Episode 1: Team Spirit

Chapter 3: It's Game Time!

(Bellwood local downtown gym) (03:00 PM) (1 hour before the game) (Mean Machine's locker)

Benjamin Tennyson and his teammates were in the locker room changing into their gym clothes and preparing for the game that was soon to come. He was going to be put up first on the mark and everyone expected him to give it his best. Ben didn't really mind the pressure since he was used to it already. He was just worried about the people that were coming in the gym. They had no idea what was truly going on beneath their sitting place and little did they know that they were going to be in some serious danger.

"Alright team, gather around!" called the coach as he blew his whistle. The players quickly gathered around him and listened to the morale boosting speech. "All right… I know you're all excited about this game kids, since some of you here are still new to the system. But even if we do win or lose, I want you all to go out there and give it your best shot alright! Don't let me down!! (yeah!)"

As the team exited the locker room, Ben quietly placed the mini earphone of his communicon on his ear and turned the little gizmo on at all times. He knew that Gwen and Max were more than a match for Charmcaster, but he still worried about them, constantly when he's not around to protect them.

"Grandpa Max?" the boy said quietly to the earphone, "It's me, Ben"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Down in the lower basement of the gym, Max and Gwen were hiding under some old machinery a few rooms away from the boiler room. "Ben?" Max answered, "We're nearing the boiler room right at the moment. Still no sign of Charmcaster or those Horned Guardians"

"And not a single spec of magic either" Gwen added, "Somehow… I don't think she's coming at all"

"Well the game is about to start in a few minutes" Ben told them through the other line of the communicon, "You guys just keep watch. I'll see if she's anywhere up here" and with that he hung up, leaving the two to remain where they were.

"Ugh… I don't think I can stay in here an hour longer" Gwen complained through the smell coming through the sewer pipes, "I've heard of dirty jobs, but smelly is a whole different kind of thing"

Max chuckled, "Well, someone has to do it. Besides, it's for a good cause anyway. We'll wait here for another hour, and if nothing happens than we'll go back up"

But then suddenly a voice yelled out from behind them, "Hey! Who the heck are you two!?" both Max and Gwen turned around only to see a normal everyday guard who was probably going for a late retirement sooner or later. He pointed his flashlight at them, looking at their every move suspiciously. "Oh ummm… we're uhh…" Max stammered through words unable to find a good excuse for their presence here.

"Oh I get it" said the guard, "You guys must be the plumbers here to fix the boiler room"

Max would've choked on his own luck when he said yes to him. It wasn't a total lie, since he was 'Plumber' after all. "Yes… yes we are" he replied finally looking relieved, "I brought my granddaughter along. She uh… is planning to follow in my footsteps" Gwen smiled fakely back at the guard trying to go along with the act for now and from the looks of it… the guard seemed to be buying the show.

"Is that so?" he said finally, "Well… I don't want to keep you from your work. The manager of the gym told me to give you the keys the moment you guys got here. That boiler hasn't been working properly for months." he then handed them the keys that led to the boiler room without waiting for their reply, "When you're done plumbing or whatever you do in there, just put the key back in the guard room by the main entrance. I'll be waiting for ya there. Chow" and with that the guard left. Completely oblivious to what the Tennysons were actually going to do.

"Is it me, or was that just plain luck?" Gwen joked as the guard finally left the room.

"Well whatever it is, we have the key. Come on, let's go and check it out" as they unlocked the door leading to the boiler room, the two of them quickly prepare for battle for they knew Charmcaster was not an opponent to be trifled with. "You ready? (nod) Ok… on three. One… two… three!" Max quickly kicked the door right open and aimed his laser pistol at the first ugly thing to come onto his sights. But as the two of them entered the boiler room, they were surprised that they found the place to be… empty.

Not a single soul was around. No Charmcaster, no Horned Guardians, no kidnapped victims… nothing. The only thing that was there was the boiler and what the guard said was right, the thing looked broken beyond repairs.

"There's… no one here" Gwen concluded as she looked around.

"Hmm… looks like no one has been here for at least a few weeks" Max added as he searched through the tight corners of the room. "I guess Ben's instinct must've been wrong after all"

"That's a surprise" Gwen replied sarcastically, "I guess that little act back at the pizza parlor must've been once in a life time chance"

"Well… there's no point in hanging around here any longer. Let's go back upstairs and watch your cousin's game. He might be on right now"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And to Max's truth, the game was just about to get underway. Ben and his team were waiting on their benches for their opponents to come onto the court. As the stands were finally filled with parents, teachers and friends from all around, the MC of the game began.

"Ladies and gentlemen… welcome to the fourth elementary playoff! (cheers) We have an exciting game for you tonight, as the Madison Mean Machines of Madison Elementary will be facing off their school rival… the Bellwood Bees on full game! (cheers) So now… parents and teachers! Please put your hands together, for the Madison Elementary, Mean Machines!!" immediately Coach Brian and his team waved back to the crowd as cheers went as loud as the ear drums could take. From there, Ben saw his parents, Carl and Sandra waving at him. He waved back, but a little embarrassed when they took a picture of him.

Once the crowd died down a little bit, the MC continued, "And ladies and gentlemen, please give your cheers to the opposing team… the Bellwood Bees!! (loud cheer)" immediately Damien and his gang stood up from their seats and hailed like they were kings or something. With both teams finished with their little five minutes of fame, Coach Brian immediately called the players in for one last huddle.

"Alright team, remember what you practiced" he said a little nervous, "Pass the ball around when you're blocked. Shoot it when you got a clear shot and most importantly… teamwork! Alright?!"

"Yes sir!" they replied professionally.

"Good! Now go out there and make me proud boys!" as players from both sides got into their respective positions. The coach grew out a smirk as he knew that there was no way that the Bees could win. He had never seen such great performance coming from his students and from what they gave out this last few days, they had proven to be even better than those kids in high-school.

"Ready to get your butt served Tennyson?" said Damien as he positioned himself at the center line to be the jumper.

"Big words coming from a little guy" Ben shot back with a smirk, "If I remember… I was the one who won back in downtown"

But Damien simply grinned at his taunts, "Hope you enjoyed it… cause it's the last you'll ever get" as the referee looked at both jumpers, he positioned the ball between them and made sure they were focused. With one good toss, Ben quickly leaped up the moment the whistle was blown. He knew he was faster than Damien, but just when he thought he got the ball, Damien suddenly leaped up higher like he was a kangaroo or something.

To say the least, Ben wasn't expecting this.

"Everyone, back to defense!" Coach Brian ordered. But just before the team could even get to front right positions, Damien dribbled the ball and passed it to one of his teammates faster than a living bullet. The ball moved over again and again until the team could no longer tell where it was. Before the Mean Machines even knew what was happening, Damien shot out a three point with no blocking him.

"And the first three points goes to the Bellwood Bees!" the MC spoke out. "I got to say that was some amazing speed out there. I don't think I've ever seen one before!"

"It's alright guys" Ben reassured his team, "They got the first basket, but we can still catch up. Steve, you're with me, Cash and JT, you guys are on defense, the rest of you, stick with the plan!"

"Right!" the team nodded and quickly moved in.

But as the game progressed on, things turned only from bad to worst. As Ben's team tried to break through the Bee's tight defensive formation, they somehow managed to steal the ball right when it was passed. Not only were they stronger, faster and way tougher, but they were also in complete synch with each other. They were so in tune with each other's thoughts that it almost made them look like those cyborgs the Forever Knights used.

After the first quarter bell rung, the score was turned to 53 to 15. It was a complete disaster for Ben and his group. "Ok… I've heard of protein shakes before… but just what did those guys drink?" Ben wondered as he grumpily joined with his teammates back on the bench. The first twelve minutes of the game was extremely tough for them. They had a hard time just trying to get the ball into their grasps. The 15 points the team was able to score only came because of Ben's accurate shooting skills. As they all looked back at it now… it was no longer a five on five game but rather five on one. Ben was the only one who was able to block the shots the Bees gave out and the only person who was able to get the ball in the opposing basket.

"Alright team… drink up and rest up" Coach Brian ordered as he passed out several bottles of water to team, "We may have lost that first quarter, but we can still catch up"

"But how coach?" said one of the team members who was soaking with all of his sweat. "They're too strong. That big guy over there nearly crushed me on that last pass" he was probably referring to Damien who was busy laughing with his gang.

Not having the answer to their hopelessness, Brian turned to his most favored pupil Ben, who still had the same burning spirit of battle in his eyes, "Ben, I know you're giving it your all out there" the coach said in a begging tone, "But can you do something about this?" he gestured to the depressed feeling coming from the rest of the team.

"I'll try coach" Ben answered truthfully even though he was still uncertain on how he was to do to bring the team back into fighting spirit. He was still confused on how the Bees were able to get this strong in such a short time too. Two days ago, he was able to beat Damien with one hand tied behind his back, and now they seemed to have grown out their full potential or something! There was no way a person could improve this much in just two days. Something was definitely up, but what could it possibly be.

(Boiler Room)

Charmcaster, the sorceress bent on returning the great demon Glabados from the other dimension, had just arrived through a portal that she created from the abandoned subway station on the other side of town. After making sure that no one was around, she quickly closed the portal behind her and took out the tome of Glabados from her bag. "Hmm… yes… this place should do" she grinned around as she scanned the area for any intruders.

She then took a look at her watch, "Well what do you know? The second quarter hasn't even begun yet. That leaves me plenty of time to make the seal" with a flick of fingers, two clay animals popped out from her bag and began drawing some kind of symbol on the wide open space. "Now now you two. Make sure you get it right this time. I don't want to leave a stain when I'm done"

(Back in the gym)

As the second quarter of the game began things didn't change much at all. Ben put his whole heart into the game, but it still wasn't enough. He used every trick he had under his sleeves and all of them worked perfectly. But without sufficient aid from his teammates, it seemed impossible just to catch up with the Bees. "Come on Steve, keep up!" Ben ordered as he ran back to his side of the court for defense.

"I'm trying I'm trying!" his pal replied panting like a wet dog. In fact, every member of the Mean Machines were tired… exhausted more like it. After running back and forth for so long, it seemed like their fatigue was catching up to them.

Coach Brian had swapped every member of the team except for Ben since he was the only one who actually stood a chance out there. Not only that, but he needed him on the field so that the morale of the team wouldn't sink down. If Ben was out of the court, he knew that the team would surely fall under the might of the Bees.

The score was now 70 to 30 and the Mean Machines were falling far behind.

"Come on everyone keep moving!" Brian cheered out for them, "We can still win this! Defense and offense! Try to get the ball away from them"

Ben panted deeply as he wiped the hot sweat coming off his head, "Huff huff… It's a lot easier said than done coach" he said before moving back to his defensive position. As Damien came in, Ben quickly took charge of blocking him. He was the best player they got and it was his duty to stop him from scoring anymore points. "Bring it on meat ball! I beat you once, I can beat you again!"

"Why don't we find out!?" the blonde gangster replied with a wide grin. As he dribbled the ball forward, he tricked Ben and super dunked on the basket, shaking the whole court like a mini earthquake. "YEAH!! Who's the king now Tennyson!?" he roared out loud as the crowd cheered onto him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back on the stands, Gwen and Grandpa Max decided to sit back and relax while the game went on. Seeing that Charmcaster wasn't there, so there was no danger to be afraid of. But after seeing that last dunk made by Damien, Max seemed to be scratching his head like a buffoon, "Whoa… what are parents feeding their kids with these days?" he asked to anyone who could answer, "Back when I was his age, I could barely even reach the basket"

Gwen nodded in agreement seeing that it is merely impossible for an eleven year old, "It's a little strange. I don't think kids of that age are even capable of jumping more than 6 feet. Either they've been training too hard, or their shoes are made of springboards"

"I know… but you have to admit, Ben is really giving it everything" Max noted the boy's tired expression and exhausted body. The only time Ben was able to get a break was during a time out session and quarter ends. The boy was sweating so much that he'd wish he could go hero using his Omnitrix.. That way he would win for sure using Fourarms or XLR8 to tip the odds.

A few minutes later, the bell rung, signaling the end of the first half of the game.

"And that's the bell for the final half of the game!" said the MC, "The Mean Machines are down by 79 to 35. Will they be able to catch up against the Bees? Only time can tell. The teams will now have their twenty minute break"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As Ben and his teammates returned to their benches, a great sigh of exhaustion came out of the boy's throat. His small body's metabolism wasn't built for this prolonged game and he was afraid that the moment he closed his eyes for a little nap, he might fall asleep.

While the coach continued to brief the rest of the team, Gwen suddenly showed up with a water canteen in her hands. "Gwen? What are you doing here?" asked Ben a little surprised to see his doofy cousin here.

"Grandpa wanted me to give you this" she tossed the canteen to him which he caught professionally, "You look pretty tired"

"Gee… aren't you the master of the obvious" he replied sarcastically. "Man… I think I broke my back bone on that last block. They're really killing us out there"

"But don't you find them a bit strange?" Gwen asked crossing her arms together.

"Other than them being super powerful, super fast and extra tough? (pause) Nope…" he replied again sarcastically.

"Well the other day you could've beaten that Damien guy blindfolded. And now he's a living terminator in basketball clothing"

"I've been wondering about that too" Ben agreed, "Those guys are way too strong to be elementary school students. I got a hunch that Charmcaster is behind it"

"Ben, we already checked the boiler room, she wasn't there. And I didn't find any traces of magic"

"Well then how do you explain how those guys got so good?" Ben pointed out the obvious, "There's no way they can improve that fast in just two days of practice"

Gwen couldn't disagree with that. She also found it to be very suspicious for the Bellwood Bees to improve in such short time. Not even the pros could do such a thing. "Well, why don't we investigate?"

"I can't" he replied almost too quickly, "The coach needs me for the third quarter. They need me" again, Gwen couldn't argue with that either. After seeing his performance on the grounds, she could tell that the team was really looking up to him and without him to lead the group; they'll be crushed before dinner time. "Alright" for once she submitted, "I'll go and see what they're hiding. You stay here and try to win the game"

"Already got it covered" he gave out a thumbs up and hastily made his way back to his other teammates.

A few minutes later, Gwen decided to spy on Damien and his gang. With the crowd and most of the teachers and faculties busy chatting with one another, she was able to slip pass them like a skunk through a street full of mimes.

"Hey coach, we're off to the rest room for a minute!" shouted Damien to his coach to which the guy nodded in response. As he and his gang went pass the locker room Gwen began to get a lot more suspicious. She continued to follow them deeper and deeper into the building. After crisscrossing through the sharp corners of the building, they finally came to the private men's room.

But then surprisingly, they simply passed by and went off towards the door to the basement. Again their actions became more and more suspicious. They were like a group of gangsters with their own secret hideout or something. "Hmm… going to the restroom huh" Gwen said to herself as she watched them secretly going into the basement.

After following their trail for another few minutes, she was getting a little sensation of dejavu. She remembered this place. It was the boiler room! Quickly following the sound of their footsteps, Gwen arrived at the door that the gang had just gone through. She knew that barging in there was not a good idea after making sure that the last of them were gone from the vicinity of the door, she quickly took a peek through a small the gap to find out what those kids were doing. It was only a few more minutes till game time and these guys were going to be late.

But when she looked at what was on the other side of the door, her eyes grew as wide as tomatoes. "Charmcaster!?" she muttered out her name.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So, are the sacrifices, ready?" asked the sorceress to Damien and his gang.

"Yes… mistress…" they all replied like brain dead zombies.

"Excellent… the final stages of my plans are now complete. And with this seal, I will put the souls of those people into it and bring forth… Glabados… the ancient demon of the Aztecs!" she let out a grin and quickly made her way back to the Tome of Glabados. "Now let's see if I'm missing anything. A magic seal, check, 100 souls, check. Now all I have to do is to summon the Horned Guardians… (chuckle) Easy enough. Mierto Gadarnia!"

The moment she said those magical words, Damien and his gang began to change. Horns came out of their heads, their jaws grew larger, their bodies became freakishly muscular and their eyes became crimson red as blood itself. They were the Horned Guardians that attacked the market square yesterday.

"Oh… this is just too easy…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Gwen saw this she knew right away that Ben was right. Although she found it hard to believe that his guess was correct, she still had to do something about this. She was no match for Charmcaster and the Horned Guardians. "Oh man… I gotta call for help" she quickly picked out her communicon and dialed Grandpa Max's number. But just when the dial tone was ringing, the door leading to the boiler room burst open, making her yelp back. "AHH!!"

"Ahh… Gwen… somehow I knew you'd find me here" Charmcaster mocked as she rode on one of the backs of her horned creatures. "You always were the brains behind that boy's brawns anyway. Come for a little rematch?" but then she quickly noticed the communicon lying on the floor, "Oh… and what's this? A little telephone? (crush!) Bring her inside! She'll have the honor of being the first to witness the great Glabados's resurrection!"

"Gee, that's a mouthful" Gwen mocked even though she knew that she was already facing her doom. Without her communicon, she was unable to call for help and she doubt her scream would be able to reach out of the basement. Besides, with crowd roaring all around the gym, it would be hard just to get anyone to hear anything at all.

(Back with on the ground floor)

There was five more minutes left till the bell rung for the third quarter of the game. Ben had spent his entire twenty minute break sitting down and trying to catch his breath. He had played two quarters straight without much of a swap out and now he was going to be sent out again to battle against the invincible Bellwood Bees for the third time. He was exhausted beyond the capacity of a normal kid but he had a duty to fulfill and that was to lead his team out there to the bitter end.

"Hey Ben, ya ready?" Coach Brian came up looking a little hopeless after seeing the scoreboard. "Next game is up in five minutes"

"Yeah… I'm ready" the boy replied with his legs a little wobbly from exhaustion. "Don't you worry about a thing coach…I'll get this team together one way or another" but just as the boy lifted his tired body from the bench, his Omnitrix again began to turn blue, making him jolt back for a second. He knew whenever this color came, it was another road trip to pain-villa. It wasn't as painful as when the time it was going to self-destruct, but it still hurts. Once the pain surged through his arm, another vision came through his eyes.

He saw his cousin Gwen being held up in the boiler room with Horned Guardians guarding both sides of her arms. From there he could see Charmcaster, opening some sort of a portal to another dimension. A giant demonic hand came out of the portal and with it she began to collect souls from the people above the boiler room. With the ritual completed, the great demon Glabados appeared and wrecks havoc onto the city.

Once the vision ended, Ben was only able to mutter one word. "Gwen…" with feet as fast as lightning, the boy quickly ran away from sight to find a secluded spot so that he can change into one of his hero forms. "Ok… first… how do I get these people out of here?" he said to himself. He knew that all these people were in danger and he had to get them out of the building as fast as possible. The boy walked back and forth trying to thin of a way to get the people out.

He could've easily just scared them off with Ghostfreak, but that wouldn't do much when he fights against Charmcaster. "Come on Ben… think… think! How do I get these guys out of here without all the panic?" it was then his prayers were answered when he noticed a fire alarm system at the wall. "Hmm… that'll work" with one quick move he pulled the lever which triggered the fire alarm system.

The crowd were first confused on what was going on, since they didn't exactly see any fire happening. "Umm… excuse me ladies and gentlemen" came the MC's voice, "The fire alarm has been triggered but please do not panic. For your safety, please exit the through the main entrance in a single file, thank you" with the audience slowly exiting the gym one by one, Ben knew that it was time to heat things up.

"Ok… now to heat things up! Going hero!" with a press of the Omnitrix activation button, he immediately turned into Heatblast, the pyrotechnic alien. "Oh yeah, now we're talking! Now to go and find Gwen" with his amazing fire abilities, he quickly flew his way towards the basement, where Charmcaster was preparing to finish her ritual.

On the other side of the gym, Max immediately saw Ben turn activating his Omnitrix. That could only mean that trouble was not far behind. "Ben…" he muttered before following. But before he could give chase to his grandson, a wave of people began flooding the opposite way, dragging him along, "Oh excuse me… wait… I got to get to… excuse me, pardon me!" it would be a long time before Max would be able to pull himself out of that mob.

(Boiler room)

As Charmcaster continued performing the ritual of the tome, Gwen was busy trying to pry herself free from the ropes that she had been rudely tied with. "Try all you want princess" Charmcaster began, "But it's pointless to struggle. Soon the great demon will come through this portal and with the souls I have gathered above will be his first victim! You should consider yourself lucky. You are about to witness history in the making"

"Thanks, but I'm not exactly good with magic history" Gwen shot back as she continued to struggle through the ropes.

"Tsk tsk tsk… and to think that you were actually a talented speller" but the sorceress's mocking tone became her downfall when a blast of fire burst into the room.

"Try spelling this out sister!" Ben (Heatblast) shouted as he dove in to the rescue. "Spelling time is over! Why don't you try going to the workout gym once in awhile!?"

"And become a muscle headed loser like you? No thanks!" with a flick of her fingers, the Horned Guardians quickly came to attention, "Horned Guardians! Sick on that new chew toy!" the beasts immediately began attacking Ben with ruthless determination and speed.

"Aww man… not you guys again!" the boy groaned out loud as he avoided their attacks. He didn't like these guys and with good reasons too. They were disgusting, they drool on you when you beat the daylights out of them and hard to take on in large numbers. "Alright then! Have it your way!" annoyed by the horned monster's persistence, Ben quickly fired out a burst of flames out of his hands and sent them all flying to the ground.

"Ben, don't hurt them!" Gwen warned.

"Why not!?"

"Those horn guys are Damien and his gang! Charmcaster placed them in some kind of mind control or something! They're still human!"

"Ha! I knew they were cheating somehow!" he grinned triumphantly, "But I never expected to cheat using magic. Hey do you think you can turn me into an octopus? That would be so cool having six tentacles ahehehe" but his laugh was cut short when another one of them horned monsters came in and attack, "Ok you guys. I know we an't the best of friends, but do you really have to take this so personally? Can't we talk this over? (GRRRAAA!!) I guess the feelings aren't mutual" he then leaped away to a safe distance where he can set up some kind of plan to knock them out without hurting them… too much.

"Ben! Do something!" Gwen yelled out.

"Hey, you try thinking under pressure!" he shot back. But then an idea quickly popped onto his head. "Well I guess if I can't hurt them… I'll just have to trap them out!" he quickly headed in to a small janitor's closet, "Alright doggies… why don't you try and catch me…… if you can!" with the Horned Guardians being as stupid as a mule, they easily fell for the taunt and were all crushed inside the janitor's closet. Ben then closed the door and melted the lock with a blow of his flames. "Now you guys stay in there while I deal with the ugly lady"

But just when Ben was about to go and crush Charmcaster's face with his hot rock fist, the portal leading to another dimension finally opened up, revealing a kind of warp storm similar to the Null Void. "At last… it is finally done! (ROAR!!) Come forth, Glabados, the ruler of the Aztecs!"

Immediately a giant hand appeared out of the portal just like the one in Ben's visions. Its nails were as long as witches and its skin as red as rose petals.

"I call upon the souls of the living! Come…… and open the portal, so that I may rule the world! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" but just when she chanted her magical words to bring the souls of the living in…… nothing seemed to happen. "Eh? I said… I call upon the souls of the living!!"

"Sorry lady, but your buffet table has just been canceled!" Ben smirked as he shot out a fireball at her. With Charmcaster distracted with her burning coat, the boy quickly took this opportunity to free Gwen. "You really need to stop getting captured all the time" he joked.

"Gee, I'll try putting that in my reminders next time" she replied, "But how did you know I was in trouble?"

"Let's get out of here first!" Ben recommended, "I don't wanna get squashed by Godzilla's hands"

"No wait! We can't leave now!" Gwen pulled him back even though his body was hot as magma, "Yeow! Grr…! We have to destroy that book. It's the only way to close the portal!"

"Well why didn't you said so in the first place? I'm on it!" with one gallop, the boy quickly rushed into the center of the summoning portal where the book was located. But before he could use his pyro abilities to burn it into a crisp, Charmcaster came in and blocked him. "Nice try loser!" she taunted, "but you're gonna have to do better than that if you wanna get passed me!"

"Hey, I wouldn't want it any other way!" with his pyrotechnic abilities, Ben quickly conjured up a powerful flame thrower attack and blew it through his mouth. Charmcaster's shield was not wide enough cover both her and the book at the same time, so without sufficient protection, the book got burned and toasted into nothing but ashes.

"NOO!! My powers!" Charmcaster tried to save the remainder of the book, but by doing so, she was caught by the hands of the demon Glabados, "What the?! Let me go you creep! Let me go! AHHHHHHH!!" by the time she was able to scream out loud, the portal to the other dimension closed up indefinitely. Never again, allowing evil to come through that gate ever again.

An awkward pause lingered over the boiler room after the portal closed up. Ben knew that he won, but was it a really good idea to let Charmcaster go into that realm? I guess we'll never know what she might discover in there.

A few seconds later, the Omnitrix symbol on the Pyronite's chest began to beep red (Pyro meaning fire) thus returning Ben back into his human form. "Nice job burning that book" Gwen complimented.

But the boy simply waved it, "Nah it's nothing. I've been burning dictionaries and library homework back when I was still in third grade. I got used to it"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Epilogue…

Right after Ben sent Charmcaster into the portal of another dimension, everything seemed to have turned back to normal. Damien and his gang had returned to normal human beings jut like before with no memories whatsoever when they were being controlled by a crazed witch.

When the fire department discovered that the fire alarm had been a false alarm, the schools agreed that the game should resume. But now with the grounds finally on equal footing, Ben and his team were able to turn the tide back in their favor. During the final quarter of the game the score was tied 90 to 90 and with twenty seconds on the clock. Ben, steals the ball from Damien… and with his accurate shooting skills, he was able to end the game with two points in the lead.

"And that whistle signals the end of the final quarter of the game!!" the MC yelled out, "The winner of the game goes to Madison Elementary! (loud cheers!)"

Ben was immediately given the honor of getting carried around by his teammates throughout the gym. He always was a glory hog, from Max and Gwen's opinion, but right now… they believe that he deserved it. He was after all the only one who really thought that they had a chance to win.

Right after the students began to leave the gym one by one, Ben decided to get his things from the bench before he moves out. He didn't want to leave anything behind like he always does. But just when he was double checking his belongings, Coach Brian came by to congratulate him on a game well played.

"An excellent game Benjamin Tennyson" Brian began, "I can't believe we actually pulled it through"

"Hey, we all did it coach" the boy replied modestly. If either any member of his family actually heard that, they would probably faint already. "Besides… I didn't really score that much"

"Heh… still the same Tennyson I remember" Brian smirked back, "A modest kid who's also a glory hog hehehehehe. (pause) Well anyway… here… I think this belongs to you now" he then handed Ben a gold round plate with the letters MVP carved onto its center.

"Whoa! My first MVP badge! Awesome!" to say the least, Ben was beyond ecstatic to finally get something that he would treasure, "I can't believe it! You really think I…" but Brian simply waved his hand to stop the boy from speaking anymore. "If you have any reasons why you shouldn't deserve that medal Ben… I don't wanna hear it. You've earned that badge more than I ever did back when I was your age. If I had a player like you back in my time… we would've made it to the international playoff centuries ago hehehehehe" and with that, the coach departed towards the exit to end a good day.

Ben smiled and held the gold plate in his hands tightly like it was his own heart. He always knew he would get an MVP badge someday, but he never thought that he would get it on his first game.

(Time skip 30 minutes) (Rust Bucket)

After the trio had left the gym, Max volunteered to bring his grandkids back to their home safely while the parents went off towards their late night works. The trip was decently quiet and nothing seemed to be bothering him or his grandchildren at all.

Ben was busy cleaning up his newly acquired MVP badge, Gwen was busy reading and Max was busy keeping his eyes on the road. It was a nice end to a nice day and it was always nice to have a nice end to a nice day. As Max pulled over by Gwen's house, he turned back to his granddaughter and smiled, "See you later Gwen"

"Later grandpa…" she then paused as she turned to Ben. After a moment of silence she spoke up, "Congrates on your victory too dweeb"

Ben really didn't expect a compliment from her, but it was still nice to hear. "Uh… thanks…" he replied a little surprised by her compliment.

As grandpa Max drove off, Ben quickly remembered the water canteen that he got from Gwen, "Oh yeah grandpa. Thanks for letting me use your water canteen during the game. It really helped"

Max looked back at him raising a confused brow, "Water canteen? (pause) Sorry Ben, but I didn't bring any water canteen with me. I only drink from bottled water, remember?"

"Then… who's canteen is this?" he then looked at the bottom of the container and noted that there was a name.

'Gwendolyn T…'

End of Episode