Hidden inheritance

Chapter 10: Back with an apology

Ben paused.

Ectonurite? Escape? Freak?

Ectonurite. Freak. Escape.

Ghost. Freak. Escape.

Ghostfreak escaped.

"Ghostfreak is gone!"

Vilgax looked up in confusion. What was his son talking about?

"What do you mean, Benjamin?"

"Ghostfreak, he's my Ectonurite form. I used him first time you took me there after I fought Phil." Ben recalled. "Turns out, he was hiding inside the watch because his DNA was still sentient or something about his species. He tried to possess me to become whole again and take over the world, but now all that's left of him is a pile of dust."

Vilgax frowned. "An Ectonurite that infiltrated your Omnitrix to control it? I must admit, that's an elaborate and risky plan, it's a wonder he even managed to reach the insides of the Omnitrix. He must've passed as a DNA sample to do such a plan. Did he... did he hurt you?" he asked with concern.

"He tried. He used Gwen to bargain for the Omnitrix. I didn't have a choice, so I let him get close. When he was about to possess me, the Omnitrix turned me into Grey Matter and I was able to escape. Then, I lured him somewhere away from Grandpa and Gwen. Kraab used his weird goo to turn him visible and Sixsix neutralized him. I reprogrammed the Sun Gun that Grandpa used with Grey Matter's genius to boost its power and turn Ghostfreak to ash."

There was a mischievous expression on his face as he smiled devilishly. He had fun showing that alien who was the boss around, and who was the one to control him while he was captive of the Omnitrix. He couldn't help himself anymore, it felt so nice teaching bad guys a lesson that way, no matter how severe and vicious his moves became.

"He did kinda take over me when he was still in the Omnitrix. I turned into him when some goons attacked, and we gave them a good kicking in the butt. Not sure if it was all him or if I didn't take part in it, it was kinda fun."

"I'm relieved that fiend didn't live long enough to see who he'd deal with if he succeeded, even if he could've been useful to uncover the rest of the Omnitrix's secrets." said Vilgax. "Ectonurite consciousnesses exist within every single strand of their DNA, all he'd need would be a simple remaining strand to be recreated from scratch. Where did you leave his remains?"

"Probably in a school dumpster or in a garbage pile, don't know if there was a janitor where he died. It looked like child labor in that school, they were studying even during summer!"

Vilgax would've probably given Ben a knowing smile if his mouth was visible. He remembered disliking the extra classes at the Academy when he didn't perform well enough, it was exhausting to study, practice his fighting and hear the complaints of his superiors and coaches. Now that he was king, he could take a vacation whenever he wished. Well, after maintaining his kingdom's peace and safety, he wasn't a slacker either.

For now, he had a child to take care of.

"Wait, is Kevin gonna turn into him or something?"

"His absorption powers are remarkable, but the data I gathered from his DNA samples showed no presence of any anomaly. He may have used those powers, but he hasn't succumbed to their owner, so you don't have to worry. Speaking of which, this means you don't have the Ectonurite sample available if this Ghostfreak left, right?"

"Yeah." Ben said, looking at the dial of the Omnitrix. "I can't find him anymore, not sure I want to. He always made me feel like I was someone else, instead of me. It freaked me out, I never get that feeling with my other aliens."