He had to hurry. They were counting on him. They don't have much...!
Agent BIG10 cringed behind the crates as the shots were fired. Great they're down. Hopefully, not all of them.
He peered from his hiding spot; All of his teammates were down. Except one. They were interrogating him, probably asking about, him.
He had to save them, without being caught. He reached his other arm and prepared his blaster. He shoots above, catching the attention of the enemy team.
He swiftly moved behind another box just as a fighter went to his previous hiding spot. A bunch of crates and other heavy metal parts were hanging in a net just right above the other guys. But first he needed another distraction.
He pushed down a crate. The contents rattled loudly, catching the attention of the enemy. This was his chance.
He blasted the net, causing all its contents to rain down on the enemies, knocking them out in the process. He rushed for his companion to check if he was okay.
Before the leader of the other team has a chance to pick up his blaster, it was Game Over...
Alright! Another win for the team!
Ben grinned victoriously at his tablet as his game avatar was hoisted on the shoulders of his teammates.
"Whoo! What a blast!"
He switched to video-chat and the equally victorious happy face of his cousin appeared on screen.
"Thanks for having my back, Bud!" Heat grinned.
"Hey. You got my back, I got yours." Ben talked back as they fist-bumped each other on the screen.
Another one of their teammates flashed on the screen, "That was totally uncalled for. Way out of my calculations."
"Sorry, Grey." Another one of their teammates flashed on the screen, "Science can't always solve everything."
Grey gave a dramatic gasp, "Accel Ratchet Revo Eon. You take that back, right this instant!"
Ben shook his head in amusement as he watched his three cousins argue. Suddenly, he got another caller and a forth face appeared on the screen.
"Heeeeeyyyy!" Another boy sang, only to receive annoyed scolding from his cousins, "What? I didn't give him any hints."
"Daemond!" A woman suddenly appeared next to the boys, "You didn't drop any hints that we... Oh hi Ben."
"Hey Aunt Amelia." Ben waved back as a man appeared next to Grey.
"Benjamin." The man greeted, "Shouldn't you be in school?"
"It's Summer, Uncle Ash." Ben pointed out.
"Of course." His uncle chuckled, "Well since the cat's out of the bag, I hope your mother picked an appropriate suit for you to wear."
"A suit?" Ben cocked an eyebrow in disbelief.
"Just joking." Ash chuckled once more before sighing, "You know it seam just like yesterday when you kids were in diapers..."
All 5 cousins groaned and protested in disgust.
"Alright. Alright. I get it." Ben waved his hand against the screen, "See you guys later."
"See you later soon-to-be double-digit year old." Accel saluted before ending his call.
"Gotta blast." Heat ended his call too.
"Daemond!" Another one of Ben's uncles appeared next to Daemond, "I said... Oh hey Ben."
"Whoa!" Ben playfully pinched his nose, "Aunt Amelia, didn't you get that cologne Mom sent you. I can smell Uncle Tex' hippie scent from here."
"'Hippie scent'?" Tex echoed, "Boy, someday you'll appreciate Nature's Blessing. Now if you'll excuse us, the snapdragons are calling."
"Literally." Daemond chuckled before being scolded by a trowel before ending the call.
That left Ben with Ash and Grey.
"Well, you should be heading home now." Ash advised, "Or if you want, I could ask Sandra to donate to charity... and he's gone."
Ash grinned in amusement when Ben's face disappeared from the screen.
He just loves Summer. And it wasn't just because it was vacation away from school.
Summer was a chance for him and the rest of his family to come together and bond over fun activities. His Uncle Sponsus once joked that if any member of the family missed a reunion, they'd forget about him/her in the next.
His family's Family Reunions are always the best. Everyone of them were full of fun, adventure and sometime, really cool prizes.
Last time, they went to Mount Everest, and he and his team won the snowboard race after he made that high-jump flip over that large crevice. The adults found it weird that the ground would crack like that despite the fact that there was no earthquake, but eventually everyone brushed it of as one of Nature's, nature.
He couldn't wait for this year's Family Reunion.
But first... he had to get home. And maybe get his first present.
Ben swiftly rode his skateboard across the street, swiftly evading every bump, crack, trashcan, vehicle, cat, dog and elderly pedestrian that was on the way.
A road construction appeared before him and he skateboarded into a large pipe that was being lifted up for maintainance.
Finally, he landed at the doorstep of his house, spinning around in a circle before flipping his board under his arm. Just as he was about to go inside, a black car pulled in the curb. A man with a long brown beard and wearing sunglasses emerged from the car and approached Ben.
"Uh... Can I, help you?" Ben hesitantly asked.
At that moment, a the door opened, revealing a woman with blond hair, "Ben, Honey, are you...?"
Ben's mother stopped when he saw the stranger and pulled her son protectively in her arms.
"Honey, is someone..." Another man with brown hair appeared outside. Once he saw the bearded man, he scowled.
"I'm guessing you guys know each other." Ben remarked.
"Of course we do." The man grinned, "After all; we are family."
Family? Ben never seen him before in any Reunion. Or any family pictures or anything. What is he? A weird uncle once removed?
Something about that smile that felt... unsettling, and evil.
"Ben, Sweetie, there's something for you in the kitchen." Sandra led Ben away from his uncle and head straight for their house. Once they were a few feet a way, she whispered, "Grab as quickly as you can and run!"
Before Ben could ask, Sandra pushed him inside before she locked the door. Ben watched his mother rejoin his father who seem to be in an argument with his estranged uncle.
Ben didn't know why but he soon found himself in the kitchen. Sure enough, there was a small box on the table, covered in green wrapping paper and adorned with a black ribbon.
Ben picked it up. Just as curiosity urged him to open it, the front door suddenly opened.
Ben turned around, expecting his parents, only to find two burly men in black glaring at him through black sunglasses. Their eyes glued on his present...
At that moment, his instincts kicked in; Ben quickly rushed out through the kitchen door and hopped on his skateboard, skating away from his home as fast as he can with the two men giving chase.
He had to find a way to lose these two. Why are they after him anyway? Was it because of his birthday present? What about his parents? Are they...?!
The sound of a car horn snapped him out of his thoughts. He would have been roadkill if he hadn't veered away from that car. That's when he realized he just skateboarded his way in the middle of the road.
He veered and dodged every vehicle that he came across. You could say the road was getting riled up at the fact that a kid was riding recklessly and creating a huge traffic jam. But it wasn't his fault. Those guys were after him.
Speaking of who, they still are. Now he really needed to lose them.
Suddenly, a large truck was heading straight for him!
When the driver saw Ben, he steered to the right, but he didn't steer fast enough as the other half of the truck was about to crash on the kid.
Then, to everyone's surprise, Ben jumped.
While his skateboard rolled under the truck, he jumped so high and managed to land on his skateboard on the other side.
Turns out the truck was a garbage truck. When the truck driver turned, a large trash bag was thrown and landed on the two men, covering them in stinky trash.
Ben laughed victoriously before he continued to skate away.
Come on. That's the fifth time they weren't picking up. The moment Ben was sure he wasn't followed anymore, he found a secluded spot near the woods were he can call his parents to make sure they were okay.
After the 6th failed call, he began to worry. What did those guys did to them?
Ben decided to try a different number, "Hi. Grandpa Max? Something happened to Mom and Dad...?!"
He never got to finish the call as two more burly man grabbed him from behind and stomped on his phone.
Ben struggled to free himself but failed. What worse was that his present was taken away from him by the same bearded man he last saw his parents with.
"Hey! That's mine!" Ben protested.
"Ah yes. You have turned 10." The man turned to face him, his hand reaching for his sunglasses, "Well then..."
Once he took off his sunglasses, Ben's eyes widened in horror...
The man's face began to change; his entire skin turned into a sickly shade of dark green, including his beard, making them look like octopus tentacles. His lips turn black and his eyes turned red.
"Happy Birthday, Nephew."
Then... when did the sun fall from the sky?
Something fell from the sky that blinded everyone, forcing them to look away from the intense light. Distracted, the two men restraining Ben were suddenly knocked down by an elderly man wearing a gray and black suit with a black belt buckle with a green hourglass in the middle, freeing their captive in the process.
"Grandpa!" Ben grinned upon seeing his grandfather, "When did you...?!"
Max pushed Ben out of the way just as the green bearded creature was about to strike him from behind. Max managed to stop him by grabbing his arm, but was unprepared when he gave him a strong kick on the stomach.
Ben backed away in fear when his "uncle" began to approach him. He reached for his skateboard but it was smashed into pieces.
Vilgax reached out a black claw to grab the kid, only to be knocked away by a red blur.
"Get your filthy claws away from my nephew, Vilgax."
Nephew? Just when is he related to a giant red four-armed freak?
Although... her voice sounded familiar...
Vilgax got back up only to realize that he dropped the present. He reached out to grab it, only to lose it to a green crystal-like humanoid who trapped him in green crystals.
Okay. This just turned into one weird, crazy birthday. A shadow loomed over Ben, prompting him to turn around and slightly flinch at a flaming humanoid creature standing before him.
Suddenly, they were surrounded by more men in black. The creature grabbed Ben by the waist.
"Sorry Gentlemen." The creature smirked, "Gotta blast."
The men jumped at him only to collide with each other. Ben screamed as the creature took him to the skies in a blast of flames.
Wait... "Gotta blast"?
Suddenly, a large flying ship appeared out of nowhere. A small section of it slid open, allowing the flame creature to land inside and gently let go of a shocked Ben.
"Heat?"
A little AU I've been thinking about for a long time. Don't know when to continue. Just having a moment of Ben 10 nostalgia.
Until the next time I am Ben 10 inspired.