One thing I enjoyed about absorbing myself into a scenery, was that I was fully entranced by the beauty all around me. It could be the middle of the scorching desert or icy blizzards, or perhaps the twinkling city lights with neon images capturing attention around them.
If you could stand still, look at what's around you, there was beauty to be found. I had even forgone my headphones to allow a roaring of water to give volume to the absolutely stunning view of the tidal waves rolling down the cliffs.
Niagara Falls, I never realized I needed to see it until I was standing before its majesty.
"Hhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuggggggggk ptoo!"
It would be a lot better without Kevin being disgusting.
"Eeewww!" Gwen recoiled as she witnessed the glob of fluids shoot out from the ruffian's mouth. "Where did you even learn how to do that?"
"All guys know how." Kevin nudged me as if I was a participant. "It's in our DNA."
I mouthed a big NO towards Gwen. Sure I've spit over great heights as a kid before, but what Kevin was doing was a collection of everything gross.
"Isn't this amazing." Max came up holding a few water bottles he had just purchased. "I could stand here forever."
"Or-" The brat that was Kevin just swiped the offered beverage. "-we could go do something actually cool?"
It was an, interesting decision to have Kevin along with us. We didn't know where his family was, if he had one. All we could get from him is that he had been taking care of himself for months already. Until he told us more about himself, we had no means to discover where we could take him.
There were several other factors. He didn't get along well with authority figures, his powers could easily hurt someone, and he was prone to cause trouble. Unless we were ok with having him locked up in a super prison we were the next best group to look after him. Hopefully by the end of summer we will have come up with a better solution.
Or Kevin manages to let go of his snobby attitude.
"I think it's time to call it a day anyways." Max announced as he gave Gwen and I the last water bottles. "You're still hurt Ben. You need rest."
"Seriously!" Kevin poked a very sensitive bruise on my ribs, before I noticed his eyes went to my music player clipped to my belt loop. "Why don't you take a nap and I'll look after-"
"Hey." I stopped him, holding the music player up. "I'd be willing to let you borrow a lot of things if you just asked. But this was a precious gift to me and I use it a lot."
"And?" Kevin smirked, clearly showing off how much taller he was than me. "What would stop me from just taking it?"
"Are you saying you don't want your own?"
That threw him into a confused glance. "What? You mean you got an extra?"
"I was going to try making some stuff out of those alien drones. Should be easy to make something like this from it, only better." Then I put it back on my belt loop, starting to walk away from the boy. "But if I know you're going to take anything I would make out of technology far beyond anything on Earth maybe I shouldn't."
I didn't have to look back to know that Kevin was briefly dealing with a spike of anger over the bait. He knew it was just something I said to get him to comply, but did he want to risk it?
"Fine." He spat, throwing his hands into his pockets as he kept his distance. "I won't touch your stuff. But you better not be lying or else I'll make you-"
"Am I being threatened? I make gifts for friends not bullies."
You could hear his teeth grinding against one another as he had to stop himself from doing anything else should he lose out on probably the best thing he ever had. Gwen quickly caught up beside me, glancing back to Kevin before whispering to me.
"Can you get him to leave my stuff alone too?"
"I'll try."
In another quiet isolated part of the woods, we had begun setting up camp. Well, more like Max enlisting Gwen's help to do so. They still insisted on having me take it easy, something I was equally grateful for and slightly annoyed. But, it did give me a chance to do some long needed research.
What happened to me?
Among the many theories that had been flooding my mind the moment I woke up in this body, this world, one of them was if Ben was still inside me somewhere. It could have been as simple as a memory swap, or a full brain swap, or something more cosmic or spiritual in origin. I didn't know what the best result to discover would be, but at least if I knew what it was I was a step closer to putting things right.
"AAAAHHH!" Gwen ran right past me, Kevin chasing after her with a rather large bug he had just found. That was probably the most normal kid thing I've seen those two do.
"Alright." With the full deactivated culmination of two of Vilgax's drones before me, I held up the omnitrix and began to dial in the right alien.
"Ben." Max, who had not been prevented from starting an atrocious meal, called out. "Are you sure you should be going alien while injured like that?"
"It's not like I have stitches or broken bones." I responded in an attempt to ease his worry. "Worst case scenario I feel as sore as an alien as I do now."
I was bathed in the foreign energy that rewrote the founding blocks of my body, until I stood tall as the mechanical sludge of Upgrade.
"Woah!" Kevin dropped the bug, running over to where I was about to get to work. "You gonna make me that music player?"
"If I have time after working on something else. I'll make sure you get it soon, as long as you don't give me a reason why I shouldn't." I spoke out in the artificial tone of my original human voice before becoming Ben.
Gwen was very quick though to clarify what I said to prevent further creepy crawlies. "That means no terrorizing me!"
"Come on!" Kevin chuckled about it, tempted to do it again. "I was only playing around. Besides, it's not like you're making me the cool alien tech."
"Hey Kevin." Max spoke up with a smile. "Do you have a preference on how you like your hamburgers?"
Both Gwen and I immediately perked up at the lack of colorful additives or ingredients.
"Hamburgers?" Gwen asked in some shock. "Not pig foot burgers?"
"Or smashed goat eye burgers?" I added, just as confused.
"What are you guys talking about?" Kevin didn't understand the horrors we had been forced to feed off of. "That isn't food."
Oh you sweet, debatably innocent, psychotic child.
The old man hummed over the idea, before looking down at the already sizzling meat on the grill. "Well those do sound scrumptious. I'll have to pick up some ingredients the next time we're in town. Good idea kids!"
Kevin stumbled back as if Max's genuine interest in the slop had punched him in the gut. The boy glanced back at us, nearly quaking in his shoes. "What have you guys been eating?"
Gwen, as much as she didn't like Kevin so far, was at least empathetic to his fear. "Something worse than what you find dumpster diving in New York."
So, in the realization that we were going to have one of the few meals of sanity that Max would serve us we gorged ourselves. I didn't end up getting around to finishing my project before the carb coma pulled me into dreamland.
It was black, just like many of my dreamless sleeps that I had experienced in this body. Time was slipping away as I rested, my mind empty and awaiting the moment that I would wake up.
Then something occurred to me, something I should have realized a lot sooner but was too distracted by circumstance.
I was aware of where I was.
Now that I had gained some sense of reality I began to reexamine myself, my surroundings. All pitch black, the stiff air, my cold body, the rippling floor. I couldn't see a thing, but I was feeling my surroundings.
I could feel my own body.
Reaching down over my chest, I could feel a fabric still hanging over my torso. It was either a t-shirt or an undershirt, something I needed vision to decipher but nevertheless it was there. Brushing against my own ribs, I felt for something that would determine which body I inhabited in this expanse of the mind.
There! The bottom few ribs on the left slightly bulged out. Something no one would notice unless you pointed it out to them or they routinely saw me shirtless. My older brother growing up teased me about my "lumps" but my fiance would always poke it when she wanted to wake me up.
I was me here, wherever this was.
A dream? If it really was, that meant that my many years of practice in controlling them, whether fully lucid or not, should apply. Would it work here?
Flexing the long unused muscle of my dreamscape mastery I allowed the palm of my hand to ignite with a spark of flames. The glow was muffled, a thick cloud of darkness keeping me from seeing anything more than four inches away from the flames.
Ok then, I was in a literal veil of darkness. Closing my fist around the flame, I condensed it, visualizing the fury of a newborn star and throwing it up into the void. A supernova exploded above, the light and force of the blast banishing the mist.
A howling pain screamed out, sending a spike of fear through me as I turned around towards the source. All I saw was the rippling of the floor as if something dove into the ground like it was their personal pool.
Daring to look down, I was troubled when I didn't immediately see my reflection. The thought of it slowly materialized something below me, but it wasn't my face, nor Ben's.
"Ghost Freak." I uttered, making out a barely perceptible silhouette hiding in my shadow. Was this a real visitation of the alien in my mind? Or just some dream.
Or neither.
"You shouldn't have done that." The raspy specter warned me.
In case it was really him in my mind, I needed to take advantage of the opportunity. "You've been in my mind, diluting my dreams. Why?"
"The two of us already share a body." He hissed when a beam of my source of light brushed against his form. "It was difficult to manifest myself before, but now you've woken him up."
"Who?" I questioned, before a flick of a nostalgic noise filled my ears. Static rolled over the smoky glass I stood on, my focus on the star slipping as a new source of light shining against my back.
Turning around, I saw it, the old crtv my family had. The one where we only had five channels, a vhs player, and was always covered in dust.
There was a boy sitting right in front of it, staring at each particle as it flew across the screen.
That white shirt with black lines, the cargo pants, the unkempt brown hair.
"Ben?" I asked, before a splitting pain pressed into my brain. Memories rushed through me, my own life in recent weeks replayed in an instant before mirroring itself on the television in a blur of colors. Before the pain could bring me to my knees, it began to subside. Then, the young boy turned his head to address me from the corner of his eye.
Then he spoke. "Give it back."
The screen on the television cracked, the floor around it splitting into a spiderweb of destruction. I could feel it, in my mind and the landscape all around me was becoming unstable. I fought to keep my balance, mentally grasping as much as I could to remain steady.
The boy then rushed me, those green orbs meeting my own as he grasped the edges of my jacket and pleaded with his entire being. "GIVE IT BACK!"
Everything shattered as flames roared through the cracks, Ghost Freak rising in between us and grasping our faces in his claws before his maw opened up to consume us in the chaos.
"Ben!"
"What the crap?!"
"Move out of the way!"
I felt something cold rush over my head, choking me despite my throat being clear. The heat my form generated soon rose back to a comfortable point, my sense of reality returning as I saw my burning hands. "Gah!"
Hold on, I knew this body, and I wasn't on fire. I was fire, I was Heatblast.
Switching back to human, I pushed myself up from the ground where my charred sleeping bag rested. The sun was just barely announcing it would be rising soon past the horizon, trees around us, the previous night's campfire left in a pile of ash.
Max, Gwen, and Kevin were all staring at me. Max himself had a fire extinguisher. I went Heat Blast in my sleep, something I didn't even know I could do. Luckily, it seems the only victim of my action was where I was laying. "Um, good morning?"
"You ok Ben?" Max asked, lowering the nozzle.
"Yeah." I felt fine, my injuries were healing quickly, and I wasn't particularly hungry or thirsty. "Did I switch to Heatblast in my sleep?"
"You didn't just go Heatblast!" Gwen exclaimed. "You tried blasting the sky!"
"It was a cool light show." Kevin at least seemed to enjoy my night terror. "Hey, think you could do it again?"
So, guess me using my 'dream powers' ended up triggering the omnitrix. I've only ever had one night terror I could remember before, and by the time I moved I was already awake.
This dream I had, I was worrying it was more than that. Good thing I decided to sleep under the stars, otherwise the tent would have also gone up in flames. But now I was just given at least three different reasons why sleeping, or rather dreaming, was a bad idea.
Great, the only time of day I can truly relax and turn my brain off was now another point of stress. How many of these can I take until it breaks me?
Since morning was already arriving, we ended up getting a head start towards our next destination. I wasn't going back to sleep soon, and with the Rust Bucket rumbling throughout its walls no one had the option to either.
Max was driving, Gwen was on her computer likely looking up more information about our next stop, I was doing my best to make use out of the scattered alien drone parts, and Kevin…
Kevin was Kevin.
The boy had grabbed the most dangerous looking weapon from one of the drones, and proceeded to try and find the trigger. Gwen, as much as she wished for the silence to focus and study, had been keeping him in the corner of her eye. "Hey! Put that away, it's dangerous!"
Kevin didn't see her as anything but a whiny girl he could occasionally torture for amusement. "How come you haven't ragged on Ben about it?"
"Ben knows what he's doing, even more so as Gray Matter." Gwen gestured to where I was, the little amphibious and highly intelligent being that was trying to optimize the central processing units to calibrate it to the repurposed sensor array.
I just pleaded that his attention wouldn't stay on me.
"I don't need an alien brain to figure this out!" Kevin swore as he tried to hotwire some of the cables together, but with no power source it was useless.
"If only you had a brain." Gwen retorted with a huff, getting a growl, an actual growl from Kevin. "Oh? What? You don't like being treated like an animal? Then stop acting like a mangy mutt and-"
With a hyper conductive neuron pathway in my cranium, I had enough awareness of my own task and to keep a steady observation of my surroundings. Because of it, I noticed a brief discharge from his hands running right into the wire he held in his fingers.
I had enough time to do two things. First, immediately sending a command to the omnitrix to turn me into Four Arms. Next, put my hand over the emitter to prevent a laser from shooting out towards the front of the Rust Bucket.
The blast went off, the noise startling everyone. Max slammed his foot on the brakes, a trail of smoke coming from the scorch mark on my hand, and Gwen frozen in shock at the sudden turn of events.
She wasn't the only one, my heart was suddenly racing a mile per minute, my eyes locking onto the drone and any other danger. I felt stiff yet ready to strike at anything that even twitched.
"Kids!" Max ran back to check on us, sweeping his gaze over the two smaller ones before seeing my hand crushing the dangerous contraption. "Ben, are you ok?"
I didn't respond, I didn't even realize he was talking to me until the gentle human hand of Max rested on one of my arms. Letting go of it, the crumpled metal fell to the floor as I shook off the lingering sting. Diamond Head would have protected me, but there was a chance it would have bounced out of my grip. Four Arms I knew could take a hit with his thick red skin.
My body's sudden spike of fight or flight was not predicted. "Fine. I forgot about Kevin's abilities for a second."
The very boy responsible was quick to deny the blame. "It's not my fault!"
Gwen slammed her hands on the table, glaring angrily towards him. "This is exactly your fault! You grabbed something you knew was a weapon and were trying to set it off!"
"You made me!"
"No I didn't!"
"Gwen, Kevin!" Max stepped between the two before they could lunge at one another's throats. "We're all ok, that's what matters!"
I didn't even have the mental fortitude to intervene or add in my own words. Kevin was a wild card. I know he must have had it rough and he is very capable of running away and causing trouble somewhere else. Standard discipline won't work, he needs to realize that we're his best option and he won't see it if he's being grounded all the time.
While changing back to human, I just sat down and stared over the many, many pieces of alien tech I thought I had dismantled or reconfigured into nonlethal tools.
My project was going to take a lot longer if I needed to make everything Kevin proof.
Hours went by, and to keep Kevin distracted I actually did make him a quick alien radio to keep his mind occupied. For Gray Matter, it was an easy task. It didn't even need to work as good as the best ones on Earth, just enough for him to have plenty of stations to flip through alongside a bootleg dig dug game that he used to find new active radio frequencies.
Huh, now that I think about it between Gray Matter and Upgrade I could make Minecraft years before it came out.
No, I have enough to worry about now and figure out.
Between making a whole new set of safeties for the alien scrap, coming up with more theories about what happened to me, to thinking about how I would even investigate them, I was mentally exhausted.
Sitting back up in shotgun alongside Max, I just let my mind zone out by watching America's beauty outside the window. At some point, I stopped being aware of where I was, who I was, and was merely an observer.
That was until Kevin had to interrupt it.
He practically shoved the 'gift' I made for him back in my face. "Hey! Is this really picking up on police chatter or are you pulling one on me?"
He plucked one of his earbuds from his, incredibly waxy ears, and offered it to me. Instead of risking an infection I just unplugged the audiojack so we could hear it on speaker.
It was definitely police chatter, but what they were describing sounded like something from x-files. Not that I ever saw the show, but I knew it had aliens.
Sharing a look with Max, our attempt to have a normal summer was quickly dashed away. "Detour?"
"Detour." He confirmed as he began to make towards the exit ramp.
The historical building, one that had been turned into a hotel for various guests, was vacant. The power was completely out, no lights or life within. Despite the emptiness, the police, an ambulance, and anyone daring enough were outside to witness it.
To catch a glimpse of whatever still lurked within.
The Rust Bucket pulled up into a far parking spot, giving us a preview of the potential danger ahead.
All it needed was someone ready to intervene. Unbuckling myself, I began to try and recall if this was an episode or not and what alien would be beaten overall to combat what little I knew of what was prowling.
Max's hand caught my shoulder, the caring man's gaze still lingering on a few of the remaining bandages on my person. "Ben, you don't have to do this."
So long as I had the omnitrix, so long as I was in this body, I honestly believed that I did.
Yet again, needing to be involved Kevin wedged himself into the discussion. "Woah, wait a second! Let me go! I'll take care of that alien freak!"
Gwen scoffed, rolling her eyes as she peeked out the window. "Yeah right."
That was not the kind of reply Kevin liked. "What was that nerd? You think I can't?"
With wisdom and experience of having kids of his own, Max intervened. "Kevin, why don't we show you how we do it this time? Once we test those powers of yours and see what you can do we'll know how to best work with you for a future mission."
Taking no chances for debate or argument, I darted out of the RV before Kevin could say no. Already having speed in mind, the omnitrix followed my silent command and altered my body to become XLR8.
In less than a second I was inside the devastated lobby, the once decorative benches and couches were ripped apart, the fountain in the center still pumping water through the bleeding cracks along the base.
There were no gleaming chandeliers, only shattered glass in a darkened, empty expanse. A faint smell of iron lingered in the air, one that I feared of what it could be.
With none of my senses alerting me to what could be present other than myself, I switched to Wildmutt to gain a new perspective. Now on all fours, I took in a deep breath through the 'gills' along my neck as the world was reshaped around me.
That included confirming the odor that had turned the carpet a darker shade of red. It almost masked the scent that was clawing its way towards me.
Leaping to the side, I narrowly avoided the sharpened tendrils that snapped down towards where I was. The talons at the end of the tongues pierced the carpet as I began to perceive this threat.
It was lanky, long limbs that were bent in odd angles keeping itself routed to the ceiling. While there was hardly any heat radiating off its body, there was still plenty that remained from its victims to highlight its opened head.
I didn't recognize it, and I didn't dare turn into something with eyes that would expose me to the horror of whatever this was.
Those thorns that nearly killed me retracted back into its slimy appendages before they all coiled back into its opened maw. It hardly made any sound, even when it lunged for me.
Stepping to the side the creature landed next to me, taking the swipe of my massive paw right into its torso. The beast was sent hurtling towards a fallen bookshelf where it crashed, splintering the wood around it.
Its body was incredibly light, and at the moment stood no chance against my weight class or my keen senses and reaction.
Which is what saved me from being shot by a man behind me.
Diving to the side I escaped being roasted by a condensed beam that scorched the very spot I was at.
"A Vulpimancer?" The older voice questioned as he studied me. "Well, two aliens in one night ain't a bad thing for me."
This was, familiar. My mind's sudden grasping at old memories was distracting and almost cost me my leg as the creature attempted to lash out at me again. Using my dexterous back paw, I latched onto the tongues and yanked the creature back to me.
But those things were more slippery than I expected, pulling themselves free and slicing against my leg. Its momentum still carried it to me, where I wished to end this fight quick and easy.
With a audible roar of effort I slammed both my hands down on it, feeling a few snaps in its torso before it fell limp. The wheezing told me it was alive still, but for how much longer I couldn't say.
Just as I turned to address the other person present a piercing noise stabbed into my head. It was awful, as if my very eardrums were going to burst if I had to endure another second of it. I wanted it to stop!
STOP IT!
Then it did, a world of silence regaining itself around me. It wasn't completely devoid of sound, but compared to the agonizing pitch in my ear it was significantly better.
"Argh! Just my luck!" The man cursed as the remains of his handheld tool were nothing but scattered parts along the ground.
Not one to waste a chance I dove towards him, restraining his arms under my hefty paws as I let out a growl of warning. Taking in another whiff of the air, I could confirm that my other target was not getting up.
There was also a familiar group of three making their way inside. The two children followed loosely behind Max as he calmly walked inside, inspecting the damage and eyeing the fallen creature.
A certain odor shifted in the man as his emotions seemed to subtly bleed through his scent. Was it an emotion? I never realized Wildmutt could potentially pick up on those.
"Hey! Over here!" The man suddenly shouted from under me. "Try to get this rabid thing's attention while I-Max?!"
"Phil?"
Ohhhh, that's why this was familiar. Partially.
Max came up, hesitating as he glanced between the man and myself. "Uhh, go on. Get!"
Was he, shooing me like a bad dog? Well from what I recall Phil wasn't someone to be trusted long term almost having sent Ben to the null-void for not joining him on his scam.
Trusting in Max, I backed away with a few whines to sell the whole 'scared dog' act before rushing out the back of the building. As soon as I was out of sight, I quickly returned to my human self and ran back in to see Max helping his old partner up.
It was odd, revisiting a scene with a pair of eyes. The pale complexion of the hairless creature remained silent, taking short steady breaths as a fluid leaked from its mouth. It didn't look at all like the creature Phil should have been fighting in the show.
As for the man that I was tussling with earlier, he had to be in his fifties at least with gray sideburns and a dark dye job to desperately retain some youthful features. His suit was one I had never seen before, but given the sturdy thick materials and the several foreign gadgets making up different parts told me all I needed to know. Though I did notice that he had some intricate goggles that were hanging around his neck.
"Guess my luck didn't run dry." Phil chuckled as he and Max warmly greeted one another. "You'd never believe it Max, but I had a sonic pitch whistle to handle that Vulpimancer. I wasn't even here for it"
"Really?" Max hummed in thought, giving me an apologetic glance. "What happened?"
"It just ripped itself apart!" Phil gestured to the broken shards on the ground. "I know I wasn't the best about maintaining my gear back in the day but this was beyond a loose screw."
Yeah, that was odd. I went over to try and investigate but the man's hand stopped me from getting any closer. Phil didn't even look down towards me when he spoke up. "So Max, who are the kids?"
"These are my grandchildren. Ben and Gwen."
"And Kevin!" I quickly added in, stepping back to be next to Kevin's side. Max hadn't forgotten about him, but explaining Kevin's origins and abilities on top of why he was with us would be a headache.
"Yeah." Max accepted the cover story before one, very apparent thing was addressed.
"Grandpa?" Gwen eyed the new man who seemed very familiar with Max. "How do you two know each other?"
I chastised myself internally, because while I knew Max hadn't told us about his background yet I was already aware enough about it not to press him for it. Gwen didn't know, and between what we experienced on top of a man who was obviously making a career out of facing alien creatures treated him like an old friend….well let's just say that I haven't been doing as good of a job preparing for future episodes.
I was more focused on finding a way to get myself back home and Ben back here, if he wasn't already.
Phil was quiet, allowing Max to lead the conversation to explain or come up with a cover story. His calculating eye swept over us, lingering a little longer on the omnitrix than I was comfortable with.
"Why don't we meet somewhere, less intense?" Max offered, guiding myself and the two kids out. "Then we can talk about some things."
"Like?" Gwen pressed, seemingly more annoyed as she was probably already working out what was hidden in Max's closet.
"Sure." Phil agreed as he holstered one of his weapons before grabbing a collapsible satchel. "Let me just bag up this nightcrawler and wrap up some payment options with the manager."
Max's quick frown back towards his old partner told me that the man was already suspicious of Phil's motives. I might not have to do much here other than nudge Max towards a few key points of evidence.
Speaking of which, I tried to look back towards the bigger mystery of the night and try to determine what exactly saved me. The pieces of that tech were indeed shredded, but it was too hard to tell how in the dark lobby. I might have to come back later and-
"Pst." Kevin, always feeling a need to butt in and be involved, held something up to me. I was about to push it away and tell him 'now's not the time' until his fingers unfurled and revealed what seemed to be the largest piece from the sonic pitch whistle. "You were eyeing this a bunch. You want it?"
For once, I was happy Kevin had some rather sticky fingers.
We had been ushered back into the Rust Bucket while Phil and Max were catching up. Myself, Gwen and Kevin were all inside and maybe or maybe not attempting to listen in on their conversation.
And by listening in I was definitely Upgrade integrated with a basic camera to pick up on their whispers. To not risk being caught, Gwen and Kevin had their own earbuds plugged into the camera where they each could hear what they were talking about without needing to sit next to one another. The actual camera part of my possessed tech was displaying a better quality feed onto the laptop screen for them to see.
Why was I doing this? Well call me cautious, or curious, whatever the case I knew that I had to do this as well if I'm going to pretend I was also oblivious to Max's background.
"So I assume the kids are out of the loop?" Phil questioned as he shut the trunk of his car, where the captured alien was now residing.
"About the Plumbers?" Max scratched his chin as he glanced back towards the Rust Bucket. "Yes but, we had an encounter or two so far during the summer and they handled themselves well enough that I think it's worth it."
"I wondered, given you were ok with them waltzing in on an alien scene. You gonna make them cadets?"
"Oh no, I'm retired. That's part of why I had no intention of telling them before. Speaking of which, I'm surprised you're still in the game."
"Yeah, ever since you took down Vilgax the work just seemed to dry up." Phil's voice spoke in longing. "But it's been picking up recently, and if you think those kids can really handle it one day then maybe you and I should show them the ropes?"
"I'm trying to give them a nice, fun, relaxing vacation, not a working one. I want them to enjoy their youth while they still have it."
Gwen aggressively ripped the earbuds from her head, standing abruptly from her seat before marching off to the bunks and slamming the curtain closed.
Kevin barely acknowledged her as he turned his attention back to the screen, no, wait, my main eye on the top of it. "What's her problem?"
That was a good question, because something had been bugging her more and more and I was afraid this was becoming too much. "I'm going to find out. Stay here for a moment please."
Pulling myself out of the camera and the laptop, Kevin pouted as his little snooping show was over and I contemplated returning to human. Upgrade was the closest alien I had that was, me. Sure I wasn't a techno blob before but he sounded like me and was around the same height as I used to be. Despite the foreign body, it was closer to me than Ben.
I wanted to talk to Gwen as honestly as I could, or would allow myself.
When have I ever lied so much before? Not a direct lie but a lie of omission. A lie of Ben being gone, what my goals were, and how much of a stranger I really am to them.
Sneaking through a peak of the curtain, I saw Gwen sitting cross legged on the bottom bunk while glaring at a box violently taped closed.
"Gwen?" I said as I sat down on the bed next to her. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"No." She spat out, not exactly directed towards anything.
Awkwardly I shifted in my spot. I may have had experience with kids before but that was as an adult in a teaching position. Gwen was supposed to be family to me, one of equal age. I never had a comforting talk with any of my brothers or sisters before, this was all new to me. Luckily, I didn't have to come up with anything else because Gwen chose to speak again.
"He lied to us."
He kept a secret, but I couldn't exactly point fingers for that. "Why do you think he did that?"
"I don't know!" Gwen flailed her arms up as if that would chase away her feelings. "He wasn't protecting us, or maybe he thought he was. I thought for a second that maybe it was just you who was so good at handling aliens and this whole thing but it turns out he fought Vilgax too, and other aliens for his whole career?!"
She kicked at the box, sending it to the end of the bunk and smacking against the wall of the Rust Bucket before turning her back towards it. She solemnly looked down towards her feet, herself as her shoulders quivered slightly. "It turns out I'm just useless, that anything I do doesn't matter and-"
"No." I shut her down, because too many times I suffered the same thoughts and it took me my whole life just to start turning them away. I would not let Gwen suffer the same depressive episodes I did.
Turning back to human, I reached down to my belt loop and grabbed the music player that I had been reliant on to retain my sanity. "You picked this out with me in mind, to help me when I wasn't in a good place."
She considered it, glancing at my prize from her and almost accepting my words. "Anyone could have done that."
Scooting further onto the bed, I made Gwen look me in the eyes. "No, not everyone is as thoughtful as that. In fact hardly anyone is, not even me. You are, you pay attention, you don't miss details, and you care whether or not you like the person."
I hoped my words were easing her, Gwen seemingly pausing her self doubt as she reflected on what I had said. "I don't hate you Ben, not anymore at least. You, are a competent, good person who can handle himself when others are scared. I'm just not like that, as much as I try to be."
Her eyes flickered back to the box, and at this point I had to know what inside of it was causing her distress. Reaching over I grabbed it, making sure Gwen wasn't going to tear it away before I undid the several layers of hastily applied packing tape.
Inside of it, there were several magic items. Books, the charms, several pages of Gwen's notes, all of it making me confused. Did she give up on this? Was it too hard? In the show she seemed to take right to it, discovering spells one after another and having an aptitude no one else could hope to have.
"I tried Ben." Gwen admitted in defeat from her folded arms. "When you called out for help, I tried to track you, I tried to do something but it was all too confusing."
Setting it to the side for now, I pressed for answers. "What do you mean?"
"Well, when I thought I was searching for you, it felt like I was searching for someone else. I kept backtracking over and over looking but instead of what the book said would be the energy, or aura, whatever, of someone young and family….it kept leading me to someone else. Like, it was tangled with you but also familiar in a different way. Not to mention that weird haze around it like some kind of, living dark fog that made me feel lost every time I approached it."
I couldn't even say anything, or blink. Never before did I seriously consider telling her or Max about my situation before I had an idea on what happened. I don't even know if they would believe it, even with Gwen already pursuing a trail she didn't realize was spot on.
Yet, a sliver of hesitation gave me an excuse not to. Right now wasn't the time to share some massive secret because I needed to restore Gwen's confidence. Now knowing what she did, when she did it, I knew there had to be something that happened with her latent talent.
But, thinking back on my time fighting for my life wasn't the most fun. Some of the more notable ones were when I almost gave up, when I was beaten and worn down and on the verge of passing out.
Until…."Holy crap that was you?"
Gwen lifted her head up a little, quirking a brow towards me. "What?"
Taking a steady breath, I rewalked myself through the memories. Running, tired, afraid, angry, and lashing out like an animal with no hope of escape. "I didn't want to mention this before but, there was a point when during our prison break I had no idea how I was going to get out. Vilgax had beaten me over and over, no escape pods were left, I was hurt and running for my life with nowhere to go. At some point, I thought I was going crazy. I hardly felt like myself but then, I thought I heard someone calling for Ben. It snapped me out of it, and I was finally able to think before figuring out a way to beat Vilgax."
She skeptically looked at me, as if I was just making this up to make her feel better.
"Here." I passed the box to her, deciding to really put her to the test. "You can use that spell again, and if it points to me sitting right here next to you, that means you'll know it worked."
Hesitantly, but with a renewed fire in her, Gwen took the box and pulled out a few pages of her notes that had some very hasty scribbles on them. "Ok, one second."
She slid herself off the bunk, reaching under it she pulled out the old wooden staff with the carving of the bird head, or skull on it. "This is supposed to boost magical abilities, and since I'm new to this I thought it would help. Even though you're right here there's no harm in trying. If I really can use magic that is, or even have the right spell."
Despite her self doubt Gwen still rearranged herself to be in a meditative pose on her knees, holding the staff on her lap as she closed her eyes and whispered something.
'Ben.' She spoke to me without speaking, and I heard it with my very being.
"I hear you." I said, a smile of relief washing over Gwen as she opened her eyes.
"So, it did work." She uttered in mixed emotion, and a wider stretch of her mouth to show her glee. "Guess you're just weird."
"How so?"
"I guess it must be the omnitrix or something." Gwen got up, still holding the staff as she opened up the curtain to the rest of the RV. "You're just a knot of different energies swirling around, and that haze…I don't know what it is but it's just all around you."
She walked out, catching Kevin uselessly trying to access her laptop that was locked.
"I didn't break it!" He swore as he backed away from it. "Ben must've done it!"
Rolling her eyes, Gwen and I knew it was the fingerprint lock at work. Instead her focus went to the scavenged shard from the battle just earlier. "That haze, it's like there's some of it stuck to that."
Well, Kevin already gifted it to me so I didn't hold myself back to swiping it from the table and eyeing it. It looked, mangled, crushed by an unseen force with long scratches across the surface.
Did that other alien lash out at it? No, Phil would have mentioned it.
As soon as the man came to my thoughts Max entered inside the Rust Bucket. "Well, it's gotten awfully late. We should grab a bite to eat before finding somewhere to spend the night."
Reminded about Max and his secrets, Gwen elected not to let her moment of triumph be ruined by him and went back to reengage in her magical studies. Kevin on the other hand, was ready to act on an empty stomach.
"Hey, that place seemed real fancy. You think they would spare some room service for a few Plumbers who took out that alien?"
Max's temporarily shocked appearance only lasted a second before he glanced at the camera, mounted right where he and Phil had their conversation. Folding his arms he addressed all of us. "And how much of that did you all hear?"
How does it feel to be scared of being grounded as a man in his twenties? Weird, weirder than being able to turn into aliens.
Despite Kevin's slip up, his words managed to provoke Max into taking up on Phil's offer that neither Gwen or I heard.
Inside of the presidential suite that was given to Phil as payment for his services, we were given a wide variety of room service menu items to choose from. Now, as someone who has worked in the hotel industry I was fairly familiar with the environment and innerworkings.
That included knowing that late night kitchen staff, especially ones that are aware of a dangerous incident that happened on property, would likely not pay too close attention to what they were sending to be eaten. I double checked everything that came on that cart to make sure it was cooked thoroughly.
"Relax Ben." Phil gave a hearty pat against my back, shaking my smaller frame. "They're not gonna poison us to say thanks."
"Yeah!" Kevin quickly agreed with a mouth full of shrimp. "Chill out man!"
Those two were easily helping themselves, taking advantage of everything anyone had to offer and asking for a little more. Gwen was simply taking her fill, but I could tell she was pleased to have another normal meal to break the terror from the Rust Bucket's kitchen.
I knew Max was less accepting as myself, given how he seemed more focused on observing or asking pointed questions than eating. Was the man already suspicious of Phil? His old partner?
Well honestly sometimes you trust someone less when you know them and their habits. I could think of a few people I spent months side by side with and knew to keep an eye on them, only trusting them to do half of the things we were supposed to be doing.
"You mentioned work is picking back up." Max piped up just as the front door closed behind the hotel staff. "What kind of work have you done lately?"
"Oh? Are you interested now?" Phil was all too ready to rope Max back into Plumbing. "Is that because the youngsters caught our little conversation?"
All three of us flinched slightly as Max's displeasure came out as an audible groan, only making Phil laugh at our inevitable punishment.
"It really is becoming a handful." Phil admitted as he leaned forward with his drink. "Yesterday it was a Hyper Weasel, two days before that some Vulpimancers, which is why I even had the sonic pitch whistle on me, and last week dealt with a nasty Wigzelian Org beast."
"Huh." Max hummed in thought over the matter, giving a more critical gaze towards the man. "Sounds like our one week back at the rockies, dealing with all of those in a row."
"We dealt with all kinds of aliens then." Phil shrugged with a strange smile as he couldn't look at Max directly. "Bound to happen across a few repeats, and maybe there is some kind of pattern but a few extra eyes wouldn't hurt to look."
This was hard to watch, already knowing what kind of game was being played and what the outcome would be. I could do something, here and now but without proof I don't know if Max would accept my action against Phil.
It would also be unwarranted, in their perspective at least. I know what Phil has been doing and I know how far he's willing to go for it, but can I really sentence him to an alternate dimension for what he's done so far? Even knowing what he would try to do, can I judge him for actions I saw done in a cartoon?
I had no idea how I was supposed to handle this, and I had no one to ask for help. If I could somehow get my hands on that projector gun then at least I would deprive Phil of his means of putting people in danger for his scam. But would that fully stop him? Would he give up and pick up some other job or would he dare to find another way to somehow bring back a demand that only he could fulfill?
For now, I would just focus on that, give Phil a chance to give this up and walk away before it gets any worse.
I readied an excuse, thought even more on how exactly I would explain my next action.
"I think I'm going to get some fresh air."
I didn't say that, I was going to but then Max did. I wanted to stop him, telling to sit there for an extra minute or two while I go and make sure we can all walk away from this in peace. But before any of us could call out to him he was already out the door, and now I was on the clock to try and get what evidence I needed and intervene before Max could get to the Rust Bucket and drive off.
I ran to the door, not the front but the bathroom and slammed it behind me. It was not subtle, and it left the rest of them with unsure expressions.
"Huh." Kevin was the first to mention anything. "Didn't realize he had such a sensitive stomach."
Within the bathroom, I quickly met my first obstacle. There was no window, no way out except for one alien. I was desperate enough to use it, so holding up the omnitrix I dialed the one alien I was terrified was becoming more than I could handle.
Would I release him by accident here? Would he want vengeance or to take over my body? I knew from the beginning that I would have found a way to free him and give him a chance but I did not want to risk it now.
Time was slipping, and it forced my hand to press down the dial.
When I opened my eyes, I realized I just had the one. I was Ghostfreak, and staring into the mirror confirmed it. Once I saw myself though, or at least the alien, I pieced something together that I didn't realize earlier.
"Did you break Phil's tool?" My voice rasped, asking aloud as if I would get a response.
"Yes." A voice, exactly as my own alien one spoke in a whisper. I swiveled around, trying to find the source of it only to pause and slowly shift towards the mirror where my image did not move.
"You're welcome." He spoke again, as I felt a pressure begin to build in the back of my mind. "But I expect a proper thank you soon."
"You want to be free." I answered, getting to the point. "Who wouldn't? But I don't know how to do that yet, I'm only just now working on something to understand what exactly happened to me. Do you?"
His silence was disheartening, because despite his ability to somehow differentiate between Ben and I he was still unaware of what happened. "I'll see if freeing you first will make it easier for me to undo this, but I'm going to make you promise something while I can talk to you."
"Your time is running out." He floated closer to the mirror, that pressure swelling inside my head, burning my thoughts.
Time? TIME!
I darted through the wall, invisible and intangible as I raced down towards the mostly empty parking lot. Max was already getting in the Rust Bucket! Over to the side, I saw the old blue 1960's mustang sitting there with an alien tucked within. Dashing through the air, I peered my head into the car to see if I could spot the projector. No, not there, not in the backseat, was there a spot under the driver seat, what about-AHA!
Unlocking the glove compartment from within, I opened it so I could fully grasp the null-void projector. Pulling it out of the car, I turned back into a human as I tried to plan my next action. I gazed towards the fleeing Rust Bucket as Max was off to confirm what I already had in my very hands.
Then I heard a jingling of keys, Phil was coming.
I couldn't let him know about the omnitrix, otherwise he would likely target us because of it. Action was calling louder than thought, conflict was steadily approaching and I had to subdue it before it began.
"Ben?" Phil already spotted me through the windows of his car! "How did you…what are you doing with that?"
He was alert, Phil slowly coming around the front of his car towards me as he caught me red handed with his meal ticket. "Ben, you don't know what-"
I didn't process what he had to say, I just saw one of his hands approaching his side arm and my experience kicked in.
"Stop!" I demanded as I aimed the null-void projector right at him, finger hovering above the trigger.
His brow furrowed, the man had stopped caring that I was a child. "Ben, give me that. It's just a-"
"HANDS UP!" I demanded, finger on the trigger as I prayed I wouldn't have to fire.
Phil was still, his thoughts a mystery to me but he complied as he slowly rose his hands. His sights were on me, seeing me as an obstacle, a threat, and something else. "How did you get down here so fast?"
"Do not reach for your weapon!" I instilled the next order, assuring he wouldn't do anything hasty. I took a couple steps back just in case he decided to lunge, neither of us blinking as we stared one another down.
I had him, I didn't want to use the omnitrix but I needed Max back down here NOW!
"Ben!" Gwen's voice suddenly shouted as two pairs of footsteps came rushing towards us.
Phil's hand twitched as he thought I would have looked away at the distraction, but to his displeasure I did not. I knew the threat he posed and I would not take my sights away from him until he was properly restrained. The other two were getting closer, and he allowed his attention to waver towards them.
He was not taking a hostage on my watch.
"On your knees!" I commanded with all the authority I could, Phil sneering towards me as he complied, his hands slowly reaching behind his head.
I knew he had gadgets and I was not taking any chances here. "HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM! FINGERS SPREAD!"
That order made even Gwen and Kevin stop before they got close enough to us, the two kids completely unsure of what to do next.
"Woah Ben!" Kevin decided it was play time, and I knew he would get in the way. "We mugging this guy? Let me hold the gun and-"
"Check the car for cuffs Kevin." I had to get him to focus on something else. I couldn't let him or Gwen get close enough to Phil, the wild card, the threat to our safety.
Kevin complied, probably eager to find his own toy in the fancy car as he searched for a way in. Now I just needed a way to get Max back here.
"Gwen." I called out to the girl who seemed utterly confused. "Call Max and get him back here to help."
"O-ok." Unsure but compliant with her trust in me, Gwen got out her emergency cell phone and was quickly dialing the man, leaving Phil and I to continue our staring contest.
"You sure Max didn't train you?" Phil decided to open his mouth with a cocky smirk, planning something right in front of me. I remained quiet, not giving him anything to work with. "No, that's not how Plumbers do things. That's how some amateur cop would do it. Your daddy a cop?"
I wanted him to shut up so much, but so long as he wasn't moving anything under his mouth I had no reason to pull the trigger.
"No, Max never mentioned any of his kids being one. He was always trying to keep his kids far away from what we do. It's a shame, you're a natural."
Let him speculate all he wants, so long as he stayed there he wasn't going to do any harm.
"Or maybe not, because something tells me by the way you're watching me, holding that gun there, you know what you're doing."
Was he always this clever in the show? Or was he just making things up to try and confuse me? Either way, it didn't change our position, who had control, even if it felt like it was slipping from my grasp.
"How did you get out of the bathroom and to the car so fast?" Phil questioned again, tilting his head ever so slightly, maybe to test me, see how much I'd let him move. "It must have something to do with that watch, it's definitely alien. So familiar…You also probably know what that thing does, don't you? Max didn't tell you and I sure didn't. How do you know about it?"
My grip on the projector tightened, as if it was his very throat to keep him from saying another word. How could he determine so much from so little? Was I that obvious? Did Gwen and Max already suspect I'm not who I look like?
Who did they think I was? Who do I think I am anymore?
"Professional." Phil mockingly praised my silence. "Very professional, and maybe too professional for a kid. So just who are you?"
The headlights flashing behind Phil alerted me that the Rust Bucket was on its way back, and by its speed it was in a hurry. Kevin's head poked out the passenger window of Phil's car as Gwen was waving with one arm towards Max while still holding the phone in the other.
The lights were so bright, shining right at my face, that I couldn't react in time as Phil lunged at me. I never shot at anyone, not as a human or at a human before. My body moved back on instinct, arms shooting back and away from his reach as I hastily back peddled.
The fact that he was on his knees, and our distance already between us, allowed enough room so that his lunge was a desperate move at best and never put him close enough to reach me. It didn't matter, I had the projector and Max was here.
Running around the other side of the car while Phil was getting up from the ground, I ran for safety, for those I knew, for a chance to end this before it got worse for anyone else.
"Here!" I yelled while rushing to Max just as he hopped out of the RV. Holding up the projector I quickly gave it to the experienced, man, giving him the proof he needed.
"Max!" Phil called out to his old partner, doing his very best to salvage the situation. "That boy, he's an alien!"
Out of all the things I thought he would say, that wasn't one of them. In fact, it was so close to some other truth about me having the omnitrix that Max already knew about that he immediately dismissed it.
"Care to explain this Phil?" Max held up the projector, giving a deathly glare to his old coworker.
"Max, there are more important-"
"You abused your access to Plumber tech for what?!" Max roared, uncaring for whatever story he thought Phil was spinning. "A chance to relive the glory days?!"
"That's not true!" Phil denied, continuing to point towards me. "He just-"
"We're not talking about Ben! We're talking about you abusing the trust, the responsibility you had for decades!" Max shook the projector at him as if it were a curse. "I hoped it wasn't true, but you went too far!"
"He knows what it is!" Phil tried to cut Max off. "That boy is not who you think he is! He went looking for it, right as you left and threatened to use it on me!"
"I might use it on you if you don't hand over your clearance badge right now!" Max demanded, arming himself properly with the projector with his finger already on the trigger.
Phil was stunned, jaw hanging open as he waited for Max to say something else. "You can't be serious. Max, after all the years we worked together-"
"You think that holds anything compared to what you have been doing?!" Max was furious, more so than I had ever seen him. I always hated it when people were yelling, and it seemed to have the same impact on Gwen. Now that I saw Kevin and Gwen, both witnesses to this, both kids, I felt a need to keep them safe.
"Come on." I ushered them towards the RV, keeping Phil in the corner of my eye. "It's over."
I had made sure to keep a close eye on them, ready to go alien at any second at the first sign of trouble. That didn't happen, there was plenty of yelling, and even more threats, but Phil inevitably took off a piece of his Plumber's uniform and tossed it Max's way.
Without looking back Max got right back in the Rust Bucket, and drove off without another word. On our drive, we were all quiet as Max repeatedly shook his head, clicking his tongue, and eventually sighing to release his iron grip on the wheel. If I was tall enough to drive I would have offered to do it for him, but sometimes driving and focusing on the road helps clear someone's head.
Maybe it helped Max, given he offered to take us on such a long road trip.
Once he seemed calm enough, I spoke up from my spot next to him. I know Max didn't want to talk anymore about it, but I needed to make sure there was no way Phil had access to dangerous tech.
"You sure taking his badge was enough?" I asked.
"I already disabled his ID code." Max tapped Phil's device sitting in the cup holder. "We may have been partners but I still outranked him. No way he's getting into any Plumber base now until he's officially reinstated, which is a lot harder to do when you have that on your record."
Gwen glanced up from her magic texts from the back, apparently worrying about the whole thing herself. "Is there no one to turn him in to?"
"If there were, we'd have a lot more explaining to do." Max began to answer as he got onto the interstate, accelerating as he drove further and further away from his past. "Answers like who Kevin is, and the omnitrix sitting on Ben's wrist. Without the null-void projector or any other Plumber tech, Phil isn't going to have the same kind of resources to pull off what he did."
Then, a horrifying thought occurred to me, one I completely overlooked. "What if he follows us?"
Kevin gave out a short laugh, before a jingle was heard from his hand. "Good luck without his keys."
"What?!" I spun around, Gwen slamming her book closed as we saw in Kevin's very hand the keys to his car.
So we were back on the road, an endless summer road trip with Max behind the wheel letting us in on his past exploits, Gwen reinvigorated to make use of the magical knowledge before her, Kevin finding his place in a world he didn't want to be in, and I was left to figure out just one thing.
How did I get here?
It's been a while since I updated this story, but I'm getting back into the writing mood and I hope that this lives up to your expectations. Ghostfreak is starting to hold more influence the longer time goes on, but his intentions are still unknown. Kevin is a little hard to write as I can't switch his personality too fast but he will need to adjust to living with the Tennysons and their morality. I know I put off Gwen learning magic for a little while despite her having so many tools at her disposal already. Hopefully this chapter shows why she was hesitant.
Lastly, Phil's situation. I thought long and hard about just how to handle him because honestly, taking away the projector was the simple solution but what consequence should he have had afterwards? Banishing him to the null-void is one thing if it's self defense at the moment, but to do so after he's already been deprived of the means for him to cause more danger? It seemed like too much.
But whether or not letting Phil roam free (albeit without a full plumber arsenal) was the better choice or not, they'll have to learn over time to see if Phil really did give up.
Things are changing, canon events drifting farther away as SI-Ben's influence begins to spin a new story that was not featured on TV. His foreknowledge will only carry him so far.
No content from Alien Force, Ultimate Alien, Omniverse, or reboot will be used. That includes aliens, abilities, plot points, lore, and just about anything not seen in the OG show.
Murderleo: While it could be inferred that energy and DNA absorption could drive Kevin to insanity, that's mostly because of the context in Alien Force/Ultimate Alien. Kevin in OG series was a psycho with or without the extra juice.
Yeah, there's a lot for me to decide how to handle Ben 10,000.
As for future Vilgax moments, I can't say I have anything solid planned.
Reaching for something on your back can be a struggle, and for some impossible because their arms just don't bend that far. It's like trying to reach the back pocket of a backpack you're wearing without taking it off.
GhostFang GF: I am in agreement that SI-Ben is shaken up about his encounter, but as for confirmed PTSD SI-Ben won't have it, at least not from that. Ben never seemed to develop it in the show, despite several moments that would warrant it. While it is a cartoon, there's also people who simply don't get it even if they've been through several harsh moments.
SI-Ben is already dealing with a major identity crisis, I don't think I need to throw PTSD on top of that.
Hmmmm, gadgets from Gray Matter is very tempting. I might explore that in the future once SI-Ben finishes his main project.
Yep, Kevin is serving the annoying gross child that Ben was supposed to be. Though Kevin is going to be cranked up a little given his criminal tendencies.
I do have plans for the Ben 10,000 episode, and they are very detailed. If Si-Ben gets PTSD from anything it will be then. But that's all I can say :P
As for the Vilgax finger….be quiet or you'll spoil the story. Haha just kidding, unless 0-0
I've considered some OC characters, and given what's happened to some of the villains that SI-Ben encountered that are supposed to be recurring, perhaps I should think of adding some.
Thank you for your questions, comments, and general thoughts. You engaging with this story is honestly one of the driving factors that brings me back to work on it despite the low popularity.
Theeelderman: You mentioned plot holes, but the things you've stated are not examples of plot holes. The comment about 'not being able to survive in space' came from SI-Ben simply bringing into question whether or not he had a form that could. A person's perspective is not the grounding force for reality. Also, you say that Master Control isn't that easy to unlock but guess how Ben did it? Inputting codes into the omnitrix at random. So yeah, it can be that easy.
Chronosign: Dang, you make me want to go back and have SI-Ben actually mention his name to Vilgax so he would scream "TENNYSON" at the end, but also suddenly he connects that the person who has the omnitrix is related to Max Tennyson.
stormsyaf: Thanks! Hopefully you'll continue to like where this story goes!
dtonebu: Hopefully the wait wasn't too long because here's one now.