Short chapter, but this was always planned to be one anyway, I might add in my response to the comments for chapter 18 in a couple days but I'm going to be too busy to do it anytime soon. Enjoy this chapter as I study for my collage exam.
The Ben 10 Multiverse
Galvan Prime, Azmuth's Tower
Myaxx looked down at Azmuth, the creator of the Omntrix was hard at work, typing and correcting data on holographic screens. The data on each screen displayed coding for machines, ideas, and projects even she didn't know about.
She looked at the First Thinker, biting her lip, wondering if she should ask the question that's been on the back of her mind for the better part of 6 years.
"Just ask it," Azmuth says with a sigh, surprising Myaxx out of her pondering. "You've never been subtle, what do you want? Just ask it. I'm very busy now."
Myaxx rolled her eyes with a scoff, "I've been wanting to ask you…" Myaxx says seeing Azmuth was still working as if she wasn't even talking. "Why him? Why did you not use the Omnitrix?"
"I have," Azmuth said still typing on the holographic screens, Myaxx did notice that the typing had suddenly slowed.
"I thought you said you didn't… besides the time you had to use it against Vilgax on primus. I mean… use it like the human did."
"I know what you meant, and I answered you… I had worn it."
Myaxx looked surprised at that information, stunned in her thoughts Azmuth continued. "While I didn't even think about using it the way he did, I had worn in for a tiny second to showcase the device as the 'walk-in-another-spieces-shoes' it was supposed to be. But as soon as I had it on, I took it off immediately."
"Why?"
"I couldn't handle it."
Myaxx nodded, she figured she knew why. "I get it, all that power at your fingertips-"
"Don't assume anything of me! That was not my reason." Azmuth said in a slightly angry tone catching Myaxx off guard.
At the time Azmuth was way too selfish and arrogant to ever admit that he could ever be 'too powerful' even after what happened to Ascalon.
"Then what was the reason?"
"The Omnitrix was beyond me, at the time I couldn't even comprehend it."
Myaxx looked confused, "What do you mean you couldn't comprehend it? You built the damn thing."
"It required something from me I couldn't give," Azmuth said, his hands now completely off the holographic screens as he took on a faraway look.
"And that is…?"
Dc Multiverse
Mount Justice, Med Bay
November 5th, 17:45
Ben was seen on a medical bed with machines hooked up to him. The Team looked on with sad looks as they themselves were patched up by the League.
None of them cared about their own conditions though, they all had a pit in their stomach, and they all got it right at the same time.
As soon as Ben was brought in a laid on the bed, the League started to get him hooked up to the machines which meant a strip of Ben's body to see the damage, and… it wasn't good.
Several of them almost threw up as they saw the burnt and charred stomach wound given to Ben by Zs'Skayr's magic attack.
The Justice League all formed back up in the mission room of Mount Justice, some of their wounds were now completely healed, however, some were still recovering.
Flash, who had the fastest regeneration out of all of them, was also still healing after the beat down Wally gave him… a sentence he never thought would actually be true. "So… the kids beat the shit out of us, huh?" He says trying to lighten the mood, he knew it wasn't a good time, but he had to start up the conversation. They couldn't just stand there staring at each other.
"I'll say," Superman muttered under his breath. Honestly, he was really proud of his clone brother for holding out against him as long as he did, he really regretted breaking Conner's watch out of everything he did.
Conner loved that thing, it gave him the full Kryptonian power set, something that, for some reason, he lacked. He'd have to apologize to Conner and try and get Ben to build Conner and a new one after he got better.
"How is the Team?" Black Canary asked with a worried look.
Flash, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman looked either ashamed or grimaced. "Healing," Diana says with a sigh.
"They're more torn up about Ben though," Flash says rubbing the back of his head. "Poor kid."
"How bad is the burn?" Hal asked, wondering what equipment they could use to help Ben stay alive.
"Bad," Batman answers simply but everyone understood what was implied. "Whenever Omni got injured before, however, the Omnitrix seemed to automatically change him into an alien that can heal its body to make sure he survives."
"So, what, do you think it's because of what hit him the watch isn't healing him?" Captain Marvel asks with a raised brow.
"No, I'm thinking that the watch isn't transforming him for some reason." Batman clarifies making everyone wonder the same thing and Captain Marvel is the only one to voice the question.
"Ok, but, why?!"
With Ben
Ben opened his eyes and immediately saw the sky… or what he thought was the sky. 'Why is the sky green?!'
Ben shot up from the ground, his eyes looking all around, he saw that he was in a city… a green-tinted city…
"Am… am I…" Ben says clutching his head as he looks around before his eyes widen. "This is Bellwood! …with a green tint to everything… I'm in the fucking Omnitrix again, aren't I?!"
Ben screamed into the sky annoyed. "Azmuth! If you can hear me, fix your DAMN WATCH!"
Suddenly, Ben doubled over in pain as he clutched his stomach. He then coughed out some blood and yelped as he ripped his shirt off the pain being too much. He then saw his burnt and charred chest and grimaced.
"How am I even alive?" He asked himself, he then looked around seeing nothing but green-tinted buildings.
"Ok, universe! I really done here! This isn't funny! Can we just get a move on here?!" Ben said annoyed, after dealing with Zs'Skayr all he wanted to do was go into bed and sleep for a week. "HEEELLLLOOOOOOO!"
…
…
…
"COME ON!" Ben says before he starts running through the streets trying to find a way out.
He ran for what felt like an hour, he stopped looking around and noticed something. "Why does everything look the same as before?! Same buildings, same street signs, same everything!
Ben had run out of options, the Omnitrix wasn't on his wrist, which made sense because he was in it right now. He looked around and sighed, he swore he would never do this on purpose… but it had to be done. Or he was going to be stuck here forever?
"OK universe… YOU WIN!"
"I'm stuck in the Omnitrix, my chest and stomach hurts like hell, I have a major headache, I have no idea what my actual body is doing right now…"
"THINGS, COULD NOT POSSIBLY, GET ANY WORSE!" Ben screams at the world.
A few seconds later, nothing happened, Ben just started to breathe heavily. 'Huh, I wonder if, in the Omnitrix, cause and effect have different ru- LES! AHH!' A hole in the floor opened up underneath him and he found himself falling. "Works every time! AHHHHHHH!" Ben says before screaming out as he falls through what seems to be a green void.
The Ben 10 Multverse
Galvan Prime, Azmuth's Tower
"You do know how ignorant that sounds right?" Myaxx scoffs, she should have known that was his reason. "Seriously, you couldn't comprehend being another species other than your own? You feared it would make you lesser?"
"Yes, I am aware. Even when I tried to change such mindsets with the Omnitrix I ended up being quite the hypocrite. I didn't care though, but I like to think I changed."
Myaxx glared at his back before relenting. "Yeah… I guess you have. It's all because of that boy, huh…" She says deep in thought.
"So… what's so special about him anyway? I mean, I saw myself just how determined, stubborn, and heroic he can be when push comes to shove but… surely there were better options, like Max Tennyson, other plumbers out there…"
"...No… no there were not," Azmuth says, his lips curved into a smile before it went away.
"What do you mean? Surely, someone more powerful or noble would be better right?" Myaxx didn't want to completely insult Ben, he was a good kid. But she knew just how bratty he sometimes would be and how dumb he used the Omnitrix He also wasn't too good of a 'peacekeeper' he fought bad guys, but when it came to politics, he sucked.
"I can assure you Ben Tennyson is the only one I can trust to wear that watch and use its power in the way that is best for the universe."
Dc Multiverse
Inside the Omnitrix
Ben suddenly woke up again to what looked like a green sky.
He shot up to his feet a looked around, he was now in some kind of futuristic Colosseum. Each of the seats in the bleachers held one of his aliens, all of them sitting down, facing Ben.
Ben looked unnerved by this and his eyes darted to each one, getting uncomfortable with their stares. Way Big seemed to be behind the Colosseum and was looking down at him, which did nothing but make him more uncomfortable.
"Why are you worthy, Benjamin Kirby Tennyson?"
A voice Ben did not recognize asked him. The voice sounded… echoey, and it sounded like it was more than one person's voice speaking.
Ben looked up and his eyes widened as he saw a humanoid with transparent skin that appeared to have a cosmic starfield inside. The humanoid had two green eyes and three horns that grew from its forehead. The Omnitrix dial was on its chest.
Out of all the aliens, this one felt different. Ben felt the power radiating off of it.
"Uhhh, what…?" He choked out, backing away slightly but stopped as he looked back and saw behind him was merely a black void that resembled space… 'that- that wasn't there before… there was more ground behind me a second ago, I know it.'
Ben then looked back at the humanoid as it gazed at him.
"Why are you worthy of the Omnitrix? Why do you have the right to play god? Why should you even have the Omnitrix? Why is it up to you to decide and create peace in the universe?"
Ben gulped slightly before speaking, "You ask a lot of questions…"
"They are all the same. Why are you worthy of the Omnitrix?"
Ben looked behind him to see all his transformations looking at him intently, waiting for his response.
"I… I don't know…"
"If you want to leave here, if you want to keep using the Omnitrix, you need to give me- all of us an answer."
As the celestial humanoid spoke, Ben could see the other transformations nodding in agreement. Ben also knew it would probably be bad if he gave the 'wrong answer'. There was clearly a right one that they were looking for.
But he honestly didn't know. What made him 'worthy'? He wasn't, sure he used it to save people, but the Omnitrix didn't choose him. It was given to him out of coincidence.
If any of the other members of the Team were to have it, they would probably be better with it than him. Add the Omnitrix to their powers and skill and they would be unstoppable.
That also applied to Grandpa Max and Gwen, with Grandpa's plumber training he could use the Omnitrix probably better than he ever could. Gwen with her magic and the Omnitrix would be unbeatable, add her martial arts skills and the fact she was way smarter than him. She could have been even better than Max with the Omnitrix. And she would especially be better than him with it…
Was there an answer to give? Was the fact that he wasn't worthy the reason why he was worthy? He had no idea.
It was weird though, to be stared at by all these guys. Seeing them from the outside was weird, he was so used to seeing them through their own eyes through a mirror or some other reflective surface.
It was especially weird since these guys were all- …him.
The Ben 10 Multverse
Galvan Prime, Azmuth's Tower
"Ok, but why? What makes him different? The kid has spirit, but It's not that much of an uncommon trait. We have plenty of other heroes in this universe. The kid's clone is in a multiverse full of heroes just like him. What makes him so special?"
Azmuth smiled, "I doubted him at first too. But just like I have changed, so has he."
"He sees things differently than me. So differently I will never truly understand his way of thinking."
"His trust in people, his kindness, his heroicness."
"But the thing that makes him worthy, is how he sees those transformations in the Omnitrix, mere specs of blood and data. And yet… he sees more than that. Tell me, Myaxx, do you think you could use every transformation in the Omnitrix effectively? Do you think they could all be useful?"
Myaxx looked thoughtful but then considered the more weaker spices in the Omnitrix, "No. No way, all of them could-" She was stopped as Azmuth chuckled.
"I thought the same. I still think the same. But that- that child of a backwater planet just keeps proving me wrong."
Dc Multiverse
Inside the Omnitrix
"You're all me." Ben finally answered, he didn't get a response from any of the transformations, neither the humanoid but that was fine because he wasn't done.
"You're all me, and I'm you." He continued with a small smile. "If someone like Gwen, Max, Superboy, Kid Flash, or Robin were to use the Omnitrix… they wouldn't really see that. The Omnitrix would seem more like a tool, or a weapon in their arsenal. I sometimes think the same thing after all."
"But that's not all you all are, is it? You're alive. I know you are because you are me, you are all me. It's how I know that in the end, I can save the day when any of you. Even if I don't get the right alien, or I get an alien weaker than what I wanted, I know we will come out on top…"
"Because- THIS," Ben says raising his hands to the sky, gesturing all around him. "The Omnitrix, is just a gadget, if we want to save the day, we all got to be the hero."
"I know I can save the day with any of you. Because that's what heroes do. You're all just as much Ben Tennyson as Ben Tennyson is you."
As Ben says this, green energy starts to spark around his body, and none of the transformations react to it, they still haven't even made a peep but that doesn't seem to deter Ben at all as he keeps going.
The energy crackled around Ben, but the boy did not seem to notice. Wisps of the energy started to spiral around each other, thin green lines going across the wisps, fully shaping the energy radiating off the boy in long double-helixes that flowed off his body.
Ben's green eyes glowed brighter as he continued to talk, again Ben did not even notice this. He also didn't know his pupil was changing shape to take the form of the hourglass symbol for the Omnitrix.
The Ben 10 Multverse
Galvan Prime, Azmuth's Tower
"He believes in all the species within the Omnitrix. To him, they all have a purpose, a way to win. They can each make a difference. And he knows that. That is why he is worthy."
"That is why Ben Tennyson, is the ONLY one who is worthy," Azmuth says with a smile. He then looked at the holographic screen in front of him and smiled. "And it would appear, he has realized this as well."
Dc Multiverse
Inside the Omnitrix
"I believe in every alien in the Omnitrix. They all have a purpose. They can each make a difference, no matter their power, slimy, freaky, fast, strong, big, or small. You all matter." Ben says finishing off his speech before looking down at his hands and seeing the double-helix green energy flowing off his hands. "Whoa! Ok, that's new…"
The transformations all kept quiet until the humanoid celestial alien nodded. "Very good." He says and all the transformations stand up and walk over to Ben.
Ben looks at all of them wondering what was happening. "Uhh…"
The humanoid alien then placed its hand on its chest. "We are all with you." It says, suddenly they all began to warp, simmer, and shift, and in a spiral motion all the transformation sank into Ben's body.
"Whoa! What the?!" Ben says but stops as he feels… overcharged. The green energy spirals off of him.
The Omnitrix's inside glowed green and shot bolts of green electricity at Ben's body, his body somehow absorbing the energy.
With a loud scream, the word went black.
Mount Justice, Med Bay
November 6th, 14:50
The Team all came back to the cave and immediately all shot to the medical room to check Ben's condition. They all frowned at seeing Ben still not awake.
Then suddenly they heard a beep.
Superboy looked and saw the beep was coming from the Omnitrix.
"Hey, Ben's watch is-" He didn't finish as the Omnitrix lit up the room with green electricity.
The electricity all seemed to go back to Ben though, at first the Team looked horrified and tried to stop it.
Kaldur, however, stopped them with an outstretched arm and a shocked look. "Wait, look at his wound!"
All of them saw that your stomach was healing itself at a fast rate. The charred and burns were completely healed in seconds like it wasn't even there. There was no scar or dent in the skin.
However, it seemed like the Omnitrix wasn't done, Ben's figure slightly shifted as. His hair turned into a bright green matching the Omnitrix's colors.
After that, the electricity stopped and Ben gasped as he opened his eyes, removing the medical equipment from his body.
"BEN!" The Team all shouted running to him and bringing him into a hug.
"We are so glad you're ok," M'gann said with tears of joy rolling down her eyes.
Zatanna wasn't much better as she also had a few tears going down her eyes. "You really scared us."
"Why is your hair green now?" Wally asked bringing Ben into a one-armed hug.
"Also, why is your body different?" Artemis asked, not ashamed at all by mainly staring at his newly, even more muscular, body.
"Not that we're complaining," Barbara said, doing the same as Artemis.
"I'm glad you're back my friend," Koriand'r said kissing his cheek.
"Yeah, glad you're back man!" Dick said slapping his back.
"We are all glad you're ok," Kaldur says with a reassuring hand on Ben's shoulder.
"Hope you had a good sleep," Conner says with a grin playfully punching Ben's shoulder.
"Thanks, guys, as for my… green hair? And body? What are you guys-" Ben started to say but then saw his reflection in the mirror. "What the FUCK!"
"Omnitrix, did you do this?!"
"User, Ben Tennyson, has now become one with the Omnitrix. User, Ben Tennyson, has become the prime of his species at his current age." The Omnitrix said with a robotic voice that caught the team off guard.
"O-Ok can I at least get my normal hair back?" Ben asked and the Omnitrix glowed green.
"Changing DNA." It said and suddenly Ben's hair color shifted back to its normal chocolate brown.
"Whoa! It can change your appearance now?!" Both Dick and Wally said at the same time.
Ben gave them a sheepish look and scratched the back of his head. "I-I guess. Why do I now have even more questions about this damn watch than before."
The Team chuckled at your response before Wally then excitedly cheered. "Alright, now that our fearless leader is back from the dead. Let's go get pizza!"
The Team laughs as Wally excitedly runs out the door, "You all go ahead, I'll catch up, I'll inform the League that Ben has woken back up." Kaldur says walking out the med bay door.
The Team then shuffled out one by one heading to the Bioship. Conner, however, stayed behind with Ben.
Conner then nervously scratched the back of his head. "H-Hey, Ben… I know you just woke up… but… it's about the watch you gave me… Superman broke it when he was possessed."
Ben looked at him with wide eyes. "Damn, really? You still beat him too?"
"I more kicked him into space so that the sun took care of the ghost alien… anyway… do you mind fixing it…"
Ben looked at him, he contemplated for a second before he spoke. "No,"
Conner stiffened, before clenching his fists in anger, he thought to himself if this was Ben punishing him for getting the device broken, or if the device was 'one-of-a-kind'. "I-I understand-"
"No, because, me and you are going to find a more permanent solution," Ben says stunning Superboy as Ben wraps him in a one-arm hug. "One day soon, let's stop by Cadmus and see if they got anything of how to give you the full powerset."
Conner looked at Ben and smiled. "Yeah… thanks, Ben."
"No problem… now let's go before Wally starts yelling at us to hurry up," Ben says, and both he and Conner run out the door.
Unknown Location
Zs'Skayr didn't know how it happened, but he could feel himself being put back together. His one eye widened as he took in his surroundings, and he noticed he was in some sort of… black void.
The only source of light seemed to be behind him and what he saw shocked him.
It was a ruby-red diamond-shaped crystal that had an enormous amount of mana stocked into it, probably the most he had ever felt in his life.
The crystal got closer to him before touching his face. The crystal then glowed brighter making Zs'Skayr's skin burn slightly. The energy then takes the form of a little girl with a headband wearing a school uniform. She had blonde hair and brownish-red eyes.
"A child?" Zs'Skayr remarks in confusion at the source of mana being from such a small girl.
The girl chuckles slightly. "Child… Child…" She said, testing the word on her tongue with giddy delight. "Ahh, yes, Child… I like that name. Thank you, my new anchor."
"Anchor?"
"My apologies, I haven't introduced myself, I am a Chaos Lord. Much like the one you fought before you fought that shapeshifter, although I'm much better." She said with smugness. "My new name is Child. I just want to inform you that I am a BIG fan of your work. But…" she then leaned into Zs'Skayr's face sporting a smile, a smile that even creeped the evolved Ectonurite out.
"Do you want to cause some REAL chaos?"