A Certain Powerful Omnitrix. (とある パワ の Omnitrix)

Phyrexis the Blood Drinker

Ben and Mikoto spent the next few days living in London. After the initial discovery that Ben's old nemesis Albedo was the mastermind behind the second alliance between science and magic, it was decided that they would come up with a strategy before boldly running back into Academy City. There were other issues to consider. For one thing, Radiowave had just recently been declared an active company again, so if it suddenly disappeared after such a short run, it would attract unneeded attention. Then there were the the mercenaries. Ben had beaten SixSix numerous times. However the new bounty hunter that Ben had fought recently was way more dangerous, fighting her without information would be foolish. And finally there was the magic side enemy, The Fist Cthulhu. They were supposedly a bunch of occult radicals who worshipped a fictional character that was based off an ancient alien deity named Dagain the Destroyer. Of course that cult didn't know that Cthulhu was really Dagain, but they were still dangerous. But the biggest of all issues was that all three of these factors were after Mikoto. What would Albedo want with a level 5 esper? Ben shook his head. He was reading too much into this. He just needed to take down Albedo and protect Mikoto. That was the limit of his interest in this fight. He wasn't going to get himself and Mikoto dragged into a war of no return. That much Ben was sure of. There would be no winner if magic and science fought each other, they had too much that connected them together besides just the Omnitrix. As soon as this incident was over Ben would make sure that he and Mikoto went back to their normal lives. Or at least as much of a normal life Ben had usually. To be honest, the reason he had enrolled in Academy City was to try for a chance of normality. Ever since he found the Omnitrix on that fateful summer vacation when he was 10, his life had been assaulted with the weird and unnatural. At first he had enjoyed it. The thought that he was some super hero was every 10 year old's dream. Then he grew up, and he began to see the reality of carrying around an enormous power. He didn't regret the Omnitrix, in fact Ben was honored that Azmuth entrusted him with his greatest creation. But that didn't mean he wasn't scared, of what could happen, of what would happen. Academy City was a place where everyone was weird. Therefore weird was normal, a perfect place for Ben to get a break from feeling...different. A terrifying event last year was the final wake up call that told Ben to go to that city. In a gruesome final battle, his greatest foe, Vilgax had attempted to murder his family. Vilgax had been destroyed, but Ben no longer felt his family would be safe around him. So he looked up Academy City and with the help of his best friend Kevin's connections, managed to get into a high school there for a relatively low tuition. Ever since then, connections with his family had been kept relatively minimal. Unless you counted the Daihensai*, which ended rather awkwardly. The life wasn't easy, half the population of Academy City spoke Japanese which made for an intense headache when trying to order at a restaurant. It became even more of a headache when trying find one Sumo Slammer* DVD that at least had English subtitles. But Ben's family was safe and he had a normal life, that's what mattered. And he would do everything he could to make sure Mikoto could still have a normal life as well.

"Hey Ben, Earth to Ben!" Mikoto was waving her hand in front of his face.

"Eh?"

"I was just asking what you wanted to grab for lunch." Mikoto said. "Seriously you are just like Touma sometimes, try to pay attention will you?"

They were walking through the streets of London. After a few days staying in the safe house Mikoto said it would be a shame to be in Europe and not sightsee a little. So they were allowed to go with the condition that Agnese and the other sisters keep an eye on them. Sure enough Ben was able to recognize some of the nuns in the surrounding area pretending to read newspapers or chatting with a bagel in one hand. None of them wore their traditional nun outfits. In order to blend in they had on casual jackets, t shirts and jeans. Speaking of clothing, both Mikoto and Ben had been forced to change their clothing. Mikoto who wasn't thrilled about spending days at a time in just pajamas didn't mind in the slightest. Ben on the other hand, really missed the green jacket he used to wear with a number 10 on the front. Tsuchimikado said it was best if he wasn't too recognizable, though Ben thought that it was overkill since he didn't know anyone from London. At the moment Ben was wearing a pitch black wind breaker and a white t shirt with regular jeans. Mikoto was wearing a small wool gray jacket with round button and a neat red skirt along with warm high knee socks.

They had just come back from looking at the famous clock tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster. Ben had been amused to find out that the bell at the top of the clock tower was named Big Ben. After making several jokes about Ben turning into a giant bell alien, they decided to look for a place to eat lunch.

" Hmmmm... Where to eat..." Ben said scratching his head. Suddenly his eyes widened. "No, it can't be..." Ben ran off into the crowd.

"Ben wait!!" Mikoto ran after Ben. She finally caught up to find Ben staring dumbfounded at a sign with the statue of a giant fast food drink cup with a smiling face and dancing arms and legs. Under the statue read a sign saying 'Mr. Smoothie.'

"It has been so long......" Ben said with a weak voice.

Mikoto noticed a tear trailing down Ben's cheek.

"You do know we have these in Academy City right?"

"We do?" Ben groaned. " All the wasted months!!"

Mikoto laughed. "All right, I guess we had better go in then."

Ben looked like he was about to cry from sheer happiness.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of town in an alleyway sat Phryexis. His thin body was sitting cross legged on the hard ground with his staff on his lap. His eyes were closed as he tried to sense the life force of his targets. Next to him stood SevenSeven. SixSix and EightEight were still searching in Academy City. It wasn't as if SevenSeven doubted the existence of magic, he had seen many strange things in his travels, but he wasn't sure if Phyrexis was much of a fighter. In fact he looked rather malnourished. Albedo had assured SevenSeven that aside from being a brilliant tracker, he was also a gruesome fighter. In fact he had a nickname in the magic world: Phyrexis the Blood Drinker. Phyrexis suddenly opened his eyes.

"I sense the power source of the Omnitrix and the life force of the esper nearby. Let us go."

SevenSeven didn't respond. He doubted Phyrexis could understand his language anyways. He knew perfectly well that Phyrexis was the type who enjoyed ripping up a target as much as possible. He had better make sure that the esper stayed out of the sorcerers way. But more importantly, Phyrexis had better not underestimate Tennyson.

"So what you are trying to say, is that Ben is cute in a way that compliments both his looks and personality". Agnese and several other sisters were sitting at a table inside the Mr. Smoothie restaurant. Two of the other sisters were discussing how best to get Ben Tennyson's attention. "For petes sake!" Said Agnese. "We are here to protect those two not flirt!"

The two girls blushed bright red. They resumed sipping their strawberry explosions. Agnese looked around. Something felt...off. Suddenly, one of the sisters cried out. She doubled over and her blood suddenly burst from her body. She fell on the ground as a pool of red began to grow on the floor. Agnese whirled around to find Phyrexis standing in the middle of the suddenly panicking restaurant. Next to Phyrexis stood SevenSeven who had morphed his hand glove into a plasma cannon that was aimed at the sisters. Agnese immediately brought out a staff which had an end that looked like giant flower. But before Agnese could do anything Phyrexis brought out his hand and made a clenching gesture. Immediately, Agnese doubled over and her blood burst from her skin. Phryexis let out a psychotic grin.

"Let the games begin."

* The Daihensai is an annual event in Academy City where the schools all participate in field day like athletic events. During that time the family members of the students are allowed to come watch their children compete.

*Sumo Slammers is Ben Tennyson's favorite tv show. Sumo Slammers also has video games, trading cards and movies. Ben is as obsessed with Sumo Slammers as Mikoto is with the frog character Gekota.