A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Slaves to the Parasite

The RV had stopped somewhere on a desert road, with an ice cream parlor nearby. While Sunset and Chance get their ice cream, Luna is outside near the local ATM, trying to make a deposit. A faded blue pickup truck pulls up to the same spot, and a strong lady walks up to Luna.

"Gonna have to ask ya you move, Darlin'. I got a major withdrawal to make!" The lady announced.

Luna did not move, if anything, she continued fiddling around with it till the other woman grabbed her by the arm and attempted to throw her aside. From inside the truck, a smaller girl with blue hair and a gap in her teeth, most likely the strong lady's associate, just smiled as she waited in the driver's seat.

Back in the parlor, Sunset was trying to figure out what she could get, but she couldn't decide. "Ya know, I'll just stand back and let him figure out his order, I can get more time." Sunset said, backing up.

A frowning old man sighed and looked to Chance. "Well boy, whaddya want?" The man asked.

Chance was about to make his order, until the sound of a struggle was heard. Sunset and Chance looked out the window, seeing Luna on the ground holding her face, all while a strong lady in black overalls hooks up a chain and hook to the ATM.

Chance looked back to the old man. "I'll have rocky road and cookies n' cream, extra chocolate sauce. I'll be right back to pay, but right now, someone else has to." Chance remarked, running out the door as he activated the Omnitrix.

Outside, the strong lady digs the hook into the ATM and yells to her associate in the pickup. "Alright doll, it's in place! Hit it!" The woman exclaimed.

The smaller girl tries to pump the gas, but nothing happens. The girl keeps trying, but the car just sputters and starts to let out fumes. "You are in violation of numerous laws. Stand down or I will detain you." A synthetic voice spoke out.

The girl looked to the window and flinched upon seeing the being that had the fuel lines, as well as the battery in its hands. It looked like a human figure, but the bottom portion was missing, just hovering in the air.

It had an unexpected shade of dark purple skin, and it was pretty strong, or at least it looked it. It had a small circular screen on its face, displaying a bright white line in the midst of a dark background, and a blue bulb on top of its head. It seemed to be some kind of alien, but it looked like it was solely made out of mechanical parts. It wore a sleeveless top with white and black details, and white tubes reaching over its shoulders with the Omnitrix being smack dab in the center of its chest.

The smaller girl tried to punch the alien and make it stagger, only to then hear the unprecedented loud shattering sound of the bones in her hand and fingers breaking. The smaller girl winced and cried out, alerting the strong lady to come to her aide. "If you're so insistent on resisting the law, then I will oblige. Just know you brought this on yourself, and Crime Detector will be the last name you hear before you wake up in a jail cell." Crime Detector announced, his voice was purely synthetic, it warbled and warped, but it also sounded so emotionless, like an actual robot.

The strong lady threw a couple punches, and while her hands stung and already started to ache, that didn't stop her from trying to use the chain on him. She swung the chain like a mace, but Crime Detector simply caught it and yanked her forward, smashing his fist into her face as he broke a few of her teeth, broke her nose and knocked her unconscious. "Job complete. Notifying local authorities..." Crime Detector stood still as a bunch of radio static started to blare out through him.

Sunset rushed out, holding two ice creams in her hand as she came to Luna's side. Luna uncovered her face to reveal a black-eye, though it was incredibly swollen, it didn't look too bad. "I-I'll be fine. Just need to rest and put some ice on it. Nicely done, Mister Marsten," Crime Detector simply nodded, and soon enough, the radio static was gone. The Omnitrix started to time out and in a flash of red light, Chance was transformed back into his normal self, though he staggered a bit. "Well, I could've gone any other day without a swollen eye, but I suppose this will lead into our next stop a bit better." Luna remarked.

Chance and Sunset took their respective ice creams and looked at Luna curiously. "Where exactly are we going now?" Sunset asked.

Luna smiled. "I'm actually glad you asked. We're going to take a trip to my parents' place in Jaxton! I figured that since Chance hasn't been in the best mindset since Washington, I was getting a bit worn thin with these constant strings of adventures, and you didn't really want to participate in the whole situation with the Chupacabra, I called ahead to let them know that we could just have a small little relaxing outing." Luna explained.

As the RV drives down the road, showing off more and more signs of life as the desert becomes less barren, Chance can't help but remember his encounter with Animo, the Chupacabra, and most importantly of all, the Omnitrix. "Ya know, it starts off like a relaxing outing, but then trouble comes to us like a moth to a flame. The Omnitrix fixated on me, Animo robbed the one place we were at, and I'm not even gonna try to explain what happened with the Chupacabra, I'm just saying that there's a pattern. I don't know if it's me, or if it's because one of us was a hero already before I got my powers, but some semblance of a pattern is clearly identifying itself, and there's an odd peculiar sense of consistency." Chance explained.

Sunset gave Chance an amused, but bored smile. "It's not rocket science, bud. Sometimes we're just in the right place at the wrong time. It naturally just makes things difficult for us to relax, but I'm not upset at the good we've done so far, so in a way, it kinda balances out." Sunset remarked.

Chance sighed. "All I'm saying is, despite the good we do, we miss out on some fun stuff. Would it really be that bad to take a rain check on the next issue, or is that just me?" Chance asked.

Luna looked back at her students. "I know this must be hard for you both, but trust me, once we get to Jaxton, I'll show you two how me and Celestia used to have fun back in our home town." Luna reassured.

Chance raised an eyebrow and looked at Luna. "Jaxton? I never heard of such a place. Where is it we're going exactly?" Chance asked.

Luna smiled. "Jaxton is the smallest village in Oregon, and it's where me and Celestia grew up. You won't be able to find it on a map because it's only got a population of seven, maybe even eight hundred people, and it's rare that anyone moves out of Jaxton, unless its for college." Luna explained.

Sunset looked up and was rather surprised. "Interesting. I never really thought about that until now." Sunset remarked.

Chance re-directed his confusion towards Sunset, only to notice her hide her expression behind her laptop. Chance frowned and looked out the window, noticing a couple guys his age, only stronger and dressed in flannel shirts, boots and jeans. One of them sets their axe down and wipes the sweat from their brow, only to hock up a huge discolored orange-yellow colored glob of snot and spew it onto a nearby tree. Chance was caught off guard by that, and the guy saw him staring from the window. The guy smiled, and simply just waved like nothing happened.

Chance felt a chill run up his spine, but waved back as he looked away, only to utter a question. "Should I be worried about how the guys my age act here?" Chance asked, feeling a sense of tension start to rush through him.

Luna chuckled and looked back at Chance, who now seemed a bit worried. "Don't worry, mister Marsten, the boys are just hardened and toughened up by how they were raised in Jaxton. How do you think me and Celestia turned out so tough and resilient?" Luna reassured.

'I feel like with how calm you are around magic and aliens, it couldn't be because of what happened in your own little slice of nostalgia.' Chance thought, a skeptical look of bemusement forming on his face.

Somewhere in a small apartment complex, a man and a woman are setting stuff up in the living room. The man was caucasian, he was thin with a small bit of muscle, had long flowing blonde hair that cascaded down to his neck, with a few streaks of white and gray hairs here and there, and had a small orange crescent moon embroidered onto his dress shirt. The woman was more african, had short jet-black hair and was a bit wider than the man, but she had a bit more muscle on her body. She wore a purple and red sweater, with a vibrant blue sun embroidered on the back.

The woman yawned and stretched herself out, smiling. "Let me tell ya, I'm excited to see our little Lulu again. I was also pretty surprised to know she called, but I'm personally glad that she wanted to come and visit. Aren't you, Sol?" The woman asked.

The man, known as Sol, went over and embraced the woman in a hug. "Absolutely, Eclipsa. Even if Celestia isn't joining her, it's always a treat to see one of our little girls again... even if they aren't so little anymore." Sol expressed warmly.

Sol and Eclipsa smiled as they started to move into a slow dance, but below them was a woman who was vehemently disgusted by how thin the walls seemed to be.

She had long bleach-blonde hair, riddled with split ends, was also african, but the hate in her jade green eyes was enough to turn the toughest and bravest of souls into a pile of quivering mush. The woman wore a pair of blue-ish green lipstick and a torn up black gothic dress with green highlights, as well as black see-through leggings, both had holes in them. She also wore some worn out black stilletos.

The woman grabbed a broom and jammed the handle into the roof a few times. "Cut it out with the mushy crap! Some of us are trying to watch TV!!" The woman grabbed her remote and turned up the volume, eating what looked like a bowl of popcorn with a red drizzle on top of it. "No one makes Chrystina miss her horror movie marathon." Chrystina remarked.

As she reached for another handful, she suddenly pulled her hand back when she felt something cold and slimy. Chrystina looked at the bowl, only to go wide-eyed as she stared at a one-eyed monster. It looked like a squid, but its brain was clearly exposed, and it was oozing some kind of thick orange slime from its toothy maw.

Chrystina panicked, shrieking as loud as she could as the creature let out an inhuman squeaking sound and latched onto her face, muffling her cries any further. She struggled with all her might to fight the creature, but soon fell to the floor, losing consciousness as the TV blared, showing an old colored movie about a greaser and a cheerleader surrounded by parasites.

As the RV enters Jaxton, Sunset and Chance notice how lively the place is. The people were pretty friendly, waving to them as they went about their usual routines. "Well, this is much friendlier. Feeling any better, mister skeptical?" Sunset asked with a smug smile.

Chance let a smile form on his face for a moment, but a look of shock soon overtook him as he saw a man spewing a literal stream of that same strange goo into a trash can, only to continue waving like nothing happened. Chance gulped and seemed disgusted. "I think the summer heat has finally baked my last brain cell, I have to be hallucinating." Chance remarked, going to the fridge as he grabs an ice pack, placing it on his head.

When the RV stops in front of the apartment complex, Chance is the first to get out, still holding the ice pack to his head. The sun beats down on him hard, and he flinches a bit. "Ok, it wasn't this hot back on the desert road, why is so unbearably hot here, wasn't it supposed to be sixty-eight today?" Chance tried to look around, only to feel a sudden chill as cold water is sprayed onto his back. Chance whips around, seeing Sunset with who water guns and tosses one his way. Chance grabs it and sets the ice pack back on the table in the RV, and smirks, chasing after Sunset as he gets ready to hose her down. "Bring it on!!" Chance exclaimed, laughing as he chases after her.

Luna steps out, looking happy, yet mildly saddened at the sight of the apartment complex. 'You can do this. It's only been a couple years since the last visit, you can do this.' Luna thought, trying to reassure herself.

Chance runs past Luna, and just as he's about to spray more water at Sunset, he notices a gaze being burned into the back of his head. Chance turned around, looking at one of the windows above. Chrystina is looking down at him through the window, staring intently at the boy. Chance was starting to get uncomfortable, and almost as if Chrystina could tell what he was feeling, she smirked and licked her lips as she let her smirk become a scowl. She growled as she shut the blinds before he could react.

Chance felt thoroughly unsettled. "Okay, time for another rousing round of 'I'm getting the hell out of here!' I'll be in the RV." Chance remarked, backing up as fast as he could, clutching the water gun in his hand with a surprisingly tight grip, the fear in his eyes said it all. He was uncomfortable, he felt that sense of security leave him, and he wanted to leave immediately.

Sunset stood in Chance's way, causing him to back up into her, only for him to whip around and spray her in face without a moment's hesitation. Sunset looked unamused and spat out a bit of water onto the concrete. Chance gulped and gently laid the water gun on the ground. "I'm so sorry. I get an itchy trigger finger when something make me feel... well, uncomfortable." Chance explained, his face turning red as a wave of embarrassment washed over him.

Sunset smiled and sprayed Chance in the face, causing him to spit up a bit of water as he now felt thoroughly drenched. "Apology accepted, and now we're even. There's now nothing to worry about... speaking of," Sunset turned Chance around, the both of them noticed Luna staring off into space. "Does she seem a bit... different?" Sunset asked.

Chance looked at her, raising his eyebrow. "You're asking me?" Chance looked back at Luna, and she seemed almost nostalgic, but it wasn't a happy kind of nostalgia. "In my personal opinion, I think she's conflicted. About what though, I couldn't begin to fathom. I'm an alien superhero, not a psychic. By this point, that seems more like your per view." Chance remarked, shrugging his shoulders.

Sunset gulped and slowly approached Luna, gripping her geode tightly in one hand, and gently placing her hand on her back with the other. Sunset's eyes shined bright for a moment, but before she could truly see into Luna's head, feel what she feels, she felt her connection be severed. Sunset's eyes stopped glowing, and Luna had grabbed her wrist, an obviously irritated and defensive expression now formed on her face. "What do you think you're doing?" Luna asked.

Sunset gasped as she pulled her hand away. Luna stared down at the two, and it was clear to them that she was not keen on letting Sunset see into her head. Chance panicked and stepped forward, getting between them. "It was my idea, by all technicality. Y-Yo-You were spacing out, and we didn't really know how to approach the situation. I-I figured that by looking into your head, we'd be able to figure out the problem and come up with a solution. It was my idea, I'll take the fall for it." Chance explained.

Luna stared at the pair of them carefully, though upon realizing how she was reacting, she started to look less angry, and more scared. Luna sighed and leaned down to the two teens. "Look, I'm sorry for suddenly snapping, but there are things I don't want you to see... it's too personal, and right now, it's a very sensitive memory. Promise me you won't try this again until I'm ready?" Sunset and Chance looked at each other, then back at Luna, nodding slowly. Luna sighed and pulled the two close into a hug. "Thank you, again I'm sorry, but I need you two to just trust me on this. Lets focus on relaxing and having a bit of fun for now, so no more dillydallying!" Luna remarked, marching towards the front door of the apartment complex.

The teens looked at each other once more, and Chance looked down at Sunset's hand, seeing that it was not hurt or bruised in any way, yet couldn't help but feel a bit responsible. "Sorry about that. Had I known she would react in such a manner, I wouldn't've suggested-" Sunset cut him off, pulling him into a tight hug. "-It!! May I ask what's warranting any of this, or am I hallucinating via heat stroke!?" Chance remarked, his voice straining from how tight Sunset was squeezing him.

Sunset simply laughed and smiled. "That was for having my back just now. We both know you didn't have to do that, but then again, from what little I do know about you, your actions on this road trip seem to contradict what I initially expected of you. Not saying it's a bad thing, but I guess even the nicest people have to hide themselves in certain situations." Sunset explained, walking towards the apartment complex.

Chance whipped around and asked one more question. "What exactly did you expect of me?" Chance asked curiously.

Sunset stopped and looked back. "I expected a stubborn, aggressive, hateful and traumatized guy, guzzling down alcohol like soda and only willingly throwing himself into dangerous situations, just so that he can die knowing he tried doing something good. Instead, I'm seeing bits and pieces of the guy behind the façade he made to survive his time at home, who is genuinely one of the oddest, if not the hardest person to read I've met thus far," Chance was speechless, but he tried his best to seem unimpressed. Sunset's smile never faltered. "I don't know why you still hide behind a façade, even when we're miles away from Canterlot City, but... maybe it's not my business, not until you're ready to tell me." Sunset explained.

Chance simply took a deep breath and followed Sunset into the Apartment complex. He felt strange, like something warm was fluttering around in his stomach, yet it made him feel sick. He didn't feel like he was under the weather, but at the same time, he couldn't help but look at the window, feeling the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. Chance tried to shake off the feeling as he walked into the apartment complex. 'I don't know if I'll ever be ready for that...' Chance thought.

As the trio ascend the stairway to the next floor, Luna motions for the two to move towards a door with the numbers 3-1-1 engraved on some kind of metal plate. "Alright, you two, I want you to essentially prepare yourselves. Also, watch your cheeks, they always liked pinching mine and Celestia's when we were younger." Luna warned, yet her smile was unwavering.

Sunset covered her face, all while Chance gulped, seeming worried. Luna knocked on the door, and as soon as it opened up, Eclipsa and Sol pulled Luna in for a tight hug. "Lulu!" They exclaimed.

"Mother, Father, it's very good to see you! Just as energetic as ever, like the last time I saw you," Luna patted their backs as she finally managed to wriggle free, dusting herself off. "How have you two been?" Luna asked.

Eclipsa smiled. "We've been exceptional. Been staying in shape, like you instructed us on your last visit." Eclipsa said, pinching her daughter's cheeks, all while Luna seemed unfazed, smiling through it all.

Sol stepped up and pulled out a small neatly-wrapped box. "This is for you, in regards to your job. I did some digging, and with a bit of help from a buddy of mine, we were able to find this. I hope it helps, my little moon pie." Sol remarked, kissing Luna's forehead.

Luna chuckled and took the gift, unwrapping it to reveal a small little device. It looked incredibly complex, but from what Sunset and Chance could observe, they didn't know what they were looking at. "Either this is the world's most complicated flashlight, or the world's most unassuming bedroom toy. I don't know which one confuses and concerns me more, and somehow that's even worse," Eclipsa and Sol looked at Chance, who simply shrugged. "What, I call it like I see it." Chance remarked.

Sunset looked over at a few paintings that hung on the wall. Some of them consisted of the night sky, and some of them were preserved relics of the past. Posters of old movies, merchandise that was discontinued decades ago, but the one thing that caught Sunset's attention was a family photo. In it was a younger version of Eclipsa and Sol, but there was also Luna and Celestia. Celestia looked like she came out of an old nineties highschool movie, dressed to impress with a poofy scarf, sweater, a frilly skirt, dancing shoes and a bandana that tied her hair back.

Luna looked like she belonged on a biker gang, dressed in a leather jacket, sitting on a chopper with a toothpick in her mouth, and black shades over her eyes. Even her hair was cut short in a bob type of style, yet the ripped bell-bottom jeans, huge black boots, and the white leather gloves were all so unexpected. "Wow, miss Luna, back in the day you were a rebel! I guess that explains why you're so strict about rules now. I gotta say, somehow you pull off the leather jacket better than I do." Sunset remarked, smiling at the photo.

Luna flinched, her eyes went wide and her face was becoming red as she rushed over and set the picture on one of the higher shelves. "Well, it's all in the past. I personally don't like to discuss it, otherwise I'd be the history teacher," Luna noticed Sol and Eclipsa's reaction to the students in her presence, and sighed. "Mother, father, these are two of my students I'm escorting for the summer. The boy who seems to have no filter is Chance, and the girl who always tries to understand everything, even those around her, is Sunset. We've seen some ridiculously crazy things this summer already, and we were hoping to stay for the night, just to recuperate." Luna explained, introducing her students.

Eclipsa and Sol smiled. "Luna, you and your kids are more than welcome here. Besides, you could've had me fooled," Sol walked over to Chance and pulled out a picture of Luna when she was his age. She had messy and wild hair, it was like the style she was going for was a jungle. She wore some kind of odd suit that immediately had Luna sweating, looking nervous. The depiction of Luna in the photo was essentially jamming out to something, letting her tongue fly out of her mouth, even showing off a tongue piercing. "Back when Lulu was around your age, she was the most rebellious young lady in all of Jaxton! She raised hell so much that even grounding her didn't quell that rambunctious fire in her belly, it just stoked the flames higher... ah, those were the days." Sol remarked a sad, yet happy smile forming on his face.

Chance smiled and let a laugh escape him as he looked at the photo closely. "Damn, you were really jamming out! Last time I jammed out like that, I was listening to my dad's old metal album. Dude knew how to shred it on the guitar, lemme tell ya!" Chance looked at the suit she wore in the photo, but couldn't place where he saw it before. "Why does that suit look so familiar?" Chance asked.

Eclipsa let a wry smile form on her face as she pulled out her wallet, and then plucked a photo from it. The photo depicted an eighteen-year-old woman in a scantily clad black suit, decorated with white stars of various shapes, all while a red crescent moon was hooked onto the chestpiece. She also had some kind of gladitorial helmet with a tuft of cosmic fluff protruding from the top of it. "This might answer your question. It was from Luna's first time coming home after spring break. Believe it or not, Lulu wasn't just rebellious, she was a whirlwind of chaoticness. She saw one of those superhero shows she liked so much, 'Power Personas' I think, and she got the bright idea to try and become a superhero, cleaning crime off the streets with a silly costume. She even had her own little alter ego to boot!" Eclipsa explained with the brightest smile on her face.

Luna's face was getting increasingly red and tried to make herself vocal, but she couldn't find the words. "So, it's a skin-tight suit that she made herself, or did she take something and modify it from there?" Chance asked.

Luna ran forward and snatched the photos out of her parents' hands, pocketing them as she started to laugh in an awkward and panic-ridden state, her face was redder than a ripe tomato. "T-Teenagers, they're a handful!" Chance raised an eyebrow in confusion, only for Luna to lean in. "Chance, why don't you head out to the RV and grab my purse, I think I forgot to bring it in." Luna requested, a concerned, yet borderline irate expression formed on her face.

Chance frowned and walked towards the front door, only to hear some kind of commotion outside. Chance rushes to the window, seeing the woman from before trying to break into the RV. Chance was surprised, but he didn't waste anytime running down the stairs.

Chrystina tugged on the door handle, trying to rip it off, but couldn't seem to really make any difference. She looked around, making sure no one was around, until she felt someone tap on her shoulder. Chrystina whipped around, seeing Chance with a smirk on his face. "Peek-a-boo!" Chance called out, smashing his fist into the woman's stomach as he pulled her away from the door.

Chrystina headbutted Chance in the face, causing him to let her go, only to find himself in a stand-off. Chance was rather surprised that she managed to recover so fast, but that didn't mean he was going down without a fight. 'I haven't fought like this in years, sure hope I'm making the right decision not going hero right now.' Chance remarked.

Chrystina growled and readied herself, all while Chance put his hands up, like a boxer would when preparing for a fight. He shifted his feet into a wider stance, and motioned for Chrystina to come at him. Chrystina hissed and ran right at him, flailing her arms as Chance quickly backed up, weaving and dodging Chrystina's attempts to claw at him. Chance soon saw his opening and jammed his elbow into her bottom jaw, causing her to stagger back a bit. Chance hopped from side-to-side, trying to comprehend the situation. For a moment, he could've sworn that the woman's jade green eyes flickered red for a second, but it was probably just the sun playing tricks on him.

Chrystina grunted like a wild animal, trying her flailing tactic again, but Chance continued to dodge and weave, taking a few chances to get some light jabs and hooks landed, yet Chrystina wasn't falling. Chance knew he'd have to hit a little harder, so when Chrystina got on all fours and lunged at him, like a tiger pounces onto its wounded target, Chance ended up jumping back and slamming his heel into Chrystina's face, knocking her to the ground with a mighty thud.

Chance got out of the stance he was in, and looked at his hands, simply smiling. "I still got it, pops. A bit rusty for sure, but I still got it," Chance heard a gurgling sound that immediately had him on edge. Chrystina's body was starting to convulse and twitch. "Oh fuck, I went too far!" Chance stated, a sense of panic started to overtake him as he rushed forward, crouching down to turn Chrystina over on her side. As he did what he set out to do, he was shocked and appalled, seeing that Chrystina's face was split in two, and crackling with small bits of electricity.

'What the fuck?' Chance thought. He carefully grabbed her face, and to his own surprise, it didn't feel like skin. It felt like some kind of plastic metal. Through a mix of curiosity and whatever adrenaline was still pumping through him, he grabbed both halves of her face and pulled them off slowly. As he did, her body started to warp, almost being reduced to static. When he finally removed the two halves of her face, what he saw next was all the proof he needed as his fight or flight response kicked in.

On the ground, was Chrystina. He could only tell it was the same woman he thought he killed because parts of her were still uncovered, or not yet overtaken by this odd mass of tentacles that now clung to her face, and covered most of her body. Her eyes were blank, practically lifeless, but one singular eye continued to stare right at him. A big eye with a red dot in the center of the iris. Chance's eyes widened, he couldn't fathom what he was looking at, but soon saw the creature's toothy maw. 'Chrystina' looked at him, both with her regular eye, and the huge eye amidst the mass of tentacles.

The woman grabbed Chance's hand, the one with the device strapped to it. "So, it's true... You are the one... the human boy who found... the Omnitrix... prepare yourself boy, you're going in too deep... and all without a breath of air." Chrystina remarked, a wry toothy smirk forming on their face.

Just as Chance tried to pull himself away, the Omnitrix started to beep. The hourglass emblem transitioned into a helix shape, and started to flash yellow. "Genetic Damage detected. Shall we attempt to repair?" the device chirped, its voice was high-pitched, almost feminine, though monotonous in its delivery. Chance was surprised, but 'Chrystina' was clearly shocked.

Before Chance had any time to try and figure out what this would help, the woman smacked him away. He got up, surprised by how fast the woman recovered, only to see the woman hop onto the roof of the RV, then hop away, making a weird gurgling noise as that same goo oozed from her mouth.

Chance looked back up at the window, the one with the blinds closed. Chance looked back at the woman's body, only to notice the huge eye had now closed. Out of options, and knowing people shouldn't see this woman like this, Chance silently moved himself back into the apartment complex, and to the room that best corresponded with the blinds, noticing that the door was now off its hinges, covered up and practically encased in that same strange goo. "Oh son of a bitch." Chance muttered.

Sunset looked at a lot of the stuff Luna's folks had, and noticed that there was very little stuff about Celestia's childhood, something that confused her, but also piqued her curiosity. "Excuse me, miss Eclipsa, I apologize if this is a bit rude of me to say, but I don't see a lot of stuff that shows Celestia's childhood. Do you just not have the photos anymore, or is it too personal?" Sunset asked.

Eclipsa looked at Sunset, smiling. "Celestia, probably our highest-achieving child. She couldn't help but want to do as much as she could, but it left a lot to be desired when it came to cherished memories. We always thought Luna would work her life away, just because she was such a delinquent, but somehow, in a roundabout twist of fate, Celestia is the one we have the least amount of memories of... it saddens me to say such things, even if it's true, but I can't help but wonder if we pushed her too hard, and didn't push Luna enough." Eclipsa remarked, almost seeming saddened by the thought.

Sunset looked away, seeming a bit saddened, yet oddly relieved. 'Maybe that's for the better.' Sunset thought.

Sol and Luna are currently talking in the kitchen, preparing dinner. "So, tell me about those 'students' of yours, Lulu." Sol inquired.

Luna raised an eyebrow at her father, confused. "What do you mean?" Luna asked.

Sol nudged her daughter a bit, still smiling. "Come on, Lulu, you telling me you haven't found someone to settle down yet? here I thought these kids you brought were gonna be yours! That boy's definitely got your blunt streak, that's for sure, as well as your tendency for sniffing out trouble." Sol remarked.

Luna's face got very red and she groaned out of sheer embarrassment. "Dad, please don't pester me for grandkids! Besides, they're my students, nothing more and nothing less. If it's grandkids you want, pester Celestia, if you must." Luna remarked defensively.

Sol chuckled and pulled his daughter into another hug. "Come on, you know your old man loves to aggravate ya from time to time, I'm just pullin' your leg Lulu," Luna simply covered her face with her hands, trying to avoid anymore second-hand embarrassment. "Besides, I'm not wrong when I say that kid, is basically the spitting image of you back in your teens. Only difference is that funky watch on his wrist, and the fact that he's a boy. He could easily pass as your son, I've no doubt about it. That girl on the other hand," Sol gestured to Sunset, who was talking with Eclipsa, both of them seem to be enjoying each other's company. "She's got Celestia written all over her, I can just tell. The way she asks her questions, the way she phrases her words, the way she reacts to Celestia's name of all things, she reminds me of Celestia when she got back from studying abroad in Hong Kong. She learned so much, yet learned so little. What's her story?" Sol asked.

Luna looked at her father, seeming uncomfortable, yet she kept herself in check. "She's not my daughter, Chance isn't my son, nor are they Celestia's kids, that's for certain, otherwise I would've personally confronted Celestia about such a revelation, especially if it was a result of infidelity. Back to Chance, I doubt I could be a mother to someone who already claims that their biological mother is dead, and all that's left is a shell of what used to be. Can't say I blame him, I wouldn't want anything to do with that shell of a woman either, even if I got a ninety-percent raise to my salary, I just wouldn't be able to do it." Luna remarked.

Sol let out a long sigh. "It's that bad, huh? That woman must've done something dastardly to provoke such a response. That kid's either gonna be the death of himself, or something's gonna make him finally snap under the pressure, till there's nothing left to break. Kid clearly needs guidance, he's walking a dangerous road without a map, and he's lucky to have gotten this far without one. It's a bit of a dramatic choice, but ya gotta steer him in the right direction. Can ya do that, moon pie?" Sol asked.

Luna stayed silent, thinking about her father's words. Before Luna could give a proper response, the front door opens up, revealing Chance, who slowly but surely found his way to a recliner, slumping down into it, his head held low. Sol looked to Luna, and gestured for her to do something. Luna walked forward and stood near the recliner, tapping Chance's shoulder. "Chance, are you alright?" Luna asked.

"..."

He was silent, but he eventually raised his head. He looked crest-fallen, yet the confusion and concern that was in his eyes was enough to leave a soldier stunned. Luna had never seen Chance look so defeated, and neither had Sunset. It was clear to them both that something happened, and soon enough, Sunset was right by Luna's side, looking at the unexplained expression on the alien hero. "Chance, did something happen?" Luna asked, her tone was gentler than before.

Sol and Eclipsa looked at the boy, feeling the strangest case of whiplash they ever felt. One moment the boy was happy, if not a bit standoff-ish, like he wasn't used to interacting with people. Now, he was silent, he was confused, and he seemed conflicted, almost as if he didn't believe in what he needed to say.

Chance closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth. He wanted to say something, but he was also taking into consideration the environment he was in. Chance sighed, his breath was shaky. "I'll tell you. Just... both of you, mentally prepare yourselves for what comes next." Chance remarked.

Luna and Sunset looked at each other for a moment, only to realize that Chance recently got out of a fight, and while he did end up the winner, clearly something else occurred. Eclipsa brought a warm cup over to Chance's side, and he looked at it. "It was Luna's favorite when she was little. Hot Cocoa, with a bit of nutmeg, a cinnamon stick, and a bit of orange zest. It was something she enjoyed when she had a complicated problem on her hands. Helped keep her steady... take your time, baby, get your thoughts together." Eclipsa reassured, smiling.

Chance didn't respond, he just cautiously sipped the contents, all while Eclipsa and Sol walked to their bedroom. "We'll leave you three alone, just so he's more comfortable. If you need anything, don't hesitate to let us know, Lulu." Sol reassured, closing the door behind him.

The trio, now technically alone in the living room, were concerned. Sunset's eyes fell onto her friend, seeing him rattled like this was strange, and almost illogical that this is the second time. "Chance, what happened when you went outside?" Sunset asked, curious as to what exactly rattled her friend this time.

Sunset saw a look of anguish and shock on his face, and he seemed more conflicted. Chance continued to sip the contents of the cup, then sat it aside on the table to his left. "A woman tried to break into the RV, we fought, and then she ran away. She said something that freaked me out, as if what I saw was only the tip of the iceberg, and I couldn't do anything." Chance stated, feeling ashamed.

The pair looked shocked and incredibly surprised. "What!?" Luna exclaimed.

Chance flinched. "I didn't start the fight, I swear! Even if it was me, I had no idea she had a parasite latched to her, not till I beat her! She was being feral and aggressive, how the hell was I supposed to know she wasn't exactly in her right mind? She didn't exactly wear a t-shirt that said 'Sorry, I'm being controlled and slowly overtaken by a mass of tentacles!' I only found that out when I thought I quite literally split her face open, with my foot!" Chance defended.

The two were still shocked and surprised, but now they were confused. Chance pulled out the broken pieces of the mask he pulled off Chrystina's body. Luna was astonished and snatched the pieces out of his hand. "Where did you get this?!" Luna asked frantically.

Chance gulped. "Like I said, it was on that lady's face, the same one that tried to break into the RV. She was surprisingly resilient, and considering most of her body was being overtaken by a mass of tentacles, I'm not exactly surprised this is likely an alien thing. Before we even stopped in Jaxton, those boys chopping down a tree, one of them hocked up a large glob of snot, and then a man spews a stream of it into a trashcan, like nothing's out of the ordinary!" Chance gets up and chugs the rest of the cocoa, despite how hot it was, and takes a deep breath. "As she ran away, her mouth was drooling with that same goo, and her door was knocked off its hinges, coated and cocooned in the same substance. I don't even think it was the woman who was talking to me, but that thing attached to her... it called the watch by a name, but how the hell was I supposed to know this thing was called the Omnitrix? It didn't come with a manual. For all I know it could've been lies, but now I'm not sure." Chance explained.

Luna was perplexed, but at the same time, she was terrified. Luna thought about what to say, and finally just asked a question. "Did this strange alien have any other defining features besides tentacles?" Luna asked.

Chance nodded his head. "It had this one singular eye. It was black, but it also had a little red dot in the middle of its iris. It looked like it was sizing me up, but eventually it keeled over, most likely taking that woman with it. It just bothers me, knowing that a life has been taken," Chance tried to keep himself calm, but he already felt the fear bubbling to the surface. Luna was already starting to panic, it was like she knew something, but she didn't have the heart to say what. "Look, bottom line is, I had to fight the lady, and despite trying to simply knock her out or run her off, that thing managed to run and escape while still attached to that poor woman. I think it was because of the tendrils on her body, specifically the ones latching around the head. That thing was using her like a puppet, and that thing told me to prepare. I don't know what in the high tides of hell that thing's talking about, but if I were a betting boy, I'd say that this whole town has a bunch of people disguising themselves, hiding the parasites that have already taken them over. Something has to be done, or the rest of the world's gonna end up just like them! 'Slaves to the Parasite'!" Chance explained.

Sunset was the first person to speak up. "Okay, let's say I believe you. Where do we go from here? Someone knows about the watch, there's an alien parasite, or parasites, if there's more than one running around, and we have no real way of fighting it if we don't know its weakness. What's the plan here?" Sunset asked.

Luna stepped forward, putting a hand on both Sunset and Chance's shoulders. "The plan is that you two will stay here, and I'll go investigate. I won't risk both of your lives, or the lives of my parents for the sake of poor planning and bad timing. If I'm not back till the sun goes down, get out of Jaxton while you still can, and go back to Canterlot City. I mean it, understand?" Luna asked firmly.

Sunset was having trouble believing what she just heard, as was Chance, and the both of them knew their answer. They looked at each other, hesitant on their choice, then back at Luna, nodding their heads. "Good. If you need a place to hide, hide in the RV. Don't stop for anyone, no man, woman, child, or animal. It's all a ploy, an act to drop your guard," Luna walked to the front door and grabbed the knob, only to hesitate. She turned around for a moment, looking at the two teenagers. "If I do come back after sun down, and I don't seem the same, do what you have to. I trust that you'll make the right decision." Luna remarked, opening the door and walking out, slamming it behind her.

The pair were confused, and more-so just concerned. "I really should've told her the most important part before she left." Chance remarked.

Sunset looked at Chance, wondering what he meant. "The most important part? As if all of that wasn't already pretty important, what did you leave out?" Sunset asked.

Chance scratched the back of his head and sighed. "I was going to tell her before she stormed off, because in some weird roundabout way, the Omnitrix was the one who came up with the plan this time, When that woman grabbed me, the Omnitrix seemed to react. I thought it was going to turn me into one of my aliens, but it just stopped itself halfway from being activated, and it became this helix shape," Sunset was clearly confused, and Chance showed the Omnitrix. "It started glowing yellow, and said that there was genetic damage. It asked if I wanted to attempt repairs, and before I could even comprehend what happened next, that lady, or the parasite controlling her, swatted me away and ran. Looks to me that they did not like the sound of what the Omnitrix was offering, so if the watch can fix them, to some degree, maybe there's a chance we can save these people, and not resort to killing them." Chance explained.

Sunset was concerned, but then she remembered that Luna basically left them with her parents, and took the keys to the RV with her. "How did Luna expect us to leave Jaxton in the RV, when she has the keys on her?" Sunset asked.

Chance facepalmed, feeling like a serious moron, until he suddenly realized something else. "Let me answer your question, with some of my own," Chance looked over to where he was sitting, noticing the split mask was still there. "Why did Luna react to this thing, as if she saw it before, and why did she ask me if there were any other details about the parasite, unless she was trying to gauge the situation from the start?" Chance asked.

Sunset and Chance were starting to connect the dots, and it wasn't long till the both of them came up with a hypothetical conclusion. "She clearly knows about stuff we aren't aware of, she compared chasing after Animo to her days as a plumber, and she wasn't initially weirded out by the prospect that you turned into an alien when you first found that watch. This can only mean that she's been familiar with aliens and other strange stuff during the most important moments of her life as a teenager, or even as a blossoming adult!" Sunset remarked.

Chance nodded. "It would also explain why she was so insistent that I don't get involved in the affairs of a folklore creature, like the Chupacabra. She knew it existed, and she didn't react at all, she didn't even bat an eye, for god's sake!" Chance looked at the gift her parents got, and grabbed it, examining it closely. "I bet this is alien tech too, like the watch and that mask! Her parents are in on her little secret! What does this thing do anyway?" Chance questioned.

Before he could figure out how to activate the machine in his hands, it was quickly snatched out of his hands by Eclipsa. Her and Sol looked at the teens, concerned as they stared at them intensely, a look of worry and confliction was on their faces. "Busted." Sunset said, slowly backing up.

Eclipsa looked at the two, but she couldn't bring herself to be angry, neither could Sol. "Hon, do you wanna get the box full of Luna's stuff, so these two can look at it?" Eclipsa asked.

Sol didn't utter a word, yet he nodded, moving towards another door, pulling an old key out of his pocket as he unlocked it. As Sol vanished into his daughter's old room, Eclipsa simply stared at the pair of them. "How much do you two know about our Lulu?" Eclipsa asked.

The pair of teens shrugged their shoulders. "I was gonna assume probably as much as you do... but in this particular context, you knew more than you were letting on from the start, didn't you." Chance remarked.

Eclipsa smiled. "As were you, and both of our intentions were clear, in the context of hiding the truth. No one likes to deal with trouble when faced with it, but from what we heard on the radio, and on the news, talk of there being alien heroes running around, saving lives, we knew that deep down, in some roundabout way, our little moon pie had something to do with it. These 'heroes' weren't detained, sent back to where they came from, but now that I look at your watch, young man," Eclipsa approached and held Chance's hand up, the one with the Omnitrix strapped to it. "I can see why she didn't bring you in. She didn't want a repeat of what happened to one of her old partners, but by not telling you the truth, she's already made things worse, your relationship with her is strained by her secrets, and even she knows it'll come back to bite her eventually." Eclipsa cryptically explained, a sad yet knowing smile on her face.

Chance slightly pulled his hand free of Eclipsa's surprisingly firm grasp, feeling the strangest sense of deja vu. Soon enough, Sol came out with a huge locked chest, but the lock was some kind of high-tech scanner. Eclipsa pulled out a handkerchief and carefully bundled it up in a certain way, only to press it against the scanner. "It pays to be a mother who hangs on to everything their children leave behind." Eclipsa stated. The scanner blinked green and the lock was undone, allowing the two teens access to the chest's contents.

Chance reached his hand forward to the chest, until Sunset stopped him, grabbing his hand as she slowly pulled it back. "Why are you two doing this? You didn't have to do any of this, especially for a couple kids you know barely anything about, so why go through all this?" Sunset asked.

Sol and Eclipsa simply smiled, sitting down on the floor. "We know more than we let on, and that's simply because we're parents. A good parent will always know when something's wrong with their child. A change in their attitude, something or someone got under their skin and did something stupid to rile them up or put them down. A drastic change to their routine and changing everything about themselves, it's because they believe that they don't fit in, or are going through a phase to explore, experiment, to find out who they truly are. Luna certainly went through a rebellious phase, but that was just her experimenting, and through that experimenting, she found the person she wanted to be." Eclipsa explained.

"And that person she wanted to be was what exactly?" Chance asked.

Sol grabbed the machine from Eclipsa's pocket and placed it on the table. "You both are as sharp as a bull whip, so you both can probably recognize alien tech when you see it," Chance and Sunset grabbed the machine and examined it. "I wouldn't point it towards your eye, though, unless you're trying to get cataracts by the time you turn twenty-two." Sol cautioned.

The two froze and Sunset slowly pocketed the machine. Sol and Eclipsa simply smiled at each other, then looked to the teens. Chance looked into their eyes, and for the briefest moment, the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight stiff. Something was clearly wrong. "Tell us, where did Luna say she was going?" Eclipsa asked.

Sunset was about to say something till Chance immediately covered her mouth with both his hands. "Could you excuse us for a moment, we'll be right back to tell you everything, there's just something I need to tell her in private. It's a friends-only thing." Chance remarked, immediately getting up as he dragged Sunset out the front door, walking into the hallway as he closed it behind them.

Sol and Eclipsa looked to each other, blinking their eyes as small red dots started to form in the center of their irises. They looked towards the door, scowls forming on their faces as they started growling. The strange goo started to seep through their gritted teeth as they slowly rose to their feet.

Chance was on the other side of the door, looking through the peephole, he was astonished, but he was thankful to have made a good decision. "Okay, we need to leave, now!" Chance stated.

Sunset dusted herself off and simply stared at her friend. "Chance, what's going on, and why are you acting so odd?" Sunset asked.

Chance frowned. "Just follow my lead, and you'll see why." Chance remarked.

The door swung open, crashing into the wall with such a show of unexpected force. Chance and Sunset were leaning against the railing, facing away from 'Sol' and 'Eclipsa'. "Look, I'm just saying that becoming a teen parent is not a good idea, do you know how buried in debt and bills you'll be, just to take care of a child of your own? On top of all the other responsibilities you'd already have, a child just seems a bit too much." Chance remarked.

Sunset scoffed and rolled her eyes. "She's a girl who was raised on a farm for her entire life, I feel like by that point, family expects a lot out of the next generation," Sunset cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "Besides, at least she's got her family to help her out with the baby, right?" Sunset asked.

Chance rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, sure, nothing like dealing with another mouth to feed, especially if it ain't old enough to work for its keep, and renders another set of hands useless, too! Genius idea, Sunset, I must be talking to a fuckin' graduate with how asinine that sounds!" Chance loudly remarked, slowly clapping his hands in the most sarcastic way he could muster.

The two were staring at the teens, and the pair finally noticed them looking. "Oh, hey mister and missus, sorry for keeping ya, we were just arguing over a friend of ours, my deepest apologies if things started getting loud." Sunset apologized.

Chance sighed. "Yeah, sorry for yelling, I tend to yell when something starts pissing me off, hope I didn't wake the neighbors," Chance looked around, noticing an odd atmosphere of silence in the building. "Speaking of which, where is everybody? Is it bowling night, is there a karaoke thing going on at a bar, there's no way everyone here's a sound enough sleeper to ignore a couple impressionable teenagers when they're arguing and screaming." Chance remarked.

'Sol' and 'Eclipsa' simply looked at each other, and started to relax. "They're all down at city hall, most likely getting ready for an important meeting. You should come with us, learn a little something about our town." Eclipsa stated.

Chance shrugged. "Nah. Don't get me wrong, it sounds tempting, but me and Sunset should probably go and get some sleep. Sun's gone down, it's probably gonna get a bit chilly, may as well get some shut-eye in a nice warm bed." Chance politely refused.

Sunset smiled, nodding her head. She was starting to notice what Chance had noticed. She saw the red dots in the center of their irises, and subtle traces of the goo around the corners of their mouths. The fact that no one came out to check on the commotion was also a red flag that nearly made her panic. "Yep, gotta get some sleep and relax." Sunset agreed.

The pair slowly made their way down the stairs, the two adult figures stared them down as they walked out the front door.

Chance and Sunset wasted no time running towards the RV, opening the door and getting inside, slamming it closed behind them. "Okay, Jaxton might actually be jacked up with crazy parasite people!" Sunset remarked, trying to take some deep breaths and calm herself down.

Chance simply grabbed an empty glass and got a glass of water, chugging the contents down as they looked out the window, seeing the fake Sol and fake Eclipsa walking towards the RV, snarling and sneering as globs of goo started to rise up their throats. "Tell me something I didn't already suspect was true!" Chance remarked, placing the glass in the sink as he activated the Omnitrix.

Sunset ran to the door and turned a smaller switch like a gumball machine crank, locking the door. The two impostors tried to break the door down, but thankfully, Chance found the alien he was looking for. "Time to see how cold these body-snatchers like it. It's Hero Time!" Chance exclaimed, slamming the Omnitrix down as he started to transform.

Chance felt his wrist get cold, all while chunks of ice and a torrent of snow and slush traveled up his body, melding and sticking to his skin. As it reached his eyes, they squeezed shut, only to snap open, revealing an all-white eye. Chance felt his body changing its state of matter, from solid, to liquid, to plasma, to a type of compressed gas, and his hair became very cloudy and gaseous, much like the rest of his body. He felt small ice spikes jut out from his shoulders, as well as feeling his fingers freeze and meld together into three sharp clawed digits.

His legs were encased in ice as they changed into a compressed gas tail. His shirt had morphed around him, forming some kind of black and white top with a black tube belt that didn't connect all the way. The Omnitrix's symbol positioned itself on the center of this odd armored top.

The frozen creature balled his hands into fists and let out a raspy scream, posing as a cold cloud enveloped it, hiding it from being seen.

Nitrofrost opened the window a slight bit, and managed to fit himself through the slightest crack, sliding outside as he floated above the two attackers. "Don't you think you two are being a bit frigid about our situation?" The frosty cold hero quipped, flashing a hollow smirk down at the impostors.

They growled and spew large globs of the goo at the hero. While they did hit him, they immediately started to freeze and collapse into a sickly orange mist. Nitrofrost shuddered at the feeling, and delivered a few punches to the impostors, letting specks of ice form on their false faces. Portions of them started to distort in a similar way 'Chrystina' was when that mask was damaged, and they took the masks off, revealing their semi-overtaken forms.

Sol's entire left side of his body, and the right part of his face were covered by some kind of singular tendril, all while a large eye stares at him. One of the smaller ones were basically embedded into the side of his neck. Eclipsa's entire right side of her body, and the left part of her face were also covered by the same kind of tendril, all while a large eye stares at her. One of the smaller tendrils was constricting around her neck, yet it seemed almost painless.

Nitrofrost groaned and shot a wide blast of ice towards them, freezing them in-place. "Hate to give you the cold shoulder and run, but-" Nitrofrost didn't get the chance to finish his line when all of a sudden, the two boys he saw earlier when entering Jaxton, the man that spewed that goo into a trash can, and then finally, Chrystina, had joined the fray. The three men removed their masks, while Chrystina had remained in her semi-overtaken form. "-now I've gotta deal with your friends... great, kinda in a slush here, fellas, let's make this slick!" Nitrofrost remarked, manifesting large compact snowballs in his hands.

They roared out and rushed towards the alien, only to be knocked back an unexpectedly impressive distance once the snowballs collided with their chest. However, they just got back up and started spewing globs and streams of that goo stuff at him. Nitrofrost blasted his own stream of ice and slush, creating a winter wall between him and the aliens. They started to tear through the wall, forcing their way through, but Nitrofrost froze their limbs and knocked them back, repairing the wall as best he could.

Soon enough, Nitrofrost just decided to give up the ghost and re-entered the RV, grabbing Sunset in the process. "Chance, what are you doing!" Sunset yelled out.

Nitrofrost unlocked the door and quickly hovered down the street, further into town. "Getting us as far from them as possible!" Nitrofrost remarked.

Nitrofrost rounded the corner, noticing Luna. "You two, what's going on here?" Luna asked.

Sunset looked at Luna, only to frown as she saw the red dots in her irises. She closed her eyes tightly. "T-They got her!" Sunset exclaimed.

Nitrofrost looked at Sunset, almost not wanting to believe her, but then he noticed an obvious outlier about Luna, and that was enough for him to know that Sunset was right.

Nitrofrost looked at Luna, noticing a wry smirk forming on her face. "She must've binged a couple of those old movies. Honestly, it's ridiculous, alien parasites? That's the best she could come up with, how ri-" 'Luna' was then trapped in ice, but only halfway. Her top half remained unfrozen, and Nitrofrost scowled. He set Sunset down and moved towards Luna, grabbing the face and ripped off the mask with out so much as a warning or word of caution. Luna's face was partially obscured. The parasite had most of her lower body covered and converted to its control, but now the black eye she had was visible for all to see. "Aah!! W-Well, you were rather quick. What, do you want your friend back? Tough, she's mine, with the most tenacious and determined Plumber out of the way, nothing will stop us from conquering your pathetic backwater planet! Not even the one who wields the Omnitrix!" The parasite spoke through Luna's body.

Sunset looked back, and shrieked, catching Nitrofrost's attention. Nitrofrost looked back the way they came, and went wide-eyed. Numerous people, old and young, men and women, even some of the animals were in a mob, slowly approaching them. They all removed their masks, revealing the parasites that took them over. "Chance, you need to do something, and now would be the best time!!" Sunset remarked, backing up slowly.

Nitrofrost glared daggers at the singular eye that stared at him, and he gripped onto it hard, trying as hard as he could to dig his claws into its strange parasitic flesh. The creature's eye widened, and then the Omnitrix started to react, forming the helix and flashing yellow. "Omnitrix has detected genetic damage in quarantine zone, shall we attempt to repair?" The Omnitrix spoke.

Nitrofrost nodded, though he wasn't sure what the Omnitrix was talking about, in regards of a quarantine zone. "If it means they'll be turned back to normal, sure. Go on ahead. Fix the whole town, why don't ya." Nitrofrost stated.

"Request acknowledged," The Omnitrix began to spin at a rapid pace, and emitted a large pulse of bright yellow light. It passed over Luna, as well as the mob of individuals who tried to escape, but ended up getting caught in the blast either way. The overtaken individuals started to twitch and convulse in a similar manner to when Chrystina did, but this time, the parasites started to wither away. Their hold on their hosts loosened, and soon enough, the strange parasites cried out in anguish, withering away into nothingness. The numerous civilians collapsed onto the road, unconscious from the whole process, but Nitrofrost quickly grabbed Luna before she hit her head, noticing that she too was returned to her normal self. "Genetic repair complete, all DNAlien drones successfully purged of parasite. Quarantine Zone has been purged of Xenocite Outbreak. Power depletion upon reverting to human will extend recharge time to one day." The Omnitrix chirped.

Sunset ran over to Luna's side. Soon enough, the Omnitrix started timing out, and once Chance was enveloped in a flash of red light, he was returned to his normal form, and simply crouched down, looking at Luna. "Think she'll be okay?" Chance asked.

Sunset nodded. "She's still got a pulse, and I bet everyone else does too. Come on, let's go back to the RV, and get Luna into bed. We're gonna spend all night trying to get everyone home, and that could take forever to get it all right." Sunset remarked.

Suddenly, Chance had an idea. "Didn't Sol and Eclipsa say that everyone was down at city hall for a meeting? Why not drop them off there, make it seem like everyone was just so tired and didn't make it home, so they slept in?" Sunset was unsure of if that plan would work, but there wasn't many other options. "Look, it's either that, or explain to them that they were hosts to alien parasites." Chance remarked.

Sunset shuddered and nodded. The pair slung Luna's arms over each of their shoulders and hauled her back to the RV. "Ya know, this isn't the first time I've had to haul an unconscious woman back to bed, but I can safely say that this is the first time that alcohol wasn't involved, so that's a plus." Chance remarked, trying to lighten the mood.

Sunset could only smile and roll her eyes. "You are very strange. Just when I thought I had you figured out, you say something that makes me think otherwise. You really need to give me the rundown on how that brain of yours works." Sunset remarked.

Chance chuckled, looking up to the shining moon. "Maybe one day, Sunset... maybe one day." Chance said.

The next morning, everyone was slowly going back to their usual daily routine, but they also had to discard any trace of that goo, and that was gonna take hours, maybe even a couple days at best. Luna was reconciling with her parents, hugging them and wishing them the best. "We'll see you around, Lulu. Don't be strangers!" Sol reminded.

Luna smiled, holding a bag of frozen peas to her eye. "We won't, you can count on it. I'll let Celestia know you said hi." Luna said, walking into the RV.

Sunset approached and bowed respectfully. "Thank you for letting us into your home. We apologize if we were any trouble." Sunset stated.

Eclipsa just smiled and squeezed Sunset in a bear hug, catching the teen by surprise. "Please, you kids were a riot! Come back anytime you wanna get out of the city, we'll be here! Just be sure that the next time you run into trouble, keep your head on your shoulders! You'll be fine, kiddo." Eclipsa remarked.

Sunset smiled and walked to the RV, leaving only Chance to say goodbye. "Mister and missus, I'd like to thank you for letting us stay. I get that me and Sunset have been a bit off since yesterday, but that's because so much happened all at once. I'm sincerely sorry for stirring up trouble in your cozy little town." Chance apologized.

Sol and Eclipsa looked at each other, only to smile. "Kid, I gotta admit, you're a strange one. But, you're honest about it, so I'm willing to give ya a pass. Rarely anything happens in Jaxton, but this was the one time we made Roswell look like child's play in comparison. I'd say that's impressive, all things considered." Sol explained.

Chance was confused, but Eclipsa simply bent down and put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, it's clear that you suspect that our little girl's hiding something, and you'd be right... we're hiding stuff, just like you and your friend are. If it's any of our business, Luna will tell us in full confidence, but don't assume she's hiding things just to keep you in the dark," Eclipsa pulled out a small photo of Luna, wearing some kind of fancy astronaut suit. "She's just trying to make sure you're ready, just in case things take a turn for the worse." Eclipsa explained.

Whether it was his exhaustion, or the actual feeling of surprise, Chance was a bit lost for words. Eclipsa simply smiled and pulled him into a hug, before having to let him go. "Now, go on, don't keep them waiting." Eclipsa remarked.

Chance nodded and got to the door, only to look back. "Hey kid, one more thing! Keep up the good work, dealing with all those aliens you were telling us about the other night!" Sol encouraged with a smile.

Chance shrugged and nodded, giving a thumbs up as he closed the door behind him. As the RV leaves Jaxton, Sol and Eclipsa head back up to their apartment, holding each other close as they stepped up the stairs.

Somewhere in the forested areas near Jaxton, one lone Xenocite lunges at something. The sounds of muffled grunting could be heard, only for the Xenocite to be thrown against a tree, and then impaled by a large jagged crystal.

The figure was cloaked and covered in some kind of armor, but it was also decked out in weapons. "SS, log number zero-zero-three. More of these parasites were found somewhere in a human settlement a few clicks from here. From what my device is telling me, the Omnitrix was recently activated here. This settlement was hit by an unsuspecting infestation of Xenocites, and now I have to take this into my own hands..." The figure slammed his fist into a boulder, causing it to split open with a vicious cracking sound echoing through the woods. "Damn it, you stupid Chimeran, you couldn't've launched yourself closer to the Omnitrix, you were more worried about yourself than the fate of this planet..." The figure pulls his hood back, letting his black helmet eject a bit of steam and open up, revealing a vibrant red crystalline figure with one singular yellow-orange eye, but with a very tough and brawny build. "This is Sugilite Shard, signing off. End log." Sugilite remarked.

A clicking sound was made, and Sugilite pulled a small futuristic looking tape out from the side of his belt, only to pull another one out and replace it. Sugilite sighed, letting his helmet form over his head as he trudged through the brush.

Author's Note

And that was my take on the 'Permanent Retirement' episode. I didn't want to use the Limax just yet, that's for muuuuuch later. I also wanted to focus on the main conflict of the story, which was the DNAliens and the Highbreed trying to blend in and slowly take over humans before destroying what foolishly remains. You know, typical genocidal alien purist-type shit.

Also, despite the Omnitrix being a prototype, it's steadily becoming a bit more like the Alien Force Omnitrix, just a bit more nerfed until later. Able to fix damaged DNA, and maybe at some point will start to listen to its user... or not, who knows.

I hope you enjoyed this episode, I know I did! It'll also segway into what I wanna do for the next episode, just to take some down time before the next important chain of events.