Ben 10 X Worm SI Quest

[Soundlesssteps]

Trigger Warning. This is a SI story that kicks off due to ROB shenanigans. This quest also has an unusual format, such as the most important vote being in the poll. Please read this thoroughly so you understand.

I've had a few ideas for a worm fanfic, but this one stood out the most. This is a different flavor of quest where the readers have little control over the story direction or character decisions. The biggest choices to make now would be the MC's name, the initial date of this story, a vote on each transformation's chance of randomization that can be changed at any moment, and which alien will be slated for the story's first soft unlock. After that, voters will have control over each chapter's alien roster, subsequent soft unlocks, and in some cases, what the next conflict will be.

The choices of starting date are New Years Eve or the night of the Lung battle. The former will include an encounter with Taylor's trigger and conflict shared between the villain gangs. The latter will tread familiar ground.

This story quest will use a number randomizer in place of dice. Every transformation will have a 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, or 1/5 chance of failure, depending on votes made in the poll. If it fails, a number between 1-12 is selected. 1-10 chooses from the chapter's roster while 11-12 will lead to a final roll that selects a random alien from the show's history+. (Edit: I've decided to cut out the middle roll for anything past chapter two. The roll of 1-70 will follow a failure.) The selected alien will be unlocked for future roster selection. (Edit: As of chapter five, I've decided that master control can only be unlocked by unlocking all 70 listed aliens.)

Soft unlocks allow fan favorites to be unlocked easily. Once voted in, a soft unlock remains locked until an alien within 3 spaces of him is selected randomly. (Example: Clockwork is 44. 41-43 or 45-47 would unlock him.) Chose carefully.

Once aliens are unlocked, voters can chose which alien will replace an active one at the end of a chapter. The new alien will take up the replaced one's roster number, which is independent from the list number. Both will be shown in chapter 0-2 and updated with each chapter.

I plan on posting chapters in Space B, Specific V, Fanfiction, and AO3 and pulling votes from all four. The latter two won't be posted until chapter 1-1 is done. It would be helpful if anyone felt like tallying votes for me.

Choose MC name.
[]Write in
Choose starting date
[]New Years Eve 2010
[]April 10th 2011

 

[Soundlesssteps]

Here is the alien roster and the total list of aliens as of right now. Unlocked aliens will have their names in bold type.

Alien List:

1 Wildmut
2 Four Arms
3 Grey Matter
4 XLR8
5 Upgrade
6 Diamondhead
7 Ripjaws
8 Stinkfly
9 Ghostfreak
10 Heatblast
11 Cannonbolt
12 Wildvine
13 Spitter
14 Buzzshock
15 Arctiguana
16 Blitzwolfer
17 Snare-oh
18 Frankenstrike
19 Upchuck
20 Ditto
21 Eye Guy
22 Way Big
23 Swampfire
24 Echo Echo
25 Humungousaur
26 Jetray
27 Big Chill
28 Chromastone
29 Brainstorm
30 Spidermonkey
31 Goop
32 Alien X
33 Lodestar
34 Rath
35 Nanomech
36 Waterhazard
37 Armodrillo
38 Terraspin
39 NRG
40 AmpFibian
41 Fasttrack
42 ChamAlien
43 Eatle
44 Clockwork
45 Jury Rigg
46 Shocksquatch
47 Feedback
48 Bloxx
49 Crashhopper
50 Gravattack
51 Ball Weevil
52 Walkatrout
53 Pesky Dust
54 Mole-Stache
55 The Worst
56 Kickin Hawk
57 Toepick
58 Astrodactyl
59 Bullfrag
60 Atomix
61 Gutrot
62 Wampire
63 Cepholopounder
64 Pun-isher
65 Hybrid
66 Badaboom
67 Infurnace
68 Anthropomorph
69 Rata-tat-tat
70 Etherion

Roster:

71 Wildmut
72 Four Arms
73 Grey Matter
74 XLR8
75 Upgrade
76 Diamondhead
77 Ripjaws
78 Stinkfly
79 Ghostfreak
80 Heatblast

Which alien should be the first soft unlock?
[]Write in

 

[Pyran]

I'm not sure about the name.
[X]Echo Echo
[X]New Years Eve 2010

 

[Soundlesssteps]

Here's what I want to do.
[X] Adopt Ben Tennyson's name
[X]New Years Eve 2010
No vote on alien.

I want to adopt Ben's name because I suck at them, and I want New years because I feel it offers more opportunity. Please include a sur-name in name votes.

 

[ChildishChimera]

[X] Ethan
Choose starting date
[X]New Years Eve 2010
[X]Big Chill

 

[Warer]

[X] Ethan
Choose starting date
[X]New Years Eve 2010
[X]Big Chill

 

[Blueshift]

[X] Adopt Ben Tennyson's name
[X]New Years Eve 2010
[X]Clockwork

 

[Markala]

[X] Ethan
[X]New Years Eve 2010
[X]Big Chill

All teh smol cute ghost-icicle babeez. ;P

 

[NúmenoreanNazgûl]

[X] Adopt Ben Tennyson's name
[X]New Years Eve 2010
[X]Big Chill

 

[edboy49]

[X] Adopt Ben Tennyson's name
[X]New Years Eve 2010
[X]Big Chill

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

[X] Big Chill

 

[SnorlaxMotive]

[X] Adopt Ben Tennyson's name
[X] Gravattack
[X] New Years Eve, 2010

Gravity powers, and not that bad an alien from omniverse in my opinion.

 

[Shinichi07]

[X] Adopt Ben Tennyson's name
[X]New Years Eve 2010
[X]Big Chill

 

[OutFoxedraider]

[X] Adopt Ben Tennyson's name
[X]New Years Eve 2010
[X]Big Chill

 

[The Stormbringer]

[X] Adopt Gwen Tennyson's name
[X]New Years Eve 2010
[X]Big Chill

 

[devo342]

[X] Adopt Ben Tennyson's name
[X]New Years Eve 2010
[X]Big Chill

 

[the swarm]

[X] Adopt Ben Tennyson's name
[X]New Years Eve 2010
[X]Big Chill

 

[Soundlesssteps]

(Apologies to Fanfiction and AO3 readers for any starting confusion. I blame their Terms of Conditions/Rules & Guidlines. Check out Space Battles or Specific Velocity for the full picture.)

The probability votes of both sites came up to 6, 2, 5, and 5 at the time I reached the transformation for this chapter; so 1/2 will be the chance of randomness here. Keep in mind that you can change your vote at any time.

There were a number of votes for an alien you guys wanted to see. Snare-oh, Gravatack, snd Clockwork got one vote. Way Big and NRG got two. One silly guy voted for Ghostfreak (until he changed it), but the winner with a whopping double digit votes was Big Chill. (Laughs evilly.) I have plans for him, provided that the unlocking conditions are met.

Now this isn't being beta-ed and likely won't be. I prefer to let you guys handle that. If errors trouble you, give it a day.

[X]Story begins New Years Eve 2010

Time: Friday, Dec. 31, 9:32 AM
Location: Brockton Bay, E88 territory

Cold air nipped at a young man's skin, forcing him awake in search for the blankets that were certainly thrown off him in some kind of midnight fit. With being a morning person only requiring a small application of will, he quickly sat up and took in his surroundings: six to eight story buildings bordering an alley that led to sparsely populated streets, broken up by pockets of snow. It was not a not a small sparsely decorated room in a southern home co-owned by him and his married brother; even though he was the one who handled the down payment. Not that this detail was ever important, especially at the moment.

The sight of an unfamiliar city where there should be some part of small town suburbs left him frozen in place, his brain blue screening at the incomprehensible facts before him. "What! The! Fuck!"

After that universal error message, his priority quickly shifted to the winter chill. His jacket was thankfully thick, but was just as unfamiliar as the rest of his fucked up situation. He did not own a black jacket with thick green stripes down the center and his arms. Even his shoes were different, being white with green lines forming an hourglass type shape on the sides. "Okay, enough checking myself out. I'm not figuring this out standing around, doing nothing. At least I'm not chained up somewhere and being experimented on."

He moved to stuff his hands into what he assumed to be his new jacket, (because who else's could it be) and froze again when he noticed something on his right arm catching on the pocket. "And what is it this time?" he grumbled out. Felling that he was one unpleasant surprise away from a complete meltdown, he pulled his sleeve out from over the offending object to find what looked like a very familiar white and green watch with an hourglass symbol outlined by two green angles and the time of 9:36 displayed on the black face.

It looked like the goddamned Omnitrix from Omniverse, and was freakishly realistic on top of that. He stretched and flexed his wrist, only feeling slightly disturbed by how comfortable it was. He hated watches simply for being even a minor encumbrance, but this one barely added any bulk. It felt secure, as if tied tightly into place, yet it didn't pull at his skin even a little. With the cold completely forgotten, he ran his fingers across it, unintentionally swiping away the time display and showing what looked like the universal, or at least planet wide symbol for a phone. "Right, a fancy phone watch that looks just like the Omnitrix. Why not?"

He continued looking at the watch, tapping the symbol to see if it came with a keypad. What he got was something a fair bit more creepy. "Please state the number you wish to call." said a feminine robotic monotone coming directly from the watch. After a few moments of internal complaint at the seemingly voice exclusive interface, he decided to try out his own phone number.

Unsurprisingly, it connected and began ringing. Far more surprising was that someone with an unfamiliar voice had answered. "Who the fuck is this?! Don't you know how fucking early it is?!"

He was stupefied for only an instant before he blinked it away and ended the call, only to realize that he should have told him 'wrong number' before hanging up. He shook away the small amount of discomfort at the minor faux pas and began calling every number he knew, which turned out to be a very small list. Either way, the result was much of the same with varying levels of rudeness coming from the other end of the line. It was confirmation that the phone actually worked, but it didn't answer any burning questions of where his family was or where he was. Even going as slowly as he was, everything was piling on too quickly. Only his highly logical tendencies were keeping the young man from freaking out.

He turned his focus back on the mysterious watch with his curiosity being the only thing keeping him sane at the moment. Running his fingers along the side revealed a small button on the lower edge of the face. With a pit of nervousness anticipating some ridiculous moment of truth, he clicked it. The face sprung open and a circular dial rose from the center. However, the most damning change was was a lime green holographic ring that hovered over the device.

Within the ring's borders were 10 very familiar faces: those of the original 10. Something about it seemed off...different from what he remembered. Still, the holographic image was far beyond anything he would expect to see on current technology. Taking a moment to look down the two streets a to see if anyone had taken notice of him, he ducked into a corner of a dumpster with his back to the visible street so he could finish figuring it out privately.

After learning that the ring wasn't made of hard light, because that would have been too ridiculous, he turned the raised dial and watched in glee as the ring rotated with it. From there, he knew that there was only one test left, one that began with a massive decision.

After some thought, what he wanted boiled down to not being seen. He knew Ben 10 was more than popular enough to trigger memories in anyone under thirty, so there was little doubt that seeing one of Ben's aliens in real life would stir all kinds of shit. He had some doubt if it would work, but he saw more than enough to engage a better safe than sorry policy. That left two choices, four if he included being extremely fast or being a giant amorphous blob, but being really small or invisible trumped both of them in stealth. It was difficult to decide since he'd have to figure out how to turn invisible, but the other option just didn't have the same cool factor. When the cold made itself known again and he remembered a little tidbit about how size affected heat loss, the choice became a hell of a lot easier. Plus, Ghostfreak was awesome.

He turned around with his arm hidden and watched the street long enough to know for sure that none whom passed by had paid him any mind. With a smirk, he knew just what to say before pressing the dial. "I'm going Ghostfreak."

1/2 Roll=2 - Success.

The transformation was indescribable, but not for the typical reasons. It just happened so fast, there wasn't enough time in the in between stage to even begin to process it. Ghostfreak looked at his hands with his single eye and felt some unexpected relief at seeing the gray protective second skin that looked to have been ripped at the tips and hung off his bony claw tips in wispy tatters. He began to will himself invisible and immediately began to feel his body begin to disassociate itself from itself, for lack of a better description. As he reached halfway, a sudden screech drove him to accelerate the process and shift his eye to focus on a short and mousy/cute woman pushing a baby carriage.

They stared at one another for an appreciable moment, or a least he did while she stared was what looked to be a random dumpster at the moment. Even so, every instinct and experience she had warned her to be ready for whatever that apparition was. She refused to believe that it was a figment of her imagination; that kind of thinking led to careless mistakes. She couldn't afford those, especially with her baby potentially on the line. Unknown to her, Ghostfreak had already started flying towards the shore the moment that he noticed her getting defensive. Floating well above where anyone could be expected to hear him, he started giving himself a verbal lashing. "What was I thinking?! I was supposed to turn invisible right away! Now I've probably traumatized some poor mother! She probably thinks I'm going to attack her baby...if she didn't recognize me. I honestly don't know which is worse."

"And what am I doing?! I wake up in a strange alley, in strange clothes, with a working Omnitrix! I need to find somewhere to hide so I can freak the fuck out!" He flew towards the docks, an abandoned warehouse well away from any busy sections of the city catching his eye. "Pun not intended!" he exclaimed after realizing what he said just a few moments earlier.

He flew through the sides of the building without a second thought then began floating through and between rooms while ruminating on his situation with his eye closed, only occasionally mumbling out loud. It was only by pure chance that he heard some whimpering as his phased into a pitch black room, which posed no problem for his Ectonurite vision. Shocked still, he opened his eye and saw four teenage girls. The Asian looking one could possibly pass for a pre-teen. Two of the others were of African descent and appeared to be in their mid-teens while the single Caucasian girl was somewhere in the middle age-wise. Despite the pitch blackness, all of the ethnic individuals were looking around with expressions that were two parts terrified, and one part defiant. The defiant older girl held the Caucasian in her arms, drawing his attention to the shuddering girl who was the source of the whimpering he heard. While the older two had torn and dirty clothes and the youngest was nearly pristine, she was barely decent with bruises forming on her stomach, arms, and neck. "Who? Did? This?!"

His voice was hollow, raspy, and echoing all at once. His four clawed hands cricked and cracked as he clenched them tensely. Had he not been so enraged, he would have noticed his affect on them. "I asked...who did this?"

The strongest of them steeled her eyes, but was betrayed by her shuddering grip on the other girl. "W-who's there? You a cape?"

Ghostfreak's fiery rage was doused by the deluge of thoughts and implications that one last word brought to his mind. Even with his present state of being, it fell too far outside his worldview for him to be comfortable with. Only the much greater priorities sitting right in front of him kept him focused. "Yes, I'm a superhero."

With that declaration, the tension in their bodies dropped by half. "It's the ABB. There still here in the building somewhere."

... "Then I'll pay them a visit," he said after a long pause, adding a hissing tone to the last word that lasted for five seconds too long.

"Hey! Who are you?! Aren't you going to let us out?!" she yelled into the black void...but he was already gone.

Time: Friday, Dec. 31st, 9:47 AM.
Location: Docks/ABB territory, abandoned warehouse

It was a good raid last night, a stroke of luck even. Such was Takoshi Kichirou's lot in life. It was even in his given name, meaning lucky son. There was certainly something divine involved when his parents chose that name. He may not have realized it until eleven years ago, a full third of his life before today, but he had truly been blessed.

Before Kyushu, he managed to rise quickly through the ranks as a member of the Yakuza at a very young age, something his current wisdom accredited to him always being in the right place at the right time to demonstrate the skills he was gifted with. It was when an errand that he wanted no part in took him far away from Kyushu a mere day before the sea-serpent's attack that he was enlighten. His luck persisted, allowing him easy access to America's Brocton Bay, where he was able to run a decent group for many years under the noses of The Protectorate, The Teeth, E88, and even The Nine during their short visit. When the E88's noose inevitably found him, He appeared. From there he advanced easily through the ranks of the united ABB and took the position he coveted most of all.

Today's 'merchandise' was just another small point in his favor. While the older two were more in lime with his usual finds, the other two were special. The Chinese brat's parents were too far back on their payments, which left paying the price to the kid. He barely had to yell at them to get them to stop begging. She may have been off limits for the moment, but the Geisha would have her trained before the next year was up.

The Immaculata bitch was the real source of his good mood. Breaking her in was cathartic, especially after he heard her apologize to her parents for some reason. The following chorus of 'I'm sorry daddy' was perfect. The little bitch probably ran away from home after not getting the presents she wanted or something asinine like that. It wouldn't have surprised him if she was connected to those Nazi scum either. In fact, she more than likely had this coming.

Feeling self-assured in his path in life and wanting to get ready for another round, he went to see what his four compatriots thought of the other two. He took little time finding three of them grouped together in one of the larger inner rooms. "Where's Kyo?"

The largest one, a 180 cm mass of a man who's name escape Kichirou for the moment, barked out a laugh. "He said he had to take a leak." That elicited a short chorus of laughter. They all knew about his tendency to bang at the doors. It was a habit Kichirou encouraged and remembered him for. "He won't be long."

"Then let's swap stories as we wait, in preparation for new ones." That earned him some cheers and raised cans of bear. Basking in their adoration, he moved to join them at the solitary table. His mood remained strong up until the lights flickered just after he sat down. He glared up at the fixtures as if they personally offended him. He looked back down right on time for the lights to cut off. Kichirou pulled out his expensive tinker inspired phone (as opposed to a cheap burner) while one of the others pulled out the flashlight he insisted on carrying around. He'll be quietly smug about it for weeks. "Come. The breaker is this way," he said with authority.

They moved through the dark halls with silent purpose, broken only by the sound of shoes scraping harshly across the stone floors. The large man chuckled gruffly at that. "Sounds like Kyo got caught out."

The thought amused them for a moment before one of them suddenly yelped, driving the rest to laughs after the momentary shock. "Ha, ha. Let's see how you like it when a giant fucking rat runs up your leg." They only laughed louder before a cascade of boxes, glass, and cans from a nearby room stunned them.

Through the quiet, they could could hear the sound of claws against stone. "That's a big rat." The sound changed, to a high screech that was more like knives than claws.

Kichirou could see fear rising in his men and in himself, but he couldn't allow that. "Enough! We go! Now!" His command snapped them back into line, but the tension remained. Regardless, they proceeded with their guards up and hearts beating. Just as they reached stairs leading to their destination, the sound of a strong blow against aluminum paneling echoed up from the breaker room. A second passed, and it happened again. After five seconds and five bangs, Kichirou finally worked up his nerve. "Get in there!" They hesitated up until he reached for his gun. Being lucky didn't mean that Kichirou was a gambling fool.

All three went in with knives drawn, expecting trouble. After two more bangs, he heard yells of 'What the fuck!' 'Stop!' and 'Kyo! What are you doing?!' The familiar name drew him in time to see two of his men struggling to drag Kyo away from the fusebox, which had enough light on it to see the dent and fresh blood. Leaving Kyo to the others, he rushed to the damaged box. He opened the lid with some effort and found the contents destroyed as if someone took a bunch of swords to it.

He turned to see Kyo still struggling, his scrawny form giving two much larger men too much trouble. When they met eyes, he stopped for a tortuous moment and stared unblinking as blood oozed into his eye, then he went limp. "Boss. You might want to see this." The flashlight wielding man stood at the entrance with his flashlight on something he couldn't make out.

He got closer, idly noticing the other two setting Kyo down. It wasn't far before he could make out a blood red 1 written by the door. "Fuc..."

"PAY FOR OUR SINS!"

Kichirou panicked as Kyo screeched and latched onto his legs. He ignored the pain from his fall and scrambled back while trying to kick him off. A solid kick to the face knocked him out, leaving Kichrou panting. The others watched in wide eyed horror, looking only marginally better. He felt a pit of anger at their cowardliness only for it to shatter into terror as a greenish-gray smoke rose from Kyo's body then began drifting towards the flashlight wielding grunt. "Fuck this! You're on you're own!" He only spared the coward a glace, but the smoke disappeared in that instant.

With his heart feeling like a jackhammer, Kichirou's mind raced to fit the events in with his worldview. The answer was simple, but did little to alleviate his fears: Cape. What was he supposed to do against super powers. His only option was escape. "We're leaving."

"What about..."

"The coward made his choice, and the merchandise can rot. Lung needs to hear about this." With his piece said, the other two had no complaint. With some semblance of control, he led them out of the basement room and towards the nearest exit. A raspy howl and mannish scream echoed through the halls before suddenly cutting off, leaving only creaky and rustling noises that they were all too aware of. "Stay together. He's picking us off." He didn't care to hear any confirmation. They'd follow if they knew what was good for them.

Their pace slowed at the sound of mumbling, but it was only when they could see light trickling through boarded windows that they could make out the sound. "No where to go. No where to run. They're all blocked, every one of them. No escape, no way out. We're doomed. He'll get us. He'll get us all!"

Kichirou tuned the raving man out and, while giving him a wide berth, went to check the door. The 2 stabbed into the wall next to the door confirmed that distance was for the best. He checked the door and found it jammed shut, barely budging as he tried kicking it in. "Show yourself!

Shrill laughter coming from the formally rambling man answered him. He thrashed and shook violently in maniacal glee all while he began floating into the air, leaving Kichirou torn between trembling in fear and trying to decide if he should shoot him. He stopped, heaved a big happy sigh, and looked down at them with a too wide grin. "So you wish for me to show myself?" He...it chuckled and stood straight in mid-air. "You should be careful what you wish for." The man was thrown back violently, leaving behind a familiar greenish gray mist that quickly coalesced into a sickly green gray humanoid shape with long arms and an undulating tail. It had torn wisps forming patches all over its body, which was also cover in thick black seams that crisscrossed its form, broken only by an hourglass symbol on its chest. Kichirou pulled his gun and fired every bullet he had, but it might as well have been using a water gun. Its unnaturally bright green eye opened and began moving within the seams like a deranged train, making stops to stare at each of them for half a second. "Be careful what you wish for." It dived for another man, grabbing his face and dragging him kicking and screaming against the floor and into the dark. When the screaming stopped, the creature laughed. "And that makes three."

Two left...it was just him and the big guy. "What are you doing. Call in Oni Lee, call in Lung for fucks sake."

Had he not been relieved at the obvious solution, he would have smacked his self for missing it. He turned his attention to his phone that he had foolishly been using purely for light, then looked for the most important person he could contact. The call went through and the line rang once, twice, thrice, then a fourth time. "Leave message if important. Not important? Fuck off!" There wasn't time to leave a message. He tried again, to no avail. He was really beginning to lament the fact that his position didn't come with a direct line to their capes.

"Fuck this. I don't care who we get." Kichirou watched the other guy pull out his burner phone a was about to try again before freezing at the sight of a thick black and white stripped tentacle snaking its way out from the darkness. It shot out in a flash, wrapping around his arm. "No! No, you won't take me." There was a stalemate between the two forces before four more shot out, muffling his screams and leaving Kichirou all alone.

He was trapped. It was playing with them. There was never a chance. Of course no one would answer him. Criminals weren't known for being morning people. This monstrous cape, because what else could it be, had them right were it wanted them from the very beginning. A spark of hope ignited in him when his phone began ringing. Not caring who it was, he pulled up his phone and saw that it was only a text message. A text with only one number in it: 4. He cracked, throwing his phone as hard as he could and backing up to sit on a small wooden crate. It took him seconds to realize that the maniacal laugh was himself and not the monster.

Seconds that felt like minutes passed before the creature's laughter joined his own. "Now now, don't give up yet. We haven't reached the climax yet." It appeared out of nowhere, arms splayed out as if trying to display its full horrific glory. "But first, let me slip into something more...comfortable." The 'skin' at its hand exploded, the torn cloth revealing long white bone claws which it used to dig into the seams of its body and pull them apart.

What was unveiled reached a new level of horror that Kichirou was completely unprepared to process. He idly took note of the patch of ribs showing through its gray skin, but his true focus was on the horribly misshapen one-eyed skull looking down on him with a sharp toothed smile. "Run," it hissed

And run he did. "Tick." He dashed into the first hall he came to, caring little for tripping over obstacles. "Tock." One big box sent him sprawling across the floor and turned him around. "Tick." It glowed an eldritch green, revealing that its head had turned completely horizontal. "Tock." its head turned further. "Tick." He scrambled to his feet, all rationality gone from his mind. "Tock." He spared a glance and saw its glowing upside down skull hovering in the dark. "Tick." It didn't make sense. How could his luck run out like this. "Tock." A new cape out of nowhere just happened to stumble upon him. Capes didn't come from nowhere. "Tick." He had an epiphany: the girls. One must have got powers. Kill the girls, kill the beast. "Tock." Their hold was nearby. He slammed into the door at full speed, ignoring their startled squeals and fumbling for his keys. "Tick." He found it and jammed it in the keyhole. When the door opened, his eyes zeroed in on the most obvious target: the Imaculata bitch. "Tock. Time's up." Everything, even his heart, stopped as claws materialized on the Japanese man's shoulders. He was slammed into the door frame an given only an inch between their faced. "You'll pay for your sins." It took its claws and jammed them into the side of his head. The last thing Kichirou saw that day was two massive entities indescribable by conventional physics, and even that much more pleasant image was scrubbed from his thoughts.

Well...that was a ride. Fun fact, after the successful roll, I did a random roll to decide from the 10 despite wanting to start with Ghostfreak. It chose Ghostfreak. I also intended a simple store robbery, but my muse had another idea exclusive to Ghostfreak. This is the result. (Probably shouldn't have been playing Dead Space 2 alongside this.)

Big Chill is locked in for the first Soft Unlock, so I'm not accepting any more votes there. Check the poll and consider if what you picked is what you want for the next chapter. Otherwise, there will be no voting until a new alien is unlocked.

 

[SnorlaxMotive]

Our arch nemesis has been revealed: Lucky Son!

 

[the swarm]

is there just going to be cannon aliens in this quest? becuse i found some intresting like these

i found it here Ben 10 Alien Index 4

 

[ChildishChimera]

(Apologies to Fanfiction and AO3 readers for any starting confusion. I blame their Terms of Conditions/Rules & Guidlines. Check out Space Battles or Specific Velocity for the full picture.)

The probability votes of both sites came up to 6, 2, 5, and 5 at the time I reached the transformation for this chapter; so 1/2 will be the chance of randomness here. Keep in mind that you can change your vote at any time.

There were a number of votes for an alien you guys wanted to see. Snare-oh, Gravatack, snd Clockwork got one vote. Way Big and NRG got two. One silly guy voted for Ghostfreak (until he changed it), but the winner with a whopping double digit votes was Big Chill. (Laughs evilly.) I have plans for him, provided that the unlocking conditions are met.

Now this isn't being beta-ed and likely won't be. I prefer to let you guys handle that. If errors trouble you, give it a day.

[X]Story begins New Years Eve 2010

Time: Dec. 31, Friday 9:32 AM
Location: Brockton Bay, E88 territory

Cold air nipped at a young man's skin, forcing him awake in search for the blankets that were certainly thrown off him in some kind of midnight fit. With being a morning person only requiring a small application of will, he quickly sat up and took in his surroundings: six to eight story buildings bordering an alley that led to sparsely populated streets, broken up by pockets of snow. It was not a not a small sparsely decorated room in a southern home co-owned by him and his married brother; even though he was the one who handled the down payment. Not that this detail was ever important, especially at the moment.

The sight of an unfamiliar city where there should be some part of small town suburbs left him frozen in place, his brain blue screening at the incomprehensible facts before him. "What! The! Fuck!"

After that universal error message, his priority quickly shifted to the winter chill. His jacket was thankfully thick, but was just as unfamiliar as the rest of his fucked up situation. He did not own a black jacket with thick green stripes down the center and his arms. Even his shoes were different, being white with green lines forming an hourglass type shape on the sides. "Okay, enough checking myself out. I'm not figuring this out standing around, doing nothing. At least I'm not chained up somewhere and being experimented on."

He moved to stuff his hands into what he assumed to be his new jacket, (because who else's could it be) and froze again when he noticed something on his right arm catching on the pocket. "And what is it this time?" he grumbled out. Felling that he was one unpleasant surprise away from a complete meltdown, he pulled his sleeve out from over the offending object to find what looked like a very familiar white and green watch with an hourglass symbol outlined by two green angles and the time of 9:36 displayed on the black face.

It looked like the goddamned Omnitrix from Omniverse, and was freakishly realistic on top of that. He stretched and flexed his wrist, only feeling slightly disturbed by how comfortable it was. He hated watches simply for being even a minor encumbrance, but this one barely added any bulk. It felt secure, as if tied tightly into place, yet it didn't pull at his skin even a little. With the cold completely forgotten, he ran his fingers across it, unintentionally swiping away the time display and showing what looked like the universal, or at least planet wide symbol for a phone. "Right, a fancy phone watch that looks just like the Omnitrix. Why not?"

He continued looking at the watch, tapping the symbol to see if it came with a keypad. What he got was something a fair bit more creepy. "Please state the number you wish to call." said a feminine robotic monotone coming directly from the watch. After a few moments of internal complaint at the seemingly voice exclusive interface, he decided to try out his own phone number.

Unsurprisingly, it connected and began ringing. Far more surprising was that someone with an unfamiliar voice had answered. "Who the fuck is this?! Don't you know how fucking early it is?!"

He was stupefied for only an instant before he blinked it away and ended the call, only to realize that he should have told him 'wrong number' before hanging up. He shook away the small amount of discomfort at the minor faux pas and began calling every number he knew, which turned out to be a very small list. Either way, the result was much of the same with varying levels of rudeness coming from the other end of the line. It was confirmation that the phone actually worked, but it didn't answer any burning questions of where his family was or where he was. Even going as slowly as he was, everything was piling on too quickly. Only his highly logical tendencies were keeping the young man from freaking out.

He turned his focus back on the mysterious watch with his curiosity being the only thing keeping him sane at the moment. Running his fingers along the side revealed a small button on the lower edge of the face. With a pit of nervousness anticipating some ridiculous moment of truth, he clicked it. The face sprung open and a circular dial rose from the center. However, the most damning change was was a lime green holographic ring that hovered over the device.

Within the ring's borders were 10 very familiar faces: those of the original 10. Something about it seemed off...different from what he remembered. Still, the holographic image was far beyond anything he would expect to see on current technology. Taking a moment to look down the two streets a to see if anyone had taken notice of him, he ducked into a corner of a dumpster with his back to the visible street so he could finish figuring it out privately.

After learning that the ring wasn't made of hard light, because that would have been too ridiculous, he turned the raised dial and watched in glee as the ring rotated with it. From there, he knew that there was only one test left, one that began with a massive decision.

After some thought, what he wanted boiled down to not being seen. He knew Ben 10 was more than popular enough to trigger memories in anyone under thirty, so there was little doubt that seeing one of Ben's aliens in real life would stir all kinds of shit. He had some doubt if it would work, but he saw more than enough to engage a better safe than sorry policy. That left two choices, four if he included being extremely fast or being a giant amorphous blob, but being really small or invisible trumped both of them in stealth. It was difficult to decide since he'd have to figure out how to turn invisible, but the other option just didn't have the same cool factor. When the cold made itself known again and he remembered a little tidbit about how size affected heat loss, the choice became a hell of a lot easier. Plus, Ghostfreak was awesome.

He turned around with his arm hidden and watched the street long enough to know for sure that none whom passed by had paid him any mind. With a smirk, he knew just what to say before pressing the dial. "I'm going Ghostfreak."

1/2 Roll=2 - Success.

The transformation was indescribable, but not for the typical reasons. It just happened so fast, there wasn't enough time in the in between stage to even begin to process it. Ghostfreak looked at his hands with his single eye and felt some unexpected relief at seeing the gray protective second skin that looked to have been ripped at the tips and hung off his bony claw tips in wispy tatters. He began to will himself invisible and immediately began to feel his body begin to disassociate itself from itself, for lack of a better description. As he reached halfway, a sudden screech drove him to accelerate the process and shift his eye to focus on a short and mousy/cute woman pushing a baby carriage.

They stared at one another for an appreciable moment, or a least he did while she stared was what looked to be a random dumpster at the moment. Even so, every instinct and experience she had warned her to be ready for whatever that apparition was. She refused to believe that it was a figment of her imagination; that kind of thinking led to careless mistakes. She couldn't afford those, especially with her baby potentially on the line. Unknown to her, Ghostfreak had already started flying towards the shore the moment that he noticed her getting defensive. Floating well above where anyone could be expected to hear him, he started giving himself a verbal lashing. "What was I thinking?! I was supposed to turn invisible right away! Now I've probably traumatized some poor mother! She probably thinks I'm going to attack her baby...if she didn't recognize me. I honestly don't know which is worse."

"And what am I doing?! I wake up in a strange alley, in strange clothes, with a working Omnitrix! I need to find somewhere to hide so I can freak the fuck out!" He flew towards the docks, an abandoned warehouse well away from any busy sections of the city catching his eye. "Pun not intended!" he exclaimed after realizing what he said just a few moments earlier.

He flew through the sides of the building without a second thought then began floating through and between rooms while ruminating on his situation with his eye closed, only occasionally mumbling out loud. It was only by pure chance that he heard some whimpering as his phased into a pitch black room, which posed no problem for his Ectonurite vision. Shocked still, he opened his eye and saw four teenage girls. The Asian looking one could possibly pass for a pre-teen. Two of the others were of African descent and appeared to be in their mid-teens while the single Caucasian girl was somewhere in the middle age-wise. Despite the pitch blackness, all of the ethnic individuals were looking with expressions that were two parts terrified, and one part defiant. The defiant older girl held the Caucasian in her arms, drawing his attention to the shuddering girl who was the source of the whimpering he heard. While the older two had torn and dirty clothes and the youngest was nearly pristine, she was barely decent with bruises forming on her stomach, arms, and neck. "Who? Did? This?!"

His voice was hollow, raspy, and echoing all at once. His four clawed hands cricked and cracked as he clenched them tensely. Had he not been so enraged, he would have noticed his affect on them. "I asked...who did this?"

The strongest of them steeled her eyes, but was betrayed by her shuddering grip on the other girl. "W-who's there? You a cape?"

Ghostfreak's fiery rage was doused by the deluge of thoughts and implications that one last word brought to his mind. Even with his present state of being, it fell too far outside his worldview for him to be comfortable with. Only the much greater priorities sitting right in front of him kept him focused. "Yes, I'm a superhero."

With that declaration, the tension in their bodies dropped by half. "It's the ABB. There still here in the building somewhere."

... "Then I'll pay them a visit," he said after a long pause, adding a hissing tone to the last word that lasted for five seconds too long.

"Hey! Who are you?! Aren't you going to let us out?!" she yelled into the black void...but he was already gone.

Time: Dec. 31st, Friday 9:47 AM.
Location: Docks/ABB territory, abandoned warehouse

It was a good raid last night, a stroke of luck even. Such was Takoshi Kichirou's lot in life. It was even in his given name, meaning lucky son. There was certainly something divine involved when his parents chose that name. He may not have realized it until eleven years ago, a full third of his life before today, but he had truly been blessed.

Before Kyushu, he managed to rise quickly through the ranks as a member of the Yakuza at a very young age, something his current wisdom accredited to him always being in the right place at the right time to demonstrate the skills he was gifted with. It was when an errand that he wanted no part in took him far away from Kyushu a mere day before the sea-serpent's attack that he was enlighten. His luck persisted, allowing him easy access to America's Brocton Bay, where he was able to run a decent group for many years under the noses of The Protectorate, The Teeth, E88, and even The Nine during their short visit. When the E88's noose inevitably found him, He appeared. From there he advanced easily through the ranks of the united ABB and took the position he coveted most of all.

Today's merchandise was just another small point in his favor. While the older two were more in lime with his usual finds, the other two were special. The Chinese brat's parents were too far back on their payments, which left paying the price to the kid. He barely had to yell at them to get them to stop begging. She may have been off limits for the moment, but the Geisha would have her trained before the next year was up.

The Immaculata bitch was the real source of his good mood. Breaking her in was cathartic, especially after he heard her apologize to her parents for some reason. The following chorus of 'I'm sorry daddy' was perfect. The little bitch probably ran away from home after not getting the presents she wanted or something asinine like that. It wouldn't have surprised him if she was connected to those Nazi scum either. In fact, she more than likely had this coming.

Feeling self-assured in his path in life and wanting to get ready for another round, he went to see what his four compatriots thought of the other two. He took little time finding three of them grouped together in one of the larger inner rooms. "Where's Kyo?"

The largest one, a 180 cm mass of a man who's name escape Kichirou for the moment, barked out a laugh. "He said he had to take a leak." That elicited a short chorus of laughter. They all knew about his tendency to bang at the doors. It was a habit Kichirou encouraged and remembered him for. "He won't be long."

"Then let's swap stories as we wait, in preparation for new ones." That earned him some cheers and raised cans of bear. Basking in their adoration, he moved to join them at the solitary table. His mood remained strong up until the lights flickered just after he sat down. He glared up at the fixtures as if they personally offended him. He looked back down right on time for the lights to cut off. Kichirou pulled out his expensive tinker inspired phone (as opposed to a cheap burner) while one of the others pulled out the flashlight he insisted on carrying around. He'll be quietly smug about it for weeks. "Come. The breaker is this way," he said with authority.

They moved through the dark halls with silent purpose, broken only by the sound of shoes scraping harshly across the stone floors. The large man chuckled gruffly at that. "Sounds like Kyo got caught out."

The thought amused them for a moment before one of them suddenly yelped, driving the rest to laughs after the momentary shock. "Ha, ha. Let's see how you like it when a giant fucking rat runs up your leg." They only laughed louder before a cascade of boxes, glass, and cans from a nearby room stunned them.

Through the quiet, they could could hear the sound of claws against stone. "That's a big rat." The sound changed, to a high screech that was more like knives than claws.

Kichirou could see fear rising in his men and in himself, but he couldn't allow that. "Enough! We go! Now!" His command snapped them back into line, but the tension remained. Regardless, they proceeded with their guards up and hearts beating. Just as they reached stairs leading to their destination, the sound of a strong blow against aluminum paneling echoed up from the breaker room. A second passed, and it happened again. After five seconds and five bangs, Kichirou finally worked up his nerve. "Get in there!" They hesitated up until he reached for his gun. Being lucky didn't mean that Kichirou was a gambling fool.

All three went in with knives drawn, expecting trouble. After two more bangs, he heard yells of 'What the fuck!' 'Stop!' and 'Kyo! What are you doing?!' The familiar name drew him in time to see two of his men struggling to drag Kyo away from the fusebox, which had enough light on it to see the dent and fresh blood. Leaving Kyo to the others, he rushed to the damaged box. He opened the lid with some effort and found the contents destroyed as if someone took a bunch of swords to it.

He turned to see Kyo still struggling, his scrawny form giving two much larger men too much trouble. When they met eyes, he stopped for a tortuous moment and stared unblinking as blood oozed into his eye, then he went limp. "Boss. You might want to see this." The flashlight wielding man stood at the entrance with his flashlight on something he couldn't make out.

He got closer, idly noticing the other two setting Kyo down. It wasn't far before he could make out a blood red 1 written by the door. "Fuc..."

"PAY FOR OUR SINS!"

Kichirou panicked as Kyo screeched and latched onto his legs. He ignored the pain from his fall and scrambled back while trying to kick him off. A solid kick to the face knocked him out, leaving Kichrou panting. The others watched in wide eyed horror, looking only marginally better. He felt a pit of anger at their cowardliness only for it to shatter into terror as a greenish-gray smoke rose from Kyo's body then began drifting towards the flashlight wielding grunt. "Fuck this! You're on you're own!" He only spared the coward a glace, but the smoke disappeared in that instant.

With his heart feeling like a jackhammer, Kichirou's mind raced to fit the events in with his worldview. The answer was simple, but did little to alleviate his fears: Cape. What was he supposed to do against super powers. His only option was escape. "We're leaving."

"What about..."

"The coward made his choice, and the merchandise can rot. Lung needs to hear about this." With his piece said, the other two had no complaint. With some semblance of control, he led them out of the basement room and towards the nearest exit. A raspy howl and mannish scream echoed through the halls before suddenly cutting off, leaving only creaky and rustling noises that they were all too aware of. "Stay together. He's picking us off." He didn't care to hear any confirmation. They'd follow if they knew what was good for them.

Their pace slowed at the sound of mumbling, but it was only when they could see light trickling through boarded windows that they could make out the sound. "No where to go. No where to run. They're all blocked, every one of them. No escape, no way out. We're doomed. He'll get us. He'll get us all!"

Kichirou tuned the raving man out and, while giving him a wide berth, went to check the door. The 2 stabbed into the wall next to the door confirmed that distance was for the best. He checked the door and found it jammed shut, barely budging as he tried kicking it in. "Show yourself!

Shrill laughter coming from the formally rambling man answered him. He thrashed and shook violently in maniacal glee all while he began floating into the air, leaving Kichirou torn between trembling in fear and trying to decide if he should shoot him. He stopped, heaved a big happy sigh, and looked down at them with a too wide grin. "So you wish for me to show myself?" He...it chuckled and stood straight in mid-air. "You should be careful what you wish for." The man was thrown back violently, leaving behind a familiar greenish gray mist that quickly coalesced into a sickly green gray humanoid shape with long arms and an undulating tail. It had torn wisps forming patches all over its body, which was also cover in thick black seams that crisscrossed its form, broken only by an hourglass symbol on its chest. Kichirou pulled his gun and fired every bullet he had, but it might as well have been using a water gun. Its unnaturally bright green eye opened and began moving within the seams like a deranged train, making stops to stare at each of them for half a second. "Be careful what you wish for." It dived for another man, grabbing his face and dragging him kicking and screaming against the floor and into the dark. When the screaming stopped, the creature laughed. "And that makes three."

Two left...it was just him and the big guy. "What are you doing. Call in Oni Lee, call in Lung for fucks sake."

Had he not been relieved at the obvious solution, he would have smacked his self for missing it. He turned his attention to his phone that he had foolishly been using purely for light, then looked for the most important person he could contact. The call went through and the line rang once, twice, thrice, then a fourth time. "Leave message if important. Not important? Fuck off!" There wasn't time to leave a message. He tried again, to no avail. He was really beginning to lament the fact that his position didn't come with a direct line to their capes.

"Fuck this. I don't care who we get." Kichirou watched the other guy pull out his burner phone a was about to try again before freezing at the sight of a thick black and white stripped tentacle snaking its way out from the darkness. It shot out in a flash, wrapping around his arm. "No! No, you won't take me." There was a stalemate between the two forces before four more shot out, muffling his screams and leaving Kichirou all alone.

He was trapped. It was playing with them. There was never a chance. Of course no one would answer him. Criminals weren't known for being morning people. This monstrous cape, because what else could it be, had them right were it wanted them from the very beginning. A spark of hope ignited in him when his phone began ringing. Not caring who it was, he pulled up his phone and saw that it was only a text message. A text with only one number in it: 4. He cracked, throwing his phone as hard as he could and backing up to sit on a small wooden crate. It took him seconds to realize that the maniacal laugh was himself and not the monster.

Seconds that felt like minutes passed before the creature's laughter joined his own. "Now now, don't give up yet. We haven't reached the climax yet." It appeared out of nowhere, arms splayed out as if trying to display its full horrific glory. "But first, let me slip into something more...comfortable." The 'skin' at its hand exploded, the torn cloth revealing long white bone claws which it used to dig into the seams of its body and pull them apart.

What was unveiled reached a new level of horror that Kichirou was completely unprepared to process. He idly took note of the patch of ribs showing through its gray skin, but his true focus was on the horribly misshapen one-eyed skull looking down on him with a sharp toothed smile. "Run," it hissed

And run he did. "Tick." He dashed into the first hall he came to, caring little for tripping over obstacles. "Tock." One big box sent him sprawling across the floor and turned him around. "Tick." It glowed an eldritch green, revealing that its head had turned completely horizontal. "Tock." its head turned further. "Tick." He scrambled to his feet, all rationality gone from his mind. "Tock." He spared a glance and saw its glowing upside down skull hovering in the dark. "Tick." It didn't make sense. How could his luck run out like this. "Tock." A new cape out of nowhere just happened to stumble upon him. Capes didn't come from nowhere. "Tick." He had an epiphany: the girls. One must have got powers. Kill the girls, kill the beast. "Tock." Their hold was nearby. He slammed into the door at full speed, ignoring their startled squeals and fumbling for his keys. "Tick." He found it and jammed it in the keyhole. When the door opened, his eyes zeroed in on the most obvious target: the Imaculata bitch. "Tock. Time's up." Everything, even his heart, stopped as claws materialized on the Japanese man's shoulders. He was slammed into the door frame an given only an inch between their faced. "You'll pay for your sins." It took its claws and jammed them into the side of his head. The last thing Kichirou saw that day was two massive entities indescribable by conventional physics, and even that much more pleasant image was scrubbed from his thoughts.

Well...that was a ride. Fun fact, after the successful roll, I did a random roll to decide from the 10 despite wanting to start with Ghostfreak. It chose Ghostfreak. I also intended a simple store robbery, but my muse had another idea exclusive to Ghostfreak. This is the result. (Probably shouldn't have been playing Dead Space 2 alongside this.)

Big Chill is locked in for the first Soft Unlock, so I'm not accepting any more votes there. Check the poll and consider if what you picked is what you want for the next chapter. Otherwise, there will be no voting until a new alien is unlocked.

Click to shrink...

Brutal that was really good it captured the face that ghostfreak was always more of a horror monster than the other aliens and showed us a bit about the MC and their sense of justice.

 

[Shinichi07]

Brutal that was really good it captured the face that ghostfreak was always more of a horror monster than the other aliens and showed us a bit about the MC and their sense of justice.

Click to shrink...

Well in the original show Ben could be pretty brutal,I mean in the original Ben 10,000 episode they show that vilgax was basically a shriveled corpse before animo reviled him,so this Ben being brutal is actually pretty in character,Plus he was scary enough as Ghostfreak to make Kichirou Trigger,can't wait to see the reaction to this "paranormal activity"

 

[the swarm]

Well in the original show Ben could be pretty brutal,I mean in the original Ben 10,000 episode they show that vilgax was basically a shriveled corpse before animo reviled him,so this Ben being brutal is actually pretty in character,Plus he was scary enough as Ghostfreak to make Kichirou Trigger,can't wait to see the reaction to this "paranormal activity"

Click to shrink...

cant also the nectonurites make ghost minnions in a hive mind
start 3:31

also somekind of dark energy beam and telekenises

 

[Soundlesssteps]

Our arch nemesis has been revealed: Lucky Son!

Click to shrink...

Yep. I'm not going to trigger a villain and never use him again.

Well in the original show Ben could be pretty brutal,I mean in the original Ben 10,000 episode they show that vilgax was basically a shriveled corpse before animo reviled him,so this Ben being brutal is actually pretty in character,Plus he was scary enough as Ghostfreak to make Kichirou Trigger,can't wait to see the reaction to this "paranormal activity"

Click to shrink...

Keep in mind that this isn't actually the Ben from Ben 10. The MC is as accurate of a self insert as I can write without letting the story get boring. Reactions to the entire set should be fun, but Ghostfreak is a Master/Stranger.

is there just going to be cannon aliens in this quest? becuse i found some intresting like these

i found it here Ben 10 Alien Index 4

Click to shrink...

cant also the nectonurites make ghost minnions in a hive mind
start 3:31

also somekind of dark energy beam and telekenises

Click to shrink...

If you take a look back at my alien list, you may notice that I filled it out. As for Ghostfreak's power, that's easily Master 12 territory with notable Shaker and Blaster ratings, but only without his restrictive outer skin. Regeneration and general toughness means hes a Brute without factoring in his defensive and mobility granting Breaker power. He's a Mover 2-3 for sprinting speed flight. Finally, he's a Striker for being able to convey his Stranger and Breaker states to whomever he's touching and being able to shock someone to unconsciousness by stabbing through their head.

 

[Enmascarado]

Interesting quest! Though I'm not sure about the fact that he's just a few minutes in a new universe and is already being so brutal without problem, Ghostfreak influence or not.