Episode 2: Blast From The Future!

Chapter 3: Father and Son Feud

(Bellwood city mall) (The next day)

Ben, Gwen, Max and Ken had arrived to the city mall for the weekends. With their parents still busy at work, Ben and Gwen had all the time they needed here at the greatest shopping area in the entire city to do whatever they want to do. Ben wanted to go to the arcade and try to out-beat all the new games that had been placed there. Gwen on the other hand wanted to look at all the latest trends and get into the latest fashions that were on sale. Of all the things to worry about, she worries about her appearance more than her own safety.

"Whoa… I can't believe how small the mall was during the 20th century" Kenny said in a somewhat amazed tone, "The smallest mall on earth back in the future, had at least thirty floors and two sky liners up top" but then his observation ended when he noticed his future dad playing rock-paper-scissors near the fountain. Sure it was ok for kids to be playing some small mini games like rock-paper-scissors, but it was still strange. After watching them play for about two or three rounds, he finally decided to ask. "Ahh… what are you guys doing?"

"Winner gets to pick which place we get to go first" Ben answered.

"It's tradition" Gwen added as she continued playing.

"Oh… ok" Ken replied a little unsure of he was supposed to interrupt the game or just wait for one of them to win.

"Haven't you kids decided where to go yet?" Max came up to which they shook their heads in reply, "How about this? You both can go wherever you want but we'll meet back at this fountain later this afternoon for lunch. If you're lost, we'll just contact each other through our communicons"

"Really!?" Ben said in disbelief, "Can we really go anywhere we want!?"

"Please tell me you're serious!" Gwen added with twinkling eyes.

"I believe you both are responsible enough to take care of yourselves" Max explained, "Unless of course you guys wanna go shopping with me at the RV shop" in an instant, Ben and Gwen gave each other a high five before dashing to their own areas of interest. "AHHEY! Don't forget we meet back here in three hours!"

"Hey dad, wait for me!" Kenny shouted before running after his future father.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few minutes after grandpa gave his two grandchildren their freedom to roam around the big mall, Ben immediately got into the first floor arcade to continue his crusade against video games. As he walked into the multi-light beeping room, his hands and finger began itching to press something. "Ok… let the battle…begin"

Ken could only sit back and watch his dad continue to ace one game after another with his talented hands. Once Ben beats the high-score of one game he quickly moves on to the next console to test his mettle. After battling against numerous monsters and aliens all summer long, he probably gotten used to handling weapons and targeting devices already. The games here proved to be little match for him and in just one hour he managed to beat the entire arcade with both hands tied his back.

"So dad…" Kenny began, "What's the point of playing all these games anyway? I mean… sure you get to leave your mark on the video game, but so what? You're gonna be a super start thirty years from now… maybe even earlier"

"Actually, I just do it for fun" Ben answered, "There's no greater pleasure than satisfying yourself with a gorge of radiation and explosive sounds in your ear. Ahh…" he let out a satisfying moan as he progressed through the mall, "Besides, the one who scores the most points in that arcade, gets their name printed on the bathroom door"

"O… k… I guess that explains a lot of things"

"Oh you haven't seen the best yet" Ben snickered, "Come on, I'll show you what we kids do for fun back in the old days!" and with that, he quickly grab his son's hand and dragged him all the way over the mall.

Their first stop of the day was the half pipe located at the far end of the mall. From there, Ben rented two skateboards along with protective gears and began skating around the area, doing minor stunts and posing for several pictures. Kenny had some experience with skateboarding, but only in the air. He never had any experience with ones on wheels and on the ground.

After that, the two of them went to the main lobby where a small time rock band was playing. The music was great and the crowd loved it. Once they got themselves a couple of autographs and pictures, they immediately head off towards the game store to check out the latest comics and video games.

"You were pretty good back with at the half pipes" Ben commented, "Did I teach you how to skate or something when you were younger?"

"Nah, I kinda made it up as I went along" Ken replied, "I usually air-board, but skate boarding totally rocks too" but soon his eyes suddenly came upon one of his favorite comics, "Whoa! No way! It's the Aqualimpvader issue number one! These things are impossible to find in the future! If I bring this home, I'll be able to sell it for a million times worth its cost! All my friends will be jealous" he quickly began reading the comic, hoping to find out about his hero, "Now let's see… how Aqualimpvader really got his powers?"

While the two of them continued reading and exploring the game store, Ben's eyes was quickly snatched away (not literally) by a computer console incased in a glass cage. "Whoa…" he said in amazement, "Is that what I think it is?"

"You got good eyes kid" came the clerk's voice. "That's a mighty Game Sphere, just came out today. This is the first in stock and it's on sale today only. With it, you can play anywhere, anytime and it even has its own personal power storage system which allows you to play even without a plug for six hours straight"

"Awesome……" was the only word Ben was able to say as his eyes were practically glued to the machine. "If only I had the money to buy that… I would've bought it a long time ago…" the clerk simply smiled at the boy's drool. It was common to see other people envy with other people's technology.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After Ben and Ken finished off their shopping at the game store they decided to spend their last thirty minutes at the café which was conveniently located near the fountain where they were supposed to meet Maxwell. "Well we still got thirty minutes till grandpa gets here" Ben noted, "Wanna grab a bite? My treat"

"I'll take one sandwich with double cheese and ham" Ken answered with a nod, "Oh and do they have hot coco around here? I've been dying to try one of those" a few minutes later they quickly grab themselves a table and gorged on their meal. After such an excellent day at the mall, the two boys were practically worn out.

The temperature around the room was cold, but it was livable and the atmosphere seemed almost too perfect. If Ben could do this everyday than he would've done it along time ago…

But just when they relaxing on their second cup of coco, Gwen arrived with more than six bags of the latest trends from six different kinds of fashion store. "Hey guys, how's it hanging?" she asked cheerfully. Ben could already tell that she had a good time at the mall herself and with all those things she was carrying, she must've been spending the whole time in the changing room trying all of those new outfits.

"Nothing much" Ben replied, "Ken and I went to the half pipes and I taught him how to skate"

"Dad, beat all the arcade games and got his name printed on the bathroom door" Ken added with an equally wide grin as Ben. "What about you aunt Gwendolyn?"

"Terrific!" she replied almost too fast, "I got some new jeans, T-shirts, oooooh… and a new pair of skirts that were absolutely adorable! I also got a new pair of arrow top hats from Chateau La Shee shee, the greatest hat designers in Europe!"

"Uh… sorry but I don't speak girl" Ben replied in a boring tone. "Why go so much just go clothing?"

"Well excuse me buster! Unlike some untrained monkeys, we humans care about how others think about us" she shot back with a glare.

"Well then, do you wanna know what I think about your clothes?" after a deep breath, the young hero burped right in front of her face with the smell of a ham and cheese taco sandwich. "Ahahahahaha!"

"Ughh! Gross! The only thing worst than this would be Wildmutt slob" Gwen quickly grabbed a tissue from the rack and wiped the small pieces of food on her face.

"Nice one dad!" Ken gave out a high-five. "I'll go get something else to eat, I'll see ya soon" and with that he dashed off towards the café to get some more food.

"Ugh! You dweeb!" Gwen yelled as she sat down.

"I know you are, but what am I?"

"A mega dweeb!"

(Thirty minutes later)

After waiting for a couple more minutes Gwen quickly took out her spell book to continue her research on Charmcaster's magical abilities. She was still trying to find a way to send Kenny back to the future so that he won't be able to cause too much damage here in the past. Hopefully he'll be able to send him back to the right time and space.

As time slowly flew by, the two of them began to wonder where Max was. He was never late during a meeting and usually the first person there. "Hmm… grandpa's late" Ben muttered as he checked the clock that hung right above the wall. "But he's never late"

"As much I hate it, I got to agree" Gwen nodded, "He's usually the first one here"

"I'll give him a call through the communicon" Ben quickly picked up his high-tech gadget and dialed in grandpa's number. After a few rings, the old man answered. "Ben? Is that you?" the kids were glad to see their grandfather safe but they were still quite curious on where he was, "Grandpa? Where are you? It's already way pass our meeting time"

"Oh sorry about that kids" the old man apologized rubbing the back of his head, "But the cash register at the metal shop got busted just a few minutes ago so they're calculating through hand. I'm going to be a little late for awhile so wait there for me and I'll be there within the hour" and with that he hung up.

"Sixty minutes with nothing to do? Sweet!" Ben cheered, "I'm gonna go back to the arcade to play a couple of more games" but before the boy could take off, Gwen pulled him by the collar and place him back on the chair.

"Oh no you don't dweeb!" she began, "Grandpa told us to stay right here and that's what we're going to do" the boy grunted out loud but could find no way to counter her reasoning. "Hey… but speaking of waiting……… Kenny's been gone for quite awhile now. Where do you think he went?"

"He said he was going to get another thing to eat" Ben answered also a little curious too on where his future son had gone. "Maybe he got lost in the mall" but their question was soon answered when Kenny reappeared from behind them.

"Hey guys" he greeted while carrying a huge load of snacks and comics in his arms. "Look at what I bought from the store! Sumo Slammer Crackers, Yoyo cereal and even super duper yum gum! The longest lasting gum in the country!" and that was probably just naming a few things that he had on the table

"How did you afford all of this?" Gwen asked a little curious.

"Uhh… gramps gave me some change to buy stuff" he thought out with a good excuse, "He said that before I go back to the future I should bring some souvenirs along with me. Here, I even bought you your favorite drink aunt Gwendolyn" he then held out a can of soda to which the girl gladly received.

"Oh why thank you future nephew in law" she smiled out as she turned to Ben, "It's hard to imagine that you would be related to this dorky cousin of mine. At least someone in the family has some manners to think about others" but her sarcasm proved to be her downfall. For when she opened the soda can, the contents of the drink sprinkled out making her wet from head to shoulder. "AH!" immediately both Ben and Ken began to laugh at this funny scene like never before. "That was not funny dweebs!" Kenny simply ignored her and continued laughing his gut off, "Ben! Say something!"

"Sure!" the boy replied through chuckles, "Nice one Kenny! That was awesome! Man you should've seen the look on her face ahahahahahahaha!"

"Thanks pops ahehehehe"

"I take back what I said earlier. He's definitely your son" Gwen shot back as Kenny ran off to the café to get some more treats, "Ben, aren't you gonna do something?!"

"Do what? He's only being a kid"

"He's way out of line and completely out of control! Do something!"

"Relax Gwen… he's only doing what all kids his age. Besides, he got us some neat snacks" he slowly began picking the treats that Kenny left for him. "Oooh cookies!" with Ben simply ignoring the girl's plea, Gwen decided to head towards the rest room to clean herself up.

As Ben continued to gobble down his share of the food, he suddenly noticed that Kenny had secretly bought one of his favorite comics, "Hmm? Oh cool, Space Waiter issue number ten! This is way too cool!" but as he looked at the price tag located at the back of the comic, his eyes widened in horror, "Twenty five bucks!? Whoa!" but soon his communicon began to ring, "Hello?"

"Ben, I'm at the cashier at the moment" it was Grandpa Max who was on the other line, "They finally got the machine working again so I'll be there soon. Make sure you don't leave anything behind"

"Sure thing" he replied, "A hey… gramps (yeah?) Just how much money did you give Kenny? You never gave me more than ten bucks a week"

The old man made a puzzling sound on the other line as he responded, "Money? Ben, I never gave Kenny any money" in that moment, Ben's eyes widened in horror as he stared back at him son who was still buying some treats that were beyond the normal allowance of a grade schooler.

When Kenny finally came back, Ben couldn't help but eye him suspiciously, "Hey pops, where did aunt Gwendolyn go?"

"She went to the bathroom" the boy answered as he hung up the communicon. After Kenny began eating his purchased snacks, Ben couldn't help but wonder how the boy got all that cash. He did say that he had a fifty dollar bill from the future Max but that was only enough to buy half the things he purchased. The more he thought about it the more curious he became.

After awhile, Kenny soon noticed his dad's strange glare, "Uh… you want some?"

"Kenny, just how much did grandpa gave you?" Ben glared seriously for the first time.

"Uh… just a couple of bucks" he answered which was obviously a lie. "Why do you ask?"

"Because grandpa just told me that he never gave you any money… and the comic books you bought is about six weeks of my school and weekend allowance" Ben explained as he gestured to the large pile of comics on the table.

Kenny knew right then that there was no way out of this. His dad had got him cornered so there was nothing left to do but fess up. "Ok… you got me" he said casually, "Grandpa didn't give me any money ahehehehe. Remember the old grocery clerk we helped out the other day? (nod) Well, I kinda took some cash from the bag when we took down the bad guys"

"WHAT?!" Ben yelled out so loud that it attracted a lot of attention from the other patrons. Knowing full well that this wasn't the best place to have a private chat, Ben quickly pulled his son by the arm and dragged him behind the escalator. "How could you do that!? How much did you take!?"

"Relax, I only took a couple of rolls" he answered back not even a bit scared of his future dad, "The guy was old. He wouldn't be able to tell the difference"

"It doesn't matter how old he was! Taking other people's stuff is not right! You do that, you're just as bad as those crooks! I can't believe I trusted you!"

"Hey, easy dad" the boy apologized, "Tell ya what. Why don't we use the rest of the money we have to buy that game sphere that you wanted so badly? I'm sure there'll be enough left for us to use" the offer was very tempting for Ben. He really wanted the game sphere more than any physical item in the world but it just wouldn't be right for him just to use someone else's money. He could see the game sphere just beyond his reach and it would so well in his room. "Come on dad. Think about it" Kenny added to his persuasion, "Heroes like us deserve a little rewards once in awhile right? Besides, I think that old man would've given us this money if he knew who we were" he then tempted his future father some more by dangling some green on his face. "Come on… you know you want it"

But that soon broke Ben off his concentration. With one swift move, he snatched the money right out of Ken's hands and frowned, "No! I'm taking this back to the old man… right now. No matter how you look at it. Taking other's stuff without permission is stealing!" he scolded. As Ben pushed his son back, he quickly turn to his Omnitrix and transformed into XLR8, the speed devil alien so that he could travel faster. "You stay here until grandpa and Gwen comes back so we can you back to the future!" From the sound of the boy's voice, any one could tell that he was pissed off beyond all reasons.

And with that final word, he dashed off towards the exit so that he can return the money that has been unjustly taken. But little did he know that Ken, had just about had enough of his father.

"Oh yeah… well there's no way I'm letting you out of this!" with a press of the Omnitrix, he too turned into XLR8 and went after his father.

By the time they were gone, Gwen had returned from the rest room. "Ben? Ken?" she muttered before seeing quick flash cross her eyes. "Oh no…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Just as Ben was about to make it through the exit he couldn't help but think of how a fool he was to trust a son from the future. That kid was definitely a Tennyson, but he still had a long way to go before thinking of becoming a hero. He must've probably been spoiled all his life… and with that Omnitrix on his wrist, he can be quite the show off. After thinking about it now… Ben realized why he wasn't anything like Kenny. Unlike him in the future, he didn't have to keep his powers a secret so he couldn't tell anyone, not even his parents of the deadly weapon he held in his hand.

If everyone knew that he had powers beyond the capacity of a god, he would've been spoiled and think that everything he sees belongs to him. At that moment… he was extremely glad that he had kept it a secret. If he didn't, who knows what kind of a jerk he might've become.

Bu as Ben thought of it to himself, he was suddenly tackled off course by another Kinceleran in the area. "Gr… hey what's the big idea?" he yelled out loud to the new alien that smacked him.

"You always were too free for your own good… pops…"

"Kenny?" Ben said in disbelief, "What are you doing?! I thought I told you to stay put!"

"I through taking orders from you pops! You're not the boss of me anymore. Not in this time line! I have more power and more aliens in this watch than you can take me on with your whole body!" he then changed into Diamondhead, the Petrosapien alien, "From here on out… Kenneth Tennyson will the new hero of earth and you can just sit back in the shadows just like I did"

Ben slowly got up and faced his son up close. "Gwen was right… you really are out of control!"

"That's what Devlin said to me as well…"

"This is your last warning Ken…" Ben couldn't believe that he actually threatened his own son, but he could care less about that. If he was his son, it was only his duty to discipline him. "Go back to the fountain… now…" he emphasized the 'now' word as a punch line to his threat.

But this only made Kenny (Diamondhead) chuckle, "Hehehehe… like I would be scared of someone like you" with a smirk, he quickly fired out a volley of crystal shards at him, "Think fast!" but with Ben's (XLR8) lightning fast reflexes, he was able to dodge them with great ease.

"Looks like someone here needs a little time out! Rock head!" with speed faster than light itself, Ben smacked right against Ken's face, knocking right on the ground. "You may be as hard a rock, but that doesn't you can't fall like one"

"Then I guess we should heat things up a bit!" Kenny immediately changed into Heatblast and began firing at his dad. But as usual, XLR8's speed was simply too much for him. "Anyone up for some fast medium well done meat!?" he yelled out before firing another fireball on a store which sent it burning into a crisp.

As the battle ensued through the side exit of the mall, the shoppers began to panic and flee the scene of battle like a pack of ants that had just lost their queen. "Give it up Kenny! You can come at me with a hundred aliens, but you won't be able to beat me!"

"Oh really!? I like a good challenge!" he replied while he continued to burn everything in his sights. "Why don't we make this into a fire ring death match!?"

Ben knew that XLR8 was incomparable when it comes to strength against Heatblast so he had to think of another way to battle against Kenny without reverting back to his normal human form. He darted his eyes left and right, trying to find a weapon to combat Kenny. A wooden stick would only burn upon impact and anything metallic would only bent under the heat.

But just when Ben thought that it was hopeless, he quickly spotted a fire extinguisher on the pillar next to him and grinned. With one swift move, he grabbed the fire extinguisher and grinned under his mask. "Why don't you… chill out for a moment!" he sprayed out the cool gas right on the boy's face, dousing the fire on his back.

"Alright pops, you asked for it!" again, Kenny morphed into Wildvine the plant alien. "There's no place to run this time!"

"I don't need to run, fauna boy! Bring it on!" and with that, they charged in against each other. Ken's amazing jungle like abilities made him agile and at the same time extremely powerful against XLR8's weak body and the explosive seeds on its back only added as a weapon to his arsenal.

But Ben was not without an advantage. With his quick thinking, he was able to dodge any attack Kenneth gave out and countered it with weaker, but still effective blows. As the two of them continued their never ending fight, the mall soon turned into a battleground between father and son.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the other side of the mall, Grandpa Max soon arrived at the meeting from his shopping at the metal shop. He expected to see his entire family there, but when he got his eyes to the table where they were supposed to meet, he only saw Gwen there. "Gwen? Where's Ben and Ken?" his question was soon answered when an explosion occurred, scaring some of the customers away. Without another word, the two of them quickly dashed off towards the scene of the battle only to find that half the mall had been thrashed like a war broke out.

"What's going on over here?!" Max shouted completely awed by the two Omnitrix's powers.

"My guess would be: A father and son problem" Gwen answered, "Do you think we should stop them?"

"I don't think neither of us can stop them even if we tried" Max admitted, "Let's just focus on getting the people out of here. I'll get the fire extinguisher, you get the kids away from here" with that chain of orders, Gwen quickly dashed off towards the nearby store to help some panicked civilians out of the area.

"Oooffff!!" Ben groaned out as he got whacked by Kenny's (Wildvine's) tentacles, "Had enough yet pops!?" he taunted, trying to provoke Ben into attacking him, "There's no way you can win dad… I can change into any alien that I want and you got nothing but a one with a simple limiter! There's no way you can defeat me!"

"Oh yeah!? Well I don't need to be an alien to take you on!" right then, Ben's Omnitrix began to glow red and soon he was turned back into his normal human form. "Just being human is more than enough to take a creep like you down!"

"Well I'd like to see you try!" Kenny quickly changed into Spitter, the spitting alien that Ben have not yet acquired.

"Eww… Gwen was right, this stuff is gross!" Ben stated as he dodged the sticky spit of Kenny. "Alright Kenny, that's it! No more Mr. Nice Guy. When you're in my town, you're going down!" he quickly ran towards the electronic store so that he would be able to make his last stand against the crazed boy.

"What's the matter dad!? Afraid of your own son!?" Kenny shouted as he turned into Diamondhead again.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Ben hid under some large flat screen TV, Gwen quickly arrived in the area to lend him some support. "Child trouble?" she joked to which the boy simply groaned.

"He's gone power crazy" he began, "How does my future self put up against him?"

"Well… he's your son. It's not my job to tell you how to raise him"

"Then it's time for Ken Tennyson to know what it means to fight like a Tennyson" Ben quickly slammed his fist together as he prepared to do battle. "Gwen, you should get out of here. I'll handle him" Gwen didn't really know what Ben had in mind, but whenever he spoke that seriously, she knew that it would best just to cooperate.

The city wasn't just a place where Benjamin Tennyson lived. Sure he had a house, a school and his entire family lived here, but it wasn't just a place of accommodation. This city was his turf and only an idiot would chase after him in this urban jungle. Through the years of studying in this place, the boy had remembered all of the hidden locations and secret passages that cut through streets and alleyways. He can read the sewer ways like the back of his hand and hid many supply caches throughout the city. And the electronic store that he was in just so happens to be one of them.

As Ben rushed into the back of the cash register, he lifted the floor mattress away, revealing a trap door that had been carefully camouflaged by paint. Not even the store owner of the shop would know that there was even such a stash hidden right under his feet.

Inside the secret stash were a bunch of water balloons filled with super glue, a stinky pepper spray and a V-2000 water gun. To some, these things would probably just be used as toys. But when these tools fall into Ben's hands, they can be used as weapons. Finally armed and ready for any opponent, Ben turned his attention back to the entrance, where his soon to be son was coming through.

"Come out come out wherever you are!" Kenny (Diamondhead) snickered as he walked through the door. When he got into Ben's line of sight, he quickly fired out a volley of crystals right at him.

"Come on Kenny, even grandpa Max can shoot better than you… seriously!" Ben taunted back.

"Well I may not be the best shooter, but when I get close and personal… it'll be a different story!" Kenny shot back. "Come out and show yourself!"

"Well why don't you… stick around!" with one toss, Ben threw out his sticky water balloons which exploded upon impact against Kenny's diamond hard skin. At first Kenny thought that they were just ordinary water balloons but when he tried to move again, he realized that they were actually glue.

"Grrr! You think this will stop me!? You're gonna have to do better than that dad!" he again fired a barrage of crystals which nearly hit Ben by the shoulder. As the boy continued to pin his father behind the large pile of TVs, radios, and other CD players, Ben thought that it was time to fight back.

"Hey Kenny, you're on TV!" While Kenny was busy getting out of that sticky situation, Ben pulled out a mini TV from the rack and slammed it right onto Kenny's face, sending him right back onto the ground. Even though he was a pint sized kid, Ben had his own secret strength hidden behind all that skin and bones.

Humiliated in front of a large crowd, Kenny instantly grew angry, "GRRRAAAA!! You're dead meat!"

"I know you are but what am I?" Ben laughed as he continued avoiding his son's attacks. He dodged one crystal after another and even though Ken can change into fifty different aliens at once, Ben began to see through his flaw. The boy was just as hard headed as he was, but he was too confident. He relied only in his alien forms and not his true self. If he wanted to be a Tennyson… then he's gonna have to learn things, the hard way.

"That's it, no more nice Kenny!" Angered by his father's continuous taunts and warnings, Kenny changed into Ditto, to odd up the even. "One of me is trouble. But why don't you try two or three… why not ten!!" he quickly multiplied himself into five pairs (that means there are ten duh!) and began searching the store for his father. "Ready or not, here we come!"

But Ben had a way to counter this. He knew that the Dittos were great in sheer numbers, but when one of them falls, they all fall. Quickly taking his position near the CD players, he pulled out his stink spray and grinned like an evil villain.

"Hey! I found him!" called one of Kenny's Dittos.

"After him!"

"Don't let him get away!"

"He's mine!"

"Don't you mean 'ours'?"

"Whatever…"

As Kenny finally got Ben surrounded, he ordered all of them to pick out one thing from each of the rack and use it as a weapon. Once they got close to Ben, the boy quickly sprayed the face of one of the Dittos. "Have a little taste of this skunk breath!"

"Ahh! My eyes!"

"No my eyes!"

"I can't see!"

"Let me at him! I'll show him!" in a matter of seconds the blinded Dittos began punching each other, tumbling over one another like a bunch of pins after a bowling ball hit.

"Ready to give up yet?" Ben smirked triumphantly. But just like his father, Kenny was persistent. With another change of the Omnitrix, Kenny immediately changed into Upgrade, the mechomorph alien (combination of mech which means machines and morph which means transform) "Not even close dad!" not only was this a good idea to change, but since Kenny (Upgrade) was in an electronic store, he was practically in his greatest area of power. "Prepare to meet your maker!"

"I think that should be my line" Ben replied calmly. And it was probably true since he was the boy's (ahem) maker.

"There's no way you can win this time pops" Kenny began, "With all the technology here, I'm at my fullest potential as Upgrade!" without even waiting for Ben to reply, Kenny began morphing with all the TVs, radios and other electronic equipments on display. Soon later, he became something like of a robot that you would see in comic books and movies. "See now dad!? I am now unstoppable!" he was now three times taller than a man and was armed with all the deadly weapons his mechomorph could offer. He had missiles, rockets, lasers, chainsaws, and heck he even had a flame thrower up its nose.

But strangely enough, Ben seemed to be quite calm about this whole situation. "Actually…" he began, "You just made this fight… a whole lot easier…" with one move, Ben pulled out his V-2000 water gun and with one squirt, Kenny's legs began to electrify. Water and electronic devices really didn't match with one another.

"W… what the?!" before the boy even had the chance to move, an electrical shock surged through his body, making him ache all over. "AHHH!!" after a few minutes later… the boy finally gave in and was soon knocked down on the ground, turning back into his original human. The technology he had morphed with fell too to the ground but luckily none of them hit Ben or his son. "W… what happened?" Kenny spoke out a little confused on how he was beaten so easily.

"You've just been grounded…" Ben replied with a serious and stern looking face. And with that, Kenny soon fell unconscious.

A slow and silent pause erupted soon after the battle had settled. Grandpa Max and Gwen were the only two witnesses of the great battle that had ensued here. Future father and son fought like they were literally trying to kill each other. It was so horrifying that not even the mice could bear to watch. The whole side of the mall was torn asunder when they battled. Some sparks of fire still sprang from time to time, the sprinkler system had just been activated, but even they could not douse the heat that had erupted here today.

As Ben tossed his water gun to the floor, he approach Kenny's unconscious body and carried him by the arm. He didn't really know what to say that time. What was really there to say? The boy was going down a bad road and he needed to be stopped no matter what. With the water sprinklers pouring down on both their faces, Ben gave out one of his most depressing sighs of all.

Was it really a victory? Or some twisted joke given by fate itself? He couldn't tell. But what he can tell however… was that the boy wasn't going to be going hero any time soon. That last electrical shock didn't just mess up with his body… it also messed up his Omnitrix circuitries. The green glow that used to remain on its symbol had vanished leaving nothing but a shell without a soul.

"You ok sport?" came Max's voice as he approach his grandson.

"Not… really…" he replied as the water went down his face.

"What happened between you two?" Gwen asked out of curiosity's sake.

"Dunno…"

But just as things began to die down a bit, a strong gush of wind suddenly came in, followed by a bright flash of light. As the Tennysons turn to the source of the light, a portal emerged, creating a strange rift through time and space. Grandpa Max was probably the only one confused on what it was, but Ben and Gwen knew what that portal was. They had seen it before and knew who would be coming through it.

A/N: When the past and future characters are talking I'll put a '(number)' to signify them.

When the portal finally completed its circles and symbols, Ben 10k (2), Gwendolyn (2) and future grandpa Max (2) came forth.

Again… another awkward silence erupted when the same families from different timeline met eye to eye. How often do you actually get a visit from your future self?

As the future Ben (2) saw his son on the hands of his past self unconscious, he could tell what had happened. He knew Ken wasn't ready for such power and he probably abused it in so many ways just like he did in the future. The boy was inexperienced and too fool-hardy to understand how it was like to be a hero. Perhaps this little experience back in the past should open up his eyes.

So without a word said, Ben (2) approached his child self and smiled, "Hey… I hope he wasn't too much trouble"

Ben simply smirked back, "Nah… but if I were you (and I will be you) I'd ground him for a month"

"Trust me, grounding him for a year isn't gonna change him either" Gwen (2) replied, "But we got to start somewhere"

Ben 10k (2) then took his knocked out son into his arms and smiled at his face as he moved a strain of his hair off his cheek, "Well the good thing is that the time stream isn't as badly damaged as we thought it would be. The moment we go back to the portal, everything should revert back to normal"

"Just make sure to put a leash on him by the time he wakes up" Ben groaned, "I don't think his Omnitrix will be working for awhile"

"I'll keep that in mind" Ben (2) replied, "I'll see you around, little me" and with that he walked back into the portal where he could properly punish his son for messing with the past… even though he was sent there by accident.

But a few minutes later, Max was soon approached by his older and slimmer self. "Well… it looks like I finally lost that big gut of mine"

Maxwell (2) nodded, "Y--up… got rid of my bad back and white beard too ahehehehe"

"I must've lost a lot of weight battling bad guys thirty years from now huh?"

"I lost a lot more than you know" Max (2) gestured to his robotic arm as he grinned, "Got to make a lot sacrifices too"

"Was it worth it?"

The future Max (2) simply looked at the family that had gathered and grinned from ear to ear as he replied, "Definitely…" as he slowly walked back to the portal he instantly remembered something, "Oh by the way. Two months from now, when you see a guy selling hot dog near the trailer park… trust me… don't eat it. It gave me a bad stomach for a week"

"I'll remember that"

It was then Gwen's turn to face her future self. "You… don't like the one I saw last time…" she said confusingly.

"Yeah… that was probably me, twenty years from now" Gwen (2) chuckled, "I realized long hair was way better than my short one though. Took me a while to grow it back again" she then turned to Ben who was simply starring at the portal to the future. "Hey Benny. I know Kenny must've done all this damage… but I think I understand why he's like that sometimes. If there's anything I can do to help"

"No problem…" the boy interrupted with a slight chuckle, "But… you could help me with the master code for my Omnitrix"

"Sorry, I don't specialize in Omnitrix technology" Gwen (2) smirked, "But I think I can help you with a little souvenir from the future" she quickly took out a small gift cube and handed it to him, "But don't open it until you get out of here"

"Uh… ok…"

Gwen (2) simply smiled at his adorable yet innocent face. To have him look at that strange item like it was some kind of a bomb made him look so childish, "Hehehehehe… boy I really forgot how cute you were back then. (to Max (2)) Come on grandpa. We don't want to damage the past as much as it has already been"

"Right with ya" and with one final farewell… the Tennysons of the future departed back to their original time and hopefully they'll stay where they belong.

"Man… can this weekend get any weirder?" Ben mumbled as he held his head down a little unsettled by the whole situation.

"Yah, my future self just called you cute" Gwen added with another grin. And with that, ends another chapter in the history of the Omnitrix.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Epilogue

After that strange yet exciting battle at the mall, the Tennysons quickly got back to the Rust Bucket before the local authorities return to check out what was really going on. By the time they left, the mall was turned into a complete wreck that would probably take weeks to rebuild. But this was not a complete waste of time to Ben, Gwen and grandpa Max.

Right after they had left, they did not come home empty handed. Gwen still had her clothes and Max had all the things he needed from the metal shop. But Ben had the best gift of all. Once he opened up the gift cube he received from Gwen (2) it turned into a game sphere! The same one that he had seen in the game store back at the mall.

"Cool! A game sphere!" he yelled with glee, "This is totally awesome!"

"Sorry you had to see all of that grandpa" Gwen said to her old man who simply smiled in return.

"Oh don't you worry Gwen" Max replied while keeping his eye on the road, "To know that I still get to live for another thirty years makes me happy already. And to lose my big gut and bad back was probably a blessing. I know I shouldn't say this, but I can't wait for the future!"

"I can" Ben added, "If I have to keep watch on Kenny 24/7 hooo… then there's no way I'm ever gonna get married"

"AHH!" Gwen shrieked, which caught the attention of both her cousin grandpa, "I forgot to ask my future self what trends they'll use on the twenty second century!"

The last thing that can be heard that day, was the laugh of the Tennysons, ending what was supposed to be… a great and wonderful day.

End of episode…