Ben 10

We could hear the crickets and see an expanse of green in every direction, even the trash of the visitors was hidden by nature. But now, somewhere in the middle of this forest, the green was missing since the last few tens of seconds. In that area, where some trees had been roughly cleared, there was a shallow crater with some kind of metallic sphere in it.

Throughout the area, leaves and plastic bags were flying around like flies. The current ambient air was not exactly what a person would call breathable.

Cough Cough

At the edge of the crater, stood a teenager watching the sphere who caused the change of scenery.

The edge of the newly-formed crater weakened and he fell sliding against it nearing the unidentified object.

'This day couldn't be any worse.' The teenager stood up, he pulled the dirt out of his clothes and his brown hair.

He had a green t-shirt with in the middle a large black vertical line crossing all along the front stopping at the collar which was black. The back had no other motifs besides the collar, it was only green, like the color of his eyes.

From his vantage point, he could not see anything definite except a trail of smoke starting from the starry sky and ending in a snowy mountain. 'It comes from a plane …that crashed?!'

Suddenly, a noise echoed in front of him. The orb opened by itself, and an emerald light shone from the opening. Once his eyes adjusted, he discovered the source of the light.

'A watch? Sounds more like a tool that looks like one or a toy. Maybe this watch will be the only interesting thing about the summer vacations.' He did not bother to remove the dirt from his shoes and stepped forward.

The green and black dial of the watch, with a diameter of 5 centimeters, displayed « (> <) 4 » and not the hands of a watch or numbers time. The base was black dark gray, had sorts green cables inlaid in ends, button near dial.< p>

Extending his less dominant arm as a precaution, the young man intended to take this watch.

The latter was so impatient to be picked up that it leaped to his left wrist. Was the watch sentient?!

'What the…' The strange aspect was that there was no belt, no button, no scratch, it was as if the watch had been welded to fit his wrist.

Even after shaking his arm vigorously, the item would not come off.

The teenager paused.

'Might as well see how it works.'

He ended up pressing the only button of the watch, the dial rose, displaying a humanoid figure shortly after. The figure was black, displayed in a green 4-sided diamond.

He discovered that the dial had two parts, one for the display and another around the display that was rotatable. The rotating part was black and had four small green buttons on each side, but it seemed to be a decoration. Different figures were displayed with each rotation, the shapes were not always humanoid. The mechanism was such that the rotating part of the dial had only ten rotating positions. If the position of the dial was between two positions, it would automatically turn to the one it was closer to.

Since the dial had gone up, the boy decided to push it down, because turning the dial further did not do anything except show 10 monster-like shapes.

The watch suddenly glowed green, the emerald light engulfing the boy.

His skin then started to alter in texture to become rock-like, the same kind of rock as those in volcanoes. His skin cracked all over before bursting into flames, the flames now acting as a haircut, his eyes no longer in their sockets. The dial showing "(> <)" showed up in the middle of his flaming torso, he no longer wears watch on fist. The green light emitted from teenager and watch.< p>

Although the transformation was technically long, it didn't take more than a second. A flaming humanoid was now standing in the forest instead of a 16-year-old boy. From afar, one might say that a fire had just started.

The burning being was looking at his 2 arms.

'I must be dreaming… No, my thoughts are lucid.' However, it was also not logically possible as far as he knew. Despite the presence of geniuses on Earth capable of creating anti-gravity vehicles, transforming into a monster should be virtually impossible by early 21st-century standards, especially considering it's achieved with just a watch.

With a gut instinct guiding him, he extended a flaming hand, and a fireball erupted, engulfing one of the few remaining intact trees. The tree burst into flames.

'This… This is… This is AWESOME!' He had no regrets about venturing into the forest now.

Invigorated, he focused his energy further, unleashing a wave of fire that swept around him, igniting everything in its path. The air was soon thick with the sour smell of burning wood, plants, grass and plastic. But, as a humanoid without a sense of smell, he remained oblivious to the destruction he had unleashed despite seeing it clearly.

From a distance, the signs of a newly ignited forest fire were unmistakable.

"IT'S SO COOL!"

The teenager's laughter echoed through the forest, his hands waving wildly in every direction as he reveled in the thrill of the moment. It had been a long time since he'd let his emotions run so freely.

After a minute of unbridled excitement, he finally calmed down.

"…I started a fire in a place with visitors …I turned into a fire monster …Is this temporary? Where does this watch come from? Did the smoke trail really come from an airplane?"

He remained motionless, and then rationalized.

'Okay, Grandpa's a plumber, he must know how to put out a forest fire. Let's ignore my current… condition for now.'

"You, human! The device you just used is beyond your comprehension. Come with me without making a fuss."

The boy turned around, a humanoid that looked like a white-black skeleton with a fin on top of its skull, standing mere meters away.

'When did this… monster arrive? Is that…'

"Are you from another planet?" The burning being asked.

"Yes. Don't waste my time and step into the teleportation circle to board the spaceship."

'The figure and the being in front of me are not monsters… they are aliens! They exist! …but why is he speaking my language? And what's a teleportation circle? This is suspicious, but I'll take the risk.'

"OK."

'The watch is not mine; it must be his. It's a shame.' The only audible sounds were the forest fire and his own footsteps.

'I will be inside a spaceship, a real spaceship, I feel that I could die in peace… though I have no intention of dying.'

[Initiating…]

All of a sudden, the dial "(> <)" to his chest glowed white instead of green.< p>

[The Omnitrix's system has been replaced.]

[Don't step forward. You'll regret it.]

He stopped. A synthesized voice echoed in his head. Was the watch really sentient or was it just a simple AI? However, the boy had an epiphany.

"Damn it! The forest is still burning!"

[I don't mean that, Ben Tennyson.]

"I don't care, just come." The skeleton fish said, his ruby eyes shining, and his dark dress seemed to be paired with various gadgets.

"How do you know my name? Can you read my mind?" Ben was taken aback.

[Mental lounge's creation…]

[Process completed]

[Slowing down the perception of time]

The skeleton-fish started to speak. "What the hell are you raving about? Coooooooooooooooooo—"

[Transport the host's consciousness]

---------

Location: Ben's Mental Lounge

---------

Ben found himself sitting on a couch. The green lounge room was square, with no doors or windows. There was only a sofa and a large television in front of it.

'…It's still not a dream.'

[I confirm your thought.]

A voice echoed through the room, and Ben realized he no longer had the watch on his left wrist.

"Are we in my head?"

[You already know that.]

"And…" The young man had a plethora of questions, none of which came to him first.

[Let's start without further ado, we have a few days ahead of us.]

"Start wh—"

The television turned on.

"Cartoon Network? It doesn't ring a bell. Is it a channel from another country?" Ben was looking at the logo in the upper corner of the screen, each letter was either white or black in a square of the opposite color.

After the commercials passed, the channel announced a new cartoon series called Ben 10.

'No Sumo Slammers I guess… Hold on. My first name and the first sound of my last name?!'

---------

Dozens of hours later.

---------

[The viewing is over.]

"…" Ben had seen 4 cartoons, 2 episodes of another cartoon, 2 animated movies being 2d and 3d respectively, and 2 movies with actors. To be precise, he did not watch them in that order.

One could say that all he watched was an entire saga, the Ben 10 saga, which revolved around a 10-year-old kid with a watch that helped him deal with any situation as a hero. By the end of the saga, he was 17 years old and had saved the universe several times.

Although this character had changed his watch twice, it still had the same characteristic, it could change its user into an alien.

· The Omnitrix prototype

· The Ultimatrix

· The Omnitrix

With the exception of the Ultimatrix, which was not entirely of his own conception, the watches were created by a genius named Azmuth of the Galvan race, regarded as the First Thinker in the universe.

When he built the Omnitrix, he wanted peace, understanding between all species, with the user of the watch acting as a universal ambassador.

Azmuth had put countless DNA (and non-DNA signatures) inside the Omnitrix. Even if he couldn't put all the species into it, the Omnitrix could scan a missing species, thus gaining a new transformation.

[You already know what you saw. What did you think of it?]

"The saga was interesting but very inconsistent, the last season of Omniverse was crap except for a few episodes and the ending. The concept of turning into an alien is great, the story arcs were great, especially in Ultimate Alien, even the filler, but… Seriously, what did I just watch?"

This Ben was too different from him to be his future. He got his first watch when he was 10, not 16, and he seemed to be bipolar due to his ever-changing personality throughout the saga.

"Why show me the adventures of another Ben?" The Saga introduced the concept of parallel worlds.

"AND WHY THE TV FORMAT?!"

'Am I a cartoon character?!' His heartbeat echoed in his ears.

[…Do you know the concept of fate?]

"That doesn't answer my fucking question!" His face turned red.

[What you have seen is proof that an entity has been manipulating his life all along.]

[Sometimes his enemies would become stupid temporarily, he would become smart, sometimes it's the other way around, all of this serves one purpose… The entertainment of the entity.]

[He will see everything in TV format for his own amusement, but I reassure you, you are not a cartoon character and neither is the Ben you've seen, Ben Prime.]

"Why show me this?" His face regained its original color.

[Something happened to the Prime reality after the ending of the "show"]

[Now the entity intends to control all other realities, the Omniverse. The Omniverse that the show presented wasn't fateful to the truth, it was only a small part of our multiverse, but I will explain later.]

[This being is the most powerful of all, but that didn't mean that he couldn't be repelled by a group of several celestial beings and some exceptions. Faced with a stalemate, a decision was made to wage a proxy war.]

[A war of unprecedented magnitude is coming, the pawns of the entity against the p—fighter of the O.]

[Unless you don't mind getting your life considered a cartoon in a decade, it is recommended to participate.]

"…Hey. You were going to say I'm will be a pawn." Ben realized.

[Do you accept?]

"Although I have no proof other than your words, if it's true then I would be crazy to refuse. Who doesn't want to have a free will anymore?"

'Among other things, I don't know what the AI will do to me if I refuse… Crap. It can hear my thoughts.'

[Nothing really, other than withdrawing your registration for the war if you take no decision.]

"You are what?"

[A neutral AI, designed to help new Ben, other Omnitrix's holders and other significant individuals. Each AI is different with a random "personality" and advantage. Mine was to show what Ben Prime went through with the truth behind it. It's not your world, but there are still many similarities to your world.]

[The only things an AI will provide you are: ]

1. [An Omnitrix with a clean system, free of anything harmful the creator might have put in it.]

2. [If you want to change your device, I will tell you how to download the system onto it.]

3. [Omnitrix "tweak" functions, but only on the AI's terms, mine.]

4. [Hardware backdoors or physical problems with the Omnitrix cannot be removed by software. They are still present, but I will suppress them as much as possible. The Residual Anti-Consciousness Protocol is one example.]

5. [Universal passive translator, but almost all the Omnitrices already have it enabled by default, like yours]

"What is the Residual Anti-Consciousness Protocol?" Ben was puzzled.

[It is designed to make it impossible to use DNA, RNA, other carbon-based genetic molecules, silicon-based genetic molecules, and energy signatures that contain a trace of consciousness to transform without your confirmation.]

In the Saga, two aliens of Ben Prime had consciousness other than his own.

The first escaped after being used long enough for the Omnitrix's defenses to no longer contain it. After its escape, the ghost alien attempted to possess Ben Prime.

The second was an alien with two consciousness, so there were three consciousness in one body at each transformation. The alien was a celestial being who, according to the legends, was considered omnipotent. Ben Prime could do anything if the other 2 minds agreed with him; yet they could also choose to trap him forever.

[The entity is more powerful and Alien X has many limitations that was not shown in the saga.]

[And the celestial signature of Alien X is not stored in your watch unlike Ben Prime.]

"Damn it." With time, he would unlock new alien, he was hoping to randomly unlock Alien X.

[I will make it clear that I will not help you with anything other than the Omnitrix; the multiverse wants geniuses, fighters, strategists, not assisted individuals. I won't answer if I think you need to figure it out for yourself and I'll let you die as well.]

"Because I'm a pawn, I get it." He sighed.

[You have free will.]

[To prevent you from imitating Ben Prime, your first 10 aliens have been reset. It's random, I don't have the advantage to choose.]

10, this was the number of aliens Ben Prime had at the beginning, hence the saga's name, Ben 10, although he unlocked new aliens over time. However, 10 was not the default number for each universe like the green color wasn't the default one.

"Show me the 10 aliens and their characteristics."

[You understand quickly. I will simplify the presentation.]

---------

1. Heatblast

Humanoid creature made of fire, rock, and magma

Can shoot fire from any part of its body

2. Ball Weevil

Insectoid Spits out explosive green gelatinous balls

Can move by riding on the explosive balls, which grow exponentially in size and power

3. Snare-oh

Humanoid mummy made of magic bandages

Can use body and bandages as desired Extremely resistant and can't be squashed

Can learn to use magic

4. Unknown

No description available

5. Brainstorm

Crab-like Massive intelligence

Can emit electricity from its brain and use it in various creative ways (e.g., moving objects with an electromagnetic field)

6. Armodrillo

Solid organic bulky metal body (humanoid demolition robot)

Mechanical hands can emit vibrations and transform into a drill to move underground

7. Eye Guy

Humanoid with 15 eyes spread over arms and chest

Can shoot various rays from eyes (e.g., freezing, green fire, electricity)

Can move eyes around body and combine them for more powerful shots

8. Buzzshock

Can harness and transform into electricity

Can clone itself if it absorbs enough electricity

Can hide in electrical devices when transformed into electricity Clones itself when cut

9. Mole-Stache

Mole-like with an articulate moustache

Can take on any shape and grow at a high rate

Can use moustache as a propeller to fly

[This transformation is not useless, Ben. No need to look at the screen like that, I'm not going to change it.]

10. Unknown

No description available

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"Why aren't the 4th and 10th lines described?" This was his first question before Can we really not replace Mole-Stache with another alien?

[I don't have an infinite database. The Omnitrix's aliens change in all universe, and they have to exist in enough to be registered in my database. One of the whole points is to collect them, not unlock them as if you were in a video game. But let's be honest, nobody cares.]

[If you use these transformations once, I will be able to analyze them and give you all their characteristics and you can name them. As a security measure, I won't be accessing this Omnitrix's old database unless you explicitly request it.]

"Why do you use the names Ben Prime call his aliens and not the species names?"

[You know it's easier, a code name is easier to remember, especially when you already know them for 8 of your aliens.]

"And…"

[No need to ask about the entity or the Prime world, there's no point in knowing that now.]

[Now, it's time. Which side will you choose?]

- [Freedom]

- [Restriction]

"This is obvious—" He paused; it wasn't actually. "What are the benefits of both choices?"

[If the path of freedom wins, freedom will be guaranteed to all. Anything would be possible.]

[If the path of restriction wins, restriction will be guaranteed. If you please the entity, you can be sure to have any benefit you wish for and no risk of dying. You can see that Ben Prime had an easy time at the end.]

"…" He pondered.

[What is your choice?]

Ben could feel the AI growing impatient.

He thought about Ben Prime's inconsistent life. Sometimes he was serious, sometimes he was a complete idiot, and he even seemed to have forgotten the lessons of the past. In the end, for no reason at all, he even ended up with the girl who literally treated him like a dog, without even joking about it, because of one of his transformations. They just suddenly fell in love.

The entity made fun of the fact that Ben Prime was his dog until the very end.

"My life won't be something to be played with… I will not become anyone's puppet! My choice is freedom!" He shouted.

[Freedom path chosen]

[You can still change sides 2 times.]

[In this universe (dimensions included), there are 10 participation slots and ? participants with the same advantage of having watched the saga.]

"Are you joking?"

[Yes]

"I got scared…"

[They only saw the episode related to them and know that the saga is called Ben 10. (As for Rex and the participant of his dimension they only saw all the episode of Generator Rex series related to them.)]

…

"Am I dead? (And he is dead?)"

[Everything can happen. And let me remind you that everyone would be different even without their advantages.]

"…even if I didn't choose to participate."

[You will still be affected. Yes.]

[As for winning a participation slot there are random conditions. There are actually 3 in different dimensions, 5 on earth and 2 in the rest of the universe. In time, you will receive a notification.]

[Do you have any question?]

"Four more questions, but they are important."

[Speak]

"At the end… isn't this… just a means of divertissement? It's like some battle royale and this concept is universally liked I guess."

[...Yes. But the outcomes are reals. If you don't want to entertain the entity anymore, just you have to win.]

Ben sighed.

"Concerning the residual consciousness, does Azmuth know about them?"

[I don't know everything and your universe is different. My answer would be an opinion, but as I said I won't answer this kind of question.]

"Hmm… He is the greatest genius in the universe, but it is not impossible that he makes mistakes."

He pondered, then asked another question.

"What are the tweak functions? Isn't this just the master control?"

When Ben Prime turned alien, it only lasted 30 minutes. When he switched between aliens, the time would be reduced. The Master Control was a mode that removed the time limit, allowing unlimited alien-switching by thought. Although it was not used in the later stages of the saga, the Master Control was without a doubt one of the more powerful and memorable functions of a -trix. It wasn't about swapping aliens, it was about swapping abilities, powers and shapes in battle without any limitations and delays.

[No, but there's no need to overload yourself with information. You should know that the Omnitrix has many other functions than transforming into another species.]

[You only have one last question.]

"…before the war, you expect me to do what?"

[Do what you want, whether you save or kill, give or steal, create or destroy, nothing changes for the Omniverse, you just have to become worthy for the war and win a participation slot.]

[Time U—]

"One last question, please!"

[What?!]

"What should I call you?"

[Don't call me.]

[Time Up!]

---------

Location: In the middle of a forest on fire

---------

"-ome here immediately!" Psyphon yelled.

'My master will soon have the Omnitrix, with it he will be able to rule over several galaxies. Maybe the whole universe in the future!'

"…" The inferior being who had turned into a flaming species was thinking about something. He finally answered as he walked forward. "Okay."

'Why do I have the impression that he had smiled before he walked?' Psyphon pondered, but put aside his thought.

'Anyway, the human will soon die with the rest of his planet.' The inferior being was nearing the teleportation circle, they would soon be teleported to his master's spaceship.

"Stop." Psyphon raised his arm as he felt his communicator vibrate. "Yes, master? A human collected the Omnitrix, but he would soon be inside—"

"Don't send him up! Return now!" The deep voice resonated from the communicator despite the forest fire.

Psyphon was surprised. 'The master doesn't trust me with this simple task!?'

"Why—" Psyphon didn't have time to ask as a ray of flame engulfed him. He flew high before it could burn him alive. Now, his head truly resembled a skeleton as most of his flesh went to flame.

"Oh… I didn't expect that you burn so much. I was expecting something less efficient." The inferior being said.

Was he retarded in addition to being inferior? Of course, that fire burn! Nearly every f*cking civilization in the universe was built with fire as a foundation.

"You—" Psyphon was interrupted once again as another ray of flame was thrown at him. He pressed at a button on his attire and a red force field surrounded him.

"But that doesn't mean I'm not going to continue."

"I will—" Once again, Psyphon was interrupted, by the deep voice from the communicator.

"Do you defy my order?"

The skeleton-looking being paused. "No, master."

"Fine, put the communicator in speaker mode. I want the human to hear me."

Psyphon paused. '…It wasn't supposed to be in this mode.'

He pretended to activate it. "It's done master!"

"Ben Tennyson?" Ben had heard the voice before, but hearing it say his name sent chills through him. The one behind the voice was the number one "villain" of the Ben 10 saga, Vilgax. If he had even a tiny part of what made the Prime Vilgax, Ben wanted to get rid of him now instead of having a mortal enemy come back forever.

Actually, this alien was literally in his weakest moment, due to a space battle that had reduced him to a nearly alive state, with several limbs and half a torso missing, in a regeneration tank, defenseless. At least, this was what happened in the Prime universe. However, the fact that he didn't come here personally was proof that it had also happened in this universe.

Ben sighed sending up smoke. Would they have to be arch enemy or not? It'd be easier if he could get on his spaceship and crash it, killing him, Psyphon and destroying all his drones.

"Yes, I'm Ben Tennyson. Wielder of the Omnitrix. And let me be clear, I won't give it to anyone," Ben said, not wanting to come across as too antagonistic, since at the end of the day, they didn't know each other.

The voice asked unbothered. "What path did you choose?"

"And why would I answer?" Actually, Ben didn't know why not answering him but being too cooperative was never a good thing in his opinion.

"Because, if you chose the same as me that would make us circumstantial ally."

Ben paused. At the end, this Vilgax wasn't the Prime one being pointlessly "evil", it was a real person. But the Omnitrix was still too enticing for anyone, so no matter what happens he wouldn't trust him.

Psyphon was just looking at the retarded being in fire and his communicator. Did he miss something? Why would his master know some random human being?

"That sound silly… But at three let's say our path." The Omnitrix wielder proposed.

"Childish… but why not?"

"1" They both say in unison.

"2" Again.

"Freedom." And again, with no delay that could make the other think they were being deceived.

Vilgax said. "I would have thought that by seeing your counterpart you would be delighted and chose restriction."

"Being a puppet isn't an attractive future."

"Neither is being some clown still being beaten despite all my assets."

Vilgax paused before continuing. "Let's be honest, Ben 10, despite being on the same path as me, I will still take the Omnitrix from you no matter when. I'm now fully sure that it will help me achieve unlimited power. However, if you somehow resist my future attempts, then you will be worthy of being my ally… for now."

What Vilgax didn't say was that even if he doesn't obtain the Omnitrix, the saga gave him several ideas on how to improve his strength. Also, he didn't need to obtain his Omnitrix, as long as he could track down Azmuth or one of his two assistants, Albedo or Myaxx.

"Did you forget where you are?" Ben scoffed, at the blatant provocation. "Even a kid could kick your ass now. I only need to get on your spaceship, then you are—"

"Psyphon!" Vilgax yelled. His servant Psyphon vanished, leaving only Ben transformed in Heatblast alone in a burning forest.

'Even bedridden, is he really similar to the Vilgax from the saga?' Usually, this "villain" would only speak with certainty, not with "if," as if he was considering failure as an option, which was never the case. Even if he did ominously threaten Ben, it was light compared to his Prime counterpart. '…I don't know what to think of that, however, now I have other priorities.'

The forest was still on fire.