"And what alien is that?" asked Ben, on his father's lap.

"That's a Revonnahgander, a feline species. They aren't much different from humans, if only more agile, stronger on their feet, and some of them have knowledge in martial arts."

"You already said that for Ripjaws." huffed Ben, unimpressed. "Do all aliens know kung fu?"

"As far as I can recall, that fighting style was a craze among Earthlings in the past. Is it still nowadays?"

"Meh, not really. It's still cool when you're a guy who watches Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee's kinda movies, but when you got something like the Omnitrix like me, I find it's pretty cheap."

Vilgax chuckled. He was enjoying Ben's attitude, the boy's pride reminded him so much of himself back when he severed his ties with Maxwell Tennyson and allowed himself to discover the wonders being free had. Ben would make a great heir, and a powerful ruler when the time comes.

"What about this one?" Ben pointed to the multi-eyed, multi-legged monkey hologram Vilgax's projector showed among many other species.

"That's an Arachnichimp. They have a lot of strength, especially in their arms and feet. They can produce strong spider webs from their tail, a strong appendage that is as hard as steel. They can latch onto any surface with their sticky fur and are specialized in close combat."

"Wow! I'm gonna call that one... Spidermonkey!"

"You really like giving your different forms names, don't you?"

"Hey, if I'm gonna be a hero, I'm not gonna stay bland and lame, I need some names for my super cool powers."

"So you wish to be a hero..." Vilgax hummed. "Be careful about who you trust, Ben. As I said before, some people can take profit of your good intentions for their own gain. You wouldn't believe it if I told you how many times someone has tried to fool me, manipulate me."

"If you're an alien king, of course they're gonna target you." said Ben. "They know who the best player on the ground is, they're gonna try to block you the best they can. But thanks for the advice." he smiled. "Okay, time to test out new aliens!"

He got up from Vilgax's lap and went at the center of the main room, preparing himself to transform.

"Okay, let's start with... Spitter!"

He thought as hard as he could about the slimy alien. Ben closed his eyes, readying himself for the transformation. It never came.

"Huh? Nothing happened."

Vilgax raised a brow. Ben was supposed to turn into a Spheroid (if that was the name he chose for that species).

"Okay, let's try with Swampfire then?"

Ben focused on the fiery plant alien, but he was still in his Chimeran form.

Something was wrong.

"Wildmutt? Heatblast? Grey Matter? What's going on? Why can't I go hero the way I want?" Ben asked, staring at the Omnitrix on his green wrist.

"Wait a moment, Ben. This isn't right, the Master Control should still be functioning. Give me your hand." said Vilgax.

Ben held his hand out in confusion, allowing Vilgax to put his claws on the watch and start turning the dial. This time, there was no green energy released, Vilgax wasn't shocked like the first time he touched the watch. Ben didn't know what Vilgax had in mind, but considering his frown, there was a problem.

"The Master Control has been deactivated."

"What?! How?!"

"I have no knowledge of it, it seems something happened while you were using it. Did you do something with it while you were with that mutant earlier?" asked Vilgax.

"No? I didn't mess for the Omnitrix for once, I just..." Ben wondered if Kevin was responsible. "Wait, I touched Kevin while I was in there, think it messed with the watch?"

"Hmm, this might be it. The energy from the Omnitrix might've clashed with his mutant state and overload the system, resetting it without you noticing."

"So I can't use my new aliens anymore?" asked the young alien worriedly.

"Of course you can." reassured Vilgax, brushing the boy's tentacled head. "The Omnitrix keeps track of your transformations. For every form you've used, they're listed as unlocked by the Omnitrix's database. Even if you lose Master Control, those forms you've gained are still there."

"Phew!" sighed Ben. "Man, it still stinks I lost it! I thought I could help you with my powers, do cool stuff with you." he pouted. "Now I'm back to being plain old me. Or not." he looked at his green clawed hands. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Why am I human?"

A huge silence installed itself in the room. Sixsix and Kraab were at the entrance, still silent but listening closely while they guarded the door. This was a question they have been asking themselves too: why did Vilgax the Conqueror have a human son? As far as they knew, he wasn't adopted. Adopted by humans, yes, but it was hard to imagine Vilgax of all people want to raise a child that wasn't his as his own, a human at that (even if lately, a lot of things surprised them).

Vilgax crossed his hands, going deep in thought. He knew this question would come sooner or later when Ben was born, it would be hard to explain to his son the reason of their difference. Especially since Max Tennyson had taken him away. The truth could break him. Not for long, of course, but Ben wouldn't talk to his human family ever again and they'd suspect something, or mistreat him.

It would've been so much easier if Ben didn't grow apart from him, things were more complicated than he expected. Now he couldn't talk to Ben about it without making things worse. Like Max.

It angered him to know he and the Plumber were in the same situation. He knew he wasn't the most purehearted being in the Galaxy, but it didn't mean he had to share a misery with the old man, especially since he didn't want Ben mad at him either.

No, he wouldn't tell Ben, but unlike Max, he wouldn't hide everything from him either. Just what he needed to know.

"The reason you were born human... is partially my fault."

"Huh?"

"I... I wasn't the same man I used to be before we had you. I changed, I went through many dangers and perils, but one of my... mistakes affected me greatly, and... it also affected your mother."

Ben listened, his eyes wide.

"She was affected by the same curse I've had, and it affected you too, while she was still carrying you. The fact you're still here today, you're still alive, is to me one of the biggest miracles I've ever witnessed. As a result, you were born human, even if your mother was a Chimeran like me, like us both now."

"What was my mom like?" Ben asked.

"She was a peaceful and warm woman. She always wanted to make sure those she knew were at ease, even if she often got into trouble for it. She wouldn't listen when told otherwise, and she could be feisty at times, unpredictable. She was the brightest woman I've ever known."

He sounded lost in memory, nostalgic. Ben hadn't seen this side of him yet, despite the many times Vilgax showed himself to be a sensitive being underneath that creepy cool armor.

"She wouldn't and didn't let me down, or let me lose faith. We often squabbled about what the other was doing in our early years, before we decided to take a step forward and committed our hearts to each other."

Ben felt this was going into the kissy story category when he said that. Vilgax talking about a lost love wasn't something you'd expect to ever hear. This was certainly something, and he wasn't sure that many people got to see that.

"I lived through, but..." he looked away for a few seconds. He wasn't going to talk about that yet. "Your mother couldn't survive while you did. She was able to live for almost half a year after your birth, but then..."

Ben knew he should stop asking at this point, Vilgax was obviously regretful with how things turned out. But he needed to know.

"Please tell me, what's the story behind my mom's death? What happened back then?"

"Ben, I... I can't tell you."

Ben frowned. Was he ever getting an answer?

"Why not? Why can't you tell me?"

"I... I don't want you to be hurt, I don't want to harm you by telling you."

'But you're hurting by hiding it from me!' He thought. "I'm not a weakling, I'm stronger now. Why do you think telling me the truth would hurt?"

"Because that's precisely what happened when I found you again."

Ben blinked. "What do you mean?"

"When we met and I revealed to you what you were denied for all your life, you looked about to collapse, and I felt responsible for that." he sighed. "I know Tennyson is the one to blame, but you looked broken when I told you the truth. I can't tell you yet, I don't want to cause you harm when I know I will."

"But you... but I..."

Vilgax was right, Ben felt like his entire world fell apart when he discovered he wasn't a normal kid. He was so mad at Max and kept it down, and mad at everyone for just lying. He stopped seeing the good side of things, he kept thinking everything was awful, everything was a lie, even when it wasn't the case.

He even made up with Gwen when he realized she never had any involvement in any of this. Seeing the truth did help him change, but... he didn't take it well, he was weak when he learned.

He wasn't told, because he wasn't ready.

Was... was Max right in keeping the truth from him?

No, he wasn't gonna give his grandpa that pleasure. Even when Vilgax came, Max kept lying. At least Vilgax did his best to talk to him instead of pretending nothing happened. But...

He had been unfair with Max. The old man probably thought the same as Vilgax, if he cared. But they uncovered his past, lying wasn't necessary anymore, Ben already knew a lot. He could give Max time, but he didn't like that Max had no faith, no trust in him enough to let him know.

Ben looked down as he realized what he was the most mad at. It wasn't simply his past being a lie, Max being responsible for it or him never talking. It was that he was at the center of this whole mess, and he couldn't do a thing about it. His Grandpa was still silent, his dad barely got to be with him, his cousin had no clue what was going on, and he felt like everything was falling apart.

The Omnitrix, the Plumbers, Vilgax, the aliens... All of this was dawning on him, and all he did was losing it. No matter what, he kept getting angry, impatient at every turn, he was more acting like a child than ever.

He wasn't making progress by acting angry, he was just being a sad alien kid.

"What I don't know, won't hurt me." he sighed.

He needed time. For Max, for Vilgax, and for himself. Staying mad forever wasn't going to lead him anywhere, even if Vilgax looked like the kind of guy who'd tell you otherwise. But he wasn't going to wait forever either.

"Can you tell me someday? Please?"

"I, I will try." said Vilgax, bringing Ben closer to him again. "I am sorry you're being denied the answers you seek, my son."

"It's fine, not gonna judge. Just, don't stall forever, okay?"

"You have my word."

Ben snorted slightly at how solemn his father was. Looks like he needed a family vacation too, lay off all that conquering stuff and start relaxing. Speaking of which, he had to see Max again...

Red lights started blaring, ending the embrace abruptly. Both Chimerans switched to a serious expression, as Vilgax went back to the control panel, inputting commands. A display of the ship materialized, showing a red dot in a specific location.

"I knew Kevin would try something!"

"Wait an instant, Ben."

Suddenly, a small screen appeared, showing the young mutant blasting drones, using energy he absorbed. From said drones, using his hands.

His human hands.

"Hey! He's normal again?! What's going on?"

"He might have been drained from all the Omnitrix's energy, or maybe this is only temporary. He's trying to escape!"

"Well, not on our watch!" grinned Ben, palming his fist eagerly. "Come on, let's show him!"

Vilgax's look seemed to match his cunningness. They were having their first mission together, this was going to be fun.

"You two, stay there and guard the door in case he tries to get here!" ordered Vilgax. "Me and Ben will deal with this pest by ourselves."

"Yeah!"

The two Bounty Hunters nodded, and awaited for their master and liege to leave the scene.

It was silent again in the room. They had kept quiet during the entire exchange, and closely paid attention to the details. This whole story sounded like a really unusual soap opera, not that they could complain.

They were the protectors of Vilgaxia's legitimate heir, worked under the most feared being in the Galaxy and encountered more threats in a few weeks than they did in a long time. They had to admit, if this was Tetrax's original task, this wasn't as easy as they'd think it'd be, but this was certainly more entertaining than what they've had before accepting this mission.

To think their original task was to take away the Omnitrix from the boy, risking to kill him in the process... They might not have survived had they succeeded, as soon as Vilgax would've known who was bound to it. Now they had to defend him from harm.

They had to give Ben credit, he was good at fending himself for a kid, especially since he was still a novice using the strongest weapon in the entire galaxy. And the way things were going, he was on his way to become a fearsome leader like his father... even if he did seem less cruel and more benign and lenient than Vilgax.

He didn't throw a major tantrum or treat them like slaves yet (although he did ask them to help do his chores in that vehicle he lives in with the Plumber and the girl), unlike the Incursean princess Sixsix's older brother had to work for recently (probably planning another of those "stealing the throne" plans, a tradition among those treacherous frogs), he was a good kid.

...which was a weird thing to say about someone related Vilgax.

He still had a lot to learn, and considering he wanted to fight with them rather than stay back, he could become a fierce warrior someday. He already took them down before, he could do it again had they not been on his side and under his service...

"Hey."

Sixsix turned to his partner.

"Remember the bounty someone put on Vilgax's head recently when they found out he was still alive?"

The Sotoraggian grunted in response, shaking his head.

"Yeah. Even if we could do it, I don't feel like breaking the kid's heart either."

"Great." Ben scowled, looking at the several holes in the ship's walls. "He got away."

"For a human weakling, he's fast."

"Didn't you know? On Earth, kids are the fastest creatures alive." joked Ben while his father was inspecting the damage.

"I wouldn't know. On Vilgaxia, young Chimerans are peaceful and docile, only getting more active during water activities."

"Was I different compared to other kids?"

Vilgax turned to him. "Well, as a baby, you certainly were full of energy both in water and on land, I can't say I've ever seen that much liveliness coming from others."

Ben snickered. He wondered how things were back when he lived with his dad, before he was taken away. They probably lived in one of those fancy castles with gold toilets and butlers all looking the same (though considering this was aliens he was thinking of, clones of the same guy weren't that out of the question).

"Ben, you better come take a look at this." he beckoned, observing a drone's destroyed remains.

"Hm?" Ben approached the machine, kneeling down to inspect the circuits' leftovers. "Wow, he went hard on this one. Poor little guy... hey, why is that claw all weird?"

The drone's metal claw was all twisted, probably Kevin's doing. But there was something unusual on it. There were colored spots that looked a lot similar to the Chimerian Hammer's walls, possessing the same texture and color. The drone was badly beaten up, but this was different from the usual damage.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn't rubble over the robot. And if it was, it was stuck to it like glue. As if the walls' bits had merged with the drone...

"Did Kevin give your robots a paint job? I'm not sure the eyes are supposed to be covered, it's like he took the thing next to him and punched your drone to death with it."

Vilgax hummed, taking a closer look. The iron looked like it melted into the material over it, both pieces had merged, and it almost looked like there was a hand print. The way the iron was crumbled, it was as if someone had clutched it before turning it into an amalgamated mess of matter.

Amalgamated...

"That youngling doesn't just absorb energy."

"Huh?" Ben looked up.

"He was able to absorb your powers and some of my enhancements' raw power, but it seems he can also absorb matter and replicate it, much like how he did with some of your less... organic forms."

"Wait, Kevin can use other stuff? Oh man! Does that mean we got an alien slash mutant slash robot hybrid freak loose?" Ben sighed.

"No. Like I said, he must've run out of energy to use." Vilgax explained. "He would've used the Ectonurite's powers to escape discreetly instead, rather than simply causing havoc and think he'd get away with it. Though I must admit, I'm surprised he lasted this long if all it took was my ship to drain him."

"Kevin doesn't really do sneaky or silent, he's more of the 'smash everything because I'm mad' type. If he ever thought of using Ectonurite powers to escape while he was a freak, he wouldn't-"

Ben paused.

Ectonurite? Escape? Freak?

Ectonurite. Freak. Escape.

Ghost. Freak. Escape.

Ghostfreak escaped.

"Ghostfreak is gone!"

Vilgax looked up in confusion. What was his son talking about?

"What do you mean, Benjamin?"

"Ghostfreak, he's my Ectonurite form. I used him first time you took me there after I fought Phil." Ben recalled. "Turns out, he was hiding inside the watch because his DNA was still sentient or something about his species. He tried to possess me to become whole again and take over the world, but now all that's left of him is a pile of dust."

Vilgax frowned. "An Ectonurite that infiltrated your Omnitrix to control it? I must admit, that's an elaborate and risky plan, it's a wonder he even managed to reach the insides of the Omnitrix. He must've passed as a DNA sample to do such a plan. Did he... did he hurt you?" he asked with concern.

"He tried. He used Gwen to bargain for the Omnitrix. I didn't have a choice, so I let him get close. When he was about to possess me, the Omnitrix turned me into Grey Matter and I was able to escape. Then, I lured him somewhere away from Grandpa and Gwen. Kraab used his weird goo to turn him visible and Sixsix neutralized him. I reprogrammed the Sun Gun that Grandpa used with Grey Matter's genius to boost its power and turn Ghostfreak to ash."

There was a mischievous expression on his face as he smiled devilishly. He had fun showing that alien who was the boss around, and who was the one to control him while he was captive of the Omnitrix. He couldn't help himself anymore, it felt so nice teaching bad guys a lesson that way, no matter how severe and vicious his moves became.

"He did kinda take over me when he was still in the Omnitrix. I turned into him when some goons attacked, and we gave them a good kicking in the butt. Not sure if it was all him or if I didn't take part in it, it was kinda fun."

"I'm relieved that fiend didn't live long enough to see who he'd deal with if he succeeded, even if he could've been useful to uncover the rest of the Omnitrix's secrets." said Vilgax. "Ectonurite consciousnesses exist within every single strand of their DNA, all he'd need would be a simple remaining strand to be recreated from scratch. Where did you leave his remains?"

"Probably in a school dumpster or in a garbage pile, don't know if there was a janitor where he died. It looked like child labor in that school, they were studying even during summer!"

Vilgax would've probably given Ben a knowing smile if his mouth was visible. He remembered disliking the extra classes at the Academy when he didn't perform well enough, it was exhausting to study, practice his fighting and hear the complaints of his superiors and coaches. Now that he was king, he could take a vacation whenever he wished. Well, after maintaining his kingdom's peace and safety, he wasn't a slacker either.

For now, he had a child to take care of.

"Wait, is Kevin gonna turn into him or something?"

"His absorption powers are remarkable, but the data I gathered from his DNA samples showed no presence of any anomaly. He may have used those powers, but he hasn't succumbed to their owner, so you don't have to worry. Speaking of which, this means you don't have the Ectonurite sample available if this Ghostfreak left, right?"

"Yeah." Ben said, looking at the dial of the Omnitrix. "I can't find him anymore, not sure I want to. He always made me feel like I was someone else, instead of me. It freaked me out, I never get that feeling with my other aliens."

"His consciousness was probably lying in there. But now that we've got a safe sample, I can backup your transformations."

Ben's eyes widened. "Really?! Wow, if I lose an alien, I can always count on you to help then. Thanks!" he said, hugging his father tightly.

"You're welcome." said Vilgax, patting his back. "If you do not mind, I also need to check your Chimeran body, to make sure you didn't catch anything."

"Uhhh, no need for that!" nervously said Ben, remembering the utter torture he lived through last time. "I mean, look at me, I'm all strong, healthy and doing well! Not gonna catch any germs or something like that, haha!"

"I wouldn't be so sure, I caught a cold during one of my first visits on this planet, it would not be wise to risk it."

"No needles?" Ben gulped.

"No needles." chuckled the man, as he heard Ben muttering a 'phew' while following him into the ship's corridors.

Max packed his bag, getting a flashlight ready, a rope, water and some mixtures he made from his world famous recipes, just in case Ben got hurt, bit by a snake or some other form of poisoning.

"Are you sure you're not overdoing it?" asked Gwen.

"Ben still hasn't come back with us. He might've gotten lost or got himself in trouble, I need to look for him."

"He has Master Control now, Grandpa. If he did get himself stuck, he'd probably use an alien to get a better brain and figure it out for himself."

"I know, I just... I'm scared." he admitted, much to Gwen's surprise.

"Scared of what? Scared of Ben, or for Ben?"

"I'm scared of what's going to happen when Ben comes back. He's mad at me, he left us angry. I'm not sure he'll enjoy going on this road-trip with us anymore, and it's because of me. There's no way to be sure he'll accept talking when-"

"Hey."

Both Tennysons turned around to see Ben, simply standing there on his own. He looked tired, not that they didn't all go through a lot of stuff today.

"Ben..."

"There you are, doofus!" scolded Gwen. "Grandpa was starting to get worried! Where were you at?"

"I just... I took a walk, tried to think about some stuff. Kevin came back."

"Huh?!"

Both Gwen and Max were shocked to hear about that kid again. Didn't Ben leave him on a wrestling spaceship away from Earth?

"He tried to beat me up again, but I knocked him so hard he didn't see what was coming!" he lied. "But... he touched the watch again and I lost Master Control."

"Oh."

"Yeah... By the way, Grandpa, I'm sorry."

"W... What?" said Max.

"I know I shouldn't have left you guys behind. I was so mad at you, I didn't realize I was hurting. It's my fault if I lost Master Control, I was playing around too much. If I took a step back and listened to you, I would've been more careful. I'm sorry, Grandpa."

"Ben, no, I'm..."

Gwen smiled. They were actually talking, this was happening.

"Ben, I'm the one who should've told you sooner. If anyone's responsible for something, it's me. I was too scared to say I made errors, I wanted you kids to trust me on this. I never should've lied, it's just... I-"

"You were doing your best to protect us, I know that. I also know you have something else to say, that you've been hiding from us for a while, you really know a lot of stuff we don't, down right to what our parents know and don't know." Max felt startled. Ben really wasn't fooled by any of this. "I was too impatient, I didn't give you a chance and that got me nowhere. I'm sorry I kept being angry with you even when you didn't deserve it, I just couldn't stand it. I'm sorry."

"I'll... I'll try to help it, Ben. I'll try. Just be patient, there are some things you need to wait for."

"It's okay." Ben looked aside. "Just, don't make me wait too long. All of this stuff really feels heavy the more you stall."

"I promise I'll try."

"This is... interesting."

"What? What do you see?" he asked, glad the table he had been strapped to before was replaced by a scanning pod, looking like a shower stall instead.

"Nothing in particular, you seem fully healthy for now. I am glad, but... there's something peculiar in your genetic code."

"Huh?"

"Some of your genes remained untransformed when you took upon your Chimeran form. Those genes were already present in your human form, from what I've gathered."

"And what does that mean?"

"Both of those forms are connected. You still possess some of my genes as well as your mother's even with a human body, but the Omnitrix is supposed to have a different sample of Chimeran DNA, since neither of us took part in it. However, your genes are a perfect fusion of both human and Chimeran signatures, and those are now the defaults for the Omnitrix. Your current form is completely yours, it's still your DNA."

"Wow, that's... something. Sorry, I didn't study enough in science class, but I think I got what you mean. This alien form is what I could've been for real? Man..." he looked at his reflection in the scanner. "Guess I know where I got my good looks from!" he grinned.

His father was amused by his little joke. He however had something to ask.

"Ben... Look, I... I thought of something."

"Hm? What is it?"

"Come, I put it here somewhere."

Ben went out of the scanner and waited for his father to look for what he had to show him. There was a lot of junk everywhere in this room, Ben guessed it wasn't easy to do some cleaning when you weren't a normal average human being. He'd know, he never liked cleaning his room, even left it in a mess before going to school the first day of summer.

"There."

Vilgax turned around, showing Ben what looked to be some sort of satellite or drill.

"What's this thing supposed to do?"

"It's... it's a machine I built, in case the Omnitrix ever merged with someone else's DNA. Now I believed I wouldn't have to use it, but I realized I've been putting you at unnecessary risks."

"What do you mean? You're..." Ben backed down. "You're gonna take the Omnitrix from me?!"

"That is for you to choose." Vilgax looked down. "For over a month, you've been fighting, risking your life and putting yourself at harm. You enjoy the power of the Omnitrix, but you weren't given the choice to deny it either. Aliens from all over the galaxy could be targeting you at this exact moment, and I wouldn't forgive myself if you ever were to get severely hurt by my inaction. Or worse..."

Ben was confused. For the first time, Vilgax was back to wanting the Omnitrix for himself. But... he meant to protect him? He had to admit, it wasn't fun playing cat and mouse if it meant almost dying all the time, but this was the first time ever since summer began that someone suggested Ben should take the watch off... to keep him safe.

Even Max hadn't told him that, just to learn how to use it for good. Probably his Plumber days getting him to take advantage of the situation.

"But I don't want to stop using the Omnitrix! I love going hero, stopping bad guys, saving the world... it's my entire reason for having it, end any problem I got to deal with. And that includes helping you. I can take having the most powerful weapon in the galaxy. After all, I am related to one of the most powerful beings in the universe, and I fought weirder stuff before, this doesn't scare me."

Vilgax knelt down to face him, looking concerned.

"Are you sure this is what you want? Your life won't ever be easy if you're always at risk..."

"I'm sure. Heroes don't always take shortcuts in life, I'm not gonna get rid of my powers yet. Plus, I wanna help you with your things. You've been helping me all this time, teaching me stuff about myself I never could hear about without you. If you're gonna get into trouble, at least let an expert in troublemaking help you with that."

"You don't need to repay me for that. It's all natural for me, I'm your father. It's normal for me to take care of you, raise you and nurture you."

"Then I don't need any reason to help you. Since you're my dad, it's normal for me that I want to help."

He stopped any further argument with a hug, wrapping his arms around Vilgax's head.

"Decidedly, it's nearly impossible to change your mind, you drive a hard bargain." his father said, putting a hand on his back.

"Is it bad?"

"Not at all, my son. Not at all."

The hug ended and Ben took a peek outside the window. It was getting pretty late, he had to go back soon. But he'd better change first, Max and Gwen would probably faint if they saw him like this.

"Grandpa and Gwen are probably waiting for me. You think it's okay if Kevin is roaming around as a normal kid?"

"I doubt you could call him normal, but as long as he doesn't get his filthy hands on your Omnitrix, everything is fine. Ben, there's something else I wanted to ask you."

He tilted his head. "Sure, go ahead."

"Have you... made up your mind about leaving this planet yet?"

Ben brought a clawed finger to his chin. "I'm not sure yet... I lived on Earth for like, my entire life. I can't go away from here without a warning. I need to think about it."

Vilgax looked down. He couldn't say he didn't expect that answer, Max Tennyson thought things well before taking Ben away.

"But... I also really want to see how your, our planet looks like. I wanna see how life is there, how do people live, what they eat, if they also have bad guys that need to be taught a lesson... I can't wait to go with you someday!"

His smile seemed to put his father's mind at ease.

"Say, if I got those Chimeran genes even as a human, does that mean I got super strength this whole time without knowing it?"

"Not exactly, those weren't active at all since you weren't on Vilgaxia or close to another of our kind, they stayed dormant because you didn't develop correctly. Now that you became a Chimeran, those genes will awaken and it'll trigger some changes to your human body in result."

They were back at the entrance, Ben had returned to his human form. At least he knew that Vilgax liked him under any form he took, didn't change if he was a Chimeran or not.

Sixsix and Kraab were waiting, and gave their word on still protecting Ben no matter the price. Though it felt like there was more emotion than last time. They seemed more invested in their work now, which was confusing since they didn't get a raise on their pay grade yet.

But before Ben could leave, he had one last question to ask his father.

"What was my mother's name?"

"Idraxx." he muttered, looking at the RV's window.

In a summer and a half, Ben got the Omnitrix, they met people from Max's past and discovered who he was, Ben made progress as a hero and mastered the use of the Omnitrix even if he still had a lot to learn. This wasn't your everyday family road-trip. And for Ben who still had half a summer to go on, he had to get ready for what else was to come.

Max had to tell him sooner or later, Ben couldn't wait forever. He was given a choice by Vilgax, and he too would have to make it sooner or later. But Max was willing to try, and Vilgax was willing to talk. Maybe things wouldn't be so hard to go through after all.

Weird that he was taking sides between two archenemies, one of which was his adoptive grandfather, and another who was his biological father. Things just weren't normal for their family.

Last time he checked, Buzzshock, Shell-Shock and Tenten were still there. The Omnitrix stayed green when he switched back to his human form, making him understand it wouldn't cause a faster timeout to switch between his current form and Chimeran form. And Ghostfreak was back in place, he could use him without a worry. And with the powers he showcased at Bancroft Academy, Ben knew he could now possess people and use their powers while controlling them. And spinning his head around like a horror movie monster (he was so using that next Halloween. If he was still on Earth.)

Ben laid on his bunk, waiting for dinner to be ready.

"Hey Ben, I got a surprise for you!" said Gwen, suddenly appearing next to him.

"A surprise? I think I've got enough of those for today... But yeah, I don't mind!" he added quickly, and naively.

"There you go!" she said, presenting him a bowl of pudding, dripped in Stinkfly's goo.

"Ewww! What is that?!"

"What you left me for dessert. Since you didn't eat yours, I figured I'd take it and give you mine instead." she teased, handing the bowl to him.

Ben rolled his eyes, this was another one of their prank wars starting. Though for some reason he ignored, it didn't look so bad to him...

He took his spoon and took some of the disgusting pudding in his mouth.

Gwen did a double take when she saw him actually munch on it. "Not bad, kinda tastes like cheese actually... Needs more salt."

"I feel I'm going to puke..."

"Hey grandpa! Know what Stinkflies use their goo for?"

"Hm?" Max turned his head while forcing whatever creature that was still alive back into a pot. "Well, Lepidopterrans secrete their slime to give an aroma to any food they don't enjoy the taste of, that's why they're considered mostly omnivores. Maybe I should replace our ketchup with that, I heard it's healthier when I was still in service. Think you could help me with that?"

Gwen was about to throw Ben out of the RV if he actually agreed. She wanted to play a prank on him to make things between them better, but since they talked it out, it now felt like overkill. Thankfully, Ben wasn't that gross yet.

"No way! I know we got better, but I'm not taking cooking advice from you yet! Plus it's my goo, I decide whether to eat it or not!"

"Suit yourself!" he said, slamming the lid on the agonizing creature he was cooking.

"Phew! Thanks, I'd hug you if you didn't ingest alien snot." whispered Gwen.

"It's not snot, it's spit, my spit."

"I don't need the details. By the way, glad you decided to take a shower after being an alien all day, but why did you stay over an hour in the tub earlier?" she asked.

"Didn't get to swim too much at Niagara Falls, and for a hero like me, no adrenaline is like being a fish out of water." he lied, knowing fully well this was what Vilgax talked about.

"O...kay?" she said, not really buying. "It's good that you started being less gross... Relatively." she added, seeing he was still eating like an animal. "Look Ben, we need to get ready."

Ben gulped. "Um... for what?"

"It's gonna be Grandpa's sixtieth birthday in a few days." she explained. "I thought you two could make up as a gift, but since you already did that... I'm out of ideas."

"We'll figure something out, we always do."

He's had enough emotions for the day. He could enjoy himself and think about the future later.

Surprise!

Looking back, I remembered Ben actually met other aliens in season 1, and to avoid getting him too OP, I put aside the Limax for the Megawhatts instead, shapeshifting alien would make things too easy for lil' Benji.

Since Max had no idea Vilgax and Kevin were there until Ben told him, no Null Void trip for Kev or Villy-Willy.

For Master Control, rewatching AF, it can apparently disabled if Ben uses all of the energy of the Omnitrix to cure damaged DNA. And considering he has a somewhat faulty, less advanced prototype and that Kevin's mutated form was a mess... It's all fixed now.

I also saw that Cannonbolt, Way Big and a few others were still there even when it was disabled, so Ben ain't getting any weaker yet, just not that much stronger either.

As for Ben's mom's name, Idraxx, I actually had to look up Cthulhu Mythos deities for that. It's based on Yidhra The Dream Witch, an attractive immortal being who granted immortality and healthiness for who served her. Ironic considering this character died of sickness, given to her by her loving warlord husband. Idra as a name also means "fig tree", a symbol of learning, peace, and prosperity in old times, clashing with her husband's much scarier "Villain of the Galaxy" attitude. Just added the double x's to make a link with female Chimerans like Myaxx, and voilà.

Also, I picked up the term Chimerans (alternative to Chimera Sui Generis) from the reboot's season 1 finale. Hey, if one of the locals in a show made by MoA gives us a name, I ain't gonna spit on it!

Anyway, if you liked this chappie, don't forget to review and I'll see you next time! Kissu!