Above and Beyond

***Above and Beyond*** is the eighteenth *Ultimate Alien* chapter of *Clock 10: Choose Your Own Adventure*.

## Plot

The Plumber's kids are residing in the main communications room of the Bellwood Plumber's base. There, the coms screen comes on and shows a panicked Magister Patelliday in a dark room. He explains that Clock snapped and attacked him. Patelliday manages to send the coordinates before he's attacked by Clock in the form of AmpFibian, who proceeds to destroy the coms.

Arriving at the satellite, Cooper uses his technopathy to activate the lights, and the group decides to split up. Pierce, Helen, and Alan go for communications, where Patelliday was last seen, while Cooper and Manny go for weapons. Arriving at communications, Patelliday isn't anywhere ot be seen. Pierce prepares himself when he hears noises in the vents, and Clock enters from the vent as Tranquillizer, firing off quills into Pierce that paralyze him.

Angered by the attack, Helen attempts to attack Tranquillizer, who dodges and becomes Armodrillo. Armodrillo uses his jackhammer arms to destabilize the ground and make it difficult for Helen to run. Alan attempts to attack, but it does nothing. Armodrillo then breaks the floor, causing Helen to fall to a lower level, then turns his attention to Alan, who he remarks as the "weakest." Alan attempts to flee, but is caught under a ceiling panel that Armodrillo causes to fall on him before the latter turns into Ripjaws. Despite his type advantage, Alan remains cautious, and Ripjaws then turns into Ultimate Ripjaws. Scared for his life, Alan melts the ceiling panel and makes a break for it.

Meanwhile, Manny and Cooper find the weapons section abandoned just as the rest of the satellite, Cooper remarking on being able to repurpose the weapons. Clock enters and Manny opens fire, which Clock dodges before turning into Rath and attacking in retaliation. The two fight while arguing, and Cooper goes to get a bit of distance while getting a better vantage point to see how he can help. However, as he reaches his higher ground, he witnesses Rath separate Manny's lower left arm from the rest of his body. Oddly, Rath hesitates, and runs off, leaving a trail of Manny's blood behind him, while Manny himself lies in his own blood while screaming in pain. Using the nearby tech, Cooper cauterizes the wound and replaces the arm with a repurposed weapon that he changes into a robotic prosthetic, which can still be used as a weapon by Manny.

The Plumber's kids regroup in the main console room, with their morale extremely low from having been beaten by Clock and not finding Patelliday. While Pierce tries to up the mood to no avail, Clock enters the room. Refusing to answer his motives, Clock activates the Ultiamtrix, turning into Echo-Echo then Ultimate Echo-Echo. Pierce orders the others to attack, and though they hesitantly do, Ultimate Echo-Echo traps them in individual echo chambers, and taunts Pierce about his leadership skills.

Ultimate Echo-Echo goes to fight Pierce, but Manny blasts the console, causing the airlock to open and send Ultimate Echo-Echo and his sonic disks flying out into space, and Cooper manages to close the airlock. Patelliday then reveals himself, congratulating the group. Pierce deduces it's a training mission, and Ultimate Echo-Echo returns inside before returning to human, only for Manny to attack him. The two then argue again, with Clock as Rath.

As they do, Patelliday elaborates that the mission was to initiate the group into the Plumbers Academy, allowing them to officially become deputized agents of the organization. The group goes to McRonald's to celebrate, though things are still soured between Clock and Manny.

## Major Events

* The Plumber's kids are officially initiated into the Plumber's Academy.
* XLR8 is unlocked by the Ultimatrix passively scanning Helen.
* Tranquillizer debuts.
* Ultimate Ripjaws debuts.

## Characters

* Clockwork Firefly
* Pierce Wheels
* Helen Wheels
* Manny Armstrong
* Alan Albright
* Cooper Daniels
* Magister Patelliday

## Aliens Used

* AmpFibian
* Tranquillizer *(debut)*
* Ripjaws
	+ Ultimate Ripjaws *(debut)*
* Rath *(2x)*
* Echo-Echo
	+ Ultimate Echo-Echo

## Trivia

* The majority of the episode has Clock writing from the perspective of the Plumber's kids, with only the last scene (and thusly only Rath's second appearance) being done by him as himself.
* Manny's dismembered arm was added as a nod to an offscreen event that happens within canon that leaves him with a prosthetic.