Chapter 4 - Azmuth's Ultimate Solution

Carl and Sandra came to on the sidewalk, and when they looked at the doorway, they panicked.

"BEN!" they shouted.

Their teenage son lay motionless, unconscious and facedown on the doorstep. Albedo had a peculiar look on his face, while Vilgax grinned.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Albedo shook his head. "Not exactly how I wanted Ben to go out."

"No matter," Vilgax replied, holding the Omnitrix in his tentacles. "I have what I came here for. As for you, Galvan," he continued to Albedo, "I'm afraid that you have served your purpose."

"We had an agreement, remember?" Albedo replied back. "Tennyson has been vanquished, so I'll be needing the Omnitrix to regain my Galvan form."

"Sorry, Albedo," Vilgax disagreed. "There's been a change in the plans."

As Albedo growled, Vilgax teleported him and himself away, while an alarmed Carl and Sandra rushed to their motionless son. However, as soon as Sandra cradled him, she felt something was off.

"Wait," she suddenly said. "He's still warm."

"Oh, no!" Carl whined, looking at Ben's now-bare ankle. "The restraint anklet's broken!"

It could be assumed that when Ben saved his parents from Vilgax's laser gun, the beam instead hit the anklet, causing it to break into pieces.

Julie rushed to the three.

"Are you guys all right?" she asked.

"We're fine," Sandra answered. "But Ben's unconscious."

Julie gasped, horrified.

"Oh, Sandra," Carl consoled her. "This is our fault. We should have listened to our son when he said that it would be a matter of life and death."

"And Ben almost got himself killed to save us." Sandra added in agreement. "Oh, Carl, what have we done?"

Carl hung his head in shame.

"Oh, my baby," Sandra continued, hugging her unconscious son. "I'm so sorry."

"Ben was right about what he said."

Professor Paradox's voice got the attention of the three.

"And because the two of you wouldn't listen," he continued, glaring at Carl and Sandra with his hands clasped behind his back, "you have yourselves to blame."

"Whoever this guy is," Carl began, "he's right."

"Oh, what are we going to do?" Sandra feared.

"You don't have much time," Professor Paradox told the parents. "You must stop Vilgax from conquering Earth and the whole universe."

Carl nodded in determination and agreement. "Time to start using that bazooka," he declared.

Sandra carried Ben to his room, placed him on the bed, and kissed her son on the forehead.

"We will be back, son," she said. "I love you."

With that, she rushed out of the room to join her husband in the doorway. Julie watched as Professor Paradox teleported them and himself away, then turned to her unconscious boyfriend.

Some time later, Ben came to, and found himself on his bed. Julie rushed to his side.

"Easy, Ben," she said. "Your parents are away fighting off this Vilgax guy."

"Oh, no," Ben feared. "They could get themselves killed!" He looked at his bare left wrist. "And me without my Omnitrix," he continued. "Some punishment they gave me. All hope is lost."

"Maybe not, Ben Tennyson."

Azmuth's voice got his attention.

"What are you doing here?" he sighed.

"Your parents are not going to fight him off alone," the elder Galvan replied.

"What makes you say that?" Ben disagreed. "I'm grounded, Vilgax has the Omnitrix, and the Earth is doomed."

"Oh, for the love of…" Azmuth facepalmed. "Look at your wrist!"

Ben did so and saw a device similar to the Omnitrix on it.

"A new Omnitrix?" he guessed.

"More like a definite improvement," Azmuth answered. "It's called the Ultimatrix. It can not only allow you to walk in the shoes of an alien species like the original does, but it can also evolve them to their Ultimate forms."

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" Ben asked.

Azmuth replied, "I wasn't sure if you were ready. But I guess now you are. The question is, 'are you going to listen to your parents…'" Before continuing, he raised the button on the Ultimatrix. "'…or are you going to listen to your heart?'"

Ben was unsure of what to do. He looked at Julie, who nodded in agreement.

"Oh," Ben moaned. "Mom and Dad are probably going to ground me for the rest of my life for this." He turned to Julie again. "Julie, get Ship." He activated the Ultimatrix. "It's hero time."

A green glow shone from the device, filling the room.