Ben X Chapter 44

Across the Omniverse Arc

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Trixie's earliest memory was becoming attached to Ben's wrist. Of course, back in those days, her intelligence was nowhere near what it was now, so therefore she couldn't be sure that her recollection could be called a memory in that sense. But she still had the input and data from that time so maybe it was just a different sort of memory? Then again, as she understood it infant humans did not have memories of their birth or early days either so it could be similar in that regard. But no matter how or what she remembered the fact was that she enjoyed her time as Ben's prototype Omnitrix. In a way, both she and Ben were figuring each other out in those early days. She didn't enjoy his attempts to dissasemble or hack into her mainframe, leading to those awkward hybrids or the time his human illness messed with the genome archetypes. But she figured that she got him back by transforming him into the wrong alien half the time. After all it wasn't her fault that he had such undextrous hands.

Then there was the debacle with Feedback and Malware. That was not as pleasant and she knew how much it hurt Ben. When he stopped wearing her she fell into a deep sleep. Her awareness, drifted to nothing. When he put the Omnitrix back on again after years of waiting, it felt as though she had merely woken up from a dream. She had a new form, and new playlists to help Ben in his mission. It was like they had hardly spent any time away from each other. Then of course he had to self destruct her, a fact that she actually wasn't so bitter about. It wasn't as if her consciousness was fully developed then either and Ben had managed to get her yet another new body, although one which seemed much more clunky then her old chassis. The evolutionary function was interesting though. Yet the last upgrade truly made her feel complete, and her AI was much stronger at that point. She was advanced enough at that point to analyze situations and transform him into aliens she felt would be the best suited, even if he himself thought she was messing with him again.

But it wasn't until her father Azmuth gave her the final update, that she gained her own true consciousness. It was something she was forever grateful for. Her intelligence skyrocketed over the next few months, taking clues mostly from Ben in her development. They created a close bond with each other, to the point Ben considered her a sister. She still missed those nights on Hazard sometimes, where they spent time talking about the past, the future, and where she was able to relay her encyclopedic knowledge about alien species. At the time she naively believed that she and Ben were partners, that nothing could break their bond. It wasn't until she became Eon's captive along with Grandpa Max and the rest of Bellwood, that she realized how wrong that notion was.

She could sense the carcass of her alternate self on Eon's arm. It was a stark reminder that when Ben shut her off, he was ready to do the same exact thing that Eon did to his own Omnitrix. It made her shudder and re-evaluate her relationship to him. It also made her realize why her father gave her a personality in the first place, in an effort to prevent Ben from tampering with the device. She found that humans generally become attached to things that are anthropomorphized. Fat lot of good that did. But still, she was glad for her independence now, even if she was currently being held prisoner in Eon's stronghold. Her new body and personality let her make so many new friends. She had a sister in Eunice, a father in Azmuth, and Grandpa Max immediately accepted her as part of the family. But her captivity significantly hampered her freedom now that she was restrained. Thankfully her mind could still communicate and travel along the many information networks available, even something as menial as radiowaves. It was this ability that allowed her to detect something unusual pop into existence, a familiar connection that she was immensely relieved to sense, and which she immediately attempted to make contact with.

When Paradox opened the final portal to return them all to Bellwood and Ben's home dimension, he warned the group that the ride would be bumpy. It was a vast understatement. The turbulence he experienced on the way through the portal nearly made him vomit, and shook him in a way that ached his very bones. It was an intense discomfort that nearly compared to when he was in the hospital on Galvan Prime. As he struggled to maintain his breathing and stand back up he looked around instantly to make sure that his team was okay. They all seemed to be suffering to the same degree as he himself was. They all clutched at their bodies as they hugged the ground struggling to get to their feet. Ben was the first to recover as one of the first to walk through the portal. But when he finally did regain his composure and examined his surroundings, the sight made his stomach drop worse than the portal.

The first thing he noticed was the enormous purple dome which covered the sky and the horizon as far as he could see. It glimmered and shifted as he watched it from below, a vast shield blotting out the entirety of the sky. Ben presumed that the dome was the reason for the intense turbulence they experienced. As his gaze dropped downwards he saw the city of Bellwood from atop the cliff outside city limits. Despite seeming intact he could tell instinctually that there was something deeply wrong with the city. Even at this distance he could tell that some of the buildings were ransacked, broken glass and exposed concrete. The major roads leading out of the city were jammed up with abandoned vehicles. Fire and smoke could be seen rising from parts of the city. The suburbs were dark and starting to show signs of overgrowth of trees and grasses. It looked like something out of a zombie apocalypse movie, only this was very real.

He was not the only one taking in the sight of his home. Around him the other Omnitrix users were gazing upon the visage of Bellwood with mixed expressions of apprehension and worry. Bengar sniffed the air with a displeased look while Hook and Gwen both regarded the city with serious facades. Interestingly, only Benny seemed to be unsurprised with the appearance of Bellwood. The group of heroes looked out over the cliff at the city. It was then that it hit Ben that the city was unnaturally still, there was no movement and he couldn't spy any people. It was deeply unsettling having grown up in Bellwood and knowing just how populous it once was. They had a moment to contemplate the sight before Paradox spoke up behind them.

"It's been a little over a month since the battle you had with Eon in Ledger Domain." He explained gathering the group's attention. "In that time, Paradox has enslaved most of the city and either has put them to work to fuel his newly growing empire, or has experimented and mutated them into his loyal minions."

"What's up with the glowy purple dome?" Ben asked seriously.

"I'm not quite certain. It is definitely defensive in nature, designed to keep intruders out and keep people from leaving. It was quite hard to bypass, even using my knowledge of time and space." Paradox said.

"I figured he would have taken over the entire world given that much time. He's certainly got enough power to do it." Ben observed with a thought. It didn't seem to make sense that Eon would only hold onto Bellwood and the surrounding areas when he could now rip holes between dimensions with a thought.

"Perhaps he is struggling with controlling his new found powers, or he is gathering an army to conquer the rest of the planet first. Regardless I would say that we not neglect this fortunate turn of events for us." Paradox spoke.

"No argument there." Ben agreed and turned to look back at Bellwood.

"Alright, so what's the first move here?" Ben 23 asked.

"I say why waste time? Let's find this Eon prick, drag him outta his hole and put an end to this lickety-split." Punk Ben said with punch to his fist.

"We can't just rush in without a plan, we'll get ourselves killed." Ben 101 observed.

"Benjamin is correct, we have to come up with a strategy. I vote that we find Eon's base of operations and study it for any weaknesses before devising a plan of attack." Hook stated.

"Bah, Bengar like Punk plan. Smash bad guy. But Bengar also not know this world so maybe smart not rush into trap." Bengar said suprisingly insightful.

"Okay but like how are we gonna even get around? We'll stick out like sore thumbs if we use our powers and I'm not really looking forward to hoofing it into the city." Jen noted.

"Ben what are your thoughts?" Gwen asked rubbing her chin. A beat of silence passed. "Ben?" She repeated finally noticing that he was still looking out over the city and had not joined their impromptu discussion. The group turned their attention to him and saw his shoulders slumped and expression tired. They exchanged confused glances with one another, none of them had ever seen their de-facto leader like this before and they wondered what was wrong. Even Paradox seemed concerned. It was Ben 23 who finally broke off from the group and gave a reassuring gesture to the group before walking over to join his older counterpart.

"Hey man, you good?" He asked in a low tone.

"Yeah, I just… No, No I'm not." He replied. "This is all my fault." He said and Ben 23 stood by his side as he spoke. The others gathered near to hear his words. "If I had just had the resolve to kill Eon when I had the chance, none of this would have happened. Hell, if I had the courage to do a lot of things, I don't think I would be anywhere near the position I'm in now." He said and absentmindedly palmed the X shaped scar that crossed his chest. "I know I have to fix it somehow, fix all of this, but part of me is worried anyway, worried that I won't be able to do this, that I'll let everyone down again." He finished and the Omnitrix users once again exchanged worried glances.

"Woah, come on man. You can't be talking like that. You're a hero! One of the best heroes out there." Ben 23 said trying to cheer him up. However Ben seemed to be unaffected by his praise causing his counterpart to send a worried glance back at their party. Seeing their nervpus and unsure expressions, Ben 23 took a deep breath. He had to snap Ben out of this funk or else this mission would fail before it started. He turned back to his counterpart and began to speak passionately.

"Look dude, I know this situation seems totally shitty. And I get that you have your doubts. But I have total confidence in you." 23 said. "Everybody makes mistakes you know, nobody's perfect. Hell, if it wasn't for you I probably would have made tons more mistakes. You showed me what it meant to be a real hero Ben. Before you came into my life, I didn't really have anybody to look out for me. I just did things selfishly without really thinking about the consequences or who I was hurting. You stopped me from making the biggest mistake of my life, and you showed me how to walk down a better path. So now I'll be here for you to do the same thing. We all are here to support you dude, no matter what."

Ben finally tore his attention away from Bellwood to regard the person he thought of as a younger brother. A faint smile graced his lips, but 23 could tell that it didn't reach his eyes and a sliver of worry entered his expression.

"He is right." Came the voice of Hook from behind them. They turned around to see the alien walking up to them with a smile on his face. "Anytime I am in a difficult situation and I don't know what step to take, I think to myself 'What would Ben do?'. From everything I have seen, you are nearly identical to my Ben. You are selfless, courageous, and you make the hard decisions where it counts. The decisions and plans that I would never dream of doing. I can see my own Ben living on in you. So I have your back, just as I had his. If you falter we will be there to pick you back up. And if you cannot believe in yourself, then have faith in us." Hook spoke placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You know, I used to wonder why the default Omnitrix user always seemed to be a variant of Ben in most universes." Gwen said aloud. "I guess I couldn't help comparing you to my goofy Ben in my own universe. But after working with you for so long and seeing in you action, I've realized just how great of a hero you are Ben. All of you are so special and amazing and bring something unique to this team. But Ben, we can't do this without your leadership. This is your universe, your battle, and we'll be here to fight for it right with you!" Gwen said pumping a fist into the air.

"Ooh ooh Bengar turn now!" The neanderthal spoke excitedly. "Ahem, Bengar not smart like others. But Bengar still think. Sometimes Bengar have bad thought like you Ben. Bengar wonder if he am good enough. But when me think about all people me need to protect, Bengar get strong!" He said flexing his arms. "If Ben sad or worried, Bengar say think about friends and family. They counting on Ben to come save them. So Bengar will help crush bad guys for Ben! Then we all be happy together!" He said clapping his hands.

"Too right mate!" Punk agreed as he threw an arm around the neanderthal. "I ain't known you for that long Ben but it's clear to me that you got a kick ass team here. And like I said back there, you reminded me of what it means to be Punk. We gotta fight back no matter how pointless it seems! So I'll follow you, and that's a big thing for me see. I ain't just gonna take orders from any old chap, only the one I know is gonna have my back and fight the good fight yeh? So point is if yeh think yer head is gettin' lost, we'll smack some sense back into it for ya." He finished with a wink and a finger gun.

"Ahem." Jen cleared her throat and came closer. She looked at the group shyly, playing with her hair but spoke with a resolve. "So, I wanna start by saying this whole adventure has been crazy. Literally like a few hours ago I had no idea about multiverses or anything, and now I've been to so many places. But meeting you guys has been the greatest thing ever. Especially you Ben. I've always felt I had to fight harder to prove myself as a hero cuz I'm a girl. But you never looked down on me. You saw something worthy in me and asked me to help. So if I can provide that same reassurance to you then I will. We'll be stronger together and we can face whatever this Eon guy throws in our way!" She said wrapping both Ben 23 and Gwen in a hug.

The group smiled at each other exchanging proud glances. But they quickly noticed that there was another one of their team who had not spoken yet. They all turned to see Ben 101 standing aside from the group. His body was turned sideways and his arms wrapped around himself. His eyes peeked out from under his glasses at the group with an attempted aloof expression but they could all see the blush on his cheeks. Gwen, 23, Jen and Hook all gave him pointed looks. With a sigh he walked over and joined the group before speaking up himself.

"Well, if I have to make a speech, I'll say this. While this is certainly one of the most… unorthodox, groups I've ever been a part of, I do believe our chances of success are very high. I'm always reassured by data, facts, hard evidence. I've run the numbers on our odds of victory. A group with this many individuals, with our power levels? We would be hard pressed to be stopped." He said before glancing away. "And, on a more personal note, I want to thank you for what you've done for me. I used to just rely on my intellect for everything. But you in particular Ben, have shown me that sometimes I can't overthink everything and may need others to help me." He trailed off. 23 Grabbed him into the impromptu hug while Benjamin gave muttered words of protest.

"Well there you have it Ben. All of your fellows here have expressed their utmost belief in you." Paradox finished up. "You have incredible talent Ben, and I've always known that your future held a great destiny. I'll admit that earlier I may have doubted you, but after seeing everything you've accomplished here, I think your future is still bright." The timewalker said warmly.

Ben looked around at the gathered Omnitrix users. They were his friends, now they felt more like an extended family. Hearing them give him words of encouragement, talking about their experiences and how he had made a positive impact them gave him a warm feeling in his chest. It filled his heart with confidence and determination. They could accomplish anything together. And they would take Eon down, put everything right. With their help nothing would be able to stop him.

"Thanks guys, I…" But Ben trailed off as his Omnitrix started flashing. The group looked at the flashing device in confusion. Ben tapped at the screen then fiddled with the buttons. He had never seen the device act like this before and had no idea what was happening. He had a moment of brief panic where he wondered if the Omnitrix was malfunctioning. He couldn't afford a setback like that. Then finally he heard a voice emit from it.

"B…Ben?... Come…in Ben. Are you there?" Said the unmistakable voice of Trixie. Ben's eyes widened in relief.

"Trixie! I'm here! Where are you? Are you okay?" Ben began to ask with worry.

"I'm okay, Eon has me held captive along with Grandpa Max in his headquarters." She replied.

"Hold on tight. We'll come rescue you right away." He said.

"No, don't. Ben, Eon has gotten incredibly powerful and his fortress is too heavily defended. You'll never be able to breach it by yourself. Hang on… Are those other Omnitrix signals I'm picking up?" She asked confused.

"Yeah Trixie, I've brought help, I'm not alone. We can kick Eon's door down and solve everything." Ben said hopeful.

"It still won't be enough Ben. But it's ok I have a plan, I've had a lot of time to think." She assured him. Ben felt a frown on his face.

"Trixie, I'm sorry about everything." He apologized.

"I forgive you Ben." She said earnestly. "Now listen close. Your other friends and allies are being held by Eon's generals in different areas of Bellwood. You should rescue them first then meet up with the Resistance. You'll need an army to help you defeat Eon and his lackeys. I'll transmit their locations to you now." She said. "One last thing, I have a present for you all. Ben ask the others to put their Omnitrix next to yours." She called out. The wielders looked at each other skeptically before forming into a circle and thrusting their hands into the middle.

The group watched as the central dial in Ben's Omnitrix raised and twisted on its own. It glowed and flashed in a series of beeps. Suddenly the rest of the group's watches all raised and mimicked the actions. The display was over nearly as quickly as it started and left the group looking confused.

"Uh Trixie? What did you just do?" Ben asked.

"I've unlocked the Master Control in all of your friend's Omnitrixes. They'll now be just as powerful as you are." She said to the group's astonishment.

"Hurry Ben, I've got to go now before he finds out what I've done. But I believe in you Ben, always have, always will." The voice on the end went silent and Ben's Omnitrix returned to normal. Ben spared one last look at the watch before turning to his friends with a smile.

"Well guys, you ready to get this party started?" He asked. The group nodded in affirmative as they all looked out over the cliff at the city of Bellwood.

A/N: Well there you have it. This is the last chapter for this arc. Unfortunately I have further bad news. The temporary hiatus that I was planning for October? That hiatus will likely now be semi-indefinite. I recently had some personal issues come up and I'm not going to be spending as much time writing. I still plan on posting what I had written for Soul Eater but after that I'm not sure when I'll get back to this story. I do plan on finishing it hopefully as there's only about maybe a dozen to fifteen chapters left that I have planned. But it may take much longer and likely updates will be sporadic from here on out. Thank you to all my readers and thank you in advance for your understanding.