Here is my 100th story to date. I'm stunned that I have written so many stories since I started over half a year ago here. Time sure does fly.
This fanfic is somewhat of a redo of the Ben 10 Omniverse episode "Showdown, Parts 1 & 2". It doesn't totally follow the episodes since it's just my take on what could have happened.
This fanfic was also a request by Danny, who had asked if I could do a story where Ben's aliens were real and alive inside the Omnitrix, talking to each other, until one of them was used to fight evil and then would tell the others. Well, I remembered that another writer (I currently forget who, since it's been a while now) had already done two stories like that, so I couldn't use the same idea and thought for a long time before I remembered the Ben 10 Alien Force two part episode "Vengeance of Vilgax" and the Ben 10 Ultimate Alien episode "Ultimate Sacrifice" where both episodes showed that the aliens were real and could act on their own. Then I remembered the Omniverse episode "Showdown, Parts 1 & 2" and thought, 'What if Ben was able to save Feedback with some help and the alien has been waiting in the Omnitrix recovering until it was time to fight Malware again?' Like I said before, this is just my idea of what could have happened and it loosely followed "Showdown, Parts 1 & 2". So please, no flames.
Disclaimer: Ben 10 and all it's aliens belong to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. I only own Flame Tech. To all my readers, enjoy!
Showdown Redux
10 years ago…
Ben was both hurt and angry that Azmuth didn't trust him enough with the Omnitrix and that his grandfather and cousin took the Galvin's side and ran out of the RV, to which Gwen followed him and tried to make him understand, but the young hero was too upset to listen.
That was when Malware showed up and Ben chose Feedback to fight the corruptive mechamorph, but was surprised when Malware somehow managed to separate the Conductoid DNA from Ben's DNA.
"Now to get rid of this nuisance," said Malware as more red lines appeared on Feedback, but Ben noticed something. Feedback's face was contorted into pain as if he was alive. That was when he heard a static-filled voice in his head.
"Benjamin! Help me!"
With no doubt in his mind that the call for help was from the Conductoid that was being tortured by Malware, Ben managed to turn the Omnitrix to expose it and shocked Malware with it, making the dangerous mechamorph overload and explode, dropping both human and Conductoid. Ben rushed over to him.
"Feedback?" he asked, worried that his favorite alien was going to die.
Feedback weakly turned his head towards the boy and smiled, although his face showed a lot of pain. A shadow came over the two of them and Ben looked up while Feedback turned his head a little to see a tall, black-and-orange figure with a red scarf around their waist and a blue sword strapped to their back looking down at them, although it was uncertain since the figure's face was completely covered. The figure then raised one hand to the side of their head and seemingly pressed something.
"Tetrax, we need you," said a female voice, something that made Ben snap his head up. The ninja figure was a girl? That was new on him.
Bending down, the ninja scooped Feedback into her arms, carrying him as she then stood close to Ben. "Grab my arm," she said to him and he obeyed, wondering what she was going to do. He found out when they were suddenly transported from Earth into a familiar spaceship.
"Tetrax?" said Ben.
The Petrosapien nodded to the boy and motioned to the ninja. "The med bay is ready," he said and she nodded, carrying the injured Conductoid into the medical bay and laying him down on the berth, reaching into her back on her back and bringing out herbs, carefully selecting the ones she would need to heal the alien. Ben stood on the other side of the berth and watched her work. She glanced up and he felt her eyes on him.
"Do you wish to help?" she asked gently.
"How?" he asked, wanting to help, but didn't know how as guilt weighed on him.
"Talk to him. Encourage him to hold on," she said. "It will hopefully take his mind off the pain while I work."
Nodding, Ben started talking to Feedback, although he wasn't sure if the alien was listening, but it helped to ease a little of his guilt as the ninja girl worked on healing the alien. After a bit, she stood up. "The herbs should kick in fully in an hour, but it will take his inner systems a long time to recover," she said.
Ben looked scared. "Is he going to die?" he asked, as fear and guilt punched him hard in the stomach.
The ninja shook her head. "No, but he won't be able to fight for a long time, probably a few years, maybe longer."
A groan directed their attention to the Conductoid, who opened his eye and saw the three faces in front of him. "Easy," said the ninja, placing a hand on his shoulder to keep him down. "You're not fully recovered, Feedback."
He nodded slowly, although he was in some pain. Tetrax got out some blankets that were soft and placed them under the Conductoid's back and head to make him more comfortable, to which Feedback smiled gratefully.
"Thank you," he said.
Ben then looked at the ninja. "Who are you?" he asked.
She chuckled. "I was wondering when that question would pop up," she said and took off her mask to reveal blonde hair, a young face, and blue eyes framed with glasses. She smiled at Ben.
"Hello, Ben," she said. "I am Flame Tech, a guardian of dimensions."
"A guardian?" asked Ben. "Is that how you knew about this?"
The question was a quiet one and Flame Tech shook her head. "The Master Elder, who guards this dimension and others, sensed something wrong and asked me to investigate," she said. "When I saw Feedback injured, I knew I had to step in. I encouraged Feedback through telepathy to call out to you and when he did, you defeated Malware, at least until the next time he shows up."
Ben nodded, looking defeated. "I should have listened to them," he said, referring to his family and Azmuth. "If I had, this wouldn't have happened."
"But then you wouldn't know the truth."
Ben turned to Feedback when the Conductoid spoke, moving over to him and letting Flame Tech lift him to sit on the berth next to the alien while she and Tetrax headed out, leaving the two in privacy.
"Ben," said Feedback, his voice low as his breathing was filled with some pain. "Don't blame yourself. You're just a kid."
"A kid with a responsibility," said Ben, still feeling depressed. "I'm so sorry, Feedback. This is all my fault. I should have gotten hurt, not you."
Ben turned, feeling tears fill his eyes and he didn't want Feedback to see him crying, but a plug-tipped hand took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze in comfort. "Go ahead, Ben," he said. "Let it out."
Ben did that and tried to keep his sobbing down, but when Feedback pulled him into a hug, the boy lost it, crying into the Conductoid's shoulder as Feedback gently rubbed his back, humming softly. Ben finally stopped crying and looked at Feedback, who smiled at him.
"Ben, you have so much to learn and you're just a kid," the alien said. "Don't let this get you down. Keep doing what you're doing and someday, you'll be a true hero."
"But how can I do it without you?" asked Ben.
Feedback chuckled. "I'm not the only one who can help you," he said, pointing to the Omnitrix. "There are others."
"Are they real like you?" he asked.
"We're all real. And we watch over you. If you turn the watch a certain way, you can release whichever alien you want to help you and just ask them to help you and they will," the alien answered him.
Flame Tech came back in with a flask filled with a blue liquid. "Here, drink this," she said to Feedback. "It'll help your inner body heal more properly."
The Conductoid did so. "Thank you," he said, leaning back on the blankets and turning to Ben. "You can absorb me back into the Omnitrix, but I won't be able to fight for a while."
"How long?" asked Ben, looking at Flame Tech.
She glanced down for a moment before looking up at him. "Possibly six years," she said. "The medicine will work slowly as his injuries are extensive."
Ben looked at Feedback. "I'm sorry," he said.
"I forgive you, Ben," he said. "If you ever want to talk, just turn the Omnitrix to the right setting and we can talk. The others can talk to you too."
"What setting is that?" asked Ben.
"The hidden setting," said Flame Tech as she moved towards Ben and gently grabbed his left arm, adjusting the Omnitrix as Ben watched before the watch face changed to a speaker. The ninja smiled. "Now you can talk to any of them. Simply select the alien you want to talk to and press the sides of the dial, then turn it to the left and you're on."
Ben nodded. "Okay, so how do I absorb Feedback into the Omnitrix?"
Flame Tech turned the watch to the Collect Setting. "This collect setting will gather the DNA of any alien," she said. "Just point it at Feedback and it will absorb him."
Ben did just that and Feedback was absorbed back into the Omnitrix, giving the two a smile before disappearing deep into the watch to fully recover.
Over the next few years, Ben continued to fight off evil and always heard Feedback's voice encouraging him, and that helped Ben to win every battle.
Nine years ago…
It had now been one year and Ben was a preteen, ready to live life as he took off the Omnitrix like Azmuth showed him to and turned the dial to Feedback and putting the Omnitrix on speaker.
"Hey, Feedback," he said.
"Hello, Ben," said the Conductoid. "What's going on?"
"Well, the alien threat is over, and I really want to enjoy life, but I don't want to leave you guys. I'm not sure what to do."
Feedback smiled to himself. "Ben, you should go live your life. You've been fighting for almost two years and haven't had any fun. Don't worry, we'll be alright."
Ben smiled, glad that Feedback understood. "I won't forget you or the others," he promised.
"I won't forget you either, Ben, and I doubt the others will as well," said the Conductoid. "Good luck."
"Thanks. You too."
One year ago…
Another alien attack happened and Ben got the message from his grandfather, realizing that the Omnitrix was needed again. Going to his closet and pulling it out, he strapped it on his wrist again after speaking with Gwen and the Magister who had come to see them. He turned the dial like Flame Tech had shown him long ago.
"Feedback?" he now asked, hoping the alien was still in there.
"Benjamin?" asked the familiar, static-filled voice. "You sound different. Then again, it's been five years now, right?"
"Yeah," said Ben. "Another threat has come to Earth."
"Hmm," said Feedback. "You'll need better aliens to fight this one. The Omnitrix should link up with your DNA again and compensate for the changes. You will have stronger modes."
"But what about the other aliens I used to have?" asked Ben.
"You'll have them," said Feedback. "Once you master the ten you will now have, the others will appear as well. That's the way Azmuth set it up."
"Okay," said Ben. "How are you doing?"
"Still recovering, but the medicine Flame Tech gave me a while back is still working, so I should be able to join sometime in the near future."
Ben nodded. "Get well soon, my friend," he said.
"Best of luck to you, Ben," said the Conductoid with a smile in his voice as the Omnitrix went through the morphing stage to give Ben the aliens he would need to combat this new threat.
Present day…
After the Highbreed and Vilgax had been completely destroyed
and Ben was given a new Omnitrix, with all the alien DNA from the other prototypes, he watched Gwen and Kevin go to college and got a new partner named Rook Blonko. They were now on Galvan Prime, after being called up by Azmuth to face the new danger. Kyber, Dr. Psycobos, and Malware were attacking, but after Dr. Psycobos was captured and Kyber bailed, Malware appeared and destroyed the mechamorph's home, which was Galvan's moon, and then started to attack the Galvans.
Ben and Rook fought hard, but after Rook's Proto-Tool was absorbed by Malware and Magister Tennyson was able to provide a new one, Ben realized what he needed to do. Turning the Omnitrix dial to Feedback, he hoped that the alien had fully recovered. He pressed the dial down and transformed into the Conductoid, seeing Feedback's new look.
"Awesome!" he said and started to fight Malware, who continued to grow stronger and the alien morpher threw Ben into the ground, forcing him to transform back into his human form.
"It's time I finished you off, Ben Tennyson," said Malware maliciously as he raised one fist and morphed it into a weapon that glowed ominously. Ben closed his eyes, hearing both Rook and his grandfather scream his name.
Suddenly, the Omnitrix glowed a bright green and the dial turned.
"Release mode, activated," said the computer voice and before everyone's astonished eyes, Feedback, Snare-Oh, and Wildvine appeared, standing between Ben and Malware.
"You've gone too far this time, Malware," Feedback growled as Wildvine and Snare-Oh helped Ben stand again. The Conductoid turned to Ben. "Let's finish this guy," he said.
Ben nodded after the shock wore off that three of his aliens were free and willing to help him fight. Wildvine tapped the Omnitrix gently.
"I believe Chromastone and the three of us should be able to stop Malware for good," he said and Ben nodded, turning the dial and getting the Crystalsapien. "Let's do it," he said and the four stood their ground against Malware, who screamed when he was defeated.
After the long battle, Ben morphed back to his human form and the three aliens turned to the gathered humans. "Time for us to go back into the Omnitrix," said Snare-Oh.
"But we'll be back if we're needed," said Wildvine.
Ben smiled. "Thanks, guys," he said to them.
Feedback placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Just as you protect us Ben, we are also your protectors and are always watching over you, ready for when we will be needed," he said. "You are doing a great job. Keep up the good work."
Ben smiled as the three were absorbed back into the Omnitrix and the humans all boarded their aircrafts to go home. As they were almost ready to take off, they saw the green mechamorphs reforming their planet, which made them all smile.
In the Guardian's realm, peace was in the air as Flame Tech watched the Ben 10 Universe with the Guardian Elder of that universe.
"He did well, didn't he, Master Elder?" she asked him, referring to Ben.
"Yes, young Guardian. He did and so did you," said the Elder. "Well done, Flame Tech. My brother chose his successor well."
"Thank you, Master Elder," said Flame Tech humbly, her head bowed as she remembered her master, who had passed away and given her the title she now held. With a smile and polite wave to the Master Elder, she returned to her post, thanking another Master Elder who had kindly watched over the three realms Flame Tech guarded as well as his own three realms while she was on her mission.
With a sigh of contentment, she watched as things progressed in the three dimensions that she guarded and she smiled, knowing that everything was the way it was supposed to be and also knowing that her Master, where he was now, was smiling too.
Whew! 10 pages on Word and here it is! I had a lot of fun writing this one.
Please leave a review (But no flames, please)!
GoldGuardian2418