AUTHOR'S NOTE: SORRY I DIDN'T REALIZE I UPLOADED THE SAME CHAPTER!
As Ben races through town, the surroundings become a blur. He keeps replaying the argument between Cooper and Gwen in his head. Once he felt he was out of range, he stops without having any particular destination in mind. Ben changes back into a human and casts a peek up at the abandoned, dark-wood structures all around him. The man had stumbled across the dilapidated military installation where he had first met Paradox. Kevin's last resting place is here as well.
Ben shakes the idea from his mind since it was too painful for his heart to think about Kevin. The military base wasn't as unsettling as it had been at night. The base was transformed into an animal playground by the sunlight; Ben could hear birds singing and foxes yipping, and he could see a number of dens strewn throughout the lush grass.
He strolls along the unmaintained concrete sidewalk, which had weeds creeping through the extensive crevices in the walkway. In an effort to calm himself down, he tucks his hands into the pockets of his jacket. As he does so, his fingertips brush over an unidentified object. Without thinking, he pulls it out and his eyes fall upon a worn-out plumber badge. Ben touches the center of the green hourglass. The previous version of this badge dates back a while. Max presented it to him on his 12th birthday to commemorate his many heroic feats. He examines the small scratch that runs along the badge's face. He recalls that the badge fell down a hill, and he spent the entire day looking for it.
Back in his pocket, he tucks the badge away before setting off on his way. The courtyard where it all happened was where Ben eventually found himself. He flinches at the agonizing thought and decides to take a different route. Ben walks along a little path that led to a garden—or rather, what was left of it. Weeds had overrun the area and suffocated the wildflowers. He felt like a flower smothered by a parasitic weed. Ben ought to have known that things wouldn't turn out the way he had imagined and that they wouldn't welcome him with open arms.
Ben uses the pronoun "they" because he noticed doubt and uncertainty in everyone's expressions, not just Cooper's. Cooper expressed it, but he was certain that they were all having identical thoughts. He doesn't blame them; perhaps acting out like Cooper would have made him feel better. But he fled once more rather than accept the well-deserved rejection. They were definitely apprehensive now if they weren't already.
Ben detects a silent presence standing near him. He was aware of who it was, so he didn't respond to the abruptness. Her recognizable aroma was conveyed to his nostrils by the gentle breeze. Out of the corner of his eye, he could make out strands of silver hair moving with the wind. They both fixed their eyes on the ruined flowerbed.
"Why did you come?" he finally inquires.
"Why did you leave?" she responds.
"I couldn't stand to be the cause of their fighting."
"So you give up?"
Ben stays quiet, unsure of how to answer her question.
"You just told them you wanted to change."
"I know," he mutters.
"Look, they're waiting for you," Hope insists. "But not for long." And just like that, the witch vanishes with the wind.
Ben tightens his fist; even if he lived to be a million years old, he would never be able to pay the sorceress back for her generosity. He takes a deep breath and moves through the destroyed flowerbed. He dials up his watch, flicks between the several aliens, and then chooses XLR8 again. He accelerates out of the military base and returns to Bellwood.
He effortlessly weaves in and out of traffic as he moves through the streets. As he zooms by them, the pedestrians move in slow motion. His gaze is drawn to a wall that an explosion was about to breach. Because of XLR8's super-speed, he was able to observe the eruption in slow motion. He races over to the pair near the detonating wall, grabs them, and then takes off for safety.
"Are you guys okay?" he asks them.
"Yes," they say in unison. "Thank you!"
Ben returns to the scene before the pair can finish their thanks. The building's windows break, and fire rages through the cracks that have just appeared. The words "daycare" are visible when Ben casts a quick peek up at the flaming sign.
Oh no.
With no hesitation, he rushes into the daycare. Ben snatches up all the children he can fit in his arms before sprinting back outside to safety. It's a race against the clock here. He examines every crevice and corner. Ben must force himself to look aside from those who did not make it. Act now; there is no time for feelings. Hearing numerous screams for assistance made Ben's blood turn cold.
He makes a right turn to escape being hit by a laser that passes by his head. The alien weaves between the barrage of lasers and flies past the assailant. Ben casts a quick glimpse at the armored man's yellow "N" on his chest. Ben grits his teeth at the sight of his pitiful adversary. Taking care of this jackass was not something he had time for. Ben thoroughly investigates the smoldering structure, dodging the laser beams with ease.
Although he is in an odd place, if his memory is accurate, Captain Nemesis is not someone he needs to be concerned about. Carl was more of an egocentric affluent guy going through a mid-life crisis than a real villain. He only committed crimes for attention and did little to no harm to other people.
In front of the ambulance that had come, Ben places the last victim on the ground. A second green flash indicates that he has changed once more, and Water Hazard emerges from the light. When the new alien spreads his palms in front of him, a burst of water is launched at the blazing building. There is no trace of Captain Nemesis as if he vanished with the fading flames. He spoke too soon, another nearby structure erupts. Ben shifts his focus from the fading ashes of the destroyed daycare to the new raging inferno. The water output is increased by Water Hazard to put out the flames before they get too hot.
Police are able to control the expanding mob as firefighters dash off their vehicles to combat the new threat. Ben is approached by a lone elderly man wearing a fire chief outfit.
"It's good to have you back," he thanks sternly.
Ben maintains silence while feigning attention to the structure's flames. The fire chief exits to attend to the situation and his crew. Ben lowers his arms and casts a quick glance at the man who is walking away. The fading fire is now under the control of the firefighters. Ben was going to thank them when he was interrupted by the sound of a jet pack from behind him.
Captain Nemesis quickly grabbed him and lifted him into the air, giving him no time to turn around. Ben is taken toward the town square before being dropped from 40 feet above onto an outdoor flower store. Ben crashes onto the wooden exhibits, terrifying the customers as broken flower pot parts fly everywhere.
"Sorry about that," he groans.
The man scrambles to his feet after pushing a loose two-by-four off of him. He scans the air for his adversary. Ben moves into the open to prevent further unwarranted damage. Water Hazard discovers the man standing beside an old fountain. Ben finds it odd that his usually talkative adversary hasn't said anything since they first made eye contact.
"What's your problem today?" Ben calls out. "You blow up two buildings, one of which being a daycare, and now you don't want to talk?"
Captain Nemesis doesn't say anything, and Ben is starting to feel uneasy about the strange silence.
"What? No witty quip?"
In response, Captain Nemesis raises his arm and fires a little missile towards the alien. Ben instantly changes into Lodestar and uses his magnetism to quickly shift the rocket's trajectory before launching it into the air. Ben's eyes widen as he observes the missile's airborne blast radius and how it shook the ground underneath him.
"Are you fucking crazy?" Ben snaps. "Why would you shoot off a rocket in the middle of a crowded space?"
In no way did he resemble Captain Nemesis in terms of his objectives, his lack of speech, or his discernment of Bellwood residents. Ben pondered the possibility that it might be someone else as he started to become weary of the man. Although Ben Tennyson was familiar with several shape-shifters, their motivations also don't line up with the current circumstance. He considers the possibility of dealing with a brand-new person. Whoever that is is a fucking problem, and they ought to leave now. Ben uses his magnetic power to stop Captain Nemesis's armored suit from moving before he can unleash any additional assaults.
The Captain was knocked to the ground by Ben after he sensed him battling against his magnetism. Captain Nemesis's suit and the steel grate were flawlessly joined by Lodestar. He secured the man's arms with a lamp post, giving him further security. Ben is taken aback by the round of cheers that broke out behind him. He turns around to see a gathering of onlookers who are filming and watching the altercation. The man lets out a self-assured chuckle before an alert brings his attention back to the current circumstance.
"Self destruct in 20 seconds," a robotic voice announces from Captain Nemesis' armor.
"You're bluffing."
As the Captain remained silent, a loud beep resounded.
"You'd never kill yourself. You think you're too damn important for the world to lose you."
"Ten seconds until detonation."
Ben takes a hesitant step forward.
"Carl, there's innocent people everywhere…"
"Five seconds…"
"Listen-"
"Four."
"Carl!"
"Three."
"Don't."
"Two."
"NO!"
"One."
Ben extends his arms in the direction of Captain Nemesis, creating strong magnetic fields all around the armored suit. Intense combustion and explosions create their own magnetic fields because magnetic fields alter the pace of chemical reactions by altering ions, charged groups, and paramagnetic particles of magnetic particles. With Lodestar's understanding of magnetic fields and the like, the alien is able to build a force field that encompassed the explosion and prevented the flames from reaching innocent onlookers.
Although residents dove for cover, the explosion never rose higher than five feet. A medium-sized blazing ball in the center of the town square is visible to curious bystanders who peek out from behind cover. Ben averts his gaze as he observes the man perish inside the magnetic bubble; in addition to being consumed by flames, Captain Nemesis was also crushed under the pressure like a tin can. When Ben disengages the force field, a manhole-cover-sized chunk of flaming metal falls to the ground.
With a long sigh, Ben transforms back into a human. He is constantly being shown how much worse things can get by this day. Having not seen him return, he is certain that his friends had already left. Ben hears a faint sound of footsteps behind him. He turns around to see a familiar child peering out from behind a teddy bear wearing his distinctive jacket.
"You're him, aren't you?" the boy quivers.
"Uh-"
"You're wearing his jacket and you transform into aliens like him too!" he interrupts loudly.
"I-"
"And you protected us just like he would too!"
Ben grinned before bending down to be on the same height as the young boy. "You seem to know a lot about this guy, what's his name?"
"Ben," he chirps. "Ben 10!"
"Oh, what a coincidence! My name is Ben, too," Ben chuckles. "And." Ben points to the number ten on his jacket. "I have a ten as well, so that would make me-"
The boy gasps, "Ben 10!"
Ben reclaims his full height and tousles the child's hair. The young man recalls seeing this child when he was about to give up hope during the fight with King. He must have some kind of guardian angel in this youngster. Ben moves by the youngster, who is still gazing at him with awe, and heads for the group of onlookers. As Ben advances, the citizens of Bellwood move to divide the crowd. The majority of them weren't sure whether this was a dream as they stared at him in shock at seeing their hero once more.
"This Ben 10 fellow," Ben starts as he walks down the hall of people. "I'll be filling in for him while he's gone." Ben glances at the residents with a smile. "We even have the same name so you don't have to worry about what to call me."
"How do we know you won't leave!"
One man is the center of attention as he stands alone against the wall. He had a disdainful expression on his scarred face. Ben focuses on the agitated man and moves cautiously toward him. Ben only needed to take one look at this man to see that he harbored hatred, perhaps for good reason.
The younger one comes over to him with a poker face that is impossible to interpret, and the man quakes. Unsure of whether to carry out his original plan, he carelessly grips the revolver in his jacket. In front of him stood the man who had destroyed his life. His wife and his adorable little Haley vanished in a flash. There were no heroes, no one to pick up the pieces, and definitely no Ben 10.
"How do we know you won't leave," he spits under his breath.
Ben notices the man fidgeting with something inside his jacket, but this is neither the place nor the time to expose him. Without a doubt, the man knew that he was the one who had driven this helpless citizen over the line. His hand rests on the man's shoulder and he gazes into his eyes.
"Because I am nothing like the old Ben," Ben insists as he pats his shoulder reassuringly. "And if you don't believe me then do what you have to do," he whispers into the man's ear.
Ben walks by the man, his hands shoved in his pockets. He hears a revolver hammer click behind him, and he freezes in place. As the gunman takes aim at their returned hero, the audience lets out a loud gasp. Officers yell at the man to drop the gun as they draw their service weapons and aim at him.
"DON'T!" Ben yells at the approaching officers.
Looking back, Ben notices the irate man tremblingly pointing the pistol at him.
"This is between me and you, right?" Ben questions. "What did I do? Who did I take from you?"
"M-my little girl…"
"Your daughter? Okay. Who else?"
"-wife," he mumbles.
"I took your wife and daughter away?"
The man nods with tears in his eyes.
"All I can say is give me one chance to redeem myself."
The man grimaces in mental agony.
"One chance to show you that they didn't die for nothing."
Ben's eyes enlarge as the man turns the gun on himself.
"I don't think I can wait that long."
The moment the man pulls the trigger, a green flash occurs. In preparation for a swift demise, he had his eyes closed, yet nothing happened. Slowly opening his eyes, the man discovers a yellow and black alien standing in front of him with an extended arm. He questions whether the gun jammed or if the alien saved him from committing suicide.
Only one inch separates the man's head from the bullet. Ben feels relieved that he was able to change in time. He drops the bullet in front of the suicidal man after pulling it away.
"I'm only asking for one chance."
It all came down to one chance: one chance to make a difference, one chance to make a better change, one chance to reconsider. The first time, it required just one person to believe in him for him to succeed in becoming a hero, and he stood before this sole stranger praying for a chance to prove himself a hero again. The man decided to take a chance himself, and the revolver clatters to the ground. He raises his hands in surrender as police cuff him and place him in a police vehicle. Without averting his gaze from the stranger, Ben observes the situation as it happens.
"If it's a chance you want, then a chance you get."
After turning, Ben sees his companions waiting in the street. Cooper smirked as he stood there with his arms folded. When they learned about the explosions on Main Street, they hurried to the scene and arrived in time to see what happened in the town square. Though there may be conflicts among the group regarding his shift, Ben's dedication to the community and status as a hero are positive developments.
Bellwood has sustained yet another wound on its journey to stability, yet the sun is overhead, illuminating the way. The appearance of Ben 10 again will be a significant turning point for the city. The event is being streamed on many platforms so that people all around the world can see it. Some people applauded in their homes, while others gathered in the streets, but everyone is happy that their favorite hero is back. Over the course of one chance, a day that appeared to be ordinary became spectacular.