Chapter 117: Comatose: Part Five

I Don't Own Ben 10 Or Any Of The Characters

I Don't Own The Rights To Nathan Black Or Any Associated Characters, The Rights Go To annihalator2015

Author's Note:

* Hello and welcome to Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen. The only thing that I'll say is that starting in this chapter, we'll see a vast departure from the history that we know. That's all for now.

* So, with that being said, let's get into this chapter.

Earth-Prime

Late May, 2018

Ben's House

Ben

It was getting late. Well, it wasn't midnight yet, but it was still getting late. And I was stressing over how I had only a little over twelve hours until I had to do my first objective. I just couldn't get past it. I got up from my bed, which I had been lying on for what could have been half an hour. I didn't really know what to do right now. I was to stressed to even consider sleeping. And if I didn't go to sleep tonight, I'd be tired tomorrow. If only I could talk to someone about this, maybe, just maybe I could get some advice and relax a little.

If I could just talk to someone, I thought.

I walked over to my nightstand, where my phone was sitting, plugged in and pulled it from my charger. I entered my passcode and opened my contacts list, scrolling down to Gwen's contact information. Before we ate dinner, we exchanged each other's contact information. I tapped on the button to text her.

Me – Hey, are you still up?

I honestly didn't expect her to answer me, so I walked over to my desk and put my phone down. I then walked back to my bed and flopped down onto it, putting my face into my pillow.

What if all of my objectives come this quickly? If that's the case, then I won't have any free time at all. I won't have any time to myself with everything happening so quickly and I'll always be stressed. And tired, too. Tired and stressed.

The sound of my phone vibrating woke me up. I sat up, rubbing my eyes as I flung my legs to the edge of the bed and got back up. I walked back over to my phone, sitting face down on the desk.

How much time had passed since I dozed off?

I picked up my phone, flipped it over and looked at it. Gwen had gotten back to me within less than a minute.

Wow, I guess I didn't doze off after all. It only feels like it.

I read the message she had sent me.

Gwen – We said our good nights only twenty or so minutes ago... Lol, of course I'm still up. What's going on?

I let out a sigh.

Well, here goes nothing. I pretty much have everything to lose.

I nervously typed out my response.

Me – I need some advice. You don't need to leave your room, but do you think you could help me out?

It took her thirty seconds, maybe less to text me back.

Gwen – Depends on what kind of advice you need. So, what's up?

Me – So, there's this girl that I think I like, but I don't know how to approach her. I don't expect you to be an expert, but do you have any tips that would be helpful?

Maybe a minute passed before she texted back.

Gwen – Romance, huh? Well, that's a tricky subject. All people work differently, so there is no one definitive answer. Some people will be wooed by you and others won't. You just kind of have to shoot your shot and hope for the best.

Shoot my shot, huh?

I typed out my response.

Me – Okay.

I now took multiple nervous, rapid breaths as I typed my next response.

Me – So, will you go out with me?

And you know what? No answer, whatsoever. Five minutes passed easily, and she never texted back. I began pacing my room in a panic.

She probably turned off her phone for the night and most likely will just pretend like I didn't just text her that. This is what she did before. She practically denied that I confessed to her. Hell, she even refused to believe that my confession was real.

I kicked my wall out of frustration.

"Time travel is fucking stupid." I cursed to myself. "I wish the Omnitrix had an alien with that ability, so that I could prevent myself from doing that."

Just then, something happened that both surprised and confused me: There was a knock at my door. And it was a gentle knock, definitely not what I would have expected. I would have expected an aggressive knock, but no.

"Come in." I finally broke the silence in my room.

The door then opened and there she was. She was wearing thin pajama pants and a white tank top. She had a nervous look on her face as she approached. And that's when the other unexpected thing happened. She slowly, gently and hesitantly put her lips on mine.

I didn't try to force her into deepening the kiss, I just let it happen. After several seconds, to test the waters, I gently took one of her hands. She then hurried to grab my other hand and deepened the kiss just a little bit. This seemed so familiar, but yet so strange.

Well, to be fair, it had been months since we last kissed and it usually wasn't nervous like this. Eventually she pulled away and looked at me, with the same nervous look. She felt her lips as she looked at me, but was silent. I finally broke the silence.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded.

"Are you sure? You're awfully quiet."

"Yes. It's just... It's just that this seems so weird and morally incorrect. Taboo."

Uh-oh, that's not a good sign.

"But it also feels right in a way? I feel like I should be offended or something, since this isn't something we should be doing, but I'm just happy, I guess?"

Oh, so maybe I thought too soon.

"So, this is okay then?"

She nodded.

"Yes. Well, for now, at least."

"For now? What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know how your parents or mine will react to this when they get back."

Oh, I have a feeling that I know.

"But until then, I think I'd be okay with being with you. If that's what you want."

"Okay. But you want to be with me. Right?"

"I... don't know. It's just too early. It's weird, but it also feels right."

Uh-oh. Now I feel like I forced her into a relationship.

"If you don't want to be with me, I won't rush things. In fact, we don't have to be together if you don't want to be. We can pretend that this didn't happen."

"No, it's okay, really!" she said as she tightened her grip on my hands. "It may take time for me to get used to this, but really do think that I'm okay with this."

I nodded.

"Okay."

"That being said, why do you want to be with me? What did I do?"

I shrugged.

"I don't really know. I know we haven't been reunited for very long, only a few hours. But I just feel like that I want to be with someone like you."

"Okay. I won't say no to that."

I couldn't help but smile at her and she did the same.

Our romance started out awkwardly last time, but we eventually got to a stable place. I know it's not the case, but this feels even more awkward. I wonder how our romance will develop this time around?

"Um, before anything else happens, I need you to do something for me. And it's something really important."

"Okay. What is it?"

I put my hand on her back and steered her over to my desk.

"Okay, Gwen. You're going to question me, but trust me when I say that this is important." I said as I pointed down at my notebook. "I need you to read this. It really is important."

As I thought, she gave me a bit of a weird look.

"Okay, um, do I really have to? Is it really that import...?"

"Yes." I interrupted her. "I know you must think I'm crazy, but this really is important. More important than you can plausibly imagine. So, please. Gwen, do this for me. I wouldn't ask you to read from a notebook if it wasn't really important."

She looked at me again, as if asking me to confirm one more time.

"Please. Just read it, Gwen." I said as I nodded. "All of it."

She finally sat down at my desk and began to read. She read for maybe a minute at the most, turned one page, read a little of the next page and then turned back to look at me.

"What the hell is this?" she asked with a slight chuckle. "Is this some sort of shitty fanfiction of yours?"

I blushed at that for some reason. I let out a sigh.

"No, but I wish it were that simple. What that is, is a record of all future events. Or, past events, depending on how you look at it. It's all very confusing, but these events are going to happen within the next six or seven months, unless I stop them from happening."

She looked at me with the most confused look possible.

"All future events? Unless you stop them? Hold on." She spoke as she got up. "Tell me the truth here, Ben. And don't fuck with me on this. Just tell me what I want to know."

I nodded at her.

"Ben, are you from the future?"

I took a deep breath.

Well, I considered letting Gwen in on my situation. And I've done everything that I've had to do, but now I just have to do the last step. And this ends in one of two ways. Either she thinks I'm crazy and calls the whitecoats, or she doesn't. Simple as that.

"Yes." I finally said.

The expression on her face didn't change and she didn't move or say anything. She just narrowed her eyes a little.

"How far into the future?"

I began to count on my fingers.

"Well, if we're in late May right now, then I'd say maybe seven months. Eight at the absolute most."

"So, then you're about one year older than me? If you traveled back through time?"

"That's correct. And I didn't travel back through time intentionally."

She looked down as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Gwen, I know how it sounds. You think that I'm fucking crazy, you must think that! But I promise you, I'm not lying. Everything I've said is true. I'd never lie to you; you must know that!"

She didn't respond.

"Gwen?" I asked.

She still didn't respond.

Shit. See, this is what I feared. I fucked up. I shouldn't have told her the truth. She doesn't believe me in the slightest.

But then, she looked back up at me. And much to my surprise, she was smiling.

"Gwen?"

"I believe you." she finally spoke.

Sometime Later

Maybe forty five minutes or so had passed, and we were now lying on my bed, with the lights in my room turned off. She was lying on top of me and we were cuddling just like we had done in the past. Or was it the future? Ah, fuck it, I don't care.

"I still can't believe that you believe me."

"You're right. You'd never lie to me."

"And what about the Omnitrix?"

"Well, it's crazy, I'll say that. But it's not as crazy about this whole time travel thing. I still believe you, though. Speaking of time travel, how did you get back here? To the past, right?"

"Mmm-hmm. And I don't know. One night towards Christmas of this year, we fell asleep. And the next morning, I woke up here. Back on Thanksgiving of last year, 2017."

She sat up to look at me as she rested her back against the wall that was adjacent to my bed.

"Oh, so you didn't just get back here, then? You've been here for a while?"

I nodded.

"So, what kept you from changing stuff when you first got here, like you told me?"

"Oh, that. That's a roller coaster of fuckery. You sure you want to open that bag of tricks?"

"I've believed you so far, haven't I?"

"Fair point. Well, there's going to be this kid that goes to school with you and I, and Albedo. His name is Nathan. Nathan Black."

"And what about Sunny? Isn't she coming with us?"

"No." I said as I shook my head. "No, she will not."

"She won't? Why not?"

"Because, if things go the way that I want them to, then she'll never have existed."

I saw her give me a look of uncertainty in the darkness.

"Did Sunny do something bad for her to deserve such a fate?"

I shook my head.

"No, she didn't. If I'm being honest with you, I do actually like Sunny. She's an interesting person and it's good to have her around. It's really my fault."

"Your fault? How's that?"

"I didn't pay enough attention to her and I let my guard down. I thought it was okay to trust her and she betrayed my trust."

"What did she do?"

"It doesn't matter. I'll make sure that it never happens again. That's what matters."

"Is Sunny really that bad for her to not deserve a second chance?"

I heaved a sigh.

"No, in all honesty. She's not a bad person. She just had bad luck. Bad luck enough for her to do something that's unforgiveable. And unforgiveable enough, to me anyway, to warrant my preventing her existence."

She looked at me with uncertainty still.

"We'll come back to this another time. But back to this Nathan Black you mentioned. What's up with him?"

"He's interesting, I'll say that. There seems to be something off about him, but I don't know. He seems like a swell guy."

"A swell guy?"

"I don't know anything about him, but I just have this feeling that he means well. I get a sense that he's a good person."

"Oh."

"But this is where it gets interesting. So, he isn't supposed to arrive until December this year. And yet, he was here back in November for some reason."

"And what was he doing here so early?"

"Being really sneaky. Apparently, no one else has noticed him. And he's tried to convince me of something pretty outlandish, even for my current situation."

"And what's that?"

"He tried to convince me that none of this is real. That I didn't really time travel, that I'm stuck in some kind of loop. And that I'm currently in a coma. I don't believe him at all. There's no way that's legit."

"You're right. Even for your current situation, that's just bonkers. I can see why you don't believe him."

"Oh, and I didn't even mention how he's not even the real Nathan. He claims that while all of this "isn't happening", that he's a projection of my subconscious, because I guess I chose the shadiest stand in available?"

"Okay. Are you sure that he doesn't have issues?"

I shrugged.

"Well, I'm honestly not sure what to think of "him". Something weird is going on for sure, though."

"And this Nathan kid wasn't enough for you to jump to that conclusion?"

"Oh, he's just the tip of the iceberg."

"Well, enlighten me."

"So, I forgot to mention why Nathan was one of the reasons I decided not to change anything for a while. It's because he claims that in trying to change the future, I'll just make it worse. He says that the only way out of this "coma" is to let the timeline flow like it had before. He also claims that I've been here nine times now. That I've made nine attempts. I just don't remember them."

"And what explanation did he give for you not remembering?"

"He insists that I've mentally blocked all of my memories of my previous attempts."

"Yeah, he's definitely cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs."

I shrugged off her accusation.

"Well, like I said: Nathan was only the beginning. There's another figure, who I've dubbed Mr. Trench Coat."

"Why do you call him that?"

"Because he wears a battered, dirty, black trench coat, along with a battered, dirty, black fedora. And he seemed to know exactly what I was trying to do, before I was even able to it! He seemed to know that I was trying to change the future!"

"Alright. So, what's so special about him?"

"That I don't know. And that's what scares me. I know nothing about him, and he seems to know exactly what I'm trying to do. It's like he was just waiting for me!"

"Wow. It certainly sounds like you're in for a weird ride if you're going to try and do everything you want to do."

I put my hand on my forehead.

"Yeah, you're telling me."

"There's just one thing in all of this that I don't understand."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"Why tell me about all of this? I mean, I'm honored and all, but why do I need to know?"

I let out a sigh.

"You needed to know because of how stressed I was. I just needed at least one person to help me carry this thing. And with the first thing I need to do happening tomorrow, I just needed someone who could give me advice or even help me. What I needed was an ear. And I appreciate you lending me yours for this. It's been therapeutic."

"You're welcome. And you can rest easy knowing that I'm here for you whenever you need advice. And I'll help you through this whole thing and I'll always be here to support what you decide to do."

"Well, you actually can't help."

She looked at me as if she were offended.

"I can't? Why not?"

"Okay, let me rephrase that. You can't help, unless I'm absolutely sure that it's safe for you to do so. Gwen, I just can't risk losing you."

The look on her face softened.

"Oh. Well, I guess that makes sense."

"But Gwen, how do I do this? I mean, if I have to do this tomorrow, which I do, it just stresses me out so much, how do I get past it?"

She was silent for a few seconds.

"Gwen?"

Well, she eventually spoke.

"I guess that you just have to do it. You can't let your stress impair your focus. You just have to get it done so you can rest easy knowing that you'll get a better future."

"Oh. Well, thanks."

"Yeah, I know it's not much. Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I'm expecting too much of you. I couldn't realistically expect you to have solid advice after I revealed something that crazy to you."

After that, we just sat on my bed in silence, listening to the sound of the crickets chirping outside.

"Hey, I have another question."

I turned to look at her.

"What's up?"

"This might sound weird, but did you try to come visit me up at St. Agnes in December?"

I lifted my knee up and put my hands on my shin, as I left my other leg outstretched in front of me.

"Nah. Why do you ask?"

She looked surprised.

"Really? I just thought that I saw someone there who looked like you. He knew my name!"

See, I'm still focusing on this like I'm trying not to change the timeline. But now that I know that I'm going to try and change everything I can, there's no longer a point to act like this.

"Just kidding. I said that I'd never lie to you. Yeah, I went up there to see you in December. It kind of disappointed me that you didn't recognize me, but I'm not surprised. It honestly felt like the past was pushing back. You know, since it doesn't want to be changed?"

"Yeah, you did mention that. Why did you come up to see me, anyway?"

"I just needed to see you. Part of me wanted to recruit you early into this. And the other part just didn't want to lose you again."

"Lose me again? What do you mean?"

"Well, I guess I never lost you. In the original timeline, I almost lost you several times. And that's a feeling I can't bear anymore. When you didn't recognize me and after a talk with "Nathan" and my encounter with Mr. Trench Coat, I was forced to be without you for just a little while longer."

She got on her hands and knees and crawled over to me.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that again."

She then put her lips against mine and we kissed for a few seconds. Once she pulled away, she looked at me again.

"What is it?" I asked.

"There was obviously something that had to have happened to make you change your mind about trying to change the future. So, what was it?"

"Honestly? It was you, Gwen."

Even in the darkness, I could see her cheeks turn bright pink.

"Me?"

I nodded.

"Well, what about me?"

"Just your face. Seeing your beautiful face again did it for me."

"So, that's why you were staring at me at dinner!"

I was surprised.

"Oh, so you noticed?"

"Of course, I did. I'll always be able to notice if you're acting weird. But regardless, what was it about my face?"

"In the original timeline, you eventually got this scar on your forehead."

"A scar?"

"Yeah, and it's a light scar, you can hardly see it. Before you ask, the scar didn't change the way I looked at you. I'll always love you, no matter what."

"Oh. That's a really nice thing for you to say."

"Thanks. And like I said, your scar's no big deal. If I can prevent you from getting it, cool. But if I can't, I don't really care. The way I see it, if I can make your life just a little better than it was in the original timeline, then I should do it. I have to make sure that you're always okay and that you're happy."

I could sense her blushing again.

"And it's not just you. That helped me realize that I have a responsibility to help others with my knowledge of the future. I was being selfish just thinking about myself. I can help so many people that suffered because of my screw ups, by making sure that they never happen in the first place. I can keep my best friend, Kevin, from dying! If I can change the future to make it better, what kind of person would I be if I didn't try at all?"

"I understand where you're coming from. And I'm happy to know that it's me who inspired you."

"Good. I'm glad."

We began to sit in silence again, before she spoke after a minute or so.

"So, when do you have to stop this Animo person tomorrow?"

"Sometime in the afternoon."

I turned to look at the digital alarm clock on my nightstand.

"And it's almost one in the morning. If I'm going to do what I need to do tomorrow, I'm going to have to go to sleep soon."

"Okay." She spoke as she began to get up from my bed. "Well, I'll leave you and go back to my room."

Before she could get all the way up, I reached out and gently took her hand. She let out a light gasp as she turned back to look at me.

"Will you stay with me? Please?"

I could see her blushing, but she eventually nodded.

"Of course, I will."

We then got under the covers, with her on top, snuggling against me.

"Well, good night then." She said.

"Good night. And Gwen?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

She didn't say anything, but after a few seconds, she tightly gripped my hand in hers.

"I love you, too."

The Next Morning

"Ben, wake up!" I heard Gwen's voice as I woke up the following morning.

My eyes snapped open, as I heard the sound of birds chirping from outside.

"What?" I asked. "What time is it?"

"You're not going to like this."

"Just tell me." I said, as I sat up, causing her to do the same.

"It's just a little past noon."

"Shit! It's the past trying to push me back!" I cursed as I got out of bed. "I have to go now. I don't have much time."

"You can't stay and have something to eat first?" Gwen asked as she followed me.

"No. As hungry as I am, I have to go now."

"Can I come?"

"No, I'm sorry. This is just too important for me to skip and it's too dangerous for you to get involved."

She let out a sigh. I turned to her and put my hands on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry. But I have to do this. And it could be dangerous, so I can't have you risking yourself!"

"I understand. Just be careful, okay?"

"I will."

I then pulled her in for a kiss, which she returned with passion. Once she pulled away, I moved to my closet and opened the door. I began taking out the pieces of my costume, which were all there.

"What are you doing?" she asked in an uncertain tone of voice.

"Getting out my costume." I said.

"You have a costume?"

"Yes."

I began looking for my wrist gauntlets, only to realize something.

"Shit, I don't have my wrist gauntlets! And I don't have the spare parts to make them because I don't have a lab anymore!"

"You had a lab?"

I nodded.

"Yes, because of my interest in science in the original timeline. And now, I don't have it. Wow, I didn't take that into account."

"What were your gauntlets for?"

"They were just for getting around faster. But I can manage without them."

I began to take off the clothes that I had worn last night and got my costume on. Once I had my costume on, save for the mask, I turned back to Gwen.

"Well? What do you think?"

She stared at me for a few seconds, before she eventually burst out laughing.

"Wow." Was all I said after a few seconds.

She was laughing so hard that a few tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry." She said as she wiped the tears away. "You look great, really!"

"You don't think that. You're lying. You think I look ridiculous like this."

"No, seriously! But do you really need a costume?"

"It's more of a precaution, actually. Just in case the Omnitrix times out and I'm in public, I don't want people to know who I am."

"If you say so. Well, I've kept you long enough. You should go now."

I nodded.

"Right."

Half An Hour Later

Downtown Bellwood

I had used XLR8 to get to the Downtown area quickly. And I also used his speed ability to run up a wall and to get onto the roof of a building. At that point, I timed out and all I had to do was wait after that. I'm pretty sure that I was across the street from the apartment complex, but could I really be that sure? Several minutes passed without any sign of Animo.

"Come on, Animo." I whispered. "Where are you?"

It's at that point that it happened again.

"You're not supposed to be here."

I turned around immediately with shock, to see him. It was Mr. Trench Coat, dirty and grimy as ever, standing a few feet away from me.

"What the fuck?!"

"You're not supposed to be here. You need to leave!"

I just stared at him with shock.

"What the hell are you doing here?! Were you following me?!"

"You're not supposed to be here! What you're trying to do will have consequences! Horrible consequences!"

He seemed to ignore my questions.

"Look, I'm asking you to back off! You're really creepy and I want you to leave me alone!"

"Leave now! Your plans jeopardize everything!"

That's when the Omnitrix turned green again.

Okay, that's not normal. It shouldn't have recharged this quickly!

I ignored my surprise and activated the Omnitrix. I turned the ring until I found Heatblast's silhouette and pressed down on it. Once I transformed into Heatblast, I stepped closer to Mr. Trench Coat.

"I'll ask you one more time. Back off, now! I won't hesitate to attack you if I feel threatened!"

He didn't seem to feel threatened. He didn't look scared, he didn't take a few steps back, nothing. I was feeling even more scared now to be honest. Before either of us could say anything, I heard an alarm going off and I turned to look at the apartment building, to see that it had gone up in flames.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed, now with the knowledge that I had failed to keep the fire from starting.

I turned to look at Mr. Trench Coat, to see a somewhat disturbing sight. He was waving at me, with an eerie smile on his face. He then began to slowly turn to dust, until he had disappeared. Once he was gone, not even the dust remained. I was alone again. I turned back to the apartment building, which was burning bright as ever.

I missed Animo because that fucker distracted me! There's no other explanation!

I continued staring at the apartment building. I had to get in there and stop Animo. But, I'm Heatblast, and I know how this will end!

Okay, remain calm! I just have to focus! I can absorb all of the fire and when Animo freezes me, as long as I really concentrate, I can thaw myself out without burning down the building!

I took a deep breath.

Okay. Let's go do this thing!

I jumped down from the roof of the building and then ran towards the apartment complex. Once I got the entrance, a few people ran outside and immediately saw me.

"It's okay!" I exclaimed as I put my hand out. "I'm here to help, I won't hurt you!"

It didn't matter though. As soon as they saw me, they ran off screaming. I let out a sigh as I ran into the apartment building.

"Anyone still here?" I shouted.

"Help! Help me!"

I began to absorb all of the fire around me, before slowly beginning to walk up the stairs to the next floor. If my knowledge of this event was correct, that person calling wasn't even real. It was just Animo using a voice changer or something. So, if I could move quick enough and get the drop on Animo, I could keep myself from getting frozen this time! As I got near the top of the stairs, I got ready to throw fireballs as soon as I'd get to the next floor.

Fuck it! I'll just attack him and give him no chance!

I then ran the rest of the way up the stairs, ready to attack. And as soon as I got up there, I was blasted by cold water, killing the buildup of fire that I had started on. I tried to blast him with all the strength that I had left, but it didn't work. He continued to hit me with the water, causing me to fall to the floor. He then froze my hands to the floor. He slowly began to walk over to me and once he reached me, put his metallic boot on my chest.

"Well," he spoke at last. "That was easier than I thought."

Damn it! I shouldn't have called up the stairs! That revealed my position to him and if I had just stayed quiet, I could have gotten the jump on him!

"You sent me to prison." He said as the helmet retracted to reveal his face. "And it's payback time!"

"Why do this? Why burn down a building, Animo?!"

"Well, because I had to get your attention once I saw you!"

"Saw me?"

"Yes. I saw you screaming at the top of your lungs on a rooftop. I had no idea that it was you until you transformed into that alien form of yours."

So, I caused myself to fuck up this time because I was being too loud when yelling at Mr. Trench Coat? So, I'm the reason for my failure.

"So, what were you doing yelling on that rooftop anyway?"

"None of your business. You wouldn't care anyway."

He just stared down at me, before nodding after a few seconds.

"No matter. The main thing here is that you've reached the end of your days."

"What do you mean?"

As if I don't already how this will end.

"Before I tell you about that, let me tell you my favorite thing about heroes."

"The thing that people enjoy the most about heroes, more than anything else, is that they love to see them fall. Die trying."

And you apparently love to quote the Green Goblin from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man.

"Where are you going with this?"

"Well, why do you continue to be a hero?"

"Because it's right. It's who I am, who I strive to be."

He took his boot off of my chest and completely froze me to the floor, leaving only my head exposed.

"Here's the real kicker. There are thousands, if not a couple million people in this city. And you help out a damn lot of them. You help them and brighten their days, every day, time and time again."

"Come on, get on with it!"

"The thing is that after everything you've done for them, eventually they will hate you."

He then completely froze my face. This was now going to end the way it had originally, unless I could control the rate at which I thawed out.

"Think about what I said, my friend! It won't be long until your heart stops and freezes over, along with your vital organs!"

He then walked down the stairs and froze the completely, so that it was impossible for anyone to get up or down them.

Alright, here I am again! I have to thaw myself out just like last time! If I can control it, I can save the building!

And so, I began to try. And after a while, I let out a scream.

A Few Minutes Later

Well, guess what? I failed. The building was in ruins and I had failed to control myself from thawing out. And I felt even worse about it than I had when this happened the first time. There had been a perimeter set up around me and the ruins of the building's first floor, which is pretty much all that remained.

A dozen or so police officers were trying to keep the civilians from getting pictures, but they were doing a terrible job. I began to move forward and this caused a few of the police officers to draw their weapons. They pointed their weapons at me, but I kept walking forward. Even though they had their pistols pointed at me, they never fired.

As I approached the police and civilians alike moved out of the way, creating a path for me to get through. As I pasted, I heard gasps of awe from the civilians, as others questioned what I was. I finally got past the crowd, walked across the street and I used my powers to "fly" up to the roof of the building in front of me. Once I got up there, I could hear the Omnitrix beginning to time out.

I turned back into my human form and slid down against one of the walls on the roof. I pulled off my mask and threw into onto the floor. I then put my hands on my face, feeling like I was crying. I pulled my hands away from my eyes but left one on my chin, as I stared off into space.

"Jesus, Tennyson." Someone said from out of nowhere. "What have you done?"

I looked up, to see Nathan Black standing a few feet away from me. I didn't question him being here this time. I just sniffled, as I wiped a tear from my cheek.

"I'm changing the future." I said. "I have to."

Author's Note:

* And that's it for this chapter. I know that this was a long one, but regardless, I hope you enjoyed.

* Speaking of that, what did you guys think of this chapter? Do you like how Ben and Gwen got together much earlier (I don't think anyone wouldn't like that)? Was he right to tell her everything and ask for her advice? What do you think of his encounter with Animo in this new timeline? And what do you guys think of the Mr. Trench Coat character, who made his second appearance this chapter? Please do let me know of any theories or comments that you have; I'm very interested in knowing what you all think.

* And on that happy note, I think that'll do it for me. I'm going to go though, so have a Bwen-tastic day and bye.

Review Responses

jasongd (Chapter 116): And another great chapter congrats Ben wants to change future uhu it will be hard BWEN Forever

Thank you, Jason. Yes, changing the future will be hard. Thanks for the review, as always.

Daniel6 (Chapter 116): You're welcome. And Ben was sent back in time. The timeline was reset. Right?

Thank you, Daniel. Ehhhhh, no, not quite. While it appears that the timeline has been reset, things aren't always the way that they seem. That may not be cryptic or anything, but I don't want to reveal everything just yet. Thanks for the review, as always.

aquestionableprecence (Chapter 116): Interesting chapter, and the idea of fixing the past is food, but the whole 'sunny is my greatest mistake, she doesn't have to exist' thing is dumb, what he was talking about before, not so much, but, he's ben. You're amazing! Please keep up the good work.

Thanks, Questionable. About your comment on the "Sunny situation", maybe just relax a little bit? You're going to eventually realize that the whole Sunny thing really isn't an issue. Um, while I appreciate the compliment, I don't see that at all. I'm anything but amazing honestly. Regardless of what you say, though, thanks for the review, as always.

Next Chapter: After the incident at the apartment building, Ben finds out that the situation is worse than he thought. In the next event, he tries to prevent himself from being beat by Vilgax at the Riptide Rapids Zone. Someone makes an appearance earlier than they should.