Prelude to War

Los Soledad; New York; March 12th, 2012; 4:07PM

Though the United States Military did manage to cover up the massive explosion that erupted from Max's Null Void grenade from the news however, there was still the matter of a giant quarter-mile wide crater now taking the place of the entire base. Navy Seals had parked a dozen large, armored camouflage painted trucks all across the perimeter, at least two dozen armed soldiers wandered the vicinity with their weapons by their hips. It was just perimeter watch, what could happen in a giant hole like this, ten miles away from even a sliver of civilization?

One of the men yawned, turning around to pace through the same strut he'd been doing all day, making sure to keep an eye out for any trespassers but, who would venture all the way out here anyway? Suddenly, out of their notice, about a few hundred feet away, a spark of white light briefly flashed, like a camera flash the soldiers turned expecting some idiot tourist but, there was nothing there.

One of the men turned to his partner not too far behind, letting go of his rifle again as it slid back to his side; it was then that the flash returned with a far greater magnitude, as though something was cutting through the fabric of space. Three men immediately turned to face the anomaly, training their sub-machine guns on the light as it dimmed down, two more soldiers aimed sniper rifles from above, at the edge of the crater.

"Should we call it in?"

"What are we supposed to even say?"

It wasn't until the white lightning that flailed about finally opened up, widening as though something were trying to fit through, finally a figure dropped from the light hitting the ground with a metallic clank. The soldiers were stunned for a moment, looking between one another before keeping their eyes on the target that now sat with a knee and fist planted in the dirt, slowly glancing up. There was a film of smoke that obscured their view of it but, it was some sort of suited man, clad in pitch black armor with a simple crimson trim, like bubbling energy coursing through his suit.

They all hesitated for a moment as the figure slowly stood himself upright, glancing around at his surroundings, he looked up to the sky and was almost shocked at its ocean of blue and white, not that any of them could really tell his emotional state. His helmet was black and covered his head completely, radiating with the same crimson energy that flowed through the suit into his eyes. The figure scanned intently, looking the men up and down slowly, they wanted to react but, they were totally flabbergasted at how this man just appeared from thin air.

"Where is… Ben Ten Thousand?" his voice was a demonic growl as he turned his head, waiting for an answer, red lightning cackling over his suit at random and at a consistent rate.

The closest soldier adjusted the grip on his rifle, glancing back to one of the men he was standing with before turning back quickly to answer, "Who?"

The figure responded by exploding in a flash of crimson energy, the same crimson lightning coursing through every part of him as his body changed shape. Though the officers never saw it coming, a green and black blur of speed rushed through ground zero, with a simple gesture, he was able to snap the necks of every living soldier watching the perimeter, including the men in front of him. Returning to where he had left from in less time than it took a person to blink their eyes, the same crimson explosion of light returned the armored man back to normal. Watching as they all collapsed to their feet in lifeless heaps, the figure turned around finding one last man standing and quivering in his combat boots.

The man was a young boy, only in his early twenties, a private that didn't even have a weapon, let alone completed his military combat training. He backed away a foot or two but, the figure only advanced towards him slowly, his armored heels crushing the rocks beneath his step.

"W-Who are you?!" the private shouted, stumbling back and landing on his rear, shuffling backwards on his hands and knees.

The figure moved faster than the boy could perceive, dashing towards him and grabbing his collar, pulling him in close as pressurized steam expelled from the underside of his helmet. The figure quickly extended a seven-inched blade from the knuckle of his black armor, thrusting it up into the private's chest.

As blood spurted out of from his lips, dripping down his chin, the figure looked right into the private's eyes as the light dimmed out behind them, "Prometheus…" his deep growl was the last thing the soldier heard, dropped to the ground, with the last thing he could see was the half-hourglass symbol emblazoned on his left wrist.

…

Bellwood Cemetery; New York; March 18th, 2012; 3:45PM

It was almost as if the weather and Mother Nature herself knew to set the mood for the surrounding event, leaving the sky littered with grey clouds overcasting the sun and leaving the air cool with a breeze. Even though Gwendolyn hated wearing black, there wasn't much choice in an event like this, adjusting the hem of her midnight-black dress to get more comfortable, she sat next to Ben in the back seat behind the back seat, leaving room for both sets of parents to sit up front. With three rows of seats, they could all carpool to Grandpa Max's funeral together, in total silence. Coming home that night last week was the most difficult thing they had ever done, after getting Cooper safety back into his own personal bunker, where he would undoubtedly up his security efforts, they were forced to face their parents and finally tell them about what Max had been up to these last three or four years. However, through all of the gasps and cries, nothing made the two teens tear up more than watching their father's reaction to hearing they'd never see their own father again.

Ben stared aimlessly out the window, propping his chin up on his hand to glare out at the drops of drizzled rain that sprinkled over the car. Gwen could feel the rage, regret, guilt and so many other flurries of emotion radiating from him like a furnace, she couldn't imagine the type of pain he was in, but she could feel it. She reached over and tried comforting him by placing a hand on his, while flat against the leather seat, he didn't even look her way before pulling his hand back and lying it in his lap. Gwendolyn gave a sorrowful glance, staring back down at her own lap for the rest of the ride as they arrived at the lot where their Grandmother, Verdona, had been buried amongst hills of grass and granite tombstones. When they pulled into the lot, they stepped out of the SUV to find his casket was already prepared with a few more distant family members lingering under a tarp that was their plot.

Great Aunt Vera and her son, Clyde, had already arrived though, it seemed Vera couldn't stop crying with a bundle of tissues stuffed in her hands. Her son would hand her another every few minutes as it didn't seem the sniffling would stop anytime soon. Wes Greene and Kai were in attendance, standing on the side of the tarp as they'd already introduced themselves to those who didn't know them. Frank and Carl immediately greeted their Auntie, Lili and Saundra approaching slowly afterward to do the same. Even though they weren't a religious family, they still believed in the Christian faith, having a priest stand in the center of the group with the casket directly behind him.

Ben and Gwen walked almost side-by-side, Ben holding a black umbrella to match the attire he wore; a two-piece suit, with a blazer and a tie that he tied himself perfectly. He could feel his nice shoes being ruined by the wet grass as he paced forward toward the circular picture of Maxwell from his 60th Birthday on the very day the two kids time traveled to get his cake. It was the last time he remembered the man being genuinely happy, as eager as Ben was to be a Plumber, it became more obvious as he got older that Max wanted nothing more than to enjoy his retirement. If it weren't for him, his grandfather would still be alive, it was his fault, in so many different ways.

Kai was wearing a black long-sleeved blouse and denim jeans, the tie that held her long mane of hair in a ponytail was also black for the unfortunate occasion. She approached the two cousins, not sure exactly what to say, Kai approached and followed their example to stare at the picture of Maxwell on display. "I'm so sorry," was all that she could come up with, not even gaining Ben's attention, Gwen noticed and turned to her.

"Thanks… I appreciate it," she responded, still focusing more on the flowers and decorum than Kai herself though, the girl passed Gwen and placed a hand on her cousin's shoulder instead.

Ben didn't look up in the slightest, still staring at that picture, remembering that day perfectly, "How are you holding up?" she asked but, he didn't respond, walking away from her without a word as he moved to stand further away.

"Is he okay?" Kai asked with genuine concern, glancing back to Gwen who only looked shamefully unsure.

"He's the strongest person I know but, I don't think any of us are okay…" she responded as the man in a black robe and white collar took a few steps forward into the center of the group.

The priest held a Bible in one hand and adjusted his collar with the other, thinking of the words he would need to say, waiting as two lines of military men folded a massive American flag intricately until it was small enough to lay gently across the black coffin before saluting in unison and letting off a dozen cannons at once, firing into the air, "We gather together today to celebrate the life and mourn the loss of Maxwell Tennyson," they all watched as the rain started to pick up but, only a bit as thunder echoed from miles away, "Not only a friend and dear loved one but, an American patriot who reached the stars and touched heaven during his time serving our country."

Ben stared down at the casket as drops of rain trickled down its smooth surface, his grip tightened on the handle to the umbrella he was holding, it was only out of respect for Max that nobody interrupted to point out how Benjamin's eyes were practically on fire, emitting a powerful emerald luminosity that represented the flurry of emotions writhing within him. "In the name of the lord and in the word of your promise, as we return our brother to the Earth, and leave us with the hope that- one day, we may meet again…" the priest finished his eulogy and closed the bible in his hands turning solemnly, "It was to my understanding that his Grandson, Benjamin, had a few words he'd like to share with us…" the priest waved Ben over, not ever loosing his intense glare as he approached the mural of Max.

This surprised even Gwendolyn as he'd never told her that he had planned to say anything at all, in fact, in the week since the destruction of Los Soledad, he hadn't said much to her at all. He was furious with himself and the world, it was his call that ended up turning a simple extraction mission into a disaster after all. Kai had never seen his pupils' glow like that, watching the light dance behind the tears that welled in his eyes, sometimes she forgot just how much power he had.

Taking a second to glance at Max's picture before passing it entirely and rounding the ink black casket, staring down at it and letting the rain pour down around him protected only by the umbrella above, he sighed before he began, "When I was eight, all the kids in school were making fun of me because I didn't know how to ride my bike yet…" he didn't look up at the crowd of family members, he only stared down at the dark casket holding his grandfather, "My parents said I'd have to wait till Christmas to get a new bike so I could start practicing but," even as tears welled behind the glistening emerald light in his eyes, he smiled at the memory, "Grandpa went to the store that day and bought me one, just so he could take me up to the hill by my house and teach me how to ride…"

Saundra and Natalie were both full of tears and Clyde had to pat Vera's back because of the wholehearted sweetness in the fond memory of his that he shared with them. Though, it only took an instant for his tone to flip the script entirely, as Ben knelt down in front of the casket, placing his hand on top of it as he felt the cool rain against his fingertips. "I promise, Grandpa, I'm going to stop them, just like you asked me to. I promise, I'm going to take from them what they took from you…" droplets glistening with green light trickled down his cheek without ever loosing an intense glare that reflected off the pristine coffin.

While Ben's immediate family couldn't really understand what he meant by that, Gwen and Kai could both tell exactly what he was planning when he said those words. It was clear that he was angrier than ever and prepared to take it out on someone who deserved it.

As Ben took a few steps back, he shook his head in self shame, rounding the casket and stepping to stand alongside his family, they watched as two men who had been waiting from afar approached and attached a lever system to the casket, lowering it down into the pre-dug grave. They were all so focused on its descent into the darkness, giving their last respects mentally, and praying to whatever God they believed in… they didn't even notice Ben backing away, turning, and dropping his umbrella without care for the rain that drenched his hair. He walked off the grass and onto the asphalt, stepping behind the SUV they'd arrived in, and just barely hiding an explosion of green light. The sound of the energy caught Gwendolyn's attention, but she only managed to face him in time to watch Jetray vanish into the cloudy sky at the speed of sound.

"That was Ben Tennyson, wasn't it?"

Gwendolyn turned suddenly to find a man standing across from her by just a few feet, looking down at her, not noticing him during the ceremony, he surprised her. He was a man about Max's age, dressed in a fancy suit with a dark umbrella to match the aesthetic, "N-No, it was probably just a trick of the light…" she lied terribly.

His expression didn't seem impressed nor interested, raising a brow at her obvious lie, "I'm well aware of his identity as Shifter, I was close personal friends with Maxwell for many decades and his lawyer for a bit longer than that," he switched the umbrella into his other hand so that he could extend his right one for a proper greeting.

Gwen relaxed a bit, raising her brow, and shaking his hand, "Oh, than is there something I can do for you?" she asked, still not fully understanding why he'd introduce himself and be looking for Benjamin.

"Two years ago, Maxwell came to my office and told me he was working on something extremely dangerous, he prerecorded a message and placed it on this drive just in case something like this happened," the man pulled from his jacket-pocket a sleek crimson thumb-drive, holding it out for her, "His instructions were very precise, in the event of his untimely demise, I would deliver this to you and your cousin, you were both meant to watch it together."

Gwendolyn's eyes were caught on the drive suddenly, Max's final words to them, looking back up at him before grabbing it out of his hands, she couldn't help but ask, "What does it say?"

"He was very specific; it was only to be delivered if his death was sudden and only to be viewed by you two, together."

Pocketing the drive quickly to avoid getting it wet in the rain, she glanced back up at the sky where Ben vanished into the distance, at this point, she wasn't sure he would even want to see whatever was on this drive.

…

Ben's House; Bellwood; New York; March 18th, 2012; 4:57PM

The reception was held at most obviously Ben's house, considering Gwen's was still under construction and they wanted to keep the party as close-knit as possible, gathering together with snacks, drinks, and old videos and pictures of Maxwell throughout the years. Carl had a slide show on the television of old pictures from when they were kids, while Saundra helped set up the drinks and food. Colonel Rossum was in attendance, talking with Frank and Wes, sharing stories about Max's time in the military and trying to make the most of a somber occasion. Being his daughter, Emily was also there, sitting on the couch next to Gwendolyn who simply stared at the front door the majority of the time, waiting for her Ben to walk through but, it didn't seem like it was going to happen.

She felt a comforting hand on her knee, turning her head over her shoulder to find Emily and Kai sitting next to her, with her friend's hand stirring her from her thoughts, "He isn't going to swoop in here and make everything better…" Emily noted.

Gwendolyn sighed, looking down at her lap, "I know but, he should still be here, not just for me, but in general," she sniffled a bit, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye as Emily spoke up.

"Everyone grieves in differently, I'm sure that wherever he is, he's crying his eyes out just like you," Kai gave her a smile and reached over, patting her lightly on the back.

"Somehow, I honestly doubt that." Gwen reached over for the remote lying on the coffee table in front of them, flipping on the TV there was a news report still playing, as it unmuted all three girls tuned their attention in.

A stunning woman in a blue pan-suit sat at a desk holding paper reports in her hands as she read the teleprompter and was in the middle of her story, "-Another emergency room has reached full capacity tonight as it seems dozens of wanted felons, known gang affiliates, and drug traffickers of the like have been brutally beaten through what can only be considered a war on crime, waged by Bellwoods own local vigilante-" Gwen pressed down on the power button, quickly shutting off the news to avoid feeling any worse about the situation.

Kai blinked a few times, "He must be furious…" she noted, never having seen a violent tendency from the Tennyson boy.

"He is… at himself."

…

Bellwood Shipping Yard; New York; March 18th, 2012; 5:15PM

After loosing his Grandfather to a decision, he knew he made against the better judgement of both Max and Gwendolyn, Ben simply wanted to self-destruct into a pool of self-loathing a pity like one might expect to, however; he was no ordinary grieving boy. He spent his time using the Danger Alert to scan the city for criminal irregularities, and there were plenty to choose from, running through them like a list. Ben used his anger to tear through the criminal underworld, one person at a time if he had to, and this time he was going to stop a large amount of money being exchanged for drug trafficking rights in certain parts of New York.

Within a warehouse that should have been totally abandoned only, instead it was covered by men watching each entrance as six men discussed territory between gang leaders, who would receive profit from which part of the city. Sitting at a literal roundtable, each of them had their personal guards standing behind them, not trusting any of the other men for even a second.

"Downtown is done, there's nothing left…"

"The hell do you mean there's nothing left, there's always gonna be meth and crack heads to prey on, how the hell could we be losing so much money?" One of the men asked, sucking on the end of his cigar before tapping it into the ashtray and blowing out a plume of smoke from his lips.

Pounding his fist into the table shook the contents atop it, another of the suited gang leaders spoke up with a bit of anger, "It's the damn vigilantes, our dealers are too scared to stay on their corners, more afraid of him than they are of us."

"Maybe it's time we showed them who exactly they should be afraid of," he flashed a coy smile, grabbing his pistol off the table with a nod, cocking back the barrel as suddenly all of his constituents lost the color in their faces. They looked passed him at a figure standing right behind the man still holding his gun out in an arrogant manner.

Ben didn't need to speak as the gang leader turned to shoot, he grabbed and crushed the barrel in his grip, pulling on and breaking his trigger finger. As he screamed in pain and fell to his knees, holding his wrist in agony, the teenager put a hand on the side of his face pushing down on and bashing his head through the wooden roundtable they sat at. The rest of the three or four m stood quickly, aiming their guns at him together, making sure that he didn't come any closer. The lights above them flickered, distracting them, and leaving the warehouse in partial strobing darkness, as gun shots went off randomly, Ben could see it all perfectly through his glowing eyes. Transforming was unnecessary against such ill prepared criminals, he had a lot of anger he needed to get out anyways.

…

The Bunker; Bellwood; New York; March 18th, 2012; 6:40PM

XLR8 phased his molecules through the concrete walls as he sped into the center of the training mat at several hundred times the speed of sound, transforming in a flash of emerald light back into his human form and taking a deep breath once he did. Turning around, he faced the Danger Alert system which, thanks to the combined efforts of Cooper and Brainstorm, had been modified and heavily upgraded. The system was now much larger, connecting not just to the internet across the world but, the extra-net used by Plumber databases and other intergalactic agencies. The monitoring and security system had been integrated into the base itself thanks to the technopaths abilities. It could also use sophisticated Galvan technology enhanced and constructed by Cooper's technopathy to sense the presence of lethal danger, major crime, or other disturbances that Ben programmed it to pick up across the state of New York. Which mostly included the types of crimes that he enjoyed stopping the most, while saving lives was always a thrill, he enjoyed always enjoyed a good fight.

Taking a seat in the tall-backed computer chair to face the holographic monitor displayed in front of him, the glass keyboard was now far wider and more expansive with many different and unique features apparent across the board. While still learning his way around it, he was able to scan the area of Los Soledad using a geographical satellite meant to survey canyons created by earthquakes. Using thermal imaging, he could tell that not only did Grandpa's explosion not destroy the alien starship buried underground but, while ninety percent of the base had been vaporized, the arch had remained perfectly intact. Analyzing its composition revealed that the same properties the quartz-crystals held that allowed them to bend space and travel through time also protected it from the dimensional energy Max set off from his Null Void grenade.

Ben leaned back in the computer chair he sat in, staring out at the statistics of Los Soledad that he'd pulled up, he failed so completely that not even Grandpa's sacrifice was enough to stop the Highbreed. Max may have killed three of them but, there was still an entire planet of them out there and if they could sneak onto Earth for years so easily, there was nothing stopping them from returning to complete their plans. There was an enemy, a location, and they would certainly be off their game after loosing three of their leaders at once but, he hesitated. He looked down at his hands, shaking as he vividly noticed flashes of memory, his palms layered in green blood, and littered with flakes of grass. There was another death on his hands now, this time it was an innocent one, he got himself to sleep at night by telling himself that Vilgax deserved it but, now that wasn't the case. Grandpa Max was gone, and it was all his fault.

After staring at the monitor scanning Los Soledad for nearly twenty minutes, remaining in a deep pensive state that kept reminding him of his epic failures, the entrance to the Bunker slid opened behind him. Kai pulled in driving her Grandfather's brown truck, clearly already having her license, Gwendolyn got out of the passenger seat with Emily following her lead, "Do I have to validate, or…?" Kai murmured but, the fiery red head only noticed the brunette that hadn't been fazed by their arrival in the slightest.

"Ben?" she announced approaching from behind slowly as Kai and Emily gave one another concerned glances exiting the truck, sticking a few paces behind Gwendolyn.

"Huh?" Ben looked up from his hands, noticing them to be clean and lacking a single drop of blood, shaking his head for just a second, he turned the chair around to face the three girls, "Oh, hey guys," it was a little awkward to see new faces in his Headquarters but, they were the only two people left beside his family that knew his secret.

Kai had never seen Ben so melancholy before, the once hyper-active, charming young man was now beaten down, simply defeated by his own hubris. Gwendolyn had told them the basics of what happened, and both her and Emily knew it couldn't have been easy to watch. Gwen placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to shake him from his saddened gaze, glancing up at the holographic screen that displayed the scans of the blast site. "You can't just sit here and mope forever, dweeb…" she insisted with a scolding tone.

She was right of course, she was always right, but that didn't mean he had to admit it, "I'm pretty good at moping."

"No, you're horrible at it," Gwendolyn placed a finger on his chin, pulling his tearful gaze up to meet her own, her iris' shone bright blue to match his emerald glow, "You're too stubborn and headstrong to give up on anything," he looked into her eyes before scoffing, looking away quickly as he stood up, passing her and facing the training mat.

Kai and Emily watched but only as spectators to their squabble, there had to be someway to get him back into gear, and if anyone could do that, it was Gwendolyn, "You guys don't get it, there was a clear choice, and I made the wrong one… and it got Grandpa killed," he nearly choked on the last word but finished the sentence, making his point.

"We all make mistakes, dude, and unfortunately I don't think you get the luxury of mourning for too long," Kai announced, folding her arms across her peach colored, long sleeved crop-top, "Gwen said they have an entire army of those things… the Earth needs-"

She was interrupted when Ben spun around, his eyes blazing brightly with a furious emerald luminosity, his fists tightened by his sides, he shouted at her, "And what about what I need?!" he calmed down for just a second by taking a breath, "Grandpa trusted my judgement and I failed him, how am I supposed to go back out there knowing it could happen again? I can't lose anyone else!" He looked back down to his feet as his eyes simmered down in their energy, breathing to try to keep calm.

Kai backed away at his outburst by only a step or two, mostly because she wasn't used to the way his eyes shone at her with glittering green energy. She had also realized she'd never heard the pure hearted boy shout in anger before either. Ben took a deep breath through the nose and let it out his mouth, huffing deeply as Gwendolyn approached, putting a hand on his chest. Her touch instantly calmed him down, Kai and Emily observed closely how the moment she came and wrapped an arm around his torso, patting his chest, the glare he gave Kai simmered down. The light in his eyes became a more tamed glow, looking back toward the ground at his shoes, "I'm supposed to be the Hero of Heroes, Ben Tennyson, Max was counting on that and I let him down," his head dropped completely, still held in his girlfriend's embrace.

"So?"

Ben opened his eyes, looking up at Gwendolyn who gave him a familiar scolding expression he hadn't seen since he was ten years old, glaring into his eyes with a resolve equal in magnitude to his own, "So, what?" even Kai and Emily were at a loss for words at the move she was making, whatever angle she was trying to work. Gwendolyn grabbed Ben by the shoulders and spun him around to face her, looking deeply into his eyes, "Yea, you messed up, yea, it got someone killed. What we do is dangerous and every time we go out there, we risk not coming back. I know it, you know it, and Grandpa knew it too," Gwen cupped the side of his face, caressing his cheek slowly with the side of her thumb, "I know your hurting but, you have to use that anger! Remember what his last words were?"

Ben took a second or two to recall his last moments with Max, shouting down at him from the grip of a Highbreed commander, blinking as Gwendolyn continued her motivational speech, "You're Ben Tennyson, a race of evil aliens is invading Earth and just killed Grandpa Max…" he looked into her beaming eyes, glaring back into his with impossible determination, "What are you going to do about it?!" her voice lingered for a second, waiting for him to narrow his eyes and look back up at her.

"Let's get these sons of bitches."

"Before we do…" Gwendolyn announced, reaching into the back pocket of her jeans, she pulled out a crimson drive given to her by the lawyer, holding it out between their faces, "After you left the funeral, some lawyer came up to me and gave me this, he said its Max's last will and testament for us."

Ben focused his attention on it, thinking deeply on if he even wanted to watch it at all, "Have you seen whats on it?" he asked, trying to imagine what the man could possibly have said.

"Of course not, he said we should watch it together," Gwendolyn took a step back from him to give him a bit of room to breathe, he glanced up at it and closed his eyes.

"Plug it into the Danger Alert," Ben said calmly.

Kai and Emily had apprehensive expressions, backing away a bit as Gwendolyn turned to approach the glass keyboard with an input for drives just like it, sticking it in and backing away from the monitor that shifted images as soon as it loaded the drive.

The projection was staticky at first but, adjusted itself in just a second or two with a clear image of Grandpa Max sitting in the Rustbucket booth, looking directly into the lens of the camera, "Hello Ben, Gwendolyn… if you two are watching this… than that means I'm gone. And it happened too fast for me to explain a few things to you two about my life," simply seeing him again made Gwen's eyes water, smiling down at them with an unsure face, as though he was hoping they'd never see this message, "When I joined the Air Force I did it because I wanted to make a difference, I wanted to help the world with my own hands…" he took his cap off and ran his fingers through his thinning hair, "After forty-years of service, I wasn't sure exactly what I accomplished," he paused for a moment giving Ben time to look down in disappointment, only glancing back up when Max continued, "That was until I took you two on a camping trip and changed the course of human history forever, I have no doubt in my mind that you two will be the future of our world."

Ben's eyes were lit with a blazing luminosity cascading light through his tears that streamed down his cheeks now, "I know I may not have been there for you recently, either of you, and I know I can't make up for it anymore…" Max paused again only this time to take a deep breath, exhaling his frustrations, "Look, I cherished you both so much, from the day I held you two in my arms at the hospital I knew you two were destined for great things, but never did I expect you to become true heroes. I love you kids, I always have and always will, nothing can change that," his message finished with him wiping tears of his own away, pausing through the message and giving Gwendolyn the opportunity to burry her face into Ben's shoulder.

They thought the message was done now, that the feed would cut any second but, Max collected himself and cleared his throat, "Alright, here comes the boring part," he said as he put his thin reading glasses on from off screen and grabbed a few sheets of paper from in front of him, "I, Maxwell Tennyson, of sound mind and body, relinquish all assets in my name to the holders Benjamin Kirby and Gwendolyn Catherine Tennyson once they turn Eighteen years old. All holdings and accounts should be transferred to them in equal shares, and all facilities in my name should be co-owned by them both," he stopped for a moment and removed his glasses slowly, looking back into the camera, "I did a lot of things for the Government that they didn't want me talking about kids, there were a lot of settlements and with a rustic lifestyle like mine… the accounts that will be transferred to you on your Eighteenth birthdays should have hundreds of millions in them, I'm counting on you both to use that money wisely. You'll also receive credentials for the Plumber bases, including Mount Rushmore." After a few more seconds, trying to think of anything else to add if this were to be the last time his grandkids heard his voice, "I made a lot of mistakes in my career, but there is no such thing as failure, only learning. Whatever happened to me, whatever happens… you both should know that I loved you till the very last second," he sighed and glanced around, with nothing left to say, he looked back into the lens and reached for the power button, "I guess this would be Max Out, one last time…" the feed cut and returned to static, leaving the entire room stunned in silence, Ben and Gwen the most shocked from what they just heard.

Gwendolyn wiped her tears, approaching the Danger Alert where the screen began doing something on its own, cutting and editing the footage before sending it out somewhere, "I think it's sending it to his lawyer, the one from the funeral…" she surmised as he stood totally flabbergasted at what he'd heard.

Kai came from behind, putting a hand on his shoulder to get his attention though, it didn't, "Did he just say you were a millionaire?" she raised her brow, almost as surprised as the cousins.

Emily cleared her throat, "I'm pretty sure he said hundreds of millions…" she chimed in, just to correct her.

Ben tightened his fists by his side, not saying a word as the tears dried quickly enough over his cheeks, Gwendolyn turned to face him, reading his emotions was more difficult when they were in a total frenzy this way, "You okay?"

He took a moment or two to inhale through his nose, before letting it out all at once, focusing his emotions on something productive, "We have to go back to Los Soledad… we have to finish this, for Grandpa," he wasn't expecting it but, they all nodded in response, gathering closer for a huddle.

"What's our plan? I mean, it's been made painfully obvious that charging in after them isn't going to work," Kai noted reasonably with Emily standing alongside her, still only listening as she was basically sticking around for moral support.

Ben scratched his chin, glancing down at the glowing Omnitrix humming from his forearm, "No, it'll work just fine…" finally regaining a confident smirk, he looked up into the eyes of his friends with a determined expression. Gwendolyn grinned, this was the Ben Tennyson she recognized, "Last time we were there, it was just us two, we were unprepared and half-cocked… this time we'll be going in fully cocked."

Emily giggled for the first time, causing the three of them to turn to face her in their little huddle, raising brows, "What?! I can't be the only one that thought that was funny…" she looked around at less than enthusiastic expressions.

Ben narrowed his eyes in suspicious pensive thought, trying to think of any way she could contribute at this point, "Emily, do you wanna maybe, go home? This could get pretty dangerous, like more dangerous than me dying on a stretcher dangerous," being a valid concern, Kai and Gwendolyn turned to give her a look when she only smiled in return.

"Are you kidding? This is way more exciting than video games at Amanda's place!" Emily responded with an ear-to-ear grin, not bothering to ask who Amanda was.

Gwendolyn defended her presence by stepping next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder, "She can run comms and monitor the Danger Alert?" she phrased it as a question, hoping he wouldn't make a deal out of it, both grinning widely for his approval.

"Okay, sure…" Ben responded hesitantly.

Kai cleared her throat, unfolding her arms and opening them to glance at both cousins at the same time, "Sorry but, whats stopping this from being just like the last time? I mean, I know I'm a sharpshooter with self-defense but, how much of a difference can I make?" she asked another valid question which he had the answer to lined up.

Ben shook his head, she had a point but, he had been thinking on this decision for some time now and figured now was as good a time as any. "I've been putting together information on some of the super-powered teens we've come across in the last few years," he approached and sat in the control center of the Danger Alert, pulling up database files with images of each teenager, "Cooper, Kevin, Albedo, and Charmcaster?" Gwen exclaimed with a cascade of confused and shocked expressions, "We just finished putting two of them away! And Kevin is… he's-"

Kai raised her brow at the holographic image of him Ben had pulled up among the others, "Kinda cute?" she noted.

"He's dangerous," Gwendolyn finally finished, ignoring Kai's comment, and refocusing back on Benjamin sitting at the computer chair, "And Albedo is too smart to just let out."

"If they get away, which they won't, we'll just catch them again…" Ben reasoned, glancing up into her eyes that had returned to their dimmed emerald shade that once matched his, "This is the entire planet we're talking about, if all we did was slow the Highbreed down… than we need an actual plan to stop them for good."

Gwendolyn looked back up at the images, glaring intently at Charmcaster's image, a heated glare of hatred, the reason she wasn't sleeping in her own bed right now, "I don't like it but, you're right, with a team like that we could walk right in and storm their castle, for a lack of a better term."

"No, I like it, let's storm their freakin castle."

…

Los Soledad; New York; March 18th, 2012; 9:30PM

Deep under a massive military guarded crater laid dormant a starship that held hundreds of DNAlien workers and one last Highbreed commander; some sort of disturbance above ground, the murder of the guards and military operatives, gave the aliens an opportunity continue construction. After a week of working double time, they had nearly completed the crystal arch that would transport the entire military might of their planet to Earth.

The Highbreed commander was shut within his chamber, kneeling on the ground as a thicker, fatter Highbreed spoke to him through some sort of holographic message, totally different from what Max had used. "The Plumber merely slowed down the production of the Xenocites, the transmat beam was unaffected and we are only days away from completion."

"Good, and what of the shapeshifting vermin?"

The Highbreed lowered its head in shame, "He escaped, taking the lives of the three commanders that oversaw the operation, but with Maxwell Tennyson gone… victory is all but assured."

"I am pleased," the superior announced, "Earth will fall just like the dozens of puny worlds before it, and using its orbital position, we will proceed to conquer the entire Galaxy."

"Success is assured," the Highbreed responded slowly.

...

So, this was mainly just a shorter filler chapter, not much to talk about. I'm changing the motivation for the Highbreed invasion a bit but, that's the only change that really matters in the long run. Please review, like it or hate it, feedback fuels me. War of the Worlds is coming next guys, hope you enjoyed!