"Always a pleasure doing business with you."
Ben 10,000 rolled his eyes as he finally departed from the space mines owned by Vulkanus. The Detrovite who attacked him once or twice before (unless it was all just a dream again) had changed after that Ben came in power.
Thanks to his father's teachings, he had discovered the ways of negotiating stuff with people that'd want him dead in another life. Vulkanus quickly became one of his most reliable sources for robotic parts and rare weapons, as long as he had enough to pay him. And if Vulkanus was paid, he was attached to his reward like a child was attached to candy.
Ben put aside those thoughts as he tapped a few commands on the Chimerian Hammer, setting a course for Earth. Now that he managed to obtain the energy cores he needed, the king could return to achieve his projects.
After that Vilgax was healed and that Kevin mysteriously disappeared after supposedly leaving a Saturn colony, Ben started working on new ways of getting stronger. Vilgax had retired and left Ben to rule, and though they often still trained, the former king was taking a well-earned rest from his time as a warlord.
Afterwards, Ben learned how to reach his limits and be threatening even with his weakest aliens. He didn't have to fear being squashed as Grey Matter or Nanomech anymore, all thanks to his armor (he still remembered running around in panic as a young boy). He may have lacked Vilgax's enhancements, but the new king made up for it with his innate talent for battling.
Now the squid lord had reinforced his rule over a decade ago, mostly due to the fear history would repeat. His people heard of what happened to him before, and so while the pacifistic ways on Vilgaxia carried on to Chimera City, it seemed the security measures Vilgax himself took were greatly enhanced on Earth.
It made sense, since it used to be Ben's secondary home for a while, he knew what dangers were hiding on this planet. He knew he couldn't trust the Plumbers to be less of an annoyance, especially not at his current state of power.
He had to hurry if he didn't want to be late, Kenny wouldn't like it if he missed another of his birthdays.
"Are you sure we're allowed in there?"
"For the last time, Billy," said Gwendolyn to the orange alien, "Dad said Kenny could bring friends over this time."
The young Chimeran hybrid snorted as his older sister and friends followed. On his previous birthdays, he always went out to have fun instead of staying home. His father always came back late from whatever political stuff adults usually dealt with, especially when his father was a galactic overlord.
Gwendolyn said she had no interest in taking the throne and would rather practice her sword fighting as a princess than ruling over the universe, so Kenny didn't even need to ask or fight her for it. The young prince looked forward to the day his own father would retire and he'd becoming king himself, both in excitement and slight worry.
"It's our danger alert." said Kenny, pointing to a big computer in a part of the HQ. "The call comes in and my dad takes off to... y'know, kick any tough rebel's butt."
"Wow! My dad's just a boring old dentist." said the young Maxatomar.
"And someday, I'll be right beside him!" proudly declared Kenny.
Suddenly, the roof above opened. Only Gwendolyn and Kenny weren't startled when they saw a big flying alien, looking similar to a pteranodon, land inside with a jetpack on its back. Astrodactyl squawked warmly as he looked at the children.
There was a bright flash of green, and a brown-haired human, with a brown beard and wearing a green, black and white armor, stood there instead. Ben 10,000 opened his arms, allowing Kenny to come in for a hug.
"Thanks, Dad!" said Kenny.
"You only turn 10 once." chuckled Ben.
Coming back to their senses, Kenny's friends then all wished him a happy birthday. Ben sighed in relief as he was able to make it this time. It was a very important day for Kenny, he couldn't afford to miss it or be late again.
He spotted Sixsix and Kraab who were conversing in the corner.
"Did anything happen while I was gone?" he asked.
"Nothing in particular, except those kids almost getting a heart attack whenever we came by to talk to young master Kenny." answered Kraab.
"How did the mission go, my king?" asked Sixsix with a gurgle.
"Vulkanus was sucking up to me, as usual." said Ben, rolling his eyes. "With that said, I completed Kenny's birthday gift, and Albedo made some of his own adjustments to it."
Kenny smiled as he saw his dad's right-hand man and one of his and Gwendolyn's ex-babysitters, Psyphon, bringing his birthday cake.
"Happy birthday Kenny!" said everyone as Kenny blew the candles.
Kraab stepped in first for his present. "I acquired this rare model a while ago on the market, I saw it while looking for one of our targets." he handed Kenny a cube, which turned immediately into a hoverboard, with cannons and small firearms on the side. "Nothing is loaded, so until you're allowed to battle, you can use it for transport as you will, young master."
"Thanks, great uncle Kraab!" said Kenny, riding eagerly on the board. Then immediately falling down as he lost his balance, making his friends laugh.
"It's not like a drone, so it'll need some getting used to." advised Kraab.
"For sure." he giggled.
"And here is my present for you, young master." said Sixsix. He handed another cube, which turned into a cage, containing a Gracklflint in it.
"Wow, a Gracklflint! It's so cool! Thanks, great uncle Six!"
"It's already vaccinated and I will leave the pleasure of programming the name of your choice on its collar to you. His seeds and other toys are by the cage." explained Sixsix, interrupted as Kenny gave him a hug.
"What's he saying?" asked one of Kenny's friends.
"Just basic stuff to make sure he doesn't do the same thing he did with one of our squid monsters." said Gwendolyn. "Or what happened at the Ziboson ranch."
Kenny turned around to stick his tongue at his sister, clearly annoyed that she had to bring that up.
"Psyphon," said Ben, looking away from the party for a few minutes, "you didn't pick up on anything from the rebels? No anomaly, no intrusion on any corner of the town? Anything?"
"Negative, Lord Ben. Nothing has disturbed today's quietude, all thanks to your hard work for your empire." bowed Psyphon. "I kept an eye on the drone production and any suspicious info we could find while preparing for young master Kenny's birthday, it seems everything is peaceful."
Ben frowned, unconvinced. One thing he knew about days like these, there was always a catch. He couldn't think of Kenny's birthday without knowing something would happen sooner or later, no matter how much he wanted to.
Though for now, the party was undisturbed, he could deal with it later if he needed to. Maybe Kenny would join as well.
"An Aqua Limp Vader! Dude, you rock!" said Kenny, looking at the figurine he just got while he fist-bumped the one-eyed kid Ben forgot the name of.
If it wasn't for them shaking like leaves whenever he was around, maybe Ben could've gotten to know his kids' friends better. It wasn't always easy to be seen as a normal father when he was anything but that.
He took a step forward, carrying a quite recognizable orb behind his back.
"I think that just leaves my gift." said Ben. "Now you know I haven't been too psyched about bringing you into the hero business."
"Really? Hadn't noticed." said Kenny, rolling his eyes. He definitely got his sarcasm from his mother, for sure.
"Fighting rebels is not kids' stuff, Kenny." He wished he could've said that about his own childhood if it hadn't been so eventful. "But since I got the Omnitrix when I was your age, I thought you should have this."
He handed Kenny a small round metallic pod, which opened itself as he took it. A green light emanated from inside, coming from an Omnitrix that looked much like the one Ben had as a kid. Kenny grinned as the object suddenly jumped on his green wrist on its own.
"Yes! My own Omnitrix!" exclaimed Kenny, looking at the device who was now bonded to him, before being surrounded by the other kids. "This is fully cool!" He stopped, having a gut feeling about what his father did. "You were gone for so long for this, weren't you?"
"You guessed it. I figured, since I had an Omnitrix at your age, I could give you a taste of what you'll have later, if you ever take my place."
"A taste, huh. So you put the watch on a limiter, didn't you?"
"How does he do that?" asked Billy. "Can your brother read minds?"
"Grow up with a head of military operations like our dad, you learn to anticipate a lot of the things he does."
While Ben discussed what aliens he gave the young boy, everyone felt something akin to an earthquake. The ground slightly shook, and heavy footsteps were heard.
Ben gave a slight glare to Psyphon.
"I almost forgot to mention: you have a visitor." announced Psyphon.
The door opened, and a gigantic silhouette came through. His red eyes analyzing the room, the man's imposing stature exceeded Ben's Chimeran form with its menacing, partially mutilated appearance.
"So this is the new wearer of the Omnitrix, interesting..." hissed the newcomer eagerly.
Both of Kenny's friends were wondering how come Gwendolyn wasn't shivering in fear like they were.
"He does this every year..." she sighed.
"Grandpa!" said Kenny.
He ran to Vilgax, jumping at the man's neck to hug him. Vilgax laughed as he ruffled Kenny's head tentacles, glad to see his grandson was still as happy to see him as ever, despite his body still looking too threatening for a kid's taste.
"Can you believe it? Dad gave me my own Omnitrix!" said Kenny, showing his wrist to the old Chimeran.
"Hmm, so you'll be part of the battle for our kingdom?" asked Vilgax, kneeling down to reach Kenny's eye level.
"You betcha I will! Dad gave me some sweet aliens! Swampfire, Big Chill, even Alien X... Now it's my turn to go hero!"
Vilgax chuckled as his grandson took a pose that was all too familiar to him, holding the green watch with his right hand.
"I'd suggest not insisting with the Celestialsapien form too much, your father had a lot of struggle getting his personalities to agree."
"Oh they'll agree if I'm in the heat of the battle." confidently said Kenny.
Vilgax then looked at Ben, noticing the king was in his human form.
"I haven't seen you in this body for a while." he said discreetly as Kenny was back to the party.
"These children are more comfortable around my human face than my alien one, guess they know humans aren't all that threatening." said Ben.
"It is nice seeing they could make something out of their time despite... erm, how is Gwendolyn's training going?"
Ben raised a brow at Vilgax's hesitation, but brushed it off. "She wishes you'd visit more often, she wants to spar with you. I've told her she was still too young to use anything other than a training sword or a fencing épée, but she can't get that out of her mind."
"Will you train Kenny to harness his Omnitrix's powers too then?"
"Well, yes, but not yet." said Ben. "Kenny doesn't know how harsh the hero job can be. If I gave him special training early on, it could alert the rebels of what he can do. And they'd immediately resort to sending Grandpa Max after Kenny."
He hadn't realized he was hissing the rest of that sentence in anger, so the children assumed it was Vilgax.
"Grandpa, you're creeping them out." pouted Kenny.
"Hah, sorry Kenny." said Vilgax, brushing the back of his head's tentacles.
"We'll talk about adult things outside, kids. If you need anything, we'll be right there."
Ben and Vilgax walked out to the balcony, leaving the party. Kenny didn't seem too upset about it, he was more excited about his new watch and all of his family being present. Well, almost all.
"He looks so happy even without her around. Do you... manage to take care of them even when she's gone?"
"I'm not sure..." frowned Ben. "Ever since Kai left I... I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing for the kids. They say they're happy with me and they don't miss her too much, but I can't tell if that's just a lie to reassure me." He sighed.
Many years ago, when he gained control of Vilgax's armies, Ben had somehow, to his own surprise, reconciled with Kai, even though she was almost considered a fugitive. Being related to a retired Plumber, she was considered as a potential threat, but her relationship with Ben cleared it up.
For a while, she stayed with him and, to her own surprise, accepted when he proposed to her. They then had Gwendolyn, and a few years later, Kenny was born.
But even when she had the life of a queen, something went wrong with her anyway.
Ben should've known this life wasn't for her, as she had always viewed what Vilgax did as criminal acts. He knew he couldn't force her to stay when he knew she'd never accept the part of his life that was ruling over the universe. But he had hoped Gwendolyn and Kenny could've changed her mind when she decided to leave.
When the children grew up, Gwendolyn chose to stay mad at her mother for leaving her own family behind. Kenny didn't have much memories of her, aside from her and Ben's slight moments of mutual teasing and being either stressed out or romantic while talking to each other, which disgusted the young boy a lot.
He now had to care for them both, and while Gwendolyn was pretty responsible on her own and could look after her brother, Ben felt he was neglecting them. He hoped Kenny getting his own Omnitrix could fix that, but he knew he couldn't make up for a missing parent, let alone two when he didn't stay at home a lot because of his duties.
He remembered considering himself lucky when Vilgax would spend time with him as a young boy, but he wanted his kids to have at least a more normal life than the one he had (it wouldn't be much of a feat, anyone could have a more normal life than him. Just, not always those who were affiliated with him).
"She still hasn't contacted us in almost eight years. What I'd give to talk to her again..."
"For what purpose?"
"I don't know, Dad... apologize to her, confront her about abandoning the kids, hear about what she became now, berate her for what she's done... If Kenny and Gwendolyn are okay with how things are for the time being, maybe I could try forgetting about her, but..."
Vilgax put his hand on the younger king's back.
"You've always cared for your family more than yourself, allow yourself to get a rest, my son."
"I wish it was that easy..." he sighed. "I remember the other me, the one from another future... I wonder if this is the future he was hoping to achieve, or if I didn't do a mistake and instead make it worse."
"One thing I've learned from you is that, while you get most of your strength on things from people who came before you, your real strength relies on thinking of new ways to face the present, rather than staying stuck in the past or being worried about the future." said Vilgax. "Of course, you don't have to be strong all the time, it's never about that. You're allowed to feel vulnerable, but if you want to be strong for those children, don't let past mistakes make a weight over your shoulders. You're the one who taught me that."
"Thanks, Dad." Ben smiled. "Maybe the kids really can manage for now... I might have to go away soon again, but maybe you're right, I should just calm down and get with what I already have. Say, do you mind taking Kenny and Gwendolyn with you on your next trip in a few weeks? I've contacted all bases you might come nearby, there's regeneration pods if you still need to recover."
Vilgax nodded. It would be of help seeing his grandchildren more, and he knew Ben was counting on him. A small trip across the galaxy wouldn't hurt them, he could probably use that time to tell them a thing or two they had to understand when they'd go to the rest of the world on their own.
Maybe he could also tell them about the reason their father was at first raised on Earth.
Devlin huffed as he stood in the elevator, waiting for his dad to be done flirting.
He seriously didn't know what was up with their family. This woman, Gwen Tennyson, was his dad's date for over twenty years (even though they often took breaks in their relationship). Yet his dad still made no move to marry her as of now.
He heard stories from Max Tennyson, the retired Plumber and grandfather of his dad's girlfriend who lived nearby. The old man retired some time ago to let his granddaughter take over as Magister of Earth, taking some rest after a long career that did nothing but bore Devlin.
At least he knew it wasn't all boring, considering who was currently ruling on the planet while they were hiding...
After his mom's divorce with his dad, because of how things were getting rougher with his dad being a rebel and all, Devlin went to live with his father and had to grow with his powers.
Unlike his dad, he couldn't absorb matter or energy. On the other hand, he ended up getting his father's ability of transforming into a DNA mutant hybrid, more specifically a form he was stuck in as a child but was mysteriously cured from...
At least it allowed him to go wherever he wanted undetected, as an alien or a human thanks to his quite unusual metabolism, but he didn't want to use those to become a Plumber. Not when someone was still counting on him.
He got fed up from waiting and, with a huff, he went to his father.
"Dad, I was supposed to meet some friends half an hour ago. Can we go?"
"Hm?"
Kevin 11,000, Gwen's second-in-command and Devlin's father, turned around to see quite an annoyed tween.
"Come on, it's not that late, it's just-" Kevin looked at the clock. "Okay, maybe we are taking too long. Go ahead and meet your friends with your hoverboard. Be careful when you get outside and remember about hiding your powers."
"Yes, Dad."
"Have a nice day!" said Gwen, the young woman waving goodbye at him.
As the elevator was going up, Devlin wondered how things would be if this woman became his new stepmom. Now he didn't mind her at all, far from that. She was really nice, but considering who he was supposed to meet up with...
He got out of the old deserted plumbing shop that was their hideout near Chimera City and rode on his hoverboard.
He'd have so much to do, he couldn't even get a gift behind his dad's back. He felt Zed would've ended up gulping it down or brought it to Kevin if he left it lying around, and considering everything in their house was a mess... Yeah, he couldn't have kept a gift secret even if he wanted to.
Though this was no reason to be a bad friend and not offer him anything, even if his rich family probably already gave him a lot of stuff. He had to think of something before he got to their own hideout.
He flew through town, wary of any drone floating over his head. He had to hurry, it was late in the afternoon and he didn't want to make him wait any longer. They promised to see each other and Devlin was flaking on him.
As he went past a few buildings, he saw something flying past him.
A young kid about his age, wearing an outfit that looked quite familiar was flying on a hoverboard, one that looked more advanced than Devlin's.
"Cool board!" said Devlin, getting his attention. The kid had brown hair, olive skin and green eyes, which also looked familiar for some reason. "Can it do this?"
He flew forward, accelerating. He then jumped out of his board, doing a flip before landing on it again. He didn't want to brag, but he was pretty good at this without even needing to practice, first time he got it.
There was a flash of green behind him as he kept flying forward, going down the buildings, and suddenly, a Methanosian was in front of him on the same hoverboard he just saw the other kid on.
"But can you do this?" cockily said the plant alien, hanging onto parts between two buildings he passed by while standing on his board.
He suddenly went back in Devlin's direction, doing many flips with his board as Devlin barely dodged. Impressed, Devlin looked back and went on a nearby building to stop. The Methanosian followed him, and pressed a symbol on his chest that Devlin recognized as the old Plumber badge, which doubled as the Omnitrix symbol, except in grey and white.
A flash of green, and the same kid he saw earlier was there. Devlin blinked in confusion.
"Was that... an Omnitrix? Who... who are you?"
The other kid stared back, confused too.
"Uh, wait..."
Devlin started sweating. This kid must've been someone important if he had an Omnitrix. He gulped as he saw his outfit. It was the same as Kenny's, but Kenny was only a human hybrid and despite that, Kenny still looked like a full Chimeran, being half alien keeping his father's most alien traits over his mother's human ones.
It was said that Ben Tennyson, Kenny's father who used to wear clothes close to Kenny's, could travel in time using a certain alien, and he heard rumors about him traveling to this era recently.
'Oh no. This is bad this is bad thisisbadthisisbadthisisbadthisisbadthisisbad!'
He just busted himself in front of Chimera City's ruler, or rather, future ruler (in the future, from the past, in their present now?). And with how he looked like his dad, Devlin busted the entire Plumbers AND...
Kenny.
Kenny was gonna be in so much trouble.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to! I mean, er, I'm not him, I'm not my... Urm!"
"Devlin, dude, it's me."
Devlin blinked. "W...what?..."
"You seriously didn't recognize me? Man, Dad's gift is a lot better than I thought!" giggled the boy.
He brought his hand to the Omnitrix on his wrist and slammed the dial. A flash of green, and Kenny was laughing at his best friend giving him a confused look.
"You should've seen your face!" laughed Kenny.
"Hey! How could I know your dad was gonna give you an Omnitrix?! That's literally the strongest weapon in the universe!"
"Well, he trusted me with it." Kenny stuck his tongue out. "What do you think?"
He was in his human form again, allowing Devlin to see what his best friend looked like as a full human.
"Man, so hard to tell it's you, you're so different..."
"Yeah, like I totally don't have the same clothes and voice at all."
"Oh gimme a break! You look like any everydude as a human! And... you do kinda look like your mom."
Kenny looked at him, interested. Devlin saw Kenny's mom once or twice, when she came to visit at the HQ or to babysit him. She talked about her son and daughter a few times while looking over him, eventually making Devlin interested in Kenny at a young age.
Inevitably, he got too curious and met Kenny in person. And because he looked like his dad so much, Kenny knew right away Devlin was Kevin Levin's son.
But to his surprise, Kenny didn't ask him where their base was or anything personal, and they became friends despite the fact their dad tried to get rid of each other in the past many times. All he ever asked about was his mom and his aunt Gwen.
And now, Kenny did look close to Mrs. Green, even if he kept his dad's green eyes and had his brown hair.
"Thanks for the race, by the way. It was an amazing birthday gift!"
"Oh, yeah..."
"You forgot, didn't you?"
"I didn't! I just didn't have the time."
"Maybe you need a watch, then." teased Kenny, showing off his Omnitrix. "Hey Dev', mind if I ask you something?"
"Hm?"
Kenny's smile faded as he took on a more concerned face. He sighed before speaking up.
"I've been thinking, someday I'll take my dad's role and become a king too. I thought I could maybe, y'know, make it so that you could live in town with us without you having to hide your origins."
"That'd be nice but... why are you so nervous about it?"
"I'll have to become like my dad when I grow up, and your dad will probably want you to become a Plumber." Kenny paused. "Think... think we'll someday become like our dads and... fight each other?"
Devlin paused, staring at him. Then he shook his head no.
"No way! There's no way I ever become like my dad, he tried to kill your aunt and now he's dating her. I love him, but he was a nutcase at my age. And you, your dad lived on Earth after being kidnapped, none of that ever happened to you."
Kenny had to admit those were valid points, but he couldn't help but be worried.
"We're not our parents and we don't have to be, dude." said Devlin, putting his hand on Kenny's shoulder. "Unless it's for fun, I'm not gonna try to kill you or stop you from doing all of that royalty stuff."
"I'm not really sure, but thanks... I was kinda worried because, you know, that's how our dads were at our age. But maybe you're right, we don't have to be like them." admitted Kenny. "Or do we?"
Kenny gave a death stare at Devlin, putting his hand on his Omnitrix. Devlin looked back, glaring at him as hard as he could. Then both boys exploded into laughter.
They may come from different families and planets, but their humor was proper to them. Too bad Ben never could share that level of trust with Kevin himself.
Suddenly, there was a beeping from the watch. Kenny looked at it, wondering what his dad's gift was doing.
"Kenny, Dinner time." Ben's voice came from the watch.
"Uh oh, I better go." said Kenny, riding on his board. "Thanks again for the moves, dude. See you around!"
He waved to his best friend before flying away. Devlin looked on, thinking about what Kenny said before looking at the giant squid statue.
Would they ever gonna be like their fathers? Both of them shared powers with their dads, and they also had at least a missing parent (though in Kenny's case, his dad had a host family before going to Vilgaxia with Vilgax), though he doubted Ben would marry someone else (the same couldn't be said for Kevin).
In a few years, maybe they'd end up becoming cousins like Kenny's dad and Devlin's dad's girlfriend. Would they ever have anything as intense as their families' drama?
No, Devlin wouldn't let it happen. He wasn't gonna fight Kenny, and Kenny wasn't gonna put an end to their friendship either. There was no way he'd ever stop seeing Kenny as his best friend or fight him, he'd never allow it to happen.
With a sigh, he took his hoverboard and headed back home. He'd better start thinking for next year's gift, this one was a totally improvised one. He had to make an effort for his best bro.
Later, Kenny would be back home, and his new form would leave quite the impression to everyone.
Regardless if Devlin was a rebel and Kenny was a prince, they weren't gonna stop being like brothers any time soon.
ANOTHER CHAP, HALLELUJAH, ANOTHER CHAP!
Since I did the non-canon 'Gwen 10' ep, I figured, why not do the canon 'Ken 10' ep? :3
Since Kenny's friends and sister had little to no dialogue in the original episode, I thought Devlin still being friends with Kenny would work. And Kenny's dad hid he was Vilgax's son for the entire summer, and Kenny canonically didn't tell Ben about Devlin until it was too late (although he didn't know about Devlin's family), you can't tell me this kid wouldn't befriend an outlaw kid behind his family's back on purpose.
As for Kai, Kenny had to exist in some form or another, and beside Attea and Looma who would sadly not fit Ben's type, none of Ben's love interests condone war. And neither does Kai, hence why they divorce.
Also, fun fact: Kenny calling Sixsix 'great uncle Six' originates from a typo a made on a previous chapter, then it stuck as an affectionate nickname :P