Warning: This story contains explicit scenes, heavy violence, foul language, unrealistic proportions and actions regarding the human body as well as other contents suited for mature readers only. If such content does not appeal to you and your preference, kindly leave.

Yo! Back with another chapter and I hope you all enjoy.

Once again, I'm stumped by the immense support that you all are giving. Truly, thank you. When I published this fic, I truly didn't expect really anyone to read it. But to find out only a few weeks later and four chapters later, you all gave me 51 reviews, 242 favorites and 276 follows! That's just insane! Honestly, thank you all for the support!

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ZZZ

A loud hissing sound was heard as a large, four-inch-thick steel door opened as multiple sets of footsteps were heard walking through.

"I suppose I can't change your mind on this… can I?" Max's aged voice sinking with a undertone of defeat.

"Nope!" Ben responded, popping the 'P' as he made his way through the large steel door, which was a huge armory that was just smaller than some small houses, being around eight hundred square feet large.

The walls were shrouded with metal and over that, was black soundproofing material and on the ground, was neat, pearly white flooring, one not unlike that of a hospital's own flooring. There were four layers of shelves that held weapons, ammo, armor, clothing and strangely enough, fake passports, fake ID's, ID Masks, and backpacks filled with cash.

"Alright," Ben started as turned around to half-heartedly meet their gazes. "Suit up. And while I don't think you'll want to use the weapons, try and consider wearing the armor." He explained slightly as he held up, what looked like a normal black t-shirt. "This thing is laced with carbonadium, an extremely flexible material that easily ten times stronger than steel. This material that I've made is still in the prototype phase, but they've been through field tests and have passed the usability phase and I need to see just how good the material is and if its worth actually buying it to integrate it into armor."

"Carbonadium…?" Max murmured in thought. "Benjamin, that material is extremely expensive. I should know, I was looking to buy some just recently until I found out how expensive it actually was."

Ben nodded and shrugged casually, "Hey, I have an alien that can literally produce some of the most sought out crystals in this galaxy. You think I wouldn't sell them? Trust me, I have far more money than I could ever hope to use now." He waved uncaringly.

"You're talkin' about Diamondhead's crystals, right?" Kevin assumed with a raised eyebrow. It was a pretty good idea, now that he thought about it.

At Ben's barely responsive and noticeable nod, he thought to himself. 'I might have to do that as well. Get me some cash that way I wont have to keep flippin' alien tech.'

Ben then threw the shirt forward at whoever had been in front of him, which had been Gwendolyn and she raised her hands instantly and caught the shirt with ease. She then studied it and rubbed her fingers along it. To her amazement, it felt just as smooth and cool as regular spandex, and when she pulled it a few different ways, she also found that it was far more flexible then normal spandex and when she channeled a small amount of magical energy, she noticed that it positively reacted to it, not showing one sign of tearing.

After studying it for a few seconds, she placed it over on a shelf and walked ahead just a little bit, further observing the room and what was occupying it.

"Alright, lets get suited up." Ben ordered as he opened a secret compartment of the room and stared at a cardboard box. He stared at it for a few seconds before he smiled and picked it up. He then left the room, allowing Kevin and Gwendolyn to pick out what they wanted to wear, along side if they wanted to use any weapons.

Kevin had decided to go with some armor, as he didn't have anything stronger then carbonadium to absorb, so to wear anything else, would most likely be a down grade and now that he had a large output of carbonadium, hence the clothing that he was just about to equip, he could now absorb it and cloak himself in it.

His own outfit now was a grey, sleeveless, formfitting vest that allowed his muscular arms to be seen. He also had grey pants on, along side black boots and average looking katana that had a sheath that was already installed with the vest which was placed horizontally along his lower back.

Gwendolyn had ditched her previous outfit and now sported a black, formfitting long sleeve shirt that had her Charms of Bezel fitted into the right sleeve of the shirt, right along the side of her bicep, a pair of black, formfitting pants that hugged her rear nicely and a pair of monochrome boots. Over her top, she also now wore a full body, white hooded, open cloak with cream colored fur lining the edges to it.

(Gwendolyn is wearing an exact copy of Selene's last outfit in Underworld: Blood Wars)

She donned the hood and she and Kevin both walked out of the changing rooms when they were done and saw Ben leaning against the wall in a new outfit as well.

He now wore a black, short sleeve shirt that was skintight, showing his rock-hard abs and other muscles that were on display. For pants, a wore a pair of extremely durable, carbonadium laced black leather pants and black matching boots. Over that, he wore a black leather coat that was also made out carbonadium and it dipped all the way down to his achilles heel. On his waist, was a newly changed utility belt and on each side of his upper thighs, rested two short swords named tanto's. Coming out of his coat in the direct center of it, rested a straight edged sword that looked like an oversized ninjato that was approximately 70 cm's large.

The sword was purely silver in color and it had a black and red laced handle. It had a There was also an engraved design on it, showing a long snake's tail at the base of the sword and at the tip of it, rested the head of the snake and it's head was opened wide with its long tongue hissing angrily. The sheath was purely black and was hidden underneath the coat as the handle of the sword popped through a small circular cutout of it.

(Picture Kasper Cole's Black Panther outfit, only without the stuff on the utility belt, and the mask).

He also donned a creepy, leather mask, that looked almost like a Frankenstein themed mask. It had lipless mouth right over his own mouth, with large, gnashing teeth, much like a restrained asylum monster and it also had a zipper at the edge of the right side of the teeth. On his neck, showed two bolts stick from it, giving it that Frankenstein theme. (Picture Kaneki's mask from Tokyo Ghoul, just take away the eyepatch aspect to it).

Ben looked at them as they came out, his long black hair brushing in front of his eyes.

"Why the mask and the sword?"

Ben spared her glance before smiling slightly. "Grandpa, no matter who stupid it sounded, was right to fear the world's governments. Which is why, I'm not going to be transforming and Kevin will stick to his normal abilities."

"Are you sure limiting ourselves is wise?" Gwendolyn asked, worrying for her cousin's safety. However, all she got was nonchalant shrug from him.

"Who knows. We'll have to find out." He responded, his mask scrambling his voice ever so slightly to make it harder to recognize him.

Gwendolyn sighed and she nodded slowly. However, Kevin wasn't so understanding.

"Okay Tennyson, now I'm starting to wonder if you've lost your mind." He stated as he glared across at him. But all he got in return, was a short laugh.

"Kevin… when have I ever been sane in the first place?"

"Jury's still out on that one," Gwendolyn muttered, thinking back to when he sacrificed himself for her.

Kevin said nothing more and just pursed his lips and nodded, his expression stoic. Seeing that, Ben turned heel and began walking towards the door, dead set on walking out and leaving to start what they were all ready to do.

The two watched him go and once again, they felt themselves staring at his back as he was the first person every time to take lead.

Both unanimously knew that Ben was a natural born leader, but they also knew that he would never consider himself as a leader. It wasn't in his nature to lead someone in battle or even lead a team. He was just was doing what his instincts were telling him and that so happened quarrel in with them all working together. After all, they were supposed to fight some threat that was a danger to the whole planet and Ben wasn't taking any chances with it.

It was something that the two learned about Ben; he didn't deal with 'maybes' or the 'unknown'. He dealt with 'facts'. Cold, hard, facts. And he wasn't about to caught with his dick in his hand once that threat actually decided to show themselves.

As both Gwendolyn and Kevin stepped out of the HQ, they saw staring ahead and upwards at the sky and strong breezes drifted passed them, causing his coat flap back and around slightly. His green eyes looked at the light blue skies above and with a barely noticeable smile, Ben spoke, already knowing who was behind him.

"You think Grandpa is right?" He asked, prompting them to look at the back of his head.

"Right about what?" Kevin was the first to ask.

Ben took the question in stride and answered immediately, almost like he was expecting the exact question to be asked. "Do you think he's right to be fearful of the world's governments?"

"You want my opinion?" Levin asked seriously and at Ben's slow nod, he spoke once more, and he straightened himself before he did so. "I think It is foolish to fear what we have yet to see and know. That's what I think."

Ben's facial expression slowly morphed into a stoic slate and he just continued to stare into the sky as he blinked every thirty or so seconds. After a few minutes of, admittedly tense silence went by, Ben let loose a heavy sigh as he looked down at the ground.

"I don't know, Kevin." He shook his head and then he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I barely even know how this world works… I barely even know what happened after I disappeared. I haven't seen my parents in a decade… and this world… the world that I used to live on, now just feels so foreign and shifted. Before, my view on the world and everything around me in general was an infinitely more different then what it is now. Maybe… maybe that's why I'm having so much trouble adapting."

"Why? Because you're trying to stick to that one concept of you remembered back on Earth? Being happy, having a family, going to school, etc.?" Gwendolyn asked curiously and Ben nodded slowly. "Ben, you still have a family, friends, and you still have people who care for you. If you want something to rebuild off of, do it with us… me, grandpa, hell even Kevin."

"Hey!" Levin nearly yelled. "Don't rope me into this -," he was cut off as Gwendolyn began to speak once more.

"You don't have to try to be that same person you used to be; be the person you grew up to be. Don't regress."

Ben swallowed some saliva down his suddenly dry throat and clicked his teeth. "Enough of this." He nearly spat, not liking how she could read him that well. "Lets go. We got a mission to do."

Gwendolyn internally sighed as she looked at Ben's tense shoulders and thought to herself.

'Why are you being so stubborn? Just let me in…'

ZZZ

"With the info your grandpa gave us… apparently these two are DNAlien hunters as well." Levin's voice ran through his car as he flipped through the file that Max had given Gwendolyn as she made her way out of the HQ.

Ben boredly flipped through the file as he skimmed through it. "They've been doing this for a four months, apparently."

"They've been doing it for a little longer then we have," the only female of the group spoke up. "Maybe we should take this with some more caution."

Ben's eyes subtly twitched as he stared forward, his brows temporarily furrowing as a coarse thought brushed past him. However, he jolted slightly when he heard Kevin speak after a few moments of silence.

"There they are." Kevin pointed out with a subtle jolt of his head to the general direction at where they were.

Ben tilted his head to the sider and looked through his right window and indeed, there was the Tetramand and Kineceleran walking out of a truck with poles in their hands.

"Electrical Staffs." Kevin spoke up. "Devices specialized in capturing targets. It has durability and strength to restrain enhanced level strength, but anything Superhuman or over is certain not work." He explained. He was about to talk again, but the alarm for the car door opening went off and he saw both Gwendolyn and Ben getting out of the car. He watched them go for a few seconds and pursed his lips as he opened his door.

As he stepped out, he immediately closed his door and the car locked automatically, but gave no indication of it doing so, as the sequence was completely quiet and non-alertive

He then followed and watched as Ben leaped stealthily over on the edge of a one story building and quickly cleared over to another building. His hands clamped down on the edge to a windowsill and he began quickly climbing up it with excellent precision.

As he finished, he found himself looking over the edge of a six story, abandoned building. Gwendolyn was on the very next building beside him, two floors down and Kevin was crouching on the edge of a building right across from him on the same level.

"What's the plan?" Gwendolyn asked through coms.

Ben answered immediately. "We simply observe for now."

"What?" Kevin questioned, confused. "I thought we were here to take these guys down?"

"No." Ben responded. "We're here to make sure they aren't a threat to anyone else but themselves. Understand?" He asked seriously, wanting to make sure no one was going to get trigger happy.

Kevin frowned slightly, knowing that 'Understand' was projected at him, but said nothing, knowing that now was not the time to be petty. And so, he crouched over the side of the roof and looked over the side and waited.

Silently, Ben pulled out a pair of, what looked like highly advanced binoculars and placed them right in front of his eyes and he stared at a seemingly random spot on the large building which the two aliens entered in.

What Kevin and Gwendolyn saw, was just Ben holding normal looking binoculars. But what they didn't know, was the fact that the binoculars were a piece of Level 4 Alien Technology and the specifications of them, were pretty impressive in terms of utility. They not only allowed him infrared vison, take pictures in 8K quality and video in that same resolution, but they also allowed him to see completely through walls and had tech installed that allowed him to run facial recognition on who ever he was staring it.

"Targets on the second floor. Ten meters to the end of the building on the south-east side." Ben described and reported the second he figured out the calculations.

Gwendolyn nodded and Kevin gave a small, quiet grunt in confirmation.

"What are they doing?" She asked curiously.

Ben's eyebrow's furrowed for a few seconds before responding. "It looks like they're investigating the building… thinking that maybe we left something behind."

"And did we?" She asked seriously and Ben immediately shook his head.

"No, Kevin and I are too careful to do that, and I was keeping my eye on you to make sure you didn't." He informed her, but he stiffened when he felt a short wave of cold that barely lasted half a second.

Immediately, alarm bells ran off and he stared over at Kevin's perch… only find him gone.

"Kevin you goddamn dolt!" Ben hissed angrily before he dropped off the ledge of the building and sank straight down onto the ground. He landed in a slight crouching formation and he then stood up as soon as he could and waved up at Gwendolyn.

"Levin just got us compromised." Ben hissed once more and Gwendolyn looked at him in shock, before she too turned her attention to Kevin's previous spot, at which he had been staying at for the last couple of minutes, only to find it empty with his small communications earpiece laying on the cement building top.

Gwendolyn quickly dropped off the edge of the building as well and softened her inevitable landing with a burst of mana and some small debris scattered away from underneath her feet. She quickly ran over to the slowly jogging Ben and within a few seconds, she caught up to him. However, once she neared the building, she heard numerous loud bangs, followed by some yells. Quickly, Gwendolyn followed Ben inside and immediately found the Kineceleran and Tetramand laying on the ground, completely unconscious with some wounds and bruises on them.

Kevin was cloaked in a pale silver body, making his entire form appear metallic and silver, only far more shiny and detailed. He looked cocky as ever and as the metallic shine and color faded from his body upon release and, he lightly shuffled his hands together, as if he was wiping something off of them.

He then turned over and saw both Gwendolyn and Ben. He completely ignored the silent fury and anger that Ben had felt and the frustration and angry vibe that was radiating off of Gwendolyn. In fact, it didn't even register until he found Ben standing up in front of him, his hands clenched tightly. The second he realized that he just pissed off the wrong person, he was roughly punched straight across the face, sending him to the ground with a loud clump.

Kevin stared forward, completely mute from shock and he registered a warm liquid going down both his nostril and mouth and he slowly reached up. He then brushed the side of his hand across his face and brought it back, show smeared blood on the side of his knuckles. That shock evaporated as his temper arose and he was up on his feet in a flash.

"The hell was that for?!" Kevin yelled as got right up in Ben's face.

However, his temper died down once he stared into those rage filled, emerald green eyes that promised so much fury and pain onto the person that had dared cause him to feel such.

Ben reached forward and roughly gasped the fabric of his top and curled his hand back slightly and upwards, actually lifted Kevin up and onto his tippy toes. Even then, Ben was still a little taller then him, even without the suit.

"You want to know it was for?" Ben asked, forcefully calm and before Kevin could think of a smartass reply, he responded. "Simple; you completely went against my orders and instructions. I told you, you we were not supposed to attack them! We were simply running reconnaissance to see if they posed a threat!" He growled before he shoved Kevin forward, sending him stumbling on his feet, a meter or so backwards.

"So what!" Kevin shouted once more. "We got 'em! It doesn't matter if their a threat now!"

Ben growled once more, "Yes it does, Kevin!" He shouted back, his own temper finally rising. "What do you want to do? Huh? Take them to jail for a non-existent crime? Take them back to HQ? Kill them?" He asked in rapid succession and Levin's eyes widened when he finally got the point at which Ben was mad about.

"We having nothing on them, Kevin. They did nothing wrong beside pick a fight with us; a fight in which no one got hurt or so much as touched." Ben stated after a few seconds of silence, and he let that sink in with the Human/Osmosian Hybrid.

Kevin looked down slightly and sighed. "Fine…" He muttered, silently admitting he was in the wrong and that he shouldn't have done that. "What's the plan now?"

"What? Are you gonna listen to me now?" Ben asked with a vindictive sneer on his face, causing Kevin to silently exhale a long breath through his nose. But before he could say anything in response, Ben spoke soon after. "We'll leave them here. They only saw your face; they never saw Gwendolyn and neither did they see my own. They wont go to the police, as no would believe a few aliens just got their asses kicked by one enhanced human. Especially not some overweight, wannabee cop."

"Right," Kevin nodded.

"Then lets get out of here before they wake up." Gwendolyn said, still having a frown on her beautiful face. She was still angry beyond all recognition, but the tear in that Ben had provided somewhat made her feel better. But she had the impression that he was going to get off scot-free.

"Lets do it." Ben nodded as he and Gwendolyn turned heel and began walking out of the large, run down building. Kevin followed soon after, sparing the alien duo one last glance before he left along side Ben and Gwendolyn.

They soon made it to his car, and they got inside before driving off a few seconds later.

Too bad they never saw a tall male in a grey and black body suit with a long full body coat while wearing a bat-like cowl stealthily standing on a nearby roof. The pure white eyes narrowed as they left and the man promptly disappeared off into the shadows, with no one the wiser.

ZZZ

Underground City, beneath St. Louis Missouri

A bright green flash of light and a loud yell that sounded like a, chicken or rooster which followed soon after.

Ben, who was transformed into alien form, just stared across at a large, eight-foot-tall, rooster-like humanoid with long claws or… talons?

Said alien form was decently tall, being a few inches taller then his human form. He had goldish brown-colored armor, a sideways mouth, four scythe-like legs and a large, powerful pincer for a left hand. He had orange lines running on his body and his eyes were deep, emerald green. On the center of his chest, where his armored laid, was the silver, black and white, perfectly circular Omnitrix symbol. The form that he had just assumed, was the same species of a former enemy of his when he was still on Earth named Kraab and was from a species called Piscciss Premann. Since he didn't really name his aliens longer, and the Omnitrix already did that for him, it simply called the form Kani, which was Japanese for crab.

"You and I both know that there's a very, very slim chance on you escaping me. So, why don't you spare me the trouble, and save yourself the embarrassment and surrender." Kani spoke causally, speaking through a metallic, robot-like voice. However, his adversary just squawked loudly before turning heel and began running.

'Five… four… three… two… one and bob's your uncle.' He thought before raising his pincer and he shot a green beam of energy that had small bolts of yellow electricity circling it and the beam flew through the air quickly.

The alien that was running turned its head back slightly and it's eyebrows widened in shock and horror when it saw a large beam of energy near it. Then, before he could react, it hit him, and an explosion of black smoke followed soon after.

Kani lowered his pincer and the smoke soon cleared out, allowing him to see that his attack hit perfectly and his, formerly fleeing adversary was sprawled out on the ground. The alien had burn marks, his feathers charred and multiple injuries scattering along his body. Kani nodded before his Omnitrix symbol glowed green and an explosion of light followed soon after.

Ben stepped forward in his human form, wearing the same outfit he had worn a few days ago and he reached inside his utility belt and pulled out a Null Void Egg.

The device was small, being a little smaller then his hand and it had a yellow circular stripe going around it and on top, rested a small, concave, bronze button. The egg portion itself, was a color that looked a lot like bronze, only that it was a bit darker.

Ben moved his thumb across the bronze, concave button before tapping it, causing the yellow stripe to glow three times brighter and he casually threw it with a back-handed toss. The egg rumbled over onto the ground near the chicken-rooster alien and was quickly was sucked into the egg as it's body shrunk massively to fit inside it. Once it was inside, the egg promptly disappeared.

He looked upwards and around. Seeing that no one was around him in the secret underground city, a bright green flash of light appeared, and Ben disappeared in a white and black streak of pure speed.

Suddenly, he reappeared around ten miles away in XLR8 form and he looked upon a massive crater that was around twenty feet deep and ten feet wide. Numerous pieces of rubble from the interior part of the house remained, but in shambles. He stared at the crater and he scanned it completely. Soon the results came back, and he frowned deeply. However, before he could do anything else, he heard dirt being scuffed around, followed by a light, yet heavy being crashing down onto the ground five meters behind.

XLR8 whipped around and he immediately sped to the side, dodging a very strong and fast strike from a large hand and it slammed right into the spot XLR8 previously occupied. He stared at the alien his eyes widened slightly.

'I don't recognize this alien at all…' XLR8 thought, that alone being a slightly foreign concept for him. 'It's fast and decently powerful.' He thought once more as he stared at the large, eight-fingered crater that was around eight feet deep that came from the attack he had just dodged.

The alien was tall, being around ten feet tall. It was slightly humanoid and it's body was comprised of thick, pure black scales and it had two, eight-inch-long horns on the top of it's head. It had three eyes, on being on top of it's forehead and the others being directly center to that of a human's. It had six, spider-like legs that were completely black, sharing the same scales that rest of it's body had. It's mouth was large and inside, hundreds of very sharp teeth rested in it's mouth.

XLR8 sped forward and swung it's body to the side, whipping his tail forward towards the bottom side of it's back. He then leaped forward and unleashed a dangerous two-thousand hit and slash combo from his sharp, black claws. But, after the last blow, he noticed that all his attacks were doing absolutely no damage. Then, on the sides of it's large, spider-like legs, small, spiked, spherical devices shot out and XLR8 tried dodging them all by moving diagonally.

But, one of them exploded late, on purpose, and blew up straight in his face, sending him flying back hundreds of meters.

However, XLR8 recovered and slammed his balled feet down onto the ground and ran straight forward. Once he got within ten meters of the stationed alien, XLR8 leaped into the air and he then kicked upwards a few times, actually sending himself higher into the air. XLR8 then started spinning at maximum speed upwards, gaining another sixty meters of altitude and he suddenly snapped downwards and aimed his claws downwards, and he aimed them right at alien as he continued spinning, forming a corkscrew-like attack.

Black and white streaks formed quickly and the second he slammed into the creature, a large explosion of smoke and dirt appeared, and a number of shockwaves followed soon after.

Once the smoke cleared, it was shown that XLR8's attack did absolutely jackshit.

XLR8 zipped backwards around ten meters and his visor slid up. His facial expression showed that he was shocked at what happened.

'That alien… it took absolutely no damage from any of my attacks; including my strongest attack.' He thought, shocked and strangely enough, impressed.

"Okay, time to switch up tactics." XLR8 stated with a small smirk on his face and the white and black Omnitrix symbol on his chest glowed green before a flash of light occurred through the entire battlefield.

In Ben's previous place, now stood Four Arms and he stared directly across at the alien before him.

"Time to give you a hand… or four!" Four Arms yelled with serious expression his face before he pulled back all four of his arms and puffed his chest forward. He also tilted his head back somewhat and he then pulled forward and roughly clapped all four of his hands together to their opposites.

Immediately, a huge shockwave rattled off his four hands and shot forward quickly and slammed right into the side of the stationed alien. As the attack hit, the alien was propelled roughly off the ground and tilted backwards. It then started tattering around in a circle, almost as if it was dizzy.

Four Arms then ran forwards and roughly punched the ground with both of his right hands, both his large, red hands burrowing into the ground. A half a second later, pillars of rock jutted from the ground and slammed right under the creature, sending it flying into the air. Four Arms then leaped into he air, throwing himself hundreds of feet into the sky and as he got around fifty meters above the airborne alien, he reared back all his hands and conjoined each into fists.

"Next stop… ROCK BOTTOM!" Four Arms roared the last part as he slammed his fists right into the alien's back, sending him crashing down onto the ground. The second his fists connected with the back of the alien, a large boom was heard, followed by a cracking sound as the alien was sent downwards and it immediately shattered the sound barrier many, many times over and as it slammed into the ground, the immense pressure that it brought upon, caused an earthquake was felt for hundreds of miles in every direction.

The crater that Four Arms made, was absolutely massive. It was around forty meters wide and sixty meters deep. Around the crater, the ground was torn up, and ripples surrounded the crater and as Four Arms landed on the ground, he saw the alien rested at the very bottom of the crater, completely unmoving.

Knowing that the alien attacked him without provocation, he knew that it was far too dangerous to be left to the public to deal with and nor did he trust that alien not to hurt any innocent beings, but he did not want to have to fight thing again and have it come back to bite him in the ass.

The Omnitrix symbol that was in the direct center of his chest glowed green before in a flash, Ben was back in his human form, only instead of the gruesome mask that he donned before, he just wore a simple black mask that covered the bottom half of his face, up to the upper part of his nose and went all the way down to his collar bone. So, he made the decision and he grabbed a Null Void Egg from his utility belt and armed it, getting a soft orange glow from the sides of it.

He then lightly tossed it down through the crater and it sucked up the unconscious alien. The egg got larger slightly, as if it had to accommodate the alien's large stature and size. Once it was fully absorbed into the device, the egg disappeared completely without a trace.

As Ben continued to stare at the crater, he crouched down and plucked a small fragment of something and he pulled out a small cylinder before dropping it into the clear, oval shaped cylinder. He then placed it into a compartment of his utility belt before standing up straight. His green eyes traced over the scarred battlefield before the Omnitrix glowed from underneath his coat and in a bright green flash, he was off in a white and black streak of speed.

As Ben left, a pair of red eyes stared through a non-lit cave and watched his every movement up until he disappeared into a burst of speed.

'So… the stories are true…'

"Ben Tennyson… I will be looking forward to our inevitable meeting."

ZZZ

Four Months Later

"Are sure this is wise, Benjamin?"

Ben stopped what he was doing, which was typing on a keyboard to a rather large computer screen in front of him. He stared at it mutely with a stilled expression for a moment before slowly turning the chair around to meet his grandfather's face.

"I mean, we're talking about criminals." Max stated a second after Ben staring stonily at him. However, Ben just shook his head, a small exasperated frown on his lips.

"Is what we do legal?" Ben asked as he crossed his arms and looked up at his grandfather. Max frowned and shook his head.

"No, of course-,"

"Then that makes us criminals as well." Ben stated with a shrug. "Look. I offered for you all to walk and let me start this team alone. But you were so persistent on me leading it and forging it."

Max stared at him, long and hard before he sighed heavily. "You truly think making a team full of criminals, murders and assassins, is the best option?"

Ben sneered slightly, "Please spare me the self-moral speech. We both know that I've killed a lot more people then we both would like to admit. You were a soldier and Kevin was almost in the same boat as I was. The only one semi-normal in this little ragtag group, is Gwendolyn." He said before standing up and stared down at his grandfather. "I love her. And you think I want to drag her through this?" He asked as he pointed at himself with his thumb. "No, I pleaded, no… I begged her to walk. But she didn't and told me that she wouldn't leave me ever again."

Max looked down and sighed as he ran a hand over his face.

"I will give you and everyone else the same option one last time." Ben started before took a deep breath. "You don't have to be apart of this… you can leave, and I will wipe every last trace of you or anyone being here away."

Max stared down at the floor, heavily considering the offer and after a few moments, he chortled shortly before he looked up. "Do what you think is best, Benjamin."

With that, Max turned around and left the room, leaving Ben all alone.

He continued staring at the screen before him before he stood up from his chair and grabbed his mask that only covered half of his face and slipped it on. He then grabbed his black leather coat and equipped it.

The second he did so, the collar propped up and his Omnitrix glowed green for a second and in a green flash of light, he was off in blur of white and black.

ZZZ

He arrived in LA, he immediately sped off to Jump City to find the Titans Tower to try and recruit two possible members, as he was looking to expand the team.

The reason being, was because the DNAlien threat was becoming increasingly more potent and more well known

Ben was trying to contain the threat and problem as much as possible, but even he had his limits to what he could do, and people were beginning to find out. So for that reason, he decided to try and recruit two new team members.

Those two being Raven and Starfire.

He knew that both had their problems and they were both, very, very strong. However, they were both being held back. The former more so then the latter.

Raven practiced magic, dark magic and she often feared her own power and potential. And she feared loosing control of her emotions and when she did, her power would rise exponentially.

Starfire was being held back for the sole reason because the Titans, like most hero teams, had a no killing rule and despite what most thought, she was not innocent.

No, like Wonder Woman, she was trained as a warrior from birth. She was taught to fight and while her people were mostly peaceful creatures, they were no stranger to war. And couple that with that fact that they were a generally powerful race of aliens with virtually unlimited power due to the fact they gained power through absorbing solar radiation from the sun and stars. Starfire adapted to the no-killing rule and grew used to it.

However, there were times when she exposed her true or past nature and became increasingly violent. In fact, it nearly got her exiled from the Titans a few different times, but due to a vote that was passed around each time, she was allowed to stay by popular vote.

So, in the end, Raven and Starfire were both like each other in a lot of different ways.

Ben knew that if he got Raven and Starfire to both stop holding back, then he knew that they both would have what it took to actually do the job that not many would do and they would make valuable assets to not only the team, but to the world as well.

Once Ben neared where the building should have been. Only to find an empty space on the island, followed by rubble.

XLR8 frowned from inside his visor and scanned the rubble. Soon, he was able to confirm that the broken and scattered pieces of rubble was from the Titans building.

Sighing slightly, Ben transformed back into his human form and stared at the remains of the once great building. He stood there for what seemed like a few minutes until he felt a slight updraft in the wind. Slowly, he turned his head Raven floating behind him for a second before she landed onto the ground.

"What are doing here, Ben?" She asked, her tone neutral.

Ben stayed completely still for a few seconds before he turned around fully to meet her gaze. He idly noticed that there was a lingering shade of sadness in her eyes now.

"I came here to make a proposition for you and Starfire." He said honestly. "But it looks like I'll be unable to do that."

Raven nodded slowly, not saying a word.

"So, what happened to the Titans?" Ben asked curiously, wondering why their building was no more.

After all, there were a few possibilities.

One being that they moved destroyed the tower and moved to a different location to reconstruct and relocate. Another was that their was attacked and they were going to fix it and he arrived just after it happened. And then there was the possibility that they had disbanded as a team.

Raven stayed quiet for a few more moments as she looked to the side somewhat and wore a contemplating look on her face before she sighed.

"The Titans disbanded." Raven finally answered and Ben nodded slightly. "It all started when Nightwing, or you last knew him as Robin, left the team. Then Cyborg got an invite to join the Justice League. He left and joined after talking to all of us first. Then, Beast Boy left soon after to become a solo hero. It was just Starfire and I when we decided to fully disband the team and we destroyed the tower." She explained before adding. "That was five months ago."

Ben looked at her sympathetically as he lightly rubbed the back of his head. "So, would it be a bad time to ask you if wanted to join a team that I made a few months back?" He asked somewhat awkwardly.

Raven stared at him before narrowing her gaze. "You declined joining the Titans. So, why should I or even Starfire join yours?"

Ben raised an eyebrow. "I never said anything about-," he stopped before he smiled somewhat cheekily. "You read my mind… didn't you?"

Raven nodded immediately. "Yes." She answered honestly without a care. "I wanted to see why you were here and I didn't want to hear your cryptic explanation."

Ben smiled somewhat more. "I can see time has done you well with getting out of your 'shy hole'." He stated and Raven narrowed her eyes.

"You can say pain changes people." Raven said shortly and Ben chuckled, surprising her a good amount, as she never really heard him chuckle before. And now that she thought about it, he seemed lighter… less cold and detached. Like he was genuinely enjoying talking with her.

"I can imagine." Ben stated before his smile faltered slightly. "But, back to your question…"

Raven nodded, wanting to know he was going to say and if he had changed at all or if it was just her imagination.

"I'm not going to tell you what you should and shouldn't do." He said with a shrug. "I see potential in you; potential that you try suppressing by blocking off your emotions."

Raven's eyes widened in shock when she heard what he had said and soon enough, they narrowed in anger as a slow black mist coiled around her clenched hand.

"You know nothing." She nearly hissed and Ben just shook his head.

"No, I know a lot." He corrected before he raised his hands in a placating manner as he felt the sharp increase in dark magical energy. "Look Raven," he started with a bit more force in his voice and his green eyes became a little more cold, actually halting her anger a slight bit.

"I know that hiding and locking away all your negative emotions isn't healthy." Ben said slowly before he stood up completely straight. "You want to know why you're afraid of your power and afraid of loosing control in the first place?"

Raven frowned deeply at that question and couldn't hold back the hostility in her voice she spoke.

"You think you know me better then I know myself?" She accused and Ben just sighed exasperatedly and shook his head.

"No, I'm not saying I know you better then you know yourself." He declined before he continued. "I'm saying I know what caused your fear to lose control and I know why that you even do so in the first place."

Before Raven could process fully what he had just said, he continued.

"The reason you lose control, is because all those emotions you constantly hold back are apart of yourself just as much as the other emotions you let linger." Ben started before he waved his arms slightly. "Where do you think all those 'negative' emotions go?" He asked as he parenthesized 'negative'.

When she didn't answer the question, Ben answered for her. "They go and forge a emotional block of raw emotion and once you let go of all the repressed emotion, it floods you and your power reacts to that and since your body and mind isn't used to it and since it happens so suddenly, you lose control over your rational thinking and power."

Raven stared at him with wide eyes and small tremors rocked through her body. "Y-You're telling me that… that all those emotions that I repress in order NOT to lose control… has actually been my undoing?"

Ben tilted his head to the side a few times, a contemplating expression on his face as he thought if what she had said was right and after a few moments, he grunted.

"Somewhat." Ben stated. "Look Raven, if you keep trying to lock away your emotions, you will continue to lose control. But, once you actually let them go and learn to live with them, you will not only have complete control over yourself, but you'll also be much, much stronger then you could possibly imagine."

Raven looked down for a minutes, a very troubled look on her face before she looked up at Ben's face.

"I-If I stop holding back my emotions… will I still be me?" Raven asked hesitantly and surprisingly, Ben laughed. She almost wanted to be angry, but once she heard his next words, all that anger died away and was replaced with stupefied wonder.

"Raven… you have never been yourself in the first place." He said with a smile and she gave one back. Albeit, it seemed a little forced.

"So… this team you're trying to build." Raven started. "Who's in it?" Ben looked thoughtful for a second before he responded.

"There's me, my cousin who's a decently powerful magic user. Then there's-," Ben stopped midsentence as thought about what Kevin was to him. However, after a second, he continued. "An alien hybrid."

"That's it?" She asked curiously, trying to get her mind off of what Ben had just said to her. But, before she could say anything else at all, Ben spoke up in probably the most serious tone that she had ever heard him speak in.

"Raven, before you even think about the answer, I want you to know this team won't be like Justice League or the Titans." He started, earning her complete attention. "This team will not be like Justice League. This team isn't going to be afraid to do what needs to be done."

"Wait!" Raven interrupted as she stared at him in shock. "A-Are you saying that your team… kills people?" She asked unsurely.

Ben stared at her long and hard. "Sometimes, yes." He answered shortly before continuing. "We, however, do not kill innocents. Only people that cannot be redeemed."

However, once again, Raven interrupted and actually spoke with a smile.

"Stop… I understand." She nodded. "You wont kill innocents like you said, but you'll do what no hero does: Kill."

Answering honestly, Ben nodded. "Yes." He stated the second her heard the explanation. "I won't accept anyone on the team that can't understand that-,"

"Don't worry." Raven stated, once again interrupting him. "I'm not so foolish to believe that everyone can be redeemed and that we should give everyone an infinite amount of chances while we stuff the villains back into prison. Only for them to break out a few months later and go onto kill even more innocent people… and then let the cycle repeat itself."

Ben's eyes widened at that, impressed that she admitted what almost every hero never wanted to admit. "I see that you understand the grim truth about the justice system."

Raven smiled grimly, "It wasn't until Slade or Deathstroke, whatever the hell he calls himself now, explained that to us during our last meeting, that I fully understood the truth."

"And that is?" Ben asked seriously, wanting to know where she stood.

Raven's grim smile never left her face. "Simple; not everyone can be redeemed. There some that you have to put down for the safety of others."

Ben smiled at that and even though Raven didn't see it, she saw the relief and happiness in his eyes. So, she smiled and nodded.

"So yes, I'll join the team." Raven agreed with a tone of finality.

Ben smiled a bit larger at that, "Good." He muttered before he added something as an afterthought. "Say, do you know anyone else who might want to join?"

A little caught off guard by the question, Raven stared at him for a quick second before thinking about it. After a few moments, she nodded.

"Starfire might want to. Then there's a metahuman named Terra, who we almost fought once after finding out that she escaped some secret government facility named N.O.W.H.E.R.E." Raven explained. "I don't know really anything about it, except that they were experimenting on metahumans."

Ben frowned when he heard that, 'I think I found my first targets.'

"The things people will do for power never ceases to amaze me." Ben shook his head in distaste.

Raven nodded mutely in agreement before continuing on to what she was saying. "Then there's Ravenger, a highly trained assassin… and Deathstroke's daughter." She stated and Ben's eyes widened a small bit after that. "She was a member of the Titans for a small while before she defected."

"I heard a few months ago, that Nightwing apparently went rouge or made everyone believe he did. Deathstroke put her in his tutelage and they trained for two months and then suddenly, they parted ways and Nightwing returned and explained he was going under cover and that he hadn't truly gone bad."

Ben frowned thoughtfully before smirking over at her. "Well talk later. You commin'?" He asked her, taking her by surprise.

"Going where?" Raven asked curiously and confusedly. Ben's smirk widened a small bit more.

"My HQ." He answered like it was obvious. "Where else?" He asked casually at her surprised look. "You have any stuff at home that you need to get?"

Raven thought about it for a second before replying. "Nothing I can't get later." She replied earning a hum of acknowledgement form him before a familiar green flash appeared him.

She continued looking, completely unaffected by the bright light. However, once it died down, she was able to XLR8 in Ben's place.

"What's this alien do?" Raven asked curiously.

XLR8 looked at her before responding. "I'm fast." Was all he said before he quickly zipped forward and grabbed her.

Raven was just able to react when he grabbed her and suddenly, her surroundings changed completely, and she found herself in front of a huge building that would have put the Titans Tower to absolute shame.

She then turned to her right and saw Ben back in human form, standing and holding the door open for her.

He jerked his head towards the opening of the doorway and smirked lightly.

"C'mon, we have stuff to do."

ZZZ

Aliens that made an appearance this chapter –

Name: Unknown

Species: Celeritate Murum

Abilities –

Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Enhanced Durability, Invulnerability, Explosion Manipulation, Gas Manipulation, and Adaption.

ZZZ

I sincerely hoped you all enjoyed this chapter.

NOTE: I have a poll up on my profile, so if you all are interested, please go vote!