The Elemental Enerithian (Ben 10)

All That Glitters

 "Communicator channel?" Kevin asks confused. "Yeah. You... did know the badges are communicators, didn't you?" Mike turns to face him. "So, you keep an eye on things with this stuff and use your powers to help people. You're like your neighborhood's very own superhero." Gwen chimes in. "Like a very flashy Superman." Aria muses. "Yeah, I guess so." Mike chuckles. "You know what I'm thinking?" Ben asks, walking over to Mike. "I know what I'm thinking." Kevin says softly. "You should join our team." Ben suggests. "Don't you think we should-- I don't know-- get to know this guy a little more?" Kevin protests. "What's to know? He's got the powers. He's got the gear." Ben lists. "He's got the sparkly trail when he flies." Kevin mocks. "And it's what Grandpa told us to do." Ben dismisses, walking closer to Mike. "My Grandpa Max was a Plumber, and he disappeared looking into this big alien conspiracy that's going on against Earth. We're trying to find him so we can stop it. Want to help?" Ben explains. 

Mike looks over at Aria and Gwen with a smile, and they return it. "I'd love to." Mike accepts then the power goes off and turns on again. "Forgot to pay your electric bill?" Kevin jokes, walking closer. "The electricity's been a little undependable lately. No worries. My backup generator kicked in." Mike answers. "This isn't a brownout. Look at this spike in the power usage at the local power substation." Ben walks over to the monitor. "The energy drain is enormous." Ben shares, pointing to the chart. "Really?" Mike asks, walking to the monitor. "You said something strange was happening in town. This definitely qualifies." Ben says. "If you need to check it out, we'll help." Gwen suggests. "Yes, we will." Aria agrees. "Thanks. We should." Mike accepts, walking away, and the group follows. Gwen stops and looks down at her wrist, sees a weird symbol, and gasps.

°•☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°•☆°•

At the power station, they find the padlock on the gate open. "Stay sharp. We've got company." Ben warns. They enter the station, hearing nothing but the sound of electricity humming. "Sounds like that buzzing sound you always hear in old monster movies." Mike points out. "Any time you hear a sound and your only reference is monster movies, it's a good idea to walk the other way." Kevin advises. "Good rule of thumb." Ben smiles. They hear the electricity intensify, and they see a girl acting as a conductor of electricity. The girl spots them and growls, and Mike steps in front of the girls to protect them. She rips an electric box off the ground and throws it at them Aria walks forward and swipes her hand to the side creating a dark, semi-translucent, smoky shield, which has glowing edges to outline the shape and flickers as Aria isn't too focused. The the box hits the shield it ripples distorting the surface of the shield. "Awesome." Kevin says in awe of the girl's power.

 More girls appear, and Aria takes down the shield, causing it to fade away, and backing into Ben. "The girls here-- kind of weird." Ben says, placing a hand on Aria's shoulder. "They're wearing uniforms from my school, but I don't recognize them." Mike points out, side-eyeing Ben and Aria. One girl rips a pole from the ground, prompting Mike to shoot energy bolts at them, slowing them down. "Energy bolts-- nice!" Ben compliments. "I do that and more all the time yet I never got any compliments." Aria mumbles, stepping away from Ben. "Try not to hurt them! Maybe we can reverse this... whatever it is." Mike advises. The girls charge at the group, and the one with the pole attacks Kevin, who dodges her attacks. "Try not to hurt them?" Kevin asks. Two girls charge at the rest, one going for Ben, who jumps back, and the other going for Mike, Gwen, and Aria. Mike flies away, and Gwen blocks the girl with a mana wave. Mike shoots bolts at the two remaining girls and misses and Aria and Gwen restrain them.

 Gwen with her mana and Aria with her shadowy tendrils. Gwen's hands shake, and her mana turns black before breaking and causing the girl to pass out. Aria lets go of the other girl and catches Gwen. "Is she okay?" Mike asks, flying down to them. "Yeah." Aria nods, watching the girl open her eyes. "I felt weak for a second. I feel better now." Gwen shares, standing upright and staring at Mike. "I'm just gonna..." Aria points to the girls who got back on their feet. She blows them away using air and stares back at Mike and Gwen, who are holding hands, giving the girls time to escape. "Ari, seriously?" Kevin asks, walking over. Aria looks back and sees the girls running away. "Sorry." She apologizes. Chromastone walks over and detransforms. "It's okay. We all make mistakes. The important thing is, we stopped them from... doing whatever it is they were doing." Ben comes to Aria's defense. "We'll get better as we work together more." Ben adds. "We do make a good team." Mike says, looking at Gwen, who hums in agreement.