Gwen Tennyson and Professor Paradox were tied to a concrete support column, restricted via an azure energy bonding cable. In the span of time since Eon had departed through the multiversal gate– the Anodite half-blood had seemingly given up on fighting. Her head now bowed as she slumped over– defeated. Her ponytail had lost the scrunchie that held it together and thus unraveled, making her orange bangs cast shadow over her eyes.
The professor, meanwhile, reacted in very much the opposite way– as the man was physically incapable of sitting still for intervals longer than three minutes. She lacked the energy required to properly snap at the man and tell him to shut up. Instead, she chose to tune him out, gaze never leaving the scuffed floor.
Busying himself by analyzing Eon's henchmen, Paradox noted a few key details; There were four of them. There movement patterns were strikingly similar. This suggested they were members of the same species and if he had to assume– he'd wager they are human. Or at least, partially so. (Alien-Hominid gene splicing was an epidemic in humanities distant future).
The outfits they wore bore resemblance to Eon's, no doubt giving the designer his personal input throughout the process. Most notably, they lacked the lavish purple hooded cloak embellished proudly by their leader. Ironically, it was the absence of a cape that allowed for their acts of aggression to be easier to telegraph– as with Eon came the element of surprise– never knowing whatever contraption he was going to unveil next.
Finding another connection, he realized the four henchmen were the exact same height and build– identical. Studying their body language, he made deductions about their fighting style– among other things. He found himself comparing his mental list to someone painfully familiar.
But it couldn't be him…
… And Eon still wasn't back.
The henchmen were on edge, too. Sensing that their master should've returned by now, they crowded around the quartzite doughnut (That's what Paradox subconsciously envisioned whenever he looked at it). With a warped blip followed by a pointed flash of dotted light– the portal had sealed itself off. If Eon wasn't here and the portal was closed–
–He perked up suddenly as an idea struck him.
The henchmen moved behind the machine to investigate the inner mechanisms. While there attention was divulged on that, Paradox contorted his neck as best he could to covertly communicate with his companion.
"Gwendolyn, can you hear me?"
A depressed sigh was his response.
"Unfortunately."
"I will be requiring your assistance in a moment."
"What do you mean? We're stuck." She drawled depressingly.
"Eon hasn't returned like he said he would– and I distinctly remember him taking the remote control for the Schrodinger's Box with him when he entered through that gate! Being that the portal is now obviously closed the remote control's connection won't be in effect for much longer!"
Slowly, Gwen began to nod.
"We're still trapped in these energy bonds." She emphasized this by acting out her struggle against the humming chains.
He fake coughed.
"Perhaps now would be a good time to use that Rapunzel-disentanglement spell that Kevin was bragging to me about the other day!" He added the last part quickly.
A couple seconds passed before what the professor said had fully registered.
Posture shooting upright, her cheeks scalded neon red as she tried not to stammer out of sheer embarrassment.
"I am so punching you when this is over!"
"I have no issue with that– just be ready!"
"Fine!" She whispered yelled back at with no hint of sass, puffing her cheeks.
As she uttered the spell's incantation, the molecules which bound them unfurled. This motion wasn't lost on Eon's henchmen, as they clamored for their weapons. Her green eyes flared pink crimson, and spinning on them, fingers extended, shooting a spray of mana bolts, half of which struck their intended targets– downing them in an instant. The remaining two henchmen spared their fallen comrades no glances of concern as they charged headlong for the pair.
"I go right! You go left!" She commanded militarily, ascending to her Anodite form, and Paradox was sensible enough to oblige.
The henchmen who pursued him into his study wielded a laser blade, much like the one Eon himself had threatened him with. Seeing as their time abilities were useless against the other, Paradox had to rely on his combat skills and reflexes. That being said, Paradox was not the most adept fighter in the universe.
"GAH!" He hissed at the weapon's elicited a harsh sting in his side.
He took to rolling over and tumbling behind a bookcase for cover. The wooden shelving proved too weak as it was effortlessly chopped to pieces. Sliding backwards, he grabbed the nearest blunt object he could get his hands on, which ended up being–
" –A telescope?"
The henchmen leapt through the black smoke, landing with a thud. Once they caught sight of him trapped in the corner they produced a laser blade on their opposite wrist. The white slits in their mask narrowed.
"Killing us wasn't apart of your orders!" Paradox jeered, adopting the telescope into a batter's stance.
The henchmen struck first, sprinting forward and delivering a blurring slash attack. Paradox, however, had been anticipating such a maneuver. How so? Well, the reason is because he'd seen this fighting style somewhere before. Rather, he guessed and it paid off, as he weaved in the corresponding direction, out of the laser blade's harmful radius and smashed the telescope into the back of their helmet.
With the henchmen briefly thrown out of rhythm he put some distance between them, quickly checking on Gwen over his shoulder. She seemed to be holding her own well enough– despite not having time powers. That Anodite form of hers was astonishingly powerful– and she was becoming increasingly comfortable in it, he dutifully noted. Returning his focus to the fight at hand, he narrowly dodged being stabbed through the eye– instead he nurses a fresh, sizzling scarlet slit along his cheekbone.
Evading amputation for a couple more seconds he managed another strong swing with the telescope. His victory was short lived as they slashed the metal cylinder to bits, forcing him to part ways with the leftover material. Only at the last possible second did Paradox shed his lab coat, lynching it around the henchmen's neck as they overcommitted on a swing.
"Got you!" Using gravity to his advantage he slung them to the floor, planting his heel on their spine as an anchoring point.
Pouring all his strength into pulling, his adversary was understandably very insistent on removing him from his back. Literally. The henchmen swung wildly, slicing through the professor's upper thigh, as the man bit his tongue and kept tugging on the tearing cloth. Blood and sweat permeating his features, he hardly reacted as someone shook him from behind.
"Professor! Professor! Hey, cool it!" Gwen's voice broke him out of his frenzied state.
Snapping to the present, he immediately relaxed his grip, allowing for the ruined lab coat to be strewn from their gasping head by the Anodite's magic.
"I can see his mana signature– you were about to kill him!" She scorned him.
Rightfully so.
'I truly was about to murder him, and if my theory is true– it wouldn't have been the first time I killed him.' He gulped guiltily.
"You can't go around killing the bad guys! …Even if they might deserve it." She glared at the henchmen's weakened frame.
Before he could apologize for his actions she brushed past him.
"But I need answers, and you, sir, are going to be giving them to me." She stood over the villain, crossing her arms.
They propped themselves up on their elbows, peering at her over their shoulder.
"I don't talk." They rasped with static.
"You're confidence is misplaced. I know a spell that'll get the truth out of you."
"Bah!" They choked slightly as she wrapped their body in a pink sarcophagus, sparing the areas above their collarbone.
"Before I do that– who is under the mask anyway?" She muttered curiously, sliding the henchmen's mask from their head telekinetically.
"Wait, Gwendolyn– !" The professor's attempt to quell the situation was too late.
A mixture of confusion and horror were present on her plum features.
"This… is this some kind of sick j-joke? This- this has to be a joke!? An illusion!? A h-hologram of some k-kind!? PARADOX!? ANSWER ME!?" Rose orbs drifted from her eyes, indicating she was crying in her Anodite form.
Sighing, the professor supplied her with the best explanation he could muster.
"Yes, that is your cousin, Benjamin Tennyson. Though I must make this clear– the Benjamin Tennyson we have before us now, is NOT the same one that you knew."
"So is he like a clone of him or something?"
The Ben in question sneered at them.
"This Benjamin is a variant: A different version of him from a different timeline." He explained.
"I imagine he was extracted from his native world and trained to serve Eon against his will, lest he wants his home to be wiped from existence."
"This is so fucked up. This is so fucked." Gwen gasped, briefly considering the other henchmen they fought.
"Are they– Are they all Bens?"
"I understand this information is challenging to absorb– the universe is a place of limitless possibilities. Time travel though? That's an entirely different matter. The smaller that circle is– of those who have access to it– to efficient time travel, that is– the better."
"You can't be implying what I think you are? Eon– is Eon another Ben, too?" She sounded heartbroken.
"I can't say with certainty, but he is my prime suspect. The facts are as follows, Eon knew every detail surrounding the Omnitrix– who made it, what aliens were available to him, what its intended purpose was, etc. He sought out both you and Kevin. Unless he had someone spying on you prior to this, he shouldn't have known where to go looking for you two."
The evil Ben across from them laughed contemptuously.
"Something hilarious to you?" Gwen glowered.
"Emperor Eon will return. He's our leader for a reason." He declared arrogantly.
"Well guess what? Your supreme leader is scared of peacocks!"
"You make a mockery of us now, but you shall be among the first to experience the wrath of the empire that will reign victorious over the cosmos! Our conquest is inevitable!"
"It's always world domination this, world domination that, does that trope never get old with you villain types!?" Her mana tendrils pulsed threateningly.
"I've heard enough of this propaganda bull crap! Tell me what you really think!" She demanded loudly, casting the honesty-policy spell unto her cousin.
Evil Ben's eyes temporarily glowed pink– indicating the process was complete.
"Now: Why did Eon want our Ben's Omnitrix? I remember he gloated about killing other versions of Kev. But to go these lengths? For one measly Omnitrix out of the millions of others?"
He clenched his jaw defiantly, though his lip curled weirdly– as if he was trying to smile and but physically incapable.
"Ben Tennyson variant E-957's Omnitrix is unique." He spoke gradually, teeth gritted, a testament to his mental fortitude.
"Unique how?"
"After Azmuth deemed the sword Ascalon his greatest failure, he sought to right his wrongs– to once again become worthy in the eyes of his love, Zennith. So he created the ultimate antithesis–"
" –The Omnitrix. We know this already, I've spoken with Azmuth myself."
"In the event that all life in the universe was on the brink of utter annihilation, the artificial planet Primus and the Omnitrix would preserve the DNA of each individual species."
"A Noah's Ark, if you will." Paradox helpfully inserted.
"There's more." Evil Ben's voice strained.
"Oh, excuse me! Please, proceed!"
"E-957's Omnitrix is categorized as level thirty technology– making it by far the most advanced Omnitrix across spacetime. Aside from transformations, it has hundreds of other functions that Azmuth has never told anyone about. I doubt your Ben knew more than five."
"If our Ben's Omnitrix was so great, why only decide to show up now when the watch is off world? It seems like this timeline should be a prime tourist destination for a douchebag like Eon."
"Heh, Emperor Eon avoided this timeline because he was scared."
"Scared of our Ben?"
"Scared that his intervention may potentially spawn other level thirty Omnitrix variant timelines."
"That can't be the whole answer– I demand the full truth."
"That is the truth." He reaffirmed.
"No. No, you're still withholding information from us." She shook her head defiantly.
"Obviously. Emperor Eon did the same to me."
"I'm warning you, I am at my limit."
"The feelings mutual. It was nice… seeing you again, Gwen." There was a glint of wetness in his eyes.
His sincerity catching her off guard her mana cage depleted in strength– exactly enough so he could bust out. Crossing his arms in an 'X' pattern, Paradox immediately recognized what he was trying to do.
"He's activating his suit's self-destruct sequence!"
"I'M SORRY! I'M SOR– !" Evil Ben roared in anguish as his suit condensed with violet energy, instantly killing him at the epicenter of the thundering shockwave.
The Anodite channeled a protective bubble around her and Paradox, shielding them from the cataclysm caused by the ensuing explosion. Once the debris had ceased falling, she pushed the bubble towards the surface, scattering and crushing nearby building parts. The pair climbed out of the wreckage as she reverted to her human form. They coughed from the dust circulating through the exposed air. They found a steady middle ground on the cracked road to catch their breath, the professor cringing as he limped. It was still night time in Los Soledad, indicating that it couldn't have been more than a few hours since she and Paradox were locked inside Schrodinger's Box.
She glanced at the collapsed building, noting that the quartzite ring hadn't been spared of the damages. Did they just lose? Now they don't have a way to travel to that other universe Eon was babbling about. Worry struck at like whiplash her as she realized Kevin was stuck over there, entirely alone or even potentially even worse. Speaking of Kevin–
" –Youch!" The professor jumped as her fist collided with his shoulder.
She crossed her arms when he turned to look at her, scowling at the man's sheepish expression.
"Apologies, it wasn't my intention to embarrass you by mentioning the Rapunzel-disentanglement spell– !" He tripped over his words as she yanked him forward by his brown vest with surprising strength.
" –That's not– I'm not even mad about that anymore!"
"Then what are you mad about, exactly?"
"I have a million different reasons to be mad, professor, so I'm going to make myself very clear so I don't internally combust like that evil Ben clone did back there!"
The taller man's jaw swiveled open and shut, as if he were debating on what his next words should be.
"Enlighten me?" He chuckled nervously, his breath condensing in front of him.
'Oh, I'm going to enlighten you alright.' Gwen thought, as she let him go.
"The reason Eon showed up in the first place and attacked Kevin and I, was because he thought that we knew the whereabouts of the Omnitrix– which we didn't. We had no clue! Ben chose to be secretive about it, saying that he didn't want it to get into the wrong hands or whatever! After what we went through just now, I learned that you and Ben traveled to a different universe in order to hand deliver the Omnitrix to a complete stranger!" She was pacing back and forth frantically.
"So excuse me for being a little bit confused! I'm trying to make sense of this situation but nothing is adding up! Actually, you know what!? I'm not even mad about that! I- I'm what- what makes me the MOST upset is that you knew Ben was dying before Kevin and I put two and two together! So why didn't you tell us!? You JERK!" She whirled on him as hot tears sprang to the surface of her eyelids.
The professor's lips were drawn in a thin line. He slid his hands into his pants pockets.
"Because that would mean admitting I was at fault."
Gwen shook her head in disbelief.
He glared at his stopwatch as if it had personally offended his mother.
"I take it that apart from the Highbreed Invasion, you've faced your own fair share of super villain scum, yes?"
"I'd say I'm in the same ballpark as Ben was on that front, so yeah."
"Other than myself, have you ever dealt with malevolent forces which abuse their time manipulation abilities for unsavory reasons?"
The Anodite half-blood responded with a quiet 'no.'
"Exactly. You see, Gwendolyn, there are multitudes of beings across our universe that use time travel. Whether it's to exact revenge or to even do something as simple as investing in the stock market to become a millionaire off of that decision in the future– the point being, time-walkers, such as Eon and myself, are convicts of the highest caliber. We have the power to change other people's realities– without them being at all cognizant to it! Why, with power such as that– one could rise to a status position of such immense magnitude that they grow impossible to ignore!
Thankfully, I have developed a good 'credit score,' with the Chronosapiens, so they allow me a free pass on most of the stuff that I do." He appeared uncertain as he said this.
"The same cannot be said for the others. Most of their crimes will be reversed before they were even committed to begin with. That way no lasting damage is left within the timestream. As with all species, there are imperfections, and even a race as mighty as the Chronosapiens aren't privy to the lull of the realm in which they possess immaculate control. There are still a select few who do manage to bypass time authority.
One of those lunatics went by the villainous alias, Time-Bomber." Paradox shook his head in disgust upon mentioning the name.
"He was known for jumping in and out of the timeline, dropping… presents of the incendiary kind during moments of immense historical significance."
"A time-traveling arsonist? You've got to be kidding me?" Gwen couldn't mask her skepticism.
"I wish I were." Paradox pocketed his stopwatch.
"Time-Bomber escaped Chronosapien capture consistently, meaning he was no minor threat. Due to the danger he posed to the timeline, I enlisted my services, promising to assist in apprehending him by all means necessary." The professor guiltily avoided her searing gaze.
Gwen remained silent, hanging on to every word Paradox said.
"He was too much for me– but I knew if I had someone else– one more person there– !"
" –You asked Ben for help." Gwen finished for him, betrayal hidden in her voice.
"...I shouldn't have. But I did. I regret my decision everyday."
A terse moment of silence passed between them.
"OK. I guess- I guess I can't blame you. Ben would be anyone's go-to for stopping a universal threat. So then what happened?"
Reluctantly, Paradox lamented: "Benjamin agreed without hesitation and I teleported us to Time-Bomber's estimated coordinates. We had him cornered, but our unwillingness to call him out on his bluff is what cost us. In my haste to send him someplace that would drastically mitigate the collateral damage to the surrounding timestream– I teleported us to the only place I could think of– a place outside time and space itself–"
" –The Null Void."
"Yes. The Null Void." His eye twitched upon being interrupted again. "As it turns out, the Chronosapien Time Bomb had unforeseen consequences when activated from within the Null Void. The atomic infrastructure of that dimension wasn't equipped to handle stress and tension from time dilation that extreme. My original hypothesis– that the effects of the bomb would be counteracted by its location– proved to be inaccurate."
…
Still in his alien form, Izuku levitated over the stone pathing of the UA courtyard ignoring the cartoonish reactions of passersby. He reduced his core temperature and radiation levels, ensuring that anyone who came into contact with him wouldn't be burnt or be painfully irradiated. Still amped up on adrenaline from racing to the moon and back he chose to make a statement… A loud statement.
"NEZU!" Izuku hollered the principals name, now every student in the pavilion was looking in his direction.
Throwing his head back he let go of every single emotion he'd fought with over the past month in one, powerful, guttural cry:
"I AM A HERO!"
Trees rustled, as birds flew away from their nests, startled by the noise.
The whole school heard his declaration, as students ignored their teachers pleas for them to remain in their seats as they clambered for the nearest windows to see who was making a scene.
"Um, is that a villain or something?" One girl spoke nervously.
"No, you idiot! Did you not hear what he just said!? He's obviously with us!" Her friend slapped her shoulder in a chiding manner.
"Wowowowow! Is that the Midoriya guy who's all over the news!? Is that a new form!?" A floating teen with loopy blue hair and eyes to match, smushed her face against the pane for the closest view she could get.
"Haha, I like his enthusiasm! What about you Tamaki?" A blonde boy with simple eyes turned to his friend.
"He's s-so scary."
"Eh, he'll come around eventually." He shrugged at his best bud's timidness.
Winding down from practically blowing his lungs out, Izuku vaulted with the grace, gently landing on the principals glass balcony.
The door slid open with a soft hiss. He wordlessly padded inside.
Oh gosh, that was him. The principal Nezu of UA high school. He was seated at his oversized mahogany desk, paws neatly threaded together. Even in this form, he still felt small in comparison to the quirked animal.
"Izuku Midoriya! I've been expecting you!" He chirped.
He acknowledged the principal as he took in the office décor.
"Yes, I– wait, Levin? What are you doing here?" He blinked, confusion evident on his flaming features.
"Dude, I told you, you don't need to be formal with me. Kevin's fine." He lounged on a couch in the corner of the room, feet kicked up on the armrest, a pillow nestled underneath his head.
"Kevin has agreed to attend UA for the foreseeable future– until we discover a solution that may resolve his circumstance." Nezu answered for the brooding teen.
"Really? Are you placing him in heroics?"
"Where else?"
"He's a skilled mechanic based on what Aunt Mitsuki told me. He fixed her car after it broke down in her and Uncle Masaru's driveway. If the hero course happens to be full, I'm sure the support department would love to have him." He prodded at his chin thoughtfully with his gangly thumb.
"Thank you, for helping her, by the way." He gestured towards Kevin, who shrugged humbly.
"Hey, they're putting a roof over my head and giving me free food. It's the least I could do."
He palmed the Omnitrix badge on his chest, returning to his average quirkless self.
"Principal Nezu!" He slid to his knees.
"I want to attend this school too, if you'll let me." He bowed deeply, forehead firmly rested against the cold hardwood floor.
"You've found yourself in an interesting situation, Midoriya. With Kevin being the only other exception, I normally wouldn't allow murderers to be enrolled at my academy." He cut straight to the chase, causing Izuku's gaze to harden.
"Not gonna comment on that one." Kevin's voice was muffled by the pillow he was hugging.
"Killing a villain should always be done as a last resort. Whether some admit to it or not, they are people too. They have a choice to turn their lives around in rehabilitation centers, if they continue to refuse to play nice– then drastic action may be required."
Nezu's beady eyes bore into his callously.
"You don't get to make that decision for them. Am I understood?"
"U-Understood." He stuttered, mouth suddenly dry.
"You're here now. That fact alone shows that you do care enough to make up for your mistakes."
"Wait, so, I'm ok to attend classes here?" Izuku was baffled– he'd expected this convincing thing to be far more difficult than it was turning out to be.
"Oh-ho! There will be restrictions, of course! Someone with a track record such as yourself needs to be taught a thing or two about having restraint."
"I- I get it."
"Clearly, up until this point, you haven't. So you better start." He remarked sharply.
"My staff and I have been considering implementing a dorms system for years now." He diverted, shifting topics.
"Perhaps we could use you as a trail run to see how it goes?"
That surprised him.
"I can live at UA?"
"You're a minor and are currently staying at the Jiro's residence, correct?"
"I- I am. For the last month or so, ever since, you know."
"Legally, you aren't allowed to be living on your own. Cementoss can construct you a room in no time. Kevin is also welcome to stay on campus–"
" –Depends. Do I get twenty-four seven access to the cafeteria?" Kevin interrupted.
"Food shouldn't be an issue. Though if we upgrade to a full dorm system we'll be placing the responsibility of grocery shopping to you all."
"Sounds fair to me." Kevin adjusted to fold his arms behind his neck.
"Midoriya?"
Izuku considered Nezu's offer. He would be lying if he said he didn't like spending time with Jiro everyday. But he also didn't want to be a burden on her parents– his constant nightmares of Eon had utterly ruined any decent sleep schedule he had. Even now, he could feel the exhaustion beginning to settle in. That trip to the moon had been far more taxing than he originally anticipated.
The only reason he was here right now was because of Gran Torino.
"Nezu, did a hero by the name of Gran Torino used to teach here?"
The principal's ears twitched strangely. He leaned to pour himself a cup of tea.
"He did! Although he's long since retired! Why do you ask?" He clapped his paws.
"...More for confirmation, than anything else." He fiddled with the Omnitrix absentmindedly.
He imagined a world without heroes.
"If I decide to stay on campus for this upcoming semester– what kind of restrictions are we talking about?"
Nezu bared his fangs cheekily.
"No blatant acts of vigilantism is a good start. No overtime in the gym or in training facilities after curfew." He hummed thoughtfully.
"Essentially anything that you yourself would not want to be imposed upon you."
"That doesn't really sound like a restriction– much less a punishment?"
"Ah, I got one, how about… you are restricted from leaving UA's borders except in the case of fieldtrips and emergencies?"
"U-Uh…" Izuku stammered out nervously.
"Would you like me to list some more?" The quirked animal prompted.
"That's fine! Thank you, so much for your generosity Mr. principal Nezu, sir!" He bowed at a perfect ninety degrees, disregarding Kevin's bark of laughter.
"Sheesh. Hey Nerd-zu, what if he wants to spend some time with his girl? He can't do that if he's stuck here!"
Izuku's freckled face was scalding red as he whirled on the taller teen.
"Jiro isn't my girlfriend!"
Kevin applauded, a massive shit eating grin on his face.
"Oh, you thought I was referring to Jiro?" He spoke with feign innocence.
"I was beginning to thank you'd never admit you liked her."
Izuku was groaning on the ground, now far too embarrassed to look either pair in the eyes.
"You're lucky I value sanitation enough to have my floors waxed twice a day, Midoriya. Also that I'm rich but we don't talk about that." Nezu quipped, sipping on his tea idly.
'Lucky me, Nezu's rich.'
"I'll do it. I made a vow to become the greatest hero and I'm not settling until I've made that dream my reality. It's… what mom would've wanted."
…
For Ben Tennyson, a normal week day consisted of many things; Smash his alarm clock– then have Jury Rigg make a replacement out of the scraps, ride his bicycle to school, barely survive the next six hours of tedious classes, bike home, freshen up, take Julie out on a date, and end the night off by patrolling the streets of Bellwood to take care of any ill-intentioned aliens or villains that would dare threaten the peace (Those last two were becoming interchangeable, much to his glee).
It was thrilling to see that his girlfriend was just as capable of kicking ass as he was– if not even better– she was improving by leaps and bounds and demonstrated that she was a natural at piloting the Ship armor. She even handled a contained incident all by herself the day prior, surprising both him and Kevin– though Gwen had merely smiled in acknowledgement, as if she foresaw this coming.
She was such a dweeb sometimes, honestly.
Julie was accompanying him right now, actually, her arm currently interlocked with his at the elbow as they strolled together out of the glass double doors of Bellwood Cinema. She greedily snagged a handful of popcorn from his bag, making him chuckle at her antics. They stopped at a nearby wishing fountain, watching as the late afternoon sun glimmered through the reflective liquid beautifully.
"I think I'm going to have to give that movie a five out of ten. I was expecting an awesome action, suspense flick with witty comedic bits, not a horrific, jump scare fest! Also, the CGI was terrible! There were some moments I liked, like when Ishiyama did that quintuple backflip to avoid being crushed by the Destroyer but as an overall film, I simply cannot give it anything better than… meh? What are your thoughts?" He prompted her.
"I think its a seven." She challenged him, stealing more popcorn.
"OK– I want to hear this."
"First off, its called: SUMO SLAMMERS: THE WRATH OF KENKO II. Based on that title alone, I think your expectations should be lowered– seeing as it's 'loosely inspired' by a video game/trading card game. Movies based on video games have a history of being bad when transferred to the big screen."
Ben nodded in understanding.
"Secondly, the 3D glasses they gave us didn't even work. I'm sure a movie that was meant to be viewed in 3D would appear more visually impressive had it been viewed in said format."
He halted her hand before it could reach inside the paper bag.
"Fine. Six out of ten."
Julie rolled her eyes at him playfully.
"Glad we could reach a compromise."
Rather than making another witty retort, he stared into her coconut colored eyes affectionately, unable to look anywhere else. By now she was blushing as it was obvious what his intent was. Eagerly, she met him halfway, almost costing them his leftover popcorn but fortunately Ship had them covered— the pet Galvanic Mechamorph lurching from her backpack to cushion the buttery paper's fall. An electrifying few seconds later and they separated.
"Julie, I think I might seriously love you."
Ship suddenly squeaked, startling him into making a defensive stance which he assumed was karate-like. Julie's laughter was like a harp being strung– music to his ears. A rare red hue dusted his cheeks.
"For the wielder of the most powerful weapon in the whole universe, you're such a dork!" Her giggling fit persisted as he found himself joining her.
After a couple minutes of spontaneous bursts of laughter between the two teens, Julie got back to him.
"I love you too. Dork and all."
His heart swelled.
"Someone has been spending too much time with Gwen recently." He decided to continue their banter.
"What? It's not like my other friends can fend off alien threats."
He and Ship locked eyes-to-eye for a moment, the Galvanic Mechamorph appearing monumentally confused by everything going on around it.
"Also, she's been teaching me some actual karate." She admitted.
"She has?"
"Yup!"
They reached their destination– Madison Park. This was the park dedicated to Madison Elementary School– the school that he used to attend. Seeing the plethora of play structures brought back fond memories of his childhood.
'Before I found the Omnitrix.' He clarified mentally.
As per usual, they took to sitting on the swings. Hands interlinked, they gently jostled along to the wind, simply enjoying the other's presence. Noticing she was shivering, he offered her his green jacket, which she accepted gratefully.
A teal portal sparked into existence a short distance from them.
Julie gasped, immediately reaching for Ship.
"Hold on! Its fine! Its just– !"
" –Professor Paradox?" Julie's voice didn't deny her befuddlement.
The older man speed-walked towards them, lab coat flapping almost comically. He peeled his goggles from his eyes, staring intently at the Omnitrix wielder.
"Benjamin! I am afraid to announce that I am in desperate need of your assistance!" He nodded towards Julie to ensure he acknowledged her presence.
Ship squeaked sadly.
"Hello to you too, Ship."
Ship squeaked happily.
"OK. Shit. What sort of threat is this?"
"If the man I'm hunting down escapes– all of history will be doomed."
"Alright! You have my attention! So where is this guy!?" He asked before rising from his seat on swing set.
"He calls himself the Time-Bomber. His coordinates are ever changing, but I can track him. Even catch up to him. But I can't physically bind him."
"So you need muscle? I got that." Ben adopted a serious expression as he brandished the Omnitrix.
"I can help you guys too!" Julie approached them both.
"Uh-Uh. No way." Was Ben's immediate response.
"I can't believe you! After everything we've been through!? You think I can't hold my own!?" She scoffed.
"No! Of course not! Julie, you're a total badass! But– !"
" –Allow me to make the situation more clear to her, Benjamin." The professor clasped his shoulder, shuffling past him to speak his girlfriend directly.
"Julie, I mean this in the most sincere way possible: As you are now, you do not have the necessary repertoire to match a villain of this high a ranking. Benjamin, on the other hand, does." He sighed.
"I hate to ask this of you, but you must not tell anyone, about what happened here."
"Why?"
"Time travel is risky business. The fact that most people today consider it to be impossible is a blessing in disguise. If more people believed that it was feasible, the balance of spacetime would be thrown off kilter more than it already is. Has been. Or will be. By simply knowing of my existence, you are placed in a dangerous position. Do you understand?"
She glanced concernedly between him and Ben, waging an internalized conflict in her mind. Though she was obviously frustrated, she still conceded.
"Okay. But he better not get hurt." She jabbed a finger into the time-walker's chest in a scolding manner.
"The same goes for you, professor. Stay safe out there."
"Thank you." Paradox briskly rushed back towards the glowing portal.
"Ben/Julie." They spoke in unison.
Entertaining no exchange of words, the young couple hugged.
"You won't have to worry about us. We got this." He tried to placate her.
"I hope your right… good luck, Ben."
…
He'd fought a ton of bad guys, but Time-Bomber was by faaar, the biggest pain in the ass. Being a human from the distant future, he felt the need to brag about his superior intellect. So one might think, given that information, he would be a cunning strategist/impressive combatant.
Except no.
He was none of those things.
This guy was a joke.
Unfathomably, the guy's helmet was designed to look like a bomb. If his pearly white arcade era costume, complete with cyan and magenta highlights, wasn't evidence enough, he fumbled every single bomb he threw at them. He was quite possibly the least athletic person he'd ever seen! His top running speed seemed like a light jog! Maybe people in the future stopped working out all together?
More pointedly, the obvious reason he had evaded them for this long was because of his unique hovercycle: The Orbital Ryder. The pilot (Time-Bomber), was seated in a stationary, upright position, oriented inside a large wheel mechanism. This wheel created lift through immense gravitational pull, using the pilot as its rotational axes. That explanation was marred by holes but Ben was only made aware of the basics. The game of cat and mouse they'd been playing? Yeah, totally flipped on its head after Time-Bomber sat in that stupid, sparkly leather seat.
"He's getting away!"
"Oh hell no! We've come too far!" Ben slammed his hand on the Omnitrix, sprouting the features of Fasttrack
Thus began the sprinting marathon across the universe.
By the time Paradox managed to get close enough to send them all to the Null Void dimension, they had already passed through several different planets and ecosystems; Pyros, Petropia, Aldabra (Terraspin's home world), Kylmyss, Aranhascimmia, Revonnah, and they even looped back to Earth once. The pressure exuded from him and Paradox made the dunce-faced villain with a noticeable tooth gap consistently type his preferred coordinates incorrectly. The slightest hint that he was anywhere close to grabbing distance, he smashed the keys in panic and the Orbital Ryder's Portal Turret spewed out another random location.
Honestly, they were lucky they hadn't been teleported into the dead vacuum of space yet.
"Paradox you idiot! Now how are we thuppothed to use our time powerth!?" The villain cried indignantly as he struggled against the professor's superior strength.
"That's the point: We don't! You're just as vulnerable as I am!"
"You're inthane!" Time-Bomber's eyes bulged behind his space age goggles.
"Don't even get me started!" Paradox gestured to Ben, whilst simultaneously trapping Time-Bomber in a headlock.
Leaning out of the seat he'd swiped from the villain he hollered over the roaring atmosphere of the void: "Come on, my boy! Hop in!"
"Right!" He was currently navigating an asteroid belt, leaping from rock to rock, searching for a strong launch zone.
"How do I slow this thing down!?"
"Like I would tell you! Bethides an imbecile thuch ath yourthelf couldn't comprehend a complex tathk– ACK!" He recoiled elastically as the professor's balled fist careened into his nose.
"OH MY GODTH! You broke my nothe! You dirty ape! I won't forget thith!" Tears puddled in his goggles as blood dribbled from his nostrils.
"Strangely enough, you don't sound too different from before you're nose was broken." He remarked as he tightened his hold.
"I wouldn't resort to such barbaric methods normally, however you, Time-Bomber, have given us no choice."
"Incoming!" Ben announced, preparing to leap for the Orbital Ryder's central compartment.
Let it also be noted that while Time-Bomber appeared to be an incompetent villain… he had a knack for being extremely lucky. Like, finding a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, type of lucky. Or inversely, depending on who you talk you, being struck by a bolt of lightning, type of lucky. So when Fasttrack's black and blue physique blurred through the ozone polluted air– the chances of him being struck by the villain's Kinetic Blaster which he'd slipped from his boot while the professor was distracted– was zero to none.
This was the miniscule circumstance where that odds increased by a whopping one thousand percent.
As the hot pink laser whirred past him, the heated ray of particles collided with a nearby floating Tetramand engine block– which was of course constructed from Infinitum: A metal that is among the most durable in the known universe. Given the shape and angle that the laser struck the material, it was perfectly redirected towards the Orbital Ryder– towards Fasttrack. With that, Time-Bomber's miss had become a guaranteed hit.
He howled, as his fur and skin were burnt away, exposing the purple muscle and tendons beneath.
"I definitely calculated that happening!" Time-Bomber bragged pompously.
"BEN!" Paradox's outstretched hand was a feeble attempt to catch his companion as his paralyzed form undershot the hovercycle, plummeting into emptiness.
Even with Fasttrack's extra durable body, Ben wasn't able to easily 'shake off' colliding with the numerous suspended meteors that littered the void. Crunching his ribs against a particularly jagged slope– he tumbled down a ravine before he cracked his skull against a stalagmite. Gradually, he lifted a palm against his forehead, cringing at the familiar dampness of blood.
Let it be known, he was no stranger to taking damage– he'd been fighting super villains since he was ten– before his balls even dropped. So he knew how to take a punch. In the past five years, he had come across many despicable individuals who also seek to blatantly murder him. Most of whom don't even try to be discreet about their intentions. They vary in power levels but their is a constant theme that he can pick apart about all of them: Their massive egos.
So yeah, he had lots of enemies
Ben was no stranger to having an ego himself, but thankfully he was better at managing it nowadays. Had the people around him left him unchecked– well, he was sure he wouldn't be regarded by many as a hero.
Ben was always the type of person to stick up for the little guy. It may have been his persistent confrontation with bullies at school that subconsciously changed his mindset. Whenever he saw someone abusing their situation to undermine or even, God forbid they actually try to physically injure someone else– he got cross. The injustice and immorality of it– to do something like that to another living being– it appalled him.
That's what directed him down this path. Once he realized what the Omnitrix was capable of, there was no drawn out debate over what image he should work to maintain as an alien, or human, for that matter. He was going to do the same thing he'd always done: Putting bullies in their place.
It didn't mean a damn thing to him if their was some underlying issue going on at home that caused the bully to act out– and maybe that was unfair of him to think. But their is always a choice. If pain is the path they are actively choosing to exact on innocents, then Ben sure as hell was going to administer that medicine right back at em. Punishments varied from dropping them in front of the police department to tossing them into space.
Pick your poison, he's got ten different options.
When facing a villain who is committed to fighting to the death, a primal thrill ignites within him. A rush he feels when knows a fight is going to be a real challenge. There were only two things Ben loved more than combat; Smoothies and Julie. Also his late Grandpa Max. Not in any order, for obvious reasons.
He enjoyed sports as much as the next guy, but the competitive exhilaration that comes from a no holds barred slug match?
That was Ben's heaven.
So one could say that he was blessed since his obsessive desire to get into scraps and his fervent distaste for bullies coincided rather perfectly.
He dragged himself to his knees, keeling over as his tense muscles were still smoking.
Or maybe it was a curse. He wasn't old enough to legally drive a car and here he was supposedly now trapped in the Null Void. He was still a kid, damnit. He liked to sleep in and watch the Saturday morning cartoons with a massive bowl of cereal in his lap. Why was he fantasizing about cereal right now?
Flicking the wetness from his eye, he activated his binocular sight, making out the small blip in the distance that he confirmed to be Paradox and Time-Bomber. He was going to lose them if he didn't make up for lost time. He grit his canines in preparation for what he was about to do.
He reached behind his back and flapped his hand like a makeshift fan, quelling the burnt flesh.
Deep down, Ben understood why he chose the route of heroism.
One of his fondest memories from his early childhood was of Grandpa Max teaching him how to ride a bicycle. He remembered how scared he was at first. It took several tries for him to even stay upright. At a certain point, he considered giving up. Grandpa wasn't having it though, and proceeded to give him that boost of confidence he needed to keep going. Long before he realized– he'd been riding that bicycle all on his own without the elderly man's help.
Every nerve in his back shrieked in torment, as he flexed, adopting a sprinter's stance. Purple muscle fibers glistening and visibly pulled taut as he stretched, planting his claws into the ashen soil.
"Whenever you're thinking about quitting…" He echoed Grandpa's words.
'A hero needs to win every battle.'
He steadied his hyper fast heart rate, exhaling smoothly.
'Because the villain only needs to win once.'
"...Don't forget why you started!"
Breaching the sound barrier in less than half a second he sprinted along the cascading ravine's cliff-face, alternating surfaces to maintain his momentum and discourage gravities efforts to pull him down. A pack of Null Guardians erupted forth from a nearby grotto, the gray winged monsters immediately making chase after him. They cast massive shadows over him, roaring demonically.
He leapt to a relatively flat floating island.
That's the pressure that comes with being a hero– emphasis on pressure. Pressure to win. Pressure to get back up and keep fighting. Pressure to represent an ideal bigger than themselves.
That's why Ben Tennyson was a hero.
He refused to go gentle into that good night.
Dodging a Null Guardian's snapping jaws, Fasttrack was forced to make an impromptu detour as a purple energy blast obliterated the neighboring island he was planning on hopping to. Snatching the nearest tentacle, he swung himself up and over onto the monster's back. His friend's seemed to have no problem with going for the kill even if one of their own was in the crossfire. An army of Guardians swarmed them, while the one he mounted thrashed about wildly.
Operating on instinct, he lunged, rolled, ducked, flipped, and spun– all the while moving at top speed narrowly escaping being eaten alive. The blue blur connected with solid ground once more, racing across the dilapidated cratered surface. With another sonic boom, he blitzed a couple hundred revolutions around a tectonic pillar. He was moving at such high velocities, it was if his feet had magnetized to the surface of the rock– enabling him to keep his absurd pace while carrying his weight upside down.
Ben caught up to the Orbital Ryder as they arrived on a paved peninsula complete with ruins.
Noticing that his companion had made a resurgence, the professor attempted to steer the hovercycle to a lower altitude, when the barrel of a Kinetic Blaster was shoved his face.
"Haha! You're loyalty shall be your undoing, Paradox!" Time-Bomber laughed nasally, falsely believing he had gained the upper hand.
"I can't see in front of me when you do that!"
"Oh!" He admitted, dialing it back a little, though still playing up his condescending persona.
"Give me one thubthtantial reathon why I should let you live?"
Even in the midst of the stressful situation Paradox groaned.
"Maybe because if you kill me, this is falling into the void." The professor threatened, dangling his explosives satchel over the exposed exhaust pipe.
"Ha! Nice try! If you intend to blow up the both of uth– don't even bother! My bombth won't explode if I'm within a certain dithtance of them!" He declared snottily, arrogantly.
'Good to know.'
"However, by me dropping this, you lose the majority of your arsenal." He added.
Apparently, that hadn't crossed the arsonist's mind, as he adopted an 'oh shit,' expression.
Understanding that his hovercycle was his ticket to escaping, Time-Bomber continued to train his gun on the professor albeit more for his own protection at this point, even trying to grab the satchel once– though he was swatted when he attempted to do so. Prior to his departure, the professor ensured that the villain wouldn't be able to get very far without his obstruction, piercing the hull of the fuel tank with a Taydenite-tipped pen. Before he could do more damage, the villain's clumsiness spared him yet again.
He stumbled backwards and as he was in danger of falling– the Orbital Ryder's safety technology deployed. Fabric shot out from hem of the seat, wrapping Time-Bomber's waist and pulling him back onto hovercycle. Meanwhile, Paradox, unfamiliar with this particular function, was not so gracefully ejected from the flying bike.
"Thath right! Don't meth with me, the Time-Bomber! Haha!" The arsonist gloated, then scrambling as realized he didn't have his explosives satchel.
Paradox was caught by Fasttrack, who never lost a beat as he threw him over his shoulder and kept pace.
"He can't go like this for much longer! He's losing fuel by the second!" Paradox shouted over the raging wind.
"I can see it!" Ben confirmed, noticing the liquid spew from the tank in droves.
His green eyes widened as the Orbital Ryder's wheel shifted to spin horizontally around Time-Bomber, similar to Saturn's rings. His seat was backwards, as he was facing them instead of the steering controls, having put the hovercycle in autopilot mode. He extracted a cylindrical rod from a hidden compartment, and clicking a single button– watched as it expanded into a massive cannon humming with blue energy.
"Thay hello to my Blizzooka!" Time-Bomber squinted through the weapon's telescopic lens, finger twitching, impatiently waiting for the AI to lock onto him and Paradox.
"That's a stupid name!" Ben growled, preparing to juke whatever the villain fired at them.
"Go back to the ithe age you cavemaAAHH–!" Time-Bomber didn't account for the recoil, as his shoulder was instantly dislocated.
The beam struck the collapsed building in front of them, creating a vast frozen construct that he used as a launch board. Outrunning frostbite, the speedster briefly flew overhead in a swift arch, slamming his feet directly into the arsonist's chest. He sliced the safety fabric and tossed the villain a hefty distance away, taking pleasure in watching him skid across the dirt.
Time-Bomber floundered, scurrying in the opposite direction until a blue fist buried itself in his cheek, shattering the visor and sending the shards flying into the void. The punch made him face plant, further emboldening his nose injury.
"Owie! Owie! Ow!" The villain rolled around on the ground as he cradled his face.
"Do you hear this, Paradox?"
"I unfortunately do." The professor said as he removed his own pair of goggles.
Ben strode towards the wilted arsonist, reaching to grab them by his collar– when his hand phased through them.
"Its a hologram!" He hissed, spinning to find the real Time-Bomber.
Said villain was cowering behind a stone column, fiddling with a grapple gun. Nursing a dislocated shoulder his aim was flimsy– but the grappling hook still snagged the cloth from the Professor's hands, reeling it back to him. As Ben was about to rush in to try and swipe it– the crazed man yanked out the most dangerous weapon in his entire arsenal.
"Thtay back! Ha! Yeth, yeth– you know what thith ith don't you!?" He snorted, hoisting the coppery device.
"A Chronosapien Time-Bomb." The professor's eyes widened.
"Indeed! Ith already prethet! All I need to do to make thith thing blow ith by turning the key!"
"Doc?" Ben prompted the older man for a solution.
"Pardon me, Time-Bomber, but wouldn't the effects of the explosion be counteracted as we presently reside within a dimension separate from the universal timestream?"
"Um I don't..." Time-Bomber stared at the professor, expression blank.
"...So you mean that thing is a dud as long as we're here in the Null Void?" Ben jabbed his thumb at the weapon.
"That would be correct." Paradox confirmed.
"Let's GO professor! Coming in clutch as per usual!" The feline alien cheered, zipping to steal the bomb from the villain's weak grip– but not before they turned the key experimentally– only for the professor to seemingly be proven right as nothing happened.
"No more destroying universes for you!" He tucked the bomb under his arm.
"You– you can't do thith to me! I thtill need to leave my mark on hithtory!"
"Trust me, you've done enough damage as it is…" The professor checked his stop watch, a frown gradually adorning his features as he noted the hands appeared to be moving counter clockwise.
"I wath thuppothed to win! I planned for every contingenthy! I detherved thith!"
"You detherve a monumental beatdown." Ben reaffirmed, mocking the arsonist's lisp.
"What do you think, Paradox? Should we leave him here to rot? Or would that be too good a punishment for a scumbag like him?" Grinning wickedly at the villain who shook his head in a pleading manner.
"As much as I would love to, Benjamin, we might have another, very big problem upon the horizon here shortly."
"Err, why is that?"
He responded by gesturing to his stopwatch, which displayed the hands rapidly spinning.
"I thought you said time manipulation isn't supposed to work here?"
"That's because it's not!"
On queue, the Chronosapien Time Bomb started vibrating, shooting out red arcs of electricity. Quickly abandoning the weapon as gravity thrust it straight down into the ground, the metal warped under immense pressure as it curled into a constricted sphere. The surrounding rock cracked and caved in, as a strong current attracted adrift dust and pebbles. The electric bursts condensed into an scarlet energy field, zapping anything that came into contact with it.
"What's going on!?" Ben yelped as he sidestepped being squashed under a boulder.
"I am afraid I do not have an answer to that!"
The trio witnessed a blackhole spawn in front of them. Luminous rips flickered into existence, connected via a linking spiderweb of anomalies. If Ben had to best summarize what he saw, he would describe it as if the fabric of reality itself was being torn apart.
The floating island they stood on quaked. With the ruins uprooting thousands of tons of debris and excess material were hurtling at them, pulled towards the vacuum that was the blackhole. Cursing, Ben moved to grab both Paradox and the still gawking Time-Bomber.
"I'm about to go really fast so don't say I didn't warn you!"
Soaring at max velocity in under two seconds, he used an oncoming asteroid to give him a videogame esq double jump, expertly planting his feet before zooming off into the distance again. Even going as hard as he currently was, the blackhole's gravitational pull was rising at an exponential rate, making certain maneuvers and jumps more difficult than they normally would be for the Citrakayah.
As he was preparing to make another leap across a chasm, a sharp pain ruptured in his hand. Time-Bomber had just bit him!
"AH! Dickhead! Quit biting me!"
"Let me go! I want to die!"
"That's crazy talk!"
"Let. Me. GO!" He sobbed, his collar breaking, much to Ben's horror.
He wasn't able to reach back for the man as the dark abyss appeared to vaporize him.
"You were a great friend, Benjamin!"
"Don't you even start!"
"It was fun while it lasted, eh?"
"I'm not letting you go!"
"I know." The professor, smiled, wrenching himself out of his grip.
"PARADOX! NO!"
The mountain ahead of him collapsed, spewing forth a landslide of colossal proportions.
He was slowing down.
"Mom and Dad, Grandpa Max, Gwen, Kevin, Julie… Ship, P-Professor… I'm sorry. I guess this is where the ride ends." He apologized thickly.
He would run until he no longer felt his legs– as he was consumed by the blackhole. His state of consciousness at this moment was wobbly, at best. He remembers being sucked inside the event horizon, where his body was stretched a mile thin via the spaghettification process. He felt a rebounding sensation, pulsing, like a strobe light, but it was like it was behind his eyes? Visions of worlds– aliens, wildernesses and societies that he'd never seen– billions of them. Colors flashily streaked around him, swirling and spiraling.
Then came the monsters. The predators which prowled the inhospitable region within the event horizon. They took advantage of the point of no return, utilizing it as a net to catch easy prey. They howled and screeched– gnashing their teeth– swimming towards him. Nightmarish bodies encircled him, snarling and prodding at him with their tendrils and antennae. Just when he thought that he was going to be ripped in two, the universe flipped to white.
His body wasn't warped by the blackhole anymore, however, he was still suspended in a freefall. Surrounded by nothing but blankness.
The next thing he knew, he was stumbling off a teleporter pod, crashing to his knees in exhaustion. He inadvertently transformed back into a human, groaning at the harsh sting on his back. Hopefully the Omnitrix would fix that up soon. Out of breath and panting, he barely noticed the footsteps ceasing a short length across from him. Blinking the spots from his eyes, he realized he recognized those black dress shoes and who they belonged to.
"Grandpa?" He sounded incredulous.
He couldn't believe it, but there he was, the same rotund, elderly man who used to take him and his cousin on road trips every summer. He wore his favorite hawaiian t-shirt, with common brown slacks. His face, that amused smile he used whenever he was going to awe Ben with another story from his days as a plumber.
"...Am I- Am I dead? Like for real, this time?"
Grandpa Max laughed, wrinkles creasing his aged skin.
"Hey, if I'm dead, why do I still feel pain?"
Grandpa Max, placed his hands on his hips.
"Why don't you take a look around this place, Ben?" He didn't talk like his Grandpa did, and he lacked the same mannerisms.
'That doesn't answer either of my questions but alright I guess.'
Surprising himself that he still had the strength to stand on his own two feet, he digested his surroundings. They were adjacent to an elliptical teleported pad. Bronze arches and pipes outfitted the walls and support columns. Turquoise plates lined the floors and stairways. Parallel to them both, a wide glass pane gave an astonishingly bright view of absolutely nothing. He tapped against the window experimentally, slightly transfixed by the rippling pattern it emanated.
"So we're on a spaceship?" He turned to face his 'grandpa.'
"But where are we? We can't be in the Null Void anymore."
"We are nowhere."
Squinting he probed further:
"Who are you actually?"
As he asked this, three more Grandpa Maxes materialized on the teleporter pad and accompanying them was Professor Paradox.
"Paradox! Dude, I thought we were goners!"
"Benjamin!?" The professor's bafflement was remarkably evident. "You're alive!? And you're here!?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm definitely here. Care to explain to me why there are four identical copies of my Grandpa in this room?"
Dusting off the front of Ben's shirt and patting his shoulder amicably, Paradox introduced them.
"These people are the Contumelia. They are fifth dimensional beings– whose true forms are incomprehensible to us three-dimensional beings. Instead, when you look at them, you see an animated projection of whatever holds the most emotional sway over you."
'That explains why they look like Grandpa Max.' Ben thought, gulping.
"So they're like Gods?"
The professor pursed his lips before answering, "More or less."
"OK. Thanks for that crucial bit of information– now I'll know to not go picking a fight with one like a jackass." His eyes darted back and forth concernedly.
"Why are they watching us… silently?"
"We are observers." The Max furthest from him spoke up.
"Do you mind telling me what it is that you guys are observing?" He loosely gestured to the window.
"Cuz to me, it doesn't look like your observing anything."
"We are collected at this time to observe the birth of the new universe. We are interested to see what becomes of it." The Max who accompanied him upon his arrival spoke now.
A beat passed.
"A new universe? Bah! Do any of you know how we ended up here? I'm no scientist but I'm pretty sure you die if you're swallowed by a blackhole."
"The anomaly that you all fell inside was charged by the Chronosapien Time Bomb. While the Null Void is a dimension outside of the timestream, unaffected by events past, present, and future– it does not have the molecular integrity to sustain a time dilation effect that severe a magnitude."
"My hypothesis was wrong?" Paradox scratched his head, worry lacing his features.
"If my calculations weren't perfect then–"
" –Hey, hey, its ok Doc! These guys just can fix everything! You do have the power to do that right? …Right?"
"We cannot intervene."
"UM–"
" –The ancient laws bind us so. We are forbidden from tampering with fate."
"WHAT!?" He slapped his face annoyedly.
"Of course the omnipotent beings can't lift a finger to help some measly mortals out, where have I seen this one before?" He rudely remarked.
The Maxes were still grinning, which served to further aggravate him.
"Fine, if you guys are going to be useless, then you might as well show us where Time-Bomber is. If Paradox and I were both sent here then he must've arrived in this place before we did."
"Time-Bomber is currently browsing our weapons barracks."
"WHY WOULD YOU–!?"
Paradox loudly slapped the ranting teen across the face.
"We don't have time to blame the Contumelia for their abhorrent negligence! If what they said is true, which I'm not doubting– then Time-Bomber has access to devices far more potent and powerful than the Chronosapien Time Bomb! They aren't going to interfere, so we have to stop him before its too late!"
Shaking himself from his stupor, he palmed the Omnitrix, growing into NRG. Shedding the containment suit, he twirled around in his levitating incandescent form. Whenever the stakes were at the highest, NRG was never a bad pick in Ben's book. Without the containment suit weighing him down, the free Pyrpiatosian-B was his apex transformation. Super strength, speed, endurance and heat vision combined with the simple fact that not many things can withstand a nuclear blast to their face? When the chips were down, NRG had the fire power and physical prowess to keep up with the best of the best.
Gesturing to the Contumelia, he jokingly said:
"It wasn't like Time-Bomber was teleported inside the weapon barracks by pure luck right? Oh, who am I kidding. That's exactly what happened, didn't it?" His incandescent form slouched over.
"Yo, how do we get to the weapon's barracks from here? I will melt through the floors if I have to."
"Simply stand on the teleporter pad, and think of where you want to go. You shall appear there as you intend."
"Oh. Well that solves that issue." He padded over to the circular machine, the professor mirroring his actions.
The duo rematerialized within a vast spacious room, resembling the interior of a warehouse. Navigating the labyrinth of planet busting weapons sitting on display as if they were in museum, it became apparent that the time travelling arsonist had definitely passed through the area. If the multiple isolated chemical fires and heaps of scrap metal were any indication, they were close.
When they found the villain, he was accompanied by a Contumelian.
He held out a tiny purple box.
"We call that the Annihilargenesistoriathimmiorgost, however, you may refer to it as the Annihilargh if that's easier to pronounce." The animation of Grandpa Max answered, never losing his smile.
"OK. What doeth it do?"
"Upon detonation, the Annihilargenesistoriathimmiorgost will perform either one of two tasks: Create or obliterate the entire universe."
"Woah." The villain flipped the box open, smiling at the single button adorning its interior.
"I admit, I thought it would be a little more complex than thith, but beggarth can't be chootherth!" He shrugged.
"TIME-BOMBER! PUT IT DOWN!" Paradox hollered, causing the villain to fumble with the bomb animatedly.
The villain glared at the both of them, sniffling through his dried bloodied nose.
"How the heck!? You monkeyth are thtill alive!?"
"The feelings mutual. Now drop it." Ben threatened.
"My whole life, I've wanted to leave my mark on history! With the Annihilargh, my dream can finally become a reality!" His voice was trembled, as mania overcame the arsonist's senses.
The ship shuddered ominously.
"Listen to us! Spacetime is already in a state of unrest– if you press that button you might potentially be accelerating the atomic decay!"
"You think I care!?" Time-Bomber spat, turning to the Contumelian.
"What do you thay about thith, Mr. Boom-Boom Panth?"
"Oh God, I'm gonna hurl!" Ben gagged.
"What do you thay about thith, Mr. Boom-Boom Panth?"
"Why is he repeating himself!?"
"Because that's not Time-Bomber–" Paradox's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
He picked up a loose screw off the floor and tossed it straight at the villain, watching as it sailed through his form that appeared to be lagging, repeating his motions without audio.
" –Its another hologram." He finished, scowling.
Time-Bomber reappeared behind them, training a midnight black revolver on Ben.
"Haha! Foolth!" He taunted, successfully shooting the Pyrpiatosian-B directly in the chest.
The black pellet exploded upon making contact with his infernal skin, temporarily obscuring his vision with shadowy dust. Coughing, he rushed where he thought the villain was.
Screeching in alarm, Time-Bomber dropped his revolver– but not before tripping on his feet and falling behind an automatic sliding door that sealed itself from the rest of the barracks.
Curiously, the professor pocketed the midnight revolver.
"Are you alright Benjamin? No ill side effects?"
"What!? I'm totally fine! Help me get this thing open will ya!?" He didn't spare the professor a glance as he slammed his fist into the door.
The two companions grunted in effort as they attempted to wedge the barrier open– but to no avail.
"Stand back, I'm about to go thermonuclear!"
Paradox ducked behind a tank display. He called over the Contumelian who had conversed with Time-Bomber beforehand, revealing the revolver to them.
"Can you explain to me what this does? Also on a sidenote, if you could point me in the direction of a device that can destroy or reverse an active Annihilargh, I would appreciate it."
Ben only had to go thermonuclear as NRG a handful of times. He figured if there was any time to go all out, now was it. His heated cells sizzled, glowing white.
The turquoise metal expanded until it sloshed forward like a molten wave, unable to take the heat. With the door gone, what was left was an exposed Time-Bomber. The villain had placed the Annihilargh inside an escape pod.
"Don't tetht me! I flick thith thwitch and your univerth ith GONE-ZO!""
"I think I get the memo by now." Ben replied dryly.
Time-Bomber grunted in dissatisfaction.
"There has to be more to this. What are you really after?" He tried to reason with the villain.
"I'm glad you athked me that Ben Tennython."
"It may be hard to for a baboon thuch as yourthelf to believe, but I wathn't popular back home. Everyone tormented me. They made my life hell. For what? Becauthe they thought my complexion and overall appearanthe was unthightly!? That I was a- a chimp-toothed geek who wanted to be like my favorite thuper hero!? Tho what if I wath vocal about it! Tho what if I had a lithp!? Who didn't love heroeth!? Tho what if I a condition that made it impothible for me to build muthle!?
Even my own parenth hated me! Couldn't thtand to look at me for too long, they thaid! The only creature to ever show me any affection wath my cat, Mr. Boom-Boom Panth! I loved that cat! But then my older clathmaths at univerthity dethided it would be a funny to prank me by blowing him up! Directly …in front of my fathe.
Thath when I realized… Ith hard to be good when no one will let you.
It wath then I chothe to do thomething about it. The injuthtith– why did they get to walk free and laugh at me when I was covered in Mr. Boom-Boom Panth! I may not be ath throng, fatht, or attractive, but there was one thing I had over all of them– my intellect! My tech maketh up for my weaknethethz, yet you've continued to underethtimate me! They underethtimated me, too!
After thith day, no one will laugh at me ever again! Inthead, they will tremble with fear at the mere mention of my name! Time-Bomber, the man who killed an entire univerth!" He finished his monologue, trembling with emotion.
"So you were bullied. Hey, I don't like bullies either!" Ben gestured to himself loosely.
"Grrr…" Time-Bomber growled, finger ghosting the switch.
"You don't have to do this– you can still be a hero."
Hesitation.
"Turn yourself in. Be the man who saved an entire universe… not the one who doomed it."
Time-Bomber appeared to seriously consider Ben's suggestion, gulping audibly.
"To me, showing your love for thomeone, means ripping them apart. Remember, when I thaid I wanted to be like my favorite thuper hero?" He grinned sadistically, flicking the switch.
"Well, I want to watch you be torn to shreds! Haha!" He cackled as the escape pod containing the doomsday device was ejected from the bow of the Contumelian ship.
"SHIT!"
"Benjamin! Use this!"
He reflexively caught a sword the professor tossed him.
"Its called Ascalon! Don't ask me how, but that's your Annihilargh busting weapon!"
Not taking much time to analyze the details of said blade, he nodded affirmatively.
Gliding through the open hatch, he shot towards the escape pod. Just as the universe was disintegrating into nothingness he gave an echoed battle cry, unleashing his full power.
"I won't let you destroy, my UNIVERSE!" He jettisoned forward like a super nova.
Without needing so much as an explanation as to what it did, Ben wrapped both hands on the hilt, overlaying his radiation-based physiology with impervious godly armor. Flying in with a flaming downward slash, he bisected the escape pod down the middle– knowing the Annihilargh was inside.
Time ground to a halt.
Then, like a movie being rewound– the events of the past three hours sped in reverse, blending together like a kaleidoscope. He vaguely recalled seeing a Chronosapien council of some sort. He knew he'd felt the ticking sensation somewhere before. A vision of Time-Bomber being imprisoned– gears interlocking once more, a teal portal swallowed him and spat him out on a grassy lawn, with Paradox following suit.
"You guys are back already?"
"Huh?" Ben looked up through half-lidded eyes, half-hoping that the Julie looking at him wasn't another hologram or Contumelian or something.
"You two left only a couple minutes ago." She frowned.
"It didn't feel that short." He groaned.
"Is your head ok?" She knelt beside him, allowing for him to lean on her shoulder for comfort.
"Nah, but my back was killing me earlier. I don't feel pain there anymore, though. Guess that injury resolved itself."
"How about you professor?"
The older man was sprawled out across the grass. With his chest huffing, he offered her a shaky thumbs up.
"We… did it. Time-Bomber… is no more…" He wiped his sodden forehead.
"You got him? Nice job."
"Thanks…"
"Julie, may I speak with Benjamin alone for a moment." The professor asked suddenly.
"Its not like I'm going anywhere!" She shrugged extracting a frisbee from her backpack.
The duo reconvened by a seesaw.
"What's up?"
"Ben, you were shot by a Grim's Coroner." The professor's stated gravelly.
"You mean that gun Time-Bomber tried to shoot me with? It didn't do anything, remember?"
"That's because the effect isn't immediate. It's lingering. Based on what the Contumelian told me, you're death is inevitable. You're on an accelerated time limit."
Ben watched as Julie played fetch with Ship, the older man's words seeping in.
"Say uh, Doc… the Omnitrix, it won't offset this… sickness, will it?"
"Before the Grim's Coroner was outlawed by the Intergalactic Convention, it was a weapon used primarily for assassinations– because it killed its target with a one-hundred percent fatality rate. There were only two known working models to still exist. Dear, God! I- I am so terribly sorry for- for bringing this death sentence unto you Benjamin I– !"
" –Its not your fault, Paradox. We saved the universe, and that's what matters. If that means I die young… then so be it."
The professor stared at his companion, too stunned to form words.
"There is something you can do for me, though." He admitted.
"Anything my boy. Name it– its done."
"Don't tell Julie about my condition. Or Gwen. And Kevin– pretty much everybody we're close with."
"But, Benjamin, don't you think they deserve to know?"
"I don't want them to treat me any different because I'm dying."
He held up a placating hand to shush the professor.
"I'm assuming it will be impossible for me to ignore at a future point in time, in which then, I'll come clean. But for now… I just want to enjoy this."
…
"That's why you never told us. Because you were honoring Ben's wishes." Gwen whispered hand hovering over her mouth.
The professor bowed his head shamefully.
"I wanted to."
"I know you did. I'm sorry for yelling at you before. That wasn't cool of me."
"All is forgiven, Gwendolyn. I can see that you have more inquiries, though may I suggest we change locations for a more comfortable discussion? Preferably less cold?"
"Sure." She gave a mirthful chuckle.
"Kevin's car is still at the cemetery. Lets stop by there first."
"That can be done. Give me the word and we'll be on our merry way."
She considered the wreckage of Los Soledad, of the crushed multiversal gate.
"Yeah. Lets go."
'You messed up big time, Eon. Because now I'm pissed.'
The pair disappeared in a bright blip of light.
