Chapter 1: Ben Tennyson:Origin
Quirks…
The power that turned the supernatural into the norm and gave birth to a superhuman society, with the profession of being a hero coming into life.
And in this world that turned dreams into a reality, there were 10 heroes, bound by one symbol, quickly rising in the eyes of America.
To some they were a new class of government issued heroes, to some they were a group of vigilantes, dealing out justice as they saw fit and to some they were just a bunch of misfits that did not let their power go to waste. But all of this only served to prove just how little the public knew about them.
Who were they? Where had they come from? What is their goal?
However when these heroes suddenly vanished into thin air, the questions didn't last long in this society infested by both heroes and villains alike.
3 years have come and gone since this event.
And even though this hero of heroes was far from ready, the world was ready to force his hand and give him one more chance to turn into a great hero of all generations.
This is his story...
The sun was shining, the clouds were giving the crowd the perfect amount of shade and the weather was just right at 68oF, it was as good a time as any for some good ol soccer in the small town of Bellwood.
In this match, there were two teams, one was supporting a jersey of vivid red, while the other was taking up dark green as the rival color. And a red particular player now dribbled the ball between his feet.
"Heh, amateurs." The player said as he got past three of the green teams' players. "Is this really the best that the Bellwood's got?"
However, it wasn't long before he found himself surrounded by the green team. He tried to look around for a way out but there wasn't much he could do if he tried to go forward.
He tried to turn to the left but nope, he would still be caught and to his luck, these ones didn't seem exactly slow.
Time felt like it slowed down but it was still ticking, he had to make a decision…
"Pass it to me! Pass it to me Cash!" He heard. It was his (Well, was friend really the right word here? Doesn't matter) "friend" J.T. and he seemed to be open.
"Hmph, yeah right I'll give the glory to you." Cash thought but he didn't seem to have many options as players were closing in from the back.
"C'mon I'm open!" J.T. yells out which Cash internally replies, "You know what, anything's better than losing to that stick in the mud." and passes it over.
The ball threads the needle between many green players and ends up before J.T. And with that, he starts running. Running like never before.
The ball was between his feet. The rival players were behind him. 20 seconds on the clock. And only one obstacle. The goalie.
The goalie had his arms open. His eyes on the ball. Ready to make a catch.
J.T. closes in. 10 seconds left.
Aims his shot. 5 seconds. 4. 3...
And he shoots it!
The ball flies toward the upper right corner. It's going to go in! And..!
The goalie makes the catch!
The timer continues to go down. 2, 1 and zero…
With a score of 2 to 1, the home team wins the match and the crowd goes wild!
The green team players lift up their goalie up high and going with the flow, the goalie lifts up the winning save in his hands.
"Tsk, what the hell were you doing J.T.?!" Cash roars. "Any man with two eyes could see that he was leaning towards the left! Why didn't you shoot right?!"
"I'm sorry Cash, m-my position wa-wasn't right, I took the best shot I could and…" J.T. tries to defend himself but Cash interrupts him.
"Save it. Here he comes…"
Now off from the arms of his teammates, the goalkeeper of the opposite team walks right over to them and lends his hand forward. "Good game Cash. And to you J.T."
J.T. shakes the hand while Cash continues to stare with disgust. "I'll get you back Tennyson."
J.T. tries to approach him but Cash just pushes him back and heads off to the changing room. J.T. regains his footing and even though he's taken aback, he still follows after the taller teen.
"Tennyson'' on the other hand, is just sad that J.T. even still continues to follow after that brat. To think that someone would get a hint by now…
Since he didn't bring a change of clothes, he heads off to his bike and unlocks it. As he gets on, he looks back at the field one last time.
He rides off with his bike through the uneventful streets of Bellwood and quickly arrives at Lot 4, a caravan park. He also sees a familiar face parking his car at the entrance.
He waves and says "Hello there, Mr. Baumann!"
A bit startled, Mr Baumann says "What!- Oh hi Benjamin…" (with as little enthusiasm as possible)
'What are you doing here, Mr. Baumann?'
'Oh just a delivery.' He says, showing the bag in his hand. 'How about you?'
"Just got back from the soccer game." Ben says as he gets off his bike and walks next to at the entrance. 'I thought I could visit my grandpa on my way back.'
"How nice." Mr Baumann says while keeping one eye on him and the other one on his car.
The two then start walking inside and Ben quickly goes on the lookout for the Rustbucket.
"So...' Mr. Baumann says. 'You sure have gotten tall Ben."
I mean, he wasn't off.… Last time he checked, he was 5'10 at the age of 15 but he would be lying if he didn't find the older man's attempt at a conversation funny.
"What's so funny?" Mr Baumann asks, apparently noticing Ben's small chuckle.
"Nothing. Yeah, I sure have…" Ben says as his eyes drift over to the bag in Mr. Baumann's hand.
"What is the package Mr. Baumann?"
Mr. Baumann opens the bag and immediately a frozen cold stench fills Ben's nose.
"Octopus eyes." Mr. Baumann replies.
Yep, there was only one man on this earth who would have these delivered to his doorstep. And to their luck, the pair had arrived at their destination.
Ben parks his bike next to the Rustbucket and knocks on the front door. He doesn't know what it is but he just feels happy to visit his Grandpa Max again.
With a brief pause, the door opens. However, the one to exit the vehicle isn't Grandpa Max. There were two figures. One was a tall, fish-like humanoid with mauve-colored skin and gills on either side of his neck. He had also been wearing a silver-black suit with a helmet, filled with water-like liquid. The other had the same outfit however, he had grey skin, purple eyes and an antenna on his head and gills.
"Stay safe, Max." "Yeah, take care of yourself Max." They say before walking away, one without so much as a glance to Ben or Mr. Baumann while the other waves at them before following his friend. After him, Max appears at the door and shouts: "You too, Labrid! Patelliday!"
And before he can get ready, Max is then immediately blindsighted by one of Ben's hugs back and says: "Heh, you sure seem lively champ. What's up?"
"Our team just won the soccer match and I caught the last shot." Ben says with a hint of cockiness. He wasn't lying, being the goalie and not running around much was nice but not being in the heat of the action meant that him being the clutch factor didn't happen a whole lot. So, he was going to get anything he could.
"I wish I could be there to see it." Max says as he puts his hand over Ben's head and ruffles his hair. He then notices Mr Baumann, waiting with the package he ordered.
"Oh Mr. Baumann, sorry for having you wait. Let me grab my wallet."
"Ah, it's no problem Max. I just don't want the eyes to spoil."
Max comes out with his wallet and pays for the package. In the meantime, Ben gets inside the Rustbucket and starts changing from his jersey. And just like he thought, 90 minute games and heavy sunlight from above, don't mix. Taking a shower was a must for tonight but now, he was going to spend some quality time.
As Max closes the door, Ben immediately takes his signature place on one of the couches of the Rustbucket. "Who were they grandpa?"
"Magister Labrid and Magister Patelliday from the Plumbers. They just came by for a chat."
Ben looks back at the door and says: "Magister Labrid (was that his name?) didn't seem like that at all.". He then puts on a smile and says: "But I guess not all Plumbers are so approachable."
"Yeah..." Max replies in an exhausted manner.
"So… What did you do today grandpa?"
"Umm, nothing much champ..."
Yep, something's wrong. Ben is all too familiar with his grandpa's dismissive responses, either something happened that he doesn't want Ben to know, or he's actually leading into something. "What is it grandpa?"
"Nothing, it's just…" he says before pausing at the sight of Ben's concerned face.
"Get your bike inside, I'll tell you on the way."
"Ummm, on the way to where, exactly?"
"To your folks's house."
Okay… Now this was weird. What could his grandpa have that would make him conflicted and want to share with Ben's parents. Whatever it is, it was surely going to be interesting.
"So pro heroes came by the Rustbucket... for a school offer?" Ben utters, in a confused manner.
"Yeah." Max confirms. "Apparently the little heroics we did during our cross-country trip garnered more attention than we realized."
Ben sinks to the front seat of the Rustbucket. Yeah, saying that his actions attracted attention was a bit polite considering the property damage that followed him with some of his heroics. Not even to mention the threats he unleashed... His first battle with Vilgax almost destroyed Rapid City, Kevin used the Omnitrix's power to commit all sorts of crime, His stunt... against the Forever King with Upchuck decimated Mount Rushmore… Hell, Ghostfreak's plan with the corrodium ended with a destroyed space station and a shuttle! No wonder the authorities were looking for him!
Max takes a deep breath and continues.
"From what they told me, people shared footage online, prompting the authorities to try to crack down your identity."
"Because, they didn't want an unknown vigilante running around all over America I'm guessing." Ben says, still feeling conflicted on the matter.
Yep, it was that stupid law about civilians not being allowed to use their quirks in public being at work here right now. He gets why that's there but… Argh, it's just so frustrating for him! If it's any consolation, it took them 3 years to do this, so he hid that cover of his pretty good at least.
"They told me some of the faults in your approach to the situation and just how risky some of them were."
In response, Ben turns his gaze out of the window. But, Max catches that.
"Ben..." He says. "I know it's hard to hear this but..."
"What was I supposed to do grandpa?" Ben says as he cuts him off. "There was no pro hero in sight, I had to do something. I couldn't just sit still and wait. I… just couldn't."
"And they aren't scolding you for that. Even though they were harsh on your methods, they praised your 'quirk' and your spirit. They know just as well as us, about the lives that would be lost without your intervention."
"I told them that you left the hero stuff behind, but they were still adamant about giving me this."
Max points to the business card he put on the front window which Ben reluctantly grabs and reads. Or more accurately, tries to read.
"U.A.?" Ben says as those are the only two letters he can read.
"It is a famous hero high school in Japan. They said that they had put a good word in for you in case you decided to change your mind."
"Japan huh…" Ben thinks. He had watched some anime back in the day so even though he might not go, he would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little bit interested.
"Ben…" Max says, which has him turn back to look his grandpa in the face. And even though his grandpa has to look at the road, Ben felt like he was actually looking back at him.
"No one can force you to make a decision you won't like. So if you don't want it..."
Ben turns his gaze back on the business card. "How long do I have?"
"I looked it up and the next entrance exam should happen in about 8 months from now. But the school would probably want an answer before that."
As Ben continues to contemplate on the decision at hand, they park at the front of his house. And now, he had this to worry about…
"Do we really have to tell them?" Ben asks as he takes his bike from the Rustbucket.
"Even though it is just the authorities, what we did is no longer a secret… It would be better if they learned it from us before they get the chance to learn from anyone else." Max says as Ben chains his bike and walks to the front door.
As Max is about to knock, he turns to Ben again. "But... you must be tired from that soccer game.
Putting his hand on the back of his neck, Max says: "If you want, I can tell them while you rest up."
"Yeah… That would be great, thanks." Ben replies as Max knocks and Ben's mother opens the door.
Putting on the best fake smile he can, he says "Hi mom… I'll be in my room..." and makes a beeline to his room. He can hear his mom saying something after him but he just mutes her out. He has too much on his head right now.
Closing the door after him, he lies down on the bed and starts staring at the ceiling as thoughts flash by in his head.
Well, his family was now in the know but more importantly… did he really have another chance at the hero business? Should he even have another chance especially after what happened last time?..
He impatiently gets up from the bed and opens his closet. If he was actually thinking about it, might as well face it as well.
He takes out a relatively small box and opens it up. It was his souvenir box from the summer, filled with fun memories. His stack of sumo slammer cereal cards, an old walkman, his old video game controller… It was all here but, when he pushed the stack of cards aside, there it was… The Omnitrix.
He picks it up and wow this thing used to fit to his wrist, it was now at the size of his palm. But it was just as he remembered it. Black and grey color, green dial in the middle, button on the side… it hadn't changed one bit.
However, to be honest, it did feel… heavier.
He takes it out and puts the box back to where it was. He sits back on the bed and now with the device back in his hands, asks himself one more time… Should it be hero time once more?..
On one hand, he would love to go back. That feeling of saving people, stopping bad guys, occasionally saving the world. It made him feel like…he was actually making a difference, it made him feel special.
But… Some of the threats he stopped actually existed because of him and the watch. Without the Omnitrix, Vligax would have never attacked Earth, Ghostfreak would have never existed and without him… Kevin wouldn't be in the Null Void…
With the pressure he's feeling, he smiles. He really wasn't going to get anywhere, now was he?
And as he was thinking this, he heard a couple loud footsteps fast approaching his room. Yeah, there wasn't much guessing when it came to this but as the door knob was turning, it suddenly stopped.
Ben looked under the door and saw a shadow just behind there. Considering the additional silence of the footsteps, grandpa just saved his life… barely. Maybe thinking about this life decision with his parents in the other room wasn't such a healthy situation.
He then turns around and sees the closed window behind him. Maybe he doesn't have to.
He swiftly grabs a jacket, grabs his phone, gets outside through the window and immediately makes a beeline towards his bike. If he was going to decide this, he needed advice.
"I just can't understand it dad. Why? Why would you think letting Ben fight villains like that was a good idea?" Ben's father asks. He's not happy with having to reproach his father like that but he feels like he has no other option.
"Frank and I always knew that there was something you kept away from us but this is our son! You should have called us when his quirk awakened!" Ben's father continues.
"It's our fault. We were too permissive and what did we get? A 15 year old son needlessly committing crimes and getting shipped off to Japan."
"He is not getting shipped out. It is a school." Max says, while trying to be as composed as possible. Their family had always been rather against the concept of quirks, thinking that using them presents a danger rather unnecessary. And the fact that the family was quirkless just went to fueling that fire.
"If he takes this, under the guidance of those ex-pro heroes, he can better learn to control his power and become a hero himself."
"But why dad? Japan is already producing more heroes that it needs and according to the news, other countries like America seem to be on loose follow. There are already enough heroes roaming around in this world, why would our son need to become one of them?"
"He doesn't need to do anything. For the last 3 years, he didn't become a hero even once, because it was his choice to not become one. And it's going to be his choice whether he continues what he started."
Stressed by the outcome, Ben's mother stands up and asks: "If it's only his decision, why don't we go and ask him!" sarcastically.
Before anyone can even react, Ben's mother starts stomping off to her son's room.
"No Sandra, again, we shouldn't-" Grandpa Max can say before Ben's mother turns around and yells "MY SON WILL GO TO ANOTHER COUNTRY, MAX. YOU CAN'T EXPECT ME TO SIT BACK AND LET THAT HAPPEN!"
Both men were stunned in place. Even though Ben's father didn't do anything wrong, he was still petrified by his wife lashing out to his father. To be honest, he still wasn't sure on how to take these news but seeing his father getting yelled at like that… Even though he kept the truth from him, he didn't deserve THAT.
"Sandra, wait!.." He said as he sprinted after his wife. Max on the other hand, collapsed back to the couch. For years he wanted to keep his family away from danger… He battled, he helped, he lied... Just to ensure that all of them got to live their best lives…
Now what can he do? He already revealed some of his secrets… Does he tell them of aliens, the Omnitrix… Just to hammer in how crucial of a decision Ben was trying to make? Does he risk exposing his own past, his own double-life?
"AHHHHHHHHHH!"
A scream cut through his thoughts and brought him back to reality. With the fastest that his age allowed him, he rushed to the source and found Ben's mother and father standing before his grandson's room, with the door wide open. Inside, the door of the closet was wide open, the box of Ben's souvenirs was opened and some of them were on the ground, but most importantly, the window was unlocked and a cool breeze was coming inside.
"Where did he go Carl?! Where did he go?!" Ben's mother exclaimed as he turned to her husband out of desperation. Her husband however, was just as clueless as she is…
But it didn't take too long for the ex-plumber to put 2 and 2 together. He might have an idea on where Ben had head off to…
He then looks at Ben's parents, still panicked but mostly concerned out of their minds. He couldn't make this piece of information classified, he was sure of that.
Knock knock.
"Who could it be at this time of night..." Frank Tennyson thinks as he walks over and opens the door.
"Hi, Uncle Frank." Ben says, trying his absolute hardest to not make the situation more awkward than it already was.
"Ben? What are you doing here at this time of night?" He then looks behind Ben and says: "Are your parents here with you?"
"Nah, just me. I just need help with something. Is Gwen around?" he says, while also trying to keep an optimistic air around him. He worried enough people for one day, might as well not keep that streak going.
"Yeah, come inside and I'll call her." he says as he lets Ben inside and starts going upstairs.
Once inside, Ben takes off the jacket. It was a summer night for crying out loud, why did he bring this? He wouldn't have complained so much if this didn't combine with having to ride his bike all this way. Oh well, it doesn't matter now. As long as...
And there she was. With her hands on the handrails, she stared right at Ben.
"Hi Ben, What do I owe this visit for?" Gwen asks with a smirk on her face.
"What? Can't I just freely visit my favourite cousin?" Ben asks with an equally teasing tone.
"Not if you don't want something from me."
Yeah, part of the cat was immediately out of the bag like he expected.
Putting his hand behind his neck, he says "I've got a problem. I need advice."
"What's up? Stuck with the history homework again?"
As much as Ben wanted to do this discreetly, he knew that it wouldn't take long for his grandpa to find him if they discovered his absence. He could not afford to play around for much longer.
So, he reaches to the inner pocket of his jacket and takes it out…
"Gwen… I need your help."
Gwen's eyes are immediately stuck on the device in question and, combined with Ben's new melancholic aura, it didn't take a genius to know that the situation was serious.
She shouts: "Dad!"
"What is it sweetheart?!"
"I need to help Ben with his homework! Call me when dinner is ready!"
"Okay!"
She then signals Ben to follow her to her room.
Once inside, she closes the door behind them and asks "What happened?" and with that Ben tells her everything.
"And then I ran out the window and rode my bike here..." Ben says as he finishes his story. He then looks at her in desperation. Grandpa was busy dealing with his parents, he was going nowhere with this and she was the only other person to know the truth. What was her take on this?
"Ben… It's your choice to put it on again. You don't have to do it if you don't want to."
With his gaze fixed on the watch, he replies "It's just… I would love to do it all over again. Busting bad guys, saving people, (taking a bit of praise from the crowd)... With that watch, I felt like a hero from the news… I felt like a person who could make a difference."
Sensing his melancholic nature, Gwen, despite hesitating, says: "You know what, it wasn't the watch that was special, it was you."
Ben looks up, unsure about what Gwen just said.
Gwen, despite hating to stroke Ben's ego, continues…
"I mean… How many times did that watch give you the wrong alien? You would ask for Ripjaws and get XLR8, dial in Stinkfly and end up as Cannonbolt... Heck, you would dial in Fourarms and the watch would barely work."
Ben actually smiles when Gwen says that, when DID the watch work right?
"But, you would still manage to save the day..."
With that Ben's smile fades into surprise as he turns to his cousin. He… he didn't expect her to say that. And he guesses that Gwen didn't either as she didn't continue that sentence.
But the silence doesn't last long.
"You mean 'we', right?" Ben says as a new grin forms on his face, which has Gwen smile back, glad that Ben recognised her and grandpa's past help. She then chooses to continue her take on the situation.
"And after all that fighting, you earned the chance at a normal life. You put that back on and go to this school, that's it for normal."
"Yeah but…"
Ben looks back at the watch.
"The Omnitrix was originally meant for grandpa Max but I ended up with it. And then, when I had broken the Omnitrix and had a chance of getting it take away from me, Azmuth still left it with me, believing in that I'll make a difference using it."
"But did he really believe in that?" Gwen asks. "This is Azmuth we're talking about."
The thought does go by Ben's head but...
"I don't care about that, it's just.. I don't know. I just don't feel at ease, knowing that it just sits in my closet. At least not when there is also a chance like this."
"But?.." Gwen says. She knows there is something Ben is just not telling her. Ben exhales and says: "I just don't know if the difference I make will be a good one..."
Gwen raises an eyebrow at that. However, Ben doesn't notice. He gets up from the bed and looks at the night sky.
"I threw Vilgax to space..."
Gwen's eyes briefly go wide when she hears Ben mention Vilgax but Ben doesn't notice as he's facing the window.
"And we have not heard from him since…"
He turns his gaze away and starts circling the room.
"Kevin? We locked him in the Null Void and haven't heard from him since..."
"Ghostfreak?.. Sucked back to his own planet..."
"Malware?.. He… he..."
He can't say it. But, for the sake of his point, he moves on...
"Forever King?.. Cooked by Upchuck along with the rest of Mount Rushmore..."
At this point, Gwen gets up from the bed and tries to put her hand on his shoulder but Ben continues to circle around. She feels like he's stuck in some kind of trance.
"Animo?.. Locked away in Null Void."
"Charmcaster...missing."
"Sixsix, Hex, Rojo… all locked up."
He stops circling and looks up to Gwen. "Every villain I've ever fought has either been locked up or missing for the last 3 years."
"You are worried they might come back?" Gwen asks but Ben shakes his head.
"No, I think I would be able to take care of them if they came back… I'm worried that I might spawn more… More villains that are either after me or the Omnitrix or both."
He sits back down and hesitantly says "What if… the best way to be a hero… to keep people safe... is to not go hero?"
Gwen doesn't have an immediate answer for that. Truth be told, Ben did have a point. During these last 3 years, none of their older foes were seen again. She was still practicing magic in case something ever happened but nothing came up.
Just like her cousin, she also turns to the window and looks outside.
She really didn't expect this night to turn out like this. What should she say? What would be the right answer?
As she was thinking that however, a headlight across her house catches her interest. She looks down and sees the Rustbucket parking right in front of her house…
She takes a deep breath and turns around… Here goes nothing…
"Ben, you said you felt like a hero from the news… What about the villains in the news?"
"Just because you refuse to put on the Omnitrix, villainy won't just disappear. Big or small, you are still seeing it in the news. It still exists and it is the job of heroes, of the good guys, to protect the innocent against it. The question is, are you going to stand with them or watch from the sidelines?"
Beyond the door, Gwen hears the footsteps coming up the stairs...
"I know it may seem hard but it is not the easy choices that make heroes. At least… that is what you showed m—" Gwen says, as someone knocks on her door.
"Gwen? Is Ben there?" Frank says, but Gwen doesn't answer him.
"Our parents are waiting for us. I can face them with you, but only if you are ready."
Ben looks back at the Omnitrix's dial.
He continues to stare as their parents knock harder on the door. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and with a determined look in his eye, puts the watch back on his wrist.
With a sound that seemingly vacuums the area around his wrist, he gets up from the bed and says "I'm ready."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for taking time out of your time to read this. It truly means a lot. Like I said in the beginning, please drop down a comment and give me feedback on this story and on this site. I had to pull up a youtube video to learn how to publish for crying out loud. So, anything helps but also, please don't harass me and drop hurtful comments if you didn't like this story, give me ways to improve instead. If you have questions, please drop them down below as well.
Other than that, I have a pretty tight schedule so chapters will probably be scarce until July due to college.
And lastly, I hope you have a good day and see you on the next chapter!
EDIT: Well... I didn't expect this to blow up like it did...
First of all, thank you everyone for the support. Seeing that my first fic got 500 views in under 24 hours was nothing short of hearwarming. Thank you to everyone who wrote a review, complimented the fic, followed, favourited, gave their feedback or even clicked on the fic. Your kind words, support and enthusiasm honestly fills me to brim with happiness and motivation to continue. (So much so that my editor had to stop me from publishing a haphazardly made Chapter 2, which was probably for the best.)
Now, for your questions... I'll probably copy this part to the beginning of the next chapter just in case for everyone to see it, but I don't want similar types of questions piling up until the next chapter arrives.
Question 1: Shipping. Will I do it?
The likely answer is no. Like I said, I'm pretty new at this fanfic writing stuff so I don't have much experience with proper romance writing. The quality of the story will always come first and if I think I won't be able to give the proper justice to a certain concept, like establishing a proper romantic relationship, I would rather not do it at all. I usually don't like closing off options for myself during writing so I'm saying likely, but if it does happen, it will be a surprise to me as well.
Question 2: Length of chapters.
Alright, let me first start off by saying I would love to write longer chapters as well. It is so fun to just have the characters interract and to have the plot move along, only to realize that you are at page 30 of your drive document. It's beautiful, but from my writing standpoint, it doesn't really work out in terms of the pacing department. I just see some points that would serve as good ending points and when I try to push beyond them (Insert Plus Ultra joke here), it feels like I'm just dragging on just for a higher page number.
But, this also means that a longer chapter can happen here or there since the natural end point could feel further away. Basically, all of it will come down to the circumstance and what kind of chapter I'm writing.
Question 3: Schedule for uploads.
No, I did not say that the next chapter would be in July. I said that there might be few chapters until July since I didn't want to promise a deadline during my hectic college schedule. Right now, I can say that I'm working on trying to have a chapter posted every 2 weeks. But again, I can't give a guarantee and I'll probably give an update on my schedule per upload.
Question 4: The context of this series. (Basically, how much Ben 10 influence?)
Right now, I'm going for a fusion between Ben 10 AF and My Hero. The classic series and the flashbacks to young Ben from Omniverse has already happened in this fic. And as for Ben 10 UA and Omniverse, there will be elements from them, maybe even entire plotlines I don't really know, but Alien Force will be the main influence for this crossover. In terms of characters, plotlines, etc? Literally anything goes as long as it is offically made. And for aliens, I'll be sticking to the 62 active alien transformations that Ben prime has unlocked in the classic continuity. Nothing from the reboot.
Question 5: Suggestions and how much the series is planned out.
I have good plan on what I'm going to do up until the Overhaul arc right now. (Btw, I haven't read the manga yet, I'm waiting for S5 to be over before I start it so please no spoilers.) But, I would say that I'm pretty flexible during my writing and do tend to come up with stuff that is not in the original draft. So, if you have a suggestion, feel free to drop it down. Who knows, you could be my inspiration.
Question 6: Similarity to A Result of Consequence.
Yeah, they are similar in topic and execution, I won't try to say they are not. But I can promise that I have lots of plans to make this fic blossom out to be it's own thing rather than a pale imitation of someone else's work.
Anywho, that's it from me. If you still have questions, feel free to ask and I'll answer whatever I can at the start of the next chapter.(Without spoiling the story of course.) See you then!
Chapter 2: Technical Difficulties
Okay… When people came at him, asking about putting the Omnitrix back on, this wasn't what he was expecting…
It was now the next day. He was back home and now, at 10:30 in the morning, he was sitting in front of a table with several stacks of books and paper right in front of him.
"Now listen Ben, keep in mind that the entrance exams are in 8 months. There will be a written section for it, so you have got to brush up on maths, physics, chemistry..." Ben's mother goes on but Ben is really not in the mood to listen.
If this wasn't the summer time, maybe he could be a bit more inclined to pay attention but not when literally everyone else he knew was out there having fun.
"And U.A., despite being one of the most prestigious schools, only has classes in Japanese (except for English). Which means..."
"Oh no no no. Please don't. Anything but that. Don't make me..." Ben thinks but it's too late.
As she slams a couple more books on the desk, she says: "You also have to learn Japanese."
"I… would like to take my chances with Vilgax." Ben internally sweatdrops. He will really need to plan out his time if he wants to succeed. And planning… hasn't really been his strong suit.
With his 8 months worth of lecture literally piled up in front of him, he could practically feel the burnout and his mother was not about to stop: "And thankfully, we found the perfect tutor for you."
Ben internally screeches. "Tutor?! In the summer time?!"
With a hopeless grin, he thinks "They really won't let me live this decision down, will they?" Showing the Omnitrix on his wrist was enough to have her faint, so he wouldn't be exactly surprised if she was trying to get him back.
Leaning back on his chair, he sarcastically asks: "Well, who is this 'famous' tutor you found?"
At the edge of his room's door, he sees a tall and slender figure.
"Oh…" is all Ben can utter.
She was wearing a white shirt under a dark blue sweater, black stockings under a black mini skirt and black high heels. She also had red hair, almost down to her waist.
"What's up doofus?" Gwen says, with a smug grin on her face.
Yep, she WOULD be the only person to prefer staying inside and studying, to going out there and actually getting some sunlight.
"I asked Gwen to help organize your remaining days and coach you through all subjects." Ben's mom says however her voice then starts to sound a bit stricter. "If you are going to do this... I will make sure that you do it right."
"Yep, for 3 months it will be just you, me and all kinds of material. But when my school begins, it will mostly be afternoon lectures." Gwen says as she holds a timetable in her hand.
However Ben is just stuck on that "only afternoon" part. Finally something that he can be glad about!
But, just like she read Ben's mind, a smirk forms on her face. "And don't worry about me having school Ben, I'll be sure to leave you with enough homework every day."
Alright, did he say Vilgax before? What he meant was Vilgax and Kevin, with Animo ready to tag in! This is torture, TORTURE he says!
With a similar grin, Ben's mother says "Then I'll leave him to you Gwen." and leaves the room.
"You can trust me Aunt Sandra." Gwen replies as she closes the door behind her.
"And here I thought you were being genuine with me..." Ben says with a smile and a sneering tone. As Gwen sits next to him, he says: "It's color coded?"
"Yep, so that you won't..." Gwen starts and "...do the same thing two days in a row." Ben satirically finishes with Gwen at the same time.
But, as she sets the plans down, she says "You should be glad Ben. Imagine what would have happened if they found someone else."
He hates to say it, but she does have a point there. At least the two of them know each other so she might take pity on him… Or it will make everything worse. It really just depends on Gwen's mood.
"Well, why did you take this? You didn't have to be my coach." Ben briefly glances at the door. "Did you?"
"Who would want to miss this stuff Ben? Ever since the eruption of quirks, Japan has been the leader in anything related to heroics. Teaching you will be a great opportunity for me to properly learn about it as well."
"They are the leader because of All Might though. He's such a great hero that even America is kind enough to put him on screen consistently."
Even as Ben says this, there is a small spark in his eyes. Gwen can tell that even though Ben has been away from the job, he never stopped admiring the ones still in it and fighting the good fight.
"Yeah, but not only because of him. Japan is one of the few countries to make rapid and significant changes to its national education system that actually considers quirks as part of the curriculum."
Yeah, even here in America, they had two high schools in Bellwood and both of them were in favor of suppressing quirks rather than nurturing them.
"If you are such a fan, why aren't you coming along?" Ben asks.
"I'm not the one who got the invite and… I guess I want to spend a bit more time in the nest before I fly off for good." Gwen replies.
Ben would make a quip about Gwen's attitude but considering that she is his teacher right now… Maybe he should stay on her good side.
"Alright let's see what we got here..." he says as he drags that piece of paper in front of him. Science, Maths, Quirk history, English, Japanese…
"What is this blue part here?" Ben asks. It was right in the middle of Saturday and Sunday, covering up almost half of both days.
Gwen leans over and says: "Hero training."
"Hero training..."Ben repeats. "Wait a minute, hero training?!"
"Yeah, it is a hero school after all. I thought you would be rusty after that long of a break. Consider it your weekend." Gwen says with a smirk. "I'm not that merciless."
"Score!" Ben says, almost jumping out of his chair. At least there is something besides sitting in front of a desk and reading some lecture. Gwen, on the other hand, just shakes her head with the same smile. "You know, if I happen to see you stalling in your other studies, I will take it away."
"Yes ma'am." Ben says in a sneering yet acknowledging tone. He then glances back at the time table. As the first subject, he had... physics. "It just had to be physics..." He sighs. It was his worst subject after all.
And despite the initial reluctance from Ben, they get to work…
"Okay you two..." Ben's father says as he stops the car. "We'll come to pick you up at 8, until then don't go too far."
"Yes Ben, please be careful." says Ben's mother from the passenger seat.
"We will mom, and don't worry. Grandpa Max will be with us." Ben says as he opens the door and gets out of the car.
"Don't worry aunt Sandra, I'll keep an eye on him."
"Yes please Gwen, don't let him push himself too far." Ben's mother says worriedly for which Gwen nods and gets out of the car.
After the two sides wave at each other for a brief moment, Ben's parents drive off back home. It had finally been Saturday and it was time for Ben's combat training… or more rather brushing up on what he already knows. For his training, they needed a deserted place and what better place than...well… the desert.
The pair then see the Rustbucket across the road and run towards it. Since Gwen was mostly busy with preparing Ben for the written exam, his alien training was passed along to someone else.
"Oh, hey kids!" Max exclaims as he sees the two cousins approaching him.
"Hi grandpa!" Ben says as he stretches his arms and legs. After a long week, he had been waiting for this, just him and other targets to hit. He then takes a look at the training ground. With the use of excess materials like arrow targets, metal cans and tires all tied down with ropes and built with mostly wood, it looked similar to the area he used to set up for Diamondhead's practice, so maybe today was Diamondhead's day?
"So, you got an instruction manual for this lesson Gwen?" Ben asks.
"Nope. Since grandpa was more experienced when it comes to alien life, I decided to let him handle it. I'm just here in case grandpa needs my help." Gwen says casually. "I will keep watch but..." She doesn't complete her sentence as she heads inside the Rustbucket.
Once she comes out, she has a foldable chair in her hand and says: "I also plan on having my own vacation." as she unfolds the chair, sits and leans back. "Classic." Ben thinks.
"Alright sport, which alien do you want to try out for today?" Max says. "I thought after everything that happened, it wouldn't be right if I also chose this for you."
On the other hand, Ben already had his answer, ever since he saw the area that grandpa set up for him.
With a determined look he says, "I think I want to go with Diamondhead, grandpa."
Last time, he messed up in this course. It's time to see just how he would handle it now.
He gets in the center and grandpa, along with Gwen, get right in front of the controls. "You're ready Ben?" Gwen shouts.
"Yeah!" Ben replies but internally...
"Okay, I can do this… I can do this..."
His hand makes its way to the Omnitrix, only for it to shake briefly. He just… had some memories about the silhouettes he was about to see, or rather the silhouette that he wasn't about to see. But, he needed to push through it.
He closes his eyes to calm himself down and hits the button on the Omnitrix. He hears the faceplate come out and despite his hesitation, opens his eyes to choose his alien. What he sees however, is more than surprising…
He doesn't see Diamondhead, neither Fourarms, nor Grey Matter… The faceplate did indeed come out of the watch but there was no selection available on the dial.
At this point, Gwen and Max were also starting to get worried. Ben never took this long when it came to transforming, especially when he knew what to turn into. Leaving Gwen at the controls, Max decides to head on over to Ben.
"Everything okay champ?" Max says, only for Ben to turn around and show him the situation. Just like Ben, Max was also puzzled.
"What happened to the Omnitrix?" Max asks.
"I have no clue, it just… doesn't work."
He shakes his wrist like that's going to make it any better. "This never happened before."
"We should contact Azmuth about this. He would know what to do better than us." Max says before trying to leave for the Rustbucket, before Ben objects and says: "No. Maybe if I just..." and presses down the faceplate. What happens, confuses the duo even more.
The faceplate went down but the green hue that the dial had now left it's place for… blue?
"Okay Azmuth, really? Adding a blue screen to the most powerful device in the universe..?" Ben thinks as he starts tampering with the device. "Are you sure you didn't use any technology from Earth while creating this thing?"
He turns the dial, presses on the faceplate, hits the button on the side… basically anything that he thought that might bring the device back to normal but, the watch proved to be quite stubborn.
There were some noises coming from the device but nothing that signalled a return to normal. At that point Max puts his hand over the device and says: "Let's not mess with it any longer Ben. I'll go get my communicator and ask Azmuth about this. You stay put."
When he gets a nod from Ben, he takes his hand off and makes his way to the Rustbucket. However before he can reach it, a green light engulfs the Omnitrix.
"I didn't touch it this time grandpa, I swear!" Ben yells. Max rushes over to Ben as well as Gwen who had seen everything unfolding from afar.
Despite the light, Ben turns his head to look at the Omnitrix. The dial starts to turn on his own and the Omnitrix starts to change form. The faceplate gets slightly smaller and turns green & black rather than green & gray , the wristband starts to thin out and gets a more prominent green color rather than black, the button on the side completely disappears, leaving it's place for two buttons on the rim of the hourglass.
The green light fades out and Ben manages to see the new sleeker Omnitrix in all of its glory. It looks more like a smart watch now rather than a big wrist watch.
"It never did that before..." Ben says as he pushes down the rims on the Omnitrix.
The faceplate pops out, glows green and shows the hologram of a completely new alien. He starts to turn the dial and sees various new alien figures.
"I don't recognize any of these..." Ben starts before he's interrupted by some familiar silhouettes. But before he can ponder any longer, Gwen and Max arrive to his side.
"What did you do to the Omnitrix, Ben?" Gwen says.
"Nothing, it just… rebooted. And take a look at this." Ben says as he shows the holograms of his aliens. There were some that they recognized but a lot of them were new. It was back to the 10 alien set-up and from what he could tell, he could only recognise 3 of those transformations.
"Just when I thought I knew how to work this thing..." Ben pouts. He's glad about the new forms, he honestly is but… he wished it wasn't at the expense of some of his favourite alien heroes.
Max and Gwen on the other hand are a bit more cautious. They think about contacting Azmuth and informing him… after 1 test transformation. Just to see if it's still the Omnitrix they came to know and since they doubt Azmuth would pick up the phone just for a cosmetic change.
The trio once again take their positions and Ben starts scrolling through his aliens until he finally lands on a new one. With a smile on his face, he raises his hand and slams the dial and in a flash of light, morphs into this new alien.
Immediately, his body grows taller and skinnier. His skin hardens and turns indigo with several lines and spots, several magenta crystal shards come out from his body with one of them being from the top of his head, his eyes also merge into one and turn completely green, and the dial ends up on his chest.
With curiosity he looked at his hands and then himself, this was really bringing back memories… some good and some… questionable. He then turns to Max and Gwen and does a thumbs up to them, signaling that he's okay and ready.
Max is stunned. He had never seen an alien like this before… But, he seems to have a crystalline structure like Diamondhead so maybe he's up for the task? Maybe? But he puts the thought aside and nods at Ben's signal. He then immediately starts pulling levers and ropes, launching metal cans at Ben and rising up wooden targets.
As Gwen sees Ben getting into position with arms out and palms open, she remarks "Hmph, I hope he doesn't try to turn us into swiss cheese again."
Max says: "I think he wouldn't choose a similar alien, if he was going to repeat the same mistake."
But to both of their surprise Ben closes his hands back and, instead of crystals, he shoots a rainbow colored laser beam and destroys the cans, leaving only bits and pieces around.
Ben looks back at his hands and sees a brief glow before it fades out. "Rainbow Power?.."
He sees some other targets suspended by ropes…
"Here goes!" Ben thinks as he brings one hand forward and shoots. "That's what I'm talking about."
And as he looks at his hands again, he sees that the glow was specifically coming from the magenta crystals on his hands. Just how was he doing this?
But he doesn't have time to wonder, more dummies and targets spring up from the course. He raises his hands but…
"Come on, why can't I fire?!" He then just resorts to jumping over them.
Once he leaps up though, Ben discovers another aspect that makes this alien different from Diamondhead: Enhanced strength and by relation, enhanced jumping.
"Wow… This really is just one level below flying huh..." he thinks before landing back on the ground. But as he's back on the ground, he is spooked by a new cactus dummy rising from the ground and impulsively fires at it.
He looks at his hand one more time… He might be starting to get it now…
"Okay, let's try this again...Dodge once. Dodge twice. Wow, this alien is fast by the way." Ben internally monologues as he dodges some cans. "And, now shoot!"
He brings one hand forward and destroys the next wave of cans.
A smile slowly starts to form on his face, yeah he was really starting to get it. He then shouts: "Who wants some?!"
And like grandpa heard him, three wooden dummies spring up from the ground. "I wonder..." He opens one of his hands and tries to focus on his fingers. Any chance he could shoot multiple at the same time? However, before he can act, he gets hit with a tire from the back and finds himself face first on the ground.
"They do say that history repeats itself..." Gwen quips.
"Ha ha!" Ben sarcastically laughs as he gets up.
"Okay, not the time to experiment. Focus." He thinks as he gets back into position. It's his first time with this alien after all.
Max continues to pull and push levers and during one of them, he smiles.
The training area releases yet another tire, aimed once again at the back of Ben. But this time, Ben was ready.
He turns around and blasts the rope that held the tire. Once that's done, he just resorts to dodging it.
"Not a second time Grandpa!" Ben confidently remarks.
"Oh ho, there is still more where that came from Ben!" Max says like a proud father.
Gwen sees the enjoyment that both men were having and so says:"I'm glad that you're having fun with this grandpa. I really thought it would bother you."
"Nonsense pumpkin, I'm really glad that you called me for this."
As the two were talking, Ben blasts yet another duo of cactus dummies. "He's learning fast. How are the other studies coming along?"
Gwen crosses her arms and says: "Pretty good…Did you know that he had photographic memory?"
Max's interest is piqued. "Really?"
"Yeah but turns out, it doesn't mix well with his short attention span." Gwen cheekily adds.
"With his effort and your tutoring, I'm sure it will be fine. I believe in him."
The exercise continues and at first Ben had found himself mostly being able to do his lasers in a zen-like state, when he is just in the flow but it didn't take long for the young hero to learn to consciously concentrate the power on his hands.
In the meantime, Max and Gwen were just watching and noting down this display of new power. Adding onto the differences from Diamondhead, this alien had also proved to have faster reflexes and was just faster in general. And as Gwen was continuing to watch and note, she got an idea. "I'll be right back grandpa." and ran to the Rustbucket.
As the exercise continued, Ben showed no signs of slowing down and eventually, Max ran out of targets for Ben.
With Max signalling that it's over, Ben smirks. From his grandpa's expression, he did pretty well. In a cocky manner, he puts one of hands to his side and with the other blows on his finger. But, from far away…
"Hey show off! Catch!"
Gwen shoots a pink energy disk right towards Ben and it hits him square in the chest. However, Ben then emits a rainbow glow and shoots a laser right at Gwen and from what they can tell, this one is stronger than usual.
Gwen makes a barrier and blocks the attack but her surprise is still there. Did he just absorb her energy?
Ben times out from his form and Gwen, along with Max, run over to Ben.
"How was the first go around champ?"
Ben pants his place, apparently his exhaustion did carry over to his human form. "What do you think?"
"I think that was great. My only question is how you manage to move like that?" Max asks and...
"Yeah, if Cannonbolt was anything to go by, you aren't the fastest learner with new transformations." Gwen remarks.
"I don't know..." Ben says.
"And how did you know you could absorb my energy?" Gwen asks.
Ben briefly turns his gaze to the Omnitrix and says "I don't know that either, it just… came to me."
Max says "You just felt like you could do that?".
Ben says "Yeah..."
Max puts his hand to his chin and says: "Maybe since you transformed into that alien, you also got some of its instincts?"
Gwen then mirrors Max and says: "It's possible..."
Ben just glances back at the watch and smirks: "Guess the new rig came in with some extras..."
Gwen shrugs and says: "Guess so..."
Max crosses his arms, "It will make things interesting."
Gwen then remembers something. "What are you going to name him?"
It is now Ben's turn to put his hand on this chin. "Let's see… He's like Diamondhead so...Let's go with...hmmm…" It's been a while since he had done this and it was definitely showing.
"How about Chromastone?" Gwen blurts out and both Max and Ben turn their heads to her.
"What?" Gwen says in an embarrassed manner. "One meaning of chroma is the intensity of color and stone is to—"
"No, it's just that... That's a good name..." Ben replies, still a bit bewildered that Gwen came up with a good name.
"Chromastone it is then." Max says, giving his seal of approval for the name.
"Yeah, I like it too."
Gwen is touched that her name is accepted. She then says: "Well, once the watch charges up, are you going to go Chromastone again?"
Ben replies: "Yeah, I want to save the other ones for later."
" Then let me then go grab some stuff for Chromastone." Max says and makes a move towards the Rustbucket.
Gwen follows after him. "Let me help you grandpa."
Ben also. "Me too."
With the trio going over to the Rustbucket, Ben's grin only grows wider from there. With another 6 new transformations and 8 months worth of weekends to practice them, his anticipation was at an all time high.
Max then says: "Oh Gwen, can you remind me to make an appointment with Azmuth after training. Just to be on the safe side."
Gwen: "Sure grandpa."
Alright, maybe his anticipation wasn't high for that, but he was all for everything else that this 8 months entailed.
But, if there is something no one can anticipate, it's that time tends to fly by when you are having fun…
-(8 months later)-
"Quick Ben, we'll be late!" Ben's mother says as she sprints around the house, getting prepared to leave. Late at night, at 9 pm, the day had finally come and the Tennyson household was in complete overdrive. In stark contrast however, the star of the show just couldn't find it in himself to be that energetic…
His bag was prepared days ago and he just had a bite to eat, he should have been feeling fine… but he wasn't. As he was getting dressed, he circled around the house and took one long look at his childhood home. Sure, this wasn't him moving out, he was going to be back sooner or later but it was the first time that he was going to be this far from home.
He thinks Gwen mentioned something like that… 6700 miles? That's far… Sure, he had been to space but… it wasn't for 3 years.
He wants to continue circling around but from the perspective of his parents, all this walking around was just stalling in a nutshell. So with a well placed yell from them, Ben snaps out of his thoughts and actually finishes getting ready.
With the luggage right beside them, the trio waits by the driveway for a certain RV to show up and to their relief, it doesn't take long.
Ben's mom opens the door and the men of the house quickly load the luggage inside.
"Dad, you don't need to trouble yourself. Really, I can drive us to the airport just fine. " Ben's father says but Max just waves him off.
"Oh no son, there is no way we wouldn't see my grandson off for this trip."
As Ben gets inside the RV, he catches what his grandfather just said. He says "We?" before turning to see Gwen, sitting right opposite to his mom. "Ah..." he utters on the inside.
All jokes aside, he is glad to see Gwen coming along to see him off. So, with no quippy lines and just an embarrassed smirk on his face, he just takes his place beside his mom. Gwen notices this but doesn't partake in any quips either as she was downright drained due to school. Ben's gaze eventually falls to the window and to the passing by scenery, this was certainly the end of an era for him.
Sooner or later, they finally arrive at the airport and as they check in the two luggages and get the tickets… a goodbye finally comes into order.
Ben, at first, hugs his grandpa. And as he lets go, Max puts his hand to Ben's shoulder.
"I have no doubt you'll do great Ben. Just… make sure to also enjoy the time you have there."
"I will." says Ben as he then turns to Gwen. The two cousins also hug and Gwen says: "Smell you later dweeb."
"You too loser." Ben replies, still keeping that sincere atmosphere.
Ben then hugs his father. He says: "It's going to be pretty lonely without you here Ben. Just remember to call every once in a while."
Ben crosses his arms and sarcastically asks: "I mean, just what would you do without me?"
"Probably have some peace and quiet." Gwen cheekily remarks, which Ben throws a glance at. Yeah, he expected that one.
"Don't worry Carl, I'll remind him when we arrive." Ben's mother says.
"Yeah, you'll— Wait what?" Ben jolts up. Did he hear that right? Was she really coming with him? Now that he thinks about it, there were multiple tickets on the counter...
"What? You didn't expect to live all on your own when you are just 15 years old, did you?" Ben's mother genuinely asks.
Ben starts to consider it. It was true that should he get his own place, he would have to worry about food, cleaning, laundry… Yeah no, this might work out better actually.
Aaaaand since the ticket is already bought, he doubts he can change their minds even if he wanted to.
So, as the pair wave back at the crowd, the mother and son set out to passport control.
"So, ready to head into the unknown?" His mother teasingly asks.
Ben chuckles and says: "Nope… But let's do it."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I can't put it into words just how shocked I was from the support. The joke between me and my editor was that this was going to get 10 views and just be buried under all the gems that other people did with this crossover. I'm glad that you guys proved me wrong, but I would be lying if I said I don't feel any pressure now. :D
So, yep, I did customize the aliens that Ben would have in this story.
6 of them can be anyone from the sequel series: Alien Force, Ultimate Alien and Omniverse while the other 3 are from the classic series.
I tried to work with the AF line-up but some aliens proved to be too good for some upcoming events and it was difficult to work around them without the aliens feeling nerfed. And then there was also the matter of Alien X. I wanted to utilize all the initial 10 slots in the watch and Alien X just wasn't built for that. And since changing 2 or 3 of them for the plot would feel convenient, I decided to change up all of them. But as you can see from Chromastone, I did keep some of the AF 10. How many? Well, in the immortal words of Mr. Incredible: "We get there when we get there!"
Feel free to guess who they are. In this story, the Andromeda aliens and all other aliens that Ben acquired later in the original series are also in the Omnitrix so anything goes.
For Gwen, she might not be going to UA but that does not mean she's out of the story. I do have a good amount planned for her as well.
Other than that, I saw that I failed to clarify somethings before diving into the story in my last chapter. So, I went back and edited some answers at the end of chapter 1 for the questions I frequently saw.
Also, according to what happened in the last 1.5 weeks, the schedule will probably be 1 chapter every 2 weeks from now on.
And lastly, I hope you have a good day again and I hope see you all on the next chapter!
P.S.: I do now see that Chromastone not being able to fire off his lasers freely was not a correct choice. It was originally meant to add some sort of feeling of progression to the chapter, like Ben getting reacclimated to hero work. But I now see that it breaks the logic of the Omnitrix, and I hope to amend that in the future chapters. And hence I want to clarify that, I won't be nerfing aliens. (That's the exact point of the new line-up for the Omnitrix.)
I apologize for the confusion and hope to make it up in the future.