Chapter One: Prologue

There were times that Ben hated being a hero.

De-aged to fourteen years old, by himself in a new universe with no one to help him, this was one of those times.

Granted, it was partly his fault. He really should have said no to Paradox when he asked him for help. But things were slow; there hadn't been another alien invasion or a crisis in weeks, and for him that was saying something. Gwen and Kevin were off at college, the universe was calm for once and everything was peaceful. For the first time in 11 years he had nothing to do.

So of course he hated every moment of it. It left him antsy and paranoid. There was never nothing to do; something always happened. In his experience, whenever things were calm, it just meant something bigger and badder than before would come around and screw things up again, and an even worse crisis would call all his attention.

So when Paradox summoned him and asked him for his help he was ready and prepared to take down anyone or anything that was messing things up again. He thought it was the standard end-of-the-universe package: some idiot would try and take over the universe or destroy it or whatever, and he would have to come and stop them. You know, typical Thursday.

But what gave away that this wasn't the usual emergency was when Paradox said that he could actually say no on this one, that he could walk away and pick someone else for the job. That no, he didn't have to do this, that he could walk away with a clear conscious.

For the first time in his life, Ben was given a choice.

No one, not since that fateful day he found the Omnitrix, had ever given him a choice about things. He had the power, so he was always expected to do something. He really had no say in it and was always told he had to do something when things went wrong. Bare in mind, he wasn't complaining; he would have done something whether or not anyone asked him to because that was simply who he was. But no one had ever sat him down and directly told him that he could say no, that someone else could handle it. Because it had always been him; there was never anyone else who had the power to stand up, to fight against the evil and chaos that wanted to consume the universe.

Oh sure, people had told him that he could walk away, but he knew they didn't really mean it. They didn't have anyone else but him at their disposal. It was his power, his responsibility, and at times the pressure kind of weighed on him. That's why he always seemed to do stupid things at times; he just needed a break, to do something silly once and a while, even if it did get him in trouble.

But this time was different. Paradox explicitly said that he could deny this one with no repercussions. And while the guy could be a little too mysical for his tastes, Ben knew that the professor wouldn't lie about important things like this. He could actually turn away this time, and even though he knew he would accept whatever task Paradox asked of him-if only to stop the boredom- he still appreciated the thought. Though, knowing him, the scientist probably already knew he would accept anyway. So he accepted and readied himself for whatever came next.

Literal seconds after he agreed to help Paradox everything went black, and he woke up on the outskirts of a town next to a sign that said, "Welcome to Jump City!" in bold red print.

He knew there was something wrong with him when he tried to stand up and immediately fell flat on his face. Trying to stand up again had the same results so, leaning on the sign for balance, he slowly stood up on wobbly legs and looked down at himself.

He was shorter, probably 5 foot 7 inches. He was smaller, his body had lost most of the muscle and definition that he gained over the years, probably why he was so unbalanced. He had lost most of his reach and from what he could tell, he had lost like three shoe sizes. He was definitely younger than he used to be.

That son-of-a-bitch. He totally de-aged him!

The fact that he was actually cursing really showed how much Ben was upset about this. He hardly ever cursed.

At a guess he'd say he was maybe fourteen or so, definitely not old enough to fool anyone in this new universe that he was an adult. Which, of course, meant that he was at the mercy of any able-bodied adult that happened to find him since he wasn't old enough to take care of himself. He'd probably be put into foster care or something, which would be a major setback since he'd be constantly watched, making him unable to use the Omnitrix.

Which would mean that he wouldn't be able to do whatever the hell Paradox wanted him to do. The old man wasn't exactly forthcoming with information; he just told him that he would go through a few changes and that he might be familiar with the universe he was being dropped into. Which, in retrospect, was of no help.

Next time he was approached by a near omnipotent being who asked for his help, he would ask questions before doing anything.

Maybe Gwen was right; he really did need to think things through sometimes.

Speaking of Gwen, he was really glad he asked Paradox about what would happen while he was away. The scientist explained that he would return him to his universe once he was done completing his task. He would return him to the exact instant he left, so that no one would ever miss him. Which was a relief really. He could only imagine how upset Gwen and Kevin would be if he had been gone for months. And that's not even going into what would happen to his home universe once his enemies found out he was gone.

He steadied himself against the sign, waiting for his legs to stop shaking, and took a hesitant step forward. He almost pitched forward, before he grabbed the sign next to him for balance, legs once again shaking.

Stupid younger body. He was so glad no one could see this.

Letting go of the sign and taking a few steps forward, Ben Tennyson, formerly twenty-one year old superhero and owner of the Omnitrix, started slowly talking towards the city in the distance, unaware of what would await him.

Sorry this chapter was so short. just think of it as an introduction to the story.

I came up with this idea when I read this really good fic called, "Ben Titan" by Codecrash. And while this may seem a bit similar, there will be a few changes. Most notably, it will take place before the Titans arrive at Jump City and continue on throughout the series.

I wasn't sure what to based this fanfic on; Teen Titans or Teen Titans Go. So I'm doing a mixture of the two, though I'll mostly use Teen Titan elements since I'm more familiar with that one. There will be elements of the Justice League here and there, but I'll mostly focus on the Titans.

Please send me any advice or comments you have. All criticism is welcome, I'd love to know how to improve my writing.