Author's Note: I blame my biddy SouthernPeach for this one. We were talking about alternate universes for Ben 10 and I ended up coming up with this one. It's not the same universe as my Jen 10 'Hero Time' but that'll become clear quickly. I own nothing. This is gonna be a little different, flashbacks haven't exactly been my specialty.

The Ties That Bind

1 Broken Knots

Ten Years Ago

Devin's eyes went wide as Max dove in front of him, taking the shot Ragnarök had meant for him. The villain seemed just as shocked as he was and Devin took advantage of that, snatching the Null Void Generator off Max's belt and blasting. With a scream the villain disappeared into the void and Devin turned his attention to his wounded partner. It was bad, blood bubbled from the suit and Devin swore pressing his hands to the injury but that just seemed to make the blood pour faster. Max coughed.

"It was always gonna be something like this." Max joked even as red painted his lips.

"You're not gonna die here Max. Come on what about your grandkids?" Max grimaced at his partner.

"Can you look out for them? I need to know someone is looking after them when I'm gone." Max coughed again.

"I'll keep an eye on them. I promise." Devin swore it as tears pricked at his eyes.

"They're about the same age as your boy." Max's voice was fading. "Little Jay and Glen are anyway. Tell them I'm sorry. Tell Carl and Frank… Tell them I love them." His breath wheezed, stuttered, stopped. Devin felt tears slip down his face.

Facing Max's children at the funeral was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. Presenting Frank, the eldest, with Max's badge felt like tearing out his own heart. Max had been his partner for years, his mentor, one of his closest friends. Carl refused to speak to him, or Frank. He stayed by his wife and daughter. She didn't seem to be taking it well. He'd only ever met Jennifer Tennyson in passing, though he knew from Max that she preferred going by Jay after being teased for her name rhyming with her cousins Ken and Glen. They were crying too, but Jay seemed inconsolable. Devin went home that night and hugged his son tight. Kevin was six to the five of Glen and Jay. He couldn't imagine life without him or his wife, and didn't want to imagine their life without him.

Present Day

Applause rang through the auditorium as the final buzzer rang through the air.

"Congratulations Academic Decathlon winners Bellwood High!" The announcers voice rang out and the Decathlon team jumped to their feet cheering loudly. Kevin Levin grinned as his teammates slapped him on the back, then he frowned out at the audience. One seat in the crowd remained empty, his father had promised he'd be there. But that seat remained empty as the team was presented with their trophy and the crowd began to filter out. Someone else was here though.

"Congrats Kev!" Cooper Daniels high fived him and Kevin's smile came back for a minute. But it vanished nearly as quickly. "Come on you just won the final hurdle you're going to state! What's got you bummed out?"

"My dad said he'd be here. Mom's out of town for work." Kevin frowned brushing his hair out of his face. Cooper shook his head.

"It's probably work you know?" That just made Kevin frown a bit more. Devin Levin had opted to retire when Kevin had the Omnitrix removed and alien activity had dipped to practically nothing. "Glen would have been here but his karate team had a match today." Kevin nodded and threw an arm around his friend.

"It was good of you to be here Coop. I'm gonna head home, check on my dad." Cooper nodded a slight frown on his face as Kevin exited the auditorium. They had been friends since they were ten and Cooper had helped Kevin, Devin and Glen beat the Forever King at Mount Rushmore. Less than a year later Kevin had removed the Omnitrix for reasons he'd never confided in Cooper. But Kevin's dad was one of the most decorated Plumbers living. He would be fine.

Kevin's house was dark and empty when he arrived there. There was no sign that anyone had been there since he left last. Frowning he turned his bicycle to his father's home away from home. It was an old motorhome on a lot the Devin owned. It had once belonged to his partner Max Tennyson, the late grandfather of Glen. Five years ago Devin had taken Kevin and Glen out in the Rustbucket on a trip around the country that had turned into the wildest summer Kevin had ever had. He rubbed his wrist, searching for the familiar weight of a device he hadn't worn in years.

The RV was quiet, eerily so. There wasn't much dust here like there probably should have been. No one had lived here since Max died about ten years ago. Devin came here a lot but he wasn't here now. Kevin frowned, then spotted a light on in the bathroom. He stepped over to it.

"Dad?" But it too was empty. But as he closed the door something lunged at him. He rolled snatching something from the stove, the cast iron pan, he'd gotten lucky. He absorbed the metal and swung at the thing, it wasn't an alien he recognized. It went flying out of the windshield of the Rustbucket. Kevin swore under his breath. That was probably coming out of his allowance. But the alien didn't return. Kevin set down the pan and shook out his hand, the metal releasing as he did. He'd discovered his powers at seven, it made sense his father was an alien after all. Even though he'd worn the Omnitrix for almost two full years it hadn't effected his powers, he'd even been able to use them while wearing the watch, which his father had found a bit odd. He'd always wanted to ask Azmuth how that worked but he'd yet to get the chance. He shook his head as he glanced around the RV with a more critical eye. Looking around the way his dad had taught him he noticed that the RV had been ransacked, drawers open and out of place.

"That thing was looking for something." He commented it to himself as he stepped up to the dashboard. One of the best things about the Rustbucket was that it had about a million hidden features. He flicked a few switches and a compartment under the dash flipped open revealing a small circular silver device, a holo-viewer. He took it out and hit play.

"Kevin." An image of his father popped up flickering slightly. "I'm sorry, I wanted to be there for you today but something's come up. A case I couldn't turn down, know that I am trying to protect you. I can't say much here in case someone else finds this message. I love you. But I want you and your mother safe, so I have the Omnitrix." Kevin practically dropped the holo-viewer as the hologram went dark. He took off at a run not even noticing someone approaching the RV as he left racing off for home on his bike. He arrived skidding through the grass and leaving his bike on the lawn. He raced inside and tugged aside the couch with ease pulling back the rug and popping open the hatch into the basement. It was where they kept his dad's Plumber gear.

Devin's armor was missing, as were a few of his side arms and his badge. Kevin let out a shaky breath and stepped over to a small closet. He placed his hand on the scanner and it flashed the door opening. Inside was a small safe and Kevin's hand shook as he spun in the combination. At least he knew what he would find this time, unlike last time he'd found the watch.

Five years ago

Eleven year old Kevin bounced onto the Rustbucket, grey eyes sparkling in excitement. He grinned at his dad and high fiving his best friend of several years Glen Tennyson. Glen was just a year younger than him, a redhead boy with big green eyes and a pension for playing in the dirt just a bit too much. His mother had finally capitulated a year ago to let him have a corner of her garden and it was flourishing.

"Are we excited for the trip kids?" Devin asked from the drivers seat and both boys grinned. This trip sort of served a dual purpose. Glen had been depressed for most of the school year. They'd gotten news that his cousin, Jay, who had moved away with her mother and father shortly after their grandfather's funeral, had gone missing. The hope was that this trip would take his mind off of her. There was nothing he could do about it after all. Devin had some feelers out to find the girl, but Carl had made a monumental effort to cut ties after Max's death. It didn't make it any easier.

Their first stop was at Emerald Bay State Park. They'd be camping there overnight, to get a good look at the stars. Kevin was a bit hesitant around Glen though. He had been walking on eggshells around his friend for a while now, with no clue how to comfort him. So he left him to his thoughts at the fire while his dad gathered more firewood. Looking up at the night sky Kevin was awed to see a shooting star, that was until it changed course and almost hit him as it crashed. His sense of caution almost sent him running back to his father but curiosity got the better of him as he skidded down the side of the crater to see what the pod was. He knew he probably shouldn't but he touched it and wound up with a weird watch thing with a silver hourglass face stuck to his wrist. This summer was definitely going to be distracting.