I don't own Ben 10.
Chapter 35: It's About Time.
MetLife Stadium; East Rutherford, New Jersey; February 18th, 2018; 1:04PM.
A searing hot, clawed fist plunged through the concrete rubble, pulling Vilgax out from under several hundred tons of debris with ease; slowly getting to a standing position, he huffed as pressurized steam ignited from his respirator. A crimson explosion signified the defeat of Celestial as he returned to his human form, using twin beams of emerald energy to cut through the debris pinning him, floating up out of the rubble with a weary expression. A trickle of blood slowly cascaded down the right corner of his lip and left nostril, he huffed exhaustedly as obviously his most powerful transformations took more energy out of him than he expected them to.
Vilgax crushed the concrete beneath his armored heel with every ominous step, Ben was nearly out of options, the only transformations left in the Cosmic Playlist were far too dangerous to utilize in battle, not here on Earth at least. Even his second most powerful transformation would scorch the entire planet in one attack with inextinguishable dimensional flames.
The warlord flashed his simmering, red-hot armored claws as he nonchalantly approached the hero, he'd underestimated his opponent just like Vilgax had done all of those years ago. There was once a time where Way Big alone could one shot the tyrant but, now even using far more powerful forms, he still couldn't seem to win.
Instinctively, Ben used Master Control to switch into Fourarms just as Vilgax gripped him by the face with his burning claws forcing an agonizing growl from the Tetramand just as he used incredible strength to force Fourarms into the dirt back first, pinned by his face. All four of his arms pulling against Vilgax's strength with all his might didn't seem to even faze the evil villain. "The power protects you no longer, Ben Tennyson!"
Just as Vilgax was about to deliver the finishing blow, something stopped everything, Fourarms felt the grip on his face loosen as something had happened with his eyes covered. In a feat of blinding speed, an armored enhanced Kinceleran raced in a almost fifteen-times the speed of light, using his razor sharp claws to do exactly what he swore he would.
Vilgax's head slowly slid off his body, several tendrils flopping to the ground as the speed combined with the cybernetic armor allowed XLR8 to cleave through his durability as though it were made of butter. His tentacled face hit the floor in front of Fourarms, who was splattered in green blood, the same green blood he spent months trying to scrub off his hands out of guilt, he was flabbergasted. All four of his eyes wide in shock and horror, what would have taken all the conviction and strength in his will power to do, Kenneth didn't even hesitate to perform.
Kenneth transformed from the Kinceleran with a bright flash of emerald light into Heatblast using the cybernetic armor to add silver metallic gauntlets to either forearm allowing for increased temperature emission whenever he attacked, they wrapped around his fists like jet-engines emitting a high-pitched whine while charging.
Just as he did with the decapitation of his enemy, Kenneth didn't hesitate to turn and attempt incinerate Vilgax's body with a blast wielding the force and heat of a small Supernova. The blast created blew through the four city blocks forming a thick, smoldering trench which also melted several concrete and brick constructed apartment complexes, luckily they were evacuated long before the fight began.
Heatblast's arms fell down to his side as he huffed, still a much younger Pyronite, he didn't have the stamina his Father did when using the full force of his armored transformations.
"Kenneth… what did you do?" Fourarms transformed instantly back into his human form, still on the ground looking up at him.
Transforming back into his own human form, Ken huffed and didn't break eye contact with the blaze he created; the dirt itself still burning red-hot, ensuring the son of a bitch was truly dead. "I finished it," he said over his shoulder.
...
196X Maximum Security; Earth; December 12th, 2036; 3:00PM
Eon's eyes snapped open flashing with magenta-colored pulses shining through his pupils, looking over his hands he could feel it instantly, the fluctuation to the timeline, the alterations to history he set in place by sending Kenneth back to before it all began. Without Vilgax alive to continue a rampage, he never comes after the only other Ben Tennyson on Earth, and if he doesn't do that, "My powers are never taken from me," he whispered to himself as he looked around, the timeline had yet to solidify so, now was his opportunity to go back to where it all began. His scars and half crippled body too healed in almost in actual instant, feeling the difference immediately in his physical state. The welting scars over his arms and half of his face returning to their once chiseled features, he clutched his fists within their restraints.
He stood up right, shattering the straight-jacket he'd been uniformed to wear for decades in one fluid motion, tearing it off and tossing it to the ground, however; before it touched the white tile floor it turned to dust, almost aged a few centuries on a whim. His eyes illuminated with purple flames as a smile crossed his face, feeling the familiar course of energy flowing through him again. A raw connection to the timeline created after attempting to use a broken dimensional-shifter during his last encounter with his counterpart, before Vilgax had killed him in this timeline.
Eon pressed his palm against the indestructible glass and applied a thousand or so years to its molecular structure, also turning it into miniscule fractals of glass much like sand. An alarm sounded as Eon was quickly surrounded by a dozen standard orange and black droids with weapons aimed and orders to shoot on sight. He simply swung his arms in and clapped his hands together with incredible strength summoning a bright purple wave of omnidirectional energy that crashed over the droids like a wave, the violet-purple electricity aged them all to dust simultaneously.
"I'm free!" Eon shouted with delight, purple temporal lighting cackling over his entire body, he allowed the energy to flow through him again like an old friend, electricity surging through his pupils, he quickly collected his belongings layered in actual dust from lingering unattended for nearly ten years. He donned a black helmet, its face plate illuminated purple from his energy cascading a shadow over his eyes and mouth, his armor from the torso down was reminiscent of Prometheus only with a completely different color scheme. He also sported a cape that billowed behind him as he opened a temporal portal, cackling with purple sparks of tachyonic electricity, he casually walked through it with a content stride.
…
Omnitrix City; Mount Rushmore Bunker; February 18th, 2018; 1:06PM.
After the breach in security created by Kenneth liberating Vilgax in the days prior, Magister Trinity along with two armed and nameless agents were tasked with keeping the remaining prisoner safe guarded, the Necrofrigian stood at his post in almost a frozen state of sleep, still aware of his surroundings but, getting rest regardless. His species wasn't like many others in the sense of needing sleep or how they rested, the agents that assisted him were interchangeable through shifts so, there were new faces every twelve hours.
Trinity stood outside the glass negation prison that held the former villain Prometheus, now going as Eon but, the current guards refused to indulge his psychosis. Prometheus was asleep, curled into the corner on the ground of his padded cell, still tucked into his strait-jacket until suddenly his eyes snapped open, flickering purple briefly, "What was that?" he announced, confused.
"Quiet, inmate," one of the agents shouted, recalling the number of Plumbers and heroes that were dead because of him, he didn't mind being rude, "Nobody said anything."
Prometheus stood slowly, getting to his feet without the use of his hands had become second nature to him now, approaching the glass, "No, I felt it, I don't know what but, something is coming…" he was expecting a dangerous visitor in the near future but, this was completely different, he felt like there was an energy of some sort trying to reach him from outside and it was getting closer.
Purple lightning cackled over the end of the hall by the first glass casing and elevator lift, Trinity immediately lifted his head, becoming fully alert and stepping forwards to stand in front of the two agents as their superior, "Stay frosty," he mocked as he warned them to keep their attention sharp, prompting each to unholster and aim their hand-held blasters at the disturbance. After a few seconds, the lightning cut a hole through space itself manifesting a portal that surged with the same violet temporal electricity.
Eon stepped through slowly from eighteen years into the future, his metallic boots clanked on the steel-plated floors, "Ah, to have my powers and armor back is as refreshing as the morning spring air," he nonchalantly stepped through the hall, quickly locating the casing that held the dimensional shifter his past-self had left behind. Prometheus could hear the ominous clunking of every step he took, passing the weapons ordinance, he didn't bother looking at any other casing like a man on a mission.
"Freeze! Don't move! This is a restricted area!" the agent to Trinity's left shouted, his finger dancing on the edge of the trigger to his blaster. They aside from the Magister were basically beat-cops straight out of the Academy by Plumber standards, they were only following protocol though, the Necrofrigian had the experience to tell something was way off.
Eon raised a brow behind his faceplate, unamused, "I came through a portal, you didn't think I knew that?" he reached out and placed his hand, flickering with his trademarked violet temporal sparks, against the glass forcing them to watch as it quickly turned to sand before their eyes.
"Open fire," the Magister ordered as he pointed his clawed finger out at Eon, Prometheus watched as they fired on the being out of his sight, still on the other end of the corridor. The plasma bolts bounced off his armor as he held a palm out tanking the force of one of these blasts to the glove without flinching, glancing down at his smoking palm.
"Pathetic," he snapped his fingers as their weapons short circuited with a purple aura, rusting over in seconds, quickly falling apart in their hands, and clanking on the ground at their feet. Trinity swung his wings apart, hissing as he assumed a battle stance, swooping into action he floated up and dashed through the hall at top speeds towards the intruder. "I didn't intend on killing any of you but, to me… you've all been dead for decades," Eon aimed a palm outward straight in front of him, firing a deep-magenta beam of energy cackling with the same electricity from his portals. It struck the Magister once but, didn't seem to have an affect on him as he continued flying forwards. Eon didn't pay attention, walking over the aged glass and into the room where sat the device he needed; behind him, Trinity's entire body turned grey and lifeless even as he flew by, turning into a pile of ashes and dust billowing across the room silently, clouding up around the elevator doors.
The agents were wide-eyed and in awe, stepping back as Eon was now out of sight within the room he broke into, "W-We have to stop him," one of them suggested receiving a dutiful nod from his partner, they began their advance.
"What happened to the Magister?" Prometheus questioned, hearing an ominous silence from the end of the hall where the fight should have been taking place, yet the room hadn't dropped in temperature at all. The senior Plumber's signature ability.
"Shut up and stay put," the agents moved down the hall, also carefully stepping out of his sightline, leaving the prisoner alone to wait for any audible sign of a struggle or
He took a few steps back, leaning against the metal chair still in the center of the room, "Don't worry I won't make any other plans while I'm trapped in this prison!" he shouted back sarcastically at the rude Plumber agent, spitting on the glass slightly.
Eon glanced over Albedo's Omnitrix core still lying dormant, Prometheus found that the negative energies from the copied core weren't sufficient in repowering him so, it ended up being recovered and left here. He sighed aloud and grabbed the dimensional shifter, it was exactly as damaged as he remembered it, as damaged as it needed to be. Eon scooped it up gently into his left hand without a second thought, not even turning to face the agents who approached from behind, swinging his right hand behind him and eradicating them both into ash with a single beam, without time for so much as a scream. "My ascendance is nearing, soon I will be one again and more powerful than ever," Eon chuckled to himself as he quickly opened a portal in front of him, stepping through only to travel a few hundred feet left into Prometheus' cell, now standing behind himself.
Prometheus' instincts hadn't dulled in the slightest though, turning on a dime as soon as his boots stepped foot in his cell, "Who the hell are you?" he was on edge, figuring something must have changed the timeline somehow, he could feel it though he didn't know how he could feel it.
Eon lifted a finger and pointed at him almost in disgust, "Take that off, you're embarrassing us," Prometheus looked down at the strait-jacket, rolling his eyes and effortlessly tearing it apart with a single swing of his arms, the buttons flying off across the room. Without a crippled body, "I know you're biding your time, pretending to be unstable and weak, but your condition cleared some time ago… we could have broken out whenever you wanted."
"And go where? What do you mean us?"
"I'm you," Eon answered slowly, as they began to circle one another, watching each other's mannerisms as they walked, he noticed his future self and his body language, "Eighteen years from today," he finished.
Prometheus chuckled but didn't immediately dismiss the idea, "I don't remember having the ability to open portals on a whim," he referred to his entrance, Eon figuring that was also pretty obvious. "Or kill trained Plumber's without making so much as a single sound."
"A lot can happen in almost twenty years," Eon pulled the broken device out, opening his hand and revealing it to him, "In the near future, you escape this retched cage and attempt to jump back to Anti-Earth using this," Prometheus followed his story, as that was in fact his exact plan should he ever find the opportunity to put it into action, "Instead, it corrupts your dimensional frequency along with your already corrupted DNA, throwing you into a cosmic loop… and giving you very limited control over time itself."
Prometheus was catching on quicker than expected, glancing between the device and his counterpart, "And you need me to do that to myself now, so that you can be born?" Prometheus questioned, not hesitating to grab the device out of his hands, looking it over hesitantly, feeling the cool metal over his fingertips.
Eon folded his arms as he prepared himself to attempt to explain it to him, "Not exactly, when the two of us are in the same thread of time, the same moment, and our corrupted DNA attempts what I did years ago, I theorize it will merge us into one monoexistent entity…" Eon had been thinking pensively about this day for years upon years, trapped with nothing but time to kill, formulating different plans and calculating them all down to the very last detail. "No more Prometheus, no more variants, just… one… Eon."
Looking down at the device in his hand, he toyed with it with his thumb, concurring with himself, "At least, any version of 'Prometheus' amongst the infinitude will be erased but, that won't affect Ben Ten Thousand," he insisted, pointing out that this would only erase certain versions of himself throughout the Multiverse.
"Once we become one, we can take care of him ourselves," as his past-self hesitated, reluctant to activate the dimensional-shifter, Eon reached out and placed a hand on his shoulders, "You'll know everything that I've learned in the last twenty-years, and much, much more, all in an instant," his eyes gleamed with a neon purple spark cascading through his pupils.
Prometheus stared down again pondering the outcome but, looking up and into his own eyes, he gave a sinister smile to his future self before enthusiastically pressing down on the button; Eon grabbed his arm to join him as their bodies vibrated and crackled with the same jolts of violent purple temporal energy, "We will rule from the Big Bang until the end of time itself!" he shouted maniacally as the massive purple glow engulfed him and his psychotic laughter, encompassing them both as a cosmic phenomenon like no other to ever exist took place, reality attempted to balance the scales, leaving one single entity left in the wake of the energy discharge.
…
MetLife Stadium; East Rutherford, New Jersey; February 18th, 2018; 1:09PM.
Ben was in still shock by what transpired right before his own eyes, Kenneth had used XLR8 to decapitate Vilgax at the speed of light before destroying multiple buildings to ensure he finished the job. There were still helicopters in the area, determined to get a good shot for the story but were confused once again to see another transforming hero on the scene. Everything happened far too fast for any camera to have caught it but, Ben saw the entire thing up close.
"Y-You didn't even hesitate to murder him in cold blood!" Ben shouted approaching from behind to stand next to him, also apprehensive to let his attention drift from the blaze as Vilgax had survived too many of their battles in the past, "I don't care what it does to the timeline, you're telling us everything about this future you come from."
Kenneth huffed, his helmet retracting like a liquid metal into his suit, revealing tears that streamed down his cheeks, evoking Ben to draw his attention back to his son, now able to see his face. "Yea," he sniffled, "That sounds fair." Kenneth punctuated his sentence by lunging himself into his Father's arms, crying profusely now into his shoulder as Ben caught him, suddenly feeling it all rush out of him at once. Every feeling, every emotional outburst, everything he'd had to repress since he arrived in the past. "What have I done?!" he cried out through his tears, guilt overwhelming him and drowning him in regret. He'd only ever had to fight and kill lifeless robots and hordes of hovering droids; this was the first time he would ever actually take a life.
"No… No, no, no," Ben whispered confused as ever, he embraced the boy in return tightly, even though he was only a few years younger than himself, and he'd only known him a few days; he placed his hand on the back of Kenneth's head, keeping him pulled in tightly, feeling a deep parental love for the boy in the past few days. His unsure expression still ever present on his face, tears beginning to well behind his own eyes as well, though; he didn't know exactly what to be sad about just yet, "It's gonna be okay."
Suddenly, the air around them vibrated as a tear in reality slowly cleaved open with glittering violet bolts of lightning striking the scorched dirt a hundred feet away from the two heroes. A large portal opened with a dark void at its center, slowly drawing the attention of the emotional young men still hugging it out. Once they turned, they watched apprehensively as a somehow familiar suited man stepped through ominously, his boots crunching against the dirt.
Eon arrived on the scorched field behind them prompting them to turn and face him, Kenneth recognized the villain immediately, drying his tears quickly, "I knew you'd escape but, we're just going to put you right back in jail alongside your past self," he shouted, his Father more confused than ever at this point, Ken didn't relent even in his current emotional state.
Benjamin waited to hear their exchange in an attempt to gather as much context as possible, folding his arms as Eon chuckled with an ominous intent, "I don't think that would be possible, we've already ascended; I'm sorry to say, your friend Magister Trinity wasn't lucky enough to come out alive," he aimed his conclusion at the hero of heroes, giving him sarcastically false sympathy before chuckling into a full-on laugh.
"What the hell did you just say? You killed Trinity in the bunker, merged with your past self…" Ben wasn't stupid, in fact he was far from it as with just a few details he managed to deduce exactly what was going on, "Prometheus," he concluded finally.
"I told you that I had outgrown what that name represents."
Ben took a few steps forwards, leaving his hand out in front of his son, "Yea, well I know a nice Plumber security cell on Galvan Prime that I'm sure you'll never outgrow," his eyes shun with a furious emerald luminosity. Exploding with a flash of light, Swampfire kept his guard up, being on of his most powerful regenerative species, his only priority was keeping this mad-man away from his son.
"Dad…" Ken tried to warn, as the helicopters above still aimed their cameras downward, the entire country and most of the world were tuned in to watch, including Gwen and the rest of Team Ten Thousand.
Swampfire stepped completely out in front of his son, "You'll explain to me later how exactly you know Prometheus' so personally, for now-" before he could prepare a defensive, Eon already had his hand held out and aimed at him, engulfed in a dark-purple energy.
"Now, I think it's time I put this baby to bed, once and for all," Eon fired his beam of tachyonic energy, striking Swampfire directly in the defending forearm, however; his entire body responded by turning completely grey, crumbling into dust which the wind picked up as it danced away.
Kenneth shouted immediately, his helmet flying over his head with a thought as his armor formed across his body, "NO!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, watching as his father was one-shotted into a pile of ashes.
…
Tennyson Tower; Omnitrix City; South Dakota; February 18th, 2018; 1:10PM.
The entire team were slack jawed, staring up at the large holographic projector of the live news feed that was being broadcast across the globe; Julie stepped back from holding his arm as Cooper approached Lucy, Rook, and Gwendolyn gathering together, "Alright, it's time we move out, this is definitely not a drill, let's go," she swung her arm out, a tear forming in her right eye as she watched the pile of ash slowly drift into the wind. Luckily the Babel protocols didn't keep her from summoning her powers through the Alpha Rune allowing a portal to spin open with golden glittering Bezelian energy, forming until it was a clear doorway directly into the stadium. Tapping the Alpha-Rune that hung over her neck, she summoned the nanotech blue armor that layered her body in a skin-tight suit which allowed flexibility for her martial arts. As she looked over the complete set of Charms emblazoned on her sleeve, Rook and Cooper approached with Julie not too far behind.
"Mrs. Tennyson, I have to advise, even given the dire circumstances… that you remain here for the sake of your safety and your unborn child's," Rook was as logical as he ever was, making good points without taking the emotional circumstance into account.
"You can't be serious…"
Cooper reaffirmed their position by placing his hand on her shoulder, "Ben would kill me if he thought I just let you go out there, even with back up…" not realizing what he'd just said, Gwen raised a brow with a dangerous glare.
"Ben is a pile of ash on that field next to my future son who might also soon be a pile of ash, especially if I stand here and do nothing," Quickly, she summoned the Staff of Ages into her hands with a brief flash of blue light, it appeared almost from thin air as it materialized. The tears in her eyes slowly grew more prominent, a second stream flowing down both eyes now yet, keeping her composed expression all the while. "Now, get out of the way," she ordered as Rook and Cooper gave one another knowing looks, nodding as they both folded their arms over their chests, even stepping closer together fully blocking her path through the portal. "I can and will move you!" she shouted out of frustration; her eyes still flooded with tears now also encompassed in bright blue energy. Her grip tightened on her staff, quickly taking a stance, and aiming the skull-end of it at Cooper face, though he didn't flinch.
Gwendolyn huffed, still crying as a droplet of snot even started to run from her nose yet never losing her composed and frustrated facial expression. Silently, Rook watched as Cooper advanced with an arm out gently grabbing the skull and lowering it as the mage eventually broke down, dropping the staff as it clattered against the floor. He immediately embraced her as she cried into his shoulder, Coop was brought out of the moment by Lucy cocking her plasma-rifle behind him, "Just stay here, Gwenny…" he remarked as he pulled away and left her standing as he sprinted through the portal followed by Rook and Lucy.
Gwen sniffled, deactivating her suit, she took a moment to sob uncontrollably into her hands… how could he be gone?
…
MetLife Stadium; East Rutherford, New Jersey; February 18th, 2018; 1:13PM.
"Why are you doing this?! This wasn't a part of our deal!"
"And did you ever stop to think about what I would actually do once I was free? You never even considered that I could possibly be an even bigger threat to your father than Vilgax could ever be!"
Everything was muffled and he felt a numbness across his entire body, Ben needed a minute or two before he realized he couldn't breathe properly, getting dust of some sort in his mouth when he tried. It was then that he sat up quickly, coughing loudly as he choked for breath, clearing his throat, and looking around, "What just happened," last he remembered he was Swampfire and he'd been hit by some sort of ray or beam; he looked around at himself lying in the dead-scorched grass, surrounded in a substantial pile of ashes which he presumed must've been Swampfire. "That's one hell of an atta- I can't feel him… I can't feel Methanosian… he's gone!" there was a gap in the DNA playlists within his Omnitrix, it was almost immediate the sensation of losing a geno-archetype so brutally.
An explosion of light caught Ben's eye finally, standing as he noticed Kenneth had become Cannonbolt, so enraged he didn't bother armoring himself before rolling into a sphere and accelerating without moving to build friction, "I never should have trusted you!" he shouted as he finally propelled himself forward at nearly the speed of sound, aimed with enough force to shatter through steel. Eon didn't bother to react as the boy flew through him as though he weren't even standing there, as Cannonbolt toppled to the ground without a ricochet, the Omnitrix flashed an odd purple color over his chest with an unfamiliar alarm sounding before the transformation failed. An explosion of purple light sent Kenneth back into his human form, on his hands and knees in the dirt and confused as ever, "I don't understand."
Eon nonchalantly strutted forth, "You imbecile, you just irrevocably altered your entire life, the timeline is self-correcting as we speak," as he spoke Ken looked to his own hands, holding them out in front of his eyes, they faded from view several times prompting him to gasp.
Ben stood and finally caught his second wind, approaching as Eon continued his monologue, "You turned yourself into a living paradox but, not to worry," he aimed his glowing gloved hand open in the boy's face, "The Universe won't get to you before I do," Ken shut his eyes as he assumed this would be the end but, before Ben could even process what was happening, a familiar flash of bright white light exploded from beside Eon, revealing an also familiar Englishmen in a prominent dull lab-coat.
"Did somebody say Paradox?" the time-god chided as he quickly blinked in and out of sight, appearing between Eon's aimed palm and the flickering Kenneth, he slapped his hand onto the boy's shoulder rather firmly, however; it seemed he did this purposefully as the glitching suddenly stopped, "I've stabilized you within this timeline for now, so you needn't worry about vanishing from existence before this ordeal is settled."
Eon growled from beneath his mask, "Time walker…" he spat under his breath.
Ken was flabbergasted as a portal opened up behind them, Bezelian in nature as the golden glow cast a light across the field, Cooper, Lucy, and Rook immediately took a strategic formation around the exhausted Benjamin.
Rook and Cooper kept their attention on Eon, Paradox, and Ken while Lucy ensured that her cousin wasn't injured or otherwise a pile of ash, "We have got your back, sir," Rook announced as Lenopan put a hand on his shoulder.
"You alright cus?" she prompted as Ben shook his head, looking around the battlefield at all of the newcomers, almost forgetting about Vilgax entirely now.
His ears were still ringing but, he blinked a few times and took a breath, "Yea, yea, I'm fine… whatever he hit me with completely destroyed Swampfire, erased it from the Omnitrix…" he narrowed his eyes over to where Ken stood, protected behind a man in a white lab coat.
Eon still held his hand out aimed now at Paradox who seemed unphased by the threat, even daring the villain with a cocky smirk, "Have at it, Eon, what's a few extra hundred millennia on half a billion years? I've been doing this dance longer than Earth has been a planet, so I suggest you think twice before you toy with forces you can't possibly hope to control…"
After what seemed like an eternity, a minute passed and Eon lowered his hand back down to his side, "Perhaps for now, time-walker, but once I obtain the Hands of Armageddon, I will have enough power to ascend beyond even your scope!" he turned as his cape billowed in the slow wind, chuckling as a portal opened for him with a thought, a tear in space and time that allowed him to walk through nonchalantly, vanishing into the darkness as it swallowed him and shut behind him.
Paradox took a breath, turning around as Ben and the rest of his team quickly came from behind, "What the hell just happened!?" he shouted as Kenneth suddenly felt guilty and confused, it had all happened so quickly.
Paradox reached into his jacket and checked the time on his pocket-watch, "Yes, this is the right timeline," he muttered catching the others attention before stepping forward to speak, "Unfortunately, Eon posed as a weaker villain in the dystopian future in which young Kenneth has traveled here from, guiding him to orchestrate events in this past that would lead to a temporal shift," he glanced at Kenneth directly making eye contact before looking over to Ben, "An instance in time where the timeline is still self-correcting and, with Eon's particular skillset, leaves an opening for one to take advantage."
Ben was still confused, approaching Paradox closer as he looked at his son who seemed too ashamed to even speak, "Wouldn't that make them both a Paradox, I mean if this timeline is changed, that future version of him should be erased."
"True, however, Eon anticipated this… taking steps to negate those repercussions by fusing with his past self via a broken dimensional transporter, the same device which gave him his powers," Paradox scoffed as he looked back at his pocket-watch, "I know it seems dreadfully convoluted, I think the writer is losing his edge myself but, as far as Kenneth's circumstance is concerned… I'm afraid he's not long for this reality," he closed up his watch and placed it back within his coat.
Cooper was the first to jump in, still having questions of his own, "I thought you fixed him, he was fading out of existence a moment ago, wasn't he?" questioning his own sanity for a second, Coop rubbed his eyes to ensure everything he was seeing was no trick of the eye.
Paradox turned and clasped his hands behind his back, looking at the confused eighteen-year-old with a bit of guilt on his own part, "Fixed in the sense in which you fix a flat tire with a patch kit; I've slowed down the process in which he adjusts to his changed future, while he remains in this timeline but, he will eventually fade."
Kenneth looked back down to his bare hands, shaking uncontrollably as he quivered, tears beginning to form behind his eyes, "I-I don't… I mean I thought-"
Ben approached slowly, noticing the stressed expression he held while trying to remain composed, he was on the verge of breaking down, "He used you, he's a manipulative sociopath, this isn't your fault," he placed a hand on his son's shoulder who looked up into his eyes, pleading for forgiveness with his teary stare.
"What now?" Lucy sounded off, having not been sure when would be a best time to speak up considering the scientific explanations and emotional drama, Rook shared her curiosity as he too spoke up.
"What did he mean when he spoke of the 'Hands of Armageddon' and obtaining them," Rook even used finger-quotes around the words as he had no clue what to make of something which sounded so ominous, "Should we not make our priority tracking it down before Eon?"
Paradox corrected him, taking on a fearful grimace with a more serious tone, "No," he reached into his jacket and turned around, "Both Eon, and in turn the Hands, are now my responsibility and mine alone… you should return to your lives, spend as much time with young Kenneth as you can in the coming weeks before he's reset into his rightful time."
Ben approached the god's side quickly, putting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, speaking not as loudly as to not draw attention to what he was about to say, "I could become Clockwork and help you scan the sodobro effect for the Hands… I want-"
Paradox cut him off with a smile, turning and allowing Ben's hand to fall to his side, even through out every reality he visited, Ben Tennyson never ceased to amaze him with his perseverance and integrity. "I'm afraid adding a Chronosapien to the mix might only make things a tad more complicated; have a full night's rest, plan your wedding, enjoy time with your friends… you've certainly earned it."
Ben chuckled, taking the hint, and backing away as a portal of white light opened up in front of him; turning back to face Lucy, Rook, Cooper, Kenneth, and Ben one last time to give a message, "Oh, and try not to be so hard on your parents, Benjamin… they do mean well," he waved as he strutted through the energy, vanishing in another flash of white light.
…
Tennyson Tower; Omnitrix City; February 18th, 2018; 1:21PM.
Most of the helicopters had fled the scene already with the initial devastation and action having died down, news vans began to hit the streets pulling up to the demolished stadium one after the other in droves. Kenneth held his hand out, focusing on his powers, his pupils lit up with a golden hue as the Bezelian portal drew symbols out of light until it spun and revealed the stadium on the other side. Gwendolyn watched as Lucy, Rook, Cooper, Kenneth, and finally Ben emerged from the portal; the hero was beyond exhausted but, this didn't stop him from rushing through the room as soon as he caught sight of the emerald jewels that shun from his fiancé's eyes.
"Is it all over? Or is there another worse problem to deal with?" Gwendolyn was apprehensive as she returned the embrace he gave her, still skeptical that it was all over.
Ben pulled back to look at her, glancing over at Kenneth briefly who was standing alone behind the trio as they mingled with each other, "For now," her expression softened immediately, releasing a breath as she leaned into his chest, closing her eyes, and listening to the beat of his heart. It still reminded her of when they first started going hero together, and everything they'd been through, he was alive, and his heart was beating ever so smoothly.
"I'm exhausted," Gwen murmured into his chest as they slowly rocked back and forth while standing, Ben held her close, kissing the top of her head.
He gave a light chuckle, "Tell me about it…"
Gwen was quiet for a moment, separating from him felt like the hardest thing she ever had to do but, she at least knew that tonight would be all about rest and relaxation… for tonight at least. She finally pulled away as Ben turned to watch her leave, he couldn't take her eyes off her rear in that skin-tight armor she wore, approaching the group she clapped her hands to get their attention, "You guys have been going nonstop for a while now, so I think it's a good time for all of us to get some R and R; wedding shopping, answering the press, worrying about Eon, it can all wait until tomorrow," Gwendolyn was glad to see smiles all around, Lucy immediately slithered out of her armor like a snake, allowing the suit to clatter on the floor as she landed and reformed in her pajamas.
Lucy tugged on Rook's arm from behind as they all made their way towards the exit from the command deck, "Wanna play cards till we fall asleep?" if he still had his tail, it would be wagging profusely right now.
"I would love to-" she quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him off towards through the double sliding doors, before he could even finish his sentence though, he probably wouldn't have it any other way at this point.
Julie egressed from the medical room, peaking out at Cooper who was still distracted by the announcement, the blonde technopath ran his hand through his hair as he turned around just in time to plow directly into her by accident, "Oof, I'm so sorry," he expressed as she just giggled with a heavy blush flowing over her cheeks.
"N-No I'm sorry, I was just going to congratulate you, ya know, on not dying and all," Julie tucked a few strands of shoulder length hair behind her ear, "I know you guys have been awake for like forty-eight hours straight but, maybe tomorrow night, we could go on that date?" As flustered as Cooper could be, he would rarely realize that even the prettiest girl he could think of was just as nervous to talk to him as he was to her, they would make a very cute awkward couple one day.
"Yea, I-I mean absolutely, let's do it," they both too exited the room whilst exchanging numbers so that they could talk more through text; Gwendolyn noticed Kenneth was sitting now in the corner of the command deck, watching them from afar with his knees tucked into his chest and an arm wrapped around his legs.
She glanced back and noticed Ben was speaking to someone through a holographic feed, it was the President of the United States congratulating him; after the death of Vilgax, his troops and lackey retreated taking all of their ships with them, exiting Earth space altogether.
"Thank you, Ma'am, I would do it again if I had to for the sake of the planet's safety," Ben nodded as the President's video feed cut off finally, leaving them alone together for the first time in days, "Ugh, that was the last social call I'm taking for the next twenty-four hours… or maybe ever… we could go off the grid, I know a great place in Taiwan, we wont even need money, just robes and our minds," he placed his hands together as though he were meditating, though, Gwen simply giggled coming from behind to gently massage his shoulders. Prompting him to loose the slightest of moans, lowering his head to give her a better angle at digging her dainty yet firm thumbs into his upper back.
"You're a real doofus sometimes, ya know that?" Gwendolyn continued to massage his back as the hologram before them dispersed entirely, "What are we supposed to do with Ken?"
Ben let out a long, exasperated sigh, taking a step forwards so that her hands were out of reach from his back, turning around to look into her emerald eyes, "Paradox said that since he changed his own future, he'll slowly fade out of existence… but, he also told me to cherish the time we have left with him."
"So…?" Gwendolyn was at a loss for words, taking a quick look back at Ken who was as depressed as one would be after finding out you're going to fade into nothing.
"We have a few weeks with him, I say we use them, be the best parents we can be while he's still here…" Ben proposed.
Gwen's eyes snapped open, smiling at the thought she just had, "We could move up the wedding so that he can attend, that's what he said he wanted to see when he first got here, let's not disappoint him!" Her smile was so beautiful, how could he possibly say no?
"Why don't we head home and get some rest for now," Ben stepped passed her and projected his voice a bit to carry across the room, "That means you too, kid- I mean, Kenneth!" he scratched the back of his head as Gwen gave him a glare, "It'll take some getting used to that's for sure."
Ken perked up when he heard them call out to him, sitting up with a half-smile, trotting across the room as he watched his Mother effortlessly open a golden portal behind them leading into the loft. "I- I- I'm really sorry about-"
Gwen gave him a firm pat on the back, nudging him towards the portal, "Oh trust me, there will be plenty of time for you to explain everything that's happened to you this last week or two… tomorrow, for now we can all just try and get some sleep."
"And a shower, you definitely need a shower," Ben noted as he stepped through the portal.
"You're one to talk!" Gwen chided finally as the family disappeared through the golden gateway.
…
Omnitrix City Suburbs; South Dakota; February 18th, 2018; 1:56PM.
After a well deserved and needed shower for all three heroes of the Tennyson family, Kenneth had understandably passed out in the guest room leaving the couple to their own devices; Ben's pajamas consisted of boxer shorts and a white baggy t-shirt, quickly finding himself a comfortable spot on the couch in front of the holoprojector that was their TV, projecting a sixty-five-inch screen. The news had a happy overtone to it, war-ships fleeing Earth orbit and Ben Ten Thousand stops second alien invasion, he sat and released a loud pressurized sigh of relief, closing his eyes in peace for the first time in days.
Gwendolyn approached from behind and thought he looked adorable so relaxed, she hated seeing the weight of the world on his shoulders that way; tomorrow they would have to brainstorm countermeasures for the next time Eon tried to show his face but, for now… her hands once again found themselves on his shoulders, rubbing the stress away as best as she could with her gentle grip. Her fingers slid down his chest as she lowered her head to kiss his neck from behind, slowly grazing her soft lips against his skin as he turned his head slowly to face her, "Mmm… you're buttering me up for something…" he muttered as she quickly pecked him on the lips before shaking her head.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Gwen kissed his lips again, slipping over the back of the couch until she fell into lap, gracefully lying out now in a thin navy blue, mostly see-through nightie, which had been tugged down from her venture over the couch. One of her breasts was fully exposed as she waited for him to notice before pulling the strap slowly up her shoulder and back over her nipple, "Oops…"
Ben's face turned red but, he simply gulped and glanced back at the closed guest room door before turning back to face Gwen who pulled him quickly into another passionate kiss, sitting up in his lap, "Tonight, we do whatever you want, hero…" she whispered into his ear to his surprise, "Because tomorrow, we're having dinner with our parents," she said that last part quickly before biting his ear and pulling away.
"I knew it…" Ben muttered to himself, trying to pull away though, the red-headed deviant wouldn't have any of it. "Shouldn't we-"
She grappled him closer tightly with her pelvis pressed firmly against his own, Ben gulped as she grabbed one of his wrists, guiding his hands down in between her legs; she wasn't wearing panties or underwear of any kind, "Ah, ah, ah; I said, tonight, we do whatever… you… want," pressing her free hand firmly against his chest pushing him back into the couch. "Unless you want to talk bout our parents tonight?" she chided sarcastically.
He didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her waist, picking her up with him as she squealed when he stood up, "No, no, this is good," he continued kissing her as her lips intertwined with his, slowly biting his lower lip she pulled back so that she could continue placing kisses down his chiseled neck and shoulders. She could feel exactly how excited he was getting as he started walking, with Gwen still grappling and kissing him, he made his way to the bedroom with her.
...
Mount Rushmore; Omnitrix City; February 18th, 2018; 11:41PM.
Most of the security for the base was airtight, however; after Eon's escape, he left a multitude of openings in their defenses. A figure dropped from the ceiling landing where Magister Trinity would normally keep watch, it was too dark to make out any distinguishing features, just a metallic prosthetic forearm with some sort of gauntlet built into it.
He used his retina scan to get through the first set of doors, summoning the large elevator lift which led down into the sublevels of the base; he was prompted for a four-digit security key but, the intruder didn't hesitate, thinking for a moment before typing in Trinity's code which allowed him full access to said elevator. The doors slid open as he stepped into the lift, a light flashing over him revealed snow-white hair and a matching beard.
The doors closed after him, descending miles below the surface in a matter of seconds, the lights flickered but, he still found his pensive stare unbreakable; he was calculating everything down to the last decimal point as he felt the lift slowing down, approaching the ground floor. The man stepped through the corridor littered with piles of ash, slowly taking one step after the other, he stepped over one pile as he faced the holding case with his prize still sitting on a pedestal.
The dormant Omnitrix core that was taken from him by Prometheus, along with his hand, he looked over the prosthetic arm he was forced to wear, the fingers balled up into a fist he couldn't feel, just to express his rage. He reached his organic hand out and grabbed the core which responded naturally to his DNA, lighting up the hourglass symbol with a crimson bubbling energy. "At last, I will be whole."
…
I wanted to answer a few questions from the reviews. For starters, Ben was only so emotional through out his teenage years because of the Omnitrix and it's bonding to his DNA. I never understood why the Omnitrix in Ben's original future from the OS episodes Ben 10,000 and Ken 10, was such a large gauntlet over his entire forearm. Along with being permanently bonded to the Omnitrix, it also effected his mood as it gave him super-powers resulting in the glowing eyes. Now that that process for the Omnitrix is finished, he has complete control over those abilities.
Ken will get more time to shine and more development but, he won't be around for the next time we encounter Eon.
Gwen's official name became Gwendolyn in her later years during high school, she always liked the name and took her future self-using it as a sign of maturity, I use Gwendolyn foremost and sprinkle in the nickname Gwen where it's appropriate.
Yes, Paradox broke the fourth wall, you're welcome.
And no, not every plotline i set up will directly continue into the next chapter.
As Always, Read, Review, Follow, and Favorite!