Chapter 2 - Chapter 2 - Forebodings

Chapter 2



Forebodings



There was a perfect view to any direction from the Omni-Tower. Ben 10 000 stood at the top of the building, examining the landscape. He turned to West, and saw a great plain; the aliens did an excellent job there. But if he looked to the East, there was the city, which he saved. It was only eight years ago! This time seemed like a whole millennium for Ben.
When he first came here, most of the city was in ruins. He encountered a group of survivors; they went underground after Kevin released the alien criminals from the Null Void. A few years later, Ben finally defeated him and started to rebuild our world. They thought the alien terror would stop, since their leader was not in charge anymore, but they were wrong.
The aliens spread out from the middle of the continent and made random attacks against the few surviving settlements. Ben knew they will discover this place some day, therefore the remaining survivors began to surround about half of the city with a powerful line of defense.
It was not an easy task, but with the help of Gwen, Lantara, Tetrax and of course the omnitrix, the wall completed in two years. Most of it was impenetrable for the monsters, but still had a few weak points. Suddenly Gwen came out with a solution. They needed an observation post, to prepare for an alien offensive in time. The plans of the Omni-Tower saw the light of the day a few months later. Since no architect left, Grey Matter’s smart was a major help during the construction. It took another two years to build the tower, even with Ben’s arsenal of aliens. When they finished it, the Omni-Tower was the highest building in the city, with its twenty stories. The first three stories were filled with heavy artillery equipments, because the creatures attacked mostly from the ground. The higher levels were storages, observant posts and personal rooms. Fortunately, they have not seen a lot of aliens, by that time, there were only a few weaker attacks, they could keep them back easily. The colony began to accrue under Ben’s protection. But things have changed. The Omni-Tower guarded them for five years, when the first bigger horde appeared. That was the first serious and intensive battle, and the test of the fortress. Lucky for them, the tower passed, and held the enemy back, however some improvements were required. They strengthened the walls with a mixture of petrosapien crystals and ectoplasmic material. It wasn’t so stylish, but quite effective, not even Lantara could phase through the walls. As the months passed by, the aliens attacked more and more often, and they grew stronger after every battle. At first, Ben didn’t recognize that they were too organized for an alien horde...
- Ben? – accosted him Gwen. Her voice dragged Ben out of the reminiscence.
- Yes?
- We need to talk. – declared Gwen.
- Okay. – replied Ben.
- I’m worried about you.
- What are mean? – asked the man.
- I can feel, there’s something wrong with you... Inside of you... You’re alone too much... Now, that Tetrax is gone, I thought you might need some company. It’s awful when you’re on your own...
- Yeah... I still cannot believe, he’s no more... But I’m fine... just... weary from battle... It goes nowhere... There’s no purpose! I’m not sure what am I fighting for... – he left long pauses in his speech.
- Look at all this! – said Gwen and pointed to the colony below them. - If you still say, you truly believe that...
- No... But sometimes it’s very difficult to carry so much weight on my shoulders... – sighed Ben.
- Would you like to talk about it? – asked Gwen.
- I can handle it. – answered Ben and glanced on the omnitrix.
- If you feel chatty, you know you can always count on me... – smiled Gwen. Suddenly, Ben hugged her. She surprised first, but a moment later, she returned the hug. They sat on the roof like this for minutes. Then he released her.
- Thank you, Gwen. – said Ben.
- You’ll always be my doofus cousin! – smiled she and touched his face. – Will you come down for supper?
- Sure! – replied Ben and watched her, until she disappeared in the hatchway. Then he turned to West, where the aliens always came from.
- This must end... – whispered he.
Driven by a sudden idea, he jumped off the roof. As he was falling down, a pair of Stinkfly wings grew on his back. He flew above the city, watching the small lights of the houses. He let the evening wind fondle his face. He enjoyed flying, since he mastered Powersource’s amalgamating skills. He didn’t have to turn into Stinkfly, if he wanted to fly, his wings were more than enough for this purpose. He just had to think of it, and it was already on his back. Suddenly, an icy waft struck him. It was accompanied by a familiar dread. A few seconds later, the emotion was gone, so as the cold wind. Ben landed. When he touched the ground, the Stinkfly wings disappeared. He was puzzled by this feeling, and didn’t know the reason of it. As he stood on the street, he recognized more and more curious heads in the windows. Mostly they were children; Ben’s presence got their attention. He’s not used to show up among the people for a long time. The searching eyes frustrated him, so he changed into Xlr8 and rushed back to his tower. When he stepped inside the cafeteria, Gwen was just about to serve the dinner.
- You almost missed the supper. – said Gwen and put a plate full of delicious food in front of her cousin.
- Yeah, but Xlr8 saved the day. – smiled Ben nervously; he was still under the effects of the sinister feeling he had experienced. Everyone ate quietly, when finished; the men went back to their posts. Eventually, Ben and Gwen remained alone in the room. They sat beside each other. Gwen waited for his cousin to say something; she recognized the disturbance in his eyes before. After a few minutes, Ben broke the silence and told her about his strange experience.
- Hmm. Are you sure, this feeling weighed on your mind? – asked the woman.
- Yes, however it was so familiar... I’m pretty sure I felt that before... – replied Ben.
- In someone’s presence?
- Exactly. The only problem is, I can’t figure out who aroused these emotions...
- Okay. Tomorrow you will take me to the place, where you felt this, right? Perhaps I’ll be able to track its source down, if it exists. – offered Gwen.
- Sounds good to me. Yeah, you have improved a lot with your magical stuff... – agreed Ben.

The next day, Ben guided his cousin to the place.
- Are you sure this is it? – asked Gwen.
- No, it was up in the air... – answered Ben.
- Oh, right. – smiled Gwen and flew up. The man followed her example, but he transformed into Brainstorm.
- You might need some telepathic backup. – explained the alien.
- Good idea. - Gwen closed her eyes and thought of some spells. When she opened them again, her visage had a purple glowing.
- Connect your senses to mine! – requested the woman. Brainstorm did as she commanded.
- Grab my hand! We need each other’s energy to expand our thought waves to the whole planet.
- Is that really possible? – surprised Brainstorm.
- Of course! It’s magic.... Now, concentrate! – exclaimed Gwen. They were floating in the air, holding each other’s hand.
- I think I got something... something cold... – she stammered and turned to the West.
- Yes... I feel it too... – replied Brainstorm.

Meanwhile, in the former town of Las Vegas...
- What?! The Omni-Tower still stands?! – shouted the dark, sinister shadow. Even his voice was dreadful, it sounded like two different, raspy voices would speak together.
- It wasn’t our fault, my lord! One of the rebels sacrificed himself, and imploded the only entrance to the building. – replied another creature, who’s features were not less horrifying, than his master’s.
- I don’t care about your pathetic excuses! I’ve freed you from the Null Void, and this is how you return the favor? – roared the shadow and grabbed the creatures neck.
- Please, my lord! Forgive me! It won’t happen again! – begged the creature in a dying voice.
- I know. This was your last failure! – hissed the shadow, strangled the alien and dropped its dead body on the ground.
- Dr. Vicktor! – summoned the mysterious shadow.
- Yes, master!
- You’re in charge now!
- Thank you, master! – replied the minion gratefully.
- I want that tower destroyed, at any cost! - Suddenly, the shadow moaned painfully.
- What is it master? – asked Dr. Vicktor.
- Aaahhh! Someone’s trying to reach my mind! Tennyson... You have no idea who you’re dealing with this time! – laughed the specter.

- I feel something... it’s cold... – mumbled Gwen, but she couldn’t finish her sentence, a concentrated telepathic zap struck her mind. She fell down, luckily Brainstorm managed to catch her. She opened her eyes.
- What was that? – asked Ben.
- I don’t know... but it’s evil... I’ve never felt alike... It’s pure evil... – and she lost her consciousness again.

You are not authorized to comment here. Your must be registered and logged in to comment