The Legend of Ben 10: Book 1, Sentience.

Chapter 6: The Death General (Part 2)

"AAAACHOOO!" Ben sniffled from where he sat in the odd giant metal cage on board the Matriarch Flotilla's main bridge.  "Uhh.. you know, this cage probably won't hold me. "

"Really?" said Azula as she sat upon the throne next to the cage. "Well if that's so, why don't you try a transformation? Do it right now. We didn't restrain the Omnitrix after all. Feel free to have at it."

Ben blinked, glaring at Azula. 

"Come on, it'd be amusing for me, and educational for you.  No worries, you won't get hurt, probably."

Ben transformed in a flash of green light and Humungousaur now stood in a cage that had grown in proportion to his own size. 

"So it grows.. nice." Humungousaur growled. 

"Not just that. Try breaking the bars." said Azula. 

Humungousaur grumbled something incoherent and grabbed the bars, pulling. "The heck..?"

The bars had turned rubbery and stretchy, yet also stiff and firm, before pulling itself instantly back into it's original shape the instant Humungousaur tried to wrench them apart. 

"Self healing Meta Mesh?" Humungousaur muttered. "Nice, but that only works with brute force."

"Then by all means, try  an alternative method." said Azula. 

Ben transformed again, this time becoming NRG.  The moment he turned into the radioactive alien inside his large suit, the cage not only resized, but turned from bars into solid blue energy, hissing with freezing cold air. 

"An Adapticell." said NRG. "The most advanced Galvan-made Prison cell ever devised. Instantly reads the DNA of whatever's inside and morphs to suit the need, changing even its own matter. Azmuth invented this.  How the hell did you get your hands on one? It's level 17 tech. It even holds Annodites."

"Does that really matter right now?" Azula asked, standing up from her ship bridge's throne, nodding at a few of her soldiers as they walked past. "Right now you're in the palm of my hand. Either you do what I say, or your friends die."

"How do I know you even kept them alive?" Ben asked as he transformed back into human in a flash of green light.

"Oh please, I'm not that stupid. Even with that cage I'm not taking chances. Trust me they're fine. See for yourself." Azula nodded at the security camera feeds near the front of the bridge where the controls were. 

Ben could see that Katara, Sokka and Toph were all in different cells, with Toph being the only one who was restrained in energy binders in the middle of three armed guards. 

"As the world's first Metal Bender, you'll understand the precautions I took with that one." said Azula. 

"So what do you want?" Ben muttered.

"Simple." said Azula. "Join me as my soldier. As the one who will help me bring order to this world under the Matriarch. I know you believe what they are doing to be wrong, but eventually you'll come to see that living under the authority of these creatures benefits us all."

"Does it?" Ben asked. "How long before your body is used as a wetsuit for a newborn?"

"Only some will be used. Those in power won't be." said Azula. "You can be one of them Tennyson. One of those in power. I want you to get there trust me. To be at my side. You're different from the other men, the other meat puppets I just play with. Different from Zu Zu at the very least in which you have an unwavering conviction and strength that even outmatches the Avatar himself."

Azula smiled in almost a seductive way. "You and I can mean so much more to each other."

"Do you even know how to flirt?" Ben growled. "Cause that's just making me sick."