5Aftermath of the Monsters
For those that didn't live in Boo York, the constant cacophony of noise was more than a little jarring. It seemed to worm its way into every little nook and cranny, permeating from even the most secluded or unlikely of places. The raucous noise of a thousand taxi cabs and other drivers all racing against one another to get to their respective destinations on time; the continual thrum of monsters always pushing and shoving against one another in their hurry; the flocks of pigeons and wild gargoyles that filled the skies and the occasional cry of disgust when someone was pooped on.
Nefera certainly didn't live in Boo York, but she had visited more than her fair share of big cities and had learned to tune it all out. She had more important things to focus on.
It had been little over two days since . . . that night. At least, that was what she had been told. Apparently, after saving all of existence and reality, she had outright collapsed out of sheer exhaustion right then and there on the pavement and had spent the better part of two days recovering. Talk about embarrassing.
When she had eventually woken up, feeling as if she had been hit by a truck, her sister had been right there, patiently sitting at the foot of her bed and staring at her as if it definitely wasn't the strangest or most unsettling thing in the world. In fact, had her life not been in near-constant jeopardy as of two days ago, she would have been scared out of her skin.
Funny how having an intergalactic warlord trying to kill you suddenly made literally anything else less scary.
Under normal circumstances, the two of them would have likely screamed at each other until their vocal cords gave out, at which point they might've tried to fight one another. But ever since that night, circumstances had been anything but normal, and so they did what neither of them had ever actually considered in almost five thousand years: they talked to each other.
Of course, given how long they had gone without an actual conversation passed between them, it had been awkward, at first. There had been a lot of lengthy pauses and false starts and a couple times where she had hoped that she could just go back to sleep because, dear Ra, did everything hurt. Eventually however, Nefera managed to tell her side of the story, everything from the crazy dimensions she had visited to her experiences with time travel – naturally, some parts were omitted. Even if she and Cleo were on significantly better terms, the last thing she wanted to do was give her blackmail to work with.
After that, the two of them had spent many long hours debating where they went from there in terms of their relationship. She had spent most of that time interrupting with her constant apologies and the ever-so desperate need to just hug her sister, after she had been essentially killed and dead for what equated to several hours to Nefera. Despite that argument, her sister still gave her several odd looks and more often than not tensed up whenever she tried to touch her, which she honestly couldn't blame her for.
Thankfully, Cleo had been considerably understanding and the two of them had worked it out that, while they did want to try and repair their relationship with each other, it wasn't going to happen over night. Likely, it would take several years, maybe even decades, before they were comfortable with one another, which was fine by her. After all, what was a few centuries more to someone who was practically ageless?
Following that conversation, she had taken a shower – after spending two days in bed, and in the same outfit she had fallen asleep in, no less, a simple shower felt like paradise – and decided that she needed to get out and stretch her legs, which were practically begging for some exercise after being involuntarily confined to a bed for so long. On the way out though, she had been stopped by Frankie, of all monsters, and had been invited to go shopping with her and the ghouls, including Cleo. It had been cited as a way for all of them – but mostly the two sisters – to bond together, but she had declined.
There were many things that she and her sister were, but neither of them was ready to take their relationship to that level just yet. They still needed time to wrap their heads around everything.
Which was why Nefera was out on the streets of Boo York, being pushed and jostled by people whom she would have otherwise avoided like the plague. She needed time to think and, strangely, it felt good to be just be lost in a sea of faces, to be indistinct from the crowd. Of course, she needed to look the part and her otherwise expensive and high sense of fashion would not only make her stand out, but could draw unwanted attention to herself – and given her less than stellar reputation, that was the last thing she wanted.
The burial bandages that she normally wore as a dress had since been tightly rewound and repurposed for her arms and the silken, blue wrappings she normally decorated herself with had been traded in for a pair of jeans with holes pre-worn into the knees and legs. Her designer, bandage-woven top had been discarded for a short-sleeved, baseball T-shirt with red spots dotting the cuffs. The exorbitant pumps that added an additional six inches to her already intimidating height were exchanged for a pair of golden, high top sneakers. The priceless jewelry and accessories she had used to bedazzle herself had been cut down to a pair of hoop earrings, a red scarf, and a navy blue beanie. The large amounts of makeup she had painted herself with had been forgone almost completely; only a mild use of eye liner and purple lipstick remained.
Her previous outfit, plus her original disguise – a long-buttoned, military, winter jacket with a hood and a pair of sunglasses – had been stuffed into the bag she had previously stowed her purchases in and left in the changing room of a local Helsing's. The moment she stepped back out onto the street, she was completely unrecognizable.
Nefera let out a deep sigh as she mindlessly weaved her way through the Boo York crowds. Perhaps that was for the best, being unrecognizable to others, and maybe even to herself. And besides, the shoes were starting to grow on her; they were definitely much more comfortable than her high heels.
A small scowl crossed her face as she came to a crosswalk, unnoticed by the gathering crowd of monsters waiting to cross the street. She still had many questions she needed answers to – primarily who she was now and what it was that she wanted to do.
"Excuse me?"
The mummy perked up at a sharp tap on her shoulder and turned to see a harpy staring at her with wide, owlish eyes. Nefera cocked an eyebrow at this, a little unnerved by how intently the monster was squinting at her, as if studying her.
"Um . . . yeah? Can I help you?" she asked.
For a second, the harpy didn't speak. "Aren't you that De Nile brat? The one who was a fashion model?"
At the mention of that little stint, Nefera inwardly flinched. Looking back, that was probably one of her worst moments. Her father had pulled a lot of strings to land her that job and she had barely even lasted a week before the entire crew was through with her volatile personality and quit. Her reputation had been ruined and she hadn't worked a job since, no matter how many favors her father tried to call in. She was almost certain that he had even given up on trying to groom her for the day she would take over his antique business, too.
"I wish," she lied, something she was, for once, thankful she was very good at. "I mean, being that rich? I'd never have to work again."
The harpy continued to stare at her with those wide, predatory eyes and for a moment, she was afraid that he had seen right through her. Thankfully though, he merely gave her another blink before he chuckled with amusement. "I guess you're right. Knowing her . . . spoiled nature, there's no way she would be caught looking like that. No offense." he added, gesturing to her outfit.
Nefera decided not to say anything. The light mercifully turned green a few seconds later and she hurriedly shuffled across the crosswalk with her head low, avoiding the gaze of passerby.
As much as she hated to admit it, the harpy's words, though hurtful, were nonetheless true. Her reputation, what little remained of it (if any), was in absolute shambles and for once, that bothered her. It wasn't so much a problem when she was leeching off her family's fortune – back then, her only concern had been the continued suffering of others and satisfying her need for instant gratification. Now however, there were so many other things she had to worry about, the largest of which was repairing her relationship with her sister.
Thus far, all they had done was talk. And while that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it sadly wasn't going to magically fix everything. She could apologize all she wanted, but unless she actually did something to show her – and everyone else, for that matter – how much she had truly changed and wanted to make things better, she wasn't go to get anywhere. The thing was that, while she did want to do something, she wanted to do something that would make her sister look up to her again, something that would make her sister proud of her.
But what could she do?
And . . . was it just her, or did it suddenly just get very dark?
Baffled, Nefera turned her attention towards the sky as, for once, the entire city of Boo York fell silent. The rushing lanes of traffic slowed to a crawl as drivers and passengers alike leaned out their windows in order to get a look. The meandering crowds that overflowed the sidewalks came to a standstill when they all looked up. Even the pigeons and gargoyles turned their focus towards the sky, as if they were afraid of what might happen if they tried to fly away.
The Egyptian princess held onto her beanie as the wind violently whipped her long, blue hair over her shoulders, tearing away anything that wasn't held with a tight enough grip out of the hands of terrified onlookers. The clouds overhead had turned a malicious, dark gray and swirled angrily overhead, forming a large funnel of sorts; it looked like a tornado was about to touchdown.
CRACK-OOOOOOOM!
A thunderous roar, like that of a nuclear bomb going off, suddenly filled the air, sending a shock wave through the city. The deafening noise was joined by a chorus of screams as monsters were knocked off their feet and vehicles violently shifted, haphazardly throwing their passengers from their seats. Looking up from her spot on the pavement, Nefera watched as a pulsating, churning ball of raging, purple energy opened up at the center of the storm overhead. Forked traceries of bright, black lightning rapidly spat forth from the tempestuous maw, slamming into the streets and down the side of a towering skyscraper, blowing all the windows into a million, glistening shards with destructive force.
Pandemonium ensued.
Monsters began to scatter in all directions like a colony of ants whose nest had been disturbed, screaming in terror as they tried to find shelter. Taxis were abandoned as drivers and passengers fled the scene, herds began to pile up at the entrances to buildings as those inside tried to rush out while those outside tried to get in. Others had decided to hunker down on the ground or scramble under abandoned vehicles with their hands clapped tightly over their heads. It seemed nowhere was safe.
Strangely enough, Nefera didn't feel afraid. If anything, she felt . . . strangely calm. Sure, she was tense and on edge, but she didn't feel the urge to try and run and hide. Instead, she faced the tremendous storm that loomed overhead, analyzing it with a critical eye. She couldn't quite place the reason as to why she didn't feel afraid . . . it felt like something deep inside her was telling her to wait for something.
She could feel her hair stand on end as she starred at the ball of energy and the air suddenly became charged with static as . . . something moved around inside the storm. A bolt of electricity suddenly lashed out from the swirling mass of clouds, striking the corner of another building and sending chunks of debris flying in all directions.
The storm began to rumble and churn even more violently than before, as if it had eaten something that made its stomach upset. Whips of hot lightning suddenly stabbed deep into the ground and began to dance wildly across the pavement, destroying everything in their path as whatever entity lurked at the heart of the storm moved about. From what she could gather, what had been one figure was now two and the both of them were moving very erratically, as if it they were struggling or . . . fighting?
She had very little time to ponder this before the two entities were suddenly and quite violently ejected from the pulsating singularity, as if they both been shot out of cannons facing in opposite directions. Twin arcs of crackling, purple lightning flew through the air before landing with a tremendous CRASH! on opposite ends of the street some hundred yards or so apart.
The mummy coughed at the rubble and debris, having been quite close to one of the explosions and attempted to see through the haze despite the stinging sensation in her eyes. When the dust had finally settled, she looked up and felt her jaw drop in aw.
Standing before her was a creature that was completely unknown to her, and yet it strangely felt so familiar. It was about seven or eight feet tall and was covered from head to toe in smooth, black skin, not unlike that of rubber, now that she thought about it. From either side of its head protruded a long, cable-like tentacle with a metallic protrusion at the end that was shaped like a plug; a long, whip-like tail with a similar, bronze growth emerged from the base of the spine, anxiously cracking back and forth with anticipation. While the legs of the creature were lean and lanky, the arms were quite robust and sported a set of fingers whose tips were capped with hollowed, bronze plugs that sizzled with electricity. A single yellow eye took up the majority of its face, just below a set of sharp, cookie-cutter teeth, and a patch of gold that ran down its front.
That wasn't what caught Nefera's eye, though.
It was the familiar sight of the Omnitrix fused to the creature's breastbone.
A sudden explosion drew her attention toward the opposite end of the avenue and she felt a chill go down her spine. Emerging from the smoke and haze was a creature that looked like it had walked right out of a science fiction horror movie.
It was as if some mad scientist had taken a giant scorpion and placed a human torso where the head should have been, like an artist's nightmarish re-imagining of what a centaur might have looked like. The entire body, from the eerily human-like head all the way to the fat, lizard-like tail, was covered in dull orange chitin mixed together with mottled, black spots; powerful toes tipped with sharp claws capped all eight legs. An enormous mouth built like a bear trap that spanned the entire width of the creature was positioned directly below it's humanoid torso, it's maw filled to the brim with needle-like teeth that dripped with toxic saliva. Where it might have had hands, it instead possessed a pair of tremendous, powerful pincers that looked like they could have crushed a car like an egg. Most disturbing of all however, was the creature's head – its' features were surprisingly human, possessing no less than five pairs of yellow, human eyes and a set of feminine lips. The facade immediately failed however, when the creature opened its mouth and revealed a maw that had far too many teeth, even for one that stretched from ear to ear.
The two creatures fell silent, as if they were size each other up. Nefera swore she had stopped breathing and that, despite the distant sound of emergency sirens and the crackling of fires, her pounding pulse was way too loud.
And then, as if on some unseen signal, the two of them charged at each other.
The monster's many legs were an absolute blur as it surged forward, shoving aside anything that managed to get in its way like an armored tank. It screeched loudly and, at the last second before collision, Feedback launched himself straight up in the air. He landed safely on the hood of a car a few seconds later with a low THUMP! just as the creature slammed one of its enormous pedipalps down on the spot he had been mere seconds beforehand. The hideous creature suddenly whirled around at inhuman speeds, screeching horribly as it whipped its tail through the window of a car with a loud CRASH!
The Conductoid had barely enough time to jump to the roof of a forgotten taxi when the monster hauled the crumpled remains of the car over its head and chucked it at him. Had he not ducked at the last second, he likely would have had his head taken off; a fiery explosion went off behind him as the unfortunate vehicle finally met its end.
"Here's lightning in your eyes!" he cried as he fired off crackling whips of electricity from the plug-like tips of his fingers.
The gruesome monster gritted its wicked fangs as it blocked the blast with one of its enormous pincers, shielding its numerous eyes from the bright light. With a terrifying squeal, like that of a petrified pig combined with an enraged grizzly bear, the creature suddenly lunged forward with blinding speed and snatched him in one of its tremendous claws.
"aaaaaaaaaggggggghhhhh!" Feedback cried out in pain at the intense pressure on his abdomen.
Nefera could have sworn she saw a glint of amusement in the creature's eyes and could only watch in horror as it slammed him down to the ground with enough force to drive his skull through the pavement. It then proceeded to use his face like a bludgeon, smashing him into everything it could reach – trucks, cars, a lamp post – before it threw him to the ground again; the mummy shuddered as it loomed over him, licking its wide jaws with a pointed, salivating tongue. Suddenly, without warning, it lifted him off the ground and chucked him down the street opposite of where it had come from with tremendous force.
Nefera bit her lip when the Conductoid rolled and tumbled down the street, wincing with every bounce that he took before he was finally stopped by the grill of an abandoned oil truck with a loud and very painful THWACK! Without a moment's hesitation, she hurried over to him, cringing at the injuries he had sustained. She was no medical expert, but judging by the sheer number of bruises, lacerations, and other wounds that covered his body, he had been fighting for quite some time – far longer than when she had first seen him.
"Ben . . ? Are you alright?" she tentatively asked while she propped him up. This was Ben she was talking to, right? Or at least, a version of him, if what she had been told could truly be believed, right?
She soon got her answer when the Omnitrix fastened to Feedback's breastbone gave off a familiar set of high-pitched beeps before timing out in a glaring blast of intense, golden light. When she could finally see again, she was met with the sight of a familiar adolescent boy with messy, chocolate hair dressed in a pair of khaki jeans and a black and yellow T-shirt with a white number ten stenciled on the front. Clamped securely around his left wrist was none other than the Omnitrix; save for the fact that the device was yellow instead of green, everything seemed to be in order.
With a low groan, Ben sat up and rubbed his pounding head. "Uuuugh . . . where am I? And . . . how do you know who I am?" he asked, blearily blinking his bright, amber eyes.
"You're in Boo York," she replied, her hands hovering hesitantly around him. She so desperately, instinctively needed to touch him. Whether it was to support him or to comfort him – or perhaps maybe even her – she wasn't exactly sure. Since he didn't seem to know her, would that be intrusive? Strange how she never had these concerns before and was now practically drowning in them. "As for how I know you . . . I . . . i-it's a long story. Like, a really, really long story . . ."
"If I had a nickel for every time I heard that . . ." he winced at the aching sensation in his body as he reached into his pocket. The Egyptian princess bit her lip and was about to suggest that he take it easy before her eyes widened in awe and surprise.
It looked like a large, rubber brace of sorts with at least four, white tubes and a variety of miscellaneous buttons poking out of it at seemingly random angles. That wasn't what nearly took her breath away, however: it was the faceplate that made it look like an oversized wristwatch. A green, hourglass shape silently stared back at her and the mummy could have sworn she saw it briefly blink with recognition.
"Is . . . is that an Omnitrix . . ?"
Ben gave a suspicious look, but slowly nodded his head. "Yeah . . . prototype, actually . . . how'd you know? Actually, how much do you know?"
"It's . . . complicated. Sorry." she looked away awkwardly. The last thing she wanted to do was make him feel like he couldn't trust her. "I'm not even sure if you would believe me . . ."
The brunette looked like he was about to say something when a loud noise caught their attention. It was a sort of scuttling sound, the kind of noise that something with many more legs than should have been necessary would make. Nefera was already quite familiar with it – it was the same sound her pet scarab beetle, Azura, when he was making his rounds of the family tomb. The only difference was that the sound was much, MUCH louder and accompanied by the screaming of metal as it was shoved aside or crushed underfoot.
"It's coming closer," she gulped anxiously. "What . . . what is it?"
"It's not an 'it'. It's a her."
Nefera could have sworn her heart skipped a beat when the creature let out an ear-splitting shriek not too far away. "What do we do?" she could feel beads of sweat on brow as the monster drew closer and closer. "What does she even want?"
For a moment, he hesitated and nervously gnawed on his lip. She looked into those crisp, amber orbs of his that shimmered like golden coins and saw a flash of wariness in his eyes; she couldn't exactly blame him. After a moment however, he let out a deep sigh and looked at her a reluctant gaze.
"Listen to me carefully," he told her in a tone that said there was no room for argument. "I need you to take this and run. I don't care where you go or what you to do to get there, but you can't stay here."
The mummy's eyes widened with shock when he took her hand in his and placed the Omnitrix he had been so protectively cradling close to his chest in her fingers. "What . . . b-but . . ."
"Look, I don't know if I can trust you, but I'm kind of out of options here," the brunette gave her a hardened look; the tremendous scurrying was getting closer and closer. "I'm going to hold her off for as long as I can. Just whatever you do, don't let her have it."
"But-"
"Please . . . I need to know I can trust you."
Nefera swallowed dryly. He was looking at her now with a pleading expression, a look that tugged at her fragile heartstrings. But there was something else in there – a steely gaze full of resolve, a look that said he was counting on her and that he couldn't afford to have her let him down. He was taking a big risk trusting her, that much was obvious with a device as powerful as the Omnitrix.
"I won't let you down." she eventually found her voice, giving him a salute and a stoic gaze.
Ben nodded and turned to face the oncoming monstrosity, using the truck he had been brutally smashed into to help himself to his feet. He gave her a glance out of the corner of his eye and she nodded before crawling backwards and under the truck, the Omnitrix pressed close to her chest. With any luck, he would be able to draw the creature's attention away from her and give her enough time to run away and maybe hide the device. With any luck, he'd find her and they could figure out what to do from there.
The Egyptian princess nearly let out an audible yelp when the creature burst through the curtain of smoke and let loose a blood curdling shriek. It sounded like some sadistic madman trying to puree a woman by forcing her through a jet engine at takeoff.
That was when something unbelievable and more than a little unsettling happened.
As the creature slowly stalked towards Ben, her body began to slowly and grotesquely shift, almost as if she were either collapsing in on herself. A continuous squelching noise, like someone dragging their foot through the mud filled the air as her beaded scales began to melt together into smooth skin; the fat, reptilian tail was reabsorbed into her spine, like someone slurping up a strand of spaghetti. The jointed legs went next, collapsing in on themselves like telescopic poles until there were only two legs left. Her colossal abdomen lethargically assimilated into her backside – it was like watching a sleeping bad of flesh roll itself up. Dozens upon dozens of individual tissue fibers knit their way across the monster's tremendous maw until it had smoothly knit itself shut and morphed into a set of abdominal muscles; her remaining mouth steadily proportioned itself . A terrible crackling noise, like that of old leather being torn, filled the air when her enormous claws began to shrink; at the same time, the individual pincers began to split apart until four, dexterous fingers and a thumb had emerged..
A small nub of flesh as sharp as an arrow slowly emerged from the middle of her face, forming a human nose in tandem to a pair of slightly, pointed ears. Hair follicles rapidly stemmed from her scalp, starting out as individual strands that quickly turned into frazzled, bushels of scarlet. Freckles danced upon a pale, brown skin tone while the creature's fangs steadily dulled until they had morphed into the familiar, versatile teeth that all humans possessed; strangely, the canines remained considerably more pronounced. One by one, her extra eyes disappeared, reabsorbed into the body with a reverse popping noise until only two, pulsating, purple orbs remained. Clothing emerged from beneath her flesh with a spine-chilling sound , oozing to cover her figure until it stopped. The transformation was complete.
What stood before them was a woman who was about a head taller than Ben and looked to be about in her late fifties. Her frazzled, red hair stuck out in directions like a fried sea urchin, hanging over her face in messy snarls and occasionally obscuring her eyes. A black choker – or perhaps a metal collar – was clamped tightly around her neck and a once-pristine lab coat draped over her lanky figure. She wore a black, spandex top that clung tightly to her feminine figure and a pair of heavy, khaki pants with what seemed like an infinite number of pockets. A pair of green-tinted goggles sat snugly on her forehead and a pair of black, fingerless gloves hugged her hands; that wasn't what caught their attention, however.
Covering almost the entirety of her left arm was a gigantic gauntlet of some kind. With wires haphazardly poking out between the metal plates, a tangle of hoses and tubes snaking around the entire piece, and exhaust vents belching out an intense amount of heat, it looked like it was going to blow up at any second – it was a wonder it hadn't blown up yet. Protruding from the back of the gauntlet were three, glass tubes of sorts filled with a strange, red liquid and a small screen was located roughly where the wrist would have been.
"My, my, my, what have we here?" the woman purred, licking her chops with a forked tongue. "Going to try and talk me down? Convince me that I've lost my mind? Appeal to my humanity?"
Ben frowned and folded his arms over his chest. "You know I've already tried that."
"Yes, yes, I know." she chuckled cruelly. "So . . . willing to hear me out then? Is that it?"
"As if I'd listen to anything you'd have to say, you crazy-"
At this, her violet eyes dilated and Nefera swore she could see the individual veins. "I . . . am not . . . crazy!" she screamed like a banshee. The scientist suddenly grabbed the bumper of a car and tore it off with a single movement of her left arm before chucking it at Ben like a spear. With only a single side-step to the right, she missed and impaled the truck behind him through the window with a loud CRASH!
"You . . . you don't get to call me crazy!" she snarled, her right eye twitching involuntarily. "You think just because you're a hero that you're the good guy!? Well, guess what? No matter how good of a person you think you are, you're always evil in someone's book! My research was invaluable! I was going to save lives! I was going to change the world!" she viciously spat.
"What you were doing was dangerous!"
The woman smiled calculatingly. "Oh? Is that so? And I suppose in the development of your precious Omnitrix there weren't a few accidents? Nothing ever goes flawlessly, you know. Someone always makes mistakes – a small miscalculation here, a minor programming error there, and who knows what might happen? It's a powerful device, Benjamin, one that can rewrite the building blocks of life itself on a molecular level in less than an instant. Surely someone must have gotten hurt during testing . . ."
Ben frowned and glared at her. "There's a difference between an accident and intentionally mutilating people, Animo."
"True, but both are in the name of progress, now aren't they? They tell you what works, what doesn't, and what bugs need to be worked out before the next phase of testing."
"This is why you were shut down, you know."
The woman's wide, demented smile faltered and her gaze fell to the pavement. "That's what they all say . . . they say what I'm doing is inhumane . . . they say I'm a madman . . ." she clenched her fists at the word, gritting her teeth so tightly that they were close to shattering. "They were jealous, that's what they were. I was wielding life itself on a scale never seen before and all they could think about was how much they wanted to be in my shoes, to be the ones to receive all the fame and fortune. So what do they do? Make a few false accusations here, a few bribes there, and I suddenly have my life's work taken away from me . . . you can't imagine how that felt, to have everything you've worked for ripped away because someone else can't stand the thought of your name being in the history books . . ."
"Yeah, in case you forgot, you've told me this story, like a thousand times by now. Doesn't make you sound any less insane, especially not after what you did to those people."
The scientist rolled her head up to meet him with that same, crazed smile and those same, bloodshot eyes; if she heard him, she didn't say anything. "But now that you have that extra Omnitrix lying around, I can change all that. I could finish my research . . . make a name for myself . . . and earn the glory that I rightfully deserve! They will remember the name alexadria jane animo!" she shouted to the heavens, cackling all the while.
"So . . . I'll ask you this one, last time . . . how about handing over that Omnitrix of yours? Don't worry, I'm not like those lying, self-centered pigs. You'll get the credit that you deserve, I assure you." she proposed with an eerie calm that sent shivers down Nefera's spine, her other hand politely outstretched and waiting.
Ben growled and balled his fists, assuming a fighting stance. "Over my dead body."
"I was hoping you'd say that," Alexandria chuckled darkly. She hungrily licked her lips with her forked tongue as she tapped the small screen embedded into her gigantic gauntlet. She then proceeded to make several selections, her claw-tipped fingers dancing across the screen before before making a final pirouette with an overly-emphasized gesture. At this, the hulking machine began to rumble and shake, belching out scorching exhaust fumes as it chugged along. The vials fixed to the gauntlet's back gurgled and bubbled as they filled with a strange, red liquid, rattling at the pressure they were put under.
The scientist gave a deranged smile when a button popped out of the gauntlet's knuckle and she dramatically raised her hand over her head; Nefera's widened in horror when she realized what was about to happen. "It's a shame, really. I rather liked our little get-togethers . . . oh, well!"
With that, she brought her hand down on the activation button and the vials embedded into the gauntlet's back screamed as they injected their contents into her bloodstream like a set of syringes. Alexandria's cackled madly at the painful, euphoric sensation of the foreign substances flowing through her veins, reveling in her madness and scientific genius as her body began to violently contort and transform.
The woman's face bulged outward and simultaneously flattened with a series of unsettling crunches as the bones in her skull shifted and realigned themselves. Her peculiar canine teeth crackled like broken cornstalks, forming a pair of long, curved fangs; the rest of her teeth followed suit, forming a cage of sharp, cone-shaped teeth inside of a bear trap jaw. A loud CRACK! suddenly cut through the air when a pair of long, downward-sweeping horns sprouted from either side of her head; her violet eyes brightened to a sinister yellow with black slits. A thick mane of black, hair-like feathers erupted from around her neck and broadening shoulders all the way down to her chest. Alexandria's arms bulged as tissue and muscles weaved themselves together, forming a pair of powerful forelimbs. Her fingers let out a series of audible snaps as they were brutally broken and took the form of a pair of paws tipped with razor-sharp claws; one such claw, the one that was on what had formerly been her index finger, was as long and sharp as a scythe. Her skin made a crinkling noise – like crumpling tissue paper – while it split into hundreds of thick, armored scales painted a mosaic of earthy browns and blacks, forming a crude, diamond pattern up her arms and down her back. A sickening CRUNCH! filled the air as the bones in her heels elongated to create a second joint; her toes melted together like glue and morphed into a pair of cloven hooves. From the back of her spine, a long, reptilian tail tipped with a series of kertain-coated rattles whipped out, completing the transformation.
Ben grimaced, but stood his ground as the enormous creature loomed over him, bathing him in its shadow. It was like someone had taken a knife to an unfortunate lion, ibex, rattlesnake, and what he could only assume to be a cassowary, and stitched them back together into one, monstrous amalgamation of parts. It was beautifully deadly as it was marvelously terrifying.
"Just as ugly as the rest, I see," he remarked. He allowed himself a small smirk as he hurriedly tapped the Omnitrix fastened to his wrist and made a selection at random. "But two can play at that game!"
A blast of intense, yellow light enveloped him the second he brought his hand down on the activation button, transforming him into something the likes of which the world had never seen before. The brunette's skin bubbled and cracked violently when a strange kind of purple, silicate mineral burst forth from the flesh of his wrist, swallowing the Omnitrix whole; the cloak of rock and pebbles hungrily raced up this arm, consuming everything in its path. He could feel his bones melt and harden again under the intense pressure, forming a crystalline circulatory system of sorts. The sound of grinding stone filled the air as magenta, crystal spires erupted from his shoulders and forearms. Ben gritted his teeth at the sensation of the rock permeating through his body before it suddenly clamped around his head like a set of predatory jaws, holding him in a prison of stone. If his bones and muscles had a voice, they would likely be screaming while they were compacted into a crystalline visage of his face; crystalline spikes burst from either side of his head and tore through his fingers. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he opened his one, single eye just as a yellow and black jumpsuit clothed him and the Omnitrix manifested itself on his right pectoral, completing the transformation.
No sooner had the amber glare died down did Chromastone immediately erect a shimmering shield of ultraviolet light in front of him, just as the monster pounced upon him. With a ferocious roar, Alexandria slammed into the force field, her wicked claws leaving streaks of white light in their wake as she attempted to get at him.
"Yeesh, you're even uglier up close!" he grunted, making an effort to over exaggerate his disgust. "And that smell! I've got two words for you: breath mints!"
Naturally, the creature didn't take too kindly to have her appearance, nor her supposedly foul breath made fun of. With a snarl, she dropped back to all fours and took several steps back, her predatory gaze never leaving the Crystalsapien for a second. Once she had reached what she deemed to be a suitable distance, she lowered her head and charged directly at him. Chromastone's single eye widened with surprise and he only just barely managed to reinforce the shield before the monster slammed into him headfirst. Even with the shield's considerable strength, he was sent skidding back several feet from the sheer force alone.
Without missing a beat, the barrier exploded outwards and sent Alexandria sliding backwards, leaving deep gouges in the concrete where her hooves had dug in. Before she could set up a second charge, Chromastone came barreling straight at her and decked her across the face. The creature bellowed in pain and viciously clamped her jaws around his arm when he went in for another strike. The Crystalsapien was jerked and yanked in every which way as she shook her head like a bulldog trying to tear apart a hunk of meat.
Not one to give up, much less be turned into a living chew toy, the Chromastone took to punching her in the face whenever he managed to snag the opportunity, aiming for the eyes or nostrils – anything that might get her to loosen her grip or let go. A hard punch to the throat made her instinctively release her hold on him, giving him ample time to fire off a blinding beam of ultraviolet light and strike her square in the chest. Alexandria bellowed in agony and curled itself up into a defensive position in an attempt to weather the relentless assault and wait for an opening.
That was all Nefera needed. She hurriedly stowed the prototype Omnitrix she had been entrusted with and crawled out from under the truck before she turned and ran down the street in the opposite direction. Over piles of rubble and under fallen lampposts with the sounds of battle nipping at her heels like a pack of wolves. It didn't matter how much her body hurt or how confused she was, she didn't stop running.
Not when she felt a tremendous explosion rock the street.
Not when she heard a building collapse behind her.
Not when she even she heard Alexandria's triumphant roar.
She only came to a stop when she tripped over her two feet and nearly fell flat on her face. With her breath coming in ragged, heavy pants, the mummy leaned against the side of a city bus that had been crushed under an avalanche of debris.
She didn't want to stop and rest though – she needed to keep running. Her legs were absolutely killing after an entire day of intense combat and inadvertent bed rest. Her chest ached with every breath that she struggled to suck in, even when she tried to use her sleeve as a mask from the smoke and dust. She swore her heart was going to give out any second from all the stress alone.
A movement caught her eye and she looked up to find herself staring at her reflection in the window of a pizza parlor. Though the building itself had suffered extensive damage – both doors had caved in under the weight of the collapsing roof and smoke gushed out from the back, most likely from orders that had abandoned in the oven – the front window was, for the most part, remarkably intact.
She looked like an absolute mess. Only an hour since she had showered and gotten herself some new clothes and she already looked like she had crawled through Hell itself. Her hair had wormed its way out from under her beanie and hung hot and greasy over her reddened face. Her arms and pants were covered in multiple cuts and bruises she had sustained while crawling through the haphazard labyrinth of rubble, some which had begun to bleed. Worst of all however, her eyes had a tired, haunted look in them, a look that said she wanted to just give in . . .
The mummy felt her stomach churn angrily at the thought. No, she had made a promise, a promise that she intended to keep. This was who she was now. She was a good person now, and good people kept their promises. She would do what was asked of her and keep running, until she could run no more. Even she had to run to the ends of the Earth, she would keep her promise and keep running.
But then . . . that was what she had been doing her entire life. She had been running from her problems, running from her future, running from her inner demons, running from just about everything. She had been running her entire unlife and nothing had come of it . . . not until . . .
Nefera inhaled a deep breath and let out a deep sigh to try and calm her frazzled nerves. Hesitantly, she worked her hand into her pocket and tentatively pulled out the Omnitrix she had been trusted to safeguard.
It wasn't the same, not by a long shot. The first one had been much lighter and less obvious-looking, but it felt the same. She could feel a slight buzzing in her fingertips when she starred at the device's face plate and was greeted with that same, familiar symbol. It was almost a greeting of sorts . . .
A thought crossed her mind while she thumbed the Omnitrix' face plate. If Ben didn't stop Alexandria, someone was going to get hurt. Even if she WAS stopped, there was no telling how long it would take or what would happen in the process. Destruction was obvious, but what about death? The chances that someone, anyone making it out of the fight unscathed were minimum at best . . .
What were the chances that Cleo would get caught in the crossfire?
The princess felt her grip around the Omnitrix tighten at the thought and her mind went back to where it had all started. The odds of meeting alternate copies of themselves, of being hunted down by intergalactic criminals and shape-shifting monsters, and jumping from dimension to dimension in order to save all of reality, were already so small to begin with. And yet, it had happened.
And now it was happening again.
She glanced up and was met with the same cuts and bruises. But where they had once been tired, her eyes now flared with a fiery determination. She looked down at the Omnitrix again and swore she saw it's face plate flicker with the briefest of flashes, as if it were trying to tell her something. A sign of encouragement, perhaps?
She grimaced and clenched her hand around the device. She knew what she had to do.
Though her body groaned in protest, she used the bus to help her climb to her feet and slowly made her way back up at the street. Back over the piles of rubble, back under the fallen lampposts. The wailing of sirens in the distance fell on deaf ears while she retraced her steps through the haphazard labyrinth of devastation. Even when another explosion rocked the ground and another building collapsed ahead of her, she didn't stop walking. In her mind, there was no question of turning back – her only concern was how much time would be wasted arguing over the matter.
The scene Nefera walked in on was one that she had been expecting, but devastating nonetheless. In fact, if it was at all possible, it looked like it had gotten even worse. Enormous craters had been hammered into the street from what she could only assume to be powerful blows. A mess of black, smoldering trails snaked every which way, racing up the side of buildings. Some of the smaller businesses had their tops completely sheared off, as if someone had taken a clean swing at them with a giant knife. A thick cloud of smoke hung like a heavy blanket over the area; flecks of ash and debris rained down like snowflakes in a blizzard, stinging her eyes.
Another explosion about two blocks away caught her attention, shaking the ground beneath her feet. She turned just in time to see Chromastone get thrown out the side of what had once been an insurance agency and just barely manage to land on his feet. He gritted his teeth and unleashed a barrage of ultraviolet bolts into what was left of the lobby as the monster came charging right at him, head lowered directly at him.
At the last second, he jumped to the left and just narrowly managed to avoid getting rammed through the front of another building; her enormous head smashed right through the sandwich shop's front window with a tremendous CRASH!. The crystals protruding from his back glowed a bright magenta when he spun around and fired a beam of ultraviolet light from his eye; he struck Alexandria square between the eyes just as she whirled around to face him. Previous experience had taught him that a shot like that was extremely painful and typically packed enough power to level a small house in a single shot.
Given how she barely even reacted though, he might as well have been trying to fight her with a laser pointer!
"Geez, and I thought cockroaches were hard to kill," he growled. He tightly narrowed his eye in an attempt to increase the beam's intensity, clenching his fists with frustration when there seemed to be no effect. "At least they're better looking than you!"
If Alexandria had been upset before, now she was absolutely furious. With a primal glint in her golden, predatory eyes, she unleashed a thunderous, booming roar that sounded as if it would summon Death himself. The Crystalsapien didn't have time react before her armored skull crashed into him with the force of a runaway train. The instant they collided, a deafening, kaleidoscopic explosion went off and sent the two of them flying in opposite directions with an ear-splitting KRACK-OOOOOOM!
Nefera internal cringed when he flew through the air in a towering arch before landing with a sickening THWACK! at her feet, looking for all the world as if he had been put through an industrial pulverizer; silicate rock shavings flaked from his shoulders as he tried to get up, only to collapse with a groan. A familiar series of dying beeps cut through the crackling flames and smoke before an intense blast of yellow enveloped the the Crystalsapien and returned him to his human form.
She was by his side once more in an instant and, without pausing for a moment, knelt down to help him up. The brunette only gave a tired grunt as he was pulled to his feet, wincing at the way his aching muscles throbbed uncomfortably; he was going to be feeling that in the morning.
"Thanks," Ben muttered as he rubbed his shoulder and gave it a few good shrugs to soothe the sore tissue. It was only after he had paused to get the kinks out of his back did he suddenly realize something. "Wait, what are you doing here!? I thought I told you to keep that thing away from her!?"
The princess pressed her lips at the scathing tone. She had expected this, of course. If there was one thing she was thankful she chose to retain from her horrible past, it was her ability to predict situations and react accordingly. "I did . . . but if you'd been through what I've been through, you'd be tired of running, too."
"What are you talking about?"
Nefera reached into her pocket and pulled out the prototype Omnitrix she had tucked away, her fingers briefly brushing over the comforting touch of the rubber brace. She didn't meet his gaze, but she could practically feel the anger and fear rolling off of him in waves. "You wanted to know how I know so much about the Omnitrix, right?" she looked up, meeting him dead in the eye.
Before the brunette could answer, a low, guttural growl cut through the curtains of embers and smoke like a cut. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and a chill ran up his spine. Even with his years of experience facing villains and monsters alike, he knew he was at a physical disadvantage at the moment, and that wasn't even the worst of his problems. His eyes flickered back and forth between the street and the Omnitrix before him. Was that the sound of shifting rubble or was it the steady ticking of razor-sharp claws clicking against the pavement?
"Is this really the time-"
"It's because I've used one before." the mummy cut him off.
Ben blinked. He certainly hadn't been expecting that and virtually all concern about being hunted down by a genetically-enhanced, hyper-intelligent, psychotic apex predator was completely forgotten about. He found himself unable to tear his gaze away from her as he tried to tell if she was lying or not – a gleam in her eye, a facial tick, anything that might give her away.
Either she was a very good liar or she was telling the truth. He wasn't sure which impressed him more.
"When did you-"
"Do you trust me?" Nefera interrupted him again.
A part of him wanted to scoff at that. She was a stranger to him that knew something about as powerful and dangerous as the Omnitrix, despite being from a parallel universe where such a device should not have even existed. Not only that, but she had directly violated his plead to runaway and had admitted that she did so right to his face. She had practically given him every reason imaginable, short of personally hurting him, not to trust her.
And yet, at the same time, another part of him told her to give her a chance. It was the same part that reminded him that he didn't have many options at the time he entrusted the Omnitrix to her and it was the same part that suggested that he was looking at her all wrong. He saw that look in her eyes – a look that said she wanted to help and she knew how, but was frustrated that she couldn't. It was the same look he had all those years ago, when he first found the device that now hugged his left wrist like an old friend. Back then, he had grown tired of seeing those he cared about getting hurt because no-one could or would stand up for them.
Maybe she was tired that someone she cared about was getting hurt, too?
The brunette was snapped from his thoughts by a ground-shaking roar. He quickly whirled around and growled with annoyance when Alexandria came storming out of billowing clouds of smoke. A cold shiver snaked its way up his spine when the monstrous creature slowed to a stop and curiously cocked her head at them, as if trying to figure out where Nefera had come from; the keratin scales at the end of tail loudly rattled and a low growl filled the air when she locked her molten gaze on them.
She had noticed the prototype Omnitrix.
Ben gave a begrudging sigh. "Doesn't look like we've got much of a choice,"he gave her a defeated look. "You owe me a SERIOUS explanation after this."
"I promise . . . I'm Nefera, by the way. Nefera de Nile." she introduced herself with a small smile. "I think if we're going to do this, we should at least know each other's names, right?"
"I guess. Then again, you already knew my name."
"I'll explain that, too. Pharaoh's promise."
The brunette cocked a hesitant eyebrow. "Does that mean something important?"
"Of course. I AM a princess, after all . . . well, technically, at least. It's been a while since I've been considered royalty, give or take a few thousand years," she mumbled thoughtfully to herself before she noticed his confused expression. "Oh . . . er, I'm a mummy. Not to brag, but my family has a pretty big influence. My father's word means a lot."
"This is going to be one heck of a long explanation . . ." Ben pinched his brow.
"To be told at a later date." she remarked with a hint of urgency in her tone. She could hear the low growl bubbling from Alexandria's throat get louder and louder with every step she took towards them. The keratin scales buzzed angrily, occasionally letting out a shrill scream every time the creature cracked her tail like a whip against the pavement. Though she had never paid particularly close attention in her Hiss-tory classes, the mummy figured this was meant to be an intimidation tactic, an attempt to spook them and make them behave irrationally in the face of danger.
She almost found it laughable, really – she had looked the Devil himself straight in the eye and lived to tell the tale. Not only that, but she had personally kicked him right in the face, as well. Almost nothing scared her now.
"Right," Ben put himself between her and the gigantic creature. "I'll keep her busy, you get that thing jump-started!"
Before she could even argue, he had already turned to the amber Omnitrix fastened to his wrist and brought his hand down on the activation button; a blast of intense, yellow light enveloped him. A soft, crinkling noise filled the air when golden patches of chitin began to appear at random upon his arms and legs, steadily fusing together with his skin. They traveled up his ankles and across his shoulders as if they were racing one another, criss-crossing down over his chest and back. At the same time, the brunette could himself become smaller and smaller, as if he had been placed inside a trash compactor; he could practically feel his skeleton dissolve under the pressure. For a brief moment, his arms and legs were nothing but limp noodles before they managed to reform their joints once more, placing him on four, stick-like legs. A wet sound, like someone pulling off a strip of tape filled the air when the skin on his back began to peel off, forming the vestigial remnants of a wing casing. Ben's eyes suddenly bugged out of his head, swelling to nearly five times their size while his nose was pulled up to form a forked crest from the front of his face. What remained of his jaws thrust themselves out past his lips and snapped sideways, forming a pair of pincers; a yellow and white neck brace with the Omnitrix materialized around his neck, completing the transformation.
"Hey, Ugly!" Ball Weevil squealed angrily. "Here's plasma in your eye!"
For a brief moment, Nefera thought it was pretty cute how the little alien was indignantly insulting the comparatively gigantic creature, as if they were the same size. Then he proceeded to vomit up a ball of yellow goo and give it a sharp kick; the globule sailed through the air like a guided missile and landed directly on Alexandria's face with a wet SPLAT! Before she could even recoil in disgust, the sludge spontaneously detonated with a revolting, wet KER-BOOM! and knocked her clean off her feet.
Nefera didn't think he was so cute after that.
The beast was quick to recover though, and was back up within a matter of seconds. This had given Ball Weevil just enough time to regurgitate another ball of amber plasma and mount it, rolling it along like he was a circus clown; any debris and rubble he happened to run over was absorbed into the ball, steadily increasing its mass.
At the same time, the Insectoid spewed out a near continuous barrage of sticky globules, like a miniature rotary cannon with legs. Needless to say, he easily caught Alexandria's interest and – with a brief cease of fire to let out a terrified shriek upon noticing the murderous intent in her steely gaze – proceeded to draw her away as fast as his little legs could skitter.
With the monstrous creature's attention elsewhere for the moment, Nefera turned her own toward the prototype Omnitrix that sat lifelessly in her hands, awaiting to be awoken. Her gaze panned over the design and she nervously gnawed her lip – it wasn't so much putting on the device that scarred her, but what would happen after that.
If she was being honest with herself, she was quite terrified about what would happen. Would she be able to keep it? If not, would she have to take it off? could it be taken off? The last one she had worn did, but those were under different circumstances. And what about her? With a device as powerful as the Omnitrix, there was no telling who or what would come after her to get their hands on it – those that lusted for its power, those that feared it, feared HER.
What about those she cared about her sister? Would Cleo be afraid of her? Would her safety be put into jeopardy because of her?
How did she even know she was ready to do this all over again?
'you won't', she heard Ben's voice comforting her. 'that's all it is... a leap of faith'.
The princess sucked in a deep breath to calm herself and stared at the Omnitrix. After a minute or so of taking a closer look at its design, she gently wedged her left hand through the wrist band. There was a bit of resistance, as it was currently fastened in such a manner for someone with a smaller wrist, but she eventually managed to work it around her arm. She anxiously worked her lip when the device remained lifeless.
Had she done it right?
She soon got her answer when the prototype Omnitrix suddenly blinked to life with an intense burst of azure energy; a sudden glare of light so intense it could've been seen for miles, if one wasn't blinded by it. The mummy could feel the armband loosen its grip on her wrist ever so slightly and heard a continuous, technical trilling sound, as if it were re-calibrating itself or booting up. A small smile tugged at her lips when the device fell silent and starred back at her. It was almost like she was being greeted by an old friend.
"Sphinx, does it feel good to be back," she fondly rubbed her wrist.
KA-BOOM!
The thunderous explosion shook the Daughter of the Mummy from her memories and she looked up to watch as another building collapsed like a tower of teetering building blocks in a billowing plume of dust and debris. With a terrified squeal, Ball Weevil came speeding out of the cinders and smokes on steadily growing plasma ball with Alexandria hot on his heels – if looks could kill, the little alien would have been scorched to ashes under her molten glare.
"Right, no more fooling around." she clenched her fist. Now was the time for action.
It took only a second to remember that this model of the Omnitrix didn't come with a holographic display or interactive, touchscreen menu and she expertly twisted the rim of the watch-like face to the right. The hourglass symbol at its center folded in on itself, creating a diamond-shaped screen that glowed with a soft, cyan light.
Nefera felt her determined scowl split into a wide smile. While she hadn't had the opportunity to personally use the transformation, she recognized it nonetheless. With a head wreathed in crackling flames, the silhouette of a Pyronite was unmistakable. It was actually kind of appropriate really, considering the first alien Ben had turned into was Heatblast.
Now that she thought about it, that seemed a little rude to be using his alien's names. And while they certainly shared the same species, they were now technically her aliens as well.
"Hmm . . . I think I'll call you . . . Flashflare," she decided and she made her selection. With a confident, perhaps even cocky grin and a sense of courage and determination in her heart, she stood tall and ready to enter the fight with her best foot forward. After all, now was just the beginning of the rest of her new unlife. "Now, what was that catchphrase that Paradox said Ben used all the time? Oh, yeah!"
"It's hero time!"
