Chapter 9 - Chapter 9 - New hope

Chapter 9[br]
[br]
New hope[br]
[br]
Ben, Gwen and Lantara spent the night at the Bellwood mall, and continued their journey next morning. They have reached the capital city in a few days; Ben made a slower pace this time. He took a notice with great relief, that they have not encountered any Null Void aliens, which confirmed them about their successful action in Las Vegas. When the trio arrived to Washington D.C., the same view awaited them, as anywhere else on the continent. Abandoned and ruinous buildings, dirty streets and rusty car wrecks. [br]
- Okay, split up and try to find someone! - suggested Ben, after they flew into downtown. Gwen and Lantara nodded, and set out for different directions to accomplish their mission. In fact, Lantara waited for Gwen to leave, just to have a few minutes alone with Ben. She drifted closer to the man.[br]
- Do you think we'll find anyone? - She asked.[br]
- We must. There must be some people who managed to live through this nightmare. - replied Ben.[br]
- I hope so. But, has it ever occurred to you, what if we are the only survivors? [br]
- Nope. Because I believe in humanity, I have to believe there are people still out there... Maybe not here, but somewhere... and we will find them! - determined Ben.[br]
- That's what I liked in you since the first day we met... You don't allow anything to stand in your way to achieve what you have desired. I'm sure this time will make no difference, my love. - purred Lantara and gently cuddled the man. Ben returned the passionate hug.[br]
- You know, my grandfather used to fall in love with an alien as well... It seems this is a family tradition... – he smiled and kissed Lantara. - When this planet won't require us anymore, we shall cruise around the galaxy again, just like before. But now, the world needs us more than ever, and we have come here to carry out a task. [br]
- Yes, I know, I just wanted you to know how I feel. - declared the ectonurite and after a short kiss on Ben's cheek, she floated away. The man stood there for a minute and looked at her until she disappeared from his sight. Then he shook his head and focused on the mission. He chose a street and began to walk. He did not wish to take an alien form, he figured it might scare the survivors and they won't show up. He concentrated all his senses to comprehend even the softest movements, to see even the tiniest of heat signs, to hear a breathing or a heartbeat, or locate another conscious mind. By the end of the day, the trio rejoined in front of the White House.[br]
- Any sign of life? - asked Ben.[br]
- No, not even a fresh footstep. - reported Gwen.[br]
- I haven't found anything eighter. - said Lantara.[br]
- Ditto. Tomorrow, we'll sweep the other half of the city, and the sewers. People may had better chances to survive underground. - speculated Ben. - But, we've done enough for today.[br]
Their shelter was an abandoned hotel for the night. They were all exhausted, and easily fell asleep.[br]
[br]
- Wow, I feel like a new man! - enthused Ben next morning. - How did you sleep?[br]
- It was great! I thank God; the aliens spared those comfy beds! - replied Gwen.[br]
- How about you? [br]
- Not so good... I had a bad dream... Somehow, Raven got inside my head and she warned me... She told me to be very careful... because we might be in danger. - worried Lantara.[br]
- Hmm. Do you trust Raven? She almost killed me with that dark energy thing... - doubted Ben.[br]
- She did realize her mistake though... - added Gwen.[br]
- Yes. But still... she's weird... - said Ben.[br]
- Shall we get to work? - asked Lantara, just to change the topic of the conversation.[br]
- Yeah, we better start. - agreed the man.[br]
This time, the team stayed together and combined their powers. Nothing could escape their senses. They have been searching for hours, but to no avail. It was late afternoon, when suddenly, Gwen rose her head as they crossed a wider street, with ruined buildings on the sides.[br]
- Do you... - she began.[br]
- I feel it too! - Ben and Lantara confirmed in the same time. Just when they finished their sentence, a fireball fell among them. Ben evaded with Xlr8's speed, Lantara became ghost, and Gwen protected herself with a purple force field.[br]
- What was that? - yelled Ben. Another ball of flame fell upon him. After the explosion, Diamondhead's contours emerged from the seething smoke. [br]
- Look out! - warned him Gwen and her energy rope caught the next fireball and tossed it away. It exploded on a nearer wall. [br]
- Thanks! - Diamondhead nodded.[br]
- There's more! - shouted Lanara. Fireballs began to rain on them, they ran in zigzag to avoid them. One struck Diamondhead, but his crystalline skin reflected it. He recognized something upon a closer building.[br]
- On the roof! - He exclaimed and fired projectiles; however, the shadow was gone. The trio retreated and leaned their backs to each other. This formation allowed them to discover the threat from any direction. They observed the tops of the surrounding buildings, but could not detect their mysterious opponent.[br]
- There! - yelled Gwen and released an energy circle. It only cut a hole in the roof. Unexpectedly, a bigger fireball headed towards them. Diamondhead caught it and threw it up, back at the sender. The roof exploded and a fiery shape evolved from the smoke. It created a carpet of fire and wanted to attack from the air.[br]
- It seems we have left out a Null Void Alien! Get him! - commanded Ben and changed into Heatblast.[br]
- Fire against fire! - grinned he and shot a massive fire beam. The attacker avoided it with a talented move and reproduced the same kind of flames. Heatblast surprised, but consumed the orange beam. In the mean time, Gwen and Lantara took off and both fired a pink laser. The fiery opponent slided between the beams and his fists punched the two, they both fell down. Seeing this, Ben truly incensed and created a supernova-hot curtain of fire. The offender raised his hands to consume the blaze, but Ben was more powerful. [br]
The glowing shape propelled in the air; the carpet of fire disappeared from under his feet. Lantara and Gwen flew up together and grabbed him, then smashed him into the nearest wall. He fell down, and suddenly, the pyronite flames died out, and a human body remained. Ben's eyes grew large.[br]
- He's not an alien! - He recognized and turned into Stinkfly to catch his fainted enemy. [br]
- Gotcha! - sighed the creature, because he intervened in the last moment. Only then he realized, the attacker was a girl. He landed and put her on the ground softly. Gwen and Lantara followed. [br]
- I told you we'll find someone! I didn't expect that this someone wants to kill us though! - said Ben ironically, after he reverted. [br]
- How could she possibly fly around and throw fireballs like that? - questioned Gwen.[br]
- I don't know... She acted like Heatblast... Never seen anything alike before...[br]
- She's half alien. - declared Lantara. - Perhaps that is why she's still alive.[br]
- Yes, that might be an explanation. She had better chances. - Gwen agreed.[br]
- That still doesn't explain why she attacked us. - remarked Ben and put his arms together.[br]
- Maybe she's gone crazy alone here, like Raven did. - appended Lantara.[br]
- Look, she's coming to! - said Gwen. [br]
The girl suddenly jumped up.[br]
- Filthy aliens! - She screamed and began to throw her arms about. [br]
- Relax, relax! Everything's okay now! - calmed her Ben.[br]
- You will not trick me again! - resisted the girl.[br]
- This isn't a trick; we're humans like you... Well, mostly. - Ben pointed out.[br]
- You're not holograms? - surprised she.[br]
- Of course not. We have come to find survivors. - explained the man. All of a sudden, the girl touched his cheek. Then his chest. Her eyes grew large.[br]
- You are real! - She gasped. [br]
- Yes, that's what we've been trying to tell you. - smiled Gwen.[br]
- Do you know anyone else, who survived? - asked Lantara.[br]
- Aaaah! Another alien! The worst kind! The leader of all those others! - screamed the girl in horror and drew back. Ben stopped her.[br]
- Take it easy, Lantara's one of us! She's not with the aliens you've seen. [br]
- Are you sure? Well... Okay... - the girl caved in, but still glared at the ectonurite for a while, then introduced herself.[br]
- My name's Myra Alverton. You see, at first, those aliens camouflaged themselves as citizens, and when enough have infiltrated, they took over the city. I'm sorry for the attack, but I thought you were aliens. [br]
- Nice to meet you. I'm Ben Tennyson, this is my cousin Gwen, and beside her is Lantara. She's a very close friend of mine. - After they all greeted each other, Ben could take a closer look on Myra. She had a skinny and flexible body. Her hair was truly red, and her long, curly locks flooded down her shoulders. Her eyes were deep, dark green, and reflected intelligence. She wore a green top, and threadbare jeans. “The red hair suits her. Not exactly my type, but still nice.” - Ben thought.[br]
- Since when do you live here like this? - asked Gwen.[br]
- Dunno. I was born into this madness. I had to fight for everything since I was little. - replied Myra.[br]
- How could you do all those fireworks? - questioned Ben.[br]
- My dad was a pyronite. At least that's what T told me. I've never met my parents.[br]
- T? [br]
- Teuron. He's the chief of our clan here. He raised me, like many others. He taught me how to keep my powers under control. - said Myra.[br]
- Could you lead us to Teuron then? We have brought good news. - applied Ben.[br]
- Sure. Just follow me. It's not too far, but we have to go down to the sewers. - explained Myra.[br]
She led the trio to an alley, removed a trash can, and revealed a hole in the pavement. They all climbed down on the ladder into the darkness. A second later, Myra's hand fired up, and provided them light.[br]
- Stay close to each other. It's easy to get lost in these pipes. - warned them the girl. They walked about fifteen minutes, until they arrived to their destination.[br]
- We call this “The Hive”. - smiled Myra and stepped in. They went through a large hole and found themselves on a former subway station. The exits to the surface were blocked by car wrecks and different kind of materials. The blockade was so thick, that not even the sunlight could get in. A whole train stood at the right end of the tunnel. The left end was blocked by the same way the entrances were. Ben looked around and counted twelve people. Myra kept walking, and soon they entered an isolated section of the station. [br]
- T, I'm sorry to disturb you, but I've brought visitors. - Myra enthused.[br]
Teuron was sitting on a raunchy couch, and Ben could only see his contours, but he could tell that this guy was tall.[br]
- Visitors? Who could possibly manage to survive these years? - asked a melodic, deep voice.[br]
- This is Ben Tennyson and his friends. They are here to tell you good news. - introduced them Myra.[br]
- It's an honor to meet you sir. - said Ben respectfully. [br]
- Oh, yes, legendary Ben 10. I am Teh’h Ur’h Rhon’N Shy’y T’ha, but they call me T, or Teuron on this planet.[br]
- This planet? - surprised Ben. Teuron stood up and stepped into the candlelight. Ben's eyes grew large. Teuron himself was an alien too! Ben have never encountered such creature, his head looked like an insect's, with two orange eyes and two antennas. His body was covered with stripes, and he had four dark blue butterfly wings. His arms and legs were icy and as he spoke, Ben could see his breath seething in the air, like if there were really cold. He shook hands with Teuron and the alien offered them a seat.[br]
- I see you are very confused, my friend. I suppose you expected a human, right? - asked Teuron.[br]
- Well...yes. It's just strange. This is a human colony you know... - stammered Ben.[br]
- Oh, I understand. Let me explain how I came to be what I am. I arrived here nearly a hundred years ago. I was in a battle with an alien villain called Vilgax. He wanted the valuable Ghor-crystals I was delivering. My navigation systems have been damaged, but I was able to jump to hyperspace and avoid further confrontation. Unfortunately, my engine broke down in this quadrant. I lost control of the ship and eventually landed on Earth, however my ship was completely destroyed by the impact. I stuck here, because there was no appropriate technical equipment to repair the damages. At first, I thought this planet was a primitive ball of mud, but as the years passed by, I took a fancy of Earth and its people. Using my natural abilities, I learned how to camouflage myself as a human, and soon blended with the populists. I thought I've finally found my place to be… Then Kevin came and destroyed everything that was good. I decided to join the resistance. We fought doggedly, but we were no match for the voracious Null Void aliens. When the commanders have fallen one by one, I took the lead. I naively thought I could win. We did claim victory in a few minor battles though, but we were outnumbered. Eventually, we had to leave the surface and go underground. This station was abandoned for years, before Kevin arrived. The alien hordes could never find us here. We’ve been waiting in the dark ever since... to survive. - finished Teuron. Everyone remained silent for a few minutes. Then Ben broke the quietness. [br]
- I had a colony too, people I could count on. We even built a fortress in New York. We stood against the aliens for almost a decade, but... I suppose I was a bad leader... The colony has been destroyed, and Gwen and Lantara are my only ones now. They are my family. [br]
- I don't think you have to blame yourself. I'm sure you've done everything you could. - smiled Teuron. - So, Myra told me you have good news?[br]
- Yes. We have sent back all the aliens where they came from. We trapped them in Las Vegas, and even found Kevin, who's not alone anymore. He merged with one of my former enemies, called Ghostfreak of Anur Phaetos. Anyway, hypothetically, all the alien villains are in the Null Void dimension again. - said Ben.[br]
- Is this really possible? Their reign of terror is over? - gasped Teuron.[br]
- Ghostfreak of Anur Phaetos? Yuck... ectonurites... Friend of yours? - mocked Myra.[br]
- Most certainly not! And you could show more respect, sweetheart. I was fighting aliens, when you were in diapers. - hissed Lantara.[br]
- What if I don't? What do you gonna do about it? - grinned Myra.[br]
- Myra, enough! They are my guests, and you better watch your tongue! - exclaimed Teuron. - Now, I need to talk with our new friends in private. [br]
Myra respectfully bowed her head, then left the room.[br]
- Forgive Myra please, she has a sharp tongue, but she's a good girl. And a good fighter. [br]
- No problem. - agreed Lantara and forced herself to calm down.[br]
- We must stick together. These kinds of hostilities cannot be allowed. - declared Teuron. - So, Ben. You say it's safe to return to the surface now? We can reclaim our home?[br]
- Yes. As far as I know, we captured every alien of the continent in Las Vegas. - supported the man.[br]
- All right then. We shall leave as soon as possible. In the mean time, be my guests and share a homely meal with me. You must be hungry. - offered Teuron. The trio gladly accepted. Everyone got one can of beans. [br]
- How do you get the food? - asked Gwen.[br]
- We send out patrols at night, once a week. The “dub-commando” as we call it, obtained supplies from the nearby malls. I used to lead a lot of these missions too, but one night, we were coming back from a successful “hunt”, when we ran into a group of alien. Seven people left the hideout, two came back, including me. - replied Teuron.[br]
- Are there more survivors?[br]
- Unfortunately no. At first “The Hive” gave shelter to more than two hundred people. But that was almost a decade ago. I watched helplessly how my colony shrinks from year after year. The people died in disease, many gave up and committed suicide, or lost their mind and ran out to the surface insanely, and the aliens hunted them down. - Teuron bowed and closed his eyes.[br]
- How did Myra get into the picture?[br]
- I found her as a baby, when I was on another “dub-commando” mission, sixteen years ago. She was so little, I could handle her on my palm. I've found her mother as well. According to the footprints, vulpimancers must have attacked her... I don't know where she was from, not from my colony, that's sure. So I adopted Myra, and raised her like my own daughter. At the age of four, I realized what she was, when her powers first appeared. I didn't wanted to involve her into the war so early, but eight years ago, a larger horde of aliens followed one of our “dub-commando” units, and discovered our hideout. They could have killed everyone, but Myra stopped them on her own. She despises and hates all alien life forms but me ever since.[br]
- I can understand her. - Lantara said. [br]
They finished the meal and had a light conversation about less depressing topics. Then Teuron summoned Myra. She came in.[br]
- Myra, my dear! I don't know what were you doing up there, probably, disobeying my direct request...[br]
- I was just...[br]
- Do not interrupt me, you know I hate that! - exclaimed Teuron, then lowered his voice again.[br]
- But... you did a great job, bringing Ben Tennyson here. The other thing: You didn't tell anybody, about what you heard? [br]
- No, of course not. I figured you will tell them when you feel the right time. - replied Myra with a wide smile.[br]
- Good girl. Keep it that way. Now, I shall go up with Ben and take a look around.[br]
- Can I come? - Myra's eyes kindled.[br]
- No. You must stay here and have everything under control. I'll be back in a jiffy. [br]
- Okay. - said the girl disappointedly.[br]
[br]
- Unbelievable! After these years of banishment, we can return to our rightful place… - gasped Teuron, when he was standing beside Ben, Gwen and Lantara. [br]
- It’s so beautiful! I almost forgot how it feels, when the rays of the sun soothe my senses. – sighed he, stretched his hands, and opened his wide butterfly wings. He enjoyed the sunlight for a minute, then shortly estimated the city's condition.[br]
- I guess we have a lot of work to do… - he said. [br]
- You do. But now, you have a new reason to work for. - smiled Ben.[br]
- Indeed. It will take years of hard work to restore the city. Like you said: We have a reason now. - wondered Teuron. [br]
- We'll stay for a few days and help you with the first steps. - assured him Ben.[br]
[br]
- Friends! Earth is finally cleansed from the alien villains! Thanks to Ben Tennyson and his team here, it is safe to go back to the surface! Pack your things, because tomorrow, we’re moving out! – announced Teuron, after he came back from his visit of the upper world. At first, the people couldn't even comprehend what they just heard. Then their response was general cheering.[br]
After the announcement, Ben, Gwen, and Lantara had a long discussion with Teuron and Myra. The isolated section of the station provided them privacy, nobody else could hear what they were speaking. When they finished, Myra showed them their beds, and the trio easily fell asleep after the long day. On this night, Lantara had another dream. [br]
In her dream she found herself in a T-shaped tower. There was a gorgeous view to the sea and the city nearby. Suddenly the two winged door opened and a dark shape came into the large room. As she stepped in the light, her features could be recognized. Lantara immediately noticed the fresh scar on her face, the scar so familiar to Ben's.[br]
- Raven? Where are we?[br]
- This was my home, Lantara. At least, this is how I remember it.[br]
- Why did you bring me here?[br]
- To talk. Since Ben opened my eyes, I see things different. I want him to prevail, to destroy GhostKevin once and for all! I've entered your dreams, to warn you again.[br]
- The threat is no longer exists. Myra is on our side.[br]
- I know, I'm not talking about her. I sense a new enemy, who has not yet revealed itself to you. The triumph in Las Vegas merely delayed the final showdown. Ben will have to face GhostKevin once again. The battle cannot be over, as long as he lives! He already has a new, devilish plan in mind, beware! - said Raven, and as she finished her sentence, the perfect picture around them has changed. Lantara saw four red eyes in the darkness, the eyes of an alien she never encountered before, but this race was notorious in the entire universe...[br]
Lantara startled out of her sleep. [br]
- Oh, no... - she gasped.[br]
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