Chapter Text
There was a searing, blinding light, and then, nothing.
Ben woke up in a dingy alley; the only light illuminating the area was a bent streetlamp. The last thing he remembered was trying to reason with Bellicus and Serena to let him use Alien X to reverse the effects of the Annihilarrgh. They had told him it was impossible even with their power, but he wasn’t having it. He remembered how he was about to counter-argue but before he could, both personalities disintegrated into nothing without warning.
If the Annihilarrgh truly went off and I couldn’t stop it..why does it seem like the world is still here? Ben thought to himself. Could it be that the Annihilarrgh really didn’t do anything? No, that was wishful thinking even for him. Ben had seen the universe collapsing with his own eyes as he pleaded Bellicus and Serena to help him. If only he had taken the threat seriously, if only he hadn’t been such an idiot. The time for self-pity would have to come later, as the movement of a trashcan lid by an alley cat reminded Ben that he was still in the dimly lit alley. An alley that should have been erased by the Annihilarrgh. So, where the hell was he?
I never imagined the afterlife to look like the dingiest corner of Undertown. Ben started walking forward, he needed to get out of the alley and start moving. He needed something to do to take his mind off of the implications that he woke up alone, without Rook or even Argit who had been right next to him before the device went off.
The first thing Ben noticed was the fact he was definitely not in Bellwood anymore. The streets were entirely different, littered with random garbage and heavily cracked roads. The buildings look dilapidated and grungy and because it was night it was easy to spot all the broken lampposts along the sidewalks. The second thing Ben noticed was just how unnoticed he had been this entire time. There weren’t many people out and about but even on late night strolls he was used to being pointed out by random passersby and asked for a photo op. Had he been transported to the rock these people have been living under? Not that he minded being left alone, he was in no mood to entertain anyone whether they be fans or hecklers.
Ben had his suspicions initially but after a good bit of walking they were confirmed; this definitely wasn’t his dimension. Early on he had picked up a newspaper on the ground—one for Gotham City, a place he’d never heard of—it detailed a large-scale attack on the city’s largest bank orchestrated by “Penguin.” Who the hell names themselves Penguin? If this had gone down in his world he would have known about it surely, or it at least would have been on the news. Ben was no stranger to interdimensional travel; he could cite his experiences in Rex’s dimension or the countless times he’d gone to other worlds and met other versions of himself. (Ben 23 in particular comes to mind) What worried him though was at least in the past he had an idea on how to get home. This time, however, not only did he have no clue how to get back to his own dimension, but he also wasn’t even sure he had a dimension to go home to.
It would be too easy if Paradox showed up and explained all of this, that is if the Professor was unaffected by the complete destruction of the universe, time and space.
It was then that Ben couldn’t outpace his thoughts anymore by walking, and the reality of the situation finally dawned on him. He was completely alone in an unfamiliar world with no current way of getting back, and last time he checked Bellwood along with all his friends and family were gone forever. The weight was almost too much, and Ben found himself hoping the world would swallow him whole. How could he have failed them like this? Gwen, Kevin, Grandpa Max and Rook, would he ever see any of them again? How could he call himself a hero when he failed to save every single person he cared about. How could he go on in this world without knowing if they were okay? Scratch that, how would he go on period? If this truly is a new dimension then none of his identification matters, do they even use the same currency here? What’s he going to do with the whole $16 and 82 cents he has in his pocket?
All his worries were interrupted by a scream in the distance. That got his attention, it may be a different world, but crooks speak a universal language. He pushed his thoughts aside and sprinted to where he thought the noise came from. He was met with a young woman with brown hair, she couldn’t be older than twenty-five, being held at knife point by a single masked assailant.
Now this is something I can handle. Ben thought to himself as he approached the two from behind the cover of the alley. The man looked to be a slender build and held the knife tight in his hands, threatening the woman to drop her purse and phone. On instinct Ben went to select an alien on the omnitrix, but then he thought better of it. Even the cutest of his guys ran the risk of scaring the woman even more, he didn’t want that. Until he knew more about this world he decided against doing anything that would draw too much attention to himself.
With that in mind, Ben went to thinking of how he could help the woman in his human form. That’s when he noticed a stray metal pipe next to his left foot. Perfect. He thought as he slowly picked it up, as to not make any noise, and stalked closer to the struggle unfolding before him. Thanks to his training at the Plumber Academy, Ben knew he could make quick work of this crook all on his own. He moved quickly and without hesitation struck the guy on his calf. Startled, the guy screamed in pain and lost his hold on the knife. It clattered to the ground right before the woman’s feet as she stood stunned in awe. Dropping the pipe and instead opting to engage with his fist to not harm the man too severely, Ben delivered a swift right hook to his jaw that knocked him out cold. Ben was thankful he was able to stop the robber without too much hassle.
“Thank you, so much young man!” The woman exclaimed, as she enveloped Ben in a tight hug. The gesture caught Ben off guard before he could say it was no big deal. He struggled to squirm out of her grasp.
“It was no trouble ma’am, really.” Ben managed to squeak out. The woman finally let go after what felt like a minute of struggle.
“Don’t be modest! I thought I was a goner when it seemed like none of the bats were going to come to my rescue.” The woman spoke rapidly.
Bats? I’ll have to note that for later. Ben thought to himself. After the woman thanked him again, she pulled out a $20 from her purse to repay Ben for his trouble. He tried to refuse at first, but the woman was just so insistent and the logical side of his brain that knew he needed money won out in the end. The two went their separate ways after that and Ben was once again left by himself.
This entire day had been so crazy from start to finish. Just this morning Ben had said goodbye to his parents for what he was starting to believe was the last time. And now Ben had no idea what his next move would be. He felt confusion, anger and despair all at once, but also the warm gratitude from the woman he had just saved.
It was then that Ben made a definitive decision going forward. No matter what he did next, he would still try to help the people who needed saving in this world. He could wallow in self-pity all he wanted, but he would not let an innocent person be harmed as long as he was still able to do something about it. With this new resolve being the only source of motivation he had, Ben set out to find a place to stay for the night.
Little did Ben know, his small act of heroism had been observed, and it had put him on a certain bats radar.