my shoes. They were old shoes so there was probably a hole in them somewhere letting in more sand.

We had to duck down as we climbed in and through. On the other side of the entrance, I was able to stand up properly, but the guys had to stay partially crouched. The spikes on Diamondhead’s back kept scratching the ceiling, sending cold shivers down my spine. The installed lights which normally lit up the inside for tourists were shut off, due to the damage to conserve power. This left only Heatblast’s presence as a light source.

‘What was the other Thep Khufan you met like? Were they as bad as the stories?’ Heatblast asked as they steadily made their way down the forced passage.

‘Uh… he tried to kill me and my family. As well as helping resurrect Ghostfreak, who for all intents and purposes, wanted to possess my cousin so he could basically reign supreme with the Omnitrix. So on a scale with 10 being ultimate evil, yeah I’d say he’s a solid 7.’ I told him.

‘Only 7!’ He exclaimed. Suddenly, the scratches on the ceiling from Diamondhead’s spikes began to crack, dust and slivers of stone over their heads. The dust particles were visible in the torch light, blocking my sight almost the same way a sandstorm would.

‘Watch out!’ A large force pushed me forward, as the ceiling started caving in. The sudden push sent me stumbling slightly, along with the slightly uneven flooring. The loud noise from above me was deafening as dust surrounded me leaving me unable to see anything.

I curled up, covering my head with my arms and waited for the dust to settle.