Chapter Text
The Plumber base beneath Bellwood was quiet that afternoon. Ben Tennyson had just finished a routine patrol with his partner Rook Blonko, and was now stretching back in a chair, feet propped up on the console as he flipped through channels on the central monitor.
"I believe I will file our report now." Rook said, ever the professional. "Unless you would prefer to do the honors?"
Ben snorted, not taking his eyes off the screen. "Nah, you go ahead. You know how much I love paperwork."
"Your sarcasm is duly noted." Rook replied with a small smile. "Perhaps I should mention how you defeated that minor criminal by accidentally tripping over your own shoelaces while transforming?"
"Hey!" Ben sat up straight. "That was a tactical maneuver! Besides, I got him, didn't I?"
Their banter was interrupted by a sudden blaring alarm. Red lights flashed throughout the base as the computer announced: "ALERT: UNIDENTIFIED SPACECRAFT ENTERING EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE. TRAJECTORY: BELLWOOD."
"So much for our quiet afternoon." Ben sighed, already on his feet and moving. He activated the Omnitrix, cycling through alien forms as Rook grabbed his Proto-Tool.
"The spacecraft signature appears to be..." Rook's eyes widened slightly as he looked at the scanner. "Incursean."
Ben froze mid-stride. "Incursean? Please tell me it's not—"
"The royal vessel." Rook confirmed, looking uncomfortable. "It appears Empress Attea is paying Earth an unannounced visit."
"Great." Ben muttered, shoulders slumping. "Just what I needed today."
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Bellwood, a sleek green ship descended from the clouds, landing with surprising stealth in a clearing within the forest. The ship's ramp extended down with a mechanical hiss, and a figure emerged from the steam.
Princess, self-proclaimed Empress, Attea stomped down the ramp, her expression thunderous. She was dressed in her typical black and green bodysuit that hugged her amphibian form, a royal cape fluttering behind her.
"Stupid, worthless, good-for-nothing Tennyson!" she snarled, kicking a nearby rock with enough force to embed it in a tree trunk. "I've been waiting for MONTHS!"
Two Incursean guards nervously followed her down the ramp, exchanging worried glances.
"Your Highness." one ventured cautiously, "perhaps we should announce our presence to the local authorities—"
Attea whirled around, her tongue shooting out and wrapping around the guard's weapon, yanking it from his hands.
"Did I ASK for your opinion?" she snapped, tossing the weapon back at him. "No? Then SHUT IT! I'm not here on some diplomatic mission. I'm here to find my fiancé who seems to have FORGOTTEN our arrangement!"
The guards wisely fell silent as Attea pulled out a small device and tapped it. A holographic map of Bellwood appeared, with a blinking dot showing Ben's location.
"Still using that Plumber badge, Benny-boy?" she smirked. "Makes you easy to track." She tucked the device away and straightened her shoulders. "Stay with the ship. This is personal business."
"But Your Highness, your father—"
"My father." Attea cut in, her voice dropping dangerously low, "is still recovering from his last humiliating defeat. I'm in charge now, remember? And what I say GOES!"
Without waiting for a response, she leapt into the air, her powerful Incursean legs carrying her into the trees. She moved with impressive speed and agility, jumping from branch to branch as she headed toward downtown Bellwood.
"Ben Tennyson." she muttered to herself, a mixture of anger and anticipation in her voice, "you and I have some unfinished business."
Downtown Bellwood was experiencing what passed for a normal afternoon when an explosion rocked the shopping district. Civilians scattered as debris rained down from a partially destroyed storefront.
Ben and Rook arrived on the scene moments later in Rook's Proto-TRUK, screeching to a halt as they assessed the situation.
"Looks like someone's doing some aggressive window shopping." Ben quipped, activating the Omnitrix. "Going hero!"
In a flash of green light, Ben transformed into Diamondhead, his crystalline body gleaming in the sunlight. "Let's wrap this up quick. I was planning on hitting Mr. Smoothy's after patrol."
"Ben." Rook pointed toward a shadowy figure moving inside the damaged building. "I believe that is—"
"EightEight." Diamondhead finished, recognizing the Sotoraggian bounty hunter's distinctive armor. "Great. What's she after this time?"
EightEight emerged from the smoke, her purple armor covered in dust. She carried what appeared to be an alien artifact under one arm, her weapon systems fully activated in the other.
"Whatever it is, she's not leaving with it." Diamondhead declared, stepping forward. "Hey EightEight! Don't you know the mall has regular business hours?"
EightEight responded with a barrage of energy blasts from her wrist-mounted weapons, forcing Diamondhead to create a crystal shield to block them.
"I will attempt to flank her." Rook said, diving behind a nearby car and configuring his Proto-Tool into sniper mode.
Diamondhead nodded, then charged forward, shooting crystal shards to counter EightEight's continuous fire. The bounty hunter dodged with impressive agility, her helmet emitting angry mechanical sounds that translated roughly to: "Tennyson!"
"Yeah, yeah, good to see you too." Diamondhead replied, rolling to avoid a small missile that exploded behind him, taking out a hot dog cart in the process. "Look, can we make this quick? I've got places to be."
The battle continued across the shopping district, with EightEight's weapons causing substantial collateral damage. Civilians had mostly evacuated, watching from a safe distance as the hero and bounty hunter crashed through storefronts and parked vehicles.
Diamondhead managed to pin EightEight against a wall with crystal formations, but she broke free with an electromagnetic pulse from her suit that temporarily disrupted Ben's control over his crystals.
"She appears to have upgraded her systems since our last encounter." Rook observed, firing precision shots that EightEight narrowly avoided.
"Tell me something I don't know!" Diamondhead shouted back, reforming his arm into a blade and charging again.
The fight had reached a stalemate when a new voice cut through the chaos.
"Are you FREAKING KIDDING ME right now?"
All combatants froze, turning toward the source of the voice. Attea stood atop a damaged fountain, hands on her hips, her expression livid.
"I travel halfway across the galaxy." she continued, her voice rising with each word, "dodge THREE Plumber patrol ships, and when I finally find you, you're playing tag with this BUCKET-HEAD?"
"Attea?" Diamondhead blinked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
EightEight used the distraction to ready another weapon, but before she could fire, Attea drew her own blaster with lightning speed and shot the bounty hunter's weapon, causing it to short circuit in her hands.
"Back OFF, you glorified trash can!" Attea snarled, leaping down from the fountain and advancing on EightEight. "He's MY fiancé, so whatever bounty you're hunting, you can just shove it up your exhaust port!"
EightEight's helmet translated: "Contract."
"I don't give a FROG'S ASS about your contract!" Attea fired another shot that grazed EightEight's shoulder armor. "Find another target!"
Diamondhead stepped between them, hands raised. "Whoa, whoa! Time out! First of all, Attea, I am NOT your fiancé. That was a temporary arrangement to stop your father, remember? Second, you can't just show up and start shooting people!"
"Oh?" Attea's eyes narrowed dangerously. "So you're defending this mercenary scum now? What, is she your new girlfriend or something?"
"What? No!" Diamondhead protested as the Omnitrix timed out, returning him to human form. Ben continued, "EightEight is a bounty hunter who stole something from that electronics store. I'm trying to stop her!"
"Prototype." EightEight's translator managed, clutching the device protectively.
Rook approached cautiously, Proto-Tool still raised. "Princess Attea, your presence on Earth without diplomatic clearance is a violation of—"
"Save it, fuzzy-face." Attea cut him off, not even sparing Rook a glance. Her eyes were fixed on Ben, a mixture of anger and something else in her gaze. "I'm not here on official business."
"Then why ARE you here?" Ben asked, genuinely confused.
Attea's tongue flicked out briefly in agitation. "You PROMISED me, Tennyson. Or did that slip your puny human mind? We had an AGREEMENT!"
Ben ran a hand through his hair, looking increasingly uncomfortable. "Attea, that was just... I mean, we were in the middle of a crisis, and I was trying to—"
"To what? LIE to me?" Attea stepped closer, jabbing a finger into his chest. "I've been waiting, Ben. The Incursean Empire has been preparing for a royal wedding for MONTHS! My father even bought a new suit, and he HATES formal wear!"
Rook and EightEight exchanged bewildered looks, the bounty hunter momentarily forgetting her stolen prize as the drama unfolded.
"Wedding?" Ben sputtered, his face turning pale. "There was never going to be an actual wedding! That was just to stop you from invading!"
"SO YOU ADMIT IT!" Attea's voice reached a new volume. "You LIED to me!"
Before Ben could respond, EightEight seemed to remember why she was there and made a break for it, activating her jet pack.
"She's getting away!" Rook called out.
Attea, without looking, drew her blaster again and fired a perfect shot that damaged EightEight's jet pack, sending her spiraling into a nearby fountain with a splash.
"I'm not done talking to you, Tennyson." Attea hissed, grabbing Ben's wrist with surprising strength. "And I'm not leaving until we sort this out!"
EightEight pulled herself from the fountain, water dripping from her armor as her systems sputtered. Her helmet translated a series of mechanical noises into a single word: "Vengeance!"
"Oh, put a muzzle on it!" Attea snapped at her. "Can't you see we're having a private conversation here? Honestly, no manners whatsoever."
Ben looked between the furious Incursean princess and the water-logged bounty hunter, his expression a perfect picture of helpless confusion.
"Um, Rook?" he called weakly. "A little help here?"
Rook, ever diplomatic, cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should all return to Plumber Headquarters to discuss this situation calmly?"
"No way!" Attea tightened her grip on Ben's arm. "I'm not letting him out of my sight until he makes good on his promise. I didn't come all this way for a committee meeting!"
EightEight raised her functioning weapon, aiming it squarely at both Ben and Attea. The translator sputtered: "Both... pay."
"Try it, bucket-head." Attea challenged, raising her own blaster. "I've taken down tougher Sotoraggians with my eyes closed!"
Ben looked skyward, as if searching for divine intervention. "This day just keeps getting better and better."
The standoff continued, tension building as civilians watched from behind cover. Rook kept his Proto-Tool trained on EightEight while trying to calculate a way to defuse the situation without further property damage.
Finally, Ben sighed deeply. "Look, if I go with you to talk, Attea, will you stop causing a scene?"
Attea's expression immediately brightened. "Now you're speaking my language, Benny-boo."
"Don't call me that." Ben muttered, then turned to EightEight. "And you – whatever you stole, put it back. We can settle this another day."
EightEight's helmet emitted a series of angry clicks and beeps that needed no translation.
"Or." Ben continued, activating the Omnitrix again, "we can do this the hard way."
For a tense moment, it seemed like EightEight would choose the hard way. Then, with what sounded like a mechanical huff, she tossed the device toward Rook, who caught it deftly.
"Next time." her translator managed before she activated her damaged jet pack, which sputtered but managed to lift her away in an erratic pattern, smoke trailing behind her.
"Yeah, yeah, looking forward to it." Ben called after her, then turned to find Attea's face uncomfortably close to his.
"Alone at last." she said with a grin that showed too many teeth.
"We're literally surrounded by people and property damage." Ben pointed out, gesturing to the gathered onlookers and destroyed storefronts.
Attea waved dismissively. "Details. Now, about our wedding—"
"There is NO wedding!" Ben exploded, then immediately regretted raising his voice when Attea's expression darkened. "Look, I'm sorry if you misunderstood, but I never seriously agreed to marry you."
"Misunderstood?" Attea's voice was dangerously quiet. "I have it on RECORD, Tennyson. Want me to play it back for you?"
Before Ben could respond, Rook intervened. "Perhaps this discussion would be better continued somewhere more private."
"Fine." Attea conceded, still glaring at Ben. "But he's coming with ME."
"I don't think—" Ben started.
Attea's tongue shot out, wrapping around Ben's wrist where the Omnitrix sat. "That wasn't a request."
Ben looked down at the sticky appendage encircling his wrist and grimaced. "Gross."
"Attea." Rook said carefully, "harassing a Plumber is a serious offense—"
"Oh please." Attea retracted her tongue, but kept a firm grip on Ben's arm with her hand. "Like I care about your stupid regulations. Besides, this is a personal matter between me and my betrothed."
"I am NOT your betrothed!" Ben insisted.
"We'll see about that." Attea replied with unsettling confidence. "Now, I'm hungry. This planet has to have SOME edible food. You're taking me to dinner."
Ben looked pleadingly at Rook, who seemed equally at a loss. "Rook, buddy, help me out here."
Rook considered the situation tactically. "Perhaps... it would be wise to cooperate temporarily. I will report to headquarters and explain the situation."
"What? You're abandoning me?" Ben couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Tactical retreat." Rook corrected. "I will gather reinforcements."
"Smart cat." Attea smirked. "Run along now. Ben and I have catching up to do."
As Rook reluctantly backed away, looking genuinely apologetic, Ben found himself being dragged down the street by the determined Incursean princess.
"This isn't a date." Ben said firmly as they walked. "Just so we're clear."
Attea's smile was predatory. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Benny-boo. Now, which way to the food? And it better not be bugs. I'm royalty – I have standards."
Ben sighed in resignation. "There's a chili fries place around the corner."
"Chili fries?" Attea's nose wrinkled. "What kind of delicacy is that?"
"Trust me." Ben managed a small smile despite himself. "They're worth trying."
As they walked away from the scene of destruction, civilians began to emerge from hiding, phones raised to capture footage of Ben Tennyson being pulled along by the alien princess.
"So." Attea said conversationally, as if she hadn't just caused an international incident, "you still seeing that Julie girl? Or was it Kai? I can never keep your little human flings straight."
Ben groaned. This was going to be a very long day.