Ch 19 Lonesome

Following the absolute shock that left the girls and Max frozen, Ben had shaken them to their senses and then pushed the further inside to show them what he'd done.

For Max, Gwen and Keira, it was like they'd entered another dimension and didn't know how to process the sudden change. As for Charmcaster, while she was shocked, it was only because she didn't understand when Ben had gained the ability to expand space to such a degree, nor where he got the materials to do so with.

Expanding the space inside of a bag is relatively simple in comparison to something to the degree of what Ben did. Making an entire living space was significantly harder, because the space has to be stable enough to actually inhabit, otherwise it could just collapse and kill everyone inside.

Ben finished the tour and they were still shocked and hadn't even let out an amazed sigh, making him grumble as he went and sat down "You guys are no fun... I expanded space and they just stand there in shock..." Complaining to himself that none of them were saying anything about his work or praising him.

Since he was no longer at risk of becoming a monster, Ben's body and soul had almost perfectly synchronised, letting his behaviour become more childlike.

By no means does this make him a complete child, but it does mean that he can better enjoy his youth than before. If he needs to be serious, then he will be his regular self. But, when he is free of worries, his childish side is more likely to emerge.

After finally getting over the massive change to the Rustbucket, the girls and Max looked at Ben as he continued grumbled, feeling like he just got more mysterious as time went on. Nonetheless, they couldn't deny how amazing he is and decided to give him what he so obviously wanted.

They went over to him and started praising him, making him puffed his chest up proudly, putting on an obvious act as he knew they were humouring his mock discontent. From there, they began having a good time just messing around together. Ben also thought about how Max might feel about the change and informed him that it could be undone if he wanted, but it would be best to wait until the end of the summer break.

Because Ben had only awakened a little while ago, it was decided that they would stay where they were and relax for the day, throughout which he was making little upgrades to improve life. Later on, they went to their new rooms and went to bed.

---

The next day, when Ben woke, he found that Gwen and Keira had snuck into his bed. They had already got comfortable doing that before and they had done it while he was sleeping for three days. It is reasonable that they would prefer to continue doing it now.

But there is a slight problem. Before, they had very little space and didn't move much, but now they on a king-size bed and have plenty of space to sprawl out.

That brings Ben's current predicament, where he is in rather precarious position the two girls. One of whom, Keira, has got herself in a 69 position on top of him. Gwen wasn't as bad, but she had his hand tightly locked between her legs.

For Ben, taking in all this the moment he woke up, he felt a momentary embarrassment as he felt he had boner, but calmed down quickly thanks to all his meditating. With his mind no longer corrupted, it was much easier to calm himself and control his body's urges.

Fusing with Ghostfreak, Ben immediately phased through the bottom of the bed and then went out of his room. Inside his room, the two girls had also awakened and were incredibly embarrassed.

Fortunately for them, when they'd calmed themselves and exited the room, Ben didn't say anything and remained calm, as he charmingly smiled and served them breakfast. "Hope you enjoy it." Before turning to do the same for Max and Charmcaster, then finally for himself.

They all thanked Ben and started eating. As they ate, they listened/watched a TV that Ben had set up. Not that anyone other than him knew how.

The news was playing multiple recordings of Ben's exploits, all surrounding one larger screen that was showing his 'incident' from four days ago. Seeing this, Ben thought. 'Lot of kids gonna be having nightmares.' It was playing all the through to when he cut the Covenant to pieces with his Diamondhead fusion, to when he started breaking the legs of that sniperbitch that shot him in the head.

Sitting behind desks there were several people commenting and theorising about "who he is" or "what is he", then there is that nut that screams righteously "He is an abomination to god" or something along those lines.

Ben turned away from the TV and asked. "Have they been playing this sort of stuff every day?" They nodded and he raised an eyebrow. "Are they stupid? Won't this just scare everyone?"

Gwen shook her head and looked at him calmly. It was kind of eerie to him, as there was pictures of when his chest hot shot. "Surprisingly no, mostly everyone is treating as a superhero."

Snorting derisively at the thought, Ben went back to watching the TV. Suddenly, there was something important happening and they were receiving it LIVE.

The screen changed from his battle, to a Congress meeting of sorts where the president, who he doesn't recognise, has started proclaiming that 'the masked vigilante' is a murderer. "-this man... this person-No! That creature! Killed a good, loyal and family man! A General that fought for this country! For no other reason, other than that he stood in its way! It's no hero! It's the villain!!"

Listening to this made Ben look down and sigh. To the others, it seemed like he was sad about being called a villain and they were going to cheer him up, but... "How annoying..." They heard him coldly mutter, then caught a slight glimpse of his sharp eyes, just as he raised his head and showed off a whimsical smile. "Excuse me for a moment." He got up and flashed red.

"Ben-!" Max called, only for it to be met by the wind. He got up and went to chase him, before sighing helplessly and sitting back down.

Max held his hand to his face tiredly, wondering what Ben was going to do. But then he heard the TV. There were shouts of shock and surprise as a bipedal reptilian appeared from a cloud of dirt. In a flash, the figure became that of a short male.

Ben had run over to the place the meeting was being held. Sighing with his deepened voice, he slowly started walking around the president, who was already concerned. "I bet you're wondering where you security team is... Don't worry, they are alive. They might therapy though."

"What are you doing here you monster!?-" The president asked in a demanding tone, but choked up when Ben turned his glowing red eyes to him.

"You know, for such a little man, you talk a big game." Ben darkly said, but did nothing to the pathetic man and instead walked around to the front of the podium. Passing his gaze over everyone there, he exuded a low Intimidating pressure. "So, here we are... You just declared me your enemy and that is... Well, it's annoying." The pressure he gave off suddenly increased and made them feel as though they were drowning in his bloodlust.

Everyone there gulped in fright. They had seen him decimate armies and that was without turning into his Alien forms. If he was to do something here and now, what could they do about it.

But, as they felt death hover over them, it suddenly disappeared as he started walking again. "I could kill you all right now, but that would prove your point. So, I'm gonna do this instead."

Putting his hand out with his palm up, a red fog sprung forth and began covering the entire hall. Each individual suddenly found themselves in situations that would ruin their lives. Some of their deepest fears and guilts given form before them, as they see all that could happen from provoking him.

This was his way of showing that he can do things far worse than kill them. He can ruin them. For every skeleton in their closet, they were shown ways he could use and manipulate those skeletons to destroy everything they worked for.

In the odd case of the subject not having such skeletons, they saw things that could and would break them. Like having a dead loved one rise from their grave and start chasing them down, putting them in a nightmare that he can make very, very real.

With a clap of his hands, suddenly everything was back to normal and they returned to the meeting, almost all of them with cold sweats. Others had fainted.

"Now you see, don't you? All that and you haven't even seen a fraction of my real power. Plus, that's just what your own mind came up with, but imagine what it's like to me. 'Cause to me..." He walked around a bit as he spoke and seemed like an all round likable guy, if not for the suit and creepy deep voice that always sends a shiver up their spines. "It can be so much worse." His tone suddenly took a dark turn as he used Intimidation again, making him appear to be a vicious beast in human form.

The way Ben was pressuring them, it was hard to breath and a nervous sweat drenched their backs. More than a minute passed with nothing but silence and some people were beginning to feel faint.

Fortunately, this was when he stopped pressuring them and said. "So, as non violently as I know how, this is me saying; 'back off'. Leave me alone to do my thing and I'll leave you alone to do your thing. Occasionally our things might coincide with the others, in which case I will decide based on my mood whether I will bother with it. Agreed?"

Ben waited in silence for any one to say anything, but no one did. No one dared.

"Hmm. I see you all need time to think about it. Alright then! I'm gonna go. And don't worry about letting me know your answer.... I'm sure it won't be too hard to find out." He chuckled ominously as he walked away, suddenly turning into XLR8 and exiting the venue.

Back at the Rustbucket, Max sighed in relief. Ben hadn't gone and done anything too crazy. If you don't count threatening/blackmailing government officials as being too crazy. 'At least there wasn't any blood...' He thought to himself.

A second or two later, Ben came back and detransformed. He was smiling like nothing happened as he started taking the dishes off the table, thinking to himself. 'That should be dealt with then.'

Ben no longer concerned himself with what was happening on the TV or with the government in general. If they decide they want to be his enemy, then that will be their problem, not his.

Max stood up with his usual grandfatherly smile and said. "Welp, we spent a lot of time in one place, so I'd say it's time that we get back on the road." He then left the sectioned off kitchen and towards the driver's station.

The girls stayed at the table for Ben and when he had finished cleaning the dishes, they left with him and went to the living room, where they sat on the floor with serious gazes.

"So, Grandpa's birthday is in four days. What we gonna do?" Ben started the conversation.

Gwen spoke up. "We all think that you should do that catering." She smiled dreamily as the other two nodded understandingly.

He nodded to her, as he'd already figured that was the case. "So, you three are doing decorating then?" Ben asked and received affirmative nods. "Then we'll have to go shopping when we next stop." They nodded again. "Then let's relax for now. You three have been training a lot, so you should take a break."

Clapping his hands together with a cheerful smile, Ben jumped up and then threw himself on the couch lazily, with Keira joining him quickly.. Gwen and Charmcaster pouted, jealous that they didn't get to be there instead, but settled for sitting next to him.

They all got comfortable and watched TV together, occasionally switching places or going to do their own thing when they wanted to. Meanwhile, Max yet again started making his way west while driving in a new found comfort.

---

A few days passed and they had arrived by a lake and that lake is called Horse Thief Lake. It does make one wonder whether there might a horse thief/thieves in the area.

They were at a nice clearing and had already set up camp. Max had been very strict on the matter that they had to camp outside when possible. It was midday at the moment and Ben was at a grill, wearing black cargo pants and a very baggy red shirt with a black apron. Plus a black and red cap.

Ben was grilling some meat patties for burgers. He was just enjoying the cooking process and chilling on a nice sunny day. When the meat was cooked, Ben quickly arranged his and Max's burgers.

It was as he was closing the grill that Ben suddenly heard Gabriel warn him. "There is a quest opportunity about to appear! Everything will stop around you and then you will then have to decided whether you want to enter. But be ca#$!!-"

Hearing this brought his full attention and as he stepped away from the grill, he became more aware of his surroundings. Looking around, everything seemed normal, but there was no more sound or wind.

"Hmm." The world had clearly stopped as Gabriel said it would, so now he needs to make a choice. This came as a big announcement from the system.

[Opportunity!

Quest in a different Universe!

You can't miss this chance to go to another universe. Don't worry, this is the first time so it won't be above normal mode and you won't 'die', just be ejected from that universe.]... [read more...]]

[Do you want to go]

[Yes] [No]

What did he do? He pressed yes of course. It was a good opportunity to get stronger and maybe get some cool stuff, and surely it was only gonna take a moment if it's 'normal mode', so what else was he going to do?

Upon confirming, time returned to normal. Confusing him as he expected to see a portal. When after a moment, Ben saw nothing and thought. 'It might appear tomorrow, considering that is what Canon did.'

Coming to this conclusion, Ben picked up the plates and went over to the table. He put them down and went over to a tray of drinks, but just as he went to pick it up, he heard a shout of alarm before he felt himself sinking into the ground.

"Ben!-" He just barely heard them scream his name as he fell into the portal that opened directly below him. When his body passed through, the portal closed behind him and prevented him from returning or anyone else jumping in after him.

All around him was open sky and below was the rapidly approaching ground. Ben instinctively tried to transform into Big Chill, but became shocked when he didn't transform at all.

He didn't have time to think and quickly made a Mana platform beneath him, landing on it rather heavily. Standing in the sky, Ben stopped to catch his breath and looked at the Omnitrix in confusion. "Gabriel, what the hell is wrong with the Omnitrix?... Gabriel? Gabriel?!"

Despite the severity of his situation, Ben recieved only silence from Gabriel. He thought back to when she last spoke and remembered that she got cut off when time froze. Thinking about what happened, he remembered the small 'Read more' portion of the announcement.

Holding his panic down, he quickly brought up the quest and mentally clicked the prompt.

[Opportunity!

Quest in a different Universe!

You can't miss this chance to go to another universe. Don't worry, this is the first time so it won't be above normal mode and you won't 'die', just be ejected from that universe...

Details: You have ten years to do whatever you want, but that comes at a price.

1. All missions are considered active and you won't know what they are. In other words, any of your action can be a potential reward, but you only get them when you return home. No daily missions.

2. You will have ten years to do what you want, but if you die, you will be sent back without any rewards. If you complete the main quest, you may return earlier.

3. No experience gain. The majority of intelligent races are weak here and you could probably kill them with a slap, so you don't need it here.

4. Gabriel has been 'shut down' so to speak. She will return when you go home.

5. The Omnitrix has been locked. You can use all functions other than transformation and fusion.

Have fun!]

After reading all of this, Ben silently stood on his platform, his anger bubbling inside him...

Being an unknown figure in the sky caught the attention of some flying creatures, one of which being a big, flying reptilian creature with colourful feathers on its back and wings.

The alien dinosaur screeched and swooped down at Ben's undefended figure, taking him for easy prey. It had its claws ready to grab him, but just as it got close, it found its body stuck in place.

Ben turned his head towards it and coldly looked into its eyes, releasing a terrifying aura like a wild beast. At his side, his hand was slowly tightening and the creature agonisingly screeched as it felt its body be slowly crushed.

Bones broke, limbs twisted and blood vessels burst from the pressure Ben placed on the creature, and soon enough his hand had fully clenched into a fist, causing its body to crumple as blood spewed out.

His viciousness and aura instantly made him a dangerous being to the creatures that were near by, making them quickly move to get far away from him.

Ben on the other hand, while in a bad mood from not paying attention and being stuck in this situation, could only sigh in annoyance as he took a DNA sample of the creature and then threw it away.

If it was before, he might have went into a homicidal rage, but thinking about it, it wasn't that bad. He might not be able to return without getting himself killed, plus he has no idea where or when exactly he is at, but this is a good opportunity to hone his skills and train. Though he will probably be alone all the time...

Taking a calming breath, Ben finally decided to take a look at the terrain he was currently in. As far as he could see there was wide open plains and rocky mountains. The atmosphere was breathable even for a human, but the temperature was quite high and would have someone sweating heavily if they were not adjusted to it.

"I guess that this will do for a while." Going into his Anodite form, Ben gently glided down to the mid section of a mountain, where there was a nice ridge sticking out that made a nice platform to set up on.

He turned back to human as he landed and Mana tendrils came from his back, which were used to attack the mountain to make a cave. But, the rock was surprisingly hard, so Ben had to put more effort in than he thought he would and only got a small 2x2x2 metre room after half an hour of wasteful mana usage.

With a bit of tiredness from burning through his Mana, Ben sat down in a lotus position. "First order of business is improving my Mana Manipulation then." He closed his eyes and began meditating. As he focused on circulating his Mana, small amounts seeped out of his back and formed balls the size of footballs, hovering above his head. The balls then started taking different shapes as Ben fell into a meditative trance.

- A few days later -

Ben was already used to living on this unknown world. It was quite lonely with just himself, but there was plenty of action when he wanted it.

If he ever gets bored, all he has to do go in a random directions while seeming docile and some beast will jump out on him. There are a lot on large feline, mountain lion-like creatures with scale like armour that leaves their joints exposed for mobility. They like to hide themselves in the tall grass that acts as camouflage, but it was completely useless against Ben and only made them useful for training his sensitivity.

In fact, he just finished taking a walk and killed one of these creatures, which he had hunted for his next meal.

This planet was quite harsh. There was a lot of predators and the terrain was hard to live in. Very little coverage from the hot sun and there were few water sources that were always being contested over. It was especially bad for the strangely abundant and small creatures, which holds quite a lot of fluid in its body which can be consumed to quench one's thirst.

Of course, none of this was a problem for Ben, because he can get supplies from his system or simply turn into his Anodite form and absorb energy from the air to keep himself in his top condition.

During these few day, rest had never been on Ben's mind, so besides a nice seat in his domicile, he had made no real changes. The only difference is the campfire he set up for cooking food. That was the only time he took to relax.

But, because of his tireless effort, he had made some good progress in training his Mana Manipulation and gained another 6,500 or so in his reserves.

This was bringing a slight problem with it though, because while his Mana was in his control, whenever it grows, so does his strength in the Force. And at a Midi-chlorian count almost at 200k, he was finding some problems.

Due to his great power, the Force practically radiated off him and caused unusual phenomena occasionally. When he was simply sitting and doing nothing, debris around him would naturally begin floating.

The other day, he had killed one of the moisture rodents. All he did was stare at it blankly, watching as it picked at some bones, but his vision guided the Force and crushed the rodent to death.

It was because of this that he thought the somewhat annoying quest that sent him to the middle of nowhere was kind of a blessing. If his power had grew like this in his universe, he likely would have harmed someone accidentally.

But, because of his power that was getting out of control, Ben had to start learning to control it. Doing it now made it a bit harder though, as he had to control a force that, to some degree, can act on its own.

Although annoying, Ben wasn't worried. He had 10 years to work with and it didn't actually fight against him, there was just too much to control. So, Ben still spent his time meditating, but now it was to master the Force, not Mana and bit by bit, he got it under his control.

- Two and a half months later -

It had been almost three months since transferring to this world and Ben brought his power under his control, so no more poor animals will spontaneously die from his stare.

Not to say his control was perfect. If he gets emotional, it can still go out of control, but nothing against his desire. At most, things tend to just begin floating around him.

Finally though, Ben was sick of living like a Hermit and staying at his little mountain. Without realising, his strength had grown and it was now under control, so it was time for him to go look around the world and see what kind of place he landed at.

There was nothing for him to pack up besides his seat, so as soon as he put his seat away, he set out. Donning his Revan armour set and with his Lightsabers clipped on to his sides, he started walking in a random direction. Going one step at a time, as if taking a casual stroll.

- 4 months later - Ben's POV -

After travelling for so long, I have seen a lot. I came across some amazing sights. While crossing through the expansive plains, I found rhino like creatures and jumped on ones back, riding it around. Doing this, I was taken to a field of massive geysers that spewed slightly acidic water. I jumped down one and it was like a tingly bath.

Past the plains, there was mountains that towered into the sky. Scattered around, there were caves that seemed to go without end. Some crisscrossed and others led you in circles, but I made my way through with the odd run in with alien trolls, which I actually killed with a slap. They never exploded or anything, but they went flying off the cliff with their necks snapped every now and again.

Now, at a mesa, with deep canyons that hold a lot of flying and reptilian creatures. I'd been travelling through here for more than a week now and would probably be doing so for several more.

I'm currently at the top of the ridge under the light of unfamiliar stars. In front of me is a warm fire with a large lizard cooking over it.

It was quite a nice night, there was even a cool breeze, but I wasn't alone.

- 3rd Person -

Below Ben was a person, a man. Ben didn't know what his species was, but he looked feline. A lot of the creatures on this planet seem similar to animals on earth, but if they were forced to evolve into something more dangerous.

The man was currently unconscious, but that was because Ben had already beat some info out of him. Not that Ben didn't try to approach it nicely, the guy just didn't want to talk and even tried to escape on futuristic hover bike.

From the information Ben received, it turned out that he was on a planet called 'Zygerria', making his current seat, a 'Zygerrian'. He doesn't know where he is still, but the species sounded familiar, just it's not something important, so he didn't bother trying to remember the specifics. It's not a very advanced planet, but they apparently make their way in the universe by being the lead in the slave trade business.

"From what he said, there is only one city and it is another 4 or 5 months away by walking..." Ben said to himself, having gotten accustomed to it through his months of wandering. "Well, it's not that far... Might as well eat on the way." He stood up and pulled the cooked lizard away from the fire as he started walking away.

With a light wave of his hand, the fire went out calmly and using that same hand, he suddenly made a fist and a crack sounded out. Over his journey, he hadn't forgot to train and had gained a finely attuned control over the Force. So, with only one gesture, he can hold several objects as delicate as vases and simultaneously tear apart the ground to throw massive rocks at his enemy. He'd become especially good at using the Force on other living creatures.

This wasn't all his training though, as he stopped focusing on increasing his reserves and started each unit stronger. Now, if he was to dig a new hideaway, he would have a much easier time and could make it way bigger, all thanks to his skill levelling up.

Biting into the tough meat of the lizard, Ben chewed it a bit, before simply spitting it out. "Too chewy..." He sighed and tossed the lizard into the canyon below, clearly hearing it start a fight for who got it, he began quietly singing to himself. "On the road again~"

Now with a goal, Ben started making his way towards the city with a skip in his step. He was looking forward to some social interaction after so long.

(I know he has Eidetic Memory, but I'm thinking of it more like an archive of info that he has to try to remember something to have it surface.)

[Status -

Name - Ben

Lv - 69 (123,060/245,000) (This was a coincidence)

Title - Wielder of the Omnitrix, Anti-Hero, Idol Slayer

State - Healthy MP - 19,300

STR - 3633

END - 3734

AGI - 3633

CHA - 3635

INT - 308

LUK - 777

AP - 0 SP - 1,715,200

Primary Skills: CQC Lv-5, Marksmanship Lv-5, Intimidation Lv-5, Danger Sense Lv-4, Sneak Lv-4, Mana Manipulation Lv-3

Secondary Skills: Drawing Lv-3, Math Lv-4, Science Lv-4, Writing Lv-3, Maneuvering Lv-5, Driving Lv-4, Engineering Lv-5, Cooking Lv-4, Pain Tolerance Lv-9, Bioengineering Lv-5, Programming Lv-5, Torture Lv-2, Acting Lv-4, Enchanting Lv-3

Unique Skill: Wrath, Love and Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Complete Language Comprehension, Eidetic Memory, Analyse, Night Vision, The Force]

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