Ben 10: Rising of the Shield Hero

by Chris Chronos

In a twist of fate, Ben Tennyson, the powerful Omnitrix wielder from Dimension 2041, has been summoned as the Devil of the Shield to a fantasy world beyond the boundaries multiverse. Follow his heroic tale as he battles to protect those around him and shape the destinies of all those he encounters. (Set after the events of the Omniverse episode - "New Dawn")

20. Chapter 20: SECOND ROUND

BEN 10: RISING OF THE SHIELD HERO

CHAPTER 20: SECOND ROUND

Following Ben's promise to Fitoria, I wrote this chapter.

I used the names that descended from different cultures. I found that Japanese novels or manga often use Italian names. Aria Brambila is an Italian name, partially based on Aria from Akame ga Kiru. Andrea also is an Italian name, and Cheng Li is a Chinese name. Ben misunderstood it to be a single word, though. Ryuuji is a Japanese name that means "dragon."

In fact, scientific names are heavily based on Latin names.

Yes, Ben and the gang will go to Cal Mira Island. I intend to follow the anime and the original material to some extent. The punishment part will proceed in another direction.

In the Ultimate Alien series, Ben spent like a season scheming to murder his best friend. The original Ben 10 000 is the darkest version, doesn't hesitate to hurt someone to save someone else or maintain peace. As a reviewer said, Vilgax became too dangerous to keep alive. Yes, Ben 10K destroyed him into pieces. There was a scene of Ben 10K as Way Big punching Kevin 11K because Kevin hurt his son.

When it comes to killing someone, Ben will probably oppose the idea and find another way to stop the evil beings. Considering his full control (virtually) on Alien X, there might be no evil being that he couldn't stop. Post-omniverse Ben is even more wholesome.

The Church of the Shield.

Imagine someone who succeeds the symbol of the Church enters a religious ground with a number of guards surrounding him.

News about the lord of the shield himself arriving at the Cathedral can stir the public, yes.

But thanks to the government... uh, Andrea clarified he preferred secrecy more than disguising oneself and blending in the public.

Aw, man, this crowd of knights has already grasped enough attention from the surroundings, you know.

Thanks to Mr. Ryuuji's scheme, the cathedral is reserved only for us today.

The architecture of the building is similar to the three heroes' church. However, the symbol of religion is a shield.

The man who I think is the pope comes downstairs from the veranda to welcome our arrival. Unlike the creepy smile of Balmus, he doesn't force himself to smile. But his eyes don't look scheming either.

He is more like… an unsocial person with a short temper.

"It's an honor to meet you in person, the Hero of the Shield. I am the High Priest of the Shield Hero Church, Hillary Alacritas."

The insides of the Church aren't much different from the Church of Three Heroes, but the walls were painted light green.

The attire of Pope Alacritas is a white robe with light green lines over it. He possesses a pair of beige wings. Feathers can be found among his hair, which is mostly concealed by his white headwear with golden linings.

Behind him are nuns and believers of different demi-human species. Indeed, no human other than me and Aria is spotted in the cathedral. The outfit of the nuns includes a light green color for unknown reasons.

Though his manner is a bit stiff, I guess he wants to show high respect for me. But yeah, indeed it is more comfortable this way… than acting too respectful.

"Ben Tennyson. Nice to meet you."

Nonetheless, he still bows his head before me.

"Uh… the issue is–" I begin to explain the situation with my party members but Pope Alacritas interrupts me.

"Worry not, sir. The prime master has already sent me a letter to help your… friends. I am more than glad to help you."

I smile awkwardly at him. "Uh, thanks."

"Please follow me."

And so the High Priest himself leads the way to the Dragon Hourglass that sits in the hall at the end of the corridors.

Noticing the level of the magic sand inside the hourglass, I widened my eyes, shocked.

A set of numerals appear on the screen, displaying the remaining time until the next wave.

01: 07: 23: 34

One day and seven hours?

"Excuse me, Mr. Alacritas?" (me)

The High Priest's expression proves that he already knew about the upcoming wave.

"Yes, sir shield hero? Did you just find out about…"

"Indeed I did. But why didn't you guys tell me about the wave?"

The Pope looks away from me.

"How are you guys handling the waves?" I question him.

"We have special forces prepared for the waves, but… without sir heroes, we can barely manage it…"

I figure… but it isn't fine at all.

I say nothing back and walk to the hourglass and register myself as a responsible hero for the region.

"Fine… I am gonna fight off the upcoming wave. And I will discuss the matter with the prime minister and the government at the meeting tomorrow."

"I can't thank you enough, sir hero!"

It is the first smile he wears I've ever seen.

"Then, please… allow my comrades to use the hourglass."

Later, the nuns bring magic sand for me.

I let my shield consume the sand and upgrade it.

"I wonder which one I should choose."

"What are these? Rifle Super-upgrade? And Sub-shield creating skills?"

Aria wonders out loud. I can't help but be worried... but... come to think of it, there is a piece I still haven't met.

I don't understand the whole "Ascension" aka class-up thing...

And I am not even sure a rifle is counted as a weapon. Since the Omnitrix isn't one and it's completely legit.

"Master! Which one should Filo choose?! I can't decide on something!"

Filo calls out to me for help. I sigh before walking to her with a smile.

"Let me see..."

No... something's definitely wrong here.

Checking out their status, I find out that they have some sort of weird blessing attached to their stats and... it's listed as "non-magic."

"Celestial Blessing... it will give you gifts that are suited with your weapon type and level. When "ascension" occurs, special chances will be offered. Lasts as long as the Shield Hero exists."

I read it out loud causing the Pope himself to flinch...

"I've never heard of such a thing..." he comments, interested.

Filo has one more blessing... for her being the next queen in line of the filolials.

But their skills and stats are irrelevant to their level... even my (human) stats at level 70 (now) aren't as high as their strength and mana.

Celestial blessing is certainly... something.

"Perhaps... it is the blessing that you granted them..." the Pope theorizes, his hand rubbing the chin.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

I am pretty sure I can only give them weapons and- wait a minute, having Filo around had an effect that caused me to possess monster tamer shields.

On the other way around... having me in the team could probably enhance their stats... I've not really played "RPG" games.

No, this might not be the case.

Celestial, it says. Not the shield. Or the shield hero.

I didn't intentionally give them the blessing... nor could I do it.

Then... celestial... sapien...

Alien X?

I know Alien X can affect the laws of the universe but... I am sure I didn't give them anything using Alien X.

That means...

"Ben Tennyson, since you successfully convinced us to take part in your mortal affairs, we have a surprise for you. You will find out what the surprise is, later."

It is the day after we visited the cathedral.

In the parliament building, there exists a great hall for public representatives to have a meeting.

At the long table sits about 30 people from demi-human noble families who want to have an audience with… Me.

My party and I sit just next to the Prime Minister.

Andrea told me that there weren't many beastmen in the country. Most of the said species live in Siltvelt.

There is only one noble who represents all the beast-men in Shieldfreeden.

Queen Mirellia also attended the meeting.

The Knight commander Ryuuji is also the representative of the Aotatsu.

"Everyone, thanks for coming to today's conference. We have to introduce our special guest from afar. Sir Shield Hero, please if you don't mind…"

Andrea bows, asking me to take over.

"Alrighty," as soon as I stand up, Andrea sits down, the attention of the whole audience is focused on me now.

"Er… as you may know, I am the Hero of the Shield, Ben Tennyson. I come from Melromarc… Er, it's really… an honor to meet you all. Thanks."

I quickly introduced myself to the audience and sat down.

Andrea again takes over the duty of leading the conference.

"The purpose of organizing the meeting and inviting you all today is to discuss the issues related to Sir Shield Hero and the country of Melromarc. Queen Mirellia Q Melromarc stated that she and Sir Hero are on good terms, and Sir often visited her in person even though the whole country turned against Sir Hero. Regarding the problems, let me question the ruler of Melromarc how she will resolve the matter."

The Queen stands up from her seating, letting the audience see her better.

It is like a trial… though I have figured out the glimpse of the government system, I still don't know for sure how it works.

I am not very calculating… and the problems are troubling my mind. The case is… how to suppress their aggression.

"Thanks for inviting me to the conference…"

Basically what she told them is that she would punish the King and everyone who was related to the "discrimination" against the Shield Hero, diminish the cult of the Church of Three Heroes, and convert it into a religion that believes in all Four Heroes.

The thing that made me flinch was… the Queen promised them that she would impose the death penalty on the ones that were the most responsible for discrimination against the shield, false accusations, and public hate. Something I will definitely oppose later… and confront these nobles if I have to.

"So then, Sir Hero, if you have anything to say…" Cheng Li says.

I quickly stand up from my seat. "Of course, I have something to say and it's quite long. So, everyone, I believe you all are kind enough to listen to my long speech. Thanks.

First of all, I want to discuss the topics of the Waves and rescue… and lastly fighting off the monsters during the waves of calamity. I also want to hear the policy and opinions of everyone on this matter.

I don't know why the waves happen nor do I know when it will stop. And I have to apologize to the People of Shieldfreeden for not defending them when the waves occurred. As a hero, I have the full responsibility to protect the people and fight off the monsters. So please don't hesitate to ask for help from me. My weapon is a shield… and I don't look too strong, but I am fairly capable.

Two things. One. Trust me. Two. Have faith in me when it comes to defending people and their possessions from the Waves of Catastrophe. And…"

My eyes wander around the room at all these people, making sure I have their attention.

"You all are misunderstanding about the mistreatments…"

My speech stirred up the crowd.

I breathe in and out heavily before continuing. "False accusation… yes, someone did falsely accuse me and caused trouble… but I didn't really care. I wasn't even bothered. Discrimination… it's something inevitable for humans or demi-humans in supremacist countries. They can call me demon or devil or whatever, I don't care. It is my responsibility to protect people, I've got no time even to be angry with them, right?"

It was indeed exaggerated… I mean, the thing about protecting people and me being too busy to bother with my haters. It's nothing new for me. And… one twisted opinion.

"All fame is good fame."

(Hikigaya Hachiman)

Manipulating the crowd and tricking them into a trap of words isn't easy by any means.

But I need to drive them into a scheme, which is a necessary step to save as many lives as possible.

Grr… I'll go Rath to negotiate with everyone who disagrees with me.

"And…" yes, here come the lies. I can't just outright reveal my secrets. So these lies will be a factor in manipulating them into trusting me. They are already worshipping the "shield" though.

"This shield…" I continue my speech, showing my shield to the people. "Grants me numerous power and abilities. To the point where I can shapeshift and… er… use disguise magic. You need to trust me… The shield hero isn't that fragile."

Lying, boasting, and all that… aw, man, it's embarrassing! I want to just run away from here.

"Though… I really appreciate the fact that Shieldfreeden is watching over me. But allow me to tactfully refuse unnecessary measures to protect me. As I've said, have faith in me, and please reconsider."

Although my pride wouldn't allow me to accept such a worrying hand that someone tried to lend, I genuinely felt sorry for opposing their opinion.

The chatters burst out but die down in some seconds, many of them looking at me in disbelief.

"Furthermore, while I am not concerned with however you punish the so-called "criminals" who were involved in my case, I am totally against the idea of the "death penalty." Allow me to ask the ladies and gentlemen here and the Queen of Melromarc to reconsider the sentence. Thanks. That's all I need to say."

The last thing made quite a fuss.

"Sir Ben, it is..."

"You are saying..."

"But..."

I look back at the Prime Minister and the Queen of Melromarc.

The Queen's expression is unreadable.

Mr. Andrea smiles for unknown reasons.

I sit down before any riot happens.

"So that's the opinion of Sir Hero himself, I suppose you folks all got it," Cheng Li declares.

And so the meeting went on.

It's so boring I'm gonna skip it.

"Let's do our best... we don't have a full party, though."

Rex was together with my party in both previous battles. I must utilize my cloning ability more to squeeze power to make up for the absence of Rex.

Aria stuffs her pistol in her utility belt and puts her rifle into the sheath. Filo also wears the super gloves I made for her.

00: 00: 15: 25

"Yes! Let's do our best!" (Filo)

The leader of the parliament guards, Mr. Lizard Demi-human runs towards me, together with an armored Lizardman (beastman) and a group of armed demi-humans.

"Sir Hero, please take my brother to the battle."

The lizard leader fast-talks, quickly introduces his brother (?).

"Excuse me?" I ask, out of surprise but he misunderstood it.

"Oh, we aren't actual brothers. But he is like... a brother to me. Trusted... and capable. Please make use of him on this mission, Sir Shield Hero," the lizard guard bows his head.

"Please," the lizardman knight bows and requests.

"Alright, I understand. Please head up. We will take you with us."

I assure him, holding his shoulders.

"Thanks, Sir Hero."

I register him as my party member to take him with me.

00: 00: 09: 02

"Is everyone ready?" I ask the knights.

The group of knights is led by the lizardman, Otto, and includes a dog spear-knight, a female rabbit mage, a claymore raccoon demi-human with a large shield, and a female mouse marksman with a silver bow. Otto himself uses a long sword, kept in the sheath on his side.

"Yes, Sir Hero!" They all answer in unison.

"Good, our priority is to save people. Second, to protect their possessions and houses as soon as you have evacuated the population in the area. Third, defeat the wave. This is my responsibility. So, don't concern yourself too much with the wave, just... make sure you rescue everyone, okay?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Good."

00: 00: 05: 41

I look into the shields and related skins that are organized and displayed on the screen to make combo shields. Such as... the merlinsapien shield skill and air strike shield can be combined for an invisible attack, controlled from a certain distance. I'll need to activate two skills at once and then swap the merlinsapien skill to unbreakable diamond shield skill. It should work... hahaha! You monsters can practice for a billion years to beat me!

Aria shows off her new rifle (that I made her a week ago) to the bow girl while Filo is finishing her not-lunch.

I am strategizing how to protect my party members including the guards while defending wherever the wave occurs. Fortunately… a light bulb idea appears in my mind.

"Let's see… this should work."

Then I turn towards the team. "Hey, everyone, listen. A clone of myself will go with each of you to assure your safety and help you do the job. Are you okay with it?"

"Excuse me, sir hero? What do you mean by… your clone?" The lizardman asks curiously. Or more like he doesn't get it.

"Exactly what it means. My clones will accompany–"

"You can make clones!? What kind of magic is that!?" The rabbit girl exclaims, hopping out of surprise.

"Er… high-level shield magic? Or something. Nothing impressive."

I hold up my right forearm, making it convincing that the shield does everything for me. I can thank the Omnitrix at a later time.

Aria is trying not to burst out laughing while Filo is acting surprised, although she knows part of what I can do.

"I expect no less of Sir Shield Hero!" Lizardman says holding up his fist in the air… passionately.

"Uh, I know right. Thanks," I reply with a pretend smile.

00: 00: 00: 58

"OK, everyone, it's time."

I warn everyone as I convert my small shield into an unbreakable diamond shield.

Seconds later, the glowing magic particles surround and teleport us to where the wave falls.

We are on the outskirts of a small town with a maze-like structure.

The Knights begin to rush out so I order them to stop.

"Hey, guys, wait. Ahem, I am transforming so don't be frightened."

The lizardman widens his eyes. "Transforming magic? I am already freaked out by your arsenal of magic skills."

"Hah! Save the praise for a later time. ECHO ECHO!"

The green light temporarily blinds the people around before revealing a child-sized silicon-based white lifeform with headphones and a backpack. The green hourglass insignia lies on my torso.

"AHHH! Where is our Shield Hero!? Where is he!?"

The lizardman is totally shocked by my appearance and holds my shoulders to shake my body, again and again, shouting.

"N... noo... I... am... him..." my robotic voice echoes out of the buccal canal.

He stops shaking... finally. "Uh, excuse me?"

"Yes. I said I would transform. Now... and you all!" I scold, pointing my fingers at the knights. "Don't. Stare. At. Me. You've got a job."

Then I duplicate myself into multiple clones. We separate paths there and rush our way into the different streets of the town.

I am together with Aria.

"KICKIN' HAWK! Rawr!"

Kickin Hawk resembles a combination of a rooster and a hawk. He has sharp black claws on his toes and talons on his hands, as well as two larger talons protruding from his arms. He has green eyes and a short yellow beak and is covered in brown feathers. He also has a white-brown mohawk and belly. He wears a green mask, a green belt with a white stripe, and black briefs.

Kickin Hawk wears a strap vest with the Omnitrix symbol on the vest hooker.

"Rawr... hok, let's kick some butts!"

My eyes capture a group of monsters destroying the door of a house and flowing into it.

"Rawr!" I screech and swiftly grasp the last two monsters. "You are not going anywhere!" And slam their heads on the wall before slamming them on the ground.

"I need a faster alien, damn," I mutter, my hands reaching the Omnitrix to smack. Aria blasts multiple plasma shots at the monsters that are attacked by me, instantly murdering them.

Nah, at this point, not gonna regret killing monsters.

"FASTTRACK!" My legs move at a high speed, transporting me into the house in a second while my fists are thrown into monsters multiple times, taking them down in seconds.

A child is seen crying on the second floor.

I move towards the child, mentally activating the ID Mask before he becomes aware of my presence. Then I embrace him in my arms.

"There, there, kid. I am not good at child nursing... tsk."

Think quick! I carry him to Aria downstairs for her to nurse him.

He is a dog demi-human child.

"Take care of him for a while."

As soon as the child is safely transferred into her arms, I run at high speed, wander in the street to slay every single monster nearby. It was fortunate that we were teleported to this near the wave-effective area.

"A Chimera? I'm gonna love it!"

I deactivate the ID Mask to show off how much of a monstrosity I am.

The Chimera, though not sentient, gazes at the pile of monster corpses that I left behind. And starts growling furiously charging at me.

"Hah," I smirk as I dodge his blow at the last second and leap into the air, kicking him as hard as I can in the head.

I am forced to avoid his snakehead tail that tries to jump at my limb.

After retracting my leg, I run over his body and kick his knees, hoping it did something.

But... yeah, I figure... it didn't do much damage.

I swiftly block the snakehead tail strike with my unbreakable diamond shield.

"Time to go ultimate! HUMONGOUSAUR!"

Ultimate, huh? I tricked you. You can dream on...

The Chimera jumps at me while his lion head between goat and crocodile head tries to bite my shoulder. I deliver a blow onto his side, sending him flying, and then catch his snakehead tail before his weight destroys a house.

My body begins to spin with him in my arms before throwing him away to the center of the town.

My body starts growing larger and larger to 60 ft in height.

"Yah, GRRR!"

The Chimera who just recovered from the blow is again punched by my large fist that destroys him into pieces at the contact.

"Hah... not that tou-"

I sidestep and dodge a swarm of flying monsters reflexively,... accidentally smashing a building.

"Oh..." a woman inside the house who is trying to run away with a load of stuff on her shoulder stare at me... in shock.

The front of the house is totally demolished!

"Sorry." (me)

She breaks the ice of the silence by... "AHHHHH!" screaming and begins to run away.

"Now then..." I turn around and glare at the group of 10 or more flying monsters. "You're gonna have a good fight. HEATBLAST!"

A small tornado of flames that are produced from my palms annihilates the first swarm of flying things that came for me from the front. I jump into the air, using geokinesis and pyrokinesis to manipulate the rocks in the place where I initially was. And make them float in the air, creating a perfect fiery hoverboard for the pyronite.

"Yo..."

Air Strike Shield + Merlinsapien Shield skill Combo!

I place the invisible floating shield right behind me, which collides with a group of monsters that flies towards me and tries to attack from behind.

Air Strike Shield + Pyronite Shield Skill Combo!

Burn! Burn! Burn!

As I turn around, another wave of flames bursts out, reducing the monsters into ash.

Yeah, but there are other things that are reduced to ash...

AHHHH! If they could sue me for property damage, I'm gonna have to spend a third of my life in a dungeon.

The front walls of the house on the street are all... on fire.

Air Strike Shield + Water Hazard Fireman Skill Combo!

The floating red shield with five holes swiftly moves towards the farthest houses on fire... while on the other hand, I absorb all the flames from nearby houses.

"That will do the job. Hmm..."

My reflexes are as good... able to dodge the rest of the flying bee monsters.

Dodged by turning into BIG CHILL...

I turn intangible, allowing them to phase through my body, and indeed, every monster that passed through my body turns into an ice statue before falling to the ground.

HUMONGOUSAUR again! Oh, yeah. I slam my hand on the frozen creatures to reduce them to pieces.

"Next place... XLR8! Gonna rescue people first. I wonder how they are doing."

I run off from the spot at high speed towards the house where I left Aria and the child.

Aria has slain an army of zombie soldier monsters that entered the house from the back.

She holds up the rifle, aiming perfectly at me who arrived there at a supersonic speed.

"Whoa... hold up," I say holding up my hands.

"Miss, that monster is talking!" The child exclaims, but he seems to have stopped sobbing.

"Of course I am. Let's move," it's a real hell trying to talk to someone at a human speed. "I am no monster, kid. Rather... er, I am a mascot."

"I don't know what it is but..." he looks up at Aria. "If big sister will go with you,..."

"Where are your parents?"

"They are out hunting."

I look outside... the sky is red. But it's still afternoon.

"Hunting where?"

"Nearby forest."

I tap the Omnitrix to communicate with my clone.

"Echo Prime to all Echo Units. Anyone near the forest. Please search for a couple of demi-humans."

"Roger!" They reply seconds later.

"They will look for your parents," I assure the kid before reappearing behind them. "Now you're gonna have to go with me."

I lift them both from the ground and carry them running off towards the designated evacuation site.

The rabbit mage is watching over the rescued refugees and an ignorant Ben in human form is healing the patients peacefully.

"How is the condition?" I ask.

"Is... t-that you? S-sir Hero?" She stutters.

"Yeah."

Her expression dramatically changed. "Uh, I can manage here. I healed all them with the potions he… gave me."

"He" probably means… him. My clone…

"Okay, good to hear."

Before I start running away, I encounter the dog knight escorting three demi-humans, who seem to be a family.

"Is everything all right?"

I ask, lifting the visor of my helmet, revealing my blue face with green eyes.

The family doesn't seem to be afraid of me… well, this world also has its own share of monstrosities.

"Sir… Hero?"

"YEAH! HE IS!"

A familiar voice answers on behalf of me. When I look up, I see a flying red stingray… Oh, it is my clone – Jetray.

"Uh, sorry, sir."

"It's okay," I sigh. Actually… I forgot that my clones were with them so I asked the knights about the situation.

The visor is down when I begin to runoff from the site into the town.

A falling meteor from the dark red sky stops my movement momentarily before I realize that it is a flaming monster.

The monster is unique, unlike all the other minions, even chimeras. It is enraged in fire and possesses a huge body with a lion face and flaming eyes. His body is… like Heatblast, magma is flowing all the time in the cracks of his rock-based skin, and produces flames.

I am sure that thing isn't Heatblast's pet…

Tsk, I'm gonna pay the compensation to the residents, later. Now… we'll have to destroy some more houses, I guess.

Boooommm!

The Raging Fiery Lion of Hell lands right in the center of the town, destroying the small water fountain in the area.

He lets out a roar with his all might… the earth trembles so hard that I even think a quake is occurring in the area.

Fire, huh? Thanks for the tip.

Heck no, if I use Heatblast again, combined with this monstrosity, the whole town will be wiped out.

Think, Ben, think… what alien form will be suited with the job…

His enraged flames… his body that is as huge as a tyrannosaurus rex.

Let's first… extinguish the flames.

I run towards the center of the town and start spinning at supersonic speed enough to create a tornado… and slowly move to direct the tornado towards him.

Then I quickly escape the tornado before transforming into "WATER HAZARD!" and blasting high-pressured water into the high-pressured vacuum… creating a tsunami.

Oops…

When the double high-pressured water comes into contact with the flames of the Hell Lion… an explosion is triggered…

The impact sends me flying into the house behind and causes me to smash into a shelf.

"Aw… Ouch, I should've prepared for it."

Thankfully, the hard armor of the orishan saved me from high damage. But I lost some HP for sure…

Water Hazard appears as a red, mollusk-like alien with green eyes and a grey mouth that does not move when he speaks. Behind his legs and on the top of his arms are small spikes that are grey, there are black spots on his shoulders and legs, and on his hands, there are portholes, which he uses to shoot water. Water Hazard also has four fingers with claws on them and on each of his feet, there is a grey spike. His lower torso is grey, with two spikes on the side of it.

I take the form of Swampfire to regenerate the lost cells and heal myself and then walk out of the destroyed building.

"You proved to be a formidable enemy, huh?"

I say… looking at the Wave boss who is still standing but with smaller flames and flares.

"Echo Prime to all Echo Units, report the conditions please."

"Echo three here. All fine, an explosion occurred in the center."

"Echo Prime here. It's me and the boss fighting. If available, I want back up, that's all."

"Echo One, I think we should leave at least two clones for evacuation site and defeating the rest of the monsters."

"Seconded!" everyone else says in unison.

I throw some vine seeds to bind the burning monster.

"Echo One, here. Echo One will stay at the site."

"Echo Four will stay for monsters."

I gasp as the lion monster slams me again because the binds weren't enough to hold him down.

Suddenly… Three Jetrays cloud the sky and shoot neuro shock blasts, turning the attention of the monster at them.

"We got it covered."

I nod and transform into Jetray to join the party.

"I will try freezing him from inside," an echo clone offers.

"OK!" We respond in unison before descending to the ground and transforming into respective aliens.

The one who proposed the idea transformed into–

"BIG CHILL!"

I choose "ARCTIGUANA!" and jump down, landing on four on the ground.

"WATER HAZARD!" "TERRASPIN!"

We surround the monster without giving him any chance of escape. Terra spin starts floating mid-air and transforming his limbs into turbine blades.

Water Hazard holds out his hand to blast water when the attack begins.

I can feel the ice breath that leaks out of my mouth.

Arctiguana has small spikes around his face, three dorsal fins reaching down his back, and white gills on the sides of his head. He has white pants and a black open-front shirt with white cuffs.

Big Chill turns intangible, automatically dodging the strike of the Hell Lion and phases into his body. The ice begins to form on his skin…

"It's the time!" I shouted as an alarm.

Water Hazard uses his hydrokinesis to blast large quantities of water at the monster. Then I literally exhale an extremely cold breath… or ice-breath that freezes the water around the monster, thus enhancing the ice construction caused by Big Chill.

And Terraspin's blades act like a fan and rotate at high speeds helping water to freeze faster.

The combo attack of the four alien forms now results in an ice hell lion statue that can be kept and showcased at a museum downtown.

Crack...

Inside, the ice begins to melt. And shatters on the outside.

Meanwhile, the knights except for dog demi-human and rabbit mage arrive at the scene, with Aria.

"How is it?" Mouse lady knight asks.

"This is the boss. But he is tough, he keeps coming back as soon as we freeze," Water Hazard answers, without pausing his attacks.

"... So... this is the power of... Sir Shield Hero... huh?" Lizardman gasps, his eyes wandering around at the bizarre monsters attacking a big Hell Lion. "No wonder... he was... called... the Devil..."

"Hey!" mouse girl slaps him on the back. "Don't lose it. Sir Hero, or... heroes, I should also help you."

She lifts her bow and aims at the wave boss. "SNOWY SHOT! FROZEN FREEZER!"

I thought the arrow would shatter the ice but it didn't. Instead, it is somehow melted, forming a snowflake-shaped symbol on the ice surface.

Big Chill retreats from the monster. "We need to destroy his core. And the explosive power of the core is too strong. The town would be wiped out, at this rate."

"Tsk... Alright, new plan," I pause blasting ice breath at the monster.

"Yeah?" Terraspin stops spinning and asks.

"Improvise..." if I'd got shoulders, I would have probably shrugged.

Every Ben looks at the sky, momentarily and then... smirks.

"OK, we need everyone to retreat from the town area. Hurry!" Big Chill says, gesturing at the knights and Aria.

"Yes, go... move..."

As the knights and Aria retreat to the evacuation site, all other Bens recombine with me, transforming back to a single human Ben.

I scroll the dial, select the right alien and the faceplate slides down, for the Omnitrix core to pop up.

The ice has shattered and the lion is now free, weakly roaring at the sky.

"It's Hero Time!"

I slam down the core and... "WAY... uh... no, this isn't Way Big."

I look down at my body and see the green cylinders that are filled with atomic energy. It is... Atomix.

The Hell Lion charges towards me, so I throw my nuclear-resistant shield and turn it into Air Strike Shield + Atomix's Shield.

I smack the Omnitrix emblem, and the green light engulfs my body... and the light becomes larger and brighter...

And dies down to reveal a way big, Ultraman-like alien with a big fin on the head.

"WAYYYYY BIGG! As always should be. Hah!"

My eye level is now at least 60ft high, making everything around small.

(A/N: The height of Way Big was inconsistent in the series, so I decided to give him a size-shifting ability. I believe Ultimate Way Big's also got a size-shifting ability as seen in the UA final arc.

The highest recorded height is about 300 ft and the smallest is 60 ft, I think, which is the height of the maximum Humongousaur height.)

I pick up the Hell Lion monster and carry him in my palm.

"Not that heavy as I thought."

Its flames sure are hot but the To'kustar's body is durable enough.

I throw him into the sky... he flies higher ... and higher...

Then I form an "L" shape with my forearms.

COSMIC BEAM!

The massive cosmic energy is concentrated in my arms and then... blasted into the Hell Lion's body as rays... destroying the fiery monster along with its very core, causing big explosion mid-air near the blue portals.

"Whoa, ho ho... Mission accomplished!"

I tap the Omnitrix dial to revert to my human form.

The portals and the red sky aren't disappearing already but I stretch my body to exercise it.

I should do work-out every once in a while... but fighting monsters and villains and... does it count as physical exercise?

Suddenly, strong gales push me away and send me flying into a wall.

Although not very painful because of the Shield,...

"Ah... damn, it depleted a third of my health points..."

"Greetings, Brave Hero..."

Wait... this voice is... the last person I want to see now...

"Glass..."

I tilt my head weakly to see the familiar pale Asian woman in a black kimono, floating mid-air with black metal fans in her hands.

"Oh, Hero do remember me. It's... an... honor to get recognized by you, Hero."

I subconsciously activate the ID Mask and transform it into Swampfire for accelerated healing to regain the lost HPs.

"Hah, thanks for your compliment, I guess. I don't think you fell in love with me after being defeated... well?"

"Tsk." She glares at me intently.

Damn, I can't help but tease the villain wannabe, black lady.

"Don't get yourself so high," she warns me with a grimace.

"If you want a fight, I will give you one. Remember, mess with Ben, and you get the 10!" I declare proudly, standing up from the ground.

"Hmph. Whatever you say... you are the biggest hindrance on my way. If I remove your piece from the board, then I can easily... finish... the fake heroes."

She waves the metal fans triggering the devastating gales that destroy the nearby houses but...

I deactivate the ID Mask to reveal my Swampfire form with a Swampy Shield.

"Eh... a freak as always." (Glass)

"These freaks... have always helped me... and the people."

I smack the Omnitrix symbol on my torso to transform into Terraspin.

(A/N: I think I have already told you readers but... Terrapin is one of the alien forms that don't have their shield on the hand. Alien X is one of the few aliens who don't have a unique shield. So when Ben turns into Alien X, the shield disappears totally unless Ben wants it to exist.)

Wind vs wind, heck, I'm gonna love it.

My body floats in the air and my limbs turn into turbine blades. They begin to rotate creating powerful gales that collide with the wind created by a wave of her hands.

She clicks her tongue as the winds cancel out each other.

"It's for you to protect yourself. If I transform into the alien that defeated you last time, no one's gonna save you," I warn her. "So surrender or run away. Choose."

"What if... I choose neither."

The waves of her fans create even more devastating gales that I am forced to transform into hooded Big Chill and let the winds pass through my body.

I turn around and see the houses nearby have been... destroyed to rubble.

"Oh, I will sue you for property damage. No, we both will be sued for this..."

"I don't know what you mean but..."

I sense something pass through my torso and look down... a black metal fan penetrated my body.

"Hmm... why didn't..." she gasps in horror.

But no damage.

I hate to punch women but... I float away from the metal fans and turn tangible again to deliver a blow on her. But my blue-black fist is caught in her hand.

"Too weak..."

Intangible again to escape her catch and again punch from behind.

She immediately turns around in a blink and blocks it again.

"Too slow..."

Grr... no, wait, I don't need to punch a woman, do I? Big Chill's strength isn't punching...

"Hey, Miss... the weather is cold, today, ya know?"

"Hmm?"

I stretch my wings to reveal my moth-like body. Then I exhale a weak breath that absorbs the heat in the air and so produces cold air causing the spirit warrior to flinch and move away.

"What are you doing!?"

She looks up at where I was... but I am not there anymore.

I turn invisible and then reappear behind her blowing a cold breath on the back of her right ear.

"Ah... what is that!?"

"A... phan... tom... breath..."

She flies away from me and waves her hands to trigger gales.

"Did you think I'd be afraid of you!?"

"Of... course..." my freaky voice comes out from me right behind her again.

She clicks her tongue, her eyes failing to find me. Indeed, I am invisible right now.

(A/N: As you readers know, the Ultimatrix had glitches... Echo Echo's Object Duplication and Big Chill's Invisibility are stated to be the glitches of the Ultimatrix rather than their actual skills. But... yeah, when Echo Echo clones himself, the Omnitrix also is duplicated as well as the headphones are. So... said abilities are the glitches in Ultimatrix and upgrade functions in Omnitrix. Not canon statement but my theory.)

"Coward clown..."

"I might not like the term "clown" though..."

"There you are. Zero Stance Rondo: Reverse Four Seasons!"

The winds begin to rampage in the area as if a storm is happening.

But… yeah… a shame that it has absolutely no effect on me.

As soon as the winds have vanished, I fly towards her. And… turn off invisibility…

"Boo!"

I am caught off-guard. Her metal fan slaps my face and pushes me away… much to my surprise, it dealt damage.

"You are not as strong as you look, moth boy," she mocks.

"Well, yeah, you are too strong."

In fact, I have not damaged her at all. Knowing her nature, my fist would do one or two damage points and no more. Her resistance and armor points should be too high… but her spiritual points are vulnerable, which I don't want to hurt at all… but seeing she has recovered makes me feel relieved.

"Why are you not attacking me? All you do is play around. Are you underestimating me?"

I chuckle quietly as I turn invisible again. Too bad, the necrofriggians don't have high-speed healing.

"Nah, you must be one of my top ten opponents who shouldn't be underestimated."

"Oh… so you have fought opponents like me…"

Well, they include the galactic conqueror, the universal destroyer, and others. Placing her in the ranks is exaggerating, though. So, I wasn't serious about the "top ten" blah blah thing…

"Well, you can say I am fairly experienced. That aside, may I know the reason why you are playing the villain?"

The battlefield was silent for a moment… until she finally answers.

"I am a hero… from another world. When you've got things to protect, you need to oppose everything that gets in your way so you may see me as your villain, your enemy."

A hero from another world, huh? Even though it surprised me, it explained why I have never met or heard of such a powerful person in this world. I have traveled to many places in Melromarc.

I think I can understand… standing against a self-serving or self-righteous individual or party.

But sometimes, "to protect someone" isn't a good reason to fight someone.

"I am the Vessel Wielder, Fan Hero," she declares.

I don't know what a vessel wielder is.

"Vessel wielder? What is that?"

"Hmph, it seems you don't know yet. Don't worry, you will know later… if you survive this battle. Now… keep your guard up."

She jumps towards me but her attempt is canceled out by me being intangible.

"Perhaps I should play around with you…" I joke, pressing the Omnitrix symbol.

The green light temporarily blinds her and then standing in my place is…

"GOOP!" the high-pitched voice comes out of the anti-gravity projector above my head.

Being a 200-pound, single celled-organism that is neither liquid nor solid but a colloidal suspension, Goop is a humanoid pile of goo that can take any shape at will. Goop has bright green eyes and an Anti-Gravity Projector that allows him to be mobile in Earth's gravity and also projects his voice. His brain is spread throughout his body.

The Omnitrix symbol lies on the projector.

"A slime? Are you mocking me?"

"Obvious~ly," a crackle of static is heard at the end of my speech.

"Tsk. Circle Dance Rupture Formation, Tortoise Shell Cracker!"

She declares as she waves her magic metal fan while I am imagining how much of the horror it would be if I am spread throughout the park. It's not gonna be a pretty sight.

But nah… the winds aren't strong enough so I shapeshift and decrease my own body density allowing the gales to carry my liquids across the park, with the anti-gravity projector suspended in place without even moving a bit.

"Hmph. Here for a second, I thought you would be more durable. And now, you are…"

"Weak…" the voice escapes the projector, shocking the fan hero.

The distributed liquid is again pulled together by the anti-gravity, even more shocking the lady.

"If you think~ I am your average slime…" my body floats towards her at super-speed thanks to the device and then engulfs her body, leaving on her head above the green liquid surface.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"Playing hero, I guess. Wow, I captured a villain!"

"Yah!"

My body is again destroyed into pieces and spread throughout the park.

I casually reform my body before her and see that the wave is coming to an end, looking at the timer on my screen.

"You will regret, for not killing me, Hero Tennyson."

"I can bet that… I will never regret not killing an Asian woman who just wants to play villain."

She glares at me before floating towards the portals in the sky as the dark sky slowly disappears to reveal the blue sky.

I look up at the evening sun.

What is a vessel wielder? What is a "Fan" hero? And another world? I shouldn't be surprised since this world itself has heroes that were summoned from other worlds, but… I feel uneasy.

Protecting someone… coming from another world… does that mean Glass is fighting me to protect someone from her world?

I cancel my transformation and stand in the place, losing in thoughts for minutes until…

"Ben!" Aria's voice snaps me out of it.

"Oh, hey."

"How did it go?"

Her blue armor shines under the sunlight.

"I might have found… some kinda secret of this world."

This is it for Chapter (20).

In many versions of translations of the light novel, monsters were often mistaken as demons. There are many other anime/ manga/ novels where monsters and demons are separate species so I only use the term "monster" in this story.

Goop's anti-gravity projector is powerful enough to replace the core of a planet that pulls all the water of Piscciss. Notable that water is 98% of said planet. Goop has a lime flavor being green. All the different colored polymorphs have different flavors.

Ben was able to easily remove the Omnitrix from Vilgax while the latter was Goop because the device wasn't bonded to him and not due to any possible inherent weakness with Goop's body composition.

Thanks to the electricity cut-off, I had to write this chapter on a mobile phone in which I enabled full-power energy saving all the time. So I couldn't use the text formats properly since they all are canceled out once they are copied into Google Docs. Sorry for the inconvenience.

As always, thanks for reading and writing reviews.

Christopher Paradox Chronos.