Chapter Text
—Ben's POV—
I look out forward, surrounded by enemies bigger and stronger than me. It's never stopped me before as I stance up ready for their attack. They hit a projectile at me and I smirk jumping and grabbing it.
In reality it was just a soccer game but imagining it like this always gave me an edge, the old adrenaline would kick in like it was life or death, it reality it was just people being disappointed but still.
The game ends with my school being the winner and I smile before being lifted up, I laugh and lift the ball up, I don't gloat much anymore but even I could appreciate this.
Eventually time passes and I start to unhook my bike looking at the MVP medal I got before suddenly I'm wrapped up in a hug and I smirk "lucky I knew it was you" I say as the perpetrator giggles "oh yeah? Why so" I smirk "cause you'd be on the ground" I say as she laughs and kisses my cheek and I look over.
Julie Yamamoto, probably one of the most pretty women I've ever met and somehow my girlfriend, how I managed that I still don't know
She smiles "that catch was amazing, now all I got to do it win on Sunday and we'll have matching medals" she says moving closer with a pure smile
I laugh "hope so, but I know you'll kill it" she smiles and looks "so where are you going?" I smile "visit grandpa max, wanna come?" I ask and she looks at her phone "let me tell my ma" I smile "that a yes" she giggles "yes"
I wait and she gets on her bike "lead the way!" I smile and peddle, she follows and eventually we reach the rustbucket II, it was old but I loved the old girl
Julie smiles as I knock "Grandpa max? It's me!" I frown as he doesn't answer and Julie frowns "he usually gone?" I look "sometimes, let's just let ourselves in and wait" I say grabbing the emergency key under a fake rock and I open the door
It looked abandoned, like weeks old abandoned and I frown "what is this...?" Julie looks over "bathroom lights on" I nod and knock before opening the door
Before I know it Julie screams in horror as I look over and see a mute cyclops alien "oh shi-" it swipes and I jump back hitting my wrist...oh...right
Julie grabs a dish and slams it in its face dazing it as I grab the fire extinguisher and bash its head over and over until it goes limp, I then check and see it was still breathing "w-what was that?!" Julie shouts in horror
I grit my teeth and go to the front console and flip some switches, 'god I'm sorry Julie but I need to know now' I think as I grab a disk and Julie frowns
A hologram of grandpa appears making Julie jump and he tells me everything is under control and he has the omnitrix "omnitrix? Ben...what is this??" She almost begs and I frown "I'm so sorry...this wasn't supposed to happen...it was supposed to be over..."
She puts her hand on my shoulder her face looking at me concerned "what was? Ben..." I hug her close and walk out "at my place...I'll explain, I swear"
She looks and nods with a scared but determined look and we ride and I enter my house "Julie!" My mom yells spotting her "it's so great to see you over again" she looks and gasps noticing the medal "Ben, you won the game! I'm so proud of you!" She says, if the circumstances weren't so dire I'd smile back but I frown "yeah...just, can me and Julie get some privacy?"
'Sandra' frowns "Ben do I need to have the t-" "NO JUST...just please mom..." she looks over "ok..."
We enter my room and I dive into my closet hunting for the omnitrix as Julie looks at my outfits "you should wear these more often" she jokes as I find the watch
She looks over and tilts her head "a watch?" I sigh and without hesitation I put it on, she needed to see this as I select and alien and slam down...nothing happens
She looks "Ben...this isn't funny..." she mumbles looking scared and I groan "shit Julie I....I wanted to show you because you won't believe what I say"
She looks "we were just attacked by a monster, I'll believe you" she says honestly and I sigh "...remember those hero aliens that appeared all over America five years ago" she nods hesitantly as I could see the gears starting to turn in her head "I'm them..."
She looks forward and barks out a strained laugh, she thought I was crazy great...but then she covers her mouth and looks with miserable eyes "you were doing this five years ago?" I nod "you were ten..."
I go wide eyed, oh she was realizing I was basically I child soldier, that was not what I was expecting as I walk up and hug her "don't think about it like that, I was fine"
She wipes her eyes "but still...ten? Why?!" I shrugged "was a dumb kid who thought the world was a toy box and eventually realized people could actually die"
She was thinking again "is that why you have that lighting scar on your left arm?" I freeze, damn she was good at deduction and I nod "s'why I quit..." I mumble and she hugs me close "I'm sorry..." I roll my eyes, what was she sorry for?
I move back as the watch suddenly flashes green and morphs into a slicker design "huh...that's new" I mumble as I push the button making a hologram of a crystal alien appear, except it wasn't diamond head...who was this guy?
She looks at it wide eyed "woah! They look so cool" she mumbles as I check them all out, they were all different and instead of the 22 I had before it was now just 10
She looks at me "are they new?" I look over and nod "we need to see Gwen right?" I nods before realizing what she said, what did she mean we?!
She looks "then this one should be good" she says selecting a mantaray like alien and I sigh, I knew she'd follow so screw it, I slam down and a familiar feeling of a good stretch surrounds and
"Jetray!" I shout "...why'd I say that...?" I mumble as Julie looks on with a huge smile "so cool..." she mumbles and I grumble "I'm gonna pick you up, do you consent?" I ask slowly. She rolls her eyes "yes I consent"
Minutes later we land at a gymnasium and I hit the dial and turn back "good, I can still do that"
"That was incredible!" Julie says as I look over, the smile was infectious as I agree "it's been so long...I'd almost forgotten..." Julie smiles more and links her arm with mine as we walk in to see Gwen toss a guy over her head
"Point!" The instructor says to her as we walk up and clap making her look "Ben! Julie!" She says walking up quickly and hugging us both "hey cuz, been a bit" I say, it's only been four days but still
She looks at me and Julie's locked arms and she smirks "so what are you two here for?" I frown, "need to talk with you" she looks "alright, soon as I change" I shrug and sit down with Julie as we wait
Gwen walks back in and spots Julie and Ben out cold, their heads resting on each other side to side "ain't that adorable" she says making us wake up "wha, what is it?"
She raises an eyebrow and looks "oh right..." I pull out the disk and activate it showing max and after it fades she frowns, clearly having forgotten about Julie as the image had appeared since she wasn't worried about her seeing a hologram
She frowns "but the omnitrix is stored at your place..." I wince and lower my sleeve making her gasp "WHY???" She almost screams in a panic. I look over at Julie and Gwen looks and almost jumps "oh...so you wrapped her in on this?!" She says accusingly and Julie frowns "we were attacked by an alien, it was either tell her or have her be paranoid all her life!" I almost yell as Gwen sighs "still...you should be-" suddenly the entrance doors are forced open
"The omnitrix ain't yours! Give it up!" A man in a trenchcoat yells and I deadpan and slap my wrist...nothing, why? I look and realize I put the watch on my right wrist.
I sigh and slam on my right wrist and transform "CHROMASTONE!...again? Why'd I say my name again??" I murmur as the man growls and removes a type of mask revealing him to be a fishman
I deadpan "seriously dude, do you know who I am?!" I say as more of an annoyance than boisterous. The fish frown "a theif who wants to play god"
I frown "thief?! I've had this thing for five years!" He looks at Gwen and then me and frowns "name" I grumble "Ben Tennyson"
He squints "who created the device?"
"Azmuth"
"Fist alien"
"Heatblast"
"Grandmas name"
"Verdona"
He looks over and holsters his weapon pulling out a red spotted item "my apologies I thought you were a kid that snatched the omnitrix the the rustbucket"
Gwen looks "a plumbers badge...who are you?" He looks "magister labrid, was working with your grandfather on a case, was supposed to meet me at a steak out when he went dark"
"We're looking for him" Gwen says as he nods "as I said we were supposed to meet at a steak out, not much but maybe we could find him there"
I sigh and nod turning back. I look over at Julie and she frowns "I know what you're gonna say...and I agree...just...just update me ok?" I nod and hug her "stay safe" she says before we all exit and separate
Hours later the three of us arrive at the spot and wait, just watching knights roam and chat with each other about random stuff like games or tv shows
Eventually a green muscle car that screams 'look at me' shows up and a man, probably my age or older walks out. He looked kinda familiar but I couldn't remember as to where
Eventually they show off what they got and labrid screams in terrified fury about how dangerous the weapons were blowing out cover, I sigh and turn into "SWAMPFIRE..."
The aliens look at me and I charge at them slamming my fists into their squishy heads, then I spot a truck trying to escape and grab a lamp post and swing it like a baseball bat into the truck knocking it over
I smirk, the adrenaline was returning, the rush of action. The risk of injury. I remembered it all and it was euphoric
"HEY TENNYSON!" The man from before yells as he jumps in front of me "what do you want?" I growl out as he smirks "well you trapped me in the null void all those years" he says and I pause...wait. He then kneels down and absorbs some metal "and I'm thinking I want revenge"
It hits me like a truck modified by a mechamorph "KEVIN?!" He smiles almost pridefully "so you do remember me, I'm touched!" She shouts, his fist going through my abdomen but instead of pain I felt...nothing. I look down and see his arm was stuck and I smirk slamming my palms into his ears making him jerk back
I spot him run back and grab a train car, I should run but my instincts were telling me to stay put so I did, and it crushes me. But instead of pain again I felt nothing as I tunnel my way behind him and before he can even goat a hammer fist the top of his head knocking him down, but sadly not out
He growls and grabs another train car and I smile, again my instincts telling me to now hold my hands out and suddenly fire shoots out and explodes the car, knocking Kevin out
I smirk and walk up again instincts telling me to hold my hand out and a misty spray of green pollen come out and a plant appears wrapping around Kevin's arms
Gwen walks up "nice job...was that seriously Kevin?" She says worried as I nod "yeah...guess he smartened up though, actually seemed in control when he turned into metal"
"Absorbed..." he mumbles as he wakes up "don't become it" I roll my eyes as labrid explains just what Kevin sold and Gwen walks up placing a hand on his shoulder "Kevin...people could get hurt" and I see him blush...joy
He stand and tries to explain why he'd help but I tune it out, try and act tough all you want but I saw that. We get in the car
Eventually after a big mess and a dragon we grab all the weapons and as the new form echo-echo I destroy them all and then I hear a dripping noise and spot labrid losing water
"Hey, are you ok? There's" I change back "water leaking out of your suit" he looks at it and goes pale "that's not water..." he then collapses and I grab him as Kevin tries to impromptu patch his suit "Ben listen to me" I look at him intensely terrified "Ben...your grandfather was on the trail of something big, something with earth in the middle...you crack this case maybe you'll find max and save this planet"
I felt my heart beating and my eyes watering, I only just returned and already I see someone telling me their last words "I can't do it without grandpa..." I say. I suddenly felt ten again. Afraid of everything around me as he grips my arm "you are Ben Tennyson...you can do anything" he manages to say before evaporating leaving only an empty suit in my arms.
I hear Gwen trying her hardest to not breakdown into Kevin's arms "...I'm gonna need help..." I shamefully say, I know if I go alone I'm dead "you know I'm there for you" Gwen says and I smile softly "Kevin...there's no money in this but..." I pause as I see him reach down and take labrids red spot plumber badge "....im in"
Time passes and after finding a rocket underground and fighting a giant alien I'm tossed out which was especially humiliating considering I am right now a 12 foot tall dinosaur "Ben what happened?!" Gwen says as I look up "they're going to destroy the town!"
Sudden the rocket bursts to life and Gwen shields us with her mana and in a fury I charge forward after the blast
I don't even realize my size increase until I'm latched onto the rocket, don't know how but all I know is I'm the maddest I've been in years
I see a laser fire from below and it was heading to a hospital, remember what I said about anger, I was wrong, now I'm the maddest I've been as I slam my fist into the ship over and over until I find wires and snap them out of the ship
Eventually it's laser stops and the ship starts to go down but my grip loosens and I fall screaming, I land and feel pain flair in my back and right knee
I change back expecting relief but it doesn't come, the pain was still there and I look down to see my knee still skinned "shit..." this was gonna be bad
I start to try and bandage myself up as Gwen and Kevin run up "how'd you find me?"
"Look for the crater you dug with your face" Kevin eloquently explains as I sigh "Humongosaur skinned his knee...it was still skinned when I changed back..."
Gwen frowns "that's not good..." I shake my head "we need to keep looking for grandpa..." Gwen nods and smiles and I look at Kevin, something in the back of my head was telling me to trust him
"We've had a lot of problems in the past but I wanted to say thanks, we couldn't have done it without you" I say raising my hand "you still won't make it without me" I frown and lower it
"Are you saying you want to help out?" Gwen says hope filling her voice "I'm saying I made a promise" I smirk and raise my hand "so you can shake hands right?"
Gwen moves my hand and places hers on top and we look at Kevin, after a second he gives a genuine warm smile and places his hand on her and mine and I knew just what to say "it's hero time"
Eventually I fly home and sneak in though my window, I sigh and turn back the night flashing in my mind, I sit on my bed and get ready to lie down before I notice a mass on it and I jump turning the light on expecting one of those aliens
Instead all I see is Julie out cold on my bed, I realize she probably waited for me. I look at the time and it was 1:27. I sigh and look at her. I should be flustered, my girlfriend was asleep in my bed but what I felt was just relief. I knew if I was alone I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. Maybe with her here I'll actually get some sleep. I think as I lay down and shut my eyes.