It was Halloween, one of Earth's greatest holidays and everyone was in the spirit of the season.
Except for Ben Tennyson.
Rachel and the Grant Mansion aliens saw how sad Ben was. He didn't walk with them to see the decorated houses, go costume shopping with them, or even carve pumpkins together.
Rachel and Sasha were worried sick. Halloween night was tonight and Ben was showing no signs of the Halloween spirit.
The aliens said that Ben took on monitor duty for the evening, that was the last nail in the coffin. The girls had to talk to him.
"Ben? Don't you want to come with us to Scary Godmother's party?" Sasha asked. "It'll be fun!"
"No thanks." Ben droned. "I gotta work."
"Ben! This isn't like you at all!" Rachel said. "You love Halloween as much as we do! What happened?!"
Ben was silent.
"Ben, we know you only get like this when someone's hurt you." Sasha said. "So, tell us what happened or we're not leaving from this spot!"
Ben sighed. "Alright, Blukic, Driba and I were going to make Halloween slime. But when I used the Omnitrix to make it more gross. It ended up blowing up in my face and..."
"Go on." said Rachel.
"Well, it was my usual bad luck when Grandpa Max was there with the other big shot Magisters visiting the place when the experiment blew up. Grandpa Max was so mad he hit the roof and was going to ground me from the Omnitrix if Blukic and Driba hadn't stepped in and took the blame for me."
"Then the Magisters said that I shouldn't waste my time on pitiful Earth customs and focus on being a more competent hero."
"Ben! You are a competent hero!" Rachel retorted.
Ben shook his head. "No, those guys were right. I always mess things up because I want to have fun too much. Since I have the Omnitrix, I can't have fun anymore. I have to be more vigilant and mature. And that means my Halloween days are done."
The girls couldn't believe this!
"BEN! You can't just-"
"Rachel. Sasha. I've made up my mind. I'm growing up and that means no more fun. You guys have no responsibility at all so you can have fun. Don't worry about me at all. Just forget I even exist."
Ben showed them out of the base, leaving the girls greatly disheartened.
"Rach, this is serious!" Sasha panicked. "Ben doesn't want to have fun and wants us to deny his existence?! We have to do something!"
Rachel felt the same. "And I know just what to do." She walked back to the Grant Mansion.
"Should we call Scary Godmother?!" Sasha suggested, keeping up with her sister.
To her surprise, Rachel grinned an evil smile. "Oh, no. We need to call the really big guns. We're calling the master of fright himself..."
That night, Rachel and Sasha left for Scary Godmother's party and all the trick or treaters were having candy collecting fun.
Ben was still at the Plumber Base watching the monitors. He was bored out of his skull, he was all twitchy and itching to go out and have some Halloween fun, but his mind told him to block out that feeling.
'I wish I could go out there with everyone.' Ben said in his depressed thoughts. 'I want to have fun again, but I guess when you're grown up, the fun really is over...'
Just then, the power went out.
Ben groaned and got out of his seat. "Did Blukic and Driba mess with the wiring again?" He stepped out of the room and went to see the two Galvan.
As he walked down the dark hallway, something rushed beside him quick as lightening.
"WHOA!" Ben whirled around but no one was there. He was going to transform into an alien when he made the alarming discovery that the Omnitrix was gone!
"THE OMNITRIX!" Now Ben was really scared! The Omnitrix, the most device in the universe, just disappeared from his wrist!
"Heheheheheeee..." Ben heard faint laughter coming from the darkness.
"Hello...?" Ben choked out. He saw a rather large figure coming towards him.
A single light came on and there, rolling on a unicycle was an obese clown with jagged teeth bearing a twisted smile.
"HELLO, LITTLE BOY! AHAHAHAHAAAAA!" laughed the clown.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Ben screamed. He watched in horror as the clown tore off his own face and hurled it at Ben.
"AHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!" The deranged clown face bounced toward Ben, who ran in complete terror.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Ben screamed. "LET ME OUT OF HEEEEEERE!"
Two gross looking witches flew in on their broomsticks and grabbed Ben under the arms. They soared at supersonic speeds right out of the Plumber Base and back to Bellwood.
"HEY! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN!" Ben screeched.
The witches cackled. "Bombs away!"
They threw Ben in mid-air! The boy screamed as he fell and fell, he was going to crash through the roo of an old house.
Ben was shocked when he saw the roof open up like a giant mouth and swallow Ben inside.
The teen hero landed on an old bed and bounced onto the floor. He laid on his back, staring at the dark ceiling in shock, trying to piece together what just happened.
"Am I dreaming...?!"
"Rrrrrrrr..."
Ben snapped his head to his side and saw red glowing eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth snarling at Ben.
Screaming at the top of his lungs, Ben ran out of the room and found himself in a spooky old house he's never been in before.
Ben ran down the hallway and rushed to the door. He tried to turn the handle, but it was locked. He was trapped!
Haunted moans came from the ceiling, goosebumps crept up Ben's arms as he turned around was about to run up the stairs, but stopped.
He watched in horror as he saw footsteps walking down the stairs, but no one was there. When the moans became louder, Ben spun around and saw a group of ghosts behind him! White, transparent forms with hollow eyes wailed their awful moans, making the hairs on the back of Ben's neck stand up.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" As he screamed, Ben wanted to faint, but he couldn't let himself pass out. He had to get out of here! He ran as fast as he could deeper into the house.
But then, creepy laughter came from the walls. Ben was scared from his head to the tips of his toes. he backed away slowly until he bumped into something, it made a rattling noise.
Turning around, Ben saw not one, but a whole pack of skeletons, ghosts, ghouls, and monsters!
Ben couldn't take it anymore! He was going to run and bust out of the window when a coffin blocked his path.
The coffin swung open and a skeleton in a pinstriped suit jumped out, hissing demonically at Ben.
Too much for his mind to handle, Ben fainted.
When Ben came to, the lights were on and he saw Snare-oh and Frankenstrike looking down at him.
"Oh, Ben! Thank goodness you're alright!" said Snare-oh.
Ben saw Frankenstrike closed his black medical bag. "Of course, it was just a fainting spell."
Ben checked his wrist and the Omnitrix was back on! But Ben screamed when he saw the ghosts and monsters looking at him, he was going to become XLR8 and run until a bony hand gripped his shoulder.
"It's okay, Ben! You're safe!" Ben recognized that voice.
"JACK?!" Ben shouted.
It was. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King. "Happy Halloween, Ben! Did we get you?!"
"Are you kidding me?! You scared me half to death!" Ben paused. "Wait...you did all this?!"
"Well, I can't take all the credit. I had help from the citizens of Halloween Town and of course, Rachel."
"Rachel?!"
Jack nodded. "Yep! Rachel called and told me what you were going through and she knew I was the only one who can help. So, I had my friends bring you here and pull off this great, big, Halloween scare!"
"But...why?!"
"Because it's fun!" Jack said, smiling.
Now that Ben thought about it, it was fun. Once he knew he was safe, the past few minutes were rather thrilling!
"I see that smile on your face!" Jack teased. "You did have fun!"
Ben chuckled. "Yeah! I did! Just like Halloween in the good old days!"
"They're still the good old days if you want them to be, Ben." Jack said. "Life can be tricky growing up and things always changing. But no matter how much things change, as long as you stay true to yourself and what you believe in, everything will be alright."
"And don't let anyone tell you different." Snare-oh said.
Ben smiled and hugged his friends. "Thanks, guys. You're the best."
"BOO!" a voice squeaked.
"AAAH!" Ben jumped and looked down to see Sparkle. She was dressed as a ghost. She poked her head out of her costume and handed Ben an extra bed sheet. "Here's your costume, Uncle Ben! I made it myself."
Ben's heart melted from his niece's kindness. He knelt down and kissed her forehead. "Thank you, Sweetie." He put on the sheet and now he was a ghost too. "Who's up for some trick or treating?!"
"ME!" Sparkle cheered.
"Me!" Snare-oh and Feedback raised their hands.
"I'm in!" Frankenstrike said.
"Me as well!" Jack said. "It's been a long time since I've trick-or-treated!"
So, Ben, Jack Skellington, Feedback, Sparkle, Snare-oh, and Frankenstrike ventured into the neighborhood and trick-or-treated their hearts out. Sharing laughs, spooking kids, and having the time of their lives.
Ben was having the fun he missed for so long. He does have a responsibility, but he learned that fun is always needed to have your mind take a break so he'll be ready for when the world needs a hero.
And thanks to his friends, he learned the best friends to hang out with on not just Halloween, but everyday of the year.