BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. BUT AFTER I USE MY TIME MACHINE TO GO BACK AND BECOME CEO OF BOTH MAN OF ACTION AND DC COMICS, THEY SOON WILL BE. MWAHAHAHA!
Okay, first, I know that you all want to see what might be in Ben's future, and you know what? You're gonna get it. Happy birthday!
PS: Batman Beyond will be known as Neo-Batman, just so we can tell who's who.
Ben 10: Unlimited
Chapter 14
The Once and Future Thing, Part 2
Neo-Gotham, 50 Years in the Future
It had been one of those days for Ben Tennyson. First he, Batman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman had followed a time-travelling thief back into the Old West, where they teamed up with heroes from that era to help stop a criminal who'd been using future-tech. Then, when they thought they were going home, the thief, David Clinton, had tricked them, and escaped into another time. The heroes had followed, and now they were in an unfamiliar timeline, being attacked by clowns.
All in all, Ben had been happier.
Things could have been worse, however; they'd gotten aid from other heroes, one of whom was a much older version of Static, a reserve-member of the Justice League in their time. The man in the black suit and the other with black wings, however, were a mystery.
"We need to get out of here," said the man in black.
"Leaving so soon?" asked one of the clowns, a guy wearing black and orange, and looked like he'd been stitched together out of corpses, "You didn't even take any party favors!" with that, he threw a pumpkin into the air, which began depositing small, but very powerful explosives on the heroes.
Green Lantern threw up a shield, but already it was beginning to weaken.
"That's not gonna hold!" Warned the winged man.
Sure enough, the shield failed, and the heroes split up to deal with their opponents. Wonder Woman faced off against a fat clown in a pink shirt and mask, his lower body replaced by a large ball. He drew a double-bladed energy sword and swung; Wonder Woman blocked it with her bracelets, but was thrown into bouts of unbelievable agony.
Green Lantern the man in black fought identical twin sisters, wearing clown makeup and wielding energy-whips.
"Look, Dee Dee," said one, "another Green Lantern."
"He's much cuter than the last one we killed," said the other, "don't you agree, Dee Dee?"
The heroes fought them off as well as they could, but every time they hit one of the twins, they divided into two more. If they didn't end the battle soon, they'd be facing an army.
The winged man fought a true freak; he looked like a humanoid hyena, only with mechanical arms. The battle wasn't going well for the winged hero; the hyena was too fast and too strong.
Ben, now transformed into Big Chill, was fighting a big, red-garbed clown with a hammer for an arm alongside Static. Ben had met the hero in his own timeline; he was a pretty good kid, if a little cocky at times, but Ben had been like that himself, so he wasn't one to judge. Besides, he, Static, and his best friend Gear, had become good friends.
"So, Static," said Big Chill, as he phased through the clown's attack, "what's new?"
"Oh, you know, the usual," said Static, as he used his electromagnetic powers to slam a dumpster into the clown, "stopping bad guys, saving the world, meeting dead people, the usual."
"Ah, just a normal day at the office, then."
"Would you two hold still so I can pound you!?" roared the clown.
"Now, why would I do that?" asked Big Chill, as he sent a breath of frost at the clown. He was only frozen for a second, before he broke free.
Batman was fighting the stitched-up man, and was doing a fairly good job of avoiding his blows, but it was only a matter of time before one of the freak's hands, which had turned into buzz-saws, hit him.
"We need to get out of here!" said the man in black.
"What we need is reinforcements!" said Static. "Hey, Ultiman, where are you!?"
Suddenly, a blur struck the ground in front of the hyena, and a gloved fist sent the freak flying into the air. When the smoke from the impact cleared, Big Chill could see who the fist belonged to. It was a man, in his mid-thirties and a few inches taller than Ben, wearing a black t-shirt, olive pants and combat-boots. He had black, fingerless gloves, and a gauntlet on his left wrist that reminded him of the Ultimatrix, but it was blue in color, and instead of the normal dial, a button with an "S-shield" stood out. The man smiled as he ran his hand through his blond hair.
"Sorry I'm late," the man said sheepishly, "I was cutting off some reinforcements."
"Whatever, man," said Static, "just give us some cover!"
"Right!" in the man's hand appeared a fireball, which he hurled at the now-regrouped clowns. They fell back from the now-raging inferno, giving the heroes some breathing room.
"Now we need to fall back." the man in black repeated.
"No way!" said Wonder Woman, "We're the Justice League, we don't back down from a fight!"
"Besides," added Big Chill, "we were winning!"
The blond-haired man, Ultiman, shook his head. "Only for now; once their backup arrives, we'll be toast."
"The new guys are right," said Green Lantern, "Static, give us a light-show!"
Static focused his power, and released a blinding flash of electricity. When the clowns uncovered their eyes and got through the flames, their quarry had vanished.
…
The League members followed their new allies down a dark, polluted tunnel. The time-travelers were more than a little shocked to see historical building littering the streets, such as the Sphinx and the Coliseum, but the others got them to get moving again.
"Where are we headed?" asked Wonder Woman, "Teleporter coordinates for the Watchtower?"
"Not exactly." Said the man in black.
After an hour of walking, flying and doubling back to make sure they weren't followed, the group arrived at an old, run-down high school.
"Geez," commented Big Chill, "my parents' garage was a better secret base then this."
Only Ultiman laughed. "I missed that."
"Huh?"
Ultiman shook his head. "I'll tell you later."
They entered the school, the inside just as littered as everything else they'd seen of the city. Ben, now back in his human form to allow the Ultimatrix to recharge, had seen better-looking warzones.
"This is Justice League HQ?" asked Batman.
"For now." Replied Static, as he turned on a computer. "We're all that's left of the League."
Ben was shocked; the Justice League, which had numbered close to 5-dozen members, had been reduced to only four people? What had happened to everyone else? What had happened to Flash, Zatanna, and Steel… what had happened to Kara?
"You've traveled to about fifty years into your future." Said the man in black, "And by the way, I'm the new Batman. Welcome to Neo-Gotham."
"Then I'm calling you Neo-Batman, just to clear up any confusion." Replied Ben, after getting over his shock. Neo-Batman glared at him.
Lantern walked up to Static. "Last time I saw you, you were too young to drive; you look good for a man your age."
"The miracles of modern medicine," said Static, "sixty-five is the new thirty."
"What happened to the Watchtower?" asked Batman.
"Gone," said Neo-Batman sadly, "We lost a lot of good people that day."
"You mean Superman, J'onn and all the others?" asked Wonder Woman.
"Yeah," said the winged man, taking off his silver helmet and looking at them, "you guys too."
"And the Batcave?" asked Batman.
"This is all we have left," said an old, but familiar voice, as an elderly man stepped from the shadows, supported by a cane, "deal with it."
The time-travelers were shocked; it looked like him, but it couldn't possibly be… Batman walked up the old man.
"Surprised to see me?" asked the old man.
"A little," admitted Batman, "but I'm more surprised to see I've lived for so long."
"Batman, Bruce Wayne," said Neo-Batman, "Bruce Wayne, Batman; or have you met?"
"Not now!" Both Bruce Waynes barked.
"Great," moaned Neo-Batman, "what did they used to call it? Stereo?"
"This is a little weird for everybody," said the winged man, holding out his hand to Lantern, "I'm War Hawk; Rex Stewart."
Ben wasn't as surprised as he should have been; he could tell that John and Shayera had feelings for each other, so why wouldn't they have a kid somewhere down the line?
"Your mother," said Lantern slowly, even as he shook War Hawk's hand, "who is she?"
"Kind of obvious, don't you think?" asked War Hawk, gesturing to his wings.
"And I'm Ultiman," said the blond man, holding out his hand to Ben, "Kenneth Max Tennyson."
Okay, now Ben was shocked; sure, Paradox had once told him that he had a son, but that had been an alternate timeline. He had a son in this universe? Kara hadn't even decided when she was going to permanently move in, and suddenly he had a son? Was his mother Kara? Feeling a little numb, Ben shook his future-son's hand.
"And before you ask who my mom is, it's…"
"It's Kara, isn't it?" asked Ben. He may have been surprised, but he also didn't see himself starting a family with anyone else.
"Yep." Ultiman grinned, then wrapped his father in a hug. "It's good to see you again, Dad."
"Ken!" Ben gasped, "Air!"
"Sorry!" As son released father, the two stared at each other.
Then Ben fainted.
"Ben!" Wonder Woman rushed to his side. "Is he okay?"
"Ah, don't worry about it," said Static dismissively, "he did the same thing when Kara told him she was pregnant. He'll be fine in a minute."
Sure enough, Ben groggily got back up and stared at his son. "So, you're half-Kryptonian?"
"Uh-huh," Ken said, "although I don't have full-strength Kryptonian powers, I did inherit a few things from the Ultimatrix. By the way, it's putting a little alien DNA into you; nothing to worry about though, just giving you a heads-up."
"That's why you have Heatblast firepower."
"Yep, plus intangibility, energy absorption, lightning powers and this." a green tendril of energy emerged from his hand and dusted off Ben's jacket. "With those, and the Kryptonian abilities that I inherited, I have ten powers; I used to go by Ken Ten for a while. Named myself Ultiman after you… well…"
"Ah, don't worry about it! Besides, you used Mana!" Ben grinned. "You inherited the Spark of the Anodites! Grandma Verdona's gonna flip when she finds out!"
"Would you two stop grinning like idiots?" asked War Hawk sternly, before turning to Static, "And why do you think that this is anything to joke about?"
"Because we already won," said Static, "think about it; if old-Bruce is here, that means he already lived through this as Batman, and the only way for Ken to be here is if Ben survived too."
"Flawless logic," said Bruce, "except that I have no memory of going to the future and meeting my older self, or of anything else that's going on today."
"Those historical buildings we saw earlier," said Batman, "the timeline's become polluted."
"So polluted that time itself is becoming fluid." Mused Ben. He looked up to see the others staring at him, even Ken. "What? I've had enough experience with time-travel to know when things are getting bad."
"Very astute, Ben." The heroes turned to face the source of the new voice, most charging up powers or drawing weapons, before…
"Wait!" shouted Ben, putting himself between the others and Professor Paradox. "He's a friend." He turned to the time-walker. "I had a feeling you'd show up eventually, Paradox."
The Professor smiled. "I'd say I've arrived right on time." Both Ben and Ken groaned at the time-pun, as Paradox held out a paper bag. "Now then, before we compare notes, would anyone like a gumball?"
…
Onboard the Titanic, Neo-Gotham
David Clinton, now known as Chronos, walked into a dining room aboard the Titanic, holding the hand of his wife, Enid.
"Enid, I must say that I am vexed; yes, vexed is precisely the word."
"Y-you mustn't let yourself get upset, David." Said a nervous Enid; before he'd become a time-travelling conqueror, David Clinton had been weak and easy for her to boss around; now, it was her turn to be scared of him.
"You're right, dear," Chronos said, before looking at the clowns, a gang known as the Jokerz, whom he'd sent to kill the League, "but here we are. Now, look at it from my point of view; I go to the trouble of taking over the whole city, just so I can have a place to keep my collection…"
"And it's a beautiful collection, David." Added Enid, hoping that her husband would forget that she'd called his collection a worthless pile of trash.
"I was gonna say the same thing, boss," said the fat Joker, called Chucko, "for instance, this is a really nice boat; big!" the other Jokerz nodded, but Chronos leaned in with a glare.
"Don't patronize me, Chucko, and especially don't interrupt me."
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry, what?" the Jokerz looked at each other; they hated doing this. "Everybody?"
"Sorry, Lord Chronos." The clowns said in unison.
"It doesn't seem right." Chronos said as he paced, "I go to the future, I give you the technology that gives you all your powers, I let you run amok in my city, in return for the occasional… security job, and what do you do in return?"
The twins looked at each other. "Ummm…" they both said.
"That was rhetorical!" shouted Chronos. "The point is, I gave you an easy job: take care of Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Ben Ten; it should have been fifteen minutes work!"
"But the Justice League showed up!" protested the big one, named Bonk, "They got in our way!"
"Yes, they did," agreed Chronos, "and the question arises: who told them where and when the four would show up? I mean, I told you; and I only know because I'm the undisputed master of space and time."
"I'll look into it, boss." Said Chucko confidently, "I'll find out where the leak was."
"No, don't trouble yourself, Chucko," Chronos said sadistically, as he leaned in to whisper in the clown's ear, "I already know."
He touched the button on his belt, and an image of the past appeared before them all. It showed Neo-Batman handing a large sum of money to someone.
"Someone's getting a payoff," said Chronos, "yes, he is."
The image soon showed who was getting paid; it was Chucko himself. The other Jokerz stepped away from their soon-to-be dead comrade.
"Chucko, Chucko, Chucko." Said Chronos in a mock-disapproving tone, "You've been a very bad clown."
Then Chronos opened another time-tunnel, grabbed Chucko, and hauled him inside. When they emerged, they were in the late-Cretaceous period. Chronos pushed the clown forward.
"Enjoy your stay." Then Chronos returned to the future. Chucko looked around, and saw a T-Rex charging at him. He activated his energy-sword.
"You think I'm scared!?" yelled the clown. "I'll be runnin' this dump in a few ye…" he looked up and saw a very large asteroid heading towards the Earth. "Oh, phooey."
…
As Chronos stepped out of the time-tunnel, he looked at the very frightened clowns.
"Do you know what killed dinosaurs?" he asked, getting a chorus of silently-shaking heads. "Well, Chucko does; and unless you want to find out firsthand, you'll go finish off the Justice League. Skedaddle! Time is money!"
The Jokerz ran off, and Chronos sat down on the couch, next to his wife. "Actually, time is the non-spatial continuum in which events occur linearly, usually in the direction of increased entropy, but the clowns seem to relate better to the money thing." He pulled his wife into a non-reciprocated embrace. "Oh, Enid, look at what I've done; and you said I'd never amount to anything! I guess I showed you!"
Enid gave a weak smile, as her husband let out a mad cackle, then continued. "Now, I've taken over all of Gotham, which gives me plenty of space to store my antiques; did you notice that I took that stuff out of the garage? You can park there now, if you like."
"Thank you, David." Enid seemed to remember something. "David, didn't you once say that it was dangerous to take important things from the past, that it could damage time somehow?"
David's eyes narrowed. "Don't you think I can handle it?"
"O-of course I do!" Enid got up and began giving her husband a massage. "Dear?"
"Hm?"
"Do you know what would make me happy? If you let my mother out of the… thing, like you promised."
"We'll see." Chronos said, in a tone that meant "no". "Rub my neck."
Enid did so, but she continued to talk. "It's just that, it seems cruel to keep her there so long…"
"Your mother also said that I'd never amount to anything," Growled Chronos, "and you agreed with her!" he got up, his whole body shaking with insane rage. "Whatever I do, whatever I accomplish, it will never be enough for you, will it!? I just wanted you to love me! I'm sick of this and I'm sick of you!"
"Wait, baby, please!" begged Enid, "Isn't there anything I can do to make this right?"
"I sincerely doubt it." Chronos marched to the captain's quarters without another word. He sat down and brooded.
"Marriage to the wrong person can be difficult, can it not?" Chronos turned to see a man in a white lab coat on the other side of the room, looking at him in disapproval. "Trust me; I've seen enough relationships over the millennia to know."
"Who are you?" demanded Chronos, reaching for his time-belt.
"No need for violence, I simply wish to talk, one time-traveler to another." The man gave a disarming smile. "I am Professor Paradox, and I know that you are David Clinton, though I believe that you go by Chronos now, correct?"
Though he was losing his grip on sanity, Chronos was intrigued by this other time-traveler. "What do you want? If it's antiques you're after, I'll have you know that these are all mine!"
Paradox shook his head. "I have no need for trinkets such as these, or any belongings, for that matter. I do have a warning, however."
"A warning? About what?"
Paradox looked at him sternly. "If you do not surrender to the League immediately, everything will be gone; your collection, your "troops", your wife, everything. All of time will unravel; all of reality, the multiverse itself, will cease to be."
Chronos laughed. "That's it? A pathetic attempt to make me give up? Don't be ridiculous! Get out of my…" but Paradox had already vanished, leaving Chronos to do nothing but fume.
…
Meanwhile, At Justice League HQ
After an hour regaling the future-heroes with what happened in the Old West, everyone was brought up to speed. Paradox confirmed that every piece of future-tech that Tobias Manning had stolen had indeed been destroyed. Batman hadn't said much, leaving the story-telling to the others, while he worked on something at the computer.
Ben, meanwhile, was trying his best not to learn too much about his future; Paradox had warned him many times over the years about the dangers of knowing what could happen. Still, he was amazed; while he and Kara loved each other very much, he hadn't known if they'd start a family. After all, they'd only been dating for 10 months. He hadn't even known if it was possible to have a child with a Kryptonian, but now proof, in the form of Kenneth Max Tennyson, was right in front of him.
He returned his attention to the computer, which showed a picture of David, now calling himself Chronos, wearing a ridiculous green and white jumpsuit with an hourglass on his chest.
"We still don't know much about him," said Neo-Batman, "but obviously, he's a time-traveling warlord; he's littered the streets with buildings he's stolen from other timelines."
"Oh, trust me, dude, he isn't a warlord." Ben smirked as he spoke. "He was a collector of random stuff when we first met him."
"He's causing severe damage to the space-time continuum," said Paradox, "and if something is not done soon, we will see the destruction of the multiverse; the end of reality itself."
"So, it's Aggregor-bad?" asked Ben.
"No, it's much worse," said Paradox, "while Aggregor wanted to reshape reality in his own image, this is simple annihilation; the end of everything that ever was, is and will be."
"Oh." Ben glanced at the others, who looked shocked, then shrugged. "Pretty bad, then."
"I've got something that might prevent that." Everyone turned to Batman, while Paradox had a slight smile on his face. "While we were in the Old West, I got a good look at his time-belt." He typed a few more keys on computer, then pulled out a small disk. "I've written a program that should disable it."
"If we can get close enough to upload it." Said War Hawk.
"If we can get our hands on the belt," said Wonder Woman, "maybe we can stop any of this from happening in the first place." Then, to the others' shock, Wonder Woman began to disappear! "We could even undo the deaths of…" she never finished her sentence; she vanished entirely.
"Diana!" yelled Batman, stretching out his hand to grab her, but she was already gone.
For a moment, all the others could do was stare in horror.
"She… never left the island?" asked Bruce.
"Or she was never born." Replied Batman.
"Time is running out," said Paradox, pointing to a monitor, which showed a massive wave of light that was slowly erasing everything in its path, "quite literally so."
"We need to find Chronos." Said Neo-Batman after a moment.
"How?" asked Static, "He could be anywhere."
"I don't suppose you could tell us, Paradox?" Ben asked hopefully.
Paradox shook his head. "The map of the timestream is becoming obsolete; Chronos' meddling is interfering with my powers. I can't locate where he is now; all I could do was try to dissuade him, but that endeavor failed. I'm sorry."
"Batman?" asked Ken, "Where are you going?"
"Sometimes the old ways are best." Answered the Dark Knight, as he marched to the door.
"It won't work," Neo-Batman protested, "you don't know your way around here; a lot of things have changed."
Batman turned his head. "Are criminals still superstitious and cowardly?"
Bruce nodded. "Yep."
"Good enough for me." Then he walked out.
…
After a short while, Batman stood on the rooftop of a skyscraper, looking out at the city; he knew where his prey was, all he had to do was wait. He turned at the sound of footsteps and saw the stitched-up Joker.
"You're supposed to be the real Batman, right?" he asked, "I mean, the first one; I've seen history-cubes about you. It's hard to believe somebody as stupid as you ever beat the Joker." Then his hand turned into a buzz-saw.
Batman's eyes narrowed. "Maybe I'm smarter than I look."
The Joker ran at him, saw raised, but he only took a few steps before he was blasted by two bolts of electricity. Batman looked up to see the other heroes; it had been Static and Ben, now as Ampfibian, who had disabled the cyborg. The non-flyers were standing atop a disk made of green Mana, courtesy of Ultiman.
"Oh, terrific." Groaned the Joker, as the heroes landed on the roof.
"You've got some information we need, Ghoul." Said Neo-Batman.
"You won't find me the talkative sort." Ghoul said defiantly, but his leg was snatched up by Batman, and he found himself dangling over the edge of the building.
"Where's Chronos?" demanded Batman, "My arm's getting tired."
"I can't believe I was ever that green." Bruce grabbed Ghoul by the shirt and threw him halfway across the rooftop; he walked up to the terrified cyborg, his cane raised. "This is how you interrogate someone."
…
"… and we've got nine thousand, four hundred and fifty-three active Jokerz, organized into about two hundred smaller groups," continued Ghoul's confession, "and I don't know where Chronos is; he contacts us! He spends every night in a different one of those old buildings." He looked up into Bruce's eyes. "There's no way of knowing ahead of time where he's gonna be; that's everything I know! I swear!"
"Everything?" asked Bruce.
Ghoul looked away. "I wet my bed until I was fourteen."
"Oh, dude, I did not need to hear that!" said Ben. He'd turned back to normal halfway through the interrogation, which was still one of the most terrifying things he'd ever seen.
"Losing my patience." Growled Bruce, taking out his cane again, but he stopped when Batman put a hand on his shoulder.
"I can't control my friend here much longer," said Batman, "so you'd better give us something we can use."
"His wife!" Ghoul said, desperate to avoid the old man, "I know where his wife is!" As Batman got the information, Static turned to Green Lantern.
"Wow; Batman playin' 'good cop'."
"Everything's relative." Said Lantern with a shrug.
…
The Great Pyramid of Giza, Neo-Gotham
As they reached the last few blocks away from the pyramid, Ben finally turned to Paradox; he'd been meaning to ask the time-walker a question for a while now, but hadn't quite worked up the courage.
"Hey, Professor," he said, "I've got a question; I know it's kind of a bad time, but…"
"Time is neither good nor bad, Ben; it simply is." Paradox nodded at him to continue.
"Well, I was hoping you could tell me… how did I get to this universe?"
"Ah, that." Paradox looked down, a little sheepish. "That is easy, Ben; I brought you here."
Batman was impressed by the blank, emotionless look on Ben's face. The rest of the group, minus Bruce, who'd returned to Headquarters, paused, curious to see what Ben would do. After a moment, he walked up to Paradox, nodded, then punched him in the face, knocking him to the sidewalk.
"Whoa, Dad, easy!" Ultiman grabbed Ben by the shoulder, in case he tried to continue his attack.
"I suppose that I deserve that," said Paradox, standing up, "but considering that you were about to kill yourself, I had no choice."
"Oh, I have no problem with you saving my life," said Ben, his voice gaining more and more anger with each word, "I don't even mind you sending me here; in fact, I like it here. What makes me mad is that you sent me here without even sending a damn note!" Ben hardly ever cursed, so it was pretty revealing of how mad he was. "I was lost, confused and surrounded by aliens that wanted to kill me!"
"I know, Ben, and for that, I apologize." Paradox hung his head. "Can you forgive me?"
For a moment, Ben only stood there; then he spoke. "You owe me a favor, Paradox; and as long as I promise to not interfere with history, you'll grant it, no matter what it is." It was a demand, not a request.
Paradox tapped his chin in thought, before nodding in agreement.
"All right then," said Ben in a much more cheerful voice, "let's save the multiverse, shall we?" he activated the Ultimatrix and slammed down the dial. "RATH!"
…
Security in the pyramid was light, if a little strange; it was guarded by robots, which were covered in fake skin to make them look muscular, zombie, Egyptian-styled versions of the Joker. They weren't much of a threat, and were taken down easily. Rath broke down the door to Chronos' wife's room, and Green Lantern walked forward.
"Enid Clinton," started John Stewart, but suddenly he was replaced by a Caucasian man with a mask covering his eyes; he still wore the uniform of a Green Lantern and still had a power ring.
"… We've got business with your husband." The man looked at everyone else, who was staring at him; Rath had even turned into Ben, purely out of shock. "What?"
"John?" asked Static.
The man took another look around at the others. "Hal Jordan; it was another time-shift. I'm up to speed, carry on."
As he walked to Enid, Neo-Batman looked down at his feet. "Okay, I'm starting to get a migraine."
"We'd better get used to it," said Batman, "because it's going to get worse before it gets better; any one of us could change, or even cease to exist."
"Yeah, this sort of thing is pretty…" Ben ceased speaking, and was replaced by a young girl with red hair and blue clothes. "… weird."
"Oh, great," muttered Ultiman, "my dad just turned into a girl."
"Oh, I'm not your dad," said the girl, "I'm Gwen Tennyson, Ben's cousin." She turned to Paradox. "Aren't you supposed to prevent this sort of thing?"
Paradox shrugged. "I'm doing my best. Don't worry; unlike Mister Jordan, you'll only be like this for a few more seconds."
Gwen nodded. "Good, because this is really…" she disappeared, and was replaced by Ben. "… freaky." He turned to the time-walker. "Please don't let that happen to me again."
"This is why we need to find your husband, ma'am," Hal Jordan said to Enid, who'd watched the display with a mix of amusement, confusion and fear, "we just want to undo the harm he's caused; you have my word, we'll do everything in our power to keep from hurting him."
Enid, having recovered, said, "Between you and me, I wouldn't one bit if he got roughed up along the way."
"Then where is he today?" asked War Hawk, "The Parthenon? The Great Sphinx?"
"He just wants people to think he moves around," Enid said derisively, "but he always sleeps in the same place."
…
The Coliseum, Neo-Gotham
The heroes arrived at the Coliseum, which had been ripped right out of Ancient Rome; it looked brand-new. Enid had demanded that she come with them, to see her husband get what he deserved. What they found inside when they arrived surprised them; it was the same jail that David had spent six months caged up in. Hal Jordan scanned the rickety building with his ring.
"No booby-traps…" he said, before turning back into John Stewart, "… at least, none that my ring can detect."
"Man, make up your mind, would you?" said Static.
"Anyway," said Green Lantern, "it's safe to go in."
Ben looked at Ultiman, whose hands were shaking. "You okay?"
Ultiman took a deep breath, then turned to his father. "How are you not? How can you be so calm?"
Ben shrugged. "Because I know we'll win." Then he winked. "After all, we've got two Tennysons on our side; we've got nothing to worry about."
"How is that supposed to make me feel better?" demanded Ultiman. "How is being a Tennyson supposed to save… everything?"
Ben shrugged again. "I'll admit, the stakes are a little on the high side." But then his face turned serious. "But Tennysons save the day; we've done it before, and we'll do it again. Plus, you've got the blood of the House of El running in your veins." He referred to the Kryptonian family that both Kara and Clark hailed from. "If there's one thing I know about them, is that they always find a way to beat the odds." He looked his son in the eye. "Now, it's time to live up to your lineage; rise to the occasion, and show the universe what a hero like you can do."
Ultimen smiled. "Thanks for the pep-talk, Dad." Then he and Ben opened the door to the jail, and the heroes marched in.
The jail was exactly as Ben remembered it, considering he'd only been here a few hours ago, at least, in his mind. Then Enid took the lead, showing them exactly where Chronos was: in the exact same cell he'd been locked up in.
"Of all places," Green Lantern wondered aloud, "why sleep here?"
Enid snorted as she walked up to her sleeping husband. "Because a loser with a kingdom is still just a loser." Then she yanked off the blanket covering her husband's upper body.
Both Ben and Ultiman snickered; Chronos was sucking his thumb in his sleep. Then the time-traveler woke up. He looked around at the heroes in shock.
"Nice going on the stealth, lady." Commented a sarcastic Neo-Batman.
Before they could react, Chronos pushed a button on his belt, and a time-tunnel opened. From the other side emerged the same group of Jokerz as before, minus Chucko, while Chronos pushed another button.
"Get the belt!" ordered Batman, "Nothing else matters!" he dove for Chronos, but the maniac disappeared into another time-tunnel.
War Hawk flew at the Jokerz, but Bonk turned his hand into a hammer and knocked the half-Thanagarian through the roof.
Before Bonk could make another move, Ultiman flew forward. "It's Hero Time!" he yelled as he smashed the clown through the walls and outside the jail.
Ben activated the Ultimatrix. "That's my line!" he shouted, as he slammed the dial down. "ARMODRILLO!"
The new alien was almost ten feet tall and looked like an armadillo, standing on two legs and covered in yellow metal. His arms were reminiscent of jackhammers. He charged forward and grabbed the hyena with one arm. The jackhammer-like part activated, and the hyena was sent hurtling through the air. Armodrillo jumped into the air, then dove into the ground as if it were water. All the shaking was too much for the poorly-built structure, and it began to collapse.
"We'll come back right over there." Commented Paradox, pointing to a far-off pillar. The jail collapsed, but only on the Jokerz; the heroes, plus Enid, emerged from behind the pillar.
Static looked around. "How did you do that?" he asked.
Paradox smiled. "At the moment, I can't see the big picture, as it were, but I can still see a lot of shortcuts." His smile turned into a frown as he saw the Dee Dee twins and Ghoul emerge from the rubble. "I consider myself a gentleman, but I do believe that any kindness given would be wasted on them, wouldn't you agree?"
Green Lantern nodded, then flew up to War Hawk. "Feel like taking down the bad guys with your old man?"
"Always." Said a grinning War Hawk.
Static flew off to help Ultiman who, while taking Bonk by surprise, had been driven to a stalemate by the clown's augmented strength. Neo-Batman was left to face the twins, while Lantern and War Hawk squared off against Ghoul.
Ghoul looked at War Hawk, then at Green Lantern, then at his saws. "You know what? Forget it; I'm goin' home." With a slump, Ghoul left.
"That was… surprisingly anticlimactic." Said War Hawk.
"Oh well," said Lantern with a shrug, "we can still take down the twins." The two flew down to help Neo-Batman, saving him before he was ripped apart by their whips.
"Hey, Ken!" shouted Static, doing his best to hold off Bonk, "Isn't it time you took the kid-gloves off?"
Ultiman nodded. "It's time to go Ultimate!" then slapped the symbol on his gauntlet. On his chest appeared a circular dial with four spikes, like the Ultimatrix, but instead of the same symbol, an "S-shield" appeared. With a grin, Ultiman shot forward, his fist connecting with Bonk's jaw, sending him hurtling into the sky.
Armodrillo emerged from the ground, just in time to see the impressive display. "What was that?" he asked.
"It's my Ultimate form." his son explained, "Normally, my Kryptonian powers are at half the strength of what Superman's would be, but it's supplemented by my other powers. When I activate my Ultimatrix, I can suppress my other DNA, and allow my Kryptonian powers to go to full. Unfortunately, I can only use my Kryptonian powers, and the effect only lasts for ten minutes."
"Still awesome." Said Armodrillo.
"Of course it is," Ultiman said, "you made it for me."
Enid watched the whole battle from in front of the pillar, only turning when she saw Chronos appear near her.
"How could you betray me, Enid?" he asked, "Everything I've done, I've done for you!"
"Don't blame this on me!" yelled Enid, "I just wanted you to assert yourself, not destroy reality!"
"Couldn't you just go to couple's counseling like normal people?" asked Armodrillo, as he and the other heroes, who'd finished their fights, approached. They were relatively unharmed, though Green Lantern had suffered a cut on his scalp in the battle with the twins.
"Chronos!" yelled Batman. "Look at what's around you; look at the sky!"
Chronos looked up and saw the white light literally erasing the sky. "Pretty…" he said, his mind unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
"Stay with us, man, we've got a problem here!" said Lantern.
Chronos' mind regained its lucidity. "Right, you're right; this calls for another approach." He kissed Enid on the cheek, then jumped into another time-tunnel. "You'll love me next time!"
Batman, Lantern, Ben and Paradox, the closest ones to him, jumped in after him, leaving the rest of the heroes to hope for the best.
"Show 'em what Tennysons can do, Dad." Whispered Ken.
…
Inside the time-tunnel, Lantern created a protective bubble around himself and the others, willing themselves to go faster.
"Where's he going?" asked Batman, "There's nothing left!"
"Yes there is," corrected Paradox, "the beginning of time itself!"
At the end of the time-tunnel, beyond Chronos, Ben could faintly make out a giant hand, a spiral of incomprehensible energy in its palm.
"He could reset everything," continued Paradox, "he could make himself into a god!"
"Only if he gets there first." Retorted Lantern, and the bubble's speed increased.
"Just get me close enough." Ben activated the Ultimatrix and slammed down the dial. "SNARE-OH!" this alien seemed to be wrapped in bandages and had a distinctive Egyptian style to it.
"The Green Lanterns have a legend," said John, "no one can see the beginning of time; it's a universal law!"
"Then let's write him a ticket!" said Snare-oh.
Lantern opened a hole in the bubble, and Snare-oh sent a bandage outward that wrapped around Chronos' head and drew him into the bubble. Batman placed the disk into the belt, while the bubble began to shake.
"The program is uploading!" Batman said.
"Make it fast," Lantern said, "because I'm having a little trouble with the brakes!"
They fell towards the hand…
…
The Watchtower
Batman, Green Lantern and Ben looked around them with wide eyes; they were back in the cafeteria on the Watchtower, just before this whole mess started.
"That all… really happened?" asked Green Lantern.
"I think so." said Batman.
"Looks like we won," said Ben smugly, "I so should have bet Ken some money."
"But is everything back to normal?" Lantern wondered.
Then smiles appeared on the three men's faces as Wonder Woman approached; she was okay!
"That's a nasty cut, John." She said.
Lantern's hand went to his scalp where, sure enough, there was the cut he'd sustained in the fight.
"You don't remember going on a mission with us today, do you?" asked Batman.
"I just got here." Said Wonder Woman, confused.
Batman leaned in close to Lantern and Ben. "The timeline's corrected itself; we're the only ones who remember what happened."
Lantern nodded, then his eyes went wide as he saw Shayera; the Thanagarian raised an eyebrow at his look, but decided to say nothing and walk off.
"That…" said Lantern slowly, "complicates things."
"How?" asked Ben, "You both care for each other; just let things take their course. Let people like Paradox worry about the timelines, and… hey, where is Paradox?" the three looked around, but couldn't see the time-walker.
"Does he do that often?" asked Batman.
"Only after leaving with some message or other." Said Ben. Then he felt something in his pocket; he reached in to find a note, which read:
I've taken care of the details; you can tell her, if you wish. This makes us even.
Paradox
Ben rolled his eyes. "What is it?" asked Lantern.
"Oh, nothing," said Ben, pocketing the message, "just Paradox getting the last word in."
Still, Ben was a little intrigued; Paradox probably meant that he could tell Kara about Ken, but that man never did anything without a reason. Still, he had good intentions; he made his decision.
"By the way," said Lantern, "what happened to Chronos?"
"I put him into an infinite time-loop; he'll never be able to escape."
"I'm… gonna go home, guys; see you later." Ben stood up, not paying attention to the conversation anymore, and made to leave, but not before turning to Wonder Woman. "Good to have you back, Diana."
As he left, Wonder Woman turned to Batman. "You are going to tell me what's going on."
Batman looked uneasy, while Lantern made a whipping motion with his hand.
"Wh-kssssh!"
…
Bellwood
"Professor?" asked a concerned Shifter, "Are you okay?"
Paradox smiled. "Of course, my dear; in fact, things are definitely looking up."
The time-walker left, not addressing the curious looks from the Plumbers.
…
San Francisco
Ben paced his living room; he hadn't been this nervous since the first date he'd had with Kara. He'd called her earlier and asked her to come over, but hadn't said why he needed to talk to her, only that it was important. Finally, he heard a knock on the door. He opened it up and let Kara inside.
"Ben? What was so important? Is everything okay?"
Instead of replying, Ben gave her a long kiss, then led her to the couch. He took a deep breath. "Kara, I'm going to tell you what happened today, and I don't want you to freak out, okay?"
Ben then proceeded to tell her everything that had happened; the Old West, Tobias Manning, the future, the new League, and about Ken. Through it all, Kara remained silent, though at the mention of a son, she gasped. Finally, at the end of the story, Ben took her hands in his.
"Kara? You okay?"
Kara slowly shook her head. "You met our son. Yours and mine."
Ben nodded. "Yeah; he was about thirty-something. He seemed like a good guy. He had your hair."
"And he… he had powers from both of us?"
"Uh-huh, some Kryptonian powers, though not as powerful as yours, and he got some additions from me."
Kara looked Ben in the eye. "Why are you telling me this?"
Ben thought about it; he hadn't known why, it just seemed natural. "Because I love you, Kara; isn't sharing important things what people who love each other do?"
Kara finally shook off her shock, then smiled at Ben; she snuggled in close and wrapped her arms around him. For a long time, they just sat there.
"Ben?"
"Yeah?"
"I've made a decision."
"About what?"
"I…" Kara took a deep breath. "I want to move in with you."
Ben looked at her in shock. "Kara, if this is about Ken…"
She shook her head. "No, it isn't; if there's a child in our future, then fine. For now, though, I want to move in with you because I love you; I can't see anyone else in my life but you."
Ben smiled and hugged her tightly. "And I feel the same way."
Booyah! Ken 10, baby! I know that I added in a lot of weird stuff, like the Anodite powers, but I wanted Ken to have a connection to Verdona. Also, the reason for why Ben has alien DNA leaking into him is because Albedo made it, and he didn't do as good a job as Azmuth, so there is a flaw. It's not going to give Ben powers outside of when he goes alien, so don't worry about that. Oh, and I put that 10-year-old version of Gwen in just for giggles, so make of that what you will.
What will happen to Ken 10, you may ask? Well, I've got a plan in store for him in a sequel; yes, I have a sequel planned out for this story, although I'm not even putting a word on paper until this story is finished.
Ben and Kara are moving in together! Yes, another step in their relationship. Next up, however, is more plot! I love the Cadmus story-arc, it has so much awesome.
With great muffins, comes great responsibility.