Chapter 5 - Chapter 5 - Divide and conquer

Chapter 5[br]
[br]
Divide and conquer[br]
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The first thing she comprehended from the outside world was the rain. The cold raindrops fell on her face, and refreshed her a little. But then the pain assaulted her nerves immediately and she let her mind sink in the ocean of misery. After she fainted again, she only had a few memories of what happened, only random images of events. She remembered, a blurry shadow towered upon her, but did not know its intentions. Lantara felt, that somebody carries her somewhere, but the darkness came again and blinded her sight… [br]
[br]
Gwendolyn Tennyson startled out of her sleep. At the moment she woke up, her senses recognized that Ben wasn’t there. The thoughts chased each other in her mind. What happened to him? Where can he be? Why did he leave me? Is he all right?[br]
Outside, the first rays of the sun just appeared on the horizon. She dressed up and got out of the Rustbucket. Her feelings were mixed, she was angry and disappointed at the same time, she felt betrayed and abandoned, however she knew Ben must have had a good reason for leaving her all alone. But what? What makes him leave the only relative and ally he got? Mysterious… Or some alien captured him? Dark riddles… How it’s going to be from now on? What should I do? Where should I go? For a very long time, Ben was always there to answer these questions, and Gwen gladly followed him. But she was on her own now. [br]
She observed the desolate land around her. Not a single tree broke the dull view. Her eyes found the place where once the pride Omni-Tower stood. Perhaps there are survivors… Maybe the situation isn’t so hopeless after all. Gwen made up her mind, and prepared to go back and seek for survivors, or their trace. The determination gave her new strength and enthusiasm. [br]
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A white stripe whooshed on the lonely road, the dust seethed behind it. Suddenly, Xlr8 stopped. He has been running around the continent for days now, and still has not found any sign of life. It seemed, the whole world is extinct, the just infinite barren remained, every direction he looked. There were some debris, wrecks and ruins, but no life at all. The aliens did not show themselves. With a green flash, Xlr8 turned into Ben again. He was quite exhausted and wanted to give up his search. After he defeated Kevin in New York, he lost his trace years ago. At that time, he used to think he finally got rid of his nemesis once and for all, and freed the world from his evil reign of terror. Little did he knew, Kevin teamed up with Ghostfreak… They literally teamed up, as the ectonurite merged with Kevin and Kevin stopped being that psychopathic maniac he was, Ghostfreak rational and cruel mind corrected his wrongs. He won’t make the same mistake twice. Ben could see the logic now. It’s been all set up. Every battle was a part of a much bigger plan. The true purpose of these confrontations were not to destroy mankind, but to weaken his forces and eliminate Ben himself, neutralizing the menace he meant for GhostKevin, by chaining him to the colony, to play the role of the protector and the shield. How foolish was I! – thought Ben[br]
He set down to the bare pavement. He didn’t have to worry about a car that would run over him; those kinds of vehicles are out of traffic very long ago. He enjoyed the ground’s coldness as it refreshed his body in the hot desert sunshine. Suddenly, the recognition struck his mind. Where would be the most difficult point to locate without modern technology? The Nevada desert is huge and it’s climate is very unfriendly as well. What major cities were in the desert? He thought about it for a few minutes. [br]
- Of course! - Ben exclaimed out loud. – Las Vegas! [br]
He was certain, that his theory was right, he checked every single mile on the East and the West Cost, but to no avail. Last time, Kevin’s headquarters was in New York, a city near the ocean. Now, he’s chosen the opposite, a city in the desert. It all makes sense! He went Xlr8 again and stormed out with renewed strength. He knew, when he arrives at his destination, he will show no mercy this time. Mercy held back his hand before, and that was a mistake. Villains like Kevin and Ghostfreak do not deserve to earn it. Both of them must be destroyed![br]
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Lantara came to. She opened her eyes and looked around, but the surroundings were unfamiliar to her. She was in a room, filled with interesting, mysterious relics; most of them were strongly connected to religion or magic. Since she’s been roving around in the galaxy with Ben, he told her much about Earth, and its people, that’s why she could recognize some of the symbols. As an ectoplasma-based being, she knew something about positive and negative energies, and dark magic. The second thing she realized, her pain was gone. Well, not exactly, but it was merely a leaden ache. Her tentacles were not out anymore, but she couldn’t open her chest and reach her full potential. The muscle needs more time to cure. As she examined her body, looking for other injuries, she sensed someone’s watching her. She rapidly turned around and braced herself to fight. [br]
- Take it easy! You’re safe now! - said a melodic, however sad feminine voice. Lantara let her arms down and looked at the woman more carefully. She had white skin, long, dark bluish hair, same blue eyes, and she was wearing a black outfit with a blue cape which matched her hair color.[br]
- Who are you? Where am I? – asked Lantara.[br]
- You’re welcome for saving your life… - replied the woman apathetically. [br]
Lantara blinked in surprise by the calm, but determined answer.[br]
- I’m sorry. I did not wish to hurt you. These years of battle made my words harsh. Forgive me. My name is Lantara.[br]
- Never mind. I’m Raven. [br]
- Raven? Hmm… Sounds familiar… I think I heard your name before…[br]
- Maybe. Once, I was much more popular than nowadays… - wondered Raven. – So, what alien race are you from? I’ve never seen alike among those hordes, and I’ve seen many…[br]
- I’m an ectonurite. My home planet is Anur Phaetos. – explained Lantara. – You fought against the Null Void aliens?[br]
- I used to. But that was long ago. Now, I have nothing to do with them, until they come here. – answered Raven.[br]
- Why did you not continue? [br]
- It’s a long story. I don’t want to bore you. You can stay here until your injuries heal. – patted Raven, and wanted to leave the room. [br]
- Wait! Don’t you think we have more than enough time to speak? - smiled the ectonurite.[br]
- I’m not very a talkative person… - said Raven.[br]
- Okay, if you don’t want to speak about it, fine. – replied Lantara and put her arms together. At first, her host looked at her with a questioning expression, eventually Raven caved in. [br]
- Very well then. Please be forbearing, telling stories is my worst skill. - Raven began. [br]
Lantara bowed understandingly, and listened to this mysterious woman’s story. [br]
- Once, I was a part of a great team. We called ourselves the Teen Titans and we did heroic deeds all around the world. My teammates became my friends and I finally found a place to be, where nobody looks at me freaked out because of my strange powers. Everything was perfect…Then he came... and destroyed everything that was important for me. More and more alien villain showed up and began to take over the cities. In the last battle, we marched desperately against the gatecrashers. We fought till our last breaths, but even that sacrifice was not enough to overtake them. We were outnumbered and eventually defeated. All my teammates were gone that day, I was the only survivor. My heart, my mind, even my body were jaded and broken. After I managed to work off the bereavement, I decided to leave the battlefield, and exile to a lonely place, to never see anything else again. I made a vow as well, that I shall never use my powers to bring destruction upon anyone. I’ve lived here ever since. You’re the first person I’ve seen in years… - Raven’s visage lost in the nothingness. Lantara waited silently for her to carry on.[br]
- I was on my search to supplement my comestible, when I recognized the smoke on the horizon. It was really far away, but since I did not have anything better to do, I checked it out. I flew for one day and night, until I reached the source of the smoke, but when I arrived, there was nothing left… Then I noticed you on the ground. I’ve taken you to my home, and here we are. – Raven finished.[br]
- I know how you feel, my story is very familiar. I too lost someone who was very important for me. But I believe, he’s out somewhere and waits for me to rejoin him. [br]
- I don’t believe in miracles, I never did. – answered Raven. Her voice was still veiled, as the effect of the reminiscing.[br]
- You should. He did a lot of miracles.[br]
- The omnitrix. - Raven declared. Lantara’s eyes grew large.[br]
- How do you know about the omnitrix?[br]
- Just because I’m a recluse, it doesn’t mean I know nothing about the world. I know his name is Ben Tennyson, I know he got the omnitrix when he was ten; I know he killed Ben’s grandfather, and Ben left the planet for eight years! I know everything about him… because I’d even break my vow to strike him down![br]
- What?! You’re carrying a grudge against him? [br]
- Yes. However, our paths have not crossed each other yet, according to my analysis, he’s responsible for everything what happened to the world. Not only him of course; the true enemy is he, the amalgam creature… But… as a hero, Ben 10 should have halted his rampage! He was more than capable! [br]
- How can you even say that? He was only 10 years old! A child! – shouted Lantara.[br]
- Hah… He wasn’t much older than Ben! Besides, I was younger, when I had to use my powers! Ben had nine times more power than me and my team had! He must have been able to stop him. But he was not here to do it. And that’s why I blame him. He let his own kind down, on purpose or not, it doesn’t matter. We could not stand a chance by ourselves, but if he would have been here, our teams could unite and he would have been defeated, before he could ever release those alien villains from that dimension! – hissed Raven, and her eyes filled with hatred. Behind her, a black aura surrounded a vase, and a second later, it broke into hundreds of pieces. Raven looked at her fist, and then surprise and shame replaced the hatred’s distorted mask on her face.[br]
- I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have seen this. My powers are driven by my emotions… and sometimes I cannot control them. – explained Raven and suddenly disappeared with a black flash.[br]
Lantara just gazed the place where Raven stood a moment before, and decided not to mention her connection with [br]
Ben 10 000.[br]
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A red zap broke the silence of the desolate land. Soon it was followed by many others. On the screen of the robotic guards, a lightning shape appeared. It always evaded their blasts rapidly. [br]
Xlr8 jumped up in the air, when two drones shot two lasers from the opposite directions. The blasts did not harm him, but the robots destroyed each other. There were three more. As Xlr8 was still in the air, he changed into Cannonbolt, and fell upon a drone, smashing it completely. The two other - not having any other weapons – shot dozens of laser beams, but all were reflected by Cannonbolt’s armor. He stepped on the ruins of the previous drone and rolled up in a ball. He began to bounce around the place, and managed to strike down another robot. The last one hopelessly tried to shoot him, but when Cannonbolt changed into Fourarms, and his four fists struck at the same time, the drone was gone. But one of the machines was still active. As the tetramand walked towards the former city of Las Vegas, the drone raised its arm and wanted to fire him in the back. A second before, Eye Guy appeared from the green flash. An eye opened on his back, and without stopping, he fired a green energy beam, which set the robot in flames. He approached the city, and there was no sign of any other guards. Suddenly, three Stinkfly showed on the horizon. They all spat slime balls, but could not strike Ben, who transformed into Shockwave, and clapped his paws. The shockwave brought down a Stinkfly, but the other two avoided it. Ben’s mind remained cold and calm, precise and merciless. He went Brainstorm. The green aura of his mind torn out a few water pipes from the ground and a powerful spout rendered the Stinkflies useless. Brainstorm continued his march into the heart of the city. Before he could enter, a brown, tall and muscular, dinosaur like creature stood in his way. Ben reacted fast, knowing that Brainstorm is not mighty enough to stand up against this beast, so he thought of Diamondhead, and a moment later, the omnitrix formed the crystalline petrosapien body around him. He shot a few crystals from his palm, and as they flew towards the beast, they grew sharp spikes all around them; however, they broke apart on the alien’s skin ineffectively. Seeing this, Diamondhead became Heatblast and created a massive curtain of fire. After the smoke cleared up, the beast still stood there unharmed. Suddenly it raised its fists and punched the pyronite in the face. He flew way back. He stood up, rubbing his fiery face. [br]
- All right big guy! You wanna see a really big alien? – asked Heatblast, right before the omnitrix flashed. The creature ran towards him, but when he recognized Way Big, as he almost blocked out the sun, it stopped. Ben thought he will just carry on, tear Kevin out of his nest and crush him, but the brown beast began to grow as well. It just grew and grew until its size matched Way Big’s.[br]
- Oh man, you don’t make my work easier, do you? – sighed Way Big and hit the beast in the chest. Except a few steps back, the creature did not fall, but attacked Ben instead. No matter how hard they tried, they could not overcome the other. It was like a huge wrestling match, as fist distended to fist, body distended to body. Suddenly, the brown alien struck the omni-symbol on Way Big’s chest. He immediately disappeared in a red flash. Only Ben remained. The omnitrix turned yellow, and Ben could not make it to work. Realizing this, the huge beast wanted to stomp him, but he evaded with Xlr8’s speed. He knew even Fourarms’s strength would not be enough to succeed. He was about to escape, when the watch turned green again, and a beast icon appeared on the screen. [br]
- Oh, cool, new member. I shall call you… Humangousaur! – Smiled Ben and he thought of the alien. The omnitrix transformed him into the same creature he was up against. Ben’s opponent drew back in surprise when Humangousaur grew up, to match its size. Ben knew exactly the powers and the limits of this creature, and with a few well planned punches, he defeated the beast. Certain of his triumph, Humangousaur shrank, and reverted to Ben.[br]
- Wow, that was cool, but know let’s insist on the old school style! – exclaimed he, when a larger group of different aliens surrounded him. The omnitrix flashed once again… [br]
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GhostKevin heard the sounds of the battle outside, however he sensed that Ben was near hours ago. He allowed himself a satisfied grin. Well, well, well, my plan is right on schedule, and working perfectly… again. - He thought. Indeed, he predicted that Ben will reveal his whereabouts, and he also knew he will not resist the temptation to confront him once more. Whatever the prize, he wants to fight him, GhostKevin so bad, that even all those aliens among them won’t stand in his way. But that was a calculated loss. GhostKevin did not care about it. When Ben shows his face here, he’s going to have a big surprise.[br]
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Meanwhile, Gwen arrived to her destination. Around her, there were only destruction and death. She began to examine the area, looking for footprints, a piece of garment, any sign of life. It was very difficult to recognize anything in the dust, among the debris, but she did not give it up. Eventually, her effort was successful; she found a hole in the biggest pile of debris and rocks, which was once the Omni-Tower. As she continued the search, she discovered other footprints as well.[br]
- Somebody lied here… - said she to herself, and touched the ground. She followed the traces with her fingers. [br]
- Interesting. Someone else was here… But the footprints start here… and a few feet farther, they stop again… Hmm… that certain someone must possess the power of flight, there’s no other logical explanation for these strange kinds of tracks. – Gwen stood up and rubbed her head. Only then she recognized the black gore drops on the ground. [br]
- Lantara… - exclaimed she. – This means she’s still might be alive![br]
Near the hole there were more blood, and they led somewhere. Gwen flew up and followed the trace.[br]
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Ben was still fighting, at the moment he was Wildvine. He’s been doing that four hours now, switching from one alien form into another, and he surprised, because it wasn’t exhausting as well. A mud creature ran towards him. Wildvine threw a few explosive seeds at it, but they only cut holes, which immediately healed. The omnitrix flashed, and Heatblast boiled his opponent with a fire beam. From his other hand, dozens of Diamondhead crystals fell on the attacking aliens. Soon, Ben changed into Spiderweb. He shot elastic, but strong webs from his six hands, and captured six creatures in a cocoon. Suddenly, more and more alien surrounded him, and he had to convert into Stinkfly to avoid them. When he was in the air, his legs became fiery, like Heatblast and dozens of fireballs fell upon the attackers, tumbling their lines. Ben even boosted the effect, by spitting some goo, which instantly exploded when it reached the fire. As soon as he finished off a group, another one appeared to take the fallen one’s place. Ben transformed into Humangosaur again, and while he was falling down, his body grew and smashed the alien hordes below, when hit the ground. The newest alien of the omnitrix remained unharmed, and went Artiquana. The icy waft, coming from his mouth froze the survivors. But it was still not over. The aliens kept coming and coming. A large orcbeast wanted to strike him, but he disappeared, and the tiny Grey Matter easily slipped off its hands. He jumped behind the creature, turning into Fourarms. The tetramand struck the best’s back and it was finished. Recognizing a new threat, he went Spitter and his flood of slime halted a bigger werewolf. Suddenly, a blue laser forced him to the ground. Its source was a machine. It was a battle-bot, the type the Plumbers used back then. Spitter converted into Mudface, a mud alien, like the ones Ben used to fight, when he was young. The liquid mud flooded the circuitry inside, and rendered the drone useless. Mudface went Buzzshock. Another robot grabbed him. Its plan was to crush the little megawhatt. But Buzzshock turned into electricity, and shinned up on the machine’s arm. A second later its processors were all burnt out. Suddenly, - after a green flash -the drone’s chest broke apart, and Wildmutt jumped out of it. He began to climb up on the nearest wall, but a vicious flourana’s fringe coiled around his body and brought him down. Wildmutt struggled to free himself, but the tentacles were strong. He quickly changed into Heatblast. As the pyronite’s fiery body touched the green fringes, they turned black and began to smoke. The flourana screamed in pain and retreated. Heatblast grinned sent a fireball after it, and the plant was consumed by the flames. His enemies slowly drew back, as Ben vanquished them one by one. However, he figured that only the smaller, less powerful and animalistic creatures were attacking, the more intelligent life forms did not show themselves. Ben found that strange and suspected a trap. The events seemed to confirm his theory, when the alien mass began to pile out from every corner of the city. No matter how mighty he was, Ben could not oppose them. He transformed into Stinkfly and flew up, just when the closest aliens wanted to tear him apart. Suddenly, a purple electric beam struck him. With a red flash, he reverted to Ben and fell down unconsciously. The alien hordes below him stood aside and let him hit the ground.[br]
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Dr. Vicktor was standing on the top of a higher building and observed the battle. He couldn’t believe his eyes, when Tennyson began to overwhelm the alien hordes. He did not even expect him to last this long. He gave the command for the “SixSix-aliens” to start the final wave. This offensive involved every single alien of the continent. They were summoned telepathically by GhostKevin and camouflaged under the defense of the Reflection Generator’s dome, which made them invisible. When the aliens flooded the city, Tennyson had no chance, but he discovered the true aim of this battle, and wanted to escape from the trap too early. Fortunately, he flew towards him, Dr. Vicktor, and he managed to strike Ben down. He jumped off the building and walked to Ben who was just coming to. [br]
- You have been a thorn in our sight long enough, Ben Tennyson! – smiled Dr. Vicktor devilishly and his electric beam knocked Ben out again.[br]
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Gwen followed the trace doggedly; the black gouts led her closer and closer to Lantara’s location. Suddenly, she needed to stop. A feeling took over her soul, a feeling of a loss. She immediately knew, something bad happened, and the first word came to her mind was…[br]
- Ben… - she sighed. – I need to find Lantara as soon as possible…[br]
She took a few steps forward, and realized in horror, that the path of drops stopped there. Without any guide through the flat and monotonous landscape, she was lost. She wondered the barren for days; her sense of locality completely abandoned her. The time slurred, and she didn’t know the way out from this nightmare. At first, Gwen began to panic, but then forced herself to calm down. Her mind cleared up and searched for an alternative. Suddenly, a blurry image appeared in her mind’s eye. It happened only a few days back, but it seemed ages for Gwen. When there were gouts to guide her, she tripped over a rock and fell on the ground. Perhaps some blood left on my clothes… - she thought. Soon, her palm touched something harsh on her leg. Her eyes grew large, even she could not believe in her own success. You’re not done yet! – warned herself Gwen. She wasn’t sure, if she’s able to locate someone like this. She concentrated and focused her powers on Lantara. After a deep trance, Gwen came to. As she looked around once again, the labyrinth of the desolate land looked more perspicuous. It all made sense; she suddenly knew which direction she should go. [br]
Gwendolyn Tennyson flew up with revived enthusiasm, and certain of the fact: she has roved too far, and have a long journey to complete.[br]
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Lantara’s condition improved a lot, since Raven took care of her. Despite how grateful she was, she was more and more certain, that Raven lost her mind a bit. The ectonurite did not blame or fear, but understood her. All these years all alone with her demons, nobody to speak with, just the boggles of the past chased each other in her mind. [br]
Sometimes Raven was very chatty, she told many things about herself and her strange powers, especially her former team, and Lantara proved to be a good listener. On these days, Raven enjoyed the freedom of speech and the alien let her speak, knowing she held her words back long enough. She also had a huge thirst of knowledge and asked Lantara to tell everything about herself. The ectonurite gladly agreed, and spoke about her natural abilities, her home planet, her journey to the most different corners of the universe, and what she have seen there. The only thing she kept as a secret was her relationship with Benjamin Tennyson. [br]
Sometimes, Raven switched the topics of the conversation very fast; it was difficult to follow her. Another time, she was grim and reserved; built a fortress in her head, locked herself in, and did not let anyone approach her; however one thing was the same in every day: They spent the mornings together. Raven taught Lantara how to meditate and expand her powers. She became capable of moving things with her mind and acquired the ability to comprehend emotions and calculate intentions according to them. The ectonurite showed Raven how to phase through solid objects perfectly, because she had some problems with that in the past. She also taught her how to free the innermost energy of deep within her soul, to add more power to the strike; however Raven emphasized that she sware not to use her powers for fighting again. Despite all the mysterious, unknown things which surrounded Raven, Lantara took a fancy of her, but she acknowledged to herself, that she wouldn’t want to meet her in a dark alley. As her injuries all healed, Lantara’s instincts exhorted her to go and find Ben, if it’s not too late already. She knew she wasted too much time here, but the other side of her personality did not wish to leave Raven alone again. Nevertheless, the ectonurite could not prolong the inevitable moment.[br]
- Raven. I need to go. – said Lantara after a morning meditation. [br]
- What? Why? I thought you like it here… - surprised the woman.[br]
- Yes, it’s not your fault, but I have to go… [br]
- I understand. Well, you’re free to go. – replied Raven and flinched till a shadow covered her features. [br]
- Come with me! – offered Lantara. [br]
- What? – asked Raven. Her blue eyes doggedly raked the alien.[br]
- Come with me! You don’t have to live alone anymore! Come with me! – repeated Lantara.[br]
- Go with you into a world where there’s war, suffering and death, all the things I escaped from. – declared Raven.[br]
- Yes. But you cannot hide from your demons any longer. You may escape, but they will find you and continue to haunt you! [br]
- Who do you think you are? I like you, but nobody has the right to judge me! Nobody!!! – exclaimed Raven. Her black aura coiled around the door, and it opened. [br]
- I do not want to judge you. I just want to help you. – answered Lantara and floated out. – If you ever change your mind… You’ll find me.[br]
- Yes…[br]
Raven stared at her from inside, and the door closed behind Lantara. The alien drifted away, and soon disappeared on the horizon. Now, that the ectonurite has left and she was alone with the specters she mentioned. Raven was torn between her feelings. At the very first moment she met Lantara, she comprehended a fragmentary thought of her mind, and it said Ben. Since then she knew, that Lantara is connected with Ben 10 000 somehow. Now there’s the chance to settle the score with Tennyson, to make him pay because of his irresponsibility, which destroyed the whole planet! He possessed the abilities of nearly twenty powerful alien at the time, but he left Earth cowardly. Maybe it’s not only his fault, but there must be a scapegoat, someone she can vent on, to fill out the cold, dark space, to the get rid of the fury, which consumes her soul, and leaves nothing but pain, the fury she feels because of the loss of her friends. The fury she feels because this man takes away the only person who’s familiar to her, who understood her… well, the second person in fact…She knew it was a twisted point of view, but she could not help it. Suddenly, her eyes went red under the cowl, and her face distorted into an evil grin.[br]
- I wonder if you’re afraid of the dark, Tennyson… One thing’s sure… when I’m done, you will be.[br]
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