Virtual Insanity (ExOS)

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Virtual Insanity
Air date	October 18th, 2019
Written by	CarthArts/ProjectCarthage Runny EBOmnitrix Rosaline
Episode Guide
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Next	Trouble on Petropia

Virtual Insanity is the fifth episode of Ben 10: ExOS.

Alternatively, Ben 10 (2005), Season 5, Episode 5.

Synopsis

Cooper's created a training simulator, but somethng goes wrong when Ben, Gwen and Kevin try it.

Plot

Cold Open

[We open to the sight of a familiar workshop -- Cooper’s workshop.]

COOPER: Alright, there’s a reason I called you guys here.

KEVIN 11: Better be a good one.

GWEN: Kevin!

KEVIN 11: What? I have places to be.

BEN: What, lazing around the base all day?

KEVIN 11: You’re one to talk, Mr. “I Stream Sumo Slammers Z Every Saturday”.

COOPER: Funny that you mention the base. I checked the place out, and it’s seriously lacking some things that would be useful in the future.

[Cooper pulls out a box-shaped device from under a table. The trio stare in confusion.]

KEVIN 11: Okay, I give up. What is that?

COOPER: It’s a prototype of a holographic simulation projector. If I place this on the wall of a room, say, an empty shed, the inside of it will become a holographic training room.

KEVIN 11: That...actually sounds kinda cool.

COOPER: Of course, I can’t take all the credit. Did you guys know there’s a secret alien internet? It’s kinda like the dark web or something, but even harder to get to. I based this one off of some schematics I found for a ship model known as the “Resolute”.

BEN: So what do you need us to do?

COOPER: Just walk into the other room, and I’ll get it set up.

[Cooper leads Ben, Gwen, and Kevin into the room.]

KEVIN 11: You sure this is safe?

GWEN: Since when are you the one concerned about safety?

KEVIN 11: You try spending a few years in the Null Void, trying not to get killed by whatever’s in there. One time, there was this giant two-headed snake thing...

COOPER: Guys, relax, I already ran a couple of test runs on this thing. You should be ready to go. Besides, what could possibly go wrong?

BEN: Everything, now that you’ve just said that phrase.

[Cooper shuts the door behind them and starts setting up the machine on the wall to the right of the door.]

COOPER: Alright, now I just plug this into the wall… plug my computer into the projector… mic test....

[Change to view from inside the room.]

COOPER (Speaker): Can you guys hear me?

KEVIN 11: Yeah, loud and...very loud.

COOPER (Speaker): Sorry. Anyway, I’m about to start the procedure.

[Cut back to Cooper as he types away furiously on his computer.]

COOPER: Units: 3. Scan.

[Back inside the room, everything goes completely dark. A series of lines scan over each of the members of the trio, until back outside, Cooper hears a beeping sound…]

COOPER: Error?! What’s going on?!

[The Computer reads: VIRUS DETECTED in bright red letters.]

COOPER: Oh no…

[A rumble is heard, then a bright flash.]

[Intro]

Act One

[We see from the perspective of somebody waking up.]

BEN: Ugh… what happened…

[Ben looks around, and sees that he’s in some kind of strange forest.]

COOPER (Speaker): Ben, are you okay?

BEN: Coop? Oh, yeah, I’m fine, but would you mind telling me what just happened?

COOPER (Speaker): ...So I may have...miscalculated. I didn’t exactly account for how the device would respond to The Omnitrix. I’m not sure where you are now.

BEN: Let me see if I can…

[Ben reaches for his wrist...only for his eyes to widen in surprise. The Omntrix is nowhere to be seen.]

BEN: If I had to guess, we might be we’re inside the Omnitrix.

COOPER (Speaker): For real? Is it not on your wrist?

BEN: Nope.

COOPER (Speaker): Well… that may be a problem. However...

[Cut back to Cooper, still typing away at his computer.]

COOPER: If I can get access to some of the watch’s programming, I might be able to help with that.

BEN (Speaker): “Might be?”

COOPER: Hold that thought, Ben. I think I’ve got something. It seems as though something is trying to hack the Omnitrix from the inside.

BEN (Speaker): So, I just need to find Gwen and Kevin, and we take down whatever’s causing the bug?

COOPER: Sounds like a plan to me, now let me see what I can do...  

[Ben’s perspective.]    

BEN: Uhhh, Coop? You’re gonna have to make it fast, I see a swarm of...something, flying around, and they’re headed in my direction!

[Cooper’s perspective, he’s quickly typing away at his computer trying to break into the Omnitrix’s defenses.]

COOPER: Alright, this shouldn’t be too hard, there’s already a breach, I’ve just gotta find the way in…

[A window opens on his computer, depicting a strange looking cube covered with nondescript symbols.]

COOPER: Ah, I’ve got something. My Encrypto-Smasher program is going off. This is going to take a minute, find some cover, Ben!

[Ben’s perspective, he’s running across a small walkway made up of green terrain.]

BEN: Already on it! These hornet things are all around me!

[Ben ducks in behind a tree. One of the creatures fires a gob of slime, hitting the tree and melting it.]

BEN: Whoa! Cooper? Got anything? I could use an alien right about now!

COOPER (Speaker): Almost!

[Cooper’s perspective, the Encrypto-Smasher program has opened up a control panel of the Omnitrix’s basic functions.]

COOPER: Seems like whatever this virus is hasn’t gotten to the big stuff yet, and that means I can’t either.

BEN (Speaker): Meaning?!

COOPER: No Master Control.

BEN (Speaker): Aw, man...

COOPER: However, I think I can give you the reins again. Enabling “Intramural Alteration”...

[Ben’s perspective. Ben feels a sudden surge of power all too familiar to him. A holographic facsimile of the Omnitrix’s badge appears on his chest.]

BEN: Well, that’s...different.

COOPER (Speaker): The chest seems to be the default location for the badge, unless certain parameters are put in place for each alien? Whatever the case, do your thing, Ben.

BEN: Alright, here goes nothing!

[Ben smacks down on the badge on his chest.]

[TRANSFORMATION: Ben’s facial features collapse, leaving him with just his eyes and the bridge of his nose that turns into a crest leading to his head. We see from the back as he spins around, we then see from the front as he takes a spread eagle pose as his arms stretch and his hands become claw-like. A closeup into his abdomen shows the Omnitrix, then moving down to show a tail growing. Flash. He puts his arms down before thrashing them back up, revealing yellow flaps have grown between his wrists and the base of his tail. The form takes a flying pose as it rockets upward.]

COOPER (Speaker): Manta?

JET RAY: What?

COOPER (Speaker): Manta! You’ve turned into Manta, at least, that’s what the people on your fan forums call that guy.

JET RAY: I don’t name my -- wait, I have a fan forum?

[Jet Ray’s eyes sparkled for a moment, then he shook his head to snap out of it.]

JET RAY: Hold on...how can you see me?

COOPER (Speaker): I was able to open up a visual of what’s going on in there. Anyway. to go to one of the other zones, you’re gonna have to go to one of the access hubs. There’s 10 of them in each zone, but only two at the very end of either side of the zone can transfer you to a different zone. The others just serve as teleporters around the one you’re already in.

JET RAY: Got it. That seems easy enough, especially when the air is nice and empty…

[Jet Ray suddenly hears a loud buzzing sound. He looks behind him to see a swarm of things that resemble Stinkfly’s stinger. They shoot strange darts out of their “snout”, which Ben just barely avoids.]

JET RAY: Uh, Cooper? What’s with these monsters?

COOPER (Speaker): Interesting; looks like the Omnitrix DNA is also being used in some of the enemies in the simulation.

JET RAY: Great. At least these things don’t have some more dangerous DNA in them…

[The swarm suddenly dives down underneath Jet Ray, and starts firing their darts. Jet Ray maneuvers to the side, yet again avoiding them. Annoyed, Jet Ray fires a neuroshock from out of his tail, tearing through the swarm, and splitting it up. Both sides fired some more darts at Jet Ray, but he suddenly shot up, causing their darts to fall off course, some of them hitting the Stinkhornets; they suddenly melt into a pile of ooze. Jet Ray gags.]

JET RAY: I’m lucky that wasn’t me.

[More insects swarm from out of the trees, but Jet Ray immediately boosts past them, leaving a sonic boom in his wake; the sheer force of it takes out all of the insects. He suddenly locks his eyes onto a strange construct resembling a portal near the end of a platform, and grins.]

JET RAY: Gotcha.

[He flies in, warping through something that resembles a really fast ocean current. When he reaches the end, he appears in a new zone, a mountainous region of a dull purple hue. He stops and lands, transforming back into Ben.]

BEN: Alright, new zone, probably new monsters.

[Ben hears a grinding sound behind him, he turns around with an expression of fear to see a large yellow ball, barreling in his direction on a narrow walkway.]

Act Two

[Ben looks on in fear as the yellow creature is still barreling toward him at an increasing velocity, he braces for impact…the sound of a collision is heard… along with what almost sounds like glass breaking? Ben looks up to see that there’s a thick shield of blue energy in front of him, stopping the Kannontanker in its tracks.]

BEN: ...What? A blue shield?

[Ben looks behind to see Gwen with a hand outstretched, having been the source of the shield.]

GWEN: Ben! Get over here, I can’t hold this thing forever!

[The two run toward the larger platform as the Kannontanker breaks the shield.]

BEN: Any idea how we can get rid of this thing?

GWEN: Not really, it’s got Cannonbolt’s durability, this thing could be indestructible!

??? (Echoing): HEY, UGLY!

[A familiar voice yells out from the distance… an upward panning shot from a pair of legs reveals that it’s Kevin, who looks...different.]

KEVIN: You wanna mess with a monster? Try me on for size!

[The Kannontanker diverts its attention to Kevin, revs up, and rockets in Kevin’s direction, but he jumps to the left.]

KEVIN: Not today!

[The Kannontanker flies off the edge of the platform, falling into the “sea” below, emitting a beam of light.]

KEVIN: That’s what you get for messing with Kevin!

[Ben and Gwen run over.]

GWEN: Kevin you…

KEVIN: Hm? Oh, yeah, you’re welcome for the save.

BEN: No, you…

KEVIN: What, something on my face?

[Kevin raises a hand to his face, feeling that he has human skin again.]

KEVIN: I’m...normal?

COOPER (Speaker): Sounds about right, some of the bio-energy-feedback seems to have reverted your mutation for the moment, but from what I can tell, it’s only in here.

[Kevin sulks down slightly.]

GWEN: Don’t be upset, this is a good thing! This could be the key to freeing you.

KEVIN: Yeah… you’re right. So, what’s the scoop?

BEN: We’re inside the Omnitrix, and so is the creepy-crawly that caused the glitch. We need to find and eliminate the virus.

KEVIN: And how do we do that?

BEN: Cooper? You got anything?

[A scream is heard on the other end.]

COOPER (Speaker, Breaking Up): GUYS… (fsssh)... DON”T KNOW IF YOU CAN HEAR…(fsssh)...SOMETHING ATTACKING…(fsssh)...YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN…

KEVIN: Great.

GWEN: We need to hurry, Cooper’s in trouble. Anyone have any ideas?

[Beat]

BEN: Just one.

[Ben activates the Omnitrix badge on his chest, a bright green flash happens as Gwen and Kevin look down.]

GWEN: Grey Matter?

GREY MATTER: Precisely. I should be able to figure out what we need to do in order to eradicate the virus and release us. Let’s see… I started in the Forest zone, we’re here in the Mountain zone. Where did you two end up?

GWEN: An icy plain.

KEVIN: A desert, fought off a couple of weird crab guys, I went through the Ice place, no one was there, finally found you guys here in the Mountains.

GREY MATTER: Right. It seems like the landmasses that make up this world are running in one large circle. Now, there’s one way we haven’t tried. Look out that way.

[Grey Matter points in the direction toward the center of the masses.]

GREY MATTER: The virus is probably headed that way, which, in theory, is a Core Zone. The issue is figuring out how to get there.

GWEN: I’ve got an idea, but right now, we’ve got company!

[A horde of bug-like creatures are scuttling along the ground, spitting sticky wads of a green substance in their direction -- a substance that explodes.]

GREY MATTER: I don’t recognize the DNA these creatures are spliced with, but I think we should get out of here!

[Meanwhile, Kevin is returning fire.]

KEVIN: Good thing I can still use my powers!

GWEN: We can’t waste time fighting, we’ve gotta get to the Core, but we need some distance from these things.

KEVIN: I’m on it!

[Kevin creates a wall of diamond between them and the Roachers.]

GWEN: Wait… Ben, you said the Core is that way?

GREY MATTER: Yes?

GWEN: Turn into Cannonbolt, I’ve got an idea.

GREY MATTER: Alright.

[Grey Matter raises an arm.]

GWEN: Ah-ah-ah, get off my shoulder first

GREY MATTER: Sorry...

[Grey Matter jumps down, as he descends, there’s a green flash, and a large white and yellow form emerges.]

CANNONBOLT: Now what?

GWEN: Kevin, make a ramp!

KEVIN: Okay?

[Kevin proceeds to use his Diamondhead powers to make a large ramp in the direction of the Core.]

CANNONBOLT: Ah, I see where this is going now!

[Cannonbolt stands in front of the ramp as its being created, rolls into a ball and begins to rev up.]

GWEN: That’s not gonna be enough to get across, hold on!

[Gwen prepares a spell.]

GWEN: ...Erucae...SOGDO!

CANNONBOLT: Time to rock...

[A metaphorical fire is lit under Cannonbolt as he continues to rev up, as if boosted by an unseen force -- he rockets up the ramp and launches hard and fast in the direction of the core.]

CANNONBOLT:  and...ROLL!

GWEN: It’s up to you, Ben! We’ll catch up!

[Cannonbolt makes a massive, MASSIVE arc over the gap, before he knows it, he’s about to crash into the outer wall of the Core Zone.]

Act Three

[We return to Cannonbolt as he arcs through the sky, before ungracefully crashing right through the wall of the Core Zone. With lessened kinetic energy, he bounces off the floor and slams into a nearby wall on the inside. Ben detransforms and brushes himself off.]

BEN: ...Still need to work on my landings. So, what do we have here?

[Ben looks around and realizes he’s in a small, round room, comprised of black and green cubes.]

BEN: No door, huh? Alright.

[Ben activates the badge on his chest once more, before hearing a grinding, shifting sound. He turns around to see an opening being controlled by the dial.]

BEN: Oh, that’s right. Still in the Omnitrix.

[Ben peers through the door.]

BEN: Looks like an obstacle course up ahead, I’m gonna need some extra agility.

[Ben activates the Omnitrix, transforming into Spidermonkey.]

SPIDERMONKEY: Ah-ah-ah! Alright! This’ll do the trick!

[Spidermonkey jumps and swings across a gap into the gauntlet.]

SPIDERMONKEY: Ah-ah-alright, you maze-wannabe obstacle course in my Omnitrix. Ah-ah-ah! Let’s see what’cha got! Aah-ooh-ooh!

[Spidermonkey runs in to find various large moving blocks, some of which are coming from the ceiling.]

SPIDERMONKEY: Better be careful here, those things could definitely squash me.

[Spidermonkey then slips his way past one of the crushers, uses a web rope to pull to the left from one coming from head-on. One of the blocks cuts into his rope. He looks up to see an opening, about air-vent sized. He fires a web into this opening and drags himself out of this room.]

SPIDERMONKEY: Ah-Ah! If these are the watch’s defense mechanisms for a virus, they’re doing a lousy job! Ah-ooh!

[As he entered the next room, multiple laser blasts began to fire at Spidermonkey.]

SPIDERMONKEY: Why do I’ve always got to have a big mouth… Ah-ooh!

[Spidermonkey brings a hand to his chin, thinking for a second.]

SPIDERMONKEY: This calls for a little change of tactic!

[Spidermonkey taps the Omnitrix and turns into Diamondhead.]

DIAMONDHEAD: And an old classic!

[Diamondhead takes a casual stroll into the room of lasers…]

DIAMONDHEAD: This one’s almost too easy.

[...Then a pair of Aerorays enter the room.]

DIAMONDHEAD: Oh, the virus sent me a distraction, not like I can’t just...

[Diamondhead turns slightly, redirecting one of the laser blasts into the Aeroray, the other one returns fire.]

DIAMONDHEAD: Still doing nothing.

[Then a door opens, revealing a large, almost volcanic-looking three-legged creature. It bears a slight resemblance to Heatblast.]

DIAMONDHEAD: Okay, maybe I spoke too soon.

[The Volkanyte fires exploding bullet-like blasts in Diamondhead’s direction.]

DIAMONDHEAD: Finally, a challenge!

[Diamondhead sharpens his fingers into a point and runs to the creature, landing several hits that should’ve pierced the creature in the face, but it remains unharmed.]

DIAMONDHEAD: Well, that didn’t work. Let’s try…

[Diamondhead forms his arm into a shield-like structure, and as the Volkanyte fires its next shot, Diamondhead deflects it back into the face of the creature, which disables its shield. He runs up once more and pierces it in the face, disabling the creature. The next door is where the monster came from, it appears rather...dark, looking in. He slowly walks into the newly opened way.]

[The chamber he enters is massive, the largest one yet. When he enters, the door shuts immediately behind him.]

DIAMONDHEAD: Looks like I found the place. Now, where’s that virus...

[From above, a large green structure crackles and sparks, before illuminating the room.]

[The lighting reveals a large creature, half the size of a To’kustar, comprised of multiple Omnitrix DNA samples: Pyronite rocks, a Petrosapien arm turned black and sharpened to a point. A vaguely skeletal head, with multiple Ectonurite tendrils coming from the back of the skull. Diamondhead paused for a moment as he groaned, then nodded his head and covered his face. Diamondhead lowered his arms and took another deep breath.]

DIAMONDHEAD: I’m dead.

[The To’kolossus hears him, and turns in his direction, immediately firing massive fireball in his direction. Diamondhead takes off running, firing shards back at the monster.]

DIAMONDHEAD: Take that!

[The shards barely make an impact.]

DIAMONDHEAD: Well, that didn’t work.

[The monster swings its bladed arm, knocking Diamondhead back, he tumbles a little bit and lands on his feet with a hand on the ground.]

DIAMONDHEAD: I’m gonna have to cut this guy down to size, but I can’t reach his head.

[The monster is lumbering and slow, Diamondhead observes.]

DIAMONDHEAD: Maybe I can stun it?

[Diamondhead taps the badge, and transforms into Buzzshock.]

[Buzzshock makes a series of strange noises, before zipping around the monster. The monster swings its blade arm, attempting to slice him in two, but Buzzshock uses that as a chance to clone himself multiple times. The tens of Buzzshocks create a huge web of electricity, bringing the monster to its knees. Buzzshock taps the Omnitrix, transforming back into Diamondhead.]

DIAMONDHEAD: That’s the ticket.

[Diamondhead jumps up onto the monster’s leg, he then sharpens his fingers to climb up the monster’s torso. The monster is still moving, which makes the climb kind of a struggle. He gets onto its back and finally makes to the head. He sharpens his arm and plunges the blade into the monster’s skull. The To’kolossus starts fidgeting before falling to the ground. The monster explodes, and its pieces disintegrate. Diamondhead lands with one hand on the ground.]

DIAMONDHEAD: Now there’s just that to worry about.

[The construct illuminating the room is sparking and crackling, its color having been changed from a bright green to a dull red growing brighter.]

DIAMONDHEAD: That doesn’t look good.

[Diamondhead taps the face of the Omnitrix once more, and transforms back into Buzzshock, he flies upward, duplicating himself multiple times over. The Buzzshocks surround the construct and electrify it.]

[The room shakes violently, everything goes white. We then return to the room that would’ve been the training room, there’s a bright white flash, and Ben, Gwen and Kevin find themselves back in the normal world.]

KEVIN 11: Aw…

BEN: Quick, we need to check on Cooper!

[The trio leave the room to find Cooper knocked out on the floor.]

KEVIN 11: Kid’s just a lightning rod for getting attacked, isn’t he?

GWEN: Kevin!

KEVIN 11: What? In about a week’s time, the kid was kidnapped and bugged by some biker in a power suit, and now this!

[Cooper starts waking up.]

COOPER: Ugh… guys, you did it!

BEN: What happened?

COOPER: I... don’t know. There was something trying to escape, like it was trapped inside the Omnitrix, and I kept hearing something that sounded like...it was calling out for help?

[Cooper gets up and brushes himself off.]

COOPER: Whatever the case, I need to get back to work. The bugs aren’t gonna fix themselves. And I’ll see what I can find out in terms of fixing Kevin.

GWEN: Don’t you think you should rest for a bit?

COOPER: Eh, I’ve been through worse. This wasn’t as bad as the time I got bugged.

GWEN: Well, that’s fair. And I appreciate the offer to help with the Kevn situation. But I have to say, I don’t think your program caused the glitch.

[Gwen turns to her cousin, who’s fiddling with the device, now returned to his wrist.]

GWEN: Ben, everything okay with the watch?

BEN: I suppose, nothing seems out of the ordinary.

GWEN: Cooper said it was like there was something trying to escape, maybe it’s another one of your aliens trying to break out?

BEN: Like what happened with...Ghostfreak? I don’t know. But I get the strangest feeling that’s not gonna be the end of this “virus” thing, and I don’t like it.

[Later that night, Cooper is sound asleep. We look over to see his computer, as it flickers on, with a black and red ooze “bleeding” from it, before sweeping past, blacking out the view.]

[Credits]

Major Events

• Something escapes the Omnitrix.
• The heroes get a potential lead on how to fix Kevin.
• Grey Matter, Cannonbolt, and Diamondhead make their ExOS debuts.
• Jet Ray and Buzzshock debut as new aliens.

Characters

• Ben Tennyson
• Gwen Tennyson
• Kevin 11

Villains

• "The Virus"
  • Monsters
    • Stinkhornet
    • Kannontanker
    • Roacher
    • Aeroray
    • Volkanyte
    • To'kolossus
    • Unnamed "Crab" Enemy

Aliens Used

• Jet Ray (First Appearance)
• Grey Matter (First Reappearance)
• Cannonbolt (First Reappearance)
• Spidermonkey
• Diamondhead (First Reappearance, x2)
• Buzzshock (First Reappearance, x2)

Trivia

• The episode's title is a direct reference to the song, Virtual Insanity, by English funk band Jamiroquai.
• This episode largely pays homage to both Season 3, Episode 6 of the original Ben 10 series, Game Over, as well as the french-animated series known as Code Lyoko.
• Cooper's point of reference for the simulator, The Resolute, is Tetrax's ship. The technology was based on the holographic hoverboard simulator Ben was seen using a couple of times.
• Kevin makes reference to fighting a giant two-headed snake inside the Null Void, this is a reference to the snake boss on Vulpin from Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks.
• Kevin saying "Loud and... very loud." in response to Cooper is a reference to one of the first lines of dialogue spoken in Sly Cooper and the Thevius Raccoonus.
• Cooper reveals to Ben that fan forums based on him exist, this is a nod to real-world sites such as Ben10toys.net, where there would've been fans trying to come up wth names for forms that hadn't had their names revealed yet.
  • Ben's reaction is a small nod to the occasonal starry-eyed reaction seen in a lot of modern cartoons, especially Cartoon Network shows.
• Kevin's taunt: "You wanna mess with a monster? Try me on for size!", is a direct lift of one of Ripjaws' first lines from Season 1, Episode 3 of the original Ben 10 series, The Krakken.
• Ben's statement: "We're inside the Omnitrix, and so is the creepy crawly...", is an almost-direct lift from a line also spoken by Ben in Season 1, Episode 6 of Ben 10: Alien Force, Max Out.
• Kevin and Cooper both make references to the events of Ben 10: ExOS, Season 1, Episode 3, Haywire.
• This episode marks the first time in ExOS that Ben mentions any of his aliens by his given name for them, if only because he had to.