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Chapter 1 - Chapter 1: Distress Signal

The Rust Bucket III drifted through the cosmic void, its sleek hull a far cry from Grandpa Max's old RV. Ben Tennyson lounged in the pilot's seat, feet propped up on the console, watching distant stars crawl past the viewport. At seventeen, he'd grown into his role as a Plumber, though his methods still raised eyebrows among the more traditional members.

"Ben, get your feet off the navigation console," Gwen said without looking up from her spellbook. Pink energy crackled around her fingers as she practiced a particularly complex mana manipulation. "We're in deep space, not your bedroom."

"Relax, cuz. Kevin's got the ship on autopilot." Ben gestured toward the back where Kevin Levin was tinkering with some alien tech, metal tools extending from his transformed arm. "Besides, it's been three days since our last mission. I'm dying of boredom out here."

As if summoned by his complaint, the ship's communication array lit up with urgent beeping. A holographic display materialized, showing scrambled coordinates and a fragmented distress signal.

"—anyone out there—planet Xerion under attack—populations being—" Static overwhelmed the transmission before a clearer voice broke through: "This is Green Lantern Sector 2814, requesting immediate assistance. Unknown hostiles employing energy-draining technology. My ring power is—"

The signal cut to dead air.

"Green Lantern?" Gwen looked up, her book snapping shut. "I've heard rumors about them in the magical community. Some kind of space police force."

Kevin emerged from the back, his arm still metallic. "Yeah, I've run into a few during my... less heroic days. They don't mess around. If one of them is calling for help, things are bad."

Ben was already inputting the coordinates. "Then what are we waiting for? Rust Bucket, plot a course for Xerion, maximum speed."

"Ben," Gwen warned, "we don't know what we're walking into. This could be way beyond—"

"A whole planet is dying, Gwen!" Ben's voice carried the weight of too many similar calls they'd answered. "We're Plumbers. This is what we do."

The ship lurched as it engaged hyperspace, stars streaking into brilliant lines outside the viewport. Within hours, they dropped back into normal space near a world that should have been blue and green. Instead, Xerion hung before them like a diseased eye, its surface a sickly gray-brown with veins of unnatural red energy pulsing across continents.

"Scanning for life signs," Kevin reported, his transformed hand interfacing directly with the ship's sensors. "I'm getting... weird readings. It's like something is literally sucking the life out of the planet."

A flash of emerald light streaked past their viewport, followed by a barrage of crimson energy blasts. The green light twisted and dodged with desperate agility, but Ben could see it was losing altitude fast.

"That's got to be our Green Lantern," Ben said, hand already moving toward the Omnitrix. "Take us down, Kevin. And try not to get us killed."

"No promises."

The Rust Bucket III dove into Xerion's atmosphere, its shields flaring against the planet's corrupted energy field. Below them, what had once been a thriving city was now a wasteland of crystalline structures that pulsed with that same sickly red energy. At the center stood a massive spire that seemed to be drawing streams of life force from across the planet's surface.

The green light crash-landed in what might have been a park, sending up a plume of gray dust. Their ship touched down nearby, and Ben was out the airlock before the engines had fully powered down.

The Green Lantern was human—or at least humanoid—with brown hair and a uniform that flickered between solid green and translucent energy. His ring pulsed weakly, barely maintaining a protective barrier around him. Blood trickled from a cut on his forehead, and his breathing was labored.

"Easy there," Ben said, kneeling beside the fallen Lantern. "I'm Ben Tennyson, Plumber badge 10. We got your distress call."

The Green Lantern's eyes widened slightly. "Plumbers? Out here?" He struggled to sit up. "I'm Hal Jordan, Green Lantern of Sector 2814. Listen, kid, you need to get off this planet now. Whatever that thing is—" he gestured weakly toward the spire, "—it's not just draining life force. It's specifically targeting willpower. My ring's barely functional."

Gwen and Kevin caught up, weapons and spells at the ready. The air around them felt heavy, oppressive, as if the planet itself was dying.

"What exactly are we dealing with?" Gwen asked, her hands already glowing with protective mana.

"Calls himself Nekron the Soul Reaper," Hal said, accepting Kevin's help to stand. "Showed up three days ago with a fleet of ships I've never seen before. But it's not just advanced technology—he's using some kind of energy that specifically counters will-based power. Every construct I make gets weaker, every barrier fails a little faster."

Ben's hand went to the Omnitrix, its green glow a stark contrast to the red-tinted wasteland around them. "Well, good thing I don't use willpower."

The device beeped in recognition as Ben scrolled through his available transformations. But something strange happened—species he'd never seen before flickered across the display, alien DNA patterns the Omnitrix was somehow detecting from Hal's presence.

"Fascinating," a new voice said from behind them.

They spun to see three more Green Lanterns materializing out of thin air, their rings creating a shared construct that had rendered them invisible. The speaker was clearly not human—purple skin, pointed ears, and eyes that held the wisdom of centuries.

"I am Tomar-Re of Sector 2813," the alien Lantern said, his gaze fixed on Ben's Omnitrix. "And that device you carry... it resonates with energies we have not encountered in millennia."

A massive explosion shook the ground as the central spire discharged another wave of soul-draining energy. In the distance, they could see more of the crystalline structures spreading across the landscape like a infection.

"Introductions later," Hal said grimly. "Right now, we need to figure out how to stop Nekron before he drains this entire sector."

Ben slammed his hand down on the Omnitrix. "Then let's get to work."

The familiar green flash lit up the dying world, and when it faded, something unprecedented stood in Ben's place—a fusion of transformation that the Omnitrix had never attempted before, as if the device was adapting to the unique energy signatures around it.

The real battle was about to begin.

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