Woot! First Chapter up and running! This is my first FF here, so I hope you like it. I'ts a B10 FF placed after the Diagon arc of Ultimate Alien. I wanted to write it mostly to include some of my head cannons, but also to put out some (hopefully) cute Charmcaster X Ben! Anyway suggestions are welcome! More chapters to come, and don't be afraid to pester me if I ever get to the point where I stop posting, I want to finish this one! ;)
Chapter 1
"Gone... she's...gone." The hero of the galaxy many times over sat in his bedroom staring at the floor. The curtains were pulled across the windows, creating a half-light and preventing all but a few rays of sunlight from pouring into the dark and stagnant room. The boy simply sat, repeating the words over and over, only loud enough for them to reach his own ears. He felt as if his world would end and he could do nothing for it, even though he knew that he could stop it in any other situation.
However, this was no normal situation. There were no innocent bystanders to fret with; there was no eminent threat of death and destruction. There were no casualties—except for himself. Earlier that day he'd been called by his girlfriend friend, Julie, to meet. But as he arrived he knew something was amiss. Her face had been dower and closed off. She feigned a smile when he got out of his car, but he could see the melancholy beneath. I should have known. I should have seen it coming. But he didn't, and Benjamin Tennyson had nothing but regret for it.
There was so much he wished he'd done better; so much he regretted doing and not doing. He wished he could take it back—but most of all, he wished he had his Julie back. At first he tried to justify it, telling himself she was better off not being followed by his paparazzi or stocked by his enemies, but nothing helped. He loved her. With all his heart he loved her.
Truthfully he needed her, as well. She kept him grounded in reality, considering all of the extraordinary things he had to deal with on a daily basis. Now what?
Now what, indeed. What will you do now boy? You should punish her for her misdeed. A graveled, ancient voice echoed from the boy's mind.
Ben could feel the presences of a great evil inside himself. Shut up. I'd never hurt her. He mentally shouted at the voice as he fought its overbearing presence.
The voice insisted, trying to make Ben waver enough to submit. But she took no heed before hurting you.
Stop it. Get out of my head! He nearly screamed out loud as he managed to force back the being within. This is getting bad. I have to find a way to stop it soon...
Almost a year ago, the world had almost been consumed by an Old One: The Diagon. It had converted almost all of humanity to Esoterica with the intention of taking over the universe. In that battle, Ben was forced to take the god's power into himself to defeat it, and it had almost corrupted the 16-year-old. But, thanks to his brave girlfriend, he had found the strength to give up the power, sealing it in a powerful sword of Azmuth's design.
However he had not managed the feat without scars: the Diagon's consciousness had remained within its power and had infiltrated Ben's manna when the boy took on the power. Even after releasing the energy into the universe, a fragment of the god's being still remained within Ben. Slowly, and unknown to Ben, the Old One had been calling back his lost power from across the universe, using Benjamin as the conduit and host to the god's revival. Now, as the god gained power, the boy could feel it. Every day, he felt the darkness growing inside him. The god spoke to him more and more frequently. He didn't know what to do. He had thought about going to Gwen about it, but was afraid of putting her in danger. He considered going to his grandfather about it, but feared the Plumbers' reaction to one of their agents being consumed by evil. And on top of it all, Julie's gone. She's been the only thing keeping me sane these last few months...
He knew it was only a matter of time before he lost himself to the Diagon.
Chapter 1 End