Chip Off the Block

Story
John is at a public tennis court, practicing with a tennis ball machine.

John: Ah! It’s been so long since I’ve been able to do this. (Aces a tennis ball.)

Voice: You know, tennis is more fun if you have someone to play with. (John turns, seeing a girl in a tennis outfit.)

John: (scoffs) That’s the same disguise as last time, Elena. (Stands up straight, ready to slap down the Omnitrix.) And I was just starting to enjoy myself. (The nanochips come off, and Elena was there in her human form.)

Elena: Wait! It’s me. I’ve finally gained control. I am in charge of the nanochips, not the nanochip queen.

John: (not believing her) Really?

Elena: All I’m asking for is a chance.

John: (sighs) Fine. I can’t guarantee that Gwen and Kevin will agree though.

Elena: (smiling) Thanks. End Scene

That night, John, Gwen, Kevin, and Elena sneak into a laboratory.

Kevin: Are you sure about this, Elena? Did you set this up just for us to give you a chance?

Elena: No! Of course not! There really was a report of a break in.

Gwen: Well, there’s no one here.

John: No, there’s definitely someone here. (The others look up, seeing that they were surrounded. Humans in red, black and gold outfits with gold masks were on shelves, looking down on them.)

Gwen: Whoa. I didn’t even sense them. It’s like they just appeared.

Elena: These must be the intruders.

Kevin: How’d they get in?

Voice: Well, if it isn’t John Smith. (John looks up, and sees a figure with a red hood over his face. John sees under the hood.)

John: Conduit Edwards?

Edwards: You should’ve taken my offer before. Now, you'll die. Meet, the Esoterica.

The Esoterica walk forward, walking on thin air, as if going down stairs. They are all on the ground, surrounding them. John slaps down the Omnitrix, while Kevin absorbs metal.

Water Hazard: Water Hazard!

Water Hazard fires his water cannons at the Esoterica, which walk to the side and disappear, the water attack going through thin air. The Esoterica walk back out into the open. Kevin charges forward to punch one, but it catches the fist and flips Kevin over. Gwen fires mana disks, which the Esoterica dodge with ease. Elena releases nanochips to attack, but then the Esoterica releases a ball of yellow energy, destroying the nanochips. Water Hazard continues to charge in, firing water cannons at the Esoterica, all the attacks missing. Kevin is getting knocked around by the Esoterica, who have martial arts skills. He then slaps down the Omnitrix, dodging a kick.

Upchuck: Upchuck!

An Esoterica throws an energy ball at Upchuck, and Upchuck eats it, then spits it back at it. Several Esoterica walk to the side and disappear. More walk on the air, firing energy blasts. Gwen creates a mana shield, and Elena a shield of nanochips, though they don’t last long.

Water Hazard: Gwen! Can you track them?

Gwen: Yeah, but I can’t hit any of them.

Water Hazard: Figure something out. I’ll need help. (Slaps down Omnitrix, and Wildmutt roars.)

Wildmutt charges in, pouncing at an Esoterica. The Esoterica jump out of the way, and disappear. However, Wildmutt is able to sense them, and charges in. An Esoterica appears again, and Wildmutt swings his arms, hitting the Esoterica and sending it flying. Wildmutt charges after the other Esoterica, but they use their energy blasts to keep their distance. Gwen fires mana disks where an Esoterica was standing, and it dodges with ease.

Gwen: Darn it! I’m not fast enough. Hm. But I know who is. (Slaps down Omnitrix)

Fasttrack: Fasttrack!

Fasttrack dashes forward, and punches an Esoterica before it could disappear. She dashes around in a diamond path, knocking out several Esoterica. Elena attacks with the nanochips, but she is unsuccessful in hitting any of the Esoterica. One of them sneaks in right behind her, blasting her with an energy blast.

Elena: Ahh! (Elena hits the ground, and the Esoterica goes to grab her. However, the nanochips swarm around violently, grabbing the Esoterica and throws it. Elena starts to float, and the nanochips form around her, and she takes her Queen form.) Destroy everything! (The nanochips fly through the lab, destroying everything that they hit. Several Esoterica are hit by the nanochips as they appear, and they retreat.

Edwards: Retreat! Retreat! (All of the Esoterica disappear, and Upchuck and Fasttrack are hit by the nanochips. Wildmutt dodges with ease, though he is soon surrounded.)

Wildmutt: ''Not good. I’ve got to destroy the queen, once and for all.'' (Wildmutt hits the Omnitrix.)

AmpFibian: AmpFibian!

AmpFibian shoots lightning from his tentacles, aiming at Elena. Nanochips form to protect her, and they charge towards AmpFibian. AmpFibian charges in, turning into electricity. He hits the nanochips, and travels up the path. Then nanochips break off, and AmpFibian flies at Elena. Several layers of nanochips form to protect her, but AmpFibian phases through them, and hits Elena, turning into electricity.

Elena: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (The nanochip covering on her comes off, revealing her human form. She falls to the floor, and AmpFibian becomes solid, catching and lowering her to the ground. All of the nanochips fall to the floor, deactivated. AmpFibian puts her down, and he reverts.)

John: Elena! Are you alright? Elena! End Scene

The gang is at a Plumbers’ station, in the hospital wing. A Galvan meets with John, Gwen and Kevin.

John: How is she?

Galvan: She’s alive, though her nervous system is destroyed. However, all of the nanochips that were in her body were completely destroyed. She is cured of the Hive. She will be here a long time, under constant care and rehab.

John: Great. Thank you. (The Galvan leaves.)

Kevin: I hate it when your instincts are right.

John: She really did gain control. She just lost it with that attack.

Gwen: So this Flame Keepers’ Circle you mentioned, led by that Edwards, are some sort of cult?

Kevin: Following some deity called Diagon. What was the point of that attack? It’s not like they got anything.

John: They want to move forward in their plans, and I was in the way. It was an ambush. They want us out of the way. No matter what, we’ll be ready for their next move.

Characters

 * John Smith
 * Gwen Tennyson
 * Kevin Levin
 * Elena
 * nanochips

Villains

 * Flame Keepers' Circle
 * Conduit Edwards
 * Esoterica

By John

 * Water Hazard
 * Wildmutt
 * AmpFibian

By Kevin

 * Upchuck

By Gwen

 * Fasttrack

Trivia

 * The nanochip Queen is destroyed, reverting Elena to normal.
 * Gwen has revealed all 10 of her aliens. This makes Julie the only one to not have all 10 aliens revealed.
 * However, Kevin has only used 9 of his 10.
 * The Flame Keepers' Circle becomes active.