Chapter 3

"Vilgax's robots? I gotta..." A sudden flash shot past him before he could finish his sentence, the wind created from the movement causing him to look up from his wrist. He and Gwen simultaneously gasped in shock as Roxas tore down the street, his speed surpassing even the fastest of Olympic athletes.

Dodging the oncoming blasts with ease, he leapt onto the roof of a car, jumped towards a wall and kicked off, right up the robots' level of altitude. As the first machine approached him, he spun his body around, summoning Oathkeeper in a flash of light, and slashed cleanly through the metal, leaving the robot to fall to the ground in pieces. Kicking off a piece of falling metal and holding his Keyblade out to his side, he quickly and effortlessly repeated the process before landing lightly on the ground as small explosions came from the bulks of metal.

"Wow, did you see that?" Gwen asked excitedly. "That sword came out of nowhere. That had to be magic. And from looking at him, it's safe to say that he hasn't even broken a sweat. All of that effort and he might as well have been swatting a bug."

Before anyone could reply, more laser fire struck the area, heralding the arrival of another three robots. Ducking for cover, young Ben never let his eyes leave the blond as an unimpressed look crossed Roxas' face. Charging straight at the mechanical nightmares again, he didn't bother avoiding the laser fire, simply bating it away with his blade, before leaping off another car, onto a street light and up into the sky again. He struck straight through the first machine before kicking off the back of it towards the next. In another flash of light, a black blade appeared in his other hand and struck straight through the robot's charging laser gun, causing it to explode, the robot being blown apart in the process. Starting to lose altitude and with nothing safe to leap from, Roxas spun his body and pointed Oathkeeper straight at the centre of the final robot, giving it a smirk.

"Bye bye bucket of bolts. Light!" Nine javelins of light exploded from the shining blade, all of which hit home in every part of the robot. A second later, the city was given an amazing display as the pile of metal went up like a bomb.

The older Ben just chuckled as Roxas landed, his arms and blades outstretched at his sides. "You just had to show off didn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Roxas replied innocently, though the mischief in his eyes was noticeable to everyone.

"Yeah right. You could have turned them all five to rubble with one shot if you wanted to and from the ground too." Ben retorted, punching him playfully in the shoulder.

"Well, yeah, I could have." Roxas shrugged, grinning slyly. "But that wouldn't have been nearly as much fun. And the others got to show off so why can't I? Why were you so worried about those tin cans anyway?"

"Two things" Ben stated, looking around the area and sighing when he noticed that the civilians had finally disappeared. "The first being all the damage they did the first time round and the second being that." He continued, pointing behind the keybearer. Turning around, Roxas found himself staring, curious and impressed, as the robotic parts still functioning pulled themselves together and quickly formed a new robot, one much bigger and deadlier than those that had made it up.

"That's what you were worried about?" Roxas asked, eyeing the machine as it approached. "It definitely looks impressive, I'll give you that. Machines that repair and develop themselves. I've never seen that before. But it's still nothing to me." With a casual wave of his hand, he raised Oblivion, pointing it right at the centre of the pile of metal. The tip of the blade glowed with white light for a second before a thin beam struck the centre of the robot. For a moment nothing happened, worrying the young kids. However, as the robot tried to move, numerous clangs came from within it and a second later, it completely fell apart.

"WHAT?" Young Ben screamed as the last of the scrap metal fell to the ground, his eyes the size of dinner plates. "It takes me forever to destroy those things before they rebuild themselves and when they do, they're almost unstoppable and he did it with one, thin line of light?"

"Definitely magic." Gwen commented, just as impressed as Ben before turning a smirk to her cousin. "And obviously far better at the hero thing than you. They all were."

"Yeah, yeah. I've gotta talk to this guy." Ben stated excitedly, running towards the teens before Max could stop him.

"Ok, now we really need to find the others." Roxas said firmly as his keyblades disappeared. "The question is, how do we do it?"

"Maybe we could-"

"Hey, you gotta tell me who you guys are and how you did that." Roxas chuckled at the look on Ben's face as he literally interrupted himself. It only grew louder as the younger form of Ben Ten reached them, staring up at them as if Christmas came early. "I've never seen someone handle those robots so easily before. And I'm the only person who ever beat Kevin. You and the white haired guy are so strong, how did you get that tough? And what are your powers exactly?"

"Wow, you ask a lot of questions." Older Ben commented ironically, causing Roxas to laugh. The sound caused both Bens to look at him, one with a raised eyebrow and the other with annoyance. Sighing, the Older Ben turned back to his younger counterpart, only to find Gwen and Max behind him, a Null Void projector in Max's hand and Kevin nowhere in sight. Taking in the projector, the cautious look on Max's face and the eager and determined one on his younger self, it quickly became clear to him that running away would be a difficult and could end with a one way trip to another dimension if Max didn't put that thing away. So much for not messing with the past. He thought with a sigh as he turned to his blond companion. One look into his blue eyes told Ben that the exact same thoughts and feelings were running through his head. Giving him a nod, Roxas took a step back, indicating for Ben to start talking.

"All four of us got about as tough as Roxas here through time and experience." Ben stated, getting the attention of all three Tennysons. "Most of which will happen over the next five years."

"What? The next five years?" Gwen gasped, staring back and forth from one teen to the other. "You mean... you're from the future? So that's how you knew the robots were coming!"

"Yeah, I'd lived it once before." Ben nodded, staring intensely. He broke out of it a moment later with a smile. "So tell me, do you recognise me?"

...

It was more than a little annoying for Albedo when two ships came close to the satellite. His work had proven to be quite progressive, more so than he had expected thanks to what had to be the most advanced computer systems ever created by humans at his finger tips, but it brought to an immediate halt as the scanners went off.

"Just great, now I'll need to hide my work." Albedo muttered, altering his programming and closing his programs behind two firewalls and erasing the computer's history records. Sighing, he opened the hanger doors and activated the satellite's speakers. "Gohan, the others have arrived. I'm meet you in the hanger." With that, he did one more quick check of his security and headed out of the bridge, wincing as his still injured body screamed at him. "UGH! Being injured does help with the deception, but it's definitely coming at a price."

...

Gohan reached the hanger just in time to see both of his friends running out of their ships. Both looked to him hopefully, praying something positive had been discovered, but the grim look on the young alien hybrid quickly dashed any hope they had.

"How is Gwen?" Was the first thing Jake asked as they reached each other, moving from one hope to the next. Unfortunately, that too was met with a sad sigh.

"She and the others are still in really bad shape." Gohan muttered, staring at the floor. "Namine had to use her energy sparingly on all of them. Ben was healed just enough so he could walk and the others enough so that they aren't about to die on us, but that alone has taken so much out of her that she still hasn't woken up from her exhausted slumber."

"Do we know who did this?" Rai asked, clenching his fists. "I wanna get my hands on him. And make it as slow and painful as I can."

"We only know that it's a ghost." 'Ben' answered, limping into the room. "Danny's ghost sense went off and then a blast came from behind me. The next thing I knew, my body was covered in injuries and I was in the middle of the lake. By the time I got back to the shore, everyone was unconscious or gone."

"What about ghost activity then?" Jake asked. "Any ghost sightings around the area?"

"No, the closest one is in Moscow." Albedo sighed, shaking his head. "Even Amity Park's been quiet."

"So this guy clips Ben, Gwen and two Plumbers before dropping off the map with three of us? How many ghosts have that much power?" Raimundo cried exasperatedly, throwing his arms into the air. "I mean, the only time Danny's needed any help at all was the whole Freight Knight fiasco. None of the others are beyond the skills of Amity Park's ghost hunters."

"Well, there are others, but none of them have bothered showing up." Gohan muttered, rubbing his chin in thought. "According to our files, Vortex, Undergrowth and Plasmius could all be too much for him on his own, but I think we'd notice if two out of three were involved and the other was last seen in space, not returning to Earth because ghost hunters would forever be hunting him."

"Why don't we check the files for any other potential suspects?" Jake suggested, already heading towards the bridge. "It's better than doing nothing."

Gohan and Rai were quick to agree, following him quickly. Albedo however, scowled as they past him, following the group a much slower pace. I have to find a way to remove them from the satellite quickly. The longer they are here, the less work I can get done and the more likely my charade will be discovered.

...

While his young grandson had already started his long rant about how it was impossible for them to knows who the two were, Max's eyes widened in instant recognition. The boy looked shockingly similar to his son, especially in his teenage years, and the boy beside him now. Glancing at his wrist, he was almost put off by the different watch resting there, but that was nullified a second later as a twitch of the wrist revealed the Plumber's symbol.

"I mean, sheesh, if you don't even start your hero days until after today, how could we possibly-"

"I see you've calmed down a bit in the last five years." Max interrupted, gaining a gawk from the younger Ben. "I hoped you would. I don't think your team would be able to handle you if you hadn't. I mean, the main reason we do right now is because we're family and we love you Benjamin."

"HUH? What? That's me?" Young Ben cried, turning back to the older, grinning brunette. His jaw dropped to the ground as he stared in pure shock at the person he was going to become.

"The resemblance is uncanny and he has knowledge of everything we've got to the Null Void projector. You should have figured it out the moment he said he's from the future, dweeb." Gwen said, giving him a superior grin. Ben however, for the first time in his life, didn't take the bait. He just continued to stare at his future self until his stunned look turned into one of excitement.

"This is so COOL! Now I've seen my adult and teenage selves. And I'm going to be on a team with heroes good as me." He cheered, throwing a fist into the air, much to the amusement of the teenagers. "I knew it was only a matter of time before my greatness would be discovered by other heroes."

"Wow, how did your ego fit inside that head of yours?" Roxas asked teasingly, getting a light punch in the arm from Ben in response.

"But where's the Omnitrix?" Younger Ben asked confusedly, bringing the teens back to the others as younger Ben grabbed his counterpart's wrist. "Why would you take it off? How can you be a hero without it?"

"That is it." Older Ben responded, getting a surprised look from himself. "It transformed a while back. It's more advanced now."

"Sweet! I'm going to grow even more powerful." Younger Ben cheered, causing the teens to chuckle and the others to sigh. "But you gotta tell me about this awesome team I'm on. Am I the leader? How many times have we saved the world? Do we have a really cool base? And gadgets?"

"How about we save this for later." Roxas stated firmly, before Gwen could snap at her cousin, as the sound of sirens hit his ears. "I doubt any of us want to explain any of this to the cops and we still need to find the others. Besides, the less people who know about time travelling teenagers, the better in my book."

"I'd have to agree." Teen Ben nodded, turning to Max. "Think we could get the heck out of here in the rust bucket?"

"Not a problem." Max nodded, quickly leading the way to the van. "Do you know where your friends would have gone?"

"Not a clue." Teen Ben sighed. "And we left our communicators back in the future. We'll just have to head in the direction they did and hope for the best."

...

Deep within New York, hidden from the view of the public, stood what could only be called a fortress. Thick metal walls and weapons like none normal humans even knew existed protected the perimeter. Within was no different. The structure completely made of thick steel, it housed the deadliest training courses known to man on one side, vaults containing weapons and vehicles beyond normal human technology on another and a third for computer systems that would make any nerd have a heart attack.

It was one of these computer screens that drew the attention of what looked to be a green clad ninja. It had suddenly started a loud, incessant beeping a little while back and the man had yet to determine the source. Getting frustrated, he was about to pound away on the keyboard before the door behind him opened with a mechanical whoosh, allowing a much bigger man enter the room. He was dressed similarly like the first one, except he had a dragon skull over his head, like a helmet, and a green cape coming down his back. The air of authority rolled off of this man in waves.

"Report! What despicable source of magic have we detected?" He demanded, sending an uncontrollable shiver of fear through the minion.

"I-it's a powerful explosion of unfocused magic that occurred about an hour ago." The inferior man said nervously, his typing speed doubling in his master's presence. "I've just managed to get a lock on the location of the event, a park in Florida, but I can't determine what could have possibly caused it. The only source I've picked up in that area since is a completely different source of magic that spiked and disappeared near the area about five minutes ago sir."

"I see." The master muttered, rubbing his chin in thought. "We appear to have enemies who are cautious and suppress their energies. Interesting." Staring at the screen for a moment, he memorised the exact locations for each burst of power before turning back to the tech. "Alert the clan. We have some pieces of filth to exterminate."

...

A man with skin and a face as pale and sunken as a ghost flew quickly past the border into Florida. He too had noticed a powerful and explosive rush of magic. His ability to sense such powers were second to none and such a burst of raw power had almost caused a headache, despite how far away he'd been. It'd only taken him a moment to realise that it was because of a non-magical energy had mixed into it and that only caused his urge to find the power grow.

A way to increase the effects of magic well beyond the caster's usual limitations. He thought, grinning darkly at the possibilities. "Whatever it is, I will have it and then this world shall be mine."

...

"So how do you think they'll find us?" Kim asked, rubbing her ankle. Not wanting to draw people's attention to them anymore, Danny had turned the two of them invisible and flown out of town. Currently, they sitting in a small field just outside of town with buildings before them and trees behind them, Kim rubbing the few bruises she'd acquired in the fight. Hitting that mix and match body alone had been enough to do damage.

"Without our communicators, the only way is for me to bring them here." Danny replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't really think this through."

"No kidding." Kim agreed, though there was no spite in her voice. "You're going to have to be extremely observant. They saw which way you flew, so they'll head this way, but who knows how they'll travel."

"Which is why I'll have to let them see me." Danny stated, taking into the air. "Will you be alright on your own for a while?"

"Hello, we are not exactly under attack at the moment. And besides, I can take care of myself." Kim retorted, giving him a raised eyebrow. "I did make the team too, remember?"

"Yeah, I know. Sorry, force of habit." Danny sweatdropped before shooting into the air. "See you later."