Hello everyone! It's been a while! I'm sorry I haven't updated for a few months, it's just that at some point I began losing motivation to continue this fanfiction, so I started another fanfiction to keep me going until I got the boost I needed. And now that I have, I'm ready to continue this fanfiction even though I'll be updating the other ones once in a while.

Now with all that said, here's another action packed chapter of The Cross-Dimensional Adventures of Ben 10: Hero meets Heroines.

Chapter 20: Return of the Hero

Pain; that was the only thing Aang could think about. After fighting Nefarius to the best of his abilities, he found himself in a very difficult position. His entire body was staggering with electricity, as they kept his from being able to do anything while groaning in pain. However, what made this even worse was the fact that Nefarius walked over to him, looking down at him with a malicious grin.

"You gave me quiet the thrill, Avatar." He said with a hint of mockery. "Now stay here and die slowly in agony. I have a Multiverse to take over, after all."

Aang couldn't give a proper response. Last time, when he was struck by lightning, he should've been in a coma, on his way to death's door. But for some reason, he could just feel his life-force draining slowly while he could do nothing. The supervillain obviously saw this, and so didn't feel threatened by the Avatar as he turned his back at him, heading straight for the Time Tree, where Vaatu was still imprisoned.

"Aang!" cried out a familiar young voice.

Aang's eyes snapped open. "B-Ben?"

For a second, the Avatar thought he was hearing things. But that seemed to change when a blue portal appeared right at his left side and a hand reached out to him.

"Aang, you have to take my hand. Quick!" Ben's voice cried out.

The Avatar groaned hard in response. The thought of moving, especially in his state was proving troublesome. But he didn't let that stop him. He suppressed all the pain in him and raised his right hand to Ben's hand, which he then gripped. Once that happened, Ben's entire hand and whatever was attached to him became misty energy that followed right into the Avatar, with the portal closing right after.

Fortunately, the portal didn't matter. What mattered there, at that moment, was what happened to Aang. The Avatar felt his entire body heal rapidly, as his body began to accommodate the new found power within him that allowed him to get on his knees. At the same time, his appearance was changing into something entirely.

Gone was the remainder of his airbending clothes that he had worn. In its place was a suit that was entirely black, with sparkling stars on it. In addition, he wore a white cape with blue lines racing from the shoulders to the bottom of the cape, where at the middle was the symbol of the Air Nomads, while wearing red gloves that had the insignia of the Fire Nation on them. The same could almost be said for his brown shoes, which had the insignia of the Earth Nation, as well as a blue belt around his waist that represented the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. But just to complete the entire look. The Omnitrix symbol appeared on his chest, symbolizing the wearer of the Omnitrix.

However, that wasn't all that happened. The Avatar's body began to glow brightly, as his eyes and tattoos began to shine bright blue like in the Avatar State. But despite the combined power the body was feeling, it came at a price.

The Avatar's body was taking a lot of strain as he groaned in agony and struggled to stay on his knees. It wasn't an easy task, as those few seconds he endured felt painful to him until he maintained his position. Then, with a loud cry, the Avatar pushed his head up and his arms out, letting out a powerful cosmic beam up into the air, before getting back on his feet in his new form. But just as his appearance had changed, so did the command of the body when the three voices of Ben, Aang and Raava spoke simultaneously.

"WE ARE ONE."

Meanwhile, Nefarius stood a few feet from Vaatu. He could already see the spiritual embodiment of evil with a wide smile on his face, when he came to a stop with a confused expression. He felt tremendous power, more powerful than his own, just at the moment a beam of light shot into the air. The same seemed to also be felt by Vaatu, whose attention looked forward at the cause of it, to a surprise.

"Such power…" Vaatu muttered.

Nefarius didn't like hearing this. He turned back without haste and narrowed his eyes at the single figure now standing with powerful wind going around him to make his cape flap in the air.

"WE ARE ONE." He heard them say.

Nefarius snarled in response to this. He noticed the symbol on the Avatar's chest and knew exactly who it was.

"Tennyson!" Nefarius cried out in anger. "You won't stop me! Not when I'm close to true ultimate power!"

So with that said, Nefarius didn't hold back. He took in a fresh of breath and let out his ghostly wail straight at the combined heroes. The wail was larger than anything Danny Phantom and his alternate future self had done as it ruptured the very ground in its path not just to pieces but to the point that anything hit with it would be ripped apart in mere seconds.

However, when it came straight for the combined heroes, it had no effect. Aang's eyes just glow bright green, with pupil shining blue, before he then raised his single hand that stopped the wail in its track. It was a surprising sight, as the Avatar showed no strain when his body did it, even when it came to a stop. But that wasn't to say Nefarius was happy about this.

"Thi-These boys!" Nefarius yelled in anger. This was then followed with his energy powering out. The ghost powers, fairy magic and even the Nanite power became multi-colored energy that coated him as he narrowed his four bloody red eyes at the combined heroes. "These heroes! They make me want to go all out!"

With that said, Nefarius charged at them. The speed he went was beyond what he used against the Avatar before, as it broke the speed of light in seconds and kept increasing. This was then followed with him creating three other duplicates, which held the same speed level and power, as they closed in on the combined heroes and began going around the Avatar like a tornado, plowing down on him with powerful punches. These blows weren't any ordinary blows, they were ones combined with the brute of his immeasurable strength.

Not surprising the effect it had was devastating. The Spirit World could feel its own very foundations shaking as large earthquakes went about everywhere, ripping the very energy it had. But in a way, it was able to not tear apart entirely. As for the center, where the fight was going on, the very ground, mountains, forests and just about anything, expect the Time tree was destroyed in seconds.

However, there was one thing and person it had no effect on. That person was the combined heroes. It seemed the Avatar was able to shield himself with his hands shielding his face, as he took in all the uncountable punches from the blows Nefarius was giving him. But just when it seemed the supervillain was getting to him, the Avatar suddenly punched him right in the stomach with such force that he spat out in pain and was sent flying miles away.

"N-No!" Nefarius cried out.

The force of the Avatar's new power was immense. It didn't even feel like he was going all out. But just with that blow, Nefarius was sent flying back, even when he applied so much of his power to stop until he did come to a stop and began to pant.

"No…This can't be. I can't let them –"

The supervillain was suddenly cut off, almost literally. The reason was due to the Avatar, who seemingly appeared before him, only to then punch consecutively at him with just one hand. The force of those multiple punches was not only able to tear Nefarius apart into pieces, but send massive shockwave to whatever that was in its way.

However, the battle wasn't over yet. In fact, Nefarius refused to let it be that way. His body may have been torn apart into numerous pieces, but he was still alive. Hence, it came as no surprise to him that all of him came back into one piece, one body again, before he flew up into the air with his arms down at the combined heroes.

"YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOIIICEEE!" cried out Nefarius.

And true to his words, he decided to deliver. An energy pack with a giant wand appeared on his back as his arms shaped into a huge blue colored cannon with the mouth leaking out misty green ghost energy.

"I'LL POUR EVERYTHING IN THIS ONE SHOT! I'LL DESTROY NOT JUST THIS WORLD, BUT THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE! NOTHING WILL BE LEFT STANDING!"

The combined heroes said nothing. Their eyes were up at Nefarius as his cannon began to charge up in a rapid pace until it was at full power. Then, with a loud cry, he let out a devastating energy blast composed of a ray of green ghost energy and sparkling blue lights with yellow magic rings around it.

"BIG BANG RAPTURE: UNIVERSE DESTORYERRRR!"

From the looks of it, this blast truly had the potential of which it was named. It came down at the combined heroes at undetermined amount of speed that it caused their cape to fly backwards. But if even at this state, the Avatar's face seemed unmoved as his fist was tightened.

"This has gone far enough."

So with that said came the effect. The tightened fist of the Avatar formed a dome of air that was then accompanied by a ring of fire and water, opposite of each other. At the same time, a ring of water formed above the dome, just as green lines formed on the Avatar's arms, heading down to his fist, before he swung his fist up at the incoming universal destroying blast. The impact of the blow not only halted the attack, but it sent every part of it back at Nefarius, whose eyes widened in complete horror at what was about to happen.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

And so with that cry was the inevitable. The energy blast meant to destroy the combined heroes came fully on him, causing him to cry out in pain. The rest of it shot out into the sky until it, leaving a large trace as it was sent into a void where it would do no harm.

"It's finally over."

Though they may not seem like it, those voices were relieved at the outcome. Nefarius was defeated once again from enacting his complete plan of Multiverse domination. But as the combined heroes stood, they looked around them with a move of the Avatar's head and realized the state of things before his head returned back to its proper place.

"Hmm, let's fix this, shall we?" Their voice said in unison.

Just then, with the Avatar's hands spread out, the body flew back as it began to light up bright blue. They had seen the amount of damage the Spirit World had received, until now they decided to fix it. Hence, with the blue aura on the Avatar's body, everything around them began to reform back to the way it was. The forest, the mountains, the Ying and Yang symbol at the large clearing in the middle, and just about everything within the area and the Spirit World as a whole was fixed to the way it was.

"Done." The combined heroes said.

And indeed, they were right. The entire area and the Spirit World as well were back to the way it was before the fight against Nefarius. But as the aura around them died down, their focus went on the Time Tree, which they then flew down and stood before it, looking at Vaatu. The evil spirit was still encased in the same cosmic prison the First Avatar had kept him in so he wasn't a threat. But that didn't keep Vaatu from looking down at the figure before them.

"So are you here to finish me off, Raava?" said the evil spirit.

"No." replied Raava's voice. It was that to the echo of a woman as the Avatar's eyes were still at the evil spirit. "Light cannot exist without darkness. However, you have seen too much, and I fear this might motivate you to attempt something that'll threaten the balance that Wang and our lifetimes have fought so hard to maintain. So I will take away your memory of everything so that the future might be safe."

"Is that so, Raava?" questioned Vaatu. He didn't seem intimidated or fearful as he continued. "Do as you must. But know this. One of these days I will be free, and when that happens, my wrath will be known."

"And when that happens, the one who will take the mantle of The Avatar will be there to stop you." Raava said without fear.

And so with came the next move. The Avatar's hand was raised at the evil spirit before lighting up and doing what Raava intended.

_(LINE BREAK)_

Back to the Human World, things were the way they always were. As for the Fire Nation Island that Nefarius had once reeked havoc, the same could be said about the place following the day. The number of help had increased to the point that the wounded and the homeless were able to get the best medical help they could get. But as much as Katara liked that, she couldn't help but feel worried about a certain bald headed teen.

"I wonder if Aang is okay." Katara sighed with a depressed sigh.

A few hours had passed since she had last seen her boyfriend. She knew he had help in the form of Ben Tennyson, but couldn't stop the thought that something might've gone wrong. Hence, despite given the chance, she had remained in the Admiral's tent, sitting at the long table while looking at a cup of water in her hands, alone.

However, her solitude was ruined when a bit of sunlight burst in as someone pushed the curtain of the entrance to enter. It was revealed to be her brother, as he walked right in and closed the entrance before walking over to his sister, who looked at him as he came closer.

"Hey, Sokka, is everything doing alright?" Katara asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Sokka replied. But the look on his face said something else. It was filled with concern, which he couldn't hide as he placed his hand comfortingly on his sister's shoulder. "You're worried about him, aren't you?"

"Yes." Katara answered and turned back to her glass. "I don't know why, but…I feel…I feel something bad happened to Aang."

"That can't be." Sokka stated boldly. He refused to acknowledge what could've been the fate of his best friend. So with his arms wrapped around his chest, he sat on the table while looking down at his sister. "Don't mention this, but that guy…Ben, I'm pretty sure he won't let any harm come to Aang. He's been fighting that Nefarius guy longer than we know, so Aang should be fine. Besides, Aang's the Avatar; it's that monster that should be worried about what Aang would do to him."

Katara found this nice to hear. Her brother sounded more confident than her, which was a bit surprising. Usually, he would be the one over-thinking things or dismissing others if they didn't hold any fact. But now that she let his words sink in, she let a smile formed on her face before turning to her brother.

"Thank you, Sokka, I needed to hear that." She said.

"I know." Sokka smiled back.

Suddenly, both siblings found their attention diverted to something at their side. It was blue portal, which had appeared out of nowhere, until two familiar figures walked out, revealing themselves to be Ben and Aang, standing next to each other.

"Aang!" Katara cried out.

The Water Tribe girl's voice was filled with relief and happiness. The tension she felt before was swept away as her eyes lay on the boy she loved. So it came as no surprise that she immediately got off her seat, ran over to Aang and embraced him in a hug. As for her brother, he just smirked with his arms just crossed over his chest.

"See. I told you so." He said. Then he watched as Aang embraced his sistr back before turning his attention to Ben, who then chose that chance to stand next to him, looking over at the couple. "So you guys took care of it?" He asked the hero.

"Yup." Ben nodded.

"Good to hear." Sokka commented.

Back at the couple, both of them were obviously happy to see each other. They didn't need to say a word nor indicate it as they embraced each other in their arms. But once that was over, both pulled away, revealing happy looks on their faces as they made eye contact.

"Katara, we did it! We beat Nefarius!" Aang said happily.

"I know, Aang." Katara replied with full honestly. "I doubted a while ago but…I'm just glad to see you're okay and that you made it true. I'm so sorry about that."

"You don't need to apologize." Aang told her honestly. "If it weren't for Ben, I likely wouldn't have made it through this. You should be thanking Ben."

"You don't have to, dude." Ben commented. He paused for a bit to see couple face him before smirking at them, revealing his teeth. "I was just fulfilling my promise to Katara. And now that I have, I better get going. I have to make sure that maniac is down for good."

"Wait, what?" Aang questioned, confused and shock. "Are you talking about Nefarius? I thought we beat him for good."

"We did…" Ben said. "but not in the way you think. I think Raava noticed that."

"Raava?" Sokka questioned. He took that confusion on his face and looked over to Aang. "Who's that? Is it spirit you guys met?"

"It's a long story." Aang said, though he didn't seem mindful of it. "I'll explain who she is later." Then he looked back at Ben. "What do you mean anyway about Nefarius?"

"Welll…" Ben paused and placed his arms by his sides. The toothy smirk him disappeared, as he became a bit serious, knowing what he had to do. "Nefarius was beaten, but not in the way we hoped…We were able to strip him off his powers, but he made a last attempt to escape. I bet he's very hurt, but he's still alive and a threat to the Multiverse. So as much as I would like to hang around for a bit, I have to get going and stop Nefarius for good."

Now it all made sense. The news, however, didn't make Aang or the Water Tribe siblings feel any good. In fact, it made both sad as they realized that Ben would have to leave, hence small frowns formed on their faces. Fortunately, Aang became a bit lighter about it as he walked over to Ben and stretched his hand out for a handshake.

"Well I can't say it hasn't been good knowing you, Ben." Aang stated friendly. He let a small smile to form on his face as he looked straight at Ben, continuing. "Take good care of yourself. I hope to hear from you again."

"Same." Ben replied back and smiled. He then followed this comment with a grasp of Aang's hand, which then led to a handshake. "Watch over Katara really close, dude. You're a lucky guy."

Aang liked hearing that. It made him smile a bit more than he intended as he continued the handshake with the teen hero. But just as everything must come to an end, so did the handshake. Ben turned to Sokka, who got back on his feet and stood before him, smirking down at him before punching the younger teen's chest lightly as a joke.

"Hey, thanks for being there for Aang. You have no idea how much I appreciate that." Sokka said honestly. "Who knows; maybe when you're done with that freak you can get back here so we can hang out a bit longer. I get the feeling we might have something in common."

"I would like that." Ben replied.

"Ben." Katara called out.

Now it was the Water Tribe girl's turn to say her own words. She watched as Ben turned away from her brother before walking over to him with a soft smile on her face. Then, upon getting close to him, she embraced him in a light hug and felt it returned back to her.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Katara said gratefully. There was no better way she could've expressed it than at that moment. "We didn't get to know each other well, but I know you'll make it through no matter what."

"Thanks." Ben said back.

And so with came the end of their goodbyes. Katara and Ben released each other from their embrace before walked away from everyone and headed to the still present portal he and Aang came through earlier. But before he actually stepped through, he turned to his new friends with a grateful smile on his face.

"It's been great getting to know you guys. Hopefully, I'll get to see you all again."

However, there was one thing that Aang noticed. It wasn't bad, but it was something he brought up as he spoke up to the Omnitrix user.

"Wait, you're not using Ultimate Ben?" He asked. "I know that form is dangerous, but you might need him to beat Nefarius."

"I might…" Ben replied with a calm voice. "But I think I'm done with him for good. Ultimate Ben was able to fuse with you and work well because our minds and Raava was able to maintain it. But if were to use it alone, I don't think I'll be able to restrain myself from doing something I'll normally regret. Besides, Ultimate Ben became that way because of the pain of loss I went through. But now that I've come to terms with it, I'll take Nefarius down the old Ben 10 way."

Aang liked the sound of that. "Alright. Goodluck, Ben." He said.

"Thanks." Ben smiled back.

So with that said, the teen turned his attention back to the portal. He knew this portal would lead him to another world, though to where that'll be was a mystery. Hence, he took his chances and walked into the portal. It closed right behind him immediately after, taking him away from that world and to another.

_(LINE BREAK)_

While Ben was peacefully heading to another universe, the same couldn't be said about Nefarius. He had made it out from his own redirected blast like Ben said, but barely. Hence, it came as no surprise that he laid on his back against the base of a tree, back in his normal human-like form but in a very terrible state. He had large cuts and wounds all over his body, as half his hair were gone, leaving a part of him bald. Also, the clothes that remained were just tattered brown pants, which in itself only covered his private part.

"What – What's taking her…so long?" Nefarius panted heavily.

The supervillain, right at this point, was clinging to life. He didn't know how long he had left to live, except that he needed medical help as soon as possible. Fortunately for him, his prayers seemed answered as a blue portal appeared before Blackfire walked out with a brown back in her right hand and a bottle of pink liquid in it.

"I see you made it out alive…but barely." Blackfire commented. "To think Tennyson beat you again. This is very unfortunate. If Vlad and the other had picked up on the signal before me you would've been –"

"That's…That's enough!" Nefarius yelled, at least tried to. The pain in throat was becoming too insurable.

Fortunately, Blackfire seemed to understand his predicament as she immediately kept num and walked over to him. But that isn't to say she didn't shoot an annoyed glare and dropped the brown sack on the ground.

"Take this…" Blackfire said. The thing she mentioned was the bottle in her hand as she knelt close to Nefarius and brought it to his lips. The supervillain knew what it was and so he opened his mouth a bit and let the female Tamearan sip the liquid right into his mouth till it was entirely empty.

Just then, it happened. The deep wounds and cuts Nefarius suffered through began to close up rapidly as he could feel his strength restoring in a rapid pace. Though it wasn't to his fullest, he felt just about fine as he let out a groan and stood back on his feet, his hair fully restored.

"That's better." Nefarius commented. However, that wasn't to say he was entirely pleased. In fact, he had a small scowl on his face before turning to Blackfire, who stood up back on her feet, facing him. "Thank you, Blackfire. You'll be rewarded greatly for your loyalty."

"Hmph, I like the sound of that." Blackfire smirked. "But that doesn't explain how you lost to Tennyson."

"Hmm…" Nefarius hummed, though it sounded more like a small growl. "Very well…I underestimated Tennyson and the hero of that world due to the temptation of higher power. But no more. I will acquire the Book of Narration and I will change the Multiverse into my image. However, the task won't be easy, that is why I asked you to bring the equipments. This war between Tennyson and I is far from over."

Blackfire liked the sound of that. She said nothing about it though, but placed her left hand on her hip as the smirk on her face grew a bit longer. As for Nefarius, he walked over to the sack Blackfire had dropped on the ground and opened it just in time to then bring out his metal scythe with one hand, and some clothes in the other.

"Ah, back to the old fashion way." Nefarius said and grinned. Then he turned back to Blackfire. "Is the portal set to the universe I requested as an alternate plan if I failed?"

"Yes." Blackfire answered. "But might I ask why you want to go to that world? I gave it a look and…it 's kind of like Tennyson. The only difference is the person who possesses the Omnitrix."

"I'm aware of that." Nefarius told her. "That is why I'm going there. In that world he has no Omnitrix because his cousin is the one who possesses it. But knowing the Tennyson we know, he'll likely come for me, that is why I won't hold back against any of them."

"Alright, I hear ya." Blackfire said. "Goodluck out there. I expect my reward."

"You will."

And with that came the end of their interaction. Nefarius turned his back at Blackfire and walked into the portal, leaving Blackfire alone. Fortunately, the Tamearan didn't mind this, as she crossed her arms under her chest and watched the portal closed, with a thought of her reward in mind.

_(LINE BREAK)_

Done!

I'm sorry the chapter wasn't long. I just wanted to put this out there so we can get to the interesting stuff. I also realized the reason I took so long to update this fanfiction was due to the way I put Ben in. I made him too OP, which has made me understand how the writers for Ben 10: Ultimate Alien felt. The idea for Ultimate Ben, while it sounds cool, really was a lame idea. I don't regret making my version of Ben that way though; I'm just saying I won't bring up Ultimate Ben again unless I feel the need to. I prefer going back to classical Ben, where he had to struggle in his fights before coming out of it victorious.

Now with that out of the way, here's the replies to the reviews.

REVIEW REPLIES

Switch-On-97: Thank you very much for your review. I'm glad to see you're still interested in this story. About Aang, I figured that he should last longer than the other heroes that fell since he is kind of OP when you think about it. But now that we're done with him, we'll be heading to another hero…or should I say heroine.

Tooniverse: That's true. Nefarius is practically a god with all the power he had. However, keep in mind that he wants to take over the Multiverse, not just a universe. So basically he wants to be super-god (if that's the right term to use) in order to surpass other beings that he mentioned in the previous chapter. Sorry this took a long time to be updated. I'll try to update more as much as I can.

REVIEW REPLIES END

Now with that out of the way, I want to say a big thank you if you've been keeping up with the fanfiction. I really appreciate the support you show; it's what keeps me going. I've also noticed that some of these stories I've written in the past concerning The Cross-Dimensional Adventures of Ben 10 usually end by chapter 25. So having seen that, I've decided that this fanfic will also end at chapter 25. So yeah, five more chapters to go. Lastly, if you're interested in my fanfictions then please check out my most recent one called "Corruption, Murder and…Redemption." It's a crossover based on Ben 10 and the anime, Akame ga Kill.

So with that said, please favorite, follow and review. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter.