Hello there ladies and gentlemen, it's Shinobi360 wishing you a happy new month and bringing you a new story. After conducting a Crossover Challenge which was inspired by the story: The Youngest Titan by Ben10Herotime, and seeing the response to it,I have made a decision, and that is to finally bring you the story that I had promised you, and it's title: Finding Hope.

This story will follow an 11 year old Ben Tennyson alongside the Teen Titans, and will be set in the S1 of the Teen Titans. It will also incorporate every basic story element i introduced in the crossover challenge.

Since you already know what to expect ,let us begin.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10 or Teen Titans in any way. They are both owned by Man of Action and Dc comics.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1

A Hero's Anguish

Location: Bellwood,U.S.A

Time:2:00 Pm

It was a calm, sunny day in the streets of Bellwood. The afternoon breeze was cool and refreshing. One would think that with the overall positive atmosphere, nothing could go wrong. And even if that were so for everyone else, it wasn't the case for Ben Tennyson. Inside his home, the 11 year old was going through what he believed to be the worst phase of his life, and no it wasn't puberty. It was something much more tragic;Grief. An emotion that up to two months ago was alien to him. But alas,fate hadn't been so kind to him. This emotion that had once been a stranger to the young hero,had found itself deep into his heart,a result of one callous Galvanic Mechamorph; Malware. The villain was a failed experiment of Azmuth, the creator of Ben's Omnitrix which was the source of his iconic ability to transform into different aliens. Seeing his creator as the cause of his plight,he sought out to use Azmuth's greatest creation to complete himself. In his attempt,he came across the likes of Ben Tennyson who himself had sought out to foil Malware's schemes. Although The Victor, Malware had managed to leave an emotional scar on Ben that no other villain had succeeded to do. He had managed to strip Ben of one of his favorite Aliens; Feedback. For Ben, that loss was more or less a mini death,as he felt that a part of him had died that day, which was true in his case, being that each of his alien transformations were like a part of him.

Worried, Ben's loved ones expressed their concern for his well being by making numerous efforts to improve his mood, from giving him a week off of school,to buying the latest edition of his favorite game series:Sumo Slammers, with the latest version being Sumo Slammers IV: Tournament Edition. To allow him to take different assortments of his favorite food. Their efforts even went as far as to upgrade his GameStation to it's latest version, one that his parents had originally planned to get Ben once he turned 13. His Cousin Gwen even contributed to the purchase of the new console, much to Ben's surprise. But alas, despite all their efforts, it was to no avail. Now his parents, Sandra and Carl Tennyson were in the living room with Carl's Dad and Sandra's father in law,Max Tennyson, discussing their next course of action regarding Ben.

"Dad, we've tried everything we can to get Ben to open up to us,but nothing's worked. It's like each time we get him to let us in on how to help him,he shuts us out again. " Said Carl with a look of worry on his face.

"We know that what he's going through must be very hard for him,but it doesn't stop us from worrying for his well-being if he keeps distancing himself from those who care about him. " Said Sandra in dismay.

"I know how you feel,both of you,and I'm sure Ben does too.I'm worried too, but maybe we just have to be more patient with him." Said Max in hopes of assuring them.

"We've been patient with him Max, it's been two months since he's been like this and there's been no breakthrough." Doubted Sandra.

"You know I think that if we had known about the double life that Ben was living from the get go, maybe we could have done more to stop him from fighting all those dangerous aliens." Said Carl.

"Son, Don't blame yourself for something you couldn't have known." Max tried to reassure Carl.

"I know Dad, but it still doesn't make me understand why you kept it from us for so long. Just until two months ago,we thought our boy was just like everyone else, normal. But then, after a family outing to the mall,we see our son fighting some super powered criminals in the form of a fire monster, and nearly loosing too. Not only does it make us more worried than we've ever been after finding out that they're even more super powered psychos that are after Ben, but to learn that he's had to put his life on the line countless times for the last year,it almost gave us a heart attack." Said Carl, visibly upset.

"You both have to understand,it was never my intention to put you in a tough spot like that. Time and again, I've always wanted to tell you both the truth, but the thought of something bad happening to either of you has always made me reconsider, and sadly,has made me keep the whole thing under wraps longer than i would have liked." Said Max in hopes of convincing his son.

"We appreciate your concern Dad, honestly, but our safety pales in comparison to Ben. He's our world." Said Carl.

"If anything were to ever happen to him,I don't know how I would live with myself. Said Sandra.

"Yet,we can't even be there for our son when he needs us the most." Carl's words caused Max to frown.

"Hey now." Said Max as he placed his hands on both Carl and Sandra's shoulders respectively.

"Don't go cutting yourself short. Even if you did know from the get go, I'm not so sure much would have Changed."

"Oh yeah, and how would you know?" Said Carl as he brushed off his father's arm, annoyed.

"Well, for starters,Ben has always been the kind of kid to take action when something bad happens. Not to mention that he looks up to people who do the exact same thing." Began Max,who had already removed his hand from Sandra's shoulder.

"Even so,it doesn't give him any right to needlessly risk his life every day." Countered Sandra.

"Maybe, but you have to admit,Ben has done a lot of good in his short time as hero. He's helped a lot of people too." Said Max as he stood stubbornly by his argument. Reasoned Max, looking at both of them once more.

"Of course I know that." Carl Sighed.

"Ever since he was little, we've always made it a priority to make Ben understand the importance of doing the right thing. And although I'm proud that he's doing just that, and far beyond anything I could have ever imagined,I can't help but to be scared and constantly worried about his safety. And the fact that he's in such a state that he can't even let those who care for him to help him get better only makes it worse." Carl looked defeated and lowered his head to the ground. Noticing this,Sandra put a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Max, we know that you know better than anyone the kind of dangers that await Ben if he goes down this path.and we don't doubt you for a moment when you say that Ben has certainly made a positive impact since he got the Omnitrix." Began Sandra.

" But please, understand where we're coming from. Ben's just 11 years old, yet he's already had to go through so much to help people that he doesn't even know, and he's had to go up against so many people that want to do nothing but hurt him. We're afraid that if he continues down this path, something so bad may happen to him that we might never be able to see our boy the same way again. Or at all." As she said that last sentence, Sandra began to cry.

"Hey,Hey. Please don't say that." Began Carl, holding Sandra by her shoulders and drawing her to his chest in hopes of comforting her.

"Nothing like that will ever happen to our son,I promise you. We just have to make sure that knows that no matter what happens to him, he'll always have his parents love and support. And for him to be able to understand that,we need to make sure that he can never get hurt in such a way or worse ever again." Said Frank who's tone changed from a soft and comforting one,to a firm one full of conviction.

"You mean..." Asked Max with his eyes widened in surprise.

"Yes Dad,we need to convince Ben to remove the Omnitrix for good." Said Carl, answering his father's line of thought.

Max, although initially surprised, his expression became one of sadness.

"I understand that you're trying to look out for Ben,we all do, but if you do that,your basically killing his dream." Began Max in a sympathetic tone.

"No we, won't. Not completely" Carl tried to rationalize.

"Yes, being without the Omnitrix will limit just exactly how much Ben can help others but not completely. He'll always have that fire, that drive to help others, and we will always love him for that. But they are safer ways for him to do just that without leaving us fearing for his life each day."

"Please,Max" Began Sandra whom although the tears had stopped flowing,her voice was still shaky.

"Please...We-We can't...W-W-We can't lose our boy. Now more than ever."

Closing his eyes as he himself was getting emotional,Max approached his son and his daughter in law and hugged them each.

"You won't loose him. I can assure you that. We could get the creator,Azmuth to come to Earth to remove the Omnitrix. That's not the difficult part. The difficult part..."

"Is whether Ben would want to give up the Omnitrix." Carl said, once again finishing his father's sentence for him.

"As much as we would like him to live a normal life again,if he still chooses to be a hero, we'll support him all the way." Said Sandra, gradually regaining her composure.

And so the three Tennyson's stayed their in a group hug, their mind made up on the course of action to take for their loved one. It now left to fate to decide which path our young hero,Ben Tennyson.

Speaking of our young hero,Ben was inside his room, playing the latest edition of his favorite franchise; Sumo Slammers. The name of the game was Sumo Slammers IV: Tournament Edition. It was a 2.5D fighting game. He was playing against the CPU controlling his favorite character,Ishiyama and his opponent being his favorite character's archenemy, Kenko. Ben's life bar was very low, but was moderately higher than his opponents,Kenko,who he needed to land just one more hit on in order to defeat him. The final blow would not come easily though as his opponent would either dodge or block most of his attacks. Then as Ben wiffed an attack as Ishiyama, his CPU opponent,Kenko landed an uppercut that sent him into the air, alongside two quick punches, alongside a kick that sent him back to the ground. Now both fighters needed to land one blow on their adversary in order to ensure victory. However, just as it seemed Kenko was about to seal victory, Ishiyama rolled out of the way and did a wakeup attack,a belly charge attack that connected, knocking out Kenko and ensuring Ben as the victor.

"Heh,won again" Said Ben with a weak smile and little enthusiasm. The game asked him if he would like a rematch,to which he responded by turning off his gamestation. With a loud sigh,Ben laid flat on his back on his Bed and looked up to his ceiling. Even though he ways swaying his right leg left and right in a way that would give one the impression that he was deep in thought,it was clear on his face that Ben was far from happy. After swaying his leg and looking at the ceiling for a minute or two,Ben looked onto his left arm which had the Omnitrix. And with a sigh,he began to speak.

"This used to be the best thing to ever happened to me, and even though I had my fun, and helped a lot of people. A lot of people still got hurt because of me,or more specifically, because I'm the one who's wearing this... this watch" Ben said that word with a sigh, almost like as if we was about to curse at the Omnitrix but stopped himself from doing so.

"Guess all my screw ups had to catch up with me somehow. Just never thought it would be in such a way that hurts so much." As he said this,Ben brought his left arm to the top bridge of his nose between his eyes and pinched it while they were closed.

"Maybe... Just maybe,I should give the hero gig a break for now. I'm far from 100% and the last thing I need Is to let more people down..." Before he could continue what he was saying,a knock was heard on Ben's door.

"You can come in, it's not locked." Said Ben in a monotone voice. As the door opened,Ben got up his bed in order to enter a seating position, and rested his back and neck on the wall at his right. The visitors were his mom,dad and grandfather.

"Hey Mom,Dad. Grandpa Max, didn't expect to see you here."Said Ben in a tone of little emotion.

"Hey there,kiddo. How've you been holding up?" Said Max with a slightly forced smile.

"Ok I guess. Don't really feel any better. Guessing that's why you're all here." Said Ben looking to his Dad.

"Yeah it is, son." Said Carl, also trying to force a smile.

'Come on we have to be strong...For him' Thought Carl with determination.

"Ben..." Began his Mom,who took a seat by his bed alongside him, placed a hand on his shoulder causing the young boy to look at her rather weakly. His father sat also beside him but opposite his mother..His grandfather took the chair in his room and placed it in front of Ben's bed, and sat on the chair as he looked Ben in the face with his hands on his laps and his face leaned forward, indicating that his grandson had his full attention.

"We know that these past two months have been really hard on you. We want to know that we are proud of you, not just for sharing with us,or for taking our suggestions to try and raise your spirits, but also for always trying to doing the right thing with the gifts you've been given."

"We know that the road has been filled with obstacles here and there but you've been able to overcome them, time and again. And we're confident that you can do so now." Said Max with a genuine smile of encouragement.

"We know you're going to grow into a fine young man who's going to change the world for better. Who's going to be a hero for so many people. Your destined for great things Ben, and we don't want to change that." Said Carl whom even though was speaking with a neutral expression on his face, his tone was obviously that of reassurance.

"But we also don't want you to a bear a burden on your shoulders larger than you can cope with. That's why your father, grandfather and myself have come here to try and convince you to..."

"Remove the Omnitrix for good. Right?" Said Ben. Their expression, although was one of surprise, changed to a somber one of sadness.

"Ben,we know that this might come off as being insensitive to you because of how much the Omnitrix means to you and how proud you are of all the good you've done with it. But we're sure you also know that because of it they'll be a lot of terrible people willing to do anything to take it from you, going to lengths you couldn't initially imagine just to hurt you." Reasoned Carl.

"We saw how much loosing this transformation called Feedback affected you. It broke our hearts seeing you in so much pain, and even now we still feel that way, because you still have that pain." Said Sandra sadly.

"Grief is a very powerful thing,Ben. No matter how you think you can recover from it,it ultimately changes you, even in ways you might never quite understand. It pains me to say this, but in our line of work, trying to save lives. You can't always save everyone..You can't stop every tragedy. You can only learn from it." Stated Max empathetically.

"We have no doubt that you will come back from this stronger, Ben, that's not our fear. Our fear..." Said Carl

"Is that if we allow you to go down this path of wanting to be a hero, the dangers and sacrifices that you will have to make along the way may be too much for you. We don't to be unable to recognize you after you've been on the field for so long. Or worse... loose you entirely." Said Sandra,who finished where her husband stopped. Though the last sentence nearly brought her to tears.

"We want to know that this is not a decision being forced on you. We're confident that both you and the people around can help you come to a decision that's best for you because we know that no matter what, you'll make us proud. That's why we've not only left the choice on what to do with with the Omnitrix to you but we've also contacted your uncle Manny,who lives in Jump City. Not too far from here." As Max said this, Ben look at his grandfather with a confused look.

"Why do you want me to Jump City?" Ben asked rather weakly.

"We felt that you may also value the input of another individual whom values your opinion as much,if not...more than we do." Said Carl,whom struggled a bit with the last sentence but still said it nonetheless.

"Alongside that,Jump City could prove to be a good change of scenery for you." Said Sandra.

"I've convinced your parents that it could be a good place for you to come to a decision that you could be greatly content with without really feeling that much affected by outside factors. But you have to note one thing. Azmuth will be coming to meet you this night or the next in person.He will most likely be the first person you'll tell which decision you have chosen to take ultimately. Even if you are not able to come to one by the time he appears, he will still return to check on your well being and he would definitely appreciate it if he's at least amongst one of the first two people who is aware of the decision you've chosen to take, even if it's not an immediate one." Encouraged Max.

"What is your decision Ben? Remember,it is your say ultimately.We will not pressure you to make a decision if you are not ready. We will always love and support you no matter what." Said Carl.

Now, the ball was in Ben's court,as ultimately,he was the one who would choose what he would wish to take. For the first time in two months, his eyes and expression which were formerly filled with uncertainty and untold sadness, changed to that of convinction and determination.

"I'll go. Mom,Dad, Grandpa. Thank you for everything." Said Ben with a weak but genuine smile. This caused all three adults to smile and hug Ben respectively.

Time: 3:30

Ben was standing outside his house with a small backpack on his and a small travelling bah in his hand. Parked on the sidewalk was his Grandpa's RV. The door was open and the engine was running, meaning that Grandpa Max was ready to go. Ben however, wasn't. Not quite as least,as he was waiting for someone. Looking at his Omnitrix almost in a manner like he was trying to look at the time,Ben began to think to himself.

"Alright, Grandpa Max is ready to now. And so am I. At least once I've finally said goodbye to..."

"Ben?" A female voice called. Upon hearing it,Ben immediately turned his head to his right, where he saw the owner of the voice. It was none other than his Cousin...

"Gwen?" Asked Ben in a tone of expectancy.

"Yeah, it's me. How are you holding up?" Asked Gwen with a weak smile.

"Oh, you know, same old, same old." Ben replied with an even weaker smile as he scratched the back of his head.

'Hope I didn't just make this awkward' Ben thought to himself, referencing the now growing silence that lasted for a few seconds.

"Your parents and grandpa told mine that you're going to be away for a while." Said Gwen with a hint of sadness.

"Yeah, it's not going to be for long. It's just until I can sort things out on my end." Ben replied, now scratching the top of his head, but only lightly.

"Oh.So I guess you're getting any better huh." Said Gwen with a hint of disappointment.

"Actually,I kinda am..At least better than when I started I guess." Ben said, weakly flailing his arms before putting them in his pockets and looking down on the ground.

Once again, for a few moments, silence was what was felt between the two of them, only this time,it was Ben that broke the silence.

"Look Cuz" he began looking up at first, before looking at Gwen

"I know these past few months have been hard on you two. Mainly because you're also worried about me and feel like you could have done more to make me feel better, but didn't. Well now,I want to tell you now that it's ok."

Gwen looked at Ben shocked, surprised by his display of empathy, but chose not to interrupt him.

"You and I may not always see eye to eye, we're always at each other's throats most times, but we care about each other too. That's why whenever one of us is having a rough patch,we also feels the others pain and want to do everything we can to make it go away. Gwen..." Ben said, now looking to face her completely.

For the first time in months, she saw him smile, and it wasn't a forced one either..It was genuine and warm. Sympathetic and filled with conviction. It was even more evident when he proceeded to speak.

"I want to thank you for making yourself present when you could, and for doing all you could to help me get back on my feet. You being there is more than enough for me. That's why I'm promising you now that no matter what I choose while I'm gone, I'll never stop trying to do the right thing and I'll never stop following my heart." Ben said this while gripping the fist of his left arm rather tightly so as to so how much he was determined to follow through with what he said. At first, Gwen looked at him with confusion. Her confusion eventually changed into a neutral expression. Her neutral expression eventually changed into one of understanding. And her expression of understanding eventually changed into a smile. And her smile eventually became laughter.

"Uh...Gwen... What's so funny?" Before Ben could of what more to say,she hugged Ben.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to see you smile like that again." Said Gwen still hugging Ben.

"Yeah,me too." Ben said, also smiling and returning her hug. After breaking the hug,Gwen began to ruffle his hair a bit playfully,to which Ben reacted to by being initially annoyed, to also joining her in laughing after she stopped.

"Take care of yourself,Doofus" Said Gwen smiling.

"You too,Dweeb" Said Ben. For perhaps the first time ever,they called each other by the insults that they normally did but not out of animosity, but rather out of fondness.

"Goodbye everyone. See you soon" Ben said, waving from the inside of the RV, waving to his family,Gwen and her family respectively. They waved as well,even after the RV had driven off.

Location: Jump City

Time: 7:45

The journey to Jump City had been a long one, but it was expected,as even without traffic,it is still nearly a four hour journey. The RV was parked outside of a house in Jump City. It was a small bungalow very similar to Ben's house. Grandpa Max had come down from the RV and was standing in front of the door that Ben eventually opened and came down from with his things.

"Let's help you get settled in, Ben" Said Max.

"Sure Grandpa" Said Ben, though a bit dryly,it was still better than the monotone voice he had prior to leaving Bellwood..It seemed his interaction with Gwen had certainly raised his spirits a bit. The two then walked to the door,both with high expectancy for the what the night would hold.

That's the end of Chapter 1. Sorry if it's a bit short, hopefully I can change with chapter 2. I've had this story in the oven for the past year, but never released it. At least now, it's finally going to see the light of day. The next chapter will include the Titans. For those who may not quite understand the overall premise of this story, just check my user profile, and look at my published stories, you'll see a Ben 10 and Teen Titans crossover challenge I did last year. It's 1k but it goes into detail pretty well on what direction I wish to take this story. Thanks again for reading, greatly appreciate it. If you like this story,feel free to let me know with faves,follows and reviews. It keeps me motivated to keep writing more stories when people enjoy my work.

Constructive Criticism is welcome, but not flaming. If I fall short in anyway, please let me know respectfully. I'm more likely to want to improve if you do that than if you don't.

Thanks once for reading. Until next time, have yourself a good one.