Alien Oneshots part 2

Human, Charmcaster 23

Universe: Omniverse

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It was just another typical day in Bellwood. One where the people went about their day without any worry with the belief their local hero would keep them safe. His name was Ben Tennyson . Otherwise known as Ben 23...What? You thought I was going to say Ben 10? Well it's not always about him.

Said young celebrity was in the middle of lounging in his personal penthouse, scrolling through social media. "Ha! So much for that plastic surgery!" he chuckled, scrolling further and gasped. "No way! They broke up? Dang, I was actually rooting for them. Ah well, wonder if she might be into a date with me." he scrolled further down until suddenly-

*KABOOM!*

He jumped up and ran to the large window, looking out on the city and saw explosions going off. "Time for a break from my phone, and time to go kick some butt!" he pocketed his phone and opened the window before activating this hero watch. "It's hero time."

He dialed in an alien before slamming down and turned into Big Bug and took to the skies. When he arrived at the scene he transformed back into himself to assess the situation. He saw several destroyed cars with smoke up in the air and spotted several tall figures moving around before one came into view. It looked like a huge moving stone figure with orange colored joints, with the same colored eyes and interior mouth with three fingers that looked around before punching the fire hydrant away and causing water to gush out. "Huh, never seen those guys before. Well if they wanna trash my town, I'll just trash them back." he reached for his watch again before turning into Handy Man.

The large figures were slowly moving down the street, knocking aside anything in their way before the one up front looked ahead of itself and wound up sent backwards due to a fist to the face, making the others turn and spot the alien smirking.

"Hope you guys are hungry, cause I got plenty of knuckle sandwiches to go around." he cracked his fists before the figures let out what sounded like hollow roars before running at him before he ran himself and swung two fists, knocking the second one backwards and noting parts of it falling off, making him reach down and pick one up. "Hey wait a sec. Is this a rock?" he looked at the third one and used his lower arms to quickly block its fists and smirked. "Well then, if you guys are just piles of stone, that means I don't gotta hold back!" he grabbed the rock monster by the arm and swung it around in the air, knocking back any that got close.

The first one he hit got back up and shook its head before spotting a street lamp. Moving over, it ripped it from the ground and charged, swinging it and not only breaking right through its companion, but hitting Handy Man right into a nearby minivan.

"Ow…." he groaned, shaking his head before seeing the stone humanoid coming at him, making him get up and narrowly duck the next swing before he ran at it and cupped his upper hands together, got in close, and yelled before swinging up and smashing it's upper torso and head right off, making the body let go of the lamp and fall down. "Ha, try knocking me down without a head." he said before he was blindsided from behind and struck in the back of his own head. His eyes rolled back in his head before dropping on his front, the other rock monsters moving around him and giving each other a nod and looked up at the sky.

'Did you get him?...Good, you have done well, now bring him to me.' spoke a female voice through their heads before they grabbed his legs and started dragging him over to a glowing orange portal that sprang up.

(Later)

Later on, when Ben started to regain consciousness, he noticed he was now laying on something incredibly soft, his head propped up, and a hand brushing against his head. "Ugh... wha… where… where am I?" He slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurred momentarily as his eyes adjusted to see a girl looking down at her lap where his head rested.

"Good morning, did you sleep well?" she smiled, Ben slowly blinking awake.

"Uh...who are you?" He questioned before remembering what happened earlier and sprung up into a sitting position with a gasp. "The rock monsters!"

"Relax, you're safe and sound, they can't hurt you." The girl said to him. She seemed like she was around his age wearing a burnt orange coat with yellow orange at the ends, underneath she wore black long heeled boots, an unusual looking bag tied with a thin looking strap around her waist. The girl wore her long silver hair in a low ponytail, and had orange eyes. She was also wearing two earrings on each ear. Finally around her neck was a necklace that had a flat stone with an orange symbol. "Now why don't you come lay back down." She added, patting her lap. "You're still recovering from that fight."

Ben let it sink in on what he was resting on, making him blush and feel his face heat up. "Uh... thanks but really, I'm okay." He said waving his hands. After a quick look around he found he was sitting on a round bed that put his king-sized one at home to shame. Not to mention the insane number of pillows and the exquisite looking curtains that hung down from the ceiling around it. "Woah, this is one fancy bed."

"Is it? Guess I'm pretty used to it being normal." The girl shrugged.

"You still haven't answered my question. Who are you?" he repeated.

"Oh, right. Of course. I am Princess Hope, ruler of Legerdomain." she smirked with pride.

"Ledgerwhat?"

She climbed off the bed and ushered him to follow her. Without much else to do, he obliged and followed her out of the room, marveling at the decorated hallway. She guided him out on a balcony but what he saw made his jaw drop.

"Holy cow!"

What he saw was a vast space of orange clouds with a number of land masses connected by stone walkways.

"This is Legerdomain, otherwise known as the magic dimension.'' She smiled at the look on his face. "All you see here and beyond is my Kingdom and here my word is law. What I say goes without any issue."

"Seriously? That's... amazing." he admitted.

"Yeah, although I have to admit it gets a little lonely sometimes." she looked down sadly, holding her hands together on the railing. "Ruling it on my own can feel lonesome."

"What about your family? Your Mom? Your Dad?"

Hope said nothing, just closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Oh...OH! Oh...I'm sorry." he understood right away and rubbed the back of his head, feeling like a jerk for probably opening old wounds.

"It's okay, I mean I guess I'm not entirely alone. I have my servants, but most of them don't talk."

"Why? Can't you just tell them to talk? I mean it's not like they can't ignore you."

"Well...you already met them." She said leaving Ben confused until they heard a door open across the room. What walked in were two stone monsters like the ones before.

"Look out!" he quickly moved in front of her. "It's those rock guys from before. So you guys wanna cause trouble here now? Well I hope you like getting pounded into pebbles." He tried reaching for his hero watch when suddenly an orange bubble formed around it, preventing him from doing so.

"Wait! Please, you don't need to fight them, they won't hurt you." Hope said as her hands glowed With the same energy. "These are my servants."

"Servants?!" he went wide eyed. "That means...you sent them to attack my town!?"

"No! Not attack. I sent them to invite you here." She held her hands up nervously.

"Invite? Those rockheads tried to take my head off!" he pointed at them. "Not to mention trashed the city while doing it."

"Yeah, they're not exactly smart." Hope scratched the back of her head. "I think they misinterpreted me when I told them to 'act like monsters to get your attention and bring you here'. "

He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms as she poked her fingers together. "You do know there are less extreme ways to send an invite, right? Like email."

"What's email?" She questioned tilting her head.

Ben's eyes widened before he quickly pulled out his phone and to his horror he saw he was getting zero bars. "NOOOOOOOO!" He cried out, dropping his phone and falling to his knees.

Hope looked confused and caught off guard as Ben looked like he had seen the worst kind of horror.

"So... you're telling me… there's no cell service, and no wifi?"

"Um, no...I don't think so."

"NOOOOOOO!" He cried again and fell on his side. "This place is a modern teenager's worst nightmare!"

"Uh...there there?" she crouched down and patted him on the head.

"Wait." Ben let out and sat up "If you don't have wifi, how do you know about me?"

"Oh." Hope clapped her hands together and smiled. "That's easy, come on I'll show you." She took Ben by the hand and led him through her palace to a large two level library. "It's an ancient relic that used to belong to my father who taught me how to use it." She said as she led him to a crystal ball on a table. "Watch this." She said and held her free hand at the ball. "Omnes videntes oculum!"

The ball glowed orange before it started to show the image of Bellwood.

"This is my all seeing eye. It lets whoever uses it see whatever they want. Even if it's not here in lederdomain."

"So, it's like some magical security camera?"

"Not sure what that is but I'll assume it's similar. The point is it lets you see things anywhere. If you don't have a clear picture of what you want to see in your mind it can be hard for the all seeing eye to find what you want. Finding you was just luck." She revealed with Ben looking amazed.

"Can I try?" he asked pointing at it.

"Of course! Just put your hand on the top and think of what you want to see."

"Okay." He said putting his hand on the ball. "Show me...Azmuth."

The orange glow returned before the image changed to Azmuth, Tetrax, and SevenSeven each looking over a monitor.

"He couldn't have just disappeared! We need to find Ben!" Azmuth spoke.

"Azmuth I'm right here." Ben spoke "Hey, look behind you!"

"He can't hear you Ben. It only works one way." Hope said. "We can see and hear them, but not the other way around."

"Aw what? What a rip." he frowned, taking his hand off. "I would have gotten a riot out of spooking him."

"It's not all bad. You can peek in on movie premieres and not get caught."

"I don't gotta worry about that, being a celebrity has its perks, like getting first seat at any new movie that comes to town." Ben gloated. "But you know there is someone I have been meaning to check up on." He said putting his hand on the ball again. "Show me Gwen."

Another flash and the ball showed an image of a girl with blue eyes, freckles that dotted her cheeks, long red hair tied back in a ponytail, a bright yellow shirt with dark yellow sleeves, a purple skirt, and white shoes.

"Oh… Who's this?" Hope said, feeling a pang of jealousy as her fists tightened.

"My dweeb of a cousin, Gwen." Ben replied.

"Oh." Hope relaxed and unclenched her fist. "She seems nice."

"I haven't seen her for a few years, I was a little curious on what she's been up to after I learned to cool down a little bit from all the fame." He explained watching Gwen walk down the sidewalk. "Wonder if she ever got into some fancy schmancy school, she always said that's something she wanted to do."

She walked by a wall that had one of his many posters on it and glared at it. "Ugh, everywhere I go I see your stupid face."

"Hey! It's not stupid, it's flawless." he huffed, crossing his arms.

"You are a disgrace to the Tennyson name." Gwen said before spitting on Ben's face on the poster. "I wish you were never born."

Ben went wide eyed, feeling like someone punched him right in the heart as she walked away from it, putting a hand to his chest. "Wow...that...ouch."

Hope saw the pain in his eyes before making the image disappear from the ball with a wave of her hand.

"We never did get along, but to hear her say that? I...I didn't mean to make her that upset with me..." He spoke. "I don't know what I did to make her so mad."

"Hey hey, it's alright." Hope put her hands on his shoulders, trying not to be noticed as she got near his head and discretely sniffed him. "I know, why don't you look in on someone else? Like your parents."

"No!" Ben said pulling away from her leaving Hope surprised by his reaction. "They're... probably busy, it would be boring."

"Oh, well...how about a nice big feast to welcome you here?" she offered. "We have plenty of delicious dishes here."

"I guess I could eat." he admitted, letting Hope lead him out of the library.

The dining room was just as exquisite as the rest of the palace with a large table in the center of the room. Although the other rock monsters standing off on the sides did make him keep his eyes trained on them. The door opened and another rock monster came in carrying a large plate of what he could only assume was an assortment of fruits and/or vegetables, but none like he'd ever seen.

"Feel free to grab as much as you like."

"Uh, thanks." Ben eyed the bizarre assortment unsure of where to start. He noticed what looked like a purple apple and reached out to take it. He shrugged and took a bite before his taste buds were assaulted by what could only be described as the most sour thing he ever tasted. His eyes went cross before he spat the bite out, coughing and groaning while feeling his lips pucker.

Hope laughed while peeling a pink Lemon like fruit with green spots.

"Too...sour!" Ben squeaked with tears in his eyes.

"Need something cold to wash the taste away?" She asked before snapping her fingers.

There was a glow before a pitcher of water appeared before him, which he grabbed and started guzzling down. After washing the taste away he placed the pitcher on the table with a sigh before belching.

"Woah, sorry."

"Oh that's okay. I want you to feel right at home here." She said, popping a green cherry like fruit in her mouth. "Feel free to relax and do what you'd like."

"Sweet, you know you're not so bad." he complimented.

This earned a smile from the girl before the door opened and another rock monster stepped in; however, unlike the others this one lacked the orange markings the others did.

"Princess," The monster spoke, surprising Ben. "It's time for your studies."

"Not now Ignaceous." Hope frowned. "Can't you see I'm entertaining company?"

"Woah, those guys can talk?" Ben let out catching Ignaceous' attention.

"Just him." Hope replied before turning to Ignaceous. "I'm busy right now, I'll study later."

"You are already behind on your studies as it is, you need to get back on track."

"I am the ruler of Legerdomain, and I say when I study."

"You may be the Princess of Legerdomain young lady, but I am still your teacher and I say it is time to study."

"I DON'T WANT TO!" She screamed, sending out an arc of energy that carved up the floor yet missed Ignaceous who didn't even flinch.

Ben was now a little scared of his host, but didn't make a move or try to show it.

Ignaceous huffed before speaking again. "Your father would want this for you."

Hope clenched her fists and looked ready to attack again before her body relaxed. "Fine, I'll go freakin' study."

"Thank you." he bowed his head before making his way out as Hope turned to Ben.

"I'm so so SO sorry about this Ben, my teacher can get a bit uptight sometimes."

"It's fine, Totally fine, couldn't be more fine." Ben said, trying to keep his fear in check.

"While I'm gone, feel free to explore the palace and the grounds around it to your heart's content, I'll find you once I'm done, see you later." she waved with a smile before heading out with the doors closing behind her.

It was then that Ben relaxed. "Something tells me I may be in over my head here." he looked at the food and stood up to stretch his legs. "Maybe I'll pass on the food for now. If I'm gonna stick around here for a bit, might as well get a tour of the place. Hey Iggy, mind showing me around?"

"That is not my name, but if you wish to tour the area, I can be of service." Ignaceous replied.

"Cool, maybe we can start with the bathroom?" Ben suggested not wanting to tell Ignaceous how Hope's power nearly made him soil himself.

"Very well, follow me then, and do try not to wander off."

"No problem."

(One trip to facilities later)

*FLUSH*

"Ah, much better." sighed Ben, stepping out of the well furnished and wide spaced bathroom.

"You made certain to wash your hands I presume?"

"Duh, I'm not an animal."

"Very good sir. Is there any other spot in particular you would like to visit?"

"Eh... surprise me."

"Then perhaps we can take a walk through the garden." Ignaceous suggested.

"I guess I could use some fresh air."

With that the large golem lead Ben down a large vast hallway.

"Hey, mind if I ask a few questions?"

"Depends on whether I have the answers."

"Well for starters, how did Hope become ruler of this place? Why aren't you like the others I've seen? And what happened to her parents?"

"Ah, well the answer to your first question is that it was due to an accident that occured when she was younger, Hope never knew her mother and lost her father in a tragic event, meaning the responsibilities of commanding Legerdoman fell upon her shoulders. She does however have an uncle, but he is unfit to take up the mantle."

"How so?"

"...perhaps it would be better to show you."

"But I thought we were already heading to the garden?"

"Consider it a slight detour." he remarked before turning left at the upcoming intersection. "I must warn you, what you are about to see is not a sight for the meek."

"That bad huh?"

"You will see." Ignaceous said as they stopped at a door. He reached out and grabbed the knob. However the moment he turned it a certain princess who was in another room studying was surprised by a sudden jolt in the back of her head before her brow furrowed

"Something's wrong." she said, slamming her book shut. She got up and rushed out of the study.

Meanwhile Ben walked into the room Ignaceous had led him to. It was dark, the only source of light being the fire in the fireplace with a chair Infront of it. "Uh, hello? Is anyone here?" he called while looking around.

As he moved ever closer to the roaring fire he noticed a bony hand on the armrest of the chair.

"Uh, hey, nice to meet you. The name's Ben Tennyson." Ben said as he approached the chair nervously.

All he got was silence.

Once he came up beside the chair and looked at who was sitting there he recoiled in shock.

"Holy shit!" he let out, staring at a man who was wearing a black robe over himself with a skull tattoo that took up his whole face while looking deathly pale. "Well that's at least one year off my life." He looked at the man who was blankly staring forward, not turning to him, which just made this more creepy. His nails slightly overgrown and a bit of drool running down his chin. "Uh...hello?" Ben spoke again and still no reply. He held a hand up to the man's face and snapped his fingers yet the man didn't even blink. "Ok, majorly freaky."

"What are you doing in here!?" Shouted Hope.

He jumped and turned to see Hope running over.

"This room is off limits!"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know." he held his hands up. "It's just that Iggy brought me here and-"

"Ignaceous?"

"Yeah."

Hope turned to the rock monster with a scowl.

"He asked why your uncle was unfit to take up the mantle of Legerdomain's ruler. I thought It best to show him."

"You KNOW this room is off limits to anyone but me!" Hope shouted. "Now leave!"

Ben didn't need to be told twice before booking it out of the room right as the doors slammed shut behind him. "Thanks a lot, boulder brain."

"I was merely showing you what you were curious about."

"Yeah, BEFORE telling me she didn't want anyone in there."

"Some things simply cannot be explained."

"Okay, so what happened to him?"

"Well you see, due to a traumatic battle that went on against an enemy of the land, Addwaitya, her uncle Hex suffered greatly and has been reduced to a comatose state, as you saw." Ignaceous explained. "Her's is the only voice that can reach him. She hasn't even told him that she is now ruling Legerdomain. When she leaves him he becomes catatonic and just stares into the flames."

"Isn't there some magic spell or something that can fix him up?"

"Perhaps, however, there is no one of such skill to cast it."

"But isn't Hope like the best around here?"

"No. Aside from her Uncle Hex, she is The only one."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Indeed." Ignaceous added, leading Ben away from the room. "Years ago Legerdomain was ruled by a tyrant named Addwaitya. He saw all living creatures as thieves because mana, the very foundation of magic, is also the source of all life."

"Wait, let me guess. Her uncle tried to fight him right?"

"Along with Hope's father Spellbinder, yes. However by that time almost every sentient being in Legerdomain had been destroyed, or in my people's case enslaved." Ignaceous turned his gaze to one of his marking clad comrades with a solemn look. "Every day I wonder to myself, are they aware of everything around them yet unable to stop themselves? Or are their minds lost forever?"

Ben felt a shiver go up his spine with that remark, looking at the golems and debating whether he should say sorry, or just keep his mouth shut.

"It was Spellbinder who rallied us to fight for our freedom and yet in the fight we were no match for Addwaitya. Spellbinder even tried to send Hope and Hex to your world believing they would be safe. Addwaitya found them, forcing Hex and Spellbinder to risk everything for victory."

"That's...heavy." Ben remarked.

"Indeed..."

"You know, in a way, I can relate." he admitted. "I mean, I didn't lose my dad, but I did lose my grandpa. He and I were close, but...when he was gone, I went on and kinda went down a different path. Would you believe me if I said I had to run into an older version of myself from another reality to get me to snap out of it?" That got him a confused look from Ignaceous. "Yeah that was a crazy day."

"Well, regardless, we best resume our tour."

"Good idea, after seeing Hope snap at you I'd prefer not to be on her bad side."

With that they made their way down a hallway and then out into an open area that was littered with various odd looking plants and foliage.

"You sure got some freaky looking plants here." he remarked staring up at what looked like a pumpkin patch with horrifying grins forming into them. "And creepy."

"Well excuse us if our types of plant life are different from your own."

"Sorry if I offended you, we just don't have a lot of grinning pumpkins where I'm from." admitted Ben moving over to what looked like a large venus flytrap. "Huh, this one looks pretty-"

"Mr. Tennyson get away!" Ignaceous shouted.

"Huh?" Ben turned his head, right as a vine from the plant lashed out and wrapped around his body, picking him up. "Woah!" The next thing Ben knew he was pulled into the plants mouth.

"Hold on!" Ignaceous called out and rushed to help.

"Is this thing trying to eat me?!" Ben screamed from inside the plant.

"One moment!" he let out as he grabbed the base of the plant and gave a pinch, making it spasm and flail its vines before spitting Ben out and letting out a low groan. "Ugh, gross!" Ben let out covered in slime with a repulsive smell. "Please tell me this will wash out of my clothes."

"The slime, yes. The smell, no. You'll have to burn these garments."

"Darn it! I just got them clean." he groaned. "I don't suppose you got anything in my size to wear?"

"Unless you'd like to wear something of Hope's." Ignaceous replied.

"Great." he huffed, throwing his hands up. "What's next? A plant that breathes fire?"

"No, we don't keep those in the garden anymore." he remarked. "We do however have some lovely buds that release a freezing chill when they bloom."

"Yeah well no offense but I don't really think I can enjoy it with this smell. I think I should hit the bath."

"Very well, we may resume the tour if you wish afterwards." Ignaceous replied. "I'll see what I can find for you to wear."

"Thanks man." Ben waved as he headed back inside. He went ahead and took the way back he remembered, trying not to gag from the smell.

Once in the bath he let out a relaxed sigh. The bath itself was larger than his hot tub back home with water pouring from stone gargoyles mounted on the walls.

"Man, this is a bit creepy, but damn if the water isn't just right." Ben remarked before sinking down into the water.

Back with Hope, she huffed and rubbed her hands, trying to calm herself down. "Why did I have to snap at Ben like that? It wasn't his fault." she muttered. "I mean, if anything I should be furious with Ignaceous."

After the words left her lips she saw said rock golem step out of a room. "Ignaceous, I need to talk to you."

"It will have to wait. I need to find garments for our guest once he has finished bathing."

"Bathing?" Hope questioned before her imagination ran wild with images of the hero completely naked and sopping wet. Her face turned red and adopted a goofy lovestruck look. "Uh, which bathroom did he use?"

"I know what you are thinking, Hope. Clear those perverse thoughts from your mind and get back to your studies."

"Hey! I was just...gonna ask if he needed fresh towels is all." Hope crossed her arms and looked away.

"Off with you." He said, pushing her forward.

"Alright already I'm going, jeez." she huffed stamping away with a pout. 'But you can't stop me from using the all seeing eye.'

Back with Ben, he was lathering soap in his hair while humming to himself. "I hope this doesn't do anything weird to my hair." he remarked before taking a deep breath and dunked into the tub to wash it off.

"Mister Tennyson?" Ignaceous said, stepping in holding a stack of folded clothes.

"Woah!" Ben jumped a little. "Ever heard of knocking?"

"My apologies, but I managed to find some garment close to your size."

"Oh, thanks man." Ben said before climbing out and grabbed a towel. "Man, that soap worked better than I was thinking. Is it enchanted or something?"

"No, it was simply made with all natural ingredients."

"Wouldn't mind taking a bottle of it back home with me." Ben said before taking the clothes and after drying himself off, tried them on. They were comprised of black pants and boots with a maroon robe that was a few sizes short of being considered a dress with sleeves that he had to roll up so they came to his wrists. "Huh, this isn't so bad on me." Ben said, looking himself over.

"I think it looks great." Hope said standing in the doorway. "Very dashing."

He looked up and blushed seeing her giving him a wink. "Heh, thanks. But uh...how long have you been standing there?"

"Not long long sadly." She said walking up to him. "Would have liked to see more than your bare back."

That got his face turning more red, but didn't say anything since unlike his fans, this was the first time he had been close to a girl who almost had the chance to see him bare ass naked. "Wow, uh... Not sure what to say to that."

"Well, since you got dirty because of my plants, what say I take responsibility and show you one of my personal favorite spots?"

"Okay." he said, pulling him by the arm.

Ignaceous watched them and shook his head.

They left the palace in a chariot that was pulled by a team of dog-like stone monsters.

Ben looked around the place, noting it seemed like a slightly desolate wasteland. "Ignaceous told me you guys had a war. And by the looks of this place I can tell it was bad."

"Nah, it's always been like this." she remarked casually. "Been that way ever since I was a baby."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, but it's not all bad." she smiled. "It gives us plenty of space to plan out towns and where to plant without any worry."

"In other words, lots of potential. I got a guy who could find a use for all this prime real estate."

"Well my home is always open to new faces. Provided they aren't the type to try and wreck everything." Hope replied as they arrived on an island full of flowers. "Here we are."

"Dang." Ben let out looking around at the large variety of floral. "Uh, just out of curiosity, but none of these let out acid melting pollen, right?"

"No, they're safe." she smiled as she walked ahead towards them with him following.

"That's good." Ben let out in relief before admiring the plants. "Now these are the kinds of flowers you should have in your garden."

"We already tried, but they only thrive in the wild." she remarked while lightly rubbing one by its petals. "Believe me, I tried for months on finding a spell that would make them grow, but the longest it would keep them alive is a few days."

"Darn...still this is a nice place. he complimented, carefully leaning near one to take a sniff. "Yoah, you know. Back home people would pay a lot to smell like these flowers."

"I can imagine, but I'm not really sure if I could really sell them." Hope said before holding out her arms and falling back on to the plants. "Ahh, sometimes I just like to lay here and just relax. Come join me."

"Well, don't really do much of that unless it's a hot tub, but what the heck." he spread his arms and fell back beside her. "Wow, this is nice." He said looking up at the sky. "I can't remember the last time I looked up at the sky like this." Ben sighed. "If I'm not saving the day I'm working on my brand."

"I'll bet it's exhausting, being a hero AND celebrity for everyone." Hope said turning on her side with her head rested in her hand.

"If I never met my other self, I would have said nah, but now..."

"Otherself?"

"Long story short, older version of me from another dimension."

"Ooh double trouble." She remarked, briefly looking up at the thought and blushing.

"If I'm Being honest I'm kinda jealous of him." he put his hands on his stomach folded together. "He grew up with his grandpa and cousin, but me? I went off and became a complete douche after using my talent to be famous. I mean sure, I'm not gonna stop, but if he never showed up and got me to see there's more to life and there's good aliens, who knows what I'd end up as? He's older, more experienced, and he's got a family there for him. Me? I lost grandpa, my own cousin hates me, and even if I have tons of fans, it's just not enough."

As he lay that feeling as low as can be, Hope suddenly straddled his stomach.

"Well, maybe I could help with that." She said with a smile.

Ben's eyes widened, face turning red as she leaned down closer to his face.

"And the best part, no one to bother us." she whispered in his ear, making him gulp and feel his heart beat pick up.

"Uh...what did you have in mind?"

"Come on, you know what I mean~" She sang leaning in close.

Ben gulped and found his face held by the cheeks before Hope leaned in and pressed her lips to his. "Mmmmh!" He let out, his eyes bulging as his mind was fried by the sudden action. 'Holy cow!'

When she broke the kiss she smiled ear to ear.

"That...was...wow." Ben let out.

"Well you better not tell your friends, Mister." Hope joked poking his chest before letting out a giggle and moved off him 'Yes! Yes yes yes yes! I finally kissed him!'

Ben sat up and finally managed to get his mind working properly. "Uh, yeah. Got it."

"So, wanna take a closer look around my kingdom?" She asked. "It will only take a week."

"A week?" he looked at her surprised before rubbing the back of his head. "Uh, I'd love to, but I'm not really sure I can stay that long."

"Aw but it would be so much fun. Think of it like...a vacation." she tried to reason with him with a smile and hands folded together. "Like you said, being a hero and celebrity is exhausting, so what better place to get away from it all then in another dimension?"

"Yeah, but Azmuth is still probably freaking out wondering where I am. I should at least let him know I'm okay." he remarked standing up, missing the twitch of her lips into a brief frown before it went back to a smile.

"Sure, why not." She replied, trying to hold back her annoyance. "I'll personally take you back." She said, leading him back to the chariot. "But I'll need one of my spell books to open the portal."

"Sounds like a plan." He said climbing on the chariot before it rode off towards the palace.

Upon arrival the two teens went inside before Hope spoke. "It might take some time to find the book, so try to be patient."

"You got it." Ben said before she left the room leaving Ben alone with his thoughts. He touched his lips, recalling the kiss and couldn't stop from smiling. 'She's a nice girl, we both know how it feels to be lonely, maybe a vacation would be good for me.'

Back with Hope, she was scowling as she looked across the shelf for the book she needed. However what she was looking for was not a book to send Ben home.

"Where is that stupid-Aha! There it is." She pulled the book and flipped through the pages until she found one with a spell along with a diagram that depicted a human figure with an arrow pointing to a small totem. "This will work, it just has to. As soon as I get it down, everything will turn out perfect." She said as she began to read.

Meanwhile Ben was simply kicking back and relaxing. He tapped his fingers on the side while staring up at the ceiling. It was then that he heard heavy footsteps before seeing Ignaceous walk in.

"Mister Tennyson, have you seen Hope?"

"Yeah, she went to get a book on making a portal to get me back home." he sat up. "She talked me into the idea of taking a vacation here, I just gotta tell Azmuth what's up so he isn't freaking out."

"...Mister Tennyson, Hope doesn't need a spell book to make a portal back home for you."

"Huh?"

"Don't you remember? My brethren brought you here through a portal she herself conjured." Ignaceous replied. "I fear she may have other plans for you."

"Like what?" Ben questioned nervously.

"I cannot say, but I feel there is something I should show you." He turned and began walking out of the room.

Not sure what to think, with his curiosity piqued he followed the golem. After a while they came across two large red doors.

"Brace yourself for what you are about to see." he warned before grabbing the handles and slowly pulled the doors open the inside made Ben's jaw drop.

"Ho...ly...cow."

Everywhere Ben looked he saw... himself. Literally, picture upon picture of himself was attached to the walls, and these were tall walls, with images of him all around to where you couldn't see the wall itself. From different angles and different areas, some even looked like they came from him in the shower or even sleeping. Placed upon podiums were busts of himself with different facial expressions. And on the floor was a massive rug with his image stitched into it. Not to mention some of the drawers had what looked like small hand stitched dolls in his likeness, with him having to do a double take when he saw a body pillow on the bed which matched his height and had his picture on it giving a wink.

"Ohhhhh, so she not just a fan." Ben remarked before looking at Ignaceous. "Please tell me there's another way back to Bellwood."

"The only other way is The Door to Anywhere."

"Which way?"

After getting the directions from Ignaceous Ben transformed into Speedyquick and raced out of the palace. "Shit shit shit shit shit! Why'd she have to be a rabid fan!?" Speedyquick cried out in panic.

Back with Hope, she held her hand out which was glowing orange at a small bird with the book opened in her other hand. She created a spell circle under the bird with three smaller circles and a heart. Finally with a snap of her fingers magic swirled around the bird before it changed into a stone totem in her hand. "Yes!" She cheered, bouncing on her heels and letting out an excited squeal. "It worked, it worked, it worked!" She opened her bag and put it inside before rubbing her hands together. "Now to go tell Ben the good news~" She said and turned to the door when suddenly Ignaceous walked in.

"Hope, what did you just do?"

"Oh nothing much, just practicing a little spell." she remarked casually as she walked over to him with a dark grin. "Why don't you go ahead and take the day off? Me and Ben have a 'trip' to take care of, but we'll be back in no time."

"He has already left."

"WHAT?!" Hope shouted in outrage. "Where did he go?!"

"I sent him home. I was concerned about what you had planned, and after witnessing what you did to that poor creature it seems my fears were well founded." he remarked, making Hope scowl and clench her hands.

"Ignaceous? What you did, was the equivalent, of treachery."

"I did what needed to be done."

"What's 'needed to be done' is him here, with me, for the rest of our lives." she hissed with her hands glowing. "With this spell I can make it happen, and I'm GOING to make it happen."

"Don't make me fight you Hope, please." questioned Ignaceous, his hands glowing white.

"Heh, as if you even could." Hope remarked, holding up her hand.

*FLASH*

Meanwhile Ben was still racing along the walkways of Legerdomain.

"Come on, come on, where's the exit in this place!" He came to an island with a series of paths connected to it and looked around. "Could this place be any more empty?"

Before he could pick one, he felt the ground start to shake, making him look down and see it cracking before orange energy burst up, making him cry as he fell down and groaned, making him look to see the rocks floating with Hope rising up from the hole. "Hope! Eh heh heh. There you are, I was just looking for you."

"Oh really?" she raised an eyebrow. "Because it looked to me like you were trying to run away."

"What? No, I would never- oh hey what's that over there?"

"Huh?" She turned to look before Ben took off. "What the- d'oh! I can't believe I fell for that!"

He zipped off down a random pathway, really putting on the juice. "Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!"

"BEN!" came Hope's voice, making him break in a sweat as he felt the ground shake before seeing orange mana travel through it and ahead of him, before large rock hands burst up in his path and opened up.

He screamed in panic and dodged it letting out a sigh. But his relief was short-lived as more strong hands protruded from the ground. He quickly zipped around them, each one nearly grabbing him before he skidded to a stop when he nearly ran over the edge of a large island that had no covering on it. "Crap!" he turned behind him and saw Hope floating over to it, glowing orange with her giving a smile with a scary glint in her eyes.

"There we go Ben. Nothing to get in our way." she landed on the island and tried smiling innocently. "I'm sure whatever Ignaceous showed you was completely overblown. Why don't we go back, sit down, and then we can work on getting you back to Earth?"

"Okay then, if you want to help me get home take me to the Door to Anywhere.

"Oh come now, I have a spell that works much better than that silly old thing." She said somewhat nervously. "Now let's go back and I'll show it to you."

"Hope, take me to the door." Speedyquick insisted sternly.

"I...I will! Back at my home." Hope replied. "Now come back to the castle."

"Hope? Ignaceous told me about the door. You don't need a book." Speedyquick stated. "He also showed me the room with all the stuff of me in it.

Hope's eyes widened as she went pale, before she frowned. "It seems we'll have to do this the hard way then." She raised her hand and surrounded the Island on a barrier. "I am NOT going to let you run away from me." She said before creating a spell circle under him. Just a second before she snapped her fingers Speedyquick moved out of the way.

"Too late for that. I'm not gonna end up...whatever you are gonna make me into!" he spoke before zipping at her.

She tried again and again but every time he would move out of the way.

He got up close and slapped her away using his tail, making her fall and bounce on the ground. "For the record I was really starting to like you."

Hope got up and groaned before glaring and raised her hand, firing a blast of mana which he zipped past, but saw it hit the ground and explode, making him fly forward due to it, making him skid across it on his face. "No more games. Vita!"

As Speedyquick tried easing the pain in his head, more stone golems rose up from the ground.

"Restrain him!"

"Yipe!" He turned and started running, right as the watch timed out.

"I won't let you leave me!" she yelled with a frantic look in her eyes.

Ben quickly activated the Hero Watch, not bothering to see what alien he would get. He slammed down and transformed, turning into Freezelizard. "Cool!" he grinned before opening his mouth and hit the closest golem with his ice breath, freezing it on the spot before getting to work on the others as they got close. "Chill out rock heads." he smirked before the ice shook and broke apart. "Crap!" he blasted at the ground, causing a pile of ice to form under him, keeping him out of their reach before jumping off and over them, rolling on the ground before heading at Hope.

"Now I got you." She smirked, attempting to cast the spell again.

"Uh oh." Freezelizard blurted.

"Time's up." She said ready to snap her fingers. "Any last words?"

"Time? That's it!" He exclaimed before hitting his watch again and transformed into Windy-Hindy. "It's time to wind things down." he remarked before the key on his head began to turn and everything within the barrier slowed down. He looked around, seeing Hope's confused expression as she was slowly in the middle of moving. He carefully stepped out of the circle under him and up to the girl. His gaze then moved down to the Alpha Rune around her neck. He reached out and took the rune off of her before returning time to normal.

Hope stumbled back, wide eyed as she felt weaker. She looked at her neck and paled seeing the alpha rune was gone and in his hand. "Hey! Give that back!" she yelled, lunging at him before he sidestepped. "That's mine!"

"Not a chance. You don't deserve to have this."

"You don't even know how to use magic." She growled.

"No, but I've seen you do it. Vita!" He called out holding up the rune and suddenly more golems emerged from the ground, only now their markings were blue. "Cool, it worked."

Hope grew nervous seeing them and gulped. "I-I mean it, give that back right now!"

"Not a chance. I may have made mistakes in my life but I've learned to recognize when someone is unfit to have something they can't handle. And sister, you are fare from fit enough to have this." he remarked bluntly while crossing his arms. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be leaving."

"Wait! You can't!" Hope cried out.

"Oh yes I can." Ben said before he started walking away.

"NO!" Hope cried out, dropping to her knees with her hand outstretched as her lip trembled. "Y-Y-You...ahhhhhhhh!"

Ben looked back at the crying girl, feeling his heart twist. She was openly sobbing, making him stop and turn back.

"I...I...I don't want to be alone anymore!"

"Oh...come on." Ben let out.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It's just...just..." she tried to get out, but all she got was a hiccup while more tears ran down her cheeks.

"I wanted...someone to spend time with...so I...I used the all seeing eye... to find someone I could... relate to, and when I saw you?" she sniffled while trying to wipe some of the tears away. "You were...someone who was a hero...who people depended on. I just...I kept watching you, wanting to...know more, and then I...I just couldn't stop myself."

"Well...that's no excuse for trying to keep me here with that... Uh, what spell was it exactly."

"It's a spell that was gonna...turn you...into...a totem..." she let out, having calmed down slightly to explain while looking away bashfully.

Windy-Handy stared at her silently. "Okay THAT is sooo messed up and a number of levels." That's when he wound up timing out and turned back to normal, with Hope sniffling and looking at him.

"I just...I've gone so long without someone else my age...I couldn't help it. The more I watched you...the more I found myself fascinated with you."

"Still, turning me into a totem? Imagine how you would feel if I tried that on you." he raised an eyebrow while crossing his arms, the golems mimicking him. "Woah cool." Ben said, looking at the rune. "You know maybe I should take this thing home with me and-"

"No! You can!" Hope shouted. "The Alpha Rune depicts the true name of Legerdomain and acts as the linchpin holding this entire realm together. If you take it out my home will fall apart. Why do you think I never went to meet you myself?"

"Oh...OH!" he looked at it and gulped. "Uh, yeah that actually makes sense."

"Look, I'm really sorry. Now please, give it back." she pleaded with her hand out.

"Why do you need it so bad? I mean, you got plenty of magic without it don't ya?"

Hope stayed silent as she turned away with a blush

"...Are you powerless without this?"

"No! I'm just not AS powerful." she clarified with a frown. "I'm...still learning the basics on my own."

"Oh, wow."

"It's harder than it looks! Don't judge me!" Hope huffed.

"So then, I'm the one holding all the cards then." Ben deduced.

"Yeah..." hope admitted

He looked at the rune and the sad Hope, feeling conflicted while juggling his options until he groaned and shook his head. "I know this is nuts, but...here"

She looked up and saw him holding the rune out to her. Her eyes widened before quickly crawling over and grabbed it, hugging it to her chest with a smile before putting it back on the necklace, sighing in relief as she felt the mana filling her back up.

"Don't get the wrong idea though. I still want to go home. But I promise I will come back and visit." spoke Ben as she stood up with the golems gaining orange lines and stepping away from him. "The whole 'obsessed with me thing' is a bit much, but I'm not gonna be a jerk. I know what it's like to feel lonely, but maybe try to cut back a little on the pictures, and the statues, and definitely get rid of that body pillow."

"Are you sure?" she asked sadly. "The pillow took a while to make."

"Uh...well I mean...as long as it's just for cuddling and nothing else." Ben replied with a grimace. "So what do you say, will you send me home if I promise to come back?"

Hope looked at him before thinking it over. "No, I...I need more than just your word that you'll come back."

"More? Well...what else could I give?"

"I have one idea." Hope said with a grin.

(Later)

"Damn it! Where in the universe is that boy?" Said Azmuth typing on a computer.

"Is it possible he was kidnapped?" questioned Tetrax while looking over a scanner. "Maybe he was taken far out of reach of the scans."

"This machine is capable of tracking his DNA across five galaxies in a number of minutes." Azmuth replied. "And he's never been off planet."

"Then w-" Tetrax was cut off as soon as a glowing orange portal popped up in the middle of the room. Both he and Sevenseven put up their guard. Out stepped Ben, making them lower it, with said boy smiling.

"Sup guys, miss me?"

"Benjamin! Where have you been!?" Azmuth scolded.

"Would you believe another dimension?" Ben replied with a shrug.

The small Galvan crossed his arms while not looking amused. "And just how did that happen?"

"Well, kinda funny actually. Turns out I met a big fan of mine, who wanted to meet me face to face." Ben started. "It was a girl who was basically the ruler of this whole magical dimension, and yes I said magic so don't laugh. It turns out she was a little crazy from being all alone so now I kinda have to pay her a visit now and then."

"Why would I laugh at magic? I've known about the dominion of Legerdomain for years." he remarked bluntly. "Although the more precise term is mana, given how the world IS the epicenter of all mana in the known universe. How else do you think numerous stories come from? All due to bits and pieces of mana seeping in or users of mana showing up. In all my life time I did think the concept was ridiculous, but after spending some time researching it and managing to visit once or twice, I found that it was all too true." Azmuth explained. "How are the good people of Legerdomain by the way?"

"Well according to Hope most of them are pushing up daisies."

"Hmmm, I see. And who exactly is this Hope?"

"The new Ruler of the entire dimension." he revealed before rubbing the back of his head. "And...my sorta...fiancee." He finished holding up his hand to show the stone ring on his finger.

"Your what?!" Azmuth let out with Tetrax and Sevenseven looking just as shocked.