Authors Note: Sorry for the very long hiatus between this chapter and the last. I've been busy sorting out my other stories (mainly my wildly successful Mutterliebe one). This story switches perspective from Ben to his cousin Gwen. Enjoy

Ben 10 is owned by Cartoon Network and Man of Action. This story is my own.


Chapter 6: Commander in Chief


'Eugh, so much paperwork today. I really shouldn't've let them rope me into that party yesterday.'

A red-headed woman, wearing glasses and formal attire, sat at the Resolute Desk. Her hair was neatly combed into a ponytail, tied up by a pink ribbon.

Her green eyes scanned the 'paperwork' she needed to go over. 'Now I can see what he was talking about. This stinks!' She inwardly groaned. Her mind conjured up the snickering form of her cousin. A certain Hero of Heroes as he was famously called. And (as fate would have it), the President before her.

Slowly but surely she made her way through the mountain of documents. Official documents that were 'of course' crucial to the efficient operation of her nation. Even so, her strength waned, and a migraine pounded in her head, so she needed some help.

Tapping on her official Presidential communicator, she found the button to call for her aide.

"You called Madam President?" Appearing in formal attire was a Polymorph (or who someone she knew would call Goop). A blue, goo-esque person (from the planet Viscosia), with the trademark form stabiliser floating above them (that also acted as a communicator), common to all their people.

"Yes...uhh, I need a cup of coffee black with three sugars, and a cup of ice cold water with some asperin."

Their aide chuckled at the Presidents plight. Seeing her face droop, and her red hair frazzle from the effort to keep focused.

"Hey, don't mock me, Sarlei!" A sudden fire to her words, before another migraine hit her – making her wince.

Sarlei (the Polymorph aide to the president) continued to chuckle, but spoke up. "Sorry Madam President, but I told you not to do it. And low and behold, here you are... a sight I wholeheartedly expected of course." There was teasing in their words, unexpected from one who was merely an aide – but rather a friend to the President.

"Eugh! Just get me what I need, Sarlei..." Madam President groaned.

After a few minutes and some much needed medicinal help, Gwen refocused on her work. This morning, she was tasked (at least until lunch), with all this paperwork. Signing documents with the Presidential Seal, reading over reports (their summaries) from various departments and even a few well placed high level documents, regarding interplanetary activity. Of course, her cousin had handled the last world ending crisis quite well (with a bit of his usual candor and show boating), but she had to deal with the legal and logistical aftermath.

'Don't know why you don't just relegate to your staff? You're a hero too, I'm sure they'd understand!'

What he actually meant was: 'Stop overworking yourself Gwen.'

Yeah, like it's that easy Ben.

Next on her itinerary, was lunch with a representative from the Coalition of United Planets (CUP or UP). She had never met the rep before, but heard good things about them. For one they were punctual and worked well with world (Earth) and interplanetary leaders alike. This lunch would be up to 1 hour long, before she would move on to her next meeting.

After lunch, her next meeting was with her Defence Council, with the Plumbers and World Defence Council projected in. This would be her longest meeting – but incredibly important. It was an opportunity for the world to take stock, and see where resources could be allocated for the continued preservation of Earth (and the wider United Planets).

Despite the waning dominance of the United States on the world stage (and growing prominence of the World Council, former United Nations), there was a level of... certainty with the US holding these talks. And, many of Earth's greatest heroes resided in the USA or were born there – like her cousin, Ben (and herself). Her eyes narrowed a little:

And this could potentially drag on till the end of the week (or a few days), if things go sour.

President Gwen certainly hoped things would go smoothly – however seldom did things work out favourably.

It was well into the night, and Gwen had just started to unwind from the days events.

To recap: her meeting with the UP rep, was very surprising – for none other than her old friend Rook Blanko, was the designated rep for the organisation! This made Gwen relax a lot more, and even Rook was happy to just have 'small talk' with his friend. Of course, both eventually conducted their duties, discussing what needed to be discussed, and agreeing on the "continued beneficial partnership between Earth and the CUP."

[

How's the family Rook?

Happy, but missing me already. My wife and I already have two children, and a third is on the way.

Congratulations! Sorry I couldn't come along to the baby showers. Did Ben g-

Yes...he did and it was really a spectacle for all involved. My eldest wants to be a Plumber like we were, and idolises Ben greatly.

That...sounds concerning, especially with how we all were back in the day.

It is but they are determined. I'm happy for them.

Them? Oh are they...?

Yes. My parents didn't mind... but my wife's parents were disapproving. However we did encourage them to 'be themselves' as it were. They have our full support.

How about you Madam President?

Me!? Well...busy. Ben really undersold the stresses of the day to day stuff - which I knew he did. My ratings have been – good, so I'm "a shoe-in for a second term" as Ben would say.

It's otherwise rewarding work, but tough. Even though I had dreamed of this back when I was younger – besides my own scholarly and martial art pursuits, it has not been an easy journey.

I can understand. Being Earth's rep for the CUP is a taxing endeavour. Rewarding but...taxing.

]

Afterwards both Gwen and Rook moved to the briefing room, where the World Council and Plumbers beamed in. This was the longest meeting of the day, and one that would change the very nature of Earth relations with other planets and systems...

Gwen needed some much needed shut-eye. Even if it was a power nap. Her head was spinning and she was yawning too much for her liking.

What a day...

Snore

About 20 mins passed, with little issue, until she got an emergency ping on her communicator.

Buzz! Buzz!

Jolting awake, Gwen clamoured to and reached for the hidden compartment under her table. Muttering an unknown magic spell, her hand glowed pink briefly, as she slid the compartment open.

She grabbed for the device, and pressed it.

"This better be important Ben!" she grumbled, irritable from her too-short rest.

"It is Gwen...is the office secure?"

Gwen's eyes narrowed, as she made sure to sense her surroundings for any oddities. She nodded to herself in affirmation, while confirming as such with Ben.

"Yeah...? What's the matter...you sound..."

"Remember how, after the fight with Eon, I telepathically told you some of the future? Well, I've just come back from the past and...what I'm about to tell you, blows that all out of the water."

If she didn't know her cousin as well as she did, she wouldn't've spotted the slight tremor in his voice. The hesitancy, the apprehension...the fear. But she did, and this made her wary.


Kevin Ethan Levin, a Magistrate of the Plumbers, a member of Alien Force (Ben 10's Hero Group) and husband to the current US President, was on his father's home planet of Osmosia. The planet was near indistinguishable from Earth (at least from orbit), but there were several unique characteristics that made it stand out. For one, the land itself glowed iridescent, and seemed to resonate with his own body. He knew from research, that this was the planets way of recognising an Osmosian - even a half-breed like himself. The locals also used this "resonance" to track each other across the planet, and to psychically communicate.

Okay Osmosia, do you know where I need to go?

As if in response, the land gently pulsed a rhythm, as a trail glowed to a direction leading to (he guessed) the capital city - Pulesé (pronounced, pool-ess-ah).


I knew I was being lied to...again!

Several years before Kevin's trip to Osmosia, the young man dug further into the mystery of his father Devin, and why the Rooters implanted fake memories of him into Max Tennyson, Aggregor (who was apparently a clone of his, gross), his mother and himself. He now knew that he was just a mutant human called an Osmosian, and not an alien.

However, overtime he thought this explanation was even fishier than the Rooters themselves.

And how can I really trust what they even say, as fact!

Kevin might not be the brightest guy, but he's been around long enough, to know the stench of a coverup. It's how crooks like the Rooters operate.

So he looked at the Plumbers archive to see if there was any mention of Osmosian's. Turns out, most records of these mutant humans, was wiped clean from the database around the time his father sacrificed himself to defeat Aggregor. Alledgedly.

The only one that survived, was a brief statement about Osmosian: An evolved human, but absolutely nothing else.

Kevin wasn't convinced. So he went and gained access to other records, across the galaxy. Using his means he plundered as much information as he could about his species/sub-species. Turns out, almost every record on Osmosian's said,basically the same junk. That made Kevin question the Rooters story about his past and... everything really. Of course like the reformed-criminal-super-sleuth-hero(?) kind of guy he is, he dug further.

Months passed, and though his friends wanted to help (with Gwen being very insistent on helping him), he decided to continue solo for this. It's personal business. One I need to see through.

Okay, but come back safe.

And so he scoured the galaxy. That was until, on an obscure rocky outpost for some gang that was long since disbanded. He found an alternative piece of info, corroborating the existence of an alien species called Osmosians. It was barely anything, but it contradicted the story told to him by the Rooters. But why lie about my father's people, and home planet not existing?

Again, he wasn't the brightest, and after a few minutes his patience was running thin. Maybe I should call Gwen, she definitely could help. He reached for his communicator, and was about to press the frequency...

Then it him like a crowbar! Of course! They (whether the Rooters or some other group) would do this, if they were either protecting the planet, or the planet/people have something valuable to them.


"So then, who was that other Eon we fought, Ben? Was he the original, or is the one that looks like you, the original?"

"I honestly don't know Gwen. He could've been a pawn for the Me-Eon, or just another timeline aberration, created from my usage of the Omnitrix. However, the Professor knows who he really is, and you know how tight lipped that guy can be."

Gwen could almost visualise her cousin's exasperated expression, thinking about the prospect of getting information from their old friend.

Time is sorta...malleable and not!

As an old friend of mine famously stated: Wibbly Wobbly, Ti-something or other. Time can be a real mess, yet also surprisingly intuitive.

The old Professor Paradox often mused, before teleporting away to some other space-time.

"Gwen, I do know that the Me-Eon and the decrepit Eon, weren't the same person. That decrepit Eon was an idiot, even if he had largely the same powers. Plus, their auras – like you'd know too – just didn't match at all. Which is impossible if they were the same person, or temporal duplicates."

"Heh...you have a fair point Ben."

Years of mastery in the mystic arts for her (and Ben...eventually!), had given them both a sixth sense, when it came to identifying people. This came in the form of "aura's" – the spiritual essence that any living being exudes from themselves – whether conscious or not. And as she thought back to the times she encountered both iterations of Eon, it was clear to her that...besides the name, and the shared powers, they weren't the same people. In fact, it felt more like that the Ben iteration, was more like her cousin, then Eon.

"Yeah...it's eerie how much that version of me, shares my energy signature. So, without a doubt he is a version of me. Hopefully..."

"You think you can talk him out of his crazy plans?"

"I don't know. When I fought him again as an adult, I could tell right away...he had such a deep hatred for everything. And it's not the same as those other Evil Ben's that exist. It's like..."

"Like he's lost too much."

"Yeah...Maybe Me-Eon was exactly like me one day, and then something terrible happened that catapulted him to do what he is doing now? I don't know..."

"Okay, when you make your decision, tell me straight away and I will come and help. Kevin will be there too. And Rook."

"Isn't Kev on a mission to Osmosia?"

"That wouldn't stop him from helping you Ben."

"And Rook..."

"Will be there in a heartbeat, you know Mr. Courteous."

"Yeah..."

She heard Ben chuckle to himself, before giving Gwen a final goodbye and best wishes for her own stuff. Gwen bid farewell too, wishing for him not to stress out his cousin-in-law and worry her niece and nephew.


EOC: Hope you enjoyed this extended chapter. The Eon plotline will be the main story, but I have setup a side plot - concerning Kevin.