[A/N: Sup readers. Sorry about not getting around to updating this story. I've been busy with family stuff and work. Nothing drastic like someone dying or anything similar, but just regular life things I had to take care of. Honestly, I just had a difficult time starting this chapter because I wanted it to be close to how the characters would act as best I could write them. I'm not sure if I wrote it on point, but I feel this is the best I can write them. With a bit of the dialogue from the show transcript itself. Thank Ben 10 wiki for that.

Anyhow, as I mentioned before, I am a lazy bum who writes whatever I want and updates whenever I want. I hope you like this chapter and enjoy it. Yaeger out.]

Chapter 4

I quickly thought of how to make this interesting and a bit fun. I just got to play this right, or it could backfire on me later.

Looking at Ben with a slightly confused expression, "Were you an alien just now?" I could sense Max tense a little at my question.

Ben, seemingly caught off guard, quickly got a handle on himself and tried to play it cool. "Nah, that was uh..." he stammered, his nervousness seeping through his words.

Gwen followed up quickly before Ben could get a word out, "My doofus cousin's prank. Sorry about him. He was brainless since he was a baby. Come on. Or the snacks are all mine."

Not my skits! Anything but the skits!

~ Really? That's what you're worried about right now? ~

Hey! Snacks are the key step to a nice lazy bum life! Don't disrespect my skits!

~ You're an idiot. ~

This is the way.

~ Definitely an idiot. ~

Ahem. Anyway, let's get back to reality.

~ Mmhm. ~

Surprisingly, these conversations in our link are faster than what happens in real life. I guess it's because they take place in a realm that only my symbiote and I share. Neat. Besides that, our small chat only took a split second in real time. Perfect for decision-making if it can be utilized and improved more.

I turn to Gwen and deadpan her, "A prank that includes someone going through walls. Not to mention, that blinding light from before was waaay too weird for a prank." I pitched the bridge of my nose as I exhaled and inhaled to fake a slightly irritated expression, but I kept a calm tone, "I'm a pretty reasonable person. So don't insult my intelligence, please."

~ Ha. Didn't realize you had any. ~

I ignored my symbiote's snarkiness and just looked at everyone calmly, waiting for their response. I swear, I'm gonna cut that guy's chocolate supply later.

~ Why did I shiver? ~

Don't worry about it.

Gwen fidgets at my words and trips over her own, but Max speaks up, "You sure you aren't just tired?" I frowned a bit at the question, "What do you mean?"

Max continued, "You said you've been walking on the road since early in the morning, and you haven't eaten anything since we picked you up. It's probably the hunger getting to you." This was true. I explained to them that I'd been walking on the road since 6 am to get to Rapid City and then to Rushmore as a cover story.

And I might be a little hungry. I haven't eaten since arriving in this universe.

Thanks to Max. This gave me a way out for now. I realized that getting them to tell me their secret this way wasn't going to gain any trust, which would destroy some of my plans for the future and put me on the Tennysons' bad side. So gratefully, I took this way out.

Rubbing my forehead, I then nodded, "Ugh. Yeah, you're probably right. I have been feeling a bit off and tired today. And now that you mention it, I am hungry now."

I looked at Gwen apologetically, "Sorry about that." She smiled, "It's okay." Ben Inentjected, "It's snack'in time!" He said nonchalantly as if nothing had happened early. I knew he wanted to lighten up the mood, which worked.

I sighed, then smiled, "What he said." With the tension gone, everyone returned to routine: Max got back to driving, Ben and I snacked on all the goodies, and Gwen was on her laptop with one of the goodies in hand. Probably researching either some school again or the state we're in.

The mental link opens up, and I hear my symbiote speak. ~ That could've been bad. ~

Sighing in confirmation, Yeah. I nearly flopped that. I guess plan B is a go, then.

~ Are you sure that's wise? ~

Shaking my head mentally, I don't like it either, but it's pretty much the only thing that would work out right.

~ That's if you don't flop it, though. ~

Yeah, talking isn't my forte. But fist-to-face is a more straightforward language.

The symbiote sighs, ~ This really won't be easy. ~

We discussed more different topics, and at the same time, I conversed with Ben and Gwen about their trip. It was a little weird having multitasking conversations, but with my symbiote, it was a breeze.

Sometime later…

Ben and Gwen were arguing about the laptop, Ben wanting to play video games, and Gwen stating that she was doing important research. I had taken a nap to rest from all the crazy that's happened to me. Getting wiped along with my entire universe, having a second chance at life, and meeting people who were fictional characters before coming to this universe. Yeah, that's a lot to take in. Not to forget, I'm also a completely different species. A Sayian. This comes with the slightly annoying trait of wanting to fight anything even remotely strong. Luckily, it's easily dismissed.

Freaking warrior race and their stupid and broken traits. The only things I like are able to eat as much as I want, the use of KI comes naturally, and Zenkai boost, though…I do have to be in a near-death state for it to work. But I'm sure that'll work out somehow.

I heard the kids stop arguing abruptly. I got curious, slowly sat up from the seat I had been resting in, and let out a yawn. Man, that was a nice nap. Anyway, I turned and looked at the kids. They were looking at something toward the window. I followed their gaze until my eyes landed on a large cloud of smoke in the distance.

Ben approached the window and asked aloud, "What's going on over there?"

Max took a good look at the scene in the distance, a little surprised, but his face returned to the road with a determined expression, "I'm sure the local authorities have everything well in hand."

But then, a huge explosion could be seen in the distance as a larger puff of smoke rose, and the sound of it came. We could see alien drones flying about, shooting energy beams, causing havoc on the town.

I noticed Ben had a determined smirk, and without thinking, he said those famous words: "Looks like it's hero time!" He activated his watch, the dial popping up and rotating. "It's time to turn up the heat blast on these guys."

Max said with an alert tone, "Wait, Ben!"

But it was too late for either Max or Gwen to stop and remind him that I was here and done with my nap.

Was he just that comfortable around me? Or was he just that stupid? I don't know which was the case, but what I did know was he wanted to kick some butt. But this time, he wouldn't be alone to do it.

I could feel the tug of my instincts, wanting to fight whatever was over there. I could sense a strong KI signature in the town. I knew who it was.

Vilgax. I thought with interest.

I knew he was one of the most dangerous people in the universe, but I wondered how strong he was and how much punishment he could take from my power.

Mind you, I wasn't going to pull a Goku or a Vegeta. I'm not that insane.

With a bright green flash, I quickly shielded my eyes, this time after learning the hard way. Standing in Ben's place was Heatblast. All fire and rock. I have to say, this looks way more awesome in person than on screen.

The fire seemed calmer, and seeing lava flowing between the cracks of red rock gave it a badass, stoic look.

At the same time as his transformation, Max stopped the RV to a screeching halt. Then Ben walked out of the RV.

I was looking at this whole scene in awe.

Awesome.

~ Indeed. ~

I could sense the symbiote's awe and interest behind its words.

I shake out of my awestruck quickly and follow Ben with Max and Gwen behind me. We then see Heatblast rocket off toward the clouds of smoke in a matter of seconds. Man, he's fast.

With my symbiote, I could see Max and Gwen's expressions. It was clear they were thinking but failing to come up with an explanation for the sudden reveal.

I said slowly, "That…was.."

Gwen spoke up in a slight panic tone, "Before you start-" but I cut her off with an enthusiastic, "AWESOME!" Hands in the air clenched. I admit, I'm a 'bit' excited seeing my childhood hero in action.

I let out another 'awesome,' just more calmly. I turned around to see Max and Gwen, slightly confused, yet there was relief in their faces.

"You're not freaking out?" Gwen asked in disbelief.

I looked at them like it was obvious: "Are you kidding?! That is the best thing I've ever seen since I've been alive!" I gestured with my hands like an inspired journalist: "Fiery alien superhero comes to the rescue! That's nothing but awesome."

Max says, "Come on. We need to get to Ben." Seems like he adapted fast to the situation. That's veteran for you, I guess.

I smirk and laugh, "I'm sure he'll be fine. With some backup, of course." I look to them like someone with a plan—well, a partial one.

They look at me, confused again. "What are you talking about?" Gwen said.

Without saying a word I give a mental thought to my co-pilot. Let's do this.*

(*cue the badass song 'Let's Do This' by Outskrts.)

The tar/fluid-like substance engulfed my clothing, wrapping around my skin and forming the suit I envisioned. It changed my previous outfit's color scheme and style to jet black with outlines of gold lining along my limbs, torso, and head. The eyes are molten gold, glowing dimly with power.

A hybrid of protective armor and practical clothing gave a casual yet tactical look. The gold outlines were intricate geometric patterns that had no meaning but still looked cool.

On my chest, a type of diamond symbol formed, and the lines of gold seemed to spew out to the rest of my body. I wanted the suit to look like Red Hood's outfit; the difference was the color and my symbiote's abilities.

As soon as it finished suiting up, I could feel my power become easier to handle and clearer. It was as if mucky water suddenly became clear, and now I could see almost all that was held within it. I will have to look into this more later.

Gwen gasped while Max looked on with astonishment clear on his face.

"Who are you?" Max asked calmly.

I retract the mask covering my head, revealing a smirk. "Me?" I thought about it briefly, cracking my neck with a satisfying pop. "I'm what you would call an X factor." And like second nature, I used KI to float up a good 10 feet in the air. Then, with my face covered again, I flew to Rapid City at high velocity.

The feeling of flying through the sky without restraint was so liberating. I could get used to this. If I put more KI into my flight, I could probably break the sound barrier, but that's for another time. I might accidentally skip over the city entirely.

I got to the city in minutes and did some recon. The damage was focused on only a small portion of the city, and the drones I could spot were patrolling a perimeter and most likely were tasked with reporting sightings of any trouble or Ben. As I got further into the city, I was surprised there were no casualties, not even injured civilians. I guess the laws of this universe work a little differently, or people are extremely lucky. It's the dealer's choice.

I did hear fighting a little ways away as I took out a couple of the bigger drones with pure strength alone, so I headed over and saw the epic scene of Heatblast taking on more than a dozen drones at once.

Damn. The kid's got moves.

~ Still too slow. ~

He's got XLR8.

~ Mm. ~

I took small pieces of drones and flung them at the enemy reinforcements that were coming in. They exploded instantly as I kept myself hidden. Didn't want Vilgax to know I was here yet. I got more pieces of drones and grabbed some rubble. I weighed the pieces and threw them. Among the chaos happening, I went unnoticed as I circled the battle.

I saw rubble falling down and people on the ground, not noticing the danger they were in. I fly to them and fire KI blasts at the falling debris, then, with my symbiote, grab the small group to safety a couple of blocks away. I did this for a couple of minutes, taking out drones and saving dozens of people from the damage done to the city. There was even a kid with a camera looking a bit too excited, taking snapshots of the ongoing attack, and I had to zoom him away from drones that targeted him. I scolded him about not caring about his own life, but apparently, he aimed to be a journalist, I cut him off from telling his whole dream. I flew away quickly, but that kid might have been a Lois Lane type if I had to guess. I saw he took a picture of me as I flew away, and he still looked as excited as ever.

*Sigh* That might be a problem later.

~ It would be nice to have recognition. ~

I don't know. I might get the 'He's a menace' treatment.

~ Nah. That wouldn't happened. We look too heroic for that. ~

Do we? I wasn't really paying attention to how I looked. Maybe I'm cool, naturally? Doesn't matter.

As I got back to where Ben was. I saw he was pinned to a wall among the ruins of a building. In front of him stood a ginormous armored squid, which looked really intimidating.

With enhanced hearing, I could hear the two without revealing myself.

"You! You're the alien from my visions!" Heatblast said, surprised.

Vilgax speaks and you can hear the menace in every word, "At last, we meet. The being that has caused me so much trouble."

"Who are you?"

"I am Vilgax. And I have come for the Omnitrix."

"And, uh, I'm guessing you're not with the good guys."

I wonder when's a good time to fist-to-face?

~ Soon. We'll kick his ass soon. ~

Heatblast had already been sent flying through a few buildings. After Vilgax had made his way by jumping over in a single leap, a thought came to mind that would probably be a bit crazy but also highly rewarding.

I made my way near Vilgax's spiky ball of death ride and sent a dozen or so mini-syms. It was hard at first to get past the alien firewalls, but thanks to my friendly neighborhood hackers, I got past them in no time. Then the surge of info came to me, and man, did it feel invigorating. I could sense the vehicle had a wireless link to the mothership, so with a devious smile creeping to my face, I went to work.

I could feel my symbiote feeling much the same.

We had left the ball of death briefly after finishing a little business in it. Coming to a stop, we saw Heatblast melting the road where Vilgax was standing, visibly slowing down as he struggled to get back up for a bit.

Nice job, kid. Now it's my turn.

~ This will be fun. ~

Without a second thought, I fly quickly from behind, passing by only to turn about and kick Vilgax right in his squidy face with a KI-reinforced leg. He had just gotten back up only to be sent back down and across the tar that was once the road. And I gotta say, that felt really good to do.

I was floating above the melted road, looking at where Vilgax was. Getting up again, he looked at me with murder in his eyes. I'm kinda glad he doesn't have heat vision yet.

"Uh, thanks, man. Wait. You're not here for watch, too, right?" Heatblast said, unsure yet, with fists at the ready.

I scoffed in amusement, but I heard the RV come up quickly in front of Heatblast before I could respond. I could hear Gwen and Ben argue a bit, then the sound of the watch timing out, and a red flash went off. I heard Max's voice next, sounding like a 'this is not a request' tone.

They drove off just as quickly with the screech of tires and the smell of burnt rubber.

I still had most of my attention on Squidy, and he looked pissed.

"Who are you to stand in my way, cretin?" mockery and anger clear in his voice.

I smirk and say in a low voice in the mix with my symbiote's as we get in a fighting stance mid-air, eyes glowing with a tint of pride, "The name's Eclipse. And I'm here to kick your ass."

Vilgax snarls, "Then you are just another bug to squash."

We didn't move for seconds, neither engaging till the other did. With my instincts flaring to fight him. It was almost impossible not to beat the shit out of the dumbass. And so, I went straight at him in a split second. I could hear him starting to say, "Wh-" But was interrupted by the KI-endowed fist I readied beforehand that connected to his squid face; hence, Fist-to-Face was starting off great.