Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10 or Chainsaw Man in anyway. They are both owned by Cartoon Network and Shonen Jump respectively and were both created by Man of Action and Tatsuki Fujimoto respectively.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1:Self-Loathing

The road of a hero is not one for the faint of heart. It's not nearly as pleasant as it is made out to be,as within the journey, one is left at crossroads that either strengthen their resolve,or shatter it.

One that for most heroes, would enable them to reach their full potential once they came out of it.

But for a certain Ultimatrix bearer, his most recent one was anything but that...

For him...it nearly marked the end of the world as he knew it...

For him...it marked his biggest regret...

The night sky was covered completely by clouds due to the heavy rainfall. Low but audible sounds of thunder could be heard across the terrain. The drenched floor and the large puddles of water soaked up the destroyed buildings, huts,tanks and missiles of the place that was called Los Soledad.

Inside the abandoned military base,at it's very center was a complete wreckage of at least three buildings. Standing amongst the debris were three individuals; a teenage boy and girl, and a creature that looked unlike anything from Earth laid flat on the ground by it's back.

The girl knelt by the left side of the creature and cupped it's face with her hands. She had fair skin,red hair tied into a ponytail that was shoulder length and slightly ruffled, along with green eyes that streamed tears down her face. She wore a white shirt under a red sweater that was torn by her right arm, black stockings under a black mini-skirt and black high heels.

This was Gwen Tennyson. And the creature she held by it's face was once a man, but not just any man. It was her lover, Kevin Levin, mutated forcefully into an amalgamation of different aliens.

Standing over the two was the boy,who had combed brown hair, hardened green eyes, slightly pale skin, and had a semi-athletic build. He wore a a black shirt, blue jeans and a green jacket with white stripes on his left sleeve and the number 10 on the right, white socks, and black and white Converse-style shoes.

With his left sleeve pushed back, it revealed a gauntlet-like band with a dark green color scheme. It contains a black rectangular button and wrist couplings, extending up to almost half of the boy's arm or forearm. In the middle was a central core that took the form of a green hourglass symbol with black outlines.

This boy was none other than Ben Tennyson, cousin of Gwen Tennyson, and the source of her distress.

The murderer of Kevin Levin...

With a sorrowful look in his eyes, Ben looked on in dismay as his cousin still held onto Kevin's lifeless corpse,as she was unable to fully process what had occurred.

"W...W...W...Why..." Began Gwen tearfully as her reddened eyes looked at Ben, and her voice shook.

"Why didn't you listen to me? We could have saved him. He didn't have to die." Said Gwen with her voice trembling even more.

"It was the only way." Said Ben with a hardened glare, though his tone was a sympathetic one.

Lighting briefly struck across the base, causing it's light to flash on the teens, and for the outpour of the rain to increase significantly.

"The only way? That's a lie and you know it!" Shouted Gwen with her voice cracking further, and her rage becoming greater.

"You didn't even try to help him!" Accused Gwen as she gently placed Kevin's head on the ground and rose to her feet promptly.

"Do you have any idea how many sleepless nights I've had? None of them bringing me any step closer to curing Kevin." Said Gwen with frustration as she swung her right hand to the side for emphasis.

"But then I met Michael again. He said he knew how to help Kevin..."

"Gwen, you know you can't trust h..." Began Ben with a tone of sympathy and worry.

"Of course I know that!' Interrupted Gwen with annoyance.

"I've always known that from the moment i asked for his help. But i was desperate." Gwen's voice began to crack even more, with more tears welling up in her eyes.

"If it meant there was a chance that Kevin could be normal again, I didn't care what i had to do." Declared Gwen.

"But now...now..." Said Gwen bitterly as the dam had finally burst, with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"It didn't matter in the end...It was all for nothing." Gwen would cover her face, and fall to knees, weeping audibly as a feeling of hopelessness overwhelmed her. A look of horror would fall from Ben's face, and instead turn into one of sadness. Hesitantly,Ben would reach out his left hand to comfort Gwen. But upon feeling her tense up once his fingers slightly grazed her,he would withdraw.

For what seemed like an eternity,Ben, with his face downcast, would watch on as Gwen continued to cry, with him standing completely still. Even the pouring rain which had drenched him completely didn't seem to bother him.

As a single tear that fell down his face would tell that the pain he felt was unimaginable.

Pain that he had brought on himself and Gwen. And which affected both of them differently.

For Gwen, she lost the only man she loved.

For Ben,he lost the only man he saw as a brother.

...DWL...

A small Tv was on, and it's contents were as follows; a yellow background and words in black which says 'News-3'. The footage then changes to a man who wore glasses along with a black suit and tie. He had short, brown hair that greyed at the temples, and sported a square chin and had a red tie with a breast pocket on his suit with a blue handkerchief.

"Welcome back Ladies and Gentlemen. This is Will Harangue of the Harangue nation. Today's top story is one that may come as a surprise to some, but in reality, should surprise no one. Ben Tennyson has finally shown his true colors." Said Will as the background would change into footage of Los Soledad at night.

"Two weeks ago at midnight, our correspondents managed to gather footage of a rather tumultuous battle between Ben Tennyson and a mutant creature at the abandoned military base at Los Soledad." Several cuts of the footage would occur before it would eventually come to a halt at the battle between Ultimate Echo-Echo and Ultimate Kevin.

"The outcome of the battle was a rather grizzly one,as Ben Tennyson would end up taking the life of this creature." A cut from Ultimate Echo-Echo using his Sonic Doom attack would show footage of Ben standing above a downed Ultimate Kevin.

"That already stands as a far cry to the hero he claims to be,as under no circumstances are heroes expected to kill. But to make matters worse, we've gotten reports from credible sources that the mutant that died that night was once a man. And not just any man,a man that Ben Tennyson had made millions believe was like a brother to him." The footage would stop playing,as the background would then change into a portrait picture of Kevin in his human form.

"Your eyes do not deceive you, ladies and gentlemen,as that is indeed a photo of Kevin Levin. An individual that Ben Tennyson has gone on record to say is his best friend. A statement that we know now couldn't be any further from the truth." Said Will with a grim tone.

"But his acts of terrorism do not stop there,as even the criminal underworld has been turned on it's head by the shape-shifting menace." The background would change into a photo of Ben with the Ultimatrix exposed.

"Several testimonies backed by video clips and photos have surfaced of Ben Tennyson taking the law into his own hands, and becoming judge, jury and executioner." The background would show multiple photos across all corners of the screen showing Ben as several of his alien forms such as Swampfire, Humongousaur, Big Chill, Diamondhead and Four Arms to name a few.

Each photo had one thing in common; Ben was pitted against a group of criminals ranging from petty thugs to the Forever Knights and Rojo's gang. With all of them being put in a position where they were at Ben's mercy, and where Ben seemed to towering over them menacingly.

"No man should ever have the type of power and influence that Ben Tennyson has without being checked by the proper authorities or the government, and this is exactly why." Warned Will.

"Because when they become unhinged, and fully stop considering the consequences of their actions, innocent people are the one's that tend to suffer." A look of frustration complemented the bitterness in which Will made that statement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this broadcast should serve as a wakeup call for all of you that Ben Tennyson is not an ally of the people. He never has been, and he never will be." Said Will boldly as he slammed his right hand on his left palm for emphasis.

"We need to come together, and show him that his actions will not stand." Declared Will.

"We need to expose him for the menace that he is once and for all."

...Darkness Within Light...


That marks the end of the sneak peek you just read.

"Darkness Within Light " is a potential upcoming crossover story with Ben 10 and Chainsaw Man. Potential being that it is a "Work in Progress", meaning that if this story is released, everything you have seen may not be definitive,as some changes could be made.

The premise of the story is this:

It is a crossover AU merger, with the worlds of Ben 10 and Chainsaw Man existing as one. It is also a "What if" scenario in the events of Absolute Power. In where Ben kills Kevin instead of saving him.

In doing so,it causes a wedge to form in his relationship with Gwen and himself, and he in turn to fall into a deep depression. Though Grandpa Max and his parents still try to comfort him and don't blame him for his actions, Ben's guilt still remains.

With his newfound notoriety being made public knowledge by Harangue, along with being framed for acts of violence he didn't commit,the perception of Ben held by the public is mostly mixed. However, they do share one thing in common; Fear of their once widely celebrated hero.

This only strains some of his relationships even more. Though he tries desperately to hide it, the negative toll on Ben's psyche is evident for all to see. Which leads Grandpa Max to step in before it's too late.

He convinces Ben to leave Bellwood in order to go to somewhere where he's more needed, and would be more appreciated. This will be Japan due to the recent emergence of Devils and Fiends.

Ben agrees, and ends up leaving his friends and family in order to join the Public Safety Sector Devil Hunters.

Now part of the Special Division 4, Ben fights against Devils and Fiends in hopes of finding redemption and preserving the lives of innocents once more. Will he end up a better person than when he joined? Or will his journey be one of self-destruction,orchestared from behind the scenes by a person who he once believed to be his ally?

More details about the story will be shared should it be released. But until then, please let me know your overall thoughts on the sneak peek. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Until we meet again, please, have yourselves a good one.