I do not own the Ben Ten franchise.
Rewarded Efforts
Riiiing!
Ben shot his gaze up from his piece of paper and hastily looked around to see his classmates shoving their books in their backpacks with cheers of delight. The last day of school had finally arrived, meaning that they could run free and have two whole months without any essays or tests. "About time," the eleven-year-old grumbled. He shouldered his green backpack and joined the flow of students exiting the classroom, surging down the hall and out the front doors.
The sun shone brightly in the blue sky, and after being in dim lighting for seven hours, he needed to squint a bit before his eyes adjusted. When everything came back into focus, it was to see Cash and J.T. picking on a small boy who was half their size.
"Jerks," he growled. Despite knowing how this would end, he stormed across the grassy lawn and towards the bike rack, well away from prying faculty members. "Hey!"
"Oh, look, it's Hero Boy," sneered Cash. His grip on the terrified first-grader loosened as he turned to face Ben. "Unless you want to get a beat down, I suggest you beat it."
"How about you pick someone on your own size?" Ben snapped. He reached out and grabbed hold of the child, who was staring at them with wide eyes. "Go find your mom, kid."
With a nod and a grateful smile, the small boy fled. Cash narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. "I guess you haven't learned your lesson yet, Dorkwad."
"That's the best you can come up with? I hear better insults from my cousin. In fact, she could probably hit harder than you."
"Don't talk to him like that!" J.T snapped.
Ben rolled his eyes. "Whatever. The two of you should just grow up. You're not cool, you're not tough and you're not impressing anybody. Ever heard the saying 'those who bully are cowards?' Look in a mirror, and you'll see that it's true."
He twisted on his heel, but before he could walk away Cash grabbed his shoulder and pulled roughly. A fist came flying towards him and his hero instincts kicked in. Before the raven-haired bully could blink, he was on the ground with Ben standing over him, unharmed.
"I'm not scared of you, Cash. And I'm definitely not scared of you, J.T. Now beat it. Your mommies are calling."
"Why, you little-!"
Cash scrambled to his feet, but before he could pound the kid into oblivion J.T snagged his arm. "A teacher is near!" he hissed.
"Just you wait, Tennyson," snarled Cash. "I don't know what high-horse you climbed onto, but I'm gonna knock you down real soon. You like to think you're a hero, but you're nothing more than a pathetic weakling."
The two took off, leaving Ben to glare after them. "If only you knew," he muttered, kicking at the grassy ground. "If only everyone knew."
"A hero does not need recognition, Ben Tennyson."
With a startled yelp he whirled around and tripped over his own two feet, toppling to the ground. Green eyes wide, he stared at the familiar Galvan watching him from the tree branch above. "Azmuth?" he said in disbelief. "What are you doing here? Wait, I'm not in trouble, am I?"
"You haven't done anything extremely vexing or stupid lately, so no. You're not in trouble."
"Oh." Relief flooded across his face. "Good." He extended his arms upwards. Azmuth jumped from the low-hanging branch and into the child's awaiting hands. "So…how long were you there?"
"Long enough," the Galvan replied. "I must say, I am impressed."
Surprised, Ben peered down at him. "For what? I didn't do anything."
"Standing up for someone who can't is something," corrected Azmuth. "I watched many Earthlings of your age and older walk past, not even sparing a glance. But you stormed right over once you saw what was occurring."
"They're bullies," muttered Ben. "I know what it's like to be pushed around by them. So I try to make them back off when I can."
"Very noble of you."
"Well, I've taken worse beatings. So, what's up?" Ben tilted his head to the side curiously. "Do you need my help with something?"
"Do you know what today is?" Azmuth, in his usual fashion, responded his wielder's question with another question.
The boy screwed his face up as he thought. "Uh…hold on…"Panic bloomed within his irises. "It's not your birthday, is it?"
Azmuth rolled his eyes in exasperation. "No, Ben. It's not my birthday. Try again. What significance does this day have?"
"Er...besides the fact it's the first day of summer vaca-oh!" he exclaimed as realization dawned upon him. "Today's the day I found the Omnitrix."
Azmuth nodded in confirmation. "Precisely. You have wielded my Omnitrix for a full year, and your planet is still in one piece."
"Aw, come on. I'm pretty good with this thing," Ben protested. "A little faith would be nice."
"I think I've shown enough faith by letting you keep it," said Azmuth dryly. "But yes, you haven't been doing a horrible job."
Aware that this was as much of a compliment as he would get, Ben rolled his eyes. "Thanks. Did you come all this way just to tell me that?"
"No." Azmuth leaned over and, with nimble fingers, started fiddling with the clunky black and white device strapped to the boy's wrist. Ben blinked as his mentor twisted the dial rapidly in some sort of complicated pattern. "That should do it."
"What-?"Ben began, but the default voice of the Omnitrix cut him off.
"Conductoid DNA unlocked."
Wide green eyes stared at the unfamiliar black silhouette now displayed on the watch's face. "Wait, so because I've had the Omnitrix for a year, I get a new alien?"
"Mind you, not every year," warned Azmuth. "You've been doing more than what has been expected of you, more than what I expect of you. You understand why you must hide your newfound powers and you do it, despite your desire to prove to your peers that you are more than what you seem. You show restraint. You've acquired different fighting techniques since wielding the Omnitrix but you know when to use them and when to not."
"Like when I restrained myself from kicking Cash's butt?" Ben asked.
A soft smirk pulled at the Galvan's lips "Yes. What you've done, and what you continue to do, is not easy for someone so young."
Ben smiled. It was not often he heard words of praise from his mentor, so it meant a lot when he did. "So, is this a 'thank you for not screwing up the world' gift?"
"Yes, I suppose so," Azmuth said in slight amusement.
"Alright! What can this guy do?"
"That's for you to find out," he replied, and teleported away in his usual abrupt manner, leaving the boy to his own devices.
Ben cast a quick glance to make sure he was alone before slamming down on the dial. Soon he was looking at the world through one eye, and he couldn't remember feeling so energized in his life. He looked down at his black alien form, watching the small sparks of electricity crackle across his skin. When he lifted his hands, blue electricity shot out and crashed into the tree, scorching the bark.
Grinning widely, Ben pumped his fist. "Welcome to the team, Feedback!"
