"Revenge is like a ghost... It takes over every man it touches... Its thirst cannot be quenched... Until the last man standing has fallen."
- Vladimir Makarov
Morning
The Null Fulton had pulled Ben and Gwen through the portal around 7 in the morning.
Gwen had immediately headed for the couch bed and passed out.
KITT greeted his creator who held his arms out.
The drone hugged his creator and deconstructed the plumber uniform off his body and Ben had black rings where the Omnitrix and his Memory Backup were in his body.
KITT was watching the last 7 hours and all he could say sarcastically "So how was your night?"
Ben let out long groan and just gestured to his back.
Ben didn't usually do this but fuck he was tired. The wall warped and the scrub brush started being rotated at the perfect speed to get the knots out Ben's back and the water adjusted to his thoughts.
Null void
The group had silently made their way back to the camp and they all had let their reaction.
Manny hands were shaking. Helen had started pacing.
Pierce entire body sharpening.
Max was just petting Big Mama trying to calm down who had put her head in his lap with a whine.
Gwen found a spot to sit and covered her face.
"FUCK!" Gwen shouted.
"Yep." Max said.
"There's gotta be like a thousand of those things in there." Pierce said.
"6,488 vulpimancers, 167 humans and from what I can tell a Highbreed." Ben said his eyes were glowing completely green "There's also like 255,347 eggs in there along with 205,987 hatched xenocites in there alone."
Manny hugged his friends trying to get a little bit of the mountain of fear that was pushing on his neck.
"We need to burn the entire void." Pierce said.
Ben blinked and turned to Gwen "Gwen the Genetic Repair tool on the Omnitrix should be able handle a mass repair."
"Uh how?" Gwen asked.
"Just talk to it." Ben said as his eyes glowed green with what looked like text.
Gwen looked down at the device she had spent nearly 6 years cursing out.
[It's still the one on the cover of this story but this is just the best image for Gwens calibrated Omnitrix.]
"Omnitrix...Uh Options on Healing the Vulpimancers?"
"Genetic Damage Repair on large scale possible with proper charge." Gwen's voice said from her Omnitrix.
"That's great how long?" Gwen asked.
"72 hours of standby usage will suffice." Omnitrix said.
"Is there any way to speed that up?!" Helen asked.
"Uh Options on speeding that up?"
"Energy regulation override only available with Master Control." Omnitrix said.
Gwen bit her lip "Is there any way the Ultimatrix could pull it off?"
The dial in Ben's arm materialized and the two seemed to have a discussion.
"Negative. Utilization of that much of User 2's Mana Stock Pile would be lethal levels." Omnitrix said.
Gwen grit her teeth and said "Is there anything that could do it?"
"I have an idea." Another voice said from the Omnitrix.
"Wait Ben?" Gwen said.
"Wasn't me." Ben said.
"I said it." The voice said out of the Omnitrix as the Ultimatrix blinked in sync with it. "Recyling stored transformations could be used to decrease charge time."
Ben looked at his wrist and then towards his chest "What's the conversion?" He said.
"Maximum 5 transformations being recycled would lower the count down to 4 hours." Omnitrix said.
"Why five?" Gwen asked.
"Ultimatrix Hardware unable to maintain functionality and risks irreversible damage beyond calculated parameters." Ben's voice said from Omnitrix.
"Ben are you sure you wanna destroy one of the aliens?"
"I can burn the ultimates." Ben said "Ultimatrix be ready to recycle Ultimate Humungousaur, Ultimate Cannonbolt, Ultimate Spidermoneky, Ultimate Wildmut and Ultimate Bigchill."
"Might wanna lay down for this one." Omnitrix said as if it was giggling.
Ben's eyes were glowing red as the dial on his wrist started spinning and turned red. He saw...
He was seeing the Ultimate's simulation flashing before him. He was seeing the millions of years of being killed and waking up in the next generation of the species. Again and again.
After Azmuth repaired the Ultimatrix when the Ultimates came alive it was a copy of Ben in the simulations. Ben's mind being as those aliens for 1 million years.
Instead of a group angry it was Ultimate Humungousaur jumping in and Ben could feel the flames.
Ben had let out a blood curdling scream as he was clawing at chest as his arm and chest felt like it was on fire.
He was seeing a Vaxasaurian version of his mother trying to eat him. He was seeing the weapons being grafted to Humungousaur by a race of desperate Vaxasaurians needing to fight off Augmented Pturbosaurians and Kaosseffexx Ultimasaurias.
Ben was experiencing the life of that Ben that was burning.
"Hold him down!" Max shouted as Manny had got his arms and Helen had to basically sit on him with her thighs around his head to keep his head from jerking around.
A beep and a confirmation of the count down dropping.
"58.4 hours of standby till mass Genetic Repair." Gwen's voice said from the Omnitrix.
"What the fuck was that?!" Helen shouted.
"I felt it." Ben said "The transformations are extensions of me. Those aren't just samples to burn they ARE part of me. They WERE me. When an Ultimate is Sequenced its MY mind going through a million years of death reincarnation and death."
Just as Ben started calming down the Omnitrix said "Recyling Ultimate Cannonbolt...."
It continued for an hour.
"Gwen I think your AI is a sadist." Ben said.
"Says the User of the cheap knockoff." Omnitrix said sounding alot like Gwen's 10 year old self "3 hours of standby time till Mass Genetic Repair."
Ben just blinked as was shuffling through his Ultimatrix. The dial was beeping as Ben's mouth moved but no sound came out.
"How about I show you Cheap, Dweeb?" The Ultimatrix said as lines of code flashed before Ben's eyes.
"Oh ho ho this is gonna be awesome." Ben said pulling himself up "Grampa Max I have an idea how to handle the place without killing any of the hostages."
"We need the biggest pain in the ass to fight those things. We need something that can stand a war." Ben said holding out his arm to Max.
Max looked at it and his eyes widened "Wait...you don't mean? Your kidding right?" Max asked.
"Go ahead slam it." Ben's grin scared everyone as Max started cackling.
"What's going on?" Helen asked
"We need a wild dog. We need..." Ben said as Max slammed the dial down and his body started changing.
"Sludgepuppy!" Max said in a gurgling voice.
Max was looking at his hands as he started testing the powers. The DNA Data Dump giving him everything. His form melted then formed a mimic of his true form.
"Oh this is gonna be fun." Max said.
"The transformation should last long enough for the Genetic Repair to go off." Ben said as he pulled a hologram "Please let this one work."
"Ghostfreak." Ben's voice echoed as he looked at his form. Jacket was odd add-on but he still felt like himself. "So far so good."
He turned the dial and pressed it down very slowly as if I would explode if he wasn't careful.
"Ultimate Ghostfreak." Ben said his voice sounding like it was coming out of an old TV full of static and real echo-y. "Ok I need 10 minutes to get all the Human DNAliens. This guy can't turn invisible but Getting past the Vulpimancers will be easy."
"10 minutes." Max said as both touched their badges "Good luck officer Tennyson."
Ben nodded and floated to the building.
He glided over the many vulpimancers just sitting outside looking around.
Seeing the first two Human DNAliens Ben ripped a tentacle off his head and threw it at one.
A new eye formed on his face and he was manipulating the person as if he was in it's body.
Throwing a second tentacle at the next Humans he had them go about smashing eggs.
Ben floated around rapidly getting every human with tendrils.
"158 159." Ben said as he was to the final room. The same room Grampa Max Void Kamakazi'ed and the asshole sitting in there.
"Get those vermin..." The Highbreed saw the Evolved Ectonurite just float in.
The two multi eyed creatures looked at one another.
"You look like you've seen a ghost...freak."
"I AM THE ONLY TRUE FORM HERE FILTH." The Highbreed said. "
The humans ran at him but he just watched them swat at him and phase through him.
He pulled off two tendrils and possessed the two.
An alarm went off and the Highbreed looked to see the DNAlien Vulpimancers were all rushing out the door.
Ben gave a deep chuckle as the Highbreed had started rushing out the door but Ben raised a claw and phased it directly into the Highbreed chest.
"You can't touch me vermin." The Highbreed said mockingly.
"No." Ben said sending an electrical shock into the Highbreed muscles to pin him in place.
"But they can." He chuckled as over 100 possessed humans were running down the hall armed with whatever Item could be used as a weapon.
Outside
Max had ordered Big Mama to guard Gwen and the 11 noncorrupted Vulpimancers sat around her facing out ready to guard. "If you can go alien after the genetic repair join us but stay here." Max said "That's an order as your legal guardian."
"Yes Grampa. Please just make it back. I thought you were dead." Gwen said.
Max was on the back of Fido leading the assault.
A loud Roar from Fido rushing in the middle of the group making as much noise to get the vulpimancers to face inward and chase the Lenopan riding a Vulpimancer.
Pierce was handing Manny quills and he was throwing them like javelin's. Helen was circling the place making sure they all were focused on the building.
"Still can't believe you were second place in javelin's." Pierce said.
"It was freshman year." Manny said "Missed you homie."
Pierce smiled "Missed you too."
Max
Fido held is own as Sludgepuppy was weaving through his corrupted family and keeping them from actually getting overwhelmed.
Max had a 10 year war of being on the receiving end of these tactics to 'Tactically Accuire' from.
A teeth bit him and he warped his body forming a muzzle and hitting another with him.
Tendrils formed and Max punched a few in the gills.
Max seem to just be flowing even faster and faster as the fight went on. The thing about this transformation was it wasn't Max as a Lenopan it was if Ben was the transformation so he was essentially fighting in a young man's body.
When Fido had seen a Human Max saw the tendril sticking out its head and he put a hand on Fido "Easy boy."
Fido sniffed around and he picked up another DNAlien Vulpimancer.
Gwen
Gwen was waiting as she actually could relax but couldn't. She was leaned back with a fluffy dog resting it's head on her lap and she still couldn't get the need to run.
"Omnitrix could you always talk and just never bothered to?" Gwen asked.
"Negative. Voice feature was not incorporated until recalibration." Omnitrix said.
"How come when Ben puts you on you turn green? Follow up why do I have cat ears on all my aliens?" Gwen asked.
"Omnitrix form and color dependant on welders preferences." Omnitrix said.
"How much time?"
"20 minutes of Standy required to begin Mass Genetic Repair."
"What is that weird eye thing with Ben?" Gwen asked.
"Ultimatrix parameters program a direct Heads Up Display instead of Voice Activation." Omnitrix said.
"Can you do that?" Gwen asked.
"Negative."
"Can you activate yourself without me touching you?" Gwen asked.
"Master Control required for Voice Transformation."
"Can you change my clothes?"
"Clothing Change Option is available when leaving transformations."
"Could you change my hair in human form?" Gwen asked "I'm tired of paying for haircuts or doing it myself."
"Yes."
Gwen crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "Ben said he's afraid of getting rebooted. If you do this heal thing am I gonna be a 10 year old again?"
"Negative. Power Regulation prevents unnecessary rebooting." Omnitrix said.
Gwen closed her eyes and then heard a notification.
She raised the Omnitrix up and a shockwave spread out.
As it ran over the unconscious Corrupted Vulpimancer she watched it turn back to normal and Big Mama walk over to her offspring.
Gwen ran to see the facility being cured.
Gwen quickly popped up her dial and slammed it down.
"PekaBoo!" Gwen said floating towards the building.
Ben
Max had arrived just as the Highbreed had thrown the last humans back and was about to kill one when Max had gotten the Highbreed into a grapple.
"You think any of you vermin will stop the Highbreed? If I fall the xenocites are already to Hatch and-"
A pulse of energy had everyone cured.
"What?!" The Highbreed looked around.
Max and Ben cackled "This whole place just got fumigated." Max said.
"The whole void is." Ben said laughing "The Null Void is a closed system so the wave is gonna hit a wall then bounce around the whole void."
Max heard a beeping from his badge "this is Magister Zion I am seeing hundreds of DNAliens suddenly changing back to human."
"Officer Sirname reporting similar events."
"Proctor Ions reporting the same."
Max had coated the Highbreed's arm and made him punch himself repeatedly.
"Ultimatrix, status on all Xenocites within facility." Ben said.
"324 xenocites remain remaining across Null Void."
Ben had the possessed humans high five, chest bump, hoot and hauler.
The Highbreed had swung at the humans "I WILL NOT BE TAKEN DOWN BY YOU VERMIN! I-"
"PikaBOO!" Gwen said phasing through the wall.
"Lookin' good Cuz!" Ben said.
Gwen phased into the Highbreed and repeatedly slammed its head into a wall until it fell unconscious.
The Tennyson's breathed as Max pressed his badge "Magister Tennyson reporting a captured Highbreed and a curing of Xenocite infections. Require transportation for I'm guessing 200 humans."
"Copy that rooter team on route for pickup."
The humans were walked into a ship and the tendrils left their heads after they were buckled in.
Two Plumbers were carrying the Highbreed to a transport till Ben asked them to hang on.
"Jesus H Christ what the fuck that?!" The plumber shouted.
"Officer Tennyson." Ben said saluting.
Ben tapped the Ultimatrix and the yellow scanner ran over the Highbreed.
Gwen did the same and a new transformation popped up.
What is this vermin? What weapon have you tried and failed to-"
"PowerPlant!/NeonFlower!" The two shouted.
The Highbreed was seeming to have both a panic attack from the transformations.
The cousins laughed as the Atasian was carted off in a prison transport.
They along with Max turned back to human.
Back to the Rust Bucket
Ben walked into his room and pulled on a pair of compression shorts and crawled into bed.
He felt a warm body laying next to him and he just didn't question it.
The 3 hours of helping with clean up and Ben having to log the whole thing so it would count for his hours was what really got everyone exhausted. Ben still had to get that paperwork filed but he'd do it after sleep.
KITT was already converting the memory into a document which Ben would read later before sending.