Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10.

BEN

Chapter 10 – His Will

After making sure that Gwen was safe, I could attacks of my own at will. Squirting greenish-brown gloop at Vilgax, I forced him to release his painful grip on me. The stinky ooze landed on his face, blocking out his sight and smell. He roared with anger and disgust, one hand letting go to wipe the slime off his face, gorge rising. I grabbed hold of this golden opportunity, taking advantage of the fact that the villain was only clinging on with one hand, gave a violent shake and hurled Vilgax towards the ground.

The big alien crashed onto the middle of the main road and sent a few cars skidding towards the pathways, colliding into shops, shattering glass windows. People screamed and ran for their lives as flames and fire started from the leaking oil of the overturned cars, shouting for help.

There you go, Ben! I scolded myself wrathfully. You let Vilgax hunt you down again, and innocent people pay for it with their lives! You say you're a superhero, but you're just one stupid dead loss! What did I tell you, Ben? You're better off dead!

I clenched my teeth, feeling the fury seething inside me like water at boiling point. I was supposed to save people, and yet I always ended up hurting them. I trashed their cars, wrecked their houses, destroyed buildings, endangered lives…the list could go on forever.

An all-too-familiar beeping sound hung around my ears, and in a flash of scarlet I was back to my human self, standing on the top of some bakery in the streets.

I was wrong to come back. I should have left the girl in the burning building; the Omnitirx would never be activated, and Vilgax wouldn't have returned. After all, I couldn't save everyone. Life was like chess; occasional sacrifices were necessary, right? By giving up one life, I could have saved everyone else on earth, for it would never be at the mercy of Vilgax, unlike the present. By surrendering that little girl to the clutches of death, I would not have to risk hundreds of thousands of other lives.

Yet, deep down, I knew I would never have been able to leave the child to burn in the roaring blaze. I remember the look on her face – so helpless, so scared, so sad. I saw my reflection in her – my distressed, completely-at-loss self.

But when she saw me, a tiny trace of hope flashed in her eyes, overcoming the feeling of fear and confusion at the sight of a four-armed, red skinned alien; I was her only way out to the light. I was her only chance to see the world again.

I couldn't possibly let her down.

Now, I face my strongest foe of all. Vilgax was just there, amid the smoking, upturned vehicles, struggling to his feet. I was determined to bring him down. He wouldn't hurt anyone again.

I would kill him if it was the last thing I did.

"Hey, Vilgax!"

The stupid, bald octopus-head spun to the direction to my voice. "Ben Tennyson!" he boomed, clenching his fists. "Why in such a hurry to face your doom?"

"My doom?" I snorted, raising my eyebrows. I pressed the button on my Omnitrix, now fully recharged, so that the dial shot up. "You're the one who's going down!"

Vilgax roared with laughter. "I am all-powerful, Ben Tennyson!" he sneered, pulling out his three-foot sword. He stepped forward, brandishing his weapon. "Nobody can stop me!"

"Oh yeah?" I shot back, switching though the aliens of my super watch. "Tell that to… Heatblast!"

I slammed the dial down with much force and the transformation took place immediately. Before the blinding green light faded away I was fully changed into the rock-skinned, fiery alien, ready for battle.

"Ready to eat up the flames I'm gonna shoot at you?" I taunted, all set to give the bad guy a piece of my mind.

"You talk big, Tennyson," Vilgax sneered. "And you're making a big mistake, picking a fight with me."

I wasted no time in replying Vilgax, but emitted the flames I promised him. Sending a stream of fire blasts at the alien, I speedily dodged the jet rays Vilgax shot at me with a laser gun he pulled out of nowhere. Similarly, Vilgax has managed to escape my attacks, and fire started to consume the trees on the sidewalk.

Frustrated that my first onslaught had not met its mark, I unleashed one of my more powerful attacks and sent blazing fire balls raining upon him, while at the same time giving the alien a taste of Heatblast's ultimate fire cannon-blast. The conflagration caused an explosion which destroyed everything within ten feet radius.

I thought Vilgax was gone for good, but before the grey smoke fogging my vision has even cleared, powerful laser beams shot from within. I jumped aside to avoid being hit, stunned that my enemy has managed to not just survive the boom, but to counterattack me too.

"You cannot defeat me, Ben Tennyson!" Vilgax's voice thundered from all around me. "I will take the Omnitrix from you!"

The dust died down, and Vilgax stood before me, a high-tech sonic cannon in hand. I swallowed, not knowing what his new weapon was capable of doing, preparing for the worst.

With a tremendous bang and a smirk, Vilgax fired. A huge ray of purple light came rocketing towards me, taking me by surprise. Too late to leap out of the way, the blast hit me straight in the face, throwing me backwards. Hitting hard wall, the back of my skull protested in distress, but I forced myself back on my feet, leaning against the brick wall for support.

I can do this, I thought, panting, putting aside the dizziness in my head. He might have a really powerful alien tech, but he's just one dumb squid-face. Meanwhile, I've got the brains.

Rejoining the battle, this time primed for the cannon, I let fire dance in my palms as I faced Vilgax once more. Instead of aiming at the villain himself, I shot at his big gun, startling him. I chucked fire blasts at the metal cannon again and again, until I finally made a dent in the tough material. I reckoned that if Vilgax didn't have his ultimate weapon, he would be much easier to take down.

Now knowing just what I was up to, Vilgax roared angrily and discharged his cannon at me without restraint, giving me no time to attack. I leapt away from harm, hardly able to catch my breath, the blasts missing me by inches. I kept my eyes open for any chance to fire back, but for now there was none. The sonic booms kept coming, denying me the seconds I need between attacks for me to get back at him.

"You see, Tennyson?" Vilgax bellowed triumphantly. "Victory will be mine!"

"The fight's not over yet!" I yelled back. I there was no way I'm going to let him win!

Deciding that prancing from one place to another just to avoid Vilgax's attacks wasn't going to make the fight mine, I gave a giant leap and landed in an alleyway, the walls shielding me from the sonic cannon. I summoned up all my power and gathered a glowing, massive fire orb between my palms, waited for the right moment, sprung out from my hiding place and pitched the ball right into Vilgax's ugly face.

KABOOM! Everything exploded; trees, cars, trashcans, bits of concrete road… all was thrown up into the air and set on fire. I sure was glad that the place had been deserted when Vilgax made his first appearance, or a lot of people would have been blown up.

There was no doubt this time; Vilgax couldn't have managed to come through that detonation. He had to be dead as a doornail. I hurried forward, just checking to make sure.

A huge claw shot forward and grasped my neck, holding on fast. I choked, too shocked to do anything. Another claw reached out, tapping on the Omnitrix on my chest, and turning me back to Ben.

"Wha -?" I gasped in horror, struggling in the alien's hurting clasp as Vilgax snickered at me.

"How stupid are you, Tennyson?" Vilgax scoffed, his hand tightening on my windpipe. I struggled for breath, digging my fingernails into the squid-head's claws and pulling them across his skin, hoping to make him let go. "I told you, did I not, human, that you can't hurt me? You actually think that I didn't come here prepared for all your attacks?"

Vilgax took a little metal ball from his pocket – a tiny energy-shield projector.

"You're going to take me back to your giant piece of orange space trash again?" I gasped, sucking in little air with much effort.

"No," Vilgax replied, taking out his blade. "I'm going to cut off your wrist right here and now!"