Next 2: The Crossroads and the Scientist

Next 2: The Crossroads and the Scientist, or just Next 2, is the second episode of the miniseries Ben 2020.
==Synopsis==
Ben and Rook travel to Salt Lake City in order to question the creator of the Evolvyrns in person (and also maybe the Devil(?)).
==Episode==
Ben and Rook's road trip to Utah had been fairly uneventful, save for that one thing Ben did in Vegas that we aren't going to talk about.
Their otherwise swift pace gradually slowed down as the interstate took them from the warmer climate of the Mojave Desert into the cold, snowy winter weather of northern Utah where the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains collided.
"Come on Rook, can't you go any faster?" Ben complained as the Proto-TRUK's speed declined even further thanks to a heavy blizzard raging outside. "This thing can go into space but it can't handle snow?"
"The Proto-TRUK is designed to transverse any sort of terrain without issue," Rook stated, "But Earth vehicles are not. Maintaining a slower speed reduces our chance of being hit by another driver."
"Would getting in a crash even dent the custom paneling you and Kevin put on this thing?" Ben tapped the passenger side window while looking over at Rook.
"No." Rook said. "We would be perfectly safe; it is just that the other driver would bear the full force of the impact themselves and I do not feel like pureeing other commuters today."
Their conversation was cut off as a large orange and black cabover truck suddenly cut in front of them, forcing Rook to slam on the brakes; only after the Proto-TRUK slowed down did the truck speed up, vanishing into the blizzard so quickly that Ben was only barely able to catch sight of a stylized skull decal on the truck's rear window.
"Dude, I think we just got brake-checked by Fistrick!" Ben exclaimed.
"I find that unlikely." Rook said. "Utah's underground arms-dealing market collapsed several years ago. Fistrick would have difficulty making a profit in this area."
"Come on, Rook, who else would drive a truck painted up like that and try to hit us with it?!" Ben huffed.
"Utah is known for having some of the most aggressive drivers in the nation." Rook said. "In weather like this it would be more anomalous for us not to experience a near-collision with another driver."
"Yeah, well, in that case, I've got an alien that can control the weather." Ben tapped on the Omnitrix. "I mean, probably. How about I just stop the blizzard so we can catch up and see if it really is Fistrick?"
"You do have a Wethosovorian unlocked, yes, but do you even remember what playlist it is in?" Rook asked.
"Uh, no," Ben said, "But how long could it take to look through 259 aliens?"
"359." Rook corrected him. "Regardless, I would not recommend it unless there is an emergency. From what I understand, Utah is a relatively arid state, and its precipitation cycles are rather crucial for the continued survival of its ecosystem."
"Well that bites." Ben huffed, sinking down in his seat a bit. "How do you know all this junk about Utah of all places anyway?"
"A perfunctory internet search is capable of providing quite a bit of information regarding Earth destinations." Rook stated. "Why do you not know it? I was under the impression geography was commonly taught in educational programs."
"Uh, yeah, but my "educational program" was the US public school system." Ben pointed out. "You're lucky if the average American can even name all 50 states, let alone analyze their climate."
"It seems as though every new fact I learn about your education system explains more and more about your personality." Rook hmmed.
Ben nodded along silently for a moment as his brain slowly processed what Rook was saying.
"...Wait, what's that supposed to mean?!"
----
Around 45 minutes later, the Proto-TRUK pulled into the driveway of a house in the affluent northern suburbs of Salt Lake City. The driveway of this house in particular stood out from its immediate neighbors in that there was no hint of snow buildup despite the ongoing blizzard.
"Okay, Rook, what's going on here?" Ben asked, pointing at the concrete beneath them as they stepped out of the vehicle. "Alien technology? Witch magic?"
"Heated driveway." Rook answered flatly.
"...Witch magic." Ben slowly nodded to himself.
Rook decided trying to explain to Ben the concept of placing what was essentially a glorified radiator underneath a layer of concrete would not be worth the time investment at the moment and the two simply approached the front door of the house without further conversation. Ben went to knock, only for the door to swing open a bit when he tapped it, having evidently been left ajar.
"Who leaves their door open in the middle of a blizzard?" Ben exchanged a suspicious look with Rook before gently pushing the door open further and calling into the house. "Hello? Doctor Who? Anyone home?"
"Dr. Krauze." Rook reminded him. ""Doctor Who"?"
"I couldn't remember her exact name so I defaulted to the first doctor that came to mind, okay?" Ben huffed. "I can barely speak English, you really want to hear me butcher Polish too?"
Hearing no response, the two of them cautiously entered the house. Rook silently gestured for Ben to go left and investigate the kitchen while he went right to investigate the living room. Ben nodded and quietly crept into the kitchen, only to bolt up almost immediately as he caught sight of someone's body lying prone on the ceramic tiled floor.
"Rook, dead person at ten o'clock!"
Rook quickly ran into the room and knelt down next to the body while pulling his scanner out from his belt.
"Not dead, unconscious." Rook noted as the scanner registered their vital signs. "I am not registering any injuries."
Rook gently flipped the unconscious person onto their back in order to reveal their face, which seemed to be that of a woman in her late 20s. There were dark bags underneath her eyes that indicated a serious case of sleep deprivation.
"Okay, random lady knocked out in the middle of some crazy scientist's house." Ben's eyes narrowed as he took a moment to survey the area. "Totally not an ominous sign or anything."
"Actually, Ben, this is the "crazy scientist." Rook stated, putting away his scanner.
"...Wait, really?" Ben looked the woman up and down, taking note of her rather plain attire. "Most mad scientists I meet are way less subtle with their aesthetic."
"It is entirely possible for a scientist to be unethical without necessarily being unstable." Rook said.
"Uh, yeah, but most of those guys get dealt with by ethics committees, not superheroes."
"Well, we are currently operating as investigators, not superheroes." Rook pointed out. "Either way, she needs to be conscious for us to speak with her, and if all this has not been enough to wake her up, we may need your Topofyr transformation."
"My what?" Ben blinked.
Rook paused for a moment as he tried to remember something.
"...I believe you referred to it as "Recharge" when you first used it." He eventually stated.
"Oh, that guy!" Ben pulled up the Omnitrix and started scrolling through his playlists. "Why didn't you just say that to begin with?"
"You rarely use it, so the species name was easier for me to recall." Rook explained.
"Man, you and I are from two different worlds, buddy." Ben eventually landed on the alien he was looking for and pressed down on the dial, transforming in a green flash. "And I ain't talking about us being from different planets."
"I have said this before, but many of your regional sayings seem unnecessarily obtuse." Rook stood back as Recharge walked over and placed his palms on Dr. Krauze's arm.
"Yep, English gets pretty messy sometimes." Recharge said. "Why do you think I'm so bad at it?"
Recharge began funneling energy into the unconscious scientist, his eyes glowing slightly as he did so. Dr. Krauze began to stir slightly as the bags under her eyes disappeared, and it wasn't long before her eyes suddenly flew open and she sat up with a jolt.
"Whoa!" She shook her head out and blinked rapidly for a moment. "That must've been one heck of a nap!" She paused as she finally took notice of Rook and Recharge standing off to the side. "...Did I leave my door open again?"
"Yeah, but that ain't exactly the issue here." Recharge said.
"We're from the Plumbers." Rook extended a hand and helped Dr. Krauze to her feet. "Can you tell us what happened to you?"
"Oh, nothing really "happened", I just haven't slept for a couple weeks and I guess it must've caught up to me." Dr. Krauze chuckled. "Guess I gotta start drinking something with more caffeine than tea."
"I feel like you're really brushing over the whole "not sleeping for two weeks" thing." Recharge said.
"Well, I just-" Dr. Krauze paused again as she took a moment to fully process the situation. "Wait, why are you two here in the first place? Am I in trouble with the Plumbers?"
"That is what we are here to find out." Rook said. "There have been rumors that-"
"Word on the street is that you're making an Omnitrix." Recharge reverted to Ben and pointed a finger at the scientist accusingly. "In my experience, nobody but Azmuth ever does that for good reasons."
"Wha- Ben Tennyson?!" Dr. Krauze's eyes lit up as what he had just said seemed to fly right over her head. "Oh man, this is perfect! You gotta see this!"
Before either of them could react, the doctor grabbed Ben's wrist and started dragging him towards a set of stairs leading into her basement. As being enthusiastically dragged into a stranger's basement isn't usually a good thing, Rook followed close behind with his arm tensed up and ready to grab the Proto-Tool at any time.
After leading them into the basement, Dr. Krauze let go of Ben and flipped on a light switch, illuminating a surprisingly large laboratory space that nevertheless felt somewhat cramped due to an abundance of parts and paperwork scattered haphazardly across the room. On top of a particularly messy desk near the back of the room sat a desktop computer hooked up to a blue, gauntlet-like electronic device that bore a passing resemblance to the Ultimatrix.
"This is what's been keeping me up all night working for the past two weeks!" Dr. Krauze declared proudly, gesturing to the gauntlet-like device. "Meet the CrossTrix!"
"So you have been trying to make an Omnitrix." Rook noted. "For what purpose?"
"Yeah, you trying to take over the world or something?" Ben squinted. "What's your deal?"
"Take over the-" Dr. Krauze blinked. "What? Why would I want to do that?"
"I don't know, why do you?" Ben raised a suspicious eyebrow.
"I'm not." Dr. Krauze's arms fell to her sides as she seemed to deflate a bit, giving Ben a confused look. "I'm a bioengineer. I'm not cut out for politics."
"In less dramatic terms, what are you planning on using this Omnitrix for?" Rook interjected. "Your creation of the Evolvyrns has given your inventions a rather unfavorable reputation."
"...Oh." Dr. Krauze stared blankly at the wall for a few seconds. "Well, I... I don't really know what I'm gonna do with it, to be honest."
"Are you telling me that you created a device as powerful as an Omnitrix for no reason?" Rook said incredulously.
"Well, it's not actually as powerful as an Omnitrix." Dr. Krauze said. "It's built on the same tech I used for my transformation locks, so it's closer to one of those than an Omnitrix Omnitrix. In terms of technological advancement it's like comparing a steam engine to a bullet train.
"That does not necessarily make it better."
"And for another thing, I didn't just make it for "no reason"," Dr. Krauze continued, seemingly ignoring Rook's interjection. "I was trying to test my limits! Reach new heights in technological achievement! Is self-improvement a crime?!"
"Under certain circumstances." Rook stated. "Your handling of the Evolvyrns already borders on criminal negligence."
"I made the Evolvyrns to help people in industrial fields!" Dr. Krauze protested. "That's still mostly what they're used for! How is it my fault if some people decide to use them wrong?!"
"It may not directly be your fault, but it was a foreseeable risk that you failed to address." Rook elaborated. "Even a simple kill switch would have sufficed."
"I... can't really argue that point." Dr. Krauze sighed defeatedly. "Well, look, just because I messed up with the Evolvyrns doesn't mean I'm gonna mess up with the CrossTrix, alright? It's a one-off invention, so it's not like just anybody is gonna be able to get their hands on i- sorry, what is he doing?"
Dr. Krauze pointed at Ben, who had lost interest in the conversation and wandered over to the CrossTrix, currently occupying himself by fiddling with the wheels of a combination lock-like mechanism on its back.
"I've never seen one of these on an Omnitrix before." Ben hmmed as he continued randomly scrolling through different number combinations. "What's it do?"
"Oh, it just cycles through different modes." Dr. Krauze explained. "MP3 player, internet browser, GPS,-"
"Why would you include any of those functions on an Omnitrix?" Rook gave the doctor a strange look.
"I get sidetracked easily." Dr. Krauze shrugged.
"Man, I wish my Omnitrix had an MP3 player." Ben said, only to receive several offended-sounding beeps from his Omnitrix in response. "Uh, because it's cool?" He replied, drawing out more upset beeping. "I'm not saying you're not cool, I'm just saying-" He was interrupted by more beeping. "Okay, okay, sheesh!"
"Oh, is your Omnitrix sentient too?" Dr. Krauze asked.
"Well, I don't think it was at first, but-" Ben paused. "Wait, "too"?"
"Come on CROSS, say hi!"
The screen on the CrossTrix's dial flickered to life, displaying an aquamarine "X" symbol on its face.
"Do I have to?" An exasperated voice sounded from the device's speakers.
"Whoa, you're alive?!" Ben jumped a bit, quickly taking his hand off the CrossTrix's rear wheel dials. "Why didn't you say anything?!"
"It sounded like the doc was getting into more drama and I really didn't want any part in that." The CrossTrix beeped.
"Alright, understandable." Ben nodded his head thoughtfully.
"A sentient AI?" Rook looked at Dr. Krauze.
"Yep!" The doctor responded proudly. "The Cell Reconfiguration Operating System-Sentient, or CROSS for short."
"Do you understand the legal implications of this?" Rook asked. "You have created artificial life, and you are using it as an operating system?"
"Hey, CROSS can be transferred out of the CrossTrix if he wants to be, it's just his preferred body." Dr. Krauze put up her hands defensively. "Besides, it's not like I meant to do it."
"...Excuse me?"
"Yeah, I was just trying to develop a normal OS for the CrossTrix, and it just kinda... came to life one day!" Dr. Krauze said. "Crazy, right?"
Rook's only response was to quietly equip his scanner and look at her with it.
"...The fact that you are telling the truth has somehow made this situation more unsettling." Rook sighed, putting away the scanner. "This... complicates things."
"It's just Frosty the Snowman logic, man, it's not that complicated." Ben said.
"That is not what I am referring to." Rook shook his head. "Normally we would have to confiscate and register a device like this, but the fact that it is the body for a sentient organism means it has the same rights as any other sapient being under Plumber jurisdiction."
"I mean, that doesn't seem that complicated either." Ben shrugged. "Turns out it's a person, so we treat it like a person. Big deal."
"It is a "big deal" because it is still an Omnitrix." Rook pointed out. "It would still be disastrous if it fell into the wrong hands."
"Oh, that's not a problem." Dr. Krauze interjected. "CROSS can attach and detach to whoever he wants."
The CrossTrix suddenly began to hover above its pedestal and flew over to attach itself to Ben's right arm.
"Whoa, two Omnitrixes!" Ben whistled as he held his arms up in front of him. "What do you think would happen if I tried using both at the same time?"
"A horrific error, probably." The CrossTrix promptly detached from Ben and flew back to its pedestal. "I'm made of Earth tech, remember? No way your Omnitrix and I are anywhere near cross-compatible." CROSS stopped talking for a moment as the Omnitrix piped in with a few beeps of its own. "Yeah, what they said."
"Aw, man." Ben pouted.
"So, if you do not mind me asking, is your Omnitrix named the CrossTrix because of CROSS?" Rook asked Dr. Krauze.
"No, actually, I came up with the acronym to match the name of the device." Dr. Krauze said. "It's named the CrossTrix because it uses Cross-Fusion."
"The heck is Cross-Fusion?" Ben asked, tilting his head sideways a bit.
"It's a new method of hybridization I invented." Dr. Krauze explained. "The abilities of most alien fusions are only a fraction as powerful as the abilities of the original forms, but with Cross-Fusion, the abilities stack instead of divide, making each ability just as powerful as it would be with the original transformation."
"I'm gonna pretend I understood what you just said and say that's pretty cool." Ben said, making finger guns.
"Stronger fusions." Rook summarized.
"Oh, hey, that actually is pretty cool." Ben snapped his fingers. "Gonna file that info away for later in case I decide to go down the fusion gimmick route."
"So... am I in the clear, or...?" Dr. Krauze asked.
"One more thing." Rook said. "Yesterday, San Francisco was attacked by a Leviathan Evolvyrn. The user was a homeless teenager that was unable to confirm the identity of the person who gave them the transformation equipment. Do you have any information about that?"
"A Leviathan?" Dr. Krauze's brow furrowed. "Was it a regular Leviathan, or did it look different than usual?"
"Well, I don't know what a regular one looks like, but Lieutenant Steel mentioned something about it having been evolved a couple of times." Ben said. "Why?"
"A few months ago, the military contracted out a shipment of EvoLocks and EvoKeys from the company that owns the distribution rights." Dr. Krauze said. "They were only supposed to be used for training purposes, but of course they ended up breaching contract and evolving the Evolvyrns for field use. The company tried to take them back, but the shipment was stolen mid-transit."
"Guess the army really didn't want to give the stuff back, huh?" Ben said.
"That's what I assumed too until some of the stolen items started showing up on the black market." Dr. Krauze sighed. "Now we're back to square one on whodunnit. The GP's been investigating, but they're just as stumped as anyone else."
"I dunno, I feel like if you can build an Omnitrix, you're a little too smart to be "stumped"." Ben pointed at her. "Even if you don't have any real leads, do you have any gut feelings as to who might be responsible?"
"I mean... yeah, but you can't just go around accusing people of stuff based on "gut feelings"."
"Sure you can." Ben shrugged. "I just accused you of trying to take over the world based on a gut feeling. Like, sure, I was wrong, but it got us into a conversation where you could clarify things. If you're so afraid of taking a wrong turn that you don't even start the car, you'll never get to Mr. Smoothy."
"...What?"
"I believe he is saying that it is more productive to follow an incorrect lead and be corrected than it is to not follow any leads at all." Rook explained. "As much as I am against making rash decisions, I am inclined to agree with him in this instance. With so little information on the culprit to work with, even investigating an innocent party may prove useful, if only to rule them out as a suspect."
"Alright, that makes sense." Dr. Krauze nodded. "In that case, who I think may have been involved was-"
Her statement was interrupted by the sound of a sudden explosion from outside the house strong enough to shake the whole foundation. The three of them rushed upstairs and out the front door to find the truck that had cut Ben and Rook off in traffic earlier parked across the street with its front windows rolled down. Sitting in the driver's seat was Fistrick holding a recently-fired AT4 launcher.
"Okay bro, you're gonna have to tell me where you got that paneling, because this puppy did not leave a dent on your ride." Fistrick whistled.
Rook responded by taking out the Proto-Tool and aiming it at him in net-launching mode.
"It is custom."
Rook fired, only for Fistrick to toss the spent AT4 into the net and jump out the window on the other side of his truck. Ben rolled his eyes and transformed into an armored shark-like alien with two holes on its chest and a funnel-like fin on its head.
"Y'know, Fistrick, if you wanted to go back to jail so bad, you could've just turned yourself in locally instead of tracking us all the way to another state." Steambriner tsked. "How'd you know we were gonna be here, anyway?"
"Wouldja believe I just so happened to be here to ski?" Fistrick replied.
"You look me in the eye and tell me you do cardio."
"Eh, got me there." Fistrick chuckled. "Truth is that some guy tipped me off as to where you bozos were headed."
"And who was that?" Rook questioned.
"The same guy that gave me these."
Fistrick stepped out from behind the truck, holding up an EvoLock in his left hand and an EvoKey in his right. Before they could stop him, he slammed the key into the lock and twisted it, transforming into a twelve-foot-tall blue-skinned humanoid alien with four arms, four black spikes on the sides of its head, a third eye in the center of its forehead, and a garland adorned with skulls of varying sizes wrapped around its chest.
Kalaratri Infocard
"Wha- you made a Four Arms Evolvyrn?!" Steambriner whipped around to look at Dr. Krauze.
"Uh..."
"Tetramand." Rook translated for her.
"Oh, no, that's Kālarātri, the Hakaino Tsuyosa Evolvyrn." She explained. "H. Tsuyosa are similar to Tetramands in appearance, but it's a result of convergent evolution as opposed to-"
Her explanation was interrupted by Kālarātri hoisting up his truck and tossing it at them. Steambriner intercepted it with a blast of boiling brine from his portholes that sent it flying back at Kālarātri while creating a huge cloud of steam. With his opponent obscured from view, Steambriner was caught off-guard as four blue-skinned hands reached through the steam and grabbed him, tossing him into the air before Kālarātri jumped up and hit him over the head with a four-fisted punch that sent him slamming into the ground.
"Urgh..." Steambriner groaned as he pulled himself out of the hole his body had put into the road. "I don't think Steambriner's gonna work for this one. Doc, you made this thing, you mind telling me how to fight it?"
"You don't." Dr. Krauze shook her head. "Hakaino Tsuyosa are quite literally powered by violence. The more you physically fight him, the stronger he's gonna get."
"Why would you make something like that?!"
"I didn't, that's how the species is normally!" Dr. Krauze protested.
"Well, if that's not what you changed, then what is?!"
Steambriner's question was swiftly answered as the five skulls attached to Kālarātri's body suddenly detached from the Evolvyrn's chest and started flying towards him.
"Okay, what?!" Steambriner transformed into Terraspin, who quickly withdrew into his shell and began spinning in his fan form, creating a strong wind that pushed back the skulls as they approached. "I thought those were part of his outfit!"
"Actually, they're organic bone outcroppings that the outfit was made to fit around." Dr. Krauze explained. "Normal Hakaino Tsuyosa only have the one big one in the center of their chest and it doesn't detach, but when you look at their DNA, there are actually inactive gene sequences that code for multiple detachable skulls, so I went ahead and reintegrated them into their active DNA while I was engineering the Evolvyrn. It's actually really fascinating because it strongly indicates that they share a much closer common ancestor with other species on their planet that have that exact ability than we previously-"
"I'm sure it's fascinating if you're into that kind of thing, but it is not the info I'm looking for right now, Doc!"
"Um, right, sorry, aim for his third eye!" Dr. Krauze tapped the corresponding spot on her forehead. "It's the organ that lets him control his drones and speed up time!"
"Control his drones and wha-"
Terraspin was interrupted as Kālarātri abruptly ran up to him, moving way faster than anything his size should, and punched him into the ground with a blow too fast for the eye to see.
"How many abilities does one alien need?!" Terraspin wheezed.
"The species comes from a rough planet." Dr. Krauze shrugged. "Each of their powers actually has a really interesting evolutionary history behind them that explains-"
"NEVERMIND!"
Kālarātri continued whaling on Terraspin, hitting him repeatedly with enough force that his incredibly dense shell actually began to crack in several places. Rook fired an energy net at Kālarātri's hands, whose rapid movements quickly resulted in them getting thoroughly entangled in the netting. Terraspin took the opportunity to transform into a roughly humanoid alien with a red translucent body and two distinct barbels extending from the sides of his head.
Rebide Infocard
"Betcha think you're a real clever guy for that one." Kālarātri growled, turning his attention to Rook as he threw his arms out to the side, tearing through the netting covering them with ease. "Hate to break it to you, Bro, but that little stunt just got you a one-way ticket to becoming a real clever stain on the pavement!"
Kālarātri directed his four smaller skull drones to launch themselves at Rook, who swiftly activated the Proto-Tool's shield mode and began deflecting them as best he could. His defense was ultimately broken as the large center skull joined the fray and slammed into the Proto-Tool like a wrecking ball, shattering the energy shield it projected with enough force to send Rook flying back a good few meters. He landed on his feet, but his attempts to reactivate the Proto-Tool's shield were met only with urgent beeps indicating damage to the device's energy projector. Right as the team of skull drones began flying in for the kill, Rebide stepped in front of him, spreading his arms out wide to act as a living shield.
"Ha! It's over, Tennyson!" Kālarātri laughed as the flying skulls slammed into Rebide's body with a collective force equivalent to several tons of TNT. "Time to-"
He paused as he took notice of what the skulls' devastating attack had done to Rebide's body.
More specifically, nothing.
"...Die?"
"Sorry I took so long getting over to ya, Rook." Rebide told Rook, ignoring his opponent's wasted gloating. "This guy's got really stubby legs. He don't move too good."
"Well, it will not be winning any races any time soon, but using it here was actually a good strategic choice. Are you feeling alright?" Rook said with a facetious grin.
"Pfft, what strategy?" Rebide waved him off. "I just wanted to see what would happen if an unstoppable force..."
Rebide turned his attention back to Kālarātri, who was at this point- with his raised body temperature amid the thick snowfall- quite literally steaming with rage.
"...Met an unmovable object."
"Unmovable, huh?" Kālarātri cracked his knuckles. "Let's see if that checks out!"
Kālarātri dashed forward and began slamming his fists into Rebide at such high speeds that each punch created a miniature sonic boom, forcing Rook and Dr. Krauze to cover their ears. Rebide, meanwhile, kept on absorbing the blows like they were nothing, and proceeded to make several increasingly exaggerated yawning motions to drive the point home.
"STOP DOING THAT!" Kālarātri screamed, his punches becoming faster and stronger as he grew more and more enraged. "YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A MOUTH!"
"Hey, uh, not to backseat bad guy or anything, but you should probably stop!" Dr. Krauze yelled at him. "Tennyson's a Kirixian! You've already fed him enough kinetic energy to-"
"I SWEAR TO GOD, LADY, YOU START RAMBLING ABOUT SOME STUPID CRAP ONE MORE TIME AND I WILL CRUSH YOUR HEAD LIKE A GRAPE!" Kālarātri roared. "I DON'T CARE IF HE'S A KIKILIKI OR A KOOKOOLOOKOO OR WHATEVER! I AM GOING TO BURY TENNYSON ONCE AND FOR ALL IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"
He turned his attention back to Rebide, only to find him shaping a ball of yellow energy in front of him using his barbels.
"Could be."
With that, the yellow ball of energy surged forward into a massive beam, sending Kālarātri skidding down the road a ways before he found his footing. Unfortunately for him, his durability proved to be well below his strength, and instead of being held back by Kālarātri standing firm, it simply blasted a hole through its chest and continued on its way, turning skywards just in time to avoid blowing a chunk off of one the valley's surrounding mountains.
Rebide ceased fire and transformed back into Ben as Kālarātri stumbled backwards for a moment before reverting to Fistrick in a red flash, who fell to the ground groaning. The lock and key he had used to transform clattered to the ground next to him, but just as he reached out to grab them, Rook walked over and kicked them to the side.
"Fistrick, you are under arrest for assault, battery, attempted murder, and illegal possession and use of restricted technology." Rook pulled out a set of handcuffs and slapped them onto Fistrick. "So the usual, I suppose."
"Screw off, cat man." Fistrick growled as Rook pulled him to his feet.
"Feliform, not Felid." Rook corrected him. "There is a difference."
"Do you honestly think I care?"
"No, but I do feel obligated to make the point anyway."
"Nice job, Rook." Ben said as he walked over. He looked up at where he had almost hit the mountainside and started rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, definitely need more practice with that guy. Don't think Fistrick is a big enough threat for me to get away with causing a rock slide."
"Hold up, bro, what is that supposed to mean?!" Fistrick snapped.
"What do you think it means, "bro"?" Ben made a questioning gesture with his hand. "You're a human dudebro arms dealer. You're not exactly Vilgax-level."
"Oh, please, give me some prep time and some good tech and I could turn that oversized squid into calamari no problem!" Fistrick boasted.
"Alright, I'll be sure to tell him you said that." Ben shrugged.
"...Please don't."
"Hey, I'm pretty sure this was one of the stolen EvoLock sets." Dr. Krauze piped in, picking up the EvoLock and EvoKey. "Bet Lucius'll be happy to have these back in stock."
"Lucius?" Ben looked at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, he's the owner of the company that rents out the EvoLocks." Dr. Krauze explained.
"...And that doesn't raise any red flags for you?"
"Eh, it threw me off at first, but he's a pretty reliable guy." Dr. Krauze shrugged. "Just not a good people person."
"Would it be alright if Ben and I returned it to him?" Rook asked. "I would like to speak with him in-person."
"That's more up to him than me, but I don't really mind." Dr. Krauze replied. "You think he knows something I don't?"
"It is his company that was robbed, after all." Rook nodded. "There is no guarantee that he knows anything, but I believe it would be irresponsible not to check."
"Sure, but how far out of the way are we gonna have to go for that?" Ben asked.
"Well, his main offices are just downtown, so in this weather..." Dr. Krauze paused a moment and silently counted something on her fingers. "It should take you about...I dunno, 20, 25 minutes to get there from here? Depends on how bad other people are driving. Snows here every year and people still skid around in the winter like they've never encountered the stuff."
"Well, heck, if that's it, I'm game." Ben grinned. "Oh, before we go, who was it you were trying to tell us about when Fistrick popped by?"
""Popped by?!"" Fistrick snapped. "Bro, I'm a feared underground arms dealer, not some nosy neighbor!"
"As many times as Ben and I have had to deal with you, you may as well be." Rook commented.
Fistrick let out a defeated sigh. "I know."
"-Anyways, the suspect thing." Ben turned his attention back to the scientist.
"Oh, right!" Dr. Krauze snapped her fingers. "Joshua Messias!"
"Who?" Ben tilted his head.
"A billionaire roboticist who basically has a monopoly on cybernetics manufacturing in this country." Dr. Krauze explained. "The man hates... well, just about every minority if we're being honest, but he especially hates aliens, and he's been pretty vocal about how much he despises the idea of the EvoLock system."
"So what you're saying is he stole all those EvoLocks and started handing them out to criminals to make them look bad, huh?" Ben hmmed. "Classic villain move."
"I'm saying I think that he might have been involved." Dr. Krauze replied pointedly. "You asked me to give you my best guess, so I did. I don't have any actual proof he did anything."
"Still, "evil xenophobic billionaire with a plausible motive" is the best lead we've gotten so far." Ben said. "I'd say it's worth looking into. Where is he now?"
"Probably in New York getting ready for that big tech reveal he's been promoting over the past few months." Dr. Krauze sighed.
"Big who reveal?" Ben blinked in confusion.
"What?" Dr. Krauze looked equally confused.
"You said "big Tech reveal," but I don't know who this "Tech" person-" Ben paused mid-sentence and snapped his fingers. "Oh, you mean technology reveal, I gotcha."
"Wait, you thought it was a name?" Dr. Krauze continued to look flummoxed. "Who on Earth would be named "Tech?""
"See, that's what I was wondering!"
After calling in their encounter with Fistrick and spending a while making small talk with Dr. Krauze, a GP representative finally showed up to take the dudebro off their hands, making Ben and Rook free to leave.
"-And hey, if you ever need anything, just call me, okay?!" Dr. Krauze called over to Ben from her front door as Ben hopped in the Proto-TRUK. "Listing "Worked with Ben Tennyson" would be an insane resume booster!"
"Well, duh!" Ben called back as he settled into his seat. "I'll keep that in mind!"
With that, Ben closed his door and buckled up, allowing Rook to back out of the driveway and start heading downtown.
----
"Is there a reason you insisted on taking the city's light rail system?" Rook asked as Ben grabbed the handrails and flung himself out of the train they rode into their current station on. "This free transit area certainly seems convenient for local residents, but we did have to drive past our destination to get to the central station."
"Hey, trains are cool, Rook, don't knock the trains." Ben whistled back as Rook followed him off the train by casually descending the steps to the exit. "Besides, getting cut off at a stoplight because some moron never played enough platformers to know his way around ice physics gets kinda old after the fifth time it happens, even if you're not the one driving."
"I suppose that is fair," Rook glanced at the map being projected from his Plumber's badge as the train doors closed behind them. "But this route does require walking two extra blocks in order to get to our destination, and I am not sure if you have noticed, but the current weather conditions are still-" Rook was cut off as a chunk of snow falling from the now-departing train got caught in the blizzard winds and slammed right into his face. "...Unfavorable." He sighed as he wiped off the snow.
"Don't be such a baby, it's just a couple of blocks." Ben waved him off. "We won't be out here long at all."
"Ben, Salt Lake City has the largest city blocks in the United States of America." Rook pointed out flatly. "This is not Bellwood."
"Largest, schmargest, how big could they be?"
660 feet by 660 feet each, as it turns out. While walking that distance twice is hardly unreasonable by any stretch of the imagination, the raging winds that pushed against them the entire time turned a casual ten-minute walk into a twenty-minute exercise in frustration. By the time Ben and Rook found the office building they were looking for, the buildup of the area's famously fluffy snow made them resemble walking snowmen more than anything.
"Was it worth it, Ben?" Rook asked as they shook off the snow underneath the building entrance's overhang.
"You know what, yes" Ben replied stubbornly despite his obvious shivering. "The trains called to me, Rook. They called to me and I could not resist their temptations."
"I have noticed that in a surprising number of people." Rook sighed. "Why is such a large portion of your species disproportionately fond of rail travel?"
"I can't explain it, man." Ben shrugged casually as the two of them entered the building. "You either got that Railway Soul or you don't, that's just how it is."
"Alright, but is there a reason you did not at least transform into a cold-resistant alien along the way?"
Ben laughed. "Okay, see, Rook, here's the thing about that:" He slowed his pace to match Rook's so he could lean in and place a casual elbow on his shoulder. "...I forgor."
"You mean "forgot?" Rook asked confusedly.
"I know what I said."
Ben slid his elbow off of Rook and sprinted a couple meters ahead to the front desk sitting in the middle of the lobby, where he rang the mounted "ring for service" bell several times.
"I'm right here, sir." The tired-looking middle-age man behind the desk gave him an annoyed look.
"Sorry, I just like ringing bells." Ben shrugged apologetically before clearing his throat and straightening his posture a bit. "Anyways, galactic-class superhero Ben Tennyson here!" He snapped his right hand fingers into a finger gun and pointed to the Omnitrix with a wink. "And I," He let the syllable hang for a second as he tried to remember why they were there in the first place. "Am gonna need to speak with your CEO."
"You'll need to set up an appointment, Mr. Tennyson." The man behind the desk sighed. "I can't just send someone in to see the CEO unannounced."
"Then give him a heads-up we're here." Ben said.
"That's not how it-"
"My apologies, sir, but I am afraid we are not here for a standard visit." Rook pushed Ben aside and flashed his Plumber Badge, along with the EvoLock and EvoKey he was carrying. "It is rather important that we speak with him in a timely manner."
"Oh, Plumber business?" The man blinked. "Alright, I'll tell him I'm sending you up." He shot Ben another annoyed look. "Why didn't you start with that?"
"Because..." Ben shot him dual finger guns and a wink. "I forgor."
Rook joined the man in giving Ben an annoyed look.
"Seriously this time, Ben, what is "forgor?"
----
After taking an elevator from the lobby to the top floor, Ben and Rook found themselves being escorted by a lithe older gentleman wearing white gloves and what appeared to be a full 19th century sack suit.
"...So are we just not going to acknowledge the fact that this guy unironically has a stereotypical old-timey butler, or...?" Ben whispered to Rook.
"Trends come and go, but if you happen to be the originator of a style," The older gentleman said without missing a beat. "Coming to be seen as a stereotype is rather inevitable."
The man abruptly stopped in front of an unassuming door and knocked on it twice, then swung it open and gestured for them to enter with a slight bow. Ben was halfway through the doorframe when he suddenly realized something about the man's comment about being "the originator of a style" seemed off. "...Hang on, what do you mean by that?" He turned around to look at the man, only to find that he had disappeared. He and Rook shrugged at each other, looking equally confused, then entered the room properly, with the door swinging closed behind them.
The entire eastern wall of the office was made up of tinted glass, illuminating the room with daylight filtered into having a slightly purple hue. The space was mostly empty, save for a large wooden desk placed near the back of the room with two chairs in front of it and one chair behind, in which sat a very stern-looking, pale-skinned young man in a purple suit intently filling out paperwork. Standing behind the desk next to him was the older gentlemen that had escorted them in, who greeted them with another slight bow.
"Wait, but you were just-" Ben pointed between the man and the door several times, looking more confused each time he turned his head. "You- How-"
"Svelte has a talent for moving undetected." The young man sitting behind the desk interjected without looking up from his paperwork. "He's no alien, if that's what you're wondering."
"Um...o-kay, then." Ben exchanged a concerned glance with Rook. "Listen, kid, we're here to speak to the CEO of this place, so if you could just-"
"I am the CEO." The young man looked up from his papers with a stern expression.
"Wait, what?" Ben shook his head out a bit. "You're Lucius Raivent? How old are you?!"
"Nineteen."
"You're like five years younger than me!" Ben exclaimed. "How are you running a billion-dollar corporation?!"
"Efficiently." Lucius replied without a hint of irony. "Now, are we going to discuss the Evolvyrn situation or not?"
"You seem rather collected, given the circumstances." Rook noted as he and Ben took their seats in front of the desk. "We did come here on rather short notice."
"I keep my finger firmly on the pulse on the Evolvyrns my company is responsible for managing." Lucius stated. "After I heard reports of Ben Tennyson fighting a rogue one in the San Francisco Bay, I assumed a visit was forthcoming. The only surprising thing is how long it took for you to get here. Even going down through Las Vegas instead of taking I-80 shouldn't have taken more than 24 hours."
"Wait a minute, how do you know we drove through Vegas?" Ben narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "For all you know, we could've been in San Francisco the whole time and just teleported here using the Plumber Base."
"You have red sand in your hair, so either you took the only major interstate route that runs through Red Rock Country, or you took a very obtuse route for no other reason than to waste your own time." Lucius tsked.
Ben quickly combed through his hair with his fingers to find that he did indeed still have red sand in his hair from when he stuck his head out the window hours ago around the outskirts of St. George.
"Alright, buddy, lucky guess, but I bet you can't guess how many casinos I got kicked out of yesterday!"
"I don't, but I suppose the implications of that statement explain a few things." Lucius sighed in exasperation. "Can we get to the subject at hand?"
"Casinos?" Ben blinked.
"The Evolvyrns, Ben." Rook took the EvoLock and EvoKey out of his belt pouches and placed them on the desk in front of Lucius. "We were questioning Dr. Krauze about an hour ago when a criminal named Fistrick attacked us using these. Dr. Krauze believes them to be one of the sets from the stolen military recall shipment."
Lucius picked up the EvoLock and examined the serial number on its back. "She's correct, though how Fistrick was able to get his hands on one is beyond me."
"You know Fistrick?" Ben asked.
"I know of Fistrick." Lucius clarified. "He was one of the few alien arms dealers that stayed in Bellwood after your identity was leaked eight years ago."
"How do you know that?" Ben started getting suspicious again.
"My father was an alien arms dealer with a sizable network." Lucius stated. "He died in a housefire five years ago and I reorganized his criminal empire into a legitimate corporation. You wanted to know how I became the head of a billion-dollar company?" Lucius gestured vaguely to the room around them. "The billions were already there. All I had to do was move them above-ground."
"Alright, makes sense." Ben nodded absentmindedly. "Oh, uh, sorry your dad's dead, though."
"My father was scum of the Earth that I would happily burn again." Lucius scowled.
"Wait, what?"
"My father was scum of the Earth that I would happily see burn again." Lucius cleared his throat. "My point is that there's no need to pay any lip service to his death. Not all parents have a positive influence on their child's life, Tennyson."
"Uh, yeah, duh, I was just trying to hedge my bets by being nice about it." Ben rolled his eyes. "I had to save a wedding when I was ten because the bride's parents wanted a race war, dude, you don't need to condescend to me about it."
"...Fair." Lucius ceded the point.
"Regarding the stolen shipment, are there any notable details you could give us?" Rook attempted to re-rail the conversation. "Any potential leads would be valuable at this stage."
"Nothing that wouldn't have been on the incident report." Lucius replied. "I attempted an investigation myself, but the thieves responsible are either able to bypass our reality entirely or have connections to some very powerful individuals capable of erasing evidence of any kind at any level. Did Dr. Krauze have any suggestions?"
"She mentioned this "Joshua Messias" guy, but she didn't seem super sure about it." Ben shrugged.
The very mention of Messias's name drew a repulsed scowl across Lucius's face.
"I...take it you know the guy?"
"He's the only man I've ever met with a soul more vile than my father's." Lucius said. "He's positioned his cybernetics as a direct competitor for the Evolvyrn system, so there's not much I can do to avoid hearing about him every so often."
"Do you think he is a plausible suspect in this case?" Rook asked.
"He certainly has the motivation and resources necessary to pull it off, but I would hesitate to say he was behind this incident specifically." Lucius tsked. "For one thing, it would be too convenient."
"For who?"
"For me." Lucius stated. "Furthermore, he's not smart enough to get away with something like this and not stupid enough to think he could. I can envision how he'd be able to do it, but he couldn't."
"I suppose that explains Dr. Krauze's hesitancy in suggesting him, but the fact that he theoretically might have been able to do it unfortunately means he is still our best lead." Rook said.
"Welp, off from the Great Salt Lake to the Big Apple, I guess." Ben sighed and got to his feet. He paused for a moment, snapped his fingers, and then pointed at Lucius. "Quick question, any good smoothie places around here? I don't think Mr. Smoothys' gotten to franchising in this state yet."
"Svelte handles the cuisine more often than not, so you'd have to ask him for any suggestions." Lucius gestured to his assistant.
"We have a handful of national chains present in the valley if you want to play it safe, but if you're willing to pay a bit extra, there are a few local craft smoothie shops that might be of interest to you." Svelte stated.
"Okay, Rook, new plan:" Ben said. "Heading to Big Apple tomorrow. Staying here to try all the smoothie shops today."
"I do not know whether it says more about you or me that I knew exactly what you were going to say before you said it." Rook sighed.
==Characters==
=== Protagonists ===
* Ben Tennyson
* Rook Blonko
=== Antagonists ===
* 
==Aliens Used==
=== By Ben ===
* Recharge
* Steambriner
* Rebide
=== By Fistrick ===
* Leviathan EV1 (Belial Variant)
== Equipment Used ==
=== By Rook ===
* Proto-Tool
** 
==Gallery==
Ben-83.png|Ben Tennyson
==Trivia==
* Due to the lower rate of climate change on Earth-83 (a consequence of more efficient alien power sources being gradually integrated into society after the Incursean Invasion of 2014), the winter precipitation presented in this episode is significantly heavier than the IRL precipitation experienced in northern Utah on 1/12/20.
* The title of the episode references the motto/nickname of Salt Lake City ("The Crossroads of the West") and the profession of Dr. Krauze.
* Ben's confusion over the idea of "Tech" being a name is an unsubtle reference to the Tech 10 franchise, which takes place in the same universe.
** While Ben is aware of Isaac Logical and his team due to their work as Plumbers, Isaac gave up his use of the nickname when joining the Plumbers due to it complicating the onboarding process. Isaac's entire job assignment is to take care of Omnitrix-level threats that pop up when Ben is busy, so the two have never met to discuss backstories in-person. 
Category:Episodes