Ben 10 Meets Tech 10

Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden landing of a tall red figure nearby, the force of which kicked up a fair amount of dust. The new arrival rose to his full height, allowing Isaac and Teresa to get a better look at him. He was tall and imposing, with large black horns jutting from the sides of his head and several rings of glowing purple eyes lining his chest making him look rather demonic in nature. Teresa immediately darted behind Isaac with a yelp, just barely peeking her head out from behind him to look.

Isaac, on the other hand, seemed none too bothered by the figure's presence.

"Dude, I told you to call ahead when you got here." Isaac crossed his arms with an annoyed look.

"Apologies, my ship's communication tower was damaged during the flight." The figure tsked. "One of my pilots took us out of hyperspace too close to your system's asteroid field."

"Yeah, that checks."

"D-do you two know each other?" Teresa asked nervously.

"Oh, right, I never told you about Kroz, did I?" Isaac smacked his own forehead. "Teresa, this is Warlord Kroz the Fifth, but we just call him Kroz. Kroz, this is Teresa Challice. She's the new Tech."

"The "new" Tech?" Kroz raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I stopped using the moniker years ago and her name can literally be shortened to "Tech", so it fits her better than it does me."

"I understand that much, but what does being "Tech" actually entail in this scenario?" Kroz responded.

"Long story involving multiverse bullshit I don't really understand, but basically, she fits the same kinda "B-role superhero with an Omnitrix" thing I did back in the day." Isaac said.

"I-I don't really think of myself as a "superhero", I-I just use the CrossTrix to help out where I can." Teresa interjected no less nervously than before.

"...That's what a superhero is." Isaac stated flatly.

"She seems rather... *easily intimidated* to be a superhero." Kroz noted.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm just... there's just been a lot happening lately, a-and my n-nerves are kind of shot." Teresa stammered.

"I see." Kroz nodded slowly. "Well, no matter."

The eyes on Kroz's chest glowed brighter for a moment, and Teresa immediately felt all of her built-up fear and anxiety melt away.

"What-" Teresa stepped out from behind Isaac and gave Kroz a confused look. "Did... did you just do that?"

"Kroz is an Emotispecter; strongest one there is, as far as I know." Isaac said. "In case the name didn't give it away, Emotispecters can control emotions, and this guy right here is more OP at it than anyone else."

"I'm sure you could approach my level if you ever actually trained with your Emotispecter form." Kroz stated. "It *is* my DNA, after all."

"I'm working on it." Isaac huffed.

"At any rate, I'd like to get back to why I cam here in the first place." Kroz said.

"Right, right, the fight." Isaac tsked. "Did ya have a place in mind or did you want me to choose?"

"Choose what?" Teresa looked between the two of them, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Kroz and I spar every once in a while to help him keep pushing his limits." Isaac explained. "Both of us keep pulling new bullshit out of our asses, so every match so far has been a tie."

"That is a crass but not incorrect summary." Kroz nodded. "On a side note, it might be prudent to put this conversation on hold for a moment. It appears you have customers."

Kroz gestured behind him, drawing Isaac and Teresa's attention to a quickly-approaching vehicle.

"That's a Plumber-issue truck, so I kind of doubt it." Isaac squinted at it. "No idea who's in it, though."

"Don't you work for the Plumbers?" Teresa asked.

"Yeah, but HQ ain't said jack or shit about sending anyone down here." Isaac grunted. "I'd keep my guard up if I were you."

The vehicle began to slow down and eventually came to a halt a few meters away from them. There was a tense silence in the air as the front doors opened and the two people inside stepped out, revealing themselves to be Ben Tennyson and Rook Blonko, respectively.

"N-no way..." Teresa's eyes widened as she took a step back in shock. "B-Ben Tennyson?!"

"Oh, great, the golden child." Isaac rolled his eyes and put a hand on his hip in an annoyed stance. "The hell are you two doing here? Shouldn't you be out putting down Vilgax for the umpteenth time?"

"Uh... do I know you?" Ben pointed at him.

"This is Isaac Logical, the lead officer of the backup team we were discussing earlier." Rook explained to Ben before turning his attention to Isaac. "Headquarters has been trying to contact you. Are your Omnitrix's communication functions not working?"

"Oh, *that's* what that ringing was!" Isaac snapped his fingers. "Yeah, no, sorry, I was busy training with her." He jabbed a thumb at Teresa.

"Is she part of the backup team too?" Ben asked.

"I do not recall seeing her on any personnel lists." Rook shrugged.

"She's not a Plumber." Isaac stated flatly. "The hell are you doing here, anyway? I doubt they'd sent you two of all people out just to check on a B-role officer not answering his calls."

"We are actually here because of *him*." Rook pointed to Warlord Kroz. "Headquarters sent us to take care of this when they could not get into contact with you."

"And what, pray tell, have I done to land myself in the sights of the Plumbers?" Kroz asked.

"You entered Earth's atmosphere with an unauthorized warship and failed to identify yourself when requested, violating several restrictions regarding the use of military vessels." Rook stated matter-of-factly.

"Uh... yeah, what he said!" Ben raised his arm to show off the Omnitrix. "If you're looking for a fight, you've got one!"

"I *am* looking for a fight, but it was not my intention to violate local guidelines." Kroz said. "My ship's communications tower was damaged en-route to Earth, and I have yet to hear tell of these vessel restrictions."

"Yeah, right, like we'd be stupid enough to buy that." Ben scoffed and glanced over at Rook. "Can you believe this guy?"

"Yes, actually," Rook said. "Warlord Kroz has a long track record of cooperating with Plumber guidelines."

"Wait, seriously?" Ben looked confused. "You know this guy well enough to vouch for him?"

"I know *of* him from my readings of various case files." Rook clarified. "As a significant political figure, reports involving him tend to be meticulously detailed." He turned his attention back to Kroz. "In the interest of avoiding an unnecessary interplanetary political incident, would it be alright if I boarded your ship to confirm the damage to your communications tower? I have some engineering experience, so I may be able to help with repairs."

"By all means," Kroz nodded. "I would also appreciate some further explanation regarding the restrictions you mentioned earlier. The Harbinger is my primary means of transportation, but I can arrange the use of an unarmed diplomatic vehicle for future visits to Earth if need be."

"Hang on a second," Ben interjected. "If we're not going to fight, then what am *I* supposed to do?"

"I believe familiarizing yourself with your fellow Omnitrix user may prove beneficial." Rook gestured towards Isaac, whose only response was a low grunt. "I am sure you have a lot to talk about."

With that, Rook and Kroz disappeared as they were beamed aboard the Harbinger. Ben sighed and turned to look at Isaac, who was still just standing there looking unimpressed, and Teresa, whose anxiety had spiked through the roof in the presence of the world-famous (and notably destructive) celebrity.

"Okay, so, you're the guy in charge of the B-team, I got that," Ben pointed at Isaac before turning his attention to Teresa. "But who's she? You said she's not a Plumber, so... what's the deal?"

"She's another Omnitrix user, in case the big honkin' gauntlet on her left arm didn't give that away somehow." Isaac said dryly. "She's fairly new to all this, so try not to give her a hard time, alright?"

"I, uh... wasn't planning on it." Ben blinked.

"H-h-hi, I-I'm Ter-" Teresa began stammering in an attempt to introduce herself. "I-I mean, I'm Te-; Ch-; Ch-Challice! Teresa Challice!" Unsure of how to greet him, her brain hiccupped and tried to bow and go for a handshake at the same time, resulting in a strange limp swiping motion as she hunched over at an awkward angle.

"...Is she okay?" Ben looked over at Isaac and pointed at Teresa.

"No, and you being here isn't helping." Isaac let out something halfway between a sigh and a groan. "Come on, let's head into the building. You should meet the rest of the team while you're here, not just me."

"So, if the two of us fought, who do you think would win?" Ben asked.

"You have Alien X, so... you." Isaac said flatly.

"Okay, but what if I *didn't* use Alien X?" Ben said.

"Still you." Isaac tsked. "I've got like thirty aliens and haven't unlocked a new one in years. You've got... what, over a thousand now?"

"Yeah, somewhere around there." Ben shrugged. "Fair point."

"Look at it this way: if I was stronger than you, why would my crew be the B-team?" Isaac pointed out.