Episode 1: Team Spirit!
Summary: Ben is now playing a basketball game against the toughest team in the entire city, the Bellwood Bees. With him around, victory was assured. But what happens when Charmcaster comes in and becomes the co-coach of their opponent's team? Something is up and it's up to the deadly trio to find out what!
Chapter 1: Practice Makes Perfect
(Madison Elementary) (Gym) (11:20 AM)
Benjamin Tennyson was running through the school gym in his basketball outfit today. He was playing in a five against five match his own teammates. This was just a practice round to prepare the team for their big game on Friday. The coach wanted to keep his players in tip top shape and battling against each other was the only way to go. They all perspired and exhausted themselves by running and shooting through the court. Even though they were still elementary kids they did prove themselves tougher than the original pros during their youth.
Unlike all of his other classes, Ben excelled in P.E. and sports. It was probably the only thing he was good in, other than playing video games of course. He was a natural player and excellent in thinking on his own two feet. Heck, the coach would've made him team captain if he wanted too, but sadly that spot was already taken.
"Alright everyone, keep it up! That's the way I want you guys to play when we face off the Bees this Friday!" the coach barked out to his team, "Steve, keep your feet moving! JT, focus! Cash, keep your eye on the ball and one eye on your opponent!"
A few seconds later, one of Ben's teammates passed the ball to him but then he was immediately blocked by his two school bullies, Cash and JT. "Ha! You won't be getting through us, this time Tennyson!" Cash, the pointy headed boy smirked. "Yeah! You can… just try it!" JT, the pint size guy wearing glasses added.
But Ben was used to these tight spots before. He had overcome greater obstacles and bust through barricades a hundred times stronger than this. With a move that would impress the great Michael Jordan, Ben moved with the speed of nearly fast an eye blink and with one throw, his shot went in the hoop like paper role in a barrel. "Booya! Who's the king?" he gloated.
And with that last shot, the coach blew out his whistle, "Alright, that's a wrap everyone. Great work today! No go on and take a shower, and after that you call all take your lunch"
But the coach wasn't the only one watching the practice match today. Principle White, the principle of the school and secretly a member of the secret government organization, The Plumbers was there too. "So… Mr. Brian" he began shaking, "H… how are the team today?"
"Oh, principle White" the coach now known as Mr. Brian noticed him, "Yeah, the team is in great shape! Probably the best shape of their lives hehehehehehe. And with our new point guard on our side, those Bellwood Bees will be facing a flyswatter so big, they won't even be able to hide from it ahehehehehe!"
"T… that's great!" the principle replied excitingly, "I hope we win… we've already lost against Bellwood grade school three semesters in a row now and I can't stand another gloating laugh from that principle of theirs"
"Now don't you worry Mr. White" Brian reassured him tapping his shoulder, "We'll be fine as long as we keep practicing. Besides, we have a new star player in the team"
"O… oh really? May I know who?"
The coach simply pointed at the boy who was sitting on the bench wiping the sweat off his brow. "The name… is Benjamin Tennyson"
(Opening theme) (ahehehehehe)
(Museum of mythical arts and history)
Usually museums were places were people can come in and know about the ancient histories of mankind and their civilization. It was supposed to be a place of learning. But little did the patrons knew… that it was soon going to be turned into a battlefield.
A female guide was accompanying a bunch of tourists through the museum telling them about each and every object and the history of every painting that had been put on display there. There were at least two security guards on each of the large rooms and another one in the hallways to keep art thieves from putting their sticky hands on the art collections.
After a series of tour, the guide finally arrived at the last room where security was tightest. "And now ladies and gentlemen, please gaze your eyes on the museum's greatest treasure" inside a glass case shined with a cool temperature light was an ancient book with strange writings written on its pages. "The Tome of Glabados" the guide explained, "This book was discovered in an ancient Aztec ruined temple deep in the borders of Mexico. It was discovered by an accidental oil dig and was soon brought here to be displayed. Some say that a shaman used this tome to seal a great monster in another dimension, but who would believe that nonsense" the tourists chuckled along with her.
"You shouldn't make fun of magic…" came a dark stern and deep voice from behind. As the crowd looked back, they soon noticed that it was a girl with silver hair and purple eyes. "If you make fun of magic… it has a way of biting you back" it was none other than Charmcaster, the sorceress. Without any warning whatsoever, the girl quickly cast a magical spell that flung all everyone around her, away. "So… this is the tome of Glabados" with her razor sharp nails, she quickly cut through the glass case and took the book right out of its resting place.
Once the guards were able to get back on their feet, he immediately took out his radio to call out for backup, "Code red at the main hall room! I repeat, code red!" immediately the entire museum began to go into alarm mode. The doors that connected to the hallways immediately sealed against each other, preventing Charmcaster from escaping"
"And to think they put up the quiet signs for a reason" Charmcaster grunted before opening up the book and reading its contents. "Now let's see… where is that spell… hmm"
"Hold it right there!" came the guard's voice, "Put your hands behind your head and come quietly"
"Tch… as if I'll listen to you" not wanting to get hands dirty, the young sorceress took out some clay dolls from her knapsack and threw it onto the ground. With a little incantation, those little things grew into beasts' size and animated into strange animals, "Sick'em boys" with that order, the clay animals attacked. The guards fought back, but they were never taught on how to deal with these kinds of opponents.
"You ever see this kind of thing in the manual?" said the guard's partner, "I know how to take down thieves and robbers, but never monsters!"
With the guards busy with her pets, Charmcaster decided to take this time to test her new spell book. "Now where was I? Oh yes… how to open a rift through space. Emm hmm… emmm hmm. Easy enough. Manditus… septis!" but just when she thought that would summon out a portal, the vortex suddenly exploded, creating a giant hole on the wall. "O--k… that wasn't part of the spell" she then went back to the book and see what she missed. "Oh… I should have known" she groaned, "All black magic requires human soul sacrifice. How typical. To think that it would kill the ancient shamans to make the sacrifices smaller. Can't it be a cheese grater or ham sandwich" she sighed out loud.
After a few minutes later, she then realized that more guards have begun to show up. "Freeze!" the guards demanded.
"Tch… oh well… I got what I came for" Charmcaster smirked before throwing out a smoke ball to cover up her escape. By the time the fog cleared, she vanished.
(Bellwood downtown)
"Twenty second left on the clock" that was the sound of Ben, playing basketball with himself in the city street corner. Most of the street basketball courts would usually be empty during after school period so it wasn't surprising that he was the only one there. "Ben Tennyson is up front alone against three mean Bees. Will he make it? Can he make the shot and win the game for his team?" he was mimicking the voice of the narrator of the game and pretending that he was surrounded by three opposing team members.
He then spins and dance around like an idiot and shoots the hoop. The ball rolled around the rim for a few moments and then it went it.
"Score!" Ben cheered to himself, "Unbelievable! Ben Ten, has won the world championship! He scored the last three points even after such odds! You can already hear the crowd roaring at him. Haarrr… haaa…" he gave out soft crowd cheering sound to himself and posed as if he was on camera.
But his little happy dance routine, soon ended when an oddly familiar voice crept up behind his back, "Well… from that look, I guessed you made it to the team" it was none other than his cousin Gwen. The 'Queen of cooties' as he nick named her.
"Yup!" the boy said proudly sticking his chest out, "You, are looking at the Madison Mean Machine's new point guard player. Thank you thank you! No autographs please"
Gwen smirked at his snob-ness and picked up the ball that had been foolishly lying around on the ground, "I guess your team must be getting pretty desperate"
"And what' that suppose to mean?" the boy huffed.
"If you're as good as you say you are, then I guess you wouldn't mind playing a little one on one now half court game now, would you?" she gave him a hint of challenge in her voice.
"Ha! You are so on" Ben smirked, knowing well that this was going to be an easy game, "Loser buys hotdog for both of us"
"Sounds like a fair deal to me" she agreed before spinning the ball on her finger, "Best to ten wins. Ladies first…" she cooed which made Ben flinch. "Ah man…" he whined.
As the two of them got into position, Gwen quickly dribbled the ball out to put herself in a good spot for a shot. She had to admit that this was probably the first time she ever played basketball but she watched the games a few times back in her place with her dad. As she got closer to the net, Ben quickly got in to block her path. He was good, that much she'll admit. The boy knew every move she was going to make and before she knew, he already stole the ball from her.
"Oh yeah, Ben Ten has done it again!" the boy gloated as he shot the hoop, "He shoots and he scores! And the crowd goes wild"
Gwen smirked under her lips as the boy continued to cheer at the empty wall beside him. The boy had skill she'll give him that much, but if this keeps up, then she'll be buying him a hotdog which will probably ruin her allowance record. She had to level the playing field a bit so while Ben was looking she quickly cast an enchantment spell on herself and grinned.
"Ready to give it up Gwen?" the boy taunted, "There's no way you can beat someone with real talent"
"Oh we'll see" she said back, "Come on, you still got some points to catch up on" with the ball back in her possession, she quickly rushed through Ben's defenses with great agility. But even with her enhanced speed and mobility, Ben still had the upper hand over her. However… he seemed to be a little too overconfident. So when Gwen saw an opening, she took it and shot in a hoop to even up the score. "Now who's the one with talent?" she countered back with a gloating smirk.
"Ahh beginner's luck" he replied as he took the ball, "Now let me give you a little sneak preview of what I call… the Ben shot!" with his accurate targeting arms and hand-eye coordination, he shot out a three pointer. But just it was about to go in the basket, a blue aura surrounded the ball and let it fall freely on the ground. Ben then realized that Gwen had been using her magic, "Hey! Technical foul, illegal use of magic"
But the girl simply laughed back at him, "Sorry, I just couldn't help myself" she admitted flatly, "Why don't we call it a tie?"
"Fine…" the boy crossed his arm as he huffed, "I finished my allowance already anyway" but just when he picked the ball up from the ground, he noticed that there were several figures approaching his way.
"Well well… I must say I am very impressed" came the blonde guy wearing a black leather jacket and a red bandana over his head, "Benjamin Tennyson, I presume"
"And what's it to you?" he asked not once trusting the guy or the goons behind him.
"Word on the street is: You're the new point guard for the Madison Mean Machine" he began with a slight grin, "I'm Damien, the point guard of the Bellwood Bees. I heard that they said that their new member was good, but I didn't they were this good………… to beat a girl" he and his grew began to laugh holding their stomachs together.
"Hey! Back off buster" Gwen interrupted, "I may be a girl, but I can beat you and your gang anytime!"
"Oooooo…" the gang teased them, "Sorry doll. We didn't mean to insult your boyfriend" Damien added earning some high-fives from his crew. But that only made Gwen angrier. She really resisted the urge of shooting out fireballs and lightning bolts at the boy, but right now, it seemed so very tempting. With Ben remaining quiet to keep up with his taunts and insults, Damien continued, "The Mean Machines won't be able to stand a chance against the Bees. With their bad sense of direction, it'll be a miracle just to find their own shoes" again the whole gang laughed.
And soon, Ben found that to be the last straw, "Oh yeah!? Why don't we see who the better player is?" he offered with the ball in hand, "You and me. One on one!" he poked the blonde boy's torso making him flinch back slightly. "Best to ten wins!"
"Ooo… it looks like we have a challenger" Damien replied still holding a grin up his face. "Alright, newbie… you're on…"
But then Gwen stopped him, "Wait Ben, don't do this. He's not worth it" but as usual, Ben didn't listen, "Ah you worry too much" he let out a confident smile, "The guy doesn't look so tough. I'll be able to win this blindfolded"
Gwen really wanted to stop Ben from doing something reckless like this but she didn't think that it would help. When Ben makes up his mind, it would take the greatest mastermind to even begin to change his thoughts. So instead of delaying the inevitable she simply stood back on the wall and watch while two boys minced meat each other. I guess you could say that boys are animals with their own sense of pride that could be good for them, or get them killed along the process.
As the two point guard players got to their positions, Damien quickly got the ball first, "Mind if I go first?" he asked sarcastically polite. "I really don't like to tend off my skills" but Ben didn't reply. He just got into his defensive stance and prepared himself for anything that is to his way. He never really heard of Damien or his mad skills of being a point guard player since Ben was still new to the team. "Ready or not… here I come" and with that, Damien charged.
Ben blocked him like a real pro, but it seemed like his opponent was a lot faster and more coordinated with his attacks. Before Ben knew it, he had already slipped pass him and scored two points. Damien's gang let out a cheer together which annoyed Gwen to no end.
"What's the matter Tennyson?" Damien smirked, "A little too fast for you?"
"Not even close…" he replied while holding up a smile, "Come on… I'll show you a real fight" as the ball was passed back to him, Damien quickly moved back, as he expected a close attack. But that was where he was wrong. Ben may be good at two point shots, but they never expected him to be super deadly accurate with three points. With one push of his arm… woosh… the ball went straight in like a coin in a bank. "Booya! Three points! Beat that pretty boy"
Gwen let a smirk pass her lips as her cousin was now in the lead, but that smirk ended shortly when Damien's gang immediately let out a 'boooo' cry altogether.
As the two players continued to battle it out for supremacy, Damien began to feel rather strange when he moved up against Ben. It had only been a few minutes since they began playing, but now the boy seemed to be able to read his movements before he even thought about them. Every step he took was carefully planned out and blocked almost in an instant. Though Ben might be an inch shorter than him, his mobility gave him the edge over his opponent.
"Come on little guy. What's the matter? Can't take the heat?" and with one swift move, Ben snatched the ball from Damien's hands and scored another two points. "Oh yeah! I rule in this game!" Damien had to admit that the kid was a lot better than him. To be able to read his movements in such a short period of time was a feat not many would have.
As Damien began to stress out a little bit, he began to sweat out his bandana. For a moment there he thought that would be nothing more but a lucky newbie, but now that he had experienced his skills first hand he knew that he earned that spot for a good reason.
With Ben adding more pressure on to him, Damien decided that it was time to turn the odds. As Ben moved in closer to steal the ball away, the blonde haired gangster kid, tackled him to the ground and scored another two points.
"Hey!" Gwen yelled out, "That was a total foul!" but the other boys simply ignored her.
"Sorry, my hands must've slipped" if Damien's voice could get anymore sarcastic, he would've been crowned 'king of sarcasm' a long time ago.
But Ben didn't mind. If he was going to play dirty, then let him. He was just too stubborn and focused all of his attention on winning. It was now seven to nine and Ben was on the losing side. But as Damien got to his defensive position, he knew right away that he had made a terrible mistake. Ben had already won, the moment the ball came into his hands. With one good leap, Ben shot down a three pointer, thus ending the game right away.
The entire gang's jaws dropped open like a cash register opening up. They really thought that Damien would win with that last tackle, but when Ben shot it through… their cheers and laughs soon turned to stares and silence.
"I think we all now know who the better player is" Ben mocked and he spun the ball on his index finger, "Anymore takers?" he asked the gang as they gave out negative grunts and groans. Defeating the leader of the gang was probably just the same as beating the entire gang. But Damien seemed to take the defeat the hardest. "You got lucky Tennyson" he spat, "I'll see you at the play offs" and with that he bolted away along with the rest of his gang.
With Damien and his crew off to wherever, Gwen came by to congratulate her cousin's work. "Nice one cuz. You really showed them who's the boss around here"
"Yup… thank you thank you. But please, no autographs"
"Come on" she said annoyed, "I got to get home soon. I got homework to do"
"Eghhhh! Homework…"
(Ben's place)
As Ben arrived home on foot, he was immediately greeted by his pet dog, Willow. It was still pretty early so his parents shouldn't be here yet, and that means that for the next few hours, this house was his. "Hey there boy" the boy pet his dog on the head and scratched it behind the ear as if gave out a friendly woof sound. "Alright alright, I'll get you a treat. But don't mom I gave you, ok?" the little mutt gave out a puppy dog sound along with a slight nod.
When Ben approached his house he immediately took the keys that were stashed inside the mailbox. It was common for the family to leave a key behind, and since Ben was usually the first one to come home; he always remembers where he puts them and where to keep them when he leaves.
As he entered the place he suddenly got the sense of dejavu happening right before his very eyes. It was like he had seen this series of events rolling all over again. "Whoa… that was some serious dejavu" he mumbled out before approaching the kitchen. He quickly handed Willow the snack that he promised and got himself a little treat for the day too. Being a kid was tough, but being a kid with super alien powers was probably even tougher.
Just as the boy slouched himself on the couch, the phone began to rang. "Hello?" he answered after gulping down his potato chips.
"Ben" surprisingly for Ben, it was his grandpa Max who was on the other line. "It's me Max"
"Hey there grandpa" he greeted back while slouching on the doorway, "What's the problem now? Alien attack? Circus Freaks, robbing a bank? Building on fire?" Ben was probably referring to some hero work in town. Usually when grandpa calls up he would be the one to tell him what troubles are there around the world. Thanks to the Rust Bucket enhanced GPA signal and the Plumber's personal satellite that hovers over earth, Max was able to tell what was happening around Bellwood. You could say that he was the siren for Ben's hero life.
"Sorry Ben, but everything seems pretty quiet today" the old man replied, "Actually I just called to congratulate you on making it to the team. Gwen told me and said that you guys were going to play against the Bellwood Bees this Friday"
"Oh, I wouldn't about them grandpa" the boy replied holding a smirk up his lips. "I don't think they'll be much of a challenge" he knew this because he was able to experience their abilities first hand and up close.
"Well anyway Ben. I left something in your bag this morning but I forgot to tell you what it was" Ben quickly got his backpack and found that there was a strange object buried beneath his pile of comic books. It was a flat-circular object that was thicker than a CD disc and with buttons attached on its sides. "You mean this round thing with buttons on them?" Ben clarified to which Max nodded.
"That's a communicon" Max explained, "It's an alien high-tech communication device. It has all the functions of a phone and more. I gave one to Gwen too just in case something big happens. It comes complete with an ear phone so no one else can hear us. I linked them to one of our Plumber's satellites so no matter how far we are on earth, we can still remain in contact"
"Whoa… cool!" Ben yelled out as he began tinkering with his new gift like what he did with the Omnitrix, "Thanks a bunch grandpa"
"But… only use it during emergencies" Max warned, "It's a high level technology and only military forces have access to it. So don't go using it for anything else, understood?"
"Yeah don't worry grandpa. This is awesome. What else can it do?"
"Other than calling each other, the communicon can also be used as a tracker. That way we'll be able to tell where each of us are. (honk honk) Oh… got to go Ben, I'm holding up the traffic. I'll see you on Fridays during the game" and with that, he hung up.
(Bellwood grade school) (Gym)
Damien and his gang members were practicing shooting hoops and running around the gym preparing for the game this coming Friday after they had returned from that lost against the Tennyson boy. Damien was known to be the fastest in the group, probably even in the whole city, but after that little performance in downtown, they were beginning to think that their three semester winning streak was about to be cut short.
Just as they finished up their round, the coach of the team came by, "Alright every… one… gather'round" he called to them as if he was in trance or something, "Now listen up… we'll be having a new… co…coach for the game this week. Do… what she says… and… everything… will be… o…k"
"You alright coach?" asked one of his students, "You look like you were bit by the snap bug or something"
"I'm… f… fine…" he replied plainly, like he wasn't even there. "Allow me to introduce to you… your new… co… coach" it was then a slim girl appeared from the shadows.
"That's alright coach" it was none other than Charmcaster, "I'll take it from here. Why don't you go and take a break at the rest room?"
"Yes… of course" and with that, the coach walked away in his hypnotized state.
The young sorceress then turned her attention back to the students as they eyed hey suspiciously, "Alright you kids. I hear that you're playing a big game later this week so the coach brought me so that you guys can win"
"Sorry lady, but we're doing fine on our own, thank you" Damien shot back a little irritated with the girl's presence.
She crossed her arms together smirked back at him, "And I'm guessing that lost against the Tennyson boy must've been a fluke" this caused Damien to eye her back, "You saw us?"
"Oh I see a lot of things boy" she grinned from ear to ear, "You all know that the opposing team are way better that the ones that you boys beat back a long time ago. They're stronger, faster and with that Benjamin on their side, they might just be able to pull it off" she really knows how to dig into the team's deepest fears and use them to her advantage. Her words manipulated them and made them think that they need her help. "Right now… I'm sure all of you are asking the same question: How can I prevent that humiliation from happening? (nods) Well the answer is simple" with a quick move of her hands she pulled out a strange rack of potion bottles, "These potions will allow you to become three times, faster, stronger and better than any of your opponents. Drink them… and victory will be certain"
The gang seemed hesitant to take the vials since they didn't know her very well. But they were scared of losing to the Madison Mean Machines. "A… are you sure it's ok to drink this?"
"Of course it is" she cooed back to them, "Why, the coach wouldn't just hire me to discourage you. Remember, I'm here to help you"
Again, the gang backed off, still unsure of what to do. But then suddenly, Damien decided to step in, "Oh fine! I'll drink it first!" he shouted as he took a vial from the rack. "You yellow bellies don't know an opportunity even if hits you in the face" he held his breath for one moment and gulped the contents of the potion right into his mouth.
After the last drop went through, he put the vial away and waited.
And waited…
And waited…
"Feeling anything boss?" asked one of his teammates.
"Yeah… taste like… grapefruit or some…" and then suddenly, a purple ray of light began to surge through his body, enhancing all of his traits. At first he felt shocking, but after awhile, it was all pleasure, "Whoa… that felt… awesome!" he then began dribbling the ball like a pro. "Whoa! I didn't I could do this!" before he knew it, he was already shooting three points faster than Michael Jordan could lay his fingers on the ball. "Aww man, this is awesome! Hahahahaha!"
"Anyone else like a taste?" Charmcaster cooed seductively to them. With Damien playing like a real pro, they were convinced that the potion does work. So without even wanting to know what the potion was made out of, the entire team drank it all up and became just as strong as she promised. But what is her real agenda to all of this?