Singing woke Gwen slowly from her sleep. It was dawn, she could smell eggs and bacon. Somebody was cooking her favorite breakfast. Stretching, she looked up to see Timerider at the stove, biting her lip as she both worked and sang. Fergie was playing on the Ipod hookup on her arm.

Is this me up in the mirror? 'Cuz I thought it was somebody else
Well it's a realization, when you find out you don't even wanna look at yourself

"That's pretty harsh Gwen." Gwen told her future self.

"I am /not/ in a good mood."

"Can you tell me about Death Valley?"

"I can, but I'd rather not. That battle still lives in my nightmares."

"What happened?"

"Kevin."

"Urg."

"he had been using the plumber base as a new home. He tried to use me as a shield to get away. Ben was heat blast. All he saw was somebody trying to kidnap his cousin, a known enemy trying to kidnap his cousin. He didn't think, in typical ten year old style he acted, grabbing my arm. When Heatblast grabs a human they have less than five seconds to get away before they start to burn, and Ben/YANKED/ He almost took my arm off. He has since apologized profusely and I have since forgiven him, because the brace that he built on my arm has saved both our lives and the world on several occasions. However, any time something goes wrong with it, he goes on a guilt trip."

"Does a lot go wrong?"

"It was built by a ten year old Gwen." Timerider replied. "Things built by ten year old humans tend to break or fall apart."

"So what does it do?"

"Besides keep my arm alive and from having to have my arm amputated? It's a computer. I rarely use my laptop anymore, except as data storage. I can access it all with my mind. I am, what the Galvans call a technopath. It means that I can control computers with my mind. It is, at once, very useful and very dangerous."

"Why, what's wrong with it?"

"Let me put it this way. There was one, very nasty incident, where I contracted the most recent virus to hit the internet. Because of it I temporarily turned /very/ very evil. The clash between me and Ben spanned three worlds, two weeks, and a battle that nearly turned the Washington Monument into the leaning tower of Pisa."

"Why, what can you do besides the brace?"

"Tell you what, I'll ask Ben to spar with me later and you can see. For now... eat. My stomach is still getting used to human food again."

"You're kidding."

"nope. I've been living on the Kinetan moon, Centinal. The water there has a bacteria that helps the Kenecelarans there live longer, aids their digestion, and helps protect them from most attacks. But it makes humans rather ill." Timerider replied.

"How ill."

"Ever have to take Lithium?"

"no, and I don't want to. I hear that medically its nasty."

"Similar side effects in humans, nausea, tremor, dry mouth, and a need for more /water./" Timerider replied. "You can survive with it in your system, and when you leave Centinal it cycles out of your body, but its very disconcerting. I don't eat much when I'm on Centinal, mostly fruit, so that I don't need to drink the water to survive."

"Oh. So why /do/ we need to go to Death Valley?"

"Several reasons. Mainly that we need to drive Kevin out of the base. He has a date with destiny. And so does a young Kinecelaran currently roaming the American Desert at a leisurely 400 miles per hour."

"How are we going to find him, the kinecelaran I mean."

"Target will come to us. He's obsessed with music. And he has a huge crush on Fergie. He thinks that London Bridge is the funniest song ever. Right now he's his culture's equivalent of yours and Ben's age, making him the perfect friend and ally."

"that's what Ben thought about Kevin."

"Target is a lot nicer."

"Why /do/ we need Target?"

"He made history."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, he was the first alien to address congress, the first official Alien to take up residence on Earth, and he is the original Lord XLR8."

"I don't understand what you mean by Lord, but Ben is XLR8 isn't he?" Gwen asked.

"Sort of." Timerider replied, taking her own portion and sitting to talk to Gwen. She ate slowly, relishing the food. "The Ten Star Council consists of ten aliens, one from each planet that was represented by the Omnitrix. Because the originals liked the names that Ben came up with for their Watch counterparts, they used them as titles, like royalty. So Target acceeded to represent his planet, and became known as Lord XLR8. Like Kevin, he has a date with destiny, and we have to keep it on time."

"YOu seem very sure about what you're getting me into."

"I am, this part of the timeline could go wrong, simply because I warned you." Timerider replied. "It has to happen Gwen. And no matter what happens, if it doesn't happen now it will happen another way. Only it will be worse, because Kevin will have figured out how to use the plumber weapons on Ben. And when you get burned you won't have gadgets to take the parts for the brace from, which means that Ben and Grandpa will have extra trouble getting the parts they need to build it and save your arm. Do you want our cousin to get hurt? Do you want a sociopath to get his hands on advanced tech? And next summer you're going to need the base for use as a training ground."

"Training for what?"

"Technopathy doesn't learn itself you know."

"Yes, but how do I figure out how to use something that hasn't been done before."

"By practicing in a safe but challenging environment." Replied Timerider. "Grandpa took an old training exercise that his people used to do between missions, and he adapted it into a combination obstacle course for Ben and cyber puzzle for you. He's not as stupid as you may think he is. And he learns almost as quickly as the two of you."

"What happens to him?"

"I don't know. I was away when he died. All I sensed was that somebody I knew and cared about was gone."

"What... does a time key look like? Is it anything like the charms of bevel?"

"Not quite. There are seven shrines across the galaxy, and seven time keys. The shrines are usually on a moon. There's one that's on the planet itself and heavily guarded, but mostly its moons. When a timerider dies, or steps down, their power is scattered and they go back to being mortal. Then the timekey changes into a ball of light, each one's a different color. The master timekey always goes back to the Celestine shrine on Centinal. When a person touches the Time Key, it changes into a form that reflects their personality and only they can touch it."

"What happens if somebody else does?"

"It shocks them, just a small zap is usually enough to make people not touch it. But they've shot lightning on some occasions when somebody's tried to steal it."

"AAAAAH!" Ben tumbled out of bed.

"Ben! Are you okay?"

"Dream... very bad..." Ben yawned and stretched.

Breakfast was pleasent. Ben told some sick ten year old jokes that embarassed Gwen, but Timerider laughed at them. Only the bags under her eyes showed the strain that she'd been under.

Gwen studied her future self curiously. I'm... sexy? Beautiful? Look at me! That hair... I kept it short, well of course because that's more practical, but hairdye? The beads are a nice touch though. I always wanted that style. She chewed thoughtfully on a forkfull of egg. Are my boobs really going to be that big? Jeesh! And my hips are kinda small. This is me at seventeen?

Grandpa joined them, but he stayed back, watching and listening in silence as Ben continued cracking jokes. Ben was troubled by what was happening, he could tell. Ben tended to deal with stress by either lashing back with a prank or telling a joke. And there was a definate sag behind that ten year old grin.

I will not die. I don't want to die. I don't want to hurt Gwen. I don't want to see anybody die because of me. The thought was almost a mantra in Ben's mind.

"Okay you two. Soon as you're done eating we're going to take a long, long look at the desert at sunrise after a storm. And then Ben and I are going to have a little sparring match."

"A sparring match?" Ben asked. Arching an eyebrow at Timerider.

"Yep. You need to get used to working with me, in battle. And Gwen needs to get a better understanding of what she/I am capable of. I stood in your shoes Gwen. You're looking at me, and seeing what I am, and you're doubting if its worth it. And for your information my boobs are not as big as you think they are."

Gwen reddened. "I didn't think that!"

"Don't lie. I'm YOU, remember?" Timerider pointed out. "Come on, both of you!" She stood and headed for the door.

Ben stood, ten year old curiousity driving him mostly, as he took a look at the desert. "WOW!"

A rainbow spread over the land, and where before there had been sand and rocks, there were flowers. Lizards, rabbits, even a deer and a couple of birds were present. A hawk sailed overhead.

And then there were the plants. Cacti were celebrating with fancy blooms that smelled so sweet! Scrub brush were starting to sprout tiny leaves.

Gwen took a few steps on a landscape that was radically different from the one she had seen last night. Then she looked down.

At her feet was a buffalo skull, and next to it was a pair of flowers. She smiled, though a single tear fell from her eye as she looked down at the arrangement. She didn't say anything about the sight, it was highly charged to her. For a ten year old to see death and new life side by side was an incredible thing.

"Kay kiddies, listen up! Ben, take ten paces that way and then change into Four Arms." She turned to Gwen and grandpa. "Take ten steps behind me and watch. We're gonna need some room."

"Here I come!"

FLASH!

Ben/Fourarms took a quick stock of himself and finally took a deep breath. "Here I come!"

"When I say stop, you freeze." Timerider agreed as she hefted her sword. "I'm gonna start things off basic." She dodged a swing nimbly, but the sword glanced off of Four Arm's hide as he parried the blow with his bare hands. CLANG! "Ten star style! VULPIMANCER RADAR!"

The brace cheeped. Then glowed briefly. Timerider's eyes clouded over and she closed them. They stayed that way as though glued. Her nostrals flared, but other than a look of intense concentration she stood perfectly still.

Four Arms swung.

Timerider dropped like a stone, but she wasn't hit, instead she crouched over and rolled. A low, guttural growl rolled from her throat. Sniff, sniff. "Ben, did you skip taking a shower again?"

"How were you able to tell?" Ben blinked as he swung again.

Timerider fell onto all fours and and leapt to a large flat rock with lazy grace. "You'd be surprised how strong your sense of smell gets when you can't see."

"I don't get it."

"Wildmut!" Chuckled Timerider as she straightened up. Her eyes lightened and she held up a hand. "STOP!" Ben froze. "The Ten Star Style is only possible for either Ben or a technopath who has downloaded the omnitrix upgrade. It is a style of martial arts unique to the Tennyson family, based on the powers of the ten aliens. The omnitrix upgrade program enhances the innate instincts of the ten alien forms and contains the memories and knowlege of the creatures inside of it. A technopath who contracts the upgrade can access the ten star style by activating the instincts of the alien who's mind they need. In this case I needed a vulpimancer's senses, so I accessed Wildmut's memories. Alright then, continue."

Ben clambored up the rock and the two fighters circled, Gwen could tell that Ben was calculating, trying to aim the big slap. Would her future self use some other form of alien martial arts?

"BIG SLAP!"

"Time retreival!" Timerider shoved a single hand into what appeared to be an invisible compartment in mid air. As though in slow motion Timerider withdrew a tiny glittering chain of charms from nothing, from nothing, and they were very familiar. "CHARMS OF BEVEL SHEILDING!" She shrieked as the attack angled towards her. BONG! The blow bounced off. "Release!" And the charms of bevel disappeared once more.

"STOP!" Freeze.

"A time retrieval is easily the ultimate combat move of the Timeriders. If we have had an ability at any point in time, as long as an anomaly has not nullified the event, we can retrieve the artifact or ability from oblivion. We just have to go back to the battle ground and touch the object, or its remains, with our sword. In this case I touched the keystone, which gave me the power quite nicely." Timerider replied. "And I can make them disappear again, and have."

Gwen watched, gawking by now.

Timerider bowed to Gwen and raised her sword. "One more major ability that I have to show, come on."

"Kay!" Ben went charging after her again.

Timerider scooped something small out of a pouch at her waist and ate it. ZOOOOOOOM! She took off, running in circles around and around the battle site. Ben attempted to chase after her, but she stopped right in front of him. "STOP!" Ben waited impatiently. "Speed seeds are a Kinecelaran delicacy, they only grow on the moon there, Centinal. The most potent are the ones that grow near the springs of Celestine at the Celestine shrine. I keep a supply on hand just in case I ever need to jet."

"And get a major case of jetlag." Commented Grandpa Max.

Timerider nodded. "I regenerate, as a Timerider I recover from their effects faster." She lowered her sword. "That's enough for today. From now on Ben, I will /ambush/ you. You won't know when I'm going to do it, and you'll have to be ready to fight like this at almost any time, with me stopping to make corrections, even midstrike."

Ben nodded, the red light faded as he was human once more. "I see."

"Now we need to get to Death Valley gramps, can you get us there?"

"Promise me you won't get either of them killed." Grandpa groaned.

"I promise." Timerider bowed.

Without a word, the four of them headed for the RV. Ben yawned.

"Tired Ben?" Asked Grandpa.

"Yes." Ben sighed.

"Sleep."

Ben obediently went to his bunk, but he lay awake. "I don't want to sleep to that again."