NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3: Vilgax’s Prelude
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Location: In the middle of a forest on fire
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"-ome here immediately!" Psyphon yelled, that was the name of the skeleton-fish looking alien.
'My master will soon have the Omnitrix, with it he will be able to rule over several galaxies. Even the whole universe in the future!'
"…" The inferior being who had turned into a flaming species was thinking about something. He finally answered as he walked forward. "Okay."
'Why do I have the impression that he had smiled before he walked?' Psyphon pondered, but put aside his thought.
'Anyway, the human will soon perish with the rest of his planet.' The inferior being was nearing the teleportation circle, they would soon be teleported to his master's spaceship.
"Stop." Psyphon raised his arm as he felt his communicator vibrate. "Yes, master? A human collected the Omnitrix, but he would soon be inside—"
"Don't send him up! Return now!" The deep voice resonated from the communicator despite the forest fire.
Psyphon was surprised. 'The master doesn't trust me with such a simple task!?'
"Why—" Psyphon didn't have time to ask as a ray of flame engulfed him. He rocketed upwards, barely escaping incineration. Now, he truly resembled a skeleton as most of his flesh went to flame.
"Oh…" The transformed human tilted his head, genuinely surprised. "I didn't expect you to burn that… badly. This is far more efficient than anticipated."
Rage boiled through what remained of Psyphon's flesh. Was he retarded in addition to being inferior? Of course, that fire burn! Nearly every fucking civilization in the universe was built with fire as a foundation!
"You—" Again, Psyphon's words were cut short by another torrent of flames. He pressed a button on his suit, and a crimson force field surrounded him, protecting him.
"But that doesn't mean I'm not going to continue." If he could, Heatblast would have narrowed his eyes. 'He doesn't feel pain, or is his pain resistance that high?!'
"I will—" Once again, Psyphon was interrupted, by the deep voice from the communicator.
"Do you defy my order?"
The skeleton-looking being froze. "No, master."
"Fine, put the communicator in speaker mode. I want the human to hear me."
Psyphon paused. '…It wasn't supposed to be in this mode.'
He pretended to activate it. "It's done master!"
"Ben Tennyson?" Ben had heard the voice before, but hearing it say his name sent chills through him. The one behind the voice was the number one "villain" of the Ben 10 saga, Vilgax. If he had even a tiny part of what made the Prime Vilgax, Ben wanted to get rid of him now instead of having a mortal enemy come back forever.
Actually, this alien was literally in his weakest moment, due to a space battle that had reduced him to a nearly alive state, with several limbs and half a torso missing, in a regeneration tank, defenseless. At least, this was what happened in the Prime universe. However, the fact that he didn't come here personally was proof that it had also happened in this universe.
Ben sighed, sending up smoke. Would they have to be archenemies or not? It'd be easier if he could get on his spaceship and crash it, killing Vilgax and Psyphon and destroying all the weaponry.
"Yes, I am Ben Tennyson, wielder of the Omnitrix. And let me be clear, I won't give it to anyone." Ben wanted to come across as dominating while not too antagonistic, since at the end of the day, they didn't know each other.
Vilgax was unbothered. "What path did you choose?"
"And why would I answer?" Actually, Ben didn't think much about why not answering him but being too cooperative was never a good thing in his opinion.
"Because choosing the same path would make us circumstantial allies."
Ben considered this carefully. This Vilgax shouldn't be mindlessly "evil" like his Prime counterpart — he was more nuanced, more real. Still, the Omnitrix's allure was universal; trust wasn't an option.
Meanwhile, Psyphon observed the retarded being in fire and his communicator. Did he miss something? Why would his master know some random human being? Max Tennyson? Phil Billings? Servantis? Weren't they deceased? No… Ben Tennyson — a Max Tennyson descendant? What coincidence was this?
"It sounds silly… but let's count to two and say our paths at three." Ben suggested.
"Childish… though acceptable." Vilgax's deep voice resonated through the communicator.
"1" They synchronized.
"2" Again in unison.
"Freedom." Both spoke without hesitation and delay.
"I'd expected you to choose restriction, given your counterpart." Vilgax commented.
"Being a puppet holds no appeal."
"Neither does being a fool who fails despite vast resources."
Vilgax paused before continuing. "Let's be honest, Ben 10, despite being on the same path as me, I will still take the Omnitrix from you no matter when, be it before or after this suspicious war. I'm now fully sure that it will help me achieve unlimited power. But for now, we could be considered as ally."
What Vilgax didn't say was that even if he doesn't obtain the Omnitrix, the saga gave him several ideas on how to improve his strength. Also, he didn't need to obtain Ben's Omnitrix, as long as he could track down Azmuth or one of his two assistants, Albedo or Myaxx, to make him a -trix.
"Did you forget your current situation?" Ben scoffed, at the blatant provocation. "Even a kid could kick your ass now. I only need to get on your spaceship, then you are—"
"Psyphon!" Vilgax ignored Ben. His servant Psyphon vanished, leaving only Ben transformed in Heatblast alone in a burning forest.
'Even bedridden, is he really similar to the Vilgax from the saga? He seemed kinda pressed as if he was scared…' Even if he did ominously threaten Ben, it was light compared to his Prime counterpart.
'...I don't know what to think of that, however, now I have other priorities.' He turned around.
The forest was still on fire.
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Vilgax spaceship
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In a regeneration tank, an octopus-like humanoid floated, deep in contemplation.
'...I never verified.'
Interface displays materialized on the tank's surface at his mental command, showing Earth-related data.
'Humans rarely maintain peak condition beyond forty years, with a maximum lifespan of roughly a century. Given the images I recall, he would have been between forty and fifty… Could he have orchestrated his own death to ensure a quiet retirement?'
Vilgax's form trembled with contained fury. This speculation, this oversight — failing to confirm his enemy's death — trusting rumors — was beneath his reputation.
'Max... Max... Max!' Even without checking, he was now sure that Max was alive.
'The Omniversal war demands priority, otherwise my armada would already be deployed to hunt you down. Yet you're barely relevant now… unlike your grandson.'
'The Omnitrix extraction requires the boy alive — an unfortunate necessity. I could challenge him directly, use my robots… or more efficiently, secure all his family and friend as leverage. And Max...'
A dark satisfaction colored his thoughts. 'If I capture him, keeping him alive would be… optional. His corpse would serve as an equally effective message to show what I can do to the rest. But everything must be calculated. This Ben Tennyson demonstrated his ruthlessness by burning Psyphon without hesitation — I can't afford mistakes. Long-term strategy and multiple contingencies are essential. Too many variables remain unclear to directly decide to antagonize him… for now.'
'...' Possibilities continued to cascade through his mind, some more ruthless than others, some even peaceful. In the end, he could live with Max being alive, though he'd rather see him dead.
'Much remains to be done. But in the end, I will be the ultimate winner!'