Woah, hey this is weird right? I haven't updated since last yearAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH

Ok.

Obligatory thank you to everyone that saved and followed and an extra thank you to those who left a review, and OH BOY did some of you leave a REVIEW.

From detailed itemized lists on the state of Ben 10's reboot, complete with fan theories, to the intricacies of time travel and the usefulness of having future knowledge! I was left some very detailed reviews that I very much appreciate! Lots of you have shown patience with upload times and that was very reassuring! Thanks again!

This one is a tad bit short, but I have another one to follow it up so I really hope you enjoy!

Chapter Three: A Helping Handd

"It was nice of you to come to an agreement with Gwen back there." Max said as he pulled into the garage.

Ben shrugged from his seat, "Wasn't a big deal."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," the older man said as he parked the vehicle. He moved to get out, but paused as he opened the door.

"What's been on your mind these past few days? You seem more glum than usual."

"I'm not glum! I'm just…nuanced," Ben said, crossing his arms with a satisfied smile.

"I'm a tough and grizzled ex-superhero who's seen some things, I should have a 5 o'clock shadow!" He continued, eyeing himself in the RV's side mirror.

A knowing grin from his grandpa, made him drop the act.

"Alright so maybe I'm a tiny, and I mean tiny, bit glum." He said, inching his hands together.

"I just feel like I dropped the ball the other day. I've been through tons of alien shenanigans back in my timeline, and I freak out over a missing hatch?" He dragged his palms downward across his face, stretching his lower eyelids as he let out a groan.

"I'm supposed to be a pro at this.." He trailed off, twiddling his fingers in his seat.

He stopped, after realizing the prolonged silence coming from his grandpa.

"Uh hello? Grandpa? Ex-hero in need of encouragement here?"

"So you mean it isn't about not having the watch anymore?"

Ben deadpanned. "Oh haha."

"Okay, I'm sorry" Max said, raising his hands with a chuckle. He suspected there was more to it than Ben was letting on, but he decided not to pressure the boy.

"I will say, Ben, try not to be so hard on yourself. Sometimes we get caught off guard by things, the important thing is that we compose ourselves and take back control of the situation." He said, grasping his hand into a fist. He looked at Ben with a warm smile. "And if you ask me, I think you already got the hang of that. I wouldn't be here if you didn't."

Ben paused and considered his words for a moment, before looking at his grandpa with a large smile. "Consider myself officially encouraged! Thanks grandpa!"

With that he hopped out of his seat and made his way to the back of the van. Moments later he sat in the booth with a mostly empty notebook, a pencil, and a determined look on his face. Grandpa raised an eyebrow.

"Woah, now I know you're technically a different Ben, but there's no way you're thinking about doing homework over summer vacation."

Ben physically recoiled at the idea, "Gross grandpa, don't even joke about that," he said, shaking his head while scratching out the cover that said "math".

"No, I figured that I should make a little something for our resident booky book nerd." This earned a smirk from his grandpa, who eyed him for a bit.

"First the bookstore and now this? I don't think I'm old enough to be going senile, so if I had to take a guess; you got along really well with the Gwen from your future, huh?"

Ben raised his head from the notebook, "Well, I guess you could say that." He said shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well I'll be!" Max said with a clap of his hands,"It actually worked!"

Ben stared at his grandpa, waiting for an explanation, though it didn't take long for him to come to the realization.

Click!

"No way! This entire trip was a plan to get us to become friends?" Ben said with his arms stretched out. Max only nodded with a satisfied smile, "Sure was, and I can't believe it actually paid off! I really managed to pull off the impossible."

Ben sat back in his seat, crossing his arms, his mouth forming into a grin. "I don't know about all that Grandpa, you didn't exactly do anything."

Max blinked, piecing together what his grandson meant, before leaning against the wall behind him; crossing his arms as well. "Yeah alright, I see what you're getting at. I may not have gotten you two to get along, but the handsome devil from your timeline sure did." His smirk turned into a confident grin, "And I do have one heck of a head start, with these time travel shenanigans happening. It's only a matter of time before it works for me as well."

"Fat chance. That head start isn't as big as you think it is." Ben said, sounding a little bitter. Max raised an eyebrow, his earlier suspicions allowing him to notice the subtle change in his grandson's tone.

"What do you mean?"

A deep sigh escaped the young boy.

"It feels more like I'm starting from square one, maybe even less than that. I don't even know where to begin with her. I feel like I've been stumbling for the past couple days without really getting anywhere. It's either I get too close and she tells me to back off, or I can't help myself and make fun of her - but I don't really mean it, y'know? At least not like I did before, so she takes it the wrong way and I, I.."

Another deep sigh cut off his rambling as he slid onto the table, pressing his face against its surface; this caused his pen to roll off and clack onto the floor as he slowly ran his fingers through his hair.

"I just miss my Gwen.." He said, it came out muffled by the table. It felt strange to actually say it aloud, but at the same time it was nice to get it off his chest.

How do you act around someone you used to be close with after practically becoming strangers overnight? They've been through so much that he could barely remember the way he acted before they became that close, and any memories he did have of those times left him with a sour taste in his mouth. That taste was probably 10 times worse when Gwen thought of him, maybe even more. Not that he could blame her. A pit formed in his stomach as he considered the possibility of never truly obtaining what he previously had with Gwen. What if it was just a fluke?

The click of a pen got him to raise his head. Max stared at him with warm understanding eyes, offering him the writing tool with a smile. Ben slowly took it.

"Ben. You will always be my grandson, no matter what timeline you're from." He said, tapping a finger on the notebook that sat between them. "The same goes for Gwen. Regardless of whatever time travel craziness, she is still your Gwen. You'll get there. And this," He slid the notebook closer to the boy, "is a perfect way to start."

Ben looked down at the notebook for a while, a smile slowly forming on his face. "Thanks grandpa, again." He said, opening the book and getting to work.

Grandpa Max smiled and left the boy to his own devices, leaving the RV to speak with a few technicians in the garage. They were around the same age as Max himself, and seemed friendlier than what someone would expect from average customer service. Ben paid this no mind and allowed himself to be sucked into his work.

For a moment the RV was completely silent, save for the scratching of Ben's pen against paper. He'd soon swap it out with others made up of different colors. A subtle calmness overtook his senses as he wrote, a familiar yet foreign sensation that seemed to place his body on autopilot. He didn't have to think about what he was writing, it just seemed to come naturally, as if his subconscious was taking control.

He found himself lost in a world of his own thoughts and feelings, exploring ideas and emotions that he had never fully articulated before. It was as liberating as it was frustrating. Doing this came to him so easily and yet the thought of him doing this with anything academic left him feeling a bit disappointed in himself. He never liked the pressure and structure of school, where he was constantly being graded and judged; though now when he wrote in this notebook, he was free to explore his own thoughts and feelings without any external expectations or limitations. There was no right way to think, no correct mindset to follow. He began to realize that the act of writing was a therapeutic and empowering experience, one that left him feeling both grounded and free at the same time. A warm feeling began to work its way into his stomach, a small pulsing sensation that started from the pit of his belly and traveled to the soles of his feet and palms of his hands. He let out calm and smooth breath before, fully relaxing into his being.

Before long, an image wormed its way into his mind, one of bright red hair and emerald green eyes. He couldn't shake the suspicion that somehow his bookworm cousin had rubbed off on him in a way. A smile spread across his face as he was gradually pulled from the flow-state he found himself in.

He hadn't noticed how much time had passed or the sounds of various power tools being used on the Rustbucket, lifting his head he peered out of the window, raising an eyebrow. It was odd that Grandpa wanted to come to an automotive workshop to begin with. From what he remembered, Grandpa was more inclined to make any repairs himself than take it to anyone else. He spotted Max talking to a worker near a cart of components and parts that didn't exactly match those of the vehicular variety. The older man handed Max a small white box and Max shook the man's hand with a firm grip, laughing and patting him on the back. He then turned to meet Ben's gaze through the window, offering a small wave and apologetic smile.

Ben narrowed his eyes slightly and waved back before returning to his notebook, and he was surprised at the amount of progress he'd made. He grinned to himself, satisfied with his work, closing the book. He went to write on the cover just as Max entered the RV. Ben looked up at his grandpa, eyes trailing down to the small box in his hands. Max had a somewhat stern look on his face, and Ben narrowed his eyes slightly in response, wondering what was going on. Max placed the box in front of his grandson and stood back, waiting for a reaction. Ben's curiosity was piqued, and he reached for the box, lifting the lid to see what was inside. As he peered inside, he was surprised to see a sleek, white, metallic gauntlet nestled within the soft foam. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before, with intricate black engravings and a glove that seemed to fit his hand perfectly.

"What is this?" Ben said, reaching into the box. As he picked it up and examined it more closely, he noticed a small circular screen embedded into the wrist of the gauntlet.

"It's a…favor, I was able to call in a couple days ago." Max said a bit hesitant.

Ben turned his head towards the window, watching as the workers tinkered with the Rustbucket, realization slowly hit him. "Then these must be fellow Plumber friends of yours." He said, realizing the true nature of the garage. He turned back as he heard his grandpa wince at the word 'plumber'.

"I figured it'd be best to be prepared," Max said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Things have been fine thus far, but you and I both know that's only temporary. I just want to be ready." His expression turned dark, and Ben had a good guess where his thoughts were focused on.

"For Vilgax." He addressed aloud, Max nodded slowly.

"Any idea when he's coming?"

Ben crossed his arms and closed his eyes, searching through his memories.

"It's hard to say. Something kept him from coming straight to Earth back in my timeline, not sure what, but he kept sending robots and goons after us before making an actual appearance."

Max nodded, "Must be something serious. If he's anything like the Vilgax I know, then he's a 'D.I.Y' kind of guy. If he wants something done, he does it himself." He clenched a fist and Ben offered a smile.

"We'll handle him Grandpa, don't worry."

Max smiled back at his grandson, pride swelling in his chest; then promptly followed by a tinge of guilt.

"Ben I-"

"Woah this thing is way lighter than it looks!" Ben cut him off as he stared at the device in his hands, before slipping his right-hand inside. It was lighter than he was used to, but all the same familiar. He hadn't notice just how naked his wrist felt without anything on it. He raised his arm, allowing the RV lights to bounce off the small gauntlet, a confident grin on his face.

"You honestly have no idea how good this feels!" He said, as he examined the gauntlet. "But what exactly is it?"

Max nodded with a smile of his own, "Buddy of mine called it a holographically amplified network defense device, or y'know, 'H.A.N.D.D' for short." He said, reaching to activate the gauntlet using a small button located under the wrist. The black lines slowly came to life and began to flood with a blue light that ended with glowing dots at the fingertips.

"Woah." Ben said under his breath.

"Well it's no Galvan tech, but it'll serve its purpose. Now, make a fist."

Ben did as he was told and clenched his hand into a fist. Instantly a blue light flashed from the screen on the wrist, shaping itself into a round holographic shield; that slightly hummed in the air.

"Woah!"

Grandpa nodded with satisfaction, "The response time is better than I could've ever hoped for! Holo-shield technology was always a specialty of Phil's, but I didn't think it'd be this good!" His smile grew at the look of excitement on Ben's face, he watched as the boy moved his arm around with the shield making a buzzing humming sound. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," he said. "There's another function I want to show you. Probably the most important one." Max said, as he held up a hand, extending his index finger and pinky.

"Rock on." He said with a smirk.

Ben followed his lead, repeating the hand sign.

As soon as Ben triggered the function, the holographic shield within the gauntlet contracted and burst outward, enveloping his body in a soft aura. The glow was slightly subdued as it enveloped his face and eyes, forming a formidable barrier around him. The energy of the shield was almost tangible, vibrating and pulsing with might. It hovered just above his skin, outlining his body in a glowing silhouette of cyan colored energy. The shield thrummed with energy, safeguarding him from all sides. Ben could feel the shield's energy coursing around him, fortifying him and making him feel almost impervious.

"Woah.." He said.

"That's not all," Max said from his side, holding out his hand "Now make the same sign and make contact with me." Ben obeyed. The gauntlet's holographic shield expanded outward, forming a glowing aura around Max, yet leaving Ben exposed. Grandpa clicked his teeth.

"It is supposed to protect both parties but there may be a bug, that's fine; I believe I may be able to get Phil to patch that out."

Ben stared at his grandpa with a massive smile.

"Grandpa, this is awesome! What else can this thing do?"

"There are few more settings and functions you can toy with, though some are still being workshopped, for now I only want you to focus on its main capabilities. Protection." Max took a moment to teach Ben how to disable the shields by waving his gauntlet with two fingers extended, before taking a deep breath and kneeling down on one knee in front of him. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Ben there are a lot of things I want to tell you and your cousin, most of which you probably already know. I'm realizing over these last few days how capable you both are; and you knowing a bit of my past makes it easier for me, but I have a feeling that the version of me from your time took his sweet time telling you the important stuff, right?"

Ben nodded then shrugged. "He gave us a very quick rundown while Vilgax was practically knocking on our door, but it's no big deal right?"

Max cringed, facepalming, "No, it is a big deal. You kids should be able to trust me with anything.." He paused for a moment, looking at Ben. For a moment, the boy's features changed ever so slightly and he could see his own son reflected at him. "My kids should be able to trust me with anything." He said, shaking his head.

Ben placed a hand on his grandfather's shoulder. "For what it's worth grandpa, I don't hold it against you." He said with a warm smile. Max returned it as he stood up, his joints popping as he did. "I appreciate that. Though something tells me your cousin won't be as generous as you are."

"Oh man you have no idea!" Ben said with a laugh, "But I think you'll be fine as long as you're upfront with her."

Grandpa nodded, pride washing over his features. If there was anything he hated about this time travel situation, it was that this version of him couldn't be there to watch Ben grow into the person he is now, sitting in front of him. He envied his timeline alternate in that regard. To think he's only ten years old. He tried to push aside the creeping anxiousness that began to make its way into his mind as he thought about what this summer held for the three of them. If Vilgax was really coming, if he really was the same Vilgax he knew from his past…

They would need to be ready.

Ben and Gwen surprise him with how well they hold their own, almost reminding him of his plumber days, but that can only get them so far; even with the Omnitrix. He made a mental note to send a message to Phil regarding the gauntlet before turning to leave the RV.

"Hey Grandpa," Ben said, stopping him with a click of his pen.

"I'm almost done with this but I'm struggling to think of a title. Think you could help?"

Max smiled, trying to relax a bit.

"Of course, son, and what do you say we head out and give that thing a proper test run after?"

"Yeah that sounds awesome!"

Max knew that they had a long journey ahead of them and while there was an underlying sense of worry, he had faith in Ben's abilities and his determination. Gwen is going to need all the support she could get with Omnitrix, and it felt necessary to provide Ben with something he could use to provide that support when the time came.

"Hey Grandad? Think you could ask your friend to change the color? Blue's not really for me."

Max smiled, "Y'know? I was thinking the same thing. I was thinking a nice fuchsia would be a better fit."

Ben deadpanned once again. "Ha. Ha."

Hey~

What'd you think?

You can't answer me here silly, leave a review!

I thought it was necessary to give good ol Grampa Max some character, I really didn't wanna side-line him. Anyway..

Hope you enjoy the next one!

Thankies!