The portal opened in the Protector's headquarters, and the six teens and Verdona walked through and gasped in awe and wonder at what awaited them.
They were now in an ornate meeting hall with the Council waiting for them at a long table that spanned the near entirety of the room. On the golden walls stood glistening stained glass windows that denoted the many labors that the Protectors had accomplished, the defeating of Vor, the war against Victor Blum, discovering treasures, the works. There was even one of the Mane Six of Equestria managing to defeat Tirek, Queen Chrysalis and Cozy Glow and many more from singular heroes.
"What is this place?" Ben asked
"Welcome," said the light purple-skinned winged woman sitting at the hall as she flew up to them and smiled, curtsying while holding her regal dress. "I am Queen Angella of Bright Moon. I'm still recognized as Royalty everywhere even though my daughter Glimmer has taken up my throne."
"Are you a Protector too?" Becky asked.
"What do you think?" Ally asked.
Princess Celestia swooped down from the rafters above and bowed in front of the team and Verdona with a warm smile as they stood at the end as Scarlett walked out from her seat with a smile.
"Welcome to the Mystic Isles, my home away from home," Scarlett said.
"What's the deal? Where are we?" Ben asked.
"We're in the Protector's Headquarters on the Mystic Isles, located in Scarlett's dimension," Hippolyta said, crossing her arms. "This place is the source of most magic in the known multiverse as it is a subdivision of the mystical realm known as Ledgerdomain."
"So, this isn't Earth?" Gwen asked.
"Oh, no. We are on Earth," Pink Diamond said, kneeling down and gently cupping Jen's cheek in her hand. "But not the one you know."
"Come again?" Kevin asked.
"Scarlett is from Earth," Celestia explained as the warrior queen walked over and smiled to them. "But she's not from your Earth."
"It's true," Scarlett said. "You guys and the other heroes you've met are from Earth-262. This is Earth-135."
"There are different Earths?" Ally asked, confused.
"Yes. Every dimension and universe has its own version of Earth, but not all of them have versions of other planets that exist in your universe," Hippolyta explained. "Earth seems to be the only constant in all of them."
"I guess you humans are just that special that you have to exist everywhere," Pink Diamond said.
"What can I say?" Ben asked. "We're resilient."
"But what are we dong here?" Becky asked.
"You're right. It's been about six years since you first met Scarlett. I suppose we owe you and your friends an explanation, young Benjamin and Jennifer," Celestia said. "You've heard of the Master Spark, yes?"
"Once or twice in passing," Jen said as she looked to her grandmother. "Mostly stories from you, Grandma. And from my future self named Era. You said that the Master Spark was just a legend."
Verdona smiled innocently but mischievously to her grandchildren and friends.
"...I lied," she admitted. "You see, the Master Spark does very much exist... or, she did once."
"We decided for your own good that we wouldn't tell you the whole story until you turned 16," Scarlett said. "And now that day has finally arrived."
Ben sighed and laid a hand on his sister's shoulder as Verdona cleared her throat.
"We may as well take a seat now, you guys," he said.
"Yeah," Becky groaned. "This could take a while."
They all then sat down at the table as they turned to Queen Angella who flew up and simply gestured her arm as a curtain fell, revealing an elaborate portrait of herself, Celestia, Hippolyta, and Pink Diamond along with the departed wizard Shazam, the Sorceress Supreme known only as the Ancient One and the late King Atlan of Atlantis. But at the very top of the portrait was a being with the magenta skin of an Anodite, but her hair was blazing with magenta fire, she had runic markings on her arms and legs and she had large flaming wings growing from her back.
"The Anodite you see in this portrait is the Master Spark," Angella began. "Our old dear departed friend. Her name was Adaline. She was one of the original Protectors. With the exception of Queen Scarlett over here, the four of us before you are all that remains of them. We also recruited the others successors, Dr. Stephen Strange, Billy Batson and Arthur Curry to our cause."
"Okay?" Jen asked. "Who is she?"
Celestia then walked down to her and spoke softly but sternly.
"She's you," Celestia said. "Or at least, you were her."
Jen's jaw immediately dropped upon that and she started chuckling at that.
"Okay, I gotta be dreaming this time."
"I'm afraid she's telling you the truth, little Jennifer," Pink Diamond said.
"Allow us to explain," Hippolyta said before nodding to her friend as Celestia's horn began glowing and she shot out a light that engulfed the entirety of the meeting room, showing the group a simulation of the story of Adaline."
"500 years ago, Adaline was just a regular Anodite," Verdona said as they saw the image of a violet-skinned woman with magenta energy tendrils as hair in a radiant sundress-like suit for clothing laughed and practiced her mana manipulation powers, catching the attention of the other energy beings present alongside her. "Carefree, fun-loving and big-hearted. She was a being much like you."
"And she was extremely talented at her abilities," Pink Diamond said. "Her mana powers grew exponentially through the years, but she was not without her limits. She helped many creatures and foes in her time. Being immortal beings, time has almost no meaning to Anodites, so this took place over two hundred years."
"Until one day her destiny arrived," Hippolyta said as the scene shifted to a battlefield scene on the purple rocky grounds, mana balls flying everywhere along with energy blasts of other colors as several Anodites and other aliens hit the ground. "The Highbreed and their DNAlien slaves invaded Anodyne with the intent to destroy the Anodites or at least use their energies to fuel their armada with limitless mana. The Anodites put up a very good fight over months, but it seemed like they were destined to lose their war and be slaves forever."
"But then, the unthinkable happened," Angella said. "Hiding in a remote cavern, Adaline was scared and felt all alone as she saw many of her friends falling in battle before her eyes. But then, going deeper into the cavern to hide from the Highbreed, she found something amazing."
All eyes turned to Verdona as she sighed and bowed her head.
"She had stumbled upon the very core of the planet itself. The ultimate source of mana in the universe. Curious, Adaline reached out her hand to touch the core and somehow, upon touching it, she absorbed a sample of the core's energy. And with it, the large amounts of mana changed her."
They looked to see the projection of the young Anodite as she reached out and touched the glowing magenta core and she was suddenly shocked and felt mana surge into her being.
The teens looked on in awe as if they were watching a movie as they saw familiar-looking glowing runic markings scrawl their way across Adaline's arms and legs. Her hair suddenly burst into magenta-colored flames and she doubled over in pain as two large flaming wings burst out of her back and lit up the cavern. She looked upon herself, shocked at what she had become... just before she felt the large amount of power and strength that now lied within her.
"Some aliens have an evolved state from what we can tell," Scarlett explained. "Their strengths and abilities exponentially greater than that of others of their species. And it was that form that Adaline was transformed into."
Celestia spread her wings and flew up to the ornate stained glass window that showed the original Protectors in all their glory and gestured at the flame-winged being at the top.
"And that form is what you see in this stained glass right now. Empowered, she knew she was ready for the Highbreed."
The scene changed to the newly empowered Adaline as she flew up to the Highbreed that came before in her standard form as she saw the large amounts of DNAlien slaves and warships before her.
The DNAliens screeched out before charging towards her, not noticing her smirk as she reached out and trasnformed into her evolved form and fired out powerful spell after powerful spell and empowered mana blast after empowered mana blasts, absolutely decimating the opposition. Truly, the Highbreed were completely unprepared for this turn of events.
"Adaline completely laid waste to the Highbreed Armada within mere minutes, something that several aliens that came before were unable to do," Hippolyta said. "The Anodites named her new form the Master Spark. She has been worshipped ever since."
"Whoa," Kevin said, impressed as the projection stopped in front of them.
"So the Anodites owe the Master Spark... everything," Ben said.
"Indeed we do," Verdona said. "Adaline was one of the greatest friends that I've ever had in my immortal existence."
"So how did you guys know Adaline?" Gwen asked.
"It was a few hundred years after that whole thing when she first became the Master Spark," Angella said, walking forwards. "There was a powerful event that sent some of the most powerful beings and leaders in the multiverse here. To the Mystic Isles."
"You four and the ones that are no longer with us?" Ben asked.
Celestia nodded. "It would have included Luna had I not banished her to the moon a few centuries beforehand."
"We were all sent to separate parts of the Isles and we felt a need to help the creatures there," Pink Diamond said, pacing the floor. "We all met up at the same location, stunned and confused as to who the others were. But then from the crystal wall in the cave we met up, eight bracelets suddenly shot out from the wall."
Hippolyta then walked up to the Omni-Team and showed the bronze bracelet around her wrist and nodded.
"We still have them and wear them to this day," she said.
"What are they?" Kevin asked. "Surely they're not just some fancy accessories."
"They're not," Scarlett said. "They're called enchantlets. They're the signature tool of the Protectors. They can be used as lassos, whips, blasters, communicators, anything a Protector could possibly need outside of other weapons."
"And then, we had to go up against a mighty foe: Victor Blum, the Shadow Lord," Celestia said. "A powerful dark sorcerer and immortal who was an absolute threat to the entire multiverse and magic everywhere."
"We fought for what seemed like years, but was actually only a few hours before the eight of us were eventually able to just barely squeak by and defeat him," Angella said.
"But he would eventually return centuries later and was slain for good by myself and Princess Sofia, his own daughter and my cousin," Scarlett said. "My mother was in fact, his own sister."
"Whoa," Ben said. "That's heavy."
"I told you a lot about me in the past," Scarlett said. "But some things are better left kept to oneself."
"After so, the eight of us decided to form the secret multiversal group that we called the Protectors. We recruited several powerful magical creatures to our cause while also keeping our true origins a secret," Pink Diamond said, smiling.
"But like it must for us all eventually, Adaline's time eventually came," Celestia said. "It was an act of self-sacrifice. It was against a mighty beast known by many as Diagon, a being of indescribable power and ferocity. She gave it everything she had, but even as the Master Spark, her power was almost not enough. So in the end, she had to sacrifice herself by pouring all of the mana in her system into one powerful blast that was able to decimate him. It was a true hero's death. And we will forever be honored by our privilege to serve alongside her."
"Wow," Becky said as the projection stopped alongside them. "You guys were right. That was a really crazy story."
"He's right," Jen said. "But I still have one question: what does this have to do with us? What does this have to do with me?"
"We were getting to that, Jennifer," Hippolyta said.
"Here it comes," Verdona braced herself.
"Have any of you kids ever heard of reincarnation?" Angella asked. "It does exist."
"When someone dies, their soul moves on to either Heaven or Hell to either thrive or suffer for all eternity. Their spirit, however, remains in the physical world," Scarlett said.
"Spirits are like energy," Hippolyta said. "They cannot be created nor destroyed. They just are. When a soul moves on, the spirit moves on to be reincarnated into another being. Maybe it will be of the same species. Maybe it won't. Only fate can decide that."
"So when Adaline died, her spirit lived on in the universe," Gwen said, putting a finger on her chin just before Ben's eyes widened.
"And you guys think that Jen is Adaline's reincarnation?" Ben asked.
"No, Benjamin," Celestia said before a sigh escaped her muzzle. "We know it."
"What?" Jen asked, stumbling back and soon found her butt on the ground as her friends crowded around her and lifted her up. "But I don't remember her at all. I didn't even know that she existed."
"Of course you don't," Angella said. "Because it's natural that one can't remember a past life. But you have shown such promise as an Anodite, much more than many others."
"But if I'm her past life, then why do I have her powers or her potential?"
"For a being composed entirely of life energy?" Verdona asked. "Reincarnation works differently. Her mana sticks to her spirit like glue and thus, her next life would've had to have been an Anodite."
"We've been watching you since your little road trip six years ago. I guess we were so focused on Anodites in general that we just didn't see our old friend's successor being half human," Hippolyta said. "It is an honor to be in your presence."
"This is crazy!" Kevin said, stnadin gup.
"You're telling me," Gwen said, wide-eyed as Ben held Jen's hand as she started hyperventilating.
"No. No way! This is insane! I'm not this Adaline person."
"No," Hippolyta admitted, cupping the young teenager's cheek. "You are not. You are indeed your own person, Jen. You are not Adaline just as she wasn't any of the incarnations that came before her. However, you are her re-incarnation. And with her spirit being reincarnated into your own, you have all her mana powers and with them, the potential to be not only as great as she was, but perhaps even better."
"But she's also limited with those powers," Scarlett said, standing up. "She's also half-human. Her powers are mighty indeed, but they'll never be nearly as powerful as Adaline's. Although I never met her, I know she would be proud to have you as her successor."
Jen's eyes filled up with tears, clearly overwhelmed at what was being told as she hugged her brother and sobbed into his chest as Becky gasped.
"Now look what happened! You just made my sister cry!" Ben said, rubbing his sister's hair.
"Of course. This is only natural for you humans to react this way after being told of something this big," Pink Diamond informed. "Except for Scarlett and maybe Hippolyta, we wouldn't know the feeling."
"Why didn't you tell us from the beginning?" Ally asked.
"Would you, could you have believed us?" Hippolyta asked, cupping Jen's cheek. "This was something you had to come to gradually. Only after everything you've seen in your lives so far would you have been able to accept the truth."
"I don't want this," Jen said, almost on the verge of tears as Ben hugged her to him. "It's too big."
"That's what my old apprentice and my dear friend Twilight Sparkle told me and my younger sister Luna," Celestia said. "She felt she wasn't ready to rule an entire kingdom at such a young age. She is one of the best mages in the multiverse now, but she was scared. She begged me to take it back... as if I could. And I'll let you in on something, young heroine. Something I've never told anyone before, including my colleagues here. If I had the power to do so, I would. It's unfair, I know. It's unfair to ask someone so young to take on such a responsibility and it's unfair that I ask the same of you now. I sympathize with you, I really do. I wish I could take this away from you... but I can't. This is who you are."
"Everything I am has been a lie?" Jen asked through tears.
"Absolutely not!" Verdona said, taking her granddaughter's hands.
"No!" Scarlett exclaimed at the thought, walking up to Jen to comfort her. "No, no, my dear. Knowing what you know now doesn't mean you're not who you were. You are Jennifer Heather Tennyson. Nothing can take that away from you. All this means for you is a redefinition of that identity. Just new information of who you are. Be who you always have been. Just be the Master Spark as well, from time to time."
Jen smiled and flicked her hair away, wiping her tears away before the team stepped up as Scarlett reached out and summoned her Keyblade to her hand.
"You okay?" Scarlett asked.
"I guess so. I just need some time to let this... soak in," Jen said, standing up and sighing, holding a hand to her head.
"I suppose we'll have to send you back home now," Celestia said. "I'm sorry about this, but it was necessary to tell you of your destiny as the Master Spark. You and your brother are the secret weapons against the Highbreed you now face."
"We'll always be watching over you," Pink Diamond said.
"Make your family proud and Adaline proud... Master Spark," Angella said as a portal opened up and they all walked out back to the house and back in the Tennyson residence where everyone was waiting for them and Julie took her boyfriend's hands and hugged her as Justin went up to Jen and looked concerned at her.
"Well?"
"Justin... it's a long story," Jen sighed, bowing her head and sighing.
Next time on Ben and Jen 10:
War of the Worlds