Ben 10: Alien Rebirth
Chapter 48: Race Against Time, Part 1
A few weeks after Ben and the others returned to Bellwood….
We see the streets of Bellwood at night.
From seemingly out of nowhere, a mysterious individual materialized into view. They wore a black bodysuit with a matching black trench coat over it, black gauntlets with purple highlights on them, and a black helmet with a black visor.
They turned towards a nearby store that had several clocks in the display window.
They threw their hand forward, and all the clocks stopped!
The mysterious masked man growled, "time may heal all wounds. But what happens when time is not on your side…?"
Conjuring a ball of purple energy, he threw his hand forward into a window, and it hit the glass, causing it to disintegrate! He raised another energy ball and threw it forth, breaking two more sets of windows!
Then there came a familiar gruff voice, piercing through the darkness.
"Dude, what's with all the noise?"
As the masked man turned, he saw he was face-to-face with the illuminated visage of Heatblast.
The Pyronite asked, stifling a yawn, "don'cha know people are trying to sleep? Couldn't this wait until tomorrow?"
The masked man remained silent for a moment.
Heatblast, "clearly, you're new around here-"
The masked man interrupted, "I know who you are."
Heatblast, "oh good. Then you know how this is gonna go. This is where you tell me your evil plan. Threaten to destroy the world. Yada yada. Y'know? I fight you. You fight me. One of us goes home happy. Any of this ringing a bell?"
The masked man seemed to smirk beneath his helmet.
Heatblast exclaimed, "alright, let's get this started!"
He conjured up a fireball and chucked it at the man, knocking him straight through a plate glass window.
The masked man climbed out of the window and growled, "that kind of raw strength is only fleeting. Take it from me."
Heatblast, "and who might you be? Black Mask? Tron? Mr. Sinister?"
The masked man, "call me…. Eon."
Heatblast, "what the heck kinda name is 'Eon?'"
The masked man, "one you shall become familiar with soon enough…."
Heatblast then powered up some fireballs in hand as he said, "it's gonna take more then some dork in a costume like that to scare me."
Eon smirked, "then say hello to some friends of mine…."
Suddenly, from the shadows emerged a few humanoid creatures cloaked in shrouds.
Heatblast looked around to see them.
Heatblast, "geez, I didn't realize anyone could join in."
The humanoid creatures shed their cloaks to reveal that they were wearing armor and masks similar to Eon's.
They all ran at Heatblast, who quickly rocketed into the air and shot several fireballs down at them.
The creatures avoided the fireballs for a bit before they were hit by them. They were flung all over the place as Heatblast then raced towards Eon!
But Eon merely extended a hand and shot out an energy sphere that completely engulfed Heatblast, trapping him within!
Heatblast, "what the Hell?!"
Eon, "that power of yours doesn't last very long. All I have to do is wait out the clock…."
Heatblast struggled against his trappings, as two police cars pulled up. This made Eon let go of Heatblast!
Eon, "your time will come soon enough, boy. But at the moment of MY choosing."
He and his minions scattered into the shadows as the cops arrived. Heatblast knew better than to stick around and quickly ran off through an alleyway.
As the cops came around, they only found some damaged parts of the area, as well as a few large burn marks…. But no people.
They were beyond confused.
….
We see Heatblast running along until he stopped by a lake.
Heatblast, "phew. That was close."
The Omnitrix then blinks red, turning him back into Ben just as the RustBucket drove up.
The side door opened, and out came Grandpa Max and Gwen, the latter of whom was dressed in pajamas. Xylene came out without her disguise, and Hope was wearing a purple nightgown.
Gwen, "couldn't have waited for us to show up and help?"
Ben, "he was causing a lot of damage. It was now or never."
Gwen, "and did you have to torch part of the town?"
Ben, "the guy brought in some of his friends, and they were playin' rough."
Xylene, "and where did this man go?"
Ben, "he and his minions ran off when the cops showed up."
Max, "we better keep an eye out for this guy."
Xylene, "right; but first, let's get you kids home. You've got school in the morning."
Gwen and Hope get back into the Rustbucket; Ben watched them enter, and shook his head.
Ben, "aw, maaan…."
….
The next day….
Gwen was wearing her contacts that day as she was taking pictures near the front of the school. Kevin, Julie and Ken were sitting at a nearby bench.
Ben, having arrived on his bicycle, made his way over and jumped into the last shot she took while making a goofy face.
Gwen, "Ben, come on. These photos are for the yearbook."
As Hope approached, Ben said, "hey Hope, how much you wanna bet half those pictures are of Kevin?"
Gwen blushed as she glared at her cousin while Kevin turned away slightly.
Julie, "it's less than you think. She also took some pictures of the new tennis club I'm a part of."
Ken, "yeah, and she took pictures of me and the movie club."
Ben, "oh, cool."
Gwen, "I'm trying to get as many pictures as I can."
Kevin joked, "maybe we can take a pic of Cash and J.T and label them as Class Dorks?"
Ben snickered, "now THERE'S an idea!"
Julie giggled as Ken smirked and Hope actually snorted.
Gwen rolled her eyes as she said, "joking aside, I've gotta finish taking pictures before the first period begins."
Ben shrugged in response and headed inside.
We then see the kind of day Ben goes through most days…. School felt like a living Hell, going through class after class. Gym class being one of the worst, since Ben found himself pelted with dodgeballs from all sides.
And of course, keeping his secret definitely meant that he couldn't use his alien powers to get an advantage against Cash and JT, which was definitely a problem whenever they played dodgeball.
And Kevin was only able to help Ben with his bullying problem in a few classes.
Biology…. Social Studies…. Math…. Language Arts…. Any way you looked at it, they were all kinda boring.
But Ben pushed forward, doing the best he could in each class, even if he had to deal with Cash and JT constantly messing with him.
And it was like they'd gotten even MORE relentless over the summer. At least he had Kevin around every so often to help him.
Ben had just gotten done with school. He had nearly thrown a ball of paper covered in gum at Cash and JT after they had put said gum over his locker. But Julie and Hope had talked him out of it. Ben was grateful for that. He might've gotten detention that way….
….
Now, Ben had arrived back at his house. His parents were already home.
"Hey, Mom, Dad, I'm home", he called as he came inside.
Sandra said, "welcome home, sweety. How was school?"
Ben shrugged, "it was okay."
Carl jokes, "hope you didn't get into any trouble."
Ben, "nope, luckily enough."
Sandra responded, "well, that's great to hear,"
Carl nodded and asked, "so what're you gonna do now?"
Ben, "well, after I finish up my homework, I'm gonna go visit Grandpa and Grandma."
Carl, "something on your mind?"
Ben, "a little bit."
Sandra, "well, if you need to go talk to them after your homework is done, we don't mind."
Ben, "thanks mom. Thanks dad."
….
One session of homework later….
Ben was headed for his Grandparents' RV.
Max was working on some sort of tool while sitting in the front.
Xylene was resting in the back. Hope had just finished working on her own homework.
That's right when Ben entered the RV.
Hope smiled, "hey, sweety."
Ben smiled back, "heyo."
Max turned to look at Ben and asked, "how was school?"
Ben remarked, "Hell on Earth."
Max, "oof, that bad, hmm? You want some squirrel jerky? Calms the nerves."
Ben, "er, I just ate."
Max, "so…. You gonna tell me what happened?
Ben, "the kids at school, heck, the whole town has no clue who I am ever since I found the watch on the road trip."
Max, "well, that's good."
Hope, "yeah, they're not supposed to."
Ben, "what's the point in having the omnitrix if I can't use it?"
Xylene inquired as she sat up, "so, you think they'll like you better if they know you're a hero?"
Ben, "well, yeah."
Max, "eh, you might be right."
Ben, "so, I can tell them?"
Max, "nope. No, that was summer, and it's over. We're home now. Ben Tennyson's got to be Ben Tennyson again. It's your responsibility as a kid and as a hero with a secret. So, make an effort at school. Jump in there with both feet. Okay?"
Ben asked, "huh?"
Xylene clarified, "just be a kid again, dear. And that's an order."
Ben sighed, "... alright."
….
Meanwhile….
We see Eon glowering in a dark room, the purple lights from his suit giving some light illumination.
He asked his subordinates, "did you find it?"
The creatures just growled in response.
Eon, "no…. Of course you didn't."
Eon's hand began to glow violently.
He scowled angrily, "none of you could ever understand what it's like…. To lose EVERYTHING."
His minions all backed up in fear.
Eon fumed, "this place is already dying for me…. The memories… fading, stolen away…."
One of his minions reached towards him, but Eon whirled around and blasted him away. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"
The minion fell to the floor, his helmet visor shattered, and his face aged about several decades. The other minions scampered over, but Eon stopped them.
He spat out, "LET HIM DIE! You are here to serve ME, not each other…. Or would you rather I put you back in your cold cages?"
The minions all backed up in fear.
Eon said, "soon…. Tennyson will know who I am…. What I've lost…. And what he will give me…."
….
The Next Day….
Ben was back at school, trying once more to adjust to a normal life again.
He murmured, recalling Grandpa Max's talk from yesterday, "'jump on in with both feet. Just be a kid'... Can't be any harder than taking down aliens…. I hope."
Ben went over to his locker, adjusting his wristband, covering the Omnitrix as he did so.
He thought, 'but how do I get back into that?'
He then spotted a poster from the corner of his eye. Upon looking closer, it was an advertisement for the school's talent show.
Ben muttered, "a talent show?"
Gwen approached and said, "I see you've discovered the talent show? I was planning to enter it. Could use an assistant…."
Ben raised an eyebrow and asked, "I don't have to wear a unitard, do I?"
Gwen replied, "nah."
Ben said, "good. I guess I could help. Since you and Hope can do ACTUAL magic, it's an easy win."
Gwen said, "maybe, maybe not. Wouldn't want an unfair advantage…. But I'll use some of it to enhance the act."
Ben said, "good idea. At least this talent show is something fun we can focus on until another intergalactic threat comes along."
Gwen nodded, "yeah, I guess so."
Ben and Gwen started walking down the hall, discussing their act for the talent show….
….
Later that day….
Ben was washing his hands in the bathroom as Cash and JT entered.
Cash snarked, "oh…. I thought something smelled bad in here…."
Ben groaned, "zip it, dude…."
Cash pushed Ben into the wall with a growl.
JT said, "yeah, whatever Tennyson. Just get outta here before we knock your teeth in. Levin and your girlfriend aren't here to help ya…."
Ben growled as Cash let him go and he dashed out of the bathroom.
Ben looked around, seeing the hallway empty.
He whispered, "these two have had this comin' for awhile…."
Ben hid behind a corner, dialed up a certain alien and pressed down!
….
As Cash was cracking jokes about Ben being a "wimp", neither he nor JT noticed the door open a crack and close. As the two were brushing their teeth, they DID notice two stall doors opening!
JT whispered, "what the…."
Suddenly, what they thought was toilet paper started stretching out at the two!
They both went wide-eyed in fear as the arms stretched closer to them, while also forming a pair of legs shuffling towards them, a torso connected to the arms and legs, and a head!
The creature growled, "hey kids, wanna see a dead body?!"
Cash and JT screamed as they dashed out of the bathroom.
Doomstone started laughing as he said, "that! Haha…. Was…. Hahaha! Awesome!"
….
Later, after school….
Ben, Hope and Gwen had gotten picked up by Max and Xylene while Ken was at his after school activities.
Gwen was looking through the pictures in her camera as Hope was telling Ben about their plans for the talent show.
Ben joked, "so, you guys gonna dress up for your act? And if so, who would you dress up as? Zatanna and Doctor Strange? Sigfried and Roy? Merlin and Morgana?"
Hope smirked, "very funny, Ben."
Gwen then suddenly said, "uh, Ben? You remember that guy you fought a few days ago?"
Ben asked, "you mean that Tron reject in the cape? Yeah, why?"
Gwen pointed at her camera, "take a look at this."
Ben and Hope came over and looked over her shoulder. On her camera was a picture of Julie smacking JT in the back of the head. Ben and Hope would have laughed if they didn't see the blurred image of Eon behind them.
Ben whispered, "what the Hell…."
Gwen asked, "is that the guy you fought the other night?"
Ben nodded, "yep, that's him. He ran off with his goons when the cops showed up. What the heck is he doing in this picture?"
Max approached and took a look at the picture.
Gwen asked, "do you know this Creepoid?"
Max said, "there isn't a plumber alive who doesn't. His name is Eon. When the Plumbers were first created, Eon arrived, claiming he was from the future, and searching for a specific point in time. He had plans for Earth, and attacked nearly two centuries ago, but was defeated by the original plumbers who were operating on Earth in secret. According to the archival material, he was carrying with him a device called the Hands of Armageddon, which he left behind upon fleeing from Earth."
Hope asked, "what was it?"
Xylene said from the front of the Rustbucket, "it took the Plumbers many years to find out. The Hands of Armageddon is a doomsday machine, capable of opening a gateway into our dimension, signaling the start of an invasion from wherever Eon came from that would mark the end of humankind."
Max said, "Eon was the beginning. He's brought with him our end…. Looks like we're going on a road trip…."
….
Reviews:
zipper0: thanks. I'm glad you liked the chapter. Namely the various changes I added in. I plan on making Julie a close friend of Ben and the others. I thought of her being with Ken, (Gwen's brother). When Kai comes back later on, she's gonna be a lot nicer. She might even be dating an OC. I have a similar love/hate relationship with Omniverse. Malware was one of the things I loved, so I decided to use his fight from the first episode of Omniverse in order to reintroduce him.
SuperSentai199: thanks so much. I'm glad you like how I did this chapter.
Monkey D. Conan: thank you. I'm glad you liked the introductions in this chapter and are excited for more.
sonusiraj975: thanks.
3bodyjaa: agreed.
OMNISENSE95: actually, no. I still plan on doing Grounded. Ben will get grounded because he didn't tell his parents he had put the watch back on.
epantoja521: thanks.
bensonlyhope: I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry to keep you waiting.
JohnaMan: 1. Probably not. 2. I'm not sure. I had the idea of it unlocking a Highbreed transformation instead. Or some other new alien. 3. Yeah, I plan to actually go somewhere with the dragon aliens and have Ben unlock the dragon transformation. 4. That's a great idea. And I do plan on Ben telling him several of his family members were actual Plumbers. 5. Indeed, and this will lead to a moment where the teenage Ben gives a sad look.
bman6272000: thank you. 1. Yes, I do plan on doing Race Against Time, Destroy All Aliens and Alien Swarm. I'm probably not gonna do those non canon transformations because, honestly…. I think they all look very stupid or out of place. Bungee Sponge is the only one that doesn't seem out of place. But if I ever decide to use him, he's gonna need a new name. And I'm not gonna use any fan made aliens any time soon.
Death Fury: thanks.
Slavicadonis: you'll see him in this chapter.
Dragonvanguard: thanks. Yeah, I was excited to squeeze Malware into it.
Alfredo12StarLegionaire: well, I have an ending in mind for the classic era of the story. And yeah, Ben and Gwen now have more friends that will be bigger players during UAF and Omniverse.
Swampfire is GOD: ironic, ain't it? Still, I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter. And yeah, I plan on Eon having his own arc with his appearances in Race Against Time, UAF and Omniverse. And…. I plan to stay far away from the Indonesian Ben 10 rip-off….
mastercheif1229: that's what I was going for.
Chroma Chill: I'm glad you liked all the redesigns, especially Lumi. When Lumi appears, Ben will indeed have to explain her existence to his parents.
Comments sensfic: eventually. I plan to separate each series into a separate story. Alien Rebirth, Alien Force Rebirth, Ultimate Alien Rebirth and Omniverse Rebirth.
Zachuary: glad you're excited.
3coronadomontes: thanks.
Michael Thompson: sorry it's been so long. I've been focusing on a ton of other stories, as well as dealing with a LOT of stuff IRL. I'll hopefully have more chapters done soon.
DarkAbyss53: thank you so much. I'm glad you've enjoyed this story. Especially regarding my decisions throughout the story.
bensonlyhope: thanks.
Guest: I'm glad you enjoyed the story so much. Ditto is also one of my favorites. Ink Tank is a huge inspiration for this story. The SpongeBob scenes were jokes involving reviews done in the notes. TenTen is indeed a great name. I'm glad you liked how I included Malware. I'm not including any of those semi canon aliens though.
Ember1028: good idea and thanks for the compliment…. But Lumi will only have an Omnitrix, not an Ultimatrix. And even then, her natural form is a Necrofriggian, so it's not a form in her watch.
gabrielairessalgadoalves: sorry it's taken so long.
….
And here we have Race Against Time, Part 1!
Sorry it took so long. I've been dealing with a lot recently.
1. An admin removed Titans: Elemental from the site, (for seemingly no reason), and I desperately tried to get them to undo this as I put multiple stories including that one and this one on AO3, as well as rewriting Elemental.
2. Writing multiple stories including this one all at once can be tiring.
3. Personal issues. A lot of stressful stuff happened IRL these last few months.
I do have a poll up for an upcoming DCAU story in order to decide the love interest for it. Please vote and make sure you pick the minimum amount of choices!