Hidden inheritance

by Heato-kun

Ben discovers something about his family that he never expected, something that made his discovery of the Omnitrix look pale in comparison. Max knows more than he lets on and Ben has to choose who to trust: his grandfather, or actual father? (Vilgax is Ben's father AU. Yeah, I wonder where I got that from too).

20. Secret Of The Omnitrix

"Alright! I got the green early!"

"Hold off now, Ben. Who knows what's going on with the-"

"Animo's getting away. If Eye Guy turning him into an iceberg wasn't enough last time, I'm not gonna wait any longer." interrupted Ben, not bothering to listen.

As it turned out, after they defeated all of those goons Driscoll hired, Animo managed to escape again. And while he didn't have any backup like in the Forever Alliance, he still had animals under his control, he wasn't done getting his butt kicked.

He lured Ben out using his family as bait (Gwen was mad they got "sidetracked", as Max said), but thanks to Sixsix and Kraab (and their new member, the Forever Ninja), Ben managed to track them down as Animo started the countdown for his DNA bomb and sabotaged it. It started being more boring than entertaining at this rate.

Now that the doctor was getting away, Ben knew he had to find where he was before neutralizing him. His guards could give him the coordinates once he got out of here. Selecting Stinkfly, he slammed on the dial and transformed into the bug alien, flying off after the mad scientist.

Then he ran on all fours as Wildmutt. Strange, he didn't hit the symbol.

Then he stood as Diamondhead...

"What is going on with this thing?" asked Grey Matter. Then he grew as Juryrigg. "This isn't funny!"

"Ben, what's happening? Did you do something with the watch?" asked Max.

Then, he turned into Four Arms, then switched to XLR8. "Am I getting Master Control again? This is ridiculous!" complained Ripjaws.

Then his form switched to...

"Ghostfreak?!" exclaimed Gwen. "Guess you got his DNA sample when you fought, didn't know you still had him."

Ghostfreak gulped, realizing what was going on. He went invisible and ran behind a pillar, knowing the alien transformations were getting unstable, which could get him into unwanted revelations...

"Ben? Where are you going?"

"Don't come!" said Benmummy. Hiding was his only solution, he knew they couldn't figure out his new aliens. Otherwise, they'd be asking questions. "I... I'm freakish!" said Clockwork.

"Hello? You turn into super freaky stuff all the time, doofus." said Gwen.

"Gwen, please, don't go near me!" begged Buzzshock.

"You're making this a bigger problem than it needs to be, Ben." said Max. "Let us figure it out."

"No!" roared Rath. "I'll just, time out." said Heatblast. "Then we can go, but please don't look at me now." added Shell-Shock.

Gwen and Max exchanged a look, wincing as they heard Tenten screech in panic. Despite the ridiculousness of the situation, they complied.

"Fine, ugly duckling." joked Gwen. "Tell us when you become a swan so we can go after Animo."

Ben made a small 'phew', wiping the sweat off his forehead with his claws. If he kept talking, they would've heard his normal voice again and come after him to see what he had turned into. He eyed the Omnitrix on his green wrist, noticing the watch hadn't timed out.

His transformations stopped switching, maybe he could go back to human now. He hoped that whatever made the watch glitch wasn't keeping him in his Chimeran form.

---

"Master, we have intercepted a signal. It appears to be from the Omnitrix."

Vilgax turned to his robotic lieutenant in surprise. He had spent the last few days working on Ben's quarters, renovating the place so that Ben would feel at home. That vehicle Max Tennyson made him live in was probably older than Max himself, Ben would be relieved to have a more comfortable place to sleep in.

He was going to explore the galactic market, fetch some more furniture before his robotic lieutenant warned him. He raised a brow, inspecting the map the drone was showing. Why was the Omnitrix making a signal? Did Ben need help?

Why wouldn't he contact him if this was the case? He'd better ask his son's guards beforehand, he had the feeling Ben would soon be seeing him, even if Vilgax didn't travel back to that backwater planet.

"Benjamin, what are you up to?" he wondered.

---

Ben gulped as he faced the Petrosapien, the moment he dreaded was arriving.

"Heeeeeeeeey, Tetrax..." he awkwardly said.

"Good to see you again, Ben." said Tetrax, making a salute by putting his arm on his chest.

"Yeah, uh, it's good to see you too." said Ben, making the same gesture in an attempt to appear casual.

"We haven't seen you since the first time we took down Sixsix and his friend together. How have you been?" asked Gwen.

"I've been a little busy, but I came as soon as I heard." answered Tetrax.

Ben stared at him, his heart skipping a beat. That was it, he was busted. Tetrax probably knew, he was there to remove the Omnitrix. It started by him almost outing himself, the watch fizzling orange, then them getting banned from the mall (he still apologized to Gwen several times), now Tetrax was his enemy and he was gonna spill the beans.

Why did it have to come down to this?

"Ben, are you okay? You seem a bit sick." said Tetrax. "You should make sure you're ready to go."

Ben blinked, what was Tetrax saying?

"Uh, not to sound rude... but why are you here?"

"I picked up the SDM signal from the Omnitrix." said Tetrax.

"Phew." made Ben, getting confused glances. "I mean, an SDM? What's that?"

"SDM..." said Max. "Self-Destruct Mode?"

As soon as he said that, Ben and Gwen stepped back. Max was joking, wasn't he? Where did he come up with that? Why would the Omnitrix destroy itself?

"The Omnitrix broadcasts a signal when it begins its countdown."

"The watch is going to destroy itself?" asked Ben in fear.

"Along with whoever is wearing it at the time." announced Tetrax.

Ben gasped. This was actually worse. Rather than losing the Omnitrix, he was...

He was going to die. All of Vilgax's sacrifices would be for nothing. Everything he did past summer would be null. He wouldn't just lose the watch, he'd lose everything in his life.

Was this how it'd end?

Vilgax would destroy the Earth when he'd learn, his adoptive parents would learn about what Max did when their 'son' doesn't come back home, and the planet would be left hopeless without its hero.

No, he couldn't let it end here, no way this was how he'd bite the dust.

"How do we stop that countdown?" he asked, determined.

---

"It's home to the scummiest of the scum to the universe." explained Tetrax, still in disbelief where the DNA signature was leading them. "Lay a course to Incarcecon." he told Gluto, who answered with unintelligible sounds.

"Say, Tetrax..." said Ben, looking down. "Just how bad do you think Vilgax is?"

Tetrax turned to him. "Hmm?"

"Just... how much of a bad guy is Vilgax to you?"

The Petrosapien frowned, staying silent for a few minutes. He hadn't expected anyone, much less the Omnitrix wearer, to ask him how awful Vilgax could be. He's heard rumors that Ben, or at least whoever had the Omnitrix, fought him and his armies of robots, so Ben should've already known how vicious the warlord could be. Though he had to admit he hadn't heard of him in a while...

"Well, it's pretty simple. Vilgax destroyed all of my species. My planet, my family, my home, everything I knew was gone to bits. Then again, it's my fault if he was able to do that, I enabled him the power to destroy Petropia..."

He knew it. Of course Tetrax hated Vilgax, that's why Ben couldn't talk to him about it. If Tetrax ever came to learn Vilgax was his father, he'd refuse to let him have the Omnitrix. He might even let it explode and get rid of him.

'Well, better me than anyone else, I guess.' thought Ben.

"Vilgax is just as bad as you let him be. I did the mistake of working for him before, I didn't realize I was endangering everyone until it was too late. Letting Vilgax have control over something he shouldn't mess with only leads to destruction, but I believe you already know that..."

He was confused as to why Ben walked away, visibly upset. Did he say anything wrong?

Suddenly, there was an alarm.

"Security breach, lower level!" announced Tetrax, getting Ben's attention. "We have an intruder."

---

Somehow, the intruder was pretty welcome. And by welcome, it meant that it was Gwen, who jumped on the ship with some spare clothes after refusing to stay on Earth. Max was the only one to stay away, which didn't bother him that much.

Ben sighed, at least Sixsix and Kraab weren't caught. They used a system in their armors that clouded their presence on the Resolute, and Ben was worried when the alarm picked on an intruder. They told him it was Gwen when he passed by as Wildmutt, preventing him from jumping at her and mauling her.

Problem was, Gwen insisted on tagging along, and they had to go to Incarcecon, a place full of criminals who would consider humans their food. So, regardless of being the son of a squid alien, Ben had to wear a disguise along with Gwen.

Which, amusingly enough, annoyed Gwen more than him.

"I. Am. An alien's. Butt. It's official, worst summer of my life!" she complained, carrying a quite heavy Ben on her shoulders.

Ben snickered, looking around. Tetrax was telling them about how the criminals lived in this place, how they got here and the ways Incarcecon worked. Namely how they sometimes fed on the people around and would not hesitate to swallow another prisoner whole.

Like the poor critter he just saw getting mauled, although he didn't feel as disgusted as he thought he'd be.

"Maybe you guys should wait over on the side until I scope this place out." suggested Tetrax.

Ben nodded as he watched the crystal alien walk away, a small tap on the costume's shoulder getting his attention. Ben turned around, chuckling at the disguises Sixsix and Kraab wore. If he and Gwen went for the old trench coat trick with an alien worm costume, then it looked like his bodyguards came out from an RPG game.

He didn't think they'd work as mages, more like mercenaries, but the outfits certainly worked for them. Nonetheless, he and Gwen moved away as to not arouse suspicion, with Ben wondering how Tetrax found this costume.

It was apparently from a celebration on Arburia, Cannonbolt's home planet which, like Tetrax's, got destroyed by a galactic monster. Even if it was a giant tick and not one of Ben's parents that did it. He felt bad for the poor Arburian Pelarotas who went extinct, that must've been their last party together before everything went hellish.

The Great One, that thing that attacked them, killed them just because he could, simply because he was hungry. That's how much someone could abuse their powers when they were an almighty stinky alien. Ben hoped selfishness and greed didn't automatically come with the powers.

He certainly was convinced Vilgax wasn't that way...

His musings were interrupted when he saw a quite familiar figure on the upper level. He stared, aghast.

"No way, he must've picked up on the self-destruct signal... how did he know the creator was here?! Man, I hope he's not mad about this."

"Who are you babbling about?" asked Gwen, reminding him he wasn't alone.

He looked at the Omnitrix, its dial progressively becoming orange over time. He could change and go there to talk, with his bodyguards covering for him. If it wasn't for Gwen being around to keep an eye on him.

He would waste time, but if it helped him figure out what's going on, it'd be worth it.

"Gwen, I'm gonna have to lead a discreet investigation, try to not to get eaten while I'm gone."

"Wait! Ben, what are you-"

A flash of green, and the Galvan crawled out of the costume. Grey Matter ran out and went inside the crowd, going behind big alien legs until he was out of sight. Gwen panicked, as a few aliens started observing her, wondering why the 'worm' suddenly stood lower and why its mouth flashed green.

"Er, I ate something bad, it just made my mouth shine." she attempted. "It REALLY tasted terrible, I wouldn't advise eating anyone who digested it." As it didn't work and people were gathering with the intent of devouring her, she pulled a silent spell that glowed pink in the costume, creating a stench that was somehow repulsive to the aliens in spite of everything they ate earlier.

From what he saw, his cousin was doing great. He was picked up by Sixsix before getting squashed by any other icky alien.

"What is your plan, young master?" asked Kraab, bowing before the tiny figure.

"Listen, guys. I'm gonna turn into my Chimeran form, but I can't do it in public. Find me a hiding spot or make one."

Both guards nodded and walked as far as they could from Gwen. They then went into a corner and used their traveler outfits to cover up the flash of Grey Matter reverting to Ben.

"I must ask, why are you doing it here?" asked Kraab.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Ben, slamming on the dial. "If my father's here, I gotta see him and ask him how he got caught."

Suddenly, the young Chimeran ran off. It took them a few seconds to fully process what he said and to run after him. Except, as Ben got away, they bumped into the wrong person. With a snarl, Sixsix took off his disguise, ready to shatter Tetrax to bits this time.

Kraab looked in both directions. Either he went after Ben or he stopped Sixsix from getting into trouble. On one hand, Ben could need help and Sixsix was a good enough fighter. On another, Ben knew how to defend himself as he repeatedly stated, and Sixsix could make Tetrax too wary of their presence.

Against his better judgment, he ended up choosing his partner over his liege. He removed his own disguise, joining the Sotoraggian in battle.

Meanwhile, on a bridge, a hooded figure was taking a walk, tentacles visible on her chin. The adult Chimeran had been there for quite some time, Incarcecon's security limiting the chances of escape. Someone tugging on her cloak caught her attention.

Intrigued, Myaxx looked at the young boy watching her intently with innocent green eyes. She never expected to find a child, much less one of her species, in this place. How could anyone put a little boy in here like that?

"What are you doing here?" he asked, confused. "You shouldn't be here, it's too dangerous."

"I should be the one telling you that." she said, kneeling down to face him as she removed her hood. "Who are you, kid? Are you lost? Are your parents nearby? How did you get here?"

The boy seemed to realize something, as he took a few steps back after she spoke. Was she too bold? He looked scared, as if he did something wrong. Perhaps she needed to talk to this boy's parents, he shouldn't be scared of her.

"Wait... you're not..."

Ben ran away as fast as he could, groaning at his own mistake. He hoped she didn't see what was on his wrist.

"Wait!" called the Chimeran that looked like, but wasn't, Vilgax. "Come back, kid!"

He felt like such an idiot. Of course there was bound to be two aliens of the same species looking similar, he just couldn't believe he mistook a woman for... his dad! How would Vilgax react if he learned of Ben's slip-up? Was he stereotyping by not making the difference between two people just because they were both Chimerans? Even though he now knew Vilgax well enough?

Actually, he wasn't so sure he knew his own father that well... but it was no time to think about that. He looked around, seeing Gwen was still disguised nearby. Too bad he couldn't run to her like this, and if Grey Matter timed out, she'd see him in his Chimeran form. He also couldn't go human beforehand, everyone would see it.

And besides, where were his guards? At least Tetrax wasn't back yet...

"That's it, Sixsix! You can't blame me for your fate this time!"

The alien boy turned back to see Tetrax and Sixsix falling from the level above, with Kraab landing nearby.

'Oh, man!'

While Sixsix and Tetrax were wrestling, Ben nudged Kraab who got his circular saw ready.

"What are you doing?!"

"That Petrosapien found us out and Sixsix is using this as an occasion to make things even between the two of them. I couldn't leave Sixsix on his own, he could get out of control." answered Kraab, making Ben roll his eyes as he saw Sixsix hold an energy blade to Tetrax's neck, attempting to behead him.

"Good for you, but I need to go back to Gwen. And... how are we gonna find Azmuth if you're busy killing the only one who knows how to?!" scolded Ben.

"We're merely stalling Tetrax until he stops attacking, I'll go ahead and cover for you."

"How are you gonna do that? No offense, but at least the two of you were big enough to make a good curtain."

"Prison fights happen all the time around here, some might even join in." told him the cyborg. "If we hurry, nobody will notice you're here, you'll be hidden in plain sight while everyone is busy with that argument."

He pointed to everyone making bets and observing the fight between both Bounty Hunters.

"Man, Kevin would've loved it in here. Okay, but at least try to keep me hidden."

Ben brought his hand to the watch, but as he selected his human form's icon and slammed on the dial, an orange flash appeared. Before he knew it, he was sent back flying a few meters away in the air, tackling Kraab along with him.

An immense wave of orange energy affected their surroundings, electrocuting many of the prisoners as Ben was slammed on the wall, falling after the shock. He looked at Kraab, who had sparks everywhere on his cybernetic body.

"Are you okay?!" asked Ben.

"I... am alright, young master. My sensors are going crazy, but most of the damage will repair itself thanks to the modifications you did to my armor." he coughed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." said Ben, back to his human form. "But, uh, we got company."

Kraab assured him they'd go unnoticed, yet they pretty much became the center of attention. Especially to Gwen, Tetrax and Sixsix.

"Ben!" scolded Gwen, her costume falling off. The other prisoners turned to her again and she understood leaving herself exposed that way made her look like a literal snack for wild animals. "Hi! You guys have all had dinner, right?"

"I should've known." said Tetrax. "You were just distracting me so that your associate could take Ben away! That's not happening."

He ran to Ben and picked him up, going towards Gwen to retrieve her just as well.

"Wait!" said Ben. "Uhh, that's not what you think, they were, um..."

"Save it for later, Ben, we gotta go."

"What about Azmuth?!" he shouted, unaware the name of the scientist didn't fall on deaf ears.

"If Azmuth saw us, he'll come for the watch himself, your safety comes first!"

He grabbed Gwen and ran off, taking another hoverboard out. Only to have it caught by Sixsix's lasso, who yanked the item away, making the three of them fall before smashing the board down.

"That was my favorite board!"

"Tetrax, wait!"

Tetrax wasn't listening, he was already sending diamond shards into Sixsix's armor, which was thankfully still resistant enough. To make things worse, Gwen joined in.

"Histus Potiva!"

One of the pipes above broke, releasing a red gas on the Sotoraggian who started coughing as he fell on the ground. Kraab ran to his side, picking him by the shoulder and dragging him away, going in Ben's direction.

"Oh no you don't!"

Gwen then threw mana orbs at both aliens, Sixsix's weight on Kraab making it hard to dodge.

"Here's our chance now!" said Tetrax, taking out something that looked like a pair of tongs. "This sonic weapon can break even through my skin and turn me into shards, I wonder what'll be left after I use it on you."

"How about I test it on you instead? Make sure you're using it correctly and that you're not just full of big talk." taunted Kraab.

Both sides were glaring at each other, ready to make a blood bath. Or a robot pieces bath, or rock bath, or whatever creatures were involved in this fight were made of.

Gwen charged her spells, Tetrax aimed with his arms, Kraab got his pincer ready to shoot, Sixsix brought his blaster out.

And Ben's had enough.

"CAN YOU FOUR PLEASE ACT LIKE THE GROWNUPS YOU SUPPOSEDLY ARE AND THINK BEFORE YOU ACT?!"

All four stopped, turning to Ben who stood in-between them.

"I'm calling a truce with these guys." said Ben, pointing to his guards.

"What?! Ben, you can't be serious!" said Gwen.

"Guess I am." he shrugged. "Kraab told me he picked up on the signal earlier and that he convinced Sixsix to help us out, under the condition we wouldn't attack them."

"We can't trust them, Ben, they're ready to stab your back any time. And don't stand so close to them."

Sixsix gurgled something that was either a taunt, an embarrassing comment or something weird. Because Tetrax started stuttering.

"Don't you say that, this kid already has parents!"

Ben blinked as his guards started laughing discreetly, the Sotoraggian's joke apparently destabilizing the Petrosapien. 'If only he knew.'

"Sorry, but whatever deal you three made, it's off. I am not letting them on my ship."

"Come on, Tetrax, we can talk this out." said Ben.

"They worked for Vilgax, letting them join us is inviting them to kill us. Who knows what Vilgax could be planning if he sent them here?"

"They weren't sent by Vilgax!" argued Ben.

"But someone must've sent them here." said Gwen. "Even if Vilgax's dead, they still went from Earth to here."

Tetrax turned to her, shocked. Vilgax... died? What was she talking about? Wait...

Ben asked him about Vilgax earlier, and he looked guilty when he got an answer. Unless... Did...

Did Ben kill Vilgax?

Ben yelped as a clawed hand grasped his wrist, taking a look at the Omnitrix. The woman he mistook for Vilgax earlier was there, eyeing it with an expression Ben recognized as both disgust and curiosity. Assuming she and Vilgax's expressions meant the same thing, while unlike him, her mouth was visible.

"What are you doing with the Omnitrix?" she asked.

"What's it to you?" asked Tetrax.

"Myaxx..." gurgled Sixsix, angrily.

"Plenty after all the work I've put into it, only to have it wind up on the wrist of some... thing!"

Was this woman the creator of the Omnitrix? No, Vilgax told him it was a Galvan. But if this woman claimed to have worked on it, who was she?

---

"Is it just me, or are we getting crowded in here?" said Gwen.

Tetrax was deeply annoyed with the current situation.

First, those two Bounty Hunters he promised he wouldn't ever help again were working for the same purpose as him again, even if it was for a good cause this time around. Secondly, Ben seemed okay with having them around on the Resolute despite the risk it presented. Thirdly, this Myaxx woman wasn't Azmuth and led them there because of her own petty actions.

And fourthly, there were just too many people in here. They went from two to three, to four, to seven.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shove you in an energy tube, and shoot you back to Incarcecon right now!" he threatened.

"Because I know where Azmuth is." she answered.

"That's a pretty good reason." smugly noted Ben, his guards laughing at Tetrax's expense.

"Where?"

"Xenon." she said.

"Xenon." he blinked, before sighing in frustration. "It had to be Xenon."

Ben went to Gwen, whispering as they left the adults chatting.

"I don't know why, but that Myaxx woman sounds cool."

"Because she's a big scary alien like Vilgax that doesn't want to kill us for once?"

"That, and she sounds fun. Notice how she puts up with Tetrax's threats? Just look at her."

They observed both aliens talking, and although Tetrax and Myaxx were whispering as well, it wasn't hard to figure out he was trying to look tough in front of her. It also wasn't hard to see she took none of it and flat out dismissed his words as mere noise.

Another threat was coming, as the two suspicious Bounty Hunters came over to them.

"We apologize for the fight we may have caused, young..." Ben's cold gaze made Kraab choose his next words wisely. "...children."

"Don't think you're out of trouble yet, you two. You attacked us twice before, you could do it again." warned Ben, a glint of deviousness in his eyes.

Sixsix gurgled something, which Kraab, omitting some parts, translated into "Trying to exterminate you both would be counterproductive to the survival of the universe, young wearer of the Omnitrix."

"You guys do a lot of dumb stuff for money, like attacking a wedding full of Plumbers we were attending." pointed out Gwen.

Sixsix gurgled something else, but Gwen interrupted.

"Why does he never talk like we do?" she asked, suspicious.

All three looked at her awkwardly, they never really thought Gwen would join them in a discussion. It wouldn't do harm to let her understand, they figured.

"Sixsix wasn't taught to speak any language recorded in our universal translators. He can understand us but his biology and lack of practice in some languages prevent you from understanding him. I've learned how Sotoraggians speak as it's a very complex language many people must understand for deals, talks and negotiations, so I can be an interpreter when I need to be."

Sixsix made an annoyed groan, nudging Kraab.

"Hey, don't take it so bad, partner." he joked.

"A universal translator... that would explain why so many aliens speak the same language as we do." she concluded. "But you could say something right in front of us, and we wouldn't understand then, right?"

Ben knew she was onto them, hence why he needed to distract her. He analyzed the ship's room, his eyes landing on Gluto.

"Can you understand him?"

"Um, well, I haven't really learned how to speak Protost, so..."

Sixsix gurgled, pointing to himself.

"You did? Guess it's your turn then."

With a huff, Sixsix walked over to Gluto, who stayed on his guard seeing him approach. Both aliens exchanged echoey noises, gurgles and other weird sounds.

"He's saying that this pilot finds us to be a nuisance, that we could possibly endanger everyone, and that he wonders if the girl agreed to this." translated Kraab.

"I didn't but, Ben seemed pretty convinced and they don't have a choice." said Gwen.

"He says you're smarter than you look but that you still should stay careful."

'Yeah, Gwen.' thought Ben. 'Be careful, Cooper and Kevin might be jealous of the snot blob.'

"He also wonders if you are allowed to drink alcoholic beverages, he brought booze on the ship behind Tetrax Shard's back and would like to share. Hmm, I wish I've had my electronic taste buds back, I'd like to drink too."

"Uh, no thanks." said Gwen. "Neither of us are legally old enough to drink."

Gluto made disappointed sounds, amusing Ben and his guards.

---

While they couldn't possibly know what hour it was, Ben knew the others were going to sleep soon.

Curious, he walked over to Myaxx, wanting to talk to her ever since she went aboard. Talking to her on Incarcecon would've been weird if he was still in alien form, and while he didn't know if she heard about him, it was better to wait until Tetrax was away to ask her a thing or two.

"Hey, uh, Myaxx, right?"

"Yeah. What do you want, kid?"

"I was wondering... you and Vilgax are from the same planet, right?"

She raised a brow. "Well, of course. We're both Chimera Sui Generi, often shortened to Chimerans. But ever since that guy took control, people call us Vilgaxians. Egocentric, much?"

Ben chuckled. "Yeah, so... since he was your king, what do you think of him?"

"Hmm, we've all had opinions on him. Personally, I don't really like his way of treating people below him, though I can't say I haven't done some shady stuff myself. His hunger for power is incredibly destructive, even for someone like him. Other than that... he's been pretty protective of our planet. It's one of the rare things he ever cares about or wouldn't purposefully put in danger."

"I see..."

He sighed as he didn't learn anything new about Vilgax, everyone he's met before gave the same opinion. At least Myaxx didn't sound too harsh about it.

"And what's it like to live on Vilgaxia?"

"It was pretty nice before I left. Things might've changed ever since, I've heard Vilgax heightened the security around the planet after the Plumbers' last mission there." Seeing Ben seemed interested when she mentioned it, she had a small laugh before following. For a human, he really acted like a young Chimeran hatchling. "Apparently, Vilgax had a child at some point while I was in Incarcecon, a little boy. Rumors say that he was killed because of Vilgax neglecting to put him somewhere safe, and that it led him to put even more safety measures around the planet."

"Really?" asked Ben. People really had a low opinion of his father, at least he knew part of it was all fake, as the main concerned.

"Not really sure about that. Like I said, I was in jail when that happened."

"What for?" Myaxx rolled her eyes.

"I sold the cloaking tech Azmuth and I developed on Xenon. I made part of it, I had a right to sell it. What did he think, that I'd be stupid and greedy enough to sell that the same way?" she pointed to the Omnitrix, whose dial became more and more orange with time. "I've collected so many DNA samples for him, and he doesn't think about giving me credit even once. What am I there for, housekeeping?"

Ben laughed, Myaxx was definitely a fun person to be around.

"Reminds me, I wish we could've taken that kid with us." she said.

"Who?"

"A few hours ago, before you saved me, there was a small kid of my species who came near me." Ben looked the other way, aware she was talking about him. "He looked so scared, so frightened. I wonder where his parents are and why they left him alone."

"What did he look like?"

"About a bit taller than you, same eye color and... hold on."

Ben gulped. Did she understand...?

"Hmm, don't you have my species as a form on the Omnitrix?"

"No?"

"Then it could've been a coincidence. Those clothes you're wearing are more common than you think, outside of your solar system." She pointed to Ben's shirt. "Plus, you would've had the Omnitrix on the chest or somewhere else, I would've seen it."

"Did you check if he had an Omnitrix?" joked Ben.

"Not really, it was pretty dark."

"Well, I think I know him."

Myaxx stared. "You do?"

"While Gwen and I were looking for the creator of the Omnitrix, I saw a kid like that with his dad, saying he didn't like coming along with the garbage disposal spaceship. Poor guy didn't look like he had fun with a family like that."

"Should've known I should've gone after him. At least that means that he didn't stay there, no child should be taken away from home by force, especially not to prison."

Ben smiled. Had he grown on Vilgaxia, he wondered if she would've given a piece of her mind to Vilgax about being both a warlord and a father and the influence Vilgax could have on him.

He guessed it was too late anyway, he already aimed to be like Vilgax. Although he had his doubts, no word from Tetrax, Gwen, Max or anyone else could change his mind.

Maybe Myaxx could talk to Max if so, if he ever decided to tell her what the old man did. His Grandpa couldn't stand a chance with someone as sharp-tongued as her, especially when she looked like Max's sworn enemy.

---

"It's time." said Kraab.

"Huh?"

"Your father Lord Vilgax has demanded to see you."

He had intercepted Ben in the corridors as he was going back to their shared room. Gluto had enough knowledge of the ship to defend himself, Ben and Gwen if Sixsix and Kraab tried anything, so they assumed it was safe to keep them contained in the same location.

Technically, it was. But none of them counted on Ben being on both sides.

"We're on a spaceship that's headed right towards a space dump, how am I gonna go on the Chimerian Hammer and back here without anyone seeing that I'm gone? Or that Vilgax's ship is right next to us? How are we gonna do this?" asked Ben, perplexed.

"As usual, Lord Vilgax thought of everything. Sixsix has a signal transmitter on him, while he's distracting the Protost and the girl. Thanks to you donating the DNA samples inside the Omnitrix, it was possible to emit a signal close to it enough. We've just received it, it will fool the sensors on the ship into detecting your presence, even if you're absent."

'Why do we never learn that stuff at school?'

"And how am I gonna leave? I don't think Tetrax would find it normal that his ex-boss' ship is flying right next to us, especially after Gwen made him believe Vilgax is gone for good."

He was taken aback as Kraab attached a weird belt around his waist. It had a dark grey circle with a red pad at the front, reminding him of the eyes Vilgax's drones had.

"Around the time he came to Earth, Master Vilgax was able to get a teleportation device in case he ever got himself in a life-endangering situation. As you'll only teleport between two different locations, he prepared your escape and return to the Resolute. The coordinates on the device will send you back and forth between here and the Chimerian Hammer."

"Sweet! He really thinks about everything." said Ben, excited.

"Preparing the teletransportation... now."

In the blink of an eye, all colors around Ben dissolved into a red blaring light and he felt like he was floating. Kraab could've given him a better warning, the light was blinding him. In an instant, he was back on his feet again, inside the control room of the Chimerian Hammer.

He looked around, a bit disoriented by the unusual means of transport. Vilgax would need to make a less nauseous one next time, but for now Ben had other plans.

"Hey, you in there?" called out Ben.

He was both startled and relaxed to feel Vilgax's claw on his back. He turned around and embraced the squid man, finding himself having missed his father. He wasn't sure his dad was hugging him or crushing him though, considering how hard his hold on Ben was.

"Thank goodness you're okay, Ben. I was so worried..."

"Glad to see you too! Urm, sorry but, you're kinda hurting me right now..."

He put Ben down, obvious concern on his face. Ben felt a bit guilty he gave him a scare, although the whole idea of being able to scare Vilgax sounded weird now that he thought about it. They both went through way worse than Incarcecon or imminent explosion threats.

However, it was different when the entire universe was at stake...

"We don't have much time. What happened? I've been receiving signals from the Omnitrix, what are you doing in space?"

"The Omnitrix is in self-destruct mode, I had to leave the Earth before the rest of the universe blows up. We're looking for the creator of the Omnitrix."

Vilgax's eyes widened. "The Omnitrix is going to destroy itself? How did it happen?"

"I was fighting Animo and his giant weird radiation machine messed with the watch. It's now set to blow everything around it." said Ben. "I had to go with Tetrax. Don't worry, I didn't tell him a thing and Sixsix and Kraab are keeping an eye on him."

"If that backstabber tries anything..." Vilgax's arms trembled as he clenched his fists in anger before swelling. "Who else is with you?"

"Uh, we got a Protost as our pilot, and Gwen kinda followed me when I left the Earth. There's also this woman who was trapped in Incarcecon, Myaxx. Do you know her?"

"Well, she did make herself quite famous in the past. Back when she was still living on Vilgaxia, she kept bragging about being hired to work with the 'smartest being in three galaxies'. She also expressed distaste whenever we met, simply because I was the last member of a race of Chimerans trained for combat since birth."

"Uh, wha?!"

"It's a long story, let's just say you have warrior blood from your ancestors running through your veins. Before most of our people became pacifists, there used to be Chimerans who trained day and night for combat. But the families and number of such warriors lessened over time. Our family from my side was the only one left, and even then, your grandparents never really chose to fight for anything." explained Vilgax. "I've picked up a few techniques from my ancestors as a teenager, taught myself what I could. It eventually paid off, and I became the king of my people."

"Wow! That's amazing! So Myaxx didn't like you just because you were a fighter? She sounded nice when we talked."

"Some time in Incarcecon might've given her wisdom, but as far as I knew, she used to be extremely selfish and egotistical, a coward who ran away at the first chance she had."

Ben snorted, remembering Myaxx did run away in a very cowardly demeanor when they had to avoid some prisoners chasing them while they got out of the space prison. Maybe some fresh air could make her change.

"Thing is, she was sent there because she and Azmuth had an argument." said Ben. "He didn't give her credit for the stuff she did, so she replaced his DNA signature with hers on the watch and sold some of his inventions."

"Galvans can be pretty stubborn and flat-minded despite their intelligence." Vilgax rolled his eyes. "Trust me, I've met idiots who could send an entire planet away in the Null Void and think nothing of the consequences it could have on people."

Seeing his annoyance, Ben assumed that when Gwen found Grey Matter obnoxious, it wasn't just because of him. Maybe being intelligent does make you more of a jerk. 'That's why I never wanted to be a nerd like her.'

"Where are you headed to now?"

"Some planet called Xenon. Just a question, how bad is it?"

The look of disapproval and disgust on Vilgax's face was enough to convince Ben he wasn't supposed to go there. "Xenon is situated in the Hugopata Quadrant, a part of space that is still full of mystery because no ships survived long enough to make a map out of the area. You'll definitely encounter wild and savage Floraunas when you land, Azmuth added various plant species to Xenon's ecosystem. It's one of the most dangerous places you could ever look through and I'm appalled to know you'll have to go in there."

"Don't worry, as long as the Omnitrix leaves a signal, they'll come and pick me up if I ever get lost."

"It's not about the Omnitrix I'm worried about, it's you, Ben." frowned Vilgax. "It's already bad enough that Plumber is still on Earth living his life, and I do not trust that backstabbing Petrosapien to assure your safety. At least, you managed to get there unarmed, I'm relieved your first experience out of orbit went well."

He patted Ben's head with a sigh. If Ben truly decided to leave the Earth someday, at least he'd already know how space travel worked, or have a small idea of how it is. Maybe he could show Ben how to drive the Chimerian Hammer when he was old enough to get his own spaceship.

"I hope Azmuth disables the countdown and not all of the Omnitrix." Ben looked down. "All of your efforts are gonna be toast if I lose it for good, I wanna help you."

"You're too good for your own sake, my son." said Vilgax, brushing his brown locks with a claw. "Even if you lost the Omnitrix, it wouldn't change everything we did together. I'm more upset about it because you're in danger. With that said, try to get something out of the old frog."

Ben chuckled at Vilgax's advice. "I will, thanks. Oh! By the way..."

He dug through his pocket, looking for the small cube. Sixsix and Kraab said it couldn't be seen with them anymore, because otherwise, it'd arouse suspicion (and it was a bother to bring it over whenever they went anywhere).

"Here." he said, handing the small device to the alien. "It's obeying orders but it doesn't work like it should be. The guys told me to let you have a look at it."

Although Vilgax was confused, he nonetheless took the cube. Ben must've acquired some new type of technology if he needed his help, he could always aid him in controlling it.

"Not to be nosy, but... what's all that for?"

Ben looked at all the stuff that was added to the room. It looked like... wind chimes, a climbing wall, a bunch of bottles that smelled like fresh soap, a training dummy, and... a skateboard ramp?

Either Vilgax was setting up a new training room, or...

"I'm... redecorating the castle. For comfort purposes."

He was avoiding Ben's look for some reason, turning his head away as if he was embarrassed. It amused and cheered Ben up to see that kind of reaction coming from Vilgax, he knew the squid king would never act this way in front of someone else.

"It's better you don't stall before those idiots traveling with you realize you're gone." he said, tapping Ben's shoulder. "We'll have more time to talk once you return from this mission."

"I will, thanks. And also... I wanted to say, thank you for helping me out with Driscoll and his goons, I don't think I could've done it without you. You're really an amazing fighter and an amazing dad. Thank you."

Vilgax chuckled at the praise as a drone came by, waiting for orders.

"You have a great future awaiting you, my son. Once you're rid of all those pests, they'll think twice before attacking you." He pressed a few buttons on the robot, preparing to teleport Ben away. "You may have received help from me and those humans, but as long as you keep being the one leading, you'll only get stronger."

Ben nodded before the alien king took him in his arms again.

"Be careful out there, Ben. I wouldn't forgive myself if anything happened to you."

"You too. Good luck with the Plumbers and staying under their radar."

In another flash of red, he disappeared. Vilgax sighed, knowing he had to get going before his presence was noticed. He did wonder what Ben gave him though.

Curious, he pressed on the red button on the small cube he was given. Instantly, the device took the form of a humanoid robot, with a quite familiar symbol on it. He had to admit, of all the trophies the boy could bring back, Ben giving him the Forever Ninja was not what he expected.

---

By the time he walked back to the room, things apparently went hectic inside the Resolute.

"Uh, what's going on?"

Last time he saw them, Gwen was talking to Gluto while giving Sixsix the stink eye, right before Kraab left for 'the bathroom' and Ben stuck with him to 'keep an eye on him'. They didn't predict Ben being on the Bounty Hunters' side all along for sure, and Ben didn't predict what he was seeing.

It now looked like Sixsix and Gluto had an arm wrapped around each other's back, dancing in an erratic manner while making weird sounds and holding some bottles in their hands. Judging from the smell and Gluto's face gone reddish, they must've gotten drunk.

"What happened here?" he asked, going to Gwen who seemed to have secluded herself on her bunk, looking away from the craziness.

"It was normal a few minutes ago, then they started talking and, they sounded really emotional for some reason. Then they started drinking more and more of that alien stuff and acting even weirder than before, now they're like best pals. It's creeping me out and I don't even know what's happening anymore."

"Kraab, little help? What are they saying?"

Kraab looked at the two aliens gone insane. Although his metallic helmet showed no expression, it felt like he was judging them.

"They're not articulating very well, but considering what I can understand from them... Sixsix's just talking about his family and Gluto's talking about feeling lonely."

"...forget I ever asked."

As it seemed, his absence barely got noticed. Sixsix did an amazing distraction, and Gwen didn't question what he was doing out there. He hoped he wouldn't have to worry about Myaxx and Tetrax. One wouldn't like to know he was the son of the man who destroyed Petropia, the other might look down on the boy supposed to be her people's prince.

They would get to Xenon soon, it'd be better if no one had their suspicion on him. He sincerely hoped they didn't.

---

"Couldn't you have given us something more appropriate?"

Tetrax didn't respond to Kraab, who struggled on the hoverboard he was riding. Ben could tell the Petrosapien still had zero trust in them, he gave them the smallest boards he got. If it wasn't for Sixsix being habile enough with what he got, and Ben switching his board with Kraab's, maybe they would've crashed a few meters after getting out of the ship.

Gluto stayed behind in case a few beasts or anything after them tried to attack the Resolute in their absence, which left the rest of the team traveling without him. Considering his goo was still 'blushing', they guessed he'd get emotional while they were gone, if his drunken claims were anything to go by.

"This isn't a fun ride. If you didn't like coming along, you should've stayed in Incarcecon." said Tetrax.

"Cold." muttered Ben.

"Ha, you'll never change after all." said the Piscciss Premann. "You sure you don't want to be part of our team again?"

The answer being no was already obvious, Tetrax going to the front and ignoring him was overkill.

"Azmuth's compound is just through that valley." said Myaxx as she led them.

Xenon was dark, green and looked like a planetary dump. Not as much as Incarcecon, but still noticeably crummier and stinkier than what Ben and Gwen were used to. Mushrooms and plants that looked venomous were growing on the land, and there was no sign of civilization or even fauna nearby.

No wonder Azmuth went here, it was secluded from the rest of the world and nobody would be interested in going that far to find the creator. Especially not the space dive Ben went through earlier (Kraab and Sixsix were scared for their money when Tetrax made him go outside the spaceship to find the way to Azmuth. They couldn't protect him without looking suspicious, so they had to watch the kid lead the way without doing anything if he ever got hit by a meteor).

They entered a cave in a mountain, resembling a building entry. As they landed inside, the group walked to what seemed like an abandoned factory, covered in vines and full of rust. It looked like no one had been there for centuries.

"Must be the gardener's day off." said Gwen.

"Hello? Anybody home?" called Ben.

"Tell me you didn't bring us all the way here for nothing." warned Tetrax, looking at Myaxx.

"The compound must've been overrun, Azmuth was always worried his lab would be discovered by those after the Omnitrix, and I thought he was just being paranoid." said Myaxx.

"Well, he had his reasons to take those safety measures, unlike us." he said, looking at the two other Bounty Hunters.

"Give us a break." huffed Kraab, following after him as they started searching.

"Any chance he escaped?" asked Tetrax, ignoring him.

Sixsix himself was about to retort, but he stopped. He turned around, eyeing the plants around them.

"Something's wrong?" asked Ben.

Tentacle-like vines were moving on the side, in a very alive, abnormal manner for a plant. The Sotoraggian took his mechanical arms out, preparing his blasters. The vines then revealed a flytrap that immediately opened, a roaring Florauna coming out of it.

The creature lunged forwards, landing in front of a screaming Gwen before Tetrax blasted it. Whether or not Sixsix and Kraab were sent to kill them, they may have proved themselves useful after all. Though Tetrax felt he could've done it without their help.

Other wild Floraunas appeared, all acting in a primal way.

"These must be some of the creatures Azmuth planted here!" said Kraab as he shot one down. "We're being attacked by a wild Florauna tribe! Get back!"

Both Ben and Gwen took the blasters Tetrax gave them and started shooting at the plant aliens. This was the first time ever since Zs'Skayr that Ben confronted aliens looking the ones he turned into. And even if Wildvine wasn't that dangerous, they were still in big danger. Too bad he'd be at risk if he went hero...

Vines and seed bombs came from all sides, ready to blast them off. Tetrax unsuccessfully attempted to shield them with a diamond wall, as the kids got blasted away. Thankfully, they were caught by Sixsix's mechanical tentacles, getting back on ground weaponless.

Another pair of Floraunas tried to reach Tetrax, who produced spikes out of his body to get rid of them. A third one lunged at Ben, but before he could do anything, Gwen pushed him out of the way.

"Ben, look out!"

The Florauna caught her instead, trapping her inside its flytrap.

"Help!" she screamed.

"Going hero!" said Ben.

"Ben, no! The self-destruct will accelerate!" warned Myaxx as she struggled.

"I don't care!"

He slammed the dial, turning into Heatblast. He propelled himself to the plant creature and dropped a wave of magma on its mouth, making it scream in pain. Heatblast then landed on its maw and dug his lava fingers between its lips, allowing him to open the flytrap and free his cousin.

"Hang on tight, dweeb!"

"No thanks, I don't wanna become barbecue meat!"

As he took off and landed back on the ground, more vines started to surround them. With a snarl, Heatblast charged up all of his energy and let out a huge roar as a gigantic wave of fire came out of him. Flames hit the plant creatures around them, burning and repelling them as Heatblast's rain of fire consumed them.

"Way to go, kid!" cheered Myaxx. She noticed the Pyronite's stance and appearance was however quite familiar...

"Not over yet." said Heatblast, pointing to more Floraunas coming in.

More plants were approaching, all going in direction of the Tennysons.

"Why are they after Ben? He's a fire bazooka right now!" said Gwen, preparing her mana.

"You're the smallest one among us, kid!" said Myaxx. "They automatically assume you're the weakest and easiest to hunt. I'd suggest being careful if I was you!"

"No need to tell me twice. Saduka!"

Her spell ignited more plants, but it wouldn't take them down completely. It seemed like the army never ended.

"They won't give up unless they get one of us, stay on guard!" said Kraab. "You wouldn't happen to have a weed killer spell, don't you?"

"You don't think I would've already tried if I did?!" warned Gwen.

Suddenly, a loud metallic sound was heard. They turned to Sixsix, who had received a vine right on the helmet, was frozen in place. He stopped moving, as immobile as a statue. Was he afraid? No, that couldn't be it, the Sotoraggian was rarely afraid of anything. Then why was he...

As the Florauna came up to him, Sixsix roared loudly and drew its blade all over the creature's face, making a war cry as his mask fell into bits, revealing his hideous face.

"What is that?!" asked Heatblast.

"That's Sixsix's real face, he uses that helmet to cover it both out of practical use, and shame." said Kraab as he kept firing. "He's a mutated Sotoraggian and is very touchy about that side of him, so much that he gets into an unstoppable rage if he loses his helmet. I've suffered the consequences before..."

"At least he's using it at our advantage!"

"This is getting nowhere!" said Myaxx. "This might kill us all, but here it goes."

She ran up to Heatblast and pressed on the Omnitrix symbol, turning him into Eye Guy.

"Here goes nothing!" said Eye Guy, running in the middle of the room and focusing all of his energy onto his multiple eyeballs.

In a second, he released all the powers that came from within his body, practically blinding himself as waves of green electricity, fire, ice and goo lit up the abandoned lair. Many screams of pain could be heard coming from the Floraunas who now all backed away, fleeing as they realized this was no ordinary prey they chose.

When the fireworks faded out, Eye Guy saw that Tetrax protected himself, Myaxx, Gwen and Kraab behind a diamond shelter. He looked at Sixsix without turning around, seeing that the Sotoraggian was still going strong on a Florauna that was already down.

He guessed Sixsix really was mad at it for what it did, but decided they've wasted enough time.

"Our job here is done, Sixsix. Leave that creature alone and come on."

Sixsix turned at him, glaring with robotic eyes as he hissed loudly.

"He's too far gone!" said Tetrax. "Ben! Get away from him, he's dangerous!"

"Sixsix, stop this now!" ordered Eye Guy.

The Sotoraggian wasn't listening, he even seemed ready to attack the Opticoid. Myaxx readied her weapon, ready to shoot him down.

"I said STOP!"

He shot his eye beams in front of Sixsix, momentarily taking him aback. Sixsix then looked at his liege, who was using all the eyes he had on his body to glare at him.

Something in his look was familiar, the threat, the determination, the authority...

All of a sudden, it seemed whatever Ben did made him forget he was angry at that moment. Sixsix brought his weapons down and used his metal tentacles to tuck them back into his armors. With a bow, he gurgled an apology.

"You better be sorry. Come on, let's go." said Eye Guy, beckoning him with an eyed hand as he walked away.

The Sotoraggian silently followed, walking behind him as if nothing had happened.

"Wait up, Ben." said Tetrax, running off to show them the way.

"Wow." said Gwen. "Of all the smart stuff Ben did lately, lecturing a guy with a freaky face with eye lasers and calming him down was not on the list."

Sixsix must've heard her, because he gurgled something in anger while he walked after Ben.

"What did he say?"

"Aside from a few species slurs, he told you he doesn't need your remarks, as his mother already gave him enough when he was a toddler." translated Kraab. "Now if you're finished with the snark, I'd suggest you clam up and keep that smart mouth of yours shut before he throws another tantrum."

Gwen gulped as the cybernetic crab went to the front, shortly followed by Myaxx. Were all aliens just that unpredictable or was she just not made to travel with prison escapees and former criminals? The former would imply Ben was always an alien, so she settled for the second, probably much less logical explanation.

---

As they hovered through the tunnel, Myaxx sneakily came closer to Gwen.

"Hey, kid. Mind if I ask you a thing or two about your cousin?"

Gwen turned to the woman, getting near. "Sure thing."

"This isn't his first time riding alien vehicles, is it?"

She looked at Ben who, despite the small stature and overall temper, seemed to use the board better than most beginners at his age did.

"Oh no, it sure isn't. Ben went on tons of alien rides before Tetrax gave him a hoverboard at the beginning of summer. Especially spaceships like Tetrax's. And..." she looked down for a second. "He has been inside Vilgax's ship once."

Myaxx's eyes widened. She didn't know why, but something felt suspicious about the kid's attitude.

"And what did Vilgax do to him?"

"We... we don't really know, Ben didn't want to talk about it. Our Grandpa's a Plumber and once Ben heard about it, he's been giving him the cold shoulder all summer. We can't even talk about what happened without arguing, and Grandpa's had trouble facing Ben. It almost feels like they're enemies..."

"Did he teach Ben to fight like that?"

"What? No, no way. That's all Ben, Grandpa never taught him to be that aggressive in battle. He's been fighting that hard for a little while, around the time... we learned Grandpa's secret."

"I see..." said Myaxx. "There's something weird about your cousin."

Gwen wasn't surprised she said that.

"When he turned into a Pyronite, his shape wasn't normal. Does he always make spikes pop out of his body as a Pyronite?"

"Well, he did it once when our family got into a fight at a wedding, he pretended to be Vilgax to scare them off. By the way, that was also the last time we saw those two." she pointed to Sixsix and Kraab.

But now that Myaxx mentioned it, she noticed Heatblast's shoulder spikes were more pronounced earlier. They were way more visible, and he had more spikes on the elbows, making it look like he was wearing protective gear. Maybe he was trying to look cooler, but at the same time, she knew where Myaxx was getting at.

Ben was looking and acting similar to Vilgax. But why?

"Did... did Ben ask you about Vilgax?" she asked.

"Back on Tetrax's ship, he did ask me what my planet was like, asked me a thing or two about how I felt with that monster commanding our people. Pretty curious if you ask me."

'What are you hiding, Ben?' she asked herself.

Then, Myaxx suddenly looked up and stopped, realizing she should've looked where they were going first.

"Look out!"

The guys turned to her as they hovered, but Sixsix and Kraab responded faster as they abruptly stopped. But while Gwen had someone to slow her down before going into the trap, Ben and Tetrax did not. It was too late as they flew past a red laser, a wall of fire appearing to stop them.

Sixsix extended his mechanical tentacles and caught Ben, bringing him back to their side while Tetrax merely braced himself, going through the heat wall.

"Thanks!" said Ben, to which Sixsix made a respectful grunt. "Sorry about your helmet, I'll try to get you another one." he whispered to the Sotoraggian.

As the flames faded out, they could see the Petrosapien rolled over to the side, near a metal door. Good thing he had diamond hard skin, unlike the rest of them.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine. And it looks like we finally got to our destination." said Tetrax, pointing at the closed hatch.

Orange lights lit up in the tunnel, with a camera appearing on the door. It scrutinized the group, often pausing, before its visor landed on the Omnitrix.

"The Omnitrix." said a voice.

A light came from the camera, projecting a hologram of what seemed to be a giant robot, with the Omnitrix symbol drawn on it.

"What are you doing with my Omnitrix?"

"'My Omnitrix'?" repeated Ben. "You're the creator?"

"Myaxx, you traitorous worm." said the figure. "Is that you?"

"Nice to see you again too, boss." huffed Myaxx.

"Uh, I thought Azmuth was supposed to be a Galvan, are you wearing a mech suit?" asked Ben, to which Tetrax, Myaxx and Gwen gave him a confused look.

"Um, how do you know that, kid?" asked Myaxx.

"I went Grey Matter while looking for help in Incarcecon, someone mistook me for Azmuth and almost ate me before Kraab and Sixsix came to help me." he lied. "Anyway, I'm Ben Tennyson. I wound up with the Omnitrix, now it's in self-destruct countdown and-"

"I know, I invented it!" cut Azmuth.

"Oh, yeah. So anyway, if you could just turn it off-" he said as he walked to the door, which had more metallic doors appear and lock them out of Azmuth's location.

He was taken aback at the sudden reaction he got from the creator, so the adults took it upon themselves to back him up on it.

"Maybe Ben didn't make it clear why we're here." threatened Tetrax, getting his fists ready.

"I understand completely. You misused my creation, and now the whole universe will be destroyed." said Azmuth, clearly not bothering to show himself anymore.

"Look!" snapped Ben. "I don't know why you don't want to help us, but my cousin almost lost her life to stop this thing!"

"That, is none of my concern."

However, something changed as Ben's glare turned into a cold gaze. He simply took his hand to the Omnitrix, preparing himself to blast the door away.

"Hold up, Ben!" warned Gwen, running up to him. "There's probably tons of safeguards behind that door, I don't think one alien will be enough to take all of them down. We need to come up with a strategy."

"Right." said Kraab. "You will open that door and we will take down any threats coming to harm you."

"Not what I had in mind..." sighed Gwen.

"Don't worry, cousin." said Ben, as he stopped fiddling with the dial. "You're right, I think I know a way to disable them all at once."

"Don't make me laugh." said Azmuth. "I created the Galvanic Mechamorphs, I'm prepared in case you think you can just slip your way through these doors."

"Not what I had in mind." smirked Ben, as his hands were on the safeguard Myaxx put on the watch. "Take a step back, all of you! It's gonna get rough!"

"Wait! Don't-"

Before anyone could tell him to do otherwise, Ben pulled the device off the Omnitrix, orange energy forming from it as a giant energy wave was released. His bodyguards kept the others away as Ben pointed the watch to the entrance, blue sparks coming out of the door before there was a blast.

When the smoke faded out, Ben stood in front of the open entrance, bearing a smug grin.

"You idiot!" said Gwen. "The countdown's accelerating, and you could've gotten yourself seriously hurt!"

"But I didn't. Look, mission accomplished." he said, walking inside the labs. Or rather, what was left from them.

The Omnitrix's blast, just like the previous ones, made all tech nearby malfunction. Which meant all of Azmuth's machines were now busted, including his suit.

The robotic outfit was shut down, the circuits on the side seemed inactive and its visor was broken, releasing steam. Gwen hoped it wasn't a life support suit, otherwise things might get ugly. Thankfully, it opened its chest, and from it came out...

An old Grey Matter with a robotic cane?

"I knew you were just using that armor to make yourself look tough, only a know-it-all like Grey Matter could be that insufferable."

Gwen seemed to give him a glare from behind, but he didn't notice it.

"Remind me to never mess with that kid." whispered Myaxx to the other aliens.

"Look at what you did! Do you know how long it takes to break in a bio-suit like that?" complained the Galvan. "And yeah, I'm a Galvan. So what? Does that give you the right to destroy my property and invade my privacy?"

"Enough talk!" shouted Tetrax. "Stop the countdown!"

"I say 'let the Omnitrix self-destruct, and take the universe with it'. Best thing that could happen, probably. Start fresh!" said Azmuth as he walked away, to which everyone exchanged looks. Was this their only hope? "I didn't create a weapon, all of you did. I created the ultimate device for understanding all the beings of the universe. You and Vilgax are no different."

Ben almost felt like giving away that Azmuth was extremely right about that.

"I know that, thanks." sighed Ben. "But listen, we-"

"Uh, no?!" interrupted Gwen. "Clearly not! Ben will never be anything like Vilgax!"

Ben turned to her, a bit surprised.

"Listen up, doofus, you've been acting weird lately, but that doesn't mean you're gonna grow tentacles and talk about world domination."

"Uhhh..."

"I know it's still hard to move on after what you did to Vilgax and seeing Grandpa try to kill someone in front of you, but it's not gonna turn you into some space abomination."

Her sudden outburst was unexpected. Yet she wasn't the only one arguing, as Tetrax joined in.

"Gwen's right, Ben. Back on my ship, you kept asking us about Vilgax and what kind of person he was. Listen, even if you did take away someone's life, I know you were doing it for the greater good. I know it's hard to believe while you're associating yourself with these guys," he pointed to Sixsix and Kraab, though he didn't seem as spiteful about them as he was before, "but to your credit, you managed to keep them in line and they haven't done anything shady yet."

Ben stared. Is this what it was all about?

"In fact, I doubt Vilgax could ever come up with some of the greatest things you've accomplished. You took down his robotic army, you retrieved the Omnitrix before he could and kept it, I even heard about your gladiatorial matches with a certain hybrid. What was his name again?"

"Are you talking about Kevin?" asked Gwen. 'Haven't seen or heard of that guy in a while. I wonder what he's up to.' "The point is: even if you haven't been your old annoying self for a while now, it doesn't mean you'll stop being a hero. With or without the Omnitrix, you've always helped me and Grandpa, even without going alien. And I know whatever happened with Vilgax clearly stuck with you, you couldn't use Heatblast without thinking you were acting like him earlier. Even if you took his life, it doesn't mean you'll become like him."

"You, killing Vilgax?" asked Azmuth, looking at Ben. "How can a child like you even do that? Even with my Omnitrix, I'd imagine you'd act as if it was a game, rather than that. And did you really do it?"

His eyes were fixated on Ben, as if he knew he was lying. Sixsix's gurgles seemed to somehow do the trick, which Kraab translated as "If we still worked for Vilgax, don't you think we would've already tried to take this boy away?"

"Hmm, still, I would've never thought he'd meet his demise at the hands of an Earth kid. Then again I don't hear much from outside of Xenon nowadays..." he brushed his face tendrils. "Anyway, I still don't need any of you in my lab. Clearly, none of you need my help to cause trouble from what I've just heard."

"Oh come on!" said Ben. "Sure, I've messed around with the watch, but I've helped a lot of people with it too! Okay, I know I caused a lot of damage coming here and I just busted all of your stuff, but you didn't really give us any choice here."

"I didn't force you to come into my lab and ravage the place with those new 'servants' of yours." he waved to Sixsix and Kraab, in response to what Tetrax said.

"Do you even hear yourself talking?" huffed Myaxx, in a way that very much resembled their employer. "Those guys are a pair of criminals we dug out of Incarcecon, they've been after the Omnitrix for who knows long. Don't you think the situation must be critical if even crooks like them are doing the right thing, no money involved? Come on!"

"I've made my decision. If you caused the universe to explode, you can only blame yourself. I created the Omnitrix, you made it a weapon."

"And when you created it, didn't you think for one second of what'd happen?! Get real!" snapped Ben. "You created something powerful that no one ever before ever made, and you never thought anyone would ever try to use it for chaos and destruction?!"

He glared at the small being, who for the first time ever since they broke in, glared back. Something in Ben's words struck a nerve.

"You're the one who made all Galvans this smart and advanced, you basically wrote down the ABC's of your species. You're their leader, so how can you not think ahead?" sneered Ben. "You know what? Honestly, comparing me to Vilgax isn't that much of an insult. At least he had a plan when he came to steal the Omnitrix. He beat me up for it, but don't you think I've learned something from it? People aren't one-dimensional, Azmuth. Tetrax caused his own planet's destruction, yet here he is protecting the Omnitrix. Myaxx sold out your tech, yet she risked her life for a human like me. These guys, Gwen, everyone else, even you, has better to do than help me. But they still did."

He eyed the dial, which was almost fully orange by now. Despite the risk, he didn't care, he needed to set clear with this frog brainiac.

"People change, Azmuth. Sometimes for the worst and sometimes for the best. Don't you think just because you mess up once, you don't get a second chance?"

Azmuth wasn't sure if the boy in front of him was talking about him or himself.

"What are you implying? That it's my fault the Omnitrix is going to explode?"

"No, you clearly had your own intentions when you made it, no way a leader would want to destroy everything they built and lived for." said Ben. "But can you really blame everyone in the universe for making mistakes, even when they're ready to better themselves or couldn't even control what they did wrong?"

The Galvan clenched his tiny fist. He felt like he had heard those words before, back when all he cared about was building a sword.

He was foolish, a sword was a weapon, it had to be expected that Ascalon would be used for destruction when it could improve things instead. And the Omnitrix...

A child wielded it, what would he know about it? Nothing. And if he was taught how to use it...

...would he have been malicious enough to misuse it? If he knew the stakes and fought for it, would he have been idiotic enough to cause the end of the universe? It was most likely an accident if they all came begging him to help.

But if he caused the universe's destruction without intending to, was it his fault for not understanding how to handle forces he had no control over?

He sighed in frustration. "Bring your wrist over here so I don't have to hear you whining about it."

Ben raised a brow, before grinning. He held out his hand and Azmuth jumped on his arm, running to the Omnitrix and twisting the dial. In a few seconds, the dial was shut down, before being pulled away from the watch.

"I'm still not sure the universe is worth saving. But, while I think about it..." He jumped off Ben's arm with the piece of the watch he took away., leaving the device hollow and unusable.

Ben looked at his wrist. The Omnitrix was disabled, the countdown was gone. He made it, he was alive...

"Looks like our job here is done."

"And what about the Omnitrix?" asked Kraab.

"We didn't come here to fix the watch, we came here to disable it." scolded Ben. "Besides, I can do lots of things even without the Omnitrix, I'm sure I won't disappoint even if I lose the watch." he smirked.

Both Bounty Hunters stared at their liege in disbelief. Sure, he was fine with losing the Omnitrix, but Vilgax might not be and take it out on them, something they had little to no control over. Then again, if Ben managed to convince Azmuth to change his mind, maybe their employer would listen to his son about this...

Then the ground shook. Looks like things weren't over.

"What's happening?!" asked Ben.

"The security system!" said Myaxx. "You must've disabled all protocols when the Omnitrix emitted that energy blast earlier!"

"So now all bad guys in the universe are just coming over to attack?!"

"No! You couldn't have reached the systems outside of the planet's atmosphere, only what there was in the mountain." answered Tetrax. "Which means..."

"The Floraunas are coming back!" said Kraab, readying his pincer. "And with Azmuth with us, they'll be twice as wild if they want to leave with a prize. Stay behind us, young child, we'll take care of them."

Tetrax gave him a look. No Omnitrix involved, no bounty, no blackmail...

Were Kraab and Sixsix protecting Ben out of their own volition this time around? It didn't matter, he should be grateful they've had more help.

"This is all my fault!" said Ben. "I should've listened to you, Gwen. Now we're defenseless!"

"Glad to hear you say it." she teased. "Now you lost your powers, I haven't lost mine." she said, pink mana powering up in her hands.

Vines came by the broken doorway, immediately repelled by a magic blast. A Florauna appeared, roaring savagely before being pushed back by a flurry of diamond pieces. Another came and threw seeds, immediately shot down by a blaster firing at them. Then the fight was getting difficult, more and more Floraunas were approaching.

"If only we could use the tech around here to make a real weapon." said Myaxx, blasting the plants away. "Azmuth, little help?" Except the Galvan was out of sight. Did he flee while they weren't looking?! "Never mind, he always did that when those creatures got out of control. And he wonders why I quit." she sighed.

"We can't destroy them all, we'll have to find an opening and get back to the ship!" said Tetrax.

"But how?! We're surrounded and those things will be able to stretch for miles, they've been growing for who knows how long, they're gonna catch us!" said Ben.

"Can't you contact Gluto from where you are?" asked Gwen.

"No, these walls block out any communication outside this hideout, we can't ask for help from the outside, we'll have to get out on our own. Here, Ben." Tetrax gave him another blaster. "Is there any other way out here?"

"Azmuth always had a backdoor, but the Floraunas might be there, it's out in the open." said Myaxx.

'If my dad was here, he could get rid of those with his drones. Please don't let this adventure the last time we'll ever see each other.' thought Ben. "It's worth a try, maybe if we get high enough with our boards, they won't reach us."

The group ran out to a part of the lab, all while occasionally turning to shoot down the Floraunas invading the place. Unfortunately, as they reached the exit, a massive army of those was crawling all over the ground towards their direction.

"Seriously?!" he complained.

"This is gonna be tough, we have no other way of escaping. They got us cornered!" said Kraab.

"Lemme try." said Gwen, looking through her book. "Berdi Mordo Nata!"

Again, fire rained on the plants, but it did nothing, the army still wasn't going to give up on its preys.

"Remind me to not eat a salad for a month when we get home." sighed Gwen, taking her blaster out to push back the rampaging aliens.

"If only we could access the simulator room on the Resolute, I could recreate a geomagnetic storm and rid us of these things!"

"A solar storm would be amazing right now, but we've got no way to create one right here!" said Myaxx. "You wouldn't happen to have a spell like that?"

"I don't know, and it might take too long to find it." said Gwen, flipping her spellbook's pages.

"I believe I could help."

The kids turned to the source of the small voice. Azmuth was back, running towards them.

"You wouldn't happen to have a giant weedkiller spray inside your lab, would you?" joked Ben. His eyes widened as he saw the Galvan still held the core he took away from the watch. "What gives?! I thought you pulled the plug on this thing, and couldn't turn it back on!"

Azmuth grinned as he twisted the core back into place onto Ben's wrist. "Who told you that? Not me!"

The dial lit up, and the familiar sound of the Omnitrix being timed in again could be heard. In a second, the hourglass symbol was green. The Omnitrix was reactivated.

"Alright! I'm back in the alien hero business!" he exclaimed.

"Here." said Azmuth, turning the dial to reveal a silhouette Ben hadn't seen before. "Try this alien on for size." The Galvan jumped on the watch, triggering the transformation.

Ben felt his arms and legs and entire body grow, his muscles stretching. A weird feeling came from his head and limbs, as if he was growing a horn and spikes. The entire world felt like it was shrinking. Or rather, he was going big.

When the green light faded out, the giant alien stood out on top of the mountain, his size surpassing all of the aliens Ben had previously turned into. He felt some energy course through him, and when he took a look at himself, Ben realized he turned into a To'kustar.

"Wow! I knew this species could be big, but I'm not just big, I'm Way Big!"

Impressed by this new form, and excited that he was able to keep the Omnitrix after all, Way Big started stomping on the Floraunas, grabbing them and squashing them into balls he threw at others. He kicked away the aliens, feeling as if they were nothing but mere worms to him.

"Man, these things are clingy!" he laughed, throwing a group of Floraunas who had latched onto his arm away from him. "Looks like there's only one way to get rid of them. Hop on and hang on tight, it's gonna get bright in here!"

He lent a hand to his team, putting them on his shoulder before jumping high, well over the hideout. Then, he brought his hands together midair, aiming right towards the mountain.

In an instant, a giant blue beam came from his arms, blasting the rocky building and eradicating all life on it. He could hear the Floraunas screaming, in pain as the power of a cosmic storm made them suffer, reducing them to bits.

Way Big smirked as the plants slowly died, one by one. They've harassed him and his loved ones all the way throughout their exploration, it was only fair they paid the price.

---

"What are you doing?"

"Improvising a ride. Might take a while after you broke everything I built in here with that energy ray."

"Hey, you were ready to let the universe explode. You're afraid of your stuff being broken but not the entire universe going along with it?"

"I am not afraid, but it's still such a hassle to clean up after your mess."

"I'm sure Gwen would love it if she went on Galvan Prime, she'd have fun there."

"Definitely better than here, this place is getting too noisy for me."

"Azmuth, I wanted to thank you for fixing the Omnitrix." said Ben, still aware it was his fault the watch was set to blow up a few hours ago. "I've always thought I'd keep it until I'd learn how to take it off, until its batteries died out or..."

His father wanted nothing more than to take it when he located it, Ben felt he could trust him with it. If he'd lost the watch, he wasn't the only one who'd give up a lot of stuff for nothing, Vilgax would have too.

"Until I found someone who deserved to wear it better than me. I know this sounds selfish, but... can I please keep it? I made a promise to someone I really care about. Even if you disapprove, I have to keep the watch to help them at any cost. Please?"

"I... created the Omnitrix to help all the beings of the universe grow closer together." He looked up, eyeing the group of different species that followed Ben during his adventure. "If an Earthling can make that happen, then I see no reason why he shouldn't have it. Besides, that thing is nothing but trouble! Always has been! You keep it, good riddance!"

Azmuth jumped off the part of his makeshift ship he was working on to enter the space vehicle. He turned to Myaxx.

"You coming?"

"Are you going to give me some respect from now on?"

"Meh, I wouldn't count on it."

"Guess it is better than that prison planet." she shrugged.

"You're a riot, Myaxx." said Ben.

"Thanks, kid. Take care." she said, ruffling his hair before following Azmuth.

It was at that moment that Sixsix gurgled something. For some reason, Tetrax made the same embarrassed face he made on Incarcecon, while Myaxx looked outraged. While it was already obvious, she really did look like Vilgax when pissed.

"Thanks for the suggestion but I'm not even thinking about having hatchlings someday, let alone a human!"

Ben and Gwen raised a brow at that remark before Azmuth spoke up. "Hmm, having children. What a nice thought when you're still young."

"What, you wanna have kids?" asked Ben. "No offense, but with what you did today, you'd either make a really dangerous uncle or a really cranky grandpa."

His smile slightly faltered at his own joke, as he remembered Max was still on Earth, waiting for them. When they'd get back home, he'd have to tell some bits to Max about his adventure and... in a few days, summer vacation would be over.

He realized he hadn't even thought about it, summer was ending. He'd be back home to Bellwood, back with his... 'parents', who'd owe him an explanation. And so did Max.

If Max was involved in all of this, they had to spit it out after this summer was over. Otherwise, Ben would never be ready to hear or listen to anything coming from them again.

"Ben?" Gwen snapped him out of it, reminding him of where he was.

"Erm! So, are you going back to your planet now?"

"Perhaps." answered Azmuth. "Though if you don't mind me asking, what were you troubled about a few seconds ago?"

"Just got unfinished family business back home. It's nothing." said Ben.

"Hmm, I might go to my family myself, some time away on Xenon must've made them miss me."

"You really left all of your people behind like that for years?"

"Galvan Prime knows how to take care of itself without my help, thank you." said Azmuth, taking that superior tone Gwen gave Ben hundreds of times already.

"What about on Galvan B?"

"Mechamorphs have their own lives on that moon, I'm not as involved in their affairs as you think."

"You really don't think that like the Omnitrix, something might go wrong there?" asked Ben.

"I've already started thinking about the consequences of my actions, and I don't believe anyone here really needs me to-"

He paused, seemingly remembering something.

"You know what? Forget it. I have my own family business to attend to, though I believe yours will be less complicated than mine." said Azmuth as he started walking away.

'I wouldn't bet on that. Wait! I still need to ask him!'

"Wait! You have to tell me how to work this thing!" he said, holding the Omnitrix in front of Azmuth.

"Don't you want to figure it out on your own, like a 'true' hero would?" The Galvan had a slight smirk as he spoke. Ben considered it.

"Not really, I've had a lot of help with it before."

"Then maybe it's time for you to learn by yourself." said Azmuth, finally leaving. "Haha, I like that boy."

The hatch closed on itself, and Azmuth's spaceship left, leaving the group on top of the mountain.

"Oh, man! We better be heading back home. It'd be nice to have a little normal time after all this." Speaking of which, Ben had an idea on what to ask his guards once they'd be there. He hoped Gwen would accept his apology. "Yo, Sixsix. Mind telling snotty if he can bring us back to Earth?"

Sixsix seemed to consider it, but turned away from Gluto, gurgling angrily as he crossed his arms. His shoulder arm even waved in direction of Gluto, as if dismissing him.

"O-kay, what's going on?"

"Gluto apparently made remarks about Sixsix's, well, armor, now that it's damaged and, well, I think I've said enough." said Kraab.

"Man, this really stinks. Hold on, buddy." said Ben as Sixsix looked up.

Ben started circling through his aliens, finding the one he was looking for. Hoping all of this mess didn't make his mistransformations more common, he slammed the dial and felt himself shrink, filled with eagerness.

Juryrigg appeared when the green light faded out, and in a matter of seconds, the little devil started to bring broken pieces from Azmuth's lab.

"A Planchaküle?" said Tetrax. "Thanks, Ben, but Gluto isn't the one feeling insulted, he can still bring us back home if you ask him to."

"Not the reason why I'm doing this." said Juryrigg as he started assembling pieces.

Then the red alien jumped on the Sotoraggian's shoulders, his hands moving at astonishing speed all around Sixsix's head.

"What are you doing?!"

"Just a sec'... and tada!"

He jumped off Sixsix's armor and stood with his hands on his hips, proud of his handiwork.

Sixsix put a hand on his head, and realized what his liege had done: he now had another mask. Overjoyed, the Sotoraggian made noises of contentment before bowing down to the young prince in front of him.

It was part of his job to protect Ben, but he was fairly convinced the young master truly deserved his help.

"Showoff." huffed Kraab.

"That's Ben for you." snorted Gwen, covering her eyes as Juryrigg was back to human.

"Wasn't talking about him." said Kraab, leaving Gwen dumbfounded. It was as if those two were competing for Ben's attention with that remark, people like them were so hard to understand at times.

"Say, Gluto," said Gwen, "could you please get us home?"

The blob alien then answered. "No problem."

There was an awkward silence as they realized he answered in a quite audible voice, in a language they could understand.

"Wait a minute, so you can speak like that? I thought your universal translator couldn't translate what you were saying but... Hold on, you understood me this whole time?"

"Oh yeah. Snotty." mocked the Protost before leaving for the Resolute.

Ben looked at Tetrax, who simply shrugged. "Who knew?"

"I have a feeling it's gonna be a long trip back home, especially if those two are arguing now." he said, looking at Gluto leave before looking at the Sotoraggian again.

"It was a nice friendship while it lasted." joked Tetrax. "Gluto doesn't see people much as a pilot, he might've been brash with Sixsix without meaning to."

"Well, he'd better apologize or explain himself. Or else Sixsix could go wild on him like he did before." said Ben, looking at the two Bounty Hunters chatting. "I know he's not a beast or a monster, but some people have sensitive spots they'd rather not touch."

"I got to admit, they were pretty sensible on this mission. Would've thought guys like them would cause us trouble and backstab us, but they've been pretty well-behaved."

"Haha, yeah." Ben guiltily laughed. "Say, Tetrax, I wanted to ask you something else."

"Hm?"

"If you could help out your loved ones, no matter how far you needed to go, no matter how many rules you'd break, no matter how wrong it feels... would you do it?"

Had Tetrax known Ben was talking about Vilgax, he would've answered otherwise. And if he had known how much his answer would've made an impact on Ben, he would've thought twice before answering.

"Absolutely. No hesitation, go with your guts with that one."

"Is that how you worked when you were a bounty hunter, working for money?" asked Ben, amused by how bold Tetrax was.

"Some things never change." smirked the Petrosapien. "Hey, you two!"

Both Bounty Hunters turned to Tetrax, somewhat walking fast as they remembered Tetrax was one of the people Vilgax would not want near Ben.

"Need me to drop you off somewhere?"

Truth to be told, neither they nor did Ben expect his delivery.

"Come again?" said Kraab.

"As long as you don't kill anyone, you'll be free to come along before I drop Ben and Gwen back to Earth." Of course, Ben understood that this meant he'd have to wait until Kraab and Sixsix found a way back to Earth, as them following him would be too suspicious. "You have any planet in mind?"

Sixsix gurgled something that made his partner laugh, and greatly annoyed Tetrax again.

"I am not considering to work with you again, I moved on from that." huffed the Petrosapien.

"Aw c'mon, it'll be fun to work all three together for money." nudged Kraab.

Tetrax left with an exasperated sigh. "Hurry up before I change my mind and leave you as food for those plants."

---

"Thanks for the ride!" thanked Gwen.

"And the cool gift! Visit soon!" said Ben.

The Resolute left immediately, going faster than light before disappearing into the blue morning sky. Ben looked at the new board he was given, wondering if it was that common to use hoverboards on other planets. He'd have to ask Vilgax next time they'd meet. Which he dreaded might be the last.

"Well, after an adventure like that, bet you guys are looking forward to a nice, normal day." said Max.

"Oh, yeah." said Ben, looking up. "We should... go to the mall. And go shopping for clothes and junk. Lemme just put this somewhere and we can go."

Gwen smiled, Ben was making an effort. As he went inside the Rustbucket, a radio transmission was heard.

"We interrupt regular broadcasting for this emergency report. A horde of what appears to be 'zombies' are attacking the mall. Citizens are advised to stay clear of the area."

"Guess this is a 'normal' day for us." sighed Gwen, albeit she was smiling. After three months, she got used to the action.

"Wow, didn't see that one coming!" said Ben with a hurried tone. "Guess I should use my gift now!"

While he seemed to be looking through one of the backseats' compartments from the outside, Gwen and Max didn't see he was talking to the Forever Ninja hidden in there.

"Listen. While Sixsix and Kraab are away on T-K, you make sure you don't get noticed. You did a great job getting inside the RV, but if they saw you before I did, you'd be a bucket of bolts by now!" warned Ben, whispering while he quickly scolded the robot. "Be more subtle next time. And by the way, when we get to the mall and fight, I need you to go take a thing or two..."

Ben was already seated when Gwen and Max came in. Naturally, they were unaware of the Forever Ninja's new programming, thanks to Vilgax. Or that it was still following them in the first place. Or that if it would come out while they took care of the Ormerowons, Ben would distract them and let it follow orders.

Or that in a few hours, Gwen could say hello to the pair of clothes she was aiming for before the countdown ruined her shopping plans.

---

I'MMMMMMMMMMM BACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!

HOOOOOO BOY IT'S BEEN SO LONG *puts on party hat*

Finals are coming up and I haven't had time to update these stories much, other than small stuff I already wrote a while back. Took me some time, but here you got a whole long new chapter to make up for it!

Hope you've enjoyed this read, the last part of the first arc is coming soon!

Heato, out!

Update: Just realized I forgot to add some trivia for this chapter lol

Some of the stuff from this chapter, such as Ben and Gwen's costume coming from Cannonbolt's planet or Xenon's location, directly comes from the SOTO popups retrieved by the wiki at the time I was writing this movie scrip- ER, I MEAN, this chapter.

The "race of fighters" thing was also from the popups, though not exactly. Vilgax's species was retconned to be peaceful in the sequels when the popups said that Myaxx and Vilgax both came from a warrior species. So I just took it upon myself to expand on Ben's bloodline a tiny bit with that :P

Also, as for Ben's clothes being common out of Earth, I beg you to look at Verdona's young human disguise and Zennith's outfit, as well as the Galvan in "Return Of The Swarm". Ben's soccer shirt has definitely been designed on other planets as well (man, they got weird tastes in that universe).

For Azmuth's line about having his own family business, let's just say it's OV-involved.

And for the joke between Tetrax, Myaxx and Sixsix, ask yourself this. Tetrax and Myaxx are the only two responsible adults for Ben to count on that aren't his bodyguards. Doesn't he need some parental advice on this trip? x3

Anywho, I think that was it for the trivia part, stay tuned for the rest! Let's see how the end of summer fares for Ben...