Galactic Shift Extend

by Seanzilla1988

A familiar Beastkin goes through a familiar abandoned Cauldron. However, she doesn't end up in another timeline, but Bellwood, home to a teen with a watch he wears on his arm that can change his shape to save the world from harm.

97. Ballad of Mr Bauman

SZ: Here with yet another chapter as the anniversary draws near…and touching on another Omniverse episode.

Z0: I know there are some of you difficult folks in the Reviews. But look, we have plans past 100. Oh…do we have plans. But for now just let us have some fun. Cause after 100, we got like…two three…four arcs of nonsense…basically five…

GT: And that's not going into Side Stories. Ya know…the story for stories of this fic that focus on other characters most of the time?

SZ: And for specials like holidays when we can't currently pull it off in whatever arc we're currently working on?

Z0: Loyal Readers understand we get some…nonsense now and again and we are thankful for those of you who stick with us.

SZ: And we try our best people to not just give you all a fun read…but to have fun as well.

Z0: Yes now…BEGIN! *headbuts the screen making it shatter* YEAH!

SZ: Ah dude! I didn't do the disclaimer yet!...ugh. We own nothing aside from original content.

---

-10 and a half Years ago-

The small little corner store Bauman's was your average little shop that has been there for ages. It namesake and owner Mr. Bauman has lived in Bellwood for years, he's seen many a family come and go, but the downside of this is none other than the grandson of his old friend Max Tennyson…Benjamin Kirby Tennyson…or just…

"Ben!" Mr. Bauman called out as a small 5 almost six year old boy knocked over a pyramid stack of canned lima beans. More than a few dented up and damaged, the boy unharmed as the cans fell away from him, as if trying to flee, "Must you destroy everything in my store?" he groaned, running his hands through his head of grey hair.

"It was an accident, I swear it will never happen again!" Ben held his little arm up to make this vow.

"Mmm hmm," Mr. Bauman frowned as he pulled out a book and placed it on the counter, letting the young Ben see the words 'Ben Ledger' on it.

"?! Oh no…not the Ben Ledger!"

"Congratulations. With this latest accident, you now owe me twenty dollars and five cents."

"Ah man…!" Ben complained as he looked at the mess, "It's gonna take me like…10 years to work that off! I'll be an old man by then"

"...please don't tell me you'll be destroying my store 10 years from now," Mr. Baumann begged with a groan.

"Why are you so grumpy?" Ben asked as he looked back at him, "Isn't there a Mrs. Bauman to keep you from being lonely?"

"Lonely?" Mr. Bauman repeated, "...heh well…I was never the most…" he trailed off with a chuckle before blinking, "None of your beeswax! Why don't you shop online?!"

"..oh…um…" Ben nervously began before he heard a car honking outside, "Oh! Mom's waiting for me outside…see you later, Mr. Bauman!" he waved as he ran off.

"...ugh," Mr. Bauman sighed once Ben had left, "That always sounds like a threat…"

---

Eventually the work day came to an end and Mr. Bauman closed up his store, before walking to his car. After the day he had he wanted to take a long route home to calm himself down. Choosing a scenic route through the desert outskirts of Bellwood, to enjoy it, before the town began expanding and developing here as well. The only complaint would be his radio service got a bit spotty on this dusty old road, so tired of the horrible static he turned his radio off with a sigh. However as he leaned forward to touch the button he caught notice of something in the sky, a bright streak racing across the sky.

"A shooting star?" Mr. Bauman awed, deciding to take a shot on this rare event, "I wish thar rotten kid Ben Tennyson…" he paused as the frustration in his voice subsided, be it guilt for being so upset at a mere child or realization of a truth from the blunt honest innocence of said child, "...I wish he wasn't right about me being lonely," he frowned. Yeah it hurt to say, but the truth was maybe his temper and frustration…really did stem from his lonesomeness, in his rather well lived life, he had yet to find his love story.

This was however not a good time to learn, that was not a shooting star in the upper atmosphere, but a large object burning upon sudden entry into the lower atmosphere. Not very high either as it took a sharp turn due to an attempt at corse correction and was now careening towards Mr. Bauman's path on the road. Thankfully Mr. Bauman didn't stop, rather in panic he sped up…and passed the items trajectory by a good distance, but not enough to avoid the shockwave and tremor that made him swerve around wildly. Choosing to take a look, he got out of his car and jogged up to the crash site, seeing that as the heat and flames died down, it wasn't a meteor or anything, but an entire space ship. It looked…well it wasn't totaled, but it was scratched and damaged enough that it clearly wasn't going to take off anytime soon. He then tensed as something disturbed the rubble at the base of the crash, a hatch he didn't see being open as a cyan scaled hand pushed some rubble away.

Soon enough a feminine figure pulled themselves out the best they could, she was covered entirely in dark cyan scales, with pink fins on her arms, shoulders, head, eyebrows, cheeks, hips and along her long fish like tail, exactly like a mythical mermaid. However this alien woman groaned looking up at Mr. Bauman, her pink eyes losing focus as the head from the crash was disorienting her greatly.

"P-please…help me…" she held her hand out.

Mr. Bauman said nothing as he walked closer and reached to pick the alien woman in his arms before walking her to his car, "Don't worry, you're in good hands." he smiled reassuringly, earning a smile back as she relaxed in his arms, and promptly fell into unconsciousness, not that Mr. Bauman blamed her, but was glad to see she trusted him and was resting. As he made it to his car, he sighed, knowing he'll have to call his old friend Max Tennyson out of retirement for this one.

---

Five and a half years later~

The trusty Rustbucket RV of Max Tennyson pulled up to a stop at Mr. Bauman's store, the door swinging open as an 11 year old Ben Tennyson, Boy Hero, Wielder of the Omnitrix, also known as Ben 10 jumped out followed by his Grandfather. The two stopping by for an errand Max needed to do. However upon entering, they didn't see Mr. Bauman in his usual spot at the cash register. Max walked up and looked around confused before turning to Ben with a shrug.

Ben shrugged back before he chose to look for him and see if he was just busy stalking something in a hidden aisle of the store. Ben using his youthful energy began running and looking through each aisle, evens calling one of the shelves and looking around before groaning and laying down up there. That is till he jumped down and thought he spotted something behind the freezer, which he rushed to check, seeing a strange purple lump under a cloth, he moved to grab the cloth only to groan and see Mr. Bauman's dog.

"Huh…" Ben muttered patting the dog on the head before walking back to his Grandpa, "Maybe Bauman's out taking his grumpy lessons?" he shrugged, not too worried about not seeing the one person who wasn't one of nemeses that hated him with a passion. He then gagged spotting a familiar pyramid of Lima Beans, but out of the corner of his eyes he did see something he did enjoy, "Ooh~ Sumo Slammers Crunch Cereal!" he awed taking a box off the shelf, only to flinch seeing Mr. Bauman's face through on the other side.

"Don't pull the merchandise, Ben!" he shouted at Ben making the boy yelp and jump back into the pyramid of Lima Bean cans. The one who caused this, Mr. Buaman, flinched as the cans began tumbling over, "Oh here we go…" he groaned, walking around only to blink as Ben…actually was swift enough to catch and somehow precariously balance all the cans somehow, even Mr. Bauman's dog barked and clapped for this display of dexterity…and dumb luck.

"Tada~" Ben cheered as Max and Mr. Bauman helped him with the cans and slowly began restacking the pyramid of cans.

"I don't want any of your shenanigans spoiling this day." Mr. Bauman frowned.

"Geez…is it okay if I breathe?" Ben groaned with thick sarcasm.

"Use your own judgment…" Mr. Bauman frowned, walking around Ben, making the boy gag as he got a whiff of his cologne.

"Mmm!" Ben gasped covering his mouth and nose, "Well with your smelly grumpy grocer cologne, that ain't easy!" he gagged before he noticed a small hooded figure walk in, "...huh. Kinda overdressed for a Sunday…" he whispered as he began to follow the figure, peeking from behind a shelf as he saw the figure look around for a moment…before they pulled out what looked like a tentacle before eating it, "?! An Alien….heh. Looks like it's Hero time…"

The hooded figure meanwhile began to approach the counter, putting down a bag of chips as the reached for something in the pocket of their hoodie, "I'm here for some business…y-" he was soon interrupted when a clawed hand grabbed him.

"Woah woah woah! Not so fast, fuzzy," Cannonbolt frowned before the figure slipped out of theri hood…revealing it to be a rabbit-like alien as they began to run, "Oh no you don't!"

"Wait sto-!" Mr. Bauman began before Cannonbolt rolled off in pursuit of the alien…and began to crash through the shelves and displays, "...no no no…"

Cannonbolt grunted as he grabbed the alien while rolling, essentially dragging him for the ride before uncurling and landing on his rear as he kept the little alien pinned in his arms.

"That's enough!" Max spoke up, making Cannonbolt flinch, "Let him go now."

"But why?" Cannonbolt asked in confusion, this was an alien. Ergo this is his job as a hero, fight aliens.

"Are you trying to put me out of business, Ben!?" Bauman snapped as he walked up next to Max.

"Wait…you know who I am?" Cannonbolt blinked.

"I might have bragged about you." Max sheepishly scratched the side of his head with a small smile. He then raised a hand and tapped Mr. Buaman's back, "Bauaman deals with a few aliens he can keep a secret."

"Just stop attacking my customers!" Bauman snapped as he helped the alien up, "So what if they weren't born here?"

"...it was a giant bunny chowing down on tentacles…" Cannonbolt tried to defend.

"What kinda freak doesn't like tentacles?" the rabbit alien questioned, "I mean I oughta open up a restaurant selling nothing but tentacles." he then grabbed his discarded hoodie before pulling out a glass contained filled with a slightly familiar looking purple mineral, "Thanks Mr. B." he nodded to the owner who was in this scenario sticking up for him against this crazy Arburian. He then made his way outside before pausing, "Restaurant? Oh! Or a cart, yeah less overhead." he nodded to himself.

Mr. Bauman frowned as he moved back to the register and dug around underneath to pull out a rather tragically filled book that brought dread to Cannonbolt.

"Ahh…the Ben Ledger! You can't charge me for what happens when I'm a hero!" Cannonbolt pleaded.

"Says who?" Mr. Bauman frowned before the sound of metal crunching caught the trio's attention, making them look outside to see Vulkanus outside…standing next to a crushed car.

"Vulkanus?" Max's eyes widened as the Alien Criminal frowned and crossed his arms as the spikes on his shoulders ejected and launched like missiles into the store front.

Cannonbolt acted as he threw himself over his grandfather and let his armored back take the explosion's shockwave, to practically zero effect. He waited a moment as burning debris, sharp shards of glass and wood splinters bounced off his shell before he got up to allow his Grandfather some breathing room. Vulkanus meanwhile walked past them and up to the register as he glared down at Bauman.

"You know what I'm here for." he frowned, holding his hand out for the tube.

Mr. Bauman said nothing as he ran off towards Cannonbolt and Max. All the while in the chaos a green spark filled the air as a pair of Time Cycles came to a stop on the roof top across the street.

"Weird, why did we get an alert in this time?" Spanner asked from inside the bike.

"Hmm…hey with this date, wouldn't Daddy be…like 11?" Driver blinked.

"Yeah probably, but that's not why we are here." Spanner sighed typing away on a holographic keyboard. He then flinched as his video feed to her bike showed an empty seat, "Seriously!?"

=Recon!= Driver called from his helmet =Yup…found young daddy and…yup. He's being held by that small…er, big grump Vulkanus…seriously how'd he go from that to a little baby body with a big head?=

"I don't know, I don't think Dad ever figured that out. Plus his Detrovite form is just normal, so who knows how Vulkanus lost his body…" he typed a command showing him a feed of what Driver was seeing, showing Max as he jumped and put a bucket on Vulkanus' head to distract him and free Ben, "Wow Great Grandpa is pretty brave."

=Well that only makes sense, he's a Tennyson like us=

"True, and since we know Dad wins the day we don't need to get involved."

=I just threw a brick at his head=

"WHY!?" Spanner snapped as Vulkanus grunted from the brick beaning him in the back of the head, he moved to turn only to stop when something fell over in the store, making the alien growl in thinking he was being distracted by the Tennysons somehow, "That was…unbelievably lucky…"

=Hey…look it's cranky Old Man Bauman!= Sure enough Mr. Bauman snuck past Vulkanus as a thick cloud of fire retardant covered the Detrovite and blinded him.

"Is…oh! It's on Dad's callender, its Mrs. Bauman's shedding cycle, the only time she's able to leave water." Spanner realized, "...wait Mrs. Bauman…AH! That canister has Element X!"

=Element wha…?=

"The stuff Dad taught us about…mix it with Iron ore and make a galaxy level bomb!" Spanner sighed.

=Oh~...uh oh=

"Yes! Very big uh oh if Vulkanus gets his hands on it!"

"We gotta save Daddy!" Driver shouted as she landed on the windshield of Spanner's bike, "He's not the super cool master hero yet! He's a short little boy who's adorable factor skipped you!"

"Hah…why do you make me be the mature one?" Spanner sighed.

"Well duh…one of us has to be," Driver pointed out, "...oftentimes I have to be when you go techy mode."

"You lie…" Spanner frowned behind his mask.

"Oh…no…no I don't doofus brother. Now let's go! Stealth Mission activated!"

"Hah…might as well follow Dad and Great Grandpa, if just lend a helping hand, this is a bit dangerous. Even if you don't forge them together, the two halves just clashing suddenly can cause a sizable explosion, and with the amount Mr. Bauman had…that could easily wipe out most of Bellwood."

"Then ikuze!" Driver ordered linking their bikes and activating an active camouflage mode as they flew after Ben and Max.

---

"He's trying to lose Vulkanus in the old abandoned abandoned subway?!" Ben shouted as he and Max walked through the tunnel with flashlights in hand, "Oh yeah that's clever! It's one giant tube!"

"Well not exactly kiddo, this place is linked to an old mining system, it's like a swiss cheese of tunnels and caves." Max explained motioning to a broken wall, leading to an old abandoned mine tunnel with discarded carts and equipment strewn about.

"Okay handy…but now it's gonna be harder to catch up." Ben muttered.

"That's not the only issue," Max shined a flashlight on the stone walls of the tunnel revealing a rust colored streak in the dark black and grey stone, "This was an Iron Ore mine. There are tons of veins of iron still here. And that is a problem."

"Why?" Ben asked slowly knowing this was important.

"That package Vulkanus is after." Max sighed.

"Oh no…not Element X!" Ben realized with a sense of dread, and maybe a bit of annoyance at this nonsense again, "Can't that stuff blow up the solar system!?"

"Only if smelted and bonded with Iron Ore. In its normal state, both being smacked together will cause a smaller explosion." Max explained.

"Oh…well that's…there's a but isn't there?" Ben sighed.

"That Package has enough Element X to blow a chunk of Bellwood to kingdom come." Max nodded.

"Why does Old Mr. Bauman need that stuff anyway?" Ben groaned only to yelp when said Old Mr. Bauman jumped down behind him, "GAH!"

"That's my business!" he grumbled dusting himself off.

"Quit doing that!" Ben complained.

"Where's Vulkanus?" Max asked.

"Don't worry Max, I beaned that alien bully but good." Bauman smirked proudly.

---

-Give or take ten minutes ago-

Bauman gasped as he ran through the labyrinth of tunnels. He looked back only to flinch as Vulkanus literally walked through a wall with his giant body. The Detrovite lumbered after him knowing he would win out in stamina compared to the human. Bauman flinched and took a sharp turn around a tunnel, but gasped and hugged the wall. He then saw a wooden support on the wall with a somewhat ladder shape to it. Vulkanus growled as he turned the corner but saw nothing, and that it was a dead end tunnel. So where did the human disappear to. He then flinched as he heard some rocks hit the ground behind him. He turned and looked up to see Bauman doing his best to scale the ceiling, but his grip was failing as he fell down to the floor.

Bauman grunted as Vulkanus charged to end this silly chase, but the store owner reached behind his apron and pulled out a can of lima beans, before he tossed it right into Vulkanus's face. The can rupturing and spilling green goop and lima beans all over the Detrovite's face. Vulkanus groaned as he stopped and shook his head in utter disgust.

"What is this stuff!?" he growled out as he tried to clean his face but his giant hands just made it worse as he smeared it around more, "Yuck!" he marched forward and past Bauman…and right through a wooden railing that led to a solid drop down into a deeper system. The screams of the alien criminal echoed as he kept dropping for a good while till a faint thud could be heard.

---

-Give or take ten minutes later-

"You took out Vulkanus with a can of Lima beans?" Ben blinked.

"No species likes Lima beans. Why do you think I always have them on sale?" Mr. Bauman chuckled before blinking, quickly checking his wrist watch, "?! I can't be late..!" he whispered as he quickly rushed off.

"...for what?" Ben questioned, even more confused as he and his grandfather began to follow after him.

Soon enough, after a few moments to find the proper path, the trio of humans took a very careful path, with hidden markers that led them to a large cave formed from what seemed to be untold years of water erosion. The evidence being a massive and beautiful clear water lake in the middle of the cave. From a second glance one could also see this lake…was deceptively deep. The trio was also none the wiser of the cloaked Time Cycle stopped off on another side of the lake to watch from a distance.

"I still don't get it, what did he need Element X for?" Ben asked his Grandfather.

"For her." Max motioned to the water as it began to surge and swirl around before the cyan scaled mermaid alien rose to the surface, the scales around her tail began shedding away until she was left with two human-like legs instead.

"Huh? A Fish girl?" Ben blinked as the alien woman was gliding over the surface of the water.

Bauman walked forward and began treading water as he met her halfway before reaching his arms up to catch and hold her, "Darling…" he spoke while holding back tears of joy, the emotions of meeting her again impossible to hide. The two just smiled holding one another in the water.

"Ugh!" Ben cringed upon realization, "Geez…if you wanted me to barf you could'a used the Lima Beans…" he groaned.

"So obviously Dad is too young to be romantic." Spanner chuckled at the past version of his fathers look of disgust towards the romantic atmosphere.

"Just wait 5.22 years, you'll change your mind~" Driver giggled.

"Mr. Bauman has an Alien Girlfriend?" Ben asked, "Mr. Bauman has a Girlfriend!?" he asked with more shock in his voice, "Mr. Bauman has a friend!?"

Grandpa Max rolled his eyes as he walked up to the couple, "Hello Sheelane." he greeted with a handshake. Ben walked up to introduce himself as well, mostly out of politeness as this was still freaking him out on a child's narrowed view level.

"Sheelane…this is Ben Tennyson." Mr. Bauman sighed.

"Ben…I've heard so much about you," Sheelane noted as she knelt down to look at Ben, "...he doesn't seem so bad."

"Give him a minute," Mr. Bauman muttered.

"...so….where are you from?" Ben asked.

"Remember that night five years ago when you did ten dollars and one cent's damage to my store?" Mr. Bauman questioned, earning a blank stare from Ben, "...The night of that meteor crash when you were a little boy?"

"That rings more of a bell…" Ben nodded.

"Well it turned out that was no Meteor." Mr. Bauman continued, happy to just get some sort of progress from Ben.

---

5.22 years ago

Bauman rushed Sheelane to his car as he put her in the passenger seat, "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe." he assured.

"I…I need a specific compound, of two parts hydrogen to…to one part oxygen." Sheelane gasped as she reached her hand out, Bauman taking it to help comfort her.

It took him a minute but his basic chemistry clicked with the answer to that compound, "Water! You need to live in Water!" it honestly felt rather blunt and obvious in retrospect given her aquatic features.

"I had to find someplace where Sheelane could survive, and there was only one person I could trust to help."

The Rustbucket transformed into a crane mode backed into the cave as it lowered Sheelane's spaceship into the lake. Sheelane and Bauman watched as the ship was dropped into the water, now all set for her to be able to safely inhabit this hidden lake. She paused as she looked at her hand which was intertwined with his. The two didn't want to let go, but…her time being able to walk on land was running out, she needed to return to where she could survive. She gave one final glance to Bauman before entering her ship and descending into the deep water.

---

5.22 years later

"I have to live in very deep water." Sheelane added to the story, "But, we can see each other, for one day every 5.22 years." she turned to Bauman as they held hands once more, the two staring into eachothers eyes, "On the day I shed my scales."

"Oh…" Ben nodded simply, "So that's why he's grumpy all the time." he nodded to himself.

"I am not grumpy!" Bauman snapped as his romantic stupor was broken by his animosity to the Tennyson boy, "Eh…well at least not today." he muttered remembering who was holding his hands.

"Then I hope this won't upset you." Sheelane spoke, as she produced a canister like the one Bauman was protecting, "My ship's supply of Element X is almost dry." true enough, a very small spec of Element X floated in the canister.

"You know I will never let anything happen to you." Bauman held up his…or rather her replacement canister.

"M-More element X? But, it's so rare!" Sheelane gasped trading canisters with him, "Ignacius, how did…ever since my planet…how did you ever?" she couldn't even form the words she was so happy and surprised by this act.

"Some wheeling and dealing." he smirked, "Don't ask."

"Ignacius?" Ben whispered, the Chrono Riders doing the same from their hidden position.

"Max says this should last you decades!" Ignacius Bauman smiled.

"Oh Iggy, you're the greatest!" Sheelane smiled as she hugged him, stopping for a moment to share a kiss with him.

"Bleck!" Ben gagged at that.

"Now Ben, beauty is in the eye of the beholder," Grandpa Max chuckled.

"I know…but kissing Mr. Bauman…" Ben argued with another gag.

'Aww~' Driver mentally cooed at the scene before a rumble caught everyone's attention, "?!"

"Wh-" Ben began before Vulkanus came crashing down through the ceiling, making everyone tense as he hefted up a piece of stone.

"RAAGH!" he roared as he tossed it, prompting everyone to quickly jump out of the way as it crashed into the ground.

"Hey! Mr. Bauman is on a date, jerkface!" Ben snapped.

"Oh yeah?!" Vulkanus shouted, walking up to Bauman and Sheelane before backhanding the former away, "Vulkanus always gets what he's after!" he grinned as he picked up the canister of Element X…before he picked up Sheelane by her arm, "If it turns out I don't' need a hostage, I can always make chowder."

"Ignacious!" Sheelane cried out as Vulkanus began to run off with her.

"Sheelane!" Bauman called out.

"Between the Element X and all this raw Bicenthium Alloy, I'll be rich!" Vulkanus smirked seeing all the iron ore in the walls.

"I'm out of my depth Detrovite, otherwise I'd pop you like a blister!" Sheelane struggled to try and escape his grasp.

"Or like your home world? What they call it, Kaboomia?" Vulkanus laughed.

"Thalassia!" Sheelane snapped in anger at that horrible joke, "Gh…Iggy will save me."

"The store keeper?" Vulkanus arched a brow at that statement, "Flipperface you have got to be kidding!"

Vulkanus stopped as the ground began shaking, making him worry it was a tectonic shift, or Earthquake as it was called here. The ground began cracking…before a blunt spire of crystals slammed into him and sent him as well as Sheelane flying back down the tunnel they just traveled. Vulkanus was able to flip himself a few times to land on his feet and never once losing his grip on his hostage. He growled as the spire suddenly shattered and Diamondhead leapt out as Max and Bauman caught up.

"This roadtrip's over Vulkanus!" Diamondhead smirked.

"Take your hands off her, you dang Detrovite Ape!" Bauman growled as he rushed forward.

"Whoa…love makes you crazier than I thought." Diamondhead blinked at this out of character bravery.

"I'm gonna enjoy this!" Vulkanus lifted his fist as the spiked armor moved over his knuckles, he swung to end his would be challengers life but before either of them could collide for a strike, another spire of diamonds erupted from under Mr. Bauman's feet and uppercutted Vulkanus sending him flying away, his grip on Sheelane lost as she flew out of his arms…and into Mr. Baumans.

"Don't worry you're in good hands!" Bauman smiled.

"I know." Sheelane smirked.

"Ugh…you want some of this?" Vulkanus growled, getting everyone's attention as he reached behind himself, "Not this like a beat down, but this stuff here!" He held up the container Element X.

Diamondhead wasted no time as he fired a barrage of crystals to the ground, coating it in a layer of it, which began pushing him forward before a crystal spire formed under his feet and launched upwards over a punch from Vulkanus that shattered the crystals. Diamondhead flipping over Vulkanus as he swung his arm and smacked him in the back sending him stumbling forward.

"You really put the Ugh in Ugly!" Diamondhead declared as he jumped and swung a kick that Vulkanus blocked only for a second kick to push the Detrovite back. Diamondhead grunted as he formed multiple crystal spikes to try and hit Vulkanus but he outran them before landing a solid uppercut to Diamondhead's jaw sending him flying back and up towards the cave ceiling.

Diamondhead grunted as he flipped around and landed on his feet, his fingers digging into the cave ground. He glared at Vulkanus as he marched forward, smacking his fist into the palm of his other hand.

"Give it up Sparkles, you can't win!" Vulkanus laughed.

"Ugh…I don't have to," Diamondhead reached to his back to reveal the container of Element X, "I just had to trade you."

"Wha?!" he gawked looking to see the near empty canister jammed into his armor in a place he couldn't reach just below his neck.

"Whoa…" the Chronor Riders watched, "Dad/Daddy has always been skilled…" they awed.

"Grrr! Give that back, you little…" Vulkanus growled only to flinch as he was bombarded with crystals to the face.

"Grandpa!" Diamondhead tossed the container to Max, he then grunted as Vulkanus rushed past him, only for the Petrosapien to smirk and punch the ground causing a large bunker of crystals to form before the three adults he was protecting with one long spire in the middle hitting Vulkanus and launching him into the air…and right towards a large vain of rusted iron ore.

"Aw frag…" Vulkanus spoke as he smacked into the vain…the canister being what hit first.

BOOM!

A time out flash filled the cave as Ben yelped and jumped behind the bunker he made which served to shield them from the shockwave. The rush of purple tinted smoke and heat washing over the bunker…before it began to crumble. Serving its purpose but damaged by the vibrations of the shockwave. Also a rather large blast crater was left in the cave, probably reaching the size of a football field.

"Yikes…" Ben muttered.

"Vulkanus?" Buaman gasped, given the epicenter of the blast was him.

"I don't see anything surviving that kind of blast," Max whispered.

"You're right Iggy, he has a flair for destruction." Sheelane smiled.

"You should see what he does to cars…" Baumand and Max muttered in unison.

"Hey, at least this time, no Ben Ledger, I consider this a win." Ben smirked.

"Well…I guess that's that…" Spanner muttered as the shockwave flipped their joint Time Cycles over, Spanner himself left flat against the windshield/roof of his bike's cabin.

"So how did the big dummy come back from that?" Driver couldn't help but ask as she was seated upside down thanks to her seatbelt.

"Detrovites are sturdy…and prone to cybernetic augmentation…doesn't explain the baby legs though…"

---

5.22 years later…Present Day

"And that is the story of why I am using this day off we have to go help Mr. Bauman at the store." Ben smiled at everyone in the Omni-Team's shared home as they sat at the table for breakfast.

"Aww~" Noel cooed at that, "That's so sweet…"

"It's like the Little Mermaid…only happily ever after." Lambda nodded.

"So like the movie?" Mai blinked.

"Oh right." Lambda nodded.

"Still…will he even want us there…mainly you?" Max questioned, "Especially considering…well…"

=He's the Mr. Wilson to your Dennis the Menace…= Steel bluntly pointed out.

"What…I'm…" Ben paused, recalling the past, "Oh wow…I am."

"..hmm…" Makoto began to ponder at that, "...then we'll have to work to fix that!"

"I'll help!" Noel smiled.

"And I will also help." Lambda smiled, "Mostly to keep an eye on sister so she doesn't pester the Baumans."

"No I w-" Noel began before tensing when Lambda gave her a deadpanned stare, causing teh shy blond to puff her cheeks up, "...mmm~"

"Honesty, it is the best choice." Lambda smiled, Bluey nodding in agreement with her.

"So what was the plan?" Makoto asked.

"I was gonna offer to follow them around and wait on them hand and foot." Ben explained.

"Wouldn't a couple that can only see one another every 5.22 years want a little intimacy?" Lambda asked.

"Oh…well true but given she's alone in that lake for that time…wouldn't she want to, you know; interact with people?" Noel countered.

"Good point." Lambda nodded in agreement.

"Well Mr. Bauman would probably like some privacy, and Ms. Sheelane might want to actually interact with folks in his life." Makoto held both hands up.

=Are we gonna ignore the fact Mr. Bauman's name is Ignacius?= Steel whispered to Max.

"I'm still not over Iggy…" Max replied.

"Couldn't you, I don't know, run his shop with a lock on the Omnitrix for the day?" Sari suggested.

"...you think the Omnitrix is the problem…" Tsubaki muttered.

"You remember the story of Ben setting a car on fire…when he was five…" Mai muttered.

"Ben is a great hero…but also a Bringer of Destruction." Noel chuckled.

"Ben's aura of destruction and chaos, Makoto's supposed jinxed male lineage…" Kajun held her hands up, "Their future hypothetical child shall be the bringer of disasters."

"Don't go cursing our kids…" Makoto complained.

"Well it could always skip a generation…or you could have twins and each one gets one." Kajun smiled, enjoying this taunting.

"Stop bringing up the future!" Makoto snapped, "Right now Ben's trying to do a good thing for his first Nemesis."

"He's not my Nemesis…I just have a bad habit of breaking his things." Ben complained.

""Not helping a lot of bad guys…end up choosing his store to pick a fight," Sari admitted.

"...the sad thing is…she's not wrong," Tsubaki sighed.

"First day here? I had to get him to go Chamalien instead of Cannonbolt and made him wait until the baddies were away from the building before fighting."

"Can I help it if I have a preference for what type of power I like?" Ben muttered.

"Bit…muscles and smashing…" Makoto muttered.

"It's simple and to the point…also I like smashing bad guys into the ground. It could be worse…I could be a pyro and prefer shooting fire everywhere." Ben complained.

"And yet you set his car on fire two weeks ago…" Skurd pointed out.

"Hey to be fair…Billy tried to attack us while we were shopping," Ben argued before blinking, "...oh wow bad guys really do end up picking his store to fight."

"So on top of trying to get him to trust you to look after the store for him…you also have to find a way to keep the bad guys from ransacking the store, or using it as an excuse to pick a fight," Max stated.

"Well…we…could take care of the store." Noel held her hand up, "And Ben can still offer to make their day out amazing. Like a bodyguard. I mean…Vulkanus is still around." she pointed out.

"Meaning most likely…he'll try the same thing he did last time," Ben guessed, "Because…the guy is spiteful…"

"Hey that's a good idea Noellie, let Ben do his thing and not destroy the shop and put the ones less likely to trash it in charge." Makoto smiled.

"Ben protects the shop from baddies, we take care of said shop while he's out…they enjoy themselves and when he returns, no wrecked shop or anything…figuratively it's a win-win scenario," Lambda noted

"That's a pretty good plan." Sari smiled.

"Great, I can break Vulkanus' arms off again." Ben smiled.

"Ooh I know a humiliating way to catch him too once he's out of that gaudy armor," Skurd giggled a bit.

=What? Put him in a babybjorn and hang it off the light post?= Steel questioned.

"Oh worse…You know the Movie Bubble Boy?"

=You mean the one with Jake Gyllenhaal playing as a-ooh~...oh that is humiliating….add a baby seat in it so he can't even move=

"Well that sounds fun…" Noel muttered.

"You guys are sick." Lambda replied, "Funny…but sick…"

---

Mr. Bauman's store was the next logical destination for those wishing to offer a helping hand. Thankfully when they arrived Mr. Bauman had already left to meet with Sheelane, so this let the young heroes set up for a surprise and wait for the couple to arrive. Which was just about now…

"Oh Iggy! It's even more impressive than I imagined!" Sheelane awed upon seeing his news and largest store for the first time. For someone who spent the last ten years predominantly in a deep water lake in a cave under the city, even a simple grocery store was awe inspiring and amazing. Anything beat the weird fish that swam around her ship/home.

"Hmm. Come on," Mr. Bauman chuckled as he began to escort her, their arms wrapped around one another, "I don't want to spend our special time at work. I have a surprise plan, for you," he smiled as the two turned to look at one another, leaning in for a kiss before he stopped, "...Ben…that's not you behind the counter, is it?"

"...no…" Noel's voice replied in..her best attempt at a Ben voice.

"...really, sister?" Lambda's voice deadpanned.

"Happy Anniversary!" Ben cheered, jumping up from behind a shelf, making Bauman yelp and stumble back a bit.

"Oh Benjamin!" Sheelane smiled, "You've grown so tall!" she noted, "I didn't know human children grew so quickly."

"In size…and destructive ability…" Mr. Buaman sighed, "What are you kids doing here? Shouldn't you be off saving the fabric of reality?"

"Nah…that was last month." Ben waved off, "I told everyone the story of when I met Ms. Sheelane and they all offered to help me celebrate your guys' Tenth Anniversary! Noel and her sister will help run the shop for you, and me and Makoto are here to serve you both."

"Makoto?" Sheelane smiled.

"Hi!" Makoto waved.

"My girlfriend." Ben smiled as she jumped next to him.

"Oh how nice, Ben has found love as well. Hard to believe last I saw you, you found such things unappealing." Sheelane giggled.

"Well I was 11…and at that time puberty hadn't activated so Girls still seemed kinda gross to me." Ben explained, "Besides, you guys have been together for ten years, so we're gonna help take care of you guys hand and foot…er…fin or…whatever."

"With our more careful and delicate friends here to run the store, nothing can break, unless it really is someone else's fault." Makoto smirked, "With Ben following you he can't, you know, begin the cycle of destruction. Plus Vulkanus is still kicking,"

"He is?" Sheelane blinked.

"Detrovites are…rather durable." Bauman muttered.

"Well now he's just a thug in a mechanic suit." Ben smirked, "So I'll keep an eye out for him."

"...and you'll stay far away from my store, right?" Bauman whispered to Ben, "Because I don't want anything to ruin this special night...especially by you, Ben."

"Don't worry. We're gonna make sure we stay outside to keep away any bad guys," Ben whispered back, "I'm not gonna be inside much…unless I'm hungry…but even then." he whistled as Drei who was wearing a mini version of the shop's apron walked over with a bag of chips in his mouth for Ben, "Noel adopted a genius dog."

"That is one smart dog," Bauman blinked.

"Don't worry he's already smart enough to know better!" Noel cheered.

"Okay, the dog can stay. Ben…please don't break anything," Mr. Bauman sighed.

"...I promise to try." Ben held his hand up, "Plus we told all the Techadon Sheriff bots in Undertown to to be on a look out for the Pick-Ax goons and Vulkanus and his goons. And they are guarding the door to Sheelane's home with extreme force authorized."

"I swear that girl is a blessing and a headache depending on what's going on," Bauman chuckled before sighing, "Now if only her 'friend' would stop throwing folks into the beverage area of the store."

"Yeah…she just goes for…any mass of liquid." Ben sighed, "But don't worry we will just stick outside, and keep you guys out of danger. I know how much it means to have a special time with that one person." he smiled.

"Well…thank you, Ben. That…that means a lot that you understand how I feel." Bauman sighed as he smiled, "Just please don't destroy my store."

"Okay. Oh by the way, I got a gift for you! I'll surprise ya later!" Ben smiled.

"For me?" he blinked.

"Well I didn't know what to get for both of you 'cause…circumstances means you don't live together…so a couples gift…feels kinda…" Ben muttered.

"No, I understand." Bauman waved it off in understanding, "Still…thank you, Ben."

"Just if, by some nonsense…Vulkanus gets by everything to get to you guys, just give me a call," Ben smiled, "You enjoy your special day."

All the while, no one noticed one of the small Pick-Ax aliens that served Vulkanus dressed in a coat and hat walking out of the store.

---

"Hang on…" Vulkanus grunted, pulling out a communicator and pulling up a holographic screen, "Well well, that fish face is back with the old man." he put a handful of cards down, "Hmm…" he smirked.

"Two of a kind," Kraab spoke as he placed cards down, SixSix sitting across from him growling and slamming his cards on the table, "Don't be a baby!" he turned to SevenSeven, "You're the big brother; say something."

SevenSeven groaned as he put his cards down before slapping his younger brother upside the head, earning an annoyed growl from him. SixSix began grumbling something as SevenSeven just shook his head.

"Hey…you tell him to leave my mother out of this!" Kraab complained, "Just 'cause he's terrible at cards doesn't make it my problem."

"Guys, I'm reading here," Vulkanus grumbled, "Why does this one have to be so damn wordy? I don't need the play by play…" he scrolled a bit, "So…Tennyson and his gang are watching the old man's shop while him and fish lips have a mating thing." he looked at SevenSeven who said something, "I know what a date is; I just find the concept stupid!" SevenSeven held his hands up, "Well you always talk like I'm stupid! This is why we never invite you to things!" SixSix pointed at his brother as if laughing, earning another smack to his helmet.

"Beats their ballbuster of a sister…" Kraab muttered.

"Oh no…yeah. Your sister is a psycho, SixSix…" Vulkanus muttered, "No offense."

Both brothers waved it off with a shudder. SevenSeven then flinched as he looked at the back of his gauntlet as it showed their Sister EightEight. He flinched and began bashing his gauntlet on the table to try and disconnect the call, all the while SixSix began looking around in worry that their sister bugged their hangout to spy on them should they say something about her.

"See…Psycho," Kraab muttered before looking at Vulkanus, "So what's going on, Vulk?"

"That fish-faced loser cost me a giant haul of Element X. …Well, her and the Tennyson brat back when he was even smaller…" Vulkanus muttered, "If she's out of her little lake, that ship is empty. Element X free for the stealing~"

"A load that big'll set us for a very good life," Kraab noted with a 'grin,' "Though if we do this…and we are doing this, I'm sure there's one thing we can all enjoy out of this…"

"Yeah…" Vulkanus grinned.

"Revenge on Ben Tennyson," the two stated in unison with both SixSix and SevenSeven growling in agreement.

---

Ben shivered suddenly as he was busy looking at his phone with Makoto, "Was there a breeze?" he muttered.

"I didn't feel anything…" Makoto muttered.

"Hmm…Either I'm in danger or I'm coming down with something," Ben muttered.

"You're in danger. If you were sick, I would have detected it in your DNA…and removed it." Skurd explained.

"Babe…are you becoming Spider-Man?" Makoto asked.

"...That would be awesome…but nope…no super sticky fingers here," Ben looked at his hand, "I think I can just feel killing intent aimed at me. I have fought so many bad guys and broken their pride as the supposed best of the best…mostly bounty hunters…"

"I still wanna hear about that time with you in the Null Void while your Omnitrix hand was still on Earth," Makoto noted.

"That was a story…" Ben sighed, "Alright, Drei!" he called out as the Corgi walked over, "Go tell Noel and Lambda that bad guys might show up." Drei barked before waddling back into the store.

"...Oh come on!" Noel's voice complained from the register towards the back of the store.

"Can I sing a war song?" Lamba's voice asked.

"I'd love to hear you sing, La-chan, but now is not the time for a song."

"...Phooey. …No, Bluey, I said 'phooey.' Silly Blupee."

"And they're warned," Ben grinned.

"So best bet is Vulkanus?" Makoto asked.

"Has to be; he is such a petty jerk," Ben sighed.

"Eh. Shouldn't be too hard then," Makoto shrugged, "Just gotta pluck him out of that suit of his…seriously! How his body is so…stubby underneath still baffles me."

"Well…I jammed that little bit of Element X to his back…launched him into a wall of iron ore…kaboom…Maybe he was always tiny and I just blew up his suit?" Ben offered, "But no…a Detrovite buddy of mine was naturally big with a cyborg arm…"

"You know a good one?" Makoto blinked.

"Did I not tell you of the time I was kidnapped and made into a space gladiator slave with Kevin?" Ben blinked.

"...eh?!" Makoto gawked at that, "You were kidnapped and forced to fight?!"

"It was like all of a day…maybe more kinda hard to keep time in space…" Ben muttered, "Short of it is I stopped mutated Kevin from killing a guy, the guy thanked me for the gesture…and swore himself as my servant."

"What?!" Makoto gawked, "You have a loyal Space Gladiator Sidekick!?"

"It was really uncomfortable, I just wanted to send him home." Ben explained, "But then he saved me from Kevin during our mass prison escape, and…not sure what happened after that. I think him and Kevin had a rematch, and don't know what happened, Kevin never answers when I ask…which honestly worries me at times."

"Let's get Gwen on his ass."

"Makoto…"

"Oh come on, you know he can't say 'no' to her."

"True, but still…"

"I admit I am curious as well," Skurd admitted

"Well it is something I wonder about. And depending on the answer…I can turn Kevin's new car into public art for the city," Ben nodded to himself, making Kevin instinctually shudder in fear with that sentence said in his garage several towns over.

"Oh, need some help?" Makoto asked.

"Maybe. But…better to be ready for whoever's on their way," Ben advised.

"Got it," Makoto nodded before her ears twitched, "...oop. What timing…hmm…sounds like…robot crab legs walking and…low guttural growls."

"Kraab and SixSix." Ben sighed as he turned to see the two.

"Long time no see kid." Kraab clicked his claw as SixSix pulled out his guns and aimed it at them.

"Who's…oh it's SixSix and Kraab…" Noel muttered, stepping out to see what was happening.

"Huh...let me guess, collab with Vulkanus?" Ben guessed.

"Well it ain't complicated…we just wanted to mess with your day." Kraab explained.

Everyone then turned to SixSix as he said something, Makoto and Noel looked at Ben.

"Oh…he's just talking smack." Ben explained.

"You understood that?" Lambda asked, poking her head out next.

"It took me a bit but yeah I learned it so I could finally figure out what the heck he and his siblings say." Ben explained.

"So why did you cost on a B average in school again?" Noel asked.

"Good enough to pass, but not so good I had big expectations heaped on me like Gwen." Ben smirked, "Speaking of siblings." Ben tapped the Omnitrix as he turned into Bloxx, he then jumped around and extended his arm and punched SevenSeven out of the sky. He slammed both hands into the ground and extended them to push his body into the sky, before he jumped and slammed down on Kraab, "Just cause SevenSeven has the more silent jetpack doesn't mean you can get around the eyes on the back of my head,"

"Or rather arm~" Skurd smirked, forming FourArms namesakes as he began punching Kraab while they held him in place.

SixSix shouted and aimed only to be blindsided when Makoto kicked his guns out of his hands, the alien bounty hunter flinching only to be punched and sent up into the air. SixSix blinked as Makoto already jumped up to meet him. Meanwhile SevenSeven groaned before grunting when his little brother was slammed down on him like a hammer by Makoto swinging SixSix by his leg.

"Get…off!" Kraab grunted as Bloxx held his giant claw down and prevented him from reaching his sword, all the while Skurd pummeled his armor with Tetramand fists.

"Now why would we do that?" Bloxx asked, as he began reforming himself around Kraab till he formed a small house around him with the alien's head sticking out from the top. A moment later Bloxx reformed his body and stepped away from Kraab, "Chill out for a sec," he smiled.

"Grr….damn brat…" Kraab growled.

"You guys sure sounded like some kind of cyborg Boba Fett, but so far Ben's kicked your butts like business as usual." Makoto taunted as the two brothers got up.

SevenSeven groaned something as SixSix growled, but the two flinched when they were hit by two bricks from Bloxx who formed both arms into cannons.

"They said: We don't know what a Boba is." Bloxx translated as he landed next to Makoto, "Trust me I used that joke on them a lot. It kind of upsets them." he raised his arms as Skurd extended to both and began coating them in Heatblast's skin, turning them into two flaming cannons.

"It's so obvious right?" Makoto smiled.

"Eh…I know someone way cooler." Bloxx smirked before he began shooting flaming bricks at them making both flinch and begin running.

"So if the Three stooges are here, that must mean Vulkanus is chasing down the Baumans!" Makoto realized.

"He must be stopped!" Noel shouted as she moved to run, only for Lambda to stop her by the collar of her shirt, "GH!"

"No, we stay here and run the store." Lambda sighed.

"But…he's going to ruin romance~"

"No…store."

"Mmm…" Noel pouted.

"We need to take care of these idiots then we can go after Vulkanus!" Bloxx stated as he was having a fire fight with the Bounty Hunter brothers who found cover behind a car and began shooting back.

"...Is that Mr Bauman's…" Noel blinked.

"Acceptable loss." Lambda replied, "Ben can repair as Clockwork."

"..."

"...Did…Did you forget you could do that?" Makoto asked, looking at Bloxx as he looked more like a statue than fighter at the moment.

"Considering I'm the one shooting? Yes," Skurd muttered.

"I keep forgetting how useful time powers really are…" Bloxx muttered, "Oh wow…so many problems…fixed…"

"Got gotta make sure the girl's aren't near when you do happen to do it," Skurd stated.

"Hey I've been getting better….ish at not throwing up time portals thanks to Lambda," Bloxx argued.

"My collection and the wish list I got from Makoto are filling out." Lambda gave double victory hand signs.

"Later, just beat them down!" Makoto ordered as the two poked their heads over the car.

"Actually this works out." Bloxx smiled as he clapped his arms together before reforming into a giant stationary cannon before firing a giant block of bricks that were ignited ablaze and into the car making it explode and send both bounty hunters flying.

"BEN!" Makoto and Noel gawked.

"He said it works out." Lambda muttered.

"But he didn't have to literally do it!"

"I got it covered," Bloxx stated, "Don't worry about it, for once I have something planned."

"Forgive me if I'm skeptical…" Noel muttered.

"Well I gotta deal with Vulkanus, Noel take your 15 minute break and deal with Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb over here." Bloxx pointed to the Sotoraggian siblings as they where dazed from the explosion.

"I'll allow it," Lambda muttered as she picked up Drei, "We shall cheer you on, Sister."

"Well it's not the romance ruiner…but it will do," Noel sighed, removing her apron and hanging it on its designated hook.

"Don't hurt them too badly," Lambda stated as she raised her hand and held up Drei's paw to make him wave at Noel, "There is an impressionable little one here."

"Oh, I know…and if they think about harming my sweet whittle boy…oh…" Noel paused as she summoned Bolverk in one hand while unsheathing Funkfreed with the other, a glint appearing in her eye, "There will be repercussions…"

"I almost feel bad for them…and the moment has passed." Bloxx shrugged, flashing back to Ben, he tapped the Omnitrix and after a moment his bike drove itself up to him and Makoto.

"We will bop him for you, Noellie!" Makoto called out as they got on and put on helmets before driving off.

"Thank you!" Noel called out as she turned Bolverk into a gatling gun and began pelting the Sotoraggian brothers with bullets, damaging their armor, weapon pouches and backpacks…making them have to run for it.

"...Sometimes she worries me," Lambda whispered, keeping a hand over Drei's eyes while Bluey used his ears to hide his own, while Noel pursued them on her gallant sword that can transform into an elephant from another universe.

---

Meanwhile, down in Undertown, the loving couple of Mr. Buaman and Sheelane were in the midst of a very nice day around the alien town. They had gone to all the places the aquatic dwelling alien wanted to see, which didn't feel like much, just the many shops and places to visit if one were touring a town they'd never been to. Which for her, even after 10 years on this world, was the first time she ever had to see the alien town that was built around her subterranean home. It was the most normal Date between an elderly human and an aquatic alien lifeform from beyond the stars one could imagine. But to them? It was the single most wonderful afternoon of their lives, because they could spend it together. A luxury the star-crossed lovers didn't have every day.

"It is…rather surprising to see Techadon robots be as docile as they are here," Sheelane admitted, holding Mr. Bauman's arm with her two as they watched a group of them working on construction.

"The little lady who owns the dehydrated factory for them has a way with artificial intelligence," Mr. Bauman noted before a yelp made them look to see Celica looking around in utter confusion, "Speaking off…Lost again, Celica?"

"Hm? Oh! I didn't end up in your store again, did I, Mr. Bauman?"

"No, no. You're still in Undertown," he assured, "Sheelane, Celica. Celica, Sheelane."

"Oh! A pleasure to meet you, miss," Celica greeted with a curtsy.

"Oh my. Such a well mannered young lady," Sheelane noted with a light giggle.

"She's a sweet girl, but…" Mr. Bauman leaned close to Sheelane, "She's rather terrible at directions."

"Oh~ I see…"

"Celica, next time? Just ask your robots to guide you," Mr. Bauman sighed.

"Oh but they have so much work to do already. I feel bad making them take time to do such things," Celica argued, "Besides I can do it! I'm a big girl!"

"Are all Earth Children this adorable?" Sheelane giggled.

"Hmm…" Bauman rolled his eyes at the idea of Ben being included in that statement, "Celica, you have more Robots…"

"...Is it okay to wake them? What if they enjoy being sleepyheads?" Celica muttered in thought, "Well, we have needed more hands with repairs here and there…and security…oh and mail delivery!"

"Why are kids always so stubborn?" Mr. Bauman sighed.

"We don't know. We just think about how to do what we can in the moment," Celica nodded as if in agreement with an equal, but was forgetting she was one of these 'kids' in his perspective or that she admitted it also, something that made Sheelane giggle.

"Well, it's been a pleasure to meet you, Celica," Sheelane spoke.

"Oh likewise, but I really must be off. I'd hate to eat up more of your time," Celica smiled, "Now I think it was…this way." she smiled walking off, only for a Techadon Robot with a map-print tie on its neck to walk out, pick her up…and carry her off, "Ah, Mappy~! I was gonna figure it out~"

"...Sometimes that girl worries me," Mr. Bauman admitted with a mutter.

"I could see why. Such a nice girl with a poor sense of directions…nothing but trouble for her loved ones," Sheelane agreed.

"Yes…but I assure you that today will not be trouble for either of us," Mr. Bauman assured her with a smile, "Now come…there's another spot I'd love you to see."

"Oh Iggy…" Sheelane smiled as the two began to walk off…unaware of Vulkanus and his men spying on the two.

"Mmm…not much we can do with these Techadon bots around…they do just as much damage as they repair if you set them off…" Vulkanus whispered, "Hopefully the boys are keeping Tennyson and his mate busy…"

---

"Don't you run, SixSix!" Noel shouted as the Bounty Hunter was scrambling up a tree to try and escape her. As for SevenSeven…he was pinned under the posterior of a magical sword turned pachyderm.

"Three minutes left…" Lambda spoke as she sat on a tipped over encased Kraab.

"I hate this planet…" Kraab groaned, Bluey sitting on his head.

---

"I'm sure they got it handled…" Vulkanus muttered as he began following after from a distance, "Once I get back into fish lips's cave, I can get that Element X…and whatever I can salvage from that ship of hers." he then turned to see three of his men standing on one another, "What are you three doin'?" they slid a large coat and fedora on, "Oh nice thinkin'. No way those bots could see past that. Go get' em while I sneak along."

The top one saluted as they began walking after the couple. Vulkanus and the rest of his Pick-Ax aliens smirked as they slinked off to take a less seen route and follow the three who went ahead in disguise. Altogether not a bad plan for tailing a target, except if only literally everyone but the loving couple noticed how weird three Pick-Ax aliens in a trench coat and fedora stood out.

"Babe, you see that right?" Makoto muttered as they came to a stop to spot the same sight.

"Huh…I tried that as Ditto to get into a PG13 action movie once…" Ben muttered, "Knew it was stupid then, still stupid now."

"You tried what with Ditto?" Makoto asked with a giggle.

"I was ten," Ben muttered.

"Ah, don't be annoyed. I did the same with my oldest younger sibs when we were kids. Ma grounded us for a week!"

"Yeah, well…you didn't timeout five minutes into the beginning of the movie and alert the entire theater," Ben chuckled, "Still that means Vulkanus is following them to Sheelane's ship…which has the Element X. Honestly, with how much Undertown expanded into those old tunnels…I kinda forgot my way there, too."

"We've got lava pits in the west, an underwater ship in the east, the Kaka Clan village to the north. All we need is something in the south and the place has everything," Makoto noted in amusement.

"Don't forget Ragna's Sheriff Station in the middle of town." Ben chuckled, "Now what can we put in the South?" he mused.

"Eh, we can figure it out as we sneak after the dummies going after Mr. Bauman and Sheelane," Makoto replied.

"Good point," Ben smiled, he turned the bike around and followed after them at a slow pace, the Pick-Ax aliens none the wiser that they themselves were being followed.

---

"...Why am I not surprised?" Tsubaki sighed as she, Max, and Sari finally made it to Bauman's store…and were informed about what just happened.

SixSix muttered in a corner with SevenSeven in another…both smoldering with bullet marks on their armor.

"This is even worse," Kraab groaned in another, still trapped…but Bluey was putting a dunce cap on him with Funkfreed's trunk acting as a platform for him to reach the alien's head.

=Isn't that the language that's on Makoto's magic tablet?= Steel asked from his spot in Max's chest armor, looking at the writing on the cap.

"It is what Bluey defaults to," Lambda explained.

"...Bluey knows how to write?" Max asked.

"I am the best Blupee owner," Lambda stated.

"Technically you're the only Blupee owner; and, since you have the one…that's never going to change," Tsubaki muttered.

"Well you can't be sure. Bluey is magic." Lambda smiled.

"Can you please take me to jail?" Kraab groaned, "Oh, and they are begging you not to call their sister…just leave them in their cells for however long." He turned his head to the Sotoraggian siblings…where Bluey was putting the same dunce caps on them.

"That's just adding insult to injury," Max noted.

"Mr. Bauman doesn't sell boots," Lambda explained.

"Yeah, I still don't get what that means…" Max muttered to Tsubaki.

"You and I both," Tsubaki agreed, "Let's just read them their rights, put them in the cells, and make sure the paperwork is properly filled out."

=Yeah, I got that down to a system by now, don't worry= Steel assured =Still hard to believe these three used to give Ben so much trouble…=

"He used to be a lot dumber…" Kraab reasoned, "Also now that he has a mate…he shows off for her a lot."

"Okay that kinda makes sense." Max shrugged to Tsubaki and Sari in understanding.

"To be fair, how many crazy people has Ben faced since first meeting these guys?" Sari asked.

"From the stories…a lot." Lambda muttered.

"True." Noel shrugged as she held Drei in her arms.

"...still, that begs to question…" Tsubaki began as she approached Kraab, "Where's Vulkanus?"

"Hmm?"

"I've read reports that you two collaborated in the past…sometimes with SixSix and SevenSeven," the redhead stated with a frown, "And given it's just you three here…you're acting more like decoys while he pursuits Mr. Bauman and his friend. So, tell us what he's planning…or else."

"Or else what? I've already been humiliated today by Tennyson, his mate, and the girl with the transforming guns and elephant sword," Kraab retorted before a paper ball bounced off his head, "And one ghost rabbit."

"...Max, what time is it?"

"Should be around lunch time, b…ohh~"

"Oh you poor souls," Sari shook her head with an amused smile.

"...hey. What's that supposed to mean?" Kraab demanded as Tsubaki walked into the store…and carried out a fairly large yellowtail tuna as she handed Noel the money, "...what? You're gonna slap me with a fish?"

"No…but you are going to crack so to speak," Tsubaki replied as she put the fish down.

"Pfft! Please…like you're gonna get me to…"

"FISH~!"

"Wh-" Kraab began before Taokaka pounded right on top of him, having snatched the fish from the ground as she began munching on it, "Ooof!"

"Nya~ Yellowtail~" Tao mewled in delight.

"...Oh Celestialsapiens…Not one of those crazy cat girls…" Kraab groaned in realization.

"Yes…one of them," Sari smiled a bit, "And if you spill the beans...we'll have her leave you alone…if not….Tao?"

"Hmm?" Tao blinked, gnawing on the fish bones at the moment as she looked up, "Nyes, Electric Lady, nya?"

"We'll give you another yellowtail…if you annoy the big crab guy you're sitting on," Sari stated.

"...mmm….Tao promised Shikanoko we would relax and listen to music, nya…" Tao pondered.

"We'll treat ya to meatbuns then," Max offered.

"NYA?!" Tao happily beamed at that.

"Oh no," Kraab gulped.

"Mind telling us where Vulkanus is then?" Tsubaki questioned.

SevenSeven let out a few growls to Kraab, as if telling him to not cave in to their threats.

"Nyeh! Tao ain't stupid! You're a stupid head, nya!" Tao snapped at him.

"You understood that?" Tsubaki blinked.

"...Can't everybody, nya?" Tao tilted her head.

"...Nevermind," Tsubaki muttered with a sweatdrop.

"She's an i-pfft! An i-pfft! An i-pfft!" Kraab sputtered each time Taokaka's tail smacked into his face, "Stop i-pfft! Stop it, you mangy f-pfft! Feline!"

"But Tao is just moving her tail, nya."

"Yes! In my face!"

"Oh this will not end well," Sari smiled.

"Nope," Max smirked.

"This seems a bit far though…" Noel whispered.

=Oh please…this is far= Steel spoke as he floated over to Tao =Hey Tao, make the most annoying sound in the world!=

"Okay!" Tao beamed before taking a deep breath…before she began to make a loud scream, "NYEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH~~~~!"

"OKAY OKAY OKAY! HE WENT TO CAPTURE FISH LIPS FOR THE ELEMENT X STASH AND HER SHIP!" Kraab snapped, "JUST PLEASE SHUT HER UP!"

"Okay," Lambda put her hand over Tao's mouth, "You can get treats now."

"MMM~!" Tao gave a muffled cheer at that.

"I'm sure Ben is handling things," Noel spoke, Drei barking happily in agreement.

"Yeah…just in case? I'm going to go check on things," Tsubaki sighed.

"We'll deal with these three," Max smiled.

"Oh I'll Hel-Gh!" Noel grunted as she was dragged back into the store by Lambda.

"No you won't," Lambda stated firmly, "You are too nosy."

"I am getting tired of this bit, La-Chan!" Noel pouted.

"One of us has to be the mature one, sister…"

"Mmm~"

---

"Ignacious, why are we here?" Sheelane couldn't help but ponder, the two standing near the lake cave her ship was hidden in, "Our special day is not over, is it?"

"Oh far from it," Mr. Bauman assured, "I know it takes years until we can see eachother again, but…what if we don't have to?"

"Hmm?"

"I may know some people that might be able to help," he explained, "If things work…we won't have to wait so long…"

"Oh that would be a dream come true," Sheelane noted with a smile, the two leaning in for a kiss until…

"Bleck! What a load of drivel!"

"?!" the two tensed as they quickly turned, seeing Vulkanus and his goons standing not too far away from them.

"Vulkanus…!" Mr. Bauman growled as he defensively got before Sheelane, "You were blown to bits!"

"Almost blown to bits," Vulkanus corrected with a grin, "After that tiny little bit of Element X blew up, you probably thought that nothing survived…Ha! You were wrong! Though my beautiful body was destroyed, I crawled through the tunnels until one of my loyal minions found me and hooked me up with a regeneration suit! ...Granted it'll still take a while for my body to fully regenerate, but in the meantime…" he paused as his gaze turned towards Sheelane, "I have some unfinished business to take care of with the fish."

"Oh no you don't!" Mr. Bauman frowned, getting in front of her.

"Oh this is rich, you think you can do something little man. The only reason you got away is cause you had Tennyson, and let's face it you probably yelled at him to stay far away." Vulkanus laughed.

"Does everyone know about how much his destruction upsets me?" he blinked.

"Well…you don't exactly paint him generously." Sheelane muttered.

"Now…" Vulkanus lifted his arm, only to flinch when his arm was grabbed, making him turn to see FourArms.

"Surprise!" he smirked, lifting Vulkanus and swinging around, before tossing him into a rock, "Sorry Mr. B, I just couldn't stay away, hope you will accept my apology for this…and your car~"

"D'oh!" Bauman grunted, "Again…Ben…" he sighed.

"Relax, I got a present for you anyway! A good one."

"Hmm?" Mr. Bauman blinked at that.

"RAAGH!" Vulkanus roared as he bursted out of the rubble, "Butt out, Tennyson! This is between me and Fish Lips!"

"Know what I say to that, buddy?" Makoto's voice called out from above, making him look up to see Makoto shooting down towards him, "SURPRISE PU-" she began before an iron lock wrapped around her, "!?"

"Didn't think I was prepared, huh?" Vulkanus grinned as one of his men lowered a cannon, "Strong enough to keep you locked up…meaning for me…" he paused before he smacked Bauman away, grabbing Sheelane before she could check on him, "I can get my stash...and double my hostages! But if it doesn't work…well, I haven't eaten yet today…"

"Oh you sick f-!" Makoto began before a metal panel was fired on top of her mouth, "MMM!"

"Be lucky it'll let ya breathe," Vulkanus stated as he picked her up and ran for the water.

"Vulkanus! You…!" FourArms began with a roar, chasing after him before Vulkanus' goons got in front of him and piled on top, "Hey! Get...off!" he yelled as he swung them off him, causing them to crash into the side of the cave. However, by the time he got them off…Vulkanus was already gone, meaning he was already underwater.

"...Oh, he is dead," Skurd whispered, FourArms unaware of one of the Pick-Ax aliens began to get up and aimed the cannon at him, preparing to fire before…

*CLANG*

"?" Fourarms blinked, snapping out of his anger for a moment to see Tsubaki sheathing her sword, "Tsubaki? Wh-"

"No time. You check on Mr. Bauman," Tsubaki stated as she put a breathing mask over her face while tapping a button on her wrist, causing more divesuit-like armor to form over her Proto-Armor, "I'm gonna hold Vulkanus off in the meantime…" she informed before rushing towards the water and dove in.

"Mr. Bauman!" FourArms rushed to his side, "You okay?" he asked, changing back to Ben so he could conserve some energy for his next transformation.

"Ngh…yeah…that brute blindsided me…" Mr. Bauman grunted as Ben helped him up, "Tch…I should've known he'd try and follow us just to get Sheelane's supply of Element X...and now he has her and your girl…"

"Yeah…well, he's gonna be sorry he..." Ben began as he reached for the Omnitrix.

"Ben, wait," Mr. Bauman held a hand up, making him stop, "Sheelane's ship is the only place on Earth she can live...if it ends up being destroyed in the crossfire…" he quickly shook his head, "Nevermind...I need you to rush me back to the shop. I got something there for Vulkanus…"

"..."

"...Please. You know what it's like to be in love. I…I can't lose Sheelane to that monster; and if he gets his way…you'll lose Makoto, too," Bauman explained, a worried tone in his voice, "Just please…help me save her."

"Alright," Ben nodded, "Just let me turn into someone with an express trip to places." he dialed the Omnitrix before tapping it and turning into Portaler, "One express portal to the shop coming up!" he held his arms out and formed a portal, he then picked Mr. Bauman up and ran through it, the portal opening right in front of the Lima Bean pyramid which they knocked over, "Okay, that might have been my bad…"

"Ah…leave it," Mr. Bauman waved off, "Head to the back." he ordered.

"I'm moving as fast as the stumpy legs can go! You are deceptively heavy for a little old man!" Portaler complained, "What? Do ya have rocks in yer pockets!?" he demanded as he dropped him in front of the door leading to the back.

"From the cave," Mr. Bauman admitted, reaching into his pockets as he pulled out some rocks, "They remind me of Sheelane…"

"...Eh, dat's fair," Portaler admitted, "I keep an acorn charm under my shirt fer Makoto myself."

"So I see that love can have a profound effect on all men," Mr. Bauman smirked.

"Oh come on! I just cleaned here!" Noel complained, finding the ruined Lima Bean pyramid, "Okay, who's the wise person who's getting a scolding?"

"...You grab da thing ya need. Fast," Portaler whispered, both men sporting wide eyes, "Before either of us gets dat scoldin'."

"Got it," Mr. Bauman whispered.

"So what is this thing you need anyways?" Skurd asked as Mr. Bauman.

"Oh not much…" Mr. Bauman began as he pushed the doors opened, walking in before stopping before a tarped object, "Just a little swap I had made with Azmuth himself. Was gonna be a surprise for Sheelane, but…" he paused as he pulled the tarp off.

"...It's gonna be one heck of a surprise fer Vulkanus," Portaler smirked.

---

"Come on! I ain't got all day!" Vulkanus shouted at his men, who were picking away at Sheelane's ship, as he held both Sheelane and Makoto in his hands.

"Iggy's going to destroy you," Sheelane frowned as she glared at Vulkanus.

"Ha! We're a mile down…" Vulkanus laughed at that, "Humans don't do well under pressure…"

"Mmm~" Makoto gave a muffled growl at that.

"You, on the other hand, are no normal Earthlings…heh. May sell you to a slave trader or something fer some quick cash once I'm off planet," Vulkanus grinned at the Beastkin.

=And that's another on your list of ever growing charges right now, Vulkanus=

"Wh-" Vulkanus began as he turned, only to cry out as the arm holding Makoto was soon sliced off, "GAH!"

'Really have to thank Jubei-san for those pressure training courses…even if they were…unbearable at times,' Tsubaki thought, quickly swimming down to the arm Makoto was trapped in as she used her sword to pry the hand open =Makoto, are you okay?=

"Mmm hmm," Makoto gave a thumbs up in response…before she rapidly began to point at the piece of metal covering her mouth.

=Hold still= Tsubaki ordered as she used the tip of her sword to carefully slice the metal off just as Makoto pulled out her own breathing mask, the Beastkin quickly putting it on so she wouldn't drown.

=Whoo…thank you!= Makoto sighed in relief =Now if you'll excuse me...I have a midget in a metal suit to punch!=

"Not a midget! My body's still regenerating!" Vulkanus snapped.

=Shut up, Baby Legs!= Makoto snapped.

"Grrr!"

=And just you wait 'till Ben hears what you said! He's gonna rip off your arms and beat you with them, then mount them with the rest!=

"I knew it! I knew he kept them as trophies!" Vulkanus shouted in anger.

=Yeah? Well, you're a garbage person!=

"Oh yeah?! Well I'm gonna be stinkin' rich once I get that stash of Element X!" Vulkanus argued as he raised an arm to taunt them only to blink as it was gone with something swimming past, "...Oh no…" he turned to see Ripjaws with Vulkanus's entire arm in his jaws.

=HAH! You fell for it again! I was waiting for Ben to get here!=

"DAMN YOU!"

"Grrr…" Ripjaws bit through the arm, "Vulkanus…" he growled.

"Oh no…" Vulkanus muttered, hearing the anger in his voice.

"Oh yes…" Skurd countered as Ripjaws tore the hand holding Sheelane open, "Mr. Bauman, the lady is yours…"

"Wh-" Sheelane began as she began to float down, only to be caught by Mr. Bauman as he wore a large white suit with magenta glowing lights on it, "?! Iggy!"

=Not how I wanted to show you my surprise, but well drastic situations= He laughed, =Took me some dealing to get a favor from Azmuth himself=

"Not the arm! Not the arm!" Vulkanus cried as Ripjaws roared and slammed him into the ground of the lake before tearing into his suit with his namesake, "He's not listening! He's too far gone!" he panicked as chunks of metal were ripped out.

=Don't tell him…but I actually don't mind when he's destructive to jerks like that Detrovite bully= Bauman smiled to Sheelane.

=Go for the legs, babe!= Makoto cheered, punching a Pick-Ax alien in the face and knocking its breathing mask off.

=Well, he's clearly making a point…= Tsubaki muttered, slashing another of the Pick-Ax grunts, =Get Sheelane to safety, Mr. Bauman! We'll keep Vulkanus and his men away from her ship!=

=Got it!= he called out, using his suit to float away from the fight so he could get Sheelane free of her bindings.

=Oh no you don't!= Makoto called out as she tackled a few Pick-Ax aliens before they could pounce the two =You and your boss ruined a perfectly nice day for them…you're gonna get hurt bad=

"No, not the suit! Not the suit!" Vulkanus begged as Ripjaws chomped away at his armor, picking it apart piece by piece before tearing the legs right off, "GAH!" he snapped in anger before he ejected out of the suit…showing he was in a small baby seat with controls, "Gah...I put good money into that suit, too!"

"Aww…looks like you're finally putting on some weight there babylegs." Ripjaws spoke as he grabbed Vulkanus before he could float away, "Who knows…a few more years and you might be threatening again." he taunted as he rocked him around, "Who's a dangerous space criminal?" he teased, his gravely and deep voice making that more threatening than intended.

"Stop! Make it stop! Your voice and that face is the thing of nightmares!" Vulkanus cried as Ripjaws leaned in to show off his teeth.

"Okay, Baby Legs!" he swung Vulkanus around and used him to bash in several Pick-Ax goons before spinning around and hitting several more, "Come on, guys, let's play a game…" he swung his tail back before swinging it up and using it to his Vulkanus and send him flying up through the water, "Punt the baby!"

"I'm not a baby!" Vulkanus shouted as he broke the surface of the water, his goons scrambling to swim up and catch him. But this just left them open for Ripjaws to pick them off one at a time with multiple passes. By the time Vulkanus dunked back into the water, he was grabbed by Ripjaws, "Please enough! Mercy!"

"Hmmm…I don't know. Have you been a good baby?" Ripjaws taunted.

"...I'm afraid to answer that…"

=Oh really? Like how you were planning on selling me to a slave trader!?= Makoto called as she paused in punching a Pick-Ax alien.

"You were what?" Ripjaws growled at that as he glared at Vulkanus.

"No! No No No NO!" Vulkanus cried as Ripjaws began swimming in large loops that began picking up speed, "Ahahahaa! MERCY!" he sobbed as he was slapped out of the water upon stopping, the combined force and momentum sending him straight up and bashing his head into the cave ceiling, "OOF! ...Pancakes…" he slurred as he fell onto the side of the lake, "...leem ash him...I…bite his fash off…" he slurred as his remaining Pick-Ax aliens picked him up and began to flee as fast as they could.

"Oh he better pray he doesn't encounter us again," Skurd whispered as Mr. Bauman was trying to get the metal lock off of Sheelane.

=So many gadgets. Azmuth really goes overboard…= Mr. Bauman muttered, going through the different tools inside his suit's fingertips.

=Want us to take care of it Mr. B?= Makoto asked, pointing to Tsubaki's sword.

=...if you girls so kindly would= Mr. Bauman replied as he moved out of the way.

=Understood= Tsubaki nodded before slashing down a bit, slicing the metal lock in half as Sheelane's arms were freed.

"Oh Iggy!" Sheelane beamed as she hugged Mr. Bauman, "Iggy...you saved the day."

"What are we? Chopped…no no. Not ruining the moment," Ripjaws whispered to himself as he crossed his arms.

=As I mentioned…this suit was gonna be my surprise to you= Mr. Bauman explained to Sheelane =Now I can come down here as I please, so…= he paused as he held up one of his suit's fingers, causing it to open to let a small metal claw hold up a small piece of gold metal.

"Ahh! Where did you find a Thalassian lip implant?" Sheelane gasped as she took it and put it underneath her lower lip, "It's perfect!"

=I saved up a lot of money for it…for this special day= Mr. Bauman smiled as he took her hand into his =Sheelane…will you marry me?=

"Oh Iggy!" she smiled, leaning in to kiss him, granted the glass was between them, but the two lovers were so enamored it might as well not even exist for them at this moment.

"I…I think I'm gonna cry…" Ripjaws sniffled, "Or maybe I am crying…I can't tell."

"Aw, Babe~" Makoto smiled as she hugged him.

"It is so creepy hearing you talk as Ripjaws…" Tsubaki muttered.

"I was angry…I wanted to make Vulkanus regret his choice in kidnapping my girl and...well now Mrs. Bauman."

"...fair point."

"I just love happy endings…" Skurd sighed.

---

"?!" Noel tensed as she paused in restacking the lima-bean display, "...I feel like I missed something really important…and romantic…"

"Stop being weird," Lambda spoke, walking past her.

"Love is not weird!" Noel defended.

"But you are, sister," Lambda replied, Bluey nodding.

"Mmm~! But I feel it…"

"...Let me check…" Max sighed, putting down a crate as he pulled his phone out and began to text, "'Everything okay on your end?'" he waited a few moments for a reply before his phone buzzed, "...oh."

"Oh?" Sari blinked as she finished fixing a display.

"Mr. Bauman just proposed to Sheelane."

"I KNEW IT!" Noel declared, the volume of her voice making the Lima Bean display fall over.

"Mmm…" Drei whined, covering his eyes with his paws at that.

"Paon…" Funkfreed muttered before petting Drei on the head gently with his trunk.

"Sister…" Lambda sighed, "...still...I am happy for Mr. Bauman."

"Same!" Noel cheered, "Oh, I knew he had someone special! And he's getting married, too~!"

"Paon," Funkfreed trumpeted as he gently tapped her shoulder and then gestured to the pile of lima bean cans when she looked at him.

"Funkfreed is correct. Fantasize later about their wedding, stack the lima beans now," Lambda stated.

"D'oh. Curse you, responsibility…" Noel muttered.

---

"Okay, Ben…what's your surprise?" Mr. Bauman sighed, seeing the smoldering remains of his car, "You're lucky I'm in a good mood or I'd be more angry about this."

"Well this works out 'cause I got you a replacement anyway," Ben smiled as he tapped the Omnitrix, making a Groundbridge open behind them as a green and gold colored car drove out by itself, looking like a muscle car with two separated spoilers attached to the back.

"You got me a car?" Mr. Bauman blinked.

"Well…He's not just a car," Ben explained.

"...He?" Mr. Bauman blinked.

"Captain Springer?" Ben smiled as Mr. Bauman noticed the red insignia on the grill of the car, before it began to open up and unfolded with an iconic sound before standing up to reveal a tall Cybertronian with the Autobot insignia on his chest, "Mr. Bauman, meet the retired Autobot Elite Guard Captain, Springer. He's been teaching me how to control my Cybertronian modes and how to fight with them."

"Sir," Springer saluted.

"Bwah…wha…I…" Mr. Bauman gawked, "You got a Cybertronian War Hero to replace my car?"

"Well Kevin so far has failed spectacularly to make an Anti-Ben car…so that was off the table," Ben muttered, "What better than a car that can protect itself? You're both old guys and Springer is retired from active service, so he just wants a nice place to park around and relax."

"Well I've taught him all I can. If anything, he's good at learning how to wreck things. A real Wrecker, this kid is," Springer laughed, "But my days as a soldier are behind me. There are plenty of young talents taking care of things. I figured I would stick around this infamous Bellwood, see what happens."

"I didn't know about your suit, but I figured, hey, you got someone to hang around with while you can't go down with the Misses, and he can guard the store. You know, no more supervillain customers," Ben teased a little.

"Oh…" Mr. Bauman grumbled before laughing, "Okay…yeah I deserved that. I've been a little harsh over the years."

"But to be fair…I did cause a lot of damage," Ben stated, "And I'm sorry, but consider this an engagement…wedding…something present for you. Not sure what to get Mrs. Bauman honestly, so kinda hoping this peace offering can help wipe the Ben Ledger."

"Hahaha…Consider us even after all you've done for me and Sheelane, Ben," Mr. Bauman smiled, "In a weird way…I should thank you. The day I met Sheelane, you asked why I was so lonely. That led to the series of events where I met her." he explained, "But don't go getting a big head over this, you're still a walking Wrecking machine."

"I kinda like that, a Wrecker." Ben chuckled, "But I wish you nothing but happiness with the soon to be Mrs. Bauman."

"Thank you Ben, and I wish you happiness in the future with your special girl. Treat her right, son," he patted Ben's shoulder.

"After all this time, I think I finally understood what that means thanks to her," Ben smiled, "If Vulkanus ever shows up again, just call me."

"We will," Mr. Bauman smiled, "Now get out of here before you bring my store down again."

"Oh, I refuse to deny that claim. I'm a real Wrecker when it comes to things," Ben admitted.

'May need to suggest that name for that team that's being put together by Warpath,' Springer thought.

"Hmm…Sheelane's right. He's a good kid, when he wants to be," Mr. Bauman chuckled to himself.

---

SixSix and SevenSeven muttered and growled as they sat next to each other in their cell. To think they had been humiliated so bad…by a human girl of all things. What's more…thanks to Vulkanus, they failed in not only getting the Element X-which, now that they think about it…he'd probably end up stiffing them and Kraab out of their pay-...but also getting revenge on Ben Tennyson. However, there was a brightside to this…at least they get to stay away from their psychopath of a sister for a long while.

"Hey NumberNumber Brothers!" Makoto called out, tapping the glass to their cell, "Congrats, guys! You made bail!" she smiled.

"?!" the two tensed. They made bail? how did they make bail? Kraab was the only one who would do that for them and he's locked up on the other side.

"Oh scrap!" Kraab shouted as someone walked past his cell, "Guys, run! It's her!" sure enough, EightEight walked up to the cell with her arms crossed over her chest.

SixSix shrieked as he ran and tried to claw his way through the wall to escape. SevenSeven looked around before standing still, waiting for whatever would happen.

"I'll give you a moment to reprimand your brothers," Makoto smirked, opening the cell and letting EightEight enter.

The optics of EightEight's helmet glowed ominous…yet angrily as she glared at her brothers…who were now panicking as SevenSeven tried joining SixSix in trying to claw through the wall to escape. EightEight tapped her foot as she crossed her arms over her chest. SevenSeven finally stopped clawing, slumped, and walked over to the bunks. He took a pillow off, removed its cover, folded it twice…before tying it over the visor part of his mask.

"Smart guy," Makoto noted, "But also stupid because that won't work on making it any less painful."

SixSix just paled as EightEight began to approach the two…He knew he shouldn't have fallen for Vulkanus' ideas….and he was gonna hurt him next time he sees him…if he and SevenSeven get out of their sister's wrath alive.

---

SZ: ...yeah there's no way SixSix and SevenSeven are getting out of there without broken limbs or something…

GT: This was pretty fun to adapt.

Z0: Indeed, our weird world offered a lot of nonsense to use. Well Three chapters to go, on the road to 100.

GT: And I'm excited for what Chapter 100 is~!

Z0: Three more chapters! This is a feat for us…WE SHALL ACCOMPLISH IT!

GT: Yosha~! Please Read and Review, folks! We appreciate them!

SZ: Yeh…and sadly we may not make the time for the anniversary…but hopefully once we hit ch 100, it'll more than make up for it.