Board Thread:Roleplay/@comment-36289716-20190429172726/@comment-26892768-20190430162654

Mad Ben is currently looking for Ben, still in human form - remember, he timed out earlier - and happens to spot him among the Persona group.

He smirks. "Well, that didn't take long..."

He looks at his Power Watch to see it fully charged, and with a grin, he starts swiping through aliens. "Now, how to get you away from your little friends this ti..."

He trails off as he looks at one alien in particular. Huh. He's never seen this guy before...

And, without thinking, Mad Ben presses down on the dial.

He grows a bit taller as his skin turns pitch black, his muscles becoming more defined as his fingers merge into four sharp claws and his mouth disappears altogether, leaving nothing behind. A row of short spines grows along his back as his ribs become prominent on his muscular chest. Lastly, there's his clothes - they turn into an orange belt with the Omnitrix on the side, some orange wrappings around his legs that gradually get looser as they go farther down, creating the illusion of baggy pants, a black leather vest with orange flames on it, and a black helmet with an orange rim.

Remember how the Omnitrix scanned some Tinkerbat DNA earlier? This is the result.

Mad Ben takes a moment to stare at himself in silent befuddlement, before looking back at his prime counterpart, shrugging it off, and starting to head towards him-

"{Halt!}"

Only to stop with a silent command. He looks down, and sees a Tinkerbat with a scimitar holding out his free hand in front of him. Looking to the side, Mad Ben sees more Tinkerbats arriving via boat and heading towards Shantae: some with scimitars, some with torches, some trying to discreetly move under the cover of barrels, some flying with a propellor pack...

Then Mad Ben looks back towards the Tinkerbat in front of him.

What follows is a conversation consisting entirely of silent signals, subtle shifts in body language, and just a completely noise-free conversation in general while the two stand mostly still. The conversation will now be translated for convenience.

"{What is your name, soldier?}" The Tinkerbat in front of Mad Ben demands.

"{Uh...Ben?}" Honestly, Mad Ben is just confused as to how the hell he's even understanding and speaking this language; and that's not even getting started on this situation in general.

"{Ben, huh? Must be a new guy.}" The Tinkerbat deduces. "{Well, listen closely, Ben! Our orders were perfectly clear, coming straight from the captain herself! We are to keep the half-genie occupied while she enacts her no-doubt brilliant scheme! And yet, here you were, going off to do who-knows-what! Well, let me tell you, Ben, I will tolerate no lollygagging-}"

"{Are you pulling the drill sergeant routine again, Jerry?}" A passing-by Tinkerbat with a torch interrupts.

"{C-Carl! Not in front of the new guy!}" Jerry, as he has now been identified, tries to make that last part even more silent than it already is.

"{Yeah, don't bother listening to Jerry. Guy's got the same authority as the rest of us - jack squat. He just likes to act like a drill sergeant because he's a bootlicker whose definition of 'fun' translates to 'doing what the captain wants' and nothing else.}" How Carl manages to convey this information while standing mostly still and not talking whatsoever is a remarkable feat that will never be discussed in full detail. "{...you should probably join the rest of us, though. I mean, besides the fact that you'll end up like Larry if you don't - and no one wants to end up like Larry - you're so buff that I bet if you flex hard enough that hair will just snap in half when it hits you or something. Fairly sure that's how hair works. Wouldn't know for sure since I don't half it myself.}"

As Carl and a very much ashamed Jerry head off to fight Shantae with the rest of the Tinkerbats, Mad Ben looks at the half-genie in question.

They see a threat, he sees leverage.

With a rather cruel expression on his face, Mad Ben walks alongside the Tinkerbats, blending in as one of them.

Speaking of those Tinkerbats, Shantae will find a few of them charging at her now, some armed with scimitars, and some throwing torches that travel along the ground with a great blaze.

Suddenly, Rottytops, Hank, and Niko can hear footsteps nearby.