(Talks to self)
Alright, deep breaths, this is our first story here plus a celebration of Ben 10 AF's 13th anniversary. I can't mess this up. Everything has to be perfect!
(Notices that the camera is on)
AHEM ahem, what I meant to say was, welcome to the first story I ever decided to publish! First of all, I'd like to say I'm pretty fresh to writing fics and to this site in general, so I'd love any feedback thrown my way as along as it's constructive. I'd also like to mention CreateGunner1209's Heroes Never Die It's Hero Time, The Incredible Muffin's My Alien Academia and BigPear's A Result of Consequence as the inspirations behind this fic and I would like to thank them for the stories that they are publishing right now. I doubt anyone is here without at least reading one of their fics but if you are... check them out, they are a blast. Anyway, let me not drag this out, see you at the Author's notes down below.
I do not own Ben 10 or My Hero Academia.
Chapter 1
Ben Tennyson: Origin
Quirks…
The power that turned the supernatural into the norm and gave birth to a superhuman society, with the profession of being a hero coming into life.
And in this world that turned dreams into a reality, there were 10 heroes, bound by one symbol, quickly rising in the eyes of America.
To some they were a new class of government issued heroes, to some they were a group of vigilantes, dealing out justice as they saw fit and to some they were just a bunch of misfits that did not let their power go to waste. But all of this only served to prove just how little the public knew about them.
Who were they? Where had they come from? What is their goal?
However when these heroes suddenly vanished into thin air, the questions didn't last long in this society infested by both heroes and villains alike.
3 years have come and gone since this event.
And even though this hero of heroes was far from ready, the world was ready to force his hand and give him one more chance to turn into a great hero of all generations.
This is his story...
The sun was shining, the clouds were giving the crowd the perfect amount of shade and the weather was just right at 68oF, it was as good a time as any for some good ol soccer in the small town of Bellwood.
In this match, there were two teams, one was supporting a jersey of vivid red, while the other was taking up dark green as the rival color. And a red particular player now dribbled the ball between his feet.
"Heh, amateurs." The player said as he got past three of the green teams' players. "Is this really the best that the Bellwood's got?"
However, it wasn't long before he found himself surrounded by the green team. He tried to look around for a way out but there wasn't much he could do if he tried to go forward.
He tried to turn to the left but nope, he would still be caught and to his luck, these ones didn't seem exactly slow.
Time felt like it slowed down but it was still ticking, he had to make a decision…
"Pass it to me! Pass it to me Cash!" He heard. It was his (Well, was friend really the right word here? Doesn't matter) "friend" J.T. and he seemed to be open.
"Hmph, yeah right I'll give the glory to you." Cash thought but he didn't seem to have many options as players were closing in from the back.
"C'mon I'm open!" J.T. yells out which Cash internally replies, "You know what, anything's better than losing to that stick in the mud." and passes it over.
The ball threads the needle between many green players and ends up before J.T. And with that, he starts running. Running like never before.
The ball was between his feet. The rival players were behind him. 20 seconds on the clock. And only one obstacle. The goalie.
The goalie had his arms open. His eyes on the ball. Ready to make a catch.
J.T. closes in. 10 seconds left.
Aims his shot. 5 seconds. 4. 3...
And he shoots it!
The ball flies toward the upper right corner. It's going to go in! And..!
The goalie makes the catch!
The timer continues to go down. 2, 1 and zero…
With a score of 2 to 1, the home team wins the match and the crowd goes wild!
The green team players lift up their goalie up high and going with the flow, the goalie lifts up the winning save in his hands.
"Tsk, what the hell were you doing J.T.?!" Cash roars. "Any man with two eyes could see that he was leaning towards the left! Why didn't you shoot right?!"
"I'm sorry Cash, m-my position wa-wasn't right, I took the best shot I could and…" J.T. tries to defend himself but Cash interrupts him.
"Save it. Here he comes…"
Now off from the arms of his teammates, the goalkeeper of the opposite team walks right over to them and lends his hand forward. "Good game Cash. And to you J.T."
J.T. shakes the hand while Cash continues to stare with disgust. "I'll get you back Tennyson."
J.T. tries to approach him but Cash just pushes him back and heads off to the changing room. J.T. regains his footing and even though he's taken aback, he still follows after the taller teen.
"Tennyson'' on the other hand, is just sad that J.T. even still continues to follow after that brat. To think that someone would get a hint by now…
Since he didn't bring a change of clothes, he heads off to his bike and unlocks it. As he gets on, he looks back at the field one last time.
He rides off with his bike through the uneventful streets of Bellwood and quickly arrives at Lot 4, a caravan park. He also sees a familiar face parking his car at the entrance.
He waves and says "Hello there, Mr. Baumann!"
A bit startled, Mr Baumann says "What!- Oh hi Benjamin…" (with as little enthusiasm as possible)
'What are you doing here, Mr. Baumann?'
'Oh just a delivery.' He says, showing the bag in his hand. 'How about you?'
"Just got back from the soccer game." Ben says as he gets off his bike and walks next to at the entrance. 'I thought I could visit my grandpa on my way back.'
"How nice." Mr Baumann says while keeping one eye on him and the other one on his car.
The two then start walking inside and Ben quickly goes on the lookout for the Rustbucket.
"So...' Mr. Baumann says. 'You sure have gotten tall Ben."
I mean, he wasn't off.… Last time he checked, he was 5'10 at the age of 15 but he would be lying if he didn't find the older man's attempt at a conversation funny.
"What's so funny?" Mr Baumann asks, apparently noticing Ben's small chuckle.
"Nothing. Yeah, I sure have…" Ben says as his eyes drift over to the bag in Mr. Baumann's hand.
"What is the package Mr. Baumann?"
Mr. Baumann opens the bag and immediately a frozen cold stench fills Ben's nose.
"Octopus eyes." Mr. Baumann replies.
Yep, there was only one man on this earth who would have these delivered to his doorstep. And to their luck, the pair had arrived at their destination.
Ben parks his bike next to the Rustbucket and knocks on the front door. He doesn't know what it is but he just feels happy to visit his Grandpa Max again.
With a brief pause, the door opens. However, the one to exit the vehicle isn't Grandpa Max. There were two figures. One was a tall, fish-like humanoid with mauve-colored skin and gills on either side of his neck. He had also been wearing a silver-black suit with a helmet, filled with water-like liquid. The other had the same outfit however, he had grey skin, purple eyes and an antenna on his head and gills.
"Stay safe, Max." "Yeah, take care of yourself Max." They say before walking away, one without so much as a glance to Ben or Mr. Baumann while the other waves at them before following his friend. After him, Max appears at the door and shouts: "You too, Labrid! Patelliday!"
And before he can get ready, Max is then immediately blindsighted by one of Ben's hugs back and says: "Heh, you sure seem lively champ. What's up?"
"Our team just won the soccer match and I caught the last shot." Ben says with a hint of cockiness. He wasn't lying, being the goalie and not running around much was nice but not being in the heat of the action meant that him being the clutch factor didn't happen a whole lot. So, he was going to get anything he could.
"I wish I could be there to see it." Max says as he puts his hand over Ben's head and ruffles his hair. He then notices Mr Baumann, waiting with the package he ordered.
"Oh Mr. Baumann, sorry for having you wait. Let me grab my wallet."
"Ah, it's no problem Max. I just don't want the eyes to spoil."
Max comes out with his wallet and pays for the package. In the meantime, Ben gets inside the Rustbucket and starts changing from his jersey. And just like he thought, 90 minute games and heavy sunlight from above, don't mix. Taking a shower was a must for tonight but now, he was going to spend some quality time.
As Max closes the door, Ben immediately takes his signature place on one of the couches of the Rustbucket. "Who were they grandpa?"
"Magister Labrid and Magister Patelliday from the Plumbers. They just came by for a chat."
Ben looks back at the door and says: "Magister Labrid (was that his name?) didn't seem like that at all.". He then puts on a smile and says: "But I guess not all Plumbers are so approachable."
"Yeah..." Max replies in an exhausted manner.
"So… What did you do today grandpa?"
"Umm, nothing much champ..."
Yep, something's wrong. Ben is all too familiar with his grandpa's dismissive responses, either something happened that he doesn't want Ben to know, or he's actually leading into something. "What is it grandpa?"
"Nothing, it's just…" he says before pausing at the sight of Ben's concerned face.
"Get your bike inside, I'll tell you on the way."
"Ummm, on the way to where, exactly?"
"To your folks's house."
Okay… Now this was weird. What could his grandpa have that would make him conflicted and want to share with Ben's parents. Whatever it is, it was surely going to be interesting.
"So pro heroes came by the Rustbucket... for a school offer?" Ben utters, in a confused manner.
"Yeah." Max confirms. "Apparently the little heroics we did during our cross-country trip garnered more attention than we realized."
Ben sinks to the front seat of the Rustbucket. Yeah, saying that his actions attracted attention was a bit polite considering the property damage that followed him with some of his heroics. Not even to mention the threats he unleashed... His first battle with Vilgax almost destroyed Rapid City, Kevin used the Omnitrix's power to commit all sorts of crime, His stunt... against the Forever King with Upchuck decimated Mount Rushmore… Hell, Ghostfreak's plan with the corrodium ended with a destroyed space station and a shuttle! No wonder the authorities were looking for him!
Max takes a deep breath and continues.
"From what they told me, people shared footage online, prompting the authorities to try to crack down your identity."
"Because, they didn't want an unknown vigilante running around all over America I'm guessing." Ben says, still feeling conflicted on the matter.
Yep, it was that stupid law about civilians not being allowed to use their quirks in public being at work here right now. He gets why that's there but… Argh, it's just so frustrating for him! If it's any consolation, it took them 3 years to do this, so he hid that cover of his pretty good at least.
"They told me some of the faults in your approach to the situation and just how risky some of them were."
In response, Ben turns his gaze out of the window. But, Max catches that.
"Ben..." He says. "I know it's hard to hear this but..."
"What was I supposed to do grandpa?" Ben says as he cuts him off. "There was no pro hero in sight, I had to do something. I couldn't just sit still and wait. I… just couldn't."
"And they aren't scolding you for that. Even though they were harsh on your methods, they praised your 'quirk' and your spirit. They know just as well as us, about the lives that would be lost without your intervention."
"I told them that you left the hero stuff behind, but they were still adamant about giving me this."
Max points to the business card he put on the front window which Ben reluctantly grabs and reads. Or more accurately, tries to read.
"U.A.?" Ben says as those are the only two letters he can read.
"It is a famous hero high school in Japan. They said that they had put a good word in for you in case you decided to change your mind."
"Japan huh…" Ben thinks. He had watched some anime back in the day so even though he might not go, he would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little bit interested.
"Ben…" Max says, which has him turn back to look his grandpa in the face. And even though his grandpa has to look at the road, Ben felt like he was actually looking back at him.
"No one can force you to make a decision you won't like. So if you don't want it..."
Ben turns his gaze back on the business card. "How long do I have?"
"I looked it up and the next entrance exam should happen in about 8 months from now. But the school would probably want an answer before that."
As Ben continues to contemplate on the decision at hand, they park at the front of his house. And now, he had this to worry about…
"Do we really have to tell them?" Ben asks as he takes his bike from the Rustbucket.
"Even though it is just the authorities, what we did is no longer a secret… It would be better if they learned it from us before they get the chance to learn from anyone else." Max says as Ben chains his bike and walks to the front door.
As Max is about to knock, he turns to Ben again. "But... you must be tired from that soccer game.
Putting his hand on the back of his neck, Max says: "If you want, I can tell them while you rest up."
"Yeah… That would be great, thanks." Ben replies as Max knocks and Ben's mother opens the door.
Putting on the best fake smile he can, he says "Hi mom… I'll be in my room..." and makes a beeline to his room. He can hear his mom saying something after him but he just mutes her out. He has too much on his head right now.
Closing the door after him, he lies down on the bed and starts staring at the ceiling as thoughts flash by in his head.
Well, his family was now in the know but more importantly… did he really have another chance at the hero business? Should he even have another chance especially after what happened last time?..
He impatiently gets up from the bed and opens his closet. If he was actually thinking about it, might as well face it as well.
He takes out a relatively small box and opens it up. It was his souvenir box from the summer, filled with fun memories. His stack of sumo slammer cereal cards, an old walkman, his old video game controller… It was all here but, when he pushed the stack of cards aside, there it was… The Omnitrix.
He picks it up and wow this thing used to fit to his wrist, it was now at the size of his palm. But it was just as he remembered it. Black and grey color, green dial in the middle, button on the side… it hadn't changed one bit.
However, to be honest, it did feel… heavier.
He takes it out and puts the box back to where it was. He sits back on the bed and now with the device back in his hands, asks himself one more time… Should it be hero time once more?..
On one hand, he would love to go back. That feeling of saving people, stopping bad guys, occasionally saving the world. It made him feel like…he was actually making a difference, it made him feel special.
But… Some of the threats he stopped actually existed because of him and the watch. Without the Omnitrix, Vligax would have never attacked Earth, Ghostfreak would have never existed and without him… Kevin wouldn't be in the Null Void…
With the pressure he's feeling, he smiles. He really wasn't going to get anywhere, now was he?
And as he was thinking this, he heard a couple loud footsteps fast approaching his room. Yeah, there wasn't much guessing when it came to this but as the door knob was turning, it suddenly stopped.
Ben looked under the door and saw a shadow just behind there. Considering the additional silence of the footsteps, grandpa just saved his life… barely. Maybe thinking about this life decision with his parents in the other room wasn't such a healthy situation.
He then turns around and sees the closed window behind him. Maybe he doesn't have to.
He swiftly grabs a jacket, grabs his phone, gets outside through the window and immediately makes a beeline towards his bike. If he was going to decide this, he needed advice.
"I just can't understand it dad. Why? Why would you think letting Ben fight villains like that was a good idea?" Ben's father asks. He's not happy with having to reproach his father like that but he feels like he has no other option.
"Frank and I always knew that there was something you kept away from us but this is our son! You should have called us when his quirk awakened!" Ben's father continues.
"It's our fault. We were too permissive and what did we get? A 15 year old son needlessly committing crimes and getting shipped off to Japan."
"He is not getting shipped out. It is a school." Max says, while trying to be as composed as possible. Their family had always been rather against the concept of quirks, thinking that using them presents a danger rather unnecessary. And the fact that the family was quirkless just went to fueling that fire.
"If he takes this, under the guidance of those ex-pro heroes, he can better learn to control his power and become a hero himself."
"But why dad? Japan is already producing more heroes that it needs and according to the news, other countries like America seem to be on loose follow. There are already enough heroes roaming around in this world, why would our son need to become one of them?"
"He doesn't need to do anything. For the last 3 years, he didn't become a hero even once, because it was his choice to not become one. And it's going to be his choice whether he continues what he started."
Stressed by the outcome, Ben's mother stands up and asks: "If it's only his decision, why don't we go and ask him!" sarcastically.
Before anyone can even react, Ben's mother starts stomping off to her son's room.
"No Sandra, again, we shouldn't-" Grandpa Max can say before Ben's mother turns around and yells "MY SON WILL GO TO ANOTHER COUNTRY, MAX. YOU CAN'T EXPECT ME TO SIT BACK AND LET THAT HAPPEN!"
Both men were stunned in place. Even though Ben's father didn't do anything wrong, he was still petrified by his wife lashing out to his father. To be honest, he still wasn't sure on how to take these news but seeing his father getting yelled at like that… Even though he kept the truth from him, he didn't deserve THAT.
"Sandra, wait!.." He said as he sprinted after his wife. Max on the other hand, collapsed back to the couch. For years he wanted to keep his family away from danger… He battled, he helped, he lied... Just to ensure that all of them got to live their best lives…
Now what can he do? He already revealed some of his secrets… Does he tell them of aliens, the Omnitrix… Just to hammer in how crucial of a decision Ben was trying to make? Does he risk exposing his own past, his own double-life?
"AHHHHHHHHHH!"
A scream cut through his thoughts and brought him back to reality. With the fastest that his age allowed him, he rushed to the source and found Ben's mother and father standing before his grandson's room, with the door wide open. Inside, the door of the closet was wide open, the box of Ben's souvenirs was opened and some of them were on the ground, but most importantly, the window was unlocked and a cool breeze was coming inside.
"Where did he go Carl?! Where did he go?!" Ben's mother exclaimed as he turned to her husband out of desperation. Her husband however, was just as clueless as she is…
But it didn't take too long for the ex-plumber to put 2 and 2 together. He might have an idea on where Ben had head off to…
He then looks at Ben's parents, still panicked but mostly concerned out of their minds. He couldn't make this piece of information classified, he was sure of that.
Knock knock.
"Who could it be at this time of night..." Frank Tennyson thinks as he walks over and opens the door.
"Hi, Uncle Frank." Ben says, trying his absolute hardest to not make the situation more awkward than it already was.
"Ben? What are you doing here at this time of night?" He then looks behind Ben and says: "Are your parents here with you?"
"Nah, just me. I just need help with something. Is Gwen around?" he says, while also trying to keep an optimistic air around him. He worried enough people for one day, might as well not keep that streak going.
"Yeah, come inside and I'll call her." he says as he lets Ben inside and starts going upstairs.
Once inside, Ben takes off the jacket. It was a summer night for crying out loud, why did he bring this? He wouldn't have complained so much if this didn't combine with having to ride his bike all this way. Oh well, it doesn't matter now. As long as...
And there she was. With her hands on the handrails, she stared right at Ben.
"Hi Ben, What do I owe this visit for?" Gwen asks with a smirk on her face.
"What? Can't I just freely visit my favourite cousin?" Ben asks with an equally teasing tone.
"Not if you don't want something from me."
Yeah, part of the cat was immediately out of the bag like he expected.
Putting his hand behind his neck, he says "I've got a problem. I need advice."
"What's up? Stuck with the history homework again?"
As much as Ben wanted to do this discreetly, he knew that it wouldn't take long for his grandpa to find him if they discovered his absence. He could not afford to play around for much longer.
So, he reaches to the inner pocket of his jacket and takes it out…
"Gwen… I need your help."
Gwen's eyes are immediately stuck on the device in question and, combined with Ben's new melancholic aura, it didn't take a genius to know that the situation was serious.
She shouts: "Dad!"
"What is it sweetheart?!"
"I need to help Ben with his homework! Call me when dinner is ready!"
"Okay!"
She then signals Ben to follow her to her room.
Once inside, she closes the door behind them and asks "What happened?" and with that Ben tells her everything.
"And then I ran out the window and rode my bike here..." Ben says as he finishes his story. He then looks at her in desperation. Grandpa was busy dealing with his parents, he was going nowhere with this and she was the only other person to know the truth. What was her take on this?
"Ben… It's your choice to put it on again. You don't have to do it if you don't want to."
With his gaze fixed on the watch, he replies "It's just… I would love to do it all over again. Busting bad guys, saving people, (taking a bit of praise from the crowd)... With that watch, I felt like a hero from the news… I felt like a person who could make a difference."
Sensing his melancholic nature, Gwen, despite hesitating, says: "You know what, it wasn't the watch that was special, it was you."
Ben looks up, unsure about what Gwen just said.
Gwen, despite hating to stroke Ben's ego, continues…
"I mean… How many times did that watch give you the wrong alien? You would ask for Ripjaws and get XLR8, dial in Stinkfly and end up as Cannonbolt... Heck, you would dial in Fourarms and the watch would barely work."
Ben actually smiles when Gwen says that, when DID the watch work right?
"But, you would still manage to save the day..."
With that Ben's smile fades into surprise as he turns to his cousin. He… he didn't expect her to say that. And he guesses that Gwen didn't either as she didn't continue that sentence.
But the silence doesn't last long.
"You mean 'we', right?" Ben says as a new grin forms on his face, which has Gwen smile back, glad that Ben recognised her and grandpa's past help. She then chooses to continue her take on the situation.
"And after all that fighting, you earned the chance at a normal life. You put that back on and go to this school, that's it for normal."
"Yeah but…"
Ben looks back at the watch.
"The Omnitrix was originally meant for grandpa Max but I ended up with it. And then, when I had broken the Omnitrix and had a chance of getting it take away from me, Azmuth still left it with me, believing in that I'll make a difference using it."
"But did he really believe in that?" Gwen asks. "This is Azmuth we're talking about."
The thought does go by Ben's head but...
"I don't care about that, it's just.. I don't know. I just don't feel at ease, knowing that it just sits in my closet. At least not when there is also a chance like this."
"But?.." Gwen says. She knows there is something Ben is just not telling her. Ben exhales and says: "I just don't know if the difference I make will be a good one..."
Gwen raises an eyebrow at that. However, Ben doesn't notice. He gets up from the bed and looks at the night sky.
"I threw Vilgax to space..."
Gwen's eyes briefly go wide when she hears Ben mention Vilgax but Ben doesn't notice as he's facing the window.
"And we have not heard from him since…"
He turns his gaze away and starts circling the room.
"Kevin? We locked him in the Null Void and haven't heard from him since..."
"Ghostfreak?.. Sucked back to his own planet..."
"Malware?.. He… he..."
He can't say it. But, for the sake of his point, he moves on...
"Forever King?.. Cooked by Upchuck along with the rest of Mount Rushmore..."
At this point, Gwen gets up from the bed and tries to put her hand on his shoulder but Ben continues to circle around. She feels like he's stuck in some kind of trance.
"Animo?.. Locked away in Null Void."
"Charmcaster...missing."
"Sixsix, Hex, Rojo… all locked up."
He stops circling and looks up to Gwen. "Every villain I've ever fought has either been locked up or missing for the last 3 years."
"You are worried they might come back?" Gwen asks but Ben shakes his head.
"No, I think I would be able to take care of them if they came back… I'm worried that I might spawn more… More villains that are either after me or the Omnitrix or both."
He sits back down and hesitantly says "What if… the best way to be a hero… to keep people safe... is to not go hero?"
Gwen doesn't have an immediate answer for that. Truth be told, Ben did have a point. During these last 3 years, none of their older foes were seen again. She was still practicing magic in case something ever happened but nothing came up.
Just like her cousin, she also turns to the window and looks outside.
She really didn't expect this night to turn out like this. What should she say? What would be the right answer?
As she was thinking that however, a headlight across her house catches her interest. She looks down and sees the Rustbucket parking right in front of her house…
She takes a deep breath and turns around… Here goes nothing…
"Ben, you said you felt like a hero from the news… What about the villains in the news?"
"Just because you refuse to put on the Omnitrix, villainy won't just disappear. Big or small, you are still seeing it in the news. It still exists and it is the job of heroes, of the good guys, to protect the innocent against it. The question is, are you going to stand with them or watch from the sidelines?"
Beyond the door, Gwen hears the footsteps coming up the stairs...
"I know it may seem hard but it is not the easy choices that make heroes. At least… that is what you showed m—" Gwen says, as someone knocks on her door.
"Gwen? Is Ben there?" Frank says, but Gwen doesn't answer him.
"Our parents are waiting for us. I can face them with you, but only if you are ready."
Ben looks back at the Omnitrix's dial.
He continues to stare as their parents knock harder on the door. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and with a determined look in his eye, puts the watch back on his wrist.
With a sound that seemingly vacuums the area around his wrist, he gets up from the bed and says "I'm ready."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for taking time out of your time to read this. It truly means a lot. Like I said in the beginning, please drop down a comment and give me feedback on this story and on this site. I had to pull up a youtube video to learn how to publish for crying out loud. So, anything helps but also, please don't harass me and drop hurtful comments if you didn't like this story, give me ways to improve instead. If you have questions, please drop them down below as well.
Other than that, I have a pretty tight schedule so chapters will probably be scarce until July due to college.
And lastly, I hope you have a good day and see you on the next chapter!
EDIT: Well... I didn't expect this to blow up like it did...
First of all, thank you everyone for the support. Seeing that my first fic got 500 views in under 24 hours was nothing short of hearwarming. Thank you to everyone who wrote a review, complimented the fic, followed, favourited, gave their feedback or even clicked on the fic. Your kind words, support and enthusiasm honestly fills me to brim with happiness and motivation to continue. (So much so that my editor had to stop me from publishing a haphazardly made Chapter 2, which was probably for the best.)
Now, for your questions... I'll probably copy this part to the beginning of the next chapter just in case for everyone to see it, but I don't want similar types of questions piling up until the next chapter arrives.
Question 1: Shipping. Will I do it?
The likely answer is no. Like I said, I'm pretty new at this fanfic writing stuff so I don't have much experience with proper romance writing. The quality of the story will always come first and if I think I won't be able to give the proper justice to a certain concept, like establishing a proper romantic relationship, I would rather not do it at all. I usually don't like closing off options for myself during writing so I'm saying likely, but if it does happen, it will be a surprise to me as well.
Question 2: Length of chapters.
Alright, let me first start off by saying I would love to write longer chapters as well. It is so fun to just have the characters interract and to have the plot move along, only to realize that you are at page 30 of your drive document. It's beautiful, but from my writing standpoint, it doesn't really work out in terms of the pacing department. I just see some points that would serve as good ending points and when I try to push beyond them (Insert Plus Ultra joke here), it feels like I'm just dragging on just for a higher page number.
But, this also means that a longer chapter can happen here or there since the natural end point could feel further away. Basically, all of it will come down to the circumstance and what kind of chapter I'm writing.
Question 3: Schedule for uploads.
No, I did not say that the next chapter would be in July. I said that there might be few chapters until July since I didn't want to promise a deadline during my hectic college schedule. Right now, I can say that I'm working on trying to have a chapter posted every 2 weeks. But again, I can't give a guarantee and I'll probably give an update on my schedule per upload.
Question 4: The context of this series. (Basically, how much Ben 10 influence?)
Right now, I'm going for a fusion between Ben 10 AF and My Hero. The classic series and the flashbacks to young Ben from Omniverse has already happened in this fic. And as for Ben 10 UA and Omniverse, there will be elements from them, maybe even entire plotlines I don't really know, but Alien Force will be the main influence for this crossover. In terms of characters, plotlines, etc? Literally anything goes as long as it is offically made. And for aliens, I'll be sticking to the 62 active alien transformations that Ben prime has unlocked in the classic continuity. Nothing from the reboot.
Question 5: Suggestions and how much the series is planned out.
I have good plan on what I'm going to do up until the Overhaul arc right now. (Btw, I haven't read the manga yet, I'm waiting for S5 to be over before I start it so please no spoilers.) But, I would say that I'm pretty flexible during my writing and do tend to come up with stuff that is not in the original draft. So, if you have a suggestion, feel free to drop it down. Who knows, you could be my inspiration.
Question 6: Similarity to A Result of Consequence.
Yeah, they are similar in topic and execution, I won't try to say they are not. But I can promise that I have lots of plans to make this fic blossom out to be it's own thing rather than a pale imitation of someone else's work.
Anywho, that's it from me. If you still have questions, feel free to ask and I'll answer whatever I can at the start of the next chapter.(Without spoiling the story of course.) See you then!