B10 AF-CELESTIC DOMINATION-9

NINE:</u>
Minutes ticked away.  Gwen was now deathly worried.
"Kevin! Can you dive in to see if you can find Ben?" she asked, hopefully.
"I would, but this new body of mine is too heavy.  I'll sink immediately.  Can't you track his mana?"
"I tried.  But for some reason, I can't get a lock on him.  And his Omnitrix isn't giving off a signal so I can't find him with my Plumber Badge."
"Great….now what do we do?" Kevin asked.
"Pray that Ben is okay." Gwen replied solemnly.
          ************************************
Ben's eyes fluttered open.  His head pounded from a massive headache.
"Oh, man….what happened?" Ben then gasped as he found himself floating in total darkness.  Soon, millions of tiny white dots appeared then a few planets-some familiar like Saturn, and others not so familiar.
"I'm in space?!" he exclaimed in bewilderment. "How?! And why am I not suffocating?"
"Because, you poor excuse for a life form, this is a mere illusion," a female voice echoed.
A bright gleam of light loomed in front of Ben.  It morphed into a female shape and Celerita calmly floated out of it.
"Where am I? What have you done with my friends?" Ben demanded to know.
"You are in my mind, young human.  And your friends are still on Earth, fearing about your life." Celerita answered.
"How did I end up in your head?" Ben asked, puzzled.
"I hit you with an illusion spell.  Your mind became merged with mine in order for me to explain things to you."
"Wait, then if only my mind is here….." Ben gasped. "I'm going to drown!"
"No, Ben.  You are safe.  Once you had hit the water after my spell hit you, you had transformed into the aquatic creature you called Jetray.  His species can breathe underwater."
Ben sighed a breath of relief.
"Okay.  You said you wanted to explain yourself.  Start doing so." Ben said.
"My species, the Messierians, thrive in a harsh world that we have adapted ourselves to.  But constant cosmic storms plague Messier, which can be a danger to its inhabitants." Celerita began.
"Yeah, so? What does this have anything to do with you wanting to destroy the Earth?" Ben asked.
Celerita laughed. "Destroy Earth? My dear boy, you have it all wrong.  I do not wish to harm such a beautiful planet."
"Wait.  I'm confused.  I thought you hated this planet!" Ben said.
"At first, yes.  But after spending time here, I figured that my people would love to live in such a peaceful world that is not threatened daily by destructive storms."
"But, there are too many people on this planet as it is!" Ben pointed out. "There won't be enough room for your people to colonize here."
Ben saw a mischievous gleam glint in Celerita's amethyst eyes.  He didn't like that gleam.
"That's where I improvise.  You see, as we speak, I have already sent a small black hole somewhere on Earth.  Though it's the size of one of your Earth marbles, it will become larger and more powerful.  It will consume every living human and animal until none are left." Celerita explained. "Then the Messierians will have a new place to call home!"
"You're kidding me!" Ben cried.
"I do not kid, Ben.  Of course, if you wish for you and your friends to live, you have the option of becoming servants to me." Celerita offered.
"No way! You're evil and a murderer!" Ben refused.
"Fine….suit yourself." Celerita then snapped her fingers.
In a matter of seconds, Ben was back in the water.