Ben 10, Multiverse Academy: Book 1, Aliens In Crazy Land

Shopping Trip of Doom

"And here you go..." Samantha put several sunny side up eggs onto Ben Tennyson's plate.

It was around 6:00 in the morning. The three roommates were back in their dorm. The cafeteria didn't serve breakfast in the mornings, mainly due to the fact that the ones who prepared the food, some odd winged gargoyles nicknamed "nannies" had a tendency to eat humans at this time of day. So the Academy constantly stressed that students use their IDs to purchase food at the stores in town. ID cards could purchase 20 items of food a day without running out. It was limited....yet limitless.

"Yeesh Ben." said Carter as he dug into his eggs. "You look like you've been up all night."

"He was up all night." said Samantha looking at Ben sternly. "He decided to follow Mr. Mortis until 12 at midnight."

"I couldn't help it..." said Ben. "I just felt really curious....plus don't you think the timing of this whole field mission is a little off?"

"Yeah...." said Samantha scratching her head as she fiddled her apron that said 'This Cook Is On Fire'. "But Mortis is pretty much known for doing weird and unusual stuff."

"But even you have to admit Mortis has been acting weirder then normal lately!" said Carter. "I mean he hasn't been seen for the past 3 weeks....and usually he's always around!"

"I think I'm gonna go Ghostfreak again." said Ben. "Maybe follow Mortis around some more....."

"Benjamen Kirby Tennyson!" said Samantha pointing her spatula at Ben. "You will not skip preparation just so you can follow a hunch!"

On field mission days, all classes were usually cancelled for the class that would go so that they could stock up on supplies and prepare. Part of the grade in the mission would deal with how much forsight the class had in packing supplies. But that part of the grade was only a mere 15% of the total grade in Mr. Mortis's class....and Ben felt that dissapearing students was more important then getting an 85 instead of a 100. Then again......Samantha looked pretty lethal with that spatula..........

"Er....okay." said Ben. "We'll just keep our eyes peeled during the field mission then......."

"Good." said Samantha taking two sheets of paper out of her apron pocket. "Because I've created lists for both of you on what to bring for our group. Be sure you try and get as much as possible."

Ben took his list and looked it over. "Giant Rok's egg? Tears of a Pheonix? Almond milk? How is this stuff supposed to help?"

"Awww...." said Carter looking at his list. "First aid kit....backpacks.....water......Sis, you have me getting all the boring stuff again."

"Ben, a Rok's egg is supposed to be able to feed 20 people for a week, plus it's only the size of a loaf of bread. The tears of a pheonix have lots of healing properties, plus if we pack regular milk Carter's lactose intolerance will act up again." Said Samantha.

"Okay, but where am I supposed to find all this stuff?" Ben asked. "I mean I can find the almond milk in the market district, but the Pheonix tears?"

"It's in the Expo Market." said Carter. "It's supposed to be on the edge of the market district, and it's supposed to be the most dangerous area in the town besides Ghost Villiage. Sis never lets me get stuff there...."

"Because the last time I let you go there alone you nearly got eaten by an interdimensional demon." said Samantha. "And all because you didn't like the price he set up for a paddle ball made out of a corpse's hand. The point is Ben, you may be more new to this school then either of us, but you tend to handle dangerous situations way better."

"Okay then." said Ben taking his list and standing up. "What are we waiting for? Let's get some supplies!"

20 minutes later Ben was walking towards the edge of the market place, having already split up with Samantha and Carter who had also gone to get supplies. The market was a colorful area. There was a wide assortment of stands, some looked mega high tech and made of chrome or black metal and sold gadgets of varying complexity. Others looked like they were some old mideval wizard's attic, old and wooden, sometimes shooting off magic sparks into the air. Then there was everything in between. Ben even thought he saw a stand selling what appeared to be level 5 alien tech (he would probably need to report that).