Lysis

Phase I : attachment

"I do not want to talk about it," Rook cut him off. He kept his glare focused on the road ahead of him. Despite his tight grip on the wheel, Rook was driving normally. If it weren't for his tone, Ben would have no idea that he was upset at all.

"Um." Ben blinked. "Okay…? But if you change your mind, I'm here to listen," he said awkwardly.

Rook just huffed. That seemed to be the only answer that Ben was going to get out of him.

Ben thought about saying more, but he was clearly bothering Rook, so he decided against it. Whatever Rook was pissed about, it would pass. For the time being, Ben just settled in to watch the city blur by. If Rook was going to keep this up the whole day, then Ben was in for a long, boring day of patrol.

Apparently, Rook did intend to keep up his bad attitude for the rest of patrol.

By the time afternoon rolled around, Rook had said maybe ten more words to Ben in total (all of them with a tone of derision), had rolled his eyes seven times, and scoffed twice. It was getting old very fast.

Ben was doing his best not to take it personally or let it get to him. Everyone had bad days, and Rook probably had a really good reason to be so upset… But he was also clearly taking it out on Ben, and it wasn't appreciated at all.

Rook's silent treatment was broken up by an attack from Trumbipulor. By then, Ben was almost relieved to be attacked. Hopefully, the physical exertion would help Rook blow off some steam, and Ben also found himself needing the break from the tense atmosphere of the TRUK's cabin.

As Four Arms, Ben grappled with Trumbipulor, doing his best to keep the alien's rampage confined to one street. He waited for an opening to dart to the side and used his speed advantage to get behind Trumbipulor. Four Arms pulled him into a full-nelson hold, pinning Trumbipulor wide open for Rook to take a shot at him.

Rook fired, but his aim was a little high, and Trumbipulor managed to slip free at the last second… Leaving Four Arms' face to absorb the blast.

Ben's vision went white, then red as pinpricks of pain danced over the skin around his eyes. He was blasted right off of his feet and into the building behind him. Four Arms slammed through the window and crashed into the ground, cracking the tile with the force of his landing. The Omnitrix beeped, giving him a split-second warning before depositing Ben back into his human form.

"Good thing that Tetramands have tough skin," Ben mumbled. The skin around his eyes felt irritated, not unlike a bad sunburn, but other than that, he felt alright.

He pushed himself into a sitting position, blinking away the lingering fuzziness in his eyes. A hand was offered to him, and Ben took it.

"Wanna tell me what the hell that was about, Rook?" Ben snapped in frustration. Being in a bad mood was one thing, but compromising each other's safety was another.

The glare was wiped off Ben's face when he realized that he was definitely not looking at Rook. (Admittedly, the fact that the hand he was gripping was bare and not covered by armor should have been his first clue.)

"Elena?" Ben gaped at her. He should have immediately hit the Omnitrix so that he was ready if she tried to attack him, but Ben was a little preoccupied being stunned that she was even here in the first place. The last time he had seen her had felt rather final in the moment.

"Hi, Ben. That was quite the hit you took," Elena said lightly, like she was chatting about the weather. She gave a heave to pull Ben to his feet and he was too taken aback to think about resisting until he was already standing.

"What are you—?" Ben shook his head as he gathered himself. He reclaimed his hand and took a cautious step back. "Why are you here?" He asked, not-so-subtly reaching for the Omnitrix.