Ben 10: Alien Rebirth
Chapter 35: Max Tennyson
30 years ago….
We see Max, age 25, first walking into a Plumber base.
As a 5 year old Frank Tennyson was being babysat by Max's parents, he was off to start his training as a Plumber.
He was also one of the first humans to be accepted into the Plumber Academy.
Max's transport had dropped him and several other aliens at a Plumber Academy.
As he was about to walk inside, he was tripped by an alien that looked like they were made of tentacles. It was an accident, but it caused Max to fall.
Max fell flat on his face, and as he tried to get up, he saw a hand in front of him.
"Here, let me give you a hand."
Max was helped up by a young man of roughly the same age as him, but with slick black hair.
He introduced himself as, "Phil Billings. Nice to meet ya."
Max, "thanks. My name's Max Tennyson. It's nice to see another human here to relate to. I feel a little…. Out of place."
Phil, "you ain't the only one. I think we're listed in the same training team. Come on."
Max and Phil walked side by side, but stopped in a hallway as they saw a fish alien with glasses getting tripped up by a Galvanic Mechamorph.
As he was nearly trampled by a large alien that looked like he was made of rocks, Max pulled them out of the way and to his feet.
He said in a country accent, "whoo! Thanks. I was nearly turned into a side dish there."
Max, "you're welcome. I'm Max Tennyson. This is Phil Billings."
The fish alien, "Palliday. I'm a cadet, like you two. In fact, as luck would have it, we're in the same group."
Max, "that's good luck. Follow us. We'll head to our group together."
Palliday nodded and said, "thanks."
But before the three of them could walk forward, Max saw a sight that made him blush.
They were a green skinned alien with tentacles and a tail.
It was a younger Xylene! Her tentacles were shorter, as was her tail.
Phil nudged Max and said, "see something you like?"
Max stuttered, "uh…."
Palliday, "oh, she's in our training group as well. Ain't that just a coincidence? I heard her name's Xylene. Telepath, and highly recommended by her people."
Max could only stare as Phil and Palliday had to drag him off.
….
Max and Phil now stood in Plumber cadet uniforms; which were like blue jumpsuits, and were in a line with three other cadets.
Palliday and Xylene were among them, and the 3rd was someone they hadn't come across yet.
He was a blue cat person of some kind, with white fur on his face.
They all heard the doors open to admit a large Tetramand with a beer gut walking in. He had the white plumber armor on, and his arms were behind his back.
He spoke in a gruff voice, "alright ya Dweezers! Listen up, cause I'm only gonna say this once! I'm not your friend. I'm your teacher. General Deacon is my name. And I don't care what you were before this, as long as you Dweezers listen to me!"
He walked closer to the cadets, stopping in front of the cat person.
Deacon yelled, "what's your name, Dweezer?"
The cat person said, "I am Rook Kai of the Revonnahgander, sir. The first of my species to become a student at the Plumber Academy."
Deacon, "and do you know why you're here?"
Rook Kai, "because we are the best, of the best, of the best. To be trained as Plumbers; the protectors of the galaxy!"
Deacon, "very good."
Deacon then walked in front of Palliday and yelled, "what's your name, Dweezer!"
Palliday, "P-P-Palliday, sir."
Deacon, "oh? You've got a stutter, do ya, Dweezer?"
Palliday, "n-no sir. I'm, uh, j-just nervous."
Deacon, "well there ain't any use in nervousness, Dweezer!"
Phil snickers for a moment, making Deacon glare at him and stomp past Xylene and over to him.
Deacon growled, "you think something's funny, Dweezer?"
Phil, "no sir."
Deacon yelled, "good! I'll get back to you later!"
Deacon walked over to Xylene and said, "what about you, cupcake? What's your name?"
Xylene, "my name is Xylene. First of my name and top of my classes."
Deacon, "don't expect any special treatment just because you're a girl. To me, all you Dweezers are equally worthless until you prove yourselves!"
Deacon walked back over to Phil and growled, "you're Phil Billings, aren't ya, Dweezer?"
Phil, "that's right sir."
Deacon, "one of the first humans to join the Plumber ranks. Your file says you don't take well to authority, despite being the deputy to your local police force for three years."
Phil, "yeah. So what?"
Deacon, "well, you best learn some manners, Dweezer!"
And finally, Deacon stood before Max.
Deacon, "state your name, Dweezer."
Max, "Max Tennyson, sir."
Deacon, "ah, I know who you are now. You rescued an Anodite near that Area 51 place."
Max, "yessir. She is, well, was, my wife."
Deacon, "eh, Anodites are all the same. Even when they start a family, they eventually ditch it so they can explore the galaxy. She leave you with anything?"
Max, "a son. Frank Tennyson. He's-"
Deacon, "did I say I care? I only asked what she left ya!"
Max, "yes sir. Sorry sir."
Deacon moved to stand before all of them.
Deacon, "now listen up, Dweezers. My job is to train you weaklings into Plumbers. The strongest and most determined protectors of the universe. There's a lot of threats to the universe out there. And if you're lucky, you may find yourselves as the ones to take down Vilgax himself! Now, your first training mission will see how you deal with…. Hostile landscapes…."
….
We later see Deacon leading the group across a canyon of some kind.
Deacon kept a brisk pace ahead of them.
Max found himself near the front with Xylene.
She asked, "what do you think he has in store for us?"
Max, "not sure. Can't be any worse than the training I went through in the air force."
Xylene smiled at Max and said, "you intrigue me. You're only 25, and yet you're training to save the universe."
Max, "well, I thought it was the right thing to do."
Xylene, "you said you have a son?"
Max, "yeah, Frank. Little tyke is skittish over everything. But I wouldn't trade him for the world."
Xylene, "and his mother. She was the Andodite you met?"
Max, "yeah. Verdona. We were together for a few years…. But when her instincts told her to explore the universe, I didn't stop her."
Xylene gave a sad smile.
That's when the group felt the ground around them beginning to shake!
Rook Kai, "what is going on?!"
Phil, "what does it feel like, cat boy! Some sort of quake!"
That's when the ground between Deacon and the team cracked apart! A huge river of lava was between them!
Deacon, "you Dweezers better get across, before your goose is cooked!"
Max looks at Rook Kai and yells, "got any ideas? You seem to be the smartest member of the group!"
Rook Kai, "we need to form some sort of bridge if we wish to cross to the other side of this!"
Max turned to Xylene and said, "you can use telepathy, right?"
Xylene nodded and said, "I see where you're going with this!"
She quickly thrust her hands forward; pulling several large stones into the air and moving them across the gap!
Max, "everyone run across!"
Phil and Rook Kai ran across as Xylene carefully made her way across while keeping the stones in the air!
But as Max and Palliday started running across, the ground shook even more, knocking Xylene out of her concentration!
Max and Palliday fell down, but Max was able to grab onto the walls of the crack, and Palliday grabbed onto Max's foot, looking down at the lava below them in terror!
Max yelled, "Palliday, climb on up!"
Palliday, "b-but Max-!"
Max yelled, "no buts! Climb up, now!"
Palliday began climbing up in fright as Deacon yelled, "you're really gonna let him climb all over you? Shrug him off!"
Max groaned as Palliday climbed over him, and growled, "not, shrugging, anyone!"
Palliday managed to get back up, and Max followed behind him!
He nearly fell back into the crack, but Phil and Xylene were there to pull him to safety!
Max, "phew, thanks."
Phil, "hey, we're a team. We gotta stick together."
Deacon, "congratulations, Dweezers. You managed to survive this. Now, how about somewhere with a breeze?"
….
We see Deacon standing atop a large boulder as the group was trying to keep itself from getting sucked into a swirling pit of sand!
Palliday was clinging to a boulder, his eyes shut tight.
Phil was clinging to a boulder nearby as well.
Xylene was using her tail and arm to cling to a boulder as she hung onto Max, who was holding onto Rook Kai.
Max, "hang on Kai!"
Rook Kai's hand began slipping as he yelled, "I-I cannot! Agh!"
Rook Kai slipped from Max's grasp and was pulled into the swirling sand!
Palliday, "KAI!"
Deacon, "ha! Looks like he's not gonna make it!"
Max grew an angry look before he jumped out of Xylene's grasp! He dove into the swirling sand after his teammate!
Phil and Xylene, "MAX!"
Deacon chuckled and said, "ha, looks like he- huh?!"
Everyone gasped as Max's hand emerged from the sand, and they watched as Max started swimming towards land with Rook Kai in his other arm!
Xylene quickly used her telepathy to grab both of them and pulled them to solid land, as the others all managed to get there.
Max was coughing up a storm for a moment before he saw the others all smiling at him.
Deacon grimaced as he said, "how about we head off to more…. Solid ground…."
….
We see Deacon hopping atop several solid rocks sitting around as the others are carefully walking across a large frozen lake in a cave.
Palliday is leading the way this time, due to him being from a planet made of water, he's able to detect the safest path over the frozen water.
Rook Kai is easily able to make his way behind him, due to his quick reflexes.
Phil is in the middle, being as careful as possible.
Max is near the back, watching as Xylene is having a lot of trouble with the way she's built. Her legs are a little thinner, and her tail isn't able to keep much balance on the ice.
Max said, "be careful Xylene. Keep close to me."
Xylene, "I'm trying. My race is built for extreme temperatures, but not so much for walking on ice."
Deacon yelled, "keep up, Dweezers! The ice ain't as patient as I am!"
That's when they all heard a crack.
They all looked down to see some cracks forming in the ice!
Phil yelled, "EVERYBODY RUN!"
Palliday, Rook Kai and Phil began running as fast as they could, but suddenly, the ice cracked too fast for Xylene, and she fell into the water!
Max, "XYLENE!"
Deacon, "save yourself Tennyson! Let her freeze!"
Max growled before running back and diving into the water. He braved the cold as he swam down to Xylene! He quickly grabbed her and started swimming up, even as he began to lose the breath he was holding. He felt his vision going dark as he did his best to push Xylene above him.
But as he thought this was the end, he and Xylene were grabbed by two large red arms that pulled them out of the water and onto solid ground.
It was Deacon who had pulled them out!
As Max caught his breath, he noticed that Xylene wasn't breathing!
He quickly dashed over to her and started performing CPR. He did chest compressions and began breathing air back into her lungs, until she coughed up the water and sat up, coughing as she caught her breath.
Max and the others gave sighs of relief, even as Max shivered for a moment.
Deacon sighed and said, "we best find a planet to set up camp and rest…."
….
It's later at night on a more barren looking planet, the sand looking very purple.
Most of the group is trying to rest after such an eventful day.
Max was still up, stoking at the campfire they had set up, when Deacon walked forward and kicked some sand into the fire.
Deacon, "rest up kid. We've got another big day tomorrow…."
Deacon was about to walk away, until Max said, "why?"
The others all sat up and looked at Max.
Deacon looked over at Max and growled, "why what?"
Max, "why do you treat us like this? Put us in such danger?"
Deacon, "I don't gotta explain myself to you."
Max stood up and said, "you're our teacher. You're meant to keep us alive! And yet three times, you've nearly gotten us killed!"
Deacon turned to Max and growled, "you got something to say. Say it now."
Max, "you're a mean, sadistic, son of a-"
Deacon suddenly punched Max in the face, shocking the others!
Max wiped the blood at the corner of his mouth and threw a punch at Deacon. Deacon caught the punch with his top left arm, but Max used this to his advantage, ducking down and pulling Deacon over him and onto his back! Max quickly jumped up and threw a kick at Deacon, but the Tetramand caught it and threw Max several feet away! He ran over and jumped up to throw two punches with his lower arms, but Max rolled out of the way and kicked his instructor in the back! Deacon turned around and grabbed Max's arms and tossed him to the ground. As Max tried to get up, Deacon put his foot on his chest.
Deacon yelled, "stand down!"
Max growled but remained still. Deacon moved his foot, and Xylene and Phil helped Max up.
Deacon yelled, "you think I'm putting you Dweezers through all of this for kicks? The Plumbers are meant to be the protectors of the galaxy! And you best keep that in mind", he held up his Plumbers badge, the same symbol of the Omnitrix, and said, "we wear these badges to show the universe that we will always be there to save it. And it's up to old soldiers like me to make you Dweezers into the Plumbers of tomorrow!"
The group was silent as Deacon clipped his badge back to his belt.
That's when it began beeping. He pressed it to hear the message.
"General Deacon? Repeat, General Deacon, do you copy?"
Deacon, "Deacon here. What's the status?"
"We've got a situation on the planet you're on. A Galvanic Mechamorph with some sort of malfunction. It's Malware. We need you and your cadets to handle it."
Deacon, "roger that."
Deacon ended the call and looked upon his cadets.
Deacon, "training is on hold. I need you cadets to be up and ready for this."
Deacon pulled out several small objects that formed into laser guns.
He handed each one to the cadets, but dropped Max's gun in front of him.
The others looked at Max before he said, "go. I'll catch up."
The others nodded before they followed Deacon to where Malware was attacking.
Max looked down at his blaster before picking it up. It looked different from the other blasters. Like…. It could get bigger….
….
We see a small base of some kind, red lightning sparking all over the place!
Various aliens were scattering as the carnage ensued!
The lightning was coming from a Galvanic Mechamorph! But they looked jagged and corrupt. The markings on them were red, rather than green!
This was Malware!
As he absorbed a laser gun on the ground, it formed into his arm, and he began shooting rapidly through the air!
But suddenly, a large crate hit them from behind, smashing into splinters! They turned to see Deacon standing there with Xylene, Phil, Palliday and Rook Kai.
Deacon, "you messed up, Dweezer!"
Deacon grabbed another crate and threw it at Malware!
Malware jumped out of the way and started shooting at the Plumbers.
Malware, "you damned Plumbers won't get me! I'm not your average Mechamorph!"
Xylene formed a shield with her telekinesis as Phil and Rook Kai used the cover to shoot at Malware!
Palliday began getting people to safety as the others fought Malware!
Deacon ran at Malware and started punching them left and right before the Mechamorph grabbed all four arms and threw him into a crate! Deacon sat up as Malware marched towards him.
Malware, "brute strength won't work on me!"
Deacon, "then maybe this will?!"
He pulled out four blasters and began firing at Malware! He managed to land a few hits, but the Mechamorph shrugged them off and began firing at Deacon!
Deacon ran for cover as Rook Kai engaged Malware! He used a Proto-Tool to go hand to hand with Malware. He managed to get the Mechamorph on the defensive for a few minutes before Malware grabbed him and threw him into the air.
Phil saw this and ran to a crane, and used it to pluck Rook Kai out of the air and began to lower him down!
Xylene went on the attack next, but her telekinetic attacks did very little against Malware. He took them like a champ and dashed towards Xylene. His hand sparked with energy before it hit her and sent her crashing several feet away!
Palliday jumped on Malware from behind, but he managed to shrug the fish alien off before Deacon dashed at him and punched him into a wall. The wall was broken open, showing a sparking engine.
Malware began chuckling as he spotted the engine and growled, "you messed up, Plumber!"
Before Deacon could dash forward, Malware grabbed the engine and began sparking with red lightning all around him. He looked right at Deacon and shot an immense laser blast at the older Tetramand! He was sent flying into a forklift of some kind. It exploded around him! Malware stalked towards the explosion. As the smoke cleared, he saw Deacon laying on the ground, his skin burned in several places and blood at the corner of his mouth. He looked incredibly weak as he stared up at Malware. Malware pointed his laser arm at Deacon and said, "let's put you out of your misery, old man."
"HEY! UGLY!"
Malware turned, and was shot into a wall, away from Deacon!
Deacon looked to see Max standing there with the huge gun strapped to his arm.
Deacon, "y-you're here?"
Deacon tried to get up, but Max knelt down and placed his hand on his shoulder.
Max, "stay down sir. I'll take care of this monster."
Deacon stayed down as Max got back up.
Max looked to his teammates as they ran to him. Malware was pulling themselves out of the wall.
Max, "we need to take this guy down. And take him in."
Phil smirked and said, "you got a plan?"
Max, "do I have a plan? We need to get him away from all of this technology."
Xylene, "if someone can distract him, I can power my telekinesis up and send him into the desert!"
Max, "good. Who's good at distracting people?"
Phil walked forward and said, "my time to shine!"
As Malware shook some debris off, Phil ran forward and yelled, "hey! Try and catch me, you glitched out toaster!"
Malware's attention was drawn to Phil, and he started shooting at the cadet as he made vulgar gestures.
Xylene began sneaking her way behind Malware as Phil jumped on a crate and shook his butt at the villain.
Phil, "look at me! I'm Malware!"
Malware growled before shooting at Phil! Phil jumped out of the way as Xylene sent a gigantic blast of telekinetic energy at Malware, sending him flying through the air and a fair distance away from the base!
The group ran after Malware as Palliday began calling the Plumbers!
Palliday, "this is Plumber cadet Palliday! We need Plumber forces at our location! We are pursuing the Galvanic Mechamorph known as Malware! We need dispatch to apprehend him!"
"Roger that cadet! We're on our way!"
As Malware dug himself out of the dirt, Max said, "Kai, I need you to engage Malware while I power up my gun to its full power!"
Rook Kai, "roger that, sir!"
The cadet used his Proto-Tool to engage Malware. While the Mechamorph was disoriented for the moment, this gave Rook Kai the advantage against them!
He hit them over and over again with the Proto-Tool as Palliday tried to find a way to help. That's when he noticed Malware's grip on his laser gun was weakening! He mustered up his courage and ran at Malware! He grabbed the gun and managed to pull it away, making his defenses weaker!
Max finally finished powering up the gun and aimed it right at Malware!
Max yelled, "XYLENE! PHIL! HOLD HIM DOWN!"
Xylene threw her arms forward and pulled several rocks out of the ground that wrapped around Malware's legs!
Phil managed to throw an immense stone at Malware, knocking him to the ground as Rook Kai jumped away!
Max quickly fired the gun, hitting Malware dead on! The Mechamorph yelled in pain for a few moments before he collapsed to the ground, unconscious!
Palliday ran forward and used a pair of cuffs to bind the unconscious Mechamorph.
Max, "good work everyone. We got him."
Phil, "hey, it was all thanks to you Max."
Palliday, "yeah. You led us to this."
Rook Kai, "indeed. I would be proud to fight beside you again."
Max smiled, and then blushed as Xylene kissed him on the cheek.
Max gave a big dumb grin. But then he remembered….
Max, "Deacon! You guys watch Malware! I'll check on the General!"
The others gave worried nods as Max ran back to the base.
Max ran over to Deacon. He had seen it all from where he lay.
Deacon, "y-you know…. I'd never let you kids die…. Us old soldiers…. We've gotta prepare the younger generation…. So they won't have as many burdens…. There's an old saying my teacher once taught me…. When I wanted a reward for saving a ship…. Being a hero isn't about others knowing you did something good…. It's about YOU knowing you did something good…. Being a hero is its own reward…. Cough! Cough!"
Max, "stay here. I'll get help!"
Max was about to run off, but Deacon said, "nah…. It's too late for me…. But you…. You lead these kids like a natural born Plumber…."
Deacon managed to hold up his badge. A light scanned over Max, as Deacon said, "Maxwell Tennyson. As my last will and testament…. I'm dubbing you…. An official Plumber officer…. Shine this badge…. And protect the universe…."
Max held back tears as he picked up the badge.
Max, "I promise sir. I'll make you proud."
Deacon, "I know you will…. Dweezer…."
Deacon let out one final breath before his eyes closed, and he went still.
Max held back his tears as best as he could before he saw several Plumber ships arrive.
His team walked over to him, Malware now awake, but couldn't do anything in his cuffs.
The others all have somber looks as they salute their fallen teacher….
….
5 years later
We see a slightly older Max standing upon the grave sight of Deacon.
A headstone lay there.
It read, "here lies General Deacon. Proud Plumber, teacher, friend and soldier."
Max gave a sad smile while holding a picture.
It was of him and Xylene. She was laying in a bed, with a baby in her arms.
Max's second son, Carl.
Max looked at the grave and said, "your teachings…. They did me well, sir. I lived through it. And now I'm happily married. Two sons…. And I have you to thank for that…. Dweezer."
Max saluted the grave before walking off.
A great soldier, having mourned a fallen one….
….
Back in present day
We see a portal from the Null Void suddenly opening up in an alleyway.
Jumping out of the portal, we see a terrifying sight.
Standing there with a crazed look in his eyes, his skin much paler, a long beard and hair and torn up Plumber suit…. Was Phil Billings.
And he growled out, "Tennyson…. You will pay!"
….
Reviews:
Monkey D. Conan: Good joke. Yep, Ben and Hope are finally a couple. I have big plans for their relationship. And big plans for Xylene as well. Maybe Ben will get a sort of sixth sense that improves his reflexes and what not thanks to Xylene being his grandma. Anyway, glad you liked the chapter and are excited for more.
Guest: maybe by the end of Omniverse.
edwinnkoka: no. I feel like giving Ben other super powers would take away the importance of the Omnitrix.
Guest: Sorry I screwed that up.
jasonalcius: thanks. And yeah, Xylene is one of my favorite characters, so I wanted to do a lot more with her. I'm glad you're so invested in Ben x Hope. And yep, I'm trying to build up the Negative 10 big time.
MerlockVonBaron: not in this continuity.
Ultimatrix 105: thanks. 1. Yes. 2. Xylene will keep her original design, Ben will have his Alien Force Design, and Hope's design will basically be a mix of all her designs. She'd have a Scarlet Witch from MCU look of sorts. 3. Ben will start off with his new aliens in Alien Force but will eventually regain all of his previous aliens. 3. Looma, Attea and Ester will show up, but none of them will get in-between Ben and Hope. 4. Xylene and Verdona will butt heads at some point. 5. Ben and Hope will get a lemon at some point in the later stories. Once they're both 18. 6. The story will get a little darker over time.
OMNISENSE95: thanks.
Mlynarz: yes.
Guest: chapter 41 will be the wedding episode.
epantoja521: thanks.
Guest: I plan to have Harvey show up earlier on in Alien Force, but I'm not sure if I'll do what you suggested.
Ushindi: thanks so much. I'm glad you found the changes with Xylene staying and being Ben's grandma interesting. 1. I think the DNAliens were awesome enemies. 2. Yes, but only after the invasion is thwarted. 3. If I do a Ben 10 only harem one day, the harem would consist of Julie, Looma, Charmcaster, Helen, Attea, Ester and Elena.
Omnicaster: thanks so much.
Guest: I'm glad you liked how I adapted the episode and the various changes I added in. Hope you'll enjoy this unique chapter.
….
Before we move onto Secret of the Omnitrix, I decided to do a chapter about Max first becoming a plumber with his team; Xylene, Phil, Palliday, and Rook Kai.
As well as setting up Malware for when he appears later on.
This chapter was heavily based on Killowog's story from Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. An animated Green Lantern movie that was produced by the same people who did the live action one…. But it's SOOOO much better!
Also, I've got a new poll up. I'm planning on a Ben 10 and Teen Titans crossover harem story in the near future. One where Ben ends up with Starfire, Raven, Blackfire and (maybe) Looma. So, this new poll is to see if there are any additional girls people would wanna see in the harem.
Once that poll gets enough votes, I'll move onto the next poll regarding a future story.
