Ben 10: Alien Rebirth

by B.E.A.T.N

It started with an alien device that did what it did. It stuck itself upon his wrist with secrets that it hid. Now he's got super powers, he's no ordinary kid. He's Ben 10! My retelling of the Ben 10 series, with various changes throughout the story, including: a darker tone, more focus on certain characters, skipped and altered epispdes, etc. New chapters (almost) every Tuesday!

21. Chapter 21

Ben 10: Alien Rebirth

Chapter 21: Tough Luck

In a prison, we see someone entering the facility, as quiet as a mouse.

None of the guards could spot them as they sneaked through the halls, silently casting spells to keep their presence a secret as they made their way towards a specific cell in this place.

As the person steps closer, we see what they look like.

Standing there is a girl one year older than Ben and Gwen, wearing a magenta and purple jacket, black pants that hugged her hips, purple boots, and a strange looking bag at her side. It looked like the head of a voodoo doll turned into a purse. Her eyes are a mix of blue and purple, and her hair is a striking silver color. She had some purple lipstick on as well.

And in her hands is Hex's staff! She silently casts a spell that unlocks the door; and gives a timid look as the staff flies out of her hands and into Hex's!

Hex, "ah, well done, my dear niece; Charmcaster."

The now named Charmcaster asks, "what is our plan now, Uncle Hex?"

Hex, "now? Hehehe. Revenge. But first, I must reclaim my powers!"

….

Meanwhile, we see a bus filled with older people losing control as it's heading towards a highway cliff! As the bus is about to fall off of the cliff, FourArms runs in and grabs it, saving everyone in it!

The older people all cheer as FourArms says, "it's okay everyone! Calm down", FourArms gets the bus down and says, "alright, everyone alright?"

The elderly people all say their versions of yes as FourArms begrudgingly helps each and everyone one of them off of the bus to catch their breath and whatnot.

….

Back in the RV, Gwen is online, searching the internet for magical items and artifacts, which reminds her of her time as Lucky Girl. She gazed at the Lucky Girl mask and costume that sat near it.

Sure, she still had some magical abilities when the magic from the charms hit her, but she didn't help as much with the hero work as she wished she could.

Chester was on his roost, as usual.

Ben soon enters after getting every single one of the elderly people off of the bus.

Ben, "ugh. That was a lot of heavy lifting. I hope that's the last of it today."

Max, "you should be proud of yourself, Ben. Those folks would've been in a real pickle without you."

Ben, "yeah, I know, and I'm happy to have helped. But I'd just like one regular summer day where I could just hang out all day long and do nothing. No aliens, or monsters, or magicians, or mutants, or mad scientists, or knights, or-"

Gwen, "we get it."

Ben gave a nervous chuckle.

Gwen, "relax Ben, maybe you'll get one soon."

Ben, "yeah, but when you were Lucky Girl, you didn't even have to try in order to save the day."

Gwen gives a somber look.

Ben, "I-I'm sorry Gwen. I-"

Gwen, "it's fine Ben. I know what you mean. I miss being Lucky Girl."

Ben, "well, uh, I think I know something to cheer you up. Those old people on the bus offered us to come to a magic convention in Las Vegas."

Gwen, "oh! That actually sounds like fun!"

Ben, "I may not be too interested in magic, but I know you love it, so I took the offer."

Gwen hugged Ben and said, "thanks Ben."

Ben, "hey, what're cousins for?"

Max smiles as he says, "next stop, Las Vegas!"

And with that, the bus and RustBucket were off!

….

Somewhere, Hex is standing by a fire, reciting a spell to themselves as Charmcaster is sitting on a nearby log, gazing warily at her uncle.

The fire then reveals to him the Lost Keystone of Bezel!

And it also pinpoints to him the location of it.

Las Vegas.

Hex, "ah, yes! The keystone! With this, I shall reclaim the power that was stolen from me by that despicable Lucky Girl, and that shape-shifting brat!"

The image in the fire changed for a moment, showing Gwen and Ben.

Charmcaster found herself blushing at the sight of Ben.

Charmcaster, "but what about our plans to eventually return home?"

Hex, "that will have to wait for now."

Charmcaster, "okay…. Um, Uncle…. M-maybe we could get something to eat?"

Hex, "we shall eat when the keystone is mine. For now, we rest."

Charmcaster lays down as her uncle begins floating in the air, and soon falls asleep.

Once he is, Charmcaster starts quickly and quietly leaving, soon making her way to a road that leads to the convention at Las Vegas, hoping her Uncle wouldn't find her there. She had rescued him, but only because she was afraid of what he was becoming. The dark magic he used seemed to mess with his mind, as far as we know.

She hoped that she could find a certain pair of heroes there….

….

Later, Ben, Gwen and Max arrive at the magic convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.

When they first arrived, Ben jokingly said, "what happens in Vegas…. Will eventually end up online."

Gwen's expectancy of the event doesn't seem to satisfy.

Most of it is mere parlor tricks and flares.

Ben, however, seems to enjoy what he's looking for so far, enjoying the sights around them.

Max sees Gwen's meh look, and says, "Gwen, why don't you go take a look around some more, in case you find something that you might like?"

She nods, and then spots a booth that offers magical charms, and a specific one seems to catch her eye.

A special looking charm.

During this, Ben is looking at all of the sights around them, when he accidentally bumps into someone.

Ben turns and says, "oh, I'm so sorry-"

Ben's words get caught up in his throat at the sight before him. He and Charmcaster were staring at one another, thinking similar thoughts.

Ben, 'beautiful.'

Charmcaster, 'cute.'

Charmcaster knew who he was, but couldn't say anything just yet.

Ben, "h-hi. Uh, I'm Ben. Ben Tennyson."

Charmcaster finally says her real name, "H-Hope."

Ben smiles, "that's a nice name."

Hope actually smiled. And to her, it felt like the first time she had in a long time.

Ben, "so, um, what're you doing here at his convention? Are you, uh, here with anyone?"

Hope glanced around for a moment and said, "I uh, came here on my own."

Ben, "really? But you're only, like, fourteen, right?"

Hope, "t-thirteen, actually…. I…. I need your help."

Ben was surprised, but nodded and said, "come on, my Grandpa can help."

Ben leads Hope off to find Max.

During this, Gwen walks over to Max and says, "hey, look at this charm I got! I think it-"

Before she finishes explaining to Max about the charm she bought, screaming is heard from outside!

A man is hanging from a rope attached to a flying helicopter, and it seems that the helicopter is breaking down.

Ben and Hope run to Max.

Max, "Ben, now would be a good time to go hero…. Who's the girl?"

Ben, "Grandpa, this is Hope. Hope, this is my Grandpa Max. She needs help, but that'll have to wait after this!"

Ben quickly runs behind a pillar, with only Max and Hope being able to see him pull down his wristband, dial up the watch and transform into StinkFly to save the man!

Hope is shocked to see this as Max says, "we'll explain that later. For now, let's get to a safer spot."

Though the situation seems to worsen as the blades of the helicopter popped off.

Gwen finds that Max and Hope don't notice the blades heading their way, and she immediately goes after them to push them out of the way.

Mysteriously, the charm in the bracelet she got sparkles, and she pushes Max and Hope out of the way just in time!

Her amazing stunt intrigues her.

Gwen, "woah! Wait, is this?"

Hope sees the bracelet and says, "the keystone of Bezel!"

Gwen, "wait, you know what this is?"

Hope nods in shock.

Gwen, "explain the rest after we deal with this whole thing!"

Hope agrees as she runs after Max.

StinkFly continues to hang on under the helicopter, and he uses his slime to create threads that were able to hold the helicopter in place. StinkFly was able to stop the helicopter, but the man was ready to fall when they saw that the rope holding him was burning. He falls down, but suddenly, Lucky Girl comes to the rescue, and catches him just in time. She's wearing her black costume and the mask!

The crowd cheers for StinkFly and Lucky Girl's teamwork.

StinkFly, "it's great to see you again, Lucky Girl."

Lucky Girl, "likewise, StinkFly."

….

Later in the RV, Hope starts explaining to her new allies about the keystone Gwen wore.

Hope, "this is the lost Keystone of Bezel. A legendary artifact that can greatly enhance one's skills and magical powers ten times over. The Charms of Bezel were only a fraction of the power the keystone has."

Max, "how do you know so much about these things?"

Hope grew afraid of what they would think of her when they learned the truth.

But her thoughts stopped as Ben put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Hope, you can tell us anything. We won't judge you for it."

Hope takes a breath before she says, "my uncle is after them. Saying he wants to reclaim his power, and seek revenge against you guys for stopping him from using the charms."

Gwen, Max and Ben all know who she was talking about.

Gwen, "your uncle is Hex?"

Hope nods and says, "I ran away from him just a few hours before I met all of you. I broke him out of jail because I was afraid of what he's becoming. All of that dark magic he's been using has affected his mind. Made him angry and hungry for power. I was hoping to get away from him. And to get your help. He's planning on stealing the keystone in order to recreate the charms. He's going to need to perform a ritual at the highest point in the city."

Gwen, "if Hex is gonna attack the convention, we gotta be there to stop him."

Hope grew an even more afraid look.

Ben noticed and said, "we won't let him get to you Hope, we promise."

Hope, "t-thank you…."

Max, "now, how about we explain our stories?"

Hope, "that-that would be nice."

And so, Ben, Gwen and Max began to tell their story to Hope. All of the crazy things they had been through over the course of the summer, including the Omnitrix, the Plumbers, etc.

It was a little much for her to take in, but she accepted them, just as they had accepted her.

….

They later head back to the Magician of the Year convention, and they watch the upcoming event.

The announcer said, "a new contestant is about to attempt to take the crown!'

Ben seems to have an idea on what to do.

The magician on the stage calls for a volunteer.

Ben, "oh! Me!"

The magician chooses Ben and puts him into the box, and in a matter of seconds after the man chants Abracadabra, the box glows green and WildMutt bursts out, immediately causing the audience to cheer for the magician's act.

Hope giggles in amusement as Max and Gwen seem to be the only ones in the crowd to ignore WildMutt, keeping an eye out for Hex.

A cloud of red dust then hovers above the building, and it directs to the stage, where Hex then appears.

Hope hides herself behind Max.

Hex sees Gwen, and yells, "Lucky Girl! I order you to hand over the Lost Keystone of Bezel!"

Hex realizes that the audience is looking for magic tricks. So to go along with the subject, he uses magic that threatens them.

Lucky Girl jumps onto the stage to stop Hex.

Hex grabs a hold of Lucky Girl's Keystone, but gets thrown across the stage by Lucky Girl.

Hope tries to help fight and sends out several little objects, which then grow into massive stone creatures.

Hex sees this, angered by the betrayal of his niece, and sends out his own stone creatures to attack hers and WildMutt!

Hex gets back up on his feet, and causes a feedback that throws Max and Lucky Girl into a hedge maze in the area!

More of the stone creatures then stop by their feet, and then transform larger to chase them.

Luckily, they were able to get out of their sight as they ran into the hedge maze!

Hex, "chase them down!"

The stone creatures and Hex run after them as Hope and WildMutt are able to finish off the ones that attacked them!

Hope, "come on, let's go help the others!"

The two run into the maze and split up.

Max is being chased by the giant stone monster, and just as it's about to attack him, WildMutt runs in and smashes the creature, just in time to save him.

But as soon as that happened, WildMutt reverted back to Ben.

Ben, "aw grape nuts."

That's right when Hex shows up! He snaps his fingers, and the two of them are suddenly wrapped up in rope!

Hex, "ah, my bargaining chips."

….

Meanwhile, Lucky Girl and Hope find one another in the maze.

Lucky Girl, "there you are. Where's Ben and Grandpa?"

Hope, "Ben and I split up. Come on, we've gotta find them!"

The two soon make their way out of the maze, and see Hex holding Max and Ben captive!

Gwen, "Ben! Grandpa!"

Hex, "silence! Lucky Girl. I shall make a deal with you. Give me the Keystone of Bezel, and return my niece to me, or I shall kill your cousin and Grandfather!"

Ben, "don't do it guys!"

Max, "he can't get his hands on such power!"

Hex, "quiet you fools!"

Lucky Girl was about to attack, but then Hope opens her bag and releases bats that grab Hex and drop him into a nearby pool!

Max and Ben are able to escape their bonds and run to the others. But before any of them can say anything, Hex emerges from the water, seething in rage! He's able to send forth a tendril of magic from his cloak that grabs Hope AND the Keystone!

Ben, "no!"

Gwen, "let them go!"

Hex, "you are too late to stop me now! When the eclipse is done, I will return to finish you off!"

Hex flies off as Hope yells, "Ben! Gwen! Max! Help!"

….

Moments later, the eclipse is near, and Hex readies the ritual to recreate the five Charms of Bezel and gain their powers and abilities once more atop a rather talk building.

Hope is tied up, praying that her new friends will save her.

….

Down on the ground, the trio arrive to stop him.

Gwen, "we gotta stop Hex before he recreates those charms!"

Ben, "or hurts Hope!"

Max, "like Hope said, Hex must go to the highest point of the city, where the ritual will be performed."

….

Hex recites a spell, and the Keystone rises to the sky.

Hex, "soon, my power will be ultimate!"

The eclipse draws nearer, and time is short.

….

Gwen, "guess it's all up to you, Ben."

But Ben currently can't activate the watch.

Ben, "I'll need some help. Still feeling lucky?"

Gwen smiles, when Max says, "I've got an idea."

Max and Gwen find a window washer's platform, and start using it to get up to the top floor as Ben pulls out his hoverboard he still had from Tetrax.

Ben, "time to shred some air."

….

Hex is still chanting, Hope looking fearful of her uncle's actions, when they hear, "HEY!"

They turn to see Lucky Girl there, looking as if she's floating!

Hex, "impossible! How?"

But then Hex figures out what's going on!

Hex, "you little-"

Hex pulls her and Max up, making it clear that he was the one holding her up.

Hex, "you have no magic other than shooting the elements from your fingertips. You have no power!"

Gwen, "I may not, but he does!"

Though they find that Lucky Girl has no known magical powers and abilities, Ben comes along with his hoverboard.

He hits Hex in the head, though this causes a problem, as he ends up being pushed off to the edge of the board!

Lucky Girl tries to pin down Hex, but his magic is too strong, and he sends Max and Gwen flying into a roller coaster cart!

Ben continues to hang on for his life, but it was enough time to recharge the Omnitrix.

Hex steps forward and says, "and so ends your little adventure, boy!"

Hope looks beyond terrified as she desperately tries to break her bonds!

Hex knocks Ben off of the roof!

Hope, "NO!"

As Ben is falling, he attempts to transform into FourArms.

Ben, "come on, give me something good!"

But when he slams down, he transforms into Wildvine instead.

Wildvine, "huh, this'll work!"

Wildvine extends his arms to hold on to the buildings, and begins to climb back up!

Hope sees Wildvine climbing, and manages to mutter a spell under her breath that increases his speed!

Hex launches some magic orbs at the roller coaster, destroying the path in front of the carts!

Luckily, Wildvine is able to grab a hold of Max and Gwen before they can crash!

As this goes on, Hex continues the spell to complete the five Charms of Bezel.

Hope, "Uncle, please don't do this!"

Hex, "quiet! The only reason I have you here is because I need your power to help complete this ritual! I swear, I never should have taken you in after we were forced to leave Ledgerdomain!"

Hope cries, but it ceases as she sees Lucky Girl flying on the hoverboard towards Hex! And at the same time, Wildvine dives down to Hope and manages to cut her bonds!

Lucky Girl hits Hex in the face and manages to grab his staff, but when Hex tries to grab her, it slips out of her hands and into Hope's!

Hope looks at the staff with wide eyes as everyone stands on.

Hex, "Charmcaster, give me the staff! The Charms are almost rebuilt! Give it to me! NOW!"

The fear returns to Hope as she takes a step forward.

But she stopped when she heard Wildvine yell, "HOPE!"

She turns to see the alien as he transforms back into Ben.

Ben, "Hope, please. Don't do this. You have a choice!"

Hex, "no she doesn't! She is my niece! I am her Uncle! She must listen to me!"

Ben, "she's not your slave! She's a person! She doesn't deserve what you do to her! Hope, please. We care about you! Don't give him the staff!"

Hope stands still for several moments.

Hex, "CHARMCASTER!"

Hope closed her eyes, and opened them in defiance as she said, "my name…. Is Hope."

Hope raised the staff and broke it over her knee!

Hex, "NOOOO!"

The Charms began to shake around in midair, and suddenly exploded into shards of rock that fell to the ground! Hex felt himself being sucked towards the keystone!

Hex, "no! No! You'll all pay for this", Hex is quickly sucked into the keystone, yelling, "YOU WILL PAY!"

Hex is sucked into the keystone as it clatters to the ground, the ritual ends and the eclipse is over!

Hope took a breath before falling to her knees.

The others walk over to the keystone as it lies there.

Gwen, "well, now that the keystone doesn't have any more power, I guess Lucky Girl ain't so lucky anymore?"

Ben, "you know, there are other ways to be a hero."

Gwen, "like riding on a hoverboard?"

The others chuckle before they look at Hope, as she stares out across the rooftops.

Hope, "what am I going to do now? He was my only family."

She then felt Ben put his hand on her shoulder.

Ben, "no, he isn't. You can come with us."

Hope, "r-really?"

Ben, "yeah! It would be great to have someone like you on the trip!"

Hope, "but-"

Max, "Hope, we aren't gonna let you go out on your own like this. Our home is your home."

Hope, "you really mean it?"

Gwen, "of course. So, what do you say?"

Ben stuck his hand out and said, "well?"

Instead of shaking his hand, Hope hugged Ben, making him blush.

Hope, "thank you. Thank you all so much."

Ben smiled as he hugged back, and soon, Max and Gwen joined in.

Hope felt something she hasn't felt in years.

She felt true happiness.

She felt; love.

….

Later, our group, now with a new member added to it, left Las Vegas in the RustBucker, and continued their trip across the country.

Max was driving as Gwen put her costume away. Ben sat across from Hope, the two talking about various things while Chester rested on Hope's shoulder, quickly growing to like her.

Max and Gwen both smiled, as they could see a connection growing between the two of them….

….

But little did they know that the Keystone of Bezel still had some power left, after showing itself to glow as it sat on the ground, indicating that Hex would one day return….

….

Reviews:

OMNISENSE95: I hope so. I can always update the chapters after they've been published.

Tippy 1.1: yeah, I didn't think the harem thing fit for this story. And I loathe the Most Dangerous Game Show episode. Ben will be completely loyal to Hope. Thanks for wishing me a happy birthday. I'm glad you liked this chapter. Especially with how I made Ben and Gwen less mean to one another. They'll be like how they are in Alien Force by the end of Classic.

Omnicaster: glad you liked the chapter. Yes, Enoch will reappear later on. Ben 10,000 is gonna show a lot of stuff from Ben's future, such as some of his future Aliens, his kids, etc.

Monkey D- Conan: yep, I've been so excited to get to Hope's inclusion in the story. I plan to give Kevin his redemption during the Negative 10, where he's gone through his friendship with Quarrel, and during the Negative 10 storyline, he dinally realizes he should help Ben.

Guest: yep, I wanted Ben to come up with the name. And I wanted to drop in mentions of Gwen's brother more as well as make Ben and Gwen less mean to one another. If I ever decide to bring in Gilbert, Andy and Mandy, I'm thinking they'd be camp counselors. Thanks for wishing me a happy birthday.

drainfafnir66: I'm glad you love the story, the pairing, and thanks for wishing me a happy birthday.

Chronolocked: yeah, while I do like harem stories sometimes, especially if they're done well, I didn't wanna do the harem anime stuff in Ben 10. Hope will be very timid at first, but after breaking out of her shell, she's like a middle ground between Gwen's responsible nature and Ben's goofy nature. She loves joking around with Ben, but is more mature than him.

Amit Barabi: thanks.

thepretenderakajarod: well, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

….

2 chapters in one day!

I waiteda few hours in-between chapters, that way everyone could read and review the last one.

I've had mostly minor changes in the story thus far, like the placing of certain episodes and all that, but this episode marks a major change from canon. Hope joins the Tennyson family on their trip, and we begin the romance between her and Ben. They should be a couple by the end of season 3's episodes.

Also, here's a list of episodes I'm skipping;

Merry Christmas, A Change of Face, They Lurk Below, Midnight Madness, Simple, In Charm's Way, The Enemy of My Frenemy, Couples Retreat, While You Were Away, Something Zombozo This Way Comes, Charmed I'm Sure, Collect This, The Vengers, No Honor Among Bros, Universe vs. Tennyson, Charm School, Fight at the Museum, Breakpoint, Third Time's a Charm, and Most Dangerous Game Show.