Ben 10: Alien Rebirth

Chapter 49: Race Against Time, Part 2

We see the Rustbucket driving along the road towards a specific destination.

Gwen asked, "so where ARE we? This is like, no-place."

Ben commented, "well, it's better than our place."

Max replied as he drove, "we're heading for a small Plumber base. It was where Eon was first fought, and where he left the Hands of Armageddon. The Hands were moved, but Eon might have headed there to find it."

Eventually, they came to an old, out-of-the-way facility. Grandpa rifled through a box of old remotes and tried to use each of them to open the gate.

Eventually, he found it on the 4th remote.

He, Xylene, Gwen, Ben and Hope made their way inside, and saw the place looked like a fight had broken out.

Max explained, "the Chem-Lab was built to conduct tests on alien technologies. Namely ones like the Hands of Armageddon. They were kept here for many years, until it was moved to another facility. But Eon clearly came here, looking for the Hands."

Xylene nodded and said, "one Plumber who was put on constant guard duty here was John Constantine. He should be here…."

Max replied as they came to a doorway, "'should be' is correct."

The door opened up to a security room.

Ben asked, "well, where is he, then?"

Max said, "he should be here."

The group made their way into the security room, seeing a chair turned away from them.

Max and Xylene slowly turned it around, and saw the shriveled up body of a man sitting there, eyes closed and skin gray.

Max muttered in shock, "Constantine…."

Xylene gasped, "my God…."

Hope said, "Jesus!"

Max said, "I'm sorry, constantine. I wish we could have gotten here sooner."

Ben gently poked Constantine, when suddenly, his eyes snapped open and he grabbed Ben's arm!

Ben, Hope and Gwen all screamed in terror as Constantine gasped out, "aah! I'm not dead!"

Constantine let go of Ben, who scrambled behind Hope and Gwen.

Xylene said, "Constantine, can you hear me?"

Constantine gasped out, "Eon…. He came back…."

Max said, "we know. Just hang on. We're gonna get help for you."

Constantine groaned, "too late. Eon did this…. Made me old in the blink of an eye. Cough! Cough! He's after the hands. Can't let him find the hardware store or the rest of the Plumbers…."

Ben said, "wait, grandpa, you said the Plumbers on Earth disbanded?"

Max explained, "we kept a handful active to watch over our things. Dangerous things, none more so than the Hands."

Xylene said, "we never planned for this."

Constantine pointed at Ben and said, "you're the one…. The boy who found the omnitrix. Eon knows about you."

Ben asked, "what?"

Gwen asked, "how could he know about Ben?"

Ben said, "yeah, I've never seen him before the other night."

Constantine muttered, "he knows. He knows. Good luck…. You'll need it…."

Constantine grew still, passing on in front of them.

Max somberly said, "he was a good friend and a true plumber."

Ben asked, "what did he mean, 'he knows?'"

Max said, "I couldn't say. That's why I keep telling you, Ben, to be careful. This is not a game."

Ben nodded and said, "you're right…. We have to find the Hands of Armageddon."

Hope said, "we should probably go to that 'hardware store' he mentioned."

….

Gwen said, "this doesn't look like a supersecret location…."

The group works in front of a literal hardware store.

Ben asked, "Miller's hardware in Bellwood? A regular hardware store?"

Xylene said, "the term; 'hide in plain sight' is in effect here."

Max, "all right, come on."

Max and Xylene led them inside, and they made their way to a closet.

Ben said, "grandma, grandpa, I've been in this store a hundred times. I've never seen a secret entrance in there."

Gwen commented, "well, I guess that's why it's called secret."

Max opened the closet, and everyone climbed in. Max opened up an old fuse box in it before flipping a few unlabeled switches in a specific order.

Suddenly, the closet began to move down!

They found themselves lowering down into a large Plumber base deep underground.

Gwen said, "how far down does this thing go?"

Max pulled out a sandwich baggie and said, "how about some cricket antenna? Helps to pass the time."

Gwen groaned, "I'm good", as Max and Xylene ate their snack.

Before long, the elevator/closet stopped and opened back up, allowing the group to enter the base.

On the wall was the Omnitrix symbol.

Ben said, "that symbol. It's on the watch, and I've seen you guys carry it on badges. I've even seen the symbol around town. I just assumed it was graffiti from fans of my aliens"

Max said, "that's been the icon of the plumbers for centuries."

Xylene used a nearby console to scan her badge.

Gwen said, "nice security. Geometric scanners, delta-4 emotion trackers. Sweet."

Max asked, "what'd you think, we were just gonna ring a doorbell?"

A door opened up in front of them as Xylene and Max led them inside.

Xylene said, "Ben, Gwen, Hope, we'd like you to meet the last of the active Plumbers on Earth."

Max said, "undoubtedly, you'll recognize some of them."

Ben and Gwen did indeed recognize them. There were numerous people they'd seen around town!

Ben said, "no way."

Gwen asked, "Mrs. Dalton?"

Hope asked, "the woman who runs the diner?"

Doris Dalton said, "hello, kids. Nice to see you."

Gwen said, "Mr. Hawkins, the Postman?"

Mr. Hawkins said, "good to see you, kids."

Ben asked, "fire chief Whittington?"

Whittington said, "you've been keeping me very busy, young man."

Ben gave a sheepish smile at that; he knew what he was referring to.

Hope asked, "and Principal White from school?"

Principal White, or Ed, said, "nice to see you kids."

Ben said, "I'm officially confused."

Gwen nodded, "ditto."

Ed said, "let's move, people."

The Plumbers led the kids through the base.

Ben said, "so the hands have been under Bellwood this whole time? And this whole base was created to protect them? Wow, guess bellwood isn't as boring as I thought it was…."

The group soon arrived in a large room. In the center was a strange circular artifact that resembled a cross between a sun dial, a clock and a ring.

Gwen asked, "is that…."

Max said, "yes. The hands of armageddon."

Ben asked, "if you were so worried about Eon using them, why didn't you just destroy it?"

Doris said, "we've tried, honey. Over the years, we plumbers have thrown everything we got at it."

Xylene said, "but the hands have a way of deflecting us."

Ed said, "the first time the Plumbers tried, the force of energy accidentally created the grand canyon. Or so they say. One of the next times started the Chicago fire. And I personally kicked off the great quake of '89. That was a rocky afternoon, let me tell you."

Max said, "we've dedicated a lot to make sure the hands never were used for their original purpose."

Ed said, "but it's been some years since we last had to fight Eon off the darn thing."

Doris said, "we're too old and too few now."

Ben said, "well, me, Hope and Gwen are happy to help."

Max and Xylene smiled at their grandson, happy he was taking things seriously. Suddenly, an alarm began to blare!

Ed said, "security breach in sector 5", he leaned into his vest, "3-4."

Max said, "everyone grab a weapon and let's head there!"

They went over to a foot locker, and Ed got out a keyring to get the locker open.

He said as he shuffled through, "okay…. Gotta be one of these somewhere..."

Doris said, "hurry up, Ed. Hurry up! "

Ed said, "my memory is not what it used to be…."

Doris groaned, "oh, for the love of…. Out of the way!"

Doris took a wrench and smashed the lock open, then pried the door open.

Ed said as he held up the keyring, "here we are. I kept the little ring on it so I'd recognize it."

Doris just gave him an odd look before she reached in and grabbed a blaster.

The other Plumbers each grabbed a blaster as Xylene said, "alright, let's move."

As they each armed up and went up the stairs, they were suddenly ambushed by one of Eon's soldiers!

Hope quickly threw her hand forward and shouted a spell that flung Eon's minion through the air!

Two more came from the shadows and attacked, while Max led the others towards the exit.

Ed said, "you know, I'll have to buy another lock tomorrow."

Doris rolled her eyes as she retorted, "are you kidding me? Keep firing, Ed!"

Ed and Doris fired at the minions as Max opened the door and ushered everyone through.

Amidst the commotion, Eon materialized and looked around, surveying the battle. His eyes then locked onto Ben as he stood behind his grandpa.

He growled as he pointed towards Ben, "you…."

Ben went wide-eyed as Eon singled him out.

He mused, a grim sneer forming on his face, "it's almost ironic, really; the one getting in my way is the key…."

Ben asked his grandpa, "what did he mean by that?"

Max replied, "haven't a clue."

Before anyone could react, Eon darted over and grabbed Ben by the wrist.

Ben yelled, "HEY! LET ME GO!"

Eon was trying to fiddle with the Omnitrix as Ben tried to pull away from him.

As he did, strange purple energy began to seep into the device.

Gwen's eyes suddenly glowed pink as she threw her hand forward and yelled, "get away from my cousin!"

Eon was suddenly sent flying back into a wall!

Max told Ben, "run, Ben! We'll hold him off!"

Ben asked, "what?!"

Xylene said, "Eon must want the Omnitrix in order to activate the Hands! We can't let him get it!"

Ben looked between the group…. And reluctantly decided that he should put some distance between himself and Eon. He quickly ran towards some stairs that had an exit sign above them, meaning they would lead him back up to the surface! He soon burst out of the doors upon reaching the top, running down an alleyway as he eventually heard footsteps racing after him!

Ben quickly began turning the dial in desperation.

He muttered, "Come on…come on!"

"Having trouble?"

Ben looked up at a nearby balcony, where Eon stood with his arms crossed.

Ben growled, "yeah, I'm having trouble. Cause a psychopath older than dirt is chasing me down."

Eon remarked dryly, "how rude. I suppose some things just never change. But, what is about to happen here is inevitable."

Ben asked, "what the heck do you want with me?!"

Eon gave a smirk; it was cold and unnerving as he descended from the balcony and said, "let me give you a history lesson. In the world where I came from, my people gained the ability to manipulate time at its base level. So while your Plumbers waited decades for my return, it has been significantly less time for me."

Ben retorted, "why don't you go back to your own world where somebody CARES what you think?"

Eon said, "sadly, I can't do that, at least, not without YOUR help. You see, I am a prisoner of time, as is my race. But not for long."

Ben asked, "and lemme guess, you need the Omnitrix for your plans?"

Eon smirked, "you catch on, Tennyson…."

Ben didn't move, "I won't let you have the Omnitrix."

Eon retorted, "you don't have a choice. Neither of us do."

But just as Eon reached for the Omnitrix as Ben backed up into a wall….

BOOM!

Eon was sent flying backwards from a large ball of energy.

Ben turned to see who had shot at Eon.

It was an old man, who was wielding a plumber blaster.

He laughed, "take that, you ugly junebug!"

Ben simply said, "whoa!"

Eon scowled, and vanished into the night.

Ben glanced at the old man, "wait, Mister Takarada? You're a Plumber too?"

Mr. Takarada said, "of course I am! What, you think I wear his disguise for fun?"

Ben asked, "you're an alien?"

Mr. Takarada laughed, "ha! No, but I fooled you for a second, didn't I. Now, hustle yourself home before he gets back. I'll clean up this mess here. Tell you the truth, this is the most fun I've had in years!"

Ben asked, "but what about my grandparents, Gwen and Hope?"

Mr. Takarada said, "I'll let them know you were here."

Ben clarified, "I meant are they gonna be okay? They were fighting off those guys minion's when I ran off."

Mr. Takarada responded, "from what I've heard, they're quite formidable,"

Ben nodded and said, "okay. I'll see ya later…."

Ben then ran off for home….

….

Once he returned, he made his way inside and tiptoed towards his bedroom door.

He needed some rest, and he didn't want to wake his parents up.

….

The next day….

Ben, Gwen and Hope were talking about what happened last night involving the Hands, the Plumbers, Eon, etc. They were explaining the situation to Kevin as well.

Kevin asked, "so some crazy time stopper guy wants the Omnitrix to bring his people back? I swear, Tennyson, you get into the craziest crap whenever I'm not around."

Ben said, "well, Eon clearly wants the Omnitrix so he can use the Hands and bring back whoever it is he wants."

Hope replied, "which would be bad news for everyone."

Gwen said, "it's a good thing we've got a bunch of Plumbers looking out for us now."

Kevin mused, "yeah…. That IS pretty good."

Ben said, "for now, we better focus on making sure Eon doesn't get what he wants."

Hope said, "heck, we don't even know the full story of him yet. Like who his 'people' are, where they came from, etcetera."

Gwen said, "he seems to know a lot about Ben and the Omnitrix. So maybe that's a clue?"

Kevin shrugged and said, "could be."

Ben said, "for now, let's just get through school so we can get back to stopping Eon."

Hope nodded, "good call."

Gwen said, "looks like that's our best call."

Kevin said, "easier said than done when school is such a bore."

Ben said, "ain't that the truth…."

….

We see Ben scribbling in the margins of his notebook, Julie and Ken in the same classroom. But that's when, suddenly, the fire alarm went off! Ben and his classmates quickly lined up and left the room single file, with Ben at the back. But as they went through the hallway, Ben went wide-eyed as he saw a familiar purple figure peeking from a window.

Eon!

Ben quickly hid around a corner as the rest of his classmates went off. Ben glanced around and noticed that the gymnasium was close by. He quickly ran inside of the gym, pulling down his wristband and preparing the Omnitrix. If Eon was coming after him at school, he wasn't gonna go down without a fight!

A slow clapping was heard, and Ben quickly turned to see Eon standing there, being the one clapping.

Eon said, "bravo. Your bravery and stupidity led you right to me…."

Ben said, "yeah, this happens a lot…."

Eon stalked forward, saying, "allow me to cut to the chase. I need that watch of yours."

Ben started to say, "yeah, I've heard that-"

Eon interrupted, "a million times?"

Ben went wide-eyed.

Eon chuckled, "I know more about you than you know, Benjamin."

Ben said, "then you know I'm about to do this!"

Ben slammed down on the Omnitrix, and in a flash of green light, Diamondhead stood there.

He said, "time to play my favorite game. Pummel the creepy villain!"

Eon's hand sparked with purple energy, which he shot at Diamondhead. The Petrosapien quickly formed a shield of crystals, shielding himself from several blasts before shooting several crystals from it, nearly impaling Eon, had he not dodged.

Eon jumped onto the bleachers and shot a big ball of purple energy towards Diamondhead, who quickly tucked and rolled before shooting another barrage of crystals at the villain. Eon ran along the bleachers, shooting at Diamondhead as the alien did the same to him.

But Eon finally managed a lucky shot, sending Diamondhead flying onto his back!

He groaned as Eon started running towards him, when suddenly….

"ZZAAAP!"

A blast of plasma sent Eon flying into one of the basketball hoops, sending glass crashing to the ground alongside the villain.

Diamondhead sat up and saw Principal White standing there, holding a very large plumber rifle, the barrel emitting steam.

He said, "no-one messes with my students and gets away with it…."

Diamondhead stood up, turning his arms into blades as he stood by his principal.

Ron slowly stood up, his bones cracking. Then, before they could continue the fight, all three seemed to hear many students making their way to the gym to get back inside.

Eon said as he turned his rifle into what looked like a cell phone, "another time, perhaps….", before vanishing.

Ed turned to Diamondhead and said, "I suggest you hide in the bathroom…."

Diamondhead nodded and quickly ran to the locker room connected to the gym.

Various students entered, including Gwen, Kevin and Hope.

Gwen noticed Ed, who quickly gestured to the locker room.

….

Diamondhead groaned as he sat on a toilet, "not how I wanted to spend the fifth period…."

….

Reviews:

Temporal King: answers to your questions: this is an AU, so it's a separate continuity retelling various events from all the shows. The future we saw in this story is the definitive future of this story, which is what causes Ben to be a better hero, and eventual father and husband and avoid being such a stick in the mud. I didn't wanna reveal too much about Ben and Gwen's respective kids yet. Lumi is indeed the Necrofriggian who didn't wanna leave. I think the Omnitrix maintaining youth is, well, stupid. Verdona is Gwen's grandma, while Xylene is Ben's grandma. Their father's are half siblings. Kenny has absolutely no magical abilities. In the Ken 10 episode, I replaced Kevin's role with Albedo. Glad you like how I did Charmcaster. Hex went nuts in his pursuit of dark magic attempting to return home. They weren't cast out. Gwen ABSORBED the keystones magic and eventually reformed them in the future with help from Hope. Ben doesn't ever learn magic. Ben DOESN'T know that Kevin's dad was an alien yet! And Gwen's crush isn't fully developed as of yet. And you can't skip parts of this story, cause you have no idea WHAT I may or may not change!

GreenRaven1: maybe. No new Negative 10 though. The crossovers were already in the show in Omniverse. Vilgax's people AREN'T brainwashed! I'm bringing back Kai Green, but she'll be way nicer. Eon and Malware will both be DEAD by the end of Omniverse. No Omnitrix prophecy, since Ben getting the watch wasn't intended.

Niklas b scorpio: …. No.

gabrielairessalgadoalves: sorry. Life has been…. Very shitty.

317Angry9guy: she'll appear more often than in the show.

MarcTL: definitive future. And Ben will keep the Ultimatrix. Ben and Hope will NEVER, EVER break up. Julie is just a FRIEND.

kingpizzarigby2016: thanks so much.

gabrielairessalgadoalves: Alien Force. And I plan to have Ben learn martial arts. And Kevin will use his absorbing powers with energy more.

Bailey Radcliff: thanks. And yeah, sorry it's been awhile.

Chroma Chill: thanks so much.

Swampfire is GOD: yeah, sorry it's been so long.

bensonlyhope: thank you!

2sonusiraj097: It is NOW! and I plan to explain stuff.

Ushindi: thanks. Elena WON'T become evil in the first place and my favorite Ben 10 movie is probably Destroy All Aliens.

Dragonvanguard: sorry to keep you waiting. I did my best to introduce my version of Eon, and I hope I didn't disappoint.

Death Fury: thanks.

4DarkAbyss53: glad you enjoyed it and thanks for understanding.

Canadude2029: thanks for understanding.

OMNISENSE95: thanks and glad you enjoy this story.

SuperSentai199: glad it was worth the wait.

….

Notes:

Sorry it took so long for the next chapter. A lot has changed in my life recently. I've got a new job, a new dog, etcetera.