It's a simple experiment. Hotwire the Ultamatrix to enhance other people like Ben 10,000 did to himself. If Ben was right, he could lend Kevin an alien without it driving him insane again. He knew he could modify the device after they locked away Alien X, so how much harder could this be?

Kevin strapped the device onto the table in his garage. "Let it be known that I think this is a terrible idea."

"Come on," Ben said, "you love my terrible ideas."

"Not when they end up screwing me over." Kevin lowered the machine and began to analyze the schematics until he found what he was looking for. "The mode for self-enhancement is locked, so there's nothing I can do there."

"I figured. It was pretty lame anyways, so I'm not too worried about it." Ben looked over at the screen, hoping some of Grey Matter's thinking would leak through and give him an idea. But instead, he got a headache like when he looked through Gwen's textbooks.

"I'm gonna try something." Kevin began to type away on the keyboard, and soon, the Ultimatrix powered on and showed a holographic projection.

"What am I looking at exactly?" Ben asked.

"Beats me," Kevin shrugged. "I did what we did last time but instead of locking the alien I-"

"What the heck do you think you're doing!" Gwen demanded. She stormed up to Ben, jamming her finger into his chest. "When will you learn to stop messing with that damn watch!?"

"Calm down," Ben said, "we've taken extra precautions to make sure that nothing will go wrong this time. Tell her, Kevin."

Kevin backed away from the computer to leave. "You're on your own, man."

"Traitor!" Ben yelled after him.

Gwen was staring daggers into her cousin's back. "I told you how dangerous this was, Ben. Completely ignoring my warning is one thing, but dragging Kevin into this is where I draw the line. What're you going to do if he gets stuck transformed again?"

"It wouldn't happen because he's not absorbing anything. It wouldn't be any different from how I transform. Probably…"

Gwen sighed, "I'm pulling the plug on this."

"Gwen, wait! I don't think that's-" Before he could finish his sentence, Gwem turned off the machine. The hologram disappeared, and the Ultimatrix powered down.

"You were saying?" Gwen asked, annoyed. She picked up the watch, and an energy field pulsed out, hitting the two cousins and stopping them in their place. Then, just as quickly, the energy retracted back into the Ultimatrix, and the two collapsed onto the floor.

"...en…wake up…"

Ben didn't want to get up. "Ten more minutes…."

"I said… GET YOUR ASS UP!" A slap goes across Ben's face.

"OW! What the hell, Kevin!?" He lifted his hand to his cheek but just felt the sleeve of his jacket. Then, looking down, he noticed that his clothes were too big for him. "Oh no…"

Kevin lifted him by the cuff of his shirt. "Tell me what you did!"

"I didn't do anything!" Ben yelled back. "Gwen's the one that touched the- Wait, is Gwen okay!?" Kevin dropped him and walked over to where Gwen was lying. She still looks the same.

"She's knocked out, but she's still breathing. So whatever you did doesn't seem like it affected her."

"I told you I didn't… Ugh! Never mind, just tell me what happened to me."

"You look younger. Younger than when I met you."

Ben ran to the bathroom to look in the mirror but was too short. He struggled to drag a chair, but once it was in place, he climbed onto it and got a clear look at himself. He was a kid again. "Not again!"

Kevin stomped over to him. "What do you mean again?"

"Back during the Summer trip, I got splashed with water from the fountain of youth and was turned into a four-year-old. The effects went away after a while, but I don't know how it happened this time."

A groaning noise could be heard from the other room. Kevin rushed to Gwen's side while Ben struggled to run in his oversized pants. Gwen's eyes slowly fluttered open, taking in her surroundings. Finally, they settled on the man hovering over her.

"AAAAHHH!" Gwen pushed Kevin off her and hid behind Ben's tiny frame. "Who are you? Why did you kidnap us?"

"Kidnap!?" Kevin asked, bewildered. "Gwen, it's me, Kevin."

Gwen was shaking with tears in her eyes. "Ben, I'm scared. Where's my Mom and Dad!?"

"Gwen, calm down. It's okay," Ben tried to reassure her. "Kevin's your boyfriend, remember?"

"No, he's not! I'm too young for a boyfriend!"

"Too young… Gwen, how old are you?"

"What-I'm six, just like you. Now tell me what's going on."

Ben was trying to put the pieces together in his head, but it wasn't making any sense. He was aged down to a six-year-old but kept the mentality of his sixteen-year-old self. Gwen kept her sixteen-year-old body but mentally regressed to her six-year-old self. Ben wished Professor Paradox was here to explain what was going on.

"You made my girlfriend think she's a six-year-old!" Kevin growled out. "You better start talking, Tennyson, or I'll-"

"Leave us alone, you big ugly jerk!" Gwen grabbed Ben by the hand and ran out of the garage. Not realizing how strong she was, Gwen practically dragged him through the dirt.

"Ugly!?" Kevin was shocked. "You'd always say how handsome I was!" He chased after them trying to ignore how hurt he felt.

"Gwen, stop, please I'm gonna be sick!" Ben yelled. They came to a stop, and Gwen was panicking. "Listen to me, Gwen. He's not going to hurt us. Well, maybe me, but not you. He's a friend; you just need to trust me."

Gwen heard his words, but they didn't make sense. Just then, Kevin caught up to them but kept his distance, not wanting to scare her again. Ben squeezed her hand in an attempt to calm her a little.

Gwen looked down at him and took a deep breath. "Okay, I trust you." The two walked back to the garage, hand in hand. Ben would occasionally look behind him and see Kevin's murderous glare. "I won't let him hurt you," Gwen said, squeezing the boy's hand.

When they got back to the garage, Ben recalled the events that led up to that point. Kevin took in his words while Gwen was confused about what weird game her cousin was talking about.

"This is my fault," Kevin said, "the alien DNA I pulled was Clockwork's. The watch must have malfunctioned and used his powers on you."

"The watch!" Ben frantically searched around the garage. "Where's the Ultimatrix!?"

"How the hell should I know? I just heard a weird noise and then saw you two on the floor."

"This isn't good. If we were aged back ten years, then what if it was sent back in time a decade?" Ben kicked a trash can over in frustration. "We need Professor Paradox."

"Good luck finding the man that can be anywhere within space and time. You're better off collecting all the DNA samples and asking Azmuth to make a watch."

Ben wanted to scream but knew it wouldn't make a difference. "For now, we should head home. Can you drive us? My feet can't reach the pedals."

Before Kevin could answer, Gwen spoke up, "No way am I getting in a car with him!"

"Then why don't you drive my car, Gwen?" Ben asked. "You do have your license."

"You're going to trust the six-year-old with your car?" Kevin asked.

Gwen and Kevin began to argue back and forth. Ben considered getting a taxi, but he didn't want to expose Gwen to more people than he needed to. "This would be so much easier if I could just go Upgrade." Then, at the mention of his alien's name, he got an idea.

At that moment, his phone began to ring with his girlfriend's name on the screen. He answered, "Julie! Perfect timing."

There was silence for a moment before she responded, "Um, who is this? Is Ben there?"

Of course, she wouldn't recognize his voice. "It's me, Ben. I can't get into it right now, but I need you to bring Ship to Kevin's garage."

"You messed with the watch again, didn't you?"

"It wasn't my fault! Why does everyone think I caused this?"

"Because I haven't heard any explosions or seen any UFOs flying through the air. That usually means you screwed up somehow."

He couldn't argue against her, but it didn't make the accusations hurt any less. "Can you please just hurry?"

"Fine, but you better have a good reason for blowing off our date again."

Ben went stiff. "Uh, yeah…"

Julie was silent again. "You forgot about our date, didn't you?"

"SeeyousoonIloveyoubye!" Ben hung up the phone. "I'm so screwed…."

Julie was on the floor laughing. She'd walked into the garage, took one look at Ben in his baggy clothes, and fell into a laughing fit.

"Are you done?" Ben asked, annoyed.

Julie whipped the tears from her eyes, "Yeah, I'm done. So tell me what you did." Ben filled her in on the situation. "So Gwen doesn't remember me either?"

Gwen simply shook her head. She's been oddly quiet since the other girl arrived.

"You seem pretty calm about this whole thing," Kevin said.

"I mean, this is hilarious. Besides, how can you not think Ben looks adorable right now?" Julie wrapped herself around Ben's tiny frame.

"Easy for you to say. At least he's not acting like a six-year-old. I feel like I'm gonna go to jail just being around her." Kevin pointed to Gwen, who stuck her tongue out in retaliation.

"Come on, we both know immature Ben acted before this happened. Now he's got the size to match it." Julie gave him another squeeze before Gwen pulled him from her grasp.

"Hey, it's not his fault he's so short!" Gwen shouted. Kevin was the one laughing now while the girls glared at one another.

"Can we just get to what's actually important right now!?" Ben demanded. "We need Ship to drive us back to my house."

"Why not have Kevin drive you guys?" Julie asked.

"I don't want to be anywhere near his ugly face!" Gwen yelled.

"Well, at least her taste in men was better back then." Julie quipped.

"Alright, everyone out!" Kevin yelled, pushing them out of his garage. "I'll see if I can get a lead on Paradox. Ben, make sure she stays out of trouble."

Ben gave a nod, and they left for his car. Ship leaped out of Julie's bag and latched onto the vehicle, opening the doors for them to enter.

Gwen was amazed, "what was that?"

"Don't worry about it," Ben said, "just get in the driver's seat. If anything happens, you're the only one here with a license."

Gwen didn't understand what he was talking about but got in anyways with Julie in the passenger and Ben in the back. She started freaking out when the car began to move on its own, but after some coaxing, she put her hands back on the wheel, and they drove to Ben's house without incident.

When they arrived, the house was empty. "Where's Uncle Carl and Aunty Sandra?" Gwen asked, looking around the house.

"They took a weekend trip for their anniversary," Ben said.

"Which is why I was gonna stay the night," Julie said, not hiding the annoyance in her voice.

"Oh, I get it now," Gwen said. "You're not his girlfriend. You're his babysitter."

Julie laughed, "Yeah, I guess it does feel like that sometimes." She knelt down to whisper in Ben's ear, "I'm gonna let it slide this time, so keep an eye on her, Ben. You don't know what the long-term effects of this will be."

"I get it," Ben slumped against the wall. "I'm also worried about the watch. Every second it's missing is a second the Earth can be in danger. I know Kevin and the Plumbers can handle themselves, but there's been so many dangerous threats lately that I can't keep my guard down."

"Even as a kid, you're still the same old Ben," Julie kissed the boy on the forehead before heading for the door. "I'll keep my phone nearby. If anything happens, I'll send Ship over to help."

The two said their goodbyes, and Ben finally allowed all the anxiety and stress to take over his body. It'd become so easy to put up a front, to be the hero the world needed him to be, that it almost felt impossible to let others know how he truly felt.

A scream from the bathroom pulled him from his thoughts. Adrenaline filled his veins as he rushed to the door, finding it locked. "What happened!?" Ben asked frantically.

There was no response. Ben continued to pound against the door, fear completely taking over. He knew he was too weak to kick down the door, and he had no idea where they kept a key to the bathroom, if they kept a key at all.

Finally, the door unlocked. Ben pushed himself in, searching for any danger; instead, he found a shirtless Gwen on the floor, covering her chest. He grabbed her by the shoulders, "what happened?"

Gwen didn't look hurt but dazed and confused. She'd open her mouth to speak but then close it, not satisfied with the words. Finally, she looked at her young cousin and asked, "Am I a robot?"

Ben wasn't sure if he should be concerned or laugh. So instead, he went with the third option, "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

"Am I a robot?" Gwen asked again more firmly.

"Okay, so I did hear you right." Ben took a moment to collect himself before continuing. "I need you to explain to me what led up to this point."

"I needed to pee, and when I went to wash my hands, I saw myself in the mirror and…" Gwen went quiet for a moment. "I thought you and that creep were just joking about all this age stuff, but I'm old. Why am I old!?"

Ben sighed, "I don't know, Gwen. I wish I did." Gwen had been acting so natural, and Ben hadn't thought about how she'd react to her new(?) body. The shift had been so natural that if he hadn't noticed how he was practically swimming in his clothes, he might not have noticed until Kevin told him. Still, this doesn't answer his other question, "Why is your shirt off?"

"I wanted to see how big my boobs were…." Gwen blushed, "But then I saw this on my chest!" She lowered her arms to reveal the familiar dial of the Ultimatrix. "Why do you have that look on your face? Am I really a robot!?"

"What, no! No, you're fine. Honestly, this is good news." At least he knew where the watch had gone. He'll have to let Kevin know, but they still have no idea how they'll undo this. "For now, why don't you take a shower and get ready for bed? I'll text Uncle Frank and let him know you'll be staying here tonight."

"But what am I supposed to wear? Do I have clothes here?"

"You can wear some of my clothes for tonight, and I'll wash these so you can wear them again in the morning."

"You, doing laundry?" Gwen giggled, "You must really be a grown-up then."

Ben threw a towel at her before leaving for his room. He grabbed a shirt and a pair of gym shorts for her and dug into his closet to find some of his old clothes. Thankfully he never threw away his lucky shirt and old cargo pants. They were a little big on him, but better than tripping over his current clothes.

He set those aside for tomorrow and continued to wear his own shirt as makeshift pajamas. He handed Gwen the shirt and shorts in exchange for his dirty clothes and put them in to wash. "Was I supposed to separate them before washing them?" he thought. He shrugged and figured it'd be fine.

Ben was in the middle of getting the guest room ready when he heard the shower turn off. He knocked on the bathroom door, "I got you a toothbrush, and the guest room is set up when you're ready."

"We're not sleeping together?" Gwen asked, taking the toothbrush. "We always sleep together."

Ben recalled that this Gwen was from before they had begun to fight. Back then, they were inseparable, which only strengthened the idea that they were twins instead of cousins. "We're too old for that, Gwen. We haven't slept together in years."

This Gwen must be too young to know how to hide her emotions because the panic was splattered across her face. Still, she did her best to smile. She finished brushing her teeth and went into the guest room. "I guess that makes sense… Goodnight…"

Ben appreciated how easily she complied but still felt bad for her. It must be so confusing for her not to know what happened over the last decade. Even with his younger appearance, she knew this was not the same cousin she'd played with every day. He just hoped that they could fix this before anything bad happened.

He dropped onto his bed, taking in how much larger it felt with his younger body. The old blanket that barely covered his sixteen-year-old body can now be used to wrap him into a burrito. His head sunk into the pillow, and it felt softer than before, but that could just be the exhaustion trying to lull him to sleep.

It almost worked, but then he heard a knock at the door. "Are you still awake?" Gwen asked from the other side.

Ben struggled to unwrap himself from the blanket restraints he put himself into and stumbled to the door. "Yeah," he said, opening the door. "Everything okay?"

Gwen was silent. She was holding a pillow up to her chest, averting her eyes away from the boy in front of her.

Ben asked again, "Gwen, is everything okay?"

Gwen began to hop from one foot to the other. Ben tried to recall how she acted when they were younger, but it had been so long ago that nothing outright stuck out to him. Looking back at his cousin, he could barely make out her facial expression. It looked like she was sulking, occasionally biting her lip as if she wanted to speak but was afraid to speak. But why would she be afraid to speak to him?

Finally, it dawned on him, "Are you afraid to sleep alone?" Ben's words seemed to draw a reaction out of her as Gwen hid her face behind the pillow. Ben sighed, "You can sleep in here tonight."

Gwen began to cry. Ben took her by the hand and led her to the bed, which she quickly rolled in, trying and failing to wrap herself into a cocoon.

Ben laid down next to her, "I guess you always were a bit of a crybaby." Gwen jumped out of the blanket and started to smack him around. "Ow, stop! You're a lot stronger than you think you are!" Gwen stopped, tears beginning to form again. "Look, I'm sorry for calling you a crybaby. Why don't we just try to get some sleep?" Gwen nodded and turned towards the wall, her back pressed against Ben.

Silence settled into the room. Ben felt awkward sharing a bed with not only his cousin but a teenage girl. He's yet to take that next step with Julie, and here he was spooning Gwen. Never in a million years did he think he'd be grateful to be in a prepubescent body.

Still, though, he couldn't stop the guilt from seeping in. This had been the first time they had shared a bed in years, but to Gwen, they had never stopped. So how was he supposed to treat this six-year-old when they had been through so much together?

He wasn't the only one who had been thinking about this. Gwen turned to look at the young boy taking in all his features. He looked just as she knew him, but there were small changes like how his face rested or how he spoke. Just how much can someone change in ten years?

"If we get the ultimate matrixy thing to fix this, will I still remember this?" Gwen asked. She had a serious look on her face but not of fear or worry.

Ben couldn't quite pinpoint what she felt, so he decided just to be honest with her. "I don't know. This has never happened before."

She was silent once again, taking in his words. Her face quickly changed between expressions until it settled on one, and she spoke, "I want to know what happens to us."

Ben was taken aback for a moment, but soon a smile spread across his face. "That's right," he thought, "you always did want to be the smartest person in the room. So it only makes sense that you'd want to know your future."

He gets out of bed and walks over to his closet. He struggles to reach the top shelf but manages to grab the shoebox he kept hidden away. Gwen was now sitting up curiously, watching his every movement. Ben turned on the light and opened the shoebox revealing a variety of photos and knick-knacks and strange pieces of machinery. "Do you want to hear a story full of aliens and magic and how two ordinary kids became the saviors of the universe?" Gwen nodded her head leaning forward in excitement. Ben picked up a photo of the two of them when they were ten, "well, it all started when an alien device did what it did."