Ben 10 GL:TAS Queens of the Ram Ch 9

Chapter 9 - The Master plan

Plumber Base - Detention Level 7

Gwen felt fatigue trying to settle on her. She had managed to scan every Plumber on the base for any sign of Nano chip infection using one of her spells to get the task done quickly, but it had also exhausted her. Kevin and Razor wanted her to take a break for a little while. After all, she had pressed Razor to use one of the Plumber barracks to get some rest.

Instead Gwen insisted this crisis gave no time for a nap. They went to the mess hall so she could get her favorite drink to help her focus and then they headed back to the detention levels.

The strong curious smell of Gwen's beverage made Razor ask what it contained.

"It's a double espresso mocha latte," Gwen said between sips. "Extra strong coffee, chocolate and milk. I drink this when I'm cramming for exams at college."

"Oh," Razer said. "Hal used to say one of the hardest things about being out on frontier space was missing something called coffee."

"Deep space," Kevin stated. "Trillions of worlds. Not one espresso bar."

The elevator arrived at detention level 7. As the three of them stepped out, Razer looked around at the dozens of cells lining the walls like honeycombs. He noticed a familiar looking teenage human standing at the threshold of one of them. He looked exactly like Ben only his hair was frost white and he wore a red tee shirt. His sunken eyes were full of a vindictive malice that chilled Razer inside.

"Who is that?" Razer whispered to Kevin.

Kevin glanced in the direction Razer stared.

"Albedo. Ben's evil twin," Kevin said. "Long story."

"He wears red?" Razer noticed.

"Yeah. So?"

Then it clicked. An evil villain wearing red versus good guy wearing green. Albedo's last Omnitrix knockoff used red energy and so did Doctor Pyschobo's Nemetrix. Add to that, Malware's red color versus a normal Galvanic Mechamorph's green and Kevin found all those links disturbing. Maybe this explained why the Plumbers in the base were still wary of Razer since his outburst. In spite of being on their side, Razer wasn't trusted, but it was better never to bring any of those things up.

"We are not here to see him are we?" Razer asked.

"No. Someone else," Kevin said and added louder for Gwen to hear. "Let's not take too long okay?"

"Sure," Gwen replied feeling the tension from Razer as well.

The teenage girl led them to the front of one jail cell. The occupant of it sat on his bunk, casually sewing together a stuffed animal. His skin pallor looked a sickly green with long white hair down to his shoulders and a pair of red goggles over his eyes. But his most disturbing feature was his exposed brain in a glass dome where the top of his head should be. There were dozens of other completed stuffed animals around him, sitting on the extra bunks and on a small table. All of them were as bizarre in feature as himself, a lion with crab claws, a half moose, half squid hybrid, a shark crossed with a several unidentified creatures and pink amorphous blob with a dozen eyes.

The elderly man tossed his current project, a cheetah with a turtle's shell, onto the bunk beside him before he stood up and brushed stay bits of stuffing off his green lab coat.

"Gwen Tennyson," he grinned, showing off a set of shark pointed teeth. "What a surprise. If I knew you'd come by to visit me, I would have straightened up my cell."

"I wanted to ask you what you know about insects," Gwen said wanting to focus on why she came to see him.

The prisoner sulked.

"You know Ben Tennyson and his partner ruined my plans to take over the world with giant ants."

"Yeah. He bragged about," Kevin added.

"And Ben, Grandpa and I wrecked you techno bug takeover five years ago," Gwen rubbed in.

"You and your reformed lackey have done your share to ruin my plans for world domination," the mad scientist gestured to Kevin. "But you seem to be forgetting your manners Miss Tennyson. Aren't you going to introduce me to your handsome looking friend?"

He pointed to Razer as he stepped as close as the force field might allow him to examine the Volkregian's face. Razer curled his lip in a snarl, which made the villain even more intrigued.

"Pointed teeth!" the elder man grinned. "An alien with a direct carnivore ancestry. What kind? Feline? Canine?"

"None or your business!" Razer snarled.

"Canine, I say definitely canine. Rook is feline. Your stripes are handmade. And you have the eyes of a wolf."

Suddenly Doctor Animo's voice changed slightly but he showed no sign of his lips moving.

"I think he's feline," he seemed to say. His voice changed again. "I don't think he's very handsome. I'm handsome."

Doctor Animo turned around, wagging his finger at the shark and multi eyed stuffed animals.

"Do you mind!" Doctor Animo snapped at them. "It's rude to interrupt when people are talking!"

Razer now looked more shell-shocked then when he saw Albedo. He's mind flashed back to the Spider Guild prison, the horrible torture of having to relive Illana's death and an equally unstable prisoner name Goggan.  

"He's... insane," Razer said.

"Razer," Gwen said. "This is Doctor Aloysius James Animo. He has a bit of an obsession with animals mutating animals. He also has been acting like this even since he's been locked up. It's likely just as show. He tends to be nicer to aliens that remind him of animals."

"It's a good thing Kilowog's not here or all we'd hear about are pigs and hippos," Kevin said to Razer.

"Kevin, not now," Gwen warned.

"I think I will go to the barracks," Razer said turning to leave.

"Kevin should go with you," she suggested.

"No. I wish to be alone," the Volkergian insisted.

Kevin and Gwen waited until Razer had gotten on the elevator and gone back up.

"Did they upset him?" Doctor Animo asked pointing at his stuffed animals.

"He's been through a lot, Dr. Animo," Gwen continued changing to topic back to insects, "I know ants have queens. So do bees. I wanted you to tell me about how you override a queen's orders."

"Are you having some kind of insect related trouble?" Dr. Animo pressed.

"Of a sort."

Dr. Animo waited as if wanted more information offered but what extent should she tell him. But before she found away to explain, the doctor guessed.

"It's the Nano chips again isn't it?" He asked.

"You know about them?" She said.

"My dear Gwen," Animo snickered. "They are a carbon based bio mechanical life form. What wouldn't have interested me?"

"So what can you tell me about them?"

"Nothing more than you already know," he willingly admitted. "I dissected a couple of them for study once, but could never replicate them. It did give me some excellent ideas I am keeping to myself."

"But did you ever communicate with an active one?"

"No success. Much like that alien mutt I tried to control."

Kevin made his own snarling nose knowing Animo meant Zed.

"I may have a superior mind," Animo tapped his glass cranium containing his brain, "and have the power to control animals. Even some alien ones. However, it doesn't work on certain thinking animals like you. And when it comes to the Nano chips, their Queen holds all the control. Of course if I could have found the frequency to take control of those chips before destroying the Queen-."

"You would kill Elena?" Gwen snapped.

"The only way to try to destroy a hive is remove the Queen my dear," Dr. Animo stated. "It's how I controlled all the giant ants. I had to subjugate the Queen. It's a messy business. You can't have more than one leader in a hive. One will have to kill the other."

Gwen and Kevin gasped at the same time. They glanced at each other leaving both Dr. Animo bewildered.

"Did I help?" the doctor pressed.

"You showed us that things are going to get worse," Gwen said. "We need to talk to Grandpa."

Bellwood - Industry Boulevard - The Queens' Hive

In took a few several seconds for Hal to get over the jolt of seeing the Dark Aya copy. He put on an expression as emotionless as the machine woman and kept staring at her. Ben, who stayed gaping a bit longer than the Green Lantern, started trying to speak but stumbled about trying to find a comprehensive sentence.

"What the-? I though it was-? That's not-?"

"She's not Aya," Hal stated.

"I am the Aya program," Dark Aya stated. "A copy of the original. To place it in proper procreation terminology, you could call me her daughter."

"Oh now that just sounds sick and creepy," Ben said. "Can we just call you her evil twin? I'm used to that idea."

Dark Aya tilted her head to one side before looking at Elena.

"He is this planet's greatest protector? That seems illogical for his lack of intellect and age."

"It is true," Elena said. "We have been thwarted by him several times. Now we are much stronger. He will fail."

"Hey! I'm standing right here!" Ben complained to them.

"Ben. Let me talking to them. Especially her." Hal gestured to the Dark Aya, refusing to use the program's name.

Ben wanted to argue. This was his Earth and Elena his threat, however Hal knew whatever Aya and Elena were planning a bit better than him. It sounded beyond simply eliminating live from the universe into something more complex. Ben never did complex. He left those things to a Gwen and Rook while he tended to act first before thinking too much. It worked most of the time. This wasn't turning into one of those options. He had to stand by and wait to find out the villainous plan before doing anything.

"Okay," Ben agreed as he kept his hand close to his Omnitrix dial.

Hal glared at the other Aya.

"You claim your Aya's daughter," the Green Lantern said. "But you are nothing like her."

"I am an exact copy of her program," Dark Aya replied. "Your statement is incorrect."

"No. Yours is. I learned the truth from Aya's creator, Guardian Scar. Aya was created to empathize with beings after the Manhunters decided emotions were a threat. All that Aya missed was the spark of life. Scar took a piece of the life force from the Green Lantern Central Battery. There is an entity inside it. A living being."

Hal pointed to his ring.

"This energy we use is alive and we manipulate it, sort of the same way Ben uses the Omnitrix. He turns into other living beings created from their DNA. Green Lanterns create constructs to assist us from living energy. Aya was made from that energy too. She was alive," Hal looked at Elena, "just like you are. The nano chips are living carbon base life forms. You are not just some tech. You are alive."

"We are," Elena said.

"You are. You call yourself I when you talk to Ben when you want to."

Elena paused. "I can do that. But we are the greater being."


"But it means your more than a collective," Hal continued. "You're an individual. That is what Aya became. An individual created out of a collective being that assists all Green Lanterns. And she wasn't just alive. She had emotions. Curiosity. Free will."

"That is an error," Dark Aya stated.

"No it isn't," Hal used his ring to show them the recording of Scar talking about Aya including the decision to shut her down. Hal kept talking afterward. "Scar deactivated her, locked out her emotions and installed her as the Interceptor's navigation computer. We never knew she was alive until she began interacting with our crew. We woke her dormant emotions."

"So it is your fault this flaw in her program was created," Dark Aya stated.

"Emotions aren't an flaw," The Green Lantern replied.

"The emotion of love has caused this life form pain," the machine pointed to Elena. "Will the human Benjamin Tennyson deny it?"

Ben had been yanked back into the discussion in the most jarring way. He almost wanted to press his Omnitrix dial and start a fight to avoid discussing anything about his miserable luck with girlfriends in front of a Green Lantern, psychotic robot and a crazed hybrid who insisted she love him.

"What?" He exclaimed. "You want to be Elena's shrink or something?!"

"Are you denying that you loved her and redacted that love?" Dark Aya asked.

"You liked us Ben. More than liked us," Elena said.

"You were a grade school crush, Elena," Ben said. "Does your new BBF understand what a crush is?"

"A strong feeling of romantic love for someone that is usually not expressed and does not last a long time," Dark Aya intoned.

"Wow. The Aya program does learn everything," Ben said.

"You don't think I didn't notice?" Elena snapped at him referencing to herself in the singular. "Did you know that feeling hurt? You could have loved me Ben!"

"But you can't force someone to love someone else, Elena," Hal cut in. "That's wrong. Your imposing your will on someone else just as you would impose this idea of surrendering emotions on everyone to make up for your personal pain."

"I have already surrendered my emotion," Elena said.

"So did Aya and that was the result," Hal gestured to Dark Aya. "She became a being who wanted to end all live as a remedy for the hurt it caused. The Manhunters did the same thing. They saw emotion as the cause for evil. You would end all life in this universe because one person rejected you?"

"We are not going to end all life. We have an alternative," Elena said. "We will show you."

Elena nodded to Dark Aya. She walked over to the lone red and blue Manhunter. With one gaze from the evil automaton eyes, the other robot activated. It immediately scanned the room, locking onto Hal and Ben.

"Emotions detected!" it warned.

Hal raised his ring hand as Ben reached for his Omnitrix dial. But before it could attack, Dark Aya stepped in front of it and said, "The two humans are awaiting assimilation. Do not terminate."

The Manhunter paused, obeying the other machine.

"Tell us precisely how many beings with emotion are in this room?" Dark Aya asked.

"Two life forms detected," the Manhunter replied.

Hal and Ben looked at each other in puzzlement. There were about a dozen infected humans in the room along with them.

"We used my Nano chip life forms to cut off their emotions," Elena explained. "By doing this, the Manhunter no long considers them a threat."

"The Nano chips can do that?" Hal asked.

"That's a new twist I didn't even think about," Ben said. "But infected humans had emotions before. Creepy emotions but they were there."

"The chip imbedded inside each person is tied into the limbic system of the brain," Elena said. "We can cut off the emotions from every person infected making termination unnecessary."

"Along with free will," Hal added.

"We desire it."

"An army of zombie slaves."

"Would you prefer a universe devoid of all life?" Dark Aya asked. "Our new path will still allow for living beings to exist."

"But with no choices of there own," Hal said. "That's enslavement."

"And in exchange peace," she continued, "they cannot harm anyone. All crime will be nonexistent. The exact goal the Manhunters were designed for will be fulfilled. Isn't that the better solution?"

"Are you seriously going to give them a choice?"

"When offered the choice, they do make it," Elena said. "Perhaps you need a further demonstration?"  

Elena walked over to one of her computer terminals, which had a large forty-two inch monitor, attached to it. She pressed several buttons on the console and stepped away.

Ben recognized the place at once. The Bellwood Tennis Center just outside of the city and practicing on the tennis court was a very familiar Asian American girl.

"Julie," he whispered.

Bellwood Tennis Center

Julie Yamamoto's practice for her junior tournament attracted a shared of local and national sports media. They came to do brief interviews, shoot video and take photos. The most camera snapping occurred from her new boyfriend Herve'. The tall good looking blonde Frenchman had become her personal photographer and gained his own success of getting his pictures published about her in many articles.

Julie looked so stunning in her pure tennis whites with her hair pulled back in twin pigtails framing her face. She demonstrated her serve for the small crowd, clocking speeds in excess of one hundred miles per hour.

When Julie had finished, she walked to the sidelines to take a drink of water and answer some questions. Herve' took some more photos which made Julie stick her tongue out at him at one point making the press pool laugh.

Julie smiled.

***

Ben wanted to reach for his cell phone but he knew Julie didn't have it with her. Had she even gotten his message?

"Elena," Ben said. "Julie isn't my girlfriend anymore. We broke up."

Elena and Dark Aya glared at him.

"You redact your love for others so easily," Dark Aya stated. "It demonstrates how flawed the emotion of love is."

"No it shows how messed up I am!" Ben responded. "I'm the one who blew it. That doesn't mean I stopped caring what happens to Julie. You can still love people but as friends."

"This is about revenge," Hal said. "Revenge is based on emotion Elena. Don't lie to yourself like the real Aya did. Your emotions aren't cut off anymore than hers were."

"My emotions are closeted," Elena insisted. "The targets selected will be offered the choice."

***

"SHIP! SHIP!"

Julie heard the electronic squeaking voice moments before the small black and green blob of Galvin Mechamorph jumped into her arms. The seal shaped alien kept repeating his name so rapidly Julie couldn't interpret what he said. The reporters all backed away from her more out of surprise than fear. In Bellwood, everyone knew about aliens living among the population. Several of the photographers took more photos, requesting she post with her pet.

"Julie," Herve' said. "This is not a good time for the dog to want to play."

"I think it’s adorable," a female reporter replied. "This will be great to add to my story."

"Ship," Julie said. "Calm down so I can understand you."

Ship barked his name again just as quickly but somehow she caught a name.

"Elena?" Julie asked frowning.

At first Julie had wanted to ignore Ben's voice mail message on her cell phone, however Gwen had told Julie that Ben promised to keep in touch to warn her of any trouble. Being warned about Elena set off an old pang of jealousy and anger she hadn't quite let go of. If Elena had come back to Bellwood, it likely meant she would be in more danger than the general public.

Then Julie saw them. The dark swirl of small metallic nanite chips came flowing across the tennis court towards them. The reporters scattered as the mass of chips began to solidify into a shape. Julie saw unfamiliar silver faced blue and black robot standing in front of her.

"Surrender your emotions or be terminated," it said.

"What?" Julie was confused.

The machine produced a long metal staff out of its arm and pointed it towards her.

"Accept Nano chip integration for the elimination of emotions," it clarified. "Or be terminated as a threat."

"You mean become one of Elena's zombies?" Julie demanded.

"Emotions are a threat. Removal of emotions is necessary to preserve peace. Nano chip integration removes emotion. Refusal to allow removal of emotion will be considered a violation punishable by termination."

Herve' hadn't left Julie's side but had put his hands up in the gesture of surrender. The Nanite Hunter noticed his action.

"Subject has chosen to submit to chip integration," it said.

A swirl of nanite chips broke off the Nano Hunter and swarmed around Herve'. Before Julie could do anything, a chip had infected Herve' at the throat. He stood there emotionless, his eyes staring blankly at her.

"Join us Julie and you will be safe," Herve' said.

Ship instantly grew around Julie, coating her with his black and green form until he created the Mechamorph battle suit to designed to protect her.

"How about you let him go!" Julie yelled.

Twin beams of green energy shot from the battle suit's fists, sending the Nano Hunter across the tennis court, through the net and into the far grandstand wall.

Julie heard a ringing inside her suit. Ship accessed her cell phone and patched it directly into her helmet.

"Julie! Get out of there now!"

***

Elena morphed into her taller Queen form and small swarm of nanite chips immediately peeled off her going straight for Ben. Hal's green energy bubble shield formed with equal speed, encasing himself and Ben before the chips could reach them.

"No Julie! Just go!" Ben shouted into his phone. "You can't save Herve'! Only I can!"

"You won't save anyone Ben!" Elena snarled. "You and all your allies have forfeited their lives!"

"Agreed," Dark Aya said. "Terminate them."

The still active Manhunter began shooting his staff weapon at Hal's shield. The construct began to crack.

"Talk time is over," Hal told Ben. "We have to go."

"Okay. I'll get the door," Ben said as he activated his Omnitrix. "But this is going to break your construct."

After a sudden flash of green light filled the warehouse, Hal's shielding shattered. He saw what looked like a tan colored tentacle sweep both the Manhunter and Dark Aya across the room. Then he realized it was a tail. Hal turned to look up at the enormous dinosaur humanoid hybrid alien standing over them. He barely fit in the warehouse height wise with his Apatosaurus shaped head brushing the ceiling. The alien only wore a pair of what resembled wrestler's trucks with a green military like sash with the Omnitrix fixed in the middle.

Humongousaur tucked Hal under his arm, barreled through the warehouse door and far up the block before stopping to look back.

***

Dark Aya had very little damage from being tossed by Humongousaur. The still active Manhunter stared out the ragged hole torn by the lumbering alien as it escaped.

"Those with emotion must be eliminated," it said.

"Not yet my general," Dark Aya said. "You need your army."

Queen Elena still fumed over Ben's escape. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

"Rise," she declared.

***  

"Uh Ben," Hal called. "I'm not a football."

Ben finally put the Green Lantern down.

"Sorry," Humongousaur said. "This is an alien those infecting nano chips haven't beaten yet. But I wasn't going to chance it."

"What about Julie?" Hal asked. "Will she be okay?"

"Ship will keep her safe. In fact I might have to convince her not to take on Elena for infecting her current boyfriend."

Knowing his own past with Carol to be a sour subject, Hal left the topic and asked. "You think the others have figured out we failed in our attempt to negotiate?"  

They heard a grinding sound as if something were crushing metal in a junkyard compactor. They saw four cars nearby start to compress and change shape. They were actually Nano chips that had assimilated to their surroundings. Within seconds, four new Nano Hunters had formed all armed with staffs.

"I'd say yes," Humongousaur said.

The Plumber's Base

It hadn't taken Kevin and Gwen long to explain to Grandpa Max the theory they had gleaned from Doctor Animo, but it had led to a much longer debate over which Queen was likely to turn on the other the quickest. Also Grandpa Max had told them of Ben and Hal going to speak to Elena alone which only made the conversation last even longer than intended.

When the first alarms sounded, they knew it meant Ben and Hal had failed.

"Grandpa?" Gwen asked. "The satellite defenses?"

"Already up," Grandpa said softly.

"Isn't the satellite shield supposed to be for keeping invaders out?" Kevin said.

On one of the holographic projectors, Kevin saw a dozen of the newly formed Manhunters all obsidian and blue, armed with an energy staff approaching the plumber ships.

"Yes," Gwen sighed. "But this time it's being used to keep them in."

Kevin understood that this is what Gwen had seen in her vision. These new Nano Hunters, with their program to eliminate emotional beings, leaving Earth to spread across the universe and destroy any living being that opposed them.

"If we fail to stop them here," Kevin said. "The entire universe is doomed."

***

Kilowog had been leaning against the driver side door of Rook's ship as they waited for Hal and Ben. Rook asked if the Sergeant wanted to sit in the cab of the vehicle with him but the veteran Green Lantern felt more comfortable waiting outside. They talked about their own lives a bit before discussing differences and similarities between Hal and Ben.

"What I can't get over is how young Ben is," Kilowog said. "One of the youngest Lanterns I've met is Razer. Hal's still new at being a Lantern but he's much older. Ben is just a kid and has been playing hero for years?"

"Since he was ten Earth cycles."

"Incredible."

"I am also a juvenile by Earth standards," Rook said. "I am not any older than Kevin Levin."

"Kevin could use a little more discipline," Kilowog huffed.

"Kevin is Kevin. Much like Razer, he was not a good person when Ben first met him."

"So Hal's like Ben. Kevin's like Razer."

"And Gwen is like Aya?"

"When it comes to seeing something in Kevin, I'd say yes. Although her power is more like a Star Sapphire," Kilowog chuckled at bit. "Who do I remind you of?"

"Magister Hulka my old drill instructor from the Academy and Magister Tennyson. You like to follow the rules."

"And Ben and Hal break them," Kilowog said.

"Who do I remind me of?" Rook asked.

"Trouble!" Kilowog shouted.

"Who is-?" Rook began.

Kilowog erected an energy shield around Rook's ship just as weapon's fire came streaming at them. Several mother newly formed Nano Hunters had found them and they were not negotiating.  

Earth Orbit

Princess Looma fumed. She had been delayed getting to Ben Tennyson's home planet by an Incursean battle cruiser that had wanted to capture her for bounty. Since Looma's ship had limited weaponry, Aya had assisted her in some brilliant evasive maneuvers that brought the enemy ship into the gravity well of a nearby planet and forced it into a controlled crash landing.

But because of the incident, they arrived at Earth with the defense shield up.

"They act as if I'm bringing a battle fleet to destroy the planet!" Looma complained. "Do they think I'd try that again so soon?"

"You have an odd way of attempting courtship," Aya said.

"I still suggest trying my approach if you ever want this Razer back," Looma grumbled before saying, "we can't get through that shielding without a massive amount of battle cruiser firepower. Do you have any ideas?"

Even though confined to the head of a Manhunter, Aya used the CPU's processor to access the nearest Plumber satellite.

"It's like a Green Lantern shield," Aya observed. "If I can transmit myself through it and along the Plumber communications net, I might be able to -."

She paused.

"Manhunters! That is why the shield is up!"

"More of those robots?"

"They have been replicated and are attempting to find a way to break out! If they get loose, they can destroy all live in the universe! I must assist them immediately! I will download myself to the nearest satellite so I can pass through."

"But what about me?" Princess Looma whined.

"Can you bring your father's battle fleet to Earth?"

"Well I'm sure daddy wouldn't mind if I told him I was here looking for a new mate."

"That will be acceptable. If the shield goes down, your father will have to do whatever is needed to stop the Manhunters. I will see you later Princess Looma."

"Go find your Razer! Fight! Win!"

"I shall. I promise."