Ben looked at the unconscious woman.
Then at the Omnitrix.
Then back at the woman.
Peter noticed his expression.
"You're thinking too much again."
Ben sighed.
"I have a lot to think about."
"That's usually when you do something stupid."
Ben looked at him.
"Thank you for the support."
"Anytime."
Eli walked closer.
"Is she going to be okay?"
Ben scanned her again.
"Her injuries aren't life-threatening."
Marcus looked relieved.
"Good."
Ben carefully lifted the woman.
"Let's get her somewhere comfortable."
Peter followed him.
"Where?"
"The medical wing."
"You have a medical wing?"
Ben looked at him.
"You've been here long enough to know I have too many rooms."
Peter smiled.
"Fair."
The Medical Wing
The woman was lying on a bed.
Ben's equipment scanned her body.
Peter stood beside the bed.
Eli and Marcus waited outside.
Ben looked at the results.
"She's human."
Peter raised an eyebrow.
"Human?"
"Mostly."
Peter stared at him.
"Mostly?"
Ben pointed at the screen.
"Her biology is human, but there's something unusual in her cells."
"What?"
"I don't know."
Peter sighed.
"You really like saying that."
Ben smiled.
"It's an honest answer."
The woman suddenly moved.
Ben stepped back.
Her eyes opened.
She immediately tried to sit up.
"Where am I?"
Ben raised his hands.
"Easy."
She looked around.
"Who are you?"
"Ben."
She looked at Peter.
"And you?"
"Peter."
She looked suspicious.
"Where am I?"
Ben hesitated.
"Somewhere safe."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the answer you're getting for now."
The woman glared at him.
Ben couldn't help smiling.
"You're feeling better."
"Who are you?"
"Still Ben."
She looked at the Omnitrix.
"That device..."
Ben glanced at it.
"What about it?"
"You really don't know?"
"Know what?"
She looked confused.
"You don't know what you're carrying?"
Ben smiled.
"I know more than you think."
"And less than you should."
Peter looked at Ben.
"She's got attitude."
Ben nodded.
"I noticed."
Her Name
The woman slowly sat up.
"My name is..."
She stopped.
For a moment, she seemed unsure.
Then she shook her head.
"Carol."
Ben waited.
"Carol what?"
She looked at him.
"Just Carol."
Peter raised an eyebrow.
"That's suspicious."
Carol looked at him.
"You're one to talk."
Peter immediately became quiet.
Ben smiled.
"Okay."
He turned toward her.
"Carol, who are the Kree?"
Carol's expression changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
"They're hunting me."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Ben frowned.
"You don't know?"
"I was taken."
"By the Kree?"
She nodded.
"They were experimenting on me."
Peter became serious.
"What kind of experiments?"
Carol looked down.
"I don't remember everything."
Ben noticed her hands trembling.
He stopped asking questions.
"That's enough for now."
Carol looked surprised.
"You don't want answers?"
"I do."
"Then why stop?"
"Because you're injured."
Carol stared at him.
Ben continued.
"And because forcing answers out of someone who's scared isn't exactly helpful."
Peter smiled.
"That's the smartest thing you've said today."
Ben looked at him.
"I say smart things all the time."
"Sure."
Carol almost smiled.
Almost.
A Quiet Conversation
Later that night, Ben found Carol sitting near the window.
The private dimension had no real sky.
But Ben had created one.
Stars covered the artificial horizon.
Carol stared at them.
"You made this?"
Ben nodded.
"Part of it."
"It's beautiful."
"Thanks."
Carol was quiet for a while.
Then she asked:
"Why did you help me?"
Ben looked at her.
"You were hurt."
"That's it?"
"That's enough."
Carol looked at him.
"You don't know me."
"I don't need to."
She looked away.
"Most people would have asked what I could do first."
Ben smiled.
"I already know you're injured."
Carol laughed softly.
"You're strange."
"I've heard that before."
Peter's Problem
Peter found Ben later.
"We need to talk."
Ben looked at him.
"That sounds serious."
"It is."
Peter sat down.
"You can't keep bringing people here."
Ben frowned.
"Why?"
"Because this place is supposed to be your safe place."
Ben remained silent.
Peter continued.
"You've spent years making this place secure."
"I know."
"And now we're bringing strangers inside."
Ben understood.
Peter wasn't being paranoid.
He was worried.
"You're right."
Peter looked surprised.
"Really?"
"Yes."
Ben leaned back.
"I've been thinking about this as a shelter."
Peter nodded.
"But it's becoming something else."
"What?"
Ben looked around.
"A headquarters."
Peter stared.
"You've been thinking about this for a while."
"Maybe."
Peter sighed.
"That's exactly what I'm worried about."
Ben looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because once you start building a team..."
Peter paused.
"...people can get hurt."
Ben looked down.
He knew Peter was right.
Peter continued.
"I don't want Eli getting hurt."
"Neither do I."
"Or Marcus."
"I know."
"Or Carol."
Ben looked toward the medical wing.
"Neither do I."
Peter sighed.
"Then we need rules."
Ben smiled.
"More rules?"
"Yes."
Ben laughed.
"Fine."
The New Rules
They sat at the laboratory table.
Ben opened a document.
Peter started listing rules.
"No missions alone."
Ben typed.
"No using powers around civilians unless necessary."
Ben typed again.
"No bringing unknown people directly into the main base without checking them first."
Ben looked at Peter.
"Good one."
Peter continued.
"And..."
He stopped.
"What?"
Peter looked at Ben.
"You don't get to decide everything."
Ben stared at him.
"What?"
Peter pointed at the screen.
"If this is becoming a team, then everyone gets a say."
Ben thought about it.
Then nodded.
"Okay."
Peter smiled.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"That was surprisingly easy."
Ben shrugged.
"I'm not an idiot."
Peter laughed.
"I didn't say you were."
"You were thinking it."
"Maybe."
Eli Joins Them
Eli entered the room.
"Can I ask something?"
Ben turned.
"Sure."
"Are we a team?"
Peter looked at Ben.
Ben looked at Eli.
Then Marcus entered.
"Good question."
Ben leaned back.
"I don't know."
Eli frowned.
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want to decide that for you."
Eli thought about it.
"What if I want to be part of it?"
Ben smiled.
"Then you're part of it."
Marcus nodded.
"I'm in too."
Peter looked at them.
"Looks like that's three."
Ben smiled.
"Four."
Peter looked at him.
"You're counting yourself?"
"Obviously."
Peter shook his head.
"Fine."
Eli smiled.
"So what do we call ourselves?"
Everyone became silent.
Ben thought.
"Absolutely not."
Eli laughed.
"What?"
"We are not coming up with a team name yet."
Marcus smiled.
"Why?"
"Because that's how you know things have gotten too serious."
Peter nodded.
"He's right."
Eli laughed.
"Okay."
Carol's Memory
The next morning, Carol woke again.
This time she seemed calmer.
Ben entered.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better."
"Good."
Ben placed a cup of water beside her.
Carol looked at it.
"Thanks."
She drank.
Then looked at Ben.
"I remember something."
Ben became serious.
"What?"
"The Kree."
"What about them?"
"They weren't just looking for me."
Ben waited.
"They were looking for something."
"What?"
Carol closed her eyes.
"A device."
Ben's heart skipped.
"What device?"
"I don't know."
She looked at his Omnitrix.
"But they kept talking about a green light."
Ben stared at the Omnitrix.
"Green light?"
Carol nodded.
"They said something about a living weapon."
Peter entered the room.
"What happened?"
Ben looked at him.
"She's talking about the Omnitrix."
Carol looked at Peter.
"The what?"
Ben pointed to his wrist.
"This."
Carol stared at it.
"That's what they were afraid of."
Ben frowned.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Carol suddenly grabbed her head.
Ben immediately moved closer.
"Carol?"
She gasped.
Images flashed through her mind.
A laboratory.
Men in armor.
A strange machine.
Green light.
A voice.
"Find the device."
Carol opened her eyes.
"They know about you."
Ben became silent.
Peter looked at him.
"How?"
Ben didn't answer.
Because he already knew.
The Omnitrix wasn't supposed to be here.
Not in this universe.
Not with him.
And now...
Someone outside Earth knew it existed.
The Message
The laboratory suddenly came alive.
Every screen turned on.
Ben looked around.
"What's happening?"
Lyra appeared.
"Incoming transmission."
"From where?"
"Unknown."
A distorted voice filled the room.
Everyone froze.
Then the voice spoke.
"Ben Stuart."
Ben's expression hardened.
"Who are you?"
The voice ignored the question.
"You have something that does not belong to your universe."
Ben looked at Peter.
The voice continued.
"You have taken people who were not yours to take."
Eli stepped backward.
Marcus clenched his fists.
Peter moved closer to Ben.
Ben remained calm.
"Who are you?"
Silence.
Then:
"We are watching."
The transmission ended.
Ben stared at the screen.
Peter broke the silence.
"Well."
Ben looked at him.
"What?"
Peter sighed.
"That could have gone better."
Ben laughed.
"Definitely."
Carol slowly got out of bed.
"Ben."
He turned.
"What?"
She looked terrified.
"I know that voice."
Ben's smile disappeared.
"Who was it?"
Carol looked at the dark screen.
"The Kree."
Somewhere in Space
A massive ship moved silently through the darkness.
Inside, a group of armored figures stood around a holographic display.
Earth was visible in the center.
A green symbol appeared.
One of them spoke.
"The device has been located."
Another asked:
"And the human?"
"Alive."
"What about the anomalies?"
A pause.
"Several are gathering around him."
The leader looked at Earth.
"Then we will wait."
"Why?"
The leader smiled.
"Because they will lead us to the device."
The hologram changed.
A green symbol appeared over New York.
TARGET: BEN STUART
STATUS: LOCATED
The leader turned away.
"Prepare the ship."
Back inside the private dimension, Ben stood silently.
He looked at Peter.
Then Eli.
Then Marcus.
Then Carol.
He had wanted to help people.
He had wanted to keep them safe.
But now he had something much bigger to deal with.
An alien civilization knew about him.
And they were coming.
Ben looked down at the Omnitrix.
For the first time since receiving it...
He wondered whether having it had put everyone around him in danger.
Peter noticed.
"Don't."
Ben looked up.
"Don't what?"
"Blame yourself."
Ben said nothing.
Peter smiled.
"We'll figure it out."
Ben smiled back.
"Yeah."
The Omnitrix suddenly beeped.
A new message appeared.
INCOMING OBJECTS DETECTED
Ben's eyes widened.
Not one.
Not two.
Dozens.
Peter looked at the screen.
"How many?"
Ben stared at the readings.
"Forty-seven."
Peter sighed.
"Yeah."
He looked at Ben.
"Now it's a bad day."
Ben smiled.
"Looks like it."