No Strings Attached

No Strings Attached is the fourth episode of the Shorts (0th) season of Back in Action: Alien Universe.

Overview
When some of Ben's fans feel they've found Ben Tennyson, an alien approaches them, giving them their own chances at the lime light.

Part I
'' [We open back at Magikfest that same night, about an hour after the incident. A trash collector arrives to pick up some trash. While inspecting the location after finally filling his Dump Truck, he finds a body lying on the ground. He feels for a pulse. While there is one. There is one, but the trash collector can see there is no Cyogen crystal in this aliens' body, a necessary crystal in the body of an Ice-based alien. The ice alien's life is fading, so the collector quickly grabs a phone in his truck and dials the Plumbers.] ''

'' [Meanwhile, Ben, Julie, and Chelsey are in the car with Ben when, out of nowhere, a large bump in the road appears in the ground. Ben, without enough time to swerve around, ends up flipping the car over. Upside down, Julie and Ben escape from the regular doors, but Chelsey remains in the car.] ''

Julie: Chelsey's still in there, Ben. Ben: I know. Julie: Well...? Ben: I'm thinking who's the strongest for-- Julie: Just use Rath or Humungousaur! Your cousin's in there! Ben: Alright, alright. The Omnitrix dial pops up, and Ben selects a random alien from the set. Rath: RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATH! '''Grips the roof of the car and flips it over. Properly sitting with its wheels on the ground, Rath rips the driver's door off and looks inside. He reverts back to human.''' Ben: It's empty. Julie: But, how? Ben: I don't know, but you better suit up. Julie: I didn't bring Ship. Ben: Then let me help. Smacks the Omnitrix dial before it pops up. Upgrade: Upgrade! Julie: Do you think he can take Ship's place? Upgrade: Probably. Not sure. We're going to have to try for ourselves. '''Wraps around Julie with his hands, then his whole body. Upgrade soon disappears as she shrinks from the wrapping.''' Julie: Ben?

'''Out of the blue, Julie's clothes take on Galvanic Mechamorph patterns, she grows black gloves with a green circle on the center of the palm. A helmet pops over her head from her back, and upon sitting properly on Julie's head, a green visor covers her entire face.'''

Julie: Ben? Upgrade: Like the new look? Julie: Hmm...maybe just a bit. Upgrade: Plus, we get to fight together. An Omnitrix symbol appears on Julie's chest. Think about any kind of weapon, and I'll make it for you. Julie: Alright, Ben. But not until we see where Chelsey went.

Sewer water begins to push the ground upwards and flow towards Julie and Upgrade.

Julie: Ben! Ben: On it!

'''The dark green sections of Julie's Upgrade Suit begin to glow as Ben builds new weapons. Two tube-shaped guns appear locked onto Julie's wrists.'''

Julie: What are these? Ben: Try firing them. '''Balling up her fists, the two guns begin to blow away the sewer water around Julie. This creates an air bubble around her that the sewer water flows around.''' Upgrade: Aww, man! This sewer water's going to get into my car! Julie: It gives Kevin a break, Ben. Upgrade: But when his car gets destroyed, it's funny!

'''After blowing through enough of the sewer water, Julie/Upgrade falls into a hole leading into the sewers, filled to the brim--or rather, the surface ground--with filthy liquids. Julie stops firing her air bubble so she can try swimming around in the water. Her visor begins to glow, lighting the path in front of her.'''

Julie: This suit is great, Ben. Upgrade: Thanks. Activating your rocket boots. Julie: We have that? Upgrade: We do now.

'''Rockets appear under Julie/Upgrade's shoes, automatically turning themselves on and boosting the combined duo down the sewer water. Slowly, they come closer and closer to a light at the end of the tunnel.'''

Upgrade: Get ready for something big. Julie: You're the only that needs to be ready, Ben. I'm just thinking of the weapons. Upgrade: Oh...yeah.

Finally, they reach a large white room with several stasis chambers similar to Project Inferno's, except they're all empty, and are fused into the walls.

Julie: Where are we? Voice: Oh, nowhere important. Just the place of your demise. Upgrade: Who's there? Voice: Oh, you don't recognize my voice? Upgrade: Not really. Voice: Maybe this will remind you of something.

Chelsey, now wearing a purple full-body suit featuring purple visor, black helmet, black shoes and black gloves, comes strolling out of the shadows.

Upgrade and Julie (in unison): Chelsey?! Upgrade: What's wrong with my voice? Chelsey: What, you're not one for angelic voices, Ben? Upgrade: I am, but that's not your voice. Chelsey: Oh, you got me. Upgrade: Who are you? Chelsey: I'll give you a hint: My father will have your head in just a matter of hours. Julie: Ben, is that--? Upgrade: Yep. Sii, what have you done with Chelsey? Chelsii: Call us, "Chelsii," Ben. And she's right here. I'm making good use of her body since my daddy won't teach me how to shapeshift without making it so obvious I'm not whatever I've become. Upgrade: Julie, think of something! Julie: We can't hurt her. You heard Sii; she's using Chelsey's body. Chelsii: That's right, you two. Upgrade: Julie won't hurt you, but that doesn't mean I won't. Julie: Ben, what are you doing? Upgrade: Sorry about this. Upgrade forces Julie's hands to come together, with her palms facing outwards towards Chelsii. Chelsii: Hey, what are you doing with that? Upgrade: You'll see. Small green lights begin to swarm around Upgrade/Julie's hands, creating a ball of energy. Chelsii: Watch what you do with that, Tennyson! You might hurt your cousin! Upgrade: Not if I do this right! A large green ball is floating in front of Upgrade/Julie's hands. FIRE!

'' [Up on the surface, people are surrounding the large hole left to allow Upgrade/Julie into the sewers, when suddenly it glows green. A green blast of energy fires out of the hole, being sent all the way up to the heavens. The men and women surrounding the hole scream and run frantically away from the hole. When the green beacon of energy fades away, Upgrade/Julie comes jumping out of the water.] ''

Julie: Ben, I didn't want to blast your cousin! Ben: But that wasn't my cousin. That was Sii in her body! If I maneuvered the blast right, she should've been hit hard enough to knock her out of Chelsey's body without hurting Chelsey, dropping Sii down to the ground ready for transport to a Plumber jail.

'''Falling from the dark skies, Chelsey's body in her purple ensemble. Upgrade/Julie is quick to jump to catch the body. A few moments later, Chelsey starts scratching her head as she wakes in Julie's arms.'''

Chelsey (scratching her head): Julie? Upgrade/Julie puts Chelsey down on her feet. What happened? Upgrade: Nothing that won't take a few minutes of explaining. Do you see anything in the sky? Chelsey: Ben, are you *in* your girlfriend? Upgrade: Yeah. She forgot our dog so she can't fight without me. Julie: I didn't say I couldn't fight, just that I forgot Ship. Upgrade: Of course, yeah. Chelsey: Your dog helps you fight? Upgrade: Hmm...looks like we've got even more explaining to do. Julie, do you see Sii in the sky? Julie: Nowhere in sight, Ben. Upgrade: Great plan of hers to do this in the night. Going to have to give her credit on that one. Julie: It wasn't as great a plan last time when she became a giant monster snake in the night. Upgrade: Wait a second. Sii's fused with something made of technology nearby. Sii: Surprise! Walking out Upgrade/Julie's fused body, Sii in human form waves to the combined couple. Upgrade: How did you--Julie's Upgrade Suit's green and black patterns start to flash and invert, with black becoming green and green becoming black, back and forth. Julie: Ben! Upgrade: She gave me a--(Drops Upgrade/Julie on her knees)--virus! Omnitrix: Consistent error in current DNA sample: Galvanic Mechamorph. Force-reverting transformation.

'''Upgrade walks out of Julie, reverting her clothes back to normal. Julie gets up on her feet, and Upgrade, lying on his back on the floor, reverts to human. The Omnitrix's hourglass turns red for a moment then reverts to green.'''

Omnitrix: Reverse transformation and mid-transformation sampling complete. Virus detected on Galvanic Mechamorph DNA. Locking transformation 10 in Playlist 1. Ben (painfully getting up on his feet): Sii, what'd you do to me? Sii: To you? Nothing, apparently. To your little girlfriend? No idea, but something's wrong with her. And that's all I need. Sii turns completely white and teleports away. Chelsey (up on her feet): Are you guys going to explain any of that? Ben: I would but--(The Omnitrix dial pops up)--but it looks like I've got an urgent Plumber distress call. Female Plumber (Over Omnitrix Intercom): This is Magister Frikton. Ben: Magister Frikton? You're an Earth-based Plumber. Kineceleran, right? Magister Frikton (Over Omnitrix Intercom): Correct, Ben Tennyson. But that's of little importance to the purpose of this call. You are needed at the 2012 Earth Magikfest location. Seeing as you were there today, we won't be disclosing it to you, so as to prevent any case of identity fraud. Ben: Got it, Magister. Ben glows and becomes XLR8. Chelsey: You're just going to leave us here? XLR8: Julie knows where to go. It's not like you could just drive home. The car's broken. Chelsey: Broken? XLR8 (pointing to the remains of the car to his side): Yeah. Just look at it. Sii must have mistaken my car for Kevin's. Julie: Enough of that, Ben. Chelsey: Let me try something. '''Walks up to the car, and begins to levitate. She takes on her Anodite form.''' XLR8 (dashes up to Julie): So, Sii said she thought something was wrong with you. Are you alright? Julie: I heard. I'm fine, though. XLR8: Are you sure? Julie: Don't worry, Ben. Just try and get to your mission. XLR8: As soon as Chelsey's finished doing whatever she's doing with my-- Chelsey (Anodite form, lowering herself to the ground): Done. Reverts to human. XLR8: Chelsey, you, you, you-- Chelsey: Fixed your car. Yeah.

Behind Chelsey, Ben's DX Mark 10 sat fully repaired and ready for another power-packed blow, or maybe a simple flip over a random rock.

XLR8: Well, alrighty, then. Chelsey, can you drive? Chelsey: I'm 19. Of course I can drive. XLR8: 19? You're two years older than Gwen and me. Chelsey: And the same age as Charmcaster. We've been friends for years. It'd be hard to maintain such a great friendship when being younger than her. I've seen how she is with younger, less powerful Anodite girls. XLR8: Younger Anodite girls, like Gwen? Chelsey: Yeah. She's always talking about some Anodite girl who even being a natural Anodite could never stand her own against her. Gwen is significantly less powerful. XLR8: Only outside when she's not glowing. Chelsey: But she has no control over that amount of power, Ben. XLR8: Oh... Julie: Alright, Ben, don't you have something urgent to get to? XLR8: Oh, yeah! Okay, well, see you later. Pecks Julie's cheek. Hope you don't mind an alien kiss. Julie: Didn't mind Humungousaur hugging me in the beginning; I won't mind XLR8 kissing me now. XLR8: You're awesome, Julie. Julie: I know. Now, go, Ben, before you forget again. XLR8: Alright. Turns around and blasts off down the road, leaving only a light blue trail behind him.

Chelsey and Julie approach Ben's car; Chelsey towards the driver's side, Julie towards the passenger's. Chelsey (opening the driver's door): You've got quite the guy on your hands. Julie (sits in the passenger seat): You don't know the half of it. Chelsey (starts the car with the keys Ben left inside, giggling): I bet I don't.

 [Chelsey drives Julie down the road, while our focus now moves to a group of three: a rather beautiful, average-height young redheaded woman with a pink shirt, blue jeans, and flip flops; a fairly tall man in a Super Ben T-Shirt, navy blue jeans, and sneakers; and a rather short young black-haired man in a long-sleeved collared shirt, formal black pants, and black dress shoes.] 

Pink Shirt Woman: Looks like Super Ben was here, guys. Tall Man: Of course he was here. I heard the sound of his DX Mark 10 speed away just moments ago. Short Man: Vincent, just because you heard a car speed by doesn't mean it was the great Ben Tennyson's. Vince: Stacy, will you tell the know-it-all Buler Grand over here that what I heard was the sound of Ben's car racing away. Stacy: I don't know, Vince. I heard the last second or so of a car screeching away, but not much of anything else. Buler: Hah! Not even Stacy agrees with you! Stacy: It's not that I'm disagreeing with you, Vince. It's just, I didn't hear enough to think it was Ben's. Vince: Alright, then we'll find proof on these very streets.

'' [Our attention moves back a few feet into an alleyway across the street. Two people are watching Stacy, Buler, and Vince investigate the marks on the street left behind by Ben's car.] ''

Person #1: I'm telling you, master, these are the perfect specimens. After what I did to Ben Tennyson's Omnitrix, he should be defenseless against the choice in disguises these there will provide. Person #2 "Master": Refrain from calling me, "Master," Sii. And you may be right. With the Galvanic Mechamorph disabled for 24 hours, we'll have the perfect opportunity to take him down with a machine that can only be stopped by an alien of such a species. Sii: I agree completely, Scarogus, the one who nearly killed Ben Tennyson. Person #2 "Scarogus": While you're thinking I'm Scarogus is flattering, I am not him either. He is my master, though. I'm simply the middle-man who was to hire someone like you to get this job done. As my master forces my henchman to address me as, refer to me as (A large Vaxasaurian in a brown overcoat and black top-hat emerges from the shadows) Overcoat. Sii: "Overcoat," I don't truly believe that is the greatest representation of your might. You-- Overcoat: Do not complain, Sii. Scarogus decided it for me. If you don't want to get paid because I get fired and rid you from this dimension, continue to go against my word. Sii: Apologies, Mas-- *Overcoat*. Overcoat: "Master Overcoat" does have a nice ring to it. Don't hesitate to call me that. Now, do the deed. Sii: Yes, Master Overcoat. Turns around and heads towards the three kids in the street. Vince: Girls, stand back. Buler: Hey! Stacy: What, Vince? Vince (points to Sii): Look.

 [As we pan upwards towards the pitch black sky with the single piece of light coming from the crescent moon, we hear the screams of the three kids, violet, blue, and orange lights flash from the area of the screaming kids, as the screen dims to black.] 

 [END OF PART I] 

Characters

 * Ben Tennyson
 * Julie Yamamoto
 * Chelsey Tennyson
 * Stacy Reymann
 * Vincent Rogh
 * Buler Grand
 * Magister Frikton
 * Trash Collector
 * Chili (Part II)

Villains

 * Sii
 * "Overcoat"

(by Ben)

 * Rath
 * Upgrade
 * XLR8

(by Sii)

 * Chelsii (taking over Chelsey's body)
 * Human (alien to Sii)

Neutral / Mentioned

 * Humungousaur (Part I: mentioned)
 * Charmcaster (Part I: mentioned)
 * Scarogus (Part I: mentioned)

Reception
Reception for this episode will be available when it's been fully posted. In the mean time, feel free to sign the Fans section on the main series page.

Trivia

 * This was the only episode to get a Saturday preview date or a preview date the day immediately preceding the full premiere.