Last updated 18/4/2023
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Contents:
And Then There Were 10
Secret of the Omnitrix
War of the Worlds
The Forge of Creation
The Creature from Beyond
The More Things Change
And Then There Was Ben
Universe vs. Tennyson
The End of an Era
A New Dawn
Where the Grass is Greener
And Then There Were 10
It started when an alien device did what it did. You all know the theme song, right? The device got stuck on me, I got superpowers, I was no longer an ordinary kid, I was... Ben 10.
Of course, that's not exactly how it happened. Not to me, anyways. It was a lot more... complicated.
I was 13 when it all started. Me, my cousin Gwen, and my grandpa Max had just reached the first stop of what was supposed to be our last roadtrip ever. It had been an annual tradition since we were 5, but me and Gwen were getting older, and so was Grandpa. Keeping us content and under control was getting too hard for him, so we figured we'd let the tradition go out with a bang, by making this the best roadtrip ever.
Gwen and I were already arguing - about what I don't remember, but I'm sure it was something dumb and pointless. Whatever the case, I got mad enough that I left our RV, left the campsite where we'd parked, and headed into the darkening woods of Yosemite to catch some air. By the time the sounds of the campsite faded, the sun had already set. It was a clear night, though, and I didn't need more then the moon and a stick-turned-hiking staff to find my way around. The thought that I might get lost never crossed my mind. I was too busy angsting over having to spend over 2 months with my annoying cousin and overbearing grandpa when I could've been at home, playing soccer and xbox with my friends. So busy kicking rocks I didn't even notice the comet until it was too late.
All I remember is the blinding white light, the shockwave knocking me over, and the impact that left my ears ringing for days. When I came to, the forest was quiet. Too quiet. No rustling from mice, no screeching birds. Even the insects had stopped buzzing. In hindsight, I might've been dealing with temporary hearing loss.
I should've turned heel and run back to camp, of course, but somehow fear and rationality got beat out by curiosity. I followed the trail of smoke to the crash site, but all I could really see was a big crater. It didn't even cross my mind that it might be dangerous - I figured it was just a comet. So I approached the crater. It felt like the air was full of static, like the atmosphere had come alive when the forest died. When I reached the edge of the hole, every hair on my body stood on end, and- the earth gave way under me and I fell, right into the crater.
Whatever had crashed here, it wasn't a meteor. It was perfectly round and metallic, and the static seemed to be coming from it. Military stuff, maybe? Whatever the case, definitely not something I should be messing with. In a moment of uncharacteristic clarity, I decided to run back and tell grandpa what I'd found. But fate had different plans. As soon as I turned, the sphere opened up and, as if catapulted, its contents landed on my arm... and embedded itself!
It dug into me. Wires and cables and I-don't-know-what. It should have hurt. I think I convinced myself that it hurt. I could feel it snaking its way into me, burrowing under my skin, replacing my veins with its chords, and I could feel my own flesh somehow retaliating and worming its way into the device. But that wasn't the worst of it. It had attached itself deep within my arm, but worse, I could feel it in my brain - its artificial semi-consciousness was probing my brain and, in turn, my brain probed back. I was paralyzed from shock as we eyed each other, unsure whether to defend ourselves against this intruder in our respective systems.
In the end, without speaking any words, but somehow talking anyways, like two predators circling each other, we decided to let down our guard and see the situation out. We were attached to each other, seemingly for good - better to draft a peace treaty than fight a battle no one would win.
I don't know how long I stood there, frozen and dazed, while the Omnitrix and I "talked," but I eventually came to.
I was shaking. Hard. I felt at once weaker and stronger than ever, like my skeleton had been reinforced with titanium, while my muscles had been sapped of strength. I could still feel it in the back of my mind, but it was like it had retreated to observe my actions.
I willed myself to move, lifting my wrist to get a better look at the device. It was small and simple-looking. No cosmetics, as far as I could tell. Just the simple grey colors of whatever material it was made of, and four green buttons. Fear and confusion again gave way to curiosity. I forgot to be scared, and instead started poking the thing, pulling at it, biting it, trying to... I don't know, trying to get it to do something?
At the press of two buttons, the round center-piece - the dial - popped out and lit up green. The black silhouette of a man (or something similar to a man, at least) was highlighted against a green background. Carefully, curiously, I pressed it down and...
It only lasted a few seconds, but each second burnt itself so deeply into my memory, it might as well have been hours. My body changed before my eyes...
No. It didn't change, it was replaced.
Molecule by molecule, my own flesh and bones and DNA were sucked into the Omnitrix, at the exact same time as new matter was spit out. Like the attachment process, the transformation was painless, but the horror was all the same. In milliseconds I felt my eyes get sucked into the wires that now extended throughout my body, and before the light had even left my retinas, new eyes had taken their place. It was sensory overload. I screamed, but my voice was no longer my own. It sounded deep and raspy.
My vision got worse, and my sense of smell left me completely. But I was taller and stronger. I felt confident. And as I looked down at myself, the instincts that came with this body liked what they saw.
First thing that stood out to me: I was on fire. But the body's self-assuredness was enough to keep me from freaking out. I was on fire, but it was so cool - I was so cool - that all I wanted to do was find someone to show it off to. I jumped out of the crater (I could jump so high!) and picked up the stick I'd been wielding earlier. It didn't burn, even though my hands were like embers.
I concentrated, listening to the body's instincts, and forced fire out my hands. The stick burned up in seconds, and I dropped it out of shock. So, I was more powerful than I thought. I would have to practice if I wanted to show off without killing anyone.
So I started burning random things; grass, leaves, sticks, trying to figure out how much power was safe to use.
Didn't wanna start a forest fire, right?
Well...
The overconfidence got the better of me. I'm still not sure how, but a tree caught fire. And then another. Aaand another.
Now I panicked. I tried to put it out, but my attempts just made it worse. How do you stop a fire when you are the fire? I admitted defeat. I had to find grandpa, he would know what to do.
Secret of the Omnitrix
-Feedback
War of the Worlds
-Max Out
-DNAliens
-Plumber's Helpers
-Grounded
-Reiny
-The Highbreed
-Galactic fame
--Con of Rath
--Simple
--Above and Beyond
-The Final Battle
The Forge of Creation
-Fame
-Hero Time
-Escape from Aggregor
-Ultimate Aggregor
-The Forge
-Absolute Power
The Creature from Beyond
-Basic Training
-It's Not Easy Being Gwen
-Catch a Falling Star
-Prisoner Number 775 is Missing
-The Purge
-The Ultimate Sacrifice
-The Flame Keepers' Circle
-A Knight to Remember
-The Beginning of the End
-The Ultimate Enemy
The More Things Change
-A Jolt from the Past
-Trouble Helix
-Of Predators and Prey
-Malefactor
-Showdown
-Bros in Space
-So Long, and Thanks for All the Smoothies
And Then There Was Ben
-Vilgax Must Croak
-Rad
-While You Were Away
-The Frogs of War
-Food Around the Corner
-And Then There Were None
Universe vs. Tennyson
-Hot Stretch
-An American Benwolf in London
-Catfight
-The Vengers
-The Rooters of All Evil
-Universe vs. Tennyson
-Weapon XI
The End of an Era
-Rook Tales
-Fight at the Museum
-The Secret of Dos Santos
-Let's Do the Time War Again
-Malgax Attacks
-The End of an Era
A New Dawn
-Roadtrip
-That one dream
-Adventures with Rook
-Disagreeing with the Plumbers
-Arguing with Rook
Where the Grass is Greener
-Wandering space on my own
-Reconnecting with Kai
-Reconnecting with Rook